42 Up The Mountain

Lei can hear the screams of horror from the bloodshed of the people still on the ship bouncing off the surface of the river. A thick fog obscured all sight on the river, but Lei knew he was going to have to face someone or something.

"Must be some sort of sea monster. We need to leave the shoreline. Put out words for relocation." Lei commanded one of his men.

As Lei's men rallied the group, the screaming stopped and the silence from the river slowly rendered everyone speechless. Halted in place with the still of the fog surrounding them, they peered out towards the direction of the ship.

The sound of water rippling above the water surface rippled loudly as if something was moving with immense speed above it, and it was headed straight for them.

"ARMS!" Lei commanded, but as the sounds of moving water made its way onto land, crunching against the sandy beach were footsteps instead of something sinister like a monster or a beast.

"Show yourselves!" Lei shouted.

Unexpectedly, a big surge of wind as it explodes and pushes the fog away into the distance, revealing a woman in weird clothing, all in red with nine men standing tall behind her, all were armed with armor and swords.

With superiority and gratification, Xui responded domineeringly, "There. I have revealed myself. I am General Xui, Lieu Qi, Commander of the Zaa Clan, First Unit on a very important mission. Who the hell are you?" and she gave Lei and all of his people her biggest, most malefic smile.

Armed and ready to fight, Lei's men lifted their weapons, but Xui was one step ahead. Xui's sword was quick and already drawn at Lei's throat before his men could even budge.

"Stand down." Lei commanded and his men backed off, setting their weapons down.

"Now that we have an understanding of where we stand in this little power struggle of yours, I need you to answer a few questions if you want to live." Xui whispered into Lei's ears.

"Alright then, I will try my best to answer, but I can't guarantee anything." Lei replied.

"I am looking for someone. A girl, age twenty. She is supposed to be among your crew." Xui studied all the faces of the people around Lei's group, trying to find someone that would stand out of the group, then she nodded to her men.

In an instant, Xui's men began to gather the girls fitting the age range, and placed them all in a circle, front and center for Xui to inspect.

"That description doesn't narrow anything down for us. You need to give me more information." Lei said with hesitation, " and please, sheath your weapon. I am complying with your instructions, am I not?"

"Very well," Xui puts her sword down, but doesn't sheath it, purposefully showing Lei and his people that she is still the one in charge and will strike if need be. "The girl should look more like me and less like you." she finally said. She walked up to Lei and said loudly into his ears so all can hear, "Your pale complexion, big nose, and golden hair are a mutation that makes you inferior to us. You see, you will never be able to change skin because your flesh and eyes won't allow you to survive the sudden temperature changes." Xui sneered.

"Lady Sereen," one of the girls said in a tiny voice from the group of girls that were forced to sit in the center.

"Who said that?" Xui rushes to the girls as they all move away from the girl who spoke up. Xui grabs her arm and pulls her up to stand.

"She is but a servant. She knows not who she speaks of." Lei said, but Xui completely disregarded him.

"What did you say, girl?." Xui said, asking kindly and pretending to be nice to the girl by gently pushing back her messy hair away from her face. "Please do tell.

"I…I…I said it sounds like Lady Sereen. She has tan skin, silky black hair and her eyes are light brown, almost like honey. She is about my age but she is short… very petite… and~"

"Theima!" Lei shouted.

"Theima?" Xui turned her head to smile at Lei before reverting attention back to the girl. "Theima, you should continue. You see, I have the sword, therefore, I am in control now. That man that you serve has no say in this matter. He is compliant to me. Now, tell me more." Xui said with canny.

"Lady Sereen is the reason why we are here. Four months ago she ran into the woods and was lost. We finally just found her again. King Leifae Arkson is to wed her when we get back to Newland Mansion, but… you see, she ran away as soon as we docked. No one knows why, but one of our hunters is missing too. There were rumors of the two. All the servants and maids believed they eloped, I believe she was turned into a savage by the forest people, north of here."

"Shut your mouth!" Lei yelled with so much force that Theima coward backed down into a sitting position on the ground.

"So this King, that must be you?" Xui turned around and pointed her sword at Lei. "...and this Sereen, know where she is… don't you?"

Lei shook his head, no, as he answered, "We have been searching for her for days. From what I know, she could be dead."

"Trust me when I say this, she is most definitely not dead. You are such an inferior race, how would you ever have the knowledge we possess?" Xui chuckled. She turned her attention to her men and spoke in her native tongue. One of the men gave her a nod and like magic, conjured a thick fog encapsulating him as he shot up into the sky like a comet.

People around wailed in horror as Xui smirked in amusement.

"It's sorcery."

"Witchcraft"

"We are doomed."

"Oh, how very clueless you all are." Xui continued, "We are not here to obliterate your kind. Oh, you will do that all on your own. We are only here to retrieve what belongs to us and her name is Sereen. If we can't find her, that tells me that you're hiding her. If that's the case, we don't mind shedding a little human blood."

"You aren't human?" Lei asked.

"No, not really. We are what you humans would call, skin changers. Our human form is just a minor part of it."

"What's the other?" Lei asked again.

"Oh, that part is a part you don't ever want to see."

Xui then shouts commands to her soldiers, " Find the girl! If it's been days like they claim then she may be already at the top of the mountain."

"What about the pale people here?" One of Xui's men asked.

"We bring them with us. If they're lying, we will kill them one by one. If they can't catch up with us then the forest will kill them. If we can't find Sereen, then WE kill them all." Xui answered.

One of Xui's men stated the obvious, "They will only slow us down."

"If we travel by air, the wolves will notice, and by the way we made our entrances, I'm sure they have already. We don't want to stir up any trouble with them. We haven't made a treaty with the new alpha yet. For now, we travel and search by foot." Xui's man nods and steps away.

A little while later, Lei approached Xui while everyone was gathering their things to move up the mountain. "I have something to ask you." Lei said to her. When Xui shows him he has her full attention he asks, "First, what should I call you?"

"General Xui." Xui declared, "Like everyone does and nothing else."

"Alright. General Xui it is then. Also, Sereen is to be my wife. When you find her, what will you do to her?"

"That is the official Zaa Clan business. Petty humans need not ask of such things."

"Zaa? I've heard that term before. My old friend Ansel used to tell me stories about celestial beings that lived amongst us… like in the clouds or something."

"We don't live in the clouds, you fool. We live in the deepest, darkest parts of the ocean." Xui corrected Lei, " The clouds are merely a place we go to seek guidance and observe your race as it slowly goes extinct like many others had. Why would say such stupid…" Xui pauses, " wait, did you say Ansel?"

Lei's face turned desolated and he replied melancholy, "Yes. He was a dear friend of mine. He married the woman to whom my love was unrequited. So, when I found out that Sereen was her daughter I waited patiently until she was the ripened age to court, so I made plans to marry her."

Xui nodded, "Well, this is interesting." she said as she rubbed the middle of her eyebrows, "Because Ansel will be meeting us, here, at dawn with one of his other friend,

"Ansel is alive?" Lei gasped. "How is that possible? That man has been missing for twenty years." Fear and trepidation overtook Lei's complete composure.

"Oh, don't you worry, Mister King Leifae Arkson, your friend doesn't know what you have planned… yet." Xui laughed and walked away, yelling for everyone to hurry up.

Those who were too old, too young, too hurt to travel, stayed back in the campsite with no one to guard or protect them, while every abled body was forced to walk.

By nightfall everyone was exhausted, including Lei.

"We need rest, General Xui" Lei pleaded. "We do not have the stamina like whatever your kind does. We need food, water, and rest to maintain energy. Besides, it's way too dark and the moon is no kinder by hiding behind clouds."

Xui rolled her eyes and halts in places. "We keep going until we've reached the top." she exclaimed.

"Some of us can, but some of us can't." Lei retorted.

"General," one of Xui's soldiers walked up to her and whispered something into her ear. " Shaman Shao is signaling us. Read the cloud structures."

Xui expressed a slight concern towards the man then looked up at the clouds slowly moving to the side revealing the moon. She turned her gaze back to Lei.

"Alright, Mister King, we will stay the night to rest. However, we will leave at first light. Understood?"

"Understood…completely." Lei said sarcastically as he nodded in agreement before he rushed to give the command to everyone trailing behind him.