“Has someone attacked the village?”
“My best guess is the prince is using them as a food source, and he isn’t careful about it.”
“Prick,” she muttered.“I’m lucky he hasn’t tried to infiltrate my mind.Hopefully, I’ll stay under the radar.”
“Daenys suspected the Maphra were feeding on the Trolleris.She told me they were a peaceful race who kept to themselves but came to the Elevenoss tribe when they required the use of healers.I believe they trade with them too, but mostly live off the land.”
“You two had quite the chat when I was elsewhere.”
“Grata, Daenys is correct.”Ransom stared into the valley below.
Thirty or more stone cottages perched on a slight rise above an open square where the residents might chat and negotiate over market goods while their kids played.Nearby sat a placid turquoise-blue lake.The water shimmered in the whitelight, and the waterfall that tumbled over the rock wall above the lake produced colorful rainbows.A peaceful place of breathtaking beauty, yet right now, a village full of pain-filled screams and horror.
“I count at least twenty bodies,” Ransom said.
He what?Scarlett dragged her attention off the lake and waterfall to concentrate on the village and its residents.A Trolleris lifted his or her head and released a rippling howl.It echoed through the valley, full of sorrow and anger and terror.
“We will take this prince down,” Scarlett stated in quiet fury.“No one should suffer this much.”
“It’s survival of the fittest,” Ransom said.
“If the prince is an example of the fittest, why does he require us to journey here to unlock the cage his own people made?Why didn’t they manufacture some way of ending their long sleep?”
“I don’t know the answer to that, but you’re right.We might learn more when we arrive at our destination.”
Scarlett eyed the Trolleris people and watched several shamble across the open courtyard.“What will we do?”
“We have to walk through the village to continue our journey.”
“Frying fungus,” Scarlett muttered, shock knifing through her chest and stalling her breath.“They’re feeding on each other.”
A high-pitch scream resounded and bounced from rock wall to rock wall until the pain in it surrounded them and made her want to clap her hands over her ears.
“Did the prince cause the cannibalism, or is it something else?”
Ransom dragged in air and shrugged his pack off his shoulder.He grabbed his pills and swallowed one down with a few gulps of water.Then, he opened his backpack and removed a small blaster.“Have you used one of these before?”
“Take off the safety, point, and shoot.”
“You keep this one.I have another.”He belted a holster around his thigh and pulled out another blaster, checked it, and shoved it home again.“We might need to shoot our way through the village.”
“I have a bad feeling,” Scarlett confessed, anxiety making her stomach lurch and spin.
“You’re not the only one.”Ransom scanned the village common and straightened his shoulders.“Let’s do this.”
Scarlett trailed Ransom down the narrow track leading to the village.The entire time the danger prickling at her nape continued while the screams and cries increased in intensity.She pressed her hand against her churning belly, willing her trepidation to take a back seat.
They used a narrow swing bridge to cross the rushing stream.Not even the roar of the water concealed the anguished howls coming from the village.As they grew closer, the picture became clearer.Someone had infected the larger creatures with a disease or a virus, and they were attacking and eating the smaller, weaker Trolleris.Scarlett choked back a cry of protest when a big being grabbed another smaller one.As the captor chomped on its prize, the captive Trolleris wailed.
A child?
Anger surged through Scarlett.Helplessness.
Ransom signaled her to skirt the square.Scarlett saw the sense in this decision.They couldn’t do much to help.Heck, they understood none of the circumstances and interfering might make the situation worse.
One of the larger Trolleris lifted his shaggy chestnut head.He bore a prominent nose, twice the size of a human’s, and furry ears that jutted out like a pair of handles.His nose twitched, and he lumbered two steps, turning his bulky body in their direction.
His scarlet eyes glittered with malice.
