Page 42 of A Soul to Embrace

She quickly followed his scent. Stalking low down some kind of path on her hands and feet, she looked at the strange, fabricated environment with wonder.

Buildings lined each side, tall, daunting, and larger than she could have ever imagined. She brushed her fingertips along the nearest wall built with some kind of rectangular stones and dried clay, noting the surrounding roofs were made of straw or tiles.

Zylah sniffed at windows to take in the scents that bled out from the cracks, finding each human smelt different, as did every home. Many windows were covered with cloth, as if they wished for privacy or to hide, while a few were just dark and appeared empty. When she came across ones with firelight and no visual shield, she braved peeking inside to see all sorts of new and interesting things.

Little humans sat down at a dark wooden table with bigger humans speaking to them.Are they the younglings Jabez told me of?She didn’t know if she found them cute or not, as they looked fairly odd to her. Especially the chubby, tiny thing who could barely even sit upright on their own in some kind of tall seat.

What a defenceless thing.She took in the way the adult female wiped at the youngling’s overly messy face. The presumed father was busy trying to keep the other two from fighting with hushed but deep commands.Is this what a... family looks like?

One of her novels had touched on such subjects, although with much strain. This family appeared healthy and happy, and her orbs shifted into a bright green as she inspected them.

The colour startled her, as she’d never seen it before, nor did she know what it meant, and she shook her head while pushing off from the wall. She’d also been stationary for far too long, so she quickly moved on.

She sniffed at the cool, aroma-filled air to follow Jabez.

Just as she reached the end of the path, she paused when she heard movement, like footsteps and heavy material shifting. She shuffled back, and two male guards wearing silver breastplates on top of leather armour passed her hiding place.

Curious about them, and about human soldiers, she stuck her head out to watch them walk away from behind. Both wore swords at their waists and had some kind of helmet over theirheads. Their footsteps were quieter than the clunking of their swords and the creaking of their leather armour.

She scratched at the side of her snout.They aren’t doing a very good job.They hadn’t even managed to sniff Zylah less than a few feet from them!Perhaps their noses aren’t as good as mine.

Hers was even better than Jabez’s.

Then again... I’m better at everything than Jabez.She tried not to tell him that, as he was always quite offended whenever she stated such truths.Well, maybe not everything.He was better at hunting, sneaking, and speaking English than her, considering he taught her everything she knew, but she thought there was a high possibility she might exceed him in all aspects one day.

She kind of liked the idea of that.He is very confident.Currently she could run circles around him, but she’d like to do that metaphorically as much as physically.

Realising she was musing on Jabez rather than exploring the village, Zylah tentatively stepped out onto a much wider path. She instinctually slunk low to crawl on her hands and feet, much like how they hunted to avoid being seen.

Each of the buildings stole her curiosity, as they appeared so unique and yet somehow the same. She didn’t understand how Jabez could locate anything when they all had straw or tiled roofing, and similar looking walls. There were no signs to explain what each building contained.

When a different pair of soldiers appeared on the path ahead of her, she snuck down a thinner path like the one before. They patrolled past without ever noticing her presence, and she once more mused on their inability to sense her.

See?! I am perfectly fine walking through the village.

Confidence put a spring in her steps, and she walked more self-assured on the wider path. The buildings began to change,as if they were designed to be larger. When the scent of more soldiers approaching drifted to her from beyond, she hid in a narrow gap once more with a quiet giggle.

Just as she was about to leave her hiding spot, the fur on the nape of her neck stood on end when something dropped down behind her.

“Zylah,” a body-tingling voice growled in a low and deep tone, causing her head to droop and her shoulders to lift. She froze, as if that would conceal her despite being caught. “I told you to wait outside the village.”

With her orbs shifting to white, she chittered nervously as she turned around. Jabez stood before her, and her shoulders lifted higher at the disapproving scowl on his handsome features.

“But I wanted to see,” she said, shaking her head around apprehensively.

He darted forward to cover the end of her snout and placed a finger over his lips. His red eyes narrowed at her skull, and the angry glint in them made her stomach knot.

“Quiet,” he whispered, making her realise he’d been speaking in a hushed tone the entire time. “I know you wanted to see, but coming here is dangerous for you.”

Says the male that tricked me into destroying a different village.

Zylah turned her head away defiantly. “I didn’t get hurt or seen.”

Surprisingly, he placed his hand on top of her skull and turned her back to him. He’d pulled his hood further down his face, as if to better hide in the darkness. She could no longer see his eyes clearly, but his mouth remained tight.

“It’s not about you being seen; I knew you could remain hidden.”

Just as he opened his mouth to continue, he placed a single finger over his lips again and she was beginning to realise thismeant he wanted her to stay quiet. Two soldiers passed their hiding spot, and Jabez leapt closer to cover her orbs with both his hands to hide their light.

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