by Lish McBride
Kaiya pitched her head to the side. “Marar. Very large, from the sound of it.” She moved on, unconcerned. Tevin and Val urged their horses to follow close behind her and pulled their limbs in a little tighter.
“It’s okay,” Kaiya said. “I suspect it’s far off, and as long as we don’t enter the creature’s territory, we should be fine.”
“Of course, we don’t know where its territory is,” Val pointed out.
“Please tell me you’re armed,” Tevin whispered to Kaiya.
She nodded. “Crossbow.”
Tevin moved his horse carefully between them. He wasn’t stupid—if anything attacked, Val and Kaiya were both experts with their weapons. The marar wouldn’t care if his face was handsome; it would just eat it.
After an hour riding in near silence, they saw several pheasants and a few of the strangest rabbits Tevin had ever encountered—they were about twice the size of normal rabbits and had antlers. He didn’t like the way they stared at him as he rode past.
The forest grew dense, and they began to follow a narrow game trail. Tevin kept his reins loose, trusting his horse to stay close as he kept an eye on the bushes around them. Val suddenly cursed behind him, and Tevin twisted in his saddle to find her rubbing at her face with the sleeve of her jacket. “Leaned in too close to a flower back there. Hanging off some sort of vine. Blasted thing opened up and poofed at me.”
Tevin tried to get a good look at the flowers, only to find the blossoms closed up into pods.
“You’ve got pollen on your sleeve,” Kaiya said. “So now you’re just rubbing it around. Use your canteen and handkerchief. Rinse out your eyes, mouth, and nostrils. We don’t know what’s in that pollen.”
They paused in a small glade, giving Val the opportunity to take out her canteen and rinse her face, taking swigs of water and spitting it out onto the forest floor. “Did any get on my horse?”
Tevin looked as close as he could from his saddle. The horse returned his stare, calm and clear-eyed. No bright yellow dust that Tevin could see. He shook his head. He left Val to her rinsing and sipped from his own canteen, checking out the clearing as he did. A murky pond lay off to the side, surrounded by cattails and boulders. It wasn’t much of a pond, really. More of a glorified puddle. Small red mushrooms with white spotted caps nestled next to the largest boulder. The groundcover was mostly moss, the sun almost completely blocked by the forest canopy.
Kaiya took out her compass, checking their bearings to make sure they were going the right way. “We need to go there.” Kaiya pointed. “I don’t see a trail, so we’ll have to cut through the forest as best we can.”
Tevin nodded and glanced at Val, who had been staring off into the trees, her eyes wide.
“Val?” Tevin said her name slowly, making it into a question. “Are you okay?”
Val snapped to attention, finally seeming to hear Tevin. “What?” Her eyes suddenly went wide, and she screamed, her voice shrill, startling them and the horses.
Kaiya reached out and grabbed the reins to Val’s horse, making sure it didn’t bolt.
“Well, that was unexpected.” Tevin drew his horse up to Val, who was currently hyperventilating. “Val?”
“Spider,” she hissed. “Giant spider. It was in the air. I saw it.”
“Val, you like spiders,” Tevin said. “You found one in the privy at home and named it Gus. Wouldn’t let any of us put it outside.”
Kaiya reached out and touched Val’s arm. Instead of the touch calming her, it seemed to make things worse. She slid from her horse, running as soon as her feet hit the ground. They were so surprised they didn’t move for a second. Then Val threw off her jacket and vest, her fingers fumbling with the buttons of her shirt. “Spiiiiddddeeeerrsssssss!”
Kaiya sprang from her horse, hitting the ground at a dead run. Luckily, she was fast and Val was slowed down by her focus on her buttons. Kaiya tackled her from behind, both of them hitting the ground with an oof. They wrestled briefly, but Kaiya’s skills in that arena far outmatched Val’s.
“Rope,” Kaiya said calmly, her arms and legs wrapped around Val’s, pinning her. “Bring me rope. Shhhhh, Val. You’re safe.”
Val shook her head wildly. “Spidersspiderspidersspiders spiders.”
“No spiders,” Tevin said, digging through Val’s pack, finding a length of rope.
“No spiders?” Val pressed the side of her face into the moss.
“They’re all gone, Val. Promise.” His cousin seemed to believe him, as she relaxed in Kaiya’s hold. Tevin handed the rope to Kaiya, who quickly tied Val’s hands and feet. Then Kaiya sat back on her heels, taking a moment to examine Val’s blown pupils and hammering pulse. “Did you see the flower?”
Tevin shook his head. “Not open. They hung almost like pods on a large vine encircling a tree.”
Kaiya frowned. “I wish Ellery were here. I’ve never heard of such a thing. We’ll have to tie her to her horse and hope it wears off soon.” Kaiya wiped the hand that had been touching Val on the grass. “We need to make sure there’s no more pollen on her. Grab my canteen, will you? And better wipe down the saddlebags before you touch them. I don’t need two people off their gourds on pollen.”
After they rinsed Val’s face again, Kaiya went to double-check the horses while Tevin carefully removed Val’s shirt and replaced it with a clean one from her bags.
They carried Val, her mouth slack as she hallucinated, back over to her horse. Tevin untied her, Kaiya ready in case Val bolted again. Once they got Val up onto her mount, Kaiya tied her to the saddle. Val was upright now, but not fully coherent. After a short discussion, they used handkerchiefs to tie her wrists to the pommel. Tevin handed off the reins to Kaiya, then picked up Val’s jacket, vest, and hat. Val wouldn’t care about the shirt and vest, but she’d be unhappy if she lost her hat.
Tevin carried all of it over to the pond, needing to wash whatever pollen residue was left on the clothes as well as his hands. He rolled up his sleeves past the elbow and hunched down close to the water. The water held a touch of swamp, the air around it rich with the breakdown of vegetation. Not particularly something Tevin wanted to bathe in, but he had little choice. He dunked the hat and clothes in short order and set them aside. He was in the middle of rinsing his hands when something large and green shot up out of the pond. Tevin stumbled back, getting the impression of a set of large jagged teeth and reptilian yellow eyes. Only his reflexes saved him as he scuttled madly away from the pond. He spun and righted himself, grabbed Val’s hat, and sprinted toward the horses. The creature didn’t follow, instead lowering itself back into the water.
“Don’t go near the pond,” Tevin said, bending over, his hands on his knees while he caught his breath. “Something tried to eat me.” Val’s shirt and vest were still by the water’s edge. He decided they would stay there.
“You two need to pace yourselves.” Kaiya swung up into her saddle, her bay horse dancing to the side as she adjusted the reins. “It’s not even lunch yet.”
CHAPTER 31
NUISANCES FROM ABOVE
They were back in single file, Kaiya in the lead, Tevin bringing up the rear. He’d taken Val’s pistols, tying the holster to his saddle, not that he could do much with them. He just didn’t want Val to have them until she stopped hallucinating. In the meantime, he’d keep them with him.
Kaiya twisted in her saddle. “How are you feeling, Val?”
Val, in turn, twisted as best she could to look at Tevin. “Did you say that?”
“No,” Tevin said.
Val seemed relieved. “Good, because I don’t talk to pinecones.”
“She’s fine,” Tevin told her evenly. “But I’m a pinecone.”
“I wonder why a pinecone,” Kaiya said.
Tevin shrugged.
This part of the forest seemed darker than it had been, the tree cover particularly
dense. It gave the air a strangely still quality. In forests, there’s always something to hear. Squawking of birds, chirping of insects, the rustle of undergrowth as something moves through the bushes. But the forest around them had gone eerily quiet, and the only time that happened was if there was a predator nearby. He was fairly certain it wasn’t because of them. The forest had been making plenty of noise up until now.
Kaiya halted her horse, her eyes on the trees. Tevin did the same.
In the hush of the forest, the air became tense with expectation. They were being hunted.
“Run!” Kaiya shouted, pressing her heels into the sides of her own horse and leaning forward; Val’s horse followed suit. Tevin urged his own mount to follow. Val, thankfully, decided this was a fun game, and hunched over her saddle. He leaned forward, ignoring the adrenaline coursing through him, making his palms sweat against the reins. He couldn’t tell his heartbeat from the pounding of the horse’s hooves as they tore through the forest.
Something behind them gave a low growl that Tevin felt more than heard. He sat up and turned to look, missing the chance to duck away from a branch. Pain lanced through his shoulder as the branch knocked him from the back of his horse. He fell, rolling along the moss and dead leaves that lined this part of the forest floor.
When he opened his eyes, it was to the sight of a large black jungle cat. The size of the creature made his mind stutter. Tevin estimated that the cat was at least three feet tall and about a foot longer than his horse. No feline should be that big. Or that close to him. Tevin’s horse, riderless and scared, kept galloping. Tevin could only hope that Kaiya would catch it, and that he lived long enough to get back in the saddle. Kaiya shouted, but he couldn’t make out what she said, and he didn’t dare look away from the cat. Tevin lay on the ground, bruised, dirty, his eyes wide as he stared the cat down. He didn’t have many options. He couldn’t run—the cat was too close, too big, too fast. It would pounce before he made it two feet. Val’s pistols were in her holsters, hanging from his saddle, making them exactly useless.
Tevin did the only thing he could think of—he started talking. “Hey there, big fella. Aren’t you the pretty kitty?” He kept talking, the words a jumble of soothing nonsense, while slowly raising one hand, his palm flat. The giant cat sat on its haunches, leaning forward. Light caught the tufts of dark gray fur fluffed out from its face, along with long whiskers. A thin, familiar scar sliced across its nose. Everything about the creature’s design was pure, sleek power, and still Tevin held out his hand.
The cat sniffed it, opening its jaw enough to let Tevin’s scent wash over its tongue. It sneezed. Tevin wiped spit from his face.
“Thanks for that.” He reached his hand back out, and the creature brushed the side of its face against it, scent marking him. The cat purred, again a sound he could feel more than actually hear. He kept talking to the cat, a low murmur, as the marar rubbed against his palm, its green eyes hooded.
Tevin pulled his hand away, getting up slowly, making no quick or sharp movements. The cat watched, staying on its own haunches, its ears tipped forward. Nothing about it said aggressive, just curious. Tevin used both hands to scratch the cat around its face. The feline closed its eyes and stretched out its neck to give Tevin greater access. He blanched a little as the cat yawned, exposing very large, very sharp teeth. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t do that again. You have a large mouth, sir.” The stuffed one at the Cravan House had been smaller and didn’t have the ruff. “What does that mean, eh? Are the females the small ones, or the males?” The cat didn’t answer, but he was pretty sure it was male.
Tevin crooned at the marar. It head-butted him in the gut. With its head raised, it would look at Tevin’s rib cage, and yet it was nudging him like a kitten. Tevin looked up at the trees. “You’re supposed to sleep during the day, did you know that? Perhaps we presented too tempting a target?”
He heard a crackling noise and looked up to see Kaiya, the two other horses tied behind her.
She pulled up on the reins, stopping the horse. “I thought for sure I was coming back for the pieces.”
When Tevin didn’t tense or change what he was doing, the cat seemed content to watch her. “I think we’re friends now.” Tevin ran his fingers through the big cat’s cheek fluff. “Who’s a good, giant carnivorous boy? You are!” The cat bumped him again, and he grunted.
“Do you think he’ll let you leave?”
“Only one way to find out.” Tevin gave the cat a final scratch. “Let’s part as friends, okay, buddy? We don’t chew on our friends.” The cat huffed.
Tevin took a step back, and the cat tilted his head but didn’t move. Tevin took another, edging his way to his steed. The marar continued to watch as Tevin took a moment to soothe the horses, who were justifiably scared of the giant cat. Once they were calm, he pulled himself onto his horse’s saddle. After a long stretch, the marar stood, his body language telling Tevin that he was waiting for them to go.
“Either he’s playing with his food and wants to chase,” Tevin said, gathering up his reins, “or he’s coming with us.”
“Like you said, only one way to find out.” Kaiya edged her horse around, clucking at it until it started walking along the trail.
“I think he’s the one Merit freed from the carnival. Same scar on his nose.” Tevin followed behind Kaiya, and as soon as he’d gone a few feet, the cat padded behind him.
Kaiya looked over her shoulder to make sure they were following. “Then you know who to thank for your new friend.”
* * *
• • •
They traveled like that for two hours before Val started to come out of her pollen haze.
“Why am I tied to my saddle?” Val asked, her voice raspy.
“For so many reasons. How are you feeling?” Tevin brought his horse up to hers.
“Fine?”
“Are you covered in spiders?” Kaiya asked, not turning around. “Is Tevin a pinecone? Do you feel like you’re made of light?”
“No,” Val said. “Should I?” Then she blinked slowly. “I do see a giant cat, though. Like the stuffed one you got at the fair.”
“He’s really here,” Kaiya said, “so that’s fine.” They stopped so Kaiya could check her pupils and ask a few more questions. When she declared Val to be on the mend, she untied her, and Tevin reluctantly handed back her pistols.
“They’re stunning rounds,” Val reassured him. “The mages make a lot of nonlethal options.”
They rode into another small clearing, this one completely open to the sky. Even with the cloud cover, it was brighter without the thick forest to filter the light. A stream cut through the land here, and they paused to let the horses drink and fill their canteens. The marar took that opportunity to wade into the river and scare away some minnows.
“Leave those baby fish alone, you hobgoblin,” Tevin said, chastising the giant cat, who didn’t look repentant at all. He chuffed at Tevin, shaking and spraying him with water. “Well, thank you for that.” Canteen refilled, he climbed back into the saddle. “Come on then, Hob.”
“Did you just name the giant man-eating cat Hob?” Kaiya asked.
Tevin shrugged. “I have to call him something. And he’s mischievous, like a hobgoblin.”
“Pretty sure hobgoblins are small.” Val scrutinized the cat as he climbed out of the stream, shaking more water off his coat.
“The next time one of you gets a giant cat, you can name them whatever you want.” He waved at Kaiya to get moving. “Come on, we’re wasting daylight.”
They were only a few feet away from the stream when Tevin heard a sort of churring noise. Hob’s head snapped up, his whiskers twitching.
“What was that?” Val placed one hand on the butt of her pistol.
“It sounded like a fladger,” Kaiya said, her face scrunched up in a scowl. “But we shouldn’t have to w
orry about those. They’re generally pretty skittish. One of the stable lads used to keep one as a pet.”
A shadow fell over them, and Tevin looked up. The sky was filled with fladgers—at least thirty of them. They were hissing and obviously ticked off, and they descended on their party with an unholy glee.
Tevin wondered for a second if he had inhaled some of the pollen earlier and not realized it.
The marar leapt, tearing into one of the fladgers while it was still in the air. A fine mist of blood sprayed, and the fladger squealed, and then they hit the ground rolling. They all ducked as the fladgers flew at them, their great big gray and black wings extended. Tevin’s horse wheeled, and he tried to calm it, but that was the exact moment Tevin was knocked off his horse by a giant, flying, angry fladger.
Tevin hit the ground, the air slammed out of him from the fall and by forty pounds of snarling fur and wings. The fladger sneezed, covering Tevin’s face in snot.
Suddenly the creature was gone, Kaiya having kicked it off him. She stood over Tevin, her hand held out. He grabbed it, sucking in breaths as his lungs surged back to life. Val stood in front of them, both her pistols raised, the sharp crack of shot after shot ringing through the clearing. Kaiya handed Tevin the reins of the horses as she grabbed the crossbow. They kept their horses behind them, Tevin kicking out at any of the fladgers that came toward them, trying to discourage the frenzied creatures. Kaiya kept the crossbow ready in case any of the fladgers got too close.
“Do you think they would actually eat us?” Tevin shouted, trying to shake a particularly tenacious fladger off his boot, the wings smacking his legs.
“I have no idea. I’ve never seen them frenzy like this.” Kaiya grabbed Tevin’s attacker by the scruff and threw it, almost getting bitten in the process. “They’re a lot heavier than they look.” She kicked another one away. The next fladger jumped at Tevin, aiming for his trouser buttons. He dodged while Kaiya yanked its wings and awkwardly tossed it away.
