“How long have you been with this herd?” Shea asked.
Eva continued patting the mare even as she threw a glance at Shea. “Not long. A few months at most.”
“We don’t normally accept women as tribute,” Braden said, thoughtful eyes on Eva.
Eva’s smile was humorless. “I wasn’t tribute.”
“Someone claimed you as a telroi?” Trenton asked.
She shook her head. “My village cast me out. One of the warbands found me and offered to take me with them. I didn’t see much of a choice.”
“Brave,” Fiona said, a bit of respect on her face. “Not many women would be so accepting.”
Eva’s smile was gentle as she looked up at the mare. “Their horses made the risk worth it.”
The mare let out a loud snort as its ears laid back and its tail swished aggressively. It lifted its head and pawed the ground.
Eva stepped back, her gaze going to the forest around them as the mare alerted them to the danger. The others with them immediately went on alert, weapons coming out as they eyed their surroundings.
The forest was quiet—the trees looming like silent watchers.
The mare lifted half up and then came back to the ground, stomping as she released a scream of challenge.
Charles took several unsteady steps back, fear showing on his face. Clark had already drawn the bow and arrow he’d brought.
A large form, about the size of a dog, appeared in the grass not far from them. Its yellow eyes focused on Shea and her group. It was a bandisox, smaller than the tracks had indicated, but bigger than any she’d seen before.
The mare used her shoulder to herd Eva away from the bandisox.
“Don’t shoot.” Shea’s voice was eerily calm.
“Kill it,” Charles said, his voice tight.
“No, not yet. Look in the trees above it,” Shea said.
Above them, massed on the branches like crows, were a swarm of bandisox. The grass rustled on both sides of their group.
“I was wrong. The colony is much bigger than I thought.” Shea’s voice was grim. It had probably grown in the weeks that it had taken for Eva to get someone to listen to her.
Two bandisox, ones that dwarfed those in the trees, slunk closer. A high-pitched chittering escaped them as they broke off to circle Shea and the others. The mare whirled as one of the bandisox came close, rising onto her hind legs and trying to stomp the rodent under her hooves. The bandisox darted out of the way, letting out a high screech of its own. Another sought to take advantage of the mare’s distraction, sailing across the grass to attack the hindquarters.
Eva let out a war cry and hit it with a rock she grabbed from the ground. There was a pained grunt as the bandisox landed before turning on Eva. It didn’t make it far before the mare gave a rear kick, sending it sailing back into the grass.
This seemed to be a signal for the rest. They surged forward.
The Trateri next to Shea let out bloodcurdling cries as they met the surge with naked blades and a fearsome ferocity. The next few minutes were a tangle of images as the Trateri fought off the bandisox, the mare at their side.
Shea wielded her blade against several as they converged on her. She suffered several bites as she stabbed and swung. One landed on her shoulder, its small teeth sinking into her back, before Trenton knocked it off her.
A mad light flared in his eyes before he turned to attack the next bandisox with a battle cry.
It wasn’t long before they had killed all those that attacked them. Shea panted as she watched her surroundings, bandisox dead all around them.
“I think that’s the last,” Fiona said, coming to stand beside Shea. She clapped Shea on the shoulder. “Glad we tagged along with you. This was fun. We should do it again sometime.”
Shea eyed the other woman with an expression close to disbelief. Fun. Right. Their definitions differed wildly.
“Your throwaway did a pretty good job herself,” Fiona said, gesturing with her chin to where Eva stood, exhausted, the mare dropping her chin onto Eva’s shoulder. “Better than some of us, anyway.”
