Graevale

  “We’re really sorry about that,” Alex said. “But we had to come so we could warn you.”

  “Warn us what?” Taka asked, her owlish eyes unblinking.

  Alex didn’t wait for another invitation. She jumped straight in, telling them about Aven and the threat he posed to all mortals.

  By the time she was finished, her skin was clammy with sweat, with beads of liquid on her forehead from her proximity to the flames coupled with the suffocating mugginess of their environment.

  “And that’s, well, that’s why we’re here,” she ended lamely. “So that you know he’s coming. And, hopefully, so you’ll stand with us to stop him.”

  Silence met her final statement, the sounds of the jungle and the crackling of the fire the only noises to her ears.

  Until Mareek started laughing. And then Taka. Mietta and Tibbs followed. Then all the Jarnocks seated around them joined in, until over fifty loin-clothed little people were belly-laughing uproariously.

  Alex scowled at them. “None of this is amusing,” she said. “Not one thing.”

  “One Meyarin no scare us,” Mareek said, still laughing.

  Tibbs threw his arm out, gesturing to their tree city. “This Aven reach us not here. Jarnocks safe.”

  Alex shook her head firmly. “Now, maybe. But he’ll be coming for you. He’s coming for all of us.”

  “If true, when you he get, we know then,” Mietta said, tossing her wiry braid over her shoulder.

  That, Alex thought, was not a very nice thing to say. She looked around at the assemblage, from the still amused tribal chiefs to the other chuckling Jarnocks, and she wondered why she was even bothering with them. Yes, their tree city was impressive. But what did they have to offer outside of Maroo? Some tranquilliser darts and stone daggers? How would any of that hold up against Aven and his forces?

  But then she remembered something Hunter had said during her briefing with the teachers: ‘Jarnocks are a primitive race, but what they lack in sophistication, they make up for in sheer numbers. It may seem difficult to believe, but they are a force to be reckoned with—if only for their volatile ferocity and unwavering loyalty. If their tribe is threatened, they will move mountains to make their people safe again. You just need to convince them of the threat.’

  Alex had clearly failed in that mission. The Jarnocks were feeling no more threatened than she was feeling safe.

  Deciding that she’d done all she could, Alex figured it was best to cut their losses and get out of there. She didn’t know how far they’d travelled from the Library doorway, but she hoped Bear’s inner Scout would be able to sixth-sense a way back for them. It was time to go, to regroup and hope for a better outcome with the Shadow Walkers and Dayriders tomorrow.

  “I can see you don’t believe us,” Alex said. “But if the time ever comes when you need aid, our doors will always be open to you. We are on the same side, even if you don’t yet see Aven as a danger.”

  More amused snorts met her words and she repressed the urge to scream at them. For a brief second, she envisioned asking Bear to try charming them into acquiescence, but then she realised that such an extreme action wouldn’t bode well for them down the track—especially if the Jarnocks learned of the attempt to sway them through false means.

  Instead of doing something she might later regret, Alex simply said, “We only came here to warn you, so now that’s done, once you release us, we’ll just be on our way.”

  Even more laughter met her statement, something that caused prickles of unease to trickle down her spine.

  “The humans believe we’ll allow them to leave,” said Taka in her native language, causing Alex to turn rigid as the proper translation washed over her rather than their broken attempts at the common tongue.

  “They must not know the ways of the Maroo,” Mietta returned, sharing a sharp-toothed smile with the other chiefs. “A pity for them, however fortunate for us.”

  “But what shall we do with them?” Tibbs asked, scratching his bald head.

  “They are young and healthy,” Mareek observed. “Jako hasn’t made his stew for a while—their tender flesh would make it rich and hearty.”

  Alex’s stomach dipped violently and she struggled to keep her features blank.

  “No, we should give them to Kaku,” Taka said, a thoughtful look on her weathered face. “They are a worthy sacrifice, and we will be blessed for such an offering.”

  “Alex, do you know what’s going on?” Bear whispered, oblivious thanks to the language barrier.

  All she could do was shake her head, not because she didn’t, but from the absolute horror of what she was hearing. Even if she didn’t fully understand the implications, the words ‘offering’ and ‘sacrifice’ were never good when spoken in the same sentence—especially from the mouths of primitive tree people who, if she understood correctly, had just considered eating them.

  “Good thinking,” Mietta said, with Mareek and Tibbs nodding right along with her.

  A single chin-jerk towards the guards behind Alex and Bear was all it took for Alex to realise she had to take action, regardless of how foolhardy it might be. It would take too much time for Bear to enchant them with his words, so it was up to her to stop what was about to happen—by any means necessary.

  When the guards gestured for her to stand, she shot straight to her feet, summoning A’enara as she did so. Wielding the blazing weapon with her hands still bound at her front, she leapt over the fire with a burst of Meyarin speed and launched herself at the nearest chief, Taka, and they both tumbled to the ground.

  Alex managed to get the tip of A’enara pressed up against the Jarnock faster than anyone else could react, and she raised her eyes to the three other chiefs and bellowed, “Nobody move!”

  They didn’t. But Taka did, bucking so fiercely against Alex that, unless she wanted to skewer the Jarnock, she had to pull back her blade. She only did so a fraction, but Mareek took advantage of her wrestling distraction to draw his dart pipe.

  Seeing his movement from the corner of her eye as she struggled to keep Taka contained, Alex cried out, “No!” but it was too late to stop him.

  With another burst of speed, she leapt aside to avoid the dart’s trajectory, resulting in it pricking Taka’s chest instead. The Jarnock was out in seconds, causing Mareek to release an ear-splitting roar. But Alex was too focused on avoiding the multitudes of incoming darts now flying her way from every direction to worry about his fury.

  She spun and twisted, jumped and sprinted away from the projectiles, but she knew the outcome was inevitable. Bear, she could see, was already sprawled unconscious on his side, and she knew it was only a matter of time before she joined him. She should have known they’d have no chance of fighting their way out, not with so many Jarnocks standing against them, and not when she was unwilling to hurt any of them. But after the words she’d heard from the chiefs… Alex couldn’t just sit by and wait to see what they’d meant. Now, however, she would have no other choice.

  When Alex was finally pricked in her side, she had only seconds of conscious thought left as she started blacking out for the third time that afternoon. In that moment she realised that Hunter was right: the Jarnocks might not have much going for them in terms of evolution… but they certainly made up for it in numbers.

  Eighteen

  When Alex woke, it was to a pounding headache. But that, she quickly realised, was because she was hanging upside-down, with the pressure of her blood having been pooling in her head for what must have been some time.

  Trying to gather her wits about her, she saw that both she and Bear were dangling from vines tied to their ankles, held aloft about ten feet above the ground. They must have looked ridiculous, with their hair on end and their still bound arms hanging uselessly in the air. Aware that their positions rendered them completely helpless, Alex knew they had to remedy that—immediately.

  It wouldn’t be a comfortable fall for either of them, but she couldn’t see or hear any Jar
nocks, so she summoned A’enara, fully intending to cut them both free. But a strange awareness washed over her, an instinct that caused her to hesitate, and she squinted into the dying afternoon light that barely reached through the trees to the forest floor.

  It was only then that she realised they weren’t hanging above mossy, muddied ground, but rather, they were positioned above a stagnant creek. The water was so murky that she hadn’t been able to differentiate it from the other brown and green vegetation.

  There was something about the creek that caused pinpricks of warning along Alex’s nerve endings. Focusing her eyes, she looked closer and—there! A shifting motion, like air bubbles pressing through the murky surface. She watched even more intensely and that’s when she saw it—a dorsal fin, much like that of a shark, but instead of being smooth, it was spiked. The colour was the same brownish-green of the water, and the fin rose out only enough for Alex to establish that it belonged to something big. Something neither she nor Bear wanted to end up swimming with.

  Banishing A’enara, Alex glanced over to her unconscious friend, then swallowed her pride and called for help.

  Niyx? Any chance you can zip over here and lend a hand? She sent a mental picture of her situation.

  His response didn’t come instantly, which was unusual, but just when Alex was about to call out again, he answered.

  I’m in the middle of something, kitten, he said, sending her a visual as well.

  He was seated beside Aven in the Meyarin palace. There was some kind of meeting in session, with the room containing at least a dozen others. Some Alex already knew, like the gifted humans Calista, Signa and Gerald. She also recognised the Claimed council members, Lasa Riza and Lasa Naelin—Kyia’s aunt—as well as Queen Niida. Skraegon, the brute from the tavern brawl with Zain was also there, but Alex didn’t see any other familiar faces.

  I won’t be leaving here anytime soon, Niyx told her. You’re just going to have to… hang around for a bit.

  This is not funny, Niyx, Alex said. She sent him another picture showing her memory of the fin in the water.

  This time his response was instant—and threaded with urgency. Whatever you do, do not enter that creek.

  His tone caused goose bumps to rise up on Alex’s skin. Why? What’s wrong?

  That’s Kaku, he said. The Jarnocks consider him their jungle deity. They offer him full moon sacrifices and believe doing so blesses their hunting and gathering for the next month.

  Alex’s mouth turned dry and she replayed for Niyx the conversation she’d heard between the chiefs.

  He swore, loudly. It’s a full moon tonight, Aeylia, and it’s already approaching twilight where you are. You have maybe an hour before those Jarnocks return and cut you loose. You’re going to be Kaku’s next meal ticket if you don’t find a way out of there.

  But how—

  He cursed again and interrupted in a hurried voice, Aven is asking us questions—I have to pay attention and act like his puppet or I’ll be in just as much trouble as you. I’m sorry, kitten, but I can’t help you right now. You’ll have to save yourself. You can do it—just trust yourself.

  His presence vanished and Alex didn’t risk calling out to him again, not while he was in a meeting with Aven. More than just her and Bear’s lives were at risk right now.

  “I’ve been in worse situations than this,” Alex said to herself. None immediately sprang to mind, but there were some close contenders. “There has to be a way out.” Again, nothing immediately sprang to mind.

  Knowing two heads were better than one, she sought to wake Bear. After calling his name three times with increasing volume, she realised he needed more of a prod. Too far away to reach him with just her hands, she heaved her body back and forth until the vines holding her swung with her motion. Grunting from the strain—as well as her ever-increasing headache—Alex finally collided with Bear and latched onto him with her bound hands.

  After giving him a rough shake and calling his name again, he groaned his way into consciousness.

  “What the—”

  “Bear, it’s okay,” Alex soothed, knowing the rapidly dying light offered his human eyes even less of a view than her increasingly limited vision. “Try not to panic, but we’re dangling above a creek that has some kind of creature swimming it. The Jarnocks plan to offer us up as its dinner, so we need to get out of here before they return.”

  Bear remained silent from the shock of her hurried explanation, but then he exploded. “‘It’s okay’?” he repeated in a yell. “How is any of this ‘okay’, Alex?”

  “Shhhh!” she hushed him. “Let’s not invite them back early, yeah?”

  She watched as Bear took three visibly large breaths to get himself together.

  “Right,” he said, much calmer now. “What are our options?”

  That was the Bear she needed, and she sent him a smile of gratitude.

  “From what I can tell, we don’t have many,” Alex said.

  “Well, the obvious one is the one we want to avoid,” Bear said.

  “Being consumed by a jungle deity is not on my bucket list,” Alex agreed wholeheartedly. “What’s next?”

  “I take it you can’t use A’enara to cut us down without us falling into the water?”

  Shaking her head, then regretting the motion from the additional spike of blood pressure it prompted, she said, “Already thought of that. The creek is narrow, but even if we swing first, we still won’t land on the bank.”

  “What are we even hanging from?” Bear asked, trying to get a good look up at their feet. “What are these vines attached to?”

  “We’re strung between some branches, but they’re way, way high up,” Alex said, squinting up into the trees and not seeing an end to the vines. “Are you thinking—should we try climbing?”

  “If it’s our only chance to get out of here, then—”

  A new voice cut in, one that caused Alex to jerk with shock, both because it was unexpected, and because it was familiar.

  “You don’t have enough time to climb. The Jarnocks are already on their way to prepare you for the sacrifice.”

  “Hunter?” Bear’s disbelief was clear in his voice as the SAS teacher stepped out onto the bank.

  “We have less than five minutes before they arrive, so listen carefully,” Hunter said, his tone urgent. “Alex, when I tell you, cut Bear free first then follow him straight down into the water. I’ll offer a distraction to Kaku, but you’ll only have seconds to swim your way to the bank before he’ll realise there’s something better on offer. Once you’re back on land, be prepared to run, because the Jarnocks will be relentless in their pursuit.”

  Without waiting for Alex or Bear to agree, Hunter continued, “It’ll be hard enough swimming with your feet still bound, so do something about your hands before you enter the water. I’ll be back in a minute, and you’ll need to be ready.”

  He vanished into the jungle, prompting Alex to release her grip on Bear, swinging wildly back and forth as a result. It was necessary, though, in order to free her hands, so that when she was semi-stationary again she was able to summon A’enara without skewering him. Even with her reaching towards Bear and him reaching towards her, she could barely get the blade between his bound wrists, but she just managed, freeing him and ignoring the stab of guilt she felt when he hissed as the flames brushed his flesh. A few burns were easy enough to fix up later. Them dying, not so much.

  Without being able to reach far enough over to hand the hilt of A’enara to Bear—since there was no way he’d be able to grip the flaming edge of the blade—Alex’s only option was to place the weapon in her mouth and saw her own hands along it. While the flames didn’t burn her, the blade was still sharp, and in releasing herself, she added a few more cuts to her collection. She didn’t waste time sending an apology to Niyx—she just hoped he had the presence of mind to hide his mirrored wounds before Aven or anyone else noticed.

  “What do you suppose Hunter meant about offering
Kaku a distraction?” Bear asked, rubbing his wrists and attempting to look around from his limited upside-down viewpoint.

  Before Alex could say she had no idea, there was a rustling sound further along the creek bank and Hunter reappeared, dragging something behind him. It was some kind of animal, larger than a dog but smaller than a horse. And it was also very dead.

  “Are you two ready?” Hunter called.

  Realising he intended to draw Kaku’s attention with another food source, Alex felt slightly sick to her stomach. But better the already dead beast than her and Bear.

  “One second,” she called back, and she swung her way over to latch onto Bear again. Once she was gripping him, she said, “This will be awkward, but it’s the only way I can reach your feet. Sorry in advance.” She then proceeded to climb her way up his body, turning right-way up as she did so, and feeling her head spin when the blood instantly drained back downwards.

  When she was in position with A’enara at the ready, she called back to Hunter that she was ready.

  “Wait for my mark,” the instructor said, and he moved behind the animal, shoving it off the bank and down into the creek.

  Alex shuddered when the murky water shifted and the spiky fin swept out again as Kaku, having been waiting motionless directly beneath her and Bear, took off towards his free meal.

  When he reached the dead beast, Alex had to bite her tongue to keep from shrieking as his upper body lunged out of the water, revealing a prehistoric crocodilian nightmare with a mouth full of giant, jagged teeth. At the sight, Alex understood why the Jarnocks considered Kaku worthy of their worship. Or at least scary enough to prioritise appeasing him.

  “Go!” Hunter cried. “Now!”

  Despite her abject fear, Alex didn’t hesitate. She sliced A’enara through Bear’s vine and he dropped like a rock into the water. Alex fell partway with him until her own bindings caught, jarring her spine and causing her to swing violently.

  Grateful for the ab crunches Niyx frequently tortured her with, Alex pushed her torso upwards and cut the vine holding her aloft, banishing A’enara as she plunged into the murky creek.