Page 38 of Hope Forged
She followed his gaze, catching a bright white spot of light.
“Shall we?” Illan asked as he pocketed his device. “I am done with this place.”
“Same,” she said and used the rock at her back to clamber to her feet.
The remaining climb was bolstered by the possibility of freedom. The air tasted sweeter. The closer they got to the light, the more she realized it was nothing but a crack. Warmth poured from it, making her shiver, and a moan escaped her when she stood in a strip of sunlight. She drew in a deep breath, squeezed her eyes shut against the glare, and raised her face to the sun’s rays. When her eyelids no longer burned, she chanced a peek.
And froze.
Not twenty feet away was a pack of ucdeas, their stares fixed and their heads angled in curiosity.
“Elorach,” she muttered, her heart deafening her. She didn’t dare move or raise her voice higher than a whisper, not wanting to trigger an attack. Sinking her fingers into Seba’sraised hackles, she gritted out to Illan the second he joined her, “Teleport.”
Chapter Eleven
Earth’sspiderscrossedwithcrabs were what these creatures resembled. But Ziamee’s fear of them solidified Illan’s reaction. His heartbeat stilled, and with excruciating slowness, he tapped his O.D.I. to whisper, “Three to port.”
The creatures rippled as one, made an odd whining noise that synchronized, then lunged at them. He reached for his blaster, caution be damned.
“Ulta?” he yelled when they didn’t phase out.
Seba roared, shoved Illan aside, and took down the first attacking creature. Chanting clicks came from the predators circling them. They kept back, their mouths contorted into horrific grins. None ventured forward to help their packmate.
“Seba, ohara, please don’t get hurt,” Ziamee snapped, palming her blaster.
Distant cries whipped Illan’s head up. Gathering shadows on the horizon said things were about to get much worse. He leaped into action, firing at the biggest threats.
Ziamee squeaked, then did the same, stunning spider after spider. He took aim at the one caught in Seba’s mouth, but he was shaking it so violently that it blurred. Illan couldn’t get a clear line of fire. A scream had him spinning, only to find Ziamee overrun. One had latched onto her leg, digging its fangs into her thigh. She punched it, trying to shake it off while firing at the growing hordes.
He killed it, but the creature didn’t release her. Its dead weight dragged on her. He shoved his blaster into her spare hand, and while she guarded them, he unsheathed his dagger and tried to pry the fangs from her flesh.
Her whimper pierced his hearing, louder than the wails and roars around them.
“I am sorry, ohara,” he said, peering at her and wishing he could’ve protected her from this.
“Just free me, Illan,” she said, twisting from side to side to not miss any lunging spider-crabs.
Seba bounded past, tearing the creature off her. She screamed, staggering back. Blood spurted from her wounds. Illan cursed and yanked out his med-gun, running it over her thigh. The fabric was shredded where the teeth had been.
The thump-thump of the shots resumed, but when she dropped to a knee, she thrust the weapons at him. “They’re heavy.” She snatched the med-gun from him and took over.
“Healing is taking too long. They might be venomous.” He shielded her from the hoards while he shot those brave enough to draw closer. Seba weaved through the chaos, taking spiders down. Brown blood painted his side, and a dislodged fang jutted out of his back. “What are these things?”
“Ucdeas,” she said between shots. “They don’t venture to our section of the lake.”
“Thank Elorach.” Illan unsheathed his dagger, slicing and stabbing when they snuck past his defenses.
The screeches of the dying and the chitters of the eager grew louder. Their numbers were dwindling, but the shapes in the distance had grown, which meant soon, they’d be overwhelmed.
“We have to make a run for it,” he yelled, not shifting his focus from the impending danger. A sweeping glance noted the plateau that stretched far back to a cliff wall, a forest to their left, a high waterfall to the right. “Ulta?” Illan tried again, desperate for a port.
“Signal…weak,” came the male’s response. “Where are… Will send…”
“Kuck,” Ziamee snapped when Ulta said no more.
An odd chatter rippled over their attackers, then as one, they shortened the distance between each other, forming a solid mass. Intelligence flickered behind their many eyes, and the heaviness of expectation lingered in the air.
This does not bode well.Illan swallowed and whipped her to her feet.
