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Awakening

The city of Barzan; also known as the Jewel of the Sacred Desert. I don't know when it was founded, but it was probably a lot more modest back then. Now, it's a major center of trade in the heart of the eastern half of the Empire. All colorful soaring domes and spindly white and tan towers; from a distance. Once you enter the gates you see the true face of the city. Its squalid slums and modest shops. The Dovetail dens and faded taverns. All huddled around the grand temples, government buildings, and palaces like cubs clinging to their mother's legs. But this mother is as cold and uncaring as the desert nights. Most of the structures are stone; wood is rare in this area, and water is too precious to waste on fires.

I had gotten to the gates just before closing time. The so-called Sacred Desert is notorious for its raiders. They were clever too; only attacking the smaller caravans and groups. They knew what they could get away with, and what would have a contingent of the army knocking on their doors.

As the western gates closed behind me, I walked down the central street leading from them to the Palace of Sands; the largest building in all of Barzan, and the residence of the ruler of the Eastern Province. I won't bother to list all her names; it suffices to say that she is well-suited to this place. I had only seen her once, but that was enough to know why even the raiders respected her, and the residents of her city were terrified by her.

The public harem I sought was hidden in the labyrinth of side streets on the south side of the city, so I turned off at an only slightly smaller secondary street and moved in that direction. I am unfamiliar with most of Barzan, but I know it's best to look like you know where you're going, and stick to busy streets to avoid trouble. As I continued on I noted that that wasn't going to work tonight.

Five jackals had been doing a poor job of stalking me since I entered the city. So I led them on; looking for a good place to find out what they wanted, and continuing my search for the harem. I dared not stop to ask for directions; I had no desire to give away my destination, assuming Edmund hadn't screwed up and they already knew.

I found a promising alley, with an empty square in the middle of it, so I headed there, and stopped in the very center.

"Do you have a message for me?"

---

I was starting to get a bad feeling about this lion. He stood in the center of the small, empty square as if it didn't matter how much of him was exposed. I could tell the others were just as surprised to learn that he had known he was followed. Maybe this mugging contract wasn't such a good idea.

Durzan, our leader, recovered quickly, and approached the lion. "The tribe sends its regards." He tried to sound menacing.

"Is that really all? Or are you just bad at pronouncing Al'aquais?" The lion was smirking at us. I started to wonder what was under that cloak.

"Grr. Just kill him!" I gasped; I hadn't expected this. Murder was serious business; if we were caught we'd get a lot more than a few months in the dungeons or the mines.

"What? We're supposed to mug him!" I approached Durzan, who had already drawn his dagger. "Aren't we, Durzan?" He growled as he whirled to face me and the others started to circle lion as they pulled their own daggers.

"I planned on dealing with you later pup, but now works too." He grabbed me by the small of back, and pushed my forward as he thrust his knife into my abdomen. I didn't feel anything, but I probably would soon.

"Why Durzan?" I had known him for a long time. He took me into the pack when he found me broken, bloodied, and abandoned. I had come to trust him with my life. So this is where trust got me again.

"Because you're always getting in trouble, and the contract was on you as well." He withdrew the knife and I slumped to the ground in shock as he turned back to the lion. I fell lying on my stomach, with the bottom of my muzzle flat with the ground so that I could see the confrontation.

"Well, that just makes this easier." The lion was still smirking. Durzan's tail stiffened and I could imagine his surprised look.

"What do you mean? It's still four against one, and I don't think you have more than a knife under that cloak."

"I don't need a weapon besides these." He unsheathed his claws, and gave a threatening roar.I started shivering, but I wasn't certain if it was my wound or that sound that affected me more.

"This is your last chance to walk away." He closed his eyes, and visibly relaxed.

"I don't fear you. Stop circling cowards and attack!" The others hesitated for a moment, then Sheeva charged. She had always been quick to abandon caution. The eyes snapped open. They glowed with golden light, and his fur seemed to ripple.

Sheeva tried to stab him in the back, but her knife simply bounced off. The lion turned, and his claws seemed to get longer as he started his swipe. She was on the other side of the lion from me, so my view of the hit was blocked, but blood seemed to explode from her lower chest.

The others were already charging, so they didn't have a chance to change course. I closed my eyes, but I still heard the screams and the sound of flesh and fur giving way to brutal claws.

I knew I needed to get moving, or I might be next. Somehow I got up, and turned to run before opening my eyes. Something gold and red was thrust into my path, and I realized it was the lion's left paw as it closed on my neck. I closed my eyes again as my throat was forced closed by the grip, expecting the end to come soon.

Instead he dragged me brutally for a few seconds, and then my back was slammed into something hard. I opened my eyes as I gasped in surprise at this new pain. I realized that he had pinned me to a wall.

He shifted from gripping me by the throat to holding me in place with his right hand on my upper chest. He had been intimidating before, but now that he was drenched with the blood of my former pack he was more terrifying than anything I could ever dream of. I opened my mouth, but I couldn't even scream under his piercing gaze. At least his eyes had stopped glowing.

"Why did you move?"

"What?" I was stunned for the second time that night, and starting to feel lightheaded. He growled, making his irritation all too clear.

"Running will only make that bleed faster; now where's the nearest clinic?"

"What's a clinic?"

"Hospital, witch doctor, medicine woman, wherever you people go for healing! Where?"

"There's the Temple of Septret, but I don't think they'd take me." My abdomen was starting to feel cold, but suddenly it flared red-hot. I gasped again and the lion looked down. He grabbed my well-worn shirt with his bloody left paw and tore it with his claws. I felt the cool night air blowing through the fur on my abdomen as he examined it.

"Never mind. So that's why you were a target." I had been avoiding looking down at myself; afraid to see just how bad the wound was, but I couldn't resist now as the lion continued to do the same. The jagged streaks of dark tan on my whitish mid-chest were glowing, and some of them had migrated to my blood-soaked abdomen.

I didn't seem to be bleeding now, and as I craned my bruised neck forward I just managed to see the skin where the wound had been finish sealing up. The hot sensation and the glowing faded as the markings slid back to my mid-chest.

I had to be hallucinating. I was still feeling lightheaded and now I was getting drowsy. The lion noticed as I struggled to keep my eyes open.

"Not a good idea. I'm not going to carry you, so stay awake or I'm going to drag you by the tail from here." Before I could ask where he was planning to take me; I heard the guards arrive finally.

"Halt! What happened here, outsider?" I could see a captain of the guard standing behind the lion with five regulars.

"They attacked me, and I killed them in self-defense." He gestured indifferently at the bodies as he stopped pinning me to the wall, but put his right arm around me to keep me close. I avoided looking at the bodies.

"More like slaughtered. How did you manage to make these wounds?"

"That's none of your concern." He used his free left hand to pull what looked like a silver medallion from inside his blood-soaked cloak. It had the profile of a savage lion on both sides, with a flag I didn't recognize draped down its side. I didn't know what it meant, but the guards apparently did.

"Please accept my apologies, sir. Can we be of any assistance?"

"Yes, can you direct me to the Gilded Jasmine?"

"I will take three of my men and escort you there," he turned and pointed to two of his men before addressing them. "You two! Keep an eye on the area. I'll get the commander and be back soon." Then he turned back to me and the lion, and looked closely at me for the first time. "What of the street urchin? I can take him off your hands."

"No, he owes me his life now."

"Will you require a collarsmith then?"

"I suppose so. I'll need a ring with the appropriate insignia. Show me to the harem and have them come there when it's ready."

"Very well; this way please, sir."

The lion kept me close for the walk to our destination. I had never entered a harem, but even I knew that the Gilded Jasmine was one of the finest in the city. The building may have only been three stories, but the gleaming complex sprawled over a large area. It was rumored that the garden and hot springs in the center were so fine that the Queen herself came here to relax.

That was one of few rumors about the Queen that were considered safe to discuss without whispering in the dark corners of a busy tavern. I wondered if we would see her there, and what exactly the lion was planning. I knew the collarsmiths handled crafting and fitting collars of various metals for indentured servants in the city, but he had asked for a ring. I was still drowsy, and felt like I was forgetting something.

We arrived. As the guards left we entered one of the main doors, and were suddenly standing in a different place. The air was heavy with a mixture of flowers, incense, perfume, musk, smoke from various substances, and alcohol. The floors were gleaming tile. Colorful tapestries were everywhere, and so were the patrons. Most of the well-worn tables were occupied by all sorts of men. And stunning women in outfits designed for a single purpose glided between them.

On a stage to the far side of the room a male fox with pure white fur danced with a gleaming black female panther to a whimsical piece played by a few women managing to be seductive even as they played pipes, and some instruments with strings that I didn't know. A tambourine seemed to be keeping the pace.

The lion almost had to drag me forward as I took all this in, and we started to get stares; probably because we were both covered in blood.

Blood. I had forgotten for a moment everything I had been through this evening. I could imagine why someone would want to come here after a long day at work. One of the women, a young leopard, moved quickly to intercept us before we caused more of a distraction.

"Good evening, sirs. Welcome to the Gilded Jasmine." She smiled like nothing at all was wrong about a blood-soaked lion dragging a street urchin in here. "What can we do for you this evening?"

"First, one of your finest baths."

"Certainly. If you'll please follow me gentlemen." She led us up to the third floor, and eventually to a spiral staircase to the roof of the complex. The tiles here were a brilliant dark blue, and I could see that a series of pools and screened-off areas all around the roof looked inward to the garden. Any view of the city was blocked by an elaborately painted wall.

The leopard led us to a fairly large, shallow circular pool. The water was steaming, and clear. There was enough room for 10 people to sit comfortably along the sides.

"Will you require new clothes sirs?" She looked at the lion as if judging his size as he removed his cloak finally.

"Yes; and an overnight room."

"Very well I'll send for the clothes and come back for your things once you're settled, gentlemen. The water is fresh from our springs, and warm. I hope you enjoy your bath." She said this last part as she examined me.

"I'm sure we will." The lion smiled politely as she floated down the stairs. I was still taking everything in as the lion undressed.

"What's the matter? Have you never had a bath before?"

"No, I've used the public baths."

"Not often enough. It's no wonder I noticed your group when I was downwind of you. Hurry up and undress; I need to check you over."

"For what?"

"Disease, injuries, what do you think? Don't make me remove them for you." He flicked his tail in a clear sign of impatience, but I wanted answers.

"What the hell is going on anyways? I thought you were going to kill me. Why did you drag me here instead of telling the guards the truth and handing me over?"

"You'll get those answers when I decide to give them to you; now you can either do as I say, or take your chances explaining what happened to the guards."

I realized that he was right. If the lion had left me I would have probably been blamed for all four deaths and accused of attempting a fifth. "Fine, but you'll answer my questions eventually?"

"I promise on this." He held up the medallion.

"What is that?"

"Another question for later. Now please hurry up, the water won't stay warm all night."

---

After the bath, I found that a silk shirt and a pair of pants were set out for me, and a similar set of clothes was waiting for the jackal. He almost fell asleep again in the bath, but we needed to get to the room before I let him do that. I was tired from traveling myself, and decided that Edmund could wait until tomorrow.

The leopard from earlier returned and led us to the prepared room. As I had hoped, the bed was large enough for both of us to sleep comfortably. The jackal took to gawking at the room. He really had been on the street most of his life. He probably knew what the women working here did, but he seemed almost as indifferent as a child.

The collarsmith arrived, holding a small silver ring with an opening. I took it and examined it quickly. It had the right insignia, so I returned it to the badger.

"What's that for?" The jackal might not be totally innocent, but he was far from knowledgeable.

"Your ear; it's a bit like the collars for indentured servants, but also different. You owe your life to me, and this will signify that you are in my service and under my protection."

"Does it ever come off?"

"I can be removed once certain conditions have been met."

"I don't have a choice right now do I?"

"If you fully understood what you're involved in now, you wouldn't hesitate to accept it anyways." He was beginning to resign himself to my control. It might be a ploy until he could escape, but hopefully I would get him to understand before he tried that. "Now stand still, this will probably hurt at first."

The jackal obeyed, and I reached up to his right ear with left paw, and then unsheathed the claw on my index finger. "Try not to be so rigid, it won't help." I punctured the middle of the outer edge of his ear; resulting in a yelp of pain from him.

Collarsmith quickly slid the ring into place and then rotated it so that he could solder it shut. Once that was done, I paid him, then led the jackal into the room. Once the door was shut and locked, I moved to the wash bowl and dampened a cloth to clean his ear with.

The jackal stopped next to the bed and stood there, watching me. I approached and carefully examined his ear. The bleeding was already slowing. "You're luck you have an enhanced healing factor right now. I haven't heard of many that got that during their awakening." He remained silent, he was fidgeting a little. "How about this? I will answer at least one question each night if you cooperate during the day."

"Fine. Do I get an answer tonight?"

"Yes."

"Does this have to do with our markings? I saw that you had ones like mine in the bath."

"Yes, a lot of this has to do with the markings. You already share an enemy with me because of them."

"Is it whoever gave Durzan the contract?" I decided to answer one more.

"The people they work for; the Al'aquais. Now let's get to bed; tomorrow is going to be a long day."