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Chapter 9
Astrange call, like a bird mixed with a frog, carried through the forest.
“That’s Hunter,” Axe said, stopping mid-stride.
Rake accidentally bumped into him then shuffled past.
“Stop moving,” Axe barked at his friend. “You’re louder than an elephant.”
Rake opened his mouth as if to protest but was silenced by another of Hunter’s birdcalls.
“This way,” Axe said, dropping the fish and taking off in the opposite direction.
“No, wait.” I chased after him, grabbing hold of the armor on his back. “Shouldn’t we go back to the compound for back up?”
Axe brushed me away. “We have different calls for different things. Insects mean shifters being transported. The birdcall means there’re pirates nearby.”
Flipping hell.Just what I wanted to hear.
Axe narrowed his eyes, as if he was challenging me. “We can’t let them discover the compound. We have to kill them.”
Without any further discussion, from me or anyone else in the group, the crazy warrior dwarf continued up the slope. The other dwarves followed his lead, leaving me behind.
Kill them? I’d never murdered anyone. The worst I’d done was knock out a maurauding pirate. Sure, I’d killed animals, but humans were a whole different beast. Pirates weren’t going to be easy to subdue or attack, especially if they carried swords and daggers like the bunch who’d raided Shadow’s farm had.
I hurried to catch up with Teeny. “Is this a good idea? Maybe I should meet you back at the compound.” Although I wasn’t confident I could navigate my way back by myself. I didn’t know this land the way I knew Tritonia. But if I kept to the southwest, I might eventually find the cave.
“We stick together,” hissed Axe, shredding any further doubt I might express and filling me with guilt for even suggesting it.
Flipping hell.We were doing this. Maybe I should sneak off and run like hell back to the compound. There was no way I’d let the pirates catch me and toss me in the slave camps. I’d had enough captivity to last me a lifetime.
The old Snow screamed at me to go with the dwarves and rescue the shifters. Damn bitch reminded me of Shadow, his family, and his workers—all those I’d left behind. With every step, I wrestled with my fear and guilt until eventually, my conscience won out. May as well face my fears. Otherwise, I’d be trapped underground for the rest of my life. A fate I did not want at all.
“Shit,” I said, marching up after the dwarves. They’d reached the zenith and disappeared over the hilltop. “I better not regret this.”
Over the peak, I found the dwarves all crouched behind boulders. Hunter perched in a tree, jabbing his fingers in what appeared to be a series of codes.
I weaved through the trees and around a few rocks poking out from the ground to hide behind a stone with Teeny. “Where are they?” I whispered.
“Down to the left,” he replied.
Carefully, I peeked around the edge of the rock. Three wagons packed full of shifters waited in the clearing some thirty feet below. Mothers clutched their wailing children. Those shifters in animal form—lions, panthers, and a couple of leopards—all growled at the pirates pissing on the wheels of the wagons. Scales glimmering along the temples gave away the merfolk. The sea king would not be happy his people had been targeted.
One middle-aged pirate, wearing faded-green pants and a leather vest, waved his dick around, spraying some of the shifters. He laughed as they growled, and a couple in animal form slashed at him with their claws.
Fire raged in my stomach.Filthy pig.I’d kick him in the balls for that.
Another three pirates argued over a map up at the front of the wagons.
“It says, go that way!” one shouted.
Another snatched the map from the first man’s grasp. “Let me look at it. You’re as blind and daft as a mole.”
“Shut the fuck up, you prick,” the first pirate replied, ramming his fist into his companion’s face.
A third pirate smashed a bottle of rum over the first one’s head. Bleeding and unconscious, he sagged to the ground. The other two dragged their knocked-out friend to one of the wagons and tossed him into the empty bench seat.
Meanwhile, the dwarves scrambled around me, collecting rocks as big as their heads and positioning themselves in a circle with the clearing below in the center. By the looks of it, they were going to stage an attack on the pirates.
