But as he reached for another branch, something amidst the foliage caught his eye. Squinting in the dark, Morgis thought he made out a rather large shape. It almost looked like-
Then a gasp from further down the hilly path made him forget all about wood and sinister shapes. Morgis threw the firewood aside and peered in the direction of the sound.
A cloaked form ducked into the woods nearby.
Weapon unsheathed, the drake darted to where he had last seen the figure. He found no sign at first, but then the rustling of leaves and branches to the west alerted him. Again he noted the dark outline of someone in a travel cloak.
“Halt! Ssstop where you are!”
The figure hesitated, then hurried on. Slashing his way through the woods, Morgis gave pursuit. The dry limbs readily fell to his massive blade while ahead of him the figure seemed caught by every twig. Nearer and nearer Morgis drew.
As another gasp escaped his quarry, he realized that he pursued a female. She stood as tall as a human, but moved more lithely even despite being slowed constantly by the trees.
But then Morgis had troubles of his own. Catching his foot on an exposed root, the drake found himself falling forward, his blade flying from his grip. He struck the harsh ground with a grunt.
Rather than make use of his blunder, the figure hesitated again. To Morgis’s surprise, she turned back, slowly making her way to him.
Distrustful of this change of heart, he pushed himself up as best he could. His blade lay out of reach, but Morgis had other skills. Not as adept at magic as his sire, he nonetheless could cast a defensive spell in an emergency. It was a secret very few of those he battled beside knew.
But instead of attacking, the cloaked female carefully took his sword up by the point and reached the weapon back to him. Morgis cautiously accepted it, then waited.
“You-you’re real, then,” the shadowed figure uttered.
“Do I ssseem like some figment of your imagination?”
She shook her head. “No. That’s not what I mean. What I mean to say is-is that you’re you. You’re… alive.”
“A trait we share in common.” He held back from any other retorts, though, seeing the fear in her expression. She bundled the cloak tight around her. “You are one of the cat people. One of Troia’sss kind.”
Her large, feline eyes blinked. Of course she did not know Troia, who had become mate to the Gryphon and mother to his children. Troia had stayed in the background, but she had been every bit as much a part of the downfall of the empire as the Gryphon had. With the grace and swiftness of her people, she had leapt into every battle, a true warrior queen in the eyes of many.
And so much more in the eyes of one drake.
“Never mind. Who are you? Why are you here? Thisss is certainly not a place for you.”
She glanced back at the distant keep. “I had nowhere to go. I ran and got lost. I seemed to be running in circles during the day. I feared I wouldn’t survive a second night… and then I saw you three come-”
Morgis was not the patient sort. He held up a hand to quiet her. “Let usss begin again. This time with more order. Who are you?”
“My name… my name is Kalena.”
“Kalena. Your kind do not live in these lands. I must assume you have a reassson to be here where few would find you. A thief, perhaps?”
He saw that he had struck true. “Not a thief,” she murmured. “A smuggler… at least I was.”
“Not alone?”
“No. There was Brom,” Kalena said his name with a fondness that informed the drake that the two had been more than business partners. “And, of course, the Gnor.”
The Gnor. Morgis had fought alongside the ursine creatures during the height of the rebellion. Fearsome warriors, as worthy as any drake in battle. “Where are your companionsss now?”
She drew the cloak closer, leaving only her face open to the night. Morgis had to squint to see her worsening expression. “Dead. Both of them. In the keep.”
Thinking of Awrak and Leonin, the drake looked back at the ancient edifice. “When? How long? We sssaw no bodiesss!”
“Last-last night. It took their-their-” Kalena suddenly threw herself into his chest, sobbing.
Unaccustomed to such emotion focused on him, Morgis initially stood frozen. Then, recalling how others reacted, he put one tentative arm around the cat woman, patting her gently but awkwardly near the shoulder.
But as he comforted her, his mind raced. He recalled the blood stain and how fresh it had seemed. It would have taken many rats to make such a mark.
What a fool he had been!
Kalena looked up, her eyes wider yet. “Your friends! You need to warn them! Brom and the Gnor, they didn’t know to expect anything-”
“I cannot leave you out here,” he hissed. “You mussst come.”
“I can’t-” Kalena started to pull away, then apparently thought better of it. “But-I’ve nowhere to go.”
Morgis straightened. His full height put him on a level akin to the Gnor and he had abilities the other fighter had lacked. “Remain with me and you will be safe. I promissse you that on my honor as a drake warrior…”
She said nothing, only nodding. Keeping her close to his free arm, he steered her toward the structure. They moved at a quick pace-Kalena with some lingering reluctance-but not quick enough to suit Morgis. He still did not understand what had killed the smuggler’s comrades, but it had done so in the very place his own companions now awaited him.
He hoped he was not already too late.
And from the woods beyond where Morgis had found Kalena, several dark forms separated from the shadows… then slowly moved toward the keep.
III
“Leonin! Awrak!”
The drake’s shouts echoed throughout the hollow building as he and the cat woman entered. The initial lack of response filled him with dread, but then he heard movement above and Leonin appeared on the upper level.
“You tryin’ to wake the dead-” His gaze fixed on the figure next to Morgis. Although her form was all but obscured by the cloak, enough light from the torches existed to enable the human to see what his comrade had found. “Well! A lady in our midst… and fine, fine lady at that!”
Morgis looked at Kalena in the light. He had earlier compared her vague visage to that of Troia, but now he saw the marked differences. Kalena was younger, but her face had a maturity about it that hinted of a harder life than even the Gryphon’s mate. Her fur was also lighter and a small scar ran down one cheek. Like Troia, however, she was overall very beautiful.
And immediately reminded the drake of the rare emotions he had felt whenever near his old comrade’s female.
“Awrak!” Leonin called down the hall. “Get your feathered self out here and meet our guest!” With that, the slim fighter lithely descended the worn stairway, arriving before the cloaked Kalena with a flourish. He reached up to take her half-hidden hand.
Temper suddenly flaring, Morgis stepped between them. “Enough foolishnessss! We are in danger here, human!”
“Danger? What danger?”
“Tell usss, Kalena… tell usss the whole ssstory…”
And as she did, Leonin’s expression went from lusty to wary almost immediately.
Even Morgis listened with growing dismay as the cat woman told them of her search and how she had come across the cabinet. Like Leonin, she had thought that there might be riches within… but instead she had come across a horror the likes of which Kalena could never have imagined.
There were faces in the cabinet, a row of faces dangling from hooks like clothes. Most were human, but she recalled a few other races as well. At first glance, the startled smuggler had assumed them lifelike masks… until her acute sense of smell had indicated them to be much, much more.