Chapter 4
Snow, the Rebellious Slave
With her current master and the dark, tall, and handsome Paladin strolling away like drunks determined to get even more drunk, Snow knew she had little time to spare before the spidora launched their assault from the rooftops.
Little time left to change their path.
The harsh clicking whispers even more numerous now. Right above her. More echoing in this alley.
All full of buggy bloodlust.
And even more on other roofs.
The screams of humans in the distance becoming even louder.
More desperate.
Making her shoulders cringe of the thought of their horrible deaths.
Got her to gaze back up at the warm plum pudding sky between the tile ridges.
The kind of warm summer sky Snow once long ago yearned to lay down under. Hidden in a grassy field and slurp up a bowl of stolen pudding while watching for a falling star to grant her foolish wish for freedom and a careful fun life.
A life she pretended so have those years ago as an actress and playwright.
Not get stuck in this cramped alleyway between two stone buildings. The stone was like an oven finally cool enough to touch.
Barely.
But she spotted several more spidery blotches of spidora. Blocking out huge chucks of the twinkling confectionery stars.
Their poses arched. Ready to strike.
Her hands arched up. Fingers out and all pointed at them.
The humans in this city would of accepted her. Probably. In her human form. Snow came off as a pretty enough girl that the guys would overlook the foxy parts with any plausible excuse – like being cursed or something – since everyone knew lycan females were tigresses, not vixens.
As long as Snow didn’t show off her furry covered ass form too soon.
Because beautiful girls did get cut more slack than any other being alive.
Except possibly, sometimes the most adorable children – mostly only by their own parents too.
Still, this cramped alleyway didn’t give Snow enough room to attack the spidora properly. The jagged bolts of her electric ice blast would hit the stone walls. Diminish her attack’s powers.
Maybe get a few large rocks landing on her for her efforts.
The stone against her back was hot enough for this humid summer night to make her want to pant out loud constantly. Like being squished inside a baker’s oven.
Or being roasted by ratling.
But the spidora above Snow could never fit within this scrawny alleyway.
So, what was making the harsh clicking whispers down here?
It’s not like the lycan village that decided it had captured Snow, rather than retrieved her from a mission well done, ever bothered to train her in any kind of combat. Basically, they decided enslave her as a purren rather than treat her as a fellow lycan returned home. The exotic fox lycan thing made Snow a trophy to show off. Not much other use.
Especially since she never revealed her magical talents to anyone.
Ever.
Even Mandy thought of her more a burden – except she had some unusually useful healing skills.
Which were actually magic. But Snow hid that part well enough.
Too well.
Even if being a purren was better than their typical human slaves. At least, purren had some rights.
Rights the other lycan made a point to enforce, in fact.
Way better than the fate of other slaves.
Still, Snow could never defeat this horde of spidora about to annihilate the lycan, humans, and me with only her magic.
At least not directly. Not without undoing her subtle, weak, but massive spell that helped hide the humans inside their homes from by subduing their human scents, heartbeats, and other giveaways.
Her back still tingling and itching from being roasted by rock …
An idea made her ears perk up painfully.
Stone conducts heat really well.
Too well.
Her stays in castles, full of stone and chilly drafts, in order for her human master to show her exotic fox ass off to the highest bidders taught Snow stone conducts the cold as good as the heat.
So she changed the target.
And let off that first blast of electric ice.
The jagged streaks blasted out like sky blue lightning bolts.
Zigzagged through the air.
And mushroomed out like the fountains that nobles loved in their courtyards.
Striking more tiles and roofs than she could count.
Freezing them so cold they cracked louder than all the screams in the distance put together.
The shrieks of spidora hit. Their exoskeletons cracking apart. Their violet gloop splattering everywhere.
And the gloop crystalizing.
Confirmed by the crackle of small crystals raining down on the ice.
Then more of both sounds as more spidora realized their legs had frozen with the tiles.
Yet still tried too hard to move.
Shattering them.
But the harsh clicks in the alleyway echoed even louder.
More urgent.
And far too close to strike with any of her magic.
So Snow shoved herself out of this cramped stinky crack between buildings.
And spotted one of the Paladins watching her from the corner of his eyes. A massive mountain of dark human brawn that had piles of her fellow wolves and tigresses lying dead and dying around him.
Yet he merely gave me a thankful nod and motioned for her to flee.
Unnoticed by the feisty redheaded human girl near him. Who also had plenty of lycan corpses around her too. Her sword dark with blood just like the Paladin and his blade.
Her heart lifted for once in her life.
And she mouthed, Thanks, I'm Azura Snow.
He actually replied.
Out loud.
“Azura Snow,” he said, “I'm Felix Stormbringer and we are in your debt. If you encounter another Paladin, mention my name and the honor of Crow Valley to make good on it.”
Snow blinked.
Heart frozen.
“If I wasn't tricked into becoming a purren …” Snow said. Then cut off.
Whining never solved anything.
Even the pigtailed redheaded looked at Snow with some sympathy.
“Whose?” asked Felix. His grim expression clear on his intentions.
Another reason why her failure to warn them in time made her inside wrench.
At least he realized her horrid oaths prevented her from revealing too much.
“Mandy Ivy's,” Snow said.
Yet suddenly he smiled a touch.
It somehow brightened the scene of death around him
“The tigress that left with Ash, right?” Felix asked.
Snow nodded.
“Then ask Ash for your freedom,” said Felix, “When the time is right … and let him know I requested it too.”
That dropped her jaw.
But he continued.
“Better go and catch up to them,” he said, “Hurry before you lose your chance … Ash's drinking prowess is legendary. Even here.”
Snow could only nod. Ears perking up with her tail.
Chemiran was the drinking capital of the Four Realms.
So she ran in the direction that her current master went.
That citrus scent too easy to pick out among all this blood and death.