with
alarm.
“Captain Marrok,” I said, hoping to calm him. “Give me your torch.”
My order pierced his panic. He picked up the unlit stick. “Why?”
“Because the bats have shown me the way out.” I cringed as my hand closed on
the muck-covered handle. “Leif, can you relight this?”
Leif nodded. Flames grew. When the torch burned on its own, he asked, “How
far to the jungle?”
“Not far.” I led the group, setting a quick pace. No one complained. All were as
eager as I to exit the cave.
The sound of rushing water and a glorious freshness to the air were the only signs
we had reached our destination. The day had turned into night while we had traveled
through the cave.
From the bats, I knew water flowed along the floor of the exit and dropped down
about twenty feet to the jungle. The waterfall splashed onto a tumble of rocks.
The others followed me to the edge of the stream. We doused the torches and
waited for our eyes to adjust to the weak moonlight. I scanned the jungle below with
my magic, searching for signs of an ambush and for tree leopards. Necklace snakes
were also a danger to us, but the only life I touched were small creatures scurrying
through the underbrush.
“Prepare to get wet,” I said before wading into the cold knee-deep water.
My boots filled immediately as I sloshed to the edge. There were plenty of rocks
below to climb on, but they were either under the water or wet. I eased off my
backpack and threw it down, aiming for a dry spot on the rocky bank.
“Be careful,” I instructed.
I turned around and crouched, leaning into the force of the water. Keeping my
face above the stream, I stuck my feet over the edge and felt for a foothold. By the
time I reached the bottom, my clothes were soaked. At least the water had washed
away the foul-smelling dung.
Once everyone climbed down, we stood dripping and shivering on the bank.
“Now what?” Leif asked.
“It’s too dark to see trail signs,” Marrok said. “Unless we make more torches.”
I looked at our ragtag group. I had a dry change of clothes in my backpack, but
Tauno and Moon Man had nothing with them. The bank was big enough for a fire.
“We need to dry off and get some rest.”
“You need to die,” a loud voice said from the jungle.
6
ARROWS RAINED DOWN. Tauno cried out as one pierced his shoulder.
“Find cover,” Marrok ordered. An arrow jutted from his thigh.
We scrambled for the underbrush. Moon Man dragged Tauno with him. Marrok
fell. An arrow whizzed by my ear and thudded into a tree trunk. Another slammed
into my backpack before I dived under a bush.
I scanned the treetops with my magic, but couldn’t sense anyone.
“Null shield,” Moon Man shouted. “No magic.”
Marrok lay in the open, unmoving. Arrows continued to fly, but they missed him.
He stared at the sky.
“Curare!” I yelled. “The arrows are laced with Curare.”
The ambushers wanted to paralyze us, not kill us. At least not yet. The memory
of being completely helpless from the drug washed over me. Alea Daviian had
wanted revenge for her brother’s death, so she had pricked me with Curare and
carted me to the plateau to torture and kill me.
Leif yelped nearby. An arrow had nicked his cheek. “Theobroma?” he asked
before his face froze.
Of course! My father’s Theobroma, which had saved me from Alea. I ripped
open my pack, searching for the antidote to Curare. The rain of arrows slowed, and
a rustling noise from above meant our attackers were climbing down. Probably to
take better aim. I found the brown lumps of Theobroma and put one into my mouth,
immediately chewing and swallowing it.
Moon Man cursed and I broke cover to run to him. An arrow hit my back. The
force slammed me to the ground. Pain rippled through my body.
“Yelena!” Moon Man grabbed my outstretched arm and pulled me to him.
“Here.” I panted as the Curare numbed the throb in my lower back. “Eat this.”
He ate the
alarm.
“Captain Marrok,” I said, hoping to calm him. “Give me your torch.”
My order pierced his panic. He picked up the unlit stick. “Why?”
“Because the bats have shown me the way out.” I cringed as my hand closed on
the muck-covered handle. “Leif, can you relight this?”
Leif nodded. Flames grew. When the torch burned on its own, he asked, “How
far to the jungle?”
“Not far.” I led the group, setting a quick pace. No one complained. All were as
eager as I to exit the cave.
The sound of rushing water and a glorious freshness to the air were the only signs
we had reached our destination. The day had turned into night while we had traveled
through the cave.
From the bats, I knew water flowed along the floor of the exit and dropped down
about twenty feet to the jungle. The waterfall splashed onto a tumble of rocks.
The others followed me to the edge of the stream. We doused the torches and
waited for our eyes to adjust to the weak moonlight. I scanned the jungle below with
my magic, searching for signs of an ambush and for tree leopards. Necklace snakes
were also a danger to us, but the only life I touched were small creatures scurrying
through the underbrush.
“Prepare to get wet,” I said before wading into the cold knee-deep water.
My boots filled immediately as I sloshed to the edge. There were plenty of rocks
below to climb on, but they were either under the water or wet. I eased off my
backpack and threw it down, aiming for a dry spot on the rocky bank.
“Be careful,” I instructed.
I turned around and crouched, leaning into the force of the water. Keeping my
face above the stream, I stuck my feet over the edge and felt for a foothold. By the
time I reached the bottom, my clothes were soaked. At least the water had washed
away the foul-smelling dung.
Once everyone climbed down, we stood dripping and shivering on the bank.
“Now what?” Leif asked.
“It’s too dark to see trail signs,” Marrok said. “Unless we make more torches.”
I looked at our ragtag group. I had a dry change of clothes in my backpack, but
Tauno and Moon Man had nothing with them. The bank was big enough for a fire.
“We need to dry off and get some rest.”
“You need to die,” a loud voice said from the jungle.
6
ARROWS RAINED DOWN. Tauno cried out as one pierced his shoulder.
“Find cover,” Marrok ordered. An arrow jutted from his thigh.
We scrambled for the underbrush. Moon Man dragged Tauno with him. Marrok
fell. An arrow whizzed by my ear and thudded into a tree trunk. Another slammed
into my backpack before I dived under a bush.
I scanned the treetops with my magic, but couldn’t sense anyone.
“Null shield,” Moon Man shouted. “No magic.”
Marrok lay in the open, unmoving. Arrows continued to fly, but they missed him.
He stared at the sky.
“Curare!” I yelled. “The arrows are laced with Curare.”
The ambushers wanted to paralyze us, not kill us. At least not yet. The memory
of being completely helpless from the drug washed over me. Alea Daviian had
wanted revenge for her brother’s death, so she had pricked me with Curare and
carted me to the plateau to torture and kill me.
Leif yelped nearby. An arrow had nicked his cheek. “Theobroma?” he asked
before his face froze.
Of course! My father’s Theobroma, which had saved me from Alea. I ripped
open my pack, searching for the antidote to Curare. The rain of arrows slowed, and
a rustling noise from above meant our attackers were climbing down. Probably to
take better aim. I found the brown lumps of Theobroma and put one into my mouth,
immediately chewing and swallowing it.
Moon Man cursed and I broke cover to run to him. An arrow hit my back. The
force slammed me to the ground. Pain rippled through my body.
“Yelena!” Moon Man grabbed my outstretched arm and pulled me to him.
“Here.” I panted as the Curare numbed the throb in my lower back. “Eat this.”
He ate the
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