Page 15 of Red

Nine

Arie’s stomach lurched as Warol skidded, loose rocks sliding under his feet. Now she knew exactly why Rager had been so concerned about their descent to the plateau. One would have to be a goat or a very determined Ragoru to brave it.

While they’d long left the snow behind, and the forest was looming closer, the sheer rock made her heart race with fear. Three of Warol’s arms held her tight against his hard body, the fourth outstretched to aid in his balance, but it didn’t comfort her. Especially not when the rock seemed determined to crumble from under his feet within seconds of touching down on it.

Rager and Kyx paced at alert nearby as they practically slid down the slope. Kyx had tried to buoy her spirits when he handed her off to Warol and she got her first good look at the cliffside. He’d assured her that they made this trip many times without incident, so she had nothing to worry about.

It hadn’t helped.

Her stomach still managed to twist with nerves from the moment Warol began to make his way down the mountainside. The entire time she was tense with anxiety with each precarious sway of his body as he moved with a sure-footed swiftness. Kyx was unusually close by and frequently casting concerned looks in their direction but to Arie’s relief they seemed to have nearly reached the bottom without incident until it happened—he set his foot down and the entire ledge broke free from under him.

Time seemed to slow as Warol desperately tried to retreat back to safety while the other two males attempted to converge on them in time to save them. Even then, she knew they wouldn’t make it in time. Aries arms tightened around him, a sound of alarm swelling in her throat and ripping through her in a terrified scream. It filled her ears as did Warol’s frightened bellow, so that everything else in the world seemed muffled out entirely. She barely heard the concerned shouts from the other males before she pitched over the side with Warol. The only thing that pierced her terror was the sharp prick of his claws scraping against her as he attempted, in vain, to retain his grip on her as they hit the ground rolling.

Ultimately, gravity did its job despite his best efforts. Her clothing ripped and he roared with dismay as her body took flight and was flung far from him. It seemed like she was floating weightlessly for a moment until she hit the ground. Even then she didn’t seem to stop moving. The world continued to spin around her as her body rolled at rapid speed. Rocks bit into her skin and branches whipped past her from the sprinkling of trees and bushes, scratching her face and every bit of exposed skin. Out of desperation, her hands scrambled for purchase but to no avail. She continued on an unending painful plummet.

Arie had no idea just how long she rolled in her unchecked descent. It felt like an eternity, and yet also as if it all occurred in the space of a breath. It was only by some miracle that her hand hit a tree branch and her fingers reflexively gripped it, halting her trajectory. Her arm wrenched miserably, but Arie didn’t care. As long as she was not falling, she would endure it.

She dangled for a moment and worked on regaining control of her breathing and only then risked glancing down. Her stomach promptly hit her toes at the sight below her and a small whimper squeezed out of her throat. She shouldn’t have looked.

Just below her the rocky landscape gave way to thick greenery filled with trees growing out of the slope along with numerous tall bushes and vining plants climbing up the trunks. If that had been all there was, she would have been comforted by the sight of the forest and relieved that they’d finally reached the plateau. Unfortunately, the sight that greeted her was not one that inspired any sort of relief. Around the base of the trees Arie could clearly see a huge patch of thorns and several carnivorous plants were furled amid them, their magenta fronds and giant deep purple flowers an attractive lure. She knew that beyond the enticing display was a serrated pitcher-like sack into which the plant would drag its prey once it envenomated it’s victim and tightened its fronds around it. There would have been no escape from that if she’d fallen. She still could fall into the deadly patch at any moment if she wasn’t careful. Despite that, she dropped her head back against her shoulder and whispered her thanks to the Blessed Mother for her momentary salvation. The reprieve was a small one though and she knew she had to move. Biting her lip against the pain in her shoulder, Arie swung her right arm up to join her left hand where she gripped the branch and solidified her grasp.

With a loud groan, she pulled herself up until her chest rested against the slanted trunk of the tree. Only then did she dare glance around further in an attempt to get her bearings. Her eyes widened and she took in what seemed to be an endless stretch of trees. Nothing looked even remotely familiar.

Fear skittered through her. She had no idea where she was now in relation to where she had been with the guys. Worse, she saw no sign of any of them—not even Warol. She didn’t think Rager and Kyx had been close enough to fall, so they could be out there looking for them, but she must have been flung quite far from Warol for there to be no sign of him. Unless he’d already been dragged down into the thick patch by the plants. She swallowed and banished the thought from her mind. Warol was larger and may have fallen in a different direction and further into the forest before he managed to halt his descent. It seemed more likely than half of the scenarios she’d conjured. Rather than allow herself to linger on thoughts of him lying injured or dead somewhere, she scanned her surroundings as she hastily worked out a plan.

If she could maneuver along the nearest trees, there was a good chance of making it to level ground and avoiding falling into the deathtrap waiting just below her. Clinging to the trunk of the tree, she worked her way down its length until her toes touched the tree’s roots and the packed dirt and stones around them. Distributing her weight between the tree and her feet, she glanced over at the nearest tree and bit her lip as she began to work her way over to it. The toes of her shoes dug into the dirt as she inched her way over uneven ground until she was able to drop carefully onto a rocky ledge and crawl up to safety.

Once she was certain that the ground under her feet wasn’t going anywhere, Arie flopped gratefully onto the firm earth. There she lay for a long time, panting as she stared up at the canopy of trees. Every now and then a small flock of birds would pass from one tree to another.

A significant part of her did not want to move. It was instinctual after being taught all her life not to move if she were lost. She could almost hear her mother lecturing her that movement hindered the efforts of those who’d be searching. Yet, she knew night was coming soon, and she did not relish the idea of sitting out in the open with nothing more than the hope that the guys might find her. That seemed to border on insane to her.

Arie rolled to her knees and pushed herself up. Although she initially wobbled some with exhaustion, she steadied herself and looked around the forest that stretched out in front of her. One thing was certain: she couldn’t go back up. The sheer mountainside above was impassable for her alone. But she couldn’t decide which way to go.

Upon randomly picking a direction, she squinted down at the dimly lit forest with trepidation. At first glance, it didn’t seem promising. Although she didn’t see any carnivorous plants, the shadows were heavy and deep. All it seemed to be lacking were signs declaring “beware” and “do not enter.” The more she scrutinized it, however, she was gradually able to make out a game trail. That lifted her spirits some. It couldn’t be all bad if other living creatures habitually went in that direction. Perhaps the Ragoru were on a similar trail nearby. It didn’t hurt to see if anyone was within shouting range.

“Hello! Warol? Kyx? Rager? Can anyone hear me?”

The birds fell silent at her shout, but the chirp and hum of bugs were an endless cacophony in a sea of what was otherwise silence. After several minutes the birds resumed their familiar warbling. Well, that answered that question. Arie had no doubt she would have been able to at least hear a howl if someone was close enough. That meant it was up to her to descend onto the trail and hope that it met up somewhere near where they were at.

Steeling her nerves, Arie began her slow descent. To her dismay, despite the clear trail, it cut narrowly through the forest. That wasn’t much of a problem at first, but it was clear that it was rapidly becoming thicker. More than once she cursed when she became caught on brambles or briefly ensnared in some viny climbing plant. The only thing that made it better was finding clusters of late-season blackberries growing thickly on the bushes. She grazed on them, eating handfuls at a time, as she passed. After all the meat she’d eaten over the last several days, her stomach was grateful for the change.

Every so often she would stop to call out again, hoping that maybe someone would be close enough to hear her by then. Each time she felt her heart sink with disappointment. She was beginning to regret leaving her small ledge when she heard a rustle in the bushes just ahead of her to the right. She paused, her skin prickling.

“Warol? Is that you?”

She was barely aware of the birds scattering from the trees above when she turned and screamed at the sight of five monstrous men pushing through the bushes toward her. They closed in around her, their breath and bodies fetid, their faces coarse and inhuman from their brows to their heavy tusks. The males shouted gleefully and one of them sent a large net hurtling over her. She was dragged to the ground under its weight but that didn’t stop her from fighting against it as she tried to wriggle out from beneath it. The more the likelihood of that happening diminished, the harder she fought, ignoring the sting of the plants whipping at her through the net as the males dragged her through the forest after them. Eventually, her strength waned, leaving her limp in the confines of the net. In her exhausted state, the plants were harder to ignore. They slapped at her even more sharply, their numerous branches stinging her face and body now that she was no longer flailing about. The men dragging her away chuckled between them as they glanced back at her. She didn’t know what they intended but she silently begged the gods that her Ragoru found her.

Warol groaned and slowly picked himself up from the broken brush all around him. Every part of his body ached, as he would expect after falling down a mountain. He still couldn’t believe his cursed luck. They’d traversed that path numerous times, and he’d never had the ground break loose right beneath his feet. He winced as he rolled a shoulder to loosen the muscle.

His eyes narrowed on the steep slope above him. That wouldn’t be easy to climb. They would need to get started if they wanted any chance of rejoining Rager and Kyx before nightfall.

“Come on, human. Let’s see if we can make it back up from here,” he snarled.

Silence met his demand and his ears pricked anxiously.

“Human? Arie?” he called. Worry began to gnaw at him as he swung around in place, searching for any sign of his human.

“Arie!” he shouted. “Do not play games with me, human. Answer me right now!”

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