Page 92 of Whispers of the Void

The fact of the matter is that Vynia is the only one I’d let talk to me like this. She’s like a sister to me and never hesitates to give me true, honest advice. Altis is a great second. I know he will always have my back and rarely challenge me. They’re opposites, just like Xarloc and I were. Except where I clashed with my twin, Vynia and Altis complement each other.

I tell her that I’ll take the first watch, so she wanders over to her sleeping roll which is laid out next to a sleeping Hyva. She throws him an irritated glance when he begins to snore right as she closes her eyes. But as the fire fades to embers, I see the two of them roll toward each other until he’s pressed against her back.

I’ve noticed them being cozy one minute and at each other’s throats the next. I thought maybe they were just irritated from being near each other more than usual, but there’s something different going on. Whatever it is, it’s none of my business. They’re adults, and I trust them not to be unprofessional on the ship.

CHAPTER30

NEEV

* * *

The stench of decay fills my nostrils as we pass over the carcass of the ursax that Raiz killed a few days ago. The kyrils snort and shake their heads as we drive them down the tunnel toward the cave of bones. I can’t tell if I’m sensing something watching us or if it’s just my imagination, but all the hairs on the back of my neck seem to rise the closer we get.

Raiz tightens his arms around my body, tension radiating off him in waves.

“Something doesn’t feel right,” I whisper.

“I know.” He nods at Vynia when she looks back at us. “Do you have your blasters ready?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Try to stay on Nebula if anything happens. He’s the safest place to be if we’re attacked.”

We continue through the darkness in silence. The feeling doesn’t dissipate, it actually gets worse. I try to tell myself it’s just because I know the creepy cave of bones is coming up, but I can’t shake the anxiety. If I could melt back into Raiz, I would.

We emerge into the cave of the bones, the kyrils standing side by side as they scan the darkness. Nebula steps in place while nervously snorting. Las leads his kyril and the one carrying our supplies out first, the path through the bones has changed since we were here days ago. Vynia goes second, followed by Hyva, and then finally us taking up the rear.

We’re halfway through when the growling begins. I can’t tell if it’s one ursax or many because of the way the sound reverberates through the space. All four of the Zeahirians jump off their mounts and unsheathe their weapons in the blink of eye. Their speed is a good thing because eight ursax run from opposite sides of the room, converging on where we are with no cover.

The first two reach Las before he can swing his weapon. The smaller ursax jumps on his back and bites his neck while the larger one bites into his leg. He doesn’t even get the chance to scream before his body is torn in two. Each creature takes its piece and runs off to where they came from.

The horror of the moment doesn’t fully sink in as I watch my friends fighting off the others. I pull my blaster as three close in on Vynia. Nebula stays calm beneath me as I lift the gun in two hands like Raiz showed me. It takes precious seconds to find my target, but when I do, I pull the trigger. The ursax falls to the ground with a lucky shot to the side of its head. Vynia kicks one of the attacking creatures and slices the head off the other.

Now that she’s down to just one, I turn my attention to Hyva. He’s managed to take down one and is pulling his knife out of its eye. I yell for him to watch out as two more race out of the shadows going right for him. I shoot with my gun but miss the first time. It howls out when my next shot gets it directly in the leg.

I’m just about to check on Raiz, when I’m knocked completely out of the saddle. My breath whooshes out of me on impact with the ground, and when I look up, I notice an ursax on Nebula’s back. The kyril rears back on its hind legs, violently shaking the creature off.

Raiz yells my name just as a large shadow crosses over me. Hot, foul, saliva drips onto my face from the jaws of the largest ursax I’ve seen as it steps over me. Just as I turn my head, I see Raiz run and slide between us. He covers me with a roar of anger I’ve never heard him make. His fangs are down, and his talons rip into the belly of the ursax that was about to attack me.

I can barely breathe beneath Raiz’s weight, but at least I’m alive. He tears the ursax into shreds, flesh and fur flies when it makes a feeble attempt to flee. Raiz won’t allow it though, as he wraps his hand around one of its legs and tears it apart. Blood and gore arc through the air, painting the bed of bones into a macabre masterpiece.

Once he’s ripped that ursax to pieces and watched it take its last breath, he runs to the closest one and tears it apart. It’s as though he’s fueled by some sort of primal rage now. It’s gone beyond protecting himself and turned into a mission he must complete.

My arm hangs at an unnatural angle, but I’m too horrified by the scene in front of me to feel any pain. Vynia is on her back, kicking at the jaw of the ursax who keeps attacking her. I look down at the ground for my blaster but can’t find it. I hear a sickening crunch and look over just in time for Vynia to rip her leg from the mouth of the ursax. It spits out her prosthetic leg and shakes its head. She uses its momentary confusion to her advantage and swings the leg at its head. When it falls to its side from the impact, she pulls her knife and jabs it down into its chest, twisting the blade until blood trickles from the ursax’s mouth and the light of life dims from its eyes.

The sound of a neck cracking is the last thing I hear aside from heaving breathing and irritated snorts from the kyril who managed to live through the attack. Hyva runs to Vynia, helping her stand up on her one leg. Raiz drops the body of the last ursax and hurries back to me. He can’t speak around his elongated fangs as well, so he falls to his knees beside me. His talons retract quicker than his fangs, so he runs his hands up and down my legs, checking for injuries. I’m only just realizing that I’m covered in blood.

“It’s okay.” I grab his hands as I start checking him over. “It’s not my blood.” It’s likely from the ursax he slaughtered while protecting me.

His white hair is dark and matted with blood. Violence swims in his eyes, like he’d bring the creatures back to life just to kill all over again. Rationally, I know this type of violence should be horrifying to witness and experience. But there’s nothing rational about the way my body is responding to him like this. I watch in fascination as his fangs slowly recede until he can speak as usual.

“I didn’t realize they got that long.” I wipe blood from under his eye. My cheeks heat as soon as the words are out of my mouth. What a weird thing to say after what we just experienced.

“Are you okay?” He scans me with his eyes and hands.

The hint of a smile that was on his face falls away when I wince as his hands brush my shoulder.

“I think it’s just dislocated from the fall.” As the adrenaline fades, the pain is starting to set it while my arm hangs limply at my side.

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