Chapter 7

Stygian laid at the foot of the Tenebris Mountains. Ornate gates of sandstone lead into farmlands bordering the northern side of the city. We had to go south, through a gate that once welcomed thousands of Tenebris members into its fold. Now it was nothing more than thorn wire and crumbling bricks now. Cyra knew we didn't have enough time to run through the city again to reach the northern gate. Too many people had already seen our faces fleeing the shop. This was the quickest way out of the city and into our home territory. Sentinels should be waiting about 2 kilometres into the forest for us. Even if we planned to stay much long than we had, mother will ensure that they stay close by. As if she knew her daughter would cause trouble. She was right, though, to assume such things.

The crumbling stone spilled down the sides of the gate and wall. Rust covered thorny wire jutted through the rubble. They had dismantled this gate a long time ago, years before even I was born. Humans had lost faith in us, in our abilities. Tore down the temples they once danced around in. Cursed our very being with the same mouths that worshipped us. Called us monsters and shunned our very existence from the history books. Now they didn't even care that there was a gaping hole in their wall where glory once stood. Even the dragons on either side sneered at the side. They, at least, survived the test of time, so much like their living counterparts. All this was now was a graveyard of legends and memories lost to time.

"There is a small hole on the right side, just big enough for us to slide through," Cyra said and strutted to the right side of the crumbling mess. "We can use the rubble to block our way out, in case those brutes are willing to follow," I nodded towards her and eyed the hole again. They wouldn't pass through. Werewolves hunted these forests day and night. They weren't a myth to the humans. They couldn't be because so many humans had fallen prey to the beasts that it couldn't be ignored any longer. Tenebris had no qualms with them other than they should stay far away from us unless they wish to face a painful death.

"We can cut to the closest path home, it might not be as pleasant as the boat ride here, but it will be well guarded," I instructed and shoved Cyra through the hole. Her skirts caught a bit on the wires but tore away with another shove from me. Sliding through the hole myself, I stood and wiped the dirt from my hands. My face was a ball of sweat from all the running, the chiffon of my dress clinging to my legs in an uncomfortable way. Exercise has never been my strong suite in life. Books and music, now that was how one should live. That didn't mean I couldn't hold my own in a fight, it just meant that I preferred throwing someone around more than running after them.

"This was not what I had signed up for when your mother told me that I had to accompany you to a market. Flowers and sweets, now that was what I had planned," Cyra complained and tore away the top layer of her skirts completely, leaving only her underwiring and a horrible cream coloured frock.

"You got a new dress out of it, at least," I mused and braided back my golden hair, tired of it plastering to my face.

"It’s half a dress, mind you!" She shrieked and flung herself at me. As if to make the situation seem even more dramatic, her chest wobbled a bit with her movements. I frowned at the exposed flesh. Her skin was white cream with light freckles strewn about. She had a small chest, well a smaller and perkier one than my own. How I envied it. Mine only caused me back pain.

"Did you see those guards faces when they saw you half naked, like they never suckled on a teat before. It was priceless! The humans became a lot more prudish since the last time we took advantage of all they had to offer two budding hatchlings," I mused, a smirk of remembrance gracing my face. Cyra smiled at the memory as well. We had grown up together, cousins of sort and friends bound by a deep understanding of how truly young we were. You see, hatchlings were considered priceless. So, few of us came to be in the first place. Even fewer survived the first 10 years of their lives. It was our burden to bear, but no one knew where the blight first started.

"How rude! They could at least have complimented me on them," She huffed a laugh and draped the torn skirt around her shoulders, covering her exposed breasts to the midday sun. "So, this is going to be a long walk," We couldn't jump into or close to the Tenebris territory. Wards heavily blocked the way, seeing as we were not the only ones who had the talent. Fae, vampires, and witches also possessed the trait, making it almost impossible to fast travel between different clans.

A canopy of green leaves covered us in shadow as we walked, our footfalls near silent in the rustling forest. Every now and again, we would see or hear other animals stalking about, foraging for food in preparations for the barren months ahead. Dark purple wildflowers made a path for us towards the closest border entry, a light house in a green ocean to guide us home. This was the work of the Fae who also roamed about these parts. We had an alliance with them in some way. Dragons supplied Fae with tools and supplies only we could create; in return they warded our homes and clan borders every year. But they also kept our secret safe from the humans. Wishing to stay extinct was no crime.

The walk took longer than I had thought. Cyra regularly stopped to complain or rub her ankles. Yes, I was out of shape, but she was just down right pampered to the point where she had people walking for her. It was one of her biggest downfalls, along with her lack of fighting ability, other than using her abilities.

"The guards should have met us kilometres ago," she whined and sat atop a rock, again. Her hands swirled around her right ankle, and I swore I saw bitterness in her eyes. I didn't have time for her petty grievance against walking so far, we had to get going before some man has the balls and the liquor to follow us in. My face must have shown my irritation because Cyra just added. "If you hadn't dawdled with that old man, we wouldn't have had the urge to get different dresses, so don't blame this on me."

"I did not blame any of this on you, I am blaming you, however, for the fact that if anyone wants to find us, they won’t have to look long," I bit out a bit too harshly and stomped until I was right in front of her.

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you decided to start a fight with the shop keeper back there!”

"If I am going to start a fight with anyone, it might be you, right now, as we stand," I growled and built a small part of my power inside me. It coiled around my soul, bathing it in black and scales and fury. How dare she accuse me? I did nothing but try to conceal ourselves within a crowd. How could I do that if we had outdated clothing from over 200 years ago!

"This isn't helping anyone; we need to move faster and further in. The wildflowers will already be gone by the time they get the balls to follow us, they will have no way of knowing that we are going straight into the mountain," Cyra argued and stood. "We will talk about everything that occurred once we are safely home,"

I cut her a glance but didn't say anything, just turned on my heel and walked in the direction of home. Cyra was right on one thing, the sentinels should have been here almost 3 kilometres ago. Hopefully there wasn't another vampire attack. Tenebris knew, I hated blood and those monsters were nothing but blood.

Violence was never an answer for me. It should have been, given into what species I was born into. We were basically the creators of this world and conquerors of the next. The combined power of all eight matriarchs could level a city twice the size of Frazer in minutes but feuding between the eight has caused disruption. Unbalance. A single queen was selected over 3000 years ago through a rite that was bathed in blood to ensure the feuding wouldn't become deadly again. Only the strongest one became queen. Call me idealistic, but I didn't want to fight the other Matriarchs when my mother was freshly given to the Mountain. She had done it when my grandmother died, the first queen of the Dragons, but that didn't mean I wanted to partake in such vulgarity.

Losing myself in thought, I didn't notice the lack of sound surrounding me. Even Cyra had stopped complaining when I finally turned to her with a question on my face, but then I heard it. The low snarls and breaking of branches. The smell hit me before the noise could grow any louder. Decay, death and a brutal end, that's what it smelt like. The hairs on my arms stood on end as I faced forward again. In the distance, a lone figure broke through thick brush with a swipe of its deadly claws. White flesh became visible in the shafts of sunlight the leaves couldn't keep out. My heart all but stopped beating. If there was one, more were bound to follow.