by Ruby Dixon
Sevvah just gives me a curious look and then follows him away. She will not stop me, even though it is clear she has guessed my motives. I do not care. Let the others wonder. It will not matter. I just need a bit of time to convince both Vektal and my Mah-dee that she belongs with me.
I head for Sevvah and Oshen’s cave, but I do not make it further than a few steps before Rokan bumps into me. I snarl a warning, pushing him backward. “Watch where you walk!”
Rokan blinks, and his eyes seem clouded. “Eh?”
“You nearly stepped on my tail, friend.” My irritation turns to concern. “What troubles you?”
He glances around the cavern, and his gaze settles on his mate for a moment, before turning back to me. “My apologies, Hassen. I am…not myself.”
“What is it?”
“Nothing…yet.” His frown deepens and he rubs his neck, casting a worried look at the entrance to the cave. “Is the weather bad?”
I shake my head. “Many clouds and fog but no snow.”
“Fog?”
I shrug. “The air is thick today.” Sometimes it is, sometimes it is not. It is not worth worrying over. I am not like Rokan to fuss over the weather. Hunting must be done, even if the clouds are thick with snow.
Rokan rubs his neck again, then drops his hand. “Nothing seemed unusual to you?”
I frown at him. “I do not understand. Speak plainly.”
A hand touches my shoulder, and Vektal—my chief—appears at our sides. He gives me a nod of greeting. “I would speak with you, Hassen.”
“And I, you.” My snarls to the other hunters will have to wait a short time.
We walk a few steps away, still in the main cavern. I glance over where Rokan is standing, but he is clearly distracted and not paying attention to us. I wish that I had a private cave of my own where I could talk to Vektal, but that is my reason for being here today after all.
I want Mah-dee in my bed. Forever.
Vektal’s expression is stern as he gazes at me. “You brought in a large kill.” His words are mild, and I know he is leading up to his real questions.
“I did,” I say, unashamed. “There are many more mouths to feed now.”
He nods slowly. “Taushen says that you kept to the trails near the cave while the hunters were gone.”
I cannot hide my scowl. Taushen is more observant than I thought. “Many of the caches close to the cave are full, thanks to my efforts.”
“I did not say you were not doing well. I am pleased with your efforts.” But he does not smile, and his expression is not an easy one. “But I would know your reasons for staying so near to the cave.”
“The brutal season will be upon us soon,” I say, plunging forward. I must get to my request before my chief hears more sour words from others. “I want my exile to end.”
“That is not your choice. It is mine.”
“You would not leave me alone through the brutal season!” I am shocked—and heartsick—at the thought. Even one night alone feels endless. I cannot imagine being by myself through the endless, heavy snows of the brutal season, unable to leave my cave. Unable to see anyone.
Unable to stop the others from courting the mate I have chosen…
“I did not say that,” Vektal continues. His voice is low, and he glances over as a distracted Rokan wanders past, touching the cave walls. “That is why I wished to talk to you. So you could explain yourself.”
“There is nothing to explain. I have nothing to hide. I want to return.” My hand curls into a fist, and I clench it over my chest. “I am truly sorry for taking the female Li-lah. I am happy that she and Rokan have resonated, and I no longer wish to claim her as mine.” Even saying it aloud, it feels wrong. The day I stole Li-lah away feels like so long ago, even though it has been less than two full turns of the moons.
I am a different hunter than that grasping, desperate male. I have seen what I have to lose. And I have found someone else…someone endlessly stronger and braver and far more clever. Someone that sees me and comes to me with her worries and her tears. Mah-dee is my family now. She is my mate.
So I continue. “I wish to take the female Mah-dee as my pleasure-mate and take a private cave for ourselves.”
Vektal’s expression grows hard. “Leave the humans alone.”
I shake my head, my teeth gritting with frustration. I can tell that he does not like that idea. His shoulders are stiff and his tail lashes—much like mine is lashing. “I am not forcing her. Mah-dee and I have mated. She wants to be with me.” I say it, and at the same time, I hope desperately that it is true. That Mah-dee would not turn me away if I had a cave to share with her. That she would welcome the chance to be my pleasure-mate. “She carries no hate for me.”
“You stole her sister and tried to force resonance.” Vektal’s nostrils flare. “Because you did not wish to wait for it to happen. You endangered her life. And now you wish to mate with the other sister? Are you mad? Has being in exile made your brains turn to meltwater?”
“She wants to be with me,” I grit out.
“Did you ask her? Or did you just demand it like you did with Li-lah?” His expression is incredulous. “Hassen, your exile is light because the tribe needs all its hunters. But we do not need you harming the females. Do I need to exile you completely? Must we shun you entirely?”
Anger flares in my mind. He will not listen. “It is not the same. Mah-dee is not the same as Li-lah—”
“So you will not steal her?”
“Maybe I should,” I snap. “If you will not give me a cave so I can take her as my mate, maybe I should steal her and go far away for the brutal season!” Even as the words tumble forth, I know they are a mistake. Vektal’s expression grows dark and angry.
I know I have lost. I know he will not listen to me now. Maybe not ever. Mah-dee is slipping from my grip and I am helpless to do anything about it, all because I was an impatient fool who stole away a crying female I did not even like.
“You must leave,” Vektal snarls, gesturing at the cave entrance. “I do not wish to see your face until—”
Nearby, Rokan staggers backward, and he nearly crashes into us. That is the second time in the last few minutes, and I grab his arm to steady him.
He jerks away, and his eyes are wild. His face is bleached of color and he stares past me. “Out of the cave! Everyone out of the cave!”
9
HASSEN
Everyone turns and stares at Rokan, confused.
“Out of the cave!” Rokan roars. He surges forward, stumbling through the center of the cave and heading for his mate. Li-lah has her back to him and is still hand-talking to Shorshie, unaware. As I watch, Rokan scoops her up and races for the entrance.
A second later, Maylak staggers out of her own cave, her kit at her breast. Her hand is at her brow and there is pain in her eyes. “My chief, I am worried—”
Her words are drowned out by a loud pop. Then another. Then it is like an endless stream of pops, and it becomes a roar so loud that I clap my hands over my ears. I can hear one of the humans screaming, but the pressure in my head is so bad I cannot tell who. Then there is a deafening boom, and I can hear nothing but a ringing in my ears. The world has gone silent.
We stare at each other in surprise, shocked. A few others are emerging from their private caves, confused and startled. I see Vektal’s lips moving, but I cannot hear his words. He gestures at me, speaks, and then points at the entrance. Then he races for his mate, who is getting to her feet by the fire, holding a crying kit who makes no sound I can hear.
Does he wish me to get everyone out of the cave, like Rokan said? Rokan with his strange sense? Who knows everything? But what does a loud sound mean—
The ground shakes beneath my feet.
No, it’s not shaking as much as it’s shifting. The entire cave is shifting. I see Vektal reach out to brace Shorshie, Talie held tight in his arms. He shouts something, then gestures at the entrance.
Out of the cave
Something is wrong with the cave. The ground continues to shift under my feet and I look down to see cracks forming in good, solid rock. Impossible. The rock shifts beneath my feet again, and I nearly lose balance. It is not safe to stand. As I look up, the walls of the cave seem to shake around me. A loud rumbling grows through the ringing of my ears and then I see the ceiling buckle. A chunk of rock falls from overhead.
Out of the cave.
It is all happening so fast. There is no time to think.
Mah-dee. She is in here somewhere.
Through the roar of the shaking cavern, I can hear people screaming. Kits are crying. Rocks are tumbling through the air to land at my feet. Nearby, I see a rock slam into Jo-see, knocking her to the ground. Haeden bellows in fear and scoops his mate up, his expression wild-eyed. Vektal throws a blanket over the fire, smothering it, even as the others race for the entrance. The need to escape is overwhelming.
The cave—our home—feels like a trap.
Mah-dee must be found. I stagger forward and a falling rock hits my shoulder. A sharp stab of pain moves through me, but I ignore it, just like I ignore the stone under my feet that is shifting and moving apart, and stumble forward.
Where is she?
I crash into Farli as I head down the back tunnel. She’s sobbing, trying to carry her pet dvisti. Its leg is at an awkward angle and the creature is biting her. She says something to me, her expression devastated and full of fear, and cringes when the entire cave shakes even harder, debris raining from above.
There is no time to think. I cannot leave Farli, but I must get Mah-dee. I must be fast.
I take the dvisti from her, hauling it into one arm and then slinging her over the other, and race for the front of the cave. I dodge boulders that were not there seconds ago and race over fallen rock, while the air fills with dust and the cavern continues to shake. Farli squirms against me, but I ignore her movements. There is no time for her to complain. There is no time.
I make it to the entrance of the main cave and there are a few people gathering in the snow a short distance away, coughing. I set Farli down and then hand over the dvisti. She asks something, but I cannot hear it. My ears are still ringing and painful. “Mah-dee,” I tell her, then bolt back into the caves, because I must find my mate.
I push through the people streaming out of the cave. Mah-dee’s yellow mane is not among them, and so I must keep searching. I head deep inside again, only to find the passageway I pulled Farli from now blocked by a tumble of stones. “Mah-dee!” I shout, but I cannot even hear my own voice.
I push at the rock blocking the passage, but it will not move. I cannot get to Mah-dee’s cave. I snarl in frustration, flinging my body against it even as rocks tumble down around me. I am not leaving this cave without my mate. If she dies here, I will die with her.
A hand touches my arm.
I look over, but it is Hemalo, not Mah-dee. I am disappointed.
He gestures at the rock and indicates he will help me lift it. Good. Even though he is a leather-worker and not a hunter, Hemalo is big and strong, his arms bulging with thick muscle. He can help me move these rocks. I nod at him and move to one side of the boulders. He takes the other side and we succeed in moving the first one, but others roll into place. Rocks rain down around us, and Hemalo gestures again. Hurry, his movements are saying, and there is stark fear on his face.
I know how he feels. My mate is in there, too.
We move faster, grabbing at the next giant rock and managing to roll it down the tunnel. More rocks slam into my back as I work, but I ignore them. Bruises do not matter if my mate is trapped. I will find Mah-dee and free her. I must.
Hemalo heaves his big shoulders. More of the rocks tumble free, burying our feet and covering us with dust. I kick the stones aside, and as I do, I feel the floors shiver again. The entire earth feels as if it is coming apart, and my stomach clenches with unease.
“Mah-dee!” I scream again.
In the midst of the shaking and the rocks falling, I think I hear something. I look up at the top of the pile and see small human fingers wiggling through a tiny gap in the rocks.
Relief rushes through me, and I surge up to the top so I can touch her fingers. She clings to my hand and then a moment later pulls away, and I can see her eyes through the narrow slit. There is blood on her face, and dust, but she is alive. Her fingers pluck at the rocks, trying to remove them. Then she gestures.
Trapped.
I know the hand-speak word. I nod. “I will get you out,” I yell, even though I am not sure she can hear me. “I have you, Mah-dee!”
Hemalo and I double our efforts, and a few moments later, the gap is wide enough for someone to crawl through. I put an arm through, reaching out for Mah-dee. To my surprise, she pushes a bruised Asha forward. Her shoulder is swollen, and she takes my hand so I can pull her through the narrow wedge. I hear her scream with pain when I tug her forward, even though I am gentle, and Hemalo bellows below, anguished over his mate’s distress. It seems to take forever, but then Asha and her long limbs are free, and she falls into Hemalo’s arms.
I do not stop to see if they are all right; she is his now. He will take care of her. Instead, I push my hand back through the rock, reaching for Mah-dee. Her small hand grasps mine, and then she’s wiggling forward, trying to nudge her body through the small hole. I tug on her arms, hauling her forward, but her clothing snags, and I can feel the rocks tearing at her skin. She cries out but taps my arm, indicating I should keep pulling.
So I do. I give one last mighty heave, and her leathers tear in my hands, and she spills into my arms, sending us both tumbling to the ground.
Mah-dee. I cup her face and press quick, fevered kisses to her exposed skin. I do not care that she is bloody and filthy. She is alive and whole. Her hands clutch at mine, and I press her close to me.
The earth gives a mighty shake again, and I feel her stagger. New rocks fling themselves at us, and the cavern groans loudly enough that even my ringing ears can hear the danger. I must get Mah-dee out of here.
Wait, she signals to me.
I shake my head and grab her, carrying her out of the hall. She can tell me more when she is safe. I race out of the collapsing cavern, noting with alarm how much of the perfect circle of the tribal cavern has collapsed on itself. The floor near the bathing pool is a yawning pit, and the chief’s cave is buried entirely behind a massive slab of fallen rock. I can see no signs of Warrek’s small cave that he shares with his father—that end of the cave is destroyed completely. Even as I stare at the destruction, the floor shifts and rises ahead of me, turning into a cliff. I lock my fingers onto the ledge and haul both of us, Mah-dee clinging to my back, out of the cave and forward into the snow.
Outside, there are people everywhere. Kemli strokes Farli’s hair, weeping, and I see humans clinging to their mates. Now that I am outside of the cave, I can hear kits wailing in distress, and more than one mother has her tunic open to nurse her child. Maylak is bent over Jo-see. The tiny human is puking in the snow, her mate stroking her back, her face swollen and bruised. Hemalo has Asha gently laid out in the snow, stroking her limbs and cradling her against his chest.
Someone is screaming. A female. I can hear her, but my ears are painful and I cannot make out what she is saying.
Vektal is nearby, stalking through the small clusters of people, touching each arm. The devastation of the cavern seems to match the strain on his face, as if he takes this all personally. He is our chief, and we are his responsibility. I know how he feels. These are my people. This is my home. To see it destroyed…it tears me apart inside.
And yet, Mah-dee is safe. She is safe, and nothing else matters. I set her gently in the snow and press another kiss to her face. She wraps her arms around my waist, squeezing me tight, and then looks around. My sister, she signs. Where?
I gaze out across the churned, filthy snow. There, in the back of the group, sitting with Liz and Raahosh, are Rokan and Li-lah. I guide Mah-dee over to her, and the sisters embrace, Mah-dee falling into Li-lah’s skinny arms. Rokan has a pinched look on his face, his eyes hollow. He stares at something past me, and then jerks to his feet.
I turn.
One of the human females is stumbling forward. She screams something, and others pull at her arms as she surges toward the cave. She has a brown mane, and I can see a kit strapped to her back, like a pack. One human female carries her kit like that—the one with the food and the smiles for everyone. Stay-see.
Mah-dee waves to get my attention and then signals, I think someone is still in the cave. Tears streak down the mud on her face.
My tribe. My people. I nod at her and head forward, moving to Stay-see’s side. Others are coming forward, pulling at her, trying to get her to sit, to calm down. She screams something again, and I realize it’s her mate’s name. Pashov. Her face is red from yelling, and she plunges forward, only to have Shorshie grab her and hold her back. Stay-see claws at her, desperate.
Pashov is still in the cave. In the tunnel where I found Mah-dee, perhaps. I turn and look at the cave again. The entrance is collapsing. If Stay-see goes in, she and her tiny kit will be crushed. I think of the rocky ledge I pulled myself and Mah-dee over. Stay-see does not have long enough arms. And if Pashov is not out…
Rokan and I both rush forward at the same time. I stop him, gesturing he should go back to his mate. He has a female and a kit on the way. The tribe needs him. I am just the exile.
And I know where Pashov might be.
I hear Mah-dee scream my name, the sound garbled and painful in my ringing ears. I run forward, back into the collapsing cave, heading for the tunnel. All around me, the floors shake and move, and my heart races. There is no sign of anyone. Of anything. Everything we had is gone. I think of the humans huddled in the snow outside, clinging to their mates, and my worry spikes. The humans are fragile and must be kept warm. Just because they are out of the cave does not mean they are safe.
For now, though, I must save Pashov before his mate tries to come in.
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