Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Kavon watched Aurina mount the hargon beast. She settled in the saddle, looking like she’d been riding one for years.
Like she belonged here.
Tarm shifted beneath him, and Kavon patted the beast’s side.
She looked back over her shoulder at him and grinned. “So, I’ve graduated to my own hargon. Sure you trust me?”
He nudged Tarm forward a few steps until he brushed Aurina’s beast. Kavon leaned over, his mouth near her ear. “I will miss having you in my arms, pressed against me, safe under my protection. I will miss imagining sliding my cock inside you?—”
“Kavon!” Her word was sharp, but she was still grinning. “You can still imagine that last bit…but I’m pretty sure you don’t want an erection while riding one of these.”
Now, he tossed his head back and laughed at the morning sky.
When he looked back at her, she was staring at him.
“That’s a good sound, warrior. You should laugh more.”
He stared back. “I’ve never had much reason to laugh before.”
“Are we leaving or what?” Colm called out from his beast. Three other warriors—Darroch, Viken, and Kian—were mounted on their beasts behind him.
Kavon touched Aurina under the chin, then turned to face his men. “We’re leaving.” He glanced at his friend. “The diversion?”
Colm’s teeth flashed. “My men used Aurina’s special recipe for explosives. They blew up one of Drog’s grain storages, and are currently leading Drog and his warriors on a merry chase…in the opposite direction from us.”
Kavon felt a savage sense of satisfaction. It was less than Drog deserved, but damn, it would have been good to see. “Good. All right, let’s move out.”
Soon, they’d left the estate behind, following the mining road into the Wilds.
After an hour of watching Aurina learn to control her beast, including an amusing battle of wills after the beast wanted to chase some reptiles, Kavon almost forgot the danger of the mission.
Then Mount Furioso rose up ahead.
Kavon felt himself grow tense. The Wilds could and did throw anything at travelers stupid enough to venture into them. He’d seen that firsthand the last time they’d been here.
His gaze fell on Aurina’s back as she rode ahead of him. He would do anything, give anything, to protect her.
As they neared the base of the mountain, she pulled out her glowing Sync. She bent over it, muttering.
“Aurina?”
“The entrance is here…somewhere.” She scanned the rock face at the mountain’s base, her mouth pressed into a hard line. “I’ll find it.”
“What should we look for?”
“A cave entrance? Anything that doesn’t look natural.”
He nodded to his warriors, and they moved along the rock wall, circling craggy clusters of rocks.
Then a shadow passed overhead.
The hargon beasts all started pawing the ground and snorting fire. Kavon gripped the reins controlling Tarm and looked up.
Nothing. Just the clear, blue sky.
Then the great bulk of a flying beast appeared. It had circled the mountain, but now it flew over them again, and let out a deep, echoing squawk.
“Trondor!” Kavon called out.
“What?” Aurina clutched her reins, desperately trying to control her beast.
“Giant bird of prey.” He pulled in close to her, grabbed her reins, and barked an order to her beast. It instantly settled, but steam was pouring from its nostrils. “We have to get inside. Now!”
“I can’t find the entrance, Kavon.” She stabbed a finger at her device. “The map says it should be right here.” She waved a hand at the rock wall. “But I don’t see anything.”
Kavon studied the wall, and a huge pile of boulders that sat in a pile against it. Like they’d fallen from the mountain above…or been placed there. “The boulders.”
She blinked, then she nodded. “Of course. The entrance is covered up!”
There was a loud screech and the huge shadow passed over them again. Kavon spun…and saw the trondor diving at his warriors.
“Oh, my God,” Aurina cried, staring at the huge wingspan of the attacking animal.
Kavon’s men spurred their beasts out of the way of sharp claws and the snapping beak.
“We need to get inside.” Aurina urged her beast toward the rock pile.
“Aurina!” Kavon urged Tarm to follow.
She leaped off her beast and skidded to a halt. “It’ll take forever to move these.” She pulled her laser, fiddling with the buttons on it. “I should be able to open up enough room for us.”
She aimed and fired.
Her laser glowed orange, and he saw the rocks heating. There was a loud sound behind him, and he spun to see the trondor had landed.
It was a giant creature with leathery wings like a bird, but a thick, stocky body covered in scales. It snapped its sharp beak, and when it opened its mouth to screech again, rows of sharp teeth were visible.
Kavon charged Tarm toward it, hefting his sword. The trondor screeched again, swiping out with a giant, clawed foot.
Then it flew into the air with a flap of wings, only to land on the other side of him. He forced Tarm to wheel around, the well-trained hargon turning sharply.
But the trondor had lost interest in Kavon. Its gaze landed on Aurina.
“Aurina!” He dug his heels into Tarm, charging ahead with his sword raised.
But the giant bird was already moving toward her.
She turned, her face set in determined lines. No screaming or hysterics for his woman. She fired at the trondor.
The laser hit its wing, and it let out a terrible screech. It snapped out with its beak.
Aurina ducked, sliding in under the creature and firing again.
This time the animal didn’t make a sound. It leaped into the air, its takeoff a little off-kilter.
Aurina jumped to her feet. “Come on!”
Kavon sprinted to her, grabbed her arm and just stared at her for a second. She was amazing, with a calm, steady courage. It was admirable and completely terrifying for a warrior.
“Kavon, call the men. There are more of those flying menaces circling overhead.” She waved at a dark opening she’d opened in the rock pile. “Let’s get inside.”
With a nod, he bellowed for his warriors. As a tight unit, they moved forward, fighting off another trondor as it dived at them. Soon, they were all coaxing their hargons through the small opening.
It was tight, and Tarm protested at the indignity of having to squeeze through the entrance. But at least it was too small for the trondors to get through.
Inside was pitch black, except for the dim glow of Aurina’s Sync.
“Light wands,” Kavon ordered.
Aurina was shaking her laser stunner, then she tapped it against her palm and cursed. “It overheated and burned out.” She tossed it against the wall. “Dammit.” Then she gasped. “Look.”
Where they stood at the entrance had once been a wide cave mouth, but ahead, it narrowed to a tunnel with crisp, even sides—clearly man-made. One wall was etched with Markarian sacred script.
She hurried over, stroking the engravings. “Can you read it?”
He stopped beside her. “‘Stop if you want to live. The Mines of Riom are cursed. Within them lives sickness and death. Creatures of myth and nightmare. Many men have perished within. You are warned. Do not join the foolish dead in the eternal sleep of death. Turn and go back to your warm beds, women, and villages. Turn back and live.’”
She shivered. “Well, that’s cheery.”
“Nothing that we didn’t already know.” He squeezed her shoulder. “Let’s unpack our gear and head in.”
“What about the hargons?” She patted the hide of her animal.
He suppressed a smile. For someone who thought they were pretty frightening in the beginning, she seemed to be growing fond of hers. “They will stay here. They do not mind the dark, and if we leave food, they won’t venture far.”
She unclipped her bag from the beast and nodded.
Soon, their small group headed into the dark tunnel.
Kavon kept his light wand lifted high. Dirt and small rocks crunched under his boots. Here, the air was still cooler, but from a lifetime of being associated with mines, he knew as they moved deeper, the air would heat.
“Look,” Colm called out.
A rail track appeared on the floor. It was made of wood and metal, and badly deteriorated.
“That’s a good sign,” Aurina said.
They followed it as it snaked through the tunnel. Finally, they reached an area where the track split, spearing off into three different tunnels. In the center of the junction, sitting on the tracks, were large, bulky shadows.
“Mine carts,” Kavon said. The simple metal carts were an old design—hundreds of years old.
She tapped her Sync screen. “We need to take the central tunnel. Do you think we can use the carts?”
“It’s a risk. The track could be damaged in places.”
“I will ride first.” Colm dumped his gear into the lead cart. “It will cut a lot of time off our journey.” He looked around, his nose wrinkling. “The less time spent in this cursed place, the better.”
Aurina placed her gear in the next cart. “This is my ride.”
Kavon handed his gear to Kian and placed a hand on the edge of Aurina’s cart. “Our cart.”
“It’s going to be a tight fit, warrior. You’ll be right behind me.”
“Yes, I will. In this cart.”
She huffed out a breath. “Kavon?—”
He climbed in and sat, then waved at her to join him. “Old mines haunted with evil. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
She climbed in and settled on his lap. “I’m trying not to be pissed at your over-protectiveness.”
“You like it.”
She made a small, strangled sound, but he noted she didn’t refute his words.
Then she took her time shifting around to get comfortable. Her round ass rubbed against him tantalizingly, and he gritted his teeth.
She rubbed again, one of her hands pressing against his thigh. “Fine, it’s annoying, but I find it kind of sweet.”
He heard his warriors try to muffle their laughs. “I am not sweet.”
“Sure you are, big guy.” She shifted again, grinding hard against him, then patted his leg.
He gripped her long braid and held her still, his lips brushing her ear. He kept his voice low, “I know you are taking revenge by rubbing yourself against me.” He lifted his hips so she’d feel his hard cock against her. “But be warned, I will have my payback later. I promise.”