by S. E. Smith
Warmth filled her when he winked and grinned. She turned her attention back to the men and their caravan. The men stood up from where they were kneeling on the ground and gazed around them before turning to the man on the horse. He said something to them and they nodded. A few minutes later, they returned to their beasts and resumed their journey.
Ka’ya watched them leave. They would stay where they were for several more minutes before they climbed down. The wolfhounds would return and alert her when it was safe.
Turning around, she sat down and warily gazed at Alexandru. He had heard the men approaching with the same accuracy of the wolfhounds. He had climbed up the rocks with ease, even with his hands tied. He moved with the skill of a hunter – not a merchant. Then, there was the strange way his teeth elongated, their sharpness, and his saliva. The design and sharpness reminded Ka’ya of the wolfhounds, but his saliva and the fact that his teeth transformed were like nothing she had encountered.
A shiver of awareness ran through her when she glanced at his mouth. Her lips tightened and she mentally rebuked herself for losing her focus. Any good hunter knew that if you lost focus, you could easily go from being the predator to the prey. There was something Alexandru either wasn’t telling her or he honestly didn’t remember. One thing she was sure of – he was a dangerous man. Her instincts were never wrong on that.
“The wolfhounds are back,” Alexandru said.
Ka’ya glanced around the rock and saw the alpha slowly emerge from the woods. Nodding to show him that she had heard him, she twisted and she stood up. She glanced each way along the road before carefully climbing down over the boulders back to the road.
“Will we have to do this each time someone comes down the road? It seems like we won’t be traveling very fast if that is the case,” he said, jumping down beside her.
Ka’ya shook her head. “No, we will be leaving the road shortly. While it is the easiest route, it is not the fastest. There are foot trails that cut through the mountain passes. They are not widely used because some can be dangerous,” she explained.
“Dangerous?” Alexandru repeated with a wary expression.
“Yes, but… I will protect you,” she replied. She reached for the rope he was holding in his left hand and turned away. “We’d best get moving. I want to be off the road and over the first mountain before sunset.”
“Why?” Alexandru asked, following her when she started walking.
“There are creatures that live along the cliffs that feed at night. Not even the wolfhounds are stupid enough to stay near the cliffs,” she explained without turning around.
“Creatures…. Wouldn’t it be better to take our chances along the road?” he demanded, following behind her.
“I told you, we do not have the time,” she said with an impatient wave of her hand.
“What is so urgent that you’d be willing to risk your life by cutting along a mountain path with creatures that feed on you?” he asked in irritation.
Ka’ya stopped and turned to look at him. Anguish flashed through her eyes before it was replaced with determination. She took a step closer to him.
“If I do not return to my village before the new moon, my brother will be given to the village Spiritual Leader – an evil man who has already sacrificed three children. I have to secure a way to send my brother and mother to safety – away from Jorge’s reach. I cannot – will not – stand by and watch my brother die,” she stated.
She returned Alexandru’s steady gaze. She blinked when he raised his hands to gently brush a strand of hair back from her face. His gaze softened and a slight frown creased his brow.
“Then, we had best hurry,” he replied.
Indecision pulled at Ka’ya for a moment before she pulled the knife from the sheath at her waist and slipped the blade between the cords of rope tying his wrists together. She grabbed the rope as it fell away, never taking her gaze from his face. He didn’t flinch or look away. Instead, he continued to gaze down at her with an intense look that made her wish they had more time.
“We will move faster if your hands are free. The trail can be challenging at times,” she said in a quiet voice.
6
Climbing up on the trunk of a large tree that had fallen across the path, Alexandru turned and reached a hand down to Ka’ya. He had taken the lead on the last bend. The trail was too narrow for them to trade places at the moment. They had left the road nearly three hours before, but it wasn’t until the last few miles that Alexandru had a deep appreciation for not having his hands bound.
“I… Thank you,” she said, reaching up to grasp his hand.
Alexandru pulled her up onto the trunk with him and smiled down at her. Over the last few hours, he’d had time to think about his situation. When Ka’ya had shared her fear for her brother, another memory hit him. The images had been fleeting, but clear. Once again he saw the face of a young woman – only she had been very young. Her dark brown eyes glowed with laughter and excitement.
“Tory,” he murmured.
The rush of emotion he had felt made him wonder who the woman was and how she was connected to him. His first thought was that she must be his wife, but he’d felt an instinctive denial. Focusing on the brief image, he realized the reason she looked familiar was because she reminded him of himself with her dark brown eyes, dark hair, and olive complexion. He then realized that he remembered what his face looked like.
“Who is Tory?” Ka’ya asked.
Alexandru blinked in surprise, his hands moved to wrap around Ka’ya’s waist when she wobbled on the uneven surface of the felled tree. He released her and jumped down before turning and reaching up to help her down. His lips tightened when she jumped down beside him on the narrow path without waiting.
He turned to look down over the side of the cliff. The shear rock wall fell a hundred feet before it reached the first shelf. Gazing out over the mist-covered valley below, he thought about her question.
“My sister,” he answered in a slow, measured tone. “Tory is my little sister. She isn’t so little any more, though.”
The image of another man swept through his mind when he said that. A grimace escaped him when it was accompanied by a flash of pain. He shook his head when Ka’ya reached out to him in concern.
“You remember where you came from?” she asked.
“No,” he replied. “When you mentioned your brother and how you want to protect him I saw Tory’s face. She was calling my name. I see another man’s face, but I can’t remember who he is. I think – I think we fought.”
“He is the one who left you on the road,” she said.
“I don’t think so. I can’t remember,” he said, lifting his hands and running them through his hair. “Everything is blank again.”
Ka’ya released a long breath. “You remembered a few things at least. The rest will come. Perhaps your mind is just taking a little longer to heal than your flesh,” she suggested.
“Perhaps,” he agreed. “Let’s go. From what I can see, we still have a long way to go before we get off the side of the mountain. By the way, you never told me what comes out to feed at night.”
Ka’ya took the lead again. Each of the three wolfhounds jumped over the trunk of the tree, forcing him to flatten against the side of the rock or risk being knocked off the ledge. He swore the alpha of the small pack snickered at him when he passed.
“They are known as Gondas. They are large, gray-winged beasts with hollow eyes. The males are the same size as my wolfhounds. They are bad, but the females are worse. They are three times as large and extremely vicious. The males are easy to kill. They are not very bright. The females….” Ka’ya shook her head and waved down at the side of the cliff. “They work together to catch their prey.”
“How do you know?” he asked, glancing down at where she waved her hand.
She briefly glanced over her shoulder. “It was a night I will never forget,” she said with a shrug. “We should be clear in another couple of hours as long as
the mist does not rise. We’ll make camp in a cave near the river.”
Alexandru nodded, but he knew she couldn’t see him. Glancing over his shoulder, he caught the wolfhound behind him nervously glancing down. The one in front of him and the alpha were doing the same. He noticed they had also picked up their speed. The nervousness of the three wolfhounds did not bode well for his confidence.
His disquiet continued to grow as the skies grew darker nearly an hour later. Alexandru cursed under his breath when he saw Ka’ya start to slip again when some loose gravel on the path slid under her feet. She quickly caught herself, but he swore he already had half a head of gray hair just watching her.
That was the tenth time she had almost either gone down or over the side. If she had allowed him go ahead of her, he would have. Instead, he was forced to watch her discover all the loose spots, soft spots, and blocked spots. Hell, he was seeing spots! It didn’t help that they heard creaking and growling emanating from the mists below.
“The Gondas are coming. I need to send the wolfhounds ahead. They will be the first ones the creatures target,” Ka’ya said, turning so the wolfhound behind her could pass her. “Go!”
Alexandru turned as the massive hound behind him passed by him. The wolfhound shouldered his way between Alexandru and the rock wall. The force of the knock sent Alexandru back a step. He glanced over his shoulder, his feet along the edge. His gaze swept up when he heard Ka’ya’s startled gasp and saw her hand reach out to grab him. A second before their fingers touched, the rocks under his feet crumbled and he felt himself falling.
“NO!” Ka’ya cried out in a harsh, tortured voice.
Alexandru glanced around wildly as he fell. Nearly twenty feet below, a small tree grew out of the side of the cliff. There was a narrow shelf off to the side below it. Power flashed through him and he had a vision of his body transforming before it faded.
He reached out and grasped the slender trunk of the tree. Using the momentum of his fall, he swung over to the narrow ledge and landed. His heart raced and he could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins. Resting his head against the uneven surface of the rock, he drew in deep, calming breaths.
The fall took only seconds, but he swore time had slowed down for a brief moment. Ka’ya’s frantic denial still echoed in his ears. Glancing up, he saw her kneeling dangerously close to the edge.
“I’m alright! Get back from the edge,” he shouted up to her.
“Don’t move!” she called from above before disappearing.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he dryly chuckled.
Alexandru glanced over his shoulder at the growing darkness before looking down. He swallowed when he saw that he had fallen in the only spot with a ledge. If he had been just a few inches in either direction, he wouldn’t be breathing at the moment.
He glanced up when he heard the sound of something falling above him. A long, woven vine stopped almost a foot above his head. He saw Ka’ya look over the edge again. Her face was carved into a mask of determination.
“Can you reach it?” she called down.
“Yes, just – stay away from the edge. You are making me nervous,” he responded.
Alexandru gaged the distance and hoped to hell that the vine held. Bending his knees, he jumped. His hands wound around the vine several inches above the end. He hung for a moment to make sure the vine was strong enough before he braced his feet on the rocks and began to climb.
“Hurry, Alexandru!” Ka’ya called down.
Alexandru focused on his climbing, but the sound of wings somewhere nearby was pretty distracting. A sudden pain flashed through his head. He gritted his teeth, refusing to give in to it and concentrated on the cause of it. Images flashed through his mind – strange, yet vaguely familiar creatures – including one of an older man showing him how to….
“Alexandru, climb now!” Ka’ya ordered.
Alexandru didn’t realize he had stopped just a few feet from the top of the cliff. He saw Ka’ya standing near the edge. The protest on his lips died when he saw her bow in her hand with an arrow ready. The sound of wings grew louder below him.
Pushing off the cliff, Alexandru let his instincts take over. The power behind his thrust sent him upward, flying through the air. The second he cleared Ka’ya, she released the arrow she had at the ready.
Alexandru twisted and landed in a crouch before he turned in a circle to face the cliff. Ka’ya was releasing another arrow even as she stepped back from the edge of the cliff. He reached her side and pulled the sword from its scabbard.
“There are too many, we need to get out of here,” he said, listening to the sounds made by hundreds of wings within the mist.
“Follow me,” she said.
Alexandru nodded. He turned to follow her and paused when she stood still. The mist rose more quickly near the lower section of the path. He watched as Ka’ya slowly reached for another arrow and fitted it to the string.
“What is it?” he asked, stepping close to her.
“A female,” she murmured, pulling the string back. “And she isn’t alone.”
7
The mist was rising more quickly than Ka’ya had expected. Normally, it cleared throughout the day, forcing the Gondas to remain in the hidden recesses of the cliffs. The few times she had come through the area, she had been fortunate. Her one encounter with the creatures had come on such a day as this – when the mists rose earlier than normal. The difference between that day and today was that she had been closer to the valley floor.
The Gondas were limited in how low they could fly. The forest was too thick and the cover of the mists never sank to the ground. The creatures needed constant moisture to breathe. If Ka’ya and Alexandru could get below the mists, they would be safe.
“Keep an eye out behind you. They like to distract their prey while another attacks,” she warned, stepping forward. “The only way to kill them is by cutting or piercing the red line that goes down their chest or cutting off their head. The red line marks the main vein to their heart.”
“Got it,” Alexandru tersely replied.
Ka’ya slowly stepped forward. She could feel the warmth of Alexandru’s body against her back. Together, they cautiously moved forward.
The faint sound of rocks falling told Ka’ya that one of the females had landed behind them. She hoped that Alexandru knew how to handle a sword. She had a feeling that if they were going to live, it would be by fighting their way to the bottom.
The first strike did not come from the front or the rear, but from the side. Ka’ya felt the wind from an immature female’s wings as it emerged from the edge of the cliff onto the narrow path. She started to turn, but Alexandru was already swinging his arm outward. The head of the Gonda tilted at an unnatural angle before it and the body of the creature fell back into the abyss. Ka’ya barely had time to process what had happened because a female in front of her attacked at the same time.
Ka’ya waited until she saw the band of red running down the creature’s chest. She released the arrow and fitted another one, turning at the same time as Alexandru swung out to knock the sliding body of the female she had just killed over the edge of the cliff before it could hit them. She released the second arrow when he turned, striking another female that came up from below them.
“How did you cut…?” she started to ask.
“Not now. There is at least a half dozen more approaching from below. We need to get out of here!” he ordered.
Ka’ya turned on her heel, concentrating on the narrow path. She fitted the arrow as she ran. She twisted and released it when a male Gonda swooped down from above. The arrow pierced the red vein and the creature spiraled downward. She caught a brief glance of the body as it was caught by others of its kind and torn apart.
Behind her, she could hear Alexandru’s footsteps. A pocket of warm air up ahead gave Ka’ya a better view of where they were. There was one thick band of mist separating them from the safety of the valley floor.
/> Ka’ya quickly pulled an arrow free from her quiver. It was her last one. She was almost to the mist on the other side of the pocket when she saw the thin vapors swirl as something moved within it. The ground beneath her feet shook and she stumbled to a stop. Her gaze narrowed on the shadowy image beginning to emerge from the thick fog.
“What is that?” Alexandru asked, stopping close enough to her that his lips were near her ear.
“A mature female,” Ka’ya said, unable to keep the slight quiver out of her voice. “She rules the nest.”
“Shit! That is one big bitch,” Alexandru murmured when the shadow began to form into a more solid figure.
“Yes – she is,” Ka’ya answered. “This is my last arrow.”
“Make it count,” he said.
Ka’ya swallowed and nodded her head. Her gaze narrowed on the long, boney skull of the female. Unlike the males who tended to be a deep rich red, the females were plain with their dark gray leathery skin stretched over a skeletal frame that made them look like a walking corpse.
This female was uglier than the younger Gondas. Her head appeared far too large for her body. She walked forward, using the claws at the front joints of her wings. Sharp talons of bone emerged along the curve of her wings, making them look like the serrated edge of a knife. The Gonda’s twin tails snapped like whips, breaking the sound barrier and causing a loud echo to reverberate through the valley.
The ground shook again, this time over and over and the sound of rocks raining down warned Ka’ya that the snap had been a signal to the other creatures. Ka’ya’s eyes glanced at the edge of the cliff when a male lifted his head over the side before climbing up to shield the front of the female. She heard Alexandru’s hiss and knew that they were trapped.
“If I kill her, the others may scatter,” she murmured, keeping her eyes and arrow pointed at the large female.
“Why aren’t they attacking?” Alexandru asked.
“They can only breathe in the mist. We are in a pocket where the warm air is rising. The female is trying to stir the air. Once the pocket is cooled, the mist will engulf us. Even now, it is shrinking,” Ka’ya explained.
