“I think the trees may be out for camping tonight—at least that one,” he mused with a shake of his head at the colony of tiny purple creatures.
He closed his eyes and carefully listened to the surrounding sounds. The chirps of birds mixed with the buzzing of insects and the chatter of the Purple-Tailed Tree Mice. Another sound coming from his right filtered through the noise—the sound of rushing water.
Asahi opened his eyes and turned in that direction. Water meant a river or lake that could lead him to either a village or the coast. He unfastened his belt and slid the end through the loop in the dagger’s sheath. He refastened the buckle and rolled his shoulders to ease the tension in them before he set off toward the sound of flowing water. If Ruth was anywhere nearby, he hoped she would do the same.
Nali’s palace:
Underground chambers
“Keep her contained. I want no one except the gargoyles anywhere near her. See if Denae can do anything to relieve her suffering,” Nali instructed as she stepped out of the high-security containment room.
“Yes, Empress,” Di answered.
Nali looked through the thick diamond plate window. The room had been reinforced and sealed so the alien could not escape. She splayed her hand against the foot-thick steel door as she studied the suffering Sea Stag in the water tank. Two gargoyles monitored the Sea Stag mare.
“Empress, is there anything I can do?” her old guardian asked.
Nali shook her head. “No, Pai. I must do this alone,” she murmured.
The hippogriff shook his head and snapped his beak. She looked at him and smiled at his obvious disapproval.
“Your parents…,” he began before snapping his beak closed once again.
“…would have insisted that you accompany me. I understand your concern, Pai, but my parents never had to face anything like this before,” she said, looking back through the window. “She is being tortured by the alien inside her.”
Pai stepped closer, the long talons on his front legs tapping against the polished stone floor. Nali lifted her hand and gently caressed the feathers along his neck. Pai had been her guardian all her life, and she appreciated his many years of unwavering friendship and loyalty.
“I can see to the Sea Stag’s execution. I would make sure she doesn’t suffer,” Pai offered. “It would be more merciful.”
She shook her head. “Not yet. Perhaps Denae can draw the alien out of the poor creature without killing her,” she murmured.
Nali retraced her steps to the upper levels of the palace. Pai followed her. Gargoyle soldiers stood at attention as she passed. She bowed her head in greeting to each one, even as her thoughts were focused on the problem at hand.
“Nali, if there is another alien, it is best that I help you search. You need my superior eyesight,” Pai coaxed.
Nali chuckled and sighed. “You aren’t going to give up, are you?” she demanded as she stopped and faced him.
Pai tilted his head as if thinking about her question before he shook it. “No,” he teasingly replied.
Her expression softened when she saw the worry that he didn’t bother to hide. She also noticed the silvering of his feathers and the slight limp in his gait. Pai’s expert skills would be useful, but she worried about his health. He was no longer the spry young hippogriff that he had been a century ago.
“You are aware of what the alien can do. You’ve witnessed what will happen if it enters your body. We are still not sure how it does that. I hope Denae will be able to tell us. You also know that you won’t have the same protection that I do, Pai,” Nali warned, already knowing that she would give in to Pai’s desire to go with her.
“And what will happen if it takes you by surprise before you can shift? Who would be there to protect you?” he asked.
“You, of course! Do you really think I don’t know when you follow me—even against my orders?” she replied with a wave of her hand.
Pai chuckled. “I must be losing my talons,” he answered instead. “Where do we start?” he asked.
“We start where the Sea Stag came ashore,” she instructed.
Nali soared through a cloud, her long wings spread wide, leaving a faint contrail of swirling mist behind her. Pai flew beside her, his sharp eyes scanning the coast. They were close to the area where the injured female Sea Stag had washed ashore.
“Empress, there is something moving near the rocks half-a-mile north of here,” Pai called.
Nali turned north, slowly descending until she had a better view. A line of rocks rose above the surface of the water, protecting one of the many black-sand beaches that lined this part of the coast. Near those rocks, she saw a Sea Stag struggling in the surf.
“Keep a safe distance, Pai,” she warned before pulling her wings in tight against her body and diving toward the beach.
She twisted at the last second, landing on her feet. She shifted, her skin and clothing hardening to smooth and supple black marble. Her feet sank into the fine, black grains of sand, her footprints disappearing behind her as she walked over to the Sea Stag. He was lying on the beach, the lower half of his body still in the surf.
She pursed her lips to keep her outraged cry from drawing Pai down to the beach. The Sea Stag was slit from his front fin to the tip of his tail. The wound was large and it gaped, revealing bone and internal organs. It was a miracle that the stag had made it to shore.
Nali cooed softly to the stag as she approached, placing the beautiful creature into a trance. The usually bright-red scales were pale and dull as the life force faded from the beast. The stag turned his head toward her and made a barely audible whinny. She kneeled beside him in the damp sand and gently lifted his head onto her lap.
“I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you,” she murmured, stroking the slender jaw.
The stag’s eyelids drooped, and he shuddered. Rare tears slipped from the corners of Nali’s eyes as she held the dying creature. Only great tragedy and sorrow could bring tears to a gargoyle’s eyes. She bent forward and rested her head against the stag.
“Please, I need to know what happened to you before I can let you go,” she whispered.
Another shudder ran through the stag at her request. She closed her eyes as images of the stag’s last minutes formed in her mind through her bond with the beast. When the creature’s fear hit her, she took a deep breath and gently stroked the fin between the stag’s ears.
The living black liquid had come up out of the depths of the ocean. Long tentacles had attacked the juveniles before they broke free and escaped. The alien attacked the female first. When the male rushed to defend her, the second alien struck.
The images faded before she could see what happened next. The stag’s wounds were too grave, and she sensed him slipping away from her. She lifted her head and looked up at the sky. Above her, Pai kept watch.
Nali lowered her head and tenderly stroked the young stallion before she whispered a simple incantation. Her magic surrounded the Sea Stag, engulfing the body of this once-beautiful creature in a vivid white light. When the light faded, a single brilliant gem was all that remained, and she was alone on the beach.
Nali picked up the precious stone and held it against her heart. She rose to her feet and stared out at the ocean. Pai swept down and landed near her.