The swish of gentle waves accompanied the rowboat to shore. Zinjo and Gael rowed in unison. Aurelia noted they were the only three in the leaky tub. She glared at the seagulls who screeched every time she tried to speak. The sun warmed the air, but not too unbearable levels, and a soft breeze kept her body at a nice temperature.
Asleep on Gael's shoulder was the divine Al' Miraj, a bunny with an onyx horn on its head. The creature had to lead them to this place, but why? The same question played over and over in her mind. Aurelia did not know much about divine beings, but she suspected not all of them were good. "Gael, why are we the only people on this landing party?" She asked in a mild tone, underneath a patch of worry raged like an ocean storm. The seaman paused and wrung his bandana in his hands, "I am not a fool. Tess is depending on me, the men have orders to leave should they not hear back from us inZinjo gripped the partisan with a grim intensity as he saw the men race through the trees, and Gael put a pair of cestus over his knuckles and wore a wry grin. Aurelia moved her feet shoulder-width apart and sniffed the air. She smelled a lot of things human was not one of them. "They aren't human," Zinjo said before Aurelia could utter a word. "What should we do?" The Al' Miraj leaped off Gael's shoulder, and its horn started to glow, "Looks like the little guy knows something is up. If they are not human, what are they?" Zinjo stalked forward, "I have no idea, but we will not find out anything by standing around." He stuck to the hunting trail. The trees were more twisted and gnarled, "Is the land poisoned?" Aurelia picked up a skull-shaped pine cone. A fanged frog growled and vanished with a splash into a nearby pond. Gaels's eyes opened wide, "I think I know
As the journal promised, things in the forest grew to intolerable levels. The illusions tricked the sense and drove a wedge between Aurelia and Zinjo. Gael suffered no ill consequences from the magical assault. It lent weight to the theory he had Lemurian heritage. They stopped to eat some leftover deer, and Aurelia and Zinjo tested the meat to make sure it was real. Gael confirmed they were indeed eating real food. The fog rolled in a bit heavier, and the sights and sounds rattled the brain. "No offense to the Al' Miraj, but we are not following it anywhere next time," Zinjo swatted at an imaginary swarm of bugs. "This is easily the most irritating version of magic I've ever encountered," The frustration in his manner and tone was apparent. Aurelia put her arms around him, "And what if the little beast leads us to another component we need for the witch trap bottles?" She kissed him softly on the lips and swirled her tongue a
Irrational fear gripped the trio as they opened the heavy bronze doors to the altar room. The heavy air inside the sacred space left Aurelia devoid of hope and warmth. Zinjo grimaced and held the partisan at the ready. Gael held his fists up, ready to brawl at a moment's notice. Sick purplish flames lit the multitude of grotesque statues and carvings. "This place perverts all that is good," Zinjo growled nervously and jumped at a twig snap caused by his foot. "Something wrong, my love?" Aurelia wore a knowing smile. "I hate how this place makes me feel," Zinjo admitted, "It makes the fur wilt and makes the skin crawl. This place should not be." He stared at a twisted mosaic of a grotesque creature of darkness. It loomed above the town with purple eyes and clutched the townsfolk with shadowy hands. "You'll get no argument out of me, " Gael twirled around at the sound of a cricket chirp. The Al' Miraj took the ground with its horn bathed in silvery ligh
Much to the surprise of the three companions, Carmen resumed her position at the altar. The mass of dark matter reformed the lethally beautiful woman. "It's not as fun as it used to be, messing with you mortals. Yet as an agent of the darkness, I am obligated to do so." She glared at Aurelia, "Who would've thought the woman would prove the most resilient against my little games." Gael threw a loose stone at the entity wrapped around the altar. It phased through the being amid cruel cackles of Carmen, "Oh, does that hurt your pride? Awe, poor macho sailor man, shown up by a woman." "It has nothing to do with Aurelia. You teased me about my past and then left me hanging. You spoke about things I didn't know and then stopped just when you got the good part," Gael clenched his fists and raised them. "Oh, poor little sailor man, ignorant of his heritage and who he is. I can't wait for you to find out. Unfortunately, I am only allowed to reveal so much, cosmic rule
Gael barely spoke to Aurelia and Zinjo about their experience in Carmen's temple. The being of darkness compromised them in a way they didn't understand. Gael refused to talk about what happened in the temple. Zinjo and Aurelia discussed it at length, "I hope Gael is okay, dark princess. Our time in the temple rattled him," Zinjo's naked body smothered Aurelia for a moment, and she giggled. "Stop it. We've wasted enough time with that. Our goal is to find out who can forge the bottles besides Carmen. Not figure how many times we can pleasure each other," Aurelia playfully shoved Zinjo off her and straddled him. "We are getting dressed now, and we have to talk to Gael. I don't like the idea of a rattled captain being in charge of the ship." "You don't wish to meet the dark priestess again?" "Do you?" "Not really, although I find her more palatable than Kivuli. We should discuss our next little problem. When we return to Shadowfen, the kingdom w
The guards separated Gael and the Al' Miraj from Aurelia and Zinjo. They took him to a waiting room. "Juma will deal with you once we deal with the renegade and his mate. Your trade idea sounds promising. I will make sure our leader hears you out." The sharp sting of metal spear tip pressed against Aurelias back, and she bared her teeth to the guards, who seemed unconcerned about the defiance. Worst of all, one of the guards ripped the parasol blade from her hand. She sulked as they marched across the small city. "So, how did the lion people come to be?" "Once upon a time, the people of Kiazangi were on the precipice of greatness. The mathematics and engineering in our buildings involved are lost to us now, but as you can see have stood the test of time." Zinjo seemed unconcerned with the guard's spear pointed in his back. "What happened?" Aurelia asked as they marched past several young families converse over roasted gazelle and oxen-like creatures. The chil
Ayasu gently pushed Aurelia forward by the small of her back. The light touch had a mother's care and leader's insistence. Her bright yellow eyes regarded Aurelia with respect. "Please forgive Juma. He never wanted to be chief. He loved the hunter's life and all the dangers that came with it."Aurelia leaned against the cold stone and scratched her back against the rough edges of the wall, "I thought you were against Zinjo and I being together.""I wanted to hate you. You are the one who stole my Zinjo from me, or at least that's what I thought at first," Ayasu smirked as a sigh of relief escaped the lips of the princess. "I saw the way my Zinjo looks at you. Many young lionesses tried to win his heart, but he would have none of them.""Why?" the question burned in the back of Aurelia's mind like a hot coal. "Zinjo always had a fascination with the outside world and desired to explore it. His father, Imamu, tried to talk him out of it, as did Juma. H
Zinjo and Aurelia stood shoulder to shoulder. The roared of the crowd echoed off the cold stone. Aurelia did not want to fight Zinjo's brother, Juma, but the rules said they had to. All because the young couple wanted access to the broken plains. It didn't help Juma held a grudge over Zinjos need to find Aurelia. Displeasure and frustration became Zinjo, and his eyes reflected the conflict within. Zinjo still cared about his brother and didn't wish to harm him, "My heart is not in this fight, dark princess. Juma is skilled but is rash with his moves." In those words, Aurelia formulated a way to end the fight as peacefully as possible. She glanced at Sahiri. Murder owned the lioness's eyes and suggested to Zinjo, "How about you take Sahiri, and I will take Juma." "Are you crazy? Juma will not hold back with you..." Aurelia's lips met Zinjo's, and she smirked, "I have a plan, my love, please trust me and this." Zinjo switched places with his mate.