The young lad was on duty around the perimeter of the forest his clan ruled, when he spotted a familiar red-head running ahead of him in the path he was on.
‘Oh no, don’t tell me that’s the geria.’ He sighed. ‘Now that I’ve seen her, I have to approach her. Oh Circe, please don’t get angry over this. It’s my duty, after all.’ And so, with a long, difficult gulp, he braced himself. With speed next to that of lightning, he jumped and hopped from tree to tree, until he overtook the little runaway and stood before her.
At first, she didn’t see him, but she did sense something and came to an abrupt halt. Her cloak still over her head, she sniffed, looking around, before she spotted a partly dressed young lad before her. She bit down a gasp of surprise, an action that shook her body. She took a step back.
“Who are you?” she asked quietly, trying to regain her composure. “What are you doing here?”
The lad casually leant against the tree behind him and folded his arms across his chest. “I belong to the lycan tribe of this forest. I was patrolling this evening, when I saw you. Aren’t you the geria of this land?”
She couldn’t help gulping visibly now. “Y-yes, I am. How do you know?”
He shrugged nonchalantly. “We met before. You passed out upon seeing me. Circe warned me not to get near you, when all I wanted to do was to see if you were indeed my friend’s sister. You looked just like her.”
“And…?”
“And. You are her, I know that now. Then and now, you were her and you are her.”
Silence reigned for a moment.
“So… what do you want to do to me?” she asked. She didn’t wait for the silence to get uncomfortable before quenching her curiosity.
“Nothing. Well, maybe help you.”
“Help me? Why?”
“It was your brother’s last request to me. Before he passed away, I mean.”
That stopped her breath – almost. She inhaled deeply and let the air out. “Gracious. He asked you a favour?”
“Well, yes. Essentially, he insisted that I protect you. From what I’m not sure, though.”
She knew the answer to that question perfectly well. “I see. So, are you here for that?”
“If I did that now, I would be neglecting my duties.” He scratched the back of his head. “See, for me to protect you and help you, I must get permission from my clan elders.”
“Permission for what exactly?”
“Go with you wherever you go.”
That she did not expect; she assumed he meant hiding her in his forest. “Oh,” was all she could manage.
“For now, I could hide you in my forest,” he went on, “and when dawn arrives tomorrow, we can set off.” He paused. “Um, to wherever you’re headed off to.”
Liya considered this. “Who are you?”
“I’m sorry, I should’ve introduced myself first.” He gave a rather neat bow for someone who lived primarily in the forest. “My name is Mstin.” He bowed. “Nice to meet you, sister of Lomar.”
She curtsied in response. “Nice to meet you, too.” She gulped as she rose. “I… eh, are you going to – I mean…” her eyes shifted uncomfortably, “are you really… going to… help me hide?”
He nodded.
She took a deep breath and let it out. “All right then. Lead the way.”
“Right. Follow me. Your highness.” He turned around and began walking away.
Liya turned back the way she had come, towards the palace walls she had fled from, her eyebrows straight but her mind deep in the clouds. ‘Once I turn away from here,’ she told herself, ‘I’m likely never going to return. Never going to see this home of mine again. I must find my own home before Gentilia finds me and kills me.’
She turned back in the direction the lycan was running towards. ‘This lycan is as much a good choice as any at the moment—same risk.’ She turned towards the palace again.
Mestin sensed he was alone and paused, turned around. The young geria was still standing where he found her, gazing at the direction she had come from. ‘Are you going to come or not?’ was what he was going to shout back at her, but he stopped himself. ‘I suppose she’s contemplating coming with me. Now, with no family around who’d care about her, it must be a huge turning point for her. Leave her be.’
He turned forward again and waited. He looked around his vantage point, his sharp eyes alert and his sharp ears pricked.
Suddenly, from his left, a branch snapped; his head whipped in the direction. But there was no one. He gulped. ‘Strange.’
He zoomed back to where the geria stood contemplating, took her hand. “I hate to do this, but we have to leave now!” Without waiting for a response, he yanked her away through the depths of the forest.
This is a short excerpt from my WIP, scheduled to release in 2025. Fans of The Sahara Chronicles will be looking forward to this next part. See you soon!
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