Chapter 16

By the time the sun had risen over the Pridelands, the Pridelanders and former slaves had already been awake for several hours. They had risen before dawn and began their continuous march through the lands.

"Keep up!" Vitani called out, as aggressively as she dared. Most of the animals didn't react, but maintained the heavy pace. One of them wheezed but didn't react. Her eyes narrowed, and she swallowed as she saw one of them falling behind. It was Almasi. The lioness was trying to keep her children moving, but their legs weren't long enough. She rushed to her friend's side from the front of the group, leaving Jasiri to lead them on as they moved through the dry grassland.

"Almasi! Come on, we can't stop. We still have the whole day ahead of us if we want to stay ahead of them!" The blinding heat of the Outlands was no longer so oppressive. That was something. But it was the only improvement to their situation. Now the ground beneath them was the drying grass of the withering savannah. They were back in the Pridelands. They'd cross the river some days ago. Now they just needed to make it through the Pridelands. Without Pride Rock on the horizon, it was difficult to maintain a sense of direction.

"We're trying Vitani!" Inti said. The young cub looked exhausted. He hadn't properly healed from his ordeal in the pits of Golgorath. He pushed his flame orange tuft out of his eyes. It was slick with sweat. "We're going as fast as we can!" He told her.

"Vitani, please, we can't keep the pace!" Almasi asked her fearfully. Vitani growled.

"You have to!" She urged her. "We can't stop! We have to!" She impressed upon her. Sara nodded in grim determination. They all knew it. They couldn't afford to wait. Anyone who fell behind would be left and they couldn't afford to leave anyone.

"It's not far now." Almasi urged them. "We're in the Pridelands. We're home. We just need to get to –"

"To the desert." It was Zira. The ancient lioness was there, uninvited. Inti still found her intimidating. Even without knowing who she was, he would have found her to be bristling spikey lioness. Upon learning she was the Zira, everyone's attitude made sense. "You're really going to have us cross the desert? In this condition?" Zira asked her daughter. She shook her head making her disapproval known. "Vitani I –"

"I don't want to hear it, Mother." Vitani said. Zira looked taken aback and then nodded.

"I… Very well." She said. True to her word, she hadn't contradicted her. It suggested she was sincere in what she had said. That she wanted to help. She was biting and stinging in her words to many of the animals, but with Vitani she was different. To say she was timid would be untrue, but there was an uncertainty around her. Inti recalled how much she had dreaded seeing her daughter. It made sense. Vitani had obviously not forgiven her.

"You too, cub!" Vitani called out to Koron, who was also trailing behind. The dark lion cub had stayed close to Inti and Sara since their captivity and seemed to have gotten over his nervousness around Almasi too. She still found the dark cub to be unnerving. A permanent reminder of what her children had suffered. But she was also a mother and she could bring herself to be unpleasant to a cub.

"The name is Koron, lioness!" He snapped, but hurried his pace. Vitani blinked and Zira chuckled. Inti and Sara blanched. They had always found Vitani slightly intimidating and couldn't imagine being rude to her, but Koron didn't know any of them yet. Vitani growled and rushed to see to the others who were now lagging behind.

"I've gotta say." Koron said, wheezing as he did. "Your home. Not living up build-up." He said, as more dried grassland crushed under his foot. They had passed an old watering hole the day previously and found it to be severely depleted from what it had been before. "Its not too different from the Outlands." He said. "I can see why Rish'ut reigns from there." He said.

"Before the Imperium came, the land was rich, green and vibrant." Almasi explained. "I don't know why he chose to live there."
"Because my former home is a fortress. It looks barren, but there's water underground, and you can see for miles around for any approaching enemies. Vitani or Damu could have told you that." Zira explained, darkly. Almasi sniffed.

"I thought it would be something like that." She said.

"We can't keep going like this. We need rest. We need food. My blisters have got blisters." Koron said, anxiously. It sounded more petulant than it did in his head. Almasi looked on unsure. The cubs were far too big for her to carry in her jaws now. Nearly twice what they had been when they had first fled Pride Rock all those moons ago. Zira growled in annoyance, and lunged at the child.

"Zira no!" Almasi shouted in terror, but she didn't attack the dark cub. Instead, she jerked her head under him, and in a few moments the dark cub was lying across her back looking puzzled as to he ended up there.

"Hey! Put me down!"

"I'd rather drag you than listen to you complaining so why don't you shut your mouth and give both my ears and your paws a rest, deal?" She told him, grunting under the weight, but not slowing her pace. Sara was surprised. Where was the thin lioness hiding that strength? Was she made of sinew? She glared at Almasi who was still blanching at Zira's unexpected action. The fierce old lioness kept up the pace.

Karrina watched the display curiously as Inti laughed. The jaguar leaned in to speak to Inti.

"So, she's the oracle?"

"And Vitani's mother. Crazy, isn't it?" Inti said. Karrina shrugged. She had never heard of Zira or Scar or any of the Pridelands eclectic bunch of former rulers. It sounded like a silly system if it could produce people as crazed and malevolent as the way Inti made them sound. Zira wanted to fight with them against the Shai'tan. That was enough for her. She was more interested in Zira's time in the bowls of Golgorath than she was at any existence she had enjoyed before her captivity.

"If you say so. She seems to be on our side." She said.

"You know, I think she is?" Inti admitted. "She's scary. But she hates the Shai'tan. And she was imprisoned by Rish'ut the same as us." He told her.

"Good enough for me." Karrina said. "I trust her more than I trust this Vitani at any rate. Who does she think she is, ordering us about?"

"You are too suspicious." It was Darrina who spoke. It wasn't often she gainsaid her sister, but she did. "It's thanks her we ever escaped that awful place."

"She's the old King's sister, and the former fiercest in the Pridelands." Inti told her. "I trust her completely, Karrina."

"Well." Uhani rasped. The wildcat was clinging to Karrina's back with its tiny claws. "We trust you. So that's alright then." He declared.

"Keep up!" Vitani shouted again.

"I don't particularly like her though." He grumbled. Inti just smirked.

"Commander!"

It was one of the cheetahs. Uchungu didn't bother trying to keep pace with the cheetahs. The felines set his hackles on edge, especially since the betrayal of the other families in the group. The ones who remained could surely be trusted, or they would have taken the opportunity to flee with the rest of the traitors, but that didn't mean he liked them. They followed his orders though. He didn't dare give any commands to the hybrids however. The monstrous tigons obeyed the commands of Asamode without question, or even thought, but he did not test whether they would or even could follow his orders.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Leader, out scouts have found trace of the Pridelanders. We are gaining on them." The cheetah told him. Uchungu nodded.

"Good." He said. He sniffed the air. "They were foolish to try to cut across the Pridelands. In the Outlands they might have lost us in the rocky ridges of the wilds of the Pridelands northern borders. Now they'll be run down like antelope." He said.

"They've been heading south-west for the last three sunrises. It looks as though they are heading for the gorge." The cheetah told him. Uchungu brooded. Did they dare try to run them down? It risked exhausting themselves before they even got there, making the eventual fight harder. The leader, the lioness Vitani, was a skilled and cunning warrior.

"Keep going." Uchungu commanded. "But don't engage alone. The Lord Rish'ut doesn't just want them found; he wants them destroyed." He said darkly. The cheetah nodded, and turned and ran at full kilt back to the other members of his tribe who were waiting for instruction. He glowered at his own pack mates, and jerked his head. They didn't need visual orders to stand to their attention. Soon enough, it would be over.

They continued to give chase, even as the grasslands gave way to more rocky terrain, and mesas and rock formations sprung from the ground like stony mushrooms. The terrain was more suited to the wilddogs than the felines who ran with them, and they began to catch up. He sniffed the air. The scent of the Pridelanders was mistakable. It muddled in his mind's eye along with the scents of small animals, prey, and the pungent odour of a purple flower nearby. One by one the distractions dropped away until he was left with just the scent of the lions, the target of the Shai'tan's ire and his. His eyes narrowed into focus and the rest of the pack also picked up on the scent. Now they would bring them down, once and for all. He exhaled.

He turned and looked to the largest member of their party, to the Lord Rish'ut. The tiger saw him react, and frowned.

"Well?" He asked him. "What are you waiting for?" Uchungu had no retort. He lunged forwards, after his prey.

Jasiri strode next to Vitani. They didn't have much in common, but she was lioness of few words and that suited her just fine. Even when Vitani was in a black mood, she was quiet and subdued. She was looking over her shoulder nervously at the ridges of the canyon. Jasiri knew the look. She was nervous and felt exposed.

That meant she saw the scouts as soon as they appeared over the ridge half a moment before Jasiri did.

"Blood and Ashes!" Jasiri shouted as Vitani growled.

"Wilddogs!"

"Jackals too. I can smell them from here!" Jasiri shouted. Vitani growled. Jasiri bared her teeth.

"Do we stand and fight?" She asked. She knew how to fight and so did most of the animals. It was wide open grasslands. But she knew the area, she had patrolled it dozens of times in her time before. The gorge wasn't far. Not far at all. Vitani barely hesitated.

"Keep going!" She said. "We'll lose them in the canyon! Then break through the briar to the desert and lose them in the sands!" She decided. It had worked before, and few of the Shai'tan's minions loved their masters enough to brave the sun and desert's rage for them. Jasiri looked as though she wanted to argue with her, but didn't. She nodded briefly, bowing to Vitani's orders. Their long march turned into a sprint as the panic began to filter through the other animals. Vitani growled furious and let loose a roar. The nearest of the wilddogs darted back momentarily cowed by the more of his fellow packmates that joined him the braver they became until they were once again snapping at their heels. Their precious lead was evaporating as they watched.

There was a blur to her side, and a shape crashed into her. Vitani spawled to the ground, and her eyes widened in panic as she saw a cheetah standing over her for a moment. Its spotted form was unfamiliar to her, but there was a focused and determined look to its eye. It clawed at her, trying to attack her before she could recover. Cheetahs were smaller than lionesses but they were deadly quick and that speed often translated to devastatingly powerfully blows that could disorient. It only took a moment to slit a throat. She hated fighting cheetahs.

"Get back!" Vitani growled, rolling, and rising to her feet even as it came in for a second blow. She slammed her heels into the ground and struck as it came within striking distance. The cheetah was sent reeling, and she would have rushed towards it to finish it off, but now it was being joined by another cheetah and more of those accursed wilddogs. Instead, she turned tail and fled, cursing under her breath.

"Stay together!" Almasi called out, ever aware of the danger of losing someone, but not everyone listened. One of the leopards lunged forwards, rushing ahead of the others in sheer panic.

They made it to the edge of the canyon and skidded to a halt, then began the dangerous climb down the cliff face, into the canyon below. It was dangerous, and more than once Inti felt his claws skitter on the rock, sending loose pebbles and gravel down to the gorge below. It was easier to climb down though, then it was to climb it, and they darted into the jaws of the canyon, hoping against hope that the walls of the canyon would lend them some shield from their pursuers. It was a fragile hope. She heard the growl of another cheetah behind her.

"Get them!" One of them called out, sounding agitated. Some pack leader hoping for the prestige their death or capture would bring them. Inti and Sara were down the cliff side too. She jumped recklessly, and saw Jasiri snapping at one of the wilddogs, seizing it by the neck and dragging it down the canyon side with her, tossing its broken body to the side when she landing safely.

"Keep moving!" She called. Zira was there. She recognised her mother's roar, and there was blood on her face and in her jaws.

"Where now, Tani?" She asked her, looking around frantically.

"Follow me! Into the canyon!" Vitani roared, and surged ahead. She could hear the wilddogs and jackals barking behind her. They didn't have much time. The canyon was jagged and twisting. Easy for cubs to get lost in. Could they lose their chasers too? They had to hope so. She led the way, hoping for their escape in the twisting rocky valley. Had they lost anyone?

"Uhani come on!" It was the rhinoceros; Gharath. The rhino was charging ahead, its bulk smashing through rock and vegetation and clearing a path ahead. The wildcat was running alongside, but he was falling behind. It was simply too sleight to keep pace with the larger animals. He risked a glance behind it, and nearly lost its whiskers to the snapping jaws of one of the jackals. It yelped in panic. Vitani felt a pair of jaws snap nearby, and then the raking pain of a pair of claws grazed her rear leg, narrowly missing her flanks. She heard a grunt of pain, as someone somewhere went down with a blood-curdling scream. The jackals and wilddogs fell upon it.

"No!" It was Sara, crying out in panic. The cubs could stay ahead of them by darting between narrow chokepoints and under bits of briar and vegetation. One wilddog which snapped at them received a throatful of thorns for its troubles and another tripped and had to jerk to a halt to avoid skidding into a boulder with a painful curse.

"Keep going! I'll distract them!" A voice cried out. It was Uhani. The tiny cat was darting between multiple jackals, weaving between them with elegant but frantic grace. He pulled into a crevice away, and started darting between more of them, garnering their attention. One of the cheetah's fixed eyes on the tiny wildcat. Old adages about cats and dogs sprang to mind as he threaded between a wilddog and a jackal and sprang to safety.

"Get back here!" Jasiri called after him, but the wildcat was gone, taking with it a large number of the wilddogs darting into the one of the many crevices and pathways through the canyon ride. Vitani shouted in fury, launching herself over one of the boulders that blocked their way. The wilddogs began to fall behind as they slipped between the passages and crevices trying to keep sight of each other but to lose the minions of the Shai'tan who gave such murderous chase.

"Uhani!"

Uhani continued to dart to and fro between the passages. Uchungu gave chase, blood pounding in his ears, his breathing heavy and laboured. The infernal creature twisted and writhed, forever slightly out of reach, until finally it came upon a dead end in the canyon. Separated and alone from the others, it saw the sheer ridge ahead of it and skidded to a halt, then turned and faced the oncoming wilddog. Uchungu leered, and expected to see an expression of panic upon its face. Instead, the cat seemed quite relaxed.

"Nowhere to run, cat." He said. Uhani looked at him, cocked his head, and gave an arrogant contemptuous expression.

"Who says I am running? I was just getting out of the way of the others." He told him. Uchungu paused; his expression frozen on his face.

"What –"

"Long Live the Imperium." Uhani said. Uchungu froze.

"Hold Pack-Leader." The words caused Uchungu to freeze. "I wouldn't want you to damage my finest spy." The voice belonged to Rish'ut. Unlike the others who had sprinted, Rish'ut was strolling towards them. The other wilddogs and jackals paused and looked between the wildcat and the Shai'tan. Uchungu felt hot anger bloom within him.

"What is he talking about?" He asked of him. Rish'ut chuckled, as the wildcat bowed to the tiger, lying prostrate on the ground, his head bowed low, his eyes on the ground.

"Commander, this is one of our finest spies. Uhani here, is how we have known the direction of the Pridelanders travel. Nobody ever notices the cat as small and lithe as him. He is a pathetic specimen of physicality, Uchungu, but with a natural ability to play false with his would-be allies." He said. "Leviath would approve, my little spy." He said.

"An informant." It was Asamode. The one-eyed Shai'tan was grinning.

"Why was I not informed?" Uchungu snarled, anger dispelling his judgement for a moment, but Rish'ut didn't object.

"You're being informed now." He said.

"My Lord, the Pridelanders seek escape at the edge of the Canyon. They plan to cross into the desert, and meet up with the rest of their allies beyond the borders of the Pridelands." Uhani told him. Rish'ut grinned. It was the best news he had heard all moon.

"Oh. That is a pity." He said.

The wilddogs and jackals fell behind, and even the cheetahs seemed unable to navigate the canyon ground. Gradually, the Pridelanders began to slow and as the adrenaline wore off, and their apparent safety began to settle in. Almasi had never taken her eyes from her cubs, but she was relived to see that the other cub they had befriended had not fallen behind.

"Uhani! What about Uhani?" Sara asked, looking around for the little wildcat, desperately. There was no sign of him. Koron growled to himself.

"That idiot!" He said. Forn, the renegade wilddog looked disheartened, and had for several moments seemed ready to go after the leader himself.

"Who was that?" He asked. "I didn't recognise him. Harrin was Pack-Leader from Golgorath." He muttered. "I was hoping for a chance to scratch out his eyes, but I'm starting to think I should be careful what I wished for." He muttered. Jasiri growled.

"Some underling of his. You'll have to get in line." The wilddog was of unusual cunning and sound judgement, and she had found him to be rather unbearable during her brief time masquerading as one of the Shai'tan's soldiers.

"Do you have a plan, Vitani?" She asked her. Vitani growled, and nodded.

"Splendid." Zira said. Unsurprisingly, she had somehow survived. "Lets hear it then." She said. Vitani glowered at her.

"They'll be back. That wildcat will distract them for a little while, and this canyon is full of nooks and crannies to hide in. I trained with the Lion Guard here. My Lion Guard. It's out of the way and most people don't come here often. Even Tazama found it tricky to track people through here." She told them. "We can ambush anyone they send after us."

"Scar and I thought the same thing." Zira said, nodding. "Well done." She said.

"So long as nobody ambushes us first." Jasiri said darkly, but nodded in agreement. "It's a good plan though." She clarified, not wanting Vitani to think her a contrarian. Vitani was relived, and far more grateful for her support than her mother's. They had to keep moving though. They couldn't afford to lose their minor advantage. She stepped ahead, and winced.

"Are you hurt – ?"

"Let me take a look at that paw, Vitani." Damu said, interrupting Zira. She was no Mjuzi but she knew a sprained paw when she saw it, and she knew the plants that would soothe it, but Vitani shook her head.

"Get off. We don't have time. I'll be fine. I've had far worse." She said. Damu nodded.

"I'm sure you have but that doesn't mean you need to –"

"I said I'm fine." Vitani told her, gruffly. "We can't waste time. We need to get going." She said. The other agreed, and the group continued to make their way through they the familiar canyon. It was near the edge of the Pridelands' borders, and that gave them some encouragement.

"How far now?" Sara asked her mother.

"Not far. We just –" She was cut off by an almighty shout. A cry of alarm, and then a thunderous noise, echoing like a roar. The sound was deafening. Almasi stumbled back. Rocks. Crashing and smashing as they thundered down the of the canyon at its narrowest point. Vitani yelled and Zira shouted, her eyes widening in panic and understanding.

"Rockslide!" She shouted, and the animals scattered, moving back. Almasi grabbed the nearest cub, and the rest darted under her, using the adults as cover.

"Look out!" Gharath the rhinoceros braced and a large boulder glanced off his leathery hide. The cascade of boulders and rocks kicked up rocks and flung up dirt and dust. Sara coughed. The dirt stung her eyes, blinding her.

"Mom!" She called out. There were shapes around her, were any of them her mother? Others groaned in pain. Vitani roared, looking around. A rockslide. One of the most dangerous natural disasters. Or not so natural in this case. Common to mountain passes and canyons, Vitani knew them to be dangerous and as the dust-laden air finally began to settle she stared up at the rocky ridges high above them and saw shapes. More of them. She couldn't get a good look at them. They loomed in the dusty air, silhouetted against the low sun. Gigantic beings of terrifying proportions and monstrous bulk. There were dogs their too. She heard barks on the winds.

"How did they know we'd be here!?"

"Vitani!" Jasiri was coughing. The acrid dirt stung her eyes and made her lungs itch. "Vitani! Look!" She pointed with a claw, and Vitani followed her gaze to the base of the canyon where the rocks from the slide had settled. They were enmeshed together, boulders – some the size of her – crushing in weight and turning the canyon into a wall. A stark dead end. It would take time to climb over. Time, they didn't have. As she stared, more of the dislodged rocks tumbled. It would be like climbing a wall of spikes before they even got to the briar patch. Spikes that shifted, that could crush a body and shatter bone in moments with one accident. One bad footfall. She felt a twisting sensation in the pit of her stomach. They were trapped. Her mouth was dry. Zira sniffed the air. She looked twitchy, but her expression was as serious as a funeral. Damu looked at Vitani and saw a similar expression on her face. She swallowed. She knew Vitani well, and could see her brow furrowed as she ran through their options in her head faster than she could even think of them.

"Is everyone okay?" Inti called out, looking around.
"I think so. That was a close one." Sara replied.

"They weren't trying to crush us." Vitani said, and the others looked around in grim realisation. She exhaled. Jasiri grimaced.

"What now?" She asked. Vitani didn't have an answer.