The Books of the Shadows III- Silver Tiger

1

-Damn... not again!!

He was standing on the top of the Hill of the warlords when the portal opened.

Another one, the seventh, opened randomly on the lands of the shadows in only 3 days. He was standing proud, sniffing the warm air, and the wind blew his black and long locks that flowed like a waterfall over his broad shoulders. He was tall and well built, like a true warrior of the shadows, worthy of taking the title of crown prince from his king. 

Hmm... Silver was thinking of watching the invaders closely, so he was waiting to see who will come through and how many will they be this time.

"Report! How many?" a loud voice in his head was heard. 

" One... two... and three... Just three. Can't find any weapons on them... Females, all...,"

"What?? "the voice made itself heard in his mind. No female came through the portals for more than 1200 years, Silver! Are you sure they are women? "

"Really, mom? I know what women look like, seriously? I'm 18, remember? "

'Of course, Silver. Wait! "

He waited for a while, but it was too quiet. That was not too good.

He was dressed in a black leather suit and held in his right hand the black bow, which was already known, as well as his mother's golden bow, The one who never missed a target. And he was as good a shooter as she was. Silver Tiger was his name, the firstborn royal blood of the Warchild and Shadow Assassins House united. 

He was at the top of the hill at that moment because he had run to check on things when he saw the signs again. The portal opened and through it appeared these three females. It was not exactly unusual, because these portals brought new shadows into their world, but they always brought warriors and not unarmed females looking over their shoulders in fear, as if someone had stopped them from crossing over. And it was not about the natives of an unknown, unfriendly, dangerous world, but about their people. They seemed to fear someone from their world would stop them. Was someone else coming behind them? No, the portal closed the same way that it opened earlier. There were only these three out there in their world, all alone. Was it some kind of trap?

There were three of them, dressed in beautiful red silk noble clothes, long shirts with wide belts matched with rich gold embroidery, but no guards followed them into their world. These useless creatures had shown up from that portal, unarmed, into the world of the war gods. Well, actually, one of them threw some kind of short shiny object looking like a small weapon at the one in the middle, and apparently, she could not even hold a weapon in her hands... useless... what was she doing here? Did she get sucked into the portal by mistake?

The way those two were holding on to the one in the middle, it was like the maids would hold on to their sister, afraid that she might get hurt. They were flanking her as if they wanted to protect her with their own lives. Stupid... None seemed to have any other weapons. How would they protect her in front of a wild animal? There were bears around here, in the forest and these girls were heading towards it... Great!

They needed help. He pulled his hood over his head and put his bow over his shoulder, in its place by the quiver of arrows. He began a race towards the frightened women, left alone in an unknown world, immediately after the portal closed behind them and no guards came to provide protection.

He got close to them but did not come out with insight; he was content to observe them from a distance for now, to be there in case of need but did not betray his presence. Why had they come into their world? Who were they and what did they want?

So, getting closer to them, he tried to see if there were any marks or symbols on them, just to see who they belong to. But none seemed to have any markings on the houses, so if they belonged to one, he did not know which one would be. Not that it would matter anyway, here. To him, they were just outlanders. Strangers. Invaders who were threatening his home. His kingdom and his people. His family. And for that, they had to die. These three did not seem too threatening right now, but they still need to die. If they would try anything...If only...

Usually, shadow soldiers from the other world come through the portal, who immediately start fighting with the natives, which may be out of habit or maybe out of fear. Maybe they did not know that the shadows were living here too... or maybe they did... It was not yet known. They did not talk much, they were just fighting and shooting at sight. They were dangerous, and they were treated as such.

Most of those coming through the portals were soldiers from the two main hoses of the shadow world: the Warchild and the Shadow Assassins. It seemed they were at war in their world, while here there were all the five houses of the shadows, and the king was keeping them all united. 

But these... they were three women. In his world, women were the most dangerous assassins. Because they were the only ones capable of killing a warlord in his house and in the middle of all his guards if needed. But these three.. they seemed unarmed... Maybe they were the ultimate assassins. But if they sent them alone... were they that good or maybe they ran away? 

Too much quiet time was not good. In a few, he just heard the words in the mind link connection:

"Silver, come to the oak tree!"

"Mother? "

"There is another portal, brother! Another voice stated in a hurry. They are strong... come on, we don't have many guards! "

"I'm sure you can help mom with that! Where is dad? "

'I"m here...he seemed to be panting... they are strong and you know them both... "

"Yeah... I know them, dad! Keep them safe, the best you can. I'm coming! "

He left the women that had just come out of the portal and seemed helpless, and hurried down the hill, leaping agile like a deer, hurrying to his family as fast as he could. He knew that his father would try as much as possible to keep his mother under control, but he also knew how stubborn she was about the invaders. His mother was a warrior, and you couldn't get the warrior out of her so easily, you couldn't hold her in place.

She was the king of the shadows, and she wanted to keep them all safe. So she would be there fighting in the first line, everywhere these invaders were ported through the portals. His younger sister, Moon, was just like his mother. And if his father was worried... he had reasons to be. His mother was with the child, and they were at war.

Or at least, he thought they were. 

Point is, it was not known, because the shadows were not peaceful creatures and the war was their life. Normality. The first shadows that reached this realm, like over 1000 years ago, claimed these lands and they belonged to them now. Of course, their descendants were living here now, and they were very territorial. 

Silver smiled. His mother was the most territorial shadow he had ever known. It did not matter if it was about the land, the kingdom, the people, her husband, or her children. Well, she was the king, so it was expected to be like this. 

Ahh, but she was so stubborn! Beautiful, so very beautiful, with such beautiful blue eyes like the deep waters of the Cold river that was surrounding the capital of Shiran, their hometown. Those eyes were so deep you could sink into their color and drown.

She was not so tall and not very strong, but compensating with agility and speed of reaction; strong-willed, and so proud, just fit for a king; and one of the best soldiers of the kingdom, because he could not really decide who was really the best, his father or his mother... She was someone you would not want to mess with, anyway. 

His mother being the king would not help his father much, because his father was the Lord Commander of the army and the Royal Guard, and also her Shield. That meant he only had to protect her life, and that was pretty difficult to do when she was really a hand full. A smile showed up again on his face, making him shine. 

His father was the best man he ever knew. How could he be this calm, he did not know, and he wished he would be like him so much. His father was a tall and very strong soldier in the army of the shadows, and under his command, there were thousands of men, ready to serve their king. They were all loyal to the king because he was the perfect example of loyalty, devotion, and fairness, and he was so in love with his mother that he was sometimes anxious about the moment his saruman demon would choose his mate. He wanted to have what his parents had right now. The love. The trust. The devotion. 

The saruman demon was what differentiated humans from light and shadows, a demon that lived in symbiosis with the body of the shadow, and seldom came to the surface, when the being was in danger or when it needed to feed. The Saruman demons fed on the blood, and the shadows had to hunt at least once a month, so as not to starve. They were also the ones that would choose their mates and they would only have one mate in a lifetime. 

There were times when Silver would feel both happy and envious because he wanted what his parents have. And he was determined to get it. And he knew he would get it, because he had his father's patience and kindness and from his mother, he inherited the stubbornness and the determination. His entire strength. 

Because even if they all knew that it was difficult to find a saruman mate these days, the women in his world were warriors, most of them anyway, and that was making them pretty difficult to be within a long-lasting relationship because they could get killed in a mission. So family life was not exactly a reality for them.

But, hey, what was it with these philosophical thoughts about existence right now? He had work to do now, and instead of focusing on the road, he was thinking nonsense? Well, he was a thinker for most of his life now but, really; he did not have time for that right now.

Another portal opened just ahead of him, stopping his race and shadow soldiers came through it; his mother was there, and knowing her, she would engage in the attack as soon as they would even dream of making their move. They would not get the chance to take these lands, no matter how strong they were, no matter how powerful. He felt sorry for his father, who, although he was the only one who could control his mother's temper, could not always impose himself on her, for the simple reason that she was the King and he was her Shield. She gave orders throughout the kingdom, even if she allowed him to rule in their family.

He didn't even want to think about how hard it was for his father at first until he managed to make her listen to him ... He smiled slightly, thinking that his mother was really a work of art ... He wished his future wife would not give him such a big headache, but in the same time he did not even think of having a weak partner. Ha, ha, ha ... he couldn't even imagine the headaches his brother-in-law would have when Silver Moon found her partner... Yeah, his sister was his mother's twin copy. They looked like two drops of water.

Silver Moon was there with their parents too, when the portal opened. She was a great warrior, but they were not in a good condition to fight right now, with their mother being with child and his father's being the commander of the army and her Shield, his first priority was to protect the king. And if the intruders would engage in a battle, as unprepared as they were, his mother would not stay put, but fight back. And they were not prepared, because they had little guards with them; they only went for a picnic, not a war.

 He reached exactly the clearing where the remains of the portal that had already closed could still be seen. There were enough of them to be a personal army, about twenty men present, and behind them, about five of them caught his eye. Their clothes were uniformly and richly adorned, so his assumption seemed true. They really were a personal army, and if he had guessed who was the one in charge, well, he was the one the last five surrounded by his personal guards. He looked noble and his attitude was fierce. He also looked smart, if a person may look smart? He would have to think that through... 

The invaders were even in the middle, Silver was close to where the portal had just closed, and his family was right in front of the group of soldiers who were already firing at them. He was trapped behind them and wondered if he had time to get around them, to reach his family, or to try to take them by surprise alone. 

"Do not even think about it!!" His head almost exploded at the impact of the voice he heard inside his head and the power of her will bent him down on his knees, making him back down and bowing in the process. Again, his brain was no longer functioning as the Warchild mind control was holding him down.