Ramaeka (The Ramaeka Series Book 1) by G. Corin

way.  Ramaeka winced as he hit his back against a
tree; he managed to keep a hold on this bundle of bugs however.  Stripe walked
over and hauled him to his feet.  Ramaeka scowled to himself as they headed to
the stream, he had thought that he had left that sort of thing behind when he
had escaped from his family.  He and Stripe cast their lines silently then sat
back to enjoy the peace.
    “He’s jealous
you know.”
    Ramaeka looked
up in surprise as Stripe spoke.  Stripe looked at him sheepishly. 
    “It’s just
always been the two of us you see, since I was six and he was eight, and he’s
always been really bad at sharing.”
    “It’s ok,”
Ramaeka told him.  “I’ve dealt with worse.”
    “Still you
shouldn’t have to,” Stripe told him firmly.  “I’ll have a word to him later.”
    “How did the
two of you meet?” he asked curiously.
    “I ran away
from home when I was six,” Stripe paused for a moment thoughtfully.  “I was
sick of being locked up in the cellar or beaten by my family, so I just ditched
one day and headed on to the streets.  Shady found me running away after I
tried to steal an apple from this huge vendor.  He took me under his wing and
taught me how to survive pretty much; he’s like a brother to me.”
    Ramaeka
nodded.  “I wish I had someone like that when I was growing up,” he told Stripe
wistfully.  Stripe laughed. 
    “What do you
mean when you were growing up?  You’re still only a kid.  Anyway you have me;
you’re like my little brother.”  He grinned at Ramaeka who could only beam
back; his throat seemed to have swollen for some reason.  Stripe clapped him on
the back and lay back to enjoy the sunshine.
     
    It was five
days after their conversation when Stripe came racing into camp just as Shady
and Ramaeka were finishing the breakfast clean up.  Ramaeka watched in surprise
as his friend shoved dirt on the embers of their cooking fire.
    “Quick, pack
up,” he hissed at them.  They did so as fast and silently as they could. 
Within minutes they were ready to go and Stripe beckoned them to follow him. 
    He led them up
to the crest of one of the surrounding hills.  As they approached the top he
dropped to the ground and wriggled forward on his stomach.  It had to be
something serious thought Ramaeka, Stripe was obviously scared by whatever they
were about to see.  His face was pale and he was sweating.  Glancing over at
Shady, Ramaeka noticed that he looked extremely grim, his jaw set like stone.
    Stripe reached
the top of the hill and peered over, quickly ducking down then looking over
again.  He gestured Ramaeka and Shady forward.  Ramaeka carefully wiggled to
the top and peeked over.  His breath caught in his throat at the sight below
him.  An immense army marched across the flatland at the bottom of the hill. 
Sun gleamed on weapons, every man that marched seemed to be armed with a sword
or axe.  And that was just the men Ramaeka thought fearfully.  He had seen many
horrific sights in his short life including death duels between full grown
dragons, but the hundreds of different creatures that marched along with the
humans made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.  There were gigantic
trolls and immense spiders; there were mixtures of human and animal as well as
many huge beasts that Ramaeka had never heard of before.  Strange hairy
creatures were being pulled along in cages as they snarled and slathered at the
bars.  Ramaeka felt the draconian instincts of his people rising up inside of
him, he desperately wanted to transform and be ready to defend himself and his
friends.  As he fought the growl in his chest down Stripe tapped his arm.  He
glanced over at his friend who blinked in surprise and looked at him more closely. 
Ramaeka immediately got himself under control and raised an eyebrow
questioningly.  Stripe stared at him unsurely for a moment before gesturing
back down the hill.  Ramaeka nodded and silently slid back