Free Pursuer (Alwahi Series) by Monique Morgan Page B

then looked up at her with a mischievous look in his eyes.
     
    “ Oh, only your first test. And we really should have left a long time ago,” he said, smiling boyishly. “However, if you can run fast, we could still make it.” Zanas found herself returning his smile, and then they were racing through the tunnels.
     
    He ran fast, she found herself thinking, as they raced side by side. She had never run with someone that pushed her. Zanas usually needed to slow herself when she ran with a partner. The only one that had come close to keeping pace with her was Arrelia. But Dressdon was different. He raced through the tunnels with wind like speed.
     
    Zanas had no clue where they were running. Some of the turns that they made were extremely sharp, but Zanas just kept a close eye on Dressdon and she could guess when he was going to turn or slow down, running with delight in the dark corridors of the earth.
     
    They burst through into a larger, much older section. This area had passageways of varying shapes and sizes, with uneven stony walls, not the smooth man created walls of the interior of the hold. In some areas, too much movement in one direction or the other would result in a head injury. Zanas could sense a slowing in Dressdon’s movement, and they came to a stop in small cave. She looked up at the pointy ceiling, stalactites shinning in the glow of the mold. They were alone in the chamber and Zanas could feel him watching her.
     
    “ You run faster than I expected,” he said, with a grin of respect. “I guess we aren’t late after all.”
     
    Zanas stared at him for a moment. Neither of them was short of breath, she had to admit she was impressed with his speed as well. He was finally wearing a shirt, and maybe for that reason she felt more at ease in his presence. She glanced up at the roof of the cave again.
     
    “ What do you call this?” Zanas asked. From the strange look he gave her, she could tell that he had assumed she had already known. His eyes seemed to convey a deeper understanding of her, and Zanas wondered what he was thinking, but he gave no voice to it.
     
    “ It’s Ulwahi, the body of Alwahi,” he said, his voice low.
     
    She heard noise coming through the tunnel and they were joined by four others. Zanas recognized Desstina, her hair pulled back into a tight knot at the back of her head. Besides Zanas, there was one other girl with short spikey black hair, her face painted with black stripes. Last, were two tall males, their faces identical, both sporting short-cropped blond hair.
     
    “ So, we are to hunt with this, ” Zanas heard Desstina jeer. “You won’t be able to keep up, girl. And when you don’t, we will leave you alone and lost in the dark.”
     
    Zanas said nothing, but gave the blonde a hard look. She could feel the tension growing between them and she knew that eventually there would need to be a conclusion. The spikey haired girl walked forward and Zanas was reminded of a punk rocker she had once seen.
     
    “ Don’t mind her,” the girl said pointing to Desstina. “I’m Ressna and these two logs are Tress and Fless,” she said moving her gloved hand over to the brothers.
     
    The twins stood with their bulky arms crossed, looking down at Zanas through narrowed eyes. She realized that she had to look uncomfortably up at them, they towered over her, and their muscled bodies seemed to block the way. She understood why Ressna would call them logs. They said nothing in any kind of greeting, and Zanas could see Desstina grinning hatefully behind them. Zanas returned their aggressive eyes with those of her own. It seemed that they might stare at each other for all time, when Dressdon walked in front of them.
     
    “ All right,” he said clapping his hands in a mocking way. “Now that friendly introductions are over, let’s get going.” He turned and began to lead the way, the brothers picking up pace behind him, and Desstina in a close third. Zanas and