Willing Sacrifice

Page 50

Finally, when he’d gathered enough juice, he amplified his vision. Everything looked closer. Details were in perfect focus. Still he saw nothing.
Grace scooted up the hill on her stomach, taking a position beside him. “Everything okay?”
“I’m not sure.”
She fell silent and shielded her eyes from reflected sunlight.
Every time a breeze blew past, it brought with it her scent. Torr closed his eyes and breathed her in, wishing he could have more even as he cursed the distraction she created. He had no idea how long they lay there, but when he regained his control again and searched the area, the angle of the suns had changed enough that the glare from the leaves was no longer blinding.
He amped up his vision once more, this time gathering enough power that it stung his fingertips and made his skin burn. Still he saw nothing.
Beside him, Grace squirmed and rubbed her arms.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I think I must have been bitten by some bugs or something. No big deal.”
It wasn’t bugs that had bitten her. That sting was his—he’d inadvertently hurt her because of the damn disk that connected them.
He needed to get the thing off before he did more than irritate her skin. Like it or not, Brenya was going to help him find a way to free Grace. She may not have known a life without it, but she was strong. She would adapt.
“I still don’t see anything,” he told her. “We’ll keep going, but we need to be careful.”
He helped her to her feet, lingering a bit too long with her hand in his. He’d give anything to have her back at Dabyr, safe inside the walls where he would be able to relax and enjoy her. Thoroughly.
It was a selfish fantasy, but one he couldn’t control.
Torr led the way down the hill, moving more slowly than he would have liked. There were a few open spaces where trees had fallen. Nothing new had had time to grow in their place yet, leaving little pools of sunshine on the forest floor. The clearings made travel easier, but also left too many openings for ambush.
He skirted them and stuck to a path animals had cut through the trees with their passing. A thorny bush had invaded this area, making travel between trees more than just uncomfortable. Each two-inch thorn dripped with something thick and wet, like syrup.
“Watch out for those,” said Grace. “They’re poisonous.”
“What kind of poison?”
“The kind that makes you wish you were dead.”
He knew that kind all too well. “We should go back and find another way through.”
“There is no other way. All the other paths lead to the swamps where those giant lizards live.”
He glanced over his shoulder at her. “You’ve been this way before?”
“No, but Brenya has. I seem to know what she does.”
“Great. What’s up ahead on this path?”
“A narrow strip of rock that will keep us out of the swamp.”
No wonder the path was so obvious. The animals the lizards preyed on would have learned to cross here and stay out of danger.
“When we get there, we’ll need to cross fast.”
“Why’s that?”
“The lizards are territorial.”
“This just keeps getting better.”
“Well, if you were going to build a magical device you didn’t want anyone to find, wouldn’t you put it on the other side of a bunch of territorial, man-eating lizards?”
“Good point.”
A few hundred yards later, Torr saw the pale strip of stone stretching between two stagnant pools of water. Several of the huge lizards lounged in the last rays of sunlight. He could see more of them just beneath the surface of the water.
Before they got too close, he stopped. “Let me have your gear.”
“Why?”
“You’ll be able to run faster.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be fine. All you need to keep is your water, just in case we’re separated. Head straight east and I’ll catch up with you as soon as I can.”
He removed one of her bags and settled the strap over his shoulder.
“Catch up with me? What are you going to do?”
Torr gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. I’m just going to distract them.”
•   •   •
Grace was almost certain that was the worst idea in the world. “I’m not letting you distract them. There’s too many. Fighting one nearly killed you. I count at least seven.”
“I wasn’t ready for the fight then. I am now. Besides, I’m not going to get that close. When I say, you start running and don’t look back.”
“No.”
“I know what I’m doing, Grace. Trust me.”
“Of course I do, but there’s got to be another way.”
“Can you think of one?”
She couldn’t. And while she would have rather had both of them run across at the same time, that was much more likely to get them both killed.
She’d seen him fight. She knew what he was capable of. If either of them was going to face off against a pile of angry reptiles, he was the safe bet.
“Okay, but if you don’t come across immediately, I’m going to do a little distracting of my own.” She pulled Tori’s practice sword from where it was strapped to her body, making her intentions clear.
“I won’t make you use that. All you have to do is get across and wait for me.”
“You should try throwing them some food before using your own skin as bait.”
He cupped her face in his hands, leaned down and kissed her. She had no time to anticipate his action, no time to prepare herself for the blissful shock of his kiss.
The second his lips met hers, the whole world melted away. He was there and gone before she could do more than register the heat of his mouth. Still, the brief kiss rocked her to the soles of her feet and left her reeling.
She blinked up at him, unsure what to do or say. The urge to grab him and demand more was strong, as was the strangest feeling that she’d felt that before, only in a different way.
Breathe for me, Grace. Don’t give up on me. I love you.
His voice was in her memory, but she’d never heard him say those words.
“For luck,” he told her, before stepping back and shedding all signs that he even knew how to kiss.