章節 3: The Last Of Her Kind
CHAPTER THREE
CYRUS POV
NINE YEARS PRIOR
Pt 2
So Gahiji's suspicions were right...
Silas looked fixedly at the girl as well, "what the hell-"
Fear engulfed the poor child as Tiny scrambled to her feet with shaky breaths. She darted towards the forest. Tiny must've been running as fast as her little legs could carry her because her figure quickly waned.
I bite back my words. I'd felt angry before, it was nothing compared to the wrench in my stomach. Nothing seemed right with this training. Aspen is twice the girl's size, and watching her limp feverishly away left a bad taste.
I turned to Silas, who had a bewildered look on his face, "report to Gahiji and speak to no one. That includes you three." I growled sternly as Silas nodded obediently.
"Let's go, kids." Silas sighed, motioning the three to follow behind him.
"What?" The three whined together.
Maya piped, "It's not our fault that she's a-"
"Silence!" Silas roared, "follow your Beta's orders and learn your place."
The three bowed their heads, following closely behind their father to the alpha's quarters. Turning my attention to the forest, I followed the small prints into the woods. It wouldn't surprise me if the girl was hiding out in a tree or had a secret nook somewhere in the forest. But it was dangerous for her to be out there considering she doesn't have a sense of smell thanks to the fire.
Tiny has been kept in the dark surrounding the facts about her origins, but Gahiji couldn't risk the lives of our pack. Once she's old enough to understand the severity, we will tell her everything. Another war among the neighboring packs would occur if news got out that Blackwell's blood was still alive.
The end of the Blackwell colony was devastating. Harmony among the packs fell, and the forest suffered deeply from wildfires and bloodshed. An entire royal bloodline of powerful beasts was wiped out entirely by the Rogue King and his goons. The downfall of Alpha Leonidas opened an opportunity to purge and claim new lands for the Redwood and Walker packs as well as Silvercrest. Those were dark times nine years ago.
Her scent was strong and led me to the towering pines. If I had to explain it, I'd probably say she carried the scent of worn books and rosemary. Tiny's footprints fade near a large oak tree. Inside the nook of the tree, I spotted feet hidden briefly under a pile of leaves. The center of the tree carried a gap large enough for someone like Tiny to crawl in. Her scent is overwhelming as she desperately tries to hold her sobs, "Tiny, come on out."
No response.
"Tiny," I urged softly, "come on out. You don't have to train anymore." No response. Again.
"I know you're there."
I sighed, sitting down beside the oak, "what's going on, kid?"
She huffs as another sob erupts from her. She pulls her knees to her face, resting her head. As I wait patiently, I notice a wooden object from her formed like a weapon. "I don't belong here."
"Did Aspen tell you that?"
She sniffled, "yeah."
"Look," I replied patiently, "Gahiji accepted you in this pack. He knows you're destined to be great. That's why he's pushing you. He didn't make a mistake by taking you in."
"How do you know?"
I look up to her apologetically, "I just know." She brushes the blanket of leaves off of herself before looking at me. Her eyes returned to their natural hazel hue. I straightened myself to face the girl and pointed at the contraption she was hiding behind her feet.
"So, care to tell me what this is?"
Tiny turns her gaze towards her gizmo and smiles. She lifts it up to reveal a jagged hand-carved bow with the feathers of a vulture tied to its edge. "This is a crossbow," she said, "I read that human ancestors commonly used this to hunt ages ago. So I carved one myself, but I'm not very good at carving."
"That's impressive," I murmured, more to myself.
The use of bows wasn't uncommon for our pack, but our hunters usually shift. Her face lights up as she holds it out to me, "Do you really think so?"
I take the craft gently from her hands and feel it's lightweight and small. It's the perfect size for her but I hardly doubt she could kill anything with it.
"Have you practiced?"
"Yeah!"
"Alright," I chuckle, "show me what you got."
"Okay!" she says giddily as she pulls a burlap sack from the tree.
So the kid does get out of the house. Interesting.
I watch as she pulls out a handful of arrows carefully decorated with quail and turkey feathers. She carefully holds a round burlap satchel in her other hand and steps out of the tree. I follow her as she stops at the edge of a hill and hands her the bow. She dips the tips of three arrows into the burlap, revealing the iron tips to be coated in purple ooze. The fragrance was bitter and revolting. "What is that-"
She wipes her remaining tears as she smiles, "So what should I-"
Instantly, her face fell as her eyes shifted back, returning to a luminous blue shade. Before I could ask her what was wrong, piercing screams filled our ears. I scanned the forest for the high pitch wail when Tiny interjected.
"They're at that cavern. By the wheat," she says as she opens the burlap sack.
"What?" I growled, "who is?"
"Two girls," she murmurs, "they're held hostage."
"By who?" I whispered as I joined her on the ground. Tiny loaded her bow with a long slender arrow. The screams are suffocating and a pit fills my core.
There's not a single sight of the two girls but the screams become muffled.
"I don't see anything. How can you-"
"I can make the shot," she breathes quietly.
"No. We can't risk that. What are you going to shoot at-"
"A rogue," she says calmly, "he's touching one of them." Cold chills went down my spine as I glared at her, "I'll inform Gahiji. We wait for his commands."
"There's no time!" she hissed quietly.
"This is a job for our patrol party. Your safety is my priority. We fall back. Not for you to shoot arrows blindly-"
Tiny lined up her bow towards the rocky caverns as the screams picked up again, "I can take the shot."
"No, the scouts will take care of-"
She pulls the trigger. The arrow whistles through the air in silence as the screams come to an abrupt stop. Anger rises again as she reloads the arrow, "Tiny, you've compromised our position!"
"No, I didn't," she whispered, "I don't miss."
Howls of pain rang in my ears as a rogue man stepped out of the cave, followed by his companion. Now I can see them and sense the four. The two men looked sickly as they surrounded two young women who are curled up naked with their limbs tied. The women were battered with scruffed auburn hair and bruises that colored their ivory skin.
An arrow protruded from one of the rogue's eyes as the other turned in our direction. The whoosh of the bow filled the air as she pulled the trigger again. This time, the arrow pierced the stiff shaft of the second man's exposed waist. She refilled the bow once more and finished him with a shot into his neck.
"Your arrows aren't enough to kill them," I growled at her.
"You're right," she whispers briskly, "but the aconite concoction I made will."
"How did you-" I blurt out, "wolfsbane?"
Tiny stood as the two rogues groaned in agony. Their strength slipped from them quickly as she pulled out two woven covers from her satchel. She turns to see my expression, nodding before explaining, "the forest told me."
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
I watch as Tiny glides down the hill and stops in front of the two women.
They squirm in fear of trying to create distance. She gives an apologetic look as she covers their bare bodies with the soft blankets. I follow behind her as Gahiji's voice fills my head.
Update Beta, Gahiji huffed.
I turned to the rogues, watching as their chests slowly came to a stop before replying. Two rogues slipped through our borders with slaves- two young women. Tiny killed them before we could retreat. Both girls are secure.
Silence fills my head. He must be pissed that I failed to achieve his orders. I turned to the three girls as Tiny untied their restraints. Both girls avoided my eyes as Tiny stepped back. She crouched in front of the two as they wrapped themselves. Blood soaked their skin as they whimpered.
Gahiji, I mind-link, she's one of them. A Blackwell.
The sound of pride echoes in my head as Gahiji replies, we were right.
I can feel myself smiling as I watched the small girl. You were right. She's the last of her kind. We're raising the Guardian.
"My name is Tiny," she whispers, "can you tell me your names?"
The girls exchanged looks as they sat up straight. The girl sitting in front of Tiny looked up at her with sky-blue eyes fixated on her savior, "Tori," she gestured to the girl hiding behind her, "she's my sister."
Tiny nodded patiently, noticing the unnamed girl rubbing her protruding belly, "and you are?"
"Akila."
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
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