Chapter 4
1696 Words
4
A month later, Madas walked along the uneven trail. She laughed at L’eon. He was bouncing in and out of the high ferns.
“Don’t go too far,” she warned.
L’eon twitched his ears and scrambled up the side of a tree. Madas walked over to a spot where a dozen red Starfire flowers bloomed. She had been waiting for these flowers to bloom for the past week.
She sat down on a nearby log. Leaning her spear up against the fallen tree trunk, she pulled her satchel over her head and opened it. She took out her drawing pad and the box of fine charcoals that she had purchased from one of the village shops. She lovingly caressed the stars etched into the metal case. The box of colorful charcoals was one of the things that had come from another world. It could very well be the closest she ever got to leaving her village.
Opening the tin, she removed a dark red stick and began to draw. Her notebook was filled with such drawings. She loved to observe everything around her and was careful to document even the smallest detail in case they could help her clan in the future.
Her mother had not shared her interests. Her passion for art had drawn her mother’s scorn, and her love of the forest had fed her mother’s ire. Madas was her father’s daughter. Even though he had died when she was still young, she remembered her father’s teachings and his gentle manner.
Tima was his opposite in so many ways. She hoped to sell Madas to the highest bidder when the time was right for another alliance. If nothing else, Madas understood her mother’s desire for power and her determination to retain it. Unfortunately for Madas, she was Tima’s last unattached child.
She rose from her perch on the log and moved closer to the flower. She knelt to get a better look at a delicate petal. It was important that she capture every vein and texture correctly. She was so focused on what she was drawing that it took a moment before the snapping of a branch registered. She twisted and stood up.
“I see you have wandered away unprotected again,” Cardin said with a smug grin.
Madas’s gaze darted to her spear. Cardin shook his head, his expression malicious. She dropped her drawing book and the red piece of charcoal as she moved forward to retrieve her spear. He beat her to it.
“I order you to leave me be, Cardin,” she growled.
He chuckled and twirled her spear around his hand. “You are not as tough as you act, Madas,” he taunted.
Madas narrowed her eyes. “And you are even more stupid than I thought,” she retorted.
Cardin snarled. The spear rolled on his palm before he gripped it and threw it in her direction. Madas jumped to the side and rolled. She stared at the quivering spear that was now embedded in the tree behind her. Twisting around, she looked at Cardin with growing rage.
“You dare threaten me,” she hissed.
He threw a pair of metal wrist cuffs on the ground at her feet. “I’ve requested that your life be bound to mine,” he stated, stepping over the log.
“Never,” she snarled.
“Once I snap them on you, you cannot deny my claim,” he asserted.
Before Madas could reply, Cardin attacked. She leaned to the side, swept out her tail, and knocked him off his feet. The ground shook from the impact of his body. Madas turned and faced him again when he rolled onto his hands and knees before he slowly stood.
“I’m going to knock out the rest of your teeth,” she vowed.
“You will feel the sting of my whip for the one that you’ve already removed,” he promised.
She snorted in disdain and stepped to the side when he tried to circle around her. She curled her fingers into fists. Cardin should know better than to challenge a warrior-trained Tearnat female—especially her. She had trained with her older brothers and roamed these forests since she was old enough to walk. She would never submit to someone like him.
Cardin flashed his teeth before he swung his tail. Madas jumped when she saw the movement out of the corner of her eye. She grabbed a low branch and kicked out. Her boot-clad feet connected with Cardin’s broad chest, and he stumbled backwards. She dropped back to the forest floor with a hiss of warning.
He recovered more quickly than she’d expected and charged her. Madas locked her fingers with his and fell backwards. She used the momentum and her knees in his stomach to flip him over her head as they hit the ground.
She pushed off the ground, back onto her feet, and narrowed her eyes on the spear embedded in the tree. Rushing forward, she grabbed the end of the long shaft. She yanked it out of the trunk just as Cardin wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet. She swung her tail up to wrap it around his arm.
Unable to get a grip on him, she lifted her feet and pushed off against the tree trunk, hoping to cause him to lose his balance again. Instead, he squeezed her ribs until she could barely breathe. Madas knew that if she lost consciousness for even a fraction of a second, it would give Cardin enough time to put the wrist cuffs on her.
She angled the spear in her hand until the blunt end of the shaft was aimed toward him. Tilting her head to the side, she struck behind her. The satisfying thud of metal on flesh was followed by Cardin releasing her and staggering back.
He wiped his hand across his lips, smearing blood along his chin. Both his top and bottom lip were split. Glee washed through Madas when she saw several dark, empty gaps when he opened his mouth.
He spit out several teeth coated with blood. “You are going to pay for this, Madas,” he snapped.
He wiped his lips with the back of his hand again, and quickly withdrew a laser pistol from his side pocket, aiming it at her. She curled her lip in derision.
“You are reduced to threatening me with a weapon?” she said, her voice dripping with contempt.
“Put the wrist cuffs on, Madas,” he ordered.
“I would rather die than mate with a coward,” she snarled.
“I won’t tell you again,” he said.
“Never! If you try to put the wrist cuffs on me without my permission, I will contest it. I will demand a tribunal with the Council and challenge you in the Ring,” she replied.
“Your mother would never let you,” Cardin retorted with a sneer.
“I don’t need her permission,” she quietly responded, lowering her spear.
Cardin shook his head. “You were always naïve, Madas,” he scoffed.
Madas braced herself when he pulled the trigger. Her eyes widened in shock when a snarl shattered the silence, and suddenly there was a blur between her and Cardin. She cried out when she saw L’eon hit the ground and roll. Dropping her spear, she fell to her knees next to the inert body. Tears burned her eyes. During the past month, the little alien creature had become her constant companion and best friend—two things she’d never had before.
“What is that thing?” Cardin demanded.
Madas breathed a sigh of relief when L’eon opened his eyes and grinned at her. She sat back on her heels when the little lizard rolled over onto his feet and shook his head. He turned his head toward Cardin and narrowed his eyes.
She watched the cute and cuddly little lizard morph into something that she had never seen before. His body swirled with colors and a series of ridges rose on his back. Her amazement grew as she saw tiny, electrical charges running along his tail as he raised it.
“This is L’eon,” she said, the smile on her lips growing.
Cardin sneered and pointed his weapon at L’eon. He fired several shots at the little lizard. Madas watched in awe as L’eon opened his mouth and swallowed each blast. Then, L’eon licked his lips and grinned. Reaching out, she stroked his head.
“Impossible,” Cardin said in disbelief.
Madas looked up at Cardin. “If I were you, I would start running away right about now,” she suggested.
L’eon snarled and bounced in front of her. Cardin must have taken her recommendation to heart because he stumbled backward before fleeing. Madas counted to five before she pulled her hand away from L’eon.
“Don’t kill him,” she admonished.
L’eon sneezed in reply and took off after Cardin. Madas roared with laughter when L’eon sent an electrical burst from his tail, and the bolt caught Cardin between his shoulders, sending him flying through the air. Rising to her feet, she collected her drawing pad and the broken pieces of her red charcoal. Irritation flashed through her as she placed them back in her satchel. She had paid good coin for these!
Madas suspected from the yelps and desperate pleas coming from Cardin that he might be wishing he was dead. She picked up her spear and walked over to Cardin who was now cowering and whimpering on the ground. She could tell by the flattened ferns that Cardin had tried to defend himself against the little lizard.
L’eon looked up at her and grinned. She nodded in approval when she saw Cardin’s twitching body. Drool covered his chin, and he looked like he was missing more teeth. She wiggled her nose in distaste. If she wasn’t mistaken, he had also soiled himself.
L’eon lifted his tail and pressed it against Cardin one last time. Cardin’s body arched as the electrical pulse coursed through him. Madas grimaced. Bites and red electrical burn marks were visible all over the male Tearnat’s body.
“You’ll be lucky if your balls aren’t cooked,” she observed.
Cardin started emitting a mewling sound. Madas bent over and held out her arm. L’eon trotted over to her, climbed her sleeve, and settled comfortably around her shoulders. She scowled intently down at Cardin.
“If you ever come near me or threaten me again, I won’t tell L’eon to spare your miserable hide,” she promised.
He babbled some nonsensical words that she took as acknowledgement. She reached up and stroked L’eon. The small lizard purred with delight. She wasn’t sure how long Cardin would be incapacitated, but that was his problem. She stepped around his still convulsing body and headed for the village. It was time she had a talk with her mother, she thought with determination.
- Writer
