by Anna Hackett
Nothing.
She swallowed. Right. So a really, really long way down. She pulled back a step, and dusted her clothes off. Then she looked up at her warrior. “We need to go down there.”
His face went a little scary. “Impossible.”
Colm shifted. “This cave could drop all the way through the core of the mountain. We can’t climb down that far.”
“Damn.” Aurina ran a hand through her hair and stared at the dark, yawning mouth.
Suddenly, a distant, deep roar reverberated up from the depths of the cave.
In an instant, the warriors shot to their feet, all drawing their swords.
Aurina’s gut tightened.
“Another good reason not to go down there,” Darroch muttered wryly.
Aurina shook her head. “So what’s next? We give up?” All this had started as a way to get her e-beacon back. But the more she got to know Kavon, the more she realized he’d give it back to her in time. He was honorable to the core. He wouldn’t keep her trapped here against her will.
But she knew how much the sword meant to him. That he was doing this in memory of his father. Now she wanted to find it for another reason. For Kavon.
“We can’t give up.” She spun to face Kavon. “There is something here, I’m sure of it.”
Kavon’s hands flexed on his sword. “We need to mount up and leave. We cannot be on the mountain when darkness falls.”
Disappointment swamped her. She watched his warriors nod and head back toward the hargon beasts.
Kavon was still looking at her. “We will investigate other options.”
“You know this is our best one. We can’t leave.”
“Even if I were to entertain the foolish idea of climbing down inside the mountain, we do not have the provisions with us to do it now.”
Aurina opened her mouth to answer, but before she said anything, Kavon tensed and lifted his sword.
Her heart stopped. With a hard look on his face, and his weapon raised above her, he was a formidable sight, and for a microsecond, she thought she was his target. Then she realized he was looking past her.
What the hell was—?
An enormous, guttural roar blasted out from behind her.
Her blood ran cold. Slowly, she swiveled.
Her lungs constricted and she couldn’t breathe. She’d never seen anything like it.
A giant beast was pulling itself over the rim of the cave’s hole. It was the size of her scoutship, and walked on four legs. Its hide was a tough, slimy black, and its back was misshapen, like it was stuffed with rocks. A huge head was dominated by a giant mouth filled with sharp teeth, and four red eyes sat in a row above it.
Those red eyes settled on Aurina and it let out another enraged roar.
Chapter Nine
Kavon knew instantly what the beast was.
A dark monster of myth and legend—a naga.
It was a nightmare that Markarian mothers threatened their children with. A creature with the strength of a hundred warriors and a hunger for flesh.
But the way its attention centered on Aurina, it appeared that today it hungered for female flesh.
“Aurina, back toward me. Slowly.”
She nodded but never took her gaze off the creature. She pulled her laser stunner out, and aimed it.
The creature took a step forward, the ground shaking with it.
Behind him, Kavon heard Colm, Darroch, and Viken running back to them. But four warriors and a woman could hardly hope to take down a naga unscathed.
Get Aurina to safety. The words beat at Kavon, and his nanami responded. He felt a flood of energy into his system. His woman would not die on this mountain. Not while he was still breathing.
Suddenly, bright-orange fire whizzed through the air. Aurina held her weapon with both hands, her aim steady.
The monster roared. It lifted its front feet and slammed them down. The ground shook.
Dammit, she was just making it angry. Kavon grabbed her and pulled her back behind him.
Colm reached them, and Kavon shoved her at his best friend. “Whatever happens, protect her. If I fall, get her off this mountain.”
Aurina’s mouth dropped open, and Kavon drank in one last look at her, then turned and ran toward the beast.
The naga took a few steps forward, the ground shaking again. Kavon lifted Tanir, and when he reached the creature, he darted in close and ran the sword along its hide.
It roared again, and Kavon dodged a swipe of its huge claw. He pressed his boots into its side, and jumped upward. His nanami helped him leap into the air, and he landed on its lumpy back.
The creature bucked, but Kavon kept his balance. The naga’s skin was rough and scaly. He raised Tanir, tightened his grip, and started slicing.
His sharp blade barely penetrated the tough skin. A few cuts here and there opened up, a dark-black slime oozing out. The naga snarled and shook, trying to dislodge him.
Kavon rode it out, until a large, violent heave tossed him off.
He hit the rocky ground, rolled, and was back on his feet in an instant.
He turned…just in time to see Viken attack the beast. The warrior was hacking at the naga with his war axe, but a second later, the creature swiped out with a giant claw, clipping Viken in the side.
The warrior flew through the air and slammed into the rocky ground. He tried to get back up, but collapsed.
Kavon’s jaw tightened. He marched forward.
Orange fire flew again, this time targeting the creature’s face. The naga shook its head, showing a flash of its giant fangs.
Aurina wasn’t giving up. Kavon’s jaw tightened. Of course, she wouldn’t.
Kavon yelled. “Evil beast, this way.”
The naga swung its head, its line of red eyes landing on him. He moved away from Aurina and the others, waving his arm in the air.
“Come on, you brute.”
It moved in Kavon’s direction. Far faster than he’d anticipated. Its steps hammered into the ground, and then it lifted its head and let out a huge roar.
Kavon caught the stench of death on its breath.
He also watched as slime oozed from some of its wounds, dripping onto the ground. It sizzled as it ate into the rock.
The naga lunged at Kavon. He leaped back, lifting his sword again, and analyzing how to best bring the beast down.
Suddenly, a body barreled in between him and the animal. Aurina fired her laser, her face set.
Kavon’s heart knocked against his ribs. It was damn hard to protect a woman when she was fearless and kept running into danger.
As the naga rounded on her, Kavon knew he had to make his move. Now.
Kavon sprinted forward using all his speed.
He ran right between the naga’s front legs and under its belly. He slid feet first across the rocky ground. Here, the creature’s underbelly was a lighter gray color, and as he’d hoped, looked far softer than the tough hide on its back. He lifted his sword, rammed it in.
This time, the noise the beast made was deafening. It reared up and Kavon had a clear view of a shocked Aurina.
“Run,” he bellowed.
Then Colm was there, dragging her back.
As slime broke out of the naga, Kavon sprinted away. It let out another awful roar and Kavon turned…just in time to watch the beast fall, slamming into the ground.
Kavon lowered his sword and released a breath.
But then he saw the belly of the creature was still moving. Writhing. He frowned.
Smaller naga beasts suddenly burst free of the larger creature, loping toward him like Drog’s hunting dogs.
Kavon swung his sword, taking down the lead creatures. Darroch appeared, attacking the next wave. Another swing of Tanir and two more lay dead in the dirt. Damn. There were more of them. They were fast and vicious. He took down another two.
The last one leaped into the air and slammed into his chest.
He flew backward, losing his grip on his sword. It tu
mbled from his hand.
The creature went for his neck, clamping its teeth into his skin. By the Warrior’s fist. Kavon fell backward and slammed into the ground.
The mini-naga made a growling noise, tearing at him. Blood sprayed in front of Kavon. He heard Aurina scream.
He slid his hand down and yanked out his knife. He jammed it into the animal’s side. It let go of him and gave a small roar. Kavon kept hacking at it until his hand was slick with the creature’s black blood. He couldn’t feel anything burning, so he guessed it didn’t have the same ooze as the mother creature had been filled with.
Thank the Warrior for small mercies.
But as Kavon pushed the dying creature off him, he felt his strength draining away. His nanami felt sluggish, attempting to heal him, but the damage was too great. He dropped back, his strength gone, and looked up, his vision blurring.
There was no fight left. He pulled in a breath and it felt very hard to do.
Aurina was safe now. That was all that mattered.
He closed his eyes.
***
No, no, no.
Aurina ran toward Kavon. There was one small beast left, sniffing around. She shot it as she ran past and it flopped into the dirt.
She was vaguely aware of Colm and Darroch checking the status of the beasts sprawled on the ground. She skidded to her knees beside Kavon’s prone form.
She suddenly realized that until this moment, she had never seen him still. He was always full of life, radiating power, energy and raw command.
Her gut clenched. There was so much blood. She fumbled at her belt and yanked off a cloth from what passed as a med kit on this world. She pressed the fabric against the horrible wound at his throat. She bit her lip and cupped his face with her hand. God, his throat was half torn out.
“Kavon?”
He tried to talk, making a choking sound.
“Shh. We’ll take care of you.” She stroked his cheek. “I’ll take care of you. I haven’t put up with all your bossiness to lose you now.”
His amber gaze stayed locked on hers.
The others arrived. Colm took one look and cursed. “Out of the way.” He gently nudged Aurina aside and a second later lifted Kavon into his arms.
Aurina trotted along beside him. “His nanami will heal him, right?”
“They can heal,” Colm said, his voice dark. “But this…they cannot steal you from the arms of the great Warrior.”
Her chest was so tight she could barely breathe. “He’s not going to die.”
Colm reached his hargon beast. He handed Kavon to Darroch, mounted and then the warrior handed the injured man up.
Colm stared down at Aurina. “We must get him to the healers. It is his only chance.”
With a harsh sound to his hargon beast, Colm set off with Kavon.
“Come, Aurina,” Darroch said, gesturing toward his beast. Nearby, a dazed-looking Viken had already mounted his hargon.
She nodded, and soon they were heading down the mountain. Kavon’s Tarm trotted along behind them, agitated.
It was a silent, tense ride.
God, if only she had her medscope, she could heal Kavon instantly. Aurina rubbed at her cheeks, surprised to find them wet with tears. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d cried. She’d vowed at her mother’s grave she would never shed a tear again, would only ever enjoy life.
The journey seemed endless. She stared at Colm’s beast, a fair distance ahead of them. She really wished she was with Kavon, so she could touch him, hold him.
The sun was close to setting, long shadows casting strange, dark patches across the Wilds when she finally saw the landscape start to change—the rough ground evened out, the ragged rocks disappeared, and grass appeared.
She searched ahead, and her pulse beat hard at her temples. Thank the stars. She could see the lights of Kavon’s home not far away.
As Colm’s beast passed through the gates, Aurina heard a horn sound. A long, mournful sound that echoed out over Kavon’s land.
By the time Darroch pulled the hargon to a stop, she saw Colm and another warrior carrying a very still Kavon into the house. A crowd of people milled around, their faces filled with shock and horror. Some women were weeping.
Aurina’s stomach went hard as rock. He couldn’t be dead. No! She slid off the beast, ignoring Darroch’s shout. She shoved through the crowd.
“Badly mauled—”
“Won’t survive the night—”
“What will we do?” A wail.
Aurina swallowed. He was still alive. She broke free of the crowd and headed up the stairs, two at a time.
There were two burly warriors at the door to Kavon’s rooms, and a trio of people in flowing white robes about to head inside.
“I need to see him,” she said.
The warriors straightened, blocking the door. Their faces were blank.
One of the robed figures turned. It was a middle-aged man with dark hair and dark brown eyes. “I’m sorry. The healing has begun and there can be no interruptions.”
“Please…please, I need to see him.”
The man radiated a calm that Aurina would never find, especially not now. “It isn’t possible.” The man turned, and with the two other healers, strode into Kavon’s room.
The door shut with a final-sounding click, and Aurina just stared at it. A chanting started up inside, and she closed her eyes. They were going to chant? He’d be lucky to live through the night.
Unable to leave, she started pacing in the corridor. The warriors watched her but didn’t say anything.
Some time later, the door opened, and an exhausted-looking Colm exited.
Aurina rushed up. “How is he?”
Colm shook his head. A healer exited behind Colm. The man’s robes were streaked with blood.
“Please?” Aurina gripped Colm’s arm. “Is he okay?”
“It is in the Great Warrior’s hands.”
A muscle ticked in her jaw. “You’re doing more than just chanting, right?”
The healer’s face remained calm. “The chanting can help direct the nanami.”
Aurina swallowed. Maybe the chanting could help, after all.
“We have done what we can for his wound,” the man continued. “The warlord is a strong man in his prime.”
She looked at Colm. “I need to see him.”
Colm sighed and ran a hand though his hair. “He’s unconscious, Aurina.”
“And it is not our custom,” the healer added. “A warlord does not want anyone to see him…like this.”
“Listen. I’ve been nice up until now.” Aurina’s patience was running out. “I want to see him. Dammit, it’s my fault he’s injured! He was protecting me. I can help him. Please, let me in.” She strode toward the door, ignoring the looming warriors.
Arms wrapped around her and lifted her off her feet. She kicked out, suddenly so tired and heartsick she could barely think straight. “Let me go! Let me see him.”
“He hears you.” Colm’s deep voice in her ear. “It’ll upset him and give him more pain.”
She pressed her lips together but kept struggling.
“Let him have some peace,” Colm added.
Finally, she went still, hanging in Colm’s arms. They didn’t expect him to live. They were all just waiting for him to die. Silence echoed in the hall.
Colm set her on her feet. “Come, I’ll find you a room. There is nothing any of us can do now. We’ll see how he is in the morning.”
But she heard what he was really saying. They’d see if he was alive in the morning.
Aurina didn’t pay much attention, as Colm called for the head of Kavon’s house. An older woman Aurina had seen in the great hall bustled around, and soon Aurina was shown into a smaller bedroom down the hall.
She sank onto the bed—a far smaller version of Kavon’s—and put her head in her hands. How had he become so important in such a short time? Most of the time he set her blood boiling with his orders.
God, she’d been fighting the pull she’d felt toward him all this time.
Now, she might never get the chance to hold him, touch him, and tell him she cared.
Damn, if only she had her medscope. She could heal him with one simple beam of light.
But her medscope was either pulverized, in Drog’s hands or…she stilled. Or wherever Kavon was keeping the pieces he’d found from her ship.
She jumped up and wrenched open the door. Colm was still in the corridor, talking with the warriors guarding Kavon’s door.
“Colm!” She hurried up to him. Lines of strain were etched on his face. “I need to see the remains of my ship you scavenged.”
“Kavon forbade it.”
“That hardly matters now!”
“They are in a locked room above, but he said there’s a device that would enable you to leave.”
“He’s dying. What does he care if I leave or not?” She dragged in a deep breath. “I won’t touch it. All I need is a metal cylinder, about the size of your light wands. It can heal his injuries.”
Colm frowned. “Impossible.”
God, these warriors were all cut from the same sheet of metal. “Warrior—”
“No.” Colm shook his head. “I will not disobey him. If he wakes, by the Great Warrior’s favor, and finds you gone, I would not like to see his wrath.”
Damn. She swallowed the lump in her throat. “But he’s not going to wake, is he?”
A muscle ticked in Colm’s strong jaw. “It is still no, Aurina.”
Damn stubborn barbarians. She turned and stomped back to her room. She slammed the door, taking a tiny bit of satisfaction from the resulting bang.
She paced for a little while, then stopped. Screw it. She’d get the damn medscope herself.
Aurina knew the things from her ship were being kept in a room a floor above her. So how to get in?
She strolled to the balcony, pondering. The same gauzy, white curtains covered the doorway, flirting with the breeze. The balcony was much smaller than Kavon’s, with just enough room for two people to stand.
She looked up.
The balcony wasn’t big, but it was the perfect place for someone to climb off it. Her gaze traced the windows above. She spotted the window at the end, directly above Kavon’s rooms. It didn’t have a balcony.