Page 64 of The Gilded Ones

“Don’t tell anybody about the temple down there,” I whisper to the others as we reunite with the rest of the raiding party. By now, Ixa is securely hidden in my armour, just above my heart.

The recruits and the other alaki have searched the cave thoroughly and found no sign of further deathshrieks. They don’t seem to have noticed the path we took down into that other portion, and I have the feeling they won’t if we don’t point it out. Even now, the knowing still rumbles within me – guiding me, though I don’t know how or why.

“Why?” Britta wants to know.

“I don’t know, I just think it’s—”

“Sacred,” Belcalis finishes. “That place is sacred, and we should leave it untouched.”

As I nod, relieved that someone else felt what I did, Adwapa snorts. “You two are fools, and your feelings are both stupid and dangerous – as is that thing you’re carrying, Deka, but we’ll talk about that later. For now, I don’t want to be the demon that shows a group of jatu a temple dedicated to her demon ancestors, and I certainly don’t want to be the demon that shows the jatu some new, strange creature. That will not end well for any of us, understood?”

We all nod, quickly seeing her point.

“Let’s talk about this when we get home,” Britta says, her eyes on the spot in my armour where Ixa is hidden.

As we ride back to the Warthu Bera, I keep tapping it to make sure Ixa is there, only stopping when he shifts around, rumbling just loudly enough so I can hear. It’s a sound that fills me with a strange sort of relief. Ixa is mine, and I will protect him no matter what, keep him no matter what. He seems to feel the same, because as we enter Hemaira, I hear a sound in my head – one that’s very low and very distant but clear nonetheless.

It’s Ixa’s voice, childlike and innocent as it says, De…ka…

When I wake early the next morning, it’s to the sight of my friends creeping towards my bed, weapons in hand. Ixa is sleeping on my chest, but he bolts up the moment I do and hisses a low, frightening sound that raises the hairs on my arms.

“That’s enough, Ixa,” I whisper to him, uneasy. He quickly stops hissing.

But then the girls raise their weapons.

Ixa jumps to the floor, his muscles shifting and changing. Within seconds, he’s back to his true form, looking for all the world like that water drakos, scales gleaming, powerful muscles working under them as he grows to monstrous size. A low rumble gathers in his throat, vibrating through my body.

“What in the name of Oyomo!” Belcalis gasps, brandishing her sword more forcefully.

“I told you that thing is unnatural!” Adwapa points, horrified. “Fecking unnatural!”

Ixa rumbles again, and I hold out my hands, trying to calm both sides.

“Shhh, Ixa,” I say, reaching out to him. Relief washes over me when he nuzzles my palm with his gigantic nose. For such a threatening-looking creature, he’s very gentle. Almost like a child…

De…ka? he whispers, unsure. His voice is even clearer now, a loud whisper in my head.

“That’s right, that’s right,” I say soothingly, my heart beating fast. “It’s me, Deka.” Change back, I ask with my thoughts. Please, Ixa?

De…ka. Ixa shrinks, and within moments, he’s back to kitten size and jumping back on the bed.

“Did ye see that?” Britta gasps, flabbergasted. “It just changed – just like that. Why did it change?” She narrows her eyes at me. “Did ye have anything to do with it?”

“Ixa’s a he, not an it,” I humph, ignoring her question. “And what exactly are the four of you up to?”

Britta points towards Ixa, who has now made his way to my pillow and is snuggling down. “We’re here about that. Wha exactly is that?”

I look at him, then shrug. “Honestly, I’m not sure what he is.”

“You do get that it’s not normal, right?” Asha says. By now, her sister has told her all about the raid and what we found there – excluding the part about my abilities, of course.

“He,” I correct, rolling my eyes. “And really, Asha? People say we’re not normal, and yet here we are, having arguments over a kitten.”

“It’s a creature ye found in a temple dedicated to demons that not only changes form but also fed on yer blood,” Britta says. “I saw it bite ye in the temple.”

“What if it wants to murder us in our beds?” Adwapa adds. “Ever think of that?”

I roll my eyes again. “Oh, for Oyomo’s sake, whatever Ixa is, he isn’t a monster – even I know that much. He’s just some type of shapeshifter that whoever lived at that temple was raising.” That much I know to be true. “Besides, I was told to keep him in the combat state.”

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