Page 43 of Ruby
I open my mouth to speak again but she launches into a worried song hoping it is nothing to worry about. As much as I would prefer to validate her feelings this time, that is not the case.
“The hunters, they are close,” I sing low, my body crouching and my ears attentive.
Ani does not respond with a sound but shakes her head up and down again. I am no longer confused at this gesture, as I assume it is agreement. It seems I am right because she walks close to me, placing her hand on my arm as we walk. The sound of crunching leaves in the distance to my left alarms me and I stretch my neck through the trees to see if I can find out how close they are. The trees in this area vary in height and my vision is thoroughly obstructed.
“Stay close,” I all but whisper and pick up speed.
It does not do much good as the bruises on my legs have been joined by new ones and they have all been cut by all the walking. It hurts too much for me to carry all of my body weight for this long without sufficient rest times.
Still, I push myself and pick up my speed to a brisk jog, Ani running quietly beside me.
She wraps her red threads behind her head as she runs and I cannot help but think about how beautiful she is, even in this moment when we are trying to escape hunters that want to do nothing but destroy us.
There is an awful clucking sound from before us that makes Ani and I screech to a stop. I pull her into me when a hunter floats unsteadily into our view, pink oozing out of his ashen skin. Ani shrieks in fear.
I open my mouth to assure her when the hunter points his weapon at me and starts to speak in a language I cannot explain.
It seems like she can understand him right away, given the horror on her face. She makes a move to respond but cries out in pain again and her hands fly to her throat.
I call out her name and throw myself forward to hold onto her but a crackling sound buzzes past my ears, followed by a sharp pain that spreads all over my shoulders.
There is a bellow in the air that I recognize as my own when I start to stagger to the ground.
Ani screams out my name and I feel her hand on me at the same time that the hunter makes sounds, undoubtedly trying to communicate with her. She makes a pained groan and screams something at him and I try my best to look for her.
The world around me is spinning and I know I cannot stand any longer, so I collapse and sit with my back against the nearest tree. My weight falls on the tree and there is a recoil but I cannot bring myself to move.
“Szhe’ka!” Ani calls tearfully from around me, her small hands grasping onto two fingers from each of my hands.
“Stay,” she begs, starting to sob. “Will get help, please.”
Her song is broken and I can feel the pain in it. Her pain for me.
It almost hurts more than the wound from the hunter’s weapon and I move my hand to hold her.
“No, not leaving,” I assure her breathlessly because I know the wound is not fatal enough to kill me off so quickly. However, I am already injured and weak and that does not give me a great advantage.
The hunter yells something at Ani and she groans before turning around to respond to him.
It may not be my language but I can tell that she is angry. I can feel her body vibrate as I hold onto her and I squeeze her softly to stop her. Confrontation is not the best solution right now and knowing these brutes, they will kill before they give you a chance to hear your name.
They are not the bargaining sort.
As Ani is exchanging words with the hunter, she resists my attempts to move her farther behind me. I don’t know what he is telling her but it is some kind of command and his short hands keep gesturing away from her, like he is referring to other people.
Then I remember what Ree said. He is not going to kill her. He is just a messenger, sent to retrieve their precious goods. Anger pulses through me. Anger at the beasts for hurting innocent females like Ree and my dear Ani.
Anger at myself for not being able to protect her better.
If only I wasn’t so weak and unable to keep even myself out of danger. Maybe Ani had every reason to dislike me from the onset; she probably knew that I would be inefficient at taking care of her and natural selection was only taking its due course.
I don’t notice that I’m waddling deep in the sea of self pity until I feel Ani’s hand shaking my head and it brings me back awake.
My vision is blurry but I can make out her bright hair and matching eyes. As it clears out, I hear her calling my name and begging me to stay with her in a mournful song.
“Am here. With you always,” I assure her breathlessly and she lets out a sound that I cannot tell if it is a laugh or tears but it is still endearing.
“Hunter cannot kill. Wants you back,” I say again, even lower, because I don’t know if these creatures can also understand my language.
