Outlier by L. J. Hachmeister

Author:L. J. Hachmeister [Hachmeister, L. J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher: Source 7 Productions, LLC
Published: 2020-06-09T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

The second the tips of Sen’s fingers touched down on Nya’s shoulder, the warrior reared around, took one look at her through glistening eyes, and then took off toward the mountains.

“Nya, wait!” Sen shouted after her, but to no avail. Within a few seconds, only a dust cloud and the uncomfortable feeling in her stomach remained.

“Let her go.”

Still looking west, Sen didn’t turn to face Osan until he called to her again.

“Come, Sen.”

“But Nya—”

“Come.”

Sen wrung her hands together as she returned to the camp, Akoto grumbling as he followed behind. Something agitated him too, though she couldn’t be certain what.

“Join me,” Osan said, opening the flap to his tent to allow her in.

“Stay here,” she whispered to her oversized friend. Akoto grunted but found a shady spot under a red juniper tree to escape the building lowland heat.

Sen marveled at the oddities inside Osan’s tent. Old books with dust-covered jackets and yellowed pages served as tables and shelves for strange artifacts she couldn’t quite place. At first the jagged metal objects looked like scraps, but upon closer inspection, she realized it looked nothing like the metal she’d seen in the Guild.

“What’s that?” she said, pointing to a chipped red, white, and blue flag painted on a broken name plate.

“Patience,” Osan said, directing her to sit down on a cut of animal skin.

After she found her seating, he continued. “Tell me about what just happened with the Shifter, Sulo.”

Sen balked. What could she tell him—that she feared for Akoto’s life when Nya drew her weapon, so she hugged him with all her might?

(It’s more than that), said a from voice deep inside. The event replayed itself in her mind: The warmth rushing through her when Akoto’s fur brushed against her face and his doleful howl pulling apart her heart.

And then that feeling…

A memory, not her own, playing out in the back of her mind. She couldn’t recall exactly what she saw but remembered distinct sights and smells: the dewy air inside her lungs, glowing slugs sliding across porous rock. Then pain, immense and terrifying, drowning out all else. A blood-stained smile and a hand that looked more insect than human; thousands of stars blinking out at once.

“I don’t know.”

“You know something,” Osan said, scrutinizing her face.

Biting her bottom lip, she stopped herself from saying what first came to mind: We saved him.

“Akoto saved Sulo,” she said. Fidgeting in her seat, she blurted out whatever else surfaced as Osan continued to study her in silence. “I thought I could do something, but…”

Old doubts jangled her nerves. Who am I kidding?

She continued, her voice quavering: “But Akoto’s howl—it brought him back.”

Osan let go of his beard. “I see. How do you know this?”

No answer came to mind. Instead, she shrugged her shoulders and made herself as small as possible, hoping he’d lose interest in the subject.

“Akoto is special. In all my years wandering the outlands, I’ve never encountered a beast like him. Where do you think he comes from?”

Sen shook her head.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.