Ragoru, page 23
part #0.10 of Ragoru Series
CHAPTER 33
It took some time coming down from the mountain, mostly because Evie had to work out an alternate route that wouldn’t take them near the mining village. They were still forced to venture closer than she was comfortable with but there was nothing she could do about it at that moment. At least the walk through the valley—once they cut through the long way in—was a lot more pleasant than that of the mountain. The breeze from the ocean was cool and had a salty sting to it, but the ground beneath their feet was pleasantly soft with growing things since none of them bothered to venture on the rocky shores that comprised the northern beaches. They’d had enough of rocks.
She’d had enough of rocks. Although her mates tried to cushion her as much as possible, her back was still aching. Thank the Mother for their marvelous tongues, or else the ache between her thighs and the scarring bites marring both shoulders and one bicep would have made the climb down miserable, to say the least.
Besides, it was exposed more than any of them liked. Once they moved into the valley and farther from the mining camp, they discovered quite a bit of forest cover from trees that had been seeded there. The fact that there was a mill suggested that a lot of these trees had been planted to supply fast lumber, but it provided some shelter as they took to traveling and resting among them. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to improve the anxiety of her triad, which only seemed to get worse as they kept her safely between them.
Thral drew in a deep breath, scenting the air when they stopped, and his mouth twisted in a grimace. His hackles had risen as soon as they entered the valley, but now he was outright bristling as he scanned their surroundings warily. Sabol stood at a distance, his big body noticeably twitching as his head snapped around with pricked ears. Evie frowned over at him, and her gaze didn’t shift away from him even once as he stalked away, tension radiating through his muscles and his stiff tail. She took a long gulp from her canteen as she watched him. He paced anxiously as if he were expecting danger to descend upon them. Screwing the lid back in place, she pursed her lips thoughtfully. Something was disturbing him, but she had no idea what. She couldn’t smell anything, not even a hint of campfire smoke that would indicate that someone was nearby.
At her side, Vrishna grumbled as he sank into a crouch, and she glanced over at him curiously.
“What’s going on?” she whispered.
He shook his head as he thoughtfully scraped the claws of one hand against the ground, digging deep gouges into the dirt and ripping up tiny plants. She narrowed her eyes on him, not willing just to have her question dismissed and stared intently at him until he huffed and gave her an exasperated look.
“It is nothing that you should be concerned about, rya,” he rumbled. “We are on our guard. We are just more on edge since completing our mating. It is unheard of to mate a female so far from a den where she can be protected. It is not uncommon for a female to become impregnated during the mating. So we are all experiencing additional stress having you exposed out here and the worry that it may be endangering any rogs.”
Evie regarded him with confusion. “Vrishna, I doubt that we’re even biologically compatible. We aren’t of the same species. I think with as much as you guys have fucked me, if I were going to be pregnant there would have been some sign of it before now.”
His expression eased, the scar side of his face wrinkling as he grinned over at her as he was momentarily distracted from whatever he was worried over by her observation. “We were careful not to breed you, Evie.”
She chuckled softly. “I’m pretty sure I remember cum dripping out of me quite every time you guys had me pinned beneath you.”
Vrishna chuffed softly. “That is not true seed. It does not impregnate. We can only produce our true seed when both the pleasure and breeding cocks are active. That is the only time there is the correct stimulation against the knot to cause a breeding lock through which we release our fertile seed. This has been observed among our species for generations, and it is how honorable males prevent siring rogs when he yields to a female who desires rutting but has not committed to mating.”
They’ve been shooting blanks this whole time. Her smugness disappeared with the realization that, while it was unlikely that they fathered offspring on her since her statement still held true, she no longer had weeks of data to rely upon. This was the first time they’d released live sperm into her.
“Fuck,” she whispered.
His ear tipped toward her, but his eyes grew distant again as he began to stare out at their surroundings, his hackles rising once more now that he was no longer distracted by their conversation.
“But that’s not what is bothering you,” she pointed out in a low voice. “I want to know what it is that has made you all nervous since we came down into the valley.”
Vrishna’s throat worked with his indecision and finally he sighed. “We’ve been here before. When we escaped the Shining Ones we decided to travel to the north and then west once we ran into the mountains. We found a small path cut into the northernmost part of this valley. I didn’t recognize it at first until just a short while ago. The scent of wrongness is hard to ignore.”
“Wrongness?” She shook her head at a loss for what he meant by that.
He ran a hand through his scruff. “It’s difficult to explain. Something in the air smells and tastes off… it leaves a sourness in my stomach. And there are no animal sounds. It is too silent. We couldn’t pinpoint the danger last time, and even now it eludes me as to where it’s coming from. It’s like it permeates this entire area, and that disturbs me. Just as it disturbs Sabol, though he doesn’t understand why yet. And then there is Thral. It weighs on him the heaviest, perhaps. As the alpha, he is the most anxious over it since he is responsible for the wellbeing of the family as a whole.”
She licked her lips and wanted to protest, but for the first time she was also noticing just how quiet it was. She’d become accustomed to the relative silence of their surroundings when they entered the mountains, but the moment they dropped into the valley, there should have been signs of life everywhere. A shudder ran through her. She’d been so distracted as they came down from the mountains that she hadn’t even noticed the absence of sounds that should’ve been there. She swallowed, contemplating if they should just go back and head directly for the coordinates above ground as she’d originally planned rather than through the caves.
If there were something strange going on with this valley, it would be better for all of them if they just returned.
Stroking her hand down his arm, she gave his forearm a pat as she stood. She was aware of his eyes following her, as well as Sabol’s gaze as the male’s head turned toward her as she made her way over to where Thral stood watch. The alpha’s ear turned toward her at her approach, and then his whole body followed, embracing her as she reached him.
“Where are you off to?” he rumbled as he slid his muzzle lovingly along the side of her cheek.
She smiled, relishing the attention from the male as she stroked the longer fur spilling around his shoulders and the thick fur of his scruff.
“Just here, but I was thinking…perhaps we should go back.”
He cocked his head as he regarded her. “Why? You said this would be the easiest route to your coordinates so that you can finally finish this and we could return to our territory.”
Her lips twisted. It seemed nothing about this trip was going to be simple or easy. “I know, but there’s something uncanny about this place and I can see that all three of you are uncomfortable with it.” She hesitated, uncertain whether she should reveal what Vrishna had confided in her but then pushed the thought away. No secrets. “I know that there’s something here that I can’t smell the way you can. Vrishna tried to explain it, but it opened my eyes to what has been bothering me. No birds, no animals rustling in the bushes. Just the buzz of an occasional fly at most.”
Damned things had come over with their colony ships and had been a plague to Solum ever since. Along with cockroaches, Evie privately suspected that some form of roach existed across the universe to plague all species.
“What I’m saying is that it’s foolish to ignore all these warning signs just to forge ahead into what could possibly be a greater danger if something is scaring the wildlife from this area. It may take a little longer going with my original plan, but I think it’s probably the best idea for us.”
He expelled a long breath. “I think you’re ri—” Thral suddenly stiffened, his words cutting off as his head snapped around.
His ears pricking, he quickly scented the air, and a menacing growl built in his chest. With one arm he pushed her behind him, and Evie’s eyes flew around their surroundings in a desperate attempt to catch some glimpse of whatever now alarmed her triad. Not only was Thral on guard but Vrishna had shot to his feet, and both he and Sabol were loping toward them.
“Thral?” she whispered, her skin prickling with fear.
“Humans,” he snarled as he backed her up into the waiting guard of the rest of her triad. “Several males are approaching us.”
She shook her head. That didn’t make sense. Who would it be? The huntsman didn’t have permission to leave the village, and she was certain that no one else would have bothered to trail after her this far.
A loud crack fired through the air, making Evie jump. Vrishna and Sabol growled as they placed her firmly between them.
“Evelyn Willocks,” a familiar voice boomed through the forest.
Her back went ramrod straight at the mocking way the huntsman drew out her name. He sounded like he was close but that only meant that he had a voice amplifier at his disposal. She wouldn’t be surprised at all if the mine had a couple that they utilized in their day-to-day operations.
“Ms. Willocks, on behalf of the Order of the Huntsmen, I charge you with one count of unlawful engagement with creatures that are a threat to human life and failing to report it. One count of assisting said creatures from evading capture. And most egregiously, one count of facilitating the movement of monsters within unlawful proximity to human habitation. By law, I’m fully within my right to carry out sentencing and execution. Come out with those creatures and I may be merciful and just imprison you. One way or another, those creatures will die. If not by my hand, then by the hand of one among the miners who agreed to accompany me in the interest of protecting their own.”
Evie shook her head. “They aren’t a danger to you,” she shouted over the growls of her mates. “They are only trying to protect me. Let us leave and I will take them away from here.”
Vale tsked over the amplifier. “I’m afraid it’s not that simple, Ms. Willocks. The miners need their pound of flesh. It seems that there was a death in the mines two days ago. A miner was torn apart by something. It is obvious to anyone with eyes that these creatures are capable of doing that sort of damage.”
“What? They don’t even match the description of the creature that the witness saw. Not to mention they never came near the mines and were with me the entire time as we took a long route into the valley. They couldn’t possibly have done it.”
He sighed, the sound carrying loudly through the forest. “Unfortunately, your witness was the miner who died while working at her post. It is entirely likely that she was mistaken, and we cannot corroborate her story against yours as her report, as you know, was undetailed.”
Fuck!
“Manchen was there,” she protested, screaming over her mates’ snarls. “She could confirm.”
A dark chuckle followed her words. Did it sound louder, closer, than it had a moment ago? “I’m afraid Manchen has been removed from her post and confined until she can be transported to report back to her superiors in person. She tried to detain me from doing my duty, so I had no choice but to act in the best interest of the citizens stationed under her care. Especially when I reported back to her that I saw your tracks mingling with prints made by some sort of beasts and she still did not grant me permission to investigate further. In her refusal to let me act in accordance to what the Order and High Council has decreed, she proved to be as big a traitor to our people as you are, Ms. Willocks. Now… step away from those creatures and come out of the woods. Do not think to try and get around us. We have the passage directly behind us bottlenecked. You have to the count of ten and then we open fire. One. Two.”
Evie inwardly cursed. The rocky ledges from the mountain had indeed created a small bottleneck a short distance away where they nearly bisected the valley save for a narrow strip of ground near the beach. They weren’t going to be able to get out that way. They had no choice but to try the cave system and hope that they found the way into the mines from there or the shaft up to the surface that was marked on her coordinates.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” she whispered as she quickly slid her pack on and went so far as strapping it around her hips and chest. Her gaze shot up to Sabol. “We have to make a run for the caves. I’ve been studying the schematic and think they might be on the other side of the village,” she said in a rush, keeping her voice low. “There’s a rocky ledge that will come out. You’ll probably smell the cave before you see the entrance, knowing you guys. That is our only chance out of here.”
She only prayed that there was nothing out there. The what-ifs sprang unbidden to her mind of horrible monsters that ate the villagers and gobbled any wildlife that came near the village nearly made her breathing jackknife so hard that she nearly passed out if not for the warm grip of Vrishna’s hand on her shoulder. Fuck. Please don’t let it be that!
Sabol grunted in understanding and exchanged a look with Vrishna before loping over to Thral. She didn’t see what happened after that because Vrishna yanked her up into his arms as he spun around and burst forward at an incredible speed. She’d never seen a Ragoru running at full speed. If she weren’t so terrified of what was happening, she would have marveled at it with the way they slipped around trees that blurred past them and the faint sting from the pressure of air rushing past her face. She kept her mouth and nose buried against his fur, to help her breathe against his momentum. The air she dragged in was warmed by his comforting scent as the amplified voice of the huntsman shouted order in the distance.
Buildings rose, wood half-rotting, the scent of decaying lumber filling the air around them as they neared the area she estimated the cave system to be. Vrishna’s pace slowed, his body quivering against hers. There was a loud crunch, and the male snarled as he lifted his foot, jostling her in the process so that she looked down at it curiously. A human skull stared sightlessly back at her, the top of its head fractured and caved in by Vrishna’s paw. But that was only the beginning of the damage because Evie could see that its jaw had been severed and flung a distance away, and there were only a few bones left scattered from what ought to have been a complete corpse if there were no animals there to predate on it.
She swallowed back the sick feeling that rose from her belly and peered around as he skirted it and continued to hurry as he searched for the cave entrance that had to be nearby. Bones and skulls became more visible, some not even making it out of the open rear doors of their homes as if they were trying to escape. They were gray with age and no longer stank in a way she could perceive, but from the way Vrishna’s nose wrinkled, she was certain that he was smelling something there. The village began to recede in the trees, the branches weaving a dark veil around it as he left the houses behind and began to climb the rapid rise of the hillside.
From somewhere nearby a horse whinnied fearfully, and she quietly groaned to herself. She hadn’t thought that the huntsman would be allowed to bring a horse to the valley, but apparently she was wrong. Dead wrong. That terrible clarity hit her as the air cracked and Vrishna snarled in pain as he crumpled around her even as he threw her free of the massive weight of his falling body.
She sailed through the air, her body hitting the ground with enough force to knock the air from her lungs. She barely had her eyes open and took one look at her blurry surroundings when the ground beneath her gave way and Evie plummeted with a scream of terror. Vrishna’s pained bellow followed after her as darkness swallowed her, and then all went quiet with an explosion of pain behind her head.
CHAPTER 34
Vrishna suffered. The pain burning through his side was terrible enough but nowhere near that which eclipsed his heart, destroying it. Their mate was gone, swallowed by the ground. Some part of him denied it and insisted that she was still alive down there, but his pain blurred his world so that there was nothing but suffering and death just beyond the ruins of human dens upon which death had richly feasted.
The Dark Father Efru, scourge of the living and feaster upon flesh, had taken all the living from this place. He had stolen Evie and now he was coming from Vrishna. A strange animal shrieked nearby, disturbed as it should be in that terrible place, and footsteps crunched as someone approached at a leisurely pace nearby. Vrishna groaned, certain that it was Efru. He turned his head, not ready to submit to death until he discovered for certain whether Evie lived or not, his lip curling back from his fangs as he snarled.
Laughter descended upon him, and his gaze fixed on a figure that closed in over him, blocking out the light. The scent of unwashed human male flesh stung his nose. This was no Efru. No deity to which he would ultimately play supplicant.
This was the enemy.
Snarling, he pushed himself up in preparation to lunge when the shadowy form of the huntsman lifted his arm, and something came down on Vrishna’s skull with a crack. He dropped once more into the dirt as the male stepped in closer and leaned down.
