Chapter 14Sasha

Chapter

Fourteen

SASHA

W e had been walking for at least a couple of hours, letting the position of the moons guide us. Sounds of Max’s low trilling had me glancing back at him. He had been continuously running ahead and circling back. I heard him many times as he would pounce and cause some unsuspecting insect or small creature to squeal before the sound would abruptly cut off.

This time, he was staring off into the distance while making those soft sounds. “What is it, Max?” I turned to look, at first not seeing what he could have been looking at, but then I spotted it. A beelennya plant. “Aww,” I said as I picked him up and cuddled him close to my chest before scratching at the small bit of dark purple fur that trailed from around his mouth to his chin. It was the only color other than his eyes, and it kind of looked like he had a mustache and goatee. “Is my sweet little baby thirsty?”

“He’s about as much of a sweet little baby as I am, princess. That sonwhen you’re holding is a vicious beast,” Varos said as he squinted down at Max. I gasped my outrage while holding him tighter to my chest. “It’s a good thing he’s dedicated to protecting you.” Varos reached out and ruffled the top of Max’s head. “I approve.”

I hummed, not bothering to hide my grin at my mate’s words. “Sonwhen, huh. I didn’t know that’s what he was.” It seemed my mate was more of a softie than I could have imagined. I set Max back on the path and spoke to him as I withdrew my sword. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.” He trilled up at me and sat back on his haunches the way I’d seen rabbits do. “You’re too adorable, you know that?” I turned to head to the beelennya plant when Varos grabbed my arm.

“What are you doing?” he demanded.

I pointed toward the plant with a bush full of water filled flowers. “Max is thirsty, and frankly, so am I. I’m going to get some flowers.” I patted his hand. “Don’t worry, I’ll be right back.”

He stopped me again by tightening his hold on my arm. “I’ll go,” he insisted.

I glanced down at his bare feet. “Uh, that’s probably not a good idea. Those plants are full of vines covered in thorns. Plus, there’s no telling what else is hiding in the foliage.” I rocked up on my tiptoes and kissed his lips in a quick peck before dropping back down. I smiled up at him. “I’ll be quick. I promise.”

Varos let out a deep rumble from his chest but reluctantly jerked his head in a nod once and stepped back with his arms firmly crossed over his chest. I had to force my eyes away from the enticing picture he made with the already tight T-shirt being tested to its limits as it stretched over his thick biceps. I cleared my throat and ignored the knowing smirk Varos was suddenly sporting.

“Alrighty, then. I’ll, uh, go now. Yeah.” I spun around on my heel, almost tripping over my feet in a way I couldn’t remember doing in more than 250 years. I was a badass female warrior demon, damn it! Oh, but my mate’s arms were pure pornographic material. I now understood what women meant when they said arm porn.

I shook my head and did my best to focus. I wasn’t kidding when I said things could be hiding in the thick underbrush of the forest. The Underworld was a dangerous place, much more dangerous than I was used to in the Earth realm. It was as I sliced through the third stem of a beelennya flower that I was reminded of the fact quite clearly.

Max let out a high pitched trill so loud that my ears were ringing even as far away as I was. I spun around to see both he and Varos still standing, watching and waiting for me on the relative safety of the path though Varos looked alarmed. I winced, fighting the urge to shake my head to rid it of the echoing sound that seemed to be bouncing around my brain.

“Sasha, get back here, now!” Varos urged, gesturing at me from his spot on the path. I shook my head, knowing it was probably too late. Instead, I had my sword ready, searching silently for the danger that Max was alerting me to.

A rumbling growl was the first indication that I was in imminent danger. It was so deep that I could feel the vibrations through the soles of my boots as the sound traveled across the ground. The next thing I heard was the rustling of leaves to my left. But it was the rustle of leaves to my right that had my heart rate picking up. I was being cornered by predators who knew exactly what they were doing.

I thought of my options and came up woefully short. With what I had already seen of the creatures in this land, my sword might not offer me the kind of defense I needed. I took the chance to dart a glance toward Varos. I silently urged him not to do anything stupid. He was even more underprepared for a monster than I was with the dagger he was gripping tightly in one fist, and he knew it by his furious expression.

As if it were choreographed, two large animals prowled from the depths of the underbrush. I could immediately see how they had managed to stay concealed, even as large as they were. Thick dark green tufts of hair sprouted in patches along leathery hide the color of dark mud. Fangs that were as long as my forearm protruded from the top of a large mouth that dripped an almost luminescent saliva. As I stared into the larger animal’s soulless black eyes, a drop of saliva hit the ground and sizzled. Great. As if the sheer size of the monsters wasn’t bad enough, I had to deal with acid spit.

I let out a slow breath and adjusted my stance, taking a slow step back in order to keep both creatures within sight. I had to be careful not to back into the beelennya plant, or I would have another problem I just didn’t have the time to mess with. The last thing I needed was to be crippled from the pain of one of the beelennya plant’s venomous thorns. I let out one more slow breath before stilling completely, waiting for the attack I knew was about to come.

To my surprise, and admitted relief, instead of charging at the same time, the larger one on my left came at me as the one on the right let out a roar that shook the ground enough to disorient most prey. But I had been trained by the best and had more experience than most. I ignored the second beast, trusting that Varos would watch my back and let me know if the second one looked like it would do more than stand guard.

I only had a second to react as the beast crouched low, then launched itself toward me with the strength of its muscular hind legs. Most creatures had a weakness. Even if it was covered in thick, scaly hide. The eyes, neck, or belly were usually the most vulnerable locations on any monster. I ducked low, then rolled forward to get under the beast as it leaped, aiming for where I had been standing just a second before. As stocky as it was, there would be no time for the creature to change directions. And no time for it to protect its open belly.

As it landed, skidding to a stop several feet away, it let out a roar and began to crouch again for a second attack. I watched as its muscles bunched, then it swayed as it blinked in confusion. First, one leg wobbled before collapsing, then two more. In another heartbeat, the large beast fell onto its side, breathing heavily.

The stench of blood and innards that were spilling from the gaping wound on the creature’s belly filled the night air, making my empty stomach churn with disgust. Another loud roar rent the air, turning my attention to the second beast. I adjusted my grip on the sword and bent my knees, ready for another attack. I watched as it looked at me with what I could only call hatred burning in the black depths of its eyes before it looked over at its companion, that was panting with the pain I’d inflicted. My heart ached for what I’d done, but I knew I’d had no choice. The predators wouldn’t have felt even an ounce of remorse for taking my life.

The second beast threw its head back with a mournful howl, then spun on its heels and raced away through the forest. I took a minute to breathe and be thankful I hadn’t encountered those kinds of creatures when I had escaped all those years ago. Maybe my father would have been right to assume I had died because there was no way I would have made it past them back then.

I finally let the tension leave my body, allowing my sword arm to drop. Strong arms encircled me from behind, and I could feel Varos’s heart racing as fast as mine.

“Gods damn it, Sasha. Tell me you are unhurt!”

I was spun around as hands glided over every inch my mate could reach. I took several long, deep breaths and let him examine me. His hands ran over my face, down my arms, and caressed my belly, searching for any sign I hadn’t escaped unscathed.

“Fuck,” he whispered hoarsely as he pulled me into his arms and held me close. I lifted my free hand and gripped tight to the back of his T-shirt. I couldn’t tell if the shaking of my body was from me or Varos, but as he ran his large fingers over my face, brushing back strands of hair that had escaped my braid, I could feel them trembling.

“I’m okay, Varos. I promise I’m okay,” I whispered into his warm chest.

He let out a harsh breath. “Fuck, princess. I thought I was going to watch you die.”

I tilted back my head to look up into his black eyes. “Your brother taught me everything I know,” I said with a smile.

“Remind me to thank him for that when we see him again.”

“We’ll send him a fruit basket.”

Varos furrowed his brows. “Is this something he likes?”

I laughed, pushed away from his hold, and looked toward the dying animal. “I don’t know. But it would be funny to see his expression when he gets it.” I walked over to the beast. “Do you know what this creature is?” I asked quietly.

Varos walked up beside me and took the sword from my hand. “It’s a levianthma, and one of the most dangerous beasts that roam this forest.” He gripped the sword in both hands and brought it down with swift force along the creature’s neck, easily severing the spine and ending its torment. “They hunt in pairs, as you saw. The second one blocks the prey’s escape as the stronger one attacks. I’m not surprised the second one ran away. They don’t usually get involved more than as a distraction and to keep the prey from getting away. You probably shocked it when you took down the leader so easily.”

“What are the chances we will come across another pair of these?” I asked as I stared down at the massive beast.

“Not likely. They have a pretty large hunting area they protect from others of their kind.”

“Good. That’s good.” I wasn’t sure if I would get lucky with my defensive move a second time. I glanced over to the beelennya plant, surprised to see it hadn’t been harmed, but it was waving the thorny vines around in warning. All the ground shaking had likely put it on high alert. “We still need water. We could also use a little food to keep us going at the pace we need to stay at if we are going to make the portal before nightfall tomorrow. Or today. I have no idea what time it is.” I looked up at the sky to see the two moons had almost reached their zenith, their dimly glowing edges just beginning to touch.

“Here,” Varos handed the sword back to me as he gestured to the now dead animal. “You get what flowers you can. I’ll take some of the meat from the levianthma. There will be a lot of very sated creatures in the Underworld this night once we leave.” At least, that was something. I hated killing the creature, but it wasn’t in vain. Many would eat well.

I had to slice off a few of the waving vines in order to get the rest of the flowers from the plant. By the time I was done collecting an armful of the beelennya flowers, Varos had a small stack of meat sliced and resting on a broad leaf. As we walked back to the path, Max peeked down at us from a tree branch and gave a soft trill.

“Thank you, sweet boy. Your alert gave me the time I needed to prepare.” I reached out to hand him one of the flowers, which he took readily. With a louder, happier trill, he hopped off the branch to land on one of Varos’s broad shoulders. I expected my mate to put him down, or grumble at the very least. Instead, he began to walk.

“He’s earning his keep. Let’s find a clearing so we can cook this meat.” With a hand stroking the little fur baby’s fluffy tail, Varos gave me a wink, effectively melting my heart.