Chapter 28
“D on’t move,” Drucinda breathed. “They hunt by smell and sound.”
Another snarl sounded, followed by a throaty growl. Paige pressed her lips together as her jaw started to shake. Her stomach turned over. She worried her taut muscles would soon begin to tremble. The rustling of her sleeping bag would be enough to draw them right to her.
A tiny paw pressed against her back. Her sleeping bag shifted as Dewey crawled inside. “Don’t get us killed, Paige.”
Drucinda bit a knife between her teeth before she noiselessly slipped from inside her sleeping bag. She crept forward to the opening. Paige winced as the zipper clicked open tooth by tooth.
Drucinda stuck her head through the small opening before she pulled it back in and zipped it shut. She shimmied back toward Paige, leaning close.
“There’s a pack. I had hoped it was a lone hunter, but there are at least four. We have to tackle it together.”
“Can’t we call Devon?” Paige squealed, a hiccup escaping from her.
Drucinda pressed a hand over Paige’s face. “Shh, we can’t risk it. We’ll hope he’s awake and can help, but we have to operate under the assumption that he and Thorn are peacefully asleep.”
Paige pulled away from Drucinda, shaking her head as her breath came in quivering gasps. “I can’t–”
Drucinda shoved a knife toward her. “You have to.”
Paige wrapped her fingers around the hilt, trying to steady her trembling arm as she tried to slide out of the sleeping bag without making any noise. Her heart pounded, and she wondered if the ice panthers could hear it.
“Where’s the lantern?” she hissed.
“Leave it. They are almost blind, but even the smallest bit of light will draw their attention.”
“How will we see?”
“I’m a Valkyrie. I have night vision.”
Dewey poked his head from under the sleeping bag. “She’s not very good at that kind of stuff yet.”
“Great for you. I don’t!” Paige cried.
“You’ll have to follow my lead and trust me.”
“Oh, great,” Paige murmured. Two things she did not excel at in any way.
“Paige, Paige!” Dewey breathed.
“What?” she asked, freezing mid-crawl.
“Don’t get killed, okay? I don’t want to be stuck with just Devon and Drucinda. And Thorn.”
“Right. I’ll make sure I stay alive just for you.”
“Thanks, pal,” Dewey said, patting her arm before he nestled into the sleeping bag to hide.
“Wait, why can’t we take Dewey?”
“His wings will call too much attention. He’d have to walk, which puts him in extreme danger. They are lightning-fast. He’d never survive it.” Drucinda pressed a finger to her lips in the dim light before she reached for the zipper.
She eased it up tooth by tooth again and stuck her head out before pulling it back in.
“There are two to the left. One on the right. I don’t know where the fourth is.
You go to the right. Remember, you must strike with the blade in its central eye.
Their fur and skin are so thick, you won’t get the blade through anywhere else. ”
Paige let her head fall back between her shoulder blades. “You can’t be serious. How am I going to find the thing’s eye?”
“It’s easy. Right in the center of its head. And fairly large, too. When it tries to bite you, stab it.”
Drucinda leaned forward to open the tent flap again when Paige grabbed her arm and tugged her back. “Wait. Maybe I should go to the other tent and get Devon instead of–”
Drucinda shook her head emphatically. “No. There is another panther out there unaccounted for. That leaves me with tracking all four, while you try to roust Devon. We need to even the odds a bit first.”
Paige swallowed hard as her legs turned to jelly. “Okay.” She firmed her jaw in a desperate attempt to stop her teeth from chattering.
After another quick peek outside, Drucinda ducked back in and grabbed Paige by the arms. “You can do this. You are not stupid. You are not a klutz. You are Paige Turner, daughter of Reed Moore. And you will persevere.”
“Right.” Paige jabbed at her glasses as Drucinda slid through the opening of the tent. “I’m Paige Turner. I can kill an ice panther. No problem. I can do this. Just a quick stab in the eye. I’ve got this.”
“Paige!” Dewey hissed, poking his head from under the sleeping bag again. “Stop talking about it and go do it!”
“Right, yeah.”
Paige clamped the knife between her teeth and crawled forward, sliding her head out of the opening. Drucinda crouched nearby, her dark eyes gleaming in the dim light as she tracked the movements of two bulky figures on the left.
Paige slid out onto the icy floor, dragging her legs behind her as she pulled herself forward. Her foot caught on the zipper. She tugged her lips back into a wince as she kicked it.
“I’m stuck,” she whispered.
“What?” Drucinda asked.
“I’m stuck. My foot is stuck.” Paige rolled onto her back and kicked her foot again.
A snorting noise sounded from the right as Drucinda huffed and dove toward the tent. Her hand wrapped around Paige’s foot and tugged until the fabric let loose.
A shriek echoed throughout the chamber and large feet slammed against the floor.
“Damn it.”
Drucinda yanked Paige’s foot from within the tent before she shoved her away. Paige rolled across the ground. She came to a stop a few yards past the tent on her belly and shoved up as she glanced around in the dim light.
A massive form slammed into Drucinda, knocking her onto her back. Her arms flailed as she struggled to keep the snarling snout from sinking its teeth into her.
She slid out from under the panther, only to have the second one pummel her.
“Oh, no,” Paige whimpered, kicking her socked feet. The coldness penetrated through the thick wool as her feet slipped and slid.
Drucinda’s limbs whipped around wildly as she fought off the two massive beasts. Paige managed to climb to her feet and took one step toward Drucinda when a low growl sounded behind her.
She swallowed hard and twisted to glance over her shoulder. Lit by the ethereal glow of the ultraviolet perimeter, the grayish-white beast’s teeth gleamed. Paige tightened her grip on the knife as it lifted a massive paw to stalk forward.
She spun and widened her stance as the panther snarled at her. Her heart hammered against her ribs. Her muscles tensed, and her breathing turned raspy and shallow.
A yelp sounded behind her. She flicked a glance over her shoulder. The move cost her. She went from standing one second to flattened in the next. A crushing weight pressed down upon her, smashing her into the slick floor. The knife clattered to the ground, sliding away from her.
She cried out as a claw pierced her skin through her shirt. The scuffle continued across the cavern. Help wouldn’t be coming any time soon. Drucinda persisted in fighting her own battle against two of the beasts. And she had not seen Devon anywhere.
She tried to push herself to her back, but the beast’s weight stopped her. Teeth snapped near her face. Paige curved her neck backward to avoid being bitten as she stretched her muscles to push the animal as far as she could, while she reached for the knife with her pinned arm.
Her shoulder burned with each contortion as she wriggled toward the weapon.
With a kick to the panther’s gut, she slid out from under it a few inches before the weight trapped her again.
Saliva dripped onto her sleeve. Her fingers wrapped around the hilt and swung it toward the animal.
The knife glanced off the steely fur covering the beast as it wobbled to the side.
Paige kicked at it again, ignoring the battle cries from behind her as the other fight raged on. She jabbed at the creature again, but it did little good.
“The eye,” she reminded herself. With another kick, she steadied her grip and tried to aim for the creature’s eye. With its flailing head, she failed to connect.
She cursed under her breath as each stab went wild. Panic set in as her strength waned. The animal would simply wear her down until she had nothing left to fight.
Tears escaped from the corners of her eyes, sliding down to her hairline. She tensed her jaw. “No. I’m Paige Turner, daughter of Reed Moore. Prepare to die.”
Sweat beaded on her brow as she summoned her last ounces of strength.
“I’m Paige Turner, daughter of Reed Moore. Prepare to die,” she repeated. “I’m Paige Turner, daughter of Reed Moore. Prepare to die.”
With a shriek, she pushed her muscles to their limit, wrapping both hands around the knife and plunging it into the panther’s eye.
The animal screeched as it retreated. Its head whipped from side to side. Blood poured from the wound, splattering across the ice. The creature spun to flee but only made it a few steps before it slumped over. After a final few twitches, its life expired.
Paige swallowed hard, still shaking from the experience. Her lower lip bobbed up and down as she slowly rose to sit.
“I did it. I did it!”
Paige slapped the ice with her hand, her ecstatic grin fading as she shook her fingers to release the pain.
“Drucinda!”
She scurried to her feet and raced to the dead panther. With a foot braced against the beast’s front leg, she tugged the knife from its eye and snapped her gaze to the other battle. After lighting a lantern, Drucinda wiped her knife on a towel. Two panthers lay dead at her feet.
Devon raced in from the passage leading further into the caves. “He’s gone.”
“Damn it,” Drucinda said as she sheathed the weapon.
Paige raced toward them. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, but one of them escaped.” Devon lit a second lantern, holding it over his head. Drucinda lifted her chin to peer over Paige’s shoulder. “I see you took care of business.”
Paige glanced at the dead animal. “Yes, I did.”
“Congratulations. I knew you could do it.”
Paige lifted her chin as she handed the knife back.
Drucinda grabbed it, wiping blood from the blade and swiping it across Paige’s cheeks.
Paige tugged her lips back in a grimace. “Ew, what are you doing?”