Chapter 5

Shime didn't want to open her eyes. She didn't want to move. Feeling Denzin's fingertips caress her back made her smile. He feathered gentle kisses over her shoulder, moving her long hair out of his way as he made his way up to her ear. He had woken her like this the last two days. They had not yet spoken of why Shime continued to come to his bed at night, slipping through the darkness with the stealth Higzashi had taught her. They had woken together, sneaking outside when no one else was looking, trained, then went their seperate ways until night again masked her return to his bed.

"We need to get up, now," he whispered.

"I don't want to," she whimpered, snuggling closer to his body.

Denzin chuckled. "I know you don't. I don't want to, either, but we have to. We don't want anyone else to know about this, especially my father."

She opened her eyes, peering up at him. Now seemed as good a time as any to ask the question that burned in her mind. "Will Master Higzashi be angry?"

"At me, certainly. You're safe, though." He smiled at her. "I don't think anyone with any kind of a soul could be angry with you."

She giggled. Turning, her arms reached out and wrapped around his neck. He held her tightly against his body. After a minute, she let out a despondent sigh. Denzin looked down at her in concern. "What's the matter, Shime?"

"I ... I really don't know," she admitted quietly. "I'm just ... confused."

"About?" Denzin asked with interest.

"It's not really important," she said quickly. Among the Ha'tinre, there was very rarely any love between partners. Sex was a biological need and when the desire was there, a pair would satisfy the need and then forget about it. That's how it seemed among the Ha'trin, too. And yet she couldn't help but wish things weren't so confusing. If Denzin was afraid of Higzashi finding out about what they had done, then obviously that meant Higzashi cared about her as more than just someone to relieve a physical desire. However, he hadn't said anything to her about it, so perhaps it was just the fact that Higzashi didn't like to share? That would make sense, and since he was the Grand Master, he could do whatever he wanted. Certainly, that had to be it.

"You sure?" Denzin asked, kissing the tip of her nose, which made her smile at him.

"Aren't you suppose to be training me?" she teased, changing the subject.

Denzin chuckled. "What should I train you in, hmm? How to be fast? You already are. How to be adorable? You do that quite well." He grinned wide as she giggled at him. "How to be deadly? You're a Ha'tinre, I'm sure you already know that one."

"Oh, you think I'm deadly?" Shime asked seductively. When Denzin snickered at her, she pressed against him, turning him onto his back as she stretched out atop his body, her arms under his pillow. She moved her smooth body over his in a sensual manner, feeling him stand at attention between her thighs as his hands held her hips.

"Ha'tinre are always deadly," he stated huskily as he caressed her sides.

Shime almost couldn't stop herself from laughing at his dumbfounded expression when he felt the cold metal of his own blade against his throat. "I suppose you're right in that one," she mocked sexily.

She let out a yelp of surprise when Denzin slapped her firm rump. "You should be careful with sharp toys. Don't want to hurt yourself, considering you're not trained how to use them!" he teased playfully.

"Oh?" Shime raised her brow. "I'm the one holding the knife to your throat. Takes no training to press harder..."

The next moment, the blade was against her throat. Denzin's arrogant expression made her tingle all over. "No, but it does take lots of training to keep your blade at someone's throat long enough to draw blood," he mocked proudly. His hand tightened over hers slightly, pressing down against her neck. She was forced down his body until she felt the tip of his shaft against her opening. Slowly, he pushed the dagger up, smiling as Shime sat up on him, his length slipping deeply within the heat of her body. She moaned loudly, not needing much assisstance to set a pace on him.

The blade was soon gone, its clattering onto the floor ignored by the two. Shime panted and moaned, feeling Denzin throb within her each time she came down his shaft. He was thicker than his father, stretching her pleasantly, filling her passage as he thrust up. Every time she came to climax, her whole body shivered as every nerve tingled with pleasure. She could feel his hands gliding over the valleys and curves of her body, tweaking her mostly flat nipples and stroking her thighs.

The sun shone brightly through the windows by the time they were done. Shime lay over Denzin's body, panting softly to catch her breath. She could feel his strong fingers running through her hair. Every time he touched her it made her long for more. Being with him felt somehow different than Higzashi. Laying there on Denzin left her with a feeling of contentment.

Finally, she couldn't resist the question that burned in her mind any longer. Laying her chin on Denzin's chest, she peered up at him. "Why would Master Higzashi be mad at you?"

Denzin glanced down at her. There was something in his eyes, on his whole face, that made her body turn cold for a second. Her instincts knew there was something wrong, but her mind overrode it, especially when Denzin stared back up at the ceiling. "He, uh, he's always been territorial. And, well, he would probably find it awkward to think his son was sleeping with the same woman he was."

Shime could hear the strain in his voice. There was a tension in his body that hadn't been there before. So much did she want for that to be the reason, she ignored the sensation that he was lying. "Oh," she said softly, laying her head on his chest again. She could hear his strong heart pounding in his chest.

Denzin let out a sigh, suddenly sitting up. He held Shime tightly to him, burying his nose in her hair. "I don't want to see you get hurt, Shime." His voice was a mumble.

"Why would I get hurt?" she asked quietly, one hand caressing his neck.

Something was bothering him deeply. His body almost trembled with it. Instead, he released her with another sigh. "Let's get cleaned up and dressed. It's pretty late in the day already." He picked up his dagger and replaced it before heading to the bathing room.

Shrugging off her instincts, she followed him to the shower. Together, they cleaned off the scent of their love making. When they were done, Denzin made them both a quick breakfast.

When they got outside, Denzin handed Shime a stick and they had their usual spar. As always, Denzin was clever and quick, anticipating her moves and countering her no matter what she tried. Finally, he decided that was over. After another meal, Denzin got an idea, and grinned sinisterly, glancing sidelong at Shime. She peered at him with wide eyes, unsure about his expression.

"Has Higzashi taught you how to track?" Denzin asked casually, turning to look at her.

Shime's eyes narrowed as she glanced him up and down. "My mother taught me when I was young. I've never been made to since. Why?"

"Have you ever played Hide and Seek?" Still he smiled at her with that kind of expression that made her want to slap him and then kiss him.

"I don't play games. I'm not a little girl anymore," she sneered back at him.

Denzin burst out laughing. He reached out his hand and patted her on the head in an affectionately condescending way. "Kid, I'm over 300 years old. You're what, 18? You are still a little girl."

Shime bared her teeth in a snarl, wrinkling her nose. Aiming well, she flicked out her tongue rapidly, smacking Denin between the eyes with a sloppy lick. She giggled when he cried out in disgust, wiping at his forehead.

"Next time I'm cutting that tongue out of your mouth!" he growled.

"You certainly enjoyed my tongue last night," she teased seductively.

With another growl, Denzin glared at her. Then he grinned again. "You wait here for five minutes. Then I want you to find me. If you can find me before I can sneak up on you, you'll win a prize."

Shime raised her brow. "Do I get to tell you what to do for a day?"

"Hmm, something like that," he chuckled, turning away. "Remember, five minutes and not a second sooner!" With that, he jogged into the woods around the village.

Glancing up at the sky, Shime let out a sigh, sitting down on the step of the small porch in front of Denzin's house. Placing her chin in the palms of her hands, her mind wandered to the morning. Why was Denzin so nervous? He wasn't a very good liar. Probably that whole "Ha'trin are noble and honest and fight for peace and justice" stuff made him feel guilty when he lied. To Shime, lying was a survival tactic. She had learned to lie without any outward indication of doing so because when Tarnrax had caught her lying ... well, she just learned how to do it better. The world of the Ha'tinre was very different.

Another thought made her brow furrow. What if he wasn't ashamed of lying, but rather of what he was covering up with the lie? And on that note, the last time she had seen Malvala, she had had a similar expression. But instead of lying, she had changed the subject. Did Malvala know something about the death of her parents that she didn't?

Was everyone lying to her? Shime suddenly felt a spike of anger and fear rush through her. What if Higzashi was lying to her, too? What if he was pulling her strings? What if he was actually in league with Tarnrax? What if... ?

Shime shook her head. That was a silly thought. With how much Tarnrax hated the Ha'trin, there was no reason to think such a thing. But she couldn't shake the thought that there was something on Denzin's mind that he wanted to get out but knew that if he did, there may be reprecussions.

Thinking of Denzin, Shime glanced up at the sky again. It had been about six minutes. Standing, she had a quick stretch before bursting into motion. The world around her became almost a blur. Her vision tunneled down to directly ahead of her, ensuring she could avoid obsticles in her way. In order to avoid overload, her brain filtered out everything to the sides, leaving the forest to seem like a green blur.

She didn't go very far, pausing to glance around the woods. She didn't know where she was, but that wasn't so much the problem. Turning, she was able to notice the ground had recently been disturbed. There wasn't a foot print, but the leaves that carpetted the earth looked like they had been walked on. Shime smirked. Either Denzin was leaving his trail on purpose, or he was really bad at covering his tracks.

Her bare paw-like feet with their long prehensile toes moved easily over the leaves, leaving the barest hint to her passing. They were padded for this, adapted to a world where leaving traces of your existance was a sure fire way of getting killed by larger predators. So she moved quietly through the brush. Higzashi had taught her how to adjust her weight, how to move swiftly and silently, even how to avoid rustling her clothing. He had taught her to use what she was born with, whereas Tarnrax had always tried to deny her mother's side of her.

She followed the trail Denzin had left until it reached a small stream. This was an age old trick, Shime knew. The only real question was whether he'd gone up stream or down. Examining the streambed carefully, Shime decided it was most likely he'd gone upstream. The strong thumbs of her feet gave her easy traction on the slippery rocks. She moved carefully, aware that it was likely she was being hunted. It wouldn't surprise her if Denzin was making a wide circle on his own trail, intending to catch her from behind.

Once she'd picked up his trail again a short distance away, she figured he was indeed tracking back and intending an attack from the rear. The print of his boots led up a small streambank on the same side he'd gone into the stream from. Pondering this, Shime glanced around. She realized then that she recognized the area. Just a little further ahead was the deep pool she had run to when she had put the torture spell on Jabis.

Smirking, Shime hopped up the bank and headed along the top of the bank, easily hopping from rock to rock as the terrain got jagged. Just as she had suspected, Denzin's trail had taken a longer way to the same place. Glancing behind her and all around, she stalked forward, checking the ground, though there were no more footprints. Surely he must have been leading her on and now he was making things more difficult.

A single snapped twig let her know she was still on the trail. However, just a little further and Shime was unsure. It was as if he had vanished. She wandered a bit, zigzagging to see if she could pick up his trail again, but she eventually ended up back where the last evidence of his passing had been.

There was a rustle, only a single heart's beat worth of time for Shime to realize the branch above her moved. She was struck in the back with enough force to throw her to the ground. She turned over quickly to look up at Denzin's grinning face.

"I thought the Halkash were an arboreal race, and yet you didn't bother looking up!" He snickered at her.

Growling, Shime got to her feet, glancing up at the tree. "I bet I can make it to the top before you."

Denzin laughed. "Well, guess I should let you win at something! Readysetgo!"

Without any effort, Shime was able to swing up into the tree. Her strong feet, a mix of both her parents, were ideal for gripping the branches much more securely than Denzin's flat, booted feet. He had to watch himself, searching for branches close to him that were large enough for him to get traction on. He hadn't made it past halfway up the tree when Shime's ponytail appeared in his vision. He paused on the thick branch he was crouched on, looking up at her. She hung upside down from the branch above him, the opposable thumbs of her feet hanging on easily.

He chuckled between pants at her pleased expression. "I give you this one, kid. You are much better at climbing than I can hope to be."

"At least there's something I'm better at than you are," she mumbled mostly to herself.

Standing carefully, a hand on the tree's trunk, Denzin reached out, his hand cupping the back of Shime's neck. "I'm sure there are plenty of things you do better than I do."

"Like?" She cocked her head slightly, crossing her arms.

"Like being able to endear yourself into my heart." With that, he leaned forward, kissing her tenderly. Her arms reached down, clutching at his shirt to pull him deeper into the kiss. They stayed that way for a while, too engrossed in each other to really notice or care about the world around them.

Leaning against the trunk, Denzin raised his arms, cradling Shime's shoulders. Shime had never had nor showed trust in anyone like she did with Denzin. Her feet released the branch one at a time, slipping easily into his strong arms. He held her tightly against his body, their lips still locked in an embrace of passion.

Without a word, they were soon sitting on the branch, Denzin's back against the trunk, his arms around Shime's shoulders, holding her close. One of his legs hung off the side, the other bent up to help cradle Shime's lithe body against him. Together they watched the sun's slow decent in the sky. It wasn't close to sunset but it was still lovely.

"I have a crazy idea," Denzin suddenly said softly against her ear. He nibbled the edge of it for good measure, causing her to let out a sigh.

"What's that?" she asked quietly.

"Let's run away together."

Shime's head snapped around, looking at him in disbelief. "What?"

He shrugged. "If we both left this world, we could be rid of those who plague us both. You'd be far from Tarnrax, and I'd be far from my father."

Shime blinked a few times, still trying to process the proposal. "Where would we go?"

"Anywhere we like!" Denzin waved his hand up at the sky. "There's thousands of worlds. There's nothing that holds us here."

"But ... then you'd be without a clan."

Denzin shrugged. "Unlike the Ha'tinre, Ha'trin can join any clan they wish to. We don't have to fight our way into clans, or anything."

Shime looked down. "I don't think any other clan would accept me."

"Of course they would," Denzin said softly. His finger caressed her cheek. "They would take you if you were with me. I can vouche for you. I can take over your training and help you become Ha'trin."

Shime sighed. "I don't want to be Ha'trin," she said softly. "I never wanted to be Ha'trin," she continued when Denzin raised his brow at her. "I just wanted to learn the pressure points Master Higzashi said he knew. But I don't want to become Ha'trin." Then she raised her eyes to him, suddenly scared. "You're not going to tell Master Higzashi, are you? He said he would brain wash me if I didn't become Ha'trin."

Denzin rolled his eyes. "I doubt that. But no, I won't tell him." Then he tightened his grip around her, holding her close. "If you don't want to be Ha'trin, then you don't have to. We can just find a world that doesn't have either Ha'trin or Ha'tinre. And no one will know or care. Hell, maybe we can start our own order! Recruit both Ha'trin and Ha'tinre. Can you imagine the kind of a force a Ha'tinre with a sniper rifle could be?"

Shime smiled, but shook her head. "I don't know. Why do you want to run away with me? Why don't you just leave on your own?"

Again there was something haunted in Denzin's eyes. He turned his face away. "I just want to make sure you don't get hurt."

Shime stood up abruptly, balancing perfectly on the branch. She placed her hands on her hips. "Why do you think I'd get hurt?" When Denzin shrugged after standing, she stepped up to him and grabbed the front of his shirt, pressing him against the trunk of the tree forcefully. Her eyes were narrowed. He could see that she was angry and frustrated. The hint of a green glow shined in her slitted pupils, bespeaking of the powerful magic that flowed through her. "You are a terrible liar," she growled.

Denzin raised his brow as a hot pulse of desire shot through him. A smile crept over his face even though he tried desperately to prevent it. "Do you have any idea how sexy you are just now?" he said softly when Shime sneered at him.

Blinking, she was taken by surprise. She felt Denzin's hands settle on her hips, drawing her against him. He had no fear of her, would much rather change the subject anyways. His hand cupped the back of her slender neck, leaning down to kiss her passionately. She didn't fight it despite the fact that she still wanted to know what dark secret he was keeping from her.

When he drew away from the kiss, Denzin held her tightly. "Dear little Shime," he whispered in her ear, "I fear I've fallen in love with you."

Shime jerked back to look into his eyes in bewilderment. "What?" She had heard him fine, but she didn't want to believe that she had. Among the Ha'tinre, love was considered weakness. It was why her parents had died. They had been weak because they had loved. It was why she was weak, she had been born of that love. Maybe it was why she was still weak, that she wished to love and be loved.

Denzin smiled at her, caressing her face. "I love you, Shime. Is that hard to believe?"

Blinking a few times, Shime turned her eyes away. "I ... don't know what to say," she whispered.

"Say what's in your heart. You won't offend me. Let me guess, you love my father." There was a hint of contempt in his voice.

Shime looked up at him. "Why do you hate Higzashi so much? And why shouldn't I love him? He's been nothing but kind to me. You came in and took advantage of the situation!"

Denzin cocked a brow. "You don't know a thing about that man, do you? Did he ever tell you about his twin daughters?"

"He said they joined the Torak Lakus and they hadn't spoken in years. Why?" Shime took a step away from Denzin, crossing her arms.

"They haven't spoken in 500 years. But they talk to us, their siblings. Higzashi killed their mother. He killed her because she had grown old and he wanted to move on. Vasena and Lurisa found out about it after their first mission for the Torak Lakus. That was why they stopped talking to him." Denzin sighed heavily, continuing. "He is as cold as he is kind. He makes up good logical reasons for his behavior, but that doesn't make him right. He tells me one day I'll be cold like he is, but I don't want that life that he thinks I will lead. I want to keep you from having the same fate as so many of his 'short lived' lovers."

"And why should I believe you?" Shime asked, though her voice was soft. She wasn't sure if she should believe him or not. Higzashi had not said anything about loving her. Certainly he was nice, but Tarnrax could be nice when he wanted something.

Denzin let out a sigh as if a weight was being removed from his chest. "He wants to send you back to Tarnrax, Shime. He has been training you for the sole purpose of sending you back to your old Master. He plans for you to kill Tarnrax, but he knows you wouldn't make a good Grand Master so he has another Ha'tinre in your clan who will 'remove' you. He says he hopes you'll survive, but somehow I doubt that."

Shime stared at him for several moments, trying to process this. That had been her plan, but recently she had started thinking she didn't want to go back. If she became Grand Master, she would have to kill the Ha'trin, and they would have to kill her. She had made friends with the Ha'trin. She didn't think she could look any of them in the eye and kill them. Besides, if on the chance Higzashi cared for her, why would she go back to a world of lies and evil and the constant threat of death? She didn't want to be Ha'trin, but maybe she didn't have to be Ha'tinre, either.

"He planned on giving you his hand as proof to Tarnrax you'd killed him just so you could get into the village," she heard Denzin saying through her thoughts. At her shocked expression he shrugged. "We are Regeneraters. We can grow back any part of our bodies, and wounds don't last on us for long. It's why we age so slow, besides father being a Jrahkel. But we don't usually tell people about it because the surprise of us getting back up from a fatal wound is to our advantage." Then he looked into her eyes. "He's been telling me his plan from the start. At first I didn't care. At first I wanted him to kill you. But now, I want to take you away. I don't want you to get hurt."

Shime shook her head violently. If what he was saying was true, it was brutal rending of her trust. Even if she wanted to kill Tarnrax, the fact that Higzashi had been training her for this purpose, to play some kind of game. It was not acceptable.

Unable to think of anything else to do, Shime easily descended from the tree. She heard Denzin call after her, heard him try to follow her, finding it much more difficult to get out of the tree. Again she shook her head, walking away before Denzin could reach the ground. When he caught up to her, he tried to grab her shoulder, but she jerked away from him.

"I always thought you Ha'trin were noble and good. You're no different than the Ha'tinre! Playing mind games, trying to lurk in the dark, doing everything for your own gain!" she snarled, turning to glare at him.

"That's Higzashi. That's not me. I want to help you," Denzin said softly, trying to calm her.

Shaking her head again, Shime turned, her long legs making it difficult for Denzin to follow after her. She wasn't even running full speed. She needed to think, needed to get away for a little bit and think on what Denzin had told her. She needed to decide if she could believe him. She would have to ask Higzashi if he cared about her. Especially because...

Something was suddenly under her foot, jerking up to her ankle, tripping her. She let out a quick cry, falling to the ground. Turning to see what had been there to make her lose her footing so badly, a familiar drawl made her skin crawl.

"Why hello there, Shime."

"M-Master Tarnrax!" It came out as a squeak.

Tarnrax seemed to melt out of the shadows of the forest. Only the green glow that emanated from his pupils could be seen as he was wrapped in customary Ha'tinre garb. Shime stumbled to her feet, her face pale, her body trembling slightly as she looked up at him.

There was a rustle behind her. She could hear several other Ha'tinre leap out of the brush on top of Denzin. He cursed loudly, trying to fight them off. He had been foolish enough to leave behind weapons. The Ha'tinre jerked his arms over his head and back, laying his hands against his shoulder blades. They tied him securely as Tarnrax chuckled. It made Shime shudder all over.

"Isn't this a pleasant surprise? You bring me a gift. Another Ha'trin to add to the collection."

From the brush, more Ha'tinre appeared. "Higzashi!" Shime gasped, recognizing who they dragged with them.

Tarnrax waved his hand. "Put them together. We have someone else who I think will be far more cooperative in helping us find their little base." He turned to Shime and she knew he was grinning that twisted evil smirk of his.

He stepped toward her, making her cringe. He suddenly put his arms around her, holding her close. "My dear little Shime. I had worried about you. These Ha'trin didn't harm you, did they?"

Stunned, terrified, and unsure, Shime stood in Tarnrax's arms, her eyes wide, her face so pale she looked as if she might faint. She could barely see Higzashi and Denzin over Tarnrax's shoulder as they were forced to their knees beside each other. Higzashi glanced at his son with a curious and knowing glare, his eyes quickly turning back to see the event unfolding. "N-No, Master Tarnrax. I-I'm fine," she said in a small voice.

Tarnrax stood back, stroking her hair. "I'm glad for that. Malvala had told me that you had run away to prove yourself. I assume you came here to trick these Ha'trin into trusting you and allowing you into their village and learning their ways. Quite ingenious."

His evil drawl made Shime's knees feel weak. Her eyes flicked around, noticing Malvala's lithe, tiny form as one of those holding Higzashi at dagger point. The woman didn't look at her.

Then Shime felt Tarnrax's hand wrap around the back of her neck. Her heart pounded in her chest as his grip tightened. He leaned down to speak to her with just enough of a voice that the two Ha'trin could hear him. "I would assume you know where their village is, don't you, Shime?"

She could feel his hot breath on her ear through the thin fabric that covered most of his face. Trembling, Shime nodded. "Yes, Master Tarnrax."

"I told you she was a spy!" Denzin suddenly growled, jerking at his bounds.

Higzashi grunted. "Indeed. My folly." His eyes narrowed at Shime. She turned her eyes to her feet, gulping.

"You know how to turn off their shield, don't you, Shime?" Tarnrax asked, his voice cold and dangerously sweet.

"Yes, Master Tarnrax," Shime responded quietly.

"And you're going to lead us to their lair, aren't you, Shime?" Tarnrax drew nearer to her so that she could feel his hard body against her.

"Yes, Master Tarnrax," Shime said brokenly, her head hanging.

He rumbled in approval, standing upright. His grip on her neck loosened slightly. "Well, now that we have someone to show us the rest of the way, we won't have need of the other Ha'trin."

Before she could blink, one of the Ha'tinre drew his blade and slit open Denzin's throat. His blood poured down his chest. Eyes rolled back, he slumped forward onto the ground. Shime was already too shocked to fully comprehend the situation. Higzashi fought his bounds, snarling at Tarnrax. "You honorless bastard. You've killed two of my clan while they were unarmed! Do you know no shame?"

Tarnrax laughed heartlessly. "A conscience is for the weaklings like you, Ha'trin. Now come, bring him. His clan will drop their weapons when they see their Clan Master at my mercy. Another of their weaknesses." Then he turned back to Shime. "Lead the way, my dear."

In a dazed state of shock and fear, Shime turned, walking toward the village. Her uncle's presence behind her left her too afraid to try thinking of a plan to get out of this. Tarnrax would not have a second thought about doing the same to her as he had done to Denzin. She had no choice but to obey him and pray he would not torture her to death after this.

When they came to the place Shime knew the shield wasn't solid, she paused. Before them was what looked like an impassable tangle of barbs and rocks that rose out of the forest.

"Well, Shime?"

Shime jumped, turning to glance back at Tarnrax. Looking back at her feet, she pointed at the illusion before them. "In there, Master Tarnrax," she said softly, painfully. She wanted to cry. How could she betray people who had treated her so well? But when she felt his strong large hand grip her shoulder, she remembered why. "Where it shimmers a little, it's not solid."

Tarnrax chuckled darkly. He patted her shoulder. "Good girl, Shime. You've done well." The condecending tone he used made her feel as broken and small as before she had come to this place. Then Tarnrax turned to those holding Higzashi. "You two go first. Make sure they see..."