Page 11 of The Warrior's Oath
Korvin ignored that last part, focusing on the news that his leader had survived their Raxxian capture. “I must find him,” he said, picking up his pace.
“Hey, wait up!”
“He is out there somewhere. It is imperative I reunite with my general.”
“I get that you’re all gung-ho to find him, but we have no idea where he might be, even if he did survive the crash.”
“That is no excuse for not trying.”
“No, it’s not. But your legs are like twice as long as mine, and there’s no way I can keep up with you if you just take off like that.”
Korvin’s face contorted. Just for an instant, but she saw it. He was upset. Torn. He had pledged to guarantee her safety, and she could already tell that for a man like him his word was an unbreakable bond. And now she’d just put him in the uncomfortable position of having to make a choice.
“I will slow my pace,” he said after taking a few deep breaths, calming himself. “You remain under my protection. But we now have a course to follow.”
“We do?”
“Yes,” he said, a look of satisfied resolve in his eyes. “We will trek to the other crash-down sites until we find him.”
“And if he didn’t survive? Sorry to be a downer, but you’ve got to be ready for that possibility.”
Korvin nodded, his jaw flexing. “I am aware of that,” he said. “And if that is the case, we will adjust from that point. But for now, at least, we have a purpose. Come, we need to make the most of the daylight.”
Without another word he turned and walked off. Fast, but not so fast that Nyota couldn’t keep up. She popped the last bite of the Boodzin pod into her mouth and set off after him. He was excited and eager to go, and that meant it was going to be a long, long day.
CHAPTERSIX
Korvin had pushed the pace, as expected, eventually altering course, guiding them to the top of a small rocky hill to use as a vantage point. From there he said he was hopeful to spot the location of at least some of the other crashed containers from the Raxxian ship.
Of course, the craft had broken up in orbit and the constituent surviving pieces had scattered upon entering the atmosphere. If any others had survived—and that was a bigif—there was no telling how closely or spread out they would have come down.
If they were lucky, the gravitational pull on the compartments would have brought them to roughly the same area, seeing as they came from the same place. But from ground level, and below tree cover no less, there was just no way to be sure. Hence the need to climb.
Nyota’s legs were most definitely feeling the exertion.
They crested the small hill and Korvin dropped their supplies, quickly scaling a tree with impressive agility. Nyota watched as his powerful arms hauled him up, up, and up until he was atop the canopy.
“See anything?” she called up to him.
“I see many things,” he replied. “Among them is what appears to be an impact area not far from here.”
“You sure?”
“Sure?” he scoffed. “Not in the slightest. This hill, while somewhat elevated, is still far too low for a proper view. I would much prefer to be atop that small mountaintop you can see peaking over the treetops. However, I would wager that there is a fifty-fifty likelihood of my impression being correct. That is, unless this world naturally has large gaps in the growth of its trees.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning it looks as though something quite sizable crashed down through them, and recently. I can make out what seems to be a gap in the foliage. It is a fair distance from here, and the trek will take much of the day, provided we do not encounter any unforeseen difficulties with the terrain.”
Korvin began climbing down from his perch, his long limbs making quick work of the descent, the additional joint in his fingers giving him a more secure grip than a human could ever hope for.
“We will set out at once,” he said as his feet landed beside her with barely a sound, which was impressive for a man his size. “I am not yet sure of the length of a day on this world. We should assume it is short until proven otherwise. It is not a journey we would wish to undertake in the dark. At least, not until we know what sort of predators may lurk here.”
Nyota didn’t like the sound of that. “Well, that’s not reassuring at all. And did you say you want us to hike all day on a hunch? How can you possibly know that you’re right about that being a crash site?”
“I cannot be certain, obviously. But given the change in coloration from what looks like broken limbs among the leaves, it is a logical assumption the damage was caused by something large coming down through the treetops.”
“How can you even see that? You said it’s almost a day’s hike away.”
