I Become the Baby Tiger in a Beast Taming World-Chapter 76 - 74: Crossing the Darkened Threshold

We’re doing this. After a few seconds of debate, we decide. We can’t afford not to investigate.

Peridot slithers in first, because, after all, this was her find. She is definitely gloating. It’s in her every wiggle and undulation. Can’t blame her. We were the ones who insisted that there couldn’t be a room behind the wall. Imagine that. In a world where beasts can shoot fiery stars and super jump, we thought in an unimaginative way. What was the matter with us?

Niall goes next, followed by Demos. Then me. Then Lobo. We don’t know what we’ll find.

However, we got the blessing from Minette, Kaline, and Vedette. And of those two, Minette’s voice is paramount. However, she insisted that we not go in without backup. So, Maartenwitz and Tomas and Kaline wait in Lamant’s study.

Kaline fidgets, ill at ease in the study where she found her father unconscious just a few hours earlier. However, I know my tamer, my Young Miss. No way she would be left out of the investigation. Even if this secret room doesn’t have anything to do with Lamant’s poisoning, it’s still something that needs looking into. More than looking into.

This is personal for Kaline, obviously, but it’s personal for all of us.

Tomas tries to comfort Kaline. "You are being very brave, Young Miss."

Maartenwitz harrumphs. "Naturally." He gives Tomas a look as if to say, "What did you expect?"

Of course, Niall calls out, "ROON. You’re fond of the girl. Admit it."

"Insufferable," Maartenwitz growls.

Kaline holds up a hand. "Enough back-and-forth. I want to go in."

[No.] My protective instincts kick in. [Not yet.]

[BLAZE, I’m in control. I’m the tamer. You have to do what I say.]

I almost trip over my feet, because Kaline rarely takes that arrogant, aggressive tone with me. [Master Niall--]

She sounds superior. [Master Niall is not the Young Miss. I AM.]

Irritated, I forget that she is worried about her father. And even if she is, too bad. I’m not risking her, too. Gussie barely survived the poisoning.

I keep my temper in check. She’s only a kid. [KALINE. I am going in. I am not a trained circus animal, doing whatever you say. I am your beast, and that means I protect you.]

Kaline stomps her foot. "NIALL! Blaze won’t let me go in with you."

"Count yourself lucky," Niall replies. "And I won’t, either."

Lobo and Demos growl in agreement. They both know that they would face the wrath of Minette and Vedette if they allowed Kaline to be headstrong and rush into danger. Peridot hisses from inside the secret room.

A human brick wall, Maartenwitz crosses his arms. "And just what do you think this display of yours is achieving, Young Miss? Shall I explain to your lady mother, should you be cursed or poisoned, that I failed to protect you? And how does this help your father?"

Kaline’s face turns the color of dust. "SER MAARTENWITZ. How dare you?"

But he’s definitely hit a nerve.

Resolute in the face of Kaline’s stubbornness, Tomas joins the chorus. "He’s right, Young Miss. We cannot gamble with your safety, not until we know what lies through that dark opening."

Kaline scowls. "Why did we never know about it before? Who just hides an entire room and doesn’t tell anyone? Mother says that she doesn’t know anything about it. Father didn’t seem to know, either. Or maybe he was just still confused."

"He very well might not have known," Tomas says, and he smells curious.

Maartenwitz also peers at the black opening as if it holds all the secrets to beast taming. "The historian is poring through old blueprints and records right now."

Kaline crosses her arms. "I refuse to get sidetracked. I’ve got to get in there!"

"NO," Maartenwitz, Tomas, and Niall all chorus, bolstered by our growls.

Defeated, Kaline gives in. "FINE. But you all are impossible sticks-in-the-mud!"

"And you are just being hotheaded," Niall says straight up. "The gods know I can’t blame you. But I’m not going to help you do something foolish, either. Now, the longer we stand here debating, the longer we wait for answers to help your father."

Kaline plops down in the chair nearest her father’s desk. "Just find something. Please."

[We promise.] I speak for Demos, Peridot, and Lobo as well.

Kaline’s voice quakes. "Blaze, do be careful. Don’t poke into something you don’t know."

I growl. Even I am not that reckless. [Promise.]

An impossible feat for a preteen, but Kaline manages to sit back and let us investigate. Single file, we all traipse through the black opening, Niall’s torch and our beast sight lighting the way.

At first, total darkness swallows us up, and I can’t see the nose on my face. So, I rely on smell until my eyes adjust.

It’s not musty.

That’s my first clue, and the fur stands up on my back.

This is a sealed-off room, and the air smells as if someone’s been here.

[Beware.] I growl for Niall’s benefit while broadcasting my thoughts to my fellow beasts. [Someone has been here.]

Peridot hisses ahead. [How can you tell?]

[It’s obvious.] Demos has picked up on it too. [This is a hidden room. Sealed away. How can it not smell dusty and stuffy and stale?]

Niall waves the torch, casting the firelight and piercing the darkness. At the same time, my beast vision cooperates, allowing me to pierce the cloak around us.

I see some sort of drawing on the floor. Maybe a pentagram or some other symbol, or a magic circle? Growling, I tap outside it with my paw.

Niall kneels down, sweeping the torchlight over it. "Good eye, Blaze."

The drawing is some kind of mandala-like design inside a black circle. No bad vibes from it so far. No dark energy. That’s something, at least.

There is, however, a sound in the room.

A scuttling sound, like an insect.

My beast instincts go into overdrive. Something is here.

Peridot hisses. [Show yourself.]

Niall calls out, "We know you are in here. Come out and we’ll be merciful, unless you poisoned Master Riddlehoeven."

A long pause. Whatever is in this room with us is thinking it over.

Then, a pale translucent scorpion twice my size skitters out of the darkness. It has spots like a leopard. My mouth goes dry, but I don’t back down. Lobo howls, showing dominance, while Demos bares his teeth, which drip saliva. To him, this scorpion looks like a threat. Peridot rears up, and rises off the ground, showing her flying ability to full effect.

It’s also poisonous. Even though Master Lamant might have been poisoned when he drank his usual afternoon pick-me-up, a scorpion might actually be the stronger possibility. AND no one knew it was here this whole time.

Niall stands as tall as he possibly can. "Why are you hiding here? Did you poison the man in the study right beyond that opening?"

The scorpion rears up, too, its pincers and its tail held aloft menacingly. Its large black eyes move on stalks. I can hear a zapping sound from its stinger.

System? What is this?

[Hybrid Jaguar-Scorpion. Level 6. Dangerous.]

Level 6? Level 6? How can a Level 6 beast be living here without anyone knowing?

Never mind that. If System confirms that it’s dangerous, we’d better come up with a game plan. Gussie and Lamant have already been poisoned.

Demos communicates with the scorpion. [Who are you? You are an interloper in our house! You do not belong here.]

The jaguar-scorpion remains upright, its body elevated. No word. No emotion. The smell is unfriendly. Wary at best.

What is its connection with this mandala in the center?

Niall addresses the scorpion again. "If you will not answer me, answer one of these beasts."

I hear a SNICK as Niall pulls a hidden dagger from his belt. No fool, Niall. Even though Peridot is poised to strike, to turn this scorpion into crushed white leopard-print shells, Niall intends to protect himself and us by any means necessary.

Peridot isn’t waiting politely. [Answer Master Niall when he talks to you!]

The jaguar-scorpion doesn’t answer.

I wonder if he or she is like Dag and doesn’t know much speech because no one is there to talk to, to interact with.

I try playing good cop. [We’re not going to hurt you right now.]

The scorpion answers finally. [...Right now...]

His voice is high-pitched but strong. At least we got a response. However, I’m not going to dance a jig just yet. We have one burning question: friend or foe?

I remain standing, my tail up like a banner. [No. We’re not going to hurt anyone who doesn’t hurt us. Or our family.]

The jaguar-scorpion doesn’t respond.

Lobo bares his teeth. [Nothing to say?]

In a predatory, elegant manner, the scorpion inches closer, its feet almost touching the circle in the center. Some instinct warns me. [Don’t come any closer until you tell use who you are!]

The center circle doesn’t escape Niall’s notice. He points with his dagger in one hand while his other hand glows. "Stay where you are!"

Unyielding, the scorpion steps into the circle, and it begins to glow...