“Elsa, I need you to come with me,” Sharp said. He turned without waiting for her and made his way to the nearest ladder.
She glanced at Tarn and received his nod. She followed the captain turned mayor, hiding her confusion. Did it have something to do with why Klous wasn’t present? Two platforms later they stood inside the walls of Sharp’s tree top residence. Lizzie and Ling were sitting on stumps, the Asian man holding his smaller partner’s hand in support. Gresham and Ben snapped off salutes and stepped outside to wait. Elsa jerked in surprise, had they been saluting Sharp or her?
“Klous and Sasha are gone,” Jonathan told her. He turned to the seated couple. “Tell her what you told me.”
Lizzie sniffed and nodded. “Early last night Klous came to me. He was upset. Upset like I’ve never seen him. He said Sasha was in labor, but it’d only been a few of weeks since I knew she was pregnant! Ling and I rushed over, and Klous said he’d be there as soon as he could.”
Elsa thought back to the gathered people. Some of the missing faces might have been on sentry duty, but Klous, Sasha, Kelsey, and Aran seemed the three most likely to be somewhere else. She tuned back in as Lizzie continued.
“He was right, she was giving birth. Kira had told her she was having twins and she was right. There were two of them. But they weren’t Klous’s.”
Elsa heard herself gasp. She clapped her hand over her mouth and straightened, irritated at her reaction. “Who was the father?”
“We don’t know,” Ling said. “We don’t want to know.”
“You don’t want to know?” Elsa repeated, confused.
“They weren’t human,” Tarn said, resting his hand on her shoulder gently. “Not all the way, anyhow. Small and dark, they had mouths full of teeth that looked fit to chew through a tree limb and lots of short curly hair. Looked human enough outside of that, I guess. A boy and a girl.”
“Kelsey was Klous’s though, he was human. Balia’s human too!” Elsa confusion was getting worse, not better.
“Kelsey isn’t Klous’s,” Lizzie whispered. Ling pressed his hands against hers as tears fell down her cheeks. “I promised Sasha I wouldn’t tell but…but…I guess it doesn’t matter now. They kept trying but nothing ever happened. Sasha got frustrated, she knew how bad Klous wanted children. She teased Aran and—”
“Where’s Aran now, gone with them?” Elsa interrupted.
“Just gone,” Sharp said. “Taylor found him. Klous gutted him from his crotch to his chest.”
Elsa grimaced. If anybody deserved a gutting it was Klous. She still hadn’t subscribed completely to the theory that human life was so sacred on Vitalis even the assholes like Klous deserved to live. “So where’d they go?” She asked Ling and Lizzie.
“Klous showed up and saw Sasha’s twins. He stared at them without saying a word. When he did speak he turned to Sasha and held her tight to him, then he told me and Ling to get out.”
“Just like that?”
Lizzie glanced at her lover. He nodded for her to continue. She chewed on her lip, the piercing she’d toyed with had been gone for years but the habit persisted.
“I spent time with him and knew he was getting worse,” Ling answered for her. “He’s always taken risks and been a little crazy, but his schemes were getting worse. We tried to talk sense into him, tried to understand what happened, but he wouldn’t have it. He pushed us out, but I wouldn’t leave. We stayed and listened.”
Lizzie tucked her head into Ling’s chest and quietly sobbed. Elsa glanced around, not understanding the woman’s reaction. She looked at Ling and saw him shaking his head and blinking back the moisture in his eyes. “So what did you hear?” She asked, frustrated at being left out.
“Klous questioned her. He was careful and gentle, I’ll give him credit. She admitted at last that she’d fallen asleep one night on sentry duty and hadn’t woke up until Aran relieved her the next morning. She had nightmares about it and she’d thought Aran had been the cause. She thought he might have tried to have his way with her again. She swore she’d only slept with him one time.” Ling shook his head. “Klous promised her everything was okay, that he wasn’t upset. He’d taken care of things, he said. Now we know what he meant.”
“But they’re still gone. And who’s the father of the twins?”
“Not who, what,” Sharp answered. “We think it was one of the hybrids.”
“Oh fuck,” Elsa cursed. She grimaced at the unintentional double meaning of her words. She remembered the one that had tried to capture her, in particular how aroused it had been when it grabbed her. She nodded in silent agreement with Sharp’s presumption.
“Klous convinced her they could leave and make it on their own. To the north, he said, there was easier living. Safety in caves in the mountains and plenty of hunting and fishing they could do.”
“The north?” Elsa jerked, turning to stare at Sharp and then Tarn. “That’s where Barry and I saw one of the hybrids! Does he think he can kill them like he did Aran? They’ll be slaughtered.”
Lizzie gasped and sobbed anew into Ling’s chest. Ling held her and shook his head. “His brother might have enjoyed trying that, but he was insane. Well, I think Klous may be too, but it’s not the same kind of crazy. I think Klous means to join up with them.”
“And the…things?” Elsa asked, unable to find a fitting word to describe the offspring of Sasha and the hybrid.
“They went with them. Klous said they’d try to teach them to be more than animals.”
Elsa swore and turned away, pushing past Tarn to stand outside of the small cabin. The fresh air was still humid and thick. It didn’t relax her muscles or calm her down at all. She leaned over the railing and spat, as though that would rid her of the foul taste in her mouth.
She felt Tarn’s hand on her back. His skin was rough and calloused, but his touch was gentle. “What do we do now?” Elsa wondered, straightening slowly.
“I went out after them this morning, as soon as we knew,” Tarn said. They made good time, but they weren’t careful. Couple of prowlers caught their trail and were after them too. Then I found the prowlers bodies. They were torn up bad, no way Klous and Sasha done that, especially with three kids. I kept going and found other tracks mixed with theirs. Tracks from them new spitters. Never found no bodies though, just more tracks. Whatever happened, they went with them and it looks like they was willing.”
Elsa shook her head. She couldn’t imagine walking into a slaughter like that. Especially for Sasha. She’d never gotten to know the woman but that didn’t mean Sasha deserved the abuse that was coming. Klous, yes, he deserved it. But not Sasha and definitely not Kelsey.
“I’ll go get them,” she said, turning to face them.
“No, you won’t.” Sharp said. “We’ve lost too many people already. Even if I had fifteen people just as good as you I wouldn’t let you go. We have to move on and prepare for the worst.”
“What could be worse?” Elsa grumbled.
“What if Klous wins them over and convinces them to work with him.”
Elsa shook her head not in denial, but to stop the world from spinning around her. Deranged and unbalanced as Klous was, if he had an army of hybrids at his command he could do anything.
Chapter 11
Kelsey gasped as a hybrid moved silently through the underbrush a scant three feet away. Sasha reached down with her free hand and ruffled the boy’s hair to reassure him. “Hush Kels, it’s not much longer. Trust your daddy, he knows what he’s doing.” Kelsey didn’t see Sasha mouth the added words, “I hope.”
“We’ll be the Kings of Vitalis, Kels,” Klous said from ahead of them. “It won’t be easy, but you’ll see. Your brother and sister will bring about a new future for us.”
Kelsey glanced up and away from the toddler in Sasha’s arms. They’d walked through the night and day, Sasha feeding her children frequently. They’d grown before their eyes, even walking at times beside them for short periods. Sasha carried Nissa, her half-
breed daughter. Klous carried Markus, Sasha’s son.
The hybrid that walked ahead of Klous slipped through the thick undergrowth ahead of him. Klous frowned but pushed forward, showing no fear. He pushed through, trying to prepare himself for anything. He found the part man, part spitter standing a few feet ahead of them next to a fallen tree that had been moved to span the fast flowing river. The hybrid motioned to the log, then stepped and crossed over it.
Klous scowled. The hybrid had claws on its feet. Klous, Sasha, and Kelsey had hide moccasins. He moved forward in spite of his misgivings and stepped onto the log. The log was more solid than he’d expected, allowing him to cross over it with relative ease.
Once there he put Markus down. “I don’t think you can understand me, but I need you to stay here.” He turned to look at the hybrid that had crossed ahead of him. “I know you understand me, don’t let him go anywhere.”
Klous turned and walked rapidly back across. “Can you make it?” He asked his adopted son.
Kelsey peered past him, then nodded his head. Klous smiled. “You make me proud, boy. Come, walk before me, I’ll be right behind you.”
The boy moved slowly across, peering at the swift river beneath him once he’d crossed half the log. “I need to go back,” he whispered, freezing in place.
Klous touched him on the shoulders gently. “Eyes up, Kels. Look across. Focus on the ground. That’s what you need to do. Always move forward, never go back. Your future lies ahead.”
“I can’t!” Kelsey whimpered. His eyes remained focused on the water.
“You can and you will. You’re the first human born on this world. You’re the first man of Vitalis. Nothing can stop you if you put your mind to it.”
“Daddy,” he whimpered.
Klous frowned, then nodded. “I understand, it’s okay. You’re too young. I’ll pick you up and carry you.”
Kelsey jerked, his head coming up and turning around. He shifted on the log, causing Klous to shift and lose his balance for a moment. “I’m not a baby,” Kelsey snapped. He turned back and started forward, his head held high. Too high, his second step slipped off the side and he lurched off the side of the log.
“Kelsey!” Sasha screamed.
Klous lunged forward, catching the boy’s tunic in his right hand and throwing himself to the log so he could wrap his left arm and legs around it. Kelsey swung, his feet splashing into the water. He hung, swaying back and forth a minute, then started to scream in terror.
“Save him! Klous! Get him out of there!” Sasha shrieked. She started up on the log but one of their escorts reached out with a muscular arm and stopped her. She turned. “Get out of my way! That’s my baby!”
The hybrid refused to budge. Its mandibles opened and shut.
“Kels, grab my arm with both hands!” Klous grunted. “Climb up on me, just like a rope or a vine, you can do it.”
“I can’t!” Kelsey whined, staring at the water that tugged at his legs and stretched his shoulder painfully.
“Save him!” Sasha howled again.
The hybrid turned away from her without warning. It plunged into the water, quickly walking in until only its head was above the water. It kept going, even its head falling under the surface. A moment later Kelsey yelled then was thrust upwards. Two taloned hands burst from the water holding onto Kelsey’s calves and holding him up. Blood trickled from small wounds on the hybrid’s forearms and hands.
Klous scrambled, using his legs to pin himself to the log while he grabbed Kelsey’s arm with both hands. He pulled the boy up then set him on the log in front of him. “Don’t move!” He shouted to Kelsey. Klous collapsed back to the log and thrust his arm towards the hybrid. “Take my arm!”
Klous grabbed the four fingered hand, crushing it in his grip and having his own hand crushed in return. The hybrid’s talons cut into his skin but he ignored the pain and the blood that dripped into the water. He pulled hard, straining to try and raise his son’s savior out of the water and the carnivorous fish that swam in it. The hybrid rose some, spraying water from its mouth as it gulped in fresh air. A primal howl escaped its mouth before it slipped under the water again.
Klous pulled again and was rewarded with a sudden release. He pulled up, surprised, and stared at the bloody stump he held in his hand. The hybrid’s arm had been chewed loose at the shoulder. Even the bone was shorn off with dozens of bites.
The red bloom spread downstream rapidly, leaving no evidence that the hybrid had ever existed. He stood up slowly, then tossed the arm into the stream. It floated briefly, then burst up as something struck it from beneath. A moment later it was yanked under, never to appear again.
Klous stood on shaky legs. He forced them to move and inside of three steps he stood next to where Kelsey clutched the log with a death grip. “Kels, I’ve got you,” Klous whispered, pulling gently on the boy.
Kelsey whimpered and let go, allowing Klous to pick him up. He pulled the boy to him, turning him so that Kelsey could wrap his arms around him. Walking slowly and testing each step, Klous finished the dangerous passage and set Kelsey down. His son refused to let go.
“Son, I’ve got to get your mother,” Klous said. “Let me go, you’re safe now.”
“I’m here.” Klous turned and saw Sasha stepping off the log. The remaining hybrid followed behind her. As soon as she could she thrust Nissa into Klous’es arms and grabbed up Kelsey, hugging him so tightly the breath burst out of the boy’s mouth.
After several minutes of checking that Kelsey was uninjured and sharing tears with him, she turned to Klous and took Nissa back. Markus had wandered over to watch, putting his hands out and touching both Kelsey and Sasha.
“Do you realize what you did,” Klous said in a hushed voice. The two hybrids were nearby, watching but not moving. “You told that creature to help and it did! It gave its life to save Kelsey.”
Sasha glanced at the water then looked at Kelsey. She hugged him again. “I don’t know why, but I’m glad,” she whispered back.
Klous smiled and turned away, new thoughts filling his head. “We’re ready. And we’re sorry for your…companion. We’re honored by his sacrifice.”
The hybrid that led them nodded, its mandibles clicking together. It turned and headed off through the foliage, revealing a path Klous would never have seen had he not seen the humanoid walk on it. He reached out to squeeze Sasha’s hand before following.
They were led through the brush and into a thin line of trees. On the other side of the tress rocks rose before them, heralding the arrival of cliffs and mountains. Klous tried to peer through the foliage, he hadn’t realized they’d come so far. He’d come this way because he remembered Kira mentioned the mountains to the north before, but she claimed there was little of interest that way.
Sasha gasped, distracting him from his thoughts. He turned and saw her staring through the trees. Several dark openings opened in the cliffs, a large one at the base with a stream rushing out of it to join the river they’d crossed. Other caves were higher up, some with ledges and trails allowing access to them. “How did you know about the caves?” She asked in a hushed voice.
“Kira mentioned them,” Klous lied. He’d guessed there might be caves in the mountains, but it was only a guess. When he’d told Sasha of them to convince her they needed to be on their own he’d told her anything he could think of to get her to come with him. He couldn’t stay in Treetown any longer, even if he hadn’t snapped and butchered that pig Aran. Putting up with Sharp’s self-righteousness was bad enough. Now Ling’s trepidation and the newborn half-breeds were too much for him to put up with any longer.
Klous needed Sasha. She didn’t figure in his plans to grab power and position for himself, he simply needed her with him. He loved her, that much he’d long admitted to himself. Even her betrayal when she’d slept with Aran he understood. It infuriated him when she’d confessed to it, but the fact that she’d admitted to it and that she’d done it so she could give him a child had
weighed heavily in his mind. He was ruthless when necessary, but being without mercy didn’t mean he had no heart or soul.
And so Klous had told her what she needed to hear to get her to come with him. Her twins were another example of the chaos that troubled him. It wasn’t a matter of being unfaithful when she’d been drugged and raped. Besides, he saw uses for the newborns. They grew at an amazing rate and showed leaps in intelligence and understanding beyond even what Kelsey had displayed as he grew up. Having spent so much time with Markus already he’d even felt a spark of emotion for the child.
The hybrid led them up along a ledge, not pausing for Klous’s thoughts. Klous hurried after, jerking his head into action. They were plunged into darkness as they entered, their eyes adjusting slowly even though their guide kept up his long legged pace.
The scents of the jungle gave way to a musty smell of water and mold. The light from the entrance faded behind them and was replaced by a soft luminescence that carried through the passages. Klous craned his neck, trying to see more than the silhouettes in the darkness. He was rewarded when they passed a side tunnel. It plunged into the earth and at the base of it he could make out the strong glow of more crystals like the one Kira had found.
He saw other passages littered with crystals as they walked, some even growing in the tunnel the hybrid led them up. It curved, following the lines in the mountain that had shifted over the years to create the opening, sometimes even descending at times into shallow pools surrounded by purple glowing mushrooms. The mushrooms drew a delighted gasp from Kelsey, though the light died abruptly as soon as he plucked one.
The moist air was thicker and colder in the tunnels than the jungle. Sasha cradled Nissa to her, seeking to keep the baby warm. Klous tried the same with Markus but found the boy had little interest in cuddling. He was peering about and making delighted cooing sounds, sometimes even reaching out to try and touch the passing walls or ceiling. With aching legs from the nonstop climb, Klous tried to judge the time that had passed since they’d entered the complex of caves. The hybrids didn’t stop or slow, they moved almost without noise aside from the scraping of their jagged toenails on the rocks.
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