Page 53 of Lake of Sorrow

“It didn’t look like any died to sword wounds.”

Kaylina shrugged. “You said slender blades don’t do a lot against them.”

“Vlerion usually manages.”

She gave him another shrug. “I don’t know. Like I said, I was hiding. And I’m tired. Could we just ride?”

She willed the trail to grow narrow again. Or for a vine to swing down and cover Jankarr’s mouth. No, she had better not wish for that.

“Sure. I was curious, that’s all. A lot of people have been mauled by claws and fangs lately.” He kept watching her.

Why did she have a feeling he wouldn’t be content to just ride? She was starting to wish she’d asked to stay with the rangers, but Targon hadn’t been in the mood to do her any favors.

“You haven’t been reading those newspapers, have you?” she asked.

This time, Jankarr shrugged. “I’ve seen them. All the rangers are talking about them. We’re being implicated, and none of us know why.”

“The Kar’ruk don’t have claws, do they?” Kaylina tried to remember the hands of the archer who’d shot at her, hopeful the deaths in the city might be blamed on the invaders. But, no, she was fairly certain the Kar’ruk had dark nails but not claws.

“No,” Jankarr said.

The beast wasn’t the only being around with claws, but there weren’t that many predators that wandered through Port Jirador. There were taybarri, of course, but they weren’t that bloodthirsty. Thus far, she’d only seen them leap into battle against threats to the kingdom.

A vine dangling from a branch flicked, drawing Kaylina’s eye to a few stone slabs set back from the trail. Moss, leaves, and more vines almost hid the ruins. She wanted to urge Levitke to move past the area as quickly as possible but spotted what might have been a boot sticking out of undergrowth near one of the slabs.

“Stop, my friend.” Jankarr patted his taybarri. “I smell…”

Levitke and his mount whuffed uncertainly and looked around. Kaylina caught the odor too, the musky Kar’ruk odor.

She pointed toward the ruins—toward the boot. “There’s something over there.”

Or someone. A Kar’ruk?

A faint breeze blew toward the ruins instead of away, else they might have caught the scent sooner.

“Stay on the trail.” Jankarr slid off his taybarri and drew his sword. “I’ll check.”

Since Kaylina wanted nothing more than to leave the preserve, she didn’t mind obeying the order, but she did load her sling. Thus far, the vines hadn’t drawn her into trouble, but this could be a Kar’ruk trap, the boot placed as bait to lure them to investigate.

Jankarr stepped off the trail, looking at drag marks on the ground and broken branches. The vine flicked again.

Kaylina pointed at it. “Watch out for that. The vines here can come to life and entrap you. It happened to Vlerion in the ruins by the lake.”

“I’ve heard stories about them.” Jankarr skirted the vine as he approached the boot. “Rangers respect the wilderness and the animals and plants within. It’s a shame that this place hates us.”

Kaylina didn’t ask if he knew the full story of the curse. He probably did, just not the part about Vlerion and his family.

Using his sword, Jankarr gingerly lifted a leaf-laden branch next to the boot. That revealed the leg and the Kar’ruk body attached to it, attached but smothered in vines.

The thick green tendrils were wrapped numerous times around the warrior’s midsection, and one had snaked around his neck too. The haft of his axe was visible in the dirt, a vine also securing it.

Kaylina assumed the Kar’ruk was dead, but the boot twitched, and the warrior’s eyes popped open.

Swearing, Jankarr jumped back and raised his sword to strike.

The Kar’ruk growled weakly at him and shifted, but he couldn’t move more than an inch, thanks to the vines that pinned his torso and limbs to the ground. That didn’t keep hatred from burning in his eyes as he glared at Jankarr.

“Targon wanted a Kar’ruk brought in alive to question.” Jankarr didn’t lower his sword, but he looked thoughtfully toward his taybarri. “If we could keep this guy wrapped up and subdued, he would do. Assuming he doesn’t have any poison in his mouth to kill himself with.”

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