Chapter 10
Zathar
I needed to slip away from the next round of festivities at the center of the village.
This time they’d filled the town square with the rowdy games all males loved, wrestling, contests of strength and prowess.
Archery, weaving, races, all of it made the place fill with laughter, cheering, and good-natured ribbing.
My mother was right on this one, it ached a little to know that I was never going to participate in another day such as this.
Not for a long while if it was just my mate and me and the other humans.
It just wouldn’t be the same. That didn’t mean that the sacrifice wasn’t worth it because it definitely was.
I hadn’t wanted to wash my tail, so I’d wiped the evidence of her desire off my scales with a soft cloth which I kept in a pouch on my belt.
A vivid reminder of how willing she had been last night and how perfect she felt.
Never in my wildest imaginings had I pictured filling a female with my tail, but it had been amazing.
I had come harder than I ever had, coating my belly with rope after rope of my seed.
Vera was perfect, she was worth any sacrifice. So I slipped the pair of watchful eyes near a table of Absael, a potent drink brought out for this occasion. A favorite with most hunters, my pair of spies included.
When I doubled back from my sleeping quarters with my supplies packed on my back, I was ready to break out Vera and the others.
I’d used my mother’s parties to say goodbye, not to let them convince me to stay.
I was ready. Far more than I was the first time I had been cast out and it felt good that it was my own choice this time.
“There you are,” Corin said as he joined me near the mouth of a dark passage between two homes. He was carrying a pack just like mine on his back, ready for a long journey; his was possibly even bigger.
“What are you doing here? You were welcomed back, you can stay,” I said to him.
I hadn’t involved my friend in any of my preparations except to ask him to convey a message to Vera so we could meet last night.
He wasn’t officially back to being a member of the Clan, but he was not invested in this and was not important to my mother.
She might forget he was still here if he stayed, this was his one shot at being part of the Clan again.
Corin rolled his eyes and punched my shoulder with a fist, “And leave you to have all the adventures by yourself? No way. Besides, what would you do without my help? Admit it, you’d be totally lost.” I punched his shoulder right back, nearly sending my friend ass-over-coil.
Grinning widely as I did so, my chest a little tight at his show of loyalty.
I should have known that Corin wasn’t going to stay behind, he probably loved living right smack in the middle of all that ancient technology.
Technology he wasn’t allowed to procure or even touch if he stayed with the Clan.
“Fine, I can use the extra pair of eyes. It will be a challenge to get all four of them out.” That was the truth.
With one human unconscious and the other always weeping, things were going to get complicated, especially if we were caught.
I still didn’t like the idea of fighting my former Clan, many of whom were friends I grew up with, family.
But I would if that’s what it took to get my mate to safety.
I turned towards the storage building where she was being kept; light and the noise from the festivities filling the air.
The building was right on the edge of the town square.
The noise was going to cover the sound of us breaking through the back wall but anyone could stumble away from the party for a moment and happen right upon us. A risk I’d have to take.
“Wait, you go to the humans. I will set a distraction and then meet you on the wall,” Corin urged, and his silvery eyes lifted to indicate the spot on the palisade I planned to go over.
Right in the middle between two guard towers but close to the storage building so we had to cover only a small amount of ground.
“Are you sure about that?” I asked my friend, vividly recalling the last time he’d done such a thing.
Corin was always tinkering with old technology, and he liked it when things went boom.
There was no doubt in my mind that his distraction meant he was going to use one of those trinkets.
A fire in the village could be disastrous.
Last time, he’d used one of his explosive thingies out on the plains, nearly causing a bushfire.
What if the Clan couldn’t contain it this time? They might all end up without a home.
Corin’s eyes were deadly serious, with no hint of a grin or amusement this time.
“I know the stakes, Zathar. Don’t worry.
Now go, wait for the commotion, and then get them out.
Reid can carry the unconscious one.” He disappeared back into the shadows without a backward glance and I took a few deep, steadying breaths.
I was an outcast, by choice now, but I wasn’t without friends.
I vowed to myself that once I had Vera in a safe place, I’d search for Iave if he hadn’t made it to the Ancestor’s Cave yet.
But my friend was resourceful, I suspected I’d find him sitting there, babysitting two humans, and grumpy as fuck that he’d missed out on this excitement.
Iave lived for a good fight and an adventure, being an outcast had suited him the most.
Sitting in the shadows while I waited for Corin’s distraction, I had to reflect that it had been the hardest for me.
My mother had known that and she’d counted on it the past few days to make me fall in line.
She’d cast me out to teach me a lesson, to make me obey.
Well, too bad for her, I’d gotten my priorities shifted, and while Clan life was tempting, my mate was even more tempting.
The sound of thunder split the cloudless night sky, and I instinctively clasped my hands over my ears, despite expecting it.
A thick plume of smoke started curling into the air from my left, from near the bathhouse.
Good call, the spring ran right past it, partially diverted to fill the bathing pools.
It would burn but with so much water around, it was unlikely it would burn for long.
Plus, the location meant it was nearly all the way across town from where I was.
Racing from my hiding place, I zigzagged around a building to avoid the crowd rushing for the fire.
I was at the back of the storage building in only a few seconds, casting my eyes about to make sure nobody could see me.
The back wall looked the same as it did last night and for a moment I was unsure what to do.
Vera couldn’t understand me unless we touched, and I needed them to stand back so I could break down this wall.
“Vera?” I called out, but the noises from my Clan yelling were pretty loud, as was the sound of the fire roaring.
That wasn’t good, had Corin overdone it?
Pulling free the ax I’d brought for just this purpose, I placed it against the wall and realized it had lost some of its structural integrity, they’d cut the Weeper branches from the inside. Good.
“Stand back!” I yelled but I had no time to wait and hoped they got the message when I tapped a wall a few times with my ax.
Hard enough to make it shake, but not enough to break yet.
Through the upper gap, I could just make out a few shapes, far enough away that I judged it safe.
Then I wound up my swing and with a crash broke through the center of the wall.
Yanking the ax free, I gave it two more good whacks and then I used my claws to widen the gap.
Vera was beyond it, her face glowing with an eager smile that turned a little shy when I helped her crawl free from the building.
“I got you, my mate,” I told her, anchoring her to my side with one arm while we waited for the others to get out.
Reid was carrying the pilot, just like Corin had suggested, and Cosima was clinging to his back.
She wasn’t leaking water though, which I considered an improvement.
“This way,” I urged them. Our path was still clear so I led them around several buildings to the section of wall I had in mind.
It was a straight climb up to the walkway, and then a steep drop I was certain the humans couldn’t do unaided. I’d have to carry them over one by one.
Swinging Vera up in my arms, I rose on my powerful tail. Then I grabbed the upper edge with one claw while cradling my precious burden tightly to my chest. “Grab on,” I said but she was already doing it, clambering onto the palisade with surprising agility considering her short pair of legs.
Dropping to the ground again, I scanned the clearing between the wall and the next building; we didn’t have much cover but all was still clear.
“You next,” I said to Cosima but she obviously didn’t understand me, squealing in fear when I gathered her in my arms. Not good, she was going to call everyone to our location with that noise.
I wasn’t as patient as I had been with Vera, nearly tossing her onto the palisade, but my mate was there to pull her to safety.
I turned for Reid, ready to take his burden right as I heard the first shout of alarm go up.
It was one of the scouts that spotted us as he came to investigate.
Zeti hated to do work if he didn’t have to, even work such as fighting a fire.
It was not a surprise he preferred investigating instead of working to save the village from the destruction of the fire.