Savage Rising: Eternal Forest Saga - Book 1

Chapter 5

After a while, Zehlyr was starting to get splinters in his back. Pressed up against the oak wall of his cell, his feet pushed hopelessly against the stone floor, unwilling to admit there was no more room he could put between himself and the balisekt. Azalea coward beside him, her hands up over her face and her knees tucked up to her chin. She held her cloak tightly around her, like a child taking comfort in a favorite blanket.

On the opposite side of the cell, the balisekt remained crouched down. Its hands were over its head, letting its clawed fingers wrap around the bars behind it. Its long, green tail smacked the ground with each twitch, sending up clouds of dust into the barely-lit room. Its eyes were locked forward, fixated on the two humans. It hissed softly with each breath. The sound was as calm as a kitten's purring but utterly terrifying.

Zehlyr lost all track of time, each breath he took felt stolen from fate. He had no idea why the creature hadn't torn them to shreds yet. Everything he had seen today went against all he'd been taught about balisekts, but old ways of thinking didn't die quickly. This balisekt seemed more curious than malicious, but Zehlyr wasn't sure enough to let his guard down; not that having his guard up would save him.

"You...you can speak...right?" Azalea finally asked with a shaky voice. She wasn't sure if attempting to establish communication would make their situation better or worse, but it was better than just waiting to die. "I heard you speak in the forest."

The creature nodded. "I can," it said. Its voice was raspy. Understanding its words was difficult, but not impossible.

"How is it you can speak?" Zehlyr asked.

"How is it you can speak?" the balisekt retorted with a chuckle.

"I'm sorry," Zehlyr replied, blushing with embarrassment that an animal had just bested his wits. "I've just never heard a balisekt speak before."

The creature moved suddenly, causing both Zehlyr and Azalea to flinch. Kicking off the ground with its massive feat, it whipped its tail around the top of the bars while grasping onto the lower portions with its hands. Suspended against the wall of the cell, the balisekt swung back and forth like an anxious child told to sit in the corner by its mother. "So, you have encountered others of my kind then?"

Zehlyr shook his head. "Well, no."

"Then why do you assume we cannot speak?"

"I...I don't know," he responded, realizing he truly didn't have a good answer. "I guess I've never been told by anyone that balisekts could talk. No one in any tribe has ever told of such a thing."

"To learn about a mouse, would one query a hawk?" the balisekt inquired.

"I don't understand."

The balisekt sighed. "You Creatures of Order have always despised my kind; cast us out into the uncivilized forest to live like savages with the goblins and trolls. Never have you thought us as equals, instead always meeting us with anger and bloodlust."

"Is that why you've learned our language, to seek our favor?" Zehlyr asked.

The balisekt nodded.

"Are...you going to kill us?" Azalea asked. As far as she was concerned, best to go ahead and skip to the important questions.

The balisekt shook its head. "I will not kill you. You saved my life and healed my wounds. I am in your debt." Its eyes turned towards Zehlyr. "You, I haven't decided yet." Zehlyr's eyes widened as his feet resumed kicking futilely against the floor. The balisekt closed its eyes, letting out a hissy laugh at the sight of it.

Zehlyr's legs calmed down as he realized he was being played for a fool. "That reminds me," he said, changing the subject. "How did you heal his wounds back in the village?" He'd asked the question once already, but not while this calm.