Page 23 of Unleashed

“Stay there,” Vortok said, betraying only a hint of fury in his tone. “Everything will be fine.”

Aduun stared up at Balir, jaw clenched, and curled his fingers. Shame warred with his rage; his beast demanded he assert dominance, demanded he react to aggression with aggression, but Aduun knew well that he was the villain here. What he’d intended to do, even if his resolve had wavered after a moment, waswrong.

Nina inhaled sharply.

“I have followed you for most of my life, Aduun,” Balir rasped, the cords of his neck standing out with rage. “You have had my respect and adoration through everything, even when you thought you failed us all. I have remained at your side throughout. But ifthisis what you have become, I will follow you no longer.”

The words stung, deepening Aduun’s shame. His beast railed against the emotion, but he clenched his jaw and swallowed its fury. Fighting now would only feed into the conflict. What would that accomplish? He and his companions had walked a difficult path to this point, had struggled through much together, but their bonds as friends and tribesmen could still be shattered if pushed too far.

“I am sorry, my friend,” Aduun said softly; it was difficult to control his voice, but he refused to let it tremble. “I have shamed all of us with my thoughts and actions.”

Balir remained in place, pinning Aduun to the ground, with his head turned slightly aside. After what felt like a long while, he finally rose and held out a long-fingered hand.

Aduun accepted the help and stood up. He could feel dried leaves impaled on his quills and dangling from the fur on his back but made no move to brush them away. Instead, he shifted his attention to the side, looking past Balir.

Vortok stood in front of the shelter, blocking most of it from view. Nina was peering around his arm from behind, a hint of fear in her eyes. That hurt Aduun almost as much as his guilt and the rift that had opened between himself and Balir.

“I am sorry I woke you,” Aduun said.

“It’s okay,” she said softly.

Though Kelsharn had set these events into motion ages ago, had initiated the first changes in Aduun, the Creator could not be held fully responsible. Aduun was no longer the person he’d been. His body had been altered against his will, but he’d allowed his mind to be twisted. This was more than having a beast-mind merged with his own; he’d allowed himself to grow bitter and distrustful towardeveryone, including the two men he’d called his brothers throughout his life.

He’d told himself time and again that he was simply wiser, warier, better equipped to recognize and counteract deceit and betrayal. That his distrust and rage were simply his resistance to Kelsharn’s influence. But that was wrong, wasn’t it? Not the feelings on their own, but the way they’d grown, the way they’d come to dominate him. Kelsharn had given a little shove, but it was Aduun who’d thrown himself over the edge.

“Go back to sleep, Nina,” Vortok said gently.

“But Aduun—” she began, voice filled with concern.

“Everything is fine, Nina,” Aduun replied. “I am going to scout.”

“It is late, Aduun,” Balir said.

“My beast is active at night…and this is the first night I have seen in a long while. I will not wander far.”

“Return soon,” Vortok said. “We don’t know what lurks in the darkness.”

Aduun turned away from them and stalked toward the shadows beyond the fire’s light, glancing at Nina over his shoulder again. Another pang of guilt and regret hit him; he still couldn’t trust her fully, but his behavior had been unacceptable. He’d also given her reason not to trust him.

“Tonight, I do.”

Chapter Six

Nina swept her eyes over the landscape stretching before her; rolling, grassy foothills, sprinkled with dark outcroppings of rock, ran down to a river at the base of the valley. The breeze held a hint of winter’s approaching chill, but the sunshine was still warm enough to make for a pleasant day. She twisted to look over her shoulder. A cluster of hide, bone, and wood tents was situated a little farther up the slope, with smoke curling up through their vent holes to be carried away by the mountain wind.

People moved amongst the tents, working and talking, smiling and laughing. They were tall, sturdily built, with skin in varying shades of gray. She didn’t know them, but she felt a bond to them she couldn’t fully understand. A kinship.

A pair of voices called her attention back to her immediate surroundings.

Two men sat beside her on the wide, flat rock, their gray skin adorned with white paint. One was much larger than the other, and even without the thick mane and jutting horns, his kind brown eyes were unmistakable.

“Vortok,” she whispered. Her voice sounded oddly muffled.

The other man had bright, keen eyes, the blue-gray of the sky after a storm. It was his smile that gave him away; though he lacked the pointed teeth, his lips upturned in the same fashion they did in the real world, in the now-world.

“Balir.”

Both men turned to look at her, mild confusion on their faces. Balir had a long spear laid on the rock beside him, and Vortok’s large, strong hands were busy weaving thin strips of hide into an intricate pattern.

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