He carefully cleans all the gashes on my upper chest and arms, and even tries to tend to the wound in my shoulder. Then he washes the blood from my face. When he finishes, I hug my legs to my chest and rest my cheek on my knees, closing my eyes against the bright sunlight. My head pounds from the intensity of its glare.
Asher sits next to me, and then taps my leg. I glance over to see he has a pair of sunglasses in his hand. His glasses. I take them with a grateful smile. “Thank you.”
He shrugs. “You looked like you needed them.”
For the next several hours we wait, Asher occasionally getting up to rustle through the pack or check on Starshine before sitting down a distance away from me. We stay lost in our own thoughts until the sun starts to disappear behind the horizon.
A strange sound comes from the direction of the woods and I jump to my feet, straining to see what made it. However, all I see in every direction is more sand and dirt.
The sound comes again and Asher stands and mutters under his breath, “That’s not good.”
What did he say? I ask myself, but before I can ask aloud he’s kneeling in front of me.
“I’m sorry, Evie. I—I don’t think he’s coming.”
“We don’t know that yet. He’ll come. Any minute now.”
He glances over when the strange sound splits the air again. “We can’t wait any longer. That sound? It’s coyotes. And they’re going to be hunting soon. We need to get somewhere safe.”
The name makes my blood run cold. Gavin said something about them last night. If he was afraid of them, then I know I should be, too.
“What about Gavin?” I demand. “He needs somewhere safe, too. He’s going to be looking for us. We can’t just leave!”
“If he’s alive, he’ll survive. He’s a hunter. He knows how to survive out here way better than we do. He’ll be fine.”
He touches my leg when I don’t move. “He’d want you to go, Evie. He made me promise to keep you safe. He’s going to look for us someplace safe, right? He sent you away to protect you, not get eaten by coyotes because you’re too damn stubborn to listen to reason.”
I open my mouth to refuse again, but then shake my head, the logic of that finally entering my heat-addled brain. I don’t know what coyotes are, but that sound makes my stomach twist with fear, and Gavin hadn’t wanted to run into them either. He knows what they are and how to get away from them. I’m sure. And Asher’s right; Gavin would want me somewhere safe. That’s where he’ll look for me.
“No. Of course, you’re right.” I hold out my hand to him. “Let’s find somewhere safe.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Caution! Restricted territory. Nanite-affected area. Unauthorized entry banned.
—SIGN BOLTED TO OUTLAND CITY GATES
Evie
We don’t push Starshine as fast this time, but Asher isn’t exactly taking his time either. The sun is setting quickly and before long the entire area will be dark as pitch with nothing but the moon for our light. It’s not even a full moon. I hope he slows down once the sun sets—I worry we will push Starshine too fast and something we can’t see will cause her to trip and fall. I voice my concerns, but Asher brushes it off.
“The sooner we get to shelter, the safer we’ll be,” he tells me, not even glancing over his shoulder at me.
Left with no choice but to agree, I shut my mouth. I have to trust him to get me to where we need to go. Gavin obviously did. At least enough to send me away with him. And I trust Gavin.
As the sun disappears, so does the heat, and while the cool was a relief at first, now it has gone almost too far. Goose pimples prick my exposed flesh. I keep my arms wrapped around Asher’s chest and press myself closer to him for warmth. It doesn’t help all that much.
Another howl echoes in the air. It’s a sad, lonely sound, but it chills me just the same. I realize that they’re getting louder and more frequent. They sound like they’re just behind us. I look around to see if the animals are close, but there’s nothing but darkness.
Asher pats my calf. “It’s all right. We’re a moving target and, unless they’re starving, they won’t come after us.”
“And if they are starving?”
He pauses, then says, “Then we’ll have to hope Starshine’s faster than they are.”
I swallow. I don’t like the sound of it, yet we don’t have much choice.
“How far until we find shelter?” There is a small quaver in my voice. I hope he doesn’t hear how afraid I am.
“Not much. A couple hours. Probably.”
I fight back a groan. Hours. Of riding a horse. In the dark. With carnivorous animals at our heels. Lovely.
I immediately feel guilty. Gavin’s probably having much worse problems. He doesn’t even have a horse, or any gear, or food. Medical care. My chest aches for him.
For what feels like forever, we ride. Starshine is moving fast, blowing wind into my eyes so I squeeze them shut. My whole body aches with the effort of staying on her back and holding Asher. If I weren’t gritting my teeth, they’d be chattering in the cold.
My shivering isn’t helping my fatigue. My head throbs with each of the horse’s footsteps. I suspect I’m dehydrated—my tongue keeps sticking to the roof of my mouth, and my lips are chapped and sore—but I don’t dare ask Asher to stop for a drink of water. Who knows how far back the coyotes are. I imagine them pursuing us with pointed teeth, foaming mouths, and red eyes, their bodies as tall, if not taller than, Starshine’s. I don’t know what came over me earlier, but it’s obviously not dependable. I can’t rely on those instincts to appear again and help us out if we need it. So, I cling. I shiver. And I pray we get wherever we’re going just a little faster and that Gavin isn’t too far behind us.
When I tremble for what feels like the thousandth time, Asher rubs his hand up and down my leg, quickly.
“I’m sorry,” he calls over his shoulder. “It shouldn’t be long now.”
Afraid to speak in case I bite off my tongue, I nod.
When I shudder again, he says, “Maybe you should sit in front of me. Like before. You’ll stay warmer.”
It’s tempting, but I’m not sure I should. “No,” I say.
“Are you sure? I don’t mind. You’ll be a lot warmer.”
I can’t even respond because I’m shaking so hard, so when I can finally say something, I murmur “Yes” into his ear.
He slows immediately, but then, without warning, I hear another howl, practically right next to us. I start, then glance over in the direction of the howl. This time I see something. A set of yellow, glowing eyes.
Then I hear it—just under the sound of the horse’s hoofbeats is the sound of other animals running and panting for breath.
“Asher?” I say.
“I see ’em,” he responds back between clenched teeth. He digs his heel further into Starshine’s sides and she jumps forward, running as fast as she had before.
One of the dog-like creatures makes a leap at us, just barely missing my leg. I bite back a scream and cling to Asher.
“Don’t panic. They’ll sense your fear.”
I try not to, but when another one lunges at me, its claws scraping over the exposed skin of my leg, I can’t help but scream. My leg is on fire and I can feel and smell the blood dripping down it.
“Evie!” Asher yells back. “Did they get you?”
Before I can answer, another dog jumps at us and I kick out with everything I have. I feel my foot connect with something fleshy and the dog yelps.
“Evie! What happened? Are you hurt?”
I can’t speak over the pain so I just nod, but then I realize he can’t see it, so I force out a “Yes” through gritted teeth.