Hi everybody I hope you like this chappy, it is a little crazy, but hey, crazy is good right? Please enjoy... oh and this one is heaps longer then the last.
I do not own any of Jennifer Fallon's books.
Tash, Ally and Tapanga stayed in the room for 15 minutes after Brak left. They sat in silence, each wondering what he could be doing, leaving in such a hurry. It wasn't like him to not say where he was going, or at least not indicate that it was important. Also he would never have made them promise something that in the back of his mind he knew they had no hope of keeping. It was Ally who broke the comfortable silence after about five minutes.
"So where do you think Brak went?" she asked.
"He's probably out getting laid." Suggested Tapanga bitterly. "How dare he make us stay in this room while he is getting screwed by some whore?"
"You're just jealous that it's him getting screwed and not you." Tash said evilly.
"I'm not jealous, I know that I can get anyone who I set my eyes on. And at the moment I want my Wolfblade." She said. "So who wants to go after Brak?"
"Me!" Tash squealed, always ready to sneak up on people and scare them, especially when they were trying to get privacy.
"But what happens if he isn't getting laid? What happens if he just really needed to pee?" Ally asked grinning at how ridiculous it sounded.
"Either was we catch him with his pants down." Tapanga smirked at the image of Brak's face if he caught them.
The that comment, Tash and Ally rolled their eyes and turned into their preferred animals, of a fox and a cow. Tapanga grinned at her two friends, as even the whites of her eyes darkening to an ebony black before she too turned into her animal. A wolf.
They didn't even bother to shut the door as they left the room, each either stepping, or jumping as the case may be for Tash, over the pile of groaning bodies of the strangers who were going to make a house call on Brak before they were attacked by three small girls. The cow, the wolf and the fox walked in a line of height down the stares, oblivious to the stares they were getting by the confused innkeeper and customers. Some thinking they had enough to drink and retired to their rooms, some just too bewildered to do anything but stare, mouth agape. The strange party of animals walked out of the inn and onto the dark street. The inn was in a more secluded part of town, though not a rich one, it was not the slums, a good place to keep a low profile while in Greenharbour. Each of the girls posing to be animals sent out their unique powers feeling for Brak, sensing where he was and how he got there. They could do this thanks to the Demon half of them.
They found that Brak was on the other side of the town, obviously heading for the Temple. So that is exactly where the three animals head towards too. They followed the trail Brak's power left behind him, as it was obvious to the girls that he was calling on a glamour to help him keep unnoticed to any people who might be around. The girls could also do this but they believed that they didn't need to, as they could be inconspicuous as animals, though they didn't realise that this is not the case.
"I wonder why Brak wants to go there," to anyone close by Ally's words would have only sounded like a moo.
"I don't know," Tapanga huffed.
"Hey lets go this way," Tash shrilly barked. "It's a short cut." She turned down a dark alleyway before the other two could object, leaving them no choice but to follow.
The two followed Tash through countless alleyways and dark, deserted streets, several times either Ally or Tapanga asked if she was sure this was a short cut, and each time it was answered by a short and simple "Yes" and a grin. It seemed to the wolf and the cow that they had been following the fox around in circles for hours, when suddenly Tapanga spotted a familiar Wolfblade heading for a secluded inn. She looked at Tash and Ally, both who were well infront of her, and without telling them, went to follow her new unsuspecting pet.
Tapanga silently padded over to the inn where she had seen Damin slip into, it was obvious to her that he did not want to be caught by certain people while he was in that inn. The inn itself was unremarkable. It was in the slum part of the city, though it was in better condition then other such places around there. It had once been a nice looking building, with white walls, now brown and yellow with age and misuse, and a what would have been a grand door, going from the size of the doorway, which had been replaced by a plank of wood attached haphazardly to the frame. The wolf cautiously poked her head under the space between the bottom of the door and the ground, and watched Damin order a drink from the bar. His whole body stiffened as he felt Tapanga's eyes on him, and he turned and looked around the room, trying to catch the starer in action. Tapanga was sure that she hid just in time, though she could hear footsteps coming towards the door. The wolf fled from the scene, sprinting around the corner, hoping no one had seen her.
Damin felt eyes boring into his back, he turned to look around the bar, hoping that it was no-one from the palace, as he was not supposed to be back from the raid, let alone be in this inn. The inn had been out of bounds to him ever since his mother had caught him in a rather nasty bar fight with someone who had insulted one of his family members when he was just 20. Looking around the bar he could not see anyone looking at him, everyone was keeping in their small groups and chatting away, oblivious to his discomfort. Just as he was turning back to the bar tender, who was standing their impatiently waiting for him to order, he spotted a familiar wolves ear. In fact, he realised as he walked over to the door, it was the same wolf that had stalked him earlier that day. That wolf and her strange friends, the cow and the fox, had ruined any chance he and his party had in taking those cows. He opened the door just in time to see a dark grey bushy tail whip behind a wall. The only thing that Damin could think of as he was that tail disappear was where are the other two, as if one was there, the other two must be around somewhere. He quietly snuck over to the alley where he saw the tail go and poked his head around the corner. He saw the wolf sitting there staring at him, as if it had been expecting him to follow. He slowly opened his hand and walked towards it, instinctively knowing that it wouldn't hurt him, but still wary of its teeth. But before he could get close enough to touch it, the cow came around the corner. It mooed at the wolf, and somehow it sounded like it was annoyed and frustrated at the wolf for some reason. The large grey wolf turned around and whined at the cow, just as the missing fox joined the increasingly strange scene. But the cow just mooed again, and with one last hesitant look at Damin, turned and followed the cow and the fox. Damin watched until he was them turn the corner and were out of site before he started back for the inn, feeling that now he definitely needed that ale.
Tash and Ally led Tapanga around the corner with her tail between her legs. "You do realise that we didn't turn back for her, right Tash." Ally said. "We just followed you back to this same place."
"Wow, what good luck," Tash said excitedly
"Which just proves that you are leading us around in circles." Ally replyed with a frustrated moo.
"Gods Tash, and you said you knew where you were going," Tapanga sulked. "I could have spent more time with my Damin. Did you know that he was about to pat my head?"
"Yes we did realise that fact, Tapanga. Which is why I decided to stop him." The cow started walking to where she thought would be the temple would be, anxious to know what Brak was up to.
"Do you even know if that's the right way to go, we can't feel where Brak went anymore," Tash pointed out the obvious.
"I know where to go better than you." Ally retorted.
"True."
The party of animals walked around for a while, making sure not to go round in circles. It took them almost half an hour to finally find their way back to where they originally were before Tash had decided to take a short cut. They came out at the exact same spot they had left, and just as they were leaving the alleyway they ran smack bang into the very person they were looking for.
"Ahhhh!" all three of the girls yelled at the same time, they had not meant to be caught and therefore they didn't make up any excuse as to why they were out of the room.
"What in the Gods names are you doing here?" Brak said, surprised to see them coming out of a dark alleyway, but not surprised to see them out of the room. They agreed too quickly to stay in the room for him to believe them. "I thought I asked you to stay in the room."
"You were gone for so long that we got worried and came looking for you," Tapanga lied smoothly.
"Why is it that I don't believe you?" Brak said exasperated.
"How should I know, I don't live in you head, do I?" Ally said grinning.
"Maybe you don't trust us," suggested Tash unhelpfully.
"And I wonder why that is." It was more of a statement then a question.
"Um... so did you have a good time?" Tapanga asked grinning, as soon as she asked that question both Tash and Ally started laughing, all knowing that Tapanga was talking about screwing a whore.
"Why would I have a good time talking to the Harshini king?" Brak asked, knowing full well that they had no idea that is why he went to the temple.
"You talked to the king?"
"You talked to…………………………..?"
"Wow, that must mean that you're more special then I though you were." said Tash.
"Thanks Tash." Brak replyed ."And yes I talked to Korandellan te Ortyn, it is the first time in years that I have talked to another of my kind…"
"He is a whole of your kind." Tapanga interrupted him.
"What?" Brak was confused.
"You are only a half, and the king is a full Harshini," Tapanga explained slowly, so Brak could understand.
"Right, whatever you say," Brak sighed. "Anyway, as I was saying, it is the first time I have spoke to a Harshini for a long time, and the first one I talk to is Korandellan. He gave me a very important job. One, I might add, that I am reluctant to under-go."
"Wow, sounds important." The little fox said mockingly.
"It better not be escorting us back to the demons." Tapanga said angrily with just a hint of worry in her voice.
"No it's not that," Brak assured them. "My task is to find the Demon Child. And you three are coming with me..."
"You mean that there are others like us?" Ally asked, excited by the news but also worried that this child might be in dander of the demons.
"No, he is not like you. The demon child is a half breed, like me, but is sired by the te Ortyn family." Brak explained, feeling just a little bit sorry for then as he watched the animal's faces drop.
"You mean that this half breed isn't even part demon?" Tash asked abviously annoyed. She looked around the dark street, making sure there was no one around, before her eyes darkened and she morphed back into a short blond, blue eyed girl. Tapanga and Ally quickly followed her lead, as it must have looked odd to passers by. Brak talking to a fox, a cow and a wolf.
"No, he isn't part demon," Brak said slowly, not liking where this was going, "But..."
"How dare this person even pretend to be part demon, stealing that name, getting our hopes up," Tapanga posed as she said this, her feet were wider than shoulder width, her hands on her hips, he head slightly tilted up. The other two girls looked at eachother, knowing that this was their friend's self-righteous pose. "We must find this half breed and give him a peice of our minds. Are you with me girls?"
"Yeah." Tash and Ally punched their fists into the air.
"I don't care how hot this guy might be I still hate him." Tapanga said, still in her pose.
Well at least I won't have to drag them kicking and screaming, thought Brak, sighing. Though I feel a little sorry for the poor guy, he has no idea what he is in for.
Brak came out of his thoughts, as all the yelling from the girls suddenly stopped. A small, grey and ugly creature materialised out of nowhere, right infront of Brak, and right infront of the girls. Tapanga, Tash and Ally stood there shocked at seeing the sudden arrival. But before long they started screaming and running around trying to find somewhere to hide from this demon.
"I wondered when you would get here."
well that's it I hope you liked it. Please review and tell me what you think.
Love ya all - cowfree