My blonde companion was bright enough to slip on boots before the attack at Lucinia. Her skill of bushcraft being highlighted as she led, the hard soles of her boots making nary a sound over the foliage.
Every dozen tree, Eva would hug the trunk and peer around for any unnatural movement. Worry coursed through me when the thought of lacking the skillful eyes to spot anything of danger settled in my mind, but it was just nerves. I dispelled that worry to keep hard, vigilant eyes out for anything that ushered harm.
Some time passed, and aside from some questionable sounds off in the distance, which Eva assured was just wildlife, things were looking fair.
Fatigue was building, however. My legs throbbed, my toes had gone numb despite the mild temperature, and my stomach growled with hunger. Breakfast was my only whole meal, dinner being about ninety-percent wine and three bites of a long forgotten dish. The roaring in my belly worried me to the point that I asked Eva if she could hear it when we hugged a tree once more. She took a moment to listen, then informed my breathing was the loudest thing she could hear.
We continued our light jog, now with me taking measured breaths.
The one plus so far being our clay and mud camouflage. Runa’s accident had left me smelling a little fowl, and the first half of our journey was a tiring one that ended up leaving me smelling ripe. Now, I smelled of earth and grass. The clay had hardened and chipped away as we moved around trees, roots and bushes, filling my nostrils with dust that threatened a sneeze. I didn’t, thankfully.
Eventually, we came to a steep hill chain that continued deep into the forest to our left, and continued to the right until the terrain sloped down into a deep gulch filled with uneven boulders. Eva walked to the base of the hill and stared up the almost vertical face, the whole thing maybe eighty feet.
I was expecting her to MacGyver our way up there with the aid of sticks and vines to produce some sort of climbing rig. But her actual method was extremely simple. She would do a running start up the hill, get as far as she could then anchor herself with her spear and lay flat, where I would do the same and climb up her so I could crawl ahead to become the anchor by using my bokken, and then we would repeat the human ladder thing till reaching the top.
I figured it would be faster if we just crawled side by side up the hill, but I didn’t argue; this was Eva’s world, after all.
Shouldn’t have been too surprising either when I almost slid back down the hill on the second go if not for grabbing Eva’s ankle at the last second. The layer of leaves and loose dirt made it difficult to get a decent grip or foothold. Had I slipped higher up, the tumble down would’ve ended with a broken neck or clocking my head on a rock. The wooden sword served as a crude pick axe to aid me in climbing up my female anchor. When there wasn’t any more leg to grab, I went to seize her belt only to slide as dirt gave under my toes. I wrapped one arm around her hip and ended up pressing my cheek to her… well, cheek.
She looked over her shoulder and stared frigidly. I mouthed “sorry” and pulled myself from her ass. Eva jerked her chin ahead and I climbed the rest of the way to take up anchor. She was sure twist her muddy boot on my head as she ascended.
Ten minutes of slow, languid effort, and I was the first to the top, then pulled Eva the rest of the way.
Eva dropped her spear, crawled out on her knees a few feet until she lay flat on the ground, her back rising and falling while taking in air. Fatigue finally present. She rolled onto her back and shucked away the dried clumps of clay from her hair.
I witnessed Eva getting tossed around twice, fight four corrupted beastkin, and hike through a forest for several hours with the only thing coming out of her was sweat. Never a complaint or grunt, just proof of her effort. Hopefully there’s enough gas in the tank for the rest of the journey.
Taking a seat against a tree, I stared out towards the right, or west if we’re going south, and admired the view of the v-shaped valley. It was clear why Eva would rather go straight up than navigate who knows how long until the hill ended or risk the mess of rocks that floods of yesteryear had relocated.
“The view should remind you to watch your step,” a hushed voice said from my side.
I turned and saw Eva depositing herself next to me. Sweat had caused the clay in her hair to run, giving her cheeks a generous blush of earthenware red.
“There are faults and eroded patches all over; some form rips no wider than a few feet, and others as wide as that over there.” She nodded towards the valley.
“You would know about falling into things,” I teased, my tone also hushed, a light smile on my face.
Eva shook her head and uttered a single chuckle. “Break your ankle in a hole and I’ll be sure to say ‘Told you so’ before I go on my merry way.”
The first beams of the new day shone through the canopy, washing the ground with a mixture of white and diffused green light. A beam sought my seat and bathed my body in gloriously warm light. Direct light may have only added a few degrees, but dammit if it didn’t feel as good as getting in a hot tub in winter.
“You’re not that cruel,” I said as my eyes closed. “You won’t hesitate to bring the smack down on anyone who had it coming, but you go out of your way to do good. I can respect that.” I chuckled a little. “Though, the castration joke was a little much.”
“I wasn’t joking.”
My eyes parted and Eva sat with her forearm propped on her knee, her sharp emerald-eyes dead serious.
“We’ve bounced around a few units, she and I, in our five years in the Arms,” Eva said, her voice barely a whisper yet still commanding my attention. “A couple had purposely put her in harm's way: not watching her back, not handing out warnings, even blatantly ignoring her pleas for help. Something happened similar to the Neepa as it did in your world. Sneak attack while I was caught up in a fight.” The memory caused the bridge of her nose to scrunch up with a deep scowl, then she regained her composure after a sigh. “The son of a bitch was open, but he ignored her to support Iason. Had Iason not dispatched the corrupted beings with a fortunate strike, Neepa would've died. Once we weren’t in peril, I damn near beat him to death, if not for Iason stopping me. But I got what I wanted in the end. Bik Wislow, the sorry excuse of afterbirth, was hung for insubordination. Anyone who hurts Neepa will meet their end through me. Even you.”
We stared at each other for long a spell of silence. Her unwavering visage to my blank mask.
“You really love her, don’t you?”
Eva’s face took on confusion when my immediate reaction wasn’t fear.
“She’s my sister, my only family. I’ll do anything to keep her safe. Even if that means giving someone who wronged her a slow death.”
“Well, that someone won’t be me.” I tapped the tip of the sword on my ankle a few times and took a moment to compose my thoughts, each tap bringing a day from the last couple weeks. “She has been so good to me, Eva. Both of you. If I can help it, I would never do anything that would hurt you two, especially Neepa. Not when she saved my life, not when you saved me from myself, not when you've shared your home, and especially not when you sacked a werewolf and went after me.”
“A were-what?” Her face was confused again.
“Beastkin, whatever. Look, my point is that you two have done too much good for me.” I ran a hand through my hair, then felt agitated when I was reminded of how unkempt it has grown. “Things are so complicated right now, regardless, I’d still never hurt her. Never,” I said, meaning every single word with utmost clarity.
Eva took some time processing what was said, no doubt weighing the earnestness. She took on a subdued expression and stared at me, not with ire or annoyance, but genuine perplexity.
“Al,” she uttered in a tone much lower than our already hushed voices, so low that I almost thought I imagined her saying my name, “what is Neepa to you?”
A knot formed in my throat, rendering me unable to respond immediately. Not that I had a clear answer anyways. The ques
tion that’s been gnawing at me since the first night Neepa and I shared a bed. The very question Koko brought to light, had been thrown back in my face.
Neepa surrendered herself to me after a single act of kindness on my part. It may have only happened due to circumstance: the loss of her family, the upbringing of being shunned by everyone for something she didn’t do, all compounded with the heat of the moment. After some time, when the rose-tinted glasses come off, would she still like me as I am? Do I even deserve to be with her? Can someone who blatantly threw aside an important role even be worthy of being in the presence of one let alone two powerful women? Even while being hunted through the woods like I’m the last fucking unicorn, I’m still reluctant as my role as a Resonant.
Am I even really a man?
Fuck. Why does everything have to be so twisted up?
“I… she…”
A crisp snap silenced us. Our heads snapped towards the origin. With statue-like stillness, we waited to determine if our lives were at stake. The sound of crushing sticks and leaves at the bottom of the hill signaled footsteps. A lot of them.
Eva’s vice-like grip seized my wrist, her face turning towards mine, delivering the clear message of absolute silence. Icy panic had already seized my heart the moment the ambient tranquility of nature was violated; Eva’s grip tethered me to sanity.
Her eyes maintained mine while we waited, her ear cocked towards the shuffling of feet down below. A single low bass note vibrated the air. Eva’s eyes went wide.
“Run.”
Listlessness left my body as adrenaline coursed through my blood, forcing my lungs and muscles into overdrive. Eva and I exploded off the ground like Olympians off starting blocks. We dashed across the uneven forest floor as the sound of the chase kicked off with howls and snarls.
A portion of my conscious awareness split off, almost like an out of body experience, the metaphysical me in awe of what physical me was doing. Somehow I managed to match Eva’s sprint, and the way my feet expertly navigated across the forest floor made it seem like I was raised here, knew the terrain, saw the subtle characteristics.
The numb overtook my entire body, no doubt masking the horrible strain being exerted on everything. Cool air flowed in and out as I propelled myself forward, soft soil giving under my feet, branches slapping and cutting my face.
In my prime, I could run a mile under five minutes. With the blur of greens and browns whipping past, I may have done double that.
Blinding focus took over everything, driving me forward in an impossible rate. Yet, a dusty memory of a particular moments stepped out of the recesses of my mental closet. I was fifteen, the Golden Gloves a month away and I’ve yet to drop from super middleweight to middleweight. Saved my roadwork till noon, when the sun was at its highest, donning a thick grey Adidas hoodie that turned two whole shades darker with the pounds of sweat it sucked up. Cotton lined my mouth, body felt impossibly heavy, and all I only just barely managed to keep my head up to see the few feet of the asphalt road I ran down.
Halfway through my five miles, I wanted to do nothing more than stop, to give up. Heels dragged across the ground while breaths came in wheezing gasps. All manner of dark thoughts coalesced, each providing a good excuse to quit and limp home. And the only thing that kept me moving, that kept me from throwing it in, was a simple mantra: Heart’s still beating.
If my heart’s beating, I’m alive. If I’m alive, I can move. If I can move, I can run.
As impressive my sudden physical efficiency was, it was naught in comparison to our pursuers.
The hill the wolf-beastkin had to climb gave us a tremendous head start, but the gap closed rapidly, the sounds of rage and hunger drawing nearer every passing second.
Eva and I navigated the best we could to maintain our lead, but the terrain was beginning to work against us. The valley snaked on with us to the right, and in our haste, inadvertently ran along the tongue of a spur, preventing us from veering off into the forest on the left. Attempting the incline of the spur would slow us down too much. Though, the cliff stopped us dead in our tracks.
We exploded through a thin wall of foliage and came onto a scab of a cliff that ended abruptly over a small body of water.
Before we could consider to fifty-odd-foot drop into the pond, the first monster emerged from the tree line, jaw and claws first. Eva spun like a top and sank the foot of her spear in the dirt and leveled the point at the charging monster’s chest.
The beast skewered itself, and using the momentum from the charge, Eva pole-vaulted the howling creature over the cliff. Two more emerged just seconds after.
Eva took on the other monster with scolding fury, and I busied myself with the second. By some grace of God, I timed my underhand swing properly and cracked the monster’s jaw. As I went for a follow up, it slammed forward with a crude tackle, throwing me off balance, then latching onto me in a painful bear hug. Claws sank into my shoulder blades as I held the bokken out to stop the snarling maw from tearing into my face, the wolf-monster gnawing at the unbreakable wood like it was a rawhide bone.
Backpedalling in the death-tango with the corrupted beastkin brought my feet dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. The drop glared at me from the corner of my eye, then I saw dangling bits between the beast’s legs. Panic-driven logic took over. With a throttled kick, I struck tender flesh. The effect was instantaneous. As soon as the howling creature’s claws eased, I muscled under its armpit, then sent the harry mass over the edge, its howls fading as it fell.
Just kicked a werewolf in the gnards.
I whipped my head around to see Eva pinned under the monster, this creature being a corrupted female beastkin. With no time to think about how horrendous harry the tits looked, I charged to Eva’s aid.
Being too focused her, I didn’t see the other monster blindside me with a tackle. The beast and I tumbled, then it halted with me on my back. The monster lunged, and I put my arm out to stop it by its neck. The distance and timing off, and my left wrist ended in its jaws. Searing pain erupted from my arm as flesh was punctured, ligaments torn, and bones cracked.
I roared with a combination of pain, fear, and anger. The pain was so fierce that it lit up the entire left side of my body with throbbing heat.
A claw armed wound up with the intention of ending me, icy fear clutching my heart when there was nothing to be done to stop it.
Another set of jaws sank into corrupted-beastkin’s neck from behind. My wrist freed as the snarling monster was ripped off me. A familiar beauty with wild grey-hair tore into the corrupted-beastkin in gory fashion, the feral wolf-beastkin wasting no time in tearing out her prey’s throat then going on to eviscerate it.
The other feral wolf-beastkin we encountered earlier engaged in brutal combat with the other monsters that’ve spilled from the tree line, making the ledge a battlefield of claws and fangs.
The grey wolf-woman rose from her disfigured prey. Blood coated her mouth, chest, and claws, contrasting strongly with her pale skin. She looked down to consider me with her golden-eyes, her face terrifyingly subdued as blood still dripped from her chin. The look of snarling, bestial rage returned to her expression as she turned and sprang to the next monster that needed gutting. All around, wolf-people and monster alike were entangled in a sickening display that soaked the dirt and grass crimson and filled the air with iron.
Ignoring the crippling pain from my arm, I stumbled over to Eva. Her makeshift spearing in pieces next to her.
She was still on her back, her hand clutching over her side while blood seeped through her fingers.
“Fuck, Eva!” I cried, collapsing to my knees next to her.
“Fine,” she choked out. “I’m fine” She scrunched up her face barred her teeth in pain. “Just a nasty scratch.”
Eva took in the battle before us and struggled to a knee.
“I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but this is our chance,” she breathed out. She sucked in another sharp breath, heavy bea
ds of sweat rolling off her chin as she went to stand, failing in the process.
I lent her my shoulder of my non-mangled arm. Together, we rose.
“Eva,” I said, looking at the wound that was now soaking into my side, “that looks bad.”
“Too bad,” she said, then groaned. “We have to get out of here before we can worry about that. The forest always provides.” She looked over to the squat hill that boxed us in on to our right. “We’ll climb up that and go downhill till we find the Siprus River—the river near our home. The pond at the bottom of the cliff says we’re close.”
Eva looked unsteady on her feet and my left arm hung like deadweight. Climbing the spur was going to be difficult, but it was our only shot.
I nodded, and with Eva using as me as a crutch, we hobbled into action.
We made it five steps when a flash and whoosh erupted from the tree line. Heat washed over my side like opening a hot oven too fast. I turned to look at what unleashed such a blast, then was greeted with a wide view of the beryl sky. Looking at the over way showed Eva, seemingly hovering in space over the pond.
We were airborne.
I pulled her in close with my good arm, and we plummeted down.
Chapter 19
I erupted from the water's green-tinged surface, gasping violently and kicking with all leg’s worth to keep me and the limp Eva afloat. The pond was deep enough to break our fall, thankfully, but it also deep enough to drown in. A few mouthfuls of water went down my esophagus as I struggled to the bank.
My bare feet found mossy rocks and was able to keep our heads above water, walking slowly towards land. Once the water was only a few feet, the weight of Eva and my own body returned, forcing me to crawl to make the last stretch to land. Agony radiated from my left arm as I had to brace us up with my forearm; unnatural vibrations of bone rubbing bone sending tremors through my damaged limb.
With the immediate risk of drowning gone, I collapsed onto smooth, weathered stones, my feet still in the water, not enough energy to pull us any further. Urgency ripped through me as I became aware of Eva. Panicked and unsure what to do, I rolled her onto her back, and then pressed my ear to her chest. Relief washed through me as her heartbeat pounded against my ear. Strong and steady, almost lulling me asleep by the rise and fall of her chest.
Heart of the Resonant: Book 1: Pulse (Resonant Series) Page 31