Page 43 of Bosse
Bosse crept cautiously around the edge of the field. His mind jumped from escaping the castle to if he could find Italy. That would only happen if he outran another shifter and a flying abomination on his tail.
He’d promised Alifair he’d stay alive for her.
Was she safe? He never heard a lie in her voice when she said he’d put her in danger by staying. He hoped that was true, and she found her way back to her sleeping area undetected.
When he stumbled, Titan growled,Pay attention.
Bosse grunted and kept moving.
When he’d completely circled the open area, he hunted for boulders on the hill he’d used to mark a spot for continuing west.
The spot had been a broken tree laid over a boulder.
He hurried to his left, knocking branches aside. There was the marker he needed. As he closed in on the tree and boulder, loud flapping sounded overhead. He jumped behind a tall spruce tree and leaned around to peek.
The Lammogo landed on flat ground, tucked its wings, and trotted around on four legs with its head high in the air.
Could that thing scent him?
Bosse stayed very still while trying to decide his next move.
The Lammogo opened its beak and screeched a loud noise over and over. Bosse had to cover his ears until it stopped.
Howling answered.
Was that creature calling in the shifter hunting Bosse?
The Lammogo couldn’t have found any tracks out there. It had to be sounding an alarm based on losing his trail.
A low rumble of thunder rolled around to the west beyond this hill.
He’d welcome the fresh water.
Backing away as quietly as he could, Bosse waited until he could no longer see the Lammogo, then turned and made his way uphill and over the top. He hurried in the direction he hoped was west. Once he had covered about a kilometer, he ran every chance he was not in thick undergrowth. The land went downhill again, sometimes gently, but other times in sharp drops. But it smelled magnificent. He thought he’d never take a breath of fresh air again.
Once he ran out of significant cover, he had no option but to take the fastest path straight down.
He leaped over a bush instead of circling it in the interest of time but landed badly and fell into a roll, bouncing hard. Rocks jabbed his back and arms. He clawed to slow his fall, finally catching the base of a bush and sliding to a stop. The first thing he thought about was to thank Alifair for clothes, or that would have been even more painful.
Heaving gulps of air, he watched to see if the Lammogo had taken to the air and had seen the dust blown up from his tumble.
Not yet.
Getting up, he groaned at more abuse to his body and kept moving.
From here, he had a valley with scattered trees to cross and then a shorter rise to cover, but there was good news. Behind him, the sky began to lighten and define a horizon. He kept that eastern sunrise point at his back to keep moving west.
Thunder rumbled. That might be why the sky was still so black ahead of him. A crackle of lightning streaked across the sky.
Yep. He was running toward a storm.
That would slow him down, making it easier for the Lammogo to catch him, especially if he had to cross a river. He had no idea if he’d have to cross one, but he was better prepared than his wolf to take on a river.
A loud screech lifted the hairs on his neck. He twisted around to see the Lammogo high above the last peak and heading his way.
Could that thing really see him from so far up?
Well, it did have an eagle-like head. Might have the eyes of one as well. Plus, the partial moon still shined in this area. Where were the rain clouds when he could use them?
