Hearts of Ishira (Hearts of Ishira Saga) (2 page)

Her mouth dropping open with horror, Arianna stared blankly at the bugs’ eventual goal.

Not three feet from her lay the body of a young woman whose neck was quite obviously broken. Blood pooled beneath her head and Ri thanked the Almighty that the girl’s face was toward the forest so she couldn’t see the dead eyes. She didn’t want to see the wound causing that puddle, either, considering how large the pool was. Bugs swarmed over that puddle, drinking it, wallowing in it, tracking away from it as they searched for something tastier. Other insects were already industriously pulling little chunks of flesh from the girl’s body.

The bugs weren’t the only creatures interested in the corpse. Ri watched, horrified, as an alien creature crept from the woods, drawn by the scent of blood, and began sniffing and clawing at the girl’s body. The thing was small, about the size of a Chihuahua, but with too many teeth to be a dog. And too many legs, for that matter. Too shocked to count them, she felt the hunger broadcasting from it, the curiosity in the new aromas that it had come across. She could taste the blood it smelled, felt its salivary glands gush in anticipation of a meal.

She watched in fascinated horror, unable to tear her gaze away as the thing opened its mouth wider than she would have thought possible and snapped its jaws down on the dead girl’s arm. With that one bite, it cracked bone and tore flesh. It huffed a snort of what Arianna sensed was satisfaction then trotted back into the woods. Dangling its gruesome trophy from its mouth, it grunted happily as it disappeared through the underbrush. Ri’s eyes lingered, adjusting to the unfamiliar landscape quickly now. She scanned the bushes and vines, searching for additional threats and hoping to find none bigger than what had just fled into the brush.

From the gloom beneath the trees a larger, darker shadow began moving toward the girl’s body, its eyes glowing a wicked purple-pink color. With a whimper of terror, Ri scuttled backwards, away from the body and the multitude of creatures making it into a buffet. She came up against a tree, the bark scraping her bare flesh when she tried to use the tree to stand. Her lower leg was aflame with agony, but she breathed through the pain, taking stock of the situation again now that her faculties seemed to be returning.

Her eyes widened as she registered more of her surroundings with a swift glance… the teal foliage that was like nothing she’d ever seen before. The roiling gunmetal and murky teal clouds flashing with neon purple lightning. The sky in the distance that glowed with a light lavender hue in the wake of the storm. The animals that were nothing like on Earth, other than in size and, apparently, appetite.

What in God’s name was going on? Where the hell was she?

One thing was certain.

She was no longer on Earth.

“Hello?”

Nearby, someone was calling out to her. Ri turned her head very slowly, in deference to the gnomes with pick-axes that were currently busy at work inside her skull. A blond woman who appeared a little bit younger than Ri sat on the ground, looking like she had just awakened. She was chubby, with pretty blue eyes, but covered in mud and forest debris.

And nothing else. Startled, Arianna looked down at herself, realizing that she was stark naked, as well. Her eyes widened as she looked around at the other women, some conscious, some not, who were dotted along a narrow, bare dirt strip that looked like a path through the woods. They were all naked save for blood, mud, and bits of forest.

She met the blonde’s gaze. The younger woman stared up at Ri, then looked around, obviously trying to process their surroundings, as Ri had.

“Where are we?” the girl breathed. Ri understood the blonde’s incredulity as she took in the strangely colored trees and flowers, some of the animals, and the sky that was purple through the clouds.

“I have no clue,” Ri said, then cried out involuntarily when the effort to talk brought pain shafting through her ribs. Lord, they were probably broken. “How did we get here?”

“I don’t know,” the girl shook her head, slowly getting to her feet. She moved toward Ri, her eyes quickly scanning the older woman’s body. When they reached Arianna’s lower leg, she blanched and even gagged a little, turning her face away before she could hide her revulsion.

Ri blinked and followed the girl’s gaze. Then she fervently wished she hadn’t. The bones of her right leg were broken, part of each sticking through her muddy, filthy skin. Blood oozed from the wound, attracting the bugs. How had she managed not to notice such a hideous wound?

Whimpering, she frantically slapped at the flying insects that were trying to land on her to feed, taking care not to touch her own flesh. She fought the urge to pass out, her throat spasming painfully to keep her bile down until she was able to bring her nausea under control.

Ri couldn’t lose it now. Not now. Closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the tree, she frantically reached for that well of power within her, praying that she had something left to work with.

Center. Open. Flow. Wait. One one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand… four one-thousand, five one-thousand, six…
There it was. Blessed numbness set up below her knee. Directing so much power to that one spot took it from the others though and Ri fought the urge to pass out as pain rushed back into her head and ribs with a vengeance.

“Hey,” the blond said, sounding a bit panicked. “Stay with me, okay?”

“I’m okay,” Ri said, realizing that her voice sounded thready and not very convincing. The grayness was closing back in on her.

With a herculean effort, she shoved it back. They had to help the others. No one seemed to know what to do, and from what she could see, Ri and her new friend were the only ones not in a state of advanced shock. The younger woman put a hand to Arianna’s shoulder, helping to shore her up.Unbidden, energy flowed between them, from the younger to the elder, and Ri sucked in a breath, her eyes widening as she felt the surge of renewing power flow through her. The girl’s eyes rounded and they stared at each other until Ri managed to stopped the stream.

“What the hell was that?” the younger woman asked, dropping her hand and stepping back. “What did you do?”

“I… think you helped me,” Ri said haltingly. “It felt like you sent me some kind of energy… or something.”

“Like healing?” the girl asked, cocking her head to the side. Ri cut her eyes toward a distant scream, scrambling for an answer.

“Kind of… either I took it or you gave me some extra energy, since mine’s so low.”

“Wow,” the girl said with a bit of a surprised grin. “Didn’t know I had it in me!”

Ri couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her, but it ended with a groan as her ribs reminded her they weren’t in the best shape right now. She breathed through the worst of the sudden pain, her eyes moving all around the area, taking in the frenzied women, the injured and dead, the predators closing in around the group.

A plan. They needed a plan.

“We have to get out of here,” she breathed, reaching for the younger girl but carefully keeping her shields in place this time. “Can you help me get over to the others? We need to get those girls organized, figure out how to get to safety… or something.”

“Yeah,” the girl said, then helped to steady the older woman, her arm around Ri’s waist below the broken ribs. “Where are we going to go, though?”

“I don’t know,” Ri whispered, her head pounding. The dizziness threatened to take her back down to the ground. As another gruesome crunch and squish came to them, she threw a horrified look toward the carcass of the dead girl where the indigenous animals were making a feast of the poor soul. Her throat was fighting bile again as she said, “But we can’t stay here.”

“Right,” the girl agreed, swallowing her own nausea and nodding a bit frantically.

Together, they hobbled over to where the bulk of the girls were gathered. Some were lying on the ground, still unconscious. Others were trying to wake them or sitting beside the dead, crying and begging them to get up, calling them by name. Several just sat and stared into space, pale and trembling with eyes wider than they should be.

“Who are these girls?” the blond beside her asked. Ri panted with pain and the effort of moving, but cast her empathic senses over the group.
Friends, sisters but not. Familiar to each other, unified.
She blinked.

“I think they were all together. They’re all friends, sort of… but more than that. More than friends, but not quite sisters,” she said, a bit bewildered. “It’s a strange relationship, but a close one. You weren’t with them?”

“I don’t know where I was!” the younger woman admitted. “I can’t seem to remember much of anything right now. But no, I don’t recognize any of them. And how do you know all that about them?”

Ri grinned a bit sheepishly and shrugged.

“I’m kinda psychic,” she revealed with the sardonic eye-roll that let the blond know she didn’t expect instant acceptance of the ability. “Always have been, but it seems to be much stronger here than back home.”

Instead of the scoffing disbelief she was used to, the woman regarded her thoughtfully for a moment, then nodded. Ri could feel her processing the information and comparing it to recent events and her own experience.

“That makes sense,” she said softly, “Considering you were able to take energy from me. You’re welcome, by the way.”

Ri got a sudden sense of familiarity as she met the younger woman’s eyes, but it was gone so quickly that she thought she imagined it. The blond’s eyebrows came together as though she felt the kinship, as well, but before either of them could say anything else, there were more growls from the underbrush to the side of the path. As fear jolted her into motion once more, she and the young woman hobbled closer to the group.

But in counterpoint to that burst of trepidation, Ri felt the thunder of something large, quite a few large things, coming toward the women from the opposite direction, along the path. She automatically threw open her senses, trying to get a sense of what was approaching, to understand what was about to happen. From the direction of the pounding noise, she got a sense of urgency, of help, of…
sanctuary
.

For some reason, that feeling braced her, helping her to move, to do what she knew needed to be done.

As the creatures of the forest crept closer, larger animals joined the ones she’d already seen. They were terrifying, alien. They moved forward, sniffing the air and watching the humans as though making a plan of attack. Many colors, several different forms, but all completely alien to the girls on the path.

“Oh, god, what now?” the blond breathed, fearing the rumble of the approaching unknown.

“Hurry!” Arianna urged. “Let’s get to the others. I think we should all be together.”

“Strength in numbers,” her companion agreed, and they moved as quickly as they could to the other girls. As they neared, Ri saw with a bit of relief that a tall, skinny brunette was attempting to organize the group.

“I’m Bev, by the way,” the blond murmured as they approached the group.

“Arianna,” Ri said, her brow furrowing, her relief short-lived. What was the brunette
doing
?

“Hurry!” the skinny girl called out, catching sight of them. “It sounds like something huge is coming! We’ve got to defend ourselves.”

“The immediate threat is right here,” Ri said, shaking her head as she and Bev joined the group. “These things are ready to eat. Whatever’s out there isn’t coming to hurt us.”

“How could you possibly know that?” the girl scoffed, sneering at Ri. “You psychic or something?”

“Yes,” Ri told her simply. “And I’m telling you, we’re in a lot more danger from these creatures than the beings coming down that path!”

The brunette turned from Ri and continued giving orders, ignoring Ri’s advice by instructing her friends to face the path, not the animals that were closing in on them all.

Grimly, Ri and Bev looked at each other and did the opposite. Bev helped steady Ri on one leg, then hurriedly searched for a few sturdy branches from the woods nearby. Ri took the limb Bev brought her and nodded her thanks.

“So whatever shows up,” the young brunette was calling out, “Don’t ask questions. Just attack! We don’t know what they want or what they’ll do. They’ll take us prisoner and make us slaves or something. Don’t let them take us alive!”

“Oh, for the love of little pink bunnies!” Ri bit out, startling Bev to snort a horrified little laugh. Arianna threw a glare at the brunette. “Take care of these animals first! The beings on that path are coming to help us! If you don’t believe me, fine. But at the very least, half of you should turn so that we can face both at once!”

Ri felt a surge of relief when several of the girls saw the wisdom in her words and turned to face the animals. She kept her eyes moving as some of the creatures darted around the girls, growling or howling, mewling and chittering. She had no idea what to do against these critters, but on a hunch, she decided to take a leap of faith. Closing her eyes, she opened her senses once more, reaching for the mind she’d barely touched moments ago.

It was there, bright and and strong and clear now that she was actually focusing on it...almost as though it had been searching for her and trying to focus on her, as well. Her eyes popped open and she nearly wept at the confidence in that approaching mind. The girls would be fine as long as they could hold off the creatures until their rescuers arrived. Strength flowed through her, hope managing what her mantra had given up on.