“Hi, there,” I whispered softly, hoping that the sound of my voice wouldn’t scare the little woodland animal. Tentatively, I reached out, placing my palm up in order to present myself as nonthreateningly as I could.
The small thing edged forward a bit and I was able to see its shadow under the light of the full moon that was just breaking through some of the foliage above us. It had small horns that curved down toward its mouth, although the tips were rounded and appeared to still be growing. Its nose was small and demure like a kitten’s. It mewled again and I could see sharp little white canines lining its jaw. The little thing walked on four paws with lengthy claws that dug into the ground. It took one step and then two. I leaned down on the ground and the deafening sound of a twig cracking under my palms echoed all around me.
The creature halted and all of a sudden, its body glowed bright red as if fire pumped inside its veins. As soon as it did that, I knew what it was.
My people called it a skotaur, the mythical fire-beast of the wilds. This one was only about the size of a small goat, but they grew much, much larger, towering far above the likes of men. It was said that some of the oldest ones in existence were even more enormous than the height of a tree, but I’d never seen one like that.
This one must be very young, practically a newborn, which meant that its mother wouldn’t be far. I froze and lifted my gaze to the trees all around me, searching for the hint of a red glow in the shadow. I saw nothing, not even the slightest twinge of red coloring amongst the darkness.
Wild skotaur mothers were known to ferociously protect their young if they sensed even the hint of a threat. I was in serious trouble if the mother was close.
Carefully, I walked backwards one step at a time, taking care to be as silent as possible so that I didn’t alert the young skotaur. For a moment, the youngling appeared curious still, but when another branch broke under my foot, the small thing hissed so loudly that gooseflesh rose on my arms and a chill of fear raced down my spine.
A much louder growl rumbled in the distance and I lost all control of my terror. I rushed and turned to run, knowing that I needed to put as much space between me and the skotaur pup as possible.
I ran hard, but as I heard the brush breaking behind me, I knew that it was already too late. The mother had been alerted to my presence and she would do anything to protect her child. I rushed through the brush of the forest, not caring as the branches scraped at my face and whipped at my arms, likely leaving welts behind that wouldn’t fade for hours if not days. I didn’t care. Instead, I just kept moving.
My heart pounded so loudly that I feared it would beat right out of my throat. Blood rushed through my ears so much so that it sounded like there was a wave crashing nearby and I raced even faster than I ever thought possible. I pushed and I pushed and still, I could hear the mother skotaur behind me. She was closing in, no matter how rapidly I sped through the forest.
It was at that moment that I realized that the inevitable was going to happen. The mother was going to catch me and tear me apart. Her growls were ominously loud behind me and echoed noisily enough so that it felt like the very ground was quaking beneath my feet. A keening sound escaped my throat, one of raw terror, and everything inside me burst with adrenaline as I ran as hard as I could.
Still she closed in. Soon, I could feel her fiery breath kissing the back of my neck.
It wouldn’t be long now. Odiyen, I pray my death be swift.
Her snarl rumbled the very marrow in my bones and my foot caught on a tree root that had been hidden by a pile of leaves. I tumbled forward, crashing down onto my hands and knees. I hardly even noticed that I’d skinned my knee or that my palms scraped against a sharp stone. I felt nothing but the fear of my inevitable death. I rolled to face her, trying to die with a least a little shred of dignity. I tried to be strong, but it was hard when there was a beast like her about to tear me apart.
I stared up into her angry, ferocious gaze. Her threatening growls were still just as loud, if not shriller than before now that she had captured me. I swallowed nervously, staring up at her and waiting for what came next. Her upper lip rolled back, revealing a much larger set of teeth than her young pup and I absently wondered if she’d bite through my throat or eviscerate my belly with her wickedly long and sharp claws. Maybe she’d do both.
“Please,” I begged. “I didn’t mean any harm to your baby.” I didn’t know if she even understood human language, but I had to try.
There was a faint rustling noise in the forest to my right, but I didn’t look. I was too preoccupied with the angry eyes of the skotaur glaring down at me while I thought through every possible scenario of how she might kill me. The sounds got louder, and I was only vaguely aware that it sounded like boots crunching through the brush. I wasn’t too proud to call for help. No one faced down a skotaur alone and walked away with their life.
“Please! Help me!” I cried. My voice trembled with raw fear and my fingers dug into the dirt beneath me as if holding onto it would offer me some semblance of protection.
I knew that it wouldn’t.
A man cleared his throat and I could tell that he wasn’t very far away. I half expected him to ask my name or to offer some sort of assistance at my obvious distress, but when the mother snarled even more loudly, a very cold and icy realization crawled over my skin, leaving me even more fearful than before.
This wasn’t a wild skotaur. This was his and right now he could either order her to leave me be or kill me where I lay.
My life was in his hands.
Chapter Two
Vikar
Two nights ago, the Ghost had visited my chambers and given me the most important mission of my life. I’d been relaxing by the fire, smoking a rather nice cigar I’d been given as a gift for successfully infiltrating and putting an end to a group of malicious individuals that had been trying to establish the beginnings of the omega trade here in Valgertha. I’d been tasked with stopping those men and with the help of the alphas that I’d placed throughout the city, we’d successfully captured, interrogated, and then disposed of all involved.
As expected, those men had been low-ranking members of the Cult of the Blood Moon, a heinous organization that worshipped Odiyen, the god of death. They would stop at nothing to achieve their goals, be it the sale or murder of precious omega women or the forced labor of betas and alphas, and it didn’t stop there.
A knock sounded on my door and I sighed heavily. As the Sage of Oslin, my work really never ended. I took one last heavy draw of my cigar and casually blew a perfectly defined smoke ring into the air. The person at the door banged a bit more loudly this time and I finally pushed myself out of my leather armchair and answered it.
Icy blue eyes met mine.
It was the Ghost. All I could see were his eyes through his ornately carved mask, but that
was all I’d ever seen of him. I’d never seen his face.