The Endonshan Chronicles Book 7: Feral

By Cy Bishop

While on a diplomatic mission, young Prince Relan has little more on his mind than avoiding trouble with his bossy older brother, Prince Hinaru. But when their guards learn of a plot to overthrow Kenara's queen, the two boys suddenly find themselves with no choice but to flee straight through enemy territory.

Conspirators manage to separate the brothers from their guards, stranding them alone in a dense forest teeming with deadly animals and the even deadlier Ferals, violent creatures that kill without thought or hesitation. Unable to fend for themselves, the brothers find help in an unexpected, mysterious source - one that they're not sure they can trust. With their attackers hunting them down and danger in every direction, Relan and Hinaru will have to find a way to make it safely home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cy Bishop
• Release date: May 31, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463728178

Cy Bishop

I enjoy life in the Pacific Northwest with my family and a constantly excited, thick-headed black lab. I obtained a degree in Counseling Psychology from Northwest University in Kirkland, WA, which I use to create fully dimensional characters with unique personalities and quirks. When not writing, I can usually be found reading, watching movies, or wasting entirely too much time on the internet.

Book preview

The Endonshan Chronicles Book 7

FERAL

By Cy Bishop

Copyright 2019 Cy Bishop

Smashwords Edition

With special thanks to:

God, my patient family, Google,

and Jessica Dodson for the fantastic cover

Table of Contents

Start of Book

Pronunciation Guide and Glossary

About the Author

153 years before The Division

Chapter 1

A pounding fist on the door made Relan jump and look up from packing his things, his excited thoughts of the upcoming sentinal ride pushed away by the harsh sound. He hadn’t heard anything so urgent in the Temple of Peace during the last few days he’d been stuck there with his bossy older brother and the diplomat chaperoning them. Relan twisted to watch as one of their Tulvan guards, the squinchy-eyed one, crossed their quarters to the door.

Two Tulvans, one short and the other with a fuzz of dark hair, stood on the other side. We must speak with Mazi Lemendi at once, Dark-Hair said. She stepped in without waiting for an invitation, Shortie beside her. Their eyes and ears twitched, as all Tulvans’ did, constantly scanning the environment. Close the door. We must be discreet.

Relan’s ears perked, and he sat down on the narrow bed next to his nearly-full bag. It tipped toward the edge, threatening to spill its contents all over the floor. He barely managed to coordinate his gangly arms to catch it in time.

Hinaru leaned over from where he’d been packing at his own bed to jab Relan, smirking. Nice going, dupe.

Shut up, fec-head, Relan retorted.

Boys, Mazi Lemendi scolded. The diplomat eyed them as he stood from the desk at the far end of the narrow room. Behave as the princes you are.

Relan made a face, but the older Elf man was already addressing the Tulvans. Please, speak.

Shortie pressed his fist to his chest in salute toward the diplomat first, then the boys. Forgive our abruptness. We must return the princes to the palace at once.

That’s what we’re doing now. Mazi Lemendi gestured to the bags around them. Our other guards are preparing the sentinal for travel.

No. You cannot go by sentinal. Not for the entire trip, that is.

What? Relan burst out. The ride on the towering mount had been the only good part of this trip, and now they weren’t going to let him ride it again?

Hinaru frowned down at him like adults did and jabbed him again. Quiet!

You’re not the boss of me— Relan started, but he shut up when the diplomat cast them a disapproving frown. Tugging his pack on his lap, Relan slouched forward on it. Hinaru always acted so grown-up, but he was only sixteen, and barely three years older than Relan. Not old enough to be the boss of anyone.

Please, sit and explain. What is the problem? Mazi Lemendi asked.

Dark-Hair shook her head. With apologies, Sir, we cannot delay. The rumors are true. People of Emsha Province want to make Emsha the capital city and their governor, Lady Cettrina, queen of Kenara. This location isn’t secure enough should someone try to abduct or harm the princes. We must return them to the palace at once where they will be safe until the matter is dealt with.

What? They want to take over the country? Hinaru stared in disbelief.

You think they would come after us? Relan shivered.

Mazi Lemendi returned to packing in a flurry, sweeping things into bags. Boys, gather your things, quickly.

But— Relan started, his head spinning. Emsha was the second-largest city in Kenara, but there was nothing else special about it. Why would they want some governor there to be queen instead of Mam?

Squinchy Eyes pulled Relan to his feet and shoved an armload into his bag. Who is coming for the princes? How many?

Ice clenched in Relan’s stomach, and he shuddered at the thought.

We don't have details of any specific plot at this point, Shortie said, checking the door. But we cannot risk the chance we’ve missed something, or that a plan has formed in the time it took us to get here.

With the Tulvans helping pack, everything was done within a few short minutes. The guards clustered around Mazi Lemendi and the boys as they hurried through the halls of the Temple. Relan hardly noticed the sparkling cathedral or the wide courtyard; mostly he noticed how many people filled the spaces. Were any of them from Emsha? His neck hairs prickled. Were people watching them?

He edged closer to the Tulvans. With their sharp claws and their heightened awareness and reflexes, they were perfect guards. They would stop anyone who tried to hurt them. He hoped.

It was a relief to leave the Temple’s carved archway behind and see the sentinal on the road down the hill. The massive, round-bodied beast with its long, snaking neck already crouched low, ready for them to board. They scurried up the ladder into the massive saddle as the Tulvans loaded the bags and belongings.

Everyone barely had enough time to sit down before the blonde Tulvan, the one Hinaru clearly fancied, directed the beast to stand and get underway. Wind tore at Relan’s hair as the sentinal’s body rose above the treetops, but without the same exhilaration it had given on the way there. Now he just felt sick.

You said we cannot remain on the sentinal for the full trip? Mazi Lemendi called over the rush of air around them.

The main road is closely monitored, with Emsha being such a trade center. We’ll procure a cart with travel veelish before we reach the province’s border and take a long route along the smaller roads. The princes will keep their heads covered, Shortie said. It’s unlikely we’ll be seen as anything more than common travelers. You’ll continue on toward Innsbrooke atop the sentinal.

Mazi Lemendi frowned. These boys have been placed in my charge. It is my duty to see them through safely.

With respect, Sir, the princes will be perfectly safe in our care. You will be needed in Innsbrooke, and your presence will help add credibility to a sentinal hurrying through the province with naught but a couple of Tulvans on its back.

The Elf diplomat’s mouth tightened. We’ll be a decoy.

Blondie spoke up. If anyone wants to intercept the princes, they’ll be looking for a sentinal. By the time they find out it’s only you, the princes will be far from the main road.

Dark-Hair nodded to her companions. We know the province well. We’ve planned a calculated route, random but swift. It’s the best way to keep them safe.

Mazi Lemendi looked at Relan and Hinaru before nodding. Yes, I think that’s wise.

How do we know we can trust them? Hinaru asked. They’re from Emsha Province themselves.

Relan cringed, looking to see how angry the Tulvans were at the accusation, but none of them appeared fazed. Dark-Hair even looked impressed.

We came to warn and protect, nothing more, another one, a heavily muscled woman, said. We are loyal to Queen Riista. But if you ask it of us, we’ll leave.

They show no sign of duplicity. Blondie adjusted the sentinal’s reins. I believe them to be truthful, Prince Hinaru. Their plan is wise.

Hinaru seemed to accept that.

Prince Relan? Mazi Lemendi turned to him. Do you understand?

I don’t know. He shivered. You think their lady, um, Lady Citrona—

Lady Cettrina, Hinaru corrected.

Yeah, her, do you really think she’s told her people to capture us?

It’s uncertain how much the governor is involved in all this, Muscles said. Emsha’s campaign for greater power was much of what prompted your mother to allow the people to establish provinces, so they could have local centers of power. But that wasn’t enough for many of them, and Lady Cettrina hasn’t discouraged these sentiments. We know she desires to rule and seeks to strengthen her position with the people. The greater concern are the people who want to see her in power—by any means.

Relan shivered again.

We’re gonna be fine, snitpup. Hinaru knocked his shoulder against Relan’s. They’ll get us home safely.

Relan made a face and shoved back, though he couldn’t help feeling somewhat better. Why would people want this lady person as queen instead of Mam?

Many of them see it as a pragmatic matter, Shortie replied. Emsha has become a powerful trade center, and it’s further from the Wall, which they say makes it more secure from any military threats.

That’s dumb. Relan scrunched his nose again. No Hranites have tried to cross the Wall in, like, forever.

It may have been over a century since there was any trouble with the Hranites, Mazi Lemendi said, but after what our people have gone through in the past, the fear is understandable. Not ‘dumb.’

Relan sulked away from the scolding and looked down at the carpet of green trees whizzing past below them. It was dumb, no matter what the diplomat said.

And Lady Cettrina claims heritage from Princess Alita, the Tulvan continued. Most in Emsha Province consider that to be proof enough of royalty.

The Elf princess? One side of Hinaru’s mouth twisted upward the way it did when he was trying to remember things. I thought that was just an honorary title.

The Elves chose Alita as their royalty, even to the point of regarding her as equal to the great Princess Tashan. Emsha sees her descendants in the same way. Especially with Lady Cettrina having the dragon ring.

They have a dragon? Relan stared, wide-eyed. I thought those were all extinct!

They are, dupe. Hinaru gave him a jab. It’s a ring that had a dragon in it. Or something.

It’s symbolic, yes, but seen as an emblem of rulership, Dark-Hair said. Understand that to these people, this isn’t a coup. It’s a natural shift between two near-equal powers.

Relan looked over the edge of the saddle again and felt the air whip against his face, tearing away some of the words behind him. It was too much to take in.

Mazi Lemendi cleared his throat. I’m sure this is merely a precaution. The Tulvans will escort you safely home to the palace, and then the matter can be dealt with diplomatically. Everything will be okay.

His calming words, however, didn’t hide the uncertainty in his eyes.

* * *

A whisper of movement shot through the dense tree branches overhanging the road. Relan adjusted his hood lower over his head as the cart jostled over yet another hefty bump.

Quit fussing. Hinaru pushed Relan’s hands away from the hood. It makes you look like you’re trying to hide.

"We are trying to hide, Relan muttered under his breath. He pushed back and adjusted the hood once more, just to spite his brother. Not like there’s anyone around to see, anyway." It was their second day on the long, slow route around Emsha, and he could have counted the number of people they’d seen so far on one hand.

One of the veelish, the lanky animals with their soft fur close-shorn for work rather than for show, let out a soft snort as it pranced around another broad divot in the dirt road. The cart couldn’t prance like that, however, and the wheels thumped heavily through the bump.

Relan grunted as he was nearly knocked into his brother’s lap while Hinaru lurched sideways, grabbing at the side of the cart to stay upright. The Tulvans, two at the front and two at the back, swayed easily with the cart and showed little sign of losing balance. Their ears and eyes shifted as always, rapidly scanning the world around them.

Blondie glanced back over her shoulder from where she drove the cart. This road’s been freshly cut. It seems they haven’t had time to level it yet.

From his position at the back of the cart, Shortie helped the boys untangle and get back into their seats. There have been many new cities developed as people spread further into the forest. They’ve had to cut many new roads to accommodate the settlements.

Another whisper of movement shot through the branches above. Relan shivered and yanked at his hood again. Just a tree-snit, he told himself. It has to be just a tree-snit.

Would you stop… Hinaru looked at him, then up at the trees. "Are you… are you scared of the forest?"

No! Relan scowled hard. Of course not.

The branch rattled again, and he cringed.

Hinaru laughed. "You are scared of the forest! What’s the matter, little brother? Afraid that a big, mean, scary wastik might jump down on you?"

Don’t be stupid. I’m not a baby! Feeling his cheeks redden, Relan glared at Hinaru, then peered up into the trees. Nothing but branches and leaves and darkness… and the unknown. The rattling of tree-snits skittering along branches felt like a warning. The occasional bird call sounded ominous.

Hinaru snorted. Sure.

Relan shot another glare before a twig snapped, tearing his attention back to the forest around them. Their surroundings fell into silence, stretching on uncomfortably until he squirmed. I heard… I heard there are Ferals in the forest.

Ferals? Hinaru’s face turned serious, and he looked up into the branches with wide eyes. You think there are some here? Now?

Relan felt better. I don’t know, he whispered, inching closer to his brother, feeling safer with someone else watching for the threat along with him. The wild people looked almost like Tulvans. A dark triangle mark on their forehead was the only thing that marked the difference in appearance between the noble, protective Tulvans and the Ferals, the most dangerous creatures in all Kenara. There could be.

It’s impossible to know, Hinaru whispered back. "They’re invisible