Viridian Ninja - Part Three

It was nothing, Taki reassured herself. Carter must have simply gotten overconfident in his navigational skills and gotten himself lost... again. No monsters would try to kidnap him now, right? He knew enough about the forest to not get himself killed, right?

All the same he should have been back hours ago. And if he had gotten lost earlier in the day then he could have been wondering around most of the day.

Still, no sense in getting upset. No need to seriously track him. That would be overreacting. She’d just head over to where he had planned to pick fruit first. Perhaps he had simply gotten tired and decided to sleep there, letting the time get away from him. She had tried riding him quite a bit harder than usual the night before, it’d be understandable if he was still worn out…

Yes, that had to be it. That was what was most likely. She’d find him napping under the fruit trees, she thought to herself as she raced down the path. Then she’d kick him in the side for worrying her, and then deny that she was worried. Then they’d have several rounds of makeup sex and everything would be fine. She keyed in on what she had come to recognize as Carter’s residual human mana in the air along the path. He had definitely used this path not too long ago.

‘Everything will be fine, stop worrying,’ she repeated in her thoughts, only to stop in her tracks. She felt this new emotion, worry, grip her heart tenfold at what she saw. Something had happened here, the basket of apples Carter must have so proudly picked were strewn over the ground.

Further, three cloaks lay on the path, as if dropped there. Why?

She knelt down, her antennae twitching to pick up the scent on the cloaks. It was the scent of men… but why would they leave their cloaks here?

Her heightened senses warned her just in time. ‘A trap?!’

On reflex she leaped straight up, just as a chain shot at her from either side of the surrounding undergrowth. To her shock the chains followed her up, wrapping around her of their own accord and tightening, trapping her arms at her sides even as she extended her scythes. She just managed to land on her feet, glaring as the men who ambushed her came out of hiding.

One man stood to the left of her, the other at her right, each holding their end of the chains taut to keep her from moving toward them. Excess chain was wrapped around that hand’s arm.

The taller of the two holding the chains was a frightening-looking man with a number of scars on his face and a pair of large swords in sheaths on his back. The other’s head was shaven and bore the tattoo of a skull on his forehead. His weapons appeared to consist of more chains wrapped around his arms, plus a dagger at his side.

A third, looking to be in his early twenties, remained silent and tense behind them, a crossbow in his hand.

“Looks like we were right to stay behind. A mantis tailing us would be plenty of trouble.” Theron said.

Jarvis nodded. “I’m surprised we caught her like this, normally these damned things try to dodge sooner than that and the chains get themselves a workout chasing them.”

“A monster girl who’s just lost her mate can be vulnerable,” Theron replied, “but she’s also much more dangerous. Remember that sahuagin a few years back? When that fool she was with got killed trying to protect her she went crazy, screaming and hissing like a rabid beast. She managed to kill one of our rookies and slashed my face open before I could put her down,” he said, indicating to the four large claw scars on the right side of his face.

Jarvis rolled his eyes. “Yeah I remember, it’s only about the hundredth time you’ve told me about it.”

Taki strained her blades against the chains, grunting with the effort, all the while giving the men murderous glares.

“Not that we managed much of a surprise this time either,” Theron continued, unperturbed. “She still would have dodged us if it weren’t for these chains. They were worth every gold piece.” He then smirked at Taki. “Yeah, I can tell you want to kill me, but your bindings are enchanted. You won’t be able to cut through them and they won’t release their grip.”

Jarvis grimaced as he and Theron continued to brace themselves in opposite directions to keep Taki from moving toward either of them. “Damn bitch isn’t passing out Theron!”

“Course she isn’t!” Theron snapped back. “Those scythes can’t cut her free but she did manage to wedge them against the chains so we can’t tighten them against her neck or rib cage so long as she has the strength to hold them back.”

Taki stilled herself and concentrated. Before anything else she had to confirm Carter was alive. All monsters could sense the mana of their husband at any distance, but having never tried to do more than detect his residual energy before it could take a while to track him properly. Still she could at least tell he still lived.

With that knowledge she now addressed her captors while scanning for possible escape options. “Who has taken Carter?”

“The errand boy?” the youngest-looking of the trio now spoke, still tensely holding his crossbow but trying his hand at banter. “Oh I’d say he’s well on his way back to Jiro by now, I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes.”

“Don’t answer her questions rookie!” Theron admonished. “Enough talking, let’s just finish the job. If the chains don’t work then arrows are best for taking down a mantis. Even with her arms bound those legs can ruin your day, so killing at a distance is safest. Aim for her neck.”

“If I wanted to be safe then I wouldn’t have become a monster hunter,” the younger man replied in an irritated tone.

“Yeah I know, it’s always about the money with you,” Theron remarked, a disturbing smile coming to his lips. “Some of us do this for the love of it.”

“Whatever,” the rookie dismissed, readying his crossbow and aiming.

Taki acted first, scooping one of the apples on the ground up with her left foot and kicking it into Theron’s face. He reeled back in pain, letting go of his chain just as the rookie loosed his arrow. Now semi-free to dodge, Taki bent and moved to the side just enough to avoid the projectile as it shot past her and embedded itself in a tree trunk. She then leaped to headbutt Jarvis in his stomach, in the process wrenching free the rest of Theron’s chain that had been wrapped around his arm.

As Jarvis stumbled back with his breath knocked out, Taki could feel the chains loosening. As she had hoped, the magical chains were controlled by the minds of the wielders, it was how they had directed the chains to bind her in the first place, but this also meant the spell lost focus if the mind of the user was seriously jolted, in this case through pain. It was slight and she still couldn’t cut through them, but with her natural flexibility it was all she needed. Retracting her blades into her arms, she managed to make enough room to slip her left arm free. As she did so she re-extended that arm’s blade, impaling the stunned bald hunter through the throat before he could react. Gasping and gurgling, he slumped to the floor dying as she pulled the blade out of his neck and slid the loosened chains off of herself.

“Damn it Jarvis!” Theron cursed, drawing the swords on his back. Without touching the chains he couldn’t make them move on their own again and he knew not to risk making a grab for them. The rookie didn’t know how to use them either. So he faced her down, “guess we have to do this the hard way.”

Taki didn’t hesitate, taking a running leap at the tree nearest to her and rebounding off of it, her blades meeting his in a mighty clash. They proceeded to parry several of each other’s strikes in a deadly dance that had the rookie scrambling to get out of the way. Their bodies became blurs, the sounds of their strikes resounding through the forest.

Taki had to admit she was surprised at Theron’s skill and power. He was able to match her speed, and his dual-wielded blades made her feel almost as if she was fighting another mantis. Except instead of the cool, steely look of a mantis in combat, this man displayed a bloodthirsty pleasure in his eyes.

“It’s too bad you’re not human,” he taunted even as they both eyed each other for openings. “We’re a lot alike, you’d make a better partner than that idiot Jarvis ever did.”

When Taki failed to respond he pressed her harder, now locking his blades against hers and drawing close. “We both kill to survive, you can understand that can’t you?”

He was trying to distract her, Taki knew this. However, her awakened emotions still compelled her to give an answer this time. It was true that in some respects this man was the ideal mate she had often imagined for herself, but his bloodlust was a real deal breaker, and with Carter’s safety to consider all she could feel toward this man was hatred. Further, there was something she wanted to confirm. “I kill animals to survive, you will kill anyone for profit and pleasure. Weak men like you disgust me.”

At this Theron lost his own cool. Their blades still locked, he slammed her against a tree in a burst of strength, though the impact hardly even made her flinch. “Self righteous bitch! All you monsters really care about is cock and you know it!”

Taki suppressed a smile at turning the man’s taunt back at him. She could tell that calling him weak had hit a nerve. It seemed her hunch was right. “She rejected you, didn’t she?”

Theron’s eyes widened in shock, then narrowed in anger. “What- What do you think you know about me?”

Taki remained impassive, even as she strained to hold him back. “Many of the lizardman race seek out my kind during their journeys in order to learn from our skills and test their own. I’ve come to recognize the general characteristics of their energy. It is very faint, but I can sense that a lizardman’s mana is still present in you, and there is only one thing those prideful warriors do when they find themselves bound to men with weak hearts unfitting of being warriors.”

Theron trembled in rage, his arrogant and mocking tone surrendering to a hidden madness and bloodlust. “Weak… she dared to call ME WEAK?! I DEFEATED HER! SHE CAME ONTO ME! PROPOSED TO ME! THEN DARED TO CALL ME WEAK!”

Years ago

“Good work as usual Theron,” the aristocratic-looking man in the doorway remarked as he handed a jingling bag of gold to the mercenary.

“A pleasure doing business with you as well, sir,” he replied as he closed the door, only to turn and come face to face with a lizardman, a pair of swords in sheaths behind her much like the ones he carried.

“Lacerta,” he remarked casually, “trying to sneak up on me? Figured you’d stop that now that we’re mates.”

Her arms were crossed over her chest, her expression far from happy. “That was the slaver Maki.”

“So it was,” Theron said with disinterest as he walked across the room and sat the bag of gold on the dining table.

Lacerta’s glare followed him. “You said you wouldn’t take any more jobs like this.”

Theron chuckled. “Yeah, refusing was a good idea too. It made him up my pay.”

“That’s not what I meant!” she snapped back, her scaly tail thrashing in emphasis.

“Here we go…” he remarked with a frustrated groan. “Another lecture.”

Her expression grew from disappointed to outright angry. “Lecture? Try interrogation and ultimatum. You killed for him, again. I can see the pleasure you still feel from it, I can smell their blood on you.”

Theron leaned against the table. “And what of it? It’s not like they were anyone special. Just a couple of runaway slaves who got the penalty for escaping.”

“You really believe that makes their lives worthless?” she asked, turning more livid by the second. “The way humans use slavery is far worse than anything even dark elves do! You should be out fighting against men like him, not accepting their money!”

Now Theron was angry. “How many times do I have to tell you? I’m no hero, I never was! Why should I stick my neck out when there’s no profit in it?!”

She stared at him for a moment, then sighed, her anger dissipating. “You don’t need to be a hero, just stop taking these jobs. That would be enough for me…”

He folded his arms over his chest. “I guess that is your ultimatum? Well here’s my answer. I make good money doing this, and I’m good at it. I’m not stopping.”

“It’s more than that,” she looked away, her expression forlorn, “you enjoy killing.”

He was unmoved. “And what if I do?”

Her tone grew more worried. “It’s wrong. Your warrior spirit will suffer from it, it already has! You’ll become ever more twisted and damaged by this bloodlust.”

“There’s nothing wrong with me!” he shot back. “It’s you and your naïve drivel about honor and warrior pride that’s wrong. The weak serve the strong, and if they step out of line then they deserve what they get. If I get some pleasure out of punishing them then so what? Nobody around here but you cares about what happens to slaves.”

“Society can change,” she argued back, “it is changing! You can change with it, for the better! If you would just admit you have a problem-”

“Enough of this!” he interrupted, turning as if to walk away. “Let’s just get to bed, a good fuck will help you forget this.”

“No.”

Theron froze, then turned to look back at her. Shock had registered on his face for the first time since the conversation started. “What?”

Lacerta didn’t budge. “I said no. I won’t have sex with you like this, not when your body is stained with the blood of innocents.”

He regained his composure and chuckled. “Well there’s a surprise, a monster girl who isn’t up for sex,” he mocked before his expression turned serious. “You really want to pursue this Lacerta? You want me to admit it? Fine. Yeah, I enjoy it. Erasing life is a thrill like nothing else, and taking these jobs lets me indulge that thrill without worrying about the authorities. What do you say to that?”

She sighed and shook her head. “I always knew you were like this… I thought I could change you… I know there have been many others who were changed…”

Theron laughed again. “You’re a great lay Lacerta, the best I’ve ever had for that matter. That doesn’t mean you’re worth giving up what makes me feel most alive.”

“Yes, it seems I was wrong about you. If anything the stain of evil in you has only worsened. I should never have challenged you back then… now it’s come to this.” Her expression turned resolute, even as her voice remained mournful.

“What are you prattling about? You want to fight me or something? Quit joking around. I beat you once before, and besides that you know you couldn’t kill me even if you wanted to.”

“Yes, my instincts do constrain me. I chose you as my mate. I cannot simply leave you, nor will my instincts allow me to kill you. In spite of everything you’ve done, I still love you… yet your actions have caused a horrible rift inside me. You have no idea the pain I’m feeling, the very fiber of my being is warring with itself!”

Theron grew even more exasperated. “Is this more of your philosophical crap? I’ve heard enough!”

“No, not mere philosophy, but the truth of what I am. It is true my instincts compel me to remain with you, to mate with you, to be yours forever… but those are not our only instincts, there is another one, one rooted in the very cause for which our race became female and capable of reproducing with humans.”

“And what is that?”

She smiled wishfully. “Peace. The instinct that regardless of what fighting we may find ourselves in, our kind cannot kill humans save for in self defense or the defense of those we love. By extension, those who live by honor like myself cannot ignore those who break this instinctual law when we are in a position to intervene. I am compelled to stop you, yet I know I cannot, nor could I subdue you if I tried.”

She let out a bitter laugh. “It is my own fault I suppose, that I was so blind to what I can sense so clearly now. There was still some light in you when I fell for you, but your choices since then have blotted it out to the point where you are beyond my ability to reach with pleasure. Yet you are still my mate, I chose you, now I cannot help but love you and yet… to continue to live like this…” She drew out one of her blades and held it to her throat.

Theron stepped toward her, now concerned. “What are you doing?”

“This is my ultimatum. Please Theron,” she pleaded, her eyes moistening. It was the first time he had ever seen anything close to tears from her. “My kind were once slaves to bloodlust on a level deeper than you can imagine. Our whole purpose was to kill humans. It is no way to live. Let me help you overcome this.”

“That is for me to decide!” he roared back. “Now stop this ridiculous suicide threat, apologize to me and get in bed!”

Her expression softened further as she realized the futility of convincing him. “Yes, I want it to be your choice, but how I wish you had made another. How can you be so strong, and yet so weak…”

Theron’s eyes widened. “What did you say?!”

She gave him a pitying look. “There is no greater weakness than letting the desire to kill rule your heart. I cannot accept such weakness, I will not accept such weakness.”

“You’re mine!” Theron yelled desperately. “You said so! You don’t get a choice!”

Tears welled anew in her eyes. “I gave you my everything, now you force me to take it back. I only hope that this will wake you up. I love you Theron.”

“Stop!”

He ran toward her, raising a hand futilely even as Lacerta cut smoothly through artery and windpipe alike. Blood sprayed out upon the floor and Theron, the lizard woman collapsing in his arms, her life rapidly draining away. He couldn’t believe she could die so quickly even from such a wound, it was as if her body itself had given up on living.

The look of peace in her eyes as her life faded, so different from the anguish she had shown speaking to him, would haunt him for the rest of his life.

“Lacerta! Lacerta!” he shook her, hot tears streaming down his face as he struggled to accept the truth. “You can’t! You can’t leave me! You’re mine! You’re…”

His voice left him, it felt as if his heart had stopped. The realization sank in. Lacerta had really been the only truly good thing in his life, the only one who offered him love. Now all that was left was his bloodlust. It was not a good thing but…

His lips curled into a manic smile.

“Nothing good lasts forever.”

Love could abandon him so easily, but the thrill of killing, that could always be his. And if he killed monsters… well, that would only spread reality to those who believed their happiness could last.

Yes, and in turn he would prove all he needed was himself to be strong.

Present

Taki kept her focus, amazed that Theron could keep his guard up so well while raging so much. Pressing her against the tree he kept them at an impasse. The rookie hunter himself seemed transfixed by the tale the man was ranting about.

“I’ve taken every chance I’ve had since then to take jobs where I could kill your kind! You’ll just be the latest one!”

Taki gritted her teeth and with a monumental effort pushed him back, both fighters lowering their arms in fatigue from the continuous strain they had just endured. Through her compound eyes she noticed the rookie reloading his crossbow. She couldn’t afford to be still and open like this for long.

“You wasted her sacrifice,” she stated coldly, the feeling coming back into her arms.

“It was a pointless sacrifice!” Theron said no more, racing at her to attack with even greater ferocity but no less skill.

It was all Taki could do to keep up, even her air blades were being dissipated by the wind and energy Theron’s own sword skills released. She needed an opening, there was no way he could attack so wildly without leaving himself vulnerable at some point. Sure enough she caught a split-second chance, a weakness in his grip on one of his swords as she narrowly parried another series of slashes. She twisted the blade out of his left hand mid-parry, sending it spinning away to hit the ground harmlessly.

For a moment she thought this had given her an advantage, only for Theron to respond with a vertical kick, a blade extending from his left shoe and cutting her chin as she leaned backwards to avoid it, proceeding to flip away out of range of his blades. It was not a deep cut, but it was even clearer now that she couldn’t afford the slightest mistake with this man. With a twist of his foot his other shoe proceeded to extend the same sort of blade.

‘Retractable blades in his shoes so he can cut with his feet as well? Knocking one of his swords away just caused him to change his style.’

Now in control of the fights’ pace again, Theron pushed Taki back with a series of rapid kicks from both feet and swings from his remaining sword. She blocked some of them, but was grazed by others. She could tell the wounds were not serious on their own, but the longer this continued the more she would weaken from blood loss… and perhaps that was his plan. Further, she could see the rookie was still waiting for an opening.

Taking the first chance she could, she leaped with all her strength over another roundhouse kick, extending her wings and beating them fiercely. This propelled her higher, and also kicked up a storm of dry leaves below, blinding and confusing Theron.

Taki reached the apex of her ascent and fully extended one scythe as gravity took over, her wings extended to steer her correctly and beating to increase her momentum. She rocketed back down, Theron raising his blade over his head to block it just as the storm of leaves cleared.

Theron’s mind flashed back to years before. Lacerta had also leaped down at him from on high at the climax of their battle. He had blocked and deflected her then with all his strength. This was different though, this was the race that had originated the move Lacerta had used then. Even so, he refused to avoid it.

‘I’m not weak.’

His blade snapped.

‘Am I?’

The extra momentum from Taki’s wings made all the difference. Such was the force of her slash from that height that she cut through both his blade and the man himself, each half falling in a bloody mess.

Not exactly the sentimental sort, Taki didn’t spare another thought to her fallen foe. Alerted by her compound eyes, she in a flash turned and sliced through the rookie’s arrow just before it reached her, then through his bow itself before he could try to load another, then finally brought a scythe to his throat.

The man raised his hands in surrender, his voice panicked at how quickly the situation had changed completely in Taki’s favor. “Wait! I can help you find him!”

“I don’t need your help for that,” she stated, raising her other scythe to strike him down.

The young man panicked further. “You don’t understand! You need information! Yeah, you might be able to sniff him out by his mana, but if you don’t know the makeup of the building he’s in you’ll never make it even with your skills.”

She paused. “Speak.”

He swallowed nervously at the closeness of her blades. “We toured it when we received the job request. It’s a large mansion on the edge of the city, painted gold and red. Got a few dozen of Jiro’s most loyal enforcers patrolling inside at all times. Only a few outside guards though, to keep up appearances I guess. The inside is made up of hallways near the outer walls used for patrols and a lot of private rooms and a main hall further in. Right around the center are their holding cells and a room they use for interrogation and torture. It and the rooms around it have soundproof walls. My guess is your man will be somewhere around there.”

Taki nodded, her mind racing with potential strategies. “If the hallway patrols are taken out quickly, I can move further in undetected?”

“You would have to be fast once you start though, if they get the chance they’ll sound the alarm and have the whole place on you.”

“These alarms, where are they?” she pressed her blade closer to his neck in unspoken threat.

“O-One on each corner of the patrol halls,” he sputtered in turn.

“And what of the other men? The ones who left with Carter? Are they hunters as well?”

“Yeah, there were two other slayers with us on this trip, but they aren’t important or affiliated with me. They just wanted to get back to civilization, get their money, and leave. My guess is they’ll be gone by the time you get there.”

“I see.”

They both remained silent for a time, the man growing more nervous, sweat forming on his brow. “P-please, let me go. I’ve told you everything I know.”

“You will leave?” she inquired, drawing her blade back from his neck.

He sighed in relief and bowed his head. “My teachers are dead. I have nothing to go against you with. Let me live and I’ll leave you in peace, I swear as Callahan Chapman, former member of the Order.”

Taki’s eyes narrowed. The Order… they weren’t friendly with monsters to say the least, but their soldiers were known for being honorable. Still… this man had tried to kill her, and had helped kidnap Carter… her instincts warred inside her, but Carter remained the priority. She had to get to him, she couldn’t afford to waste time figuring out what best to do with Callahan. If she hurried she may even reach Carter before they got out of the forest so she wouldn’t have to deal directly with Jiro and his minions. She’d rather go against a couple hunters than the unknown number of men he had at his base.

“Leave, and never return,” she ordered icily.

Head still bowed and arms raised, Callahan began to walk slowly backwards. Taki turned away, ready to bound into the trees in search of Carter.

“Oh, one other thing,” Callahan stated, as he suddenly stepped after her.

“Yes?” she asked, turning back toward him.

She was answered with a dagger hidden in his sleeve shooting out and being buried in her chest.

“Bastard,” Taki spat, even as she inwardly berated herself for letting her guard down. She felt it odd in this situation to briefly consider how she had never cursed before. She collapsed to her knees, blood pouring from the wound as he pulled the knife out.

Callahan’s expression was one of pure triumph. “I guess I should have mentioned I was kicked out of the Order because my word couldn’t be trusted. Frankly you’ve done me a favor bug. Now I don’t have to share the payment for taking you out. Guess I’m just lucky.”

He would have mocked her further, if he hadn’t suddenly found a scythe sticking through his own heart.

“And I am lucky you know so little about mantis anatomy,” Taki stated icily, her blade retracting.

“Y-you… how?” With those words he slumped to the floor and breathed his last.

---

What the young hunter had indeed not known was how the mantis body had evolved specifically to use and defend against bladed weapons. A lot of armor would impede agility, so instead vital internal organs were protected by the “second skin” that resembled clothing. This tough and tight layer of material was constructed in such a way that when pierced it would divert the attacker’s blade to the side, often causing the blade to avoid piercing the organ it was aimed at. Moreover it acted to absorb much of the force applied, making the wound shallower than it would be otherwise. Thus his knife had not actually cut into her heart.

Even so, blood loss was still a real problem, even with the naturally heightened healing rate common to most monsters. She had to stitch and bandage the wound quickly. Taki had wounded herself a number of times in her training, though never this badly, and was experienced with makeshift medical treatments. Further, her mental training had reached the point that she could ignore most physical pain and thus treat her own wounds without any reaction beyond gritting her teeth.

Stemming the blood flow with a shred of clothing torn from the dead archer, she began to stagger back to the tree house where her self-made medical supplies were stored. It was slow going, the blood loss from her many wounds seeming to weaken her more with each step. The stab wound it seemed had been deeper than she had hoped as well.

‘Have to keep going…’ she repeated in her head over and over again. ‘Carter… have to save Carter…’

The light was fading now, and she still hadn’t reached the tree house. It seemed so much further walking so slowly... She collapsed to her hands and knees. She had no more strength left.

Her vision was growing unfocused. ‘I’m blacking out… no… no, this can’t happen.’

“Carter…” she whispered, her eyes moistening, then slumped to the forest floor.

---

The afterlife was not something Taki had ever thought much about. She figured what would happen would happen. Reincarnation, punishments, rewards, if the gods were really in charge of it all then there wasn’t much she as a monster despised by the Chief God could do to determine where she went or indeed if she got to go anywhere. Better to leave those details to monsters more powerful and influential, or to gods allied with monsters.

Even so, the ache she felt from the wound in her chest as light flooded her eyes proved beyond a doubt that she was still alive, what looked to be a plain tarp erected over her, the feel of a blanket under her. The mysteries of the afterlife would remain. Now for other matters. Namely figuring out just how she was alive.

“Aryana, she’s waking up!” a male voice cried out.

Taki was inwardly surprised. Aryana… that was the name of neighboring centaur she had recently chatted with. Her husband was named Clark if she recalled right.

Sure enough, she saw the stately, blue-eyed centaur stride into view as she sat up, a muscular young man with reddish hair beside her. Both bore a quiver of arrows and a longbow on their backs, while the pony-sized and stately built equine portion of the centaur had a saddle with supply bags hanging on either side.

“About time,” Aryana stated, her tone slightly irritated. “Clark was getting annoying with how he fretted over you.”

“I don’t care how tough she is,” Clark countered as he knelt to give Taki some water from an animal-skin bag, “it is only natural for a man to show concern for an injured lady.”

“It’s tolerable when your concern is for me, not when it’s for a woman you’ve never met before.”

“Hey, any friend of yours is a friend of mine.”

“You’re too friendly for your own good. If it weren’t for my vigilance someone would have taken your naïve kindness as an excuse to seduce you by now.”

“Hey now, none of our friends would go that far.”

“Of course not, as I’ve made sure they all know that I would skin them alive if they did.”

Taki realized she was not going to learn anything from just listening like this. The man and centaur seemed in their own world. She noted the stitched wound on her chest, it had been done quite well. She could detect the scent of her personal healing herbs in her bandages as well. In her peripheral vision she noticed that the little camp she was in had been set up next to her tree house.

“You saved me, and took me here,” she stated more than asked.

“We are allies now are we not?” Aryana stated. “Admittedly this is not how I wanted our first visit to go…”

“How did you find me, how did you find my home?”

“Blood loss seems to have dulled your thinking for you to ask that second question,” she snorted. Aryana had a nature that could be described as rather abrasive, but Taki was not easily offended, perhaps why they had taken to each other rather well. “Your home was easy enough since it would naturally be at the center of your territory. As for how we found you, well while your kind were blessed with amazing senses you can’t compare to my kind’s sense of smell. I scented a group of men intruding on your territory some time ago. When that scent was followed by the scent of blood and death I decided to investigate. A threat to one’s neighbors may become a threat to oneself after all.”

“She means she was worried,” Clark added with a smile.

The centaur shot him a dirty look. “The one I was worried about was you. The only reason I let you accompany me was to keep you from following me on your own.”

“And it’s a good thing you did, you’re not exactly built to climb the stairs to Taki’s home.”

Her ears pricked up and her eyes widened as she gave a shocked snort. “Impudence! Are you calling me fat?!”

He smirked at her. “Will you step on me if I am?”

Her shock turned to a blush as her ears lowered and she looked away. “Maybe later… if you’re good…” she stated in a small voice.

‘They are a stranger couple than I thought…’ Taki considered as she watched the exchange.

“Seriously though,” Clark continued, looking at Taki, “Aryana would have managed, she did stitch your wound after all, but I’m glad I was able to help.”

Aryana addressed Taki as well. “After I saw the carnage you had left I wanted to know the nature of the threat you faced. Were those men the only ones?”

Taki looked down, her tone darkening. “There were others I did not fight. They took Carter…”

The centaur folded her arms and nodded. “I assumed as much, since your mate hasn’t shown up all this time.”

“Time… what time is it? How long was I unconscious?” Panic grew in her heart.

“Your body is surprisingly tough,” Aryana explained in what amounted to a compliment from her, “it was a serious injury compounded by many cuts, but once we stitched the stab wound and applied healing herbs you stabilized overnight.”

“One night and much of a day since they took him,” Taki stated, rising to her feet with a groan. “I can’t afford to fall further behind.”

“In your current state you won’t be able to go top speed,” Clark noted. “If you tear your stitches running then you may not make it to him at all. How about you let Aryana carry you?”

“Don’t volunteer me like I’m some pack animal!” she snapped, smacking him on the head.

“But you said before that you would if she needed-“

“She doesn’t have to know that! You’re making me look soft!”

“No,” Taki replied, ignoring the squabble as she stretched her stiff muscles. “You’ve already done enough. You have my thanks, both of you. I can’t ask you to abandon your territory for me.”

“That… that’s not an issue,” the centaur explained in turn, giving up on hiding her desire to help. “A few days won’t matter, and if any squatters do come I’ll drive them out when we return.”

“I could stay and protect the place?” Clark offered.

“Oh please,” Aryana scoffed back. “By the time I got back you’d be up to your neck in lonely wererabbits who claimed they were ‘lost.’”

“That happened one time!” he yelled back, blushing in embarrassment. “And anyway, I’d only slow you down if you had to carry me on your back as well.”

“Don’t underestimate me! I could carry both of you all day if need be!” the centaur boasted.

Taki shook her head. “To rescue him I will need stealth. That will be easier if I am alone.”

“Then we will just take you most of the way,” Aryana concluded in a tone that would take no argument. “With my endurance you can close the gap to them while resting and thus be largely healed by the time we reach them.”

Taki stared at them both, unfamiliar emotions swirling inside her. She barely knew these people, yet they were willing to go so far for her?

“I won’t take no for an answer,” Aryana pressed the issue. “This has become a matter of centaur pride. As a noble centaur I must help punish those who trespassed in our forest, tried to kill my neighbor and stole her mate.”

“You’ll have to fight her if you want to change her mind,” Clark cautioned with a smile.

Taki sighed. Arguing would only stall things further, and she could use the help. “Very well, but regardless I will go on my own once we near them.”

“It is a pact then,” Aryana stated, extending her hand. After a bit of hesitation Taki took it, receiving a firm handshake from the centaur.

In her peripheral vision she took in the stairs she and Carter had worked so hard on. The sight of them produced a new pang in her heart. She wanted to go up them with him again and again, to expand her home, their home, to add to their family. She needed him back with her.

Taki closed her eyes and focused. Carter’s mana signature, she could feel him now clearly, as if this unpracticed sense had automatically heightened in response to their increasing separation. Indeed, she could feel him getting steadily further away, but unerringly she knew which direction to go in pursuit.

She forced herself to try to plan for what she would be faced with. Her only source there was the hunter’s description. He could have been lying about the mansion just as he had about his oath to leave her be, but to come up with so many fictitious details so fast and without hesitation suggested otherwise.

Still, she couldn’t be sure. Until now she had thought she could detect lies, yet she had still let her guard down on a known enemy. Overconfidence and concern for Carter, both played a part in her lapse in judgment. She had to make sure it didn’t happen again.

Regardless, she was sure of one thing. Carter was her mate. She would save him, no matter what it took.