Chapter 80: The Frenzy Flower And The Attack.
A few minutes before they called for the meeting, a small group of tiger tribe members had gathered in secret.
Their plan was simple. They needed to get Ryker back as their chief. For that to happen, they had to get rid of Neve.
They had thought the threat of selecting a new chief would be enough to scare Ryker a bit. They had thought he would leave willingly rather than cause problems for the tribe. They had not expected Ryker to choose Neve over his position. Not expected him to actually discard his chieftaincy completely.
No one else could rule them like Ryker did. Even the ones who had contested with him in the past knew they were not up to the task. Leadership was not something everyone could do. Ryker had been born for it.
That was why they made their plan.
"What if that red panda doesn’t show up when we summon Ryker for the meeting?" one of them asked.
"Well, we just have to make sure he does," another answered.
"Aren’t we forgetting something?" a third voice said.
They all looked at him.
"That boy is bonded to the dragon king," he said carefully. "Remember the threat he gave before leaving. He said he would burn us all alive if we hurt a single strand of his hair."
The first speaker waved a hand dismissively.
"Don’t worry about that," he said. "No one will know it’s us that’s responsible for it. Besides, the dragon king is probably in his slumber. By the time he returns after winter, we’ll be long gone to our tribe."
They all agreed.
That was how they convinced the beastman pretending to be the new chief to get close to Popi. The plan was simple. He would hold her hand like he was going to officially ask her to be his mate. And while holding her hand, he would coat her skin with frenzy flower.
She would never know what was happening.
.
.
Popi did not know.
She never knew until the effects started taking hold.
She started feeling strange. Disoriented. Her mind was becoming cloudy and her senses were going haywire. She staggered and fell directly into the arms of the beastman who had proposed to her.
"Popi, are you okay?" he asked, steadying her.
"My head," she said, her voice weak. "I have to go back to the dungeon and get locked up in there. The dungeon helped me stay calm."
"We only put you there to protect yourself and us," the beastman said. His voice was smooth and convincing. "I have an idea to get rid of your headaches, Popi."
Popi’s eyes widened.
She was interested. She wanted the pain to stop. She wanted clarity back.
But her claws were already extending. Growing longer. Becoming sharper. The frenzy flower was working on her body in ways the beastmen had not anticipated.
"Just so no one will call you mad Popi anymore," the beastman whispered to her. "Attack that red-haired man over there and you’ll be back to normal. The pain will go away."
"But that’s... Ryker’s..." Popi tried to say his name. Tried to remember who she was supposed to attack. But the frenzy flower was clouding her mind.
"Wait," she stuttered. "Who is he?"
That was when the beastman knew the flower had worked completely.
"He’s your enemy, Popi," the beastman said. "Go ahead and attack him. Get your revenge on him."
Without waiting for anything else, Popi lunged out of the beastman’s arms.
She charged toward Neve with the kind of speed that should have been impossible.
.
Thank goodness Sorin was with Neve.
Sorin had the eagle ability to see things before they happened. To predict movements. To anticipate danger. When he saw Popi suddenly launch herself forward with killing intent in her eyes, he reacted instantly.
His hand wrapped around Neve’s waist, as his wings spread out behind him with a sound like thunder.
He pulled Neve up into the sky in one smooth motion.
Neve could see his legs dangling below him as Sorin carried him higher and higher. They were over fifteen feet away from the ground now. High enough to be safe from a ground attack.
"Why?" Neve asked, his voice shaking. "Why is she attacking us? No... why is she attacking me?"
"I have no idea," Sorin said, his wings beating steadily to keep them airborne. "But I can’t get you lower than this. Who knows? She might be able to jump higher than we expect."
He had barely finished speaking when Popi proved him right.
She charged toward the nearest tree and started climbing.
Fast.
Unnaturally fast.
When she reached the top, she roared. The sound was primal and angry and completely unlike anything Neve had heard from her before.
She waved her claws upward.
The movement was so fast that Sorin did not see it coming in time.
One of her claws caught his arm.
Blood sprayed.
Sorin screamed and his grip on Neve weakened for just a moment. His wing movement became uneven as pain shot through his injured arm.
"Sorin!" Neve yelled.
"I’m fine," Sorin stuttered, his voice clearly not fine. He tried to move his bad arm but could not. The claw had gone deep. The damage was significant. "I’m... fine."
"Put me down and get treated, Sorin!" Neve yelled, tears already building in his eyes. "I can’t have you hurt because of me!"
Sorin did not answer. He just flew away from any area close to trees. He moved higher into the air and farther from the village center, trying to put as much distance as possible between them and Popi.
But Neve could see the blood dripping from Sorin’s arm.
He felt so guilty.
Sorin had only come to help him. Sorin had only been standing beside him to keep him safe. And now Sorin was injured because of a situation that involved Neve.
"Hey! Throw him at me!" Ryker yelled from down below.
His voice cut through the chaos and Neve looked down.
Ryker was standing there with his arms spread open, ready to catch. His expression was serious and focused and determined.
Sorin looked at Ryker for a moment.
Then he nodded once.
Without warning, he released Neve.
Neve felt the sudden absence of support and his stomach lurched. He was falling. Actually falling through the air with nothing beneath him. For a few seconds he was completely weightless and terrified.
Then Ryker caught him.
Strong arms wrapped around him and halted his fall completely. Ryker’s chest was solid and warm and Neve crashed into him with force but did not bounce off.
Ryker held him securely.
Neve looked up at Sorin who was still in the air.
His arm was bleeding heavily now. The claw wounds were deep and ugly. Sorin was flying awkwardly, favoring his good arm, and at the same time, struggling to maintain altitude.
"What about Sorin?" Neve asked urgently. "What’s he planning to do?"