Exodus: Tales of The Empire: Book 2: Beasts of the Frontier. by Doug Dandridge

Numbra.  “Just bring me that boy.”
    “And his
family?”
    “Kill any of
them that get in your way.  But I want his father, mother and that uncle dead. 
Understand?”
    “Yes, ma’am.  It
will be done.”
    Deveroix turned
and walked away, his skin crawling as he felt the eyes of the woman following
his every move.  And knowing that with a word she could have his life as well.
    *     *     *
    “Thanks for
taking us out with you, Uncle Timothy,” said Matthew, holding the control rod
that was the rudder and throttle of the boat.  The ten meter long craft was
cruising slowly through the stream, Matthew keeping it in the center.  Heads
poked up from the water here and there, the top oriented eyes and nostrils of
several species allowing them to breath and assess threats without exposing the
rest of their bodies.
    A giant
carnotropus grunted at the slight sound of the boat, its eyes following the
craft.  A moment later its massive, toad like body hopped forward, the four
rear legs moving it while the smaller front pair took up the landing.  With a
final jump it landed in the water and went under, coming up a moment later with
only its eyes and nostrils showing.
    “I don’t think
he’s coming after us,” said his Uncle, holding onto a heavy magrail rifle and
pointing it in the general direction of the predator, just in case.   A moment
later one of the smaller amphibians thrashed in the water, its whole head and
upper body rising above the surface, followed by the massive jaws of the tropus
as it struck its prey.
    “Pay attention,”
said his Uncle, pointing to a bend in the river.  “I’m hoping you don’t find
yourself on foot out here, but if it happens, remember.  You know this
ecosystem.  The people coming after you don’t, so use that to your advantage.”
    “Yes, sir,”
agreed Matthew, nodding.  That was one of the reasons his Uncle had taken him
on gathering trips.  To refamiliarize him with the Swamp, an area outsiders
would know little about.  But the family should be able to handle them,
shouldn’t they ? he thought, recalling the meeting the night before.
    Timothy and
Tobias had been the leaders at that conference, along with their other brother,
Sebastian.  An uncle from his mom’s side, Thomas Staffman, had also come, along
with a number of adult cousins and a half dozen neighbors.  All had seemed to
be hard, competent, self-reliant men, the kind who could live off the Swamp,
while tracking intruders sight unseen.  His cousin Sophie, Thomas’ daughter,
was also there, and she was as hard and competent as any of the men.  He had
felt confident that they could handle anything the Mob sent at them.  But his
Uncle Timothy had not seemed so sure.
    “Tell me what
you see there, Matthew,” said his Uncle, pointing to a small cove.
    “It’s a trope
nest,” answered the young man, seeing all the signs of the predators on the
banks of the cove.
    “Giant or
lesser?”
    “Lesser, I
think,” said Matthew after a moment’s thought.
    “Correct, and still
something to avoid.  Or something you could lead enemies into.  And what about
the tree?”
    Matthew squinted
his eyes to try and focus the writhing mass at the bottom of the trunk.  It
took a second, but he recognized the murder vine after a short time.  It wasn’t
really a plant, though there were carnivorous flora on the planet.  It was an
animal that mimicked a plant, waiting motionless until something eatable passed
underneath, at which time it fell from above and wrapped around its prey like a
nest of snakes.  It was hard to spot before it struck, and several gatherers
through the years had fallen prey to the killer.
    “Murder vine,”
he said with conviction, then followed his Uncle’s pointing finger to another
tree, where one of the creatures was in its waiting stance, looking for all the
world like a set of flowering vines wrapped around the tree.
    A greater hopper
moved through the underbrush, stopping