Risha and Merees did not waste any time. As soon as they were alone, they began to make their way back to the clearing as quickly as their feet could carry them.
Despite their great haste, they found themselves slowed down, as they tripped on roots, or got entangled into vines that had not been there before. Almost as if the island itself was trying to stall their progress.
When the lynx and the dragon finally arrived at the clearing, they found the others lying lifeless on the ground, with the remains of half-eaten fruit being strewn all around them.
"Are they dead?" Merees whispered.
Risha shook her head.
"No, I can hear them breathing, but faintly. Let's wake them up."
She went over to Kyros and tried to wake him up by shaking him gently by the shoulder, but to no effect. The Mountain-lion did not stir.
Realizing that she had to resort to more extreme measures, Risha grabbed hold of Kyros' shirt and slapped him hard across the face. After three slaps, his eyes opened.
"What's the matter?" He asked, drowsily. "Why are you hitting me?"
"I'm sorry" Risha apologized, "but I had no other choice."
Meanwhile, Merees had managed to rouse the first-mate, using a similar method. With the two men awake, the women explained what had happened: That the island was inhabited and that those who lived here were not exactly hospitable.
Kyros agreed that the best course of action they could take would be to wake their comrades and leave the island. However, the first-mate was of a different opinion:
"You claim that the two bats you met were hostile..." He began.
Risha was about to ask him what the hell he meant by that, when a sound could be heard. It was the sound of many wings, drawing closer and closer. Both Risha and Kyros reached for their blades, but the first-mate ordered the swords to be kept in their scabbards.
The Two felines obeyed, though Risha did so with ill grace, muttering under her breath. The Next moment, the denizens of the island appeared and the lynx's eyes widened at the sight:
She was not sure how many bats there were. She counted at least seventy of them, but she could tell even by a quick glance, that she, Merees and the other members of the expedition were vastly outnumbered.
Some of the bats wore loincloth, while others displayed everything. Many of them had adorned themselves with bracelets or necklaces. Risha noticed that these were made of teeth and bones. She felt a shiver run down her spine.
"You got any fire left in you?" She whispered to Merees.
"I'm afraid not" the Princess whispered back.
"What about your magic?"
Merees shook her head.
At this point, the first-mate stepped forward, his right paw raised.
"Greetings, island-dwellers" he said. "We come in peace."
At the head of the swarm was a bat larger than any of the others. His fur was the color of snow, his headdress was a skull and his breastplate fashioned from a rib-cage. Embedded in his own skull, his eyes shone like rubies.
"Greetings land-walkers" he said, in a hoarse voice (both Risha and Merees noticed that, unlike the brother and sister, he spoke the common tongue perfectly). "You have set foot on our island and have partaken of its bounty. Normally, your lives would therefor be forfeit.."
"What do you mean 'normally'?" The First-mate interrupted, guardedly.
In response, the leader of the bats pointed at Merees:
"The Dragon" he said. "Give her to us and the rest of you shall be allowed to leave here unharmed."
"What?!" Risha stepped forward, eyes blazing. "Listen, you creep! Take your offer and shove it, we are not interested!"
The Bat looked at Risha as if he had just now noticed her.
"Are you in charge?" He asked, smirking.
"She's not" replied the first-mate. "I am."
"And yet you let one of your underlings talk over you." The Bat shook his head in mock amazement.
"I am not his underling" Risha growled.
"Nor am I" said Merees, "and if the reason you want me is because I killed one of yours, you should know that he and his sister attacked us."
"Lies!" Shrieked the sister in question.
She was about to address her leader in their own language, telling him not to believe these filthy land-walkers, but one look from him told her that he had best keep her tongue still.
"I apologize for the behavior of of these young ones" ,he said. "It was their first scouting mission and apparently they decided to act on their own. They were under no orders to attack you. At least, not at the moment. No, we want you for an entirely different reason:
You see, this island that you are currently standing on is actually a living being. A being on an endless journey through the oceans of this world."
"That explains why this island could not be found on the Captain's maps" Kyros said, while stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"Exactly. My people have lived on this island for ages, ever since we were driven away from our homeland. It shelters us and keeps us fed. In exchange for its hospitality, we provide it with sustenance."
"By killing anyone who sets foot on your island." The Words had not been intended as a question and Kyros' voice had grown dark as he uttered them.
"Yes, once we sacrifice our...visitors, their life-essence are absorbed by the island and becomes a part of it. Forever."
Risha let what the leader of the bats had said sink in. She glanced first at Merees, then at the first-mate and saw her own horror and disbelief reflected in their faces.
"Its been years since anyone last set foot on the island", the bat continued, taking no heed of the effect his words had had on his audience. "And our guardian is slowly growing weaker. So, when I learned of your arrival, I was relieved. When I found out that one of you No!was a dragon, I was ecstatic."
"I think I understand" Merees said. "Because we dragons are among the World's most long-lived races, you assume that my life-energy is greater than that of my companions."
The Dragoness' voice was steady as she spoke, though her hands, trembled slightly.
"Precisely. So, what are your answer? Will you sacrifice one to save the many? Or will all of you perish here?"
While this conversation had been going on, Risha's mind had been working at full speed. There had to be a way out of this situation, a way for her to save them all. Well, mostly Merees and to a slightly lesser extent Kyros, with the others as a bonus. Then, it struck her:
If this island was alive, then it could be hurt.
It was worth a try. What did they have to lose?
With one rapid movement, she drew her short-sword and, with a roar, drove it into the soft ground. Beside her, Kyros, having caught on to Risha's intentions, did the same.
As the Lynx and the mountain-lion pulled out their blades, the island began to shake violently. The Leader of the bats let out a wail and, fell limp to the ground.
Immediately, Kyros pounced on the fallen bat, aiming the tip of his sword at the leader's heart.
"Listen!" He called out. "Stay where you are, or your chief's essence will be the next to feed your precious island!"
Now it was the bats' turn to be frightened, not all of them understood the mountain-lions' words, but they did not need to. The Situation was clear to anyone with eyes in their heads.
"Don't listen to him!" Shrieked the female-bat, who was seeing her chance to get revenge slip away. "The Land-walkers have dared to harm the island! Kill them!"
"No!" One of her fellow bats protested. "The Chosen's life is too precious, we have to do what they say."
While Kyros kept the bats at bay and they, in turn argued among themselves, the two women and the first-mate quickly went about the job of waking the rest of the expedition.
"Is everyone up?" Kyros asked, not taking his eyes off the squabbling chiropterans.
"They are" Risha responded, as she helped one crew-member on his feet.
"Good. Then, leave this cursed place."
"What about you?" Merees asked.
"I'll be right behind you."
Kyros waited until the last member of the expedition had left the clearing, then he lifted up the still unconscious leader, and started to walk backwards out of the clearing, using the white bat as a shield. The Mountain-lion waited until he was a safe enough distant from the clearing, then he put down his burden and ran towards the beach.
