Excerpt
from
the
bestselling trilogy The
Chronicles of Nighthunter, Familiar. Book II: Shadows of the Crown
Chapter 52
The desert sun
was still near the horizon when we entered the city. We had spent a
full moon in the Big Sands. I was tired of riding in the saddlebags of
a spittin- hump-beast. While
useful in the dunes, they are loathsome and foul smelling creatures
that make for a jarring ride and are not for eating. Still, the midday
breaks allowed for some lovely sunning and there is no rain (and so
many places to poop).
Roderic, my magic-user, set-off with his allies Divine-goat-female, Little-bignose-male, and Tall-salty-worker to charter a boat
to an "island". I accompanied them to ensure they were not cheated (I
did not approve of our last boating and remember how that turned out),
while also slaking my appetite with a nice wharf rat. I am not partial
to rats and prefer fish if I can get it. But I enjoy the challenge of
earning my meals sometimes. Wharf rats tend to be overfed and slow
making for an easy hunt. That day I was unsuccessful, so I instead took
a fish from a nearby man hoarding many in a wooden cart.
I then reunited with my companions. They had retired to an inn, being
unable to hunt for food in the city. Truly helpless sometimes. Having
just begun their meal of burnt and soaked food they are interrupted by Spice-wine-male. His man-kitten had
been kidnapped by someone called "the Gray Vizier". He recruits my
companions to find his man-kitten with the help of his pet. I approve
of his choice of pet, which moves like one of me. Moves-like-us covers my companions
with odd cloth and tries to hide their scent. Moves-like-us proves more
adequate than most humans and my companions smell worse than normal. Small-dirty-male is not here
(thankfully, as even Moves-like-us
could not cover that stench) but his foul-drool-beast
mate follows us.
We go to an old area of the city where Spice-wine-male's man-kitten is
being held. It is a bad area. We are the prey here. Roderic moves to
the man-kitten who is hiding in a bag. He takes off the bag and reveals
she has been magicked. The hunters attack. Their leader moves quickly,
throwing many held-claws at Scarred-hunter-female.
Divine-goat-female works
hard to keep her alive before using her powers from the Great Sky
Hunters to awaken my magic-user and Moves-like-us.
I
admit
my respect in the hunting skills of Moves-like-us
who knows how to use
his held-claws quite well. But our hunt yields no prey; the man-kitten
was fake.
Roderic and my companions hunt more. I am told that Moves-like-us knows whose hunters
attacked us. They want to go to his den to find Spice-wine-male's man-kitten. They
doubt she is there but believe he can lead-us to our hunter's clowder.
I am asked to go and follow the human Moves-like-us
meets. I would prefer not, but am promised fish and reminded only I am
stealthy enough to follow. It is true; my companions would be lost
without me. So I go with Moves-like-us
as he meets the other human (I think Small-dirty-male
came too, as there was a large tasty-feather-beast
that smelt like him). The other human is injured, hurt by our prey.
They mew for some time before there is a terrible howl that makes me
afraid. It sounds like a foul-drool-beast
only larger and unnatural. Moves-like-us
disappoints and runs, but Small-dirty-male
and I follow the unnatural foul-drool-beast.
But
unnatural
beasts do not make good prey (and foul-drool-beast
taste bad) so I
let it outrun me.
My companions prepare to hunt down the unnatural foul-drool-beast. They believe they
can find the man-kitten now. It should be an interesting hunt. It
always is. They will have to be fast, we will be leaving soon. I will
be happy to be away from this area. The dust is hard to clean from my
fur and dries my mouth.