Rider King part 12

VENUS POV

I go in and out of sleep. I can tell Treysa is nearby, but I don’t know where she has taken me. There’s a shadow that moves in my blurry vision— a person. I can’t focus on anything other than my fever, so I lie limp and wait for the world to make sense again.

I'm lifted gently, and something cool is poured down my throat. It’s water, so I swallow until I cough uncontrollably.

“Take it easy, girl,” a woman warns me.

I sink into sleep again, comforted by Treysa’s head that lies on my lap. The next time I’m up, my vision is clear and I find myself alone in an old shack. There’s piles of scrolls and books in here. I can barely see the floor.

The door creaks open, and I reach for my non-existent weapon. The woman that enters is elderly. Her hair is an icy blue from age, her skin is grey, and her face wrinkled with the secrets of life. She stares at me for a second, and then she chuckles.

“You are finally up. You’re a strange one. Burning up with fever and bloody, but refusing to whimper. I suppose shouldn’t expect less from a Rider Queen.”

I purse my lips. How does she know about my former title? Did Dramon put a bounty on me already?

“There isn’t much you can hide from a Seer.”

She places a basket on top of some books, and I take the chance to check myself. The blood on my thighs is gone, but I can tell I’m wearing some sort of pad.

Relief slams into me when I realize that I hadn’t miscarried after all. There had been no baby. The stress on my body must have forced me to menstruate earlier than usual.

“Thank you,” I clear my throat and try to push myself off the bed. “I have to get going, but I will send you payment for your troubles when I reach the Capital.”

“I don’t think you’ll be reaching the capital anytime soon.”

“What?” I demand. “Why? Was there another attack?”

I don’t have a Clan anymore, but I’ll still run to King Centres and fight beside him.

“Do you want to tell me why Dramon has been flying across my territory like a vulture?”

I stiffen all over again.

“He knows he cannot fly over my sacred land— all Rider Kings do, but this one seems to have lost his mind.” She steps forward. “And something tells me that it has something to do with the pretty, secretive, wild human sitting on my bed.”

It absolutely does.

“Does he know that I’m here?”

This woman is powerful. They call her a Seer, and King Centres gave her a small plot of land. It’s tradition. The gifted deserve a sanctuary to balance out their dark visions.

“Not yet, but he’s coming. The male is a storm. I can feel his thunder.”

I sit up so fast that my back aches. “I have to go.”

“You won’t make it an hour out there. Tell me, why do you run?”

“I don’t run,” I raise my head. “I lead. And I’m leading myself to a better life.”

She chuckles. “I forget how interesting you humans can be. Don’t worry, I have no interest in handing you in. I will help you if you help me.”

“How would you help me?” I frown.

“I know where the nearest Clan is.”

“Whose? Zoro?” I shake my head. “If I get near Zoro, I’ll be wanted for a new reason— murder.”

She laughs. “No, Rexon’s Clan. He is exhausting— all of the Rider Kings are with their violence, but Rexon is not a terrible male. I have encountered him before.”

I remember Rexon. The Rider King is one of the more quiet ones. I never cared much about getting to know the Kings, so they’re all a mystery to me.

“I don’t belong in Clans anymore.”

“You are no Seer. You don’t belong isolated on a plot of land. Go to him and start anew. He is one of the few that can give Dramon a challenge.”

I know it’s true. The Kings are the most domineering men on Xelor.

“Now, I need you to read this for me.” She pulls out a scroll. “It is written in one of the human languages.”

“Oh,” I frown. “English? I was never taught this. My mother barely remembers a few words.”

“Just try. King Centres got his hands on it and came to me for advice. I am unable to translate it.”

I scan the paper. I don’t think it will ever be decoded. English is one of the languages from the human’s native planet— Urth. It’s a dead language and as far as we know, Urth is a dead planet. We suspect its life was Wiped, and the humans on Xelor are the only survivors.

“I only recognize the word greetings,” I tell her.

My grandmother doesn’t remember anything from Urth. All she knows is that she and nine other humans were put into stasis and sent off Urth and into space many decades ago. The Lurches— another alien species, found the spaceship full of unconscious humans and brought it to this planet, Xelor.

“What about this?” she points to a word. “It is repeated many times but no one knows what it is.”

EZRON.

“I don’t know,” I shake my head. “I’m sorry.”

“And this?” she points to another word.

THE FEDERATION.

“Nothing.”

“Hmm. I will have to speak with more of you humans.”

“Where did you find this?”

“It is a copy of a document that came from outer space. I do not know the details.”

I sigh. “Good luck with everything. I should get going now. I—”

A loud screech came from outside, followed by three others.

“That is Dramon and his men.”

He’s close. Too close.

“Stay until night and then you can leave.”

“Thank you, Seer.” I don’t know her name, and I never will. Seers are odd people.

“Don’t thank me. Thank the Gods that will save you from Dramon,” she chuckled. “Maybe you’re the witch for stealing his heart and mind.”

I shudder. I don’t want to find out what will happen if he catches up to me.

“Eat and rest,” the Seer says before returning to her books.

It only takes a few hours for it to get dark. Treysa is uneasy, while I just feel irritated. My energy is coming back to me and so is my outrage.

In the dead of night, I say goodbye to the Seer who watches me from the entrance, and I use a small ladder to climb onto Treysa. There no longer are screeches above us, but I still ride hard and fast in the direction she pointed in.

Maybe Rexon’s Clan can be a new home for me, after all. Maybe I can have a peaceful life within his people.

A shriek comes from above, and my heart shrinks.

“Venus!”

It’s him. He’s above me, blocking the moonlight.

I push Treysa harder. While Dramon’s beast can fly fast, it doesn’t have Treysa’s endurance.

Dramon swoops in low to ride beside me. There’s a waterfall nearby; I can hear it. Knowing that Dramon’s beast isn’t a fan of water, I head in that direction.

“Stop!” he yells behind me.

“Go, girl!” I encourage Treysa. She goes for the waterfall, jumps, and then we’re airborne.

I feel a touch on my arm— it’s hot, demanding.

He only touches me for a second before his beast turns sharply to avoid the water. Treysa and I plummet into the icy water. I lose her for a minute as I struggle to swim to the surface, but she sweeps under me and swims us both to dry land. She doesn’t hesitate to take off into the jungle.

We’ve escaped him for now. Now, I only hope Rexon won’t give me a reason to leave, too.