Chapter 27 #2
The beast’s massive head hovered above her, its eyes narrowing for a split second as if studying her.
Its forked tongue flicked out, tasting the air around her, the thin strands brushing her skin like a whisper, testing her scent before retracting silently into its mouth.
Rynna tightened her grip on her blades, flexing her wrists, ready to strike or defend if it came at them.
Taren and Bran came to either side of her, trying to flank the creature, but the serpent’s focus remained fixed on Rynna. Its gaze pinned her in place, but it wasn’t fear that crawled up her spine.
What is this? She wondered.
Then, with a deep, rumbling hiss, the serpent opened its jaws wide, the sound reverberating like a roar from the earth itself. For a heartbeat, Rynna thought she heard something else beneath the menace, an undertone of pain, deep and primal.
No, she thought, pushing it aside. It’s just a beast.
And as quickly as the hiss had come, the serpent’s body rippled, but instead of striking, it recoiled. With a powerful, fluid motion, it turned away, its massive form undulating as it slipped back over the edge and disappeared.
For a long moment, none of them moved.
Then, a collective exhale filled the air as they sagged in relief.
“What was that you said, Rynna?” Bran asked, his voice shaking. “Holy fuck?”
“Holyyy fuck,” Taren echoed, his own voice hoarse as he clasped Bran’s arm for support.
Rynna turned slowly, her lungs still heaving, the dry desert air rough in her throat.
Sand crunched beneath her feet as her gaze fell on the boy they had just pulled from the canyon’s edge.
His body lay unnaturally still on the hot, cracked earth, his face slack, eyes wide and vacant, staring up at the cloudless sky without seeing it.
Taren knelt down first, placing a hand on the boy’s neck, searching for a pulse, the corners of his mouth dipping. “He’s gone.”
Bran stood frozen, his mouth opened, then closed, his face paling as the realization sank in. “No…no, no, no…” he stammered, his knees buckling. “We had him! We—he was just—” He dropped to the ground beside the boy, his hands shaking as he reached out but didn’t touch him.
Rynna’s throat bobbed, watching Bran’s disbelief turn to grief. He buried his face in his hands, his body shaking, while Taren sat beside him in silence, a hand resting on his shoulder.
“We need to move,” she said, her eyes focused on where the snake had gone over the cliff. “Who knows if that thing will come back, and we remain in the middle of the Ascension. People will be hunting us.”
“What about him?” Taren glanced down at the boy’s dead body.
Rynna knelt beside the boy, pulling one of the small emergency markers from her pack. With a soft snap, she broke it in two and placed one half in the boy’s hand, gently curling his fingers around it.
“The proctors will find him and recover the body. There’s nothing more we can do.” Her voice was calm. “We’ve still got to make it until dawn.”
Bran opened his mouth to protest, his eyes clouded with emotion, but he stopped himself, his shoulders slumping before he squared them again. “You’re right, Rynna. Let’s go.”
The three of them resumed their formation, slipping into the familiar, silent coordination of Hollow-born. Bran took the lead once more, scanning the canyon as they moved swiftly through the unforgiving landscape, sand and stone crunching beneath their feet.
After what felt like another hour of running, the sound of Bran’s low whistle broke the silence.
When she found him, he was standing near the entrance of a small cave, his grin barely visible beneath the folds of his sashira. The rocky formation jutted from a raised portion of the canyon wall, its rough surface offering a natural overhang that provided much-needed shade.
She stepped closer and saw what Bran had spotted.
Beneath the overhang, the mouth of the cave yawned open, wide enough to give them space but narrow enough to be easily defensible.
The air cooled immediately as she entered, and in the far corner, a faint trickle of water seeped from the rock, collecting in a shallow pool.
It was just enough to refill their water skins.
Bran dropped to his knees by the small pool of water, dipping his fingers. “I was starting to think we’d be crispy before we found anything.”
Taren inspected the cave entrance, looking for signs of danger. “It’s defensible. No one’s been here in a while.”
“This is good,” she agreed, though she knew the real threat wasn’t the sun anymore; it was the Hollow-born scattered across the desert, waiting for nightfall.
“What do we do once the sun goes down?” Bran asked, sensing her unease.
Rynna turned to him. “Do we still want to win?”
Both boys exchanged a look before nodding in unison.
“Then we rest now and align on a plan once the sun’s down,” she said, her mind already running through strategies.
“Yeah!” Bran raised his fist for a weak bump with Taren, who rolled his eyes.
After they had settled, Rynna tried to rest but only drifted in and out of shallow sleep, her thoughts circling the night ahead. The sun was sinking, and with it, the weight of what was to come.
She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when she woke abruptly, her senses on high alert. Something was off.
Sitting up, her fingers brushed against the hilts of her swords. There were voices at the entrance. One was unmistakably Taren’s, low and tense, but the other voice was unfamiliar, yet…somehow not.
Rynna silently unsheathed her swords, keeping her movements controlled as she crept toward the cave’s mouth, her body low to the ground and her heart steady as she listened.
At the entrance, she saw Taren standing with his arms crossed, facing a young man covered in dried blood and streaks of black ichor.
His Tide Reach medallion was barely visible beneath the grime, and his hands were raised in a gesture of surrender, far from the weapons strapped to his wide leather belt.
“I thought the snake took you,” Taren said. “There’s no way you defeated that monster.”
The young man huffed a laugh, shaking his head. “Defeated? No. Ran away when it went after Lan? Yes.”
“So, you’re a coward, then?” Taren’s eyes narrowed. “Your friend died.”
“I’m alive is what I am.” The boy’s lips curled.
Rynna’s grip tightened on her swords as she edged closer.
This must be Renji, she thought, eyeing the bloodied medallion. How the hell did he get out of the canyon alive?
Taren remained silent.
“Look,” Renji began again, his voice dropping. “I’m just looking for a place to hole up until dawn. With my team gone…” His words trailed off, and he sighed. “I’m just trying to get out of this bleeding desert in one piece.”
“Of course! Please, join us.” Bran brushed past the spot where Rynna was crouched. “We’ll leave soon to finish the Ascension. We’re going to win! But you’re welcome to stay.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Rynna grumbled as she rose to her feet, slipping her swords back into their sheaths and stepping into the open.
Renji’s mouth quirked at seeing her. “Pleasant as always.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” She crossed her arms as Taren barked, “Bran! We don’t know this person.”
“What? He’s covered in blood and snake goo and wearing a Tide Reach medallion. Who else would he be?”
Taren raised a hand to his head, exasperated. “We are Hollow-born, Bran. Deception is in the playbook.”
“Oh my.” Renji laughed softly, a smile playing on his lips as his gaze slid over to Rynna. “I wouldn’t want to cause any alarm. I can stay outside if that’s safer for you.”
“That’s crazy.” Bran stepped forward and grabbed Renji by the arm, dragging him toward the camp. “You’re coming in. We’re all Hollow-born here.”
“Bran!” Taren moved to protest, but Rynna stepped beside him, wrenching her eyes from the newcomer.
She rested a hand lightly on Taren’s elbow and shook her head.
“He needs this after what happened at the canyon.” She glanced meaningfully at Bran. “And…he’s not a complete idiot.”
Taren raised an eyebrow.
“I know, I know, sometimes he can be, but he won’t do anything too stupid.”
“I don’t trust him.” Taren nodded toward Renji.
“Neither do I.” She lowered her voice. “But if we turn him out, we’ll have to worry about why he was following us. At least now, we can keep an eye on him.”
Taren considered her words, his frown deepening. After a moment, he gave a reluctant nod. “Fine.”
They walked back into the cave to find Bran waving his hands wildly, animatedly describing the giant snake they had encountered. Between gestures, he handed over portions of their rations to Renji, who sat cross-legged, chewing on dried meat.
“Lovely place you have here,” Renji said with a wry smile as they sat down, his eyes flicking up toward Rynna.
She snorted, folding her arms. “No offense, but I don’t know you, and I definitely don’t trust you. Don’t talk to me.”
For a brief second, a flicker of pain flashed across Renji’s face, but he shrugged it off, turning his attention back to Taren. “So, what do they do for training in Ember Reach these days?”
Taren gave him a flat look, clearly uninterested in engaging. But before the silence grew awkward, Bran jumped in, launching into a detailed account of their latest mission, a long escort through the dense forests of Pulse Reach.
Rynna rocked forward, then back as the air inside the cave seemed to thicken.
It felt too hot, too close, and the presence of Renji, despite his calm demeanor, only made it worse.
It wasn’t fear, exactly, but something about him stirred a strange restlessness in her, like an itch she couldn’t scratch.
She could feel his eyes on her from time to time, but when she glanced over, he was focused on Bran or Taren, talking casually. Still, it made her twitchy.
She stood abruptly, the cave suddenly suffocating, and moved toward the entrance, needing to feel the open air.
Once outside, she exhaled, leaning against the cool stone as the setting sun cast long shadows over the desert.
The air felt lighter out here, but that persistent feeling of unease remained, tugging at the edges of her thoughts.
She examined the rocky horizon, her senses tuned for any sign of Hollow-born approaching, yet her mind kept drifting back to Renji.
Why does he get under my skin? she wondered, watching the sun slowly approach the horizon. It wasn’t a bad feeling, just something unsettling.
Just need to make it through until dawn, she reminded herself, knowing full well that the night would likely bring even more challenges.