Page 21 of Spirit Rites
“You think it’s all part of my testing?”
He blows out a breath. “Probably.” He doesn’t look happy about it, but I’m just glad I survived.
I can’t help my smile. “Well, I’m alive; and we found each other. Let’s keep going.”
He looks like he’s going to argue, but then he joins me. “How do you stay so positive?”
His question surprises me, but it doesn’t take me long to form an answer. This isn’t the first time I’ve been asked this question. “I guess I learned at an early age that bad things happen. There’s no getting around it or escaping it. But when they do happen, you can control what happens next. You can control your response.” I shrug. “I’ve learned that you can choose to stay down when you’re knocked down, or you can choose to make the best of whatever life throws at you.” I grin at him. “Life’s going to happen either way. Might as well smile and enjoy it when it does.”
Chapter 10
The rest of the day is almost surprisingly boring. We build a shelter and take turns sleeping that night. When the next morning dawns bright, I can’t help my smile. “We made it through another night. The sun is out. My voice is back.” Kaldar interrupts my list.
“Morning.”
I smile at him. “Morning. Sleep well?” I know we both only slept a few hours, but at least it’s something. He nods. It only takes us a minute or two to be ready. I make a mental note to keep an eye out for anything we can eat. Kaldar caught us wild game last night for dinner, so that will hold us over for now. We walk in silence for a little bit. It’s not awkward in the least. In fact, I appreciate it. It gives me time to take in the beauty of the early morning as the sun touches the tops of the trees. Even in this place that’s designed to try to kill us, there is a wild beauty, one I can appreciate.
After we walk in silence a while, I’m ready to break the silence. “Did you know Solace, Farrah’s bonded wolf, is pregnant.”
He glances over at me, and I can tell he’s surprised. “Yeah? How far along is she?”
“Farrah said she has a few weeks left. It’s amazing how short a pregnancy for wolves is. Of course, it probably doesn’t feel short to them. How long are jaguar pregnancies?”
“Just a little longer than wolves. Gestation is about ninety to a hundred days, about fourteen weeks.”
“How many pups do jaguars have? Are they called pups? Wolves have a lot. They can have up to twelve in one—”
“Kinsley.” Kaldar’s voice cuts me off, not because he says my name but because ofhowhe says my name. “Don’t move,” he says in a low urgent tone.
Dread automatically fills me, and I freeze. “What is it?” I ask softly.
“Kinsley.” Him calling my name has me looking at him. His eyes are locked on mine. “Whatever you do, don’t look down.”
My eyes automatically shoot to the ground. At the same time, the source of the sound I’ve been hearing in the back of my mind hits me. My entire body locks up, and I can’t breathe. We are surrounded by snakes, more snakes than I’ve ever seen in my life. When the ground beneath me moves, I barely stifle a scream.
“Don’t,” Kaldar urges quietly. “Look at me.” There’s authority in his voice, and my eyes shoot to his. He must see the absolute panic in my eyes, but he doesn’t react in any way. “I will get you out of this; just don’t make any sudden moves.”
I want to close my eyes, hoping that when I open them, this nightmare will be over. But I’m afraid if I close my eyes, I will fall over. And that would be the worst thing I could do. When I feel something begin to wind around my leg, I can’t take it. “Kaldar,” I cry out. Tears blind my vision, and fear greater than anything I’ve ever known takes hold of me.
“Kinsley, stay with me,” I hear from far away. “You’re braver than this. You can do this. We just have to get out of this area. It’s about five steps back. Can you do that?”
I can’t answer because there’s literally a snake winding its way up my body. “Kaldar,” my voice is a broken whimper. I can’t look down, but I can’t keep letting it crawl up my body. Suddenly, it jerks. I stifle a scream, but then it falls off me. I know I have Kaldar to thank, but my tongue is too thick to form any words.
“Kinsley.” Kaldar’s rich voice hits my ears. “Look at me.” I force my gaze to his bright green eyes. “You just have to take about four steps to get to me. You can do that, right?” I don’t say anything. I can’t. Fear has absolutely frozen me. “Come on, Kinsley. You can do it. Just four steps.” I don’t look away from his eyes; I can’t. He has his hand outstretched to me. “Just four steps.” I don’t look away from him, even as the hissing around me gets louder. I whimper and then force one foot to move. I bite my lip so hard, I can taste blood. “Good job. Three more steps.” I feel something brush against my leg, and I can’t take it. “Look at me,” Kaldar orders. I meet his eyes once again. “Next step.” I refuse to think of anything except my next step. “Two more.” I stare at his hand; it’s still out of reach. “Come on; you can do it.” I take another step and nearly lose my balance when the ground beneath me moves. His eyes widen, but he doesn’t look away. “Move now.” His voice is filled with urgency. I don’t waste a second. I take one last huge step. As soon as my hand touches his, he tugs me the rest of the way to him. Before I can process what is happening, I’m suddenly airborne. Without a chance to prepare, I land face first on the ground. I jump to my feet, squealing; but there’s nothing but dirt beneath my feet. I jump around and furiously rub my hands all over my body and my hair, making sure there are no snakes on me. Relief hits me so hard, and then I remember Kaldar. I spin around, and the smile drops from my face, and I scream into my hand because Kaldar is surrounded by snakes. But it’s the huge one on his back with its mouth literally embedded into his lower back that makes me think I’m going to pass out. But then rage consumes me, and I grab the knife from my hand and race forward. I don’t stop to think; I let my anger propel me forward.
“Get off him!” I thrust my knife right into the meaty part of him. Its head jerks upright, and it jerks its head around. I raise my knife again, but Kaldar plunges his long knife into its sideand forces it from his body. “Run!” I shout to him, and we run across the tops of the snakes and to the safety of the dirt nearby. As soon as we’re a few feet away from the snake pit, I put my hands on Kaldar and spin him around. I suck in a breath at the red spot on his back.
“I’m okay,” he says.
“Why did you just let him suck on your back like that?” True anger laces my voice, and it seems to surprise him because his eyebrows lift. “Why did you stay in the snake pit? Why didn’t you get out? What if it’s poisonous?” I look at his back again. “What if it gets in your bloodstream? What if...?”
A hand drops on my shoulder. “I’ll be fine.”
I stare up at him. “Why didn’t you get out? Were you just trying to prove that you’re braver than me?” Even as I say the words, I regret them. I know that’s not the reason.
His jaw tightens. “No.”
“Then why didn’t you get out?”
