The greenery was beautiful, especially laden as it was with strange, exotic flowers she could never have imagined. The centers of the flowers were brilliant pinks and reds and pushed out in frills and spirals and strange shapes that were hard to look away from.
Yes, despite everything, it was most definitely beautiful. She had to admit that.
It was just incredibly miserable, too.
Not only in terms of breathing comfortably, but her sweat beaded on her skin and dripped from her. She was hot, sticky, and sweaty. There was little doubt in her mind that if her suit wasn’t self-cleaning and helping to regulate her body temperature she would have felt even worse.
Not that it helped with her general comfort level exposed to the elements. She hoped she got used to the humidity soon. She cast an envious look at the scaled assholes who didn’t seem to have much external reaction to the conditions. The Blaithari and Turogo looked almost comfortable. Only the Igwin seemed to struggle a little, but even they didn’t seem quite as uncomfortable as she was.
With a flick of his blaster, Egbor met Veral’s eyes. “Lead the way, Argurma.”
Veral snarled but looked away, his eyes searching out hers. As their gazes met, something within him relaxed as Terri gave him a reassuring nod, confirming that she was, in fact, okay.
His lips peeling back from his teeth, Veral gave the captain one more lethal glance that promised all manner of death and pain, before turning away to stride forward into the dense forest. Egbor stared after him with a self-satisfied smile as he shoved his pack into Garswal’s arms at his side—his son, Terri had learned from Azan. Her disgust at the way the male treated his own offspring had clearly bothered her enough to satisfy Terri’s curiosity about the relationship between the males.
The boy was always at the captain’s side, tending to everything the older male wanted. She just hadn’t expected him to be a son.
Who treated their own child that way?
Garswal struggled under the weight of the pack before he managed to get it looped securely around his body. Steadying himself, he looked up for approval just as the captain walked away, barking orders to the rest of the crew.
“Come on, ozu,” Azan muttered to the child, nudging him forward. “The captain will be displeased if we fall behind. Are you going to be able to manage that?”
The look of disappointment fled from Garswal’s features as he beamed up at her. “Yes, Azan, I will do good. I will keep up.”
“Good,” she muttered before tugging Terri along less than gently.
Even though Azan occasionally showed softer moments, she didn’t let anyone forget that she was a ruthless pirate.
The spongy ground beneath their feet made walking a bit more awkward, and it had too much give to it for Terri’s comfort. A thin layer of water seemed to cover everything. The rough, craggy trunks of the enormous trees surrounded them on all sides. She attempted to place her feet on their protruding roots when she caught sight of them, but they were sometimes spaced out too far apart. When there weren’t roots nearby, she aimed for fluffy, dry patches of grass that occasionally rose above the water. The pirates picked their way with slow uncertainty ahead of her. That made Terri feel a little better, affirming that she wasn’t the only one worrying about sinking into the wet muck.
“I had not anticipated this from the scans. The forest floor is similar to a bog. Step only where it is dry, or if you see green grass or flowers growing from the water. Anywhere dark or sandy, do not walk,” Veral called back to her.
Swallowing nervously, she hopped over to a patch covered with tiny, delicate pink flowers just as a panicked screech rang out. Terri paused and glanced back, her mouth parting with horror.
An Igwin stood in the middle of a large section of ground that Veral had cautioned them about. Or at least hehad beenstanding. Within the seconds between his bellow and Terri turning to glance back at him, he had sunk to his waist. His panicked shrieks and howls filled the air as his claws dug at the wet ground churning around him. He struggled to break free, but with every attempt, he sank deeper, faster.
Nausea swelled up into her throat, and Azan nudged her until she was forced to turn away. Garswal was safely tucked in between them, unable to catch sight of what was happening no matter how much he turned his head. It was just as well.
“You do not wish to see this,” the second-in-command whispered.
Terri nodded. She most definitely didn’t want to see it. His screams grew louder, but she tried to shut them out, her heart hammering. His death was going to be terrible.
She didn’t take more than a handful of steps when the ground shook, and a deep hiss filled her ears. Jerking back around, a scream lodged in her throat. From a couple of floating masses of some sort of mossy substance, a giant serpentine head with a long, narrow snout rose from the murky water. Murky yellow-green eyes fixed on its prey.
The Igwin’s limbs worked frantically, only his arms and head still free of the bog. He wailed again as the serpent’s head lifted higher, its mouth gaping wide as an impossibly long tongue flicked out, tasting the air. In the blink of an eye, its head whipped down. Long jaws closed around the male, and he let out more pitiful scream as it yanked him out of the mud and pulled him back down into the water between the floating masses of plant material.
Silence fell among them, and everyone seemed frozen in shock until two more serpents pushed up from the water.
“Run!” Veral roared.
In a panic, everyone surged forward. Everyone except Veral. Though he was a short distance ahead, he was barreling back toward them, his eyes pinned frantically on her. He didn’t stop until the captain stumbled to a halt, raised his blaster, and pointed it at her. Egbor’s breath wheezed out him fearfully, but his hand did not shake as he kept the weapon leveled in her direction.
“Lead the way to safety,” the captain snarled. “If you do not save us, you will not be saving her either.”
The sound of rushing water and scraping was getting louder. Terri didn’t have to look behind her to know the creatures were heading in their direction. Azan’s arm suddenly banded around her, lifting her up over the larger female’s shoulder. Terri swayed as the Blaithari stooped to snatch up Garswal in her other arm.
“Hurry!” she shouted as she began to hop from one patch of ground to the other, hauling both charges over the terrain as fast as possible.