Pursuer (Alwahi Series) (21 page)

“
And who is to be my opponent?” Zanas asked. Anessa looked at her and then turned her eyes pointedly at Dressdon.

“
As it always is… you will face your team leader.”

… … …

They stood in the darkened shadows of the hallway.

“
I will not take it easy on you. All Pursuers must pass this test or they are unworthy to be clan,” Dressdon said quietly. He had the face he usually had lately, the blank unreadable countenance. Once again, there was a soft voice telling her she should be afraid, and yet she wasn’t.

“
And you should know,” Zanas said her voice coming out in a soft growl. “I will not take it easy on
you
.” She turned and began to walk down the hallway that echoed with the soft laughter of Dressdon.

Maleek had finally returned and he greeted her when she entered the room, pressing his wet nose against her hands. Zanas felt somewhat at ease. A weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She finally knew what the third challenge was. She no longer had to wait and wonder what it would be. Now she needed to start preparing herself for it.

Zanas tried to remember back to the time she had played the course with Dressdon. A scene came to her mind. In it, Dressdon was standing in one of the high walled canyons, aiming with dangerous accuracy at Ressna. She tried to pause the moment in her mind, looking at it from every angle. The way he held his bow, the tension in his arms, the position of his feet, all the things that could give her some idea of a strategy.

Maleek seemed to sense her tension and rubbed his rough side against her leg. Zanas reached down and gave him a pat on the head. He had been a good companion to her, always loyal and caring. He stood up strolling to her bow that sat against the far wall, nudging it with his nose. It gave a small clank as it toppled to the floor. A hiss escaped her lips and she rushed over, picking up the bow and running her hands over its smooth surface, testing for any breaks.

“
Take it easy Maleek, you big brute.” she said in a half-angry tone. Something felt good about the weapon in her hands, the weight of it stretching her muscles. Her spirits began to lift at the thought of arrows flying through the air. Zanas gave Maleek an appreciative pat as she headed towards the fourth level.

Zanas had no idea why, but she had yet to use the shooting range. Perhaps she had not seen a reason to before because she used her bow often on her hunts with her team. But they were in a down time right now. All the teams rotated their hunting shifts, each one receiving valuable time off. Zanas believed that most Pursuers found this to be a peaceful time, but she found it unnerving. She preferred to be on the move, instead of spending her time lounging.

She heard the laughter of Pursuers as she stepped out of the door and onto the fourth floor. When she passed by the fighting hall she could see two Pursuer’s landing blows, as a small crowd cheered them on. The waiting room to the course stood empty as she passed it next, the protective suits gleaming lonely on the walls. The next room was where Zanas was headed. As she stepped through the doorway, she was glad to see that the room was mostly deserted, with just a few Pursuers launching their arrows into the targets.

She placed herself into an empty booth. The shooting range stretched out in front of her. There were numerous targets placed randomly along its body. Some of the targets resembled animals, some that Zanas recognized, and others that she did not. Other targets resembled the shapes of humans and for some reason this amused Zanas. She loaded an arrow and let it fly. It soared through the air and landed square in the head of a dummy.

“
Nicccccceee….” she heard an amused voice.

Zanas looked over to see Desstina taking the booth next to her, her bow in her hands. Zanas watched as the blonde sent an arrow flying through the air and into the eye of the dummy Zanas had hit. Desstina turned towards her and grinned.

“
Deadly minds think alike,” Desstina said, with a sly smile lowering her eyes and looking intently at her bow. “You know, this is where I came the night before my third test,” she said pulling one of her arrows out of her quiver and twirling it in her hands before sighing. “Many die in the final test, but you’re one squirrely prey. I’m sure I’ll be amused by you for a very long time.” A frown crossed her pretty face. “But that’s all I want to say, I didn’t come here for chatting,” she finished pulling her blonde hair into a knot and then began to launch one arrow after another.

Zanas could not help but be warmed by the girl’s words. Desstina was small and deadly in her dazzling way. She gave no apologies for her rash, blunt behavior, and she thrived in a society that valued these traits. Yet she had gone beyond her natural instinct and calmed fears that she thought may have been circulating in her teammate’s head.

… … …

Zanas curled up next to Maleek, in their big stone bed. She allowed herself only once to wonder at the future of Maleek, should she fail the final test. Thinking like that would not aid her. She had to keep her mind fear free. She
would
become a Pursuer or she would die trying. It was her destiny. Maleek, normally stirring frequently in the night, was remarkably still. He may have sensed the worry in his companion and tried to give Zanas every possible opportunity to rest.

Her final test was scheduled just after breakfast. Although she knew that she should eat for strength, Zanas found herself unable to when she awoke in the morning. Instead, she spent the few hours looking down at the glittering city that had captured her heart. A soft knock at her door summoned her and she opened it to see a worried looking Ressna.

“
I just wanted to wish you luck,” she said quickly reaching forward and pulling Zanas into a hug. “I have no doubt you will do well,” she whispered and then she turned and fled.

Zanas closed the door and returned to her bed. She cuddled with Maleek and stroked his rough fur. He purred at her and licked her hands with his tongue. Sensing that it was time, she rose and left the room, leaving the door ajar so Maleek could leave if he needed.

The walk down the hallways seemed even longer than usual, and the climb up the towering steps seemed never ending. Zanas opened the door to the fourth floor expecting to find it changed in some way, but the hustle of the floor was unchanged. Pursuers were occupied in a variety of activities, and only a few gave her a look as she passed. When she finally made it to the waiting room of the course, she was only met by two people, Anessa and Dressdon.

Although there were two people in the room, Zanas only had eyes for one. She found herself sucked in, as his eyes stared back at her. The blank look was gone, his eyes afire, and Zanas knew that if she dared put her hand to his chest, his heart would beat rapidly beneath her fingers. His face was dark, a black hand smudged across his face. His bow seemed enormous in his hands, three black tipped arrows erupting from his quiver.

“
The final test is a private exchange. There will be no audience here. It will be between the hunter and the prey. May you come out of the course alive. You may enter at any time,” Anessa said in a businesslike way. Zanas wondered how many pledges she had said the very same thing to, and how many of them had made it out alive. The emotionless way she said this faltered her confidence for just a moment, and then she looked back into the burning eyes of Dressdon and felt her resolution aflame once again.

Zanas exited the waiting room and entered the course. The empty canyons surrounded her with silence. She could almost imagine being somewhere in the Grand Canyon, its huge body enveloping her small existence. But if this was the Grand Canyon, it was the underworld version of it. Zanas closed her eyes, and took one deep breath. Her eyes snapped open, and she began running down the central canyon. She was the prey, and he was going to have to work to find her.

Concentrating on the sound of her movement she was able to discern when there was a second body moving behind her. The hairs on her arm stood up, as she felt a vibration in her body. It was the vibration of a string, quivering slightly as it released its hold, sending its arrow soaring. There was no thinking, just instinct, Zanas dived around the corner of the next canyon, and heard the shattering of wood meeting stone, the tiny shards raining down upon her.

She pushed herself back up in one fluid motion, and once again began racing through the canyons. She could hear the steady rhythm of his feet picking up pace behind her, pushing forward, gaining. Changing her strategy, she began zigzagging through canyon entrances. Barely skidding around a corner, she heard a soft curse as he missed, forced to back track.

Pounding her feet onto the rock beneath her, she worked on increasing the gap between them. Zanas came around the corner at full speed and came to a stop, her feet leaving a trail on the thin layer of sand. Ahead loomed the high walls of the canyon; she had entered a dead end. Given only had a split second to register this, she heard the twang of an arrow being released.

Zanas pivoted instantly, but still was not fast enough. A small scream escaped her lips as the arrow pierced her shoulder. It was as through a hot searing poker had been stabbed through her flesh. Her vision began to darken, that small voice telling her that it was over, that she should lie down and give up, that she was not strong enough.

But that was not her voice. That was what she had been led to believe all her life. But she
was
strong enough. She would not lie down and die, and for the last time she silenced that voice. She would finally accept who she was meant to be, she finally had no fear. Her vision turned from black, to the reddish tint of the hunt. A growl of anger burst from her lips as she reached up and tore the arrow from her shoulder, placing her hand against the wound, blood oozing from between her fingers.

He was pulling his final arrow from his quiver and placing it in its notch, aiming it at her heart.

Zanas sprinted into motion, running towards him in a random, zigzagging way. Part of her watched Dressdon as he trailed her, moving his aim as she moved, trying to get a good shot. He almost had it, she could sense his finger begin to tense as he prepared to release his arrow. Zanas used that second to leap onto the side of the canyon wall, using its hard surface to push off with her feet, and launch herself at Dressdon. She soared through the air like a missile, her foot connecting with the side of his face, shock registering as his bow was knocked free from his hands.

The clank of Dressdon’s bow hitting the rock echoed in her ears, as they fell to the ground. Zanas felt the breath knocked from her, and she panicked for a moment, unable to breath. Air finally began to travel down her airways, and she gasped in the cool sweetness. Zanas was finally able to focus, the hazy outline of the arrow coming into view.

She reached out, trying to grab the arrow in her hands, only to feel the iron grip of Dressdon as he dragged her back towards him. The rough floor of the canyon scratched at her clothing and she heard the rip of fabric, and the stinging of scrapped flesh. Zanas twisted around, trying to free her leg from Dressdon’s grip, kicking her other leg out. With one mighty yank, he had pulled her beside him, pinning her down firmly with his wide hands.

A small scream escaped her lips as his hand dug into the injury in her shoulder. Stars began to form in her vision, her peripheral turning black. In a desperate attempt to keep her consciousness, Zanas dug her hands into the ground beneath her, the rocky substance crumbling in her fingers. The weight of his body pressed on hers, holding her down in her last attempt at a struggle. The spots in her vision spread, her strength seeping, just as her blood seeped into the canyon beneath her. Her hands jerked, grasping, finally catching hold.

The weight lifted from her body, and her awareness was sucked back inside her. Her eyes focused on Dressdon’s back as he walked towards his bow and the arrow that lay still on the ground. She ignored the pounding in her head and the wet sticky feeling of her clothes as she pulled herself up.

He didn’t see her coming; he had underestimated her, and with his back still turned, Zanas brought down the rock she had clawed from the earth upon his head. Dressdon let out a gasp as he collapsed to one knee. Holding her hand to her shoulder, Zanas gritted her teeth in pain as she made her way out of the dead-end.

She felt a second surge, as the adrenaline coursed through her veins once more, and she picked up her pace to a jog. Zanas did not know how long her surge of energy would last, but she did know that the wound in her shoulder was continuing to bleed, and blood had begun to trail down her legs.