Page 11 of Hope Forged
Chapter Four
PlanetofVora
Home, the crashed ship, Haile.
The crevice gaped like the dead mouth of an ancient beast. Ziamee studied it from the highest point north of home. Never had she been this far, nearing the ucdeas’s den, but she had to figure out where her father had gone. She’d hoped she and Seba would stumble on an opening. Nothing yet, not even a crack she could stick her hand in. Screaming into the crevice had gotten her nowhere and no response.
The closer they neared the ucdeas, the more Seba grumbled. A whine escaped him.
“Quit it,” she hissed, rubbing her throat to soothe the sting of her abused voice. “I didn’t ask you to follow me.”
His reply was a mumble, a moan, and a nudge hard enough to topple her. She bumped into the rock wall behind them. Meters up was the plateau the ucdeas lived on. Padya had climbed up, peered over the edge, seen the bones layering the ground, andannounced the area was off limits. That was all he’d revealed to her. She couldn’t say for sure what else was there. The predators had to survive on something.
When next she saw an ucdeas, it would be her first time.
The low thunder of a waterfall northeast meant nothing when she’d never seen it up close. To the right was the lake, sandpits, and another plateau that had stolen her mother from her. There were too many unknowns for her comfort.
Padya had sent their only drone to circle the valley and past the mountain spires that were like jagged teeth piercing the sky. Endless woodlands lay beyond, was all he’d said.
Where Mudya had gone on the opposite side of the valley was a dense forest, with giant cobwebs weaving between the trees. The tiny skulls littering the forest floor said navigating through there wasn’t possible. And to reach it, she had to cross the sinking sands.
Not once had she seen the creators of those webs.
Twenty-three Vora days had passed since she last saw Padya. He’d jauntily ventured out fromHailein search of poipoi for his ‘studies.’ She’d offered a small smile, knowing full well he was addicted to the sweet, blue fruit.
“I don’t see a way in,” she said to Seba, eyeing west of their position while wiping away tears.
More rocky terrain rolled out, craggy with mini ravines. She rubbed the old injury on her thigh, pain pulsing outward at the idea of climbing down, then up and out. If she got stuck at the bottom, she’d die there. No, she needed another plan.
She dug her fingers into Seba’s fur, finding his presence calmed her erratic thoughts. “I love you, ohara, but even you can’t help.”
He angled his head. Another whine almost thrust her onto her backside.
The low, drawn-out wail hadn’t come from Seba.
Fear shot down her spine and flooded her with the desperate urge to run.
She forced herself to raise her gaze up the cliff to the edge where a row of eyes stared at her. One creature was frozen, fixed on her. Its front tarsus-like feet tapped the ground. A whine squeezed out, and in a slow blink, its three eyes rolled. They were a pretty green, almost yellow. An extended crest on its head flickered, split into what looked like petals, then reformed. It shifted like an ear would.
The most menacing thing about it was its spindly legs promising speed. But its delicate features, pointed muzzle, and rippling spikey hair in shades of brown, gold, and copper softened her caution. Even its eyes were too large for its face, making it adorable.
It chunked.
Crunching preceded the appearance of more of its kind. Four watched her, whining and chittering to each other.
She narrowed her focus, taking in the intelligence behind their eyes.
Then the first one threw back its head, exposing a throat of protruding bones, and howled. When it gazed at her again, four massive fangs jutted from its mouth.
Those hadn’t been there a moment ago.
She stiffened. The reality of her situation sank into her mind and summoned a rush of adrenaline. Her fingers twitched, tapping her thighs. Her feet wouldn’t budge, though.
Seba leaped in front of her, roaring louder than she’d ever heard from him. That alone resonated in her, rumbling through her and driving her into motion. She bolted, screaming Seba’s name hard enough to crack her voice. The pain in her throat and thighs couldn’t compare to the fear chilling her core. Seba’s steady thud of paws hitting rock calmed her. He followed.
The ucdeas screeched, but that faded the closer she came toHaile. She didn’t dare peek to see if they hunted her. The second she burst into the ship, she spun on the spot, wincing when her leg complained. Seba skidded to a halt beside her. Their ragged breaths merged in the universal language of shared danger.
“Greetings, Ziamee,” Oz said.
