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The only females we had seen so far were Cardens, a stunted life-form of low intelligence, which none of us wished to mate with. At least none from my clan. We had seen other ex-prisoners who had abducted Carden females from their groups, using and abusing them in many ways.
The Cardens weren’t exactly animals, but there was something about their primitive ways and partially fur-covered bodies thatdid not appeal to my desires. No matter that their overall appearance resembled Vhar’Khyngs.
I was the last prince of the Vhar’Khyngs, and I would not sully my ancestors’ blood by crossbreeding with these primitive creatures. My clan, Sieghvathar, would die with me. Just one more thing I held against the Manx.
These thoughts ran through my mind as Xano and Oredeon emerged from the cave we called home now. It was their turn to stand watch, relieving Sel-Gor and me from the worst shift, which started around midnight and lasted until the first rays of sunlight emerged.
It was too late—or too early, however you wanted to look at it—to go back to sleep, so I stretched my tired muscles, nodded at Xano and Oredeon before I turned my back on them to jog down the steep mountain pass that led straight into the forest.
Going for a run in the crisp air always revived me after shadow duty— graveyard shift—and would get me going until I hit the bed in my chamber earlier than usual tonight. This might not be my home planet, but I was getting to know it well. The beasts roaming these lands were much larger and more aggressive than the ones on Jahrle, but they were still just that—beasts.
I was more worried about the other ex-prisoner bands roaming around than the four-legged creatures with the brownish fur and longest fangs I had ever seen on an animal. Those creatures at least were predictable. They were predators that attacked and killed if I didn’t do it first.
My fellow ex-prisoners did not give me that courtesy. Some were friendly, others were not, and most of the time, you didn’t know the difference until you felt a knife between your ribs. Trust me, I spoke from experience.
Never again would I meet with another clan to talk about agreements. As far as I was concerned, my clan was on its own just like the others were. I would not go out of my way to attackthem, but I would not sit by and allow them to take over our territory. Finding the caves had been a stroke of luck. Despite the many times we had been forced to defend them. They were strategically invaluable and offered the best shelter.
A sudden cry startled me. I stopped abruptly, momentarily frozen at the sound. A sound I hadn’t heard in many years and thought I never would again. Thankfully, my paralysis only lasted a few seconds before my instincts kicked in, and I started running in the direction from where the scream came. And that’s exactly what it had been: a scream. And possibly from a female!
While I ran, ducking underneath low-hanging branches and jumping over roots and rocks, my mind analyzed the sound. I had heard other creatures scream in high-pitched tones; there were many predators on this planet waiting to bury their fangs into less aggressive creatures, but nothing had ever sounded like this. Not even close.
My heart beat faster, not only from the exertion but with hope. Would I at last find a compatible female? After five years? Excitedly, my hand fumbled for the blaster by my side, ready to confront whatever made the other person—I tried hard not to get my hopes up and sayfemale—scream.
The area around me had fallen silent, no more screams or cries, no loud screeches from the birds in the trees. It was as if all of nature held its breath while whatever fight was taking place battled it out.
Don’t let me be too late, Odyn,I prayed to our main god.Please don’t let me be too late.And with the stranger, I pleaded,Scream again, let me find you.
As if Odyn had answered my prayers, the low warning growl of one of the daggerbeasts reached my ears. None of us had a similar creature on our home planets, so daggerbeast was what we decided to call the creatures with the long, daggerlike fangs.
A low, frightened keening rang out, unquestioningly coming from a female. The sound was so pitiful it spurned me on to run even faster.
I scaled a larger boulder, and there she was. Leaned against a tree, brandishing a burning branch to ward off the daggerbeast. Wild, blonde hair framed a dirty, heart-shaped face from which startling green eyes stared fearfully at the slowly approaching daggerbeast.
“Ha!” I yelled, startling both the daggerbeast and the female. The predator hissed at me. I widened my arms, waved them, and spread my legs in a semicrouch, making myself bigger. Baring my fangless teeth at the daggerbeast, I hissed at it just like it did at me. Stomping forward, making as much noise as possible, I advanced, making my intention of fighting it known.
I wasn’t averse to killing these creatures—they made excellent furs—but if given a choice, I would rather scare it off since I suspected I would have my hands full with the female, and would hate seeing the dead creature go to waste.
The daggerbeast must have thought the female an especially good treat though, because he readied himself to fight me for her.
Again, I yelled as loudly and deeply as I could, “Garh!”
Unimpressed, the daggerbeast lowered himself, his hind legs trembling as he crouched.
“A fight, then?” I challenged. I holstered the blaster, unwilling to enter an unfair battle, and pulled my sword from where it was sheathed behind my back.
Balancing the blade between my two hands, I braced myself for it to jump.
One day blended intothe next. Lucky for me, I found a small creek where I could refill my water bottle, not caring if it was polluted or filled with bacteria. Everything here seemed out to get me, if the water wanted to kill me, so be it; I wouldn’t make it much longer anyway.
I had only made it this far because of my obsession with junk food that, along with a can of soda and a bottle of water, had been stored in my oversized bag, which had miraculously journeyed with me.
Now, though, my supply of candy bars, a small bag of chips, and one lone granola bar was depleted, and I faced the very distinct possibility of starving to death.
The few berries and nuts I found helped stretch my small supplies, but wouldn’t sustain me by themselves. Hell, not even the junk from my purse had been adequate. Earlier today, I ripped parts of my blouse off to tie my pants up because they threatened to fall down my shrinking hips. I was losing fat faster than I would have thought possible—more than I ever had on any of the crazy diets I attempted over the last ten years.
Last week I would have been thrilled over the weight loss. This week it scared the hell out of me because it meant I was slowly starving to death.Either that or the cold will get me,or a giant bird, or a dire wolf…which I think it was what I heard howling at night—despite the fact that I was fairly certain that there had never been any dire wolves recorded in this era or area.
I was a paleontologist; I had studied the kind of predators that lived tens of thousands or even millions of years ago, and they came in a wide variety. They didn’t even have to be predators. Hell, one of the giant caribou or sloths roaming about could be deadly, and those were only the beasts I had seen or heard.
