She puffed up, reminding him of a brave bird facing a gliddern. “I can run. You should save your strength.”
He admired her determination to be a full partner in the situation but there were realities to consider. “I’ve been hunted before, more than once. I’m tough. You, on the other hand, have soft feet unsuitable for this rough terrain and a body that will burn in the sun.” Camron moved closer and extended his hand to her, keeping his eyes on her face. “Trust me, please.”
Gemma swallowed hard. “All right.”
Camron picked her up with little effort and took off to the north at an easy jog. She was soft against his body, her skin a miracle of silk against his callused and scarred hands. He had to work hard to ignore the pressure of her breast touching his chest. Now was not the time for even a hint of arousal. He wondered if part of Parryfilmunn’s plan to make them easier to capture was a hope their naked condition would be a mutual distraction, although what kind of idiot would think about sex—even with a woman as attractive as Gemma—when on the run for his life? After all, though, he thinks I’m no more than an animal, driven by base instincts.
“Where are we going?” Her question was quiet, almost shy.
Camron knew he ought to explain his strategy to her a bit more. She wasn’t used to this kind of situation, but it wasn’t his nature to talk excessively. “I scented water—it’s quite a distance.”
“Won’t he expect us to go there?” Her question was a good one and he appreciated the way she was thinking, not driven by terror.
“Perhaps. I’m hoping to find the place, get what we need and move on.” Camron didn’t want to inflate her hopes too much, in case the things he sought, other than water, weren’t going to be present. This deciding what to share and not to share was wearisome.
Apparently, something in his tone revealed his mood because Gemma said softly, “I’m not questioning your decision—I just want to understand the strategy.”
“Not much to explain yet. Let’s see what we find when we arrive.” Camron ran steadily onward, carrying her weight easily. If he had to carry the other object of the hunt, he was lucky his partner was a woman, not a hulking Badari like himself. Camron grinned. So far he liked the odds. It was hardly a fair situation, trust the Khagrish to stack the deck in their own favor, but the belief he had a fighting chance to save Gemma and himself bolstered his determination.
“Will he really give us three hours to run unmolested or was he lying?”
Camron figured now she was talking to relieve her nerves and tried to gentle his voice in response. “The Khagrish lie all the time but, in this case, I believe him. He wants to be able to boast of how he achieved this kill and to seem as if he gave himself extra challenges.” Camron couldn’t repress a snort at the commander’s self-puffery.
“Can you not refer to us as ‘this kill’, please?” She tried to smile. “I’d like to remain positive.”
Camron glanced at her. “Duly noted. We should save our breath now.”
One hand to her lips, she said, “I’m so sorry. I’ll shut up until we reach the water.”
He ran on in silence and after a while she drowsed, head against his chest, ends of her silky hair tickling him slightly. He was glad she was able to nap ahead of the ordeal which was undoubtedly coming.
Gemma had pulled the lightweight cord linking them into her lap as much as possible, which he appreciated. Having the tether banging into his shins with every step would be annoying and distracting.
Camron varied his pace at intervals, to give himself a chance to rest a bit but, with his energy reserves, this part of the chase wasn’t too taxing. He tried reaching out telepathically, hoping against hope other Badari might be in the region, but got no response. Sanctuary valley was far to the north and the odds of ever seeing it or his pack again were slim. Dismissing the negative thought, Camron reviewed his tentative plans again, testing them against various factors likely to arise. All he could do was prepare mentally and trust in his own abilities.
Important to remember the odds in his favor were not zero. Not if he could figure out how to defeat the Khagrish who hunted them.
After about two hours, Camron arrived at the source of the water. Gemma awoke as soon as he stopped running, startling reflexively in his arms. Everything he’d hoped to find was present, and he set her gently on the soft mud at the edge of the pond. “We have a few specific things to accomplish here,” he said as she stretched and rubbed her shoulders. “And we need to be as fast as we can.”
Hands on her hips, she said, “All right, what do you need me to do?”
He put one hand on the tether bracelet on his wrist. “First I need to cut this cord between us so we can both move more freely.” Raising his gaze to her face, he said, “You do know I wouldn’t abandon you?” His heart beat faster—it was important to him to be sure she trusted his motives.
“I know,” she said in a soft voice, touching his hand briefly. “But can you actually break this?”
“I can’t get the bracelets off but, yes, I can chew through the cord itself.” Camron deployed his fangs, ignoring Gemma’s swiftly smothered gasp, got a grip on the tether roughly in the middle and gnawed through the material. Badari were equipped with diamond hard fangs and claws thanks to the Khagrish genetic meddling and he’d never been more grateful than he was today.
“Freedom.” Gemma executed a dance step from sheer relief as the cord parted. “Thank you. Now what?”
“The mud has special minerals in it which our healer uses for poultices sometimes. For now, I want you to cover yourself in it, ankles up, to reduce the chances of a third degree burn from the sun. You’re already flushed and the sun isn’t even fully above us for the day.” He’d been highly concerned once he assessed the danger to her. So many things to worry about when protecting a human. He didn’t want any harm coming to Gemma.
“When the mud dries, I’ll have my own protective coating?” She grinned as if she found the idea pleasing, to his relief. He didn’t want to spend time persuading her.
“Exactly.” He moved on to his next priorities. “I’m going to work on shoes for you and a weapon or two.”
“If you can accomplish those things, you’re a miracle worker.” As he stepped away to tackle his tasks, she put a hand on his arm lightly. “Don’t you need a mud bath too?”
“Badari skin doesn’t burn in the sun,” he said. Seeing where her gaze went on his body, not covetously the way the Khagrish women stared at him but with an enchanting hint of shyness, a pulse of desire traveled to his cock. Swearing at himself mentally, he firmly clamped down on the way her scrutiny made him feel. Unlike the way the Khagrish ogled his body, Gemma’s quick glance was admiring and definitely something he wished he could act upon. “Even the parts that normally never see the sun in mixed company.” He grinned as she blushed and averted her eyes. “I’ll be fine.”
Wondering what he had in mind to use for shoes or to convert into a weapon, Gemma walked through the mud to the waterline and drank her fill of the cold water first. Then she took handfuls of the squishy grayish mud and daubed it all over herself as she’d been instructed. Keeping an eye on Camron as she carried out her assignment, she saw him wade into the pond and rip out several of the giant lily pads, which he brought to shore, stems and all. Then he went to the edge of a grove of tall, woody-looking grasses and uprooted several lengths. He had to exert an enormous amount of energy to accomplish the task, muscles flexing, which surprised her, as strong as he was, and he slashed through extensive roots to free his choices.
Camron checked on her progress. “Ready for your shoes?” he asked, setting the stalks aside and going to retrieve the lily pads.
“Ready to see what magic you have in mind,” she said, fascinated by his seemingly random actions.
“Sit here and let me work.” Gesturing at a flat rock close to the mud flat, he knelt and sliced through one of the pads with his claws.
“Your armament certainly is hand
“For a certain amount of time after the leaves are harvested, the raw material can be molded,” he said, ignoring her compliment on his talons. “Then the fibers harden. We use them for bowls, canteens and the like. I figured the same technique would work for foot coverings. You can’t hope to escape Parryfilmunn barefoot, and I can’t fight him adequately if I’m carrying you.” Finishing his task, he looped part of the plant’s stem in an intricate pattern over her foot and ankle as a crude form of lacing. “What do you think?”
“I feel like a naked elf having a spa day and wearing a fancy bootie,” she said, grinning at him. “I’m amazed how good it feels on my foot.”
“Good.” He went to work on the other foot. "I need you to take the second lily pad, which I’ll cut in half for you in a minute and try making containers for water. We might not be able to replenish our supply later so easily.”
She was game to tackle whatever he asked of her but nerves were making her jumpy. “What are you going to be doing and, well, shouldn’t we get moving?”
Camron cast a quick glance at the sun. “We’re still within the time limit but, yes, we’re going to move out shortly.”
He sliced the lily pad for her as promised, and Gemma began working with the unusual material, mimicking the way he’d shaped the leaf into a form to fit her foot, but instead trying to replicate a canteen shape. She worked fast, on edge, a prickling along her spine. She was afraid they’d be overtaken and this pond was pretty much out in the open. Satisfied with her two containers, she filled them at the pond’s edge and, when she straightened, Camron was right next to her, holding a crude spear.
She jumped sideways in surprise. “I don’t know how you can move so quietly.”
He was staring past her and now he handed her the spear and waded into the water, going across the narrow body of water to bend and study what looked like scratches on the rock.
“What is it?” she asked, craning to see what had him so fascinated.
“Badari trail signs. The light hit them just right or I’d never have seen them.”
“So your people have been here before?” Gemma peered across the water at the rock one more time but the markings made no sense to her. “Any useful tips in the inscription?”
“Possibly but right now we need to be going.” He pointed at the spear she was clutching. “For you. I’ve done as much as I can in a short time to sharpen the end. As you pointed out before, I have my own weaponry.”
Camron jogged away from the pond, heading north, and Gemma followed him. The leaf booties on her feet were amazing resilient and comfortable, and she blessed his ingenuity. She wished there’d been a way to make even minimal clothing from the plants, but the way the material hardened in the air rendered it unsuitable for garments. Well rested after having been carried for the first part of their journey, she examined the spear while she trotted along, impressed by how lethal the pointed end appeared. “You have amazing wilderness survival skills,” she said. “Of course spears against pulse rifles won’t go well.”
“Parryfilmunn will probably use old fashioned projectile guns,” he said over his shoulder. “He won’t want to ruin his trophies.”
She shuddered but decided not to pursue the topic. There was a huge element of unreality here, running across the plains to escape a mad hunter, dressed only in mud and a pair of leaf boots, carrying a spear and having a giant, naked warrior as her companion. “I’m in a nightmare.”
Gemma thought she’d kept her voice low but Camron stopped and turned to her. “Yes, it is a nightmare, but I’m going to do my best to keep us both alive, goddess willing. Parryfilmunn’s mistake, or one of them, was letting us loose on the planet’s surface, instead of doing a controlled hunt within the force field barriers. If we can get to the hills there, we may be able to elude him entirely.” He pointed at a hazy blue line at the far horizon.
He sipped water from the container she’d made for him and gestured to her to do the same from the one she carried. “We’ll be on the move again shortly. Are you holding up? Need me to carry you?”
“I can keep up for now, thanks.”
As he moved out again, she followed, trying to pace herself. At some point she would need help from him again but pride kept her going. She didn’t want Camron to have anything to complain about—she was determined to do her best in this fight for survival. She hefted the spear and wished she’d had a chance to practice with it.
Camron stopped running so suddenly she nearly ran into him. Free hand on her hip, gasping for breath, she said, “What is it?”
“Shh.” He faced the direction they’d come, listening intently, then swooped her into his arms, ignoring her gasp of surprise, and sprinted to the west. “Hounds,” he said in her ear as he ran.
Balancing the spear in her sweaty hand, she remembered Parryfilmunn had mentioned bringing three of his trackers with him, but she hadn’t made the connection. “I don’t hear anything.”
“Badari have enhanced hearing. Trust me, you don’t want to hear them.” His voice was hard, and his face was set in lines of concentration.
Soon enough, though, she did hear for herself what Camron had detected earlier. The howling was eerie, high pitched and shrill, with a peculiar vibration sending chills down her spine. Like a small prey animal, Gemma wanted to find a burrow, close it behind her, and hide.
Plumes of dust rose on the horizon and she swore under her breath. “The bastard is coming after us in a ground car.”
“Better than a flyer.” Camron scanned the horizon. “If we can reach the rocks, we may have a better chance.”
Now the howling was ear splitting. In the distance coming closer and closer were three large animals, multiple eyes glowing red. Moving fast, the trio were too far away to make out other details, but she had an impression of lethal intent combined with powerful, sleek muscles.
Long before they reached the rocky area, the trackers were upon them. Gemma gasped at the sheer ugliness of Parryfilmunn’s hounds as the beasts ran in formation with Camron. Their pursuers were each about four-foot-high at the shoulders, maybe two hundred pounds or so, muscular, with short brindled fur in black-white-brown.
Virtually tailless but for stubby appendages, the hounds were heavily muscled. Four eyes glared at her from each snarling face and instead of ears the triangular skulls boasted multiple waving stalks of antennae. The snout was relatively short and red drool dripped from the oversize, pointed fangs. Their teeth were triangular and as the animals moved closer to apparently assess their prey, she saw rows of jagged gray teeth lining the creatures’ mouths, each tooth bearing its own set of sharp protrusions.
The largest hound ran in close to Camron, literally nipping at his heels and flanks, as the Badari kept his stride even. The animal ignored her for now, possibly confused by the fact she was being carried. The two smaller animals stayed to the rear, growling and slavering.
“Trying to herd us to the east,” Camron said, never slackening his pace, although he did have to bear to the east in response to the animal’s harassment. “Parryfilmunn must have a killing field set up. He wants us to come to him for the slaughter.”
“What do we do? We can’t tamely run into his trap.” Her heart was beating so hard in her chest she thought she might have a cardiac episode, and she could hardly breathe.
“I’m going to take a stand and kill the alpha. When I stop, get behind me and guard my back.” His order was given in a flat, ask-no-questions tone. Clearly, this was the only option.
Gemma gripped her spear and swallowed hard. “Ready when you are.”
Camron stopped running and set her on the ground so suddenly Gemma was taken by surprise, as were the trackers. Staggering a bit, she slid behind him as the animals, whose momentum had carried them ahead a short way, circled and bounded toward their prey.
The largest hound moved in front of the other two and growled, a deep vibration from the chest, more menacing than anything Gemma had ever heard before. She kept her attention on the other two creatures as they neared her.
Camron roared a challenge and lunged, launching himself at the hound. Making threatening gestures with her spear, Gemma tried to keep the other hounds from joining in the melee as Camron and the beast fought savagely, biting and clawing. She danced from spot to spot fending off the two others, stabbing their sides and haunches with her spear, poking at their eyes and, once, bringing the staff down sharply on the smallest tracker’s nose. The blow sidelined the animal for a precious minute or two, and she was able to inflict deep cuts on the other.
She screamed curses at them as she fought, and the adrenaline rush was amazing. She was transported into a state of efficiency and deadliness beyond anything she’d ever achieved, let alone acted upon.
She could only see quick glimpses of the fight, because her job was to keep the two remaining hounds out of it, but while Camron was taller and probably heavier than the tracker, the animal was cunning and wiry. Camron got a solid grip on the alpha hound’s throat and strangled it, despite the creature’s struggles. Gemma’s stomach heaved but she fought her nausea, buoyed by the rush of combat as she made her own stand against the other two.
Then there was a cut off yelp and, next thing she knew, Camron was standing beside her, roaring a new challenge. The two remaining trackers lowered their heads to him, whining in a metallic keening sound. As he made a threatening gesture, arms spread wide, bloody talons fully deployed, both animals tucked their rudimentary tails and loped off to the east.
Camron knelt on one knee beside her.
Gemma gasped at the deep wounds in his arms and his left thigh. “Lords of Space, how did you survive?”
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