“Here,” Rayne called out in a soft voice. Just loud enough to be carried up to Eno.
“What? Camp?” Caelan replied incredulously.
“No. Light the lanterns. We’re far enough away from the train that we shouldn’t be spotted by anyone.” There was no missing Rayne’s weary disbelief; it was as if he wanted to reach forward and smack Caelan on the head. In their defense, it was insanely late and all of them needed several hours of sleep. The only problem was that they didn’t have several hours left in the night.
One by one, they carefully lit the old-fashioned oil lanterns they’d gotten from the engineers. The old metal whined and creaked as the closed door was opened to offer access to the wick. A thick layer of dust and grit covered the thing, leaving Drayce wiping his hands on his cargo pants.
With his wick burning, Drayce scooted closer to Caelan, shining the light on his friend’s lantern as he struggled to get the wick burning. The prince offered up a crooked grin as the shadows danced across his face, but there was no missing the lines of fatigue, fear, and strain.
The narrow band of lights pushed back the thick pall of darkness and revealed trees covered in thick vines, rotten limbs half-covered in leaves, and trees covered in more inky leaves. A hint of the mountain rose up to one side of them, limiting their retreat. If they continued forward with the mountain range at their back, they would come to the ocean, but there were no towns or boats to be found that could carry them forward to Caspagir or home. Drayce half wished they hadn’t lit the lanterns, thanks to the grim feel of their surroundings.
Overhead a branch snapped, and Drayce flinched. He didn’t want to look. But Caelan did. His mouth fell open in a slow, whispered curse. Reaching so carefully, he wrapped his fingers around the grip of his sword but didn’t pull it from his sheath. Fuck. Now he had to look.
Drayce lifted his eyes to gaze up and over his shoulder, into the tree. He didn’t need to twist his body because Caelan’s lamp was already casting light into the branches, revealing a giant creature that only vaguely resembled a mountain lion, poised on a thick branch above their heads. Sleek like a mountain lion or a jaguar, the creature was about the size of a bull. It was a wonder the tree even held it. The thing appeared to be a strange shade of lilac with darker purple stripes while a spike of black fur ran down its spine to its tail. The cat opened its mouth on a snarl, revealing long, curved fangs and blood-stained teeth.
“Careful now,” Eno breathed.
Drayce was going to ask exactly how Eno wanted them to be careful when he noticed that Eno wasn’t staring in their direction. No, he had his back to them and was locked on an even larger cat in a separate tree with its eyes locked with the warrior. Drayce’s heart picked up and the muscles in his chest tightened, attempting to squeeze his lungs into diamonds. Slowly he peered around the immediate area, spotting four other sets of eyes reflecting the light. All of them perched overhead. Waiting.
There was no way they had just lucked into walking into their nest. Of course, mountain lions didn’t build nests in trees like happy little nightingales. Except maybe the oversized purple ones.
But then, outside the Ordas, they would never see a pack of mountain lions. They were solitary hunters, and judging by their size, this wasn’t a matter of a mother teaching her five freaking cubs how to hunt.
They had been followed, stalked. The eyes Drayce had felt were staring them down right now.
“Drayce, cover Caelan,” Eno ordered.
Drayce nodded, a small jerk of his chin to acknowledge Eno, but it might as well have been a starting pistol for the annual Stormbreak Yacht Regatta. He barely caught sight of the cat closest to him tensing its muscles, growling just a bit as he prepared to pounce. The last clear thought to pass through his brain was, This is gonna fucking hurt.
Caelan gasped and lunged at Drayce, knocking them both to the thick foliage. They landed in a tangle of arms and legs, their lanterns dropped in the chaos, creating dancing shadows in the darkness. Horrible, high-pitched screams erupted from the throats of the cats, turning Drayce’s blood cold.
Trying to ignore the cries and his rising panic, Drayce wrapped one arm around Caelan’s waist and forced them to roll while he drew a gun with his free hand. The moment the weapon was out of the holster, Drayce lifted it and fired with absolute precision, blasting the mountain lion in the face while covering Caelan with his body.
There was a soft snort, and Drayce risked a glance at his friend to find Caelan smiling at him. “Show-off,” Calean muttered.