The Zyphin Legacies: Book One
Completed
Kiros Asaphath is a traveler. But not just any traveler. She's the youngest explorer in the Uphro galaxy. She's been to every planet, from Minu to Edina. She's resourceful, intelligent, clever, and cunning.
Bu...
The young man grabbed my arm and tried to drag me into the forest, but I dug my heels into the ground and growled, "What do you think you're doing?"
He turned around, with his jaw clenched. "Listen. I don't know who you think you are, but I'm pretty sure that I know more about this planet and the creatures on this planet than you do. So if you want to survive here, then I suggest you stop whining and asking questions and just follow me."
"How do I know I can trust you?" I asked bravely.
I could see the exasperation on his face. "Sorry, but if you haven't noticed, I just killed that Suvvar for you, and you are alive. I don't know if you realize this, but that spear was two feet away from you. Get this through your head: if I wanted to hurt you, I would have. Alright? Now follow me."
He, thankfully, did not grab onto my arm again. He walked into the forest huffing, and I reluctantly followed. He was right. If he was native to the planet, then he probably knew a lot more than I could ever know. He could be pretty helpful in, you know, surviving...
"Um, can I, at least, get a name?" I asked, sidling up beside the guy.
"Leni," he said shortly. "Leni Seena." He turned around to glance at me. "What's yours?"
"I'm Kiros Asaphath..." I gazed around at the scenery, trying to figure out if he was taking me back in the direction of Vixen or-- I gasped. "Vixen!"
Leni looked back at me with an eyebrow raised. "Who?"
I shook my head. "My ship. I have to go back! I left the door open!" Fear struck me like a lightning bolt. "I need to get back there right now."
He laughed harshly. "Good luck with that. Do you even know which direction it's in?"
I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. He rolled his eyes and continued to walk. I trailed behind him awkwardly for a few minutes before sighing and blowing a stray lock of my dark brown hair out of my face. "So..." I began. "Where are we going?"
"To a place that will be safe from the rain," he replied vaguely.
"What's wrong with the rain?"
He shook his head but didn't look back. "Where are you from?"
"Egla," I said, slightly defensive.
He nodded and turned onto a path that I had probably run past when running from the... Uh... Thingy. "So you must know nothing about this planet."
I pursed my lips. "Not really."
"It always rains at night. That's why the plants and trees thrive so much. But the rain is acid, and if you're stuck out at night, you're dead," he explained.
I tensed up. "What happens if you're out in the rain?"
"It's acid. It burns your skin," Leni said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "If you had a bunch of acid sprinkled on you, do you really think it would just roll off like oil?"
This guy was really getting on my nerves.
I lifted my chin and walked with purpose. I wasn't going to let this guy pretend he was better than me just because he knew more about the planet than I did. Heck, I had probably been to more planets than he had even dreamed of.
Leni kept walking down the pathway, and in the distance, I could see what appeared to be buildings.
"What's up there?" I asked.
"My town," he replied, once again vague.
I nodded, mostly because I had nothing to say in response, and followed him out of the dense forest and to the top of a hill, looking down on a valley.
My breath was stolen from me. The grass was a vibrant red, which contrasted with the green sky. There were some small saplings sprinkled here and there throughout the landscape, which was pretty, but what really took my breath away was the town.
It was large for a town, and looked like it was from a hundred years in the future. The buildings were all made out of shimmering metal, and made it look like it was made out of crushed diamonds. The streets were paved with some kind of silver material that gleamed in the light of the sun. And the sun... When I was in the forest, I couldn't see the sun through all of the trees. But now...
This planet only had one sun, which was a bright gold. It shone with a warmth that the sun on Egla never did. The Eglisian sun was harsh and hot, and was the reason the planet was practically a wasteland of rock, sand, and dead flora and fauna.
I had a theory that the only reason Eglisians could survive was because we were all secretly part cactus.
There were so many people milling about the busy streets, buying off of street vendors, going into the buildings, or just stopping to talk with each other. Everyone looked so happy and content. It was like everyone belonged here. My heart began to ache at the thought.
"This is Cheribuen," Leni said, crossing his arms. "My hometown." He started down the hill. "I can help you find a place to stay."
I paused and frowned. "Why would you do that for me? I'm a stranger who fell from the sky. You don't know where I'm from, or who I am."
He stopped and smirked at me. "It would be inhumane to let you melt away in our acid rain. Even if no one will miss you."
"Who says no one will miss me?"
He raised an eyebrow. "You're all alone, for one. And two, if I don't know who you are, you must not be all that important."
Anger sparked in me. "I'm not important, but I'm pretty famous!"
"Then why haven't I heard of you before?" he said teasingly. "If you're so famous."
Maybe because I have never been anywhere near here, I thought. Maybe because I have no idea where I am, and if I did, you would certainly know who I was. Maybe you're just uncultured and have no idea that the youngest space explorer in history is standing right in front of you.
I clenched my fists, and ignored him, walking down the hill past him. "Just tell me where to go and I'll be out of your hair," I said through gritted teeth.
"Now, now. I thought that you were humbling yourself," he said, brushing past me.
I was disliking this guy more and more the longer I spent with him. "Fine. Lead the way."
He continued down the hill, completely oblivious to the red-hot glare that I was boring into the back of his head. "You may want to be cautious of the townspeople," he said as we came to the edge of the town limits.
"How come?" I asked.
The minute we stepped onto the busy street, everyone stopped moving and talking to stare at us. All at once, the people gasped and ran towards me, screaming, "They're here! They're here!"
My eyes widened as a huge crowd circled me like vultures. "Aaah!" I cried.
"That," Leni said, "is why you want to be cautious."
