Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75388 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75388 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Mah-dee. I cup her face and press quick, fevered kisses to her exposed skin. I do not care that she is bloody and filthy. She is alive and whole. Her hands clutch at mine, and I press her close to me.
The earth gives a mighty shake again, and I feel her stagger. New rocks fling themselves at us, and the cavern groans loudly enough that even my ringing ears can hear the danger. I must get Mah-dee out of here.
Wait, she signals to me.
I shake my head and grab her, carrying her out of the hall. She can tell me more when she is safe. I race out of the collapsing cavern, noting with alarm how much of the perfect circle of the tribal cavern has collapsed on itself. The floor near the bathing pool is a yawning pit, and the chief’s cave is buried entirely behind a massive slab of fallen rock. I can see no signs of Warrek’s small cave that he shares with his father—that end of the cave is destroyed completely. Even as I stare at the destruction, the floor shifts and rises ahead of me, turning into a cliff. I lock my fingers onto the ledge and haul both of us, Mah-dee clinging to my back, out of the cave and forward into the snow.
Outside, there are people everywhere. Kemli strokes Farli’s hair, weeping, and I see humans clinging to their mates. Now that I am outside of the cave, I can hear kits wailing in distress, and more than one mother has her tunic open to nurse her child. Maylak is bent over Jo-see. The tiny human is puking in the snow, her mate stroking her back, her face swollen and bruised. Hemalo has Asha gently laid out in the snow, stroking her limbs and cradling her against his chest.
Someone is screaming. A female. I can hear her, but my ears are painful and I cannot make out what she is saying.
Vektal is nearby, stalking through the small clusters of people, touching each arm. The devastation of the cavern seems to match the strain on his face, as if he takes this all personally. He is our chief, and we are his responsibility. I know how he feels. These are my people. This is my home. To see it destroyed…it tears me apart inside.
And yet, Mah-dee is safe. She is safe, and nothing else matters. I set her gently in the snow and press another kiss to her face. She wraps her arms around my waist, squeezing me tight, and then looks around. My sister, she signs. Where?
I gaze out across the churned, filthy snow. There, in the back of the group, sitting with Liz and Raahosh, are Rokan and Li-lah. I guide Mah-dee over to her, and the sisters embrace, Mah-dee falling into Li-lah’s skinny arms. Rokan has a pinched look on his face, his eyes hollow. He stares at something past me, and then jerks to his feet.
I turn.
One of the human females is stumbling forward. She screams something, and others pull at her arms as she surges toward the cave. She has a brown mane, and I can see a kit strapped to her back, like a pack. One human female carries her kit like that—the one with the food and the smiles for everyone. Stay-see.
Mah-dee waves to get my attention and then signals, I think someone is still in the cave. Tears streak down the mud on her face.
My tribe. My people. I nod at her and head forward, moving to Stay-see’s side. Others are coming forward, pulling at her, trying to get her to sit, to calm down. She screams something again, and I realize it’s her mate’s name. Pashov. Her face is red from yelling, and she plunges forward, only to have Shorshie grab her and hold her back. Stay-see claws at her, desperate.
Pashov is still in the cave. In the tunnel where I found Mah-dee, perhaps. I turn and look at the cave again. The entrance is collapsing. If Stay-see goes in, she and her tiny kit will be crushed. I think of the rocky ledge I pulled myself and Mah-dee over. Stay-see does not have long enough arms. And if Pashov is not out…
Rokan and I both rush forward at the same time. I stop him, gesturing he should go back to his mate. He has a female and a kit on the way. The tribe needs him. I am just the exile.
And I know where Pashov might be.
I hear Mah-dee scream my name, the sound garbled and painful in my ringing ears. I run forward, back into the collapsing cave, heading for the tunnel. All around me, the floors shake and move, and my heart races. There is no sign of anyone. Of anything. Everything we had is gone. I think of the humans huddled in the snow outside, clinging to their mates, and my worry spikes. The humans are fragile and must be kept warm. Just because they are out of the cave does not mean they are safe.