Fallen (The Emberling Book 5) by Daniel Young

Author:Daniel Young [Young, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-05-15T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

Taggart sat down next to Tate. Merrel and Claire resumed their former positions. “Well?” Tate whispered. “What was it like?”

Taggart glanced over at Claire and Merrel. What could he say that would explain what he’d just seen in the giants’ cavern?

“Let’s put it this way,” Claire began. “It’s as bad as Qiao said—maybe worse.”

“What were they doing?” Tate asked.

“They were trying to catch Qiao so they could eat him,” Merrel replied.

Tate glanced over at Taggart and frowned, but Taggart only shrugged. He couldn’t come up with any better explanation than that.

“How long do you think it will be before he comes back?” Yannik asked.

Taggart shrugged again, but at that moment, Qiao appeared from farther up the cave system, from the direction the crew used to enter these caves.

He hustled over to Taggart and collapsed between him and Yannik. He flushed, gasped for breath, and then laughed. “Phew! It’s good to be back! It’s just like old times!”

“You better not go back in there, Qiao,” Claire told him. “They’ll kill you.”

“Naw! These guys never change. Once you learn their moves, it isn’t hard to stay one step ahead of them.”

He slapped down a massive hunk of roasted meat. It squelched on the rock, and juice oozed out of it. He tore off a piece, ripped out a bite with his teeth, and handed the rest to Taggart.

Qiao started pulling the meat apart and handing it around to everyone. His eyes glittered and he kept smirking. He blushed with pleasure every time he caught Taggart looking at him.

“Where did you get this meat, Qiao?” Erqi asked.

“I stole it from them. They make a big deal about never having enough to eat, but they always have something. All they ever think about is food.”

“Who are they?” Taggart asked. “Is Kux your father?”

“Naw! He’s my brother. All those guys are my brothers, and the girls are my sisters. Giants don’t live too long. My parents are both gone, thank goodness!”

He laughed again. “Why do you look so pleased with yourself if they tried to kill you?” Tate asked.

“They’re always trying to kill me. That was their favorite game growing up. It’s lucky for me that I was the oldest, or I wouldn’t have learned how to evade them in time. They would have killed me for sure.”

“You’re the oldest?” Claire asked. “The oldest of eight?”

“Yep. They like to have fun, the little tykes. They’re damn fast, but I’ve always been faster. It’s good to see I haven’t lost my touch.”

He chuckled under his breath and started eating. He ate much more quickly and took much less care to do it neatly than he’d ever done in Taggart’s presence before.

Taggart was starting to see the giants’ behavior rubbing off on Qiao. He was looking more and more like a miniature version of them.

“Please tell us you don’t plan to go back in there to play with your beloved siblings again, Qiao,” Merrel exclaimed. “You might like playing their games, but we’d all be dead if you made a mistake and we lost you.

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