Wilderness Untamed

by Butler, J. M.

  They all worked steadily, preparing food and tools and setting up everything that they needed. Naatos dropped in two more creatures of varying sizes, and then he began hauling back large logs and piles of a blue-white material they called ilthun salt.

  After AaQar went to rest in the suphrite, Amelia went to clean up herself. She changed into the yellow gown after washing in the cool river water. Among everything else, it was good to be clean and to have clean clothes. Her stomach grumbled with hunger, and the smell of the roasted meat, even with nothing else, was enough to make her mouth water even after being elbow deep in blood and guts.

  A loud thud sounded outside the clearing again. Naatos most likely.

  She combed out a tangle in her hair, chewing on the inside of her lip. They were going to have to talk or see one another eventually. Might as well get it over with. She nearly checked her appearance but stopped.

  Why even think of that?

  She turned in the direction of the sound just as Naatos emerged. He was back in his state of rest, clean somehow, and holding a large bouquet of… leafy plants and herbs. She folded her arms. "Given how you've been delivering things today, I wouldn't have guessed you'd walk that in."

  He smiled crookedly. "You noticed."

  "Very large bodies falling from the sky are hard to miss. AaQar said you were showing off, but I'm not sure how. Unless it was regarding your aim and the fact you weren't hitting anyone with those."

  "I could if I wanted to."

  She blinked. "I don't—I don't think that's going to have the effect on me that you were hoping."

  "Well, fortunately, I brought these for you." With a flourish, he offered her a large bundle of flowers and delicate herbs. It was so large that his hand barely wrapped all the way around it, and she had to use both to take it.

  She half frowned, perplexed. "You got me flowers? That doesn't seem like a very you thing to do." There were at least six different plants, most delicate and fragrant as an herbal tea house. One had tiny red-orange and yellow flowers while another had blue blossoms the size of her thumb.

  "Some are flowers," he said. "Most are herbs. These are forest hemp, eye bane, butterfly yarrow, meadowcress, and dragonwort. You need to eat or steep them and drink the tea. They'll help with your mindreading and maintaining any walls that may have been put up."

  She gave him a suspicious look over the top of the bouquet. "I assumed you'd be trying to break down all my walls."

  "Only because I thought it was a door."

  "Doors are supposed to be opened, not broken down."

  He shrugged. "Sometimes doors stick."

  "Most of the time they're locked because that person doesn't want you coming in."

  "Fair enough."

  "So these—" she indicated the flowers and herbs. "They're… nutritional, not aphrodisiacs?"

  His eyebrows lifted slightly. "I hadn't considered giving you aphrodisiacs. But if you'd prefer—"

  "No." She started to lift her hand but stopped as the stems began to slide. "Medicinal or supplemental is fine. I was just pleasantly surprised. It's actually very thoughtful of you, and I appreciate that. I appreciate it a lot. I never knew that Neyeb needed anything like this."

  "It's especially important now that you are using your skills more. Otherwise, you will run into complications. Libysha didn't have any corollaries of which I was aware, and I am not sure whether you consumed the corresponding ones on Eiram."

  "It's hard to say. I had an herb garden. But… they didn't look like this." She tapped the blue flower. "Some were similar. But, no." She smiled. "Not like this. How do you prepare these?"

  "Strip the leaves and petals off the stems. Boil. Or add it to whatever you're eating. Tea is easier though. You might not like the taste. You can eat the stems in a pinch."

  "So this will help make it easier for me to put up barriers and keep them?"

  "It'll help maintain the integrity of your mind and shore up your strengths as well as replenish them. It isn't all you'll need. Neyeb need much more variety than Vawtrians."

  She smiled a little more as she tweaked a long green stem with curled green fronds, forest hemp. In the heat of the day, she suspected it was all unfurled. "You're practically carnivores. You get what you need from meat and organs. And probably bones."

  "Also sometimes better in tea."

  "I shouldn't be surprised." She dipped her head before peering up at him once more. Her heart fluttered faster. "Well thank you." That heat rose to her cheeks again, and the itching in her elmis flared. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to kiss him. They were moving toward understanding. Maybe—

  He brushed his lips over her cheek. "If you like flowers though, I can find some for you."

  "No. These are unexpectedly good." Her skin tingled where his lips had been. She couldn't look up at him. He was so close now; he hadn't moved away.

  He nuzzled her, his nose against her cheek. His lips brushed the corner of her mouth.

  She held her breath. Her heart beat faster; the heat crept farther.

  He pressed closer, his lips parting as he tasted her. That longing intensified as he edged closer. It reached her deeper than his kiss and met her own need. One that she didn't even want to admit was there. She went to push him away but stopped. The flowers would drop. They couldn't drop.

  Why did he have to be good at this?

  Voices sounded at the hill. AaQar and QueQoa at least. Laughter followed. WroOth.

  She lifted her head as his tongue stroked the inside of her lip. "Naatos," she whispered.

  "We don't have to stay here." He leaned his forehead against hers, touching her hair. His fingers trailed down to her neck. "The rels extend over thirty feet in every direction. Sometimes farther. We can go somewhere private."

  She bit her lip hard, trying to ground herself again. "We need to wait. We have to—" She stepped away, the spectral woman's words echoing in her ears, cold against his heat. Her breaths came short and fast. "Eight weeks. You can have the flowers back if you want them."

  His eyes narrowed as he straightened. Tension radiated through his entire body. "I didn't give them to you to convince you to vestov."

  "Then thank you. I appreciate that even more." She hugged them to her chest.

  His gaze softened. Lifting his hand, he brushed his fingers against her cheek. "I love you, veskaro. You will sleep beside me tonight?" As she started to shake her head, he continued. "The nights get cold, Amelia. I will not take advantage of our closeness. Just be near me. Let me protect you. We sleep in trenches here most nights because of the dolmaths. It'd be easy for them to carry you off."

  She pulled away, startled, her brow wrinkling. "What do you mean the dolmaths will carry me off?"

  "They enjoy the heat that living beings produce. They sometimes carry people into their dens where they keep them sleeping and dreaming while they harvest the warmth for energy. Someone like you, it would be all too easy for them to whisk you away."

  "That—your world is decidedly unpleasant. But I'm not sleeping in the same trench with you. We aren't able to vestov yet. That's cruel to you, and too close for me." She hugged herself a little tighter, then loosened her arms to avoid crushing the herbs. "I'll be fine. I'll figure something out." The voices drew closer. They were getting close to the top of the hill.

  He searched her for a moment, his jaw tightening. "No you won't. Dolmaths can carry off a full-grown Vawtrian. They could take QueQoa if enough of them chose to. You're a third of his size. I would rather you slept with me, but if you are uncomfortable with that, choose someone else."

  What was going on with him? She raised an eyebrow. "You'd be all right with that?"

  "Sleeping is not an issue as long as it is only sleeping. Vawtrians who have not experienced the locking do not generally do so if there is any question of compatibility. But after the locking, there is no concern. What I want is for you to be safe. I want to protect you. I will protect you. But in this case, I cannot do it alone."

/>   She nodded slowly, more stunned at his offer than anything. "I don't know. I'd have to think about it."

  "Well, well," WroOth announced, suddenly beside her. How had he gotten this close this fast? She started, lifting her elbow as if to shield herself. WroOth continued, not noticing. "What has happened here? Naatos, did you get her flowers?"

  "No." He glowered at his brother.

  "They're medicinal herbs." She moved to the log nearest the fire where the meat roasted and set the bundle down on a large dock leaf that was most likely for wrapping the meat later. "It was very sweet of him."

  "Just because they have medicinal value doesn't mean they aren't flowers." QueQoa picked up one of the red-orange flowers as well. "Roses have many purposes. It does not make them less beloved or less romantic. Also, like roses, these are not carnivorous."

  "True. And if she likes them, these are as good as roses or orchids." WroOth chuckled.

  AaQar paused beside the bouquet as well. "These are good," he said. "I'll show you how to prepare them. But first, we should eat."

  All in the camp transitioned into the brief bustle before a meal. The large stone container that QueQoa had made was filled with roasted meat. Plain fare but calorically dense. WroOth had sliced chunks of a log off to serve as plates. The canteens from the packs were filled with icy cold water from the fall.

  Amelia chose to sit on the log near the bouquet she'd set on the dock leaf. The large boulder behind her rose another twelve feet into the air with a broad flat top, and it made her feel a little more secure as well.

  Naatos circled the fire. As he caught her eye, he raised his eyebrows slightly, the question obvious.

  To everyone.

  The hum of conversation did not abate, but she felt all of their eyes upon him. She gave a slight nod though, her shoulders straight and her limbs close.

  He smiled and took his seat beside her. His leg pressed against hers.

  She glanced at him sidelong, leaning away. Then she shooed his knee. "Move."

  He scowled.

  She held his gaze.

  Sighing, he moved farther down the log so that an inch or so of space appeared between them. "Are you happy?"

  "Ecstatic."

  "Heaven forbid that a husband and wife should touch over dinner?"

  "Yes. Heaven and earth and all between forbid. Hell too for that matter." She smiled. "At least for the next several weeks."

  He shook his head as he resumed eating.

  She tried a piece of the meat as well. It was tough and gamy, but she was also hungry enough she didn't care.

  Everyone else seemed to feel much the same way. AaQar read from one of her books on the Neyeb while QueQoa and WroOth chatted amiably about past trips and challenges as well as unfortunate accidents and pranks that had gone poorly.

  The sky had turned a comfortable shade of deep orange in the west with the east darkening to a rich purple. A waxing crescent peered between the trees. Dusk was upon them. The wind shifted. It carried with it that familiar scent of sesame oil.

  Her stomach knotted in response as she recalled that night in Telhetum. The memories echoed in her mind, that horrible sound, the silent palace, and the many deaths that followed. "What are dolmaths actually?" she asked.

  WroOth tossed more wood on the fire. "Oh, they're harmless really. As long as you don't let them carry you off. They love to snuggle and cuddle. You had cats in Eiram, didn't you?" He dusted his hands off.

  She nodded.

  As if in response to her memories, a soft pattering of footsteps rose from the forest. Light staccato beats, like a billion fat raindrops striking the earth. The leaves and twigs stirred.

  "There you go." WroOth returned to his seat by QueQoa. "They remind me a lot of cats."

  QueQoa nodded in agreement. "Except they're blue."

  "Very true," WroOth conceded. "And they like being right under your chin or on your stomach and chest."

  "I like cats. I like cats a lot." Amelia watched the edge of the hill. The sound was even louder now.

  "I suspect they have a den nearby." AaQar took a long drink from his canteen. "Less than half a mile based on the smell."

  "We should prepare stronger straps for while we're incapacitated by the ilzinium and sleeping. Something that both arms can be looped through on either side," Naatos said. He dropped his hand to her knee. "They are much more insistent."

  Amelia started to comment on his hand when the dolmaths crested the hill. She froze. What—what?

  Blue furry creatures.

  Not cats though.

  Not cats at all!

  They did have fur, and they were about the size of Maine Coons. But they were—they were spiders. Large blue furry spiders with glistening black eyes and hairy fangs.

  And they were running straight at her!

  20

  Not Like Cats

  A scream choked Amelia. She couldn't get it out. She could only stare as hundreds of cat-sized spiders raced toward her in a stampede of blue fur.

  "Amelia?" Naatos stood as well. He reached for her.

  The spiders surged forward, covering the forest floor. Something snapped within her.

  Turning, she lunged at Naatos, grabbing his shoulders and scaling him. Somehow, she launched herself up and onto the side of the bulging boulder near the chiron oak. For a moment, she slid, but her feet gained leverage and she hauled herself up.

  The stream of dolmaths widened as they covered every inch of soil in the camp. Dozens and dozens of spider-like creatures circled Naatos, AaQar, WroOth, and QueQoa. They tapped and examined their feet and lower legs. A few reared up and tapped on the brothers' knees with their velvety forelegs. Then most streamed out the other side of the camp, though more than enough remained.

  Two were in process of scaling AaQar, one intent upon getting into the deep sleeve of his robe as he picked up the book and continued reading by firelight. QueQoa remained on the logs. He allowed the five focusing on him to climb and play as if he were just a boulder himself though he did scratch them between the eyes whenever they butted their blunt heads against his knee or hand.

  One had already climbed onto Naatos's shoulder and snuggled against his neck like a stole. He looked up at her, surprise lifting his brows. "Amelia, they won't hurt you."

  She gulped in ragged breaths. They were spiders. Blue or not, velvety or not, they were spiders.

  When she closed her eyes, the hook-fanged spiders flashed into her mind's eye. The scars ached and throbbed. It was as if they were biting her again and again and again. She dug her fingers into the coarse rock, fighting to ground herself but terrified of this horrid world.

  WroOth shook his head, startled. "What are you doing, dear heart? Why are you up there? How did you even get up there?"

  She fought to find her words as she clung to the top of the boulder. The dolmaths kept coming. Three were climbing up WroOth's leg even as he spoke. Her mouth was dry, her heart shattering against her ribs in a frantic beat.

  The words bubbled inside her. She choked, despite the rapid breaths. There wasn't enough air. Her mind swam, a thousand eyes burning through her. A thousand fangs and stingers piercing her skin and tearing through her flesh.

  "Amelia…" Reaching out, Naatos tried to touch her hand. He had to lean up on his toes. The dolmath skittered forward, its furry jaws working back and forth. It ran along his arm. Its forelegs stretched out as it tested the edge of the boulder and tried to scale it.

  The scream tore free then.

  Everyone jumped. Even the dolmath fell off Naatos's arm.

  Amelia gulped in a deep breath and then screamed again. "They're spiders! Spiders!"

  "What?" WroOth held one to his chest, stroking its back. "It isn't a spider. I promise. It has eight legs and some other similarities, but it isn't. Not really. Listen. It purrs. Just like a cat."

  "That's a spider," Amelia gasped. "Hundreds and hundreds of spiders. They're spiders! They're all spiders!"

  "They aren't, v
eskaro." Naatos pressed back a couple more of the dolmaths with his boot and then returned to the side of the boulder. "Come down. You'll see. There's nothing to fear. I promise. Just come down and see them."

  "I can see them from up here! Those are spiders. They're spiders!"

  AaQar stood as well, his finger still in the book to mark his place. His brow smoothed as a look of realization spread over his face.

  "Spiders are arachnids that inject a venom into their web-bound victims to dissolve and liquify their insides. You've worked with animals. You know this." WroOth continued in what he likely considered a soothing voice. "Dolmaths don't do any of that sort of thing. These things here that look like fangs are for grasping, not biting. They aren't even sharp. Look. Come on. The fur is as soft as velvet. They're very sweet, I promise. The eight legs just make it easier for them to run fast."

  She trembled. She moved to the center of the boulder's top. Her fingers bled from her rough ascent. "I don't care what it is scientifically! That is a spider."

  "Spiders hate snuggling, dear heart. These love it. I promise, if you hold it close and hear it purr, it will change your entire perspective. Here. Naatos, pass her one of the smaller ones."

  "I don't think that will help," Naatos said. A dark and dour mood had settled over him. His brow knit together as he stepped back. He gathered up the herbs and flowers and moved them to one of the stone vessels.

  AaQar moved over to speak with him. The two conversed quietly.

  "If you come one step closer to me with that thing, WroOth, I will beat you silly." Amelia gasped. Each time she blinked, she saw the hook-fanged spiders again. Their glimmering eyes. Their horrid jaws.

  Leaning forward, she seized AaQar's staff and then lifted it. Her head pounded. She swiped at some of the spiders that clambered around the foot of the boulder. They fell back, their legs wriggling. They immediately righted themselves and resumed trying to climb the boulder.