by Janet Durbin
Drayco paced to stay warm for most of his watch. His thoughts were on the missing trio, and on the Boss. He wondered what had led the cat to go away with a stranger, and hoped that nothing else would get in their way to prevent them from going to the town called Grandfield. The information they needed on the person who sought his sister, the Boss, was there.
He was about to wake Shyanne for her part of the watch when the ground under his feet started to vibrate. Jack looked toward the entrance of their campsite, ears pointed forward, listening. The sound of hooves thundering across the ground at breakneck speed echoed throughout the rocks. Drayco ran to the entrance and hid behind a boulder to see who was foolish enough to go so fast in the darkness. The thunderous sound drew closer. He could just make out the sound of voices shouting over the noise.
"...Caused lots of trouble ... want to get ... to enjoy killing ... going to be killed if you don't slow down..."
A blur of horses ran past the rock where Drayco hid. The words “caused trouble” and “killing” still rang in his ears. “I bet they were talking about Joseph and Drizzle."
He ran back to Shyanne and grabbed her shoulder to wake her. He had to jump back quickly to avoid being sliced in half by her blade.
"Don't do that, Drayco,” she hissed as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. “I could have killed you."
"We have to go—now. A pair of riders just went past and I think they were talking about Drizzle and Joseph. They were heading northwest in a really big hurry."
"Isn't that the direction the others went?"
"Yep.” He started to shove things into his pack as fast as he could.
"I'll get Jack ready.” She leaped to her feet and saddled the horse in record time. She had a thousand questions, but knew now was not the time to ask them.
In less time than it took to get dressed, the twins were on horseback, heading in the same direction as the unknown riders. Their speed was at a much safer pace.
"What did you hear?"
"Something about causing trouble.” Drayco kept the killing part to himself.
"That's probably our pair,” Shyanne responded.
The surrounding landscape continued to be rocky and sparse of growth. Broken and gnarled trees grew sporadically; angled in whichever direction the wind blew them. The moon's soft light made it easier for the twins to see the path before them. The dark clouds Drayco observed during his watch had moved on without giving a single drop of moisture to relieve the parched land.
For the most part, the path stayed in a northwestwardly direction. No others branched from it. Finally, after what felt like many long and tortuous hours, the towering wall of rock lessened in height. A faint yellow glow became visible on the horizon. If the twins hadn't known better, they would have thought sunrise was close.
"Could that be their camp?” Shyanne asked.
"It is in the right direction. If it is their camp, we'll have to be cautious from here on out. They'll probably have outer perimeter guards posted."
Another alcove was discovered between them and the glow ahead as they wove through the various rocks and boulders. The entrance was similar to the one they'd recently vacated, one way in and out. Drayco suggested they leave Jack inside. Shyanne led the horse into the area and put some grain out for him. The alcove was about the same size as the stall shared with Bravaro back at the ravaged town they had left only yesterday.
"Stay here, Jack. We'll be back soon,” she whispered as she squeezed the big neck tight.
He ignored her completely and continued to eat the grain. She laughed softly at his single-mindedness.
Shyanne noticed some broken bushes that reminded her of tumbleweeds trapped in the alcove. The twins used them to block the way out before moving quietly toward the camp. They had gone about a mile when the silhouette of a guard was seen standing on top of a boulder. The man leaned against his sword, half-asleep. He was oblivious of the twins near him.
Drayco pointed to himself, then circled his arm in a wide pattern. Shyanne nodded her head in understanding. The dark man disappeared into the shadows. She was unable to trace any noise from his passage. The guard was still there, but he had assumed a sitting position instead of standing. She crouched low and started to move closer to the man, as well.
She was about twenty paces away when she heard a shout. It was close. Too close. She crouched lower into the shadows and noticed another man standing on the boulder directly behind her. Her heart raced; it felt like it was going to come out of her throat. She held her breath, hoping she hadn't been seen. When no alarms sounded, she relaxed and started to breathe again.
"Whatcha doin', Brent? Ya sleep'n at yer post again?"
"Naw, I'm just sittin'. I got tired and wanted to rest."
"Best not let Ruben sees ya doing that. He'll make sure ya never do it again.” The man moved away. He added before leaving, “I'll send someone to relieve ya in about two hours."
"I'll be here,” Brent grumbled softly so the departing man could not hear.
That's what you think, Shyanne thought.
Brent rose to a standing position with a groan. After a few minutes, she heard the coo of a night bird off to the right and knew it was Drayco. Shyanne hesitated only a second before she untied the leather straps on her shirt to show some cleavage and boldly walked toward Brent, swaying her hips seductively. She knew this wasn't part of her brother's plan, but distraction was needed if he was to sneak up on this man unnoticed.
Brent straightened up and shouted, “You there. Who are you? What are you doing here?"
"I came to be with you, Brent.” Her voice had a soft, silky edge to it.
"Who sent you?” He looked around, no doubt trying to find the culprit of the practical joke. His attention returned almost immediately to the beautiful woman walking toward him.
"No one, Brent. I'm here because I like you, and I want to get to know you better."
"How come I ain't seen you before?"
"I've been here. Maybe you weren't looking.” She reached Brent and put her arms over his shoulders, pulling him close.
He couldn't believe this was happening. The beautiful women usually went for the good-looking muscular guys, not the ones who were too skinny and had missing teeth, like him. To have one want him this badly was too much to resist. Brent started to kiss her neck. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her butt. His sword lay on the ground, forgotten.
Shyanne saw her brother appear over the edge of the rock. He eased up behind Brent and tapped him several times on his back. The sentry jumped and glanced over his shoulder, thinking he was in trouble. Instead of Ruben standing there, he saw Drayco.
"Who are you?” he demanded.
Before Brent could recover from his surprise, Drayco threw an arm around his neck and covered his mouth to prevent him from yelling out a warning. Shyanne punched him in the stomach. The sentry collapsed in her brother's arms, gasping for a breath. Drayco continued to keep his hand over Brent's mouth as he lowered him to the ground. Shyanne squatted down in front of him, her face close to his, deadly intent thick in her tone when she spoke.
"We require some information, Brent, and you're going to give it to us. Understand?” Brent's eyes became as large as saucers; he nodded his head yes. “Now, we're going to get down from here and talk. If you make one false move, my brother here will break your neck. Got it?” Again, Brent nodded his head yes.
The trio slid from the top of the rock to the ground below. Drayco kept a firm grip on the man during the move to prevent him from escaping or shouting out.
They walked a short distance from the watch post and hid behind a group of rocks varying in size from as small as a box to as big as a two story building. Drayco removed the hand covering Brent's mouth and forced the prisoner into a sitting position. The dark man crouched behind him, gripping the thin upper arms tight.
"Don't make a sound unless it's to answer a question,” Drayco warned.
Shyanne faced Brent and a
sked, “Have you heard about a man traveling with a big cat in this area?"
"Please don't hurt me. I haven't done anything to you,” Brent pleaded. “I won't tell the others. I'll just turn my back and pretend I never saw you."
"Shut up, you wimp of a man.” Drayco squeezed the thin arms hard enough to cause the skin over the bones to shift beneath his grip.
Brent yelped then shut his mouth tight in remembrance of the warning given earlier. He wanted to alert the others about these intruders, but also wanted to save his own hide.
Shyanne brought his attention back by grabbing his chin with her hand. She leaned very close and asked again, “Have you heard of a man traveling in the company of a big cat? I will not repeat myself."
Her soft blue eyes seemed to be made of ice as she glared into his. Brent gulped hard, causing his protruding Adam's apple to go up and down. He carefully nodded his head yes.
Shyanne's heart skipped a beat. She kept her facial expression blank, though, not wanting either man to see her reaction. Drayco saw the flash in her eyes and remained silent. He was pretty sure he knew the reason for it.
"Have either of them been hurt?"
Again, Brent nodded his head yes.
"Are they dead?” The question made her heart ache, but she knew she had to ask it.
He shook his head no. He tried to say something. Shyanne's grip on his chin muffled the words. She let go and sat back.
"We caught the pair sneaking up on the camp. They gave us a humdinger of a fight, and that cat killed five of our people before we were able to put an arrow into it.” Shyanne tensed with his last statement.
"The man swung his sword around screaming like a banshee the whole time. Kept yell'n somethin about killin’ his family and friends and what not. We hit him on the back of the head after we got a lucky break. The only reason they didn't get killed right away was because of Ruben. He said the cat looked a lot like the one traveling with the girl we're look'n for."
Shyanne inhaled sharply. Drayco shot her a stern look. She recovered her composure quickly, but not before Brent noticed it.
"Who is this Ruben fellow, and why does he want the girl?” Drayco asked.
This must be the girl Ruben's after, Brent thought. Aloud he said, “He's our leader. He brought us together and showed us how to do the kind of jobs no one else wanted, and to make us lots of money."
"What kind of jobs?"
Brent smiled wickedly. “Why ... hunting and killing, of course."
"Hunting?"
"Yeah—like the girl. Ruben promised us lots of gold for find'n a girl with a big cat. He even showed us the gold before we left.” A glint filled his eyes. “He didn't say how he came across it, and we didn't ask. All we was interested in was the payment ... and the fun.” Brent winced because the grip on his arms had tightened during the conversation.
"How many of you are there?” Shyanne hoped the man's guard was down enough for him to answer the question without thinking.
Brent hesitated. “There are fifteen of us left after the cat made a mess of things.” “I can take you to the ones you look'n for. I know where they are in the camp.” The restrained man looked at Shyanne, hope in his eyes.
"We'll get back with you on that, Brent.” Shyanne punched him hard across the jaw, causing his head to rock back and forth, effectively knocking him out.
Drayco let go and watched as Brent fell over on his side. “What do you want to do? He took too long to answer. That tells me he's lying."
Shyanne walked a few paces away from the unconscious man. Drayco followed. “I think we should check out the camp before daylight. Our chances of getting caught are less with the darkness covering us."
"I agree.” He tipped his head in Brent's direction. “What about him?"
"We tie him up and hide him. His boss will think he fell asleep somewhere."
"I wonder who this Boss is and why he's going through all this trouble to find you,” Drayco pondered.
"Right now, all I want to do is find Drizzle and Joseph.” Shyanne sighed heavily, rubbing her eyes. She was exhausted from the long ride and the lack of sleep thereafter. “Let's scout out the camp. We can get some rest after we're done. If they move before we return, we can shadow them and wait for a chance to free our friends."
"I'll tie him up first. Then we'll go."
Brent had revived and slowly risen to his feet while the twins planned. He was almost around a large group of rocks when Drayco spotted him. He shuddered as the dark man's eyes locked onto his, and ran.
"Help me! Help me! The girl's over here! Over here!"
"Damn!” Drayco growled. He started after the fleeing man, Shyanne right behind him. “We have to shut him up! Fast!"
They could hear the sentry as he wove his way ahead of them. The twins were gaining, but not quick enough. Drayco scrambled up onto the rocks to try to cut him off. Shyanne continued on the ground, increasing her speed as she ran. They had to shut him up or the camp would know they were there. She rounded a large stone and saw her prey directly ahead. He was about to disappear from sight when Drayco landed in front of him, blocking him.
Brent slid to an abrupt stop and yelled at the top of his lungs, “Help! I need help!"
Drayco snarled and leaped at the man. Brent ducked down and flipped Drayco into the wall behind him. He stood up to continue his forward momentum toward camp. Shyanne was on his back before he could move. She pounded on his head and upper body as hard as she could.
Drayco recovered immediately from the unexpected toss. He smoldered with anger at being fooled so easily by this worthless bit of a man. He walked up to Brent, grabbed his hair, and yanked hard, knocking him off his feet. Brent and Shyanne went down in a tumble of arms and legs.
The dark man threw himself onto the struggling man's body, pinning him to the ground. Shyanne saw what was coming and was unable to get away. She was trapped beneath Brent. Her eyes widened with fear as she watched Drayco snarl like a feral beast. He sank his teeth deep into the soft exposed neck and pulled out a large chunk of flesh. The only sound from Brent was a quick intake of breath when the pain from his ravaged neck registered in his brain.
Blood splattered all over Shyanne's face and upper body. Drayco latched onto the spurting wound created by his teeth, cutting off the flow. She wanted to get it out of her eyes; her arms were pinned by the two men on top of her. The metallic taste of blood coated her mouth; it made her gag with disgust. Her breath came in ragged gasps. She wanted to scream. It was difficult enough to breathe because of the weight on her, much less cry out. She tried to control the rising panic. Her fever crazed nightmare after the rizbak attack returned in full force. The only difference was Drayco wasn't biting her.
The blood running in her eyes temporarily blinded her. Unfortunately, her hearing was working all too well. The sound of sucking and slurping filled her very being. The fear at what might happen when the blood flow stopped was almost unbearable. Her heart raced faster and faster.
With his eyes closed, Drayco quenched his inner need with a thirst powered by hatred, hatred for those who were after Shyanne. He savored every drop from the severed artery; it filled him with a sense of euphoria. Lost as he was in the blood drinking frenzy, he failed to notice his sister's agony. The man under him quit fighting as his lifeblood drained. The flow stopped when he died.
The rushing sound in Drayco's ears gradually subsided as he let go of the dead man's neck. He heard an odd sound beneath the body. Opening his eyes, he saw his sister covered with blood, a panicked look in her eyes as she tried to breathe. A bluish color surrounded her lips. He scrambled to his feet and hurled Brent's lifeless body off her.
Shyanne rolled onto her side, gasping, savoring the sweetness of fresh air once she was free. She frantically rubbed at the blood on her face, trying to get it off. The action only smeared it. Drayco reached out to help her; she flinched away from his touch. He backed away, hurt by her reaction.
"I'm sorry, Shyanne. I'm so so
rry. I just wanted to kill him before he got away. Before he let all the others know we were here. If I had only known ... If I had only opened my eyes and seen...” He could tell he was rambling. He couldn't stop himself.
He knew now that the virus had come between them like nothing else ever would. Drayco turned away from Shyanne. He walked to the rock wall and curled into a small ball, his face buried in his hands. He loved his sister dearly. It had taken him so very long to find her, and now he might lose her forever. Even seeing the fear and disgust would be better than never seeing her again. He finally admitted it; he was tired of being alone.
Shyanne watched as Drayco backed off and went down into a ball. Her heart broke at the sight, but she could not make herself go to him, not yet. She had to get herself under control first.
The whole attack, escape, and recapture took only a few minutes, yet it seemed like hours had passed. No alarms sounded, and no one was running around frantically searching for anything. It appeared luck was on their side. No one had heard the shouts from the doomed man.
Using the sleeve of her shirt, she wiped her eyes and face. By the time she finished, she had come to terms with her fears. The dream that haunted her was just that, a dream. It could continue to haunt her until it became a reality, or she could put it to rest. Either way, it was a matter to be dealt with on another day. Right now, her brother needed her.
She moved to Drayco's side. He gave no indication of knowing she was there. Reaching out, she placed a hand on his shoulder and felt the muscles underneath tense.
"Drayco? Are you okay? Can you look at me?"
The dark twin refused to look into his sister's eyes. He knew what he would see: the fear, the hatred, the pity. He remained curled in a tight ball, unwilling to face the inevitable.
"Drayco, please, look at me. I know you didn't mean to do what you did.” Shyanne continued to touch his shoulder. “I'm sorry I acted like I did. I couldn't help myself ... I was afraid. You are my brother, and I love you very much. I know you would never do anything to intentionally hurt me."
