by Alison Aimes
The creature brayed. Poked the dirt with his beak, and squeezed himself through a midsize crack in the cliffside that looked no different from any other.
“This way.” Her excitement was palpable. “Here. Come. Like me.” She plopped to the ground, her legs disappearing inside the crack. It looked like some kind of edge…
“Nayla, wait—” Before he could stop her, she pushed off and disappeared.
His heart stuttered. This was the problem with caring for someone. He remembered now. It was terrifying having your heart outside your body where anybody could crush it.
With a curse, he dropped a rope and a marker so his crew would know where to follow and hurtled forward. He expected to fall. Instead, he found himself in a chute, sliding down fast, enveloped in darkness so complete he couldn’t see his legs stretched out in front of him. Nor whatever the hells the top of his head, shoulders, and pack kept knocking into as the winding descent continued. He didn’t know how Sharluff fit. No wonder the creature’s hide was so thick. It served as nice protection.
Nayla and her pack were much smaller so they likely had no problem with the fit, which was why she hadn’t thought to warn him.
But Grif wasn’t so lucky. Sharp edges tore at his skin. He ducked his head and still got slammed in the back of his skull.
Then, he heard it. The roar of actual water.
His speed picked up as the slant grew steeper, the chute so narrow he feared he might be wedged in there for good.
“Grif, put feet out. Get ready.”
He couldn’t see her, but he heard Nayla’s instruction loud and clear.
The tunnel spat him out. His feet hit the ground. He traveled forward with his momentum, the pack on his back adding even more punch, forcing him to take several running steps before he caught himself enough to pull up short.
“Holy Goddess.” He swiveled in a circle.
He could scarcely believe he was on the same planet. He was standing on a small beach while a glittering cavern of gold shimmered around him. Teaming with stalactites and stalagmites of amber and honey-colored crystals, the whole place glowed. The sparkling rocks reminded him of stars, or Nayla’s skin in the moonlight.
They also looked a heck of a lot like whatever had powered her spear.
Also astounding was what lay at his feet only ten steps away. A roaring, neon pink river of water the width of at least fifteen men stretched from head to toe. It cut through the cavern, crashing up against the shore close to his boots before winding around the glowing stalagmites and sharp, tubular formations of turquoise, silver, and orange that jutted up from the depths of the water.
He could barely absorb it. The prison mines had been a brutal, harsh sea of inky blackness and bloodred rock. The shell of the planet was deep cracks of sand and swirling dust. But here, just a few meters beneath the surface, was a different side of Dragath25—full of vibrant rainbow colors and beauty.
He’d never had any clue this place existed.
He would never have known if not for Nayla.
“This is…incredible.” His crew would go crazy when they saw this place. Equally amazing, this new discovery had just moved them one step closer to retrieving the missing females. They’d travel far faster on those currents.
“I’m glad you like.” She came up beside him, the top of her head barely reaching his shoulder.
“Are you okay?” Reminded of their recent descent, he swiveled to face her, relieved to note no new scrapes or bruises. Still, his voice was gruff, the memory of what he’d felt in that moment sharpening his tone. “Don’t ever disappear without telling me what’s going to happen.”
She reared back, fear flitting across her face, and he knew the past had caught up with them again.
He softened his tone. “I was worried about you.”
It would take time to prove to her he wasn’t Talg.
It would also take time for him to get used to the vise tightening around his chest as he considered all the dangers that lay ahead for her.
But he would. He’d just need to be extra vigilant and remain clear-eyed and in control.
“I didn’t think.” Her nose wrinkled, the fear seeping away as understanding dawned and her expression turned contrite. “I ask Ancients for forgiveness.” He suspected that was the pack version of an apology. “I just excited. I used to traveling alone with Sharluff. I be more careful next time.”
Already in the water, Sharluff slapped his beak against the surface, his big body no longer looking so cumbersome or lumbering as his feathers pressed tight to his side and he kicked his six legs and swam in a circle. He looked sleek, capable, and right at home in the churning current. He also looked impatient to get moving for real.
Hard to believe, but Grif was pretty sure he was starting to understand the creature.
“Thank you, for everything, Nayla.” He cleared his throat. “This is extraordinary. Even back on New Earth, there’s nothing like this anymore. I…I never thought I’d see this in my lifetime.” Aping the pack gesture of affection she’d shown him earlier, he bent down and rubbed his nose against her collarbone.
Her eyes lit with pleasure—until her gaze caught on his right shoulder. Her expression darkened at the sight of the blood. “You are hurt.” She raised her hand, but didn’t touch him, her hesitancy obvious.
He could tell she was worried all over again that she’d upset him by hurrying ahead. What was between them was still so new and fragile.
Seizing her palm, he brought their joined hands to his chest. “It’s just a scrape.” He held hers to his beating heart. “We’re learning how to be a team. Which means we talk. Occasionally disagree. But we never give up on each other. We always have each other’s back.”
Her smile loosened the worst of the knot in his chest.
Damn it, he was good for her. Just as she was good for him. They might have started out all kinds of screwed up. They might both be broken as hells. That didn’t mean they couldn’t make this work.
“I like be a team with you.” Her fingers brushed his skin.
Heat and need shimmered between them.
“Grif? You down there?” Zale’s voice echoed down the chute.
With an apologetic smile and a quick press of his lips to hers, he hustled over to where the tunnel had spat him out.
“Yes. We’re here, and it’s amazing.” He couldn’t keep the pride from his voice. “Everyone is going to want to cover themselves before they come down the chute, but it’s well worth it. You are not going to believe what Nayla has to show us.”
A growl sounded behind.
Grif spun. Four massive silvery creatures with long twitching trunks and a mouthful of sharp teeth rose from the water, making their way onto the sandy bank, their six giant eyes each locked on him.
“No move.” Nayla’s voice was a strained whisper. “Walrhinots. They scent your blood. Make them hungry.”
That didn’t exactly imbue him with confidence. Especially with his crew on their way down the chute, and more bangs and scraps likely.
“Stay where you are.” He reached for his ax. “I’m coming.”
But Nayla shook her head. “Better not to move.”
More growls.
Followed by a deafening squawk—and an all too familiar blur of movement.
Then, things got ugly, and Nayla’s pet was right in the thick of it.
36
“Am I crazy or is the current starting to pick up?” Grif’s words reached Nayla over the roar of the rushing water.
“Always fast here.”
They bobbed along, lashed together by Grif’s rope. The tie was cumbersome, but comforting—since separation was next to impossible.
Which, Grif had explained as he wrapped it tight around her waist and his, was exactly why he’d refused to allow either of them to enter the water without it.
The incident with the Walrhinots had definitely placed him on the alert.
On the plus side, his fondness for Sharluff
appeared to have grown astronomically.
Her pet had ripped apart the slow moving, silvery beasts with ease. There were few creatures in the river as fierce as her Sharluff.
Still, Grif was not as relaxed as before.
She’d seen the others exchange a look when he’d insisted on the tether, but she didn’t mind. In all honesty, his concern warmed her.
They were a team. How…astounding.
Carried by the churning waves, she was lighter than she’d been in a long time. The fate of the missing females weighed on her, as did her responsibilities to her pack, but her sense of hope was growing. The affection in Grif’s stare was genuine.
“Something’s moving beneath.” Concern roughened his voice.
“Dofels. No danger.” A school of the yellow and orange striped swimmers, each one the length of her leg, flashed beneath the water at a lower depth, hitching a ride on the swiftly moving currents.
“They’re beautiful. Do they taste good?”
She laughed, inhaling a lungful of water. Apparently, an obsession with their next meal was universal in all males, pack or Other. He’d already been disappointed to learn Walrhinot meat was too tough to eat.
“Yes.” One coughing spell and a worried look from him—he was already paddling closer—and she was finally able answer. “They taste good, but too fast. Grif can’t catch.”
“We’ll see about that.” But his focus was all on her. “You still okay? Need a break?”
His body was wet, making his muscles glossy and smooth. Droplets clung to his dark eyelashes, too. She shivered, longing a burning need inside her.
She realized with a start that it was unlikely the instincts he’d roused would ever go dormant again. He’d awoken something inside her that only multiplied in strength with every passing heartbeat. Lust, he’d once called it. She suspected it was something more.
“Not too tired?” he persisted.
A number of the crew were weak swimmers so Sharluff was, albeit reluctantly, ferrying them along, while she, Grif, and a few others braved the currents on their own.
“I’m fine.” She kicked as far away as the tether allowed, wanting to prove her words. “We take a break soon though. The current gets stronger and we enter pack territory. Better to rest for the night before we go more.”
“Sounds good.” Treading closer, he scanned the tunnel.
She knew what he saw. There was no place to pull themselves out of the water yet, the flowing water skimming the sides of the cavern. It wouldn’t stay that way.
“Don’t worry. Good place coming soon.”
He nodded. “Got it, boss.”
Another slight shock. Pack males never would make such a concession, even in jest. Grif did so easily. Probably because he was wholly confident in his dominance. He didn’t have to lord it over her. They both knew how easily he could make her submit if he wanted.
A slow shiver. Ancients help her, she liked that about him. She might be finding her voice and refusing to cower, but a part of her was pack female and would always be inclined toward obedience. Craved it, in fact.
“Are those the same kinds of symbols you had on your skin and spear?” His excitement shook her from thoughts. He was eyeing the golden swirling splashes of color high up on the walls of the cave.
“Rani, yes. They are drawings from the first pack, those that discovered the waterways and make it possible for us to survive. Their blessings and warnings help keep us alive. They also tell of rest spot up ahead.”
“Amazing.”
It was curious to see everything from Grif’s perspective. To notice things she had always taken for granted. He seemed shocked by so much.
It pleased her to think she had given him a first as well.
“I see it.” He paddled closer.
“Good.” She’d traversed this path many times. “We go to the side now. Swim hard. The river does not like to let go.”
Her arms cut through the water. Grif followed right behind, matching his stroke to hers.
Sharluff passed them, a host of crew clinging to his sides. One of them was the male Malin who did not like her. He glared as they passed. Was it wrong that she hid a smile when the splash from a fellow passerby slapped him in the face?
Soon, she didn’t care either way as the currents picked up and she had to focus on keeping her own lungs clear of water.
She and Grif were both panting by the time they made it to the shore. He jammed another small blue marker between two rocks for his people to find. The stop-off point had provided her people with refuge for generations. This beach was wider than many, allowing travelers to spread out. The rocky walls beyond the beach were pockmarked with tunnels, a number of which led to the surface. Others that twisted deeper into the bowels of the planet.
A firepit filled with whalh rocks and danashe crystals was at the center of the beach, surrounded by boulders, worn down over time, that served as seats.
The rest of Grif’s crew stood close together, in various stages of drying off, taking it all in. She wondered if she looked as wide-eyed as they did right now.
Sharluff was already back in the water, happy to be free of his human burdens and presumably on the hunt for his dinner.
“You weren’t kidding about the river’s grip.” Dropping his pack to the ground, Grif sucked down another deep breath and stood tall to survey the area. His hair was slicked back, the inky wet of his lashes making his green eyes even darker, while water sluiced over every muscle, making his skin glisten.
Her exhaustion disappeared, lust roaring to take its place.
“Wait, are those the same kind of crystals that were in your spear?” He’d noticed the pit. “The one that knocked me to my ass?” He hurried forward. A few of the Others were already clustered around it, including the angry one, his hand outstretched to touch the glowing stones.
“Don’t touch.” Thankfully, she caught the scowling male before he made contact. “Too hot to hold.” She shook her hands to mimic burning palms. Her New English was getting better, but there was still so much she couldn’t say with ease.
The frowning male drew back his hand, but his glare never wavered. If he thought that would bother her, he was wrong. She had grown up under Talg and his disapproving stare.
She turned to Grif. “You are right. It is same as in my spear. Danashe crystal. It glow, but no real power until we combine with that.” She pointed to the small pile of red powder a careful distance from the pit of golden gems and then to the bed of red powder that was beneath the crystals in the fire pit. “Whalh metal. When put two together, power.” She clapped her hands. “Heat. Surging for a long time. Spears made same way. Called whalh spears.”
“How did your spear stop working then?” Grif’s friend Bain was also absorbing every detail, his gaze intent.
It was strange, and wonderous, to have so many listening to her words.
“When my spear broke, the connection between danashe and whalh ended. No more glow.”
Just thinking about her destroyed spear made her sad. Gathering the crystals and grinding the whalh powder to heat in a firepit was easy enough for even a pack child to do, but to harness that power into a working glow-spear was far more complex. It was a skill only mastered by a few of the hunters. As a result, the pack did not have an overabundance of the glowing weapon.
The pack’s limited quantity of spears was also the second reason why Talg had ordered her to trade, not only for food but for Other workers to help mine the powder. He’d always planned to use the prisoners to lure his enemies to pack territory, but only when he was ready to make war. Before that, he wanted the extra bodies to mine and grind the whalh metal needed to light the spears. He liked the idea of the Others being forced to make the very weapons that would destroy them.
The scarcity of pack spears was also why Talg had refused to grant her one even after he announced his decision to send her to trade with the Others. He said such a weapon was too precious for Gazi. But Ramm had
gifted her with one that same rotation, rising in the early light to send her off while the rest of the village slept.
She would never forget Ramm’s kindness. Or what he had whispered as he handed it to her. Prove yourself to the Ancients and Talg, and perhaps the curse will be lifted. You are not the only one who will pray to the Ancients for your success.
But acceptance by the pack was no longer her objective. She was on a different path now.
“You okay, wild thing?” As always, Grif seemed to sense her mood, his expression intent as he studied her.
Her belly fluttered. “I am fine.” Her lips lifted upward without her even having to try. “I am good even.” She glided closer to his side. “I will show you how the crystals work.”
“I’d like to see, too.” Bain flanked her other side. “If you don’t mind, of course.”
She gave him a tentative smile. Her first for someone who wasn’t Grif. “I don’t mind.”
Her first loyalty had to be to pack and keeping her people safe, but she was coming to hope she could keep Grif’s people alive and well, too.
“With that new intel, I might be able to get Nayla’s spear working again,” observed Bain.
“Maybe we could even make more.” Grif’s expression had turned calculating.
Nayla’s nerves returned, the reminder that she was a traitor by pack standards making her throat tight. But if this could lead to peace, it was all right then, wasn’t it? “It has to be right size crystal to work.” She didn’t know much about the process, but that she was certain of.
“Could I, ah, have a word with Nayla first?” Lana pushed her way through the crowd.
Nayla looked to Grif. He looked back at her. Oh, yes. It was still strange to realize she needed no one’s permission to speak. “Yes. I am available for words.”
“Great.” Relief softened the female’s features. She gestured toward a portion of the beach a few arm’s lengths away. “Let’s talk over here.”
“I’ll be here if you need me, Nayla.” Grif’s voice held an edge, as if he wasn’t entirely happy about her departure. “Don’t stray farther than my line of sight.”
