Avenger's Pathe

Chapter Three- Turning Tides

Where is that girl? The young man thought angrily. She could not have gone far. We have about half a candle remaining, judging by the sun.

"We have little over a half a candle, sir," his partner softly whispered. Jahki had the uncanny ability to answer another's thoughts. It unnerved Kaija to the point of irritation. 

His bright blue eyes scanned the clearing with tenacious slowness, lest he misses his target. She was a tricky one, slight and small; it was very easy for the eye to pass her by. A foul odor wafted up to his nose and his sharp eyes spotted the culprit thirty hands away. He gave the Stinkweed wide berth but still, his nose burned and eyes watered from the stench. It was odd to see such a plant in The Eye, Stinkweed only grew in the Khalaremet Desert.

"She couldn't have gone far," he replies, "She must be hiding."

"Should we release the dog, sir?" his partner asked, bending to release the leash of the great black Bour hound. The dog turned and licked his hand affectionately and smiled up at his master.

"No. I have to be the one that finds her, or all wagers are off. I cannot afford to lose."

Jahki wondered at what Kaija had wagered that could be of such importance. What was the goad to Kaija's determination and what had possessed him to wager anything against an Ellh cat like Suilai? He shook his head; he would never understand Kaija's logic.

Suilai watched from the confines of the Feyan tree. She had to admit she was slightly disappointed they didn't use the dog, for Kaija was forever gloating he was a superb tracker, among other things.

Today she would prove him wrong and beat him at this game, forever unmasking him as a charlatan. Uh, huh girlie, continue telling yourself that that's the only reason you decided to accept this challenge. Convince yourself that it's true, said the little mocking voice in her head. She quickly banished the thought with a sharp shake of her head

Sitting safely on her perch, Suilai watched Kaija as his bright eyes turned upwards, scanning the treetops. Lips moved with inaudible words, cursing her no doubt.

Staring down at the two tall, willowy forms of the young men, Suilai once again did not fail to notice how unlike she was compared to those that resided in the village. They were tall, slender like the supple branches of a young Feyan tree, moving with a sleek hunter's grace  Suilai could only hope to imitate.

Long golden hair ran the shades of the bright shimmering sun, to the deep, dark gold of the Feyan leaves. And their dark skin contrasted nicely with their eyes. Their eyes, she thought with envy, were always a spectacular, piercing blue mimicking the deep blue of the Nehemaran Sea, to the crisp blue of a clear winter's day. The two forms walking steadily towards her were not exempt from these obvious characteristics.

She, on the other hand, was smaller but no less lithe than her neighbors. Her hair was a mass of coffee, colored curls that tumbled to mid-thigh when it was loosed from its usual knots. But most of the time she pulled her hair into six intertwining loops making her look as though she had short hair and bangs, as all noble Cybreesian women had.

Except for her sideburns which fell to her thigh, the rest of her hair fell into a massive heap around her shoulders all puffy with unruly curls that stuck out in all directions. Her left sideburn was twisted into a thin braid that fell below her left hip and ended with a soft white ribbon wrapped around the last six fingers of hair and a black feather sat right above it. The opposite sideburn was the same but opposite in color; a thin braid fell past her hip and it ended in a black ribbon with a white feather tied right above it. These two feathers swayed and fluttered in the wind as Suilai tossed her head.