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Nothing.
I had fallen asleep after another meal, her small, curvy shape wrapped in my bedroll between me and the fire. She was close enough that I caught her scent with each breath, but I was only there as a bulwark against the cold. The temptation to touch her soft skin had taunted me, but I’d kept my hands firmly at my sides.
Now she was gone.
Heart contracting, I leaped to my feet, startling Chaser awake. “Of all the times for you to not be watching,” I snapped at the dog in frustration as I inhaled deeply, hoping to catch her scent.
I couldn’t. Not in this form. Growing more aggravated by the moment, I stripped down and shifted, then put my beast-nose to the task with Chaser by my side. Urgency drove my steps faster through the tangled undergrowth.
Her trail was fresh, fresh enough that her scent was still strong. She had headed off in the direction the slavers had come from, the long trail marked with Earthling blood and fear-sweat. Of course she had.
She lied to me.
There was sad astonishment in that realization as well as anger. She hadn’t trusted my judgment, hadn’t trusted the facts. Hadn’t trusted logic. She was running off now to be a hero, headed through a jungle whose dangers she barely understood.Unwise. Impulsive. Foolish.
At least she’s armed,I thought as I snuffled my way along her path. That would increase the chances that she would still be alive by the time I caught up with her. But fear for her still clawed at my heart as I picked up speed.
Not Amara. Not my Sheleki. I just found her.
The jungle, with its million perils, seemed to press in on me, mocking me as I ran. I had been stupid to think she would listen to me, a near stranger to her still, instead of to the voice of her conscience. The voice of her fears and likely her thirst for revenge against the slavers.
Glowing indigo fungi lined the bases of trees, casting an eerie light. The wind picked up. Icy rain pattered against the leaves, intensifying all scents as the moisture in the air did its work. Determination fueled my search for any sign of her.
I could smell blood.No.But it wasn’t Earthling blood.
Confused, I raced on, only pausing now and then to catch the trail with my nose.Yes, blood, plant sap, and the faint ozone scent of blaster fire. What had happened?
Then I reached another small clearing and scrambled to a stop at the sight before me.
A digger crab had its den in the clearing’s center and was hanging half out of it, collapsed in death. Blaster fire had blown its eyes so deep into its armored head that the chitin around its mangled sockets was cracked. Its massive, bruise-colored body towered over me, even lying flat. I could smell its blood leaking from the seams in its head plates, and behind that, the stronger scent of Amara.
I growled as I made my way around the creature.
I heard a muffled curse and ran around to the front of the beast, where its two foreclaws lay sprawled out, each one bearing massive pincers the size of Chaser. And beneath one of them, I saw an arm flail. Its dainty, dark brown hand still clutched a blaster.
“Mmmph!” I heard her yell from beneath the claw.
I scoffed in astonishment. The thing must have collapsed on her when she shot its eyes back into its brain. But now she was stuck.
I grabbed the offending claw in my teeth and dragged it off her, then snuffled at her worriedly as she slowly climbed to her feet.
“I’m fine,” she grumbled, pushing my nose away. “Just humiliated.” She couldn’t look at me. She seemed more aggravated that the crab had waylaid her and then caught her than anything else. The beast, one of the more dangerous in the forest, had just been another obstacle in her way.
She amazed me. Did she have any fear for herself at all? Or did she only fear for others now, like me?
But that didn’t change the fact that she had done something very foolish and potentially fatal. I growled in irritation and nosed her, pushing her gently but firmly toward Chaser. She stared at me, eyes flashing with anger and frustration, but then sighed and got into the saddle.
We walked back in silence save for the occasional quiet, thin whine from Chaser. He didn’t like the tension between us. Neither did I. But though I planned to be diplomatic about it, I was furious.
Of all the stupid, reckless, stubborn things to do. She would never have survived confronting those slavers on her own.What was she thinking?
But that was the thing. She hadn’t been thinking. Not clearly anyway. And she didn’t seem to be aware of that fact. I still suspected trauma and exhaustion were part of why, but now I realized that another set of motivators was definitely paranoia and stubborn pride. Those had to be there.
What am I supposed to do about this?I wondered as we retraced our steps.
I couldn’t force her to stay with me. Not if I wanted to earn her trust and not have her rebel even harder at the first opportunity. But the reason didn’t seem to work. And the next time she ran, I might not get to her in time to save her.
My Wulfaen was so agitated from the conflict that it took me a while, and a lot more effort than usual, to shift back into my Gladiator form. Amara dismounted as I did, watching me.
