The Breeding Prize - Aya Morningstar Page 0,50

friends and family on Earth sometime down the line, but for now Raiska, Kula, and Ellie will be all the family I can ask for.

Both brothers stiffen and reach for their weapons.

I look over my shoulder expecting to see Philos and a swarm of little goblins coming for us, but Raiska and Kula are looking in the other direction.

I squint against the sun, which is nearly kissing the horizon by now, and I see a trail of dust. I shield my eyes and try to focus on the dark figure leading the dust, and I see what looks like a horse.

"What is that?" I ask.

They both answer me at the same moment. "The Koira."

Twenty-One

Philos & Kiveta

I am waiting just at the edge of the tree line. My smaller body risks walking further into the thinning trees, as it can keep a lower profile and camouflage itself. My golden skin is a liability here, but as much as I can change the size and shape of my body, I cannot change the color of my skin.

I want to wait until the sun falls. I won't be able to truly sneak up on them in the dark, but I'll be able to get closer before they catch me.

There's another problem too. I was able to eat some forest creatures while I worked my way through the mountains, but my calorie requirements are much higher than what the forest can provide for me. I won't be able to fight without consuming my own flesh.

I've been considering which of my limbs is the most expendable, but then I see something from the eyes of my smaller body.

There’s dust in the distance. Three or four fast moving objects. They are approaching the two Valittu and the fertile prize.

Shit.

I have to do something right now. There's a chance that whatever these things are, they will kill the Valittu, but they may also kill the human. Or worse, they might ally with the Valittu and make it impossible for me to ever secure the human.

I need to go in now, and embrace the chaos.

I look down at my body. I could consume my arm. It would be painful, and I’d be in battle with only one arm, but I'd be able to grow my other limbs to compensate. One giant arm is better than two small ones.

Then it hits me.

My smaller body. That which once was Kiveta.

It won't resist, as it's a part of me. Eating it won't erase Kiveta either, as he's already melded with my mind. We are one, and the body is no longer necessary. It's dense in six-dimensional energy. It's a small little body, but it's more fuel than hundreds of cheese steaks. The body comes toward me, and I look at it. I see my golden body through its eyes. Kiveta is no more. Philos is no more.

I realize the sacrifice that must be made. If I want to claim the fertile prize for myself, I'll have to sacrifice that which once was Kiveta. The part of me that was Kiveta feels pain when I make the decision, but the decision has already been made. It must be done.

I lift the body up and start to eat. I'm revolted at first as I chew through bone and meat. I could try to break it down through six-dimensional energy rather than with my teeth, but eating it like this will give me a more immediate burst of power. It won't last as long as it would if I consumed it on the higher dimensions, but I know I need everything I can get to take on the two Valittu.

I bite the little body's head off. I chew through its neck and spine. The body twitches and wriggles like a worm as I chew and swallow the head. Power surges through me. More than I've ever felt.

The fertile prize is mine.

Twenty-Two

Raiska

The figures are close enough to see clearly. It's the Koira for certain, and they are riding their mechanical horses. It's an ancient technology, and few people have ever seen one in person. The horses are completely made of metal, and they run on some kind of artificial intelligence that is no longer understood. The robotic horses are bred rather than made. The first set of them were likely constructed in a lab or factory, but every generation since has been bred. It's a lost technology, and only the Koira possess these horses. They are fast, and even though the Koira were over a