adelfi
– A term of respect applied to Olivia and Skye, the sisters-in-law of the Gloresti elder, Gabriel.
adelfos
– A term of respect applied to James and Caleb, the brothers-in-law of the Gloresti elder, Gabriel.
archigos
– A term of respect reserved only for the class elders.
Avowed
– The strongest connection two beings can have. An avowed pairing is made when two beings exchange heartfelt vows of love. It results in shared thoughts and feelings and can never be undone.
Central
– The primary area where most Estilorians live, similar to a capitol city. Floating above the ocean and surrounded by heavy enchantments, Central is inaccessible to Mercesti. Also called
home base
.
Elder
– The oldest and most powerful member of an Estilorian class; an elder must have inherent abilities that blend cohesively with the other elders.
Kragen
– A beast that crossed over to the Estilorian plane when it was formed; humans called these creatures “dragons.”
kyria
– A term of respect applied to Amber, the wife of the Gloresti elder, Gabriel.
Mainland
– All of the area outside of Central/home base. This area is not protected like Central, and as such is sparsely populated by Estilorians other than the Mercesti.
Markings
– Estilorians develop markings on their skin, similar to tattoos, when significant events occur. For example, Gloresti develop a midnight blue marking when they pair with a Corgloresti, and the Corgloresti receives an identical silver marking. Also, Estilorians may have markings around their eyes, indicating they have a second ability.
Donald, lieutenant of the Waresti, heard the moan first. He wasn’t as knowledgeable about emotions as his two commanders and class elder,
archigos
Uriel, yet even he recognized the suffering conveyed by that sound.
He and a patrol of twenty Waresti were conducting a sweep of some caves within an ocean-side cliff, intending to rout out any Mercesti residing in them. A Corgloresti transition point was located not too far away. Thus, Donald needed to secure a mile-wide perimeter, clearing it of the Dark Ones. No sense risking the Mercesti finding a Corgloresti’s vulnerable form and attempting to destroy it, after all.
Glancing at Isaiah, the Waresti in the group with the keenest hearing, Donald used hand signals to communicate.
Did you catch the origin of that noise?
Yes, sir. North tunnel.
Donald nodded. Signaling that the warriors all move in silence, he took the lead and treaded carefully into the tunnel, his sword drawn. Although the moan sounded feminine, Mercesti weren’t above using trickery to try and lead others into a trap.
The tunnels were dark. Donald didn’t conjure a light, not wanting to alert anyone to their presence. Mercesti could see in the dark, giving them an advantage in this environment. Waresti, however, had also developed good night vision over the centuries. Donald progressed with quiet confidence through the inky tunnel.
He heard another muffled groan and the sliding of a body along a gritty surface. When he rounded the next bend, he spied a huddled form on the ground. All he could make out was a glimpse of white skin and a long length of dark hair.
Fan out. Check the tunnels
, he communicated to his warriors. He wasn’t about to risk being taken unawares by skulking Mercesti.
When they moved to obey the order, Donald focused again on the small being crouched before him. He realized that his initial impression of a female had been correct. From what he could determine, she was unclothed and shaking violently.
Even these observations didn’t prompt him to lower his defenses. He decided to introduce himself, hoping to put the female at ease.
“I am—”
She screeched as though he had sliced off one of her limbs. Her hair covering her face like a dark web, she flung her arms out as though warding him off and scrambled to press herself against the closest cave wall.
He tried to explain that he and his warriors meant her no harm, but her screaming drowned him out. The horrible sounds careened crazily off the rock.
“We will not harm you, female,” he declared in a loud voice.
By then, most of his soldiers had returned, giving the all-clear. They also stared at the demented being on the floor as though unsure what to make of her.
“I am Donald, lieutenant of the Waresti,” he continued. “We will help you if you have been injured or require assistance.”
Her next wail wasn’t quite as piercing. He took that as a positive sign. Over the next several minutes, he spoke to her in a calm voice, explaining that they would take her to Central and that someone there would ensure she was well tended. Eventually, the screaming stopped.
“Would you be more comfortable in clothing?” he asked.
Slowly, the female lifted herself, causing her hair to fall away from her face. Donald saw that much of her head, neck and upper body were caked in dried blood and dirt. A noticeable stench clung to her and it wafted closer to them when she moved. Bruising along her sides indicated that her ribs had been broken. He wondered if she fell down the cliff and crawled into the cave for shelter. Whatever had happened, her form had been severely mistreated. It seemed a miracle she survived.
But that wasn’t what had Donald’s normally impassive face falling into stunned lines. He lowered his sword and noticed his warriors doing the same with their weapons. They exchanged looks of bafflement.
The female on the ground was Kanika, the leader of the Mercesti.
SHIFT
Shift [
v
. shift]: To put something aside and replace it by another or others; change or exchange:
to shift friends; to shift ideas
.
In the form of the panther, Sophia stalked her target. The forest provided many shaded and grassy nooks, and Domino was an admirable opponent. The three-year-old panther could remain still for hours. His spotted fur also gave him excellent camouflage, so Sophia used her heightened sense of smell to find him.
When she got within springing distance, she lowered into a crouch, her back legs digging into the ground for better purchase. Then she pounced.
Domino sensed her the moment she left the ground. He shifted to accept her weight as she tackled him. Her paws wrapped around his torso. Then she opened her powerful jaw and went for the soft part of his neck.
He quickly flipped their positions, using his greater strength to dump her onto her back. Her feline instincts had her wrenching herself to right her center of gravity. This resulted in them taking a long, tangled tumble down the side of a grassy hill.
At the base of the hill rested several of Domino’s siblings. They watched for only a moment before leaping into the fray.
“Sophia!”
She froze, her ear caught between Domino’s teeth. Rolling her eyes in the direction of her mother’s voice, she tried to ignore the heavy weight of Domino’s haunches where they rested on her right side. The panthers around her also grew still, hearing the maternal censuring tone and paying it heed.
Busted
, Sophia thought.
She rolled out from under Domino and rose gracefully onto all four paws. Her mother stopped at the edge of the walkway leading from their home into the surrounding forest. The rose-colored sundress she wore swelled over her very pregnant belly and stopped just short of her bare feet. Her long, curling brown hair, worn with just a few loose daises tucked into it, gave her the look of a woodland goddess from the human fairytales she used to read Sophia as a child. Her lime green eyes held a warning that her curving lips belied.
Knowing she would get a lecture, Sophia padded closer. When she spotted Quincy watching in the distance, sunlight gleaming on his wavy blond hair and the many silver markings tattooing his muscular arms, she wanted to sink into the earth. Thank goodness panthers didn’t blush, she mused, ignoring the racing of her heart that she considered normal when Quincy was involved.
She obligingly sat near her mother’s feet and looked up. The light green and dark blue leaves decorating the outside of her mom’s eyes gave her beautiful face a gentle appearance, but Sophia was only too aware of the fierceness of which her mother was capable.
Fortunately, her mother was a sucker for animals.
Even as her mom opened her mouth to speak, Sophia leaned forward and nudged her hand with her muzzle, urging it to the top of her head. She paired the nudge with a blink of her wide, panther eyes. As she intended, she succeeded in distracting her mother, who lowered herself to her knees and rubbed Sophia’s head.
“Don’t think this gets you out of a tongue lashing,” her mother said in her soft, pleasing voice. “You ditched your training session again.”
Figuring it couldn’t hurt, Sophia licked her mom’s cheek. That provoked a laugh.
“Look, sweetie…”
Sophia huffed, knowing what was coming.
“I know you prefer to spend your time in your laboratory or here with the panthers,” her mother continued, “but weapons training is so important. Not so long ago, you saw just how important.”
She referred to the recent experience that shook their usually uneventful lives. About two months before, Sophia’s cousin Tate snuck away from the protected area encompassing their homes and ended up getting snatched by the kragen, Nyx. It took almost two weeks—and a battle against some truly scary Mercesti—to get her back.
Sophia had been among those who left in search of Tate. She didn’t think it would help matters to point out that she fared just fine without a weapon of any kind. Her mother probably wouldn’t take kindly to the reminder of the danger she’d been in, regardless of the outcome.
“I know that there will be things that happen outside of our control,” her mother said. “Tate didn’t plan to get herself stranded so far from home, but she was able to rely on the skills we taught her to survive. I want you to be able to do the same, and that includes having the ability to wield weapons effectively to defend yourself and others.”
Sophia huffed again. In her mind, there was more than one way to defend against threats. Weapons were the most archaic way and of no interest to her. She felt that she could solve any number of issues through the equipment in her lab much better than could be resolved on a battlefield.
In point of fact, she was working on developing a serum to combat the effects of Nyx’s toxin, a serum that could be administered to anyone who would be around the kragen on a regular basis. Now that Nyx was a seemingly permanent resident in the area, Sophia worried about one of her younger siblings or cousins—all of whom loved to play with the large creature—accidentally coming into contact with her paralyzing toxin.
Unfortunately, she recently realized that she wasn’t progressing much with her efforts. She decided that she needed more information from Nyx’s Estilorian friend, Zachariah. The enigmatic Mercesti male had developed an antitoxin that could be administered after the toxin had been introduced. Sophia hoped to extend his efforts to develop something more proactive. In effect, a vaccine.
“I’ll never get a moment’s rest if I don’t think you can protect yourself if anything ever happens to you,” her mom said.
Guilt rushed through Sophia at the words. She could only imagine how much stress she had put her parents through during her absence while rescuing Tate. Hanging her head, she gave her mom an apologetic look.
Her mother shook her head in response. “Just don’t forget again, okay?”
Sophia nodded, causing her mother’s hand to lift up and down.
“Now, since it’s surprisingly warm today considering autumn has arrived, those of your cousins who
did
participate in today’s training are going to head over to the waterfall for a swim. Why don’t you go get changed and join them? It’s probably the last swim you’ll have until late spring.”
The idea of a swim with her family sounded enjoyable, and it might give her a chance to chat with Zachariah about the antitoxin. She nodded again.
Her mother got awkwardly to her feet and winced as she stretched, rubbing her belly with one hand as she pressed against her lower back with the other. “Phew. I’m ready for this baby to arrive. My back is killing me.”
Sophia debated shifting back so she could help her mother, even though she’d be naked when she did. Then her mom smiled and caught her gaze.
“I’ll be fine, sweetie. You can wait to shift until you get to your room. Besides, Quincy is still watching.”
Despite her concerns about her mother, that gentle reminder was enough to have Sophia dashing in her panther form into the house. Being seen naked by Quincy was the very last thing she needed.
Quincy started down the hill as soon as Sophia loped away. He had seen Olivia’s grimace when she stood up after speaking with her daughter. As both a friend and the Estilorian who served as the obstetrician for Olivia and her sisters, Amber and Skye, he was concerned by her obvious discomfort.
“Do you need any assistance, Olivia?” he asked.
He stopped a couple of feet from her, studying her for physiological indicators of how she felt. He knew that these last days before the projected due date were particularly wearying on the expectant mother. Her energy and abilities weakened as she prepared for the birth. It was one of the reasons that Olivia and her sisters had remained behind when their firstborn children recently ventured away from the protected homeland.
Her pupils and breathing were normal now, he was pleased to note.
“I sure do,” she answered with a grin. “Can you get Sophia to quit skipping out on her training sessions?”