The last thing he’d expected when he’d brought down his axe, hoping to chop his way out of the Elvish prince’s ball of light, was for them all to end up here. Wherever here was. He did feel partly responsible, and Warsgra didn’t like feeling responsible for anything, especially when these people weren’t even his clan. Okay, Vehel was as much responsible for this mess as he was, perhaps even more so, but the other two—Dela and Orergon—hadn’t done anything to cause or deserve this.
There was something about the girl, too, that was niggling at him. He couldn’t figure out why, but she reminded him of someone. Something about the shape of her face and the color of her hair kept taunting a memory out of him. Every time he looked at her, it felt like déjà vu, but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out where he’d seen her before. It wasn’t as though he made a habit out of hanging around with humans.
Warsgra dozed occasionally, but kept waking with a start, thinking he’d heard something over the rush of the river beside them, but each time it was nothing.
He was relieved when the sky finally lightened and then the sun created a thin line on the horizon. Just as he imagined the others did, he wanted to get back to his people. Who would try to lead his clan with both him and Jultu gone? There were a couple of younger Norcs who might put themselves forward for the job, but none who were good enough. They’d be too reckless and selfish to think about what the whole clan would need to survive. The possibility of a great war starting with neither him nor Jultu there to lead his people into battle also played on his mind. If the humans forced the Norcs to fight for what was already theirs, he wanted a great warrior leading them, not some young male who thought more with his balls than with his head.
The others were all still sleeping, so Warsgra pushed himself up to standing and went back to the river. It looked beautiful in the early morning light, gurgling and peaceful. He needed to see if he could catch some more fish for breakfast, and also figure out if there was something they could use to carry water. Though they could continue to walk alongside the river, at some point it would divert course or vanish underground, and they’d be thankful for any water they’d be able to take with them.
He lowered his face to the river and drank deeply. He kept his axe by his side, ready to fight should anything try to attack.
Movement came from nearby, and he spun around, lifting the axe and jumping to his feet.
“Only me,” the human woman said. “I wanted to give you this back.”
She held out the shoulder protector.
“Keep it,” he replied. “You might need it.”
Her brown eyes lit up. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“Well,” she tucked it into the side of her belt, “thank you. I did sleep a whole lot better with it as my pillow.”
Her face had been resting on the fur the whole night. It would have smelled like her hair. Maybe he should have asked for it back after all.
Warsgra frowned and shook the random thought from his head. This was a human woman. Sure, he could appreciate the fullness of her mouth and how pink her tongue was every time it snuck out to lick her lower lip, but the rest of her was too fragile. Okay, maybe her arms were shapely, and her legs looked long beneath those leather pants of hers, but she was nothing like the Norc females. They were solidly built, and you didn’t need to worry about crushing a hip bone when you pounded into them. Hell, they fucked back as hard as they were able to take. This human woman however, looked like she’d need to be treated with a velvet glove. By the Gods, he wasn’t even sure he’d fit inside her.
“What?” she said, jamming her hands on her narrow hips, and he realized he’d been staring as all of this had gone through his head.
“Nothing,” he growled. “Just thinking how weak you look compared to Norc females.”
Her eyebrows lifted, and a high flush of anger bloomed in her cheeks. “I’m stronger than I appear.”
“Sure,” he said dismissively, trying to hide what he’d really been thinking. The stirring in his pants told him his body hadn’t quite given up on the idea either.
“I’m getting more fish.” He dropped his axe to the ground and strode into the river, knowing the cool water would help him take his mind off things.
He felt her watching him but did his best to ignore her. He didn’t need that kind of distraction. He needed to make it back to his people, and thinking about this woman that way wasn’t going to make this journey any easier.
The others had started to stir now, too, Orergon getting to his feet and stretching out his long, lean back, while Vehel put back on the armor he’d removed before bedding down for the night. Warsgra ignored them both and stared back down into the water, peering through the rapids and waiting for the dark shadow of a fish to slip by. He remained motionless, not wanting to frighten the fish away.
But a sound came to his ears, one he didn’t recognize. At first he thought it was the buzzing in his ears he sometimes got after being in battle, caused by the amount of noise hundreds of fighting Norcs would make, but then the sound grew louder.
Warsgra took his eye off the fish and straightened. He looked toward the shore, where Dela was drinking from the water’s edge, and then toward the trees, where Orergon and Vehel remained. They’d all heard it, too—he could tell by the way they’d stiffened, slight frowns of confusion marking their brows where their minds were going through the same process as his.
The buzzing grew to an almost deafening sound, and confusion morphed to fear.
“Move!” he yelled to the others. “Hide.”
A huge winged insect, with a yellow and black striped body which ended in a massive curved sting at the end of its tail, burst across the bushes on the opposite side of the river. It was the size of one of his mountain goats, and the buzzing it made was deafening. Its spindly legs hung from the underside of its body, and even though they looked fragile, Warsgra knew they’d have immense power in them. The creature hovered for a second, its bulbous eyes moving one way and then the other. Then it seemed to fix its sights on something.
“Dela!” Warsgra yelled. “Run!”
Her brown eyes widened as she saw the thing coming for her.
Back where they’d slept, Vehel had drawn his bow and arrow, and Orergon picked up his spear. Warsgra had left his axe on the bank, needing both hands to catch fish, and he deeply regretted that right now. With a yell, he ran, his legs driving through the water so it sprayed up in his face.
Dela saw the thing coming and turned to run, but it was so fast, it was already on her. Its legs wrapped around her back, and Vehel paused, unable to let the arrow fly as he’d be as likely to hit Dela as the creature.
Dela screamed and fought back, but it wasn’t enough, and the flying beast lifted her into the air.
Chapter 19
Dela
The scream barreled out of her lungs as her feet lost contact with the ground, and she was suddenly suspended in the air. The massive insect legs that had caught her were like iron bars clamped around her torso, squeezing her tight. She wasn’t sure she would even be able to breathe, and it felt as though each time she exhaled, the legs squeezed a little tighter, so she was unable to take the next breath in.
Beneath her, the ground moved in a blur. Where the in the Gods’ names was this thing taking her? To feed her to all its giant grub babies, she realized with horror. She didn’t want to die as maggot food.
She barely heard the yells of the others above the insanely loud buzzing. The creature flew forward, banking in one direction, and then the next, whipping Dela’s head from side to side. She struggled in the thing’s grip, but the way it had grabbed her meant her arms were clamped by her sides. She couldn’t even kick the creature as gravity forced her legs to hang down.
They followed the line of the river, zigzagging back and forth. Motion sickness and being unable to breathe deeply left her dizzy and faint. She didn’t want to pass out. Though being unconscious might be a welcome parting from her cu
rrent situation, the thought of not knowing what this creature was doing with her was even worse. She didn’t want to wake up to find herself being chewed on by maggots, or having eggs laid into her skin. She’d do everything in her power to keep herself awake so she could fight back.
To her right towered a high, muddy riverbank, with several large holes dug into the side. As they drew closer, she saw a second of the insects emerge from one of the holes and fly off, the buzzing doubling in volume for a moment before it faded away. They were still flying at a breath-stealing speed, and as they flew toward the bank, Dela tightened every muscle and squeezed her eyes shut, preparing herself for impact, certain she would end up slammed against the muddy bank hard enough to break every bone in her body. Instead, sudden darkness surrounded her, and the buzzing stopped. Her ears were still ringing from the racket.
Cold, wet, muddy walls surrounded her. The insect held her close to its fuzzy underbelly as it crawled forward, taking her deeper into the riverbank.
Despite her fear and panic, Dela tried to formulate a plan. She hoped the creature would just store her here and leave again. In which case, she’d be able to simply crawl back out of the hole and run to safety. If the creature didn’t leave, she had her dagger wedged in her belt. She didn’t want to get into a fight with the thing, and worried that if she managed to kill it, its massive body would fill the hole, and she wouldn’t be able to get past, and then she’d stand the chance of being stuck down here until she died a slow and painful death. No, she’d probably run out of air before that happened, and suffocate.
Panic threatened to overwhelm her and she bit down on it, knowing she’d lose the ability to think clearly and that it might be the death of her. Still, she felt as though she was trapped in a nightmare, and she desperately wanted to wake up.
Finally, the insect stopped. Its grip on her released a fraction, and she was able to suck in a breath of stale, mud-tainted air. But she remained as motionless as possible, not wanting to do anything to remind the creature that she was there. Please go, please go, please go, she prayed over and over. The insect continued to shuffle back and forth, but again its legs released around her, dropping her fully onto the muddy tunnel floor, so she landed on her hands and knees. Cool dampness sank into the knees of her pants, reminding her of the previous day when she’d first knelt at the riverside to take a drink. How she wished she was back with Orergon, Vehel, and Warsgra right now. What would they be doing? Would they try to find her, or would they assume she was dead and not waste any more time on her? She prayed they wouldn’t give up. They barely knew her, and she was a human, who they all despised, but she hoped they’d seen something about her that would make them want to at least attempt to save her.
She couldn’t rely on others saving her, however. No one helped someone who refused to help themselves.
As the insect gave her more room, she was able to slide her hand down toward her belt, where the hilt of her weapon rested.
She wanted the thing to leave, figuring that would be a far better option than her attacking it first. Getting into a fight with the insect was not how she wanted things to go, but she needed to be prepared for the possibility. She was still curled up beneath its body, but her hand slipped lower, her fingertips brushing the hilt of her dagger. Her fingers tightened around it, but then the insect moved. It had managed to turn itself around in the confined space, and Dela froze, her heart pounding as it moved over top of her. It was leaving! Thank the Gods!
She had to hold back a sob of relief as the insect passed back over her, its legs no longer surrounding her torso, only its tail above her now. She held her breath in the darkness, huddling tight into herself, trying to make her body as small as possible so it didn’t notice her.
There was a sudden swiping through the air above her, and something sharp punctured the back of her neck. Dela gave a cry of shock, unable to stay quiet any longer. The thing had stung her! Her fingers tightened around the hilt of her dagger, and she went to pull it out and stab the creature in the belly, but instead of pulling out the knife, her fingers barely moved.
A fresh spurt of fear blasted through her.
The giant insect continued the way it was going, leaving her alone in the wet, dark tunnel. It left the entrance, taking off into the air, the movement of its massive wings vibrating down the burrow. Through the gap it had left, she could make out a pinprick of light that signaled the entrance. All she had to do was get to it, just crawl down the tunnel far enough to drop out the end. She didn’t even care that she’d most likely fall directly into the water beneath and possibly be carried away on the rapids. Anything would be better than dying in a black hole with the possibility of being fly-food. But when she tried to reach out to drag herself forward, her arm wouldn’t even move. She kicked out a foot, but though the movement happened in her head, her body remained motionless.
A thin whine of fear escaped her throat, and her breathing came quick and fast. The sting on the back of her neck didn’t even throb anymore, and the aching that had become a part of her since leaving Anthoinia what felt like a lifetime ago had also vanished.
She was paralyzed.
Chapter 20
Vehel
Vehel had watched in horror as the giant fly picked up Dela and whisked her away.
None of them had been expecting it, and he sensed the shock of the other two as well, as what had happened finally sank in.
Then they all burst into movement, Warsgra reaching the bank and snatching up his axe, while Orergon began to run in the same direction the fly had gone.
He hadn’t been able to let his arrow fly, knowing it might hit Dela. One of his arrows would kill her, and he couldn’t risk it, but now he was wondering if being killed by one of his arrows would have been a kinder death.
“Come on,” Warsgra bellowed as he took after Orergon. “It followed the river.”
Vehel broke into a run, chasing the other two. That creature had moved at an insane speed, there was no way they were going to be able to catch up with it if it had traveled any kind of distance. He felt sick at the loss of Dela, how they’d all just stood there as she’d been snatched. The creature must have figured that she was the smallest of each of them and would make a good meal. A shudder ran down his back at the thought. No, that wouldn’t be the end of her. It couldn’t be. Somehow he knew they needed her if they were going to make it home. The three of them together would never make it. They’d end up killing each other without her to focus on.
His feet thumped across the soft ground, his breath growing heavy in his lungs. The other two were taller, their strides longer, and already they were ahead. He wished he hadn’t put the armor back on after he’d removed it to sleep. Though the armor was lightweight steel, it was still steel, and was sure to be holding him back.
The brook grew wider, and then wider again, boulders protruding from the water, creating areas of still calmness, interspersed by flowing rapids. It was far from a brook now, and most definitely a river, which only seemed to grow wider and deeper the farther they ran.
“Keep your eyes open for the creature,” Warsgra yelled from over his shoulder. “Or maybe a nest or something it might live in. That thing will have taken Dela back to its home.”
Vehel didn’t know what he was supposed to be looking for. One thing about coming from way down south was that the temperature was so much cooler, they didn’t get giant bugs like that. Admittedly, they had some of their own issues with sea monsters living in their shores, but he’d never seen anything like that thing.
They followed the river around, looking out for any sign of where the creature may have taken Dela. Warsgra appeared frantic, his hand locked in his hair as he spun one way and then the next, trying to get an idea of where she’d gone. Orergon seemed more composed, his back straight and shoulders back, alert. Orergon was a hunter and perhaps was looking for signs Vehel hadn’t even thought of.
No, Vehel’s strength was in his magic, but his lack of training
and control had let both himself and Dela down. If only he’d been trained, as he should have been, he’d have been able to conjure a spell to force the insect to release Dela.
“The Gods damn them!” he cried in frustration. “Where is she?”
They were all running out of steam now, slowing their pace, though he sensed none of them wanted to. But the weeks on the road had taken it out of all of them, not to mention the events of the last couple of days.
“We can’t give up,” Warsgra growled.
“We’re not,” Orergon replied. “But we need to slow or we might miss something.”
They regrouped and continued along the riverbank at a slower trot. Vehel missed the grand stag he used to ride. The majestic beast would have carried him without complaint. He hoped the beast had made it out of the Southern Pass alive.
“What are those?” Orergon pointed at the opposite bank.
The riverbank was tall and topped with trees and bushes, but several large holes had been dug into the muddy wall.
They came to a halt, staring at the riverbank. No creature Vehel had ever seen dug such things, but this place was nothing like his beautiful homeland of the Inverlands, with its mountainous peaks and glacial waterfalls. He longed for the peace of his home, but then remembered what might be waiting there for him if he did manage to get back. Would he ever see his homeland again, and would he be welcomed if he did?
As they stood, watching, one of the huge black and yellow striped bugs crawled out of one of the holes and took flight. The moment its wings began to beat, the crazily loud buzzing filled the air once more, and Vehel had to resist placing his hands over his ears.
“Was that the same one?” Warsgra asked, looking to each of them.
Orergon shook his head. “I have no idea.”
“How many burrows are there?” Vehel said, half thinking out loud.
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