Sacrifice

by Vicky Walklate

  “And will you still be here, Libby?”

  She put her hands on her hips. “Where in the realm would I go? We’re surrounded by mountains and ravines. And don’t call me Libby. It’s Lissabet, to you.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Very well, Lissabet.”

  “Better. By the way, what did Dax mean when he said he’d mark the entrance? That’s rather conspicuous.”

  “He meant scent mark. It looks like nalfies have been using the tunnel. The smell of leopard should keep them away.”

  “Nalfies?”

  “Mountain lizards. Fierce hunters. Fond of rabbits, kid goats, other lizards, and larger prey if it can’t get away. We don’t want any surprises in our sleep.”

  “Is that what the sour smell is?”

  “Indeed it is,” he said, surprised. “You have a good nose for a human.”

  “Um, thank you?”

  They fell quiet again.

  “What other predators do you have in the Shifterlands?”

  He huffed a chuckle. “You don’t like lengthy silences, do you?”

  “I’m just making conversation.” She crossed her arms. “I’m not used to keeping company with a god.”

  “Hmm. I thought you renounced me?”

  She flinched, to his mild gratification, then shook herself and continuing. “That’s beside the point. As you’re dragging me across this land, I should be familiar with the perils we may encounter.”

  He decided to indulge her. “We have nalfies, mountain lions, leopards and wolves. The cats stalk the mountain slopes, wolf packs hunt in the valleys and nalfies do both. If we cross any rivers, beware of eachys. They’re rare, but voracious hunters.”

  She exhaled. “Anything else? What about trolls?”

  He tutted. “Trolls are not animals, Lissabet. They’re a race like any other and are loyal supplicants of The Three. They may not be the brightest sparks in the fire, but their prayers are devout and their faith unfaltering, which is more than can be said for you right now.”

  She flushed scarlet and he prepared himself for a tirade in response...just as the leopard bounded back into the chamber. Mist swirled and within seconds, Dax emerged in its place, appearing weary for the first time as he shrugged off his rucksack, bow, and quiver.

  Settling at the table, he rummaged in his bag and produced a cylindrical parchment. Flattening it, he revealed a map of the Shifterlands, marked with faded, hand-written notes. Rhetahn and Libby leaned in as the young man put his grubby index finger on the map, near a castle symbol.

  “We are here, fifteen miles southeast of Trivium. Scabarus Gorge begins here”—Dax skated his finger eastward—“just beyond Amity Canyon. Aboveground, it’s a four-day hike to the canyon for experienced scouts. Our pace will be much slower. We’ll travel underground where possible, for ease and security. We’ll acquire a boat on the River Steek at Pikeport”—he tapped the map near a symbol indicating water rapids—“which leads to Amity. We can cross the canyon if necessary, using the bridges, although I’d suggest ambushing the council there, if they haven’t already made it across.”

  “Why not find a boat closer to our current location?” Rhetahn suggested, hoping to limit the underground travel.

  “The Steek is the closest waterway leading to Amity and it won’t come aboveground for miles. The dwarves call it Yarkhelecht, meaning private. It runs deep under the mountains, its path known only to them, and perhaps some of the water shifters. A few explorers have attempted to enter the cave system where the river first emerges. None succeeded and most perished in the attempt. We’ll join it as soon as we can, following the dwarf passageways wherever possible.”

  “They’re not like the one we crawled through, are they?” Libby asked. “I don’t fancy a four-day hike on my hands and knees.”

  “No, don’t worry. The outer tunnels are extra narrow to deter potential enemies. The paths within the mountains are much larger.” The ground shifter rolled up the map and produced two blankets from his bag, handing one to Libby and the other to Rhetahn. “We’ll rest here until dawn. You two should sleep. I’ll keep watch.”

  Objections hovered on Rhetahn’s tongue, but weariness tugged at his limbs and his eyelids felt heavier than they’d been in years. “Wake me in four hours. I’ll take my turn.”

  “Yes, Lord.”

  “What about me?” Libby demanded.

  “You sleep,” the ground shifter said. “These mountain ranges are no place for a human. You need to preserve your strength for the journey.”

  Rhetahn hid his scowl. For reasons he couldn’t fathom, the ground shifter’s gentle tone grated on him.

  The girl eased herself to the floor, taking off Dax’s coat to use as a pillow and wrapping herself in the blanket like a caterpillar in a cocoon. “What a day.”

  He settled on his own thin blanket, grimacing at the bare stone underneath. “Indeed.”

  Her next words came in a rush. “I really am sorry about your brothers.”

  Surprise flashed through him, along with anger. His brothers’ fate was in part her fault. Yet, instead of saying as much, he found himself replying gruffly, “Thank you.”

  Silence descended. Libby’s breathing evened into slumber quickly. Sleep eluded him, despite his exhaustion. Every time he closed his eyes, his brothers appeared. Mhaljett was studying him with quiet intensity, Storren was grinning. Then their expressions changed abruptly. Mhaljett’s filled with rage, Storren’s with agony.

  Loneliness hit him like a physical ache. It had been eons since he’d been apart from his siblings. If he and the girl had been alone, he could have pulled her into his arms and distracted himself, but...she was the sacrifice.

  Forbidden. Off limits.

  A tool to restore his power, nothing more.

  He watched her sleep for a few more seconds, listening to the ground shifter shuffling into a different position. The chamber was warm and safe, with the ground shifter guarding them. Defiant hazel eyes, pale skin and golden hair replaced his brothers’ images and he drifted into sleep.

  Chapter Fifteen

  A gentle tap on his shoulder made Rhetahn sit bolt upright, pain shooting through his chest with enough force to make him hiss.

  “Time to wake, Lord.” Dax’s voice was low beside him.

  Rhetahn blinked in the eerie light. Some candles were burnt out, leaving half-dried puddles of wax, their replacements flickering gaily. Libby was curled in her blanket, her eyes closed, her hair spread on the makeshift pillow like a silken fan.

  He yawned. “What time is it?”

  “Four thirty. Dawn approaches. We should move on soon.”

  Rhetahn narrowed his gaze. “Did you not hear my instruction to wake me after four hours?”

  “I did.”

  “You ignored my command?”

  The young man took a deep breath, like he’d rehearsed his next words. “Lord Rhetahn, although I am a devoted servant of The Three, on this journey, I am in command. At least until you regain your strength. You were wounded and needed your sleep. I hope you can forgive me. I also hope you can admit Captain Brand would have done the same in my place.”

  Rhetahn’s anger faded beneath the logic. He did feel better after a good sleep. His strength was returning, and a touch of magic hummed in his fingertips. Even the wound on his chest was less sore, although the surge upward hadn’t helped.

  “Fine, but no more leniency on your part. You yourself will need to sleep at some point.”

  Libby sat up, yawning. The kite-shaped wound on her chest was plain underneath the amulets’ chains as she arched in a deep stretch.

  “What’s going on?” Her voice was husky with sleep.

  Fuck, is she being deliberately provocative or is she always this tempting in the morning?

  It took every inch of his restraint not to yank her over and press his lips to her pale throat. He grew hard with such rapidity he was grateful for the blanket on his lap. Clenching his fists, he willed himself back to disciplin
e.

  She looked at him, her face guile-free, and he knew she held no awareness of what she was doing. This girl was a virgin. He glanced at the expressionless Dax, and possessiveness washed through him. He swatted it away in frustration. Just because the girl was the most tantalizing female he’d come across in centuries and was even marked with his symbol, did not mean he could have her. She was destined to die at his hand.

  Of course, that didn’t mean he’d allow the ground shifter to have her, either.

  After another ration of goat meat, the trio negotiated the tunnel again and returned aboveground to perform their ablutions. Dax insisted on guarding them, to Libby’s visible embarrassment, but Rhetahn’s esteem for him grew. This young man showed promise.

  The mountaintops glowed amber as the sun rose across the vast panorama. The songbirds’ morning chorus blended with the distant sound of rushing rivers and alpine breezes. Craggy elevations loomed above them in every direction. They were deep in his homeland.

  A small river flowed through the heather-dotted gulley’s center. Rowan and spruce trees lined the banks, between craggy boulders and coarse grass. A herd of deer came to graze, the leggy fawns bounding over the rocks with glee. An eagle circled high above them on outstretched wings, gliding on the thermal currents.

  Yearning filled him. How long had it been since he’d last flown across his lands? It had been years, perhaps centuries, since he and his brothers even shifted into dragon form, let alone flown beyond their valley. They’d wanted to lead by example. Regulating when their people could shift was crucial to prevent crowded chaos in the skies, yet in doing so he’d forgotten the joy of soaring above his realm, beholding all he possessed.

  He glanced at his companions. The ground shifter was in full sentry mode atop a boulder, bow in hand, his lean body tensed for action. Close by, Lissabet gazed at the dawn like she’d never witnessed it in her life. After a couple of blank moments, he grasped why. As she should have died last night, she hadn’t expected to see another one.

  She closed her eyes, her featured etched in bliss as the rays touched her delicate features. Tightening his resolve against more desire, he willed himself to start shifting. Even if he didn’t fly, it would feel damn good to release the dragon inside him for a moment.

  Nothing happened. He searched his body for any sign of the stratus, the gray mist indicating his transformation. All he saw was his innocuous sentry uniform. He clenched his jaw.

  “Let’s get the fuck out of here,” he snarled at his companions. “I want the high sorcerer on his knees as soon as possible.”

  Plainly startled at his aggressive tone, Libby and Dax glanced at each other. His fury increased at the girl’s obvious dislike.

  He was a god, dammit. Her god, to be precise.

  As he opened his mouth to command her to his side, the wariness in her eyes made him stiffen. He forced himself to view the scene from their perspective. A moment ago, he’d been calm. Now he was shaking with rage, his fists tightly clenched. No wonder they were cautious. It was unprecedented for him to lose his temper to such a degree.

  He exhaled. “My apologies. My current shortcomings are rather embittering.”

  “Understandable,” the ground shifter said. “I will lead you to the council with haste.”

  The girl didn’t respond, scuffing her feet on the ground. He wasn’t surprised. After all, the sooner they got to the high sorcerer, the sooner she would die.

  He shrugged the tension from his shoulders. “Shall we get moving?”

  They crawled back into the cramped fissure, Rhetahn leading the way, Libby in the middle and Dax at the back. The cave had darkened and chilled, most of the candles now melted puddles of wax. The ground shifter extinguished all bar one and crouched at the opposite tunnel, shadows dancing across his face from the flame. He had strapped his rucksack to his stomach, along with his quiver of arrows, and held his bow tight in one hand.

  Rhetahn and Libby knelt beside him, next to the jagged cleft.

  “Keep close to each other,” the young man said, “and stay quiet. Sound travels far underground and dwarves can be unpredictable when spooked.”

  “Is that why you’re in human form?” Libby whispered.

  The ground shifter smiled. “I made that mistake a few years ago, assuming they’d recognize me as a shifter instead of a predator. I was wrong.”

  He blew out the last candle and darkness engulfed the chamber. Rhetahn fought an onset of panicked claustrophobia as Dax crawled into the shaft. The girl was holding his forearm in a death grip, although she didn’t seem to notice.

  |As the sounds of the ground shifter’s movements faded away, Rhetahn gestured, then realized she couldn’t see him. “After you.”

  “Why?” She released him. “Are you worried I’ll run off if I’m left until last?”

  “No, I just want to stare at your pretty ass.”

  She couldn’t quite muffle her snort of scandalized laughter. “That’s entirely inappropriate, you know. Plus, it’s too dark to see, anyway.”

  He smiled. “Oh, don’t you worry. I have an excellent imagination.”

  Despite her disapproving tut, his plan to get her moving worked. She took a deep breath and crawled after Dax. Rhetahn brought up the rear on his hands and knees, gritting his teeth against his own discomfort.

  This tunnel was even more squat and narrow than the previous one. He cursed as his neck spasmed, his scabbard scraping against the stone walls. The intense darkness made the musty aroma even more pungent. He kept his breathing shallow, trying to conserve air in the endless crevasse and concentrating on the shadowy sight of Libby ahead of him. The going was easier for her, being smaller and weaponless. She even managed to glance back a few times. Whether she was ensuring his continued presence, hoping he’d fallen behind, or double-checking he wasn’t examining her ass, he wasn’t sure.

  The crawl through the perpetual gloom continued for what felt like hours. The walls closed in as he hauled himself onward, trailing his companions through the darkness, his muscles screaming in protest. He was starting to speculate whether the ground shifter had betrayed them and tricked them into a tunnel of endless night, when a twinkle of light caught his attention. He blinked, half-wondering if he’d imagined it. No, there was light ahead.

  The stone underneath him sloped to a lopsided egress and the stale air moistened. Filled with relief, he increased his pace. The girl sped up too, the tunnel widening enough to let them crawl side by side, their gazes fixed on the now-visible end.

  A few moments later, he stood next to his companions, rubbing his neck silently. The tunnel widened into a large passageway about eight-foot-high, the ridged walls curving to meet the impenetrable stone ceiling. He expected the musty smell to continue. Instead, the air was fresh, like the outside breeze traveled through the mountain. Dust, gravel, and pebbles littered the uneven ground. Torches sat in brackets along the pathway with every third one lit. Dax explained this route was not a busy dwarf thoroughfare.

  The ground shifter led the way down the tunnel, lighting a spare torch to aid their journey. Rhetahn and Libby followed him, the distant murmur of the wind through the passageway accompanying them. The tunnel wound through the mountain, an endless channel of torches, stone, shadows, and flames. It sloped downward in a gradual slant, enough to indicate their descent below ground level.

  Eventually, the gradient leveled off and they came to a crossroads. Rhetahn studied the perpendicular road. It appeared identical to their own passageway, yet the ground shifter chose the left path without hesitation, Libby following him closely.

  Rhetahn trailed behind. “How do you know which way to go?”

  “Practice, Lord. I’ve scouted these tunnels since childhood. I’m not acquainted with every inch but can negotiate most in this area.”

  “Impressive,” the girl remarked.

  Dax shrugged, swapping the torch from one hand to the other. “You should see the dwarves do it. They can find their way ev
en in unfamiliar tunnels. They’re born with an innate sense of direction.”

  “Along with an excitable streak and an enormous appetite,” Rhetahn added.

  The young man chuckled. “That too.”

  At the next crossroads, they went right, onward through the murky thoroughfares. They came across a circular antechamber, the ceiling high enough to be lost in the darkness. The aura of freshness strengthened, and the temperature cooled. Dax explained this was one of many antechambers in the mountain, with air holes in the roof to allow fresh air to crisscross through the underground settlements. This one held no less than five archways, each one leading to an identical, shadowy tunnel. He led them into the second one, and on they walked.

  Rhetahn lost track of how long they traipsed through the tunnels. There was no notion of time, the difference between night and day was meaningless underground. His vision adjusted to the mixture of darkness and flames, although his inner dragon wasn’t happy. He wanted to soar above his mountains, not lurk underneath them. Moreover, although he hated to admit it, he needed a rest. His wound ached again, and tiredness flitted through his muscles.

  He glanced at Libby.

  “How are you coping with the pace?” he asked, hoping she would request a break.

  Her voice was tinged with faint surprise. “I’m fine. How about you? You’re rather pale. Do you want to stop for a bit?”

  He made himself shrug. “Do you?”

  She huffed. “I asked first.”

  “Actually, I asked you first.”

  She threw up her hands. “Are we going to argue for the entire journey?”

  He couldn’t stem his chuckle. “Seems so.”

  “Oh, bloody marvelous.” She raised her voice. “Dax, can we stop for a bit? I could do with a drink.”

  The trio sat to share the water and last of the meat rations. Placing his torch in a wall bracket, the ground shifter produced a small dagger and started honing it, the sound of steel on whetstone echoing through the tunnel. He seemed as fresh as the moment they’d begun and Rhetahn’s respect increased. He wondered why Brand hadn’t offered him a place in the army, rather than commissioning him as a free agent. The tremendous honor for non-dragons was offered only to those demonstrating great skill and prowess.