Guardians of the Prophecy

Chapter Five: Anxiety

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A large shadow soared above them, roaring. At least something interesting was finally happening after two days of slow trudging along dirt roads towards the next city.

The both of them started, and Shaheen gave a soft squawk on her shoulder, ruffling her feathers. Rima glanced up and widened her eyes. Without thinking, she seized Alistair's wrist and pulled them beneath the shade of a tall tree.

She watched as the sunlight hit the flying creature. It had the head and powerful body of a golden lion. She could see its enormous paws tucked beneath its torso as the animal streaked through the sky. Its wide beige wings and feathered tail flared as it veered off to the side.

She felt Shaheen shudder and huddle closer against her head.

"What is it?" Alistair whispered.

"You don't need to whisper," she replied. "It shouldn't be able to hear us from here. It's an Uma Na-Iru. I remember reading a story that said it was the mount for the storm god Ishkur."

"I thought they were only myths."

"Looks like they're real. It's said that these creatures have the heads and bodies of lions, and a bird's tail and wings." She pointed. "You can tell that it's true, even from this distance."

The creature shrieked once again as it abruptly turned back towards the Cistern Temple's formations of stone, before finally flying off into the distance.

Rima waited a few more moments before she dared to venture out from beneath the tree. She glanced around and continued forward.

"Let's go." She had only taken a few steps when she realized that Alistair wasn't by her side.

"Alistair?" Rima turned. "Come on."

He walked up to her, staring up at the sky. "Was that thing hostile?"

She smiled. "From what I've read, they're supposed to be friendly."

"Then why did we hide under a tree?" Alistair raised a brow at her.

Rima shrugged. "I wasn't thinking when I did that," she admitted. "But better to be safe than sorry. And I've never seen an Uma Na-Iru before! I feel like this is just the beginning. Maybe Salim was right. Maybe I will encounter creatures on my journey. Creatures that people haven't seen before in years."

"Who's Salim?" Alistair frowned.

She waved him off. "The stable boy who works for Nasib, my cousin."

He was silent for a moment as they continued walking. "Sounds like you know a lot about mythology."

"What?" Rima looked up at him.

"Back there. You knew quite a bit about that thing."

"Stop calling it a thing. It's an Uma Na-Iru. But yes, I liked reading a lot of myths back at Almas. Their library is amazing!"

"Uh-huh..." Alistair shrugged, shoved his hands in the pockets of his pants, and walked ahead of her.

She sighed and crossed her arms before following. Shaheen nuzzled her neck and took off into the sky.

"This is really inconvenient," Rima muttered to herself, pulling the abaya tighter around her head and figure. "It's already so hot, but with this stupid robe thing, I feel like I'm suffocating." Shaheen dug her talons into her other arm and blinked up at Rima. She murmured a soft apology for jostling the bird.