Haven 6 (13 page)

Striver grabbed her arm with a firm grip and pulled her up. “Watch your step.”

Jagged stalagmites of rock and glass jutted from the top of the wall. Eri held onto his arm until she could find a place to land both feet. “Jeez. Don’t want anyone to come in, do you?”

“It’s for our own protection. Lawless try to breach our lands all the time.”

The jungle on the other side of the fence loomed darker than the side she left, even though the trees were the same tangled chaos of twisted vines and crisscrossing trunks that seemed to grow in every direction except up. Murky water surrounded the wall in a moat. A glittering tail writhed just below the surface before disappearing into the darker depths.

“Don’t fall in. The leechers will eat you alive.”

“Leechers?”

“Yeah.” Striver took a minute to think about it. “Long, worm-like fish with teeth.”

“What a nice planet you’ve got here.”

Striver gave her a sly smile. “Wait until you see the swamp boars.”

“Hopefully, we won’t run into anything too aggressive on our way.” Riley hoisted himself over the edge, once again ruining their brief moment alone.

“The coordinates on Eri’s locator are far from the Lawless’s homeland, deep within the mountains. We’re going to have to trek through Soren’s Bog to skirt their sentinels. We’ll need to be alert.”

“More than alert. We’ll have to tread like ghosts.” Riley wrinkled his broad nose.

Striver squeezed Eri’s shoulder. “We can do it.”

He turned to the jungle and brought up his bow, releasing an arrow trailing a rope behind it. The arrow soared through the air and pierced the nearest tree. A pink-and-orange-feathered bird cawed in protest then fluttered into the horizon. The rope swung precariously, hanging in suspension above the moat.

Eri almost choked. “We’re using that?”

“Ever heard of zip-lining?”

“No.”

“What did they teach you aboard that mother ship?” Riley asked as he tied a loop in a rope and secured it around his wrists.

“Manners.” Eri wanted to add:
More than you or your sister have.
But she remembered Commander Grier’s orders to make friends.

“I’ll go first.” Striver secured his own rope and stepped near the edge. He winked. “See you on the other side.”

Before she could reply, he jumped, sliding along the rope. The rope dipped and Eri’s stomach clenched as his boots skimmed the surface of the moat. Striver rose up again as he approached the tree. He braced himself with his legs outstretched. Eri’s heart skipped as his feet hit the tree and he released his rope, jumping to the forest floor. She sighed and shook her head.
He made it look so easy.

Riley gave her a weary look. “Having second thoughts?”

“No.” She couldn’t imagine staying in the village while they went without her. Her teammates would never trust her after what the Lawless did. They needed her.

“Courage is found in the least likely of places.” Riley looked as though he humored her because he had to. He offered her a rope loop. “Your turn next. Just don’t let go.”

Her face must have blanched, because Riley shook his head. “You’re the one that wanted to come with us.”

Eri tightened her lips, lest an unfriendly comment spit out. She grabbed the loop and wrapped it around the rope bridge, making sure it was secure.
If only Aquaria could see me now.

“Am I going to have to push you, or are you going to jump?”

Her heart pounded against her ribcage. “I’m going to jump. Just give me a sec.”

She breathed in and out, watching Striver wave at her from across the moat. She trusted him. For some strange reason, she knew he’d do everything in his power to keep her from harm. Was it his way with everyone? He did seem like a hero in a messed-up world.

Her boot toes poked out from the ledge, thin air between both feet. She teetered forward, vertigo clutching her stomach.
Now or never.

Eri jumped, the air whooshing around her as she slid down the length of the rope. The jungle blurred, nothing existing except the rope in her fingertips and the adrenaline racing through her veins. Fear and exhilaration hit her in a rush. The moat came up at her in a glassy black slate, stealing her breath away. She kicked her feet, ready to send those leechers back to the watery depths were they came from. She didn’t weigh as much as Striver, so her feet cleared the moat with room to spare. Regaining her breath, she picked up her legs, preparing for the oncoming tree. The arc flattened, slowing her descent. Her feet touched the tree, and she bounced off. She hung above the forest floor, swinging like a pendulum.

“Way to go, Eri!” Striver called from below her, bringing her back to reality.

Eri looked up the rope. The monolithic wall cast a shadow over her head, the concrete covered in wispy moss and lichen.
I can’t believe I did that. Two days ago I sat in my bubble office, typing old languages into my miniscreen.

Striver stood below her with both hands raised. His fingers wiggled in the air. “Jump!”

She released her hold on the rope and fell. The ground came up fast, knocking the air out of her as she dropped and rolled onto her back.

Striver knelt beside her, his face hovering over hers. Worry wrinkled his angular features. “You all right?”

“Yeah. Now I know what it feels like to be a bird.”

His face softened. “Or to be Phoenix.” Striver stood and helped her up.

She dusted leaves off of her tunic. “Frightening.” She gave him a mischievous tweak of her eyebrow. “But fun.”

He smiled and looked away, as if deciding whether or not to tell her something. “He did fly you over the wall earlier last night when you were out.”

Eri paused in mid swipe. “He did what?”

“Flew you over the wall. We would have needed a pulley system to lift you back up. Too bad you don’t remember that, huh?”

Thinking about Phoenix’s branchlike fingers, Eri decided she’d rather forget.

Riley followed, careering through the trees over the moat. He landed, giving her a nod. Either he’d run out of mocking comments about her lack of experience, or by zip-lining she’d earned a small amount of his respect.

“Come on.” Striver picked up his backpack. “We don’t want to waste the daylight.”

Eri didn’t argue. Every second her team lay in the Lawless’s clutches felt like a weight on her heart. She followed him into the jungle feeling like a hero for the first time in her life.

“What do you want with us?” The light-haired prisoner squirmed until he could sit upright and stare Snipe down. His face was broad, his dark gaze calm and calculating despite his dire predicament.

Snipe raised his bow at the man. “Not for me to decide. One more question and I’ll put an arrow in your leg.”

Weaver remained silent, trying not to catch the man’s attention. Pity and guilt mingled in his stomach. He felt bad for the prisoners, but at the same time, mistrust simmered in his mind. Since they spoke English, Jolt might be right about them being from a colony ship and coming to steal their world. If so, the pirates settled here first, and that should mean the planet was theirs, a universal rule in an otherwise lawless land.

Snipe walked over to his side of the cave and put down his bow. In a second, he held his blade instead, sharpening it on the groove in the rock. Weaver watched from the corner of his eye, wondering which weapon the bodyguard favored.

The hefty woman rolled over, anger flashing on her face when she noticed her bindings.

The blond man whispered to her, and Weaver listened carefully. “Don’t ask questions. Don’t move.”

“Where are we?” She flicked her head around the room, and her single braid whipped back against her bald skull.

“Some sort of cave. They’ve sent someone to get their leader.”

Her eyes narrowed, beady and intense. “Do you have a plan to get us out of this?”

“I left Eri with the ship and told her to notify the commander. She’ll get us help.”

She snarled. “The linguist. You’ve got to be kidding. She can’t even zip her boots.”

“She’ll bring help. I know she will.”

“Enough.” Snipe leapt up and walked in between them, flashing his blade. “I don’t want any whispered plans of escape. It’s futile. You’re a hundred meters into a mountain surrounded by dense jungle and thousands of pirates. There’s no way out. No one’s coming to get you except our leader, and I know for a fact he won’t let you go.”

Weaver stopped listening, turning back to the ancient symbols surrounding the golden pool.
A linguist?

Jolt had the laser guns, and there was nothing he could do about it. No way could he get them back by himself. The golden liquid was his only bargaining chip.

Power emanated from the pool. The energy source tingled every bone in his body, vibrating to a pitch his ears couldn’t quite hear, promising him greatness. He just needed to figure out how to harness it. Then, the weapons would be a consolation prize. Maybe he’d have to befriend these people, get their linguist to decipher the hieroglyphs. And take the credit himself. They were prisoners, so he could bargain with them, maybe even do a prisoner exchange. Where did they say she was? At the ship?

Weaver’s gaze followed Snipe as he took his seat against the cavern wall. First, he had to get past Jolt’s most menacing bodyguard.

Snipe glanced up and caught him staring. “Got a problem, Weasel?”

“No.” Weaver kept his tone light, laughing inwardly.
I’m only plotting how to take over the world.

…

Doubts crept in as Striver trekked through the growing muck leading into Soren’s Bog. Sure, they’d skirted every sentinel within ten kilometers, but the legend of Soren’s disappearance still hollowed him out, ever since his friends had whispered the tale of tragedy over the embers of their campfire as little boys. The mist flowed in a thick carpet up to their thighs, and the trees drooped in mossy curtains into the sludge. Everything dripped, and the random
plink-plunk
s made it seem like someone followed you from behind. The whole place oozed creepiness.

Eri splashed behind him, her space boots protecting her better than their leather footwear. He envied her, even if she wore a byproduct of the technology he’d shunned.
If only she’d learn how to walk in them.
An overwhelming urge to protect her surged inside him, and he resisted again and again the impulse to offer his hand. Every time he touched her, a spark ignited in his chest, and he feared if he remained too close to her, his heart would catch on fire—one he couldn’t control.

She stumbled forward and caught herself on a tree before her face could hit the water. She had a smudge on her left cheek, and his fingers itched to touch her fair skin and wipe it away.

“No bogs in space?” Riley passed her with a grin. His mocking irritated Striver, but he held his tongue. He had to stay on good terms with the man if they were to accomplish this mission together. Constantly defending the invader wasn’t the most diplomatic tactic, as much as he wanted to be the shining hero who came to her aid. Besides, as her personality unfolded, he noticed a good dose of spunk in her, along with a stubborn streak that made her all the more interesting. Eri had the guts to defend herself.

Pulling herself back up, she snorted. “No. Space is a whole lot of nothing. Besides, the gravity is stronger here, and I’m not used to walking on anything that isn’t made out of some sort of chrome.”

Riley laughed. “Some conquering party.”

“I was on an exploratory mission,” Eri spat back.

“That’s why you came with so many laser guns?”

“The guns were for our protection.” She laughed and muttered under her breath, “Some protection they were.”

Striver caught her eye and flashed an apologetic smile. He kept his gaze moving before she mesmerized him again, looking to Riley instead. “Come on, we need to reach the mountains by nightfall or we’ll be sleeping on a water bed.”

Eri nodded, picking up a walking stick she’d found on a mossy incline. “Why’s it called Soren’s Bog anyway?”

Riley chuckled with a sinister undertone. “Do you think we should tell her?”

Striver turned around and Eri glared at him as if he’d haunted the bog himself. Sighing, he plowed ahead. “There’s a legend in our village about a man named Soren. A century ago, he led a hunting party into this bog, tracking a herd of swamp boars. After several nights, his men were drenched and wanted to go home, but he’d had a dream of trapping the biggest swamp boar the village had ever seen.”

Striver shrugged, trying to dismiss the man’s irrational goal, even though he’d had similar dreams of his own when he was a teen. “I don’t know if he was trying to prove something, or maybe to impress a woman in the village. Whatever the case, Soren wouldn’t give up. His hunting party sloshed through the muck for days tracking the great boar. They ran out of supplies and got lost.”

“What happened to them?” With the walking stick, Eri caught up to him, close enough to splash more water on his pants.

Striver didn’t care. He watched her curls bob with each step. Somehow, in all this muck and gloom, her hair seemed even brighter. “Supposedly they came upon this pool of golden liquid, welling up from a spring deep within the bog. They walked right in, the liquid seeping around their boots and crawling up their legs. They started to have strange daydreams, memories of the past. Some of the older men had lost family members—wives and children—and they were able to relive happy times again and again. They became obsessed and didn’t want to leave.”

Eri grabbed his arm. “Wait a second. How do you know all this if they all stayed in the bog?”

Striver smiled. “One of the younger men, a guy named Blue from the Lawless lands, had no family, no memories he wanted to relive. He was able to crawl out of the liquid and found his way back home, almost starved to death.”

“What happened to him?”

“He was fine. Grew up in our village, had a family of his own. In fact, isn’t he related to you, Riley?”

Riley gave him a sarcastic smile. “Ha. Ha.”