Page 10 of Sohut's Protection

For a few moments, she just stared at the thing.

It was the Chihuahua-monkey.

The animal stopped moving and blinked at her with its large brown eyes.

It remained unmoving as it looked from the sharp piece of metal to her and back.

They stood like that for a few minutes, each unsure of what the other would do, until she slowly lowered her weapon.

She didn’t realize the animal was tense until its pointed ears flattened and it sat on its haunches, watching her.

How it escaped its cage on the cart, she didn’t know.

But it was obvious it had followed her through the bushes.

“Hey,” she murmured to the animal, and its ears perked again.

Crouching, she stared at it.

“What are you doing here?”

The animal tilted its head at her, but it didn’t make a sound.

Taking a step toward the thing, and against her better judgment, she outstretched her hand toward it, staying just far enough away that she’d be able to pull her hand back if it tried to bite her.

The animal’s nostrils twitched as if it was smelling her, and then it moved cautiously toward her hand and paused.

She was just about to pull her hand back when it bumped the back of its head against her palm, much in the way a cat would.

A smile she didn’t expect spread across her lips as the animal moved closer to rub its head into her palm some more.

That one movement settled the anxiety that had been growing within her.

“You’re just lost too, aren’t you,” she murmured, and when the animal paused rubbing against her to blink its huge brown eyes at her, she smiled again.

It was lost. Just like she was.

“You look so innocent…” She studied the little thing. It was innocent and cute, and that pulled on her heart. “I’m going to take care of you.”

It was a promise.

“I’m going to take care of you and me, little Chihuahua-monkey.”

When the animal simply bumped her palm with its head once more, Cleo smiled again.

Three hours without shelter, Cleo.

Three days without water.

Three weeks without food.

She could do this.

She was Cleo Barlow, Thomas Barlow’s spawn.

She’d been trained to face the odds and survive.

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