The Breeding Prize - Aya Morningstar Page 0,52

great an advantage, and he's gaining hundreds of feet on me every ten seconds. Soon he's completely out of range.

I fall to my knees. My knees hit a puddle of his blood from where his wounded feet cracked the earth. My whole body trembles. My muscles tighten, and I roar and scream into the Lakrian sky.

"Muru! My Muru!"

The Koira circle around Kula and me. More than fifteen additional horsemen soon spill in and tighten the circle.

I know that if I want to get my Muru back, I'll need to get out of this. I've taken a few seconds to lose myself in grief, but I'm a warrior, and to get her back, I'll do everything in my power. I won't take a single second more to feel sorry for myself.

"Stand aside!" I roar out at the Koira. They've circled us from every direction. They have long, furry snouts on their faces. Their eyes are little black beads, and they have tall, pointy ears.

Some are holding spears. Others are holding bows. A few have energy weapons. All weapons are pointed at us.

"You brought a monster onto our lands," one says.

His horse strides forward. There's a mechanic whirr with each step the horse takes, but if it weren't made entirely of metal, its movements would look graceful and organic. The horse even huffs a bit as it stops and looks down at me.

The Koira who spoke is a male, and he seems older than the others. The fur on his snout and ears is grey more than golden-brown like the others. He's one of the few holding an energy weapon, and it's pointing right at my face.

I don't dare to let go of my scythe. I hold it forward, ready to block a laser or plasma shot with the six-dimensional blade, and then I'll cut his horse's legs off before he can get another shot off.

"He's taken my mate!" I shout. "I need to get her back. Will you help me, or will you sit aside while a monster takes an innocent?"

The fur above his eyes is mostly black, but there are little golden brown eyebrows peppered with grey, and he furrows them at me. "This monster is your enemy?"

"Did you not see us trying to cut it down?" Kula shouts, swinging his axe around for emphasis. The axe is covered in purple blood. It drips and flings blood as he swings the axe through the air.

"You failed to do so," the Koira leader says.

"He was pretty fucking big!" Kula huffs. "And none of you fucking helped us."

"It was not our battle."

"We're wasting time," I growl. "I need to go after him. Every second is precious."

"Then go," the Koira leader says, and the other Koira guide their horses away, so that a gap forms in the circle around us. "We will not stop you from getting back your mate."

Kula starts walking, but I grab his shoulder and shake my head. "It's not good enough."

I fold my scythe away into the higher dimensions. As a Valittu and harbinger of the Ulkar, I was accustomed to getting what I wanted through force and threats of violence. Surrounded and greatly outnumbered, and more desperate than I've ever felt in my life, the urge to threaten and to fight them to get what I need is all-encompassing.

My love for my Muru has shown me another way though, and I do not need the scythe to try this.

"Put your axe away, brother."

Kula looks at me like I've gone mad. "Let's just go! Before they change their minds."

"We won't be fast enough." I look up at the Koira leader. I fall to my knees. "I need a horse. Two horses. I know that these horses are your most prized possessions. That no non-Koira has ever so much as touched one. Still, as one honorable warrior to another, I wouldn't ask this if it weren't absolutely necessary. Please, give me what I need to save my Muru. I will bring your horses back, and I will be forever in your debt.

The Koira around us mutter in shocked voices, but the leader raises his hand, and they all go silent.

He moves gracefully and dismounts his horse. He hits the ground, and he's even shorter than I expected. Barely three feet tall. He looks utterly naked and defenseless without his horse.

He pats the horse on its metal butt, and it walks toward me. He snaps his fingers at another Koira, and he reluctantly dismounts. The horse moves toward Kula.

"If they will