Unbound: Slave to the Desert Sands

Chase

    Azra embraced Aseem warmly as though they were old friends. He grimaced slightly as he turned his waist toward her, an expression that the Ma'kala'ree did not miss. She gently released him and helped him lean back onto his pillows so that he could rest upright. 

    "It is good to finally see you awake, old friend." She said warmly, not taking her eyes off his face. He made an attempt at a wide smile, but half of it was hidden by the bandages wrapped across the side of his face, making it look more like a grimace. 

    "I wouldn't dare devastate the ladies by leaving them so soon,"  He boasted playfully, a thoughtful look replaced the smile and he gently touched the wrappings across his cheek, "Although some of my good looks may have been left behind on the forest floor." He looked rather crestfallen for a moment until Azra tutted at him disapprovingly.

    "Nonsense, there may be some scarring but you will heal. And knowing you, you'll will invent some grand tale of valor to match them ."  She teased. Aseem laughed good naturedly and replied,

    "Ay, and at least I didn't leave behind any of my charm."  He caught sight of Kaia then and shot her a wink. His face fell to seriousness and he turned back to Azra. "Ma'kala'ree, how is my horse? My men?" Concern clouded his expression. Azra's face remained neutral as she spoke carefully,

    "Your mount is fine, wild with fear when the two of you arrived, but the men managed to corral him. Your men... you were the only one to return. Aseem, can you tell me what happened-" She was cut off suddenly as sound at the entrance made them all look around. Zahir had entered the tent and was striding purposefully toward them. One of the Yaigul was trotting at his side, apparently attempting to slow his advance but the man paid no attention to her. Aseem immediately tried to sit upright at attention, Azra pushed gently at his shoulder to stop him. Kaia, alarmed, stepped behind Azra in order to get out of the way of the advancing prince. Zahir appeared not to notice the women and strode straight up to Aseem. They grasped each other's forearms in greeting, with Aseem nodding his head respectfully.

    "My lord prince," He addressed Zahir, whose expression was not warm, but did not possess the angry scowl that it usually featured. Kaia reckoned that Aseem must be well liked to have both the favor of the Ma'kala'ree and the leader of the Ula'mor. 

    "Aseem, I came as soon as I heard you had awoken. We must discuss what happened."  The man's voice was full of urgency. "What do you remember?"  Aseem finally relaxed back into his pillows, seeming to lose some of his strength as he recalled the events, a dark expression clouding the half of his face that Kaia could see. 

    "We split up soon after we left the encampment. Myself and another rider headed East, to try to find the tracks the hunting party had spotted. The other three men went South, to ensure we were not being tracked or followed."  He took a deep shaky breath, whether it shook from his injuries or the memories, Kaia did not know. Azra put a comforting hand on his shoulder as he continued, "I found the hunting trail quickly and finally found the tracks they had discovered. Huge pawprints, as big as a dune lion's, but with much longer strides between them. I have no idea what could have made them. There were no human footprints to be seen. I followed them for a while and they always remained the same distance from the caravan. My lord, they appeared to circling it."  He said finally, his expression dark. Kaia saw Azra's head turn to look at Zahir's face, but it remained unreadable. Getting no response Aseem carried on, "Finally I decided to find the other men and report back. We must have been about half way there when something started affecting the horse. He refused to continue down the path, something he's never done,"  Aseem rubbed his forehead in confusion. "I decided to trust it, and we rode West to take a longer route. It was pitch dark by the time the creatures appeared, I couldn't get a good look at them, but they were nearly as big as the horses, black as night and with red eyes. The horse took off without command and they gave chase, the creatures were incredibly fast, one leaped up and grabbed my arm, I was pulled from the horse and  lost consciousness but my foot must have caught and I was dragged back."  He shuddered unconsciously and then must have realized because he straightened himself, looking embarrassed. Azra looked alarmed but Zahir only looked thoughtful. The prince finally spoke his expression softening almost imperceptibly,

    "These creatures, whatever they are may be fast, but they must not have much endurance if they did not catch up with you. You did well, Aseem, for bringing us this information"  Kaia was surprised at the kind words from the stone faced man. Just then Zahir seemed to notice that Kaia and Azra were even there. His face hardened again. "You are dismissed, Ma'kala'ree." His voice was icy and Azra looked irritated at his dismissal in her own hospital. But she chose not to speak and simply stood, giving Aseem's shoulder a last squeeze before dropping her hand. She gave a curt nod to Zahir before turning her back and striding toward the entrance. Kaia hurried to do the same, keeping her eyes low, and scurried after her mentor. But she could feel Zahir's eyes on her back as she did so. The prince called after them suddenly, "And Ma'kala'ree, prepare the women to leave at first light, we have already remained here too long." Azra did not answer him as she exited the tent, with Kaia at her heels. 

    They made their way purposefully in the direction of the Kala'ree pavilion. It had grown dark without Kaia even realizing how long they had spent working in the hospital. Azra seemed deep in thought and Kaia didn't dare to disrupt her. Her mind was teeming with images of the giant black creatures that Aseem had described. She had never heard of anything like it, especially in the forests that was only a weeks journey or so from her little town of Bleakburn. Finally Azra spoke, tearing her from her terrified thoughts. 

    "Kaia, I would ask you not to speak to the other girls about what you heard. There is no need to cause panic." Kaia nodded in agreement and Azra seemed to accept it. "Tell them to be ready though, we leave as soon as possible." She left her then, heading toward her chambers. Kaia made her way toward the section were they slept and found the other two Creesan girls already fast asleep. As she curled up between them, the dark images of unknown horrors in the forest returned to her mind's eye. She shuddered knowing she would not have a restful nights sleep. As the sounds of the sleeping women surrounded her, finally lulling her toward unconsciousness, though it was very faint she thought she heard a sound she had only heard once before a few nights ago, a low mournful howl piercing the dark silence.