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Fading Echoes 5

  The tunnels below the desert seemed to go on forever. The desert itself had been bad enough: barren, sandy dunes swarming with flame toads and rouge lizards, all baking under the heat of a blazing sun that didn't even shine in the sky. It had been a relief to duck into the cool of the cavern, and an even bigger relief to find the subterranean river rushing in a deep channel to one side of the tunnel.

  But that had been ages ago. Sai had no idea how long he and the raptor had been hiking through endless stretches of narrow, featureless tunnels. He couldn't even tell which way was north anymore, or how deep he'd gone. He'd tried to turn around at one point and get back outside, taking passages that led up instead of down. But all he'd managed to do was get himself helplessly lost.

  Which was when he stumbled onto a creature unlike any he'd seen before. Unlike any he'd even read about. The first thing he noticed were the wings. Massive wings covered in feathers of countless shades of blue sprouted from the beast's shoulders. But those tawny-furred shoulders belonged to a large cat, as did the bladed claws of its broad forepaws. Its horned head was also a cat's save for the orange beak that had replaced its muzzle. Its eyes were closed, and it did not seem to have noticed Sai's approach. Down the passage behind it, Sai could see a massive waterfall cascading down from above. The crashing water seemed to block the entire passage and filled the caverns with a deafening roar.

  "What are you?" Sai whispered to himself beneath the sound of the falling water. Improbably, the creature's feline ears pricked up, and its head snapped to where Sai and the raptor were standing. It roared at them without opening its eyes. "Unfriendly, then!" Sai roared back, drawing his weapon.

  But then the creature at last opened its eyes.

  Sai gasped and started so violently that he knocked himself out of bed and fell to the floor. His heart pounded in his ears, racing from a nightmare he could not remember. He pushed himself to his knees and looked around in panic.

  "One might almost think you enjoy dying the way you charge towards deadly creatures," said a shadowy voice around him.

  Sai blinked, and what had just happened began to come back to him as though through a dream. The eyes. Those eyes. He couldn't even remember what they looked like. Only the force of the malice behind them. "What was that thing?" he asked.

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  "That was Anzu, one of my guardians," said Syn. "He's quite territorial."

  Sai put his hands over his eyes, but he could still see the creature staring through him. "And he can kill me just by looking at me?" he asked.

  "He can," Syn confirmed. "Such a fantastic creature."

  "How am I supposed to get past something like that?" Sai asked.

  "Simple," said Syn. "You're not."

  Sai sighed and pushed himself to his feet. "How was death, by the way?" Syn asked. "Everything you dreamed of?" Sai sighed again and glared at the ceiling. Syn chuckled. "Suit yourself."

  Sai was almost relieved that the raptor was still waiting for him. "You again?" he asked with a smirk, preparing for their usual dance.

  "Chirp!" said the raptor, and she pranced to his side.

  Sai backed away. "What are you doing?" he asked. "I thought we had a thing. We fight, I shackle you, we face the Vale together."

  "Grrr…" said the raptor.

  Sai walked back to her side and placed his golden claw on her head. She closed her eyes and pressed against his touch. "But you're willing to be shackled without a fight," said the orc. "It's like you want to travel with me." He shook his head. "No. That's impossible. The wyrmkin are children of Syn. You don't have minds. You know only destruction."

  The raptor pulled back and cocked her head. "Skree?" she asked.

  Sai stared into her eyes. "I never had a pet," he murmured. "Especially not a pet raptor." He looked past her and into the distance. "Pets have names. You don't name research subjects."

  Sai's eyes snapped back to the raptor. He pointed his claw at her. "Obey, slave," he commanded, casting out his psychic shackles. They locked into place without any resistance. "Good girl," he said. He called the raptor to his side and scratched her head. "I'll call you Cuatete. 'Swift Talon.'"

  Cuatete danced around him. "Chirp!" she said.

  Sai laughed. "I guess I can't say I've never had a pet now," he said. "But look." He had her stop dancing, put his hands on either side of her face, and stared into her bright yellow eyes. "If we meet another orc, you're just a nameless, mindless thrall, got it? They'll kill me like they did Drang if they think I'm being nice to the wyrmkin."

  "Grrr…" she said.

  "No, don't eat them!" Sai said. "That would make it worse!" Then he laughed again, and Cuatete shook free of his grip. "And don't forget that you are still a slave," Sai went on. "Your shackles are the only thing that let us understand each other what little that we do."

  "Skree?" asked Cuatete.

  "Yes," Sai confirmed. "That means it's just you and me, at least for now. I can't sustain more than one set of shackles for any real length of time."

  "Chirp!" said Cuatete.

  "I'm going to need to teach you how to handle yourself in combat, though," Sai told her. "There are things out there that would eat you alive."

  Cuatete dropped into her fighting stance. "Grrr…" she said.

  "Yes, you're very scary," Sai told her. "Now come one. We've got things to do. Gods to escape." He headed for the stairs, but Cuatete darted down them ahead of him.

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