Energy snapped through his muscles, every inch of him thrumming for a fight. A fight that did not come. Her touch restored his control. Instead of lunging for the pirate as he wanted, he wrapped a possessive arm around Terri, drawing her to him before pulling her around until she was in front of him, within the shelter of his body.
She was correct. Later, he would remove the male’s head from his body. He would gild it in the pirate’s own wealth and present it to her. She had a strange objection to such trophies, but perhaps if it were gilded it would more suitably honor her, if she disliked seeing the unadorned bone.
19
After the confrontation with the captain, there was unease among the pirates as they climbed into the higher elevation, away from the low bogs. Terri was aware of it, but kept her attention on the forest. She hadn’t even been aware of the animal that Veral and Azan brought down until it was knocked to the ground directly in her path.
The forest was beautiful, but dangerous. She had no doubt that, even as it became more fantastic as they ascended into its depths and the forest became all the more glorious, there were far worse threats that lurked within it.
And it was beautiful, unlike anything she could have ever imagined existing on Earth, though she knew there were forests and great trees that once grew there, before the devastations. But in the material that she had read since acquiring the info dumps in the translator Veral implanted, nothing had been described that matched what she saw on this planet. Only those of the outer forest bore any resemblance to what she had imagined once grew on Earth. That changed as they went deeper into the forest.
As the forest thickened, the trees of the outer forest were replaced by enormous trees that dwarfed those that came before them. They towered at heights even greater than the broken remains of the tallest buildings of Phoenix. The leaves, most more than twice the size of her hand, cast so many shades of green that it reminded her of a polished alien gem she had seen on the space station. It had swirled with so many hues that it was entrancing, even as its cut made it sparkle with life. That gem could almost have been the perfect recreation of the hues of the forest she now walked through. Even the fine hairs that covered the leaves of many of the trees, and the thick dusting of silver hairs on vines, made the forest sparkle in the sunlight.
There was another vine that came from the tree covered with a dusting of dark, jewel-tone red hairs. The protrusions that grew out from the sides of the trees swayed in the air, not unlike Veral’s vibrissae. Terri couldn’t see any reason for them to have them—not until she watched one catch a large insect and drag it into a hole just above it. Their constant movement unnerved her, especially whenever she caught a sharp movement from one of the vines out of the corner of her eye. It made Terri tense with anxiety, fearing that another animal was preparing to pounce.
After all, there was plenty of cover to conceal any number of creatures. Clinging to the sides of the trees and filling in the gaps between them were fronds, bushes, and vines, and so many types of flowers in hues of reds, pinks, blues, pink, and even silver in tiny sprays, large blooms and thick clusters that it was magical.
A magical place where anything could hide. Including the drop into the depths of a ravine.
“Halt! Do not move,” Veral snarled, his arm banding around Terri so suddenly that her heart almost stopped before she caught a glimpse of what had made him call out to everyone. Shouts went up among the pirates as they drew to a stop and backpedaled with a sense of urgency. Veral’s systems, with his ultra-sensitive vibrissae, had picked up something that none of them had seen. Even Azan drew up short with a sharp gasp of alarm. They had all come too close to their demise.
Terri’s heart hammered in her chest above the band of Veral’s arm secured tightly around her as she stared down into the chasm of a ravine. Ever since the confrontation with Egbor, her mate had kept her within arm’s reach, and she had never been more grateful than she was at that moment. She hadn’t even noticed that they were approaching the edge due to the angle at which the trees grew.
It was nothing like what she had expected. She had assumed when looking at the schematic of the crash location with Veral that the forest would open up and the ravine itself would have been nothing but barren rock, not unlike some of the canyons that peppered the landscape where she had grown up.
For one, the trees didn’t thin out and part before reaching the sheer stones. Instead, the giant trees seemed to bend and grow at angles as the forest appeared to drop down the walls of the ravine. There was plenty of rock, but if it hadn’t been for Veral alerting everyone to the sudden drop, she doubted anyone would have been aware of it.
And it was a long way to fall.
The sound of rushing water from the river below was loud, echoing despite the distance. In a few places, she could see waterfalls cascading down the sheer drops. Terri jerked as a flock of large reptilian birds, disturbed by the presence of outsiders, burst up from a ledge, sunlight bouncing off the vibrant green and red feathers and indigo scales as they winged away, their piercing shrieks reverberating.
“This is unexpected,” Egbor muttered as he drew to their side, squinting as he scanned the depths of the ravine. “Are we to go down there?”
“As you are aware, theEvandrais farther west. I initially calculated that the only way to approach would be via this ravine. Whether it is on one of the many ledges or in the water below remains to be seen,” Veral replied.
Despite the lack of apparent emotion in his response, Terri knew her mate well enough to know that he was tense and angry, and that the mere presence of the pirate put him in a killing mood. His vibrissae whipped faster, and his mandibles were flexed out in defensive posture.
The captain, however, seemed oblivious—or just didn’t care.
“This will slow us down considerably. There is no way to arrive at theEvandrabefore nightfall.”
“Correct.”
“It will not be safe to camp here with our backs to the ravine. We will be at a disadvantage, and vulnerable to anything that hunts us.”
“Yes.”
Egbor sighed. “What is your suggestion?”
“That we turn around and leaveEvandrato its rest,” Veral rumbled.
The pirate chuckled. “Nice attempt, but that is not happening. Try again. Where would be a safe place to camp that will allow us to arrive at the crash site before nightfall?”
A low hiss escaped her mate as he scanned the cliffs. Finally, Veral jerked his chin, his mandibles clicking, as he gestured to the wide ledge the birds had vacated, some distance away from them. Terri’s stomach dropped as she looked at it. Not only would they have to climb down among the trees a considerable way, but traveling along the narrow rocks and outshot trees until they reached the ledge wasn’t going to be easy.
The pirate’s lips thinned as he noted the location of the ledge. “We go there?” At Veral’s short nod, Egbor turned to address his crew. “All of you keep in tight formation. The Argurma has found a suitable ledge for us to make camp on. Make haste. We will not have the sun for long!”
There was some hesitation among the crew, and numerous grumbled complaints as the males noted the location of the ledge and how far they still had to travel before the sun sank below the horizon. Even Azan seemed a bit paler than normal.