Page 28 of Dragon Gods

It was a few hours into her journey when she again questioned if she should have stopped to get help. She knew that even if Ocon only had an hour head start, it would be a while before she was able to catch up with him. The fact that she hadn’t yet spoke to either an escape early in the night or the fact that he was being smart and running fast. But she’d catch up eventually. Once he was out of the tunnel, he’d have to figure out what direction to go and he’d be moving slowly again. She had seen him in the rainforest before and it didn’t speak of stealth or even comfort. But she also knew that it would be half a day or more before she came back to the base with Ocon. Micael would notice them both gone, but what would he think? Would he assume she’d broken with the resistance and kidnapped him for her own gains? She didn’t want to dwell on the rumors that might spread in her absence.

It would be worth it, though, to see the look on Ocon’s face when she caught up to him, and the look on Micael’s face when she walked back in with him alive and mostly uninjured—depending on her mood when she found him.

She was only a little surprised to find the boulder at the end of the tunnel closed over. But the fresh scuff marks all around the area made it clear that someone had been here and recently. She smirked to see the wedge untouched and still hanging along the wall to the right. He had apparently chosen to push the entire boulder over himself. Although, she also begrudgingly admitted to herself it was an impressive feat for a single man. His muscles weren’t just for show.

Even with her height and strength, she knew there was no way she was moving the boulder alone. She grabbed the wedge off the wall and rammed it into the crevice between boulder and wall as hard as she could. The stone gave a groan as she flung her weight against the length of the wedge. Ever so slowly, the stone moved, a small opening appearing along the edge.

The moment it was large enough to squeeze through, she dropped the wedge, not bothering to rehang it. It was dark beyond the cave—already night again—but she put the torch out and tucked it away in her bag, not wanting to draw more attention than necessary once she was out in the rainforest.

She’d never been down the tunnel, nor had she been to this part of the rainforest before. She knew she was on the edge of what was considered Dragonborn territory back before the tribes war had destroyed everything. But the tunnel itself had been created only for the utmost emergencies and no one in her generation had ever had need to use it. Although she couldn’t see the sky, the night-blooming flowers were only just unfurling. Sunset couldn’t have been too long ago.

She was already breathing heavily from her trek and her stomach was reminding her that she hadn’t grabbed any food to pack in her meager supplies and her last meal had been dinner the night before. But she still had to move. She had a fox to hunt.

Before she started her tracking, she found a luzia mushroom beneath the dead leaves surrounding a ceiba tree and plucked it from the ground. The cap was the size of her hand and let out a bright, nearly white glow even after it was disconnected from its root system.

It didn’t take long to find Ocon’s footsteps in the dirt, heading out into the rainforest. They were faint, but the markings were distinct compared to any other animal. She probably shouldn’t have been surprised to see the haphazard path they took north of the tunnel. He wasn’t even trying to walk in the right direction. If it was anyone else, she might have thought he knew something she didn’t, but she wouldn’t give him that benefit. She could only assume he was as unfamiliar with this part of the forest as she was and with none of the instincts.

She followed the trail. The light of the mushroom in her hands was just starting to fade when she heard the distinct sound of life nearby. It might have been an animal hunting in the dark, but a moment later she heard the sound of a human cursing and knew she had found who she was looking for. She slipped the bow from over her head and balanced a single arrow in her hand before moving forward at a clip. She wasn’t going to let Ocon get away this time. She was going to prove Micael was wrong about her usefulness to the resistance.

CHAPTERTHIRTEEN

FOX

Fox pulled the dagger from his belt, testing the weight of it in his hand. It was smaller than he preferred and he recognized with a small sneer it wasn’t even steel, but iron, but it would have to do. He could only hope is was only a harmless monkey or frightened deer lurking in the shadows.

He squinted into the darkness, trying to make out the shadow slinking toward him. He was so focused on the subtle movement, that it wasn’t until someone gripped his arm from the side that he realized the shadow in front of him wasn’t alone. He pulled back, wrenching his arm free as he swung around to look. It was man, at least a foot taller than him with shoulders broad enough to threaten a jaguar. White teeth flashed in the dark, a smile like a wolf’s.

Fox stumbled back, not caring if his terror was evident in his face, but he only made it two steps before he hit the solid barrier of a muscled body behind him. The second man was bare-chested and he could feel the heat of his skin through his stolen cloak. Fox pushed himself upright, trying to keep his chin high. Three towering figures formed a circle around where he stood. And they weren’t just shirtless, but naked. Their bodies were chiseled from marble and shone in the night, as if their very blood glowed beneath their skin. There was something about their bare bodies, painted with scars, that made them all the more intimidating. He’d never considered himself a short person until this moment as he tried his best not to quake under their glares. The small dagger in his hand felt all the more ineffectual.

A nervous laugh bubbled up and he gave a tight smile, letting his arm fall loose, even as he tightened his grip on the weapon.

“Sorry about that, gentlemen. I thought you were a wild animal.”

The man directly in front of him let out a gravelly laugh that made Fox’s stomach twist tighter. They were standing preternaturally still, their chests not even showing signs of breathing. He tried to keep his eyes focused on their faces, not wanting to be caught looking lower.

“Anyway, I’ll just be on my way,” Fox said, voice creeping higher.

He stepped to the right, trying to move through the gap between them. The men closed in immediately and he froze, feeling his mouth go dry.

“What’s a little boy like you doing out here all alone?” The man’s breath tickled across the back of his neck as he spoke, and Fox shivered. He was starting to regret that the sound hadn’t been a jaguar or even the Dragonborn bitch that had initially captured him. These men were looking at him like they wanted to eat him and they were big enough to have a chance.

“I just was heading back to the city,” he said, not making the mistake of taking a step this time. They were closing in on him, somehow nearing without moving. The blade was still tight in his hand and their nakedness was only one less layer between him and their most important arteries.

“The city, he says,” the tallest said, sneering. “We’ve caught a king’s man did we?”

Fox didn’t like the way that word rolled off his tongue, like the dirtiest insult he could speak. Were these men with the resistance? He hadn’t remembered any of his captors towering nearly so high, but who else could hold such disgust for Suvi and its people? He was beginning to think he wouldn’t be able to talk his way out of this. His grip tightened on the dagger, cold iron biting into his hand, as he brought forth his father’s lessons in war.Hit first.

So he did.

He brought the dagger up hard and fast, striking toward the largest man’s groin. It was an underhanded move that his father would have scorned, but it did the job. The curse and groan the man let out told Fox everything he needed to know as the blade made contact with skin and he quickly turned, moving to strike the next man. Before he had a chance, a large arm came around his neck, pressing him back into the body of the man behind him. He gasped uselessly against the grip, the pressure against his throat making it impossible to breathe. He swung the dagger back trying to strike the man somewhere it might hurt. But the third man was already on him, wrenching the blade from his grasp with little effort and tossing it aside.

Hands now empty, he scrabbled to loosen the arm across his neck, nails biting into the man’s skin. The giant man let out a grunt behind Fox, but didn’t loosen his hold. It was like fighting a stone wall. Fox’s vision was beginning to blacken around the edges. In a last desperate attempt to dislodge the man from his back, he bent his neck forward with all his strength, opened his mouth and bit down hard. He didn’t let up until he tasted blood and the man shoved him away with a cry of anger.

“The human bites!” he said. It might have been more comforting if the words hadn’t been tinged with laughter.

Fox scrambled forward, grabbing a stick from the ground, barely wider than his wrist. It broke on the first swing as he hit one man across the leg and the beast only laughed as the wood splintered against his flesh, drawing blood.

Fox stepped back, taking a breath as the two men in front of him only stood, smirking. They didn’t bother to attack—their confidence sending icy dread down his spine. He turned, but the third man had disappeared into the shadows.

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