Page 18 of Latham
With difficulty Helaine reached for him and he took her into his arms.
“Don’t blame yourself,” she said firmly. “We discussed using the zipline and I agreed it was a good idea. I don’t know if I could have climbed down the cliff wall and then climbed up the other side. And the river is impassable. We could have been wandering around here in the gorge for days.”
“We’re only out here in this damn wilderness because I was anxious about staying at the main resort,” he said. “I should have been able to suck it up and let you enjoy the civilized amenities, not drag you into doing all these things you wouldn’t do ordinarily.”
Helaine stared at him. “I don’t regret making this trip. And I’m not going to listen to you beat yourself up. We’re a team, we made the decisions jointly. If we hadn’t come to Corleon Cove we might not have discovered how good we are together. And Latham?”
“Yes?”
“I’m proud of myself for pushing my boundaries and trying new things so far out of my comfort zone. I learned a lot about myself this week and I like the fact I know my true limits. And I love you.”
She sept fitfully through the night. The slightest movement woke her up and when she wasn’t awake, her dreams were obviously bad ones of falling, judging by how she would startle, or of the tsunami. Latham held her, made sure she was well wrapped in the survival blanket and kept the fire burning brightly. He slept as a soldier does, not deeply and ready for instant action if required.
Because there were eyes watching them and keen minds assessing the risks of attacking.
He’d been aware of them since the late afternoon. It was a pack of canine mammals and from the glimpses he’d caught, there were six or eight individuals. He guessed they ordinarily lived by catching the deerlike animals who ran in herds in the gorge. The predators could scent the fact Helaine was injured and wounded prey was far easier to take down than a deer running for its life. The fire was keeping them at bay for now and Latham knew they were assessing how much risk there was in attacking him. He was obviously big and tough but as an ordinary man even he would have a problem fending off a whole pack, especially since some of the animals would be going after Helaine.
As the famptror he’d decimate them. To save his mate? Latham would wreak utter havoc. These predators had never seen anything like what he could become. He wondered if the hunters could scent what he kept hidden in his DNA because the pack didn’t prowl too close.
* * *
Helaine woke in the early morning, judging from the dim sunlight filtering through the trees. Her leg hurt and she felt a tiny bit feverish. The rest of her cuts and bruises had settled into a constant state of pain and stiffness and her head pounded. Latham was at her side immediately, holding out a survival ration and a nutrient drink packet.
“How are you feeling?” he asked as she took the items without enthusiasm and forced herself to drink.
“Not very spry to tell you the truth. Does your magical backpack have any headclear? I can hardly think for this headache.” She eyed the survival ration and couldn’t make herself open it. Her stomach was unsettled. “I don’t think I can eat this. Or at least not right now.”
“You didn’t sleep well, not surprisingly.” He got out the requested inject and also his sensor, which he ran over her, lingering a long time on her splinted leg. Helaine didn’t want to know what the verdict was. She guessed she was developing an infection.
“I have generic antibiotics,” he said casually as if trying not to alarm her and she knew she was right. “You shouldn’t take them on an empty stomach though.”
“I’ll force it down.” She held out her hand and he placed the pill on her palm. Her stomach rebelled but she managed to eat a few bites of the ration bar after she took the pill. “What’s the plan for today?”
“Get ourselves to the cliff wall and see how hard it’ll be to ascend. I’ll carry you,” he added before she could protest. Helaine understood they couldn’t simply remain where they were, but she had no energy to stir from the spot and no ability to walk.
Something rustled in the bushes and she grabbed Latham’s elbow. “Did you hear that?”
He took a rock from the edge of the fire ring and heaved it in the direction of the sound, putting a lot of power into the throw. There was yelp of pain and the foliage shook again.
“What the seven hells is out there?” she demanded.
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I guess you’d probably call them wolves. They’ve been sniffing around for a while.”
Horrified, she made as if to stand up but the pain shooting through her leg made her gasp and bite her lip till she bled. Latham held her and murmured reassurance. “They’re not getting to you while I’m here. And they’re scared of me because of my size. They have no idea what I can become either but I do think it’s best if we don’t linger. I need to get you to a medbay where you can get proper care rather than what I can manage here with my medkit.”
“By all means,” she gritted out when the pain receded a bit. “Let’s get out of here. Being eaten by wolves is definitely on my antibucket list and I think I’ve crossed quite enough activities off for one trip.”
He cleaned up the campsite while she rested and thoroughly doused the fire. Once he had their packs over his shoulders, he lifted her with the utmost care, although her leg got jostled unavoidably in the process and they set out for the cliff, which loomed over the gorge like a sentinel.
“Are they following us?” she asked in a whisper.
“Yes. If I can find the right spot, where I can keep you safe, then I’m going to unleash the famptror and take them out. The pack is clearly not backing off and I’d rather carry the fight to them than wait to be attacked.” His voice was calm but cold and Helaine knew she was seeing him in warrior mode, the way he must have been while in the military. She was grateful to have such a man at her side for this ordeal but worried about him taking on an entire pack of the unseen predators.
After several rest stops which Latham took to allow Helaine to throw up the meager contents of her stomach, sick from the pain and anxiety, they arrived at the foot of the cliff and Latham stood, still holding her, while they contemplated the climb ahead.
“You can’t do this,” she said. “Not with me. Leave me in a safe spot and go up on your own. Find a spot with a signal and call in the reinforcements.”
“I’m not leaving you and we will make the climb together,” he said, allowing no room for argument. He heard a low growl behind them and turned, standing as tall as he could. The hunters hadn’t gotten daring enough to come out of hiding yet, but they were much too close for comfort. If he started climbing the cliff, with his back to the pack, carrying Helaine, the pack would attack. “First I’ve got to rid us of these wolves.”
