Chapter 7 #2
"Is with Jask and the others," Cypher cut in as his eyes ran over the length of me, checking me for injuries it seemed. "They'll be fine. Jask knows to get them to the Reliquarium if we're separated. Are you okay, scavenger?"
I wanted to believe him, but fear gnawed at my insides. Ignored his question, and Click scurried back into my pocket as I struggled to my feet, Vic's hand steadying my elbow.
"Where are we?" I asked, taking in our surroundings for the first time.
We'd crashed on a small island that might once have been a residential district. Elegant buildings of pale stone stood in various states of decay, their windows empty and dark. Strange, luminescent vegetation had overtaken much of it.
"About three islands from the Reliquarium," Cypher said, shouldering a pack of salvaged supplies. "We're going to have to find another way there."
"Can we fix the skiff?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.
Cypher shook his head. "Engine's destroyed. We need to move. This crash will attract predators."
As if on cue, a soft hissing sound emanated from one of the nearby buildings. We froze, weapons drawn.
"Scathers," Zoya whispered, her face paling. "We need to move. Now."
But it was too late. From the shadows of the ruined structures, they emerged—serpentine creatures with metallic green scales. They were longer than a man is tall, with triangular heads that featured no eyes I could discern.
"Back to back," Cypher ordered, drawing his sword. "Don't let them surround you individually."
I pulled my daggers, their fire cores warming my palms. Vic and Zoya moved to flank me, forming a tight circle with our backs to each other. The scathers—I counted six of them—circled us, their movements eerily coordinated.
"What are they?" I whispered.
"Used to be household pets," Vic replied tightly. "Nytherians kept them for their beauty and venom, which had many healing properties. The collapse changed them, like it changed everything else here."
One of the scathers lunged suddenly, its mouth opening to reveal rows of needle-like teeth. Zoya's crossbow twanged, and the bolt took the creature in the side of its throat area. It thrashed, a high-pitched keening sound escaping it before it went still.
The others attacked as one.
I slashed with my daggers as a scather came at me, the fire cores igniting the blades with orange flame.
The creature recoiled as fire scorched its scales, but another was already taking its place.
These things were fast—faster than any natural serpent had a right to be.
I barely dodged as one snapped at my leg, its teeth grazing my boot.
Cypher moved fast, skilled with his sword. Two scathers fell in quick succession, their bodies going limp. But more were coming, emerging from the ruins around us, drawn by the commotion.
"There's too many!" Vic shouted, struggling with one that had wrapped itself around his arm.
I drove my dagger into the creature attacking Vic, and it released him with a shriek. But the action left my back exposed. I sensed movement behind me and started to turn, knowing I was too late.
A heavy weight slammed into me from the side, not a scather, but Cypher. He shoved me clear just as a massive scather lunged from the shadows, its jaws clamping around his shoulder instead of my neck.
"Cypher!" I screamed as he grunted in pain, driving his sword up into the creature's body. It convulsed, then went limp, its weight dragging him down.
I scrambled to my feet, slashing at another scather that tried to take advantage of Cypher's vulnerability. Fire bloomed along its scales, and it retreated, hissing in agony.
Zoya appeared at my side, her crossbow abandoned for a long knife that glinted in the strange light. "Get him up! I'll cover you!"
Together, Vic and I hauled Cypher to his feet. Blood soaked his shirt where the scather's fangs had punctured his shoulder, but his eyes were clear and focused.
"Into that building," he ordered, pointing to a structure that seemed more intact than the others. "We can defend it better than open ground."
We half-ran, half-staggered toward the building, Zoya covering our retreat.
The remaining scathers followed, but seemed more cautious now that several of their number had fallen.
We made it through a heavy stone doorway, and Vic and I pushed a fallen beam across it while Zoya kept her blade trained on the entrance.
"Will that hold them?" I asked, breathless.
"For now," Cypher said, leaning heavily against a wall. "They're intelligent. They'll look for another way in."
Vic was already at Cypher's side, examining the wound. "The fangs went deep, but missed anything vital. I'm more concerned about venom."
"Scather venom isn't dangerous," Cypher said through gritted teeth. "Just... very itchy."
I almost laughed but reined it in. "You shouldn't have done that. Gotten between me and that thing."
His eyes met mine. "My crew, my responsibility."
The building we'd taken shelter in appeared to have been some kind of dwelling. Elegant furnishings lay scattered and broken, and the walls were covered in faded murals.
"Jask will find us from the crashed skiff. He'll need to drop the others at the Reliquarium first and then come back for us."
Vic nodded and set to work, cleaning Cypher's wound with antiseptic salve from his pack. The punctures were deep, angry red circles already swelling with irritation. I watched Vic apply a salve, then wrapped bandages around Cypher's shoulder.
"That's the best I can do for now," Vic said, packing away his supplies. "The venom will cause discomfort, but it's not lethal. You'll need to rest."
Cypher grunted, and we settled in for a tense wait.
Zoya took the first watch, positioning herself near the barricaded entrance.
Cypher leaned back against the wall, his face drawn with pain despite his attempts to hide it.
I sat beside him, watching as Click finally ventured out of my pocket, his brass tail ticking nervously against my hand.
"He doesn't like this place," I said softly.
"Smart lizard," Cypher replied, a bit strained from pain. "Neither do I."
He watched him for a moment, fighting a smile. "I've been meaning to ask," he said, reaching out a tentative finger toward Click, who eyed it suspiciously. "What kind of lizard is that? And why in the realms does he have all that metal work on his tail?"
I smiled, gently stroking Click's scaled back. "He's not actually a lizard. He's a lorik, from Vesparin."
"Vesparin?" Cypher's eyebrows rose. "That's not an easy realm to access."
"No, it's not." I lifted Click so he rested in my palms, his brass tail curling protectively around my wrist. "I was on a scavenging run about four years ago.
Vesparin has these amazing ruins from an ancient city in what's now a dense forest. The Assembly doesn't patrol it much because most of the salvage is incompatible with our crystals.
They still have some metal we harvest for our settings. "
"I found him during that scavenging run," I explained, watching Click's little chest rise and fall with each breath as he tried to rest. "He was trapped under some fallen debris, his tail completely crushed. I could tell he was in agony."
Cypher studied Click with new interest. "You rescued him."
"I couldn't just leave him there to die. Loriks are actually warm-blooded, despite the scales. They're not reptiles at all, though everyone mistakes them for lizards. They're closer to birds in their biology, if you can believe it."
I let Click climb onto my shoulder where he settled comfortably, his bright eyes still wary of our surroundings.
"The interesting thing about loriks is they can't regenerate lost limbs.
Once something's gone, it's gone for good.
His tail was beyond saving." I gently touched the brass mechanism that now served as Click's tail.
"When I brought him home, my father took one look at him and disappeared into his workshop. He emerged three days later with this."
The brass tail was a matrix of tiny gears and delicate metalwork powered by a tiny anchor crystal the size of a bead, responding to Click's muscle movements almost like a real appendage.
"Your father is talented. That's expert craftsmanship."
"He's the best craftsman in the city. The Assembly knows it too, which is why they hired him to make their anchor crystals." I swallowed hard, thinking of my father locked away in the Dredge. "Click's been by my side ever since. He's my good luck charm."
Cypher reached out again, and this time Click allowed him to stroke a finger along his back. "Good luck, huh? How's that working out for you right now?"
I laughed and shrugged. "Well, we're not dead yet. I count that as luck."