Kiatana's Journey (Creatures of the Lands Book 1) Read online

  KIATANA’S JOURNEY

  CREATURES OF THE LANDS: PART I

  NATALIE ERIN

  Contents

  Copyright

  Other Books by Gryfyn Publishing

  1. Chapter One

  2. Chapter Two

  3. Chapter Three

  4. Chapter Four

  5. Chapter Five

  6. Chapter Six

  7. Chapter Seven

  8. Chapter Eight

  9. Chapter Nine

  10. Chapter Ten

  11. Chapter Eleven

  12. Chapter Twelve

  13. Chapter Thirteen

  14. Chapter Fourteen

  15. Chapter Fifteen

  16. Chapter Sixteen

  17. Chapter Seventeen

  18. Chapter Eighteen

  19. Afterward

  The Witch’s Curse

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2014 Gryfyn Publishing.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  The reproduction or utilization of this work in part of in whole including xerography, recording and photocopying is strictly forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Erin, Natalie

  Kiatana’s journey / natalie erin

  Summary: When a mysterious plague infects her forest, a fairy must embark on a quest with a band of misfits in order to find a cure.

  BISAC Category: Young Adult/Fantasy

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cover Art by Clarissa Yeo

  Distributed in the USA by Gryfyn Publishing

  For information about custom editions, special sales, ARCs, and premium and corporate purchases, please contact Gryfyn Publishing at [email protected]

  Manufactured in the United States of America

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  CHAPTER ONE

  THE BEGINNING OF MANY MEETINGS

  L ilja pounced. He knew that his sister must be somewhere behind the fern. She couldn’t escape him this time. His black tail flew behind him as he jumped, ears up and teeth bared, huge paws flailing in front of him. To his surprise his sister was not behind the large plant and he fell through the air, rolling onto the ground.

  The wolf pup stood up expectantly. He scanned the forest quickly, realizing he had been tricked. He froze and all his training leapt out of his mind. At that precise moment a silver mass flew at him, tackling him to the ground and pinning him, white fangs and teeth at his throat.

  He felt the mockery of defeat looming ever closer. If it had been a real battle she would have already delivered the killing blow. But he hadn’t been beaten just yet.

  Lilja pushed his sister off of him and tumbled into her, swirling in a mass of fur and fang. Lottie may be smarter, he thought inside his mind. Craftier and faster too. But when it comes to the real rough fighting, I can win. I’m stronger than her. He pushed Lottie onto the ground and had his teeth at her neck. But he got too cocky, and Lottie could sense it. Using this she flailed her legs and kicked Lilja’s paws out from underneath him. He fell onto the ground. Within seconds she was up and the position had switched yet again. They scrabbled for a bit longer but it was no use. Lottie had gained the upper hand.

  When he surrendered she backed off slowly and let him up. He sat up and looked at her, a little sour from being beaten twice.

  “That was low what you did, tricking me like that,” she said, staring disdainfully at Lilja. “I had already beaten you.”

  Lilja smiled, pulling his lips back and baring his white teeth in a way so that he looked like he was laughing. “I saw an advantage, and I took it.”

  “It was still low.” Lottie shook her head and started walking up the path to the large clearing. Around her, trunks with many colors clambered to the clouds, hundreds of feet high. Uneven paths were marked by yellow grass and spring shoots, and they had to jump over patterned seedlings such as acorns that were the size of their heads. They kept on running into more and more flowers, trying not to step on them as they passed, enjoying their sweet scent.

  Spring was beginning to bloom. The air smelled like fresh pine and rain. They crawled under a fern the size of a normal tree and slid down a purple colored rock, skipping over a few mud puddles afterwards.

  Lilja followed Lottie, walking to her right and being ever watchful. It wasn’t safe living alone, even if the Verinian Forest was the best place that they could be. Lilja wondered what could have happened if they both had stayed near their own territory. Maybe their missing pack would have come back. They would have been taken care of by all those older than they. But they chose to run away in the darkness of the night. Little ones, the adults had always called them...

  But we’re not so little anymore, thought Lilja, gazing at his sister. We’re almost twelve moons old. Soon we’ll be fully grown. No one will dare challenge us, and we won’t have to hide from our enemies, for they will hide from us. We will be the strongest wolves in all the Lands.

  That happy thought was enough to swell him up with pride. He thought of the hard first days of their escape from the pack. They were always hungry. Hunting was hard without an elder there to teach them how. There were too many nights where there was barely enough to eat. He remembered licking his wounds after he and Lottie had chased a foe out of his dwellings or huddling together under any type of brush, if they had lost the battle. There were many nights they wondered if they should go back home. But they were so lost that they couldn’t go back even if they truly wanted to.

  After being away from home for so long, things became easier. The pups were skilled hunters from having to learn on their own, and knew things about the prey that few other wolves did. Their coats were thick from the harsh weather, and they rarely ever lost a battle. The siblings were amazing in combat together. Apart wolves were formidable, but together they worked as one, joining together to become a force that was to be reckoned with. Despite their strengths however, the two cubs were still fighting for their lives out here. Everyday each pup woke up having to wonder if they were still going to be alive the next morning.

  They came to a little creek of water and stopped for a drink. As they quenched their thirst, Lottie looked into the water and stared at their reflections. Gazing back at her were two wolf pups of the same size, with very large paws and two very bushy tails. Lilja’s midnight fur was sleek and shiny, and glistened in the morning light, while her silver fur stood out against the forest brush.

  Lilja’s brown eyes were cast down into the water. Lottie peered into her own, pondering the strangeness once again of the deep brown of her right eye, and the odd pale blue of her left. Two differently colored eyes. Other creatures had often wondered how Lilja and Lottie had
known how to tell the difference between one color from another, as canines were color-blind, but Lottie remembered how her mother had taught them what each color looked like and how to tell the difference using the various tints of grays, whites, and blacks.

  Lottie looked up, always making sure that she knew her surroundings. Something caught the corner of her eye. She took a closer look and gasped as she noticed something plummeting to the ground. It was a small black dot in the distance, and it seemed to be falling fast. “Lilja,” Lottie said as the dot faded into the trees. “What do you suppose...”

  The dot hit the ground with a colossal BOOM, sending shock waves throughout the earth. Birds started screaming as animals everywhere ran for cover. The two wolf pups ran as fast as they could until they were far away from the small creek, taking cover under a few large bushes. Panting, Lottie turned to Lilja and exclaimed, “What was that?’

  “I don’t know,” said a perplexed Lilja slowly. “Maybe a sky rock?”

  “Or something more dangerous,” she suggested.

  The twins gazed at the sky. It wasn’t until Lottie suggested they keep moving that Lilja tore his eyes away. His paws clattered along the dirt and grass as the giant trees waved around him. Lilja led the way this time, his tail dragging along the small boulders they climbed over and his fur ruffling with the sound of the wind.

  They walked along for a while until Lilja’s stomach started to rumble. “Hey,” he said, turning his head towards his sister, “You hungry? I bet I could fetch us a quick bite.”

  She nodded. “I’m starving. It feels like we haven’t eaten in days.”

  “That’s because we haven’t,” Lilja said. He looked around for something to hunt. His eyes widened when he saw a huge brown rabbit that was trying to hide in the bushes, failing because of its massive size.

  “Hey,” he said to her, “Let’s get that rabbit. He’s almost as big as us! We might not need to eat until tomorrow night if we catch him. He’s so big he won’t have time to run.”

  Lottie nodded her agreement and they both slunk into a low crouch. They assumed the usual hunting formation; Lottie, would creep up behind the prey silently, and then would scare it into Lilja’s jaws. The wolves moved closer into their trick, every step placed as if known by heart. The rabbit stiffened, its nose sniffing the air, but Lottie and Lilja remained still until the creature was ready to move.

  Lottie sprang and the rabbit ran right into the sharp fangs of Lilja. He proudly clenched the rabbit in his jaws, raising his head high. “You got it!” Lottie said in excitement.

  Lilja chuckled. But then he felt his jaw begin to open, and not of his own accord. He wondered what was going on. Lilja looked down at the rabbit and realized that it was growing.

  He dropped the rabbit in alarm. The twins stared with widened eyes as they watched the beast twist and turn in the air. The rabbit’s cotton tail soon grew long and spiked, growing a tip in the shape of a menacing arrowhead. Its furry body stretched and became enormous and scaly, the trees uprooting around them as the creature’s back reached their tops. Its head became reptilian, its long ears turning into two elegant horns, the four legs growing claws that looked sharper than swords. The eyes were golden yellow. Lastly, the rabbit’s back began sprouting giant, bat-like wings with a spike at the tip. Lottie and Lilja quivered in fear at the humongous creature. The rabbit had grown into a young, green dragon.

  The dragon gave a roar that shook the trees, demanding silence. The pups couldn’t run, for they knew the dragon would easily catch up. Their only option was to surrender. Lottie and Lilja bowed their heads as low as they would go, hoping that the dragon would spare them.

  The dragon growled, showing its sharp teeth. “Arise,” he mumbled, smoke furling out of his mouth. Shaking, the pups got to their feet and looked up at the dragon.

  “Why did you try to catch me?” it asked in a deep, male undertone. His voice was mysterious and powerful, and it echoed around the clearing that the dragon had created. Lottie and Lilja stayed silent.

  “Why did you try to catch me?” he asked again, louder this time.

  It took all the courage Lilja had to stammer; “We...we were hungry.”

  “Hungry?” echoed the dragon. “Can’t you feel the life of the prey around you? Why did you hunt me, going against your own instincts?”

  “You’re a Changer!” Lottie bursted out. “I can’t believe it!”

  The dragon smiled, showing his pearly daggers. “It is as you say.”

  Lilja was filled with awe. A Changer! A being of the skies, Changers were creatures that could change into any animal at any time, though most Changers stuck to one main form. They were stronger and more intelligent than any other creature alive. Changers were very rare, even rumored extinct, and for anyone to see it in their lifetime was miraculous. Lilja was amazed by the great privilege that had been bestowed upon him and Lottie.

  “What do you mean, instincts?” asked Lottie, looking at the Changer.

  The Changer dropped his head until his glassy eye was staring into their souls. “If you had paid attention to your feelings instead of listening to your growling bellies, you would have felt that a Changer was nearby. You would have strayed somewhere else.”

  “Oh,” said Lottie in a small voice. “We’re sorry.”

  The dragon looked amused. “Do not worry yourselves. You are very young.” He went to move on, but before he could do so Lottie yelled, “Wait!”

  The dragon paused and looked back at her. “Yes?” he asked.

  Lottie bowed once again, and Lilja had a feeling she was being a bit of a show-off. Without looking up she said, “With deepest respect, may I ask what your name is?”

  The dragon looked a little surprised. He quickly hid it behind a strong mask of indifference and said, “Ionan.”

  “Ionan,” whispered Lottie with small wonder. She rose to her feet as she asked, “Where is your Accompany?”

  THE BREEZE TICKLED his tan skin, strangely warm for such an early spring. The wind ruffled both the tall emerald grass and his black hair and he sat up, trying to get his bearings as his head swam around him. His strong muscles contracted and his bright golden eyes opened slowly. He put a hand to his head slowly and winced. Ouch…that was a nasty fall. Good thing he had managed to grab that branch on the way down or he could have broken his neck. Couldn’t say the same for the tree though…his strength had uprooted the thing on the way down.

  After he was sure nothing was broken, he rose to his feet. What exactly had happened? He looked down and moaned as he saw the state of his clothes. His pants were now even dirtier than they had been for the past few days. His weathered boots were scuffed from the branches and his baggy, long-sleeved white shirt was the worst for the wear, as the trees he had hit had caused it to snag on the way down. He couldn’t wear it like this...he would have to find someone to fix it. As he stared at the empty forest, he frowned. It looked like there was nobody around, so he was going to have to fix the shirt himself. It would look terrible, but oh well. It wasn’t like he never had worn patched clothing before, right? It was only for the past few years he had nice things. Ionan wouldn’t like it very much, but he would live.

  He was over six feet tall so he thought he would be able to survey his surroundings easily. But everything in this forest seemed to be huge, as indicated by the giant trees. As he saw where he was, a great wave of dread ran him through. Of all the places to crash...only one human settlement in the Lands, and he had to land right by. Or was it really a human settlement? He had never really paid that much attention in class back home…Ionan had always been the smart one. He started walking, taking steps in deep strides. If he was silent, he could sneak back into the forest and quickly find his Changer before he was discovered. He thought he could make it without being caught. Four years of military training had to count for something. Then he heard the brush crackle nearby, and before he could halt, something crashed into him.

  Still he stood. He didn’t stu
mble, but the thing was sent sprawling three feet onto its back. He looked down at it and gasped. Lying on the ground was a creature with a pair of brilliant eyes that stared intensely into his.

  CHAPTER TWO

  STARING AND SICKNESS

  T he eyes were pink. It was a strange color for a human but he thought nothing of it. He had spent little time in The Lands so he had no clue on how to tell the difference between male and female humans. He/she was a lot shorter than him, and it was wearing a brown dress cut unusually short, with no shoes on its bare feet. Its hair was a vibrant green and was cut in layers around its small ears, with snow white skin and a curvaceous body. It was around his and Ionan’s age, twenty two, but it could have been as young as nineteen. Butterfly-like white wings flickered once from its back, and then vanished. He couldn’t remember if humans were supposed to have wings or not.

  The human in front of him got off the ground and brushed off its dress. “Watch where you’re going! Didn’t you see I’m walking?”

  “No,” he answered truthfully. He was at least a foot taller than the human, so he had looked right over it. “Who are you, and what is your name?”

  “What kind of a stupid question is that?” it snapped back angrily, eyes flashing.

  He was taken aback. This creature had an attitude. “Well, I uh…I don’t…what is your name?” he repeated again, stumbling through his words.

  “Kiatana Abrilion Shaman,” it said. “And if you think you can come in here and whack me around you’ve got another thing coming.” It placed a hand on the dagger tied to its belt.

  “I would never dream of hurting you, what have you done to me?” he said in surprise. He saw the anger in the human’s eyes vanish, only to be replaced with wariness. “My name is Keota Morimoti. I must know, are you male or female?’

  “I’m a girl,” she said in a tone that implied he was an idiot for not knowing.

  “Thank you. That was very informative to me,” he nodded, smiling at her. She looked at him blankly, and then started to walk away.