Guarded by the Hybrid: Kindred Tales 44 by Evangeline Anderson

Author:Evangeline Anderson [Anderson, Evangeline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Evangeline Anderson Books
Published: 2022-05-20T18:30:00+00:00

TWENTY

From the diary of Lady Isla, wife to Lord Baslik Le’rank of Telmar Two of the Orinthian System:

When I awoke from my light nap, it was because a greenish light seemed to be shining against my eyelids. I opened my eyes and saw with a start that everything around me had changed.

Sark was still carrying me but no longer were we surrounded by the barren landscape we had at first been greeted by. Instead, everything was lush and green—there were enormous plants everywhere and the light was green because it filtered down from above through their branches and leaves.

I felt as though I was in the middle of a tropical jungle—strangely colored exotic flowers bloomed everywhere and I could hear the chattering and rustling of small creatures in the branches above. There were bird calls as well and I watched as a perfectly enormous, feathered shape flew across the tropical landscape above us, its plumage every color of the rainbow.

“Where are we?” I murmured to Sark, who was still following our odd Threesome of guides and Baslik, who appeared to be in private conversation with Feed’lix. He was tapping the leather band around his wrist and I wondered what he was asking about it. My own band fit me snugly but didn’t bother me—it was neither too tight nor too loose.

“I’d say we’re in the middle of an extinct volcano. A really huge one,” Sark replied. “Look—if you can see through all the branches—see the sides? They’re sloping upwards.”

I looked where he was nodding and indeed, I saw grayish-brown sloping walls of stone which rose high above us. The light appeared to be coming from a vast, circular opening in the sky—no doubt the mouth of the volcano.

“Oh, it’s amazing!” I breathed, and truly, it was. I never could have dreamed, when looking at the craggy mountains we had landed by that any of them held this lush, secret world within it.

“Are you admiring our home within the mountain?” It was Tam’lah and I saw that she had dropped back a little to speak to us.

“Yes, indeed,” I said honestly. “It’s very different from the outside where we landed.”

“Ah, yes, to be sure it is. Though once, you know, our whole planet was as beautiful as our home within the mountain.” She sounded sad as she spoke, her bell-like voice muted with emotion.

“What happened?” Sark asked, frowning down at her with interest. “What killed the rest of your world?”

“Alas, our ancestors were extremely warlike—they made weapons that could devastate the entire planet and threatened each other with them,” Tam’lah said. “They grew more and more angry and at last two of the main factions made war upon each other, devastating our planet.”

“How did you escape?” I asked. “Or, how did the ones who were your ancestors escape the devastation?”

“This area—our home within the mountain—was a research facility.” Tam’lah made a sweeping gesture, indicating the entire hollow volcano. “It is a remote location—far from the ancient cities which now lie in ruins.

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