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nLate that evening, as darkness fell so that only the outlines of the mountains glowed a deep green-blue, but the sky overhead was black pricked with tiny pinpoints of starlight, Zev led Sasha out of the cave and down the trail.

nShe couldn’t see much in the dark, so by the time they made it to the riverbed they were to follow, he’d put her on his back to make sure she didn’t trip or turn her ankle on a rock.

nZev’s hands cupping her thighs and her arms wrapped around his collarbones, Sasha’s heart pounded in her chest, thumping against his back and he noticed.

n”You really don’t need to be scared, Sash. They’re glad that you’re here. They know I talked about you when I was Alpha, and they’ve heard what you’ve done since.”

n”How would they have heard things out here?”

nZev chuckled. “They don’t all live out here. Some of them live quite close to the City or the Village, or in the forest in between. They just avoid us and avoid being out in the open. But they’re always watching, or keeping in touch with a few of us so they know what’s going on. Some of them will already feel like they know you.”

nSasha shuddered. “See, that’s what’s creepy about people who can see and hear things from so far away. No privacy,” she said into his neck.

nZev squeezed her thighs. “I’ll keep you safe.”

nSasha sighed at the shiver that went through her at those words. She wanted to tell him to turn around and take her back to the cave, and to hell with the rest of this. But instead, she just squeezed him tightly and let her lips play on his neck.

nZev blew out a breath. “Please stop doing that before our inevitable observers see me get aroused.”

nSasha giggled. “I thought you said Chimera don’t care about that kind of thing.”

n”They may not care if I walk up pitching a tent, but you can be certain that they’ll tease me about it. Not exactly the way I want to start this kind of meeting,” he growled.

nSasha laughed again, but didn’t kiss him anymore, even though she wanted to.

nShe could see warm lights flickering ahead and soon as Zev followed the riverbed, even her human eyes could easily make out the two, wavering golden bonfires that had been lit in the clearing at the valley floor, and a wide circle—one hundred feet across or more—marked by small torches.

nShe knew it wasn’t their intent, but to Sasha, the place looked like a massive ritual circle.

nAnd worse, she kept catching shadows moving between them and the light sources, but she couldn’t see clearly enough to see what they were.

nAs they grew close she realized that the torches extended across the river, including a large portion of water within the circle.

nSomething rolled at the water’s surface, adding a ripple and splash to the sound of the river’s rush. “What was that?” she hissed.

n”Probably Nigel,” Zev said. “He won’t leave Thana, but he wanted to be here to hear what you had to say.”

n”Nigel? There’s a loch ness monster here called Nigel? Who gives these creatures these names?”

n”The humans,” Zev sighed. “Nick once told me they name the scary ones old-fashioned names because it makes them feel less frightening.”

nSasha snorted. “Clearly that worked with Ernie.”

nA few paces later she whispered, “Are you sure none of them want to eat me?”

nZev growled. “I wouldn’t let them even if they did,” he said, his voice dark.

nHe didn’t seem to understand that that wasn’t comforting.

nWhen they reached the line of torches, Zev knelt to let Sasha off his back.

nSuddenly it felt as if the ground came alive—all those rounds she’d thought were boulders deposited by the river, rolling to their feet and standing—on two legs, or four. There were strange humps, horns, odd body shapes… and all of it in light so dim and flickering from flames, that Sasha could barely make out their shapes, let alone the details of them.

nIt was terrifying.

n”I’m here, your safe,” Zev murmured, leaning into her ear, then taking her hand and leading her forward. “Remember, you’re Alpha. They’re here to listen to you.”

nSasha nodded and swallowed, pushing the fear down because these were her people, too, and she couldn’t treat them like the monsters they seemed to be.

nAs they began to walk between them, and the mounds and shadows kept materializing into limbs and eyes, Zev whispered, “You’ll need to greet them. Some of them will want to share scents. Most won’t.”

nShare scents? Where they rubbed on each other? Sasha almost lost her nerve.

n”How am I supposed to know which ones want to be touched?”

n”They’ll move close or reach for you—and I won’t bite them for it,” Zev chuckled.

nShe was glad he was having fun.

nLord give her strength.

nIn the following minutes, Sasha experienced the most surreal moments of her life. Zev called them all to come to meet and listen. And as they closed in around her, leaving a circle probably only ten feet wide around her, something massive lurched out of the water and splashed towards them. A few Chimera at the back of the gathering complained.

nAll Sasha could see were strange shapes, and lots of eyes—some of them reflecting the firelight like an animal’s, others just starkly white against the darkness.

nShe didn’t know what else to do, so she just pretended they were people.

n”Thank you for coming. I asked to speak with you because I wanted to explain what we’ve discovered, and how you can get out of Thana and out from under the human rule if you want,” she said, more firmly than was needed, but she was having to brace to keep her voice steady.

nThen without any preamble, she told herself that the audience didn’t matter. What mattered was the message. And that’s why she was here. She took a deep breath and started talking.

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