He inhales deeply, his narrow chest rising with the effort. His face twitches and he cants his head. “Nenuphar blooms. The lulebore bush.”
“What else?”
He draws in more scents. “I believe I smell a hint of dew that lingers in the trees as well as the bitter sweetness of their bark.”
“Excellent.” I am pleased with my kit. “Anything more?”
Once again, he inhales, closing his eyes as if to enhance his other senses. His eyes fly open. “Blood. Human blood.”
I jerk and breathe in the same air to discover Gannen is right. The scent is faint, but present. “Come, let us search out its source.”
We take off running—with me in the lead—as I seek it out. We are nowhere near their settlement. What is a human doing this far away from the rest of their kind? Have they wandered off? Or perhaps one has been banished?
Kala has shared with us the punishment the humans settled on when one of their own commits a crime deemed bad enough to warrant being exiled. They are given the option to either live on their own or join us in the Krijese village. If anyone has warranted that punishment, they have chosen to remain on their own, because no humans—aside from Iris—reside with us.
“Gogo, there.” Gannen points and my gaze tracks the direction of his gesture.
The ground is disturbed, and the hole I dug to trap large beasts and camouflaged with netting, twigs, branches, and leaves lies open and exposed. No sounds come from inside, but the scent of human blood is more potent. With my hand across his chest, I keep my kit slightly behind me and creep slowly forward. I palm the handle of my war axe, but keep it sheathed.
A twig cracks beneath my foot. Gannen and I freeze. An echo of silence remains. Then, faintly, there is the sound of shallow breathing. Every few inhales, there is a hitch, and on the exhale, a wheeze. Just beneath the blood is another odor. One that comes into focus and is barely recognizable. It smells like a female. Similar—yet different—from Iris.
I scan the area, far more carefully than I have been. No other human scents reach me. Only the one. I jerk my chin in the direction of the hole and Gannen nods. Treading softly, we move forward once more and do not stop until we reach the edge of the hole. We both peer down and my kit releases a sharp gasp.
There, at the bottom of the hole, is a dirt-covered human female. She is so filthy, I cannot discern the color of her hair. Not that I know the names to call the colors. Not like Sorin does. Dried blood is crusted along her scalp and one side of her face. Her short, blunt claws are broken and covered in blood, as if she tried to claw up the sides of the hole toward freedom.
She also smells of not only blood, but waste. It is an odor I have been smelling since before we stumbled upon her, but assumed it came from the forest animals. Her lips are dry and cracked. One of her lower legs is twisted at a wrong angle. If not for the slow rise and fall of the female’s chest, she would appear dead.
I turn to Gannen. “Go and gather the thickest branches you can find that are taller than you. Hurry.”
He races off to do my bidding. I yank the bladder of water from the belt at my waist and jump into the hole with the female, careful to not land on her. She does not stir. Closer I creep, fearful that if she does awaken, she will hurt herself further when she lays eyes on me.
“Female. Can you hear me?” I keep my voice soft, or at least as soft as one of my kind is able. “My name is Ortak of the Krijese clan. I will not harm you. You have my vow.”
I kneel at her side and draw a piece of leather from my pouch and wet it. Once it drips with water, I place the cloth against her lips, guiding the liquid to spill into her mouth and praying she does not choke. To my great relief, she swallows, but it is clear it pains her. The tiny hairs around her eyes flutter and slowly they lift, exposing the tri-colored orbs humans possess. She stares blankly at me at first, until finally, the female appears to focus.
I brace myself for the scream I expect is coming, and yet the only sound she makes is a rasping whisper I do not make out.
“Do not try and speak yet, female. Drink and save your strength. Gannen should return soon and we will get you out of here.”
She does as I say as sucks the water from the leather. I give her more, but not enough that her stomach will revolt and expel it all. Her eyes drift closed once more right as my kit returns, dragging with him far more branches than I assumed he could handle. That has been one of my many failings, it would appear; underestimating what Gannen is able to accomplish.
“Has she awoken, Gogo?”
“Briefly. I was able to get her to drink some, but she is once again sleeping as one who is injured does.”
“What are we going to do with these?” He nudges one long branch with his foot.
“I am going to craft a sled to place her on and pull her out of this hole. Then, we will take her to the Tavikhi village. Hopefully Healer Sage can help her.”
Gannen glances down at us and back to the branches. His shoulders straighten and with determination, he nods. “I will help.”
“Let us get to work then.”
Chapter 2
Elodie
If I weren’t in so much pain, I’d think I was dead. No such luck, I guess. Every inch of my body hurts, even my eyelids. I take stock again and realize I lied. My leg doesn’t hurt. In fact, I can’t feel it at all. Huh. Not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe that alien devil monster thing ate it and that’s why I can’t feel it. Wouldn’t that be something?
