The pony put its head to one side almost like a dog and considered her in what appeared to Elise to be a very intelligent way. Then, apparently deciding she wasn’t a threat, it trotted forward and delicately took the flower from her open palm. As it munched contentedly, Elise dared to stroke its tiny, arching neck very gently with just her fingertips. The pale blue pony tossed its head and neighed, then appeared to decide it liked her attentions. Turning, it nudged her hand as if asking for more.
Elise was delighted. “You like that, huh, pretty boy?” she said softly. “Would you like another?” Gently, she stroked the pony again and then offered it another flower, which it took with no hesitation at all.
By this time, the other miniature ponies were becoming interested in Elise. They came forward tentatively, sniffing at her blue leather boots and then happily accepting the flowers she picked for them. Soon, she literally had the whole herd of them eating out of her hand.
Later, when she thought about it, Elise was certain this was the most magical—and peaceful—part of her journey away from Earth. She felt like she was seven years old again—completely happy and at peace with herself in a way she hadn’t been in years. There was nothing to interrupt her bliss, nothing but the warm, living hum of the jungle around her, the sweet smell of the pastel flowers, and the tiny herd of shaggy ponies surrounding her and begging for more attention.
She fed and petted them all and had just coaxed the pale blue one to jump up into her lap for a very gentle cuddle when the wind changed. A breeze gusted through the blue-gray leaves around her and suddenly one of the other ponies threw up its head and neighed shrilly—a sound of unmistakable alarm. At once, the entire herd took flight, scrambling madly away as though in mortal fear for their tiny lives. In a second, every last one was gone—all except the pale blue pony. He stayed in Elise’s lap, apparently frozen in terror, though she couldn’t see why.
“What is it, boy?” she asked softly, stroking the tiny, trembling body. “What’s wrong?”
A low, ferocious growl provided her answer.
Feeling like someone had just dumped a bag of ice cubes directly into her stomach, Elise lifted her eyes to look for the source of that terrifying sound. There, across from her and still half hidden by the dense vegetation at the edge of the clearing, was a pair of burning yellow eyes with blue slits for pupils. They looked strangely familiar somehow—or maybe it was just the thing’s shape that seemed to resonate with her. But she couldn’t imagine why. She’d never been to Rageron before—why would any of the animals here seem familiar?
The thing attached to the eyes slunk slowly out of the jungle and stepped delicately into the tiny pink clearing. It looked like a cross between a grizzly bear and a bobcat, with tufted ears and a short, ugly muzzle wrinkled back in a silent snarl to expose long, razor sharp fangs. Suddenly Elise knew where she had seen it before—the head hanging above the kitchen in Merrick’s uncles’ house.
She was looking straight into the face of a very hungry xenox, while holding a trembling billib—its favorite prey—in her lap.
Chapter Twenty
Something isn’t right. The thought came to him after twenty minutes of walking around in circles, trying to pick up the correct trail and Merrick knew at once it was true. He felt it in his gut and then, just a moment later, a wave of unadulterated fear came through the bond, confirming his instinct.
Oh, Goddess—Elise! Why had he left her alone? It was safe on the trail, which was clearly scent marked to warn off any hungry predators. But if she’d even stepped a foot off it…
Turning, he inhaled deeply, orienting himself on her scent. It was as sweet and hot as always, but now there was a new note in it—the tang of pure terror. Merrick took off at a dead run, moving noiselessly through the jungle despite his size, hoping against hope he wouldn’t be too late.
Blue-gray leaves slapped him in the face and the sun beat down mercilessly overhead, but he concentrated only on her scent. Soon a new odor had joined it—a hot, musky stench Merrick would know anywhere. Xenox.
Shit! He ran even faster, somehow managing to get the knife from his boot without tripping. He’d left his blaster with Shuura, since such weapons were forbidden in the jungle. The Ancient Ones perceived them and anyone carrying them as a mortal threat and killed them on contact. Now Merrick wished he’d broken the rules. A blaster would have been good to have when facing a predator of this magnitude. He just hoped he was in time to draw it away from Elise and make himself the main focus of its attack.
Finally he reached them and came to a silent halt, the knife gripped hard in one hand. He could feel rage building in him—a state of altered consciousness that comes over a Kindred warrior when his female is threatened—and fought it off grimly. He needed to be in total control to deal with this situation—not enraged to the point of recklessness. Taking a deep breath, he tried to look at the situation with clear eyes.
There was Elise, huddled in a patch of sugar blossoms, her eyes wide with fright. Merrick could hear her heartbeat, rapid and terrified, and smell her fear in the air. No doubt the xenox crouched directly across from her, getting ready to spring, could smell the same thing.
What Merrick couldn’t figure out was why it was targeting her in the first place. Xenoxes were fierce predators, but were also known to be picky eaters. If there was a patch of sugar blossoms this close, it ought to be sniffing out the inevitable herd of billibs that had to be nearby, not wasting its time with an unknown scent which might or might not provide food to its liking.
Merrick moved a step closer, not wanting to startle the xenox into springing until he could draw it toward himself, and realized Elise was saying something. She was whispering under her breath, but it didn’t look like she was talking to herself. “It’s all right,” he heard her murmur, apparently speaking to something she had cradled protectively in her arms. “I won’t let it have you. It’s okay, little guy, we’re going to be all right…”
A motion between her arms caught his eye, and then Merrick saw what it was she was protecting—a bilib. No wonder the xenox was after her! She was sitting in a patch of sugar blossoms, holding its favorite meal right in her lap—and refusing to let it go.
Crouching low in the blue-gray bushes around the clearing, he tried to get her attention. But her eyes were fixed on the xenox, for which Merrick didn’t blame her. He didn’t want to startle the huge beast into springing, but if he could just get Elise to look at him, if he could get her to let go of the billib, the xenox would undoubtedly chase its preferred prey and leave her alone.
Damn it, look at me! Fucking look at me! he thought, wishing their artificial bond functioned more like a real one. If he and Elise had actually had a true Kindred soul bond between them, they would have been able to hear each other’s thoughts easily. As it was, their fake bond seemed to act as a one-way street, allowing Merrick to feel her emotions but not transmitting any of his thoughts or feelings to her.
How am I going to get her attention? The sun was hot on the back of his neck and he felt a trickle of sweat cut through the urgot paste. Damn it, he’d forgotten how miserably hot Rageron was. Even though the sun was close to setting, it was still baking him, making it hard to think. If only—suddenly, he had an idea.
Turning his knife blade to the side, he worked with the small patch of sunlight in front of him, which had somehow made its way down through the canopy to reach the jungle floor. He caught it just right and flashed the light briefly at Elise’s frightened brown eyes.
The flash of sunlight gave the desired effect. Elise blinked and looked to see where it was coming from. To his great relief, Merrick finally caught her eyes.
“Merrick,” she mouthed his name, clearly surprised to see him.
“The billib,” he breathed, nodding at the tiny blue animal in her arms. “Let it go. The xenox should follow.”
Elise frowned. There was fear in her lovely brown eyes, but also determination. With a short, swift motion, she shook her
head and cuddled the little billib closer protectively.
Merrick felt a surge of irritation. What in the seven hells was wrong with her? If she’d just let the fucking thing go, the xenox would leave and no one would get hurt. Well, except possibly the billib, but those little guys were natural xenox chow—that was just the law of the jungle.
Catching her eye again, he made a more forceful motion. “Put…it…down!”
“No!” she breathed back, her eyes positively blazing.
He gritted his teeth, the muscles in his jaw clenching. All right, they were going to do this the hard way. But if I get killed for a fucking billib, I’m going to have a few choice words to say to the Goddess when I see her! he told himself.
Turning, he focused on the crouching xenox. It was a large one—he estimated it would be in the neighborhood of ten feet tall when it stood on its hind legs—with a reach twice as long as his own. Taking down an animal this big with just a knife was going to be interesting, but then, Merrick had always loved a challenge. He felt the killing frost fall on him—the chilly calm that dropped over his body like a blanket whenever violence was imminent—and his fangs grew longer to become razor sharp points. Taking a deep breath he raised the knife, gripping it delicately between his thumb and fingertips.
One shot, he thought, focusing on the side of the xenox’s thick neck where he knew large arteries pulsed beneath its coarse blue-black fur. One shot to kill it. And if you miss…if you only piss it off instead of mortally wounding it…
He didn’t let himself think about that. Centering himself, he drew back and let the knife fly. The black handle and silver blade flashed end over end but this time the sunlight betrayed him. A flicker of silvery blue glanced off the flying blade and shone in the xenox’s yellow eyes. At the last moment it turned its head and took a step toward Merrick.
The knife hit and stuck to the hilt—but in the beast’s thick shoulder, not its neck. Merrick knew at once it wasn’t a killing blow. And then the xenox bellowed in agony and hurled its huge bulk toward him, forgetting all about its prey as it determined to kill the source of its sudden, agonizing pain.
Merrick stood his ground. He felt no fear—only a fierce kind of joy and the knowledge that the killing was about to begin. The only question was, who would be left standing when it was over? Him? Or the xenox?
* * * * *
Elise shrieked in horror as the massive beast launched itself at Merrick, but neither he nor the xenox seemed to notice her cry. The billib in her arms neighed in terror and pressed its head between her breasts, as though seeking shelter. Elise tightened her arms around it and watched numbly as the two huge forms collided in a tangle of limbs and fur.
They rolled over and over on the forest floor, the xenox snapping and biting, and Merrick barely avoiding the slavering jaws. Elise watched, her heart pounding, as they came closer and closer to where she was crouching. If she didn’t move soon she might be flattened, but somehow she couldn’t so much as twitch. She was frozen to the spot, unable to do anything but watch as Merrick wrestled with the huge beast.
But as she watched, Elise felt her heart sinking. The Kindred warrior was big, but the xenox was truly enormous. Though Merrick tried to avoid it, somehow it had gotten its long, furry arms wrapped around him and was squeezing him, pulling him ever closer to those horrible fangs. Like a grizzly bear pulling him in for a killing hug, she thought numbly.
However, Merrick had fangs of his own, and they were fully extended now. It looked like he was trying to bite the creature’s neck without letting it get too close to his own. But with the razor sharp jaws snapping just inches from his face, he didn’t have much of a chance.
Suddenly the pair of them rolled directly in front of her, barely six inches from her feet and Elise gave out a little scream. Besides the sounds of snapping branches, the two fought in silence except for a low growling sound she’d assumed was coming from the xenox. Now, however, she realized that Merrick was making the sound. His mismatched eyes were narrowed with concentration but she could see that the pupils had somehow turned red instead of black. He was obviously locked in some state of killing frenzy. Watching him, Elise understood that he really would fight to the death and if he died, it would be…
My fault. All my fault!
Finally her paralysis broke. She had to find a way to help him—but how? Then her eye caught on something poking out of the tangle of blackish fur. The knife handle! Elise realized. Her heart began to beat again. Can I? Should I? She eyed the handle intently.
The huge beast seemed to have completely forgotten that she was there—all its attention was centered on Merrick as it snapped at his face. He’d gotten his hands up and was pushing on its lower jaw, trying to force it away but the xenox had him pinned to the ground and was coming closer and closer to ripping into the vulnerable flesh of his neck. If she was going to do something, now was the time to do it.
Summoning all her courage, Elise lifted the frightened billib in one hand and put it as far behind her, back into the underbrush, as she could reach. Then, before she could lose her nerve, she jumped up, darted forward, and grabbed the black leather handle of the knife.
The leather was slick with blood and the blade had penetrated deep, but it wasn’t stuck in the bone. With a hard yank, Elise jerked it free and raised it over her head.
The xenox, still intent on killing Merrick, barely seemed to notice. But the big Kindred’s blazing eyes found hers at once and he shook his head.
“No, Elise—don’t risk it!”
Elise didn’t listen. Taking a firm grip on the knife with both hands, she raised it above her head and brought it down in a slicing arc, targeting the vulnerable side of the creature’s neck.
Later, she thought it must have been a lucky blow. The xenox had incredibly tough hide and thick fur—there was no way someone of her size and strength should have been able to hurt it or pierce its flesh. But either panic had given her strength or someone, somewhere was lending her extra power because the knife sliced through the xenox’s throat and the next thing she knew, Elise was being sprayed with its thick, dark blue blood.
She opened her lips to scream and her mouth filled with the salty, disgusting stuff, choking her, cutting off her air. She coughed and spat, trying to get rid of the gamey, bloody taste, her voice gone for the moment.
The xenox seemed to go crazy with pain. It threw back its injured head and howled, then snapped at its own neck, as though trying to bite the source of its agony. It writhed against Merrick, crushing him into the ground, its jaws grinding and claws slashing the ground.
“Elise! Elise!”
With a start, Elise became aware that Merrick was shouting her name and pointing at something. Finally she realized he was gesturing for the knife. Somehow she managed to stagger forward and get it into his big hand.
Merrick gripped the knife, his face contorted with rage. Without hesitation, he plunged the silver blade to the hilt in the xenox’s narrow yellow eye. It gave a final scream of pure anguish and then collapsed on top of him, the light going out of its other eye as well.
At last Elise found her voice. “Merrick!” she gasped, dropping to her knees beside him. The xenox on top of him was silent and still except for a few twitches she hoped were death throes. Then she realized the twitching was Merrick's doing—he was pushing up from underneath, trying to get the massive carcass off of himself.
Gasping with the effort, she put her shoulder to the greasy blue-black fur and shoved, trying to help, although the xenox was so huge she felt like an ant trying to move a boulder. At last, with both of them heaving, it rolled up far enough for Merrick to scramble out from under.
He got to his feet, breathing hard, and Elise ran to him without hesitation. “Are you all right? Are you hurt? Are you bleeding?” She didn’t give him a chance to answer but began running her hands over his arms and legs and torso, searching for wounds. It was hard to tell because of the urgot paste and all the xenox blood, but she
thought he was in one piece…
Oh thank God…thank God! Relief rushed through her in a sweet flood. He’s all right. He’s going to be okay! She stepped back, taking him in, trying to make herself believe it was true.
Suddenly the whole scene hit her at once. The lovely pristine clearing was ruined—the bell-like flowers were trampled and the cotton-candy pink grass was stained with gore. The billibs were scattered and the dead xenox lay in a messy heap of blood and fur, a snarl forever frozen on its lifeless jaws. And Merrick just stood there. Merrick who should by all rights be dead after what he’d just been through.
I almost lost him, she thought. Almost lost him forever. I’ve been such an idiot—such a fool! Telling myself I only cared because of our stupid artificial bond and that I’d be able to turn off the way I felt once the bond was dissolved. I have to tell him how I feel…that I really do love him…
She opened her mouth to speak but Merrick beat her to it. “I’m all right,” he said and winced. “Well, I might have a few bruised ribs but other than that and a few scratches, I’m fine.” He frowned. “But I shouldn’t be. And neither should you.”
“I’m sorry—” Elise began but he didn’t let her finish.
“Do you hear what I’m saying, Elise? That thing could have killed you! What the hell were you doing off the path and playing with Goddess-damned billibs? That’s like hanging a fucking ‘eat me’ sign around your neck!”
Looking at his blazing eyes, Elise realized he wasn’t just angry or upset—Merrick was furious with her. The words of love died on her lips and a wave of defensiveness washed over her. “How am I supposed to stay on a path I can’t even see—or smell—or whatever it is you do?” she demanded. “And how could I possibly know that thing would be attracted to those cute little ponies?”
“Cute little what?”
“Ponies, all right? The billibs—they look just like a toy I had a child. They seemed so completely harmless—so adorable.”
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