The morning light filtered through billowing clouds, and the air was cool on her skin. One of the benefits of being Hippeus was that her temperature was higher. Rain wouldn’t be caught dead in shorts right now. It would be too chilly for her mortal friend.
She heard birds flutter from the trees further down the shore. A lake serpent lurched out of the water, catching a bird that had flown too low and taking it below the frigid depths. The rippling waters mesmerized her, the smooth and glassy expanse replaced with rolling waves. It perfectly matched her mood. She took a deep, thought-clearing breath of the mountain air that held earthy scents of wood and leaves.
For long moments she sat and welcomed the peacefulness of the place.
She heard crackling branches and leaves to her left. Damn, she just needed a moment to herself. She knew what she’d see when she peered down from her perch. Their scent preceded them as they ambled closer. Yep. Wonderful. Looking down, she saw not just one, but three akanthodis she’d be forced to deal with. Her mother and father had trained her well through the years, so dispatching the evil creatures wouldn’t be difficult.
As far as hell beasts went, they were the weakest of the bunch. She watched to see if there were more, but detected only the three below. They stank of tainted blood. Double sets of crimson eyes looked around the bank as they sniffed snubbed noses along the ground. Sharp, poisonous spindles fanned from their backs. They were close to her height of five foot three and a third inches; you counted every fraction as if it were gold when belonging to a race of big-assed Hippeus. The next smallest member of the half-warhorse race was her own mother, who topped out at a slightly more suitable five foot eight inches. She sighed, annoyed at the interruption.
The soft noise brought the first batch of eyes to her level, and the beast let out a piercing screech, no doubt to alert the others who were standing right next to it. She called to the earth, a power from her father’s side. Roots lifted and caught and twined along all of the beasts’ legs. They shrieked and fought, breaking some limbs before spewing fire in her direction. She snuffed the flames with a thought, the power over air a gift from her mother’s side. She took the air from the flames as well as the beasts’ lungs. She pulled hard. It was taxing on her energy stores to use those particular abilities, but they were her best alternative when up against fire-breathing hell creatures. They gasped and writhed, unable to get air for long minutes before finally collapsing; then more moments passed while she made sure they were dead. Her breathing was ragged, and she kept inhaling, knowing it would even out. If they weren’t so evil, she would have felt bad for killing the creatures.
She shook her head and then turned to the trunk of the tree. Closing her eyes, she touched a hand to the rough bark, soothing and repairing the damage she’d wrought. When she opened her eyes again, she saw it. Big, hairy and not an inch from her hand. Shrieking nearly as loud as the downed hell beasts, she lost her seating and flailed toward the ground. She managed to save herself a few aches and pains by calling the wind to ease her descent. She lay there taking deep breaths to still her racing heart. The spider was huge, and if she had stayed up in the tree, it would have gotten in her hair. She shivered at the thought, trying to suppress the itching feeling she knew she’d have for the remainder of the day. It felt like little furry legs were crawling all over her body. What a wonderful morning.
“Alyssa! What are you doing outside of the border?”
Damn, it just kept getting better. She knew that deep hearty bellow. She closed her eyes a second, and she listened to hooves clopping in her direction. Looking up, she saw that she was, indeed, correct. The rich, chocolaty muscled flank of her father’s half-warhorse form stood beside her. All Hippeus chose partial horse form while patrolling. His sword was strapped to his back. His long brown hair waved to his shoulders, and his beautiful hazel eyes peered at her under dark, furrowed brows. His eyes held a world of concern, and her stomach clenched. She shook her head, irritated that she still felt bad for worrying him. He and her mother had been keeping a huge secret from her. About her life. She clenched her teeth and stood, feeling anger boiling up inside her. She needed to get the hell out of there before she said something she would regret.
“Sweeting, are you all right?”
At his soft tone, she pasted what she hoped looked like a smile to her lips. It felt brittle, but she didn’t want to discuss anything with him until she had figured out exactly what she was going to do.
“I’m fine, Father. Just lost my footing in the tree. I went for a run and ended up here,” she said as she brushed off the back of her shorts. No way was she mentioning the spider. She noticed, to her complete mortification, that it wasn’t only her father that had come running. Standing behind him were his two favorite warriors. She had been distracted and hadn’t even heard their approach, and she’d been trained better than that. She felt her face heat in embarrassment. Curran’s eyes scanned the area for threats. His shoulder-length light hair was back in a band. He turned and gave her a look of amusement. Being found laid out on the ground was not something she ever wanted those of her race to see. She was aggravated and mortified.