The Quest III: Return to Volter Read online

  “So you won’t stay?”

  I can not.

  She released him and stood back to look at him. “Will you return when Meka is well?”

  I do not know. He looked out the window to the Terrian forest. Although he was acknowledged as the future ruler of Tern Terra when Hunter abdicated the throne, he had never truly felt at home here. Even after these seven full seasons, he missed Volter and each time he visited Meka and the prides, he found it more difficult to return to Tern Terra.

  She sighed. “What of the new male leader in the pride? The father of Meka’s cubs? Won’t he resent your staying?”

  Meka is the leader of the prides, but when I am in Volter, all carnivores must bow to me. Meka’s new male will show me due respect or suffer the consequences.

  She winked at him. “You sound almost as pompous as Seeker.”

  I come by it honestly, he joked and they shared a warm tingle of amusement along their special bond.

  She sobered quickly, her eyes filling with tears. “Oh, Slayer! I could not love you more if you were my own cub.”

  I love you too, Jemi.

  She gulped in a deep breath. “You must return. Promise.”

  I can not promise to do anymore than return for visits, he said. But you should know that even when I am in Volter, I will carry you in my heart and thoughts.

  She gave his mane a tug. “That’s all well and good, but I want you close where I can hug you and protect you.”

  I will miss you more than I can say, Jemi Hunter.

  She sighed. “And what of Sheela?”

  What of her?

  “Have you…does she know you are leaving and may not return for some time?”

  I owe her no allegiance, Jemi, but I have informed her that I am returning to Volter. She is free to mate with whomever she likes. I am sure that once I am gone she will find Dioni quite irresistible.

  He watched as Jemi bit her lip. Before coming to Tern Terra, Jemi and Dioni had been lovers with his sire’s knowledge and approval. Nevertheless, Slayer knew Dioni had not mated with Jemi for several seasons. During the last seasons, his sire had been inclined to want Jemi all to himself, and Dioni had had to seek comfort in the paws of some of the willing she-vores in the forest.

  He suspected Jemi missed Dioni, but she had never said so. Now she shrugged. “You think so? I hope so because Dioni deserves to be happy and settle down.”

  I have seen Sheela watching him often. He will find her to be a satisfying mate.

  “And what of you, Slayer? What are your plans to take a mate?”

  As the only offspring of the future ruler of the land, Slayer knew what was expected of him. I will choose a mate when the time is right.

  She stroked a hand over his mane. “Ayanni?”

  No. Not her. She did not find me sufficient. I will not dishonor her further by intruding on her life with her chosen mate. The memories of our one afternoon together will have to suffice.

  Jemi caught her breath and stared at him. “Slayer! Are you saying you actually mated with her?”

  Her apparent distressed surprised him. Yes. Did I not tell you that?

  “No! Oh, Slayer! Poor Ayanni!”

  Why?

  “Don’t you know? She can’t mate with a human male. Not after having mated with you.”

  Why not?

  “Slayer, once a Volterian woman mates with one of the Great Carnivores, her pussy conforms to the contours of his cock and she can no longer mate with a Volterian male.”

  Slayer felt as if a slab of the great mountains had crashed down from the sky to crush him. Do you mean all these seasons when I thought she was with her chosen mate, she has been alone, unable to find pleasure with another male?

  She looked at his face and slipped her arms around his neck. “Oh, Slayer! I thought you knew!”

  No, he said, feeling a crushing burden on his shoulders. I did not. I…by the Gods of the Mountains! What has she been doing all this time? I thought she had not come to me because she went to him. Jemi! What has become of her all this time? I must go at once to find out!

  She kissed his mane. “Go, if you must, but please remember how much your sire loves and needs you. Let us hear from you, Slayer.”

  I will, but I must go at once to find what has become of Ayanni. He wheeled and charged through the palace and out into the forest. As he raced toward the Cave Of Ascent, he became aware that two Carnivores from the royal guard raced after him, calling out that they would accompany him. Although he had no wish for a guard, he could not spare the time to argue with them. If Hunter or Seeker had sent them, they would accompany or follow him, no matter how much he objected. He had to reach Volter as quickly as possible to seek out Ayanni.

  Chapter Four

  Toiling in the hot afternoon sun in the small patch of ground behind the hut stop that she and her mother had built, Ayanni paused. She put the spade in her hands aside and sat back on her heels, wiping the burning sweat from her eyes. Shielding her eyes with her hand, she gazed up at the sun. It was just over head and at its full power. She sighed. She had too many more hours of field work ahead of her to be this tired.

  She glanced at the small neat row of plantings she’d put into the ground. She would finish another row, then she would stop to fix a small meal. She would prefer to finish the planting before stopping for the evening, but she had to give Wynter some sustenance. “Not long now,” she said, picking up her spade and thrusting it in the earth.

  There was no answer. She smiled. Putting the planting in the dirt, she padded it with the handle of the spade. “Did you hear me, Wynter? I will give you a meal very shortly.”

  When she was again greeted with silence, she looked over her shoulder to the hut stop where Wynter sat. Only she wasn’t there. She raised her voice. “Wynter?”

  Wynter didn’t answer and Ayanni sighed. If it was one thing she could depend upon, it was that Wynter would be where she shouldn’t be doing something she shouldn’t be doing. It seemed Wynter wanted to eat now. She put down her spade and rose. She walked over to the small hut where she and Wynter took shelter as evening approached and in the cold of the season.

  She opened the door and froze. The inside of the hut was small and windowless. There was room on the floor for a pile of skins where she and Wynter slept, a small table with two chairs where they ate, and a tiny recess where she prepared their meals. In the corner of the room, were two pans. One for washing and one for seeing to their other needs in the cold of the season.

  She saw immediately that Wynter was not inside. She closed the door and turned and ran around the small structure. “Wynter! Wynter!”

  She still received no answer and her heart thumped as she thought of Wynter alone in the forest surrounding the hut. The same forest where a group of female carnivores had rescued her from a male cat intent on making a meal out of her many seasons earlier.

  She had never gone back to the tree where she and Slayer had mated after her narrow escape. And she had never been stalked again, although she had occasionally looked up when returning from fishing at the river to find the big cat who had led her rescue padding parallel to her. Knowing she had nothing to fear from the female, she had thought inexplicably of Slayer.

  She angrily brushed the memory away. The forest that now frightened her, seemed to fascinate Wynter. Six seasons past, Ayanni, tired from plantings, had fallen asleep over their afternoon meal. She had awakened to find Wynter, who had just learned to walk, in the forest, heading toward the watering hole where the carnivores rested in the heat of the day.

  Terrified that her only reason for living would be killed by a rogue lion or other cat, she had grabbed a thick piece of wood and run into the forest. As she had snatched Wynter up in her arms, a cheetah had spring in her path. Before she could even release the scream of terror rising from her throat, the big lioness, in the company of several other lionesses, had sprung between them and the cheetah. Knowing the lioness and her pride members would protect
her retreat, Ayanni had clutched Wynter against her body and fled back to the hut.

  Several times in the last six seasons, she had found the missing Wynter in the forest, sitting among the lionesses. The last time, she had come upon Wynter lying on the ground with her head on the big lioness’s side fast asleep.

  Although this feline had saved her several times, Ayanni had still felt fearful as she approached to retrieve Wynter. Although the lioness had let out a plaintive roar when she picked up her daughter, she had made no movement that could be considered threatening.

  She had looked into the lioness’s eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered. “For saving us both so many times.”

  Back at the hut she had talked very sternly to Wynter and told her she must not go back to the carnivores.

  Wynter had looked at her with green slanted eyes very like Slayer’s. “Why not?”

  “Because it’s dangerous.”

  “They will not hurt me,” Wynter had told her.

  “How do you know that?”

  “Meka and Berka told me.”

  “Who are Meka and Berka?”

  “They head the prides in the forest. Now that Meka’s cubs are bigger, sometimes she lets me pet them. I like Tomma best. Meka says one day Tomma will lead the pride, even though Macak is eldest.”

  “Wynter, you can actually talk to them?”

  “Yes.”

  “You mean you understand them?”

  Wynter had looked surprised. “You mean you can’t understand them?”

  “No.”

  Wynter had frowned. “Then why can I talk to them?”

  She had sighed and told Wynter that her sire was a carnivore.

  “Like Meka and Berka?”

  “No. Not exactly like them. They are Volterian carnivores. There are other carnivores from—”

  “From Tern Terra?”

  She nodded. “Who told you of Tern Terra?”

  “Meka. She said her eldest cub Slayer was going to be ruler there one day.”

  So that explained why she always thought of Slayer when in the presence of the big lioness. She was Slayer’s mother.

  Wynter had tilted her head and looked at her. “Do you know Slayer?”

  “I…I…met him once,” she said. She had been unable to tell Wynter that Slayer had mated with her and then abandoned them both. Although he had not found her sufficient enough to be his mate, Ayanni had not wanted Wynter to know her sire was living well in Tern Terra while she had to work from sun rising to sun setting to provide sustenance for them.

  “Meka says he is the most handsome and brave and strong cub ever born in all of Volter. Meka misses him very much.”

  Ayanni swallowed quickly. “Wynter, you must not spend so much time with the prides.”

  “Why not? I feel sufficient with them.”

  Ayanni had bit her lip, feeling more inadequate than she’d ever felt. “Do you not feel that way with me, Wynter?”

  “Yes, but you are always in the field or fishing or washing. You won’t let me help and there is never any time to just sit and talk with you like there is with Meka and Berka.”

  Ayanni had looked away then, tears filling her eyes, rage her heart. Wynter, a child of a human and a Great Carnivore, had matured much faster than a normal Volterian female so that now close to seven seasons, she was as tall as Ayanni.

  Now, fearful of where Wynter might be, Ayanni returned to the hut stop, picked up the stout wooden stick she had learned to carry while walking in the woods and ran along the path. As she cleared the forest, she decided to check the river first. One of the few things she and Wynter had in common was their love of the water.

  As she cleared the forest and approached the river, her heart thumped. A slender female with bronzed skin and long, dark hair falling past her shoulders lay on her stomach on the bank of the river, breathing slowly and deeply. Next to her lay a medium sized cub with its head resting across the back of her legs.

  Ayanni stayed well away from the bank of the river. “Wynter,” she called softly, not wishing to disturb the cub. Although small, it was still a carnivore and subject to taking exception to having its rest disturbed.

  “Wynter,” she called again.

  Wynter lifted her head and smiled. “Mother,” she spoke softly. “Keta and I were resting from our swim.”

  “Wynter, why did you leave without telling me? It is not safe for you to be alone in the forest.”

  Wynter eased from under the cub and gracefully rose to her feet. She slipped her dress over her head and came to stand next to Ayanni. “It is safe for me, Mother. All of the creatures know me and I have told them who you are as well. You must not worry about me.”

  Ayanni looked into her daughter’s eyes. Somehow Wynter had grown up so quickly, all while she had worked non-stop to keep her well-fed. She had missed so much of her daughter’s passing seasons and Slayer had missed them all. Slayer. She could never look at Wynter without seeing something of Slayer in her.

  The cub suddenly rose, saw them, growled deep in its throat, and began a charge.

  Ayanni’s maternal instincts overcame her fear. She jumped in front of Wynter, her stick clutched in both hands.

  “Mother. It’s all right.” Wynter stepped from behind her and faced the charging cub. “Keta! This is Ayanni. Stop!”

  When the cub continued charging, Wynter thrust out her right hand. To Ayanni’s stunned surprise, the cub suddenly stopped short and went down on its hunches, apparently having difficulty breathing.

  Wynter lowered her hand and immediately approached the cub. She placed her hand over its head. Although she was silent, Ayanni felt certain she was “speaking” to the cub, the same way Slayer had communicated with her without verbal words.

  When Wynter removed her hand, the cub rose, and slowly approached Ayanni with its head bowed.

  “Keta offers her apologies, Mother. When she woke suddenly, she did not immediately recognize your scent and thought you intended me harm. If you touch her head, she will know she is forgiven.”

  Still bemused, Ayanni lifted a hand and tentatively touched the cub’s head. She jumped back when the cub let out a low roar.

  Wynter laughed. “Mother. She’s just saying hello.”

  “Yes, well, let her find another way to say it.” She sighed. “If you’re sure you’re going to be all right, I’d better get back to the planting.”

  “I can take care of myself,” Wynter assured her.

  Ayanni nodded. “What did you do to stop her?”

  Wynter shook her head. “I do not know. I just know that when I want to, I can feel a strange surge go out through my hand. It’s very strong and getting stronger all the time. Mother. You never told me who my father is.”

  Ayanni sighed. “He is…was a Tern Terrian.”

  Wynter’s eyes lit with excitement. “One of the Great Carnivores? I am offspring of a Great Carnivore? Mother! What is his name? I will ask Meka and Berka if they know him. Do you think Slayer knows him?”

  “No!” She shook her head. Although Wynter was now an adult in every way, Ayanni didn’t think she was ready to hear the ugly story of Slayer. “Wynter. I have to get back. I need your promise that you will come home before dusk.”

  “You have it, Mother.”

  She nodded. “Then I’ll go back to the planting.”

  “I will come help you.”

  “No!”

  Wynter tossed her head, sending her hair cascading around her face. “Why not? You work all the time and never let me do anything. Why should you work so hard all the time?”

  “It is what I deserve,” she said. “It is what I brought on myself. You did nothing to deserve the life into which you were born. If I work from sun rising to sun setting until I perish, it will be my reward for a long ago act of selfishness.”

  She turned and quickly walked back to the hut stop, her thoughts turning to Slayer. After all these seasons, he would surely have forgotten her. He would be mated now and have seve
ral cubs, one of which would one day rule Tern Terra in Wynter’s stead. The injustice of it brought angry tears to her eyes.

  As she entered the clearing where her field and the hut stop were, she caught sight of a carnivore standing on the other side of the forest. The stick dropped from her hand and she stared into the green slanted eyes of the majestic Carnivore with his sleek tan coat and glorious dark mane. He was much bigger than in her memories, but she knew immediately who he was.

  She was dreaming again. She closed her eyes quickly and opened them. But he was still there.

  Ayanni.

  She felt the familiar, intimate caress of his mind against hers along the psychic bond they had shared for one brief, but wonderful noon so many seasons past.

  Ayanni. He padded slowly towards her. Ayanni, my love.

  His love? He had left her alone and afraid for cold, miserable season after miserable season and now he just padded back for what? What could he possibly want after all this time?

  I want what I have always wanted, Ayanni—you.

  “Slayer!” she spat out his name and reached down to snatch up her stick and clutch it in both hands. “Do not come any nearer!” She warned. “If you do, I will hit you.”

  He paused and she felt his confusion and a wave of regret from him. Ayanni. I know you are angry, but you must allow me to explain.

  “There is nothing to explain, Slayer! You mated with me, made me unfit for Wyman, who wanted to bond with me and make my family’s prospects better and then you left me alone! Why have you come now?”

  Ayanni! I did not know. You must believe me!

  “What didn’t you know, Slayer?”

  I did not know that having mated with me you would not be able to mate with a human male until recently.

  “And when you did know? Did you come to see how we were surviving alone on our own?”

  Yes! I am here now, am I not? I came as soon as I learned of your plight.

  “But now is too late. We don’t need or want you now, Slayer, elder offspring of Hunter,” she said coldly.

  She ignored the dismay coming from him. I never intended to cause a hardship to you or your family. I will meet with your sire and explain that you were blameless and make restitution.