Defy (18 page)

“
She
,” he corrected, “was acting on
instinct. I healed you, so it all evens out.”

“Evens
out?
” she echoed, her voice
rising an octave on the second word. She strode over and
intercepted him as he turned to pace in her direction. When he
stopped himself from plowing into her, she got right in his face,
poking a finger in his chest. “I’m stranded in the middle of
nowhere without any food—”

“We have already covered this territory,” he
interrupted. “Nothing has changed, and I find it boring. Now remove
your finger before I—”

“Before you what?” she demanded, pushing
harder. “Before you hurt me?” And here, she curled her hand into a
fist and shoved against his chest. “Before you abandon me in a
stinking heap of agony in a dark cave without light or food or any
guidance on where to go to get help?” Fury had her giving his chest
another sound thump as tears stung her eyes and choked her. “Before
you leave me behind like some discarded garbage?”

She shoved away from him then, figuring he
had no idea how fortunate he was…since what she felt like doing was
pounding on his chest until his cold heart stopped beating.

In the form of the panther, Sophia felt
powerful. Her instincts were heightened far beyond what any typical
Estilorian could experience. She saw and scented things she would
never be able to in her non-animal form. Every muscle felt as
though it had been built for stealth and strength.

After spending even part of the day in
Quincy’s arms, feeling awkward and frustrated that she couldn’t
bring forth her own wings, this was a much-preferred change of
pace.

Quincy and Ini-herit couldn’t connect with
their paired Lekwuesti or they risked being found. Thus, they were
all responsible for their own food while on the journey to find
Tate. Because most of the day had been spent in the air, they
hadn’t done any hunting. The food stores that Tiege had packed with
only the intent to feed himself wouldn’t last them long.

Sophia volunteered to hunt for some meat,
leaving the others to scour the forest around their campsite for
edible fruits, leaves or fungi. In truth, she just wanted an excuse
to get away from Quincy more than she wanted to be helpful.

What a truly magnificent idea it had been to
put herself in the position of being directly connected to Quincy
for goodness knew how long. She guessed she just needed one more
reason to feel insecure. Although she had been able to spend some
time on her own in the form of the eagle, she hadn’t been able to
hold the shift longer than a couple hours at a time. Thus, they’d
had to land a few times between shifts so Clara Kate could bring
Sophia her clothes. When they took back off, flying with more
caution because she couldn’t scout for them, Quincy had been
obligated to carry her.

The look on his face every time he stepped
behind her and carefully positioned his hands on her so that he
touched her as little as possible told her how unappealing he found
this entire experience. She hadn’t been able to relax. Whenever she
moved to try and get more comfortable, he held her tighter to keep
her still, as though the contact with her disturbed him.

They didn’t talk at all as they flew. She
warred between humiliation over his treatment of her and a deep
sadness over the loss of the friendship they’d once shared.
Although she considered asking him what she’d done—besides come of
age—to so offend him, she wasn’t sure her pride could take his
response.

As soon as they landed for the night, she
stretched and suggested going off to hunt. Oddly, Quincy had been
against it. She figured he’d be glad to be rid of her. His protest
had simply urged her even more to do it. So she’d shifted, trusting
Clara Kate to gather her clothes for her, then gave a fierce growl
to Quincy before turning and bounding into the woods.

It had been a small and rather hollow
victory.

Now, she carried the results of her hunt in
her powerful jaws, dragging the dead wildebeest as she hurried back
to camp. Because the sound of the carcass dragging across the dead
leaves and debris on the forest floor was far from stealthy, she
used her other senses to scout for possible danger. Everything was
quiet.

But then she scented something. Coming to a
halt, she tilted her ears to try and pick up any sounds above her
own. Not hearing anything alarming, she gently lowered the
wildebeest to the ground, freeing her sharp teeth.

Testing, she sniffed the air and caught a
whiff of what had alerted her. Estilorian remains.

The cat’s instinct to follow the death scent
proved overpowering. Sophia couldn’t deny a morbid fascination
herself. When Estilorians decomposed, they dissolved into colored
sand. From what she had learned, the process wasn’t dissimilar to
an accelerated and much less sloppy human decomposition.

That thought prompted Sophia to remember
sitting at Quincy’s dining table in his cottage enjoying lunch with
him as he discussed the subject. Neither of them had found it
strange to be discussing a topic that many others would have found
revolting while they ate. She couldn’t help but remember how his
handsome face had lit with enthusiasm as he spoke.

Pushing the now-painful memory to the side,
she slowly approached the source of the odor. She paused when she
reached the edge of a clearing. Although all was calm and there
didn’t appear to be anyone around, her instincts had the hair of
her scruff standing on end. Remaining absolutely still in the
shadows, she scanned the clearing with all of her senses. Outside
of a lump of unidentifiable matter in the clearing, she saw nothing
of concern, but she moved with care along the outskirts of the
clearing to see it from more angles just to be sure.

She didn’t need her panther senses to know
this was a place where evil had dwelled…and not long ago.

Eventually, she decided she was in no
immediate danger. Moving into the clearing, she approached the pile
on the grass that emanated the powerful scent. Normally, she
wouldn’t have been able to tell much about it. However, by using
both her animal and Estilorian senses, she determined that the red
mass had once been a relatively young Mercesti female.

And she had died violently.

Tiege felt that they were getting closer to
Tate’s location. In what turned out to be a mixed blessing, the
closer they got, the keener his connection to her became.

Ini-herit tried to heal him when the chest
pains hit him. His silver healing power had no effect. Similarly,
when the clawing hunger and desperation had Tiege doubling over to
the point where they had to land, no one could do anything for him.
The intense feelings roaring through him had unwanted tears
stinging his eyes.

Because the most significant pain hit after
nightfall, they decided to make camp. After a while of just sitting
around, Sophia announced that she was going to hunt for some meat.
Since she shifted before anyone besides Quincy could argue with
her, they all just watched her lope off. Clara Kate then gathered
Sophia’s clothes and folded them neatly, laying them on a nearby
log.

Tiege sat on another log, rubbing a hand
across his stomach and forcing back a groan of complaint. He
already knew the others were concerned about him, and he wanted
them focused on rescuing Tate rather than on the projected pain he
was experiencing.

“She’s stubborn as a mule,” Quincy muttered.
He moved around the area collecting kindling.

C.K. and Ini-herit were doing the same. “The
meat will come in handy,” C.K. pointed out.

“She could get herself injured or killed,”
Quincy returned.

“Sophia can take care of herself,” C.K. said
in her patient tone.

Then her foot collided with a tree root and
her kindling went flying. She would have joined the wood on the
ground if not for Ini-herit’s quick reflexes. Since he had been
near enough, he reached out to grab her around the waist, dropping
his own kindling as a result. The move had C.K. caught in his
hold.

Tiege watched with interest as C.K. blushed
and reached up to place her hands on Ini-herit’s biceps as she
regained her balance.

“Thanks,” she murmured as he released
her.

“You are welcome,” he replied in his formal
manner of speaking.

Watching the scene play out, Tiege couldn’t
help but feel for the elder. He couldn’t experience emotion, yet he
appeared truly perplexed by C.K. When C.K. hurried to occupy
herself with gathering dropped kindling, Ini-herit did the same.
But his silver eyes remained thoughtful and focused on her.

“See?” Quincy said, waving a small branch to
punctuate the remark. “That’s how easily accidents can happen out
here. Sophia could trip on a tree root or slip down a trench or
otherwise injure herself, and none of us will ever know!”

Tiege raised an eyebrow over the normally
level-headed male’s behavior. He noticed C.K. also giving their
Corgloresti friend a careful study over her shoulder as she rose
with her arms once again full of kindling.

“Uh…hey, Quincy,” she said. “Why don’t we get
the fire started and then you can help me forage for other edible
stuff? You know what’s safe to eat around here better than any of
us.”

When Ini-herit opened his mouth to speak,
C.K. promptly jerked her boot sideways and kicked him in the side
of the leg. He gave her a rather incredulous look, but she
succeeded in distracting him from arguing.

Fortunately, Quincy was too absorbed by his
concern about Sophia to notice. “Fine,” he sighed, obviously
frustrated.

He moved back into the center of the camp to
arrange the kindling he held. It wasn’t long before they had a fire
going. Tiege watched as C.K. led Quincy into the forest. He heard
her asking the Corgloresti in a low voice about what kinds of
things she should be looking for as they walked. Tiege knew his
caring cousin asked the questions merely to try to keep Quincy’s
thoughts from Sophia. They had all been taught from a young age by
their Aunt Olivia and Uncle James about edible and poisonous
elements of the forest.

“Clara Kate is merely distracting Quincy, is
she not?” Ini-herit asked from his position standing beside the
fire.

Tiege caught the elder’s gaze. “Yeah.”

“Why is it he needs distracting?”

That was a tough one. Tiege certainly wasn’t
going to betray Quincy’s confidence, especially to his class elder.
After a moment, he shrugged. “He’s just concerned for Sophia. In
truth, I’m anxious about her being out there on her own. None of us
have been outside the area of protection like this before.”

Ini-herit continued to stand with his arms
crossed, looking toward the forest where C.K. and Quincy had
disappeared. The firelight danced off the many silver markings
lining his skin, reminding Tiege again of the fact that he was
thousands of years old. He hoped there wouldn’t be any other
questions about Quincy’s strange behavior.

Then another severe stomach cramp struck him,
and he clutched at his waist and forgot all about his other
concerns.

Ini-herit moved over to him and squatted
beside the log. “Have you attempted to eat something?”

Tiege nodded as the pain eased a bit. “Yes. I
ate yesterday, so I know I shouldn’t be hungry. But I thought maybe
if I ate something that, well…”

Interpreting Tiege’s hesitation, Ini-herit
said, “Your connection with your sister does not work that way. You
will feel her distress, but you cannot ease hers by attempting to
treat the ailments on yourself.”

“I reasoned that out myself, thanks,” Tiege
grumbled irritably. “And it sucks ass.”

Blinking, Ini-herit asked, “How can something
suck—?” He shook his head, interrupting himself. “Never mind. It
bears no consequence. Perhaps it will ease your concern to know
that the pain you are experiencing is transient and—”

“The pain
I
am experiencing?” Tiege
asked in sudden anger. He surged to his feet and paced, unable to
sit still. He gestured toward the forest and ominous darkness
beyond. “My sister is out there somewhere experiencing this agony
for
real
. I don’t give two damns about what I’m feeling, for
all holy sake! She’s hurt, starving, exhausted and scared. And
alone for the first time in her existence.”

There was a long silence as Ini-herit
processed the outburst. He shifted from the squat to sit on the
log, his elbows resting on his thighs and his hands dangling
between his parted knees. Then he observed, “It would seem your
connection to her—with Tate,” he amended, as if consciously forcing
himself to refer to her by name, “is stronger than a typical
pairing. It even seems to surpass the connection your mother had
with her sisters before they fully realized their powers. I imagine
the fact that you are more Estilorian than human weighs into
that.”

Tiege had also figured that out himself, but
he bit back his hostile reply because he knew the elder was only
trying to help. On top of that, he had a feeling the temper surging
through him was actually more Tate’s than his own. It seemed
logical that her exhaustion and hunger would have her on edge.

He was saved from having to think of a
toned-down response when C.K. and Quincy walked back into the camp.
They held their tank tops out in front of them with something
filling the fabric.

“There were tons of mushrooms not even two
minutes from here,” C.K. said. She and Quincy began unloading their
stash of the edible fungus, lining the log across from the one that
Tiege had previously occupied. “We’ll have to pick some more before
we leave in the morning and take them with us. They’re light and
will travel well.”

Although Tiege wasn’t especially fond of
mushrooms, he’d certainly eat them if they were the difference
between life and starvation. That thought made him think again of
Tate. How would she ever survive on her own?