Taming the Queen of Beasts

GAR

As night fell over the WildWood and the nightbirds finished their calling, Gar paced the dirt inside the front line they'd created—camouflaged ditches dug in a half-round that would allow human soldiers to enter the trees and find themselves surrounded.

Tree branches and undergrowth positioned to hide guards. Pit traps where the leaf-strewn ground would give way underfoot—the hollow, damp dirt detectable to the Anima nose, but hopefully not to the human tech.Â

The humans hadn't moved all day, but the masking hadn't fallen either, and Gar was growing tenser every minute. As darkness fell and the camp went quiet, waiting, he couldn't standstill.

Something was wrong. He didn't know what. He still felt the tug towards Rika, out there. But he could sense nothing through the incomplete bond. Had she been hurt? Frightened? Drugged? He didn't know. But his head continued to produce images of the myriad possibilities and it made him want to bite something.

For the third time in as many hours, he sought out Tarkyn. "What are the scouts saying? Any indicators that we've had some impact? That the tech is readying to fail?"

Tarkyn gave him a firm look. "Nothing new since last time you asked me, Gar, and I promised you then I would let you know if I heard anything."

Gar's upper lip curled, but he just nodded and stormed back towards the front line to watch from there.

He wished Suhle was still there so he could get her advice on how she made it through these moments, but she and her daughter were already on their way—on foot, she'd insisted after the bird told them they'd been shot down. When he'd growled that they would be caught, detected, she'd only raised an eyebrow the same way his mother did sometimes to imply that he was underestimating her.

Gar shook off the thoughts. There was nothing he could do for any of them now. The bird was resting with the two healers who'd arrived, with more of their brethren on the way. Suhle and her daughter were moving and all he could do was pray. The warriors here were eating and resting in place—ready to go to arms, but not taxing their bodies. And his parents… his parents… they didn't know. The bird believed they'd gotten to the ground safely. But he'd been unable to fly closer to see because he was the only one available to get the message out.

Gar had almost leaped on him when he heard that, but Tarkyn had commended the bird who looked beaten down with shame. He claimed the male had made the right choice.

Gar had had to walk away.

He turned back to face the plains and peer out between the trees to that dark line on the horizon. Somewhere, there, the humans were encamped. And Rika was among them. Gar's heart beat a tattoo on his ribs.

Please let her be safe.

Please let her be safe.

Please let her be safe.

He growled and started pacing again. This infernal waiting was going to tip him over the edge!

*****

Hours later he was still on his feet, though he'd stopped pacing after Tarkyn hissed at him that he was making the warriors nervous.

He'd wanted to roar at them all to grow up. But he knew that was only his frustration, so he'd stuffed that thought down and made himself stand, facing that line where the humans had last been sighted in the afternoon.

Were they moving or not?

There hadn't been any more flashes, which made Gar hopeful that they were staying put. Their technology seemed to work better when they didn't move.

Beyond his own heartbeat, the only sound in the camp was the rustle of leaves when a breeze blew up or the occasional nightbird. But most had been frightened away by the scent of so many predators gathered in one place.

Tarkyn joined him quietly, both of them staring into the dark.

"Any ideas?" Gar asked quietly.

Tarkyn shook his head. "I'm hoping the lack of sightings means they haven't moved all night. Unless they're going to risk travel in daylight, they would need to be moving already to reach us before the sun rises."

They looked at each other and Gar wondered if his eyes showed the same flashes of fear and hope.

Behind them, Protectors and Guards continued to arrive, adding to their number every hour. They'd positioned everyone in camouflaged tents or natural shelters throughout the open line of the forest. Human eyes and noses wouldn't detect them. If they could get that tech down…

Gar took a deep breath and kept praying, silently, for Rika's success. Her safety. And her return.

Please.

He'd gotten lost in his mind, thinking of how it would feel to have her back—what he'd do, what he'd say, how it would feel. So it was a surprise when, behind them, a wolf suddenly began to howl—and was quickly shushed.

Gar whipped around, darting alongside Tarkyn through the trees in the direction of the cry—had the male been wounded? Or—

He slid to a halt at the feet of a wolf Protector, sitting on the ground behind a tree, leaned back against its trunk, eyes wet and shining, his body shuddering and eyes squeezed closed, whimpering. Two of his friends had rushed to his side, but all three were off their feet and clearly fighting the urge to call.

"Mindlink," one of them gasped. "One of the Protectors that went with Reth and Elia was a wolf… they were all shot down, but he's lived. He's finally in range. He found his two birds, both dead. But no sign of the other Protector or Reth and Elia."

Gar couldn't decide whether to weep or cheer that there was no sighting of his parents. "What is making him so emotional?" he asked gruffly, nodding towards the wolf in the center.

The other two looked at each other. "The Protector who's linking with us… he'… he's dying. He's still traveling, but he's bleeding… growing weaker. He isn't going to make it…"

All three wolves shuddered.

The third wolf sucked in a breath and whined. "The humans have shooters behind the group here. Another group. That's who shot down the birds—they weren't part of this group that we're watching. He doesn't know how big the group is. Their tech never failed when he was watching. But they're armed and shooting down the birds. They might... they might have got Reth and Elia. He says… he says the portal might not close."

Gar had to stifle a roar. He wanted to grab the male by his shoulders and shake him. They needed more information! They needed more!

He turned to Tarkyn. "If that portal isn't getting closed. There's no point waiting. We should send the Protectors in now. Maybe they can sense the line where the humans are when they're closer. She's had a day and a night and hasn't been able to take them down. If the tech goes down, they'll be close enough to take advantage of it. And if it doesn't, they'll be on call to help—swing around the back and come in behind them—"

Tarkyn stared at him, eyes dark and intense, considering what he said. The Captain looked down at the wolves, then back to Gar, but before he could open his mouth, another Guard whistled and ran through the trees for them.

"The humans. Their tech failed. They're just over two miles away!"

Gar roared.

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