Chapter 29
Ursula fell asleep cuddled against Zul’s broad body as the wyverns carried them through the night. When they arrived at their first destination, the beasts were weary and subdued and disinclined to hunt. Zul knew they would rest before hunger and thirst drove them to hunt for meat and water.
He hoped the beasts would head for home, but doubted Suvesh’s family would be so lucky. The Fangrys Triad would have to reimburse them for the loss of such valuable beasts. Regardless, he, Suvesh, Crow, and Ursula needed to move beyond the wyverns’ notice or become prey themselves.
“Can you carry the boy?” Zul asked, his voice a hoarse whisper.
Suvesh nodded as he slung the straps of the two satchels over his shoulders. Crow, exhausted, slept curled at Suvesh’s booted feet. “Do you know where we are going, my lord?”
Zul nodded. “It’s a place I’ve visited many times over the years.”
He shrugged the straps of the other satchels over his shoulders and scooped Ursula into his arms, cradling her against his chest.
Without further discussion, Zul started walking.
The small, wiry castratus—still taller than the hybrid female—picked up the exhausted youngling and followed in his footsteps.
He wondered why Suvesh had pursued a life in domestic service and submitted to castration, but did not voice his curiosity.
Of greater importance was the castratus’ strength, stamina, and loyalty.
They walked for hours, the first hour at speed to put as much distance between them and the wyverns as possible before the beasts roused themselves to hunt.
He’d landed them near a water hole where wildlife gathered to drink for that very reason: the wyverns would prefer easily found prey.
He just hoped there were no other wyverns in the area.
Perhaps there would be an oryxis. The wyverns would enjoy the vicious fight after which they could gorge upon its flesh.
Engorged wyverns tended to be sluggish, which would also work in their favor.
Zul varied their speed as they hiked across the high desert, alternating the speed of a battle march with the less strenuous pace of a parade march. As the horizon brightened, Zul adjusted his direction. It was easier navigating at dawn than in the darkness of night.
Ursula stirred. “Wha… who?” She blinked against the early morning sunshine aiming for her eyes. She began to squirm, and the arms confining her tightened.
“Settle,” Zul ordered.
Her eyes flew open, and she remembered what was happening. “Where are we? Where is Crow?”
“Suvesh is right behind us carrying Crow,” Zul replied. “We’ve another two leagues to go before we can stop.”
Ursula tried to remember how long a league was, then gave up. A Urib league was measured differently than an imperial league which was three miles. She squirmed again. “I can walk.”
“I can walk faster,” Zul replied, not lying but also not telling her that he’d rather enjoyed carrying his mate and relished the press of her body against his.
“I have to pee.”
“Mama? Mama!”
“My lord?”
Zul stopped and reluctantly set his mate down, ensuring she was steady on her feet before relinquishing his hold. Crow ran to his mother who crouched down and opened her arms to embrace him. He watched in silence as mother and son held each other.
“Relieve yourselves, then we’ll proceed.”
“But Crow—” Ursula automatically began to protest.
“Crow is a golden warrior breed. He will not suffer for walking,” Zul said.
Ursula looked at Suvesh who nodded and ventured to offer his opinion, “He is bred for strength, endurance, and speed.”
“But he’s just a little boy,” she objected.
“He will grow to be an elite Urib warrior. Trust in Lord Zul’s judgment.”
Ursula cast a sour look at the berserker then a worried look at Crow. “Crow, you will tell me if and when you get tired.”
The boy nodded. “Yes, Mama.”
She took his hand and looked around for a suitable spot to relieve themselves. “We’ll be just beyond that clump of shrubbery.”
Zul nodded in approval and dug out a canteen from one of the satchels. Suvesh did the same.
“You are well-prepared, Suvesh.”
The castratus accepted the compliment with a small, closed-mouth smile. “Breeding and training wyverns demands resourcefulness and acceptance of hardship. I’ve spent more than one night in the wilderness, my lord.”
Zul nodded. “Bran chose well when he hired you to care for the youngling.”
Suvesh favored him with another small smile after he took a drink and wiped his mouth. “Actually, it was Lord Gil who hired me.”
Zul nodded. “I stand corrected.”
Ursula and Crow rejoined them. Zul offered her his canteen, and Suvesh offered his to Crow, murmuring, “Just a small sip, no more.”
“But I’m thirsty!” the boy protested as his mother looked on, holding the canteen in her hands. He turned a pleading look at Ursula.
“We must not squander our resources,” Suvesh said.
“Just drink a little as Suvesh says,” Ursula said. “We can have more later.”
Crow sighed and nodded and raised the canteen to his lips.
After he swallowed his mouthful of water and handed the canteen back to Suvesh, Ursula took a drink, restricting herself to a small sip as she’d advised her son.
Zul’s gaze heated as she licked her lips to catch every last drop of moisture.
She handed the canteen back to him and smoothed the loose strands of hair away from her face.
“Ready?” Zul asked.
Ursula nodded and stooped to pick up one of the satchels, determined to share the workload.
“No.”
She looked up at him. “I can help.”
“These are heavy, and you will need your strength to keep up,” he said and gently took the strap from her hand.
Ursula huffed, but did not bother to argue. A moment later, she held Crow’s hand as they walked behind Zul and Suvesh followed them.
Crow endured better than his mother expected, and she endured less well than she expected of herself. After she stumbled a second time, Zul turned on his heel and scooped her into his arms.
“Hey!”
“Settle,” he ordered.
She squirmed. “I can walk.”
“You are weary already.”
Ursula huffed in disgust with her own lack of strength and stamina. “I ought to be in better shape.”
“You are female.”
“That has nothing to do with it. Besides, I’m too heavy to carry.”
Zul snorted. She hardly weighed more than two of the packs he carried.
“I’m going to have to start exercising after we get back home,” she muttered. After a pause, she asked, “We will go back home, won’t we?”
“I hope so,” he replied, not sure there would be a home to go back to.
If the Council Supreme succeeded in squelching the rebellion, they’d raze the manor to the ground, have both Gil and Bran executed, and confiscate their wealth.
If that happened, he would be responsible for ensuring his mate and her son had sufficient food, clothing, and shelter.
Perhaps he could find work as a mercenary or a guard on some other planet, because exile from Uribern would be the less lethal option.
Would a pampered Ahn’hudin mogul hire a mated Urib berserker?
And he had to hope that the Council Supreme did not set their sights on Ursula or Crow as traitors in collusion with Bran and Gil, but one could not count upon the sensibility of the ruling council members.
Ursula continued questioning him. “Why are we not riding the wyverns?”
“Their range is limited before they must rest.”
“And after they rest?”
“Then they hunt. We did not carry meat for them.”
“And we can’t wait for them to hunt?”
“Not if they’re going to hunt us.”
“Hunt us?” She frowned. “Aren’t they, like, domesticated?”
“No. Anyone who claims to have tamed a wyvern is lying. The beasts can be trained, but never tamed.”
Ursula stopped asking questions.
By the time they reached the small box canyon Zul remembered from his decades of wandering, Suvesh was once again carrying the youngling. The castratus, although surprisingly tough, was nearing the end of his strength and endurance, too.
“We’re here,” Zul announced quietly as he scanned the space from where they stood at the canyon mouth.
High walls of jagged rock rose on either side of them.
Out of sight around a corner, the music of falling water resounded.
The small pool flowed into a rushing stream limned by a thin line of gravel and sand which gave way to a spread of wiry grass, rocks, scrubby trees, and brush before more walls of rock rose to tower heights.
“What is this place?” Ursula asked. “It looks like Box Canyon State Park in Idaho, but a lot smaller.”
“It has no name that I’ve discovered,” Zul replied. “But I have stayed here many times. It’s a good place for a respite.”
Suvesh glanced around and nodded. “Small game only. The wyverns would not be interested.”
“And they prefer less enclosed spaces,” Zul added.
Suvesh nodded. “They do.” He glanced up at the craggy walls, noting the holes in the rock. “There may be an oryxis or two lurking in those caves.”
Zul shook his head. “Oryxis can’t climb that well. There are some smaller predators—kodos and yirklas—but they’ll likely avoid us.”
“What are kodos and yirklas?” Ursula asked.
“Yirklas are …” Zul’s voice trailed off as he struggled to come up with a description his mate would understand.
“Yirklas are a bit like the wild dogs of Africa on Earth,” Suvesh said.
“How do you know about the wild dogs of Africa?” Ursula asked.
“Crow’s mother is from Earth, so Crow should know something of her home planet.” He glanced at the youngling who had begun to wander off. “The wildlife of Earth interests him.”
“Okay,” Ursula said, frowning. “You do know that wild dogs are fierce hunters and never get tired. They tear their prey apart and begin eating it before it’s dead.” She shuddered.
“Much like yirklas,” Suvesh replied. “Crow, return to me.”
The boy sighed and obeyed.
“And what are kodos?” she asked Suvesh, as the castratus seemed to have knowledge that Zul did not.
“The name and form of a kodo is similar to that of your planet’s komodo dragons,” Zul answered. He felt proud for making that comparison. He’d spent a lot of time with Crow and Suvesh learning about Earth’s wildlife from the many books Gil had imported from her homeland at Ursula’s request.
“Oh, hell no!” Ursula shook her head. “I am not staying where komodo dragons roam freely—and neither is Crow.”
“We will keep you and Crow safe from predation,” he assured her. Suvesh nodded his commitment to their well-being.
Crow drew himself up to his full height which was still quite a bit shorter than his mother and said with solemn conviction, “I am not afraid.”
Ursula opened her mouth to object again, then merely sighed and shook her head. She glared at Zul. “If the dragons or wild dogs eat us, then we’re coming back to haunt you.”