ZARAMANNI (BOOK ONE)

Her legs swinging in the air as her back hit the softness of the bed, Zaramanni wished Sham would show up again.

As it were, he was the only one in that strange land that was friendly to her. So, subtly, and not spilling the fact that she was highly suspected to be a half-fairy, Zara decided to ask him certain questions that may aid her pending decision.

She could also use his help with plotting an alternative plan.

That was if he doesn’t act like King Darren was his soulmate he must not do anything to piss off.

Zaramanni scoffed instantly as she realized how strongly offended she was.

After her brief meeting with King Darren, it angered her more and more that he found it easy to confine her in his kingdom.

While a part of her reasoned with King Darren’s concerns, the furious part of her soul wondered why she needed to consider the words of a total stranger.

For all she knew, the man could be keeping her close for his selfish gain. He did briefly mention that her presence could be useful.

“Argh, this is so annoying,” Zara groaned, the anger inside her showing off. Aggressively kicking her legs in the air made her chest ache, and, for a second, she was reminded of her injury.

That caused her thoughts to derail.

Her injury was evidence that someone was trying to kill her.

But for what reason?

Sitting up while gently rubbing her bandaged injury, Zaramanni replayed the second moment she came close to death.

Things happened very fast.

One second, Sham was telling her about how much rascals the wolves from the Addai Pack were, the next second, without a chance to blink, she felt the piercing effect of the arrow.

She didn’t even know what hit her until her knees felt weak.

After leaving the bed, Zara walked toward the only window in the cottage-like building.

She leaned on the window sill and her sight traveled through the many lights that came from houses around that had similar features to hers though most of them were bigger.

While she listened to the little sounds of the night, Zaramanni’s thoughts became calm and for another moment, she seriously considered King Darren’s advice.

The person trying to end her life for a reason known to him or her had to be captured first.

Till that happens, since Zara had no idea how that new universe worked, it sounded wise to stay put under the majestic protection of King Darren.

But, that didn’t mean she wasn’t curious anymore. She still had questions to ask Sham. If only he would just show up for even a second.

Sticking her neck out a little to catch a glimpse of any approaching figure, Zara soon noticed how deserted the sandy streets were.

Everyone was inside the houses assigned to them according to their family size and packs.

Zaramanni, who saw how happy the people were when they were setting up for the celebrations, expected that they would still be outside and making the most of the moment while catching up on lost time.

But Zara soon felt bad when she realized that the attack on her life was the reason the activities were halted.

“What are you doing, Zaramanni?” Sham’s soothing voice called from a distance, his blue eyes a delightful sight thanks to the side wrinkles that made his entire face smile.

“I was waiting for you,” Zara replied, surprising herself by sounding like a deprived lover.

Sham stepped further away from the slight darkness ahead. Once he was standing in front of the window, the high ground seemed disadvantageous. But his height proved useful because his head almost leveled with hers.

“Are you feeling okay? Is your wound hurting?”

”No.” Zara wondered what was so amusing because her lips couldn’t stop wearing a smile. “I have questions for you.”

“You do?” She nodded. Sham looked at his hands which carried a cylindrical container. “How about this?” he said after letting out a deep sigh. “I need to get this bottle of water to the King.”

”Can’t he get water by himself?”

”He is on the archery fields and there are no sources of water around him. A lot of things were destroyed during the attack. And it is funny how we didn’t even know on time that-”

Zaramanni found herself staring at his lips as he talked away. At a point, his words faded and she didn’t recover from that trance until his affectionate touch brushed her arm.

“I am sorry, I was talking too much,” he said.

”No.” Zara almost laughed at herself. She could feel how warm her cheeks had grown without touching them. “You can go. King Darren must be thirsty. I will be here when you get back.”

”Are you certain? Are you fine with that?” Even though manly, his voice managed to find a way to sound so innocent and… cute.

Zara, as she nodded, tried hard not to bite into her lower lip. Her thoughts about the man made her feel shy and thankfully, Sham did not notice the change in her countenance.

His smile brighter than ever, Sham maintained some seconds of eye contact before he walked away from her.

And, his plump behind was something Zara couldn’t take her eyes off till he disappeared into the darkness ahead.

Zara wanted to hate her open attraction to the he-wolf, but it was what it was. She liked Sham and his plump behind. She liked hearing his voice. His smile that made her feel mushy was another reason she smiled in his presence.

She was delighted that she would be seeing a lot of Sham pending the time the person trying to kill her is captured.

With excitement fluttering in her heart, Zara proceeded to drag the window shutter but a strong grip halted her action.

Sticking her head, a rush of hormones within her as something whispered the need to be cautious, Zara was greeted by an unexpected sight.

“What are you doing here?” Zara asked, her surprise hardly hidden.

With her signature bright smile on her lips, Alisha said, “I can’t believe it was so easy to find you.” A huge gust of air followed as her hands went to rest on her waist.

Zara was still surprised. “You were looking for me? Why? What happened?”

The woman nodded, her ponytail dancing in the process. “I like that you are skipping all the greetings. Let’s go straight into business.”

Zaramanni was yet to make sense of the words Alisha was uttering. It was almost like the woman was high on drugs- that was if they do drugs in the supernatural realm.

It seemed she had another question to ask Sham.

“I have found a way to make your journey back to Earth easier,” Alisha said and Zara’s attention was instantly pulled.

“Really?”

“I have a friend in Amarxona who works with the ancient men of the kingdom.”

“Amarxona?” The mention of that kingdom almost made Zara disinterested and Alisha sensed that change.

Reaching out to graze her arm, Alisha said, “Please, hear me out. He is going to help you destroy the effect of the ritual and get you to Mount Hermos using a shorter route. I know badly you wish to go home. So, this is your chance, Zaramanni.”

“But-”

”You have to make a decision right now, Zara. My friend is waiting to help you and you really shouldn’t waste this chance.”

It sounded like a great deal and indeed, a faster way to get home. But Zara was a bit skeptical because taking that particular help meant she would be going back to Amarxona.

“Do you trust this friend of yours to some extent?” Zara asked Alisha while her mind did some calculations.

“Yes. I know he will be of great help. That’s why I came here to look for you. Zaramanni,” the woman placed her hands on Zara’s and the girl finally noticed the woman had gotten her new arm, “I know it sounds sketchy, but I am trying to help you because you deserve this much. Staying here in Zenrada with the blood you carry, I tell you, it will be very dangerous.”

“I know.”

”You do?” Alisha frowned a little.

“I have escaped death twice since I came here.”

“Are you okay, Zaramanni?” Alisha squeezed her fingers as concern appeared on her face.

“I am alive,” Zara replied with a nonchalant tone. Then, after taking a deep breath, she said, “You are right. I need to get out of this place. Let me grab my bag.”

”You are making a good decision, Zaramanni.”

Zara smiled. Then, she went in to get her hardly filled bag, and soon, she was outside the building, standing next to Alisha.

“This is what we are going to do. I am going to use a portal to take us to Amarxona, but I can only do that in Amok.”

Zara narrowed her eyes as she processed the witch’s words. “Why Amok?”

”It is a rule in this universe. We can’t conjure portals outside our kingdoms.”

”But, you conjure portals anywhere on Earth?”

”Yes.”

”That’s absolute bullshit,” Zara didn’t bother to sugarcoat her words. “I think that rule needs to be revised. Anyway…” Zara saw that Alisha quirked her brows. “What is it?”

“You seem different. Something about you has changed.” Before Zara could reply to her, she continued. “One of Amok’s many exits is to the east of Zenrada, so we will run toward that direction. Hopefully, we get close enough for me to get a portal working.”

“Run?” Zara rubbed the part of her chest that was bandaged as she asked that question.

“Yes. If we are to make the most of the moment, we have to run.”

”I am not sure that will be good for my injury,” Zara’s voice mumbled, her eyes darting to the ground.

Alisha placed her hands on the girl’s shoulders, her eyes twinkling for some reason. “You seem to have forgotten that I am a witch. If anything happens to your injury, I will take care of it. All I need are the right herbs and a good spell and your wound will be hardly existent.”

That assured Zaramanni who was close to using her injury as an excuse to wait a little longer in Zenrada.

And, that was one thing Zaramanni failed to understand. She had finally gotten an opportunity to leave the strange place but somewhere within her, she still wanted to stay.

Zaramanni instantly damned that part of her that was acting like Zenrada had become her second home.

Soon, she and Alisha took the path on the right and began to run, their footsteps light enough to avoid bringing attention to them.

~

As they ran further into the thick forest, Zaramanni found herself occasionally circling the pool of regret.

She could barely see anything in the dark woods and Alisha’s palm light was hardly useful.

But, as much as she regretted leaving the cottage-like house, she ran. At that point, Zaramanni’s determination was bigger than her regret.

And, all she could do was hope that Alisha’s plan would work.

Bringing her feet to a halt, Zara tossed the bag in her hand to the side. Her hands on her knees as her chest felt heavy and uneasy, Zara let out heavy pants to ease herself of the discomfort.

Soon, Alisha’s boots came into Zara’s line of sight.

The ball of light on her palm gave Zara a better view of the ground, and Alisha said, “You need to take a quick rest, don’t you?”

“No, I’ll just…” Zara sighed. Alisha was right. But she was scared to take a rest. She was scared that her mind would easily change and she would give up the chance to go back home.

Alisha helped her up while muttering about the importance of rest.

After taking a few steps together, their feet hit a weak spot on the ground, and from there, they fell until their backs hit a rough ground.

Groaning as her wound felt the impact of the fall, Zara looked to her side and saw that Alisha had nearly passed out.

Rushing towards the woman while pushing past the numerous skeletal parts that managed to reveal their existence in the thick darkness, Zara placed Alisha’s head on her lap and held her hand to keep the little flame on her palm going.

Entirely devastated, Zara had no idea what to do.

Who would she call for help in that deserted area? It was not likely that anyone would hear her either.

But, something within her killed the doubtful thoughts, and soon, she was screaming with all her might.

“Help! We are down here! Help!”

Darkness found a way to intensify its presence in the pit and Zara became more scared.

“Help!” she screamed again, this time with more desperation.

Then, her ears picked a sound that gave her hope. Footsteps crunched the hardness of the ground and Zaramanni shouted more to catch the attention of the passersby.

“Please, help! We are stuck…” Her loud voice quickly turned to a wince and her words could not be completed.

From the top, four pairs of eyes stared at her and Zara felt something crawl down her spine. Those eyes glowed and as they seemingly smiled, she saw a deadly sparkle on their weirdly shaped teeth.

Zara, now more frightened, hugged Alisha tighter.

Then came a sinister voice that silenced all life forms in the dark, thick forest.

His voice, slow and purpose-filled, the man said, “Come around boys,” Zara had heard a voice like that from one of the Joker movies, “we have fresh blood. And,” an evil chuckle followed, “they smell really, really delicious.”