Black Ice-Completed

Nyota flitted in and out of consciousness as she laid there in the sand, confused when she surfaced and bliss when she went back into oblivion. She didn’t want to fight any longer.

“Papa! You have to save her!” a voice said as it cried out for Nyota’s mercy.

“I refuse to help this beast!” a man snarled as Nyota was lost to oblivion once again.

“I can’t believe you made me agree in taking this monster in,” rumbled a man, “What will your mother think?” Nyota wondered who this man was, where was she?

“Shh, Nyota, sleep darling!” a voice cooed as cool liquid trickled in her mouth, oblivion once again calling her as the sweet voice continued, “She’ll welcome Nyota as the granddaughter that she is!”

The next time Nyota resurfaced, her eyes finally opened and she groaned at the crustiness that rimmed around her eyelids. Even her limbs felt heavy as she tried to rub the grit from them. Sitting up she felt like it took ages to even accomplish that and when she did, Nyota wanted nothing more than to slump back down from the exhaustion that was overwhelming her.

Looking around, the first thing she noticed was that she was in a tent as sunlight was dimly going through the material. The walls were covered in colorful tapestries and linens to make them thicker and more private.

As Nyota started to slowly climb out of bed, one of the tapestries was moved aside and a woman came through. Looking up Nyota cried out in surprise, “Aunt Veronica!” and she felt tears start to fall down her face in relief.

“Oh sweetheart!” her aunt said as she moved to Nyota’s bedside and wrapped her arms around her niece. Veronica was also so relieved in seeing her niece awake.

“Wh-what happened?” Nyota cried as she stared at her aunt, the tears continuing to fall down her face, “I looked ev-everywhere!”

Veronica smiled down at Nyota, pushing her hair back behind her ear. She had never realized just how much Nyota actually loved her and her own heart broke at the agony that was shadowed in Nyota’s eyes. “Shh, I am right here now, both of us are safe,” she cooed and rocked her softly before pulling away and passing a bowl to Nyota, “Take a sip of broth and I’ll tell you what happened.”

A Nyota sat back, she felt happiness and relief that Veronica was safe and healthy and not trapped with a slaver or back in Azgeta.

“After you left, Bazra appeared out of the wood with two other men. I tried to fight them off but they disarmed me of my walking staff and hauled me away, bound, to a boat. Bazra and other two argued about staying. The two men didn’t want to leave their other party behind. I can only assume that they were after you,” at Nyota’s nod, Veronica continued, “Finally Bazra convinced the other two that we needed to get across the river, that if the other party had been successful, they would have been at the boat by now.

“It was a rough journey in the bottom of that boat. The waves almost capsized us several different times and when we hit the sand on the other side, I was so soaked and cold. The two convinced Bazra that it was smarter to make camp and stay where they were instead of traversing the jungle during night. Bazra couldn’t very well fight them on this so he agreed.

That night though, the other two gained up on Bazra for leaving their companions to fend for themselves. Bazra of course conjoled and explained to them that it was going to be easier to get you into Marais then it was going to be for me. Shifters were always being brought back and forth from Skotadi to Marais.”

Veronica smiled at Nyota’s snort of contempt and started to slowly finger comb her hair niece’s hair, “It was a good thing these men argued because in the pre-dawn hours, the Amazon’s surrounded the small camp, set me free and took my captors captive.

They brought all of us to their camp where I could make my pleas to the elders and sentence the men to their judgements. I was desperate to get back to Skotadi, to you. I kind of became a pest to the elders,” Veronica said sheepishly, “They told me that it was better if I stayed with them, that it was safer for a woman with very little training to stay with them than it was to track down a party of slave traders to try to get you back. It had taken me a month to get them to agree to escort me back into Skotadi, but by then you were gone! All that was found were the bones that had most likely been your party of slavers.

Bazra and his men had squealed about their plans to take you to Marais to try to sell you to the Kars. So I went back to the Amazons, who took me back in grudgingly, and told me to pick a place to make home. I wanted to go back home to Uscyte. The Amazon’s agreed but their guide wouldn’t be back for another year as he had just recently made a run up North with others who were trying to slip past the slavers. I knew you eventually would make your way to Azgeta, so I was frantic to try to intercept you but with having to wait a year, I knew you’d be gone from the area.

For the next year, as I waited, the Amazon’s taught me a lot and I helped raise the children. There was one little girl that reminded me of you,” Veronica laughed as she took Nyota’s empty bowl of soup and handed a glass of water to her.

“Afterwards, the guide appeared and arranged for me and several other women to stay with him in Marais. He was such a gentleman, Nyota, I could have easily fallen in love with him!” Veronica swooned and Nyota giggled as she watched her Aunt hold her heart in fake agony.

“It took a little bit longer to find my parents village but once he did, he sent me on safe passage with an escort and reunited me with my papa and mama, your grandparents!

I also asked him to keep an eye out for you. He said he would try. Who knew cat shifters were such noble creatures!” Veronica said thoughtfully as she fussed with Nyota’s blanket and pillows, not noticing her niece’s pale face, frozen in rage.

Nyota swallowed her anger as best as she could, “Aunt,” she said softly, trying hard to keep her voice from growling and jumping to conclusions, “you wouldn’t happen to know the guides name?”

“Oh yes,” Veronica said on a smile still oblivious to her nieces mood, “but you musn’t try to find him Nyota, he is doing important work in Marais. Things that could get him killed!”

“I don’t want to try to find him, I just want his name,” Nyota murmured, hoping she was wrong in her estimation.

“Kaius Beren is his name. He’s a Kar in Marais with such lovely silver eyes,” Veronica paused in her admiration as she heard Nyota choking on her growls,and saw her fists clenched tight, her fangs and nails beginning to pop out, “N-Nyota what’s wrong? Are you okay?” she asked, wondering if her niece was having seizures.

Nyota tried hard to keep form shifting, her insides all but seething in rage. Even though she was clenching hard, she felt her face elongate and her eyesight shifted between wolf and human so quicky she was getting dizzy.

“Veronica! Get back from that monster!” called an angry male voice, and as Nyota felt Veronica being pulled away from her, the anger morphed into protectiveness and instantly Nyota pulled her aunt back and pushed her to stand behind. Nobody was going to take her aunt from her again!

Hello peoples! Hope everyone is doing well within your household. If you can't guess, Black Ice is getting closer to the end. I finally have it done on paper and now I'm just going from paper and rewriting it to the computer! Its a long process in my opinion, but it's worth it because then I can correct any grammatical errors or just take out bits that don't feel like they belong anymore.

I wanted to let you all know, that today I will be submitting the first three chapters of Desert Rose. Inanna's story. In retrospect, Desert should have been the first book to be submitted because it explains a bit more about the Gods and the ways of the people a little bit better, at least that's the hope. Please keep a look out for Desert Rose, and as always Please keep safe and healthy in this time of chaos and discord!