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Chapter Two

Acacia's POV

I knocked on the Kamok tree, and waited for Arvid to come out. When he hadn't five minutes later I jumped off the ground, leaping from branch to branch. When I had gotten to 160 feet high I stopped, and looked out over the rainforest. The calls of colorful birds and cries of primates reached all the way up here. Although the rain clouds had lifted the fresh scent still remained. I sat on the branch, my legs swinging in the air over the sides.

"The natives are holding their annual ceremony for you. Shouldn't you be there?" Arvid's face appeared in the bark of the tree on my left. This visor was much better at taking images. I got an almost full 360 degree view. A hairy tarantula crawled across my thigh, and all of its info popped into my head. This big female Goliath birdeater was almost twenty one years old. She's had thousands of eggs in her lifetime, and was currently in the middle of finding a new mate, having eaten her last one. That would explain what she was doing so high up in this tree. They usually lived in burrows around marshy areas.

"Why should I? It will just be the same as last time."

"Why must you be so apathetic? They worship you as their personal god." All because they had seen me uncovered once a few hundred years back. I had just started out as the debt collector, and my first assignment had been here. I had been unprepared for the brutality of this rainforest, and had been attacked by a large male tiger. I had stripped down to my breast band and shorts so I could apply medicine to my wounds when they spotted me. A group of their hunters, chasing the tiger. When it had turned on them I stepped in, killing the tiger. Since then they held a ceremony every year on the day they had met me. "Besides, they have a foreigner with them this time, it would be quite interesting to see how the scientist would react to your presence."

"But then I'd have to go without my cover, and I don't want to risk being seen by a demon."

"Oh, posh. Will you please go have some fun?" Branches pulled at my clothes, and I was left with big rips going through the cloth.

"Fine, I'll go. But they better offer up some type of animal skin, for your sake." I dropped from the branch, taking off my clothes as I went. Once again I was in a breast band and tight shorts. The tattoos that covered my body lit up, and I slowed in midair before I hit the ground. I shook out the pins holding my long hair, and the white mass spilled to reach the back of my knees.

"Knock 'em dead!" Arvid yelled as I jogged towards the site of the ceremony, barefoot as usual. Chanting filled my ears as I came upon the site. The natives were separated into two groups, one painted red and the other blue. None of them were both colors. I glanced down, and the visor sent images of my tattoos. Both colors, split down the middle. Even my face was both colors. My right side was covered in red tattoos, the left in blue. The natives were dancing in a circle, chanting what they believed to be a spell to call upon me. Most times I would just send a doppelgänger to receive the gifts they offered, so today would be a new experience for them, and the light-skinned woman who was standing off to the side. Five of them were banging on crude drums, and the hunters entered the center of the circle. They represented the first group that saw me.

--Mighty god! Grant us your presence here! We offer these gifts so that you may have the strength to protect us for the next hunting season!-- A group of dancing women piled objects into the circle, everything from clay pots to a jaguar pelt. Impressive, very impressive. Their chief came forward with his gift, a dead tiger. He lifted his hands, and the people fell silent.

--This day we offer this great mother tigress and her cubs.-- A small girl came forward, carrying two small tiger cubs. They were still alive, thankfully. I didn't like receiving dead baby animals. I shook myself, then let power leak into my voice. My tattoos glowed, and I stepped to the outside of the circle.

\--Your offer has been accepted.--/ At the sound of my voice all of the villagers turned to me. The ones closest to me reached out with trembling hands. A small boy touched my skin, and he pulled back instantly, cradling the hand to his chest. \--Do not be afraid. I come to bless your next hunt, and the many to follow.--/ They sank to the ground, praying to me. I walked forward until I stood before the chief. \--Let it be known throughout the tribes. I do not wish for dead tigers. You honor me greatly, but life should be coveted, no matter what form it takes on.--/ The girl handed the cubs to me, and I took them in my arms. I transported back to Arvid's tree with the cubs and gifts.

Using magic I bound together all of the pelts and skins, covering every inch of my tattoos. The tattoos had been given to me by the King of Demons himself when I turned three. It may sound cruel, but it was actually for my protection, or so I was told. Slithering noises reached my ears, and I looked up at the branches. At first glance nothing seemed to stand out, but the heat-sensory function of my visor showed me otherwise. Three huge snakes, colder than the air around them, were resting in the Kamok tree. I transported the tiger cubs to my room in the Demon Realm, and slowly stood up. Information sped into my brain, anacondas, forty feet, killer jaws, serrated teeth, strangles prey. It didn't take a genius to realize how abnormal this was. These big creatures were most definitely sent here, and judging on the way they were tasting the air in my direction, they were sent for me.

This is bad. Night was falling rapidly, and despite the visor's many advantages, in the dark there wasn't much it could help me with. I only managed to take another step back before the biggest one struck.

Feratz' POV

"Sir! Acacia is back! She's badly injured!" I shot out of the chair, running past the cat-servant through the hallways. Outside of Acacia's room cat-servants were running to and fro, carrying first aid supplies into the room, and bloody towels out. I couldn't get past the door, but I could look in. Acacia was writhing in pain as my personal doctor, a cobra demon named Vexin, cleaned massive cuts on her torso and arms. He was having trouble removing fur and what looked like teeth from the wounds. The big tweezers hit a nerve in her arm, and she yanked it from the grip of the cat-servants. Three of them jumped up, forcing her back onto the bed.

"SON OF A-!!" Acacia started to say, then cut off to hiss in pain as Vexin dug into her upper arm. I pushed past the cat-servants, stopping at the side of the bed that wasn't overtaken by the three-feet tall standing cats and six foot tall snake man. I ripped off the remains of the pelts that made up her covering, and her tattoos were revealed, glowing on and off. Her body was trying to heal itself, but something was keeping it from doing so.

"The anacondas' bite was poisoned." I lifted my head at Vexin's words, and I felt my anger flare up. Anacondas. That son of a bitch actually sent them after her. "She'll heal, but it will take time. I'm done for now. I suggest you stay with her for the next few hours, just to make sure the wounds aren't infected." He left without another word, and I was left with two cat-servants and a passed out Acacia. I sighed to myself.

"It figures that all this would happen on your eighteenth birthday." No sooner had the words left my mouth then her back arched off the bed, her face contorted in pain as she shrieked loudly.

Eric's POV

It's been four days since I last saw my mate. Three days since my father shut himself in his office, refusing to talk to anyone. My birthday passed in a blur, and just yesterday we buried my mother. As hard as I tried, I couldn't summon any feelings of hatred towards my mate. Acacia. That was all I had to go by, and that of all the supernatural races she could belong to, it was the demons she consorted with. An hour ago pain had sliced into my chest and arms, all coming from a phantom source. I had no doubt that it was from my mate. I had only just gotten enough control over my wolf to turn back to human when pain hit me again.

This time it was different. Unlike the cutting pain from earlier, this felt like fire burning through my veins. I fell to my knees in the grass, pulling up clumps of dirt as I raked my fingers through the ground. If what i was getting was only a fraction of what my mate was dealing with, I can't imagine what she's going through. Eventually the burning subsided, and I came to a conclusion. No matter what it takes, I'm getting my mate back.