The Children of Destiny

Chapter 16 - Tiny Favor My Butt...

"So, how'd you find out you were a part of the prophecy?" I asked Maxine.

We were pretty far from the nest now, and we'd been silent for most of the time, so I decided to break the ice; no pun intended.

"Mother told me," Maxine answered simply. "Victor visited, saying he had a message from Thorn, and Mother told me what he'd said afterwards. I've always known someday you were gonna come find me."

"I wish I'd had some sort of heads up like that," I muttered. "It was kind of just dropped on me and I was expected to handle it well."

"Sucks to be you, I guess," Maxine replied. "What about you, Scout? How'd you find out?"

Scout looked over his shoulder at Maxine, obviously not expecting to be pulled into the conversation so suddenly.

"Well, Evander told me," Scout said hesitantly. "I saved him from being carried off by the owl that guards Starling tribe's village, and he repaid the favor by sneaking me out of the village. The next day, he told me that I matched the description that the prophecy demanded, and I just sort of went with it."

"Don't lie to her," I teased. "You didn't believe a word I said until I quoted a few lines from the prophecy."

"Oh, whatever!" Scout rolled his eyes at me.

"Hey," Kenai began. "I hope you don't mind me butting into the conversation, but I need to ask you something. All of you."

"What did he say?" Scout whispered.

I translated and let Kenai continue.

"I need a tiny favor from you guys," Kenai said, repeating what he said in Avian so that Scout could understand without me translating for him. "I'm sure by now none of you are scared of lions, right?"

"Um, I am!" Scout hissed in Elvish. Kenai laughed and said something in Avian, then continued.

"Don't worry, the lion I'm taking you to won't be a problem," Kenai assured. "I need to get something to him, but I can't exactly get into his den right now."

"Why?" I asked curiously.

"You'll see when you get there," Kenai replied. "Anyway, I just need to get a necklace to him. You see, he likes shiny things, especially if it's jewelry, and I bring him every bit of jewelry I steal from humans, elves, and even pride lions."

"What's this lion's name?" Maxine asked.

"Vendetta," Kenai said. "He's a really sweet guy, so long as you don't touch his treasure. Oh, and if he asks you to stay after you give him the necklace, get out of there as fast as you can."

"Why would we need to do that?" I asked.

"Yeah, that sounds like a sweet gesture to me," Scout agreed.

"Not with him, it isn't," Kenai said gravely. "He might seem like a nice guy, but if you ask me, he's got a lack of mental stability. Just be careful, alright?"

All four of us, including Roxie, nodded our understanding. Soon, we'd landed in front of a den that was surprisingly low to the ground. It was so surprising because usually, snake-tailed lions make their dens so high up that only they are able to enter because they can fly. This den was literally a cave on the ground with a single step leading to the entrance, not a large gash in a rock tower that led to a den.

"Why's his den so low to the ground?" I asked as I got down off of Kenai's back.

"I told you," Kenai replied, putting Roxie down in front of him. "He's not right in the head."