Page 67 of Tusks & Saddles
“It suits you,” she murmured.
Was it his imagination or was Miss Eaves caressing his hand? No, that was ridiculous. She was offering comfort—
When has she ever offered comfort before? Miss Eaves’ idea of comfort is not shooting you in the face!
That line of thinking wasn’t entirely wrong, but Welborn didn’t want to dismiss her attempts at kindness. Miss Eaves was rough around the edges, but a lot of people were.
Still, Welborn swayed forward, his face inching close to hers.
“Miss Eaves… I have to—”
Without a warning, Sandy let out a squeal, rearing back as something had obviously unnerved her.
“—shit!”
Chapter Sixteen
Beatrix
Welborn’s grip tightened a bit too roughly, but Beatrix couldn’t blame him as the horse reared back. The sudden motion nearly distracted her from what had caused the animal to grow skittish. Pulled from the moment with her companion, Beatrix spotted the dust trail.
“—shit!”
A holy man cursing would have amused Beatrix if she wasn't preoccupied with the sight ofsomethingunknown burrowing through the dirt straight at them. The desert boasted a few creatures that dwelled in the ground. Prairie dogs, scorpions, rabbits—but whatever was tunneling toward them was much to large to be an ordinary animal. And the distinct tremor vibrating through the horse’s body wasn’t of the animals own fear, but from the earth. Which meant it was most likely—
Beatrix tightened her hold on the reins and managed to regain control of the horse. She urged it to bypass the row of disturbed dirt, jumping over in a hurry. Once they crossed, the animal was quick to bolt, hooves pounding on the ground at a pace Beatrix would never insist upon if the matter wasn’t so dire.
Behind her, Welbornbounced with every hard step. Beatrix could tell the young man was holding on for dear life as the saddle only partially accommodated him. But if they didn’t shake what Beatrix suspected was in pursuit of them, Welborn would have more than just a bruised ass to contend with.
“Miss Eaves!” Welborn shouted over the wind. “What was—”
“No time! Hold onto me and keep an eye over your shoulder!”
“For wha—I mean, okay!”
If there was ever a time Beatrix was thankful that Welborn had been born agreeable, it was then. The last thing she needed was to spend her time arguing with him while trying to steer them to safety.
The horse galloped down the long stretch toward the direction of the water tower and Beatrix kept an eye out for any other potential threats as they went. All the while her mind was calculating the likelihood ofBad Companytaking out what she very much suspected was a—
Beatrix had less then a few seconds to course correct as out of the corner of her vision was what she feared most.
Breaking the surface of the dirt mound, leaving a trail of dust in its wake was a creature Beatrix had only encountered once before. Yet there was no mistaking the purple serpentine body, the almost armor plates that stretched across its length. This monster was large—approximately eight or nine feet long and headed straight at them with an open maw—
Beatrix pulled on the reins, shifting the horse hard to the left and narrowly missing the massive creature that slammed into the hard ground where they had been moments before. The piercing trill of the monsters displeasure made her ear drums ache. The suddenchange in direction caused Welborn to press closer to her back, his hands desperately holding onto her waist now with an iron-like grip.
“Oh my All Seer!” Welborn exclaimed near her ear. “That was a Giant Slither!”
“Yes, thank you, I’maware!”
Welborn was only half right as Giant slithers were named after the terrain they occupied. In the colder climates, they were Ice Slithers but in the Searing Wastelands, they were Sand Slithers. An odd fact that had stuck with Beatrix after her first encounter with one.
Regardless of what they were called, they were dangerous. A monster that had the ability to move much faster than any man, that could hunt with precision, but most importantly could launch itself out of the ground the way sharks did from the sea. Rightfully, it was terrifying and Beatrix was determined not to end up as that thing’s dinner.
Steer her to safety, steer her toward the water tower—as close as we can get!
Beatrix liked having a plan but the world often threw those out the window like dirty bath water. Her ability to think quickly on her feet was how she had survived the last ten years without her family. She only needed to outpace the—
“There are two, Miss Eaves!”
