By scent I knew he was not the one who'd loosed the snake. Did that mean I would be able to pick up the scent of the one who did? By the gods I could certainly try. I kept a blank look on my face as I began to dress in the leggings and heavy linen shirt I'd been wearing earlier. Damiel was distraught that something had happened. I sensed nothing but love and elation that I'd returned oozing from him.
"The serpent's song." He murmured when Riddick explained to him what we'd heard. "It is very old magic. We are able to use our animal essence to entice another beast to do our bidding."
"Do you know who could have done this?" Riddick sounded calm but I could hear the barely controlled rage.
"There are many who could've done this. I do not understand why any of them would." Heartbreak echoed in the old man's voice.
Riddick looked to make this right. My heart swelled with that knowledge; the knowledge that he would protect and correct any injustice done to me. This was not his fight though. The assailant hadn't sent the serpent to deal with both of us. It had been sent for one of us.
None of the men paid me any heed as I wandered the hut while they conversed. At the doorway I drew in a deep breath and sifted through the separate scents. Damiel, Riddick, Toal, Vaako, and...oh, yes, there is the smell that shouldn't be there. Wait a minute. I was stunned for a moment. Two scents; one I knew so very well; one so very new. I looked to Riddick, but he is engrossed in conversation with the others. He would not be pleased at the thoughts stirring in my head.
What if the snake had bitten him? What if, in coming after me, they ended up harming him? The thought caused more terror than the serpent had. I loved Riddick. Loved him with everything I was made of. I felt tears gathering behind my eyes but I would not let them fall. I wished to kiss him, but I didn't. I slipped unnoticed out the door.
I followed the scents, although at some points it was not easy. I stuck to the shadows and hoped that the rest of the hidden village was sleeping. Anger was surging through my blood at the idea that Riddick could've been harmed in my place.
I had left the village proper and was about to cross a stream when the first memory flashed through my mind. Running. We were unclothed and running through the brush, moving towards the animals that was one of the main staples of our diet. My first hunt...
The leaves of the brush ran along my skin and I moved through it with barely a whisper of sound. To my right my brother, Tybal crouched. I called him Tyb. To my left another youth, Cerzad. He was slightly older than my age of thirteen summers. He was fifteen summers, and already he was arrogant. We hunted the yoax, an antlered creature that would provide a good supply of meat. I was about to step down when I saw the loose twigs which would be beneath my feet. I stopped immediately and motioned Tyb. He looked pleased and I took a quieter path. I had the scent of the yoax upon me fully now, and the urge to pounce was great, but I held that urge in check. I saw a frown mar Tyb's face and looked to see Cerzad in full change. He was not controlling his beast very well at all. It is difficult when we're young. The beast is always lurking; always trying to push through and take over.
Before Tyb could signal, Cerzad moved in a flash and pounced. The yoax moved to escape and Tyb and I pounced before it was too late. Normally we would have more time to approach and prepare. We managed to down two of the large beasts as Cerzad fed on a smaller female. Tybal was furious. He reamed Cerzad, and then praised me lavishly. I was pleased I'd done well. That evening after the meal, where the entire village gathers, Cerzad approached me. "You did very well today Evya."
"My thanks to you Cerzad." I told him flushing slightly.
"I did not do as well."
"I know it is hard to control the beast Cerzad." I did not understand why he spoke to me of this. Did he worry I would tell everyone? I would not. We walked through the brush slightly away from everyone else. "Cerzad, you cannot take to heart all that Tybal said. He is harsh, but he knows the difficulties that we go through."
Something lit in the boy's eyes and he kissed me. My very first kiss. I was astonished and pleased, yet I knew with that kiss that he was not for me. His beast did not call to mine. He backed me up against a tree, and I could feel the bark rough against my skin. Fear set in as his hands roamed my immature body. Even if I felt something I knew I was not ready for what he was doing. "Stop!"
Surprisingly he did so and leaned back. His beast was in his eyes again, and he reached out grasping my hand. "Feel what you do to me even now Evya." He placed my hand on his erection and I recoiled.
"Stop! Why do you do this? We are friends!"
"One day Evya, we shall be more than friends."
I come back to myself leaning against a tree. I am crouched and sweat pours down my face. I lick my upper lip and I'm astounded to realize I can actually taste the drugs Colby used on me in the sweat that dots my face. I spit the foulness from my mouth and continue on the trail. It is incredibly silent in the forest, and I find I am making my way down a small overgrown path that has recently been tread upon. The mingled scents are stronger here.
I feel like I'm back on the hunt, only this time I hunt something much more dangerous than yoax. I move as silently as the ghosts of Caspar Four and find myself nearing an oval clearing. There are several boulders scattered about. Large, heavy looking granite rocks. My enemies were not even hiding from sight.
"And how long until we know that your plan worked?" the woman asked impatiently.
The man was brooding. "The village cry should rise any moment now."
"Do you think your messenger got rid of Riddick as well as the girl?"
"It was only sent in for Evya, not the man." He snapped. "Even now I wonder if something different could've been done."
"We have done the right thing my dear." The woman soothed. "Riddick is a monster! She would have brought untold horrors to your people."
I chose that moment to step forward. "Like the untold horrors I'm going to bring to you Dame Vaako?" I was pleased to see I'd surprised them both. I was careful as I moved into the moonlight. "I would say congratulations to you Cerzad. It is quite the accomplishment for one so young to call such powerful magic as that which you used to entrance the snake. You have obviously leaned to control yourself." Shame was clearly reflected in his eyes. "I would like to know why it is you wished to see me dead?"
"I've been informed that you and your...Riddick have come back to take over the Pard." I noticed his hesitation on Riddick's name.
"And you did not think to ask me if these words were true?"
"Haven't you come back for that?"
"No." I say it simply and his glance swings to Dame Vaako. "Ahh, I see where you got your misinformation. Really Cerzad, that you were not able to see through her petty machinations is appalling. Dame Vaako wants me out of the way because she either desires Riddick, or she wishes to remove us both so her husband can take Riddick's place. Riddick and I will not be staying in this place. We might return occasionally, but not in type of leadership capacity. But I see you didn't know that. Tell me truly, for that cannot be the only reason."
"In truth it ripped at my pride." He said and held his head high. "You were to be mine, and now you return smelling of a man not Pard. You return with his seed planted in your belly." His words made me instantly dizzy. What in the world did he speak of? "And now it's you who are surprised." He said softly. "You did not know you are with child?"
"I was never for you." I tell him faintly placing my hand across my belly. Shouldn't I have sensed something? My eyes met his, he knew I spoke the truth. "If our beasts had called to each other then when you kissed me as a child I would have felt it. And so would you."
"I was attracted."
"Attracted, yes. Bound, no." I sigh. "As soon as Riddick's lips first touched mine I was his, and as I have only told one other, I was his as soon as he freed me as a child. Tell me Cerzad, were you the one who led Colby to me?"
"Never." He said in astonishment. "I meant for you to be mine, I would have never told that human where you were!"
A great sadness enveloped me. "So, not only you trying to kill me, but another of our people delivered me into the beast's hands." Even as I mused I was aware. "Dame Vaako, do not take another step or I will be forced to stop you where you stand." I say it easily and she does indeed stop. "Did you really think you would be able to murder me, and possibly Riddick, with no consequences? Did you tell Cerzad that in aligning with you in this deed his life would be forfeit?"
"Do not just stand there idiot!" Dame hissed. "She will have you killed! Kill her!"
Cerzad still looked at me, and at my hand still on my abdomen. I was still in a state of shock. "If what she says is true then I have earned that death sentence. Forgive me Evya, I have done you much wrong. Please forgive me before judgment is passed."
I chuckled bitterly and looked at the woman. "Funny, the very name which you always call me by has now come to pass." I was finding it slightly hard to breathe. Her eyes were filled with such hatred. "I would not have thought you such a coward as not to challenge me yourself."
She moved as if she was gliding. "Why put myself in harm's way, when it was so easy to get him to do so?" She measured her words carefully. She took a step towards me and Cerzad moved to intercept her. Dame Vaako let out a peal of laughter. "Just hours ago you sent a viper to destroy her and now you act to save her? Are male breeders such fools? What is it between your legs that holds men in such rapture?" She hissed vulgarly.
Dame Vaako began to move towards me again, but others moved into sight in the clearing. Riddick, Toal, Vaako, Damiel, and Tybal all stepped forward. Cerzad dropped to his knees in supplication. "All I ask, and I know I have no right, is for a fast death." He said with tears in his eyes.
Riddick's eyes were concealed behind his goggles but I felt his anger with the male Pard at my feet. "I ask for his life to be spared." I said loudly, and received shocked looks from all. "What was done was done with poor judgment. I feel he has learned this as he tried to protect me from the individual who fed him misinformation." I stepped in front of Cerzad who grasped my leg to show obedience.
So many things happened at once. Seeing the other man touching me, Riddick growled and kicked out which shoved Cerzad to the ground. Unfortunately he'd been holding my leg which sent me reeling backwards towards Dame Vaako. Seeing her opportunity she lashed out with a rock she held hidden in the folds of her gown, and it slammed into my forehead. Vaako and Toal moved as one to knock her to the ground. Damiel was the only one who did not move.
I landed heavily on my bottom. Pain from both the fall to the hard ground and the blow to the head making me gasp. Both Cerzad and Damiel moved to me, and Riddick looked furious. The words that left Cerzad's lips froze everyone to their spot. "Damiel, could the babe have been injured?"
I watched as Riddick looked to the abdomen I still caressed. I could not read his face, could not see his eyes through his goggles, and could not see what it would mean to him. I stood slowly and faced him. He did not reach out to me, and pain lanced through my heart. Dame Vaako began laughing. "Maybe the breeder isn't happy about the upcoming delivery."
I could not remain there. Toal and Vaako were busy with Dame Vaako, Damiel was dealing with Cerzad now that I was standing, and Riddick stood staring at me. Without telegraphing my intent, once again I ran from Richard B. Riddick.