Discovery at Nerwolix (5 page)

“Y-you s-sure?” he glances to Reid.
“B-boss…”

Reid nods but stays silent, keeping behind
us as we make our way across the mountain of snow. Every few
minutes a harsh gust snakes up the Carring hide, sending me and
Able into a shaking frenzy, but we wrap the cover around ourselves
tighter. Reid keeps to my right in his own hide, walking beside us,
glancing over occasionally with a vague frown. After a moment, I
lean toward him.

“You’re okay with this, right?”

Reid nods. “I want you warm.”

“We can switch if you want.
Someone
needs to keep Able from turning into a snowman.”

This pulls a small smirk from Reid, but he
shakes his head. “Like I said, I want
you
warm. Able can
take care of it now…” his smirk grows, “…I can take care of it
later.”

“Yeah, I’m right here,” Able laughs. “And
happy for the both of you. But who’s going to keep
me
warm
tonight? And don’t suggest one of the Rogues. If that cute girl Mae
was here, I’d try my luck with her if Jace didn’t beat me to
it.”

“Really?” I raise a brow. “Didn’t know you
were interested.”

“What? As a snuggle-buddy.”

“What’s wrong with Pratt?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugs. “It’d be like
snuggling with my kid sister.”

Reid laughs. “If the two of them were here,
they’d probably be sharing a Carring cover of their own. So,” he
shrugs, “you’d still be out of luck.”

Able sighs. “I need a girl.”

“Maybe a nice tribe-girl?” I grin. “You
don’t have to save the best for Jace.”

“I know… he just always seems to get
them.”

Clarence races back to us, the Rogues ahead
stopping as we all gather into one tightly knit herd. “Okay,” he
glances over his shoulder, past the blowing ice flurries. “The
Pweboles are leading Sampson to a cavern entrance just over that
way… a few meters at most. I need my two baits,” he finds Werzo
before his eyes fly to me and Able under the Carring hide.
“Ready?”

“Good luck,” I shimmy out of the cover, the
cold instantly rushing over me. It’s
freezing
. I’m not sure
how we’ll be able to stay out here much longer. At least we were
heading inside before. Now we’re just waiting to draw the Vermix
out and who knows how long that could take? I snuggle under Reid’s
hide and his hands stroke up and down my arms, rubbing warmth into
them. It helps, but my teeth are still chattering. It’s still too
damn cold.

“Werzo, Able, you two follow me. The rest of
you, line up with Blovid and Sampson.”

“Here we go,” Jace leads us toward the hill
as Clarence takes the two Rogues across the opposite side.

Threading his fingers in mine, Reid squeezes
my hand and pulls me along behind him, directing us after Jace. We
pass him quickly, keeping low and hidden under the white camouflage
as we reach the top of the hill. It’s a slight slope downward and
the Pweboles are scurrying straight for a deep cavern entrance
nearly buried at the base. Sampson and Blovid lay flat in the snow
just to the right of it, Vix and Qippert across them, to the
opening’s left.

Trying to ignore the cold, I grip Reid’s
hand tighter. He offers a gentle squeeze in return, quickly jetting
down the slope toward the Fychu and Arizal Leader. We’re with them
in seconds, lying against the white ground as Reid covers us with
the Carring hide. Like the others, I’m angled at the entrance,
propped up on my elbows with the Traxpire resting on a mound of
snow in front of me. Booker is on my right and the other Rogues are
next to him while Reid keeps position on my left.

He briefly whispers with Sampson next to him
and then turns to me. “Don’t all shoot at once. We’re only here for
backup. Sampson and Blovid will make the initial shots,” he motions
to the right. “Let everyone know.”

I pass along his message.

Clarence lays across the cave’s mouth with
Qippert and Vix while Werzo and Able stand in the open space
between us, right in the center of Pweboles. Pobo is already making
his way into the cave. He disappears past the rocky entrance while
the rest of the Pweboles surround the two Rogues a short distance
away. A few minutes pass and nothing is happening. No Vermix appear
and Able and Werzo—along with the rest of us—continue to shake from
the painful chill.

Suddenly, Sampson rises to a stand and jets
for the two Rogue baits.

I turn to Reid but he’s already frowning.
“He says something’s not right.”

“You think they know we’re here?”

“Possibly.”

“What does Rox say?” Booker whispers to my
left.

I tell him and he passes it along down the
line.

Reid shifts closer to Blovid and the two
exchange more whispers.

They know we’re here…

It rings in my head in a familiar way,
similar to the voice that guided me to Ellae, but not quite the
same. Like I’m overhearing someone else’s voice, listening to their
thoughts.

They’re expecting an ambush…

How many, do you know?

It’s a new voice, but just as strong. I look
at Sampson in the center of the Pweboles, but he’s focused on
Clarence, the two locked in some intense stare-down. Able and Werzo
glance around the rest of us, surprise and unease reflecting.
Finally, Sampson motions them back to us and they rush over, adding
to our laid out line.

“What’s happening?” Able plants himself
between Reid and I.

“We’re not sure,” he says.

“They know we’re here,” I whisper, watching
Sampson ease closer to the cave’s mouth, the herd of Pweboles still
surrounding him.

“For sure?” Able asks. “Or he has a
suspicion?”

Reid pops his head over, narrowing his eyes
at me. “How do you know?”

I shrug, not ready to dive into the
explanation I’m not even sure of myself. It’s happened
before—happened a few times, actually—but that doesn’t mean I know
what it means. Or why it occurs. And in a way, it reminds me of
Lalu, of how we were able to communicate when I was riding around
on her in Mybyncia. Except, it’s not
our
conversation, but
someone else’s.

“What did Sampson say?” I ask Able.

“Just to get back. That something’s not
right.”

“I wonder what happened…” I bite my lip,
focusing on Sampson as he slowly moves for the cave’s opening.

“Do you think—”Able is suddenly ripped from
the ground next to me. Before I can look, something hard grips my
shoulder and I’m tossed backwards, flying through the icy air.

I hit the snow with a hard thud but the snow
cushions most of the blow.

Blinking, I try to right myself, but I’m
sinking into the cold. A thousand thoughts race through my head,
including Able’s flighty departure. Is he alright? What’s
happening? Someone calls my name—I think it’s Reid—and it draws me
back to the present. But as I try to get up, I find my legs are
bound, pinned together at my ankles. Shit. And I’m moving. I’m
being dragged by my feet.

I need my Traxpire. Reaching out, my hands
skim the snow around me, frantically searching. But it’s gone. It
must’ve landed away from me. Heart racing, I lift my head to find a
Dofinike moving in a swift jog, crunching through the snow and
tugging on the piece of rope wrapped around my ankles.

This is not good.

“
Reid!
” I scream, flipping over,
clawing at the ground. I squirm back and forth, making it harder to
pull me while digging my elbows into the snow. “
REID!
SAMPSON!
”

“
FALLON!
” I hear in the distance, but
it’s too far away to get to me anytime soon.

Shit
.

What do I do? I don’t have my Traxpire and
this Vermix is racing. Where is he taking me? I reach my hands out,
trying to find anything but there’s nothing to grab. It’s just snow
everywhere. White, freezing snow. Time is running out. The Dofinike
has taken off in a run and if he gets to where he’s going, I might
not be able to escape. I might be trapped. I need to get out of
this now.

But how?

I kick my legs, continuously rolling back
and forth, doing everything I can to make it harder to pull me. I’m
not sure how far I’ve been dragged when he finally spins with a
snarl, his yellow eyes glaring at me through lethal slits. With a
hard tug he pulls me closer, lifting his talons to strike. But
before he can, something knocks into him—another Dofinike.

The two tumble through the snow, wrestling
through the wet white as I scoot back, giving myself distance.
Pulling furiously at the rope, I try yanking it free, but it won’t
budge. My heart is racing, my fingers shaking as the two Dofinikes
tear into each other less than a meter away. I don’t have time to
figure out who it is—Sampson, Clarence or one of the others. All I
can focus on is the rope melded to my ankles, impossible to remove.
Desperate to free the restraint, a crunch, crunch forces me to look
up.

I’m not sure who I’m expecting, but it’s not
who I see.

Nearly eye to eye, Pobo stands less than a
foot away, a small blade in his blue fingers. My heart stops as he
takes a small step closer.

“Pobo, please…”

But he moves for my ankles. Sliding the
blade between the ropes, he rips it free. I stare at him for a
second until he steps back and shifts between both sets of legs.
“Pweboles follow orders. Always have.”

“Thank you,” I peel the material from my
ankles and scurry to my feet. With Pobo by my side, I take in the
chaotic scene.

Dark movements dot the white landscape,
individual duels sprinkled throughout. How many Vermix are here? A
few lay scattered in a herd of Pweboles, screaming as they’re
stabbed over and over by the furry blue creatures. Gulping, I
quickly scan, searching for any of the Rogues. But they’re gone;
probably being dragged off somewhere. Something black in the snow
catches my eye. Racing forward, I find a discarded Traxpire.

Pobo is at my side as I swipe it up.

“Pweboles follow orders. Always have.”

Someone yells to the far right—it sounds
like Jace. “Come on, Pobo.” I take off as he springs to a run on
all four legs. Racing over a hill, I find a team of three Vermix
each dragging a Rogue by his bound ankles. They’re heading away
from me, hauling the boys into the white distance, far from the
other duels. Rushing forward, I grip my Traxpire as I call down to
the Pwebole running alongside, “Kill those three Dofinikes.”

I slow to a stop as Pobo keeps going,
crossing the distance between us. Bringing the Traxpire up, I aim
for the one on the far left. Centering on his back, I pull the
trigger two times, turn to the middle one and do the same. The
first two fall, and just as I’m aiming for the third one, Pobo
flies onto him, forcing his small blade into the neck.

I race over and find Reid, Jace and Booker
pulling at the rope around their ankles, trying to rip it free. The
Dofinike that was dragging Reid—the first one I shot—starts
stumbling up to his feet but as I reach the Rogues, I hit him
straight through his head. He plops forward into the snow, staining
it red. The second Vermix tries getting up but I shoot him in the
shoulder and he falls forward after the first. Before I can get in
a lethal shot, Pobo pounces on his form, jetting his blade into his
neck over and over.

“Pobo!” I cry, dropping to Reid’s ankle.
“Here! Cut the rope!”

The Pwebole races over and slides his blade
between the twine.

“Good! And the other two,” I command,
helping free the rope from Reid’s ankles.

“Where’s Sampson?” he asks, our hands
working furiously.

“I don’t know…” I shake my head, fumbling
with the binds. “And I don’t know where the other Rogues are. Able
went flying and—”

Reid yanks the rest of the rope off and
jumps to his feet. I quickly shift to Jace and Booker, helping them
pull their restraints free. Once all three Rogues are up, Pobo
returns to my side. “Pweboles follow orders. Always have.”

“Who knew this little bastard would save
us?” Jace starts to laugh when he looks around. “
Whoa…
”

“Come on,” I toss my Traxpire to Reid as I
grab one of the Vermix weapons for myself.

Jace and Booker retrieve theirs from the
other two Dofinikes just as another Vermix lands in a thunderous
leap before us. He lifts his talons to swing but Reid pins him in
his neck and he falls backwards, darkening the snow.

“Keep together!” he orders as we make our
way across the red and white battlefield, Pobo shuffling by my
side, his blade out and ready. We move toward the cave’s mouth,
Vermix flying at us, attempting to tear our small group apart. But
with each one that lands nearby, a Traxpire explosion rips through
some part of their body, immobilizing them as they sink to the
ground in red. “Watch out for the Arizals!” Reid yells.

“We have to find the other Rogues,” I scan,
trying to remember which direction Able had gone. “They’re being
taken somewhere.”

“I know,” Reid nods, his Traxpire up and
aimed. “Where the fuck is Sampson?”

“We need to get off planet,” Jace keeps to
my side.

“Not without the other Rogues,” I say.

“Not without everyone,” Reid commands.
“We’re
all
leaving—together.”

“Boss—behind you!” Booker calls, firing his
Traxpire at another Vermix.

The Rogue skims him in the shoulder, but the
Dofinike merely cups it with his talons. With his yellow eyes
narrowed, the Vermix launches himself at us, taking me and Reid
down under his weight. I choke out a painful scream but Jace and
Booker manage to throw the Dofinike off, blasting him through his
temple until he falls limp in the snow next to us.

Reid scurries up first, pulling me to his
side. He has an arm around me, squeezing me so tight it hurts.
“Stay close to me!”