Page 41 of Orange Sky
He said go east. Did he not know women are bad with directions? Ah yes, I haven’t seen any women on this planet so I will give him the benefit of the doubt.
I looked down at myself, taking inventory. My pants are shredded at the knees, my tunic full of dirt and smear. Surprisingly, my hands have no blood in them. But the hand with a cloth given by Zirc stings. Both my hands sting.
“What the – “, he cut himself off. I also stopped at my tracks. I cringed physically when I heard the loudest roar in my entire life.
I froze. Is this how a prey feels like in the presence of a predator?
“I know that sound,” I heard the man said, more to himself. I twisted and looked back at him. Why do they keep thinking aloud? Zirc doesn’t talk to himself. Maybe Zirc is weird after all.
He sniffed the air, doing a semi-circle. Doing a long sniff towards my general area. Then he narrowed those indigo eyes at me yet again.
“You,” he accused. He took another long sniff. His eyes got wider. His eyes turning into slit. He even took a step back. “The Silver Beast.”
Whoever this Silver Beast is, I have nothing to do with it.
“You smelled like him. What –“
He turned around abruptly and I jerked. Is that beast here?
But no, it turned out that it was only Blue guy. He skidded to a halt in front of the man. He seemed to know this man.
“You –“
The man brandished a sword from out of nowhere, the tip of it touching Blue guy’s throat, cutting off whatever he wanted to say.
“Don’t,” the man warned.
“I didn’t know,” Blue guy said. Panic in his eyes.
I decided to stay with this group. Strength in numbers and all that stuff. If we are going to fight this beast, then we need to band together.
Or run away is a better option, my inner mind offered. That survival instinct all humans have.
“What is going on?”, the man asked, strangely positioning himself in front of me. Like what a cop did in my youth when an angry owner slapped me when he confronted me about the missing menu in his restaurant. One of my classmates did that as a prank and I was the slowest to leave. A police officer was already there to arrest me but turned his back on me and confronted the owner instead when he saw the man’s handprint on my cheek.
I feel that same emotion now.
“I was just supposed to lure him in here. He has the relic – “ Blue guy cut off his mouth. So he’s a blabbermouth.
The guy in front of me immediately straightened his body, if that is all possible. He has a very commanding posture that is impossible to hide in his dirty clothes and demeanor.
His hand did not waver, the end of his sword steady against Blue guy’s neck as he moved firmly towards him. He seemed to have forgotten about me. Not sure if that’s good or bad. His focus on the Blue guy.
“So you used his mate to lure him here, in hisbeast mode?” the guy hissed in a much lower and quieter tone. It sounded more ominous inside the cave.
Do they honestly think Zirc is that beast? The only way Blue guy would think I am his mate is if it was Zirc.
Mate? As in wife?
No way.
I inched away from them. This strength in numbers may not be a good idea after all.
“I didn’t know!” Blue guy shouted. Then realized his mistake at his voice echoed through the tunnels. “I didn’t know,” he whispered again.
“Come, and try not to stay away from me young man,” the guy said.
I caught myself stopping and looked back. The guy still had the sword against Blue guy who opened his mouth as if to say I’m not a he. But when I looked at his eyes, he was looking at me. Something about him changed and he just clamped his mouth shut.
