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After a few hours of hard running, the sun was high in the sky. Unobstructed by clouds, the hot rays beat down on the grasslands. Jagga was not worried about his own skin. He could easily withstand the sun’s radiation. But he was concerned about the human, Serenity. Her skin was deeply tanned, which gave her some protection. Still, naked and draped over Grodd’s shoulder, her bare back and behind were subjected to the full force of the sunlight. Jagga cursed himself for not slathering her in a protective coating of mud before leaving the forest.
There was no point in worrying about that now, however. All they could do was move as fast as possible. After they had arrived at the canyon and settled in, he would apply a soothing balm to her skin.
He looked forward to doing that. He would be very thorough in his application.
As for finding their way back to the canyon, that was a simple matter. All they had to do was follow Hruk’s scent markers. The dark ukkur had even anticipated that they might need some help, so he had marked the trail with his scent from time to time.
At last, Jagga could see their destination.
The high stone wall to the north of them, running in a nearly straight line from east to west. Farther down this wall, Jagga spied a deep crack in the side of the cliff, as if one of the old gods had chopped it with a giant ax. Over the top of this ravine, the trees had grown together, forming a dense shady canopy.
Based on the direction of Hruk’s trail, that had to be the place.
The little human confirmed this. Serenity had twisted around to peer over Grodd’s shoulder, and now she shouted happily.
“Yes!” she said. “There! There!”
Jagga stopped in his tracks, and Grodd stopped beside him automatically. Good, faithful Grodd who always followed his lead.
“What matter?” Serenity asked. “Why stop?”
Jagga didn’t answer. He just stood there staring at the entrance of the canyon in the distance.
The problem was Grodd. Jagga had been trying to put it out of his mind all morning, but now it was time to face the reality of the situation.
Jagga knew Grodd’s temperament well. He knew from experience that the big, simple-minded ukkur did not get along well with others of his kind. Back on the ksh farms, Grodd had often gotten into fights with the other slaves. He was different from other ukkur. More prone to fly into a berserker rage at the slightest provocation.
What if Grodd couldn’t fit in with this canyon tribe? He would have to leave, and Jagga would have to go with him. After all, he had promised the oldtimer that he and Grodd would always stick together like brothers.
But what about the woman? What about Serenity? Maybe she would not want to leave the canyon with them. Maybe the other ukkur would not allow Jagga and Grodd to take her away.
Jagga hesitated another moment.
Part of him wanted to turn around and flee. He and Grodd would carry the human female with them back into the forest. She would probably be upset about this, and they would likely have to tie her up to keep her from running away. She would be their captive. It would not be an ideal arrangement, but at least they would get to keep her forever.
Gods, what was wrong with him?
He was thinking like a gods-rotted nith. Like a slaver.
“Come on,” he said. “Grodd, stick close to me and don’t cause any trouble when we get inside that canyon, okay?”
“No trouble,” Grodd answered. “Grodd never trouble.”
“Right…”
They jogged ahead through the high grass, and in a few minutes they reached the canyon and stepped into the refreshingly cool shade. Grodd lifted Serenity off his shoulder and placed her on the ground. The three of them looked around.
They were clearly in the right place. The canyon was filled with signs of life. Large animal hide tents lined the walls of the space, and scattered campfires were still smoking. There was just one problem.
There was not a single ukkur in sight.
Serenity muttered something in her language. Jagga couldn’t understand her, of course, but hecouldunderstand the note of fear and concern in her voice. She was worried that they had arrived too late. She thought perhaps the nith had already snuck in and killed everyone.
But that didn’t make sense. If the nith had been here, they would know it. There would be signs of battle, the scorch marks of blaster rifles, the smell of death.
Jagga sniffed the air.
There were ukkur nearby, no doubt about it. And his nose detected other scents too, though it took him a minute to figure out what those were—other humans like Serenity.
