pounced on rouge, driving him over two meters back. In the same time she bounced on pushing body and jumped on Hofu. Confused and partially blinded by sand lion didn’t blocked that attack and fell on the rock with deep cuts of his front paws. But lionesses haven’t been continuing her charge. She jumped aside, looking for Baridi. Seeing that rouge was standing up, she charged on him.

Meanwhile Dhalimu stood up, in spite of Udole’s grab. He hit him with quick blow and rushed to two others intruders, who were just surrounding Raia. He overturned Hofu, but he landed awkwardly, basing on disabled paw. Knitting bone miraculously stood that trial, but brown-maned gasped with pain. Anyway – without slowing he lowered his head and Udole, pouncing on him, flew over and disappeared in clouds of dust.

“Raia!” called king. “Get out of here! Gather lionesses and finish them off, when they will be coming down.”

“My place is by your side, my lord.” Said lioness, nestling with right shoulder on right shoulder of lion. That way they were covering themselves from both sides. “My place is by your side, Dhalimu.” Added and roared on incoming Hofu.

Rouge noticed in eyes of sandy-maned something what forced him to lower his paws and stop. He was looking not on tyrannized and abused victim but on proud lioness, who was defending her beloved monarch. All what he had heard from Mtanga was covered by that stare, full of love and care. The anger that had been previously keeping rouge in steel grip, got loose and his mind asked a hundreds of questions that he hadn’t answered earlier.

“I won’t let you kill him!” cried Raia, looking on returning Udole.

“No, you won’t.” agreed Hofu. He looked on his companions and ordered. “Stop! Don’t kill!”

Wanderers froze.

 

XV. The Royal Song

 

Taka saw just a pitch-blackness inside of his mind. The other senses were receiving perfectly the easal">Lion had steeped away from companions to aim his pounce better. He set himself on perfect windward from Dhalimu to use nature’s help in combat. He jumped when enemy shook Hofu off and started to third of adversaries. Udole hit with paws in Dhalimu’s nape. He grabbed victim’s fur on neck and thanks to impetus they both fell on the ground. So they both froze on the ground, wrestling hard. Rouge wanted just to stopped enemy until his friends do their job. So after few seconds over the king glimmered extended claws of two tyrannocides.

“Die, you brute!” gasped Baridi, and suddenly he was thrown to the ground.

Raia pounced on rouge, driving him over two meters back. In the same time she bounced on pushing body and jumped on Hofu. Confused and partially blinded by sand lion didn’t blocked that attack and fell on the rock with deep cuts of his front paws. But lionesses haven’t been continuing her charge. She jumped aside, looking for Baridi. Seeing that rouge was standing up, she charged on him.

Meanwhile Dhalimu stood up, in spite of Udole’s grab. He hit him with quick blow and rushed to two others intruders, who were just surrounding Raia. He overturned Hofu, but he landed awkwardly, basing on disabled paw. Knitting bone miraculously stood that trial, but brown-maned gasped with pain. Anyway – without slowing he lowered his head and Udole, pouncing on him, flew over and disappeared in clouds of dust.

“Raia!” called king. “Get out of here! Gather lionesses and finish them off, when they will be coming down.”

“My place is by your side, my lord.” Said lioness, nestling with right shoulder on right shoulder of lion. That way they were covering themselves from both sides. “My place is by your side, Dhalimu.” Added and roared on incoming Hofu.

Rouge noticed in eyes of sandy-maned something what forced him to lower his paws and stop. He was looking not on tyrannized and abused victim but on proud lioness, who was defending her beloved monarch. All what he had heard from Mtanga was covered by that stare, full of love and care. The anger that had been previously keeping rouge in steel grip, got loose and his mind asked a hundreds of questions that he hadn’t answered earlier.

“I won’t let you kill him!” cried Raia, looking on returning Udole.

“No, you won’t.” agreed Hofu. He looked on his companions and ordered. “Stop! Don’t kill!”

Wanderers froze.

 

XV. The Royal Song

t wind, hardness of stone surface, tapping of sands grains hitting rock and the smell of incoming storm. Unfortunately, his sight was unable to show him the most important information: from were the enemy was laughing at him.

“I’m impressed, Taka.” Murmured Mtanga with poisonous irony. “Your acting was even more stupid than I expected... You challenged Dhalimu. Well, I’m not crying about that, because you have wounded him, so me and boys have easier work to do.”

Arbiter recognised that rouge was walking on the edge of plateau. He was marching slowly, but Taka knew that he was just careful. His brother–in-law set himself perfectly – blinded black-maned had no chances to get to him unseen and Mtanga could easily dodge the sudden charge. “And when he dodge me, I will fall beyond the brink.” Thought.

“So...” enemy continued. “As you probably know, I will be the new ruler of Golden Sands. You should have been happy – your sister is to become a queen.”

“You killed Niva!” gasped Taka in moment of dreadful clarity.

“Taka, Taka...” murmured Mtanga. „That is a past. Now we must think about the future.” Although black-maned couldn’t see it, he sensed that his brother-in-law stood up, turned to him and points a sneering stare on arbiter. “Soon you will die!”

Furious Taka pounced ahead, not thinking about consequences. He flew to the edge and stopped  just before the brink. Of course, Mtanga was no there. He stepped aside of charge or he had never been there – due to wind Taka could be distracted.

Lion grabbed the rock with claws and jumped back. And there – unexpectedly – he hit the side of enemy. They both were surprised – laughter of rouge faded in second, but after all Mtanga reacted as a first. He hit brother-in-law with paw in nape. Arbiter was pushed back two meters, fortunately – away from the edge – and awkwardly fell on the rock.

“So you want to play a blind man’s buff?” murmured enemy. “Good, that actually might be quite funny.”

“You’ve killed the queen!” growled Taka. “You did it in person or by your sidekicks?”

“Sidekicks? You offend my boys.” Replied Mtanga with laughter. “Understand that they believe they are doing all of this to liberate Golden Pride from tyrant’s paws, not to gave me the throne.”

“Come on, say it louder!” hasped arbiter. “Maybe they will hear what you are planning.”

“No, they won’t.” said rouge. “Wind is howling too loud and we are on leeward. Actually...” he added, coming to Taka and hitting his side. “...it’s time to finish that farce. This blasted wind is even worse than all this sand all around. I hate sand!”

“You should have thought about it before you have chosen the kingdom to conquer.” Murmured Taka and in the same second another attack cut his right side.

Mtanga was everywhere, at least for black-maned. In whistle of wind he was able to move unheard easily sneaking to his victim from behind. He could see, although the omnipresent dust had to decreased that advantage it was still a great advantage. “If I stand a bit longer to the main sandstorm’s hit our chances will get equal.” Thought Taka but then a malicious voice in his head added. “Of course that they will get equal, because you will both die!”

For a while arbiter was considering a possibility of withdrawing to Dhalimu, but then he left that idea. King could be dead then, and additionally the blind march through plateau (in the heat of storm!) wasn’t easy. And it would took much of time. Too much – the incoming storm was faster than arbiter.

“Why, Mtanga?” Taka decided to play for time. There still was a hope that lionesses would come with assistance. “That is my duty to guard the kingdom. I’m fulfilling it the best I can... although I know it still not enough.” He thought.

“You know nothing!” said rouge with unexpectedly soft voice. “You are the king’s son, raised in luxury and respect. How could you understand what feels an orphan and outcast?”

“The loneliness, humiliation and rank injustice.” Replied Taka, recalling to mind every feeling he experienced during his escape from home. “And what is the most important: the burning need for revenge! On anyone, doesn’t matter if she or he is guilty.” He heard that Mtanga stopped. He sensed some vague bolt of attention that enemy put on him. “And what now? You will avenge on me? The same outcast as you?”

“You know nothing!” gasped his brother-in-law. “That was just in beginning. Then I met Amali... and whole world has changed. She gave me the strength and will to live. Thanks to her I believed in myself and in my might.”

“If you are doing it for Amali, think: she would be quite displeased with death of her brother...” jeered Taka.

“Shut up!” called Mtanga. “Amali will be the queen not because she is princess but because I want that! Now I will be the king, I instead of you all will be setting the rules! I’m stronger than you all. I was starting from zero to reach the stars! I was lying in mud and now I’m standing where I’m standing.”

“Coordinates, please!” murmured Taka, raising his paw. “I can’t see you clearly, I could miss...”

Mtanga ran to brother-in-law and pushed him on the ground with blow in nape. Then he stopped over lying lion and with malicious smile on face started to slowly cut his back with claws. Pain deluged Taka’s senses, but it didn’t make him scream. One who has lost his eyes, survived the sandstorm in open air and many timed said goodbye to his life wasn’t able to scream nor beg for mercy. That part of arbiter was probably already dead.

“Don’t

Previous Page

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Next page