The Tiger Within Chapter 8

With Kyera in the lead, Veron focused on stepping where she did, ducking and moving as she did . Luckily this was something they practiced . Rescues and man on man carries as they dogged through trap laden areas was something they had know would one day happen . The Tiger on his back groaned and growled as the das.h.i.+ng sensation was making him ill but there was nothing they could do to stop it . Kyera's path was designed to avoid possible traps or leaving easy to follow tracks . As they say one broke branch could reveal the end .

"How far…" He breathed through the pain as Veron jumped over a rather hefty log . There was a wince from both Tiger and man as the action was made . Soft tinges of regret in Veron's mind, but unfortunately he was doing all he could to make the ride bearable . Even with the wounded paw wrapped tightly and pressed to his chest the acid still spilled from the wound . Some landing on Veron's human skin . Leaving dark burns of black anywhere it touched . The fiery burning sensation only urging him to go faster .
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"Ky, where are we going?" Veron called out as she dashed along ahead, keeping eyes out for hunters . Kyera looked back over her shoulder and then forward again . There were two places they could go . Either village was going to be quite a dash…neither of them were likely to have what she needed .

Then again, there was one place that might… would they be welcome? She considered it for a moment looking back at Veron who was starting to catch up with her . Would that old man be worth the risk? Would he even let them in? THen again who else would have the antidote or at least the recipe? Questions and answers ran across her mind in a split second . "Please don't let me regret this . " She whispered to the wind before looking back at Veron . "The north Peak . " She answered him long after he asked the question .

Confusion clouded her lovers eyes as he ran through all the possibilities . There were no healers on the north peak . Why would they head that way? Rather than argue with her, his trust in Kyera was all he had to fall back on . If she said North Peak, then there was no other option but to follow his General . There was nothing to be done but he also knew the secrets of the forest often rested in her head .

Rumors held tales of her body being at one with the Jungle . Neither of human kin nor animal decent but the spirit made flesh . In all honesty that was only half true . In all reality the roots of her intelligence system went deeper than most could recognize . She could hear the voices of the trees, that's true but often the information she sought could be gathered from the lips of the gossips around the watering hole . Though not all these words could be trusted, she had her ways of separating fact from fiction .

Perhaps 20 minutes pa.s.sed, mayhaps longer as they navigated from the main path to a densely overgrown trail . Kyera pulled her sword and began hacking a path through the undergrowth . There was nothing else to do . Verone couldn't work his way through here without some sort of help . By himself? No problem . With 200 pounds of dead weight… no . Elephants would crash through the woods with more grace .

They came up on a cottage . Small wooden building that stood alone in this abandoned clearing . The land surrounding the house grown up even more than the trail leading up . The leaves were tinted black and the vines seemed as though they were kissed by the shadows of death . Yellow light warmed the windows, but as if playing across a dense fog, the light dance and flickered in a darkened glow . Kyera looked to the chimney knowing the sent of herbs on the wind hinted at a caldron boiling within .

Veron caught up and looked at the scene before him, laid out in the dark hues of night and dusted with moonlight . The ground beneath his feet gave off a aura of finality . It was as if cold water seeped into his skin causing a s.h.i.+ver to rake down his spine . Judging by the way the tigers breath slowed, he felt it too . Then, he realized why this area had such an effect as he watched the shadows dance . The silvery shadows carried the aura of death .