“Phrull,” Ry said, coming to a halt. “Box canyon.”
Camryn shouldered the weight of her collection bag and strode to join her mate. A sheer wall of glittery purple rock stood in front of them, and it was obvious that the creek had indeed become a subterranean one.
“We’ll have to go back the way we came.” She stated the obvious as they retreated in the direction of the Indy. A solid wall of hissing plants lined the banks of the dry river gulch.
“There are more.” Ry’s com buzzed. “Ellard. Do you have plants? Yeah. We’ll head back to the Indy now, but there are hundreds of the plants. If you hear shots, we’re shooting at them.” He finished the call. “They saw a few plants, but they’re back at the ship, ready to go for their second trip.”
Kaya buzzed for her check in and spoke briefly with Ry.
“They haven’t seen any plants but they saw some of those big birds Ellard described—the man-size ones with the long necks, beady amber eyes and big rounded bodies covered with shaggy, fluffy brown feathers. Scared the crap out of her. Kaya said they appeared curious but kept their distance. According to her, Ellard hadn’t exaggerated their size.” He glanced at her and stepped closer to brush his hand over her cheek. “You had dust on your face. You ready to do this?”
She eyed the hissing plants and lifted her chin. “We need to get back to Viros for Christmas. The kitchens are making a special dinner. We have presents under the tree and I miss the twins.”
Ry grinned. “I miss them too. Let’s do this then.”
Chapter 7
The hisses from the plants swelled in intensity, more aggressive, more terrifying, more alien, and Ry glanced at Camryn, regret dumping a heavy weight on his shoulders. “I’m meant to protect you. Instead, I’ve put you in danger.”
Camryn squared her posture and thrust out her chest. “Gweneth and Jannike will protect our twins with their lives, just as we will for their children once they’re born because we’re family. That leaves me free to protect you.” She spoke in a steady voice, the pitch raised to speak over the din, her chin angled in challenge. “We’re going to hustle down the riverbed, past those plants and back to the Indy, then we’re going to repeat our trip back here to collect more stones. I understand how you feel. You think I don’t, but believe me the same need to protect twists me up inside. We are going to kick those plants arses, complete this job for Ransom, then we’ll head back to our twins and give them a Christmas. They’re too young to understand rituals and traditions and the beliefs behind our customs, but we’ll have fun celebrating with our friends, our family.” She stepped closer to grip his tunic with her two hands, compelling him to meet her gaze. “We protect each other. I’m your mate, and we share the good and the bad. You have to trust me to keep up with you.”
Pride swelled within him, and he gave her a quick kiss, tantalizingly brief, and a promise for later. “You’re right.”
She winked at him. “But you’re a work in progress, right? You’ll slip into bossy, overprotective mode sometimes.”
“Probably all the time, just as you’ll call me on it. Do you think those plants have arses?”
Camryn shrugged and pinched her nose between finger and thumb. “I don’t want to examine them too closely. They’re stinky.”
“Plan. We’ll go on three and keep together. No stopping. They don’t seem to move fast but watch your footing. We don’t want to trip. Ellard and Nanu found a good spot to collect near the Indy. He said to fire three times if we need help and they’ll come running. Ready?”
“I’ll stay close,” she promised. “I have a shopping date with Kaya. Secret Santa presents.”
“Good idea. I’ll get mine here too.” Confidence. That was the key, and he appreciated it in Camryn. Not that he thought this would be easy. The hissing vegetation lined both sides of the creek bed. In some places, the bed widened while in other spots if the plants leaned over they could almost touch. “Weapon at the ready. We’ll need to blast them when the creek bed narrows. Let’s move.” Ry readjusted the carrier slung over his shoulder. Heavy with the weight of hundreds of small stones, it would hinder their pace. Not that leaving the stones behind rated a mention.
The wheezing and whistle from the plants increased as he and Camryn retraced their steps in the direction of the Indy. The bulbous tubes twisted and followed their progress, the shallow root systems that kept them vertical uprooted, extending and dragging them forward in pursuit.
Damn creepy. An intelligent plant. A carnivorous plant. A hungry plant.
The flora left behind uprooted and followed, pushing against those perched on the edge of the bed. Behind them, one toppled into the riverbed. It struggled to right itself but didn’t seem to be able to dig its roots into the gritty rocks and sand. The din increased until his brain vibrated with the sibilant clamor, yet he didn’t hesitate, plunging onward. Behind him, Camryn kept pace.
As the dry bed narrowed farther, the plants began to oscillate. Pink tendrils rose through the opening of what he thought of as their flowers. Without warning splatters of viscous liquid shot at them. The smell…phrull… It was a combination of rotten meat and garbage heated by a hot star with a hint of sweat and smelly socks. Behind him, Camryn gagged.
“Breathe through your mouth,” he hollered.
The rain of stinky liquid pelted their heads, their torsos, their limbs. The goop burned on skin contact and he pulled up his collar to protect his neck.
“What is that stuff?” Camryn shouted. “It’s burning my hands.”
A globule struck his chest and the fabric of his tunic steamed but remained intact. “Keep moving!”
He pulled out his weapon and aimed at the plants leaning close enough that they might manage to touch them. His com squawked. No time to answer. His breath rasped from his throat, his heart pumping faster as he battled the nausea swirling in his gut. Keep moving. Go, go, go!
Ry forced his legs to burn distance, pushed away the flicks of pain that came when splatters of plant goop landed on his face.
“Holy fuck,” Kaya shouted from somewhere in front of them.
“Move, Camryn,” he shouted and pushed harder, dragging from his well of reserve. His feline rose to the surface, snarling at the burning of his skin. The stench. The overwhelming danger to his mate.
He glanced over his shoulder and tripped on a jutting rock. Pain seared from his ankle up his calf.
“Ry!” Camryn screamed, already trying to haul him to his feet before the searching plant tendrils tangled him. A coiled stem twirled around a biceps, the ooze of slime coating the membrane attempting to melt the fabric of his tunic. A wisp of steam rose from the slime. He struggled, but Camryn was there with a knife and severed the tendril even as she dragged him to his feet.
The plant screamed, the sharp cry of pain shooting a shiver down his spine. Sentient plants. Intelligent plants. Hell, they needed to work out a way to deal with them before they returned for another shipment.
“Ry! You okay?”
“I’m good. Keep moving.” The lie slipped glibly off his tongue. Too smoothly, he thought with guilt. He’d confess later, explain why he’d lied to her. Another plant grasped his thigh and a second fought for ownership, tugging him from side to side, as they battled for possession. Ry slipped his knife from his boot and hacked at the vegetation. He tripped and heard Camryn scream.
“Take that you sap-sucking monster,” she screeched, and he managed a grin as a blaster fired. A plant dropped and the others converged on it.
Up ahead, the weapon fire sounded closer. Kaya and Mogens had arrived.
Some of the plants toppled, weapon blasts causing holes in their creamy white and mustard petals. Something…a form of blood perhaps…oozed through the wounds. The stench increased to eye-watering intensity, and then the plants seemed to turn on the wounded ones. They consumed their fallen, imbibing them through the open top, sucking them down.
The smell made his stomach churn and bile rose up Ry’s throat b
efore he could offer a fight. He spewed on the ground, swiped his hand over the back of his mouth, and after ensuring Camryn remained on his six, he upped his pace.
Up ahead, he spied Ellard and Nanu. They were firing on the plants on the right side of the bed. Kaya and Mogens attacked the plants on the left. They toppled, plants in the rear pausing to eat their fallen.
Not far to go now. Not far.
He forced his legs to move faster and the plants thinned, moving toward the dead and dying rather than attacking them.
Finally, he reached their friends and paused to regain his breath, secure in the knowledge they’d keep him and Camryn safe.
“You okay?” he asked.
“When Ellard first told us about those plants I told myself, he’s exaggerating. He’s watched too many scary vids. Even when Gweneth backed him up, I thought, nah. The plants can’t be that bad.” Camryn shivered, her eyes big and wide. “They’re worse. The stuff of nightmares. They wanted to eat us.”
“Your skin stinging?”
“Yeah. I can’t wait to sanitize,” Camryn said. “Although, I don’t think I’ll ever get rid of the stench.”
“I have something that should work,” Mogens said. “Let’s get back to the ship so I can treat you.”
“Not gonna argue,” Ry said.
Camryn nodded vigorously. “Me neither.”
Kaya shot them a look of amusement. “I guess this isn’t the time to tell you Mogens and I found an area without any vegetation and it’s covered with loose rocks and stones. It’s close to the Indy, and we’ve filled a good portion of the boxes.”
Camryn let out a feline growl, and Kaya chuckled. “Didn’t think so.”
In the storage area of the Indy, they unloaded the rocks they’d collected, tipping them into the boxes Camryn and Kaya had set out earlier. As Kaya had indicated, most of them were full. Ellard and Nanu entered after them and unloaded their rock collection.
“I vote we all get another load from the place Mogens and Kaya found,” Camryn said. “That should fill the last of the storage boxes.”
“Let me take a look at your wounds,” Mogens said. “I’ll get my satchel.”
Once Mogens returned, Ry and Camryn waited for him to treat their faces and the other parts of skin where the plant goop had struck. He removed the gel-like splotches with thick medic pads then treated the affected areas with a cool gel. The stinging subsided almost immediately.
“We need to find a better way to deal with the plants because the area we were collecting in had lots of suitable stones,” Ry said.
“Give me your clothes,” Mogens said. “I’ll do tests on the stuff they sprayed at you. It might give us some ideas on how to deal with them.”
After hurriedly changing and placing their clothing aside for Mogens to test, Ry and Camryn grabbed new receptacles and joined the others.
“Follow me,” Kaya said, her impish humor in evidence.
“Sometimes I don’t like her,” Camryn muttered.
“I heard you,” Kaya sing-songed.
“Bitch. I’m gonna tell Jannike.”
Ry shook his head. The squabbling—he’d missed it. Living in the castle meant they spent more time apart and undertook separate activities. This felt more normal. Right.
They followed Kaya down a rough path. Ry kept glancing over his shoulder to check for plants, but there were none. Something about the vicinity obviously didn’t agree with the vegetation, so they kept away. The path continued to slope downward and curled around the base of the hill. A small stream separated the shale and rock of the mountain and the forest beyond. Plants crowded along the stream.
“Holy crap,” Kaya said. “They weren’t there before.”
“Persistent buggers,” Nanu muttered.
“We’ll have to find a way to get rid of them,” Ry repeated. “Especially if this works out to be a long-term gig.”
“At least they seem to be keeping their distance,” Camryn said as she plucked up a sparkling white rock and placed it in her collection bag. She divided her attention between grabbing stones and the plants. The others were wary too, taking swift glances to make sure they weren’t in danger. “More collecting, less talk. We don’t know what adaptations they might have, and I’ve learned enough about them today. I don’t want to know more.”
“Seconded,” Ry said.
It seemed no one disagreed because everyone spread out and collected rocks while keeping an eye on the plants.
“Is it my imagination or are those plants moving closer?” Ellard asked.
As they watched, one of the front plants toppled, and the others moved forward to stand on top of it. The stench of decay became stronger while the buzzing and squeaks and hisses increased in intensity.
“They’re intelligent,” Mogens said. “Adaptive.”
“Scary,” Kaya muttered. “I vote we hurry.”
By common consent, they increased their pace and moved in the direction of the Indy.
“Everyone done?” Ry asked.
“I need a specimen to study,” Mogens said. “Do you think we could capture one?”
“No,” Camryn said.
“No,” Kaya replied at the same time.
“I agree with them,” Ry said. “Maybe next cycle since we promised to make two trips.”
It was a quick journey back to the Indy, their stash of stones almost filling the last of the boxes. Camryn couldn’t stop looking over her shoulder at the slowly advancing plants. They were certainly determined.
“We done for this cycle?” Ellard asked.
Ry nodded and ripped his tunic over his head. “Yeah. Nanu, let’s head back to the city. ”
Ry reached for Camryn’s hand as they lifted off. “Who has an idea to stop the plants?”
“Fire is the obvious one,” Ellard said. “We could do a fly over and blast them with weapon fire from the Indy.”
“Or use the tender,” Ry suggested. “The tender is more maneuverable and could fly lower in the valleys.”
“Most plants on Earth don’t like salt water. We have salt on Viros. We could try that too,” Camryn proposed her idea.
“If they intend to eat each other, we should station a sniper to keep them busy.” Kaya’s plan.
“If I can examine one, I might be able to develop a spray to kill them off.” Mogens’s recommendation.
“I don’t like the idea of having one on the ship, even if it is dead. We don’t know how they breed,” Ry said.
Camryn smiled at the discussion since it was like old times, and the camaraderie raised her hopes for their future.
* * * * *
During the return journey, Ry sent a message to Ransom and received instructions to land near the clan holding. Evidently, they owned a large field where the dragons landed and took off and the younger shifters went to practice their flying.
“I can still smell those plants,” he said.
Camryn wrinkled her nose. “Me too. Maybe I can purchase something to counteract the stink.”
“I’ll let you and Kaya do your shopping,” Ry said. “I want to discuss the plants with Ransom and also the possibility of doing this on a more regular basis. He said they need to restock their raw materials every three or four portions of a rotation.”
When they landed, Ransom stood at the edge of the dragon field—a huge grassy area surrounded by tall trees as straight as soldiers on parade—waiting for them, his big physique and large presence grabbing Kaya’s attention.
“You don’t have time to flirt with him. I want to talk business. Besides, I thought you and Camryn were going to explore the city shops.” Ry countered the eagerness radiating from Kaya.
“We’re going,” she grumbled before brightening. “I’ll have plenty of time to flirt later this eve since we’re staying here.”
“How was it?” Ransom asked when they joined him.
“We had trouble with those plants again,” Ellard said. “They almost trapped Ry and Camryn. If we hadn’t been t
here as backup, they would’ve got them.”
“We should have a stiff drink before we hit the shops,” Kaya said.
Camryn nodded. “I could handle that.”
Ry’s feline snarled but the man batted his cat into submission. Polite manners. “Don’t start any bar fights.”
“Pooh!” Kaya flapped her hand. “Where’s the fun in that?”
“They’re trouble,” Ransom said, his eyes squinting, lit with an inner glow of bemusement.
Ry watched the pair swagger in the direction of the town. “Probably.”
“I’ve never seen anything like those plants before,” Mogens said, turning their attention back to the matter at hand.
Niran shimmered into sight. “Those plants are still there?”
“Yes,” Ellard said. “They’re intelligent and adaptable. We need a plan to deal with them for our next visit.”
“Try fire,” Ransom suggested.
Ellard nodded. “Fire is one of our ideas. I noticed a rocket blaster on board the Indy. That might be worth a try first.”
Niran turned to Nanu and spoke in an undertone. “Leeam and Sheera suggested I talk to you first to finalize the plans for our Christmas globe.”
“Of course. Thank you for helping with this. Camryn, Gweneth and the other women will be so surprised. Where can we discuss it? I don’t want Camryn or Kaya to overhear our plans,” Nanu said.
“You can use my office. Can I see the rocks you’ve collected for us?” Ransom asked as Niran and Nanu strode toward the clan house.
“Of course,” Ry said and led the way into the hold of the Indy and the storage area.
Ransom squatted by the first box of stones and picked one up. “Perfect. I don’t need to check the rest. I can sense the quality. You’ve done well.”
“Do you still want us to make another trip?” Ry asked.
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