The problem was, Biter didn’t spend any time trying to maneuver through the tight spaces she was able to squeeze into—he just smashed right through them, tearing down tree branches and ripping through vines as though they were made of tissue paper. Also, his legs were so much longer than hers that she had to take three paces to his one.
Still, she had a good head start on him and she intended to keep running until her heart burst. No matter how bad The Emptiness got, she would die before she’d let the filthy Trollox anywhere near her!
Finally, it seemed that her luck was turning—she thought that his thudding footsteps were growing fainter in the distance. Maybe she was losing him…
And then she ran into a natural clearing in the woods and stopped short because there was no way forward.
A ring of trees surrounded the clearing, all of them draped with a thick netting of curling blue vines with bright green and purple flowers. The net of vines was so thick, Makenna couldn’t see any way through it—not even a tiny animal could have squeezed through that tangled mess, she thought, let alone a curvy girl like herself!
She was just turning to head back, when a heavy hand fell on her shoulder.
“All right now, girly,” a deep, grating voice said. “You’ve led Biter on a merry chase, so you have, but now you’re mine!”
35
“Which way?” Bard demanded as Tiny sniffed the air. For a moment, it seemed like the big Ya’greer had lost the scent. Bard rested while Tiny sniffed around to find it again. He put his hands on his knees as he caught his breath.
Getting too old for this shit, he told himself. But he would run until his heart exploded in his chest if necessary—anything to get to Makenna in time. In fact, after the initial scenting, he almost hadn’t needed Tiny. The way forward through the jungle was clear—the huge Trollox had been ripping his way through the Deep Blue like a fucking steam roller.
But then they had come to an open place in the vines and trees and Tiny had stopped, looking around uncertainly. At last however, he gave a short, rowf! and headed to the right of a giant tree with dark blue bark.
Bard followed the big Ya’greer, keeping a hand on his blaster. They were getting into dangerous territory here and he knew it. The Ancients—a tribe of people who shared Rageron with the Beast Kindred—lived here and they did not tolerate visitors to their woods. Also, there were no shortages of wild, dangerous animals, from xenoxes—which looked like a cross between a grizzly bear and a bobcat with midnight black fur—to wild Ya’greers that ran in packs and attacked anyone or anything that looked like easy prey.
And Makenna’s in here with no weapons at all! No way to defend herself! Oh, Goddess, help me find her soon! Why did I ever send her away? Why—?
And then Tiny found her.
She was standing in the middle of a small, natural clearing surrounded on all sides by trees and a dense tangle of net vines, so named because they formed a natural, net-like barrier over whatever surface they grew on. They were pretty tough and only the strongest creatures in the Deep Blue could break or tear their way through them.
The net vines must have been what kept Makenna from escaping from the huge Trollox that was holding her, Bard thought, feeling sick. His vision swam red with Rage as the all-consuming protective fury began to overtake him. He took a step forward, drawing his blaster as he did so.
“Let her go you fucker!” The growl burst from his lips and at his side, Tiny was taut as a wire, ready to spring.
Biter whirled around, Makenna still in his grip. One huge hand was at her throat and he held up the other, showing that he too, was holding a blaster.
“Not another step, Kindred,” he snarled, drool sliding down his tusks and dripping on the trampled grass at his massive feet. “The girly belongs to Biter. You might have taken her once, but you won’t this time! This time Biter is going to breed his heir into her belly!”
Seeing the blaster, Bard fought the Rage that wanted to overtake him. He had to be able to think in this situation, not just act.
“Give her up or I shoot!” he growled. “Give her back, you bastard!”
“Shoot if you want.” The big Tollox shrugged. “Biter has survived shots from a blaster before.” He nodded at the twisted white scar that radiated outwards from his right shoulder to his bare chest. “But the girly won’t survive it if you shoot, because Biter will break her pretty neck!”
His big, dirty hand squeezed Makenna’s throat and she gasped, her eyes bulging as she scrabbled at his big hand with her small ones, trying to get enough air to breathe.