When The Heart Sings

Chapter 37

Serena's POV:

My head pounded painfully as I blinked into the odd watery green light. The light came from some weird type of glowing lichen on the dirt walls and ceiling. My body was stiff, and the air was cold and damp. A creature paused in the doorway as it glanced in the room and I froze, pretending I was still unconscious.

The hunchbacked creature looked like a rat with mange that had grown to the size of a child. Sharp teeth and claws glinted in the limited light. It turned its head and continued down the hallway. I heard the scream of one of the Tarulk warriors, which quickly reduced to a gurgling.

My panic rose as I heard the sound of tearing flesh and chewing. I had to get out of here. The bond told me that Darien was a very long ways away. The bond was painful with his rage and my fear.

I fell back on my usual backup plan. I started humming softly for help of any sort. Ending up as supper to a mutant rat was not how I planned on dying. I kept it quiet so the creature wouldn't hear me.

A trickle of dirt made me look up. Something the size of a squirrel dug through the wall before turning and running. The smell of fresh air came out of its tunnel. I quickly got up and checked the tiny hole. The dirt was so soft that it gave easily under my hands.

There was a larger tunnel behind it. My heart raced as I quickly widened it enough to crawl through it. I was reduced to lying on my stomach and using my elbows to push myself forward through the narrow tunnel, but I followed it up towards the fresh air.

I emerged into the night air. My legs were shaky from the adrenaline, but I quickly left the area before those rat creatures could come after me. The bond pulled me towards Darien like a compass as I stumbled through the dark forest. I really hoped that nothing lurked out here...

My head pounded from the blow it had received and I was worried about concussion. A large branch snapped off to the side, and I slowed as I looked around nervously. I turned my head, but couldn't see anything in the shadows. I could hear something big breathing nearby though. Slowly, a large creature that looked like a small T-rex came out of the shadows into the moonlight as it focused on me.

Was everything on this planet predatory? I backed up as I started frantically whistling for assistance. The dinosaur kept approaching, suddenly it charged forward with open jaws. A fierce hiss just above me made me glance up just in time to see another shadow launch out of the tree above me to land on the dinosaur's head.

The large dinosaur reared back with a pained roar before shaking its head and running off as the smaller creature dropped down to the ground. The shadow creature landed lightly on four feet before turning to look at me. Its red eyes glowed faintly in the dark. It was reptilian, but the size of a small horse. The flexible tail was easily three times as long as its body.

Smooth black scales looked like polished stones. Its long claws and sharp fangs were visible even in the moonlight. The intelligence in its eyes was unmistakable.

"T-thank you."

The black creature tilted its head and slowly walked towards me. Its slow approach was meant to reassure, not threaten, although having such a large predator approach in the shadows of the night still made my heart speed up even more.

"You are not of this planet." Its voice slightly accented the 's' syllables in a way that I would have imagined a snake doing. Its voice was surprising clear, although it sounded a lot like faint hissing.

I inclined my head in admission of that fact, "No, but my mate is. We were separated."

The creature looked at me in silence before speaking, "Your voice held power when it called me."

I felt guilty, I had always worried about forcing someone to help me with my powers. I bowed my head in regret, "I am sorry. I did not mean to force you. I was simply calling for help."

The creature continued to watch me with unblinking eyes. It seemed to accept my apology and replied, "You will not survive long in this forest without assistance. Does your voice have the power to heal?"

I blinked in surprise at the sudden change in topic. Was it possible that this creature may help me? It had clearly recognized my magic and didn't seem troubled by it. "I know I am in danger, but I am trying to get back to my mate. I am not sure if I can heal. The ability is very limited and sometimes unreliable."

It watched me with bright red eyes, "I will make a deal with you. I will take you to my colony's home and you will try to heal our Princess. Come dawn, we will take you to a road near the army's camp."

That was far more than I had hoped for. It was also my only chance to survive the night in this strange world. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't survive another ten minutes out here. I just hoped that the warriors wouldn't kill me on sight since most had seen me with Darien when we had grabbed supplies.

If they knew of the Council's decree, chances were that I would be promptly taken close to the enemy lines before they alerted Darien. If the enemy found me first, I hoped that they wouldn't attack an unarmed person.

The Tarulk may be able to tell I was human at a glance, but this strange race would probably think I was an adolescent or weak Tarulk. After all, humans walked past Tarulk on Earth and never realized that they were actually a different race.

I nodded, "Okay."

The creature stepped forward before turning sideways and dipping its shoulders, "Get on. We have far to go."

I carefully swung my leg over its back. Its scales were smooth and slippery. My hands found some grip on a few rougher scales just above its shoulders. The creature started moving and its stride was smooth as it quickly accelerated into a lope.

It was hard to hang on since there wasn't much purchase for my hands and its scales were quite slippery. I held my legs tight against its sides as I tried to keep my balance. The only reason I managed to stay on was because it kept its stride smooth with no jouncing or swift movements.

My heart twinged as I realized that we were moving further away from Darien. The creature was looking around alertly, occasionally pausing before detouring around something. Twice, it snarled at something I didn't see in the trees.

It hadn't been kidding when it said we had a long ways to go. Hours passed as I tried to remain balanced on its back without hindering its movements or annoying it.

I looked up as we finally slowed down. A hill in front of us had dozens of red eyes watching our approach. They were the same type of creature as the one I rode. They all watched, but none interfered as the one carrying me went into a hole in the side of the hill.

More glowing lichen in various colors lit up the tunnels somewhat. The creature didn't stop as it went deeper beneath the surface. After a few turns, I was utterly lost. We passed dozens of openings and other tunnels. We had also passed more creatures, but they barely spared me a glance as we went deeper and deeper underground.

-----------------

Author's Note:

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I hope you are enjoying it!

If you like it, please vote on each chapter. Such support means a lot to me.