Shangri-la
Chapter 14
It was fun watching them stand in defiant poses that spoke all too well of their fear. Alder smiled. Lotus especially tickled his heart. Her cold eyes reflected empty determination – a knowledge she didn’t wish she had that was forcing her to act. It was so delightful to watch her with her spirit guide, fighting the urge to give in to the longing to be with him, even now. Lune’s teeth were bared, but her ears were still perked forward. Beautiful wolf. Beautiful woman.
“If you leave,” he said slowly, calmly, pitifully, “you’ll unlock Shangri-la.”
“Of course! That’s what I’ve always planned to do,” Lotus snapped, her emotions flaring in a way that obviously embarrassed herself. He loved to see her so work up.
“But then people will be able to enter, and Shangri-la will become tainted,” he explained, meticulously emphasizing the T’s in the last word. “Shangri-la will die.”
Lotus was shaken. She loved Shangri-la as much as he did, and she had probably never considered the outcomes of an open paradise before. Perhaps she had merely followed what Shangri-la had told her.
Dear, dear Shangri-la! You cannot mislead others into following your wishes! I will protect you, even from yourself.
“There’s no way to know if you’re telling the truth,” Lotus finally spoke, seeming unsure of what she was saying and falling back to a script that was memorized a long time ago. “You could very well be lying.”
“People create sorrow.” He couldn’t help but grin. “Shangri-la is pure because there are no people there. If they were to enter with their worries and their war, Shangri-la would no longer be a place of happiness and peace.” Her expression showed that she understood, that he made sense to her. “That was why we locked Shangri-la away: to protect it.”
“But Shangri-la doesn’t want to be locked away.”
There it was, just as he had expected from the predictable play, the argument of self-determination. “Would you let a loved one die, just because they wanted to?” She wouldn’t answer; there was no answer for her to give. He was winning.
“It doesn’t matter,” The younger girl said suddenly. “We just have to follow our part and complete what we started.” Unlike Lotus, the girl was firm in her hatred of him. Kara’s eyes shone with bloodlust.
“You,” he said, staring at her. “You are the one; you are the key.” Overwhelming disgust flowed through him. He wanted to kill her.
“And I’m going to unlock Shangri-la, no matter what it takes.” She did not waver.
“Lotus,” he said, smiling at his new accent, “you are just like me. We love Shangri-la, and we would do anything to protect it. I was frozen in ice for Shangri-la; what will you do?”
“I will free it.” Lotus had more confidence. It was the influence of that annoying little girl. He had been so close too . . .
“I’m sorry it’s turning out this way,” he murmured.
“Iris! When I say so, go and start the car.” Lotus moved her hand behind her, giving the car keys to the girl. Alder was curious as to what she had planed. They regarded each other for a moment, then Lotus shouted, “Now!”
The red wolf slammed into him before he even processed that Lotus and Lune had traded shapes, and teeth dug into his shoulder, hurting. He was impressed, but it was coated in anger. Grabbing a handful of fur, he yanked on it while shouting, “Talon!” But before his falcon could descend, the wolf slipped from his fingers, dashing toward the running car and leaping through an open window. With screeching tires, the car sped off.
Alder had always hated cars.
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