Where Zombies Walk: Chapter 10

Denai was riding directly into the sun’s glaring rays. She leaned forward in the saddle -far enough to take advantage of the shadows cast by the leaves of the few trees that had managed to regain enough life in them to produce a decent foliage cap- in hopes of getting a more focused look at the couple standing on the boulder. If she was seeing correctly, it was Baelil and his sister, Ari.

A low moan of displeasure escaped her lips, but she was careful to subdue it before it grew loud enough to attract the attention of Max, who she’d asked to accompany her on the three hour journey there.

“I see Baelil,” Max said as he pulled his equally powerful horse up beside Danai’s Black Friesian beast. “It looks like his sister’s with him.”

“She’s the one who met up with the girl a few weeks back,” Danai muttered.

Max shook his head. “Yet, here we are. It just goes to show that you shouldn’t send a kid to do a grownup’s job.”

Denai chuckled. “Ari is hardly a kid.”

“She’s not yet a woman, either,” Max grumbled. “I’m just saying that they gave her too much responsibility. Had any of us met up with the girl and she refused to come, we’d have the strength and wherewithal to drag her back by her hair if need be. That little blonde slip of a thing wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Denai shrugged. “I get the feeling she can do more than you might think.”

“Well, what she didn’t do was bring the girl back.”

Denai sighed. “No. She didn’t.”

Max looked long and hard at Ari. “Maybe she should quit this work and do something useful like become a breeder. She’s old enough, after all. Although, she’s just a slip of a thing. I’d be afraid of splitting her in half. Not to mention that hair. Between those tiny breasts and that butch hairdo, I’d be afraid I was breeding her brother.”

Denai ignored is comment as she urged her horse up the hill. The two rode in silence until they reached the small plateau where the cave was located. Although the sun beat down upon the landscape, the air felt tolerable and balanced.

Max looked about him as he hopped off his mount and then grabbed the reins from Denai while she dismounted. “Son of a gun. Look over there. Is that a garden?”

Ari moved toward them. “It’s been picked fairly clean, but there are still a few plants with something on their vine. My brother and I helped ourselves.” She smiled at Max. “There isn’t enough to harvest and bring home, but certainly enough to treat yourself.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Max eagerly said as he hurriedly hobbled the horses and then headed for the garden.

Denai looked around. “Primitive, but nice. I could live here.”

“It’s isolated,” Ari said as she moved as close to Denai as she dared without being too obvious. “I’d get lonely.”

“Hey, you,” Baelil said in a low, almost sensual tone as he came out of the cave carrying a singed wooden spoon. He stopped just inches from Denai and looked her directly in the eyes. It was easy to do since they were of a similar height. He held her gaze for a brief moment while reveling in the pheromones that she so freely emitted before raising his hand to show her the spoon. “I found this. Maybe it will help.”

Denai smiled seductively at Baelil. She knew that Ari was watching. That was part of the reason that she did it. She didn’t need the complications that would come her way if she was thought to be a lesbian or even a woman who swung both ways. The other reason was that she’d learned that Baelil had placed himself on the breeding list. She’d heard about his prowess in the bedroom and was eager to experience it for herself. She hoped that she hadn’t conceived yet. She’d know in a few days. If she hadn’t, she fully intended to move him up on the list. She had that right. Since she decided to do her share to help bring humanity back into power and entered the breeding program, she’d accepted whoever was sent to her; knowing that every male she coupled with had been thoroughly examined to assure a healthy and strong offspring. This would be the first time that she made an adjustment to the order of male partners.

Ari didn’t miss the way Denai’s long fingers lingered against her brother’s strong ones as she took the spoon from his grasp. She wanted to cry, but knew better. She also knew that her feelings for Denai were forbidden and could bring a slew of unpleasant and possibly painful repercussion on her, but she couldn’t help her heart. She did her best to disguise her pain as she babbled about the landscape and what it must have been like for Kendra to live there. Since her brother’s eyes were locked on Denai and Denai’s eyes were closed in concentration, she doubted either of them heard or even cared about what she was saying.

“I don’t need the spoon. Their energy is embedded in this place so deep it will take centuries to clear out. There were several people living here,” she said. “There was an argument. A very intense one that include violence.” She opened her eyes and moved toward the southern edge of the plateau. “One – a male- went this way. He was angry.” Then, she walked to the east side of the plateau. “Two women and a male went this way. They were on foot and moving slow from their burdens. One of them was injured. A foot, I believe.”

“Kendra hurt her foot the day I met her,” Ari offered.

Denai nodded, but said nothing.

“Since it’s the girl we’re after, we’ll go this way,” Baelil said as he unhobbled his horse and made ready to mount.

“Right now?” Ari asked with dismay.

His annoyance with his sister was clear when Baelil said, “You can go back with Denai and Max, if you want.”

She thought for a moment and then shook her head. “You’ll need me to identify her.”

Baelil mounted his horse and urged it forward. “Then, let’s go.”

“Do you want me to come as well?” Max asked as he eyed Ari with disapproval.

Baelil would have welcomed Max’s assistance, but he knew the importance of him seeing Denai safely home again. So, he thanked him for the offer and then reminded him of his duty.

Max heaved a sigh of resignation. “We only just arrived and we’re headed back again. It hardly seems worth the trip.”

“It’s testimony to Denai’s skills,” Ari said with pride.

Denai smiled at Ari and then moved close enough to Max for their bodies to touch. “I could use a little time out of that saddle.”

Max’s eyes half closed and his nostrils flared. He had only a few days left to his month of bedding her. Taking her in the soft grass of the plateau was a suitable consolation for not being able to accompany Baelil on his hunt for the girl.

Ari’s lower lip trembled as she did her best to hold back the tears of heartache as she watched Denai and Max unabashedly disrobe before falling to the ground in a lover’s grasp. Her eyes locked on Denai’s pert, dark nipple as Max took it into his mouth with a gusto that made Denai’s back arch while she moaned with delight. She gasped with surprise at the unusual pull in her groin that occurred as she watched Max bury his head between Denai’s strong, shapely thighs.

“Ari,” Baelil hissed. “Look ahead and come on.”

“That will be you next month,” Ari pouted.

Baelil placed his hand on his chest and said, “One can hope.”