"Where are we?"
And how did they get here?
Eva pushed herself into a seated position, cautious in case the vertigo came back.
After several seconds of remaining upright, nothing happening, Eva relaxed a little.
Eva had never particularly enjoyed showing her weak side. Less so to creatures as powerful as the Kyren.
At least Jason and the rest hadn't seen her making a spectacle of herself. There'd be no pretending after that.
Have a look and see for yourself.Polaris looked down at the odd shape his legs partially obscured.
Snow still clung to the ground in patches, the higher elevation slowing the summer melt. Against its white, Polaris's reddish coat was vivid.
As were the streaks of scarlet smeared across the ground, tainting the pure scene.
There were signs of a struggle, the ground disturbed in places. Something had died here.
Strangely, the blood wasn't isolated to the area around the carcass. Rather, small patches of it could be seen here and there if one looked closely.
Not just on the ground either. The rocks near them were painted with red streaks that meandered in squiggly lines.
Eva dismounted slowly, one hand on Sebastian as she took in her surroundings.
As gruesome as the scene was, it wasn't unheard of to encounter the carcasses of dead beasts. The Highlands were a place where the strong consumed the weak.
However, she doubted the Kyren would have brought her here if it was so simple. They had a purpose behind this visit. She needed to open her eyes and see what that was.
No pressure or anything. Just needed to impress the picky mythologicals with investigative skills she didn't have.
"Anyone else think it's concerning there is snow everywhere except for a five-foot circle around us?" Eva asked, moving around Polaris for a better glimpse at what he was studying.
She stopped abruptly as she got a good look at the shape resting in the middle of the bare circle.
The carcass of a large beast lay face up, the bones of its ribs blossoming outward like a gruesome flower.
"Red back."
Eva knelt next to the beast. Alive, the red back would have towered over her by nearly half the length of another person when it stood upright on its hind legs. Named for the red patch of fur along its back, the beast was rather reclusive. Content to ignore humans as long as they didn't wander into their territory.
From what Eva had read on the beast board, red backs rarely traveled alone. They were almost always part of a pair.
This one notwithstanding.
There were no signs that another red back was anywhere in the area. As much as Polaris and the chestnut might resist Eva's presence, she didn't think they'd risk their own safety or Sebastian's to get rid of her.
It was enough to conclude the other red back wasn't hiding, waiting for a chance to ambush them.
Eva returned her attention to the body. All four paws were missing. Following a hunch, Eva pulled her knife out of her boot, hooking it into the top of the red back's mouth and lifting it slightly.
As expected, the red back's teeth were missing.
"Humans did this."
Animals couldn't have done this. The cuts were too clean. Nor would scavengers have plucked the teeth from the beast's mouth.
Disgusting.
