Adda was lost.
For a forest that, at dawn, had been riddled with battle, with possessed Shifters, humans, and Dragons, everything had been silent for hours. All the large animals within scenting distance had long since vacated the area, and she was left with the mystery of where everyone had gone.
She moved westward, as she had agreed with Nex. Sort of. She also moved south...and north as she traveled, weaving through the rough hills and dry river beds, hoping to catch scent of where Scet and the pack had gone. She decided such an action was about as truthful as Nex had been with his end of the bargain and the old man buried under rubble.
When she returned to the village, the place was abandoned. Two decimated bodies, neither of which were Scet, were the camp's only inhabitants now.
The rest of the pack had certainly left the village, but where did they go? It wasn't towards the cave, as planned, though the forest, alight with Dragon fire, was likely deterrent enough to explain that.
Even now, smoke rose in a column from the area, each shift of the breeze sending its scent—and a wave of panic—to her. She shuddered as the memory of the warrior, frozen in his torment, assaulted her imagination again. It mingled with the recollection of gruesome events from the Quatori cavern where she had been held prisoner. So much pain. So much death.
Her feet faltered, and she swallowed the solid lump that rose in her throat. She was so close to simply laying down on the forest floor and giving up. Tears burned behind her eyelids. She allowed them to linger briefly before forcing them down. She could feel sorry for herself when this mess...whatever was happening...was over. Or she was dead.
Ugh. Perhaps she needed to gather herself. She had never been one to dwell in misery of any sort.
Positives.
She was not dead. Somehow. She wasn't sure how she had come through so much alive and undamaged, for the most part, but it was most definitely a positive.
Also, as far as she could tell, Scet wasn't dead, either. At least there was no evidence to say that he was. She tried to push away the nagging thought that there really was no evidence that he was alive, either. It was like he and the pack had disappeared from the forest altogether.
Plus, it was starting to get dark, which worried her. The possessed Shifters were difficult to scent, it was much easier to rely on sight to detect them, a sense that would be highly impaired by the approach of night. Not to mention the Quatori...the original type...they might smell strongly, but they had very few obstacles in the dark.
Adda frowned.
Something moved ahead of her and she stilled, just a hint, a twist of the shadows. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. She had lost focus on her surroundings. The need to run pounded against her chest, each heartbeat reverberating into her limbs, but she would not revert to instinct. She had to be smart. If she ran, she would draw attention to herself. Better to know what she faced first. She lifted her face, to catch a scent and inhaled. Nothing.
She relaxed an iota. Whatever it was, it might have been far enough ahead of her that it hadn't become aware of her yet.
She edged backward, tension shaking her exhausted limbs. This was only the beginning. Wandering the forest at night was suicide. There was no way she would make it.
Something drew her attention closer. She couldn't say what exactly, except that it had the feel of the shadows on it. She hadn't tried to read them, but maybe she should have.
She watched, with growing panic, as the ferns at her side shuddered and thrashed without making a hint of sound. So surreal was it that she simply blinked and stared stupidly when the undergrowth expelled a woman. Kiskan to be exact.
Adda sagged with relief. The tension flowed out of her, leaving a weariness she wasn't certain she would ever be rid of.
Kiskan stood for a moment, dark eyes studying Adda, as well as the forest behind her, as if she expected another. Eventually, her expectant expression became one of resignation.
“Come on,” she said at last, passing her spear to her left hand and beckoning Adda with her right. Her fingers were long and so slender that they reminded Adda, morbidly, of the bones the Alpha had worn in his tangles. The woman turned back toward the forest, seemingly intent on slipping back to wherever it was she had come from.
“Come on to where?” Adda questioned. Maybe she was a little crazy, given her earlier lamentations, but she wasn't exactly keen on becoming prisoner of the pack once more, even if the old Alpha was dead.
Adda closed her eyes, as if it could squash the weight of guilt that settled heavy upon her.
“A safe enough place,” Kiskan glanced at her, “for now.”
“Is Scet there?”
“Who?” her eyebrows puckered.
“You've been calling him Alikeye-Baroth. Is he at your safe place? Is he safe?”
Kiskan tossed her spear from hand to hand and studied the undergrowth around them.
“We have had no contact with the rest of the pack. It took us this long to lose any pursuit...,” she studied Adda again, “I was hoping you would have news.”
Adda shook her head. If the rest of the pack wasn't at this safe place, and they weren't at the village, then where were they?
“We were separated,” she explained; if Kiskan didn't know the circumstances, Adda wasn't going to tell her.
Kiskan tossed her spear back and forth again.
“If fate allows, then they will have survived. We can send scouts in the morning.”
Adda shook her head, morning was a long way off. “What if it is too late in the morning?”
“It is probably too late now,” Kiskan muttered. “We cannot spare any warriors for such risks as the forest at night. We need each one to protect our group, that is the task Alikeye-Baroth has given to us.”
Her words sounded forced to Adda's ears.
“It doesn't sound like that was your idea,” she observed.
“It isn't,” Kiskan frowned. “But Andas was put in charge. This was the final attempt I was allowed for the night. I was certain I could find them, but all I found was you.”
“Er...sorry?” What was the appropriate response when someone was disappointed in your survival?
“It cannot be helped now,” she shrugged. “Come.”
“You really wish to be scouting the forest at night?”
Kiskan shrugged. “I missed the battle. Normally, I am on the first line of warriors. But the new Alpha put Andas in charge, and Andas does not believe women are worthy fighters,” she hesitated, “I should have been with them,” she explained.
The woman courted death.
“Then why not tell me where to go, and continue your search?” Adda chastised herself even as she said the words. She did not wish to be wandering the forest alone, she was no warrior, but the camp must be near if Kiskan had found her, and going alone would give her the chance to assess the situation before committing to the protection of the pack once more. Adda still didn't trust that these Shifters wouldn't rather see her dead, and wouldn't that be a thorn from fate. All this fighting just to go walking willingly to her doom?
Adda was certain, if he could, Nex would insert his thoughts on her stupidity here. Her mind was still silent, however.
It wasn't just worry for herself that spurred her suggestion, though. Despite her determination to put emotional distance between the man and herself, Adda was worried, filled with a gnawing anxiety that she had seen Scet for the last time. She shouldn't care, but she did.
She had fooled herself. It was far too late for emotional distance. So if Kiskan could find Scet, find answers, then Adda would release her to do so.
Kiskan considered for a moment and then shook her head.
“You tempt me, but there is no honor in leaving you in the forest for higher glory. Besides,” she turned now, ready to lead again, “the Alpha would be most displeased if I lost his mate.”
And just like that Adda was once more an enforced guest. Lustful for battle though Kiskan was, Adda had to admire that she put her duty first. Also, that she spoke to Adda as if she were still a real Shifter. In fact, other than Scet, no one else had.
A wail echoed through the forest. One of the possessed, a long distance away, but it was enough to remind her of her fears.
“Come,” Kiskan repeated. This time, Adda did not hesitate.
They pushed through the forest, sometimes the tangled plants grasping at her clothes and hair, other times they receded, making it easier to walk. They did not follow a game trail, or any trail, so far as Adda could decipher. She wouldn't know if they did, either, full dark had fallen, and she struggled to keep her footing.
Kiskan, either through some means Adda did not understand, or a warrior's grace, did not stumble. She led the way smoothly between trees and alongside a wall of stone.
Adda scented them before there was any other evidence of the pack. The smell of fear and worry, of sweat and narrow escape. Someone was bleeding and it caused her stomach to rumble loudly.
They had hidden in a crevice of the hillside. As they neared, the light smell of a fire, and an almost imperceptible flicker of light accosted her. They slid into the narrow entrance, and it quickly opened into a large space. Not a cave, for the sides of the mountain shot upward and opened to the inky night sky, but it was surrounded by stone, except for the entrance point. It would be easier to defend, should the enemy find them. It might also hem them in, trapping any escape.
It was the last thought that bothered her the most, as they strode past the sentries and into a much larger crowd than Adda expected.
“It looks as if the others have found us,” Kiskan muttered with a hint of disappointment.
Indeed, warriors filled the space, gathered around any of the several small fires. The pack was not rejoicing, how could they when they had lost their village and their Alpha in one day? They were subdued, yet there was relief in their quiet movements and reassuring touches.
As they noticed Kiskan and Adda, the warriors slid apart, creating a channel until, at last, he was revealed.
Scet. The great bear man froze, and his tortured gaze met hers. Disbelief, and then relief, flashed across his face then melted into determination. A fierce resolution, that grew more set as he strode their direction.
Adda watched him take his slow deliberate steps toward them, even Kiskan seemed intimidated, if the way she scampered to the side was any indication. It didn't take long for him to reach Adda, the space was only so large after all, but with him looking at her like that, it felt like an eternity.
Her stomach clenched...Six all her muscles clenched as he came to stand directly in front of her, leaving no room between them. He leaned forward until she could read the pain in his eyes.
“You will never leave me again, Adda.”