Page 78 of Claiming Sarah

A mob of Drecks ran after us, no doubt looking for a midnight snack. The four-legged creatures were as tall as Deacon at their shoulder, and their long necks made their tooth-heavy heads nearly drag to the ground. They snarled and roared, having fun chasing us. Hoof steps sounded like thunder that was catching up to us. Hot snout breaths sprayed against the back of my neck.

They are faster than us. We need a new plan.

“Up!” I shouted.

I grabbed Sarah around her waist and hoisted her over my shoulder, before I snatched onto the nearest tree branch and swung us onto the next one. I set her to her feet on the branch.

“Climb!” I ordered.

She tried, moons above, she tried. A dreck paid us too much attention and started for our tree.

“Hang on!” I picked her up again and settled her onto my back. She clung to me as I climbed for the both of us. We were near to the top, when the dreck lost interest and ran for the others.

“Deacon!” I shouted, not knowing which direction he’d gone.

There was no reply.

“You stay here!” I said, placing her on the thick branch. “I’m going to find him—”

“Don’t leave me here!” she said frantically.

“Drecks can’t climb,” I assured her. “You’re safe.”

She nodded, her eyes still wide with terror. I waited as the mob of drecks passed, before I climbed down. Things were eerily quiet again, like the swamp was holding its breath. I began to run after everyone until I heard a whistle.

In the dark, I saw Deacon’s gauntlet driver, lit up and waving around behind some bushes. My feet moved before I thought. It was too far—just a handful of meters, but it was still too far.

When I got there and tucked in under the bushes, relief hit me when I found Deacon hiding there. “Are you hurt?” I whispered.

“I’m fine,” he said in a low voice. “Where’s Sarah?”

“Sarah is up in a tree, where I left her. No injuries.”

“I’m fine, too, thanks,” Omen said in a wry tone from behind him.

I would have chuckled had our plight not been so dire. “Sorry, didn’t see you there.”

“We need to find the others,” Deacon’s one-track mind insisted.

But soon, the others had begun to climb out from their hiding spots, as well. Rex and his men emerged, scurrying down trees, popping out from bushes. I saw all those I recognized, with the exception of Augur.

“Who pissed off the moons?” Omen asked in a panic as she pointed over Deacon’s shoulder.

Jem’hora, those shimmering eyeless birds of prey, had begun to swoop in beneath the canopy of trees and land on the path in a line. Half as tall as me and with talons the size of hands, they were the stuff of nightmares. Worse still, they had a taste for Ladrian flesh, particularly babies. Every muscle in my body froze.

The others ducked back into their hiding spots.

“Fuck,” I grunted. “We do not need this now.”

The only defense we had against jem’hora were androids, and ours weren’t with us. An oversight.

Two of the predators flew up from the ground into the trees.

Into the tree where I had left Sarah.

Sheer horror gripped me, and I lunged out of the bush, Deacon beside me. We ran toward the flock, shouting and arms waving to get their attention. To our detriment, it worked. But it didn’t stop the two that had flown after Sarah.

“Go get her,” Deacon ordered. “I’ll let them chase me, go!”

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