On a Barbarian World (13 page)

And if they found it, then she could leave. The thought made Kavon unhappy.

“Warlord, there is a path over there,” Darroch called out.

He spotted it. A path probably made by beasts that wound its way up the mountain. “We’ll follow it.”

They climbed. It was steep, the hargon beasts at times snorting their displeasure, their hooves slipping in the loose scree, but they kept climbing.

Kavon stared resolutely ahead. To one side was the wall of rising rock, on the other, the steep drop to the distant ground below. No warrior belonged this high in the sky.

Aurina twisted, looking back behind them. “Wow, look at the view. You can see your estate.”

He grunted.

She pointed. “Over there. Look—”

“I’m sure it looks much as it does when I’m in it,” he grumbled.

Her gaze whipped up to his face. “You’re afraid of heights.”

“I am not afraid of anything. I just like my feet on the ground.”

“You dislike heights, then.”

He fought back a scowl. No one had ever irritated and captivated him the way Aurina did. “I dislike some things. The Great Warrior guides me in all things…and if he doesn’t, I just keep working until I conquer it, but fear doesn’t factor into it.”

She made a noise in her throat. “Do you beat your chest while you’re at it?”

He frowned at her. “Why would I beat myself?”

“I…never mind.”

“I have something for you.”

She raised her brows. “Oh?”

He pulled the object from his pocket and held it out for her.

“My stunner.” She raised her gaze to his. “You trust me with it.”

“Out here, danger lurks in every shadow. I want you safe.”

She took the device and slipped it into her pocket. “Thank you,” she said quietly.

They kept climbing, the midday sun beating down on them. Soon the mountain’s peak was visible, and not long after, they crested the last rise.

Several scaly lizards, the size of large dogs, scuttled away. Kavon preferred it that way. He was just happy they hadn’t encountered any of the mountain’s larger denizens.

Kavon halted Tarm. He scanned around the rocky peak, and watched Aurina do the same. His warriors pulled to a stop beside them.

“There is nothing here,” Colm noted.

“Let’s rest before we look further,” Kavon said. He reached into the leather bags attached to his beast, and pulled out some food and a skin of water.

They dismounted, and he watched Aurina perch on a rock and nibble at the dried fruit he passed her. She bounced a little. “It’s been a very long time, Colm. If the First Warriors crashed here, it was thousands of years ago.” She paused to scan the mountain. “We have to look for the tiniest clues. It might not be obvious.” She frowned. “Hell, it might be long buried.”

“Or it may not be here. A ship may never have existed,” Colm grumbled.

She put her hands on her hips. “The theory makes sense. Your language did not develop here, it came from another planet.” She let out a breath. “Look, I know this doesn’t fit into your beliefs about your ancestors—”

Her gaze found Kavon’s, and he found himself caught by the deep green of her eyes.

“—but it doesn’t necessarily change your beliefs about them,” she went on. “If they did crash here, they didn’t have to spend their time and energy educating the native race. They must have still been a driven, honorable people.”

She set the remnants of her snack down and stalked away. She stopped near the edge of the cliff, far too close to the precipice for Kavon’s liking.

“She’s right, Colm.” Kavon was surprised to hear the words from his mouth. “Even if the First Warriors were skyflyers, it does not change all the good they did for our people. Maybe we could learn more about them, if we do find the ship they arrived in.”

Colm packed the leftovers of his food away. “Perhaps.”

But Kavon’s gaze was back on his personal skyflyer. She’d stiffened, her gaze staring intently over the side of the mountain.

He walked over to her and stared down. He saw nothing but rocks, and another wide ledge not far below them.

“What do you see?” he asked.

“I’m not sure…what do you see down there?”

“Rocks.”

“On that ledge, Kavon. What else?”

He shrugged. “Rough ground. Just like the rest of the mountain.” He frowned. “It is particularly rough down there, like a beast has carved a groove through the soil and rock.”

She shifted, her face lighting up. “Have you seen something recently that carved a groove through the earth like that?”

He stilled. “Your ship.” He stared again. “But that doesn’t look the same.”

“Because the years have softened it. Filled it in partially with dirt and rocks. But look at the depression, Kavon.” She pointed. “It runs right along to the cliff face below. It might have been caused by the impact of a ship.”

He kept staring. “Maybe.”

She spun, smiling. “Let’s get down there.”

***

Aurina didn’t wait for Kavon to bring Tarm to a complete halt. As soon as the beast slowed, she tossed her leg over, and slid down the rough hide to the ground. The hargon beast snorted, steam coming from its nostrils, and she shook her head. She wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to a fire-breathing dragon-horse, but she gave the animal a pat on the neck before she turned away.

She looked around the ledge. It was actually far bigger than it looked from above, and even creepier. The rocks were black and gray, some twisted into weird, foreboding shapes. She spotted a few reptiles scurrying around, and here and there were piles of scat and the bleached white bones of some unfortunate creatures. She shivered. Thankfully, they hadn’t seen the beasts who’d left them behind.

She approached the large gouge, and began following it along. She could imagine a ship falling from the sky and impacting, sliding along, digging into the rock and dirt. She rubbed the back of her neck. God, she hoped she wasn’t just seeing what she wanted to see.

Something caught her eye. Some darker, deep-black rock that looked different to the rest. She stopped and crouched. It was glassy and shiny. She brushed it with her fingertips. Something very hot had blasted the rock, changing it.

She shot to her feet, barely containing the need to do a little dance. This could be it. Wow, she really was starting to understand why her Phoenix cousins had become treasure hunters…this whole “thrill of the chase” thing was exciting.

Searching the ground, she looked for metal fragments, or anything that didn’t look natural. She would have expected to see
something,
if a ship had crashed here.

She sensed Kavon behind her. He didn’t interrupt or growl at her, was just a quiet companion, his keen gaze continuously scanning the area around them.

He was always in warrior mode. She wondered if he ever turned it off and relaxed.

Together, they walked along the gouge. It led toward the sheer, dark cliff face. Damn, if a ship had crashed here, they should see a wreck by the cliff.

But as they got closer, she realized one patch of dark rock wasn’t just sheer cliff.

“Kavon! Look.” She scrambled nearer.

It was the mouth of a cave.

“Not too close,” he said.

She paused, looking up at the wide opening. Inside, was the densest black she’d ever seen. “If they crashed here, maybe they smashed through the rock and formed a cave?”

Colm and the other warriors appeared, holding up light wands.

“The entire mountain is said to be riddled with caves, caverns and the old mine tunnels,” Kavon said. “The Caverns of Riom are said to be deep within the mountain, and inhabited by beasts so wild, no one ever dares venture there.”

Nice
. Of course the First Warriors couldn’t have crashed in a sunlit meadow filled with fluffy, cute animals. Aurina moved right to the mouth of the cave, the light from the wands letting her look around. She spotted a few more patches of the dark, glassy rock, but other than that, nothing. She sighed. She wasn’t expecting a sheet of metal inscribed with a ship’s name or anything, but she was hoping for something.

“I need to go farther inside,” she said.

“I forbid you to go in there.” Kavon’s voice had gone hard, unyielding.

“Kavon—”

“In there is death. It is why the mountain is forbidden, and its existence hidden from the people.”

“How badly do you want the sword?” She turned to face the cave, throwing her arms up. “We need to take a risk—”

The ground under her foot disintegrated. Off balance, she pitched forward with a scream. Darkness yawned beneath her.

Strong arms grabbed her, as she dangled over the ledge. She kicked, trying to find purchase on solid ground. She had a sense of a vast space below her, and heard the clicking echo of small rocks skittering down into the abyss.

In the next heartbeat, she was yanked up and into Kavon’s arms. She wrapped her arms around him and held on. The dual beat of his hearts was the most comforting sound she’d heard.

“Thank you. Stars—”

“Fool, I warned you.”

“I know, I know. The ground just disappeared under my feet. So go ahead and bask in the moment, warrior. You were right.”

His arms tightened around her, his face pressing into her hair. “I would prefer you alive than to be right.”

She stilled against him, then rubbed her face against his chest. Stars help her, if her warrior started to be sweet to her.

Colm edged past them, peering down. “It’s a long drop.” He bent down on one knee, and lifted a good-sized rock with both hands. He tossed it into the hole.

Aurina spun in Kavon’s arms, waiting to hear it hit.

Nothing.

She swallowed.
Right
. So a really,
really
long way down. She pulled back a step, and dusted her clothes off. Then she looked up at her warrior. “We need to go down there.”

His face went a little scary. “Impossible.”

Colm shifted. “This cave could drop all the way through the core of the mountain. We can’t climb down that far.”

“Damn.” Aurina ran a hand through her hair and stared at the dark, yawning mouth.

Suddenly, a distant, deep roar reverberated up from the depths of the cave.

In an instant, the warriors shot to their feet, all drawing their swords.

Aurina’s gut tightened.

“Another good reason not to go down there,” Darroch muttered wryly.

Aurina shook her head. “So what’s next? We give up?” All this had started as a way to get her e-beacon back. But the more she got to know Kavon, the more she realized he’d give it back to her in time. He was honorable to the core. He wouldn’t keep her trapped here against her will.

But she knew how much the sword meant to him. That he was doing this in memory of his father. Now she wanted to find it for another reason. For Kavon.

“We can’t give up.” She spun to face Kavon. “There is something here, I’m sure of it.”

Kavon’s hands flexed on his sword. “We need to mount up and leave. We cannot be on the mountain when darkness falls.”

Disappointment swamped her. She watched his warriors nod and head back toward the hargon beasts.

Kavon was still looking at her. “We will investigate other options.”

“You know this is our best one. We can’t leave.”

“Even if I were to entertain the foolish idea of climbing down inside the mountain, we do not have the provisions with us to do it now.”

Aurina opened her mouth to answer, but before she said anything, Kavon tensed and lifted his sword.

Her heart stopped. With a hard look on his face, and his weapon raised above her, he was a formidable sight, and for a microsecond, she thought she was his target. Then she realized he was looking past her.

What the hell was—?

An enormous, guttural roar blasted out from behind her.

Her blood ran cold. Slowly, she swiveled.

Her lungs constricted and she couldn’t breathe. She’d never seen anything like it.

A giant beast was pulling itself over the rim of the cave’s hole. It was the size of her scoutship, and walked on four legs. Its hide was a tough, slimy black, and its back was misshapen, like it was stuffed with rocks. A huge head was dominated by a giant mouth filled with sharp teeth, and four red eyes sat in a row above it.

Those red eyes settled on Aurina and it let out another enraged roar.

Chapter Nine

Kavon knew instantly what the beast was.

A dark monster of myth and legend—a naga.

It was a nightmare that Markarian mothers threatened their children with. A creature with the strength of a hundred warriors and a hunger for flesh.

But the way its attention centered on Aurina, it appeared that today it hungered for female flesh.

“Aurina, back toward me. Slowly.”

She nodded but never took her gaze off the creature. She pulled her laser stunner out, and aimed it.

The creature took a step forward, the ground shaking with it.

Behind him, Kavon heard Colm, Darroch, and Viken running back to them. But four warriors and a woman could hardly hope to take down a naga unscathed.

Get Aurina to safety.
The words beat at Kavon, and his nanami responded. He felt a flood of energy into his system. His woman would not die on this mountain. Not while he was still breathing.

Suddenly, bright-orange fire whizzed through the air. Aurina held her weapon with both hands, her aim steady.

The monster roared. It lifted its front feet and slammed them down. The ground shook.

Dammit, she was just making it angry. Kavon grabbed her and pulled her back behind him.

Colm reached them, and Kavon shoved her at his best friend. “Whatever happens, protect her. If I fall, get her off this mountain.”

Aurina’s mouth dropped open, and Kavon drank in one last look at her, then turned and ran toward the beast.

The naga took a few steps forward, the ground shaking again. Kavon lifted Tanir, and when he reached the creature, he darted in close and ran the sword along its hide.

It roared again, and Kavon dodged a swipe of its huge claw. He pressed his boots into its side, and jumped upward. His nanami helped him leap into the air, and he landed on its lumpy back.