I should say something to her. Anything. But when I open my mouth, the words are stuck.
Once, when I was young, an older female in the village tried to take me in. She was alone and without children. She lured me in with roasted grain and the warm stones of her hearth fire. I had been lurking around the village for so long, trying to act like a villager. Someone had tossed out a flea-ridden fur robe, and I wore that.
The woman chained me up in her yard. She’d hold food out, close to my hand, but not close enough to grab, and shout at me in the language I did not understand. I had to respond in her language, or she would toss the food into the dirt, too far away to reach. Sometimes, I repeated what she said and she was pleased. Those nights, I got to eat. Other nights—
“Hunter? Are you okay?” Haley wrinkles her forehead. She rubs her chest. My side of the bond is a roiling tempest of raw emotion. I must remember she can feel what I feel.
I grunt and touch her brow, tracing the soft skin until I’ve smoothed down her worry lines. I do not want to cause her distress.
I busy myself with the wine, pouring her a cup and handing it to her. She takes a sip, then screws her face up in a way that’s hilarious and adorable. “Jesus, what is that?” she says. “It tastes like balsamic vinegar! That’s gone stale in a shoe!”
I grunt and pull it away from her. My courtiers say the wine is an acquired taste, and I can’t say I’ve acquired it.
Haley is still grimacing and wiping her mouth. “Is there anything else?”
I shake my head and get to my feet. She likes the drural fruits well enough. I can find some of those for her to drink from. I hold out a hand to stop her from rising to her feet, and point to the blankets.
“Stay here.” She nods. “Got it.”
I head off into the trees.
I’ve just found a drural tree when I hear a cry, and pain spikes through my heart. I whirl. Ahead, the bushes quiver and the tyrlee we rode here on crashes through the thorn bush, tossing her head and squealing, her eyes rolling and flashing white. Her torn lead hangs from her neck. I leap out of her way, letting her rush past. She brings with her a cold, gray scent, tinged with the scent of decay and mildew, mold and old bones. I know this stench well.
Overhead, birds are rising from the trees, squawking and calling, flying fast to escape. Like the tyrlee, they sense death has come to the forest.
A bitter, chalky taste fills my mouth. I tear through a thorn bush to return to Haley faster.
She’s on her feet, motionless, staring at the Slythin which has reared up in a typical attack posture. It’s within striking distance. A cold shard of dread pierces my chest.
The Slythin’s eyes are black. A flakey gray substance coats its scales. It acts as an enamel, hardening the scales to armor. Slythin are generally not easy to kill, and this enamel makes it impossible.
Panic screams through the bond. Haley’s eyes flash as white as the tyrlee’s.
I hold out a hand, signaling her to be quiet. The movement should draw the Slythin’s attention, and for a moment, it does. The cold eyes flick to me, but all too soon they refocus on Haley. I try desperately to connect with the creature but its mind is an impenetrable wall.
I will need a weapon for this. I race forward and rip a young sapling out of the ground, tearing it out at the roots as I rush towards the snake. Vines from the closest cex trees snap out to restrain the Slythin. It writhes, thrashing to get free of the vines. While it’s distracted, I push Haley out of the way and thrust the root end of the sapling in its face. Dirt rains down as I beat it back.
The Slythin rears up, retreating from my clumsy attack. It opens its jaws. Fangs flash over my head. A bead of bright red poison drips from one fang. I leap out of the way and the acid venom drops to sizzle on the ground. It burns through the fallen twigs and leaves, not a fist length from my boot.
I’m used to fighting, to adrenaline coursing through my blood, but this time, it’s different. A gut-churning, cold fear also fills me, threatening to hinder my fighting ability. It’s not fear for myself. Haley is my everything. I would not survive losing her.
So I will protect her no matter what, even if it costs me my life.
FOURTEEN
Haley
Oh my god.Hands over my mouth, I back away, and trip over a cluster of rocks. My stupid tunic rips as I throw myself behind the biggest boulder.
The thing just came out of nowhere. Its coiled body wound silently through the brush until it reached me.
One snap of its jaws, and it could swallow a motorcycle whole.
The scent of mildew fills the air. Saliva pools in my mouth like I’m about to barf. I swallow hard.
The huge gray snake has tiny shriveled wings on its back. If that thing could fly, it would be terrifying. It's already terrifying.
Its head lunges forward again and again, mouth snapping. Hunter is wielding a small tree like a club. The snake bites the weapon and tosses it aside. In a blur of movement, Hunter leaps into the creature’s mouth.
