Page 74 of Unleashed

When he finally pulled back and released her, she watched, lips still tingling and mind fuzzy in the aftermath of his kiss, as he drank his fill from the hole they’d dug. She shook off her daze and helped him refill the waterskins once he’d finished, and then leaned down to drink her share. She savored the cold water, swallowing a little at a time to relish the feel of it sliding down her parched throat. It didn’t matter if there was a bit of grittiness to it. Water was life.

They settled in to wait. The valos took turns sitting on the perimeter of their little rest site, frightening away any curious or hungry critters bold enough to approach. They all drank regularly, taking full advantage of their fortune. There was no way to bring all the water along, so it was foolish not to partake as they desired.

Who could say how long the next night would last, if ever it came?

Their conversation was sporadic but companionable, coming in little spurts between long periods of silence that were neither awkward nor uncomfortable. Nina felt like she’d been traveling with these valos for years instead of days, in the best way possible.

Finally, the sun set, moving with the same surreal speed it had when it rose. Nina hurried to the water, took a final drink, and quickly slathered cool mud over her exposed skin. It soothed her burns and would provide more protection than she’d had thus far when the sun came up again.

By the time the last sliver of the sun disappeared over the distant rocks, the group was ready to move.

Aduun took the lead once more, the head of their triangle with Balir and Vortok at the other corners and Nina in the center. The darkness had brought an immediate chill, so in contrast to the heat of the day that it was maddening. How could the temperature change so drastically in such a short amount of time? Did real deserts have such extremes?

Unease flitted through her as they moved, deepening with each step. Soon, she realized she wasn’t the only one unsettled — the valos were, too, on some instinctual level. Wetting her lips, she placed her hand on Aduun’s shoulder, using the physical contact to guide her movement, and expanded her awareness.

“Oh, no,” she whispered. “They’reeverywhere.”

Hundreds, perhapsthousandsof primitive minds — some so simple that she couldn’t even describe them as minds at all — pulsed around them. When she looked from side to side, she saw them. Countless dark shapes crawling from their hiding places. Emboldened by the relative darkness, the creatures scurried across the sand, some with eyes gleaming red or yellow with reflected starlight. All in pursuit of Nina and her valos.

“We need to move faster,” Balir said.

Aduun quickened their pace, and though it was little more than a jog, Nina was grateful for the water they’d found and the nap she’d taken, even if her sleep had been broken. She doubted she’d have been able to keep even this relatively easy pace otherwise.

She chanced a peek over her shoulder to see the critters following, moving like a massive, living shadow across the ground. The creatures closed in on Nina and her companions, their beaks, pincers, and jaws snapping, a ravenous swarm that would not be deterred.

“There are more in front,” Aduun snarled. Increasing his pace, he veered to the side, leading them toward the cliff face.

Nina stumbled along behind him, the exertion of their increasingly panicked flight finally awakening the exhaustion she’d experienced earlier. Vortok’s strong hands closed around her shoulders. She leaned on him, pumping her legs, and he half-carried her forward.

When they reached the rock, Aduun positioned their group at a spot where the stone curved inward, creating a shallow semicircle. He swept Nina behind him while he and the other valos completed the circle with their bodies, closing her in and facing the charging swarm.

The fight erupted in a chorus of growls, snarls, and roars. The valos moved with speed and ferocity, clawing, stomping, and kicking the small but vicious creatures.

Nina felt helpless as she watched their backs, but she cast that feeling aside when a few of the creatures slipped past her valos. Raising her foot, she stomped on them, cracking carapaces and silencing their squeals. Even with her boots on, her feet soon ached.

Despite the savagery of Nina’s mates, the critters kept coming in an endless tide, breaking against the wall of valos; each time, a few of the creatures trickled between the gaps. How long could they keep this up? Some blood glistening on her valos was undoubtedly their own.

No matter the consequences, she needed to try to help them.

Steeling herself, she opened her mind and imagined a wall. She expanded it, lifting her hands to aid in her visualization, and shoved it through Aduun, Balir, and Vortok, stopping just beyond them.

You cannot pass, she shouted in her mind, clenching her jaw as she poured all her concentration into the wall, into making it reality in the minds of the creatures.

The critters at the wall halted, some rearing back and clawing at the air as though trying to climb. As the valos killed the creatures remaining within the wall’s bounds, the barrier was marked by the ring of frantic bug-things, all of which were in motion but none of which were able to move forward.

Stepping forward, she expanded the psychic wall farther. The creatures reeled back as though pushed, flopping and scrambling over each other.

“What is this, Nina?” Aduun asked, his confusion apparent despite his ragged breathing.

But her jaw was clenched in concentration. She couldn’t risk speaking, couldn’t risk leaving the mind space she’d plunged into for fear of the barrier breaking and the creatures flooding through. She forced the wall wider still, closing her eyes, psychically marking the positions of thousands of ravenous critters roiling on the sand all around.

Nina squeezed between Aduun and Vortok and moved in front of them; stunned, they made no move to stop her.

She projected two images to Aduun — her fire starter, tucked away in her bag, and roaring flames.

It was the only thing she could think of that might scare the creatures away. The only thing that could turn this tide after her mind couldn’t hold it back any longer.

“Gather brush, quickly!” Aduun shouted. She felt him at her back, her body swaying slightly as he opened her bag and removed the fire starter.

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