Lorkana by Emily Zimmerman. (free e books to read TXT) 📕

I sat with my arms around my knees in the closet, crying as screams echoed through the house, it was happening, I knew it was, but I couldn’t bring myself to move, to jump out the window and run, I was rooted in place hidden in my closet. I tried to quiet my breathing as I heard my door bust open; a growling echoed through the room, I cowered against the wall.
A large sniffing sounded right outside the closet door, this was it; the beasts had found me. The sniffing sounded much like a horse, but I knew it was something much worse.
The door to the closet burst open and I couldn’t help but scream. The white beast roared in my face, I whimpered, cowering into the wall.
I expected this to be the end, but the beast sat down on its haunches and made a noise that sounded…pained? I peeked at him; he was looking at me with confused silver eyes. I turned my head toward him; he laid down, putting his head on his giant paws, staring at me.
My father always told me that I was to be special, but I had no idea that it was like this. I was as the legends said, that one girl would come along, and save the humans from the beasts.
“You killed my family” I whispered gravely.
He whimpered deeply in his chest, it almost sounded like an apology.
“I am as the legends say, the Lorkana?” I asked in a whisper.
The beast lifted its head and nodded. I wondered how my father knew.
“What do we do now?” I asked.
He got up, and I flinched. He noticed my flinch and took a small step closer to me, he leaned his head down on the ground, as if bowing, I reached out hesitantly and touched his fur; it was soft and silky. He lifted his head and grunted at me, as if trying to convey something. He got up, walking out of the closet and turning his back to me; he looked at me, to his back, and back to me. I realized what he wanted me to do, and gasped.
“I don’t want to hurt you by holding your fur” I whispered, I didn’t know why, but I was suddenly concerned with this wolf’s wellbeing.
He rolled a big silver eye and snorted, a big sneeze-like sound “alright, alright, just be careful while running” I whispered.
I got up, walking cautiously over to him, I lifted my leg over him, sitting on his big back, I gripped his fur tightly, but made sure not to hurt him. I expected him to run down the stairs and out of my house, but he jumped out the window.

He ran at inhuman speed through the forest, being taught how to ride a horse helped me to stay on, straighten your back, relax your muscles, and hold on. He came to a sudden stop, digging his claws in the ground and lifting his head, in an almost royal pose. One front paw in front of the other, head raised in a prideful way, he looked full of authority, even to me, sitting on his back.
A growl echoed through the forest, and instinctual fear washed through me. A snarl ripped through the white beast’s chest as a black beast stepped into view. He studied me for a second, and as his golden eyes met mine, recognition, just like the white beast, came into his eyes.
The black beast bowed down, nose touching dirt, as the white beast passed him. He entered an empty clearing, walking over to what looked like a rock slide, he sniffed around for a second, and pressed his paw against a small rock, it glowed with a magic I could not comprehend and a large crack emanated from the rock, I expected there to be another rock slide, but two large boulders rolled away to reveal a staircase.
“This is the kingdom of wolves?” I asked as he started down the torch-lit staircase.
He grunted in what sounded like ascent.
“I read stories about this place, legends about its beauty, but never thought it existed, my father always told me legends of the Lorkana before bed, how she would bring peace between humans and beasts, but never believed something like this would happen” I whispered.
He could hear the sadness in my voice as I thought of my father, and glanced back at me with apologetic eyes.
As much as I thought about it, how he killed my family, I couldn’t bring myself to hate him, my mind rebelled from such hateful thoughts toward him, I couldn’t feel hate toward this beast that killed my family.
He trotted down the stairs at an even pace, and at the back of my mind, I registered the footsteps of the black beast behind us.
“What happens now?” I asked.
He looked back at me and gave me a look that said ‘I have no idea’
I sighed, we reached the bottom of the staircase, and he trotted through a torch-lit cavern, toward a bright light.
I had heard the expression, the light at the end of the tunnel, but I had never really understood it until now, I felt relief as we started toward that light, because it meant I would be out of this claustrophobic place.
But as we neared the light, I heard growling, and snarling, and I knew that they smelled me. Fear froze me as the black beast that was following us came up to flank the white beast. They walked side by side out in the open, and I was overwhelmed with all the beasts and –surprisingly- men and women that glared balefully at the white beast and I.
The white beast snarled, and all of the beasts whimpered, looking down. He trotted passed them all, baring his teeth at a few.
We seemed to be in a main plaza, it was magnificent, brightly lit with a magical light that I couldn’t figure out, it was still like moonlight, but it was bright, bright enough to light the large room. We entered yet another cavern lit with torches. As he walked, he growled, the black beast lowered his head as if in a small bow, and ran ahead.
“There were men in that cavern, men and women” I whispered.
He grunted softly, and as we walked, I heard much lighter footsteps coming. A man came into view, a man with golden eyes and black streaked hair.
“Your majesty” he bowed his head.
The wolf grunted and nodded once.
The man looked up and smiled “hello Johanna, we have been waiting for you to return” he spoke as if I was here before.
“Return?” I asked.
He cocked his head to the side “perhaps I shall let his majesty explain” he said, flickering his eyes down to the white beast.
The white beast didn’t answer, he just quickened his pace down the cavern. We reached a much darker opening; it still had a silvery light, but not as bright as the last opening. He stepped through and I gasped, how could a cave be as big as to hold this? A large castle sat in what looked like an outside clearing, but I had heard of this place in the stories my father used to tell me. I wondered how my father knew how these places would look, these were not well known stories, these were stories my father claimed he made.
I was deep in thought as I looked at the underground castle, it was absolutely beautiful, more so than I ever imagined. It reminded me of the fairytales I used to read to my little sister at home, beauty and the beast, sleeping beauty, all just folklore, but this castle was centuries old, and very real. The stone towers were sky high, with pointed rooftops, and a large wooden drawbridge, the entire castle was surrounded by a large moat.
I had always seen the castle of my king and queen from the distance of the town rooftops, and I had always dreamed of going inside.
The white beast trotted in as the drawbridge lowered, a large, very intricately done city was in front of us, it was empty, but I had a feeling it was not always like this “everyone is sleeping right now, they have a long day’s work tomorrow” the man explained, seeing my inquisitive look as my eyes swept the empty city.
The white beast didn’t stop at the city, but trotted around a large fountain in the town square and up to a large gate, it opened with an obnoxious creek, in which I cringed at, and he broke into a run as he ran through.
“King Nefarious will want to know she is here” the man said to the beast.
The beast grunted as he walked up to two guards, guarding a very large, intricately designed wooden door. The guards flashed a glance at me, nodded at the beast, and opened the large door. The man did not go in, I looked back at him; he smiled and waved. I smiled a little back.
“Why didn’t the man come in with us?” I asked.
The beast snorted again, grunting. It confused me, but I let it go.
We were in a large foyer, absolutely beautiful and nothing like I imagined it. Tiled floors, stone walls, and huge famous paintings hung on the walls. The beast’s claws clacked on the floor as he ran through another set of doors. He skidded to a stop, making me have to push my hands against his back to keep from falling forward. Two beasts stood in front of this door, one black, and one brown. The beast lifted his head high; it was so big that it hid me behind it.
“Brother, I smell human” a menacing voice snarled.
The white beast growled.
“Logan, you know King Nefarious will never listen if you bring a human in his throne room, he is mad at you already” a gentle female voice said.
Logan? That is this beast’s name?
Logan lowered his head with what sounded like a smug chuckle, what was once beasts were now humans, a menacing looking man, and a gentle looking woman, the woman had blonde hair, with strange brown streaks, and the man had white hair, with black streaks. I watched as they both assessed me, they met my bright green eyes and gasped.
They half fell on one knee, clasping their hands together and putting their heads down.
“Princess Johanna, You’ve come home!” the woman choked.
My eyes widened, princess? How am I a princess?
“Logan, we had no idea, go in, please, King Nefarious will want to