Page 17 of Sohut's Protection

And it was a clear warning—one he shouldn’t ignore.

But he was Sohut U’xol Cal-Pholy…problem was…he couldn’t ignore it.

Something deep within him told him the scent marking wasn’t coincidental.

What were the chances of him tracking an alien creature only to find territory marked with the scent of slizz?

Pausing in the darkness, he lifted his head to look up at the trees before him that were rising up the mountainside.

Whatever he was hunting must have a direct correlation with this “defense” barrier.

He just knew it.

Dropping his satchel, Sohut paused at the edge of this invisible barrier. His ears pricked from the sides of his head as he listened for any sound.

Nothing.

If it was a slizz, he wasn’t going to enter its territory in the dark. That would put him at a disadvantage.

Resting against the root of a huge tree, he knew what he was going to do.

The slizz’s scent would keep the other predators of the jungle at bay, for now.

That meant he could rest for the dark cycle and cross the barrier when the sun rose.

A little sliver of excitement ran through him at the thought.

There was something across that barrier—something worth finding.

He could feel it as well as he could feel the frilli on his nose.

3

It’d been a day since, against his better judgment, he’d crossed the scent barrier.

Since then, the scent had steadily faded, making him believe he’d been right about it being a perimeter marking.

As he walked now, the terrain was rising on an incline. He was climbing the mountain and the farther inland he went, the more that feeling of something huge happening increased.

Walking through the undergrowth, he kept going for a few moments when his steps halted.

Yet, he wasn’t quite sure why.

Turning his nose to the air, Sohut sniffed.

There was a smell in the air…a new scent…different from the territory-marking scent yet still somewhat mingled with it.

The smell was faint; so faint, he almost missed it.

For a few moments, he stood unmoving, processing the scent as it flowed into his nostrils.

It wasn’t a spined creature or a mog.

It wasn’t a tuli or a zidek.

It wasn’t a fruiting or flowering plant…

This was the smell of a creature.

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