The Valley of Lies (Lightkeepers #1)

Chapter TWENTY-EIGHT: Zan

Before he even opened his eyes, Zan sensed the darkness. It wasn't the kind that hung between walls with closed doors, it was the darkness of a living, breathing night. An uncomfortable chill raised goosebumps on his arms, but his head and back were damp with sweat. There were no trees above him, only a clear view of the sky and its millions of shining stars.

Zan was used to sleeping outdoors, so it took him a moment to recall the series of events which had led to him waking up in a moonlit meadow. When the memories came rushing back, he scrambled to sit up.

Had he passed out? Where was Liss?

A whispered groan caught his ear. He glanced down to find the white-haired girl lying nearby, sprawled on the grass, just as he had been a moment ago. Her closed eyes no longer reflected the shades of the meadow grasses, nor stared at him with a combination of fascination and fear she tried in vain to hide.

Her chest rose and fell with shallow breaths.

"Did you have sweet dreams?" a deep voice from the shadows inquired.

Zan startled, jumping to his feet. The speaker didn't sound close–they were probably standing among the trees at the edge of the forest–but that didn't mean they weren't a threat.

"The girl exhausted herself healing you." A pause, then quiet laughter. "Trying to heal you, I should say. Not sure how successful she was. We still had to dress your wound. Which, by the way... You're welcome."

Zan sensed rather than saw someone nearing. They were speaking Elvish, but their accent was inelegant and hard to place, almost like a human.

"What clan do you hail from? You have the ears of an elf–sort of–but the horns of a... Well, I was hoping you'd explain that part. A faun, maybe?"

Zan hated being caught off-guard, but he was glad this stranger in the shadows hadn't stumbled upon him unawares. They would have seen his eyes and known he had dragon blood, which would raise even more questions than his horns.

Quickly, before they could sneak up on him, he changed his eyes to match the drunk human he'd incapacitated in Squallside. Carsen. He'd hoped to never have to wear that egomaniac's skin again, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and it was easier to change into a form he'd taken recently.

At least it was just the human's murky brown eyes and not his whole ugly face.

A familiar streak of white darted through the grass, satisfied chirping noises following in its wake. The animal stopped just in front of Zan, sitting up on its chubby haunches. Its long ears were cocked at an angle, as if it were listening to someone. Or for someone.

It was the juvenile antleoch Liss had adopted and called Moon.

"Cute, isn't he?"

The voice sounded closer, but Zan still didn't see anyone. It didn't strike him as a good sign.

Moon chittered, zipping in excited circles, then paused to stare off toward the forest. He looked expectant, like a tamed animal awaiting its reward.

A sense of wrongness washed over Zan. It wasn't often he was played for a fool, and never by anything so small and fluffy. He shouldn't have chased after the antleoch this afternoon, he should have been more circumspect. White antleochs were rare. He should have considered that it might have been born in captivity, that it might have belonged to someone. He should have realized Moon was bait, and they were being followed.

There were a lot of things he should have done. Instead, he'd let down his guard for a chance to make the lonely Darkbane girl smile. Even now, he couldn't completely regret his decision. But he wasn't looking forward to the disappointment she'd be met with when she woke up and realized they had been duped.