Chapter 26: Bound
He is dead, he is dead. The sand swallowed him up.
Isobel's mind was racing, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. That could not be Clopar. But she stared at him unrelentingly, and he looked up.
It truly was him.
Slowly, his lips curled into a vicious smile, revealing his viper fangs.
"Isobel?"
She could hear Ajihad's voice, and she ripped her stare away from Clopar to look at her uncle.
Instantly, Ajihad grew concerned at Isobel's wide eyes.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes." Isobel spoke in barely a whisper. Her vision was fuzzy in the corners.
But Ajihad knew better, and he invited her to sit down for a moment. He sat with her.
"New York and Atlantis have softened your senses." He finally spoke up again. "The heat and humidity are getting to you."
Isobel glanced at him, her heart rate beginning to slow down. "Yes. That must be it."
She did not know why, but the words to tell her uncle of what happened to her were stuck in her throat. She could not tell him. He would trust no outsiders again if she did. But how could Clopar be here, at all?
But Ajihad was still speaking of the climate. "Do not worry, it is spring. Breezes will come through here. Hopefully you will acclimate by summer, when it is truly h-"
"Khal?" Isobel spoke without thinking, and realized she had interrupted him. Her ears flattened a little.
But he shook his head to let her know to continue.
"Have…" Isobel glanced over to where Clopar was, but he had vanished. Of course. "Have there been any new additions? Are you accepting outsiders?"
Ajihad nodded. "Yes. We have one man from a tribe up north. He is one of the last. They used to war with your father's tribe, but, seeing as he is the last, I invited him to our own. He won't be allowed to marry any of our Ta'li women however. And we have another, who has proven himself an excellent archer."
Isobel nodded slowly. The last of a northern tribe? She thought to herself. Is that the best Clopar can do? Incroyable.
"I want to go for a walk, Khal." Isobel stood up, implying that she felt better. "I will return soon."
Ajihad agree reluctantly, and turned away to go about his business.
Isobel glanced around, wondering where Clopar had gone. She wanted to confront him, feeling slightly more empowered here. And Mikhailov was also somewhere wandering the forest.
She spotted a winding path that she knew led to a less dense part of the jungle. She figured Clopar had gone there, as he would not know the more difficult paths.
She made her way up the pathway, and came upon a miniature "forest" of trees that resembled spiraled sea shells. They were stretching up to the large rays of sunlight that filtered through the thinner canopy of taller trees.
They were beautiful, and alien. Isobel stepped close to one. She reached out to touch it with an outstretched finger, and realized she had become distracted a moment too late. She heard an eerily familiar voice behind her.
"Hello, Isobel."
Isobel took a deep breath, willing herself to be strung. She felt the reassuring weight of her quiver on her back as she turned to face him.
"Clopar."
Clopar stepped a little closer, and laughed. Perhaps she did look a little uneasy still.
"You expected me dead, no doubt." He said coolly. "Sorry to disappoint, princess."
"No one can survive the Valley." Isobel managed to look him in the eye. "And yet somehow you did."
"If you're looking for an explanation, then you will not find one." Clopar narrowed his eyes slightly. "I imagine you have come back with those blundering zoo animals."
Isobel narrowed her eyes. "What do you want, Clopar? Why are you here?"
A smile grew on Clopar's lips again, and his dark eyes lit up. "For my revenge."
Isobel could not help but laugh. "You, alone? Against dozens of Ta'li warriors?"
But then Clopar turned deadly serious as he lunged forward, so quick that Isobel could not react. Her quiver came undone and dropped to the ground as he back her against a tree trunk. He held a knife to her throat, a manic gleam in his eye.
"You think you know everything, don't you?" Clopar snarled. "You think I want revenge for that feeble old king shipping me here? That made me mad, yes, so I will deal with that in time. Isobel, you have no-"
But before Clopar could finish, Mikhailov had charged behind him, swiping his side with a heavy paw. Clopar fell to the ground, hands clamped to his side.
Isobel quickly picked up the knife he had dropped, and tossed it to Mikhailov, who snapped it in his beak.
Isobel glared down at Clopar, and he turned his head to snarl up at her. Mikhailov did not injure him as badly as he had intended to, but he had still drawn blood.
"You should run, before the jackals catch scent of you." Isobel spoke harshly to Clopar.
Clopar stood up, shakily, his teeth gritted. Before he disappeared farther into the undergrowth, he spoke chilling words.
"We are bound, Isobel. Bound."
Isobel swallowed, her ears flattening back. She had no idea what that could mean.
Mikhailov came to her side. "Aysobel…vas that him?"
"Somehow." Isobel told him.
Mikhailov looked between her and the jungle where Clopar had vanished to.
"I feenish him off right now."
"No, Mik." Isobel placed her palm on his chest. "Justice will find him. He is alone. There is not much he can do."
Mikhailov sighed. He did not know what was going through his Rider's head. He nudged her shoulder with his beak, and she gave him a slight smile.
She got up onto his back, and he carried her to the village.
It was time for him to meet her people.
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Ajihad was delighted to meet Mikhailov. He had never met a Firebird from so far north, and considered it a blessing. While he and Mikhailov discussed all sorts of things and planned on speaking with the village elders, Sequoyah pulled Isobel to the side.
"There a couple of people who I would like to reunite you with."
Isobel's ears perked up at that. She wondered who it could be as her aunt led her back down into the village.
They approached two girls around Isobel's age. Sequoyah stepped to the side as the three girls examined each other, trying to remember.
Isobel looked to the tallest girl first, who had a medium grey pelt, and deep blue eyes. She was thin, but pretty, and small silver hoops dangled from her ears.
Then Isobel glanced at the second girl, who was the shortest out of all of them. Her fur was tan and darker brown around her arms, legs, and chest. Her eyes were sea green and two tiny ruby studs adorned her ears, and was also quite pretty.
But none of them could remember each other, and they looked at Sequoyah, who smiled.
"Isobel, I was not sure if you'd remember Tira and Aneza. But you three used to dance together."
It was then that they really looked at each, and remembered when they were small, how they were just learning the traditional Ta'li dances.
They all smiled, and stepped forward to clasp their hands together.
"Isobel, you left us right when we were getting good!" Aneza, the shortest girl, laughed.
Isobel smiled, so happy to be around girl friends for once. "We will pick up where we left off."
"No way, you have got a story to share." Tira, the tallest girl, spoke up, hands on her hips.
Isobel remembered that Tira's family were refugees, washed up the shore of Madagascar from a freight ship that had been shipwrecked. They had stumbled into Talamaru, just her mother and her siblings. The Ta'li were not heartless, and welcomed in the widow and her hungry children with open arms. This was why Tira and her family had Spanish accents, and not Ta'li accents.
Isobel smiled. Tira had always been feisty, and she was funny.
"Come with me, and I will tell you everything."
So, we met some new characters in this chapter. And also Clopar is back. o_0 Sorry if this chapter was jumbled, allergies have me all jumbled today. Anyways, thanks for reading and please review!