Yep powered up the engines, the floor vibrated and they took off, the town mostly engulfed by the black haze. Gradually the gray hovels, smoky chimneys and fog gave way to lush trees in every color imaginable from pale pastel pink to bright red, vast pastures and in the distance chains of bluish gray mountains pushed up to the sky like jagged teeth.
“Are we leaving civilization?” Jannike asked, breaking the silence inside the tender.
“Looks like it,” Kaya said with a laugh. “An adventure into unexplored territory.”
“At least mercenaries won’t chase us into the middle of nowhere,” Nanu said.
“Don’t be so sure,” Ry said. “With the price on my head they’d chase us into the fires of a volcano.”
“Maybe that one,” Jannike said dryly, pointing at the plume of smoke to their right.
“I still haven’t seen a hell-horse,” Camryn said.
“Ask and you shall receive.” Yep squinted through the porthole. “Check out the porthole to the right.”
Camryn leaned forward. “Those black things?”
“Yes, those are hell-horses,” Ry said. “Put the tender down in the clearing.”
Ry glanced at Camryn, desire flooding him along with a burst of fear. Hopefully they’d catch a hell-horse and be able to start training straightaway, before he unwittingly injured the fragile Earthling.
“How are you going to catch one? You’ll need yards to contain the horse so I can train it.”
“Yards? Blister it! You didn’t think to mention that before?” Kaya asked.
“Someone is hunting a horse down there,” Yep said, pointing out a campsite over to their left. “They don’t have any yards.”
“They don’t have me training their horse. I want a yard.”
Jannike scowled over her shoulder. “If I wanted to be a builder I’d have attended a skill school.”
Camryn glared right back. “I need a yard.”
Ry gripped the arms of his chair to stop himself from leaping at Jannike. Anger and rage engulfed him, and luckily, the harness stopped him from an impulsive attack. He breathed rapidly through his mouth, aghast at the violent thoughts aimed at his second-in-command. They were a team, a tight unit who’d together survived diversity. He was fragged if he’d put the crew in jeopardy. Yet his feline compelled him to protect Camryn. Damn! He hoped he didn’t hurt anyone trying to balance captain with his urges regarding the Earthling.
Yep landed the tender in a clearing near a river. They disembarked with weapons on their hips in case of trouble.
The hot air folded around Ry, the humidity worse than in town. Within secs his clothes clung to his skin, constricting and moist with sweat. A bright flash of green and red darted through the multicolored treetops, the harsh caw grating to his ears. Lush red and green ferns swayed in the gentle breeze while tall trees brushed the cloud-studded sky. A dull brown bird with a fanlike tail flitted from branch to branch above Ry’s head, the high-pitched tweets sounding like a protest at their presence. Over to his right a river rushed past them with white water parting to reveal the sharp teeth of submerged rocks.
They were on the opposite side of the river to the other hell-horse hunters, and hopefully the river would continue to separate them. Ry didn’t want to socialize or present a temptation for bounty hunters.
Thick bush and tall trees surrounded the rest of the clearing in a natural barrier, the constant squawk of birds and click of insects indicating a vast amount of life. Hopefully they’d find herds of hell-horses on this side of the river.
“Are the hell-horses pasture grazers or do they forage in the bush?” Camryn asked.
They all stared at each other before turning to Ry. He shrugged. “Hell if I know. What did we do with the information they gave us when we entered the race?”
Camryn snorted. “Do you guys know anything about the horses?”
“We need to find a fast one to win the race,” Nanu said.
“We should observe them before we try to catch one,” Camryn said. “It will be beneficial to watch their behavior. And I’d better read the literature they gave us.”
“How long is this going to take?” Jannike stalked back and forth in front of the tender.
Camryn was right. They needed a plan. Since meeting her, he hadn’t been thinking clearly. He had to focus on the important—the opportunity to best his brother and exact revenge would never be better. Here on Ornum, Talor was exposed, and Ry intended to take advantage of his vulnerability.
“Look, they’re running them into exhaustion,” Nanu said, indicating the competitors over the other side of the river. A group of men ran after a small herd of the hell-horses. The black creatures bounded ahead, easily outrunning the men who weren’t used to the stony, uneven ground.
“Are you sure they’re the right animals?” Worry furrowed Camryn’s forehead and tinged her voice. “They look like overgrown hyenas.”
“Don’t you think you can train them?” Jannike asked.
“Any animal can be trained, given the right circumstances,” Camryn said, continuing to watch their competitor’s attempt to capture a hell-horse.
“Will a yard work?” Mogens asked.
“Better than chasing the horse like them,” Camryn said dryly.
While they watched, the herd of hell-horses split into two and circled back, surrounding two of the exhausted chasers. Before the other runners could help, the hell-horses attacked, running at the hapless males with teeth barred.
“They’re attacking!” Nanu cried.
“Crap.” Camryn jerked her gaze from the horses. “I can’t watch.”
Ry wrapped his arms around Camryn and drew her against his chest, burying her face in his shirt. Horror filled him while he watched the attack. A terrified shriek rippled across the river, raising chill bumps on his arms. Both men fell. The hell-horses kicked and stomped until the men ceased to move. Dead. The beasts yipped and fought amongst themselves, biting and kicking, lashing out until one hell-horse remained, the others driven off. The victor, he settled to eat his prey, his muzzle covered with blood.
“You told me they were horses,” Camryn said faintly, lifting her head to peer across the river. “These animals are predators.”
“Hell-horses are scavengers,” Kaya stated. “They appear to eat just about anything,” she added, her distaste apparent in her pale face.
“I thought the stories were exaggerated,” Mogens muttered. The seer had turned ebony black, trauma deepening his skin tone.
They exchanged uneasy glances, and Ry caught several of his crew glancing over their shoulders, peering into the thick bush. Frankly, he didn’t blame them. Apprehension prickled across his skin and the new tattoos on his back and chest itched. Ry ran his hand over Camryn’s trembling frame, attempting to comfort. The touch eased the irritation in his chest and back, so he repeated the move, holding her tighter.
Jannike spat out a vicious curse and her hand gripped the butt of her weapon, as if she wanted to wade across the river and enter the fracas. Too late, Ry thought, disbelief at the unexpectedness of the attack still reverberating through him. The creatures had moved so fast, acted so ruthlessly in their attack. They were obviously intelligent.
Across the river, a flurry of gunfire rang out. Camryn flinched, and a pained sound escaped Mogens. The hell-horses yipped and snarled, attacking in return. Men shouted. More gunfire filled the air. Both beasts and men fell. When silence fell only a few men remained standing while bodies of beasts littered the ground. The men retreated when another herd of hell-horses arrived.
Scavenger birds arrived to circle overhead, but the hell-horses drove them away from the bodies of the men and horses, squabbling among themselves while they picked over the dead.
Camryn shivered, and a surge of protectiveness filled Ry. He couldn’t ask her to face those creatures, to train one. She was so petite—she’d die. They could all die if they pursued this course.
“What do you want to do?” Ry asked, breaking the tense silence. “If anything, the stories we heard were mild. If any of you want to back out of this contest, speak now.”
“We’ll lose the entrance fee,” Yep said.
Ry nodded. “Something to consider.”
“I want my share of the currency,” Kaya said. “I’m tired of running all the time, drifting from one planet to the next. I want a home, a place to feel safe. If your brother sticks to his word and clears your name we can purchase a home base.”
“True,” Ry said. “But even if we capture a hell-horse, we still have to qualify and win the final race.”
“We’re up for the challenge. Besides, we all need a place to call home,” Mogens said.
“I am tired of running,” Nanu added.
“Oh, come on!” Yep whirled on his brother. “You like the excitement. It’s why we joined Ry in the first place. Besides we’re still wanted in our homeland.”
“It would be good to have a base, a place to repair our ship without looking over our shoulders. We could start a fleet and haul more cargo, enter legitimate trade.” Ry glanced at each of his crew in turn and tried to ignore the excited yips echoing across the river. “Camryn.” Gently, he pushed her away to survey her face. “What do you want to do?”
“You kidnapped me to train a hell-horse. I’m not here of my own free will.” Camryn planted her hands on her hips. “I vote you drop the competition and take me home.”
Ry’s feline stirred, writhing for freedom. His canines extended inside his mouth, a growl starting to build. The feline didn’t want Camryn to leave. He didn’t either. Maybe when he’d fully sated himself, maybe then he’d deliver her back to Earth and walk away without regrets.
Jannike snarled. “Don’t listen to her. I vote continue with the contest.”
“I want to win.” Yep stepped up beside Jannike.
“I vote continue,” Nanu said.
“And me.” Kaya aligned herself with her crewmates.
“Mogens?” Ry prompted.
The seer sighed heavily and went through rapid color changes. “I vote to continue.”
Ry expelled a rush of air before nodding. “Good, I think we should keep on with our quest.” He would have continued with or without them because he had to best Talor. He wanted to learn why his brother had set him up.
“Do we stick to our plan?” Mogens asked.
“Why don’t we split into three groups and scout the area, searching for horses?” Ry said. “We won’t try to capture one today. We observe, look for their feeding grounds and learn more about them. After watching the opposition’s attempt at capture, I want to study the beasts before we try.” Ry searched his crew for agreement. They all nodded, even Camryn. “Camryn, you’re with me. Kaya, you too.”
Jannike stirred. “Seer, you’re with me.”
“Make sure you’re well armed,” Ry warned.
“Look for their droppings,” Camryn said. “We might be able to rub them over our clothes to stop them scenting us. If we smell like them they might not attack.”
“You mean rub shit over our bodies?” Jannike demanded in icy tones.
Camryn nodded, unfazed by Jannike’s hostility. “It’s a proven technique used by hunters.”
“But we don’t have a sanitizer unit on the tender.” Yep seemed equally horrified, and judging by the expressions of the others, they didn’t want to follow Camryn’s suggestion either.
“We can bathe in the river,” Camryn said.
“Meet back here before dark. And bring firewood on your way back,” Ry added quickly before a fight broke out.
“What? We’re staying here overnight?” Jannike stopped in her tracks, her eyes narrowing. “No way are we staying in the middle of this jungle.”
“I thought we’d agreed to see this through.” Ry worked to keep his tone even. “And if that means staying, then that’s what we’ll do.”
“Aye, Captain.” Jannike didn’t salute but she might as well have. She checked her weapon and tucked it into the holster she wore strapped to her leg. “Mogens and I will go east.” She pointed in the general direction.
“Yep and I will go around the base of the mountains,” Nanu said. They checked their weapons and headed out.
“Will the tender be secure?” Camryn’s hand shook violently and she tucked it behind her back.
“It will be once I lock systems,” Kaya said.
“Have you shot a weapon before?” Ry knew he was taking a gamble offering her a weapon, but she needed a means of defending herself.
“No.”
“I’ll give you a simple weapon. All you need to do is flick off the safety, aim and pull the trigger.” Ry half expected her to argue but instead she nodded, frowning at Jannike when she departed.
Camryn stared after Jannike until she disappeared into the thick bush. She didn’t understand the woman’s animosity.
“Camryn.”
She turned on hearing Ry’s sexy voice. Oh yeah. She had much bigger worries than Jannike’s dislike and the capture and training of a hell-horse. There was something wrong with her, something weird about the way she lusted after Ry.
Constantly
. She had to force herself to recall Gabriel, to picture his face.
“Here’s a weapon. Safety catch. Click it off. On. Squeeze this to shoot. Got it?”
“Yeah.” As long as the DT’s didn’t spoil her aim. Camryn glanced across the river at the hell-horses. They were ugly, full of guile and cunning. How would she manage to train one? Her shoulders slumped. There was no other option. She couldn’t risk them returning to Earth to kidnap Max.
Ry tossed her a leather holster. “Hook this around your thigh and keep on the safety unless you’re drawing your weapon. Kaya, ready to move out?”
“Aye, Captain.” She ran down the ramp of the tender and pointed an automatic control at the door. The ramp whirred upward and clunked shut. “Ready to go.”
Camryn fell in behind Ry and Kaya when they headed in the opposite direction to the others. The air was so close it felt as if each breath came through a straw. Dots of sweat beaded on her forehead, and her clothes stuck to her skin. They left the sunlight of the clearing and stepped under the canopy of the trees. The tall grasses and leafy yellow ferns gave way to towering trees. The dappled patterns of sunlight played across the ground, gradually disappearing when they made their way deeper into the jungle. Although the trees blocked the sun, the humidity remained. Insects clicked from the leaf canopy in a ceaseless litany that hurt her ears. Others landed on her bare arms and nipped her skin.