Page 66 of Black Mamba

Lukys takes me in with his piercing gray eyes, sliding them over my body like he’s judging my ability to attempt this journey.

I straighten as I scrutinize him in turn. He’s holding a spear and tied around his middle is a net and rope. A sheathed knife is within it.

“You have a gun?” Levy asks at the same time I see the firearm in Lukys’s other hand. A pistol of some sort—I think.

“It issss for you.” He hands the weapon to Levy.

Levy startles then frowns at Lukys’s hand. “Me? Why me?”

“You are weaponlesssss.”

“Elena is too,” he argues.

Lukys coils his tail under him as he reaches down and pats the blade at his hip. “She can have my knife.”

Levy squints but slowly takes the gun from Lukys. “Fine.” He palms the weapon in his hands and checks the magazine. “Where the hell did you get a gun?”

“From a soldier I killed.”

I shift on my feet, wishing I can be surprised by how easily he admits to killing another. Instead, I turn away as Greg regards Lukys sharply.

Levy puts the magazine back into the gun and stuffs it in the pocket of his jacket. “I guess it’s mine now.”

“Are we ready then?” Greg grips the straps of his backpack. “We shouldn’t waste the light. I’m not sure how much you know about humans, Lukys, but we don’t see well in the dark.”

Lukys squints at me and, shuffling my own pack farther onto my shoulders, I nod.

He reaches to take my pack and I pull away. “I can carry my own stuff.”

He draws his arm back.

Glancing between Greg and Levy awkwardly, I tighten the strap around my waist. “I’m ready. And no we don’t.” I laugh, agreeing with Greg, trying to lighten the mood. Feeling Lukys’s eyes burn into my flesh, I try not to glance at his bulge, or at his face.

He pulls out his knife and hands it to me. I slowly take it and tuck it in the side pocket of my pack. “Thank you.”

I’m not sure how good I’ll be at using the knife but I’m happy to have it all the same.

“Consider it a gift.” He turns away. “If you are ready then we will begin. My lands are reasonably safe, but I suggest you stay close. If I hear or see something unusual, I will tell you.” He scans us with his narrowed gaze. “Bears, boars, pigs, and wolves I will frighten away but if we come upon another of my kind, do not hesitate to hide. We are fortunate that territories we will be passing through are protected by nagassss I know or have recently been deserted. Still, I recommend being silent.”

The distant reverberating hum of a spaceship fills my ears. We all pause to search for it in the sky, soon finding it far in the opposite direction we’re going. As it descends, it flies over us and turns north, disappearing over Lukys’s mountain.

I haven’t paid much attention to the spaceships that come and go but since the storm, it seems like there are fewer than before.

“I heard a broadcast from the northern encampment before sunrise.” Levy shields his eyes and squints up at the sky. “A massive commercial ship is enroute that was originally destined for The Dreadnaut. Supplies are coming and they’re urging people to navigate there. Too bad our ship can’t fly any longer. Can yours, Elena?”

I lie and shake my head.

“Too bad we’re heading for the eastern one,” Greg mutters and chuckles, facing Lukys.

Lukys straightens. “I do not know where the northern encampment is located. I can take you to the smoke trails in the east, but I cannot guarantee that you will find what you are searching for.” His eyes drift to me.

He means Jenna.

I… nod. I don’t care what encampment we’re headed for, I just want to look for my sister. She’s famous… Someone will know something—if there is something to know.

I’ve been idle for weeks. At least with this I feel like I’m doing something. When Greg first mentioned they were leaving, I was unhappy, but maybe their leaving will lead me to Jenna.

“If there is nothing more, then let ussss go.” Lukys slips past my ship and into the gorge on the other side.