by A. G. Wilde
If she wasn’t still caught in the grasp of the plant, she’d have thought she’d imagined it pulling her across the terrain.
“—reh-nah!” The sound came from the device on her wrist.
It was still there and her heart rate picked up when she realized that it hadn’t fallen off during the journey.
Ajos.
He was still out there somewhere.
A glimmer of hope made her heart flutter but there was no way for her to access the device so she could answer him.
She couldn’t move.
“Keh—” The signal cut out. “—nah!”
Tears formed in her eyes.
She was on her back and she could barely see the sky above through the canopy.
It was so dim where she was, she could hardly see and that only made her anxiety rise.
Her only consolation was that there seemed to be no movement from the plant and, for now, she was going to look at that as a good thing.
Moments passed with no other sound. Minutes went by.
And then there was movement.
It started with the roots around her neck loosening and she only noticed this because she was suddenly able to breathe easier.
Then, the root covering her mouth loosened too.
Kerena held her breath, not daring to move lest the roots tighten around her again.
“Keh-reh—” Ajos’ voice cut in again and hope flared within her once more. “—please, say some—”
His voice still sounded strained and she wasn’t sure if it was his fever or because he was freaking out that she’d been taken away.
More of the roots loosened, slipping away from her body and Kerena’s pulse quickened.
If just a few more loosened, she could probably wriggle away.
The next few minutes of waiting felt like whole eons, but as soon as she felt the roots loosen from around her, Kerena pressed her hands down, spinning slowly so she could position herself to scramble backward.
She bit her lip hard, her breath making her nose burn with the pressure of her breathing, as she prayed that the roots didn’t latch on to her once more.
They were so thick and fibrous underneath her, it made her skin crawl.
With one heave, she pushed away using her hands. The movement launched her forward like a dive and she scrambled out of the plant’s grasp.
But she didn’t make it far.
As soon as she managed to leave the nestle of roots, she went down again.
Her breath caught in her throat as she realized one of her legs was still caught in the plant's grasp.
In horror, she looked back, her gaze darting over the roots for any movement. But there was none.
It was like she was staring at any regular plant and the eeriness only made her more frantic inside.
Her gaze fell to the leg that was still caught within the plant’s grasp and that’s when she noticed something.
The roots surrounding her leg were different from the others—a difference that would have been hard to miss.
All along her leg, growing from the root itself, were a set of gorgeous purple flowers—the likes of which she’d never seen before.
“Keh-reh-nah!” Ajos shouted once more. He was running so fast, the vegetation around him moved like a blur.
“Keh-reh-nah!”
Qef it.
Either his comms weren’t working, hers weren’t, or the “source” he was carrying was interfering with the signal.
He glanced down at it—a glowing white orb. He had no idea what it was.
The orb glistened along his side, shining a light from its strange surface. It was so small, it fit in his palm.
The size had surprised him, but he was sure it was the thing they sought.
When he’d found it in the engine room of the ship, it had been encased in a sort of metallic shield that fell away as soon as he’d touched it.
His nefre had been burning and he’d found a satchel and slipped the thing inside just before he’d communicated with Keh-reh-nah.
The strange orb rested in the satchel hung over his shoulder now, bouncing against his side as he ran.
He was seeing red and he wasn’t sure if it was his heat or the rage surging within him.
Keh-reh-nah was in danger…and he hadn’t been lying. All he wanted to do right now was kill—the urge burned within him now even more than before.
He’d told her to run, but he was sure that’s not what she’d done.
She’d made that high-pitched sound of fear that humans did, right before she’d gone silent.
She had been taken.
“V’Alen.” He spoke through his comms, but there was no answer.
Another growl ripped through him, this one louder than the last.
He was running but he didn’t even know where he was running to, and that made fear play a ballad on his spine.
They must have made a mistake.
Somehow, the Hedgeruds must have survived.
They had hidden in the forest, hidden their biosignature from scans of the planet’s surface, and had ambushed Keh-reh-nah.
This was his fault.
He shouldn’t have allowed her to be alone.
Qef. He shouldn’t have brought her on the mission in the first place. That was painfully clear now, but hindsight was a jekin.
What’s worse, he had no idea which direction they’d taken her.
He’d exited the ship as quickly as his body had allowed him to, the heat surging through his muscles making him faster, more deadly…yet, there had been no trace of her.
It was like she hadn’t been there.
“—jos.”
Ajos stopped dead in his tracks, his gaze scanning the forest.
“Keh-reh-nah?” Hope flared within him.
She was alive but that didn’t lessen the fear now surging or the rage riding the lifeblood in his veins.
If there were Hedgeruds around her, there was a reason they were keeping her alive and he was sure it had something to do with him.
“It is not safe.” He lowered his voice. “How many of them are there with you?”
For a few moments, there was no sound, only the crackling of the comms, and Ajos resumed running, albeit slower, his eyes peeled as he scanned the bushes around him for any sign of life.
“—lone but the roots are —” She cut off. “—a hole I think. I’m not—”
Ajos growled. This wasn’t going to work.
He could hardly understand what she was saying.
She was risking her life trying to communicate with him and he couldn’t qeffing hear her.
It sounded as if she said she was alone but that didn’t make sense.
Unless…
Unless the fighters had taken her and locked her up somewhere.
That might make things easier. He could—he would—take them out before they returned to where they’d hid her.
He glanced down at the orb he was carrying once more and growled again.
Was it the reason the comms were giving trouble?
He stared at the thing for a few seconds and it glowed as if it was aware it was being watched.
It took two seconds to make a decision.
He couldn’t allow another female to die under his watch.
He was responsible for keeping Keh-reh-nah safe, and she was more important than the stupid orb.
He’d just have to leave the device and the Restitution would simply have to send another team to retrieve it.
As he slipped his arms from under the strap of the satchel, his communication device crackled.
“Commander.”
V’Alen.
“Commander,” V’Alen repeated. “I have repaired the comms. I had to fix a component that caused a magnetic disturbance that affected all instruments. The comms are operational now.”
“There is no time.” Ajos didn’t bother with a greeting. “Keh-reh-nah was taken. I have to get to her before the Hedgeruds…”
He couldn’t say it.
“The human…she was taken?” V’Alen asked. “There was no sign of life on the scans.”
“I know, yet, here we are,” Ajos growled. “I will find her.” It was an oath. “Make sure the ship is repaired in short order. We might need a quick escape.”
“Understood.”
Ajos let out a breath as he resettled the satchel over his shoulder and began running again.
His eyes scanned everything as he moved.
He would find her.
He had to.
“Keh-reh-nah, do you read?”
There was no response.
A chill ran down Ajos’ nefre, hardly cooling the heat emanating through him.
“Keh-reh-nah—”
“Ajos—” Keh-reh-nah gasped and Ajos swallowed hard, his life organ felt like it suddenly started beating again.
Never before had he felt so relieved hearing a female’s voice.
“Speak quickly but quietly.” He kept his voice low. “Try not to let them hear you if they are close.” He was still looking around him as he ran, his eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. “How many of them are there with you?”
“Like,” Keh-reh-nah paused, “a lot.”
Qeffing qrak.
He’d been expecting two Hedgerud fighters at most.
“More than I originally thought,” she whispered, and he heard a shuffle as if she moved. “They’re not moving anymore though, so that’s good.”
Ajos almost stumbled. “What do you mean they are not moving?”
“They stopped. As soon as they brought me here.” Another shuffle. “They all stopped then I was released. Only—” she paused and made a sound as if she was struggling.
“Keh-reh-nah?!” Ajos hissed.
“It’s just,” she grunted, “one of them is wrapped around my leg and I can’t seem to get it off.”
She wasn’t making any sense.
“Keh-reh-nah…” He had to press through the strain against his own mind. Not only was this a bad time for his heat to be fighting his sanity, but someone’s life depended on him and he was having such a hard time focusing, dread filled him that he wouldn’t be able enough to save her at all. “Tell me how many fighters are around you. Can you see anything that would give away your location?”
He glanced around as he spoke, blinking to clear his blurred vision.
He wouldn’t say he was the greatest tracker, but it bothered him that there was no trace of her.
No trampled grass, no broken branches, no ripped garments caught in the vegetation…nothing.
Also, the Hedgeruds weren’t the type to play hide and seek. They were a race that thought of themselves as highly competent fighters. It was unlike them to hide.
“Fighters?” He could hear the fear in her voice. “There are no fighters here. I am alone.”
Now, she really wasn’t making any sense.
“Where are the Hedgeruds that took you away?” Another pulse run down his nefre, causing his entire body to quake, and Ajos felt shame at the fact that he was so weak.
He looked to the heavens, knowing the gods were watching him.
They were doing it to him again.
How much more did he need to suffer?
What lesson must he learn?
Surely, there was something he was missing.
He could not let another female die under his care.
He could not…
“You mean the bad guys? There are no bad guys here, Ajos.”
He didn’t understand.
“What?” He had to inhale hard as he stopped for a moment to lean against a tree.
The heat was overwhelming him.
Every muscle in his body felt strained.
Every fiber in his being pulsed with need.
And he knew…
He knew that when he did rescue her, she wouldn’t be safe from him either.
But that was something he’d have to deal with when he got there.
“It’s the roots, Ajos.”
Glancing down at his communicator, he frowned.
Maybe the heat was affecting his grasp on reality as well.
“The roots?”
“The roots.” She took a breath. “They wrapped around me. Pulled me away.” She paused and he could hear her panting a little. “I’m in some kind of hole or cave, I think. I’m not sure.”
The roots.
Ajos looked around him, trying to understand.
“There’s still one hooked around my leg and I’m trying to get it off now.” She panted. “If I can, I’ll try to climb out of here.”
Just as she said that, a fat drop of water landed smack on his face.
Ajos turned his face to the heavens.
Another drop landed on his cheek and a crack of thunder sounded above as the skies grew gray.
“Ajos?” There was a note of fear in her voice. “What’s that? It sounded like…”
Rain.
It was going to rain and Keh-reh-nah was stuck in a hole somewhere.
Pushing himself forward, Ajos took off on a run once more.
“Ajos?” He could hear her breaths. They were coming fast and hard. “I know this isn’t helping, but I’m kind of starting to freak out here.”
“I will find you, Keh-reh-nah.”
He knew this as sure as he knew his own name.
He was Ajos of the bloodline Khattull.
He would find her, if it was the last thing he did.
19
The root wrapped around her leg was hard to dislodge.
Kerena strained against the thing till her fingernails cracked and the tips broke, but she finally managed to pry her leg from its clutches.
Heart beating like it was pumped with drugs, she scrambled even farther away from the nestle in which she’d been a prisoner.
Her gaze moved around the strange place.
There were dark roots everywhere, and it did seem as if she was in a hole.
Why had the plants brought her here?
Standing on shaky legs, she glanced around as she spun in a slow circle.
She could hardly see the sky above and it had gotten darker.
Another crack of thunder echoed in the heavens and the faint sound of heavy rainfall reached her ears, but where she was, the rain didn’t hit her.
Kerena clenched and unclenched her fists.
She had to find a way out.
The roots were long, spilling over the top of the hole and hanging down to where she could reach them. They hadn’t moved since they’d deposited her there.
Staring at them, she exhaled through her mouth. She was no gymnast or rock climber, but she would just have to climb out by hanging on to one—regardless that the last thing she wanted to do was to touch them again.
She could still feel them wrapped around her and the thought made her skin shiver.
Gripping on to one root, Kerena tried to pull herself toward the opening above, only for her to lose her grip and fall back onto her tailbone.
Pain rocketed up her spine and she hissed, squeezing her eyes tight as she breathed through the pain.
But she had to try again.
Still breathing through the pain, she attempted to climb up once more only to slip again. This time, she managed to land on her feet.
The roots were too slippery.
It wouldn’t work.
If she could find a way to increase the friction…
Frantic eyes glanced around the hole.
She didn’t know what she’d expected to see.
There was nothing but more roots there. She couldn't even see the ground.
She could have probably used the dry earth to “chalk” her hands but that wasn’t an option.
Swallowing hard, a shiver went through her.
The plant had brought her here for a reason and she didn’t want to wait around to find out what that was.
It was obviously nothing good.
As she bit her lip and paced a little, she heard
a faint drip of water.
Kerena’s eyes fastened in the direction of the sound.
There, running down one of the roots hanging from the top of the hole, was a thin line of water.
Somehow, that bit of fluid sent a shot of fear straight through her and as she turned in a slow circle, there were more and more little streams running from the roots down into the hole.
Droplets from the leaves of the canopy above started dropping down too, and one fell smack onto the bridge of her nose.
“Shit.”
She needed to do something, and fast.
She could get out of the hole. She was sure of it.
Think, Kerena. Think!
Her eyes were darting around as she worried her lip between her teeth and that’s when her gaze fell on her dress.
There was only one thing she could do.
Slipping the dress over her head, she stood in her underwear and shivered again. It was getting cold. Possibly, the change in atmosphere because of the rain was causing that.
Also, she was wet.
Enough raindrops had fallen on her that her hair was getting damp and the roots beneath her were wet.
“You can do this,” she whispered to herself.
Slipping one hand in the dress, she twined the clothing enough so it didn’t slip off before placing her free hand into the other side and doing the same thing.
She now had a sort of cloth handcuff, but she hoped it provided just enough friction for her to climb out.
Moving toward the hanging root once more, she grasped it and tugged.
Rainwater flashed into her face, but the root felt secure.
Heaving upward, she grasped the root and lifted herself off the ground.
Her hands slipped a little, but she held tight.
The rain was making the roots even more slippery and her core muscles strained and protested as she raised one hand to grasp and pull herself higher.
Her muscles strained as her outstretched hand fought to grasp higher on the root.
Gravity was pulling in the opposite direction and her body obeyed, sliding down the slippery root so quickly, she only got the sense that she was falling—the thought didn’t come till after.
Pain rocketed in her buttocks as she landed hard.
“Fuck!”
She swallowed hard and got up, wrapping her hands again.
A second attempt ended up the same way.
“Goddamnit.”
