Chapter 8 A Rescue and a Big Freakin’ Disaster #2
“Let me take the kid. He’s probably hungry.” Ransom plucked the child off Scarlett. “It’s best if you remain in your feline form. There is a hot pool through the trees in that direction. It’s safe for you to bathe. Soak. I’ve heard the hot pools have healing powers.”
Scarlett grunted an acknowledgment.
“I’ll look at the bite once you shift. We have a basic first aid kit.”
She grunted again.
“Now, let’s find something for you to eat, little one,” he said.
Scarlett prowled toward him, her gait steadier than earlier, but her demeanor suggested the bite still bothered her.
She rubbed her head against his legs. Unable to resist, Ransom trailed his fingers along her spine, testing the softness of her black fur.
Silky. It reminded him of the drift of her hair across his skin.
Scarlett grunted for the third time and pulled from his touch. Like an elder, she dragged her body toward the pool. Ransom frowned, concerned at the careful placement of her feet and the faint limp. It was as if she had to concentrate on the mechanics of operating four legs.
Still grimacing, he opened his pack and rummaged through the contents. He found a tube of dry biscuits, opened it, and gave the child one. What type of food did the Trolleris species eat? Judging from the lack of vegetation in their valley, his best guess was meat.
The kid gripped the biscuit, and when Ransom mimed putting it in his mouth, the child followed suit. Ransom got a glimpse of sharp white teeth before he chomped down. He kept eating, so Ransom figured the biscuit worked.
Ransom picked up the little fellow, placed him on his shoulder, and started collecting wood. With the fire ready to light, Ransom gave the Trolleris another biscuit, and they both went to check on Scarlett.
He found her lolling in the water, still in her feline form. The Trolleris cooed and reached out his arms in clear demand. Ransom let the kid down, and the child scuttled into the water to get to Scarlett.
“He looks comfortable in the water.” Ransom sat on a rock and removed his footwear. He made quick work of his clothes, setting them in a neat pile by his boots. “We must give him a name. I’ve been calling him Kid.”
Ransom waded into the warm water and sat beside the child. “Is the bite still painful?”
In answer, Scarlett rose from her sprawl and exited the water. Her shift was a little faster this time, although sluggish.
“It’s still sore, but the puncture has healed over.” Scarlett reentered the water and reclaimed her spot.
“The color concerns me.”
“Me too,” Scarlett agreed with a frown at her right biceps. “If I froth at the mouth, shoot me with your blaster.”
Ransom’s throat choked up at the thought. He couldn’t kill her. He refused.
“Promise me,” Scarlett demanded. “I can tell you’re humoring me.”
“You’re a woman. Why would I obey you?” Ransom said.
He grinned at her catlike growl.
“I mean it. Use your blaster and rid me of my misery. Tell my brothers what happened. T-tell them I love them.”
Ransom scooped up the child and placed him on his shoulders. Then, he wrapped his arm around Scarlett’s shoulders and dragged her close.
“Flynt and I need you, Scarlett.” Nothing less than the truth.
She raised her chin but didn’t move away from him. “Flynt?”
“Do you have a better name?” Ransom let his mind drift in a way he hadn’t since his first Maphra encounter. Mostly, he locked away his private thoughts, trying to conceal them from Prince Kalim. Relaxation of this sort was rare.
The beginning prickles of intrusion at his temples warned of the prince’s arrival. Ransom stiffened and slammed his thoughts and his dragon in a sturdy cage.
“What is it?” Scarlett asked, sounding more alert.
“The prince,” Ransom said.
“I thought he only came when you were asleep.”
“Me too,” Ransom gritted out.
The Trolleris child—Flynt—climbed into his lap and cuddled against him while Scarlett reached for his hand.
“Why are you taking so long?” the prince demanded, his voice pulsing through Ransom’s mind. “My people are dying. I need them alive.”
“The landscape differs from what you described. A volcano has erupted since you went into slumber. It is taking time.”
“You are bringing the woman.”
“Yes.” Ransom’s gut burned at this truth.
His head pounded, and he suffered a pull, a sharp tug indicating the prince drawing on his energy. The uneasy sensation continued for longer than usual, and when the prince released his mind, Ransom’s thoughts were sluggish, his body trembling.
“Delicious.” The prince made obscene smacking sounds that had Ransom twitching in distress. “You taste different this cycle. Better.”
Ransom swallowed as nausea swirled through his belly.
“Find us,” the prince ordered. “Or I will feed on your people. My scientists are working on the way to do this. They are intelligent men. Do not fail me because you will not enjoy the consequences.”
The prince pulled from his mind with a harsh yank, sending reverberations through Ransom’s skull. He lifted a hand to press against his temples, white noise filling his head. Grata, each time was worse. He couldn’t endure much more of this.
Flynt crawled up Ransom’s chest, scrabbling with his dark claws.
Once he reached Ransom’s shoulder, he pressed against Ransom’s neck and cooed.
His claws combed through Ransom’s hair, each jerk sending more torture through his poor, abused brain.
Flynt hummed, his breath warm against Ransom’s skin.
Ransom was about to lift him down, but the Trolleris child hummed again, and astonishingly, his brain picked up the sound.
Ransom found himself humming in time with Flynt.
“What’s going on?” Scarlett whispered.
Ransom didn’t reply but kept humming. Weirdly, the sound helped his aching head, and the tension in his mind released. Ransom drifted, embracing the relaxation.
Flynt removed his clawed hands and ceased his chanting.
Ransom opened his eyes and blinked. Nut-brown eyes stared straight into his. He laughed and ran his hand over Flynt’s head before kissing his prominent nose.
“Thank you, buddy,” he said.
Ransom glanced to his left, searching for Scarlett. She no longer sat beside him.
“I’m here,” Scarlett said. “I had to get out of the pool because I was turning into a prune. You and Flynt went into a trance. You’ve been out for ages. I was starting to worry because it’s almost blacklight. My attempts to wake you failed.”
“A trance? It feels like I’ve been sitting here for a short time.”
“Ransom, I’m not doing well. I need help to get to our campsite.”
Ransom stood and placed Flynt on the edge of the pool. In two giant strides, he reached Scarlett. Her face was pale while her arm where the Trolleris had bitten her was an angry purplish-red. She’d partially dressed, but hadn’t donned her tunic.
Flynt scampered up to them, fast despite his size. He patted Scarlett’s arm and made a new noise—a tut-tut.
“I’ll carry you to camp,” Ransom said.
Scarlett sighed. “Admit it. You’re as sick as I am. We’re in the middle of the mountains at the mercy of a despot prince. We’re fucked.”
Ransom ignored her burst of pity, although he didn’t blame her. Depression often stalked at his side, and probably would again, given what lay ahead. He scooped her up and glanced at Flynt. The Trolleris child scampered in front of Ransom.
“Okay, buddy. You walk by yourself, but I can carry you when you need me to.”
The kid appeared more self-sufficient than they’d realized since he led the way to the spot where they’d left their gear.
Ransom set Scarlett down and rifled through his pack for a foil blanket. He spread it out and lifted Scarlett to relocate her.
Flynt approached him and tapped Ransom on the leg. He cooed and patted his stomach. Ransom barked out a laugh.
“I’ll get you a biscuit while I light the fire and heat the shrink-meals.”
With Flynt eating his biscuit, Ransom started the fire. He heated a shrink-meal and discovered it was a meaty stew. He offered this to Flynt, and the kid seemed content. Some food ended up on his shaggy coat, but Ransom figured he’d wash.
Next, he heated water over the fire and added it to a meaty soup mix. He took this over to Scarlett. She was asleep, her face still much paler than usual. Worry slid through him. Should he wake her and get her to shift, or wait?
Ransom wavered about his course of action. He could use his com-circle and attempt to contact her brothers, or failing that, his brother. Gryffnn could get hold of Ry Coppersmith. Their friend would help without hesitation.
He tested Scarlett’s temperature, then checked her arm.
The swelling extended from her biceps and down her forearm, and a mass of purple, red, and black colored her skin.
Still dithering, Ransom retreated to the fire and sat beside Flynt.
The Trolleris patted his tummy again and cooed with enthusiasm when Ransom handed him the cup of soup.
As Ransom heated another shrink-meal, he reached a decision. He required help from either Scarlett’s family or Ry Coppersmith.
Ransom gulped down his meal, not doing justice to the meaty goodness.
Instead, he worried about Scarlett’s brothers.
What if they became upset? Phrull, who was he kidding?
Of course, they’d be angry, which meant Ry was his best bet for help.
He couldn’t risk Scarlett’s brothers saving their sister and placing his people in greater danger.
Scarlett was their sister. He understood family and loyalty.
He finished his meal, checked on Scarlett, and found her still sleeping.
Flynt’s eyelids drooped with fatigue, so Ransom wiped his chestnut fur, cleaning him as best as he could before placing him on the blanket with Scarlett.
That done, he retrieved his com-circle, powered it up, and attempted to make a call.