“Down!”<\/p>\n
A hand shoots out and yanks me by the collar, hauling me to the ground behind a fallen tree.<\/p>\n
Inches from my face, a spear sprouts from the jungle floor where I’m sprawled. I flinch away, scrambling to brace against the rotting trunk we’re hiding behind.<\/p>\n
“I don’t think they like you,” she adds.<\/p>\n
I spare a grin for my shipmate, a blonde little bird who could probably out-forest these trolls if she wasn’t burdened with me.<\/p>\n
Soggy wood rains down on us as another spear thunks into the top of the decaying tree.<\/p>\n
“Feeling’s mutual” I quip back.<\/p>\n
“It strikes me,” she continues philosophically, “that we –”<\/p>\n
We both flatten to the ground again, two more spears whistling past.<\/p>\n
“–we, meaning you,” she pats my shoulder sadly, “and only thereby, me, are in a spot of trouble.”<\/p>\n
“Less talking. More running.” I nod west. Ship’s gotta be over there somewhere.<\/p>\n
“You got it?” Leaf-green eyes drop to the bulging pouch tied to my belt. “Captain won’t be happy we come back empty handed.”<\/p>\n
“Yeah, yeah, I got his trinket, Jarathei.”<\/p>\n
The spears have stopped. That can only mean one thing. I look up into the trees. That’s where they’ll come crashing in from.<\/p>\n
“Go!”<\/p>\n
“Keep up, city girl.” She leaps from the ground into a dead sprint.<\/p>\n
Cursing, I follow suit. I am much slower. I got angry the first time she called me a “soft aristocrat with the grace of a fatted hog,” but watching her weave through the dense foliage, I can only agree. If I survive this…<\/p>\n
I can’t hear them anymore. That bodes ill. They must be closing in above me.<\/p>\n
Light ahead. A break in the tangled vines. Jarathei is backing toward me… she looks back once, then she is running… she leaps…<\/p>\n
Oh Light, no.<\/p>\n
I break from the trees and watch her sailing out into the air, and down… and down…<\/p>\n
There are rocks right at the bottom of the cliff, but the river is wide and deep here. Jarathei has cleared the outcrop easily… but if I don’t…<\/p>\n
“Keep up, city girl,” I mutter to myself, stepping back from the edge to build up momentum.<\/p>\n
A flash of blue and red drops between me and the ledge, but it’s too late. I’m already running full tilt at the edge. I barrel into the troll, and we both fly into the open air.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“Down!” A hand shoots out and yanks me by the collar, hauling me to the ground behind a fallen tree. Inches from my face, a spear sprouts from the jungle floor where I’m sprawled. I flinch away, scrambling to brace … Continue reading