Orc's Bait: A Monster Romance (Crucis Orc Trilogy Book 3) by Eden Ember

Author:Eden Ember [Ember, Eden]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-05-09T16:00:00+00:00

Eleven

Sage

Shadows grow long. I’ve wandered out here all day and can’t find my way back to the cave. The jungle looks the same in all directions. Tears sting my eyes as I reach into the bag for the bit of food I had brought hoping to give it to Xutag. Tasteless bites slide down my throat as I reach for the water. I’m beyond tired and scared.

Branches scratch my face and arms as I run blindly, hoping to find something. Even the oscith are scarce now, like they’ve given up on me. I throw my voice to the wind, hoping he hears me.

“Xutag!”

Nothing answers. Here, even the wind has stalled. Stifling heat rises along with Tetri in the sky. The giant planet shimmers with the boiling heat coming off Tarka, much closer than Earth is to Sol. I laugh at my thoughts. Orcs talk like this. Sol. Our sun is called Sol.

Looking up, I beg the creator in the sky to send help. “Keep walking.” The voice in my head prompts me not to give up.

Late in the afternoon, my stomach growls. A stream provides water, I only hope it won’t make me sick. I’m not sure if I’m heading in the right direction. Suddenly, the sky darkens. A typical jungle storm approaches, the wind blowing in a tad cooler. In the distance, thunder rumbles, promising a nice rain soon. The storms here blow in crazy with straight line winds and lightning strikes. The skies roil with anger as the storm approaches, casting deep shadows in the jungle. I turn in a circle trying to figure out where I can go to ride out the storm. Oh, how I wish I’d see the cave in the cliffs and the comforts of home there. And Xutag, wherever he may be.

Fat raindrops pelt me through the canopy of waxy leaves above. Great. Now I’m soaked on top of being lost. Maybe lost forever. Apparently, the mines of Crucis have entrances in part of the land, but we’re in an area that’s wild jungle teeming with oscith.

Footfalls reach my ears, coming closer. Desperately, I look around through the now drenching rain to escape. I’m too tired to outrun it. A tree offers the reprieve I need as I scurry up, nearly slipping to the ground before I reach the fatter limbs extending higher up. I don’t stop; I keep climbing, giving plenty of space between me and whatever it is scurrying through the jungle and coming my way.

Oscith prowl around the base of the tree. Double great. Now I’m in a tree, lost in the jungle, in a terrible storm and the oscith are pacing beneath me. The only thing I have going for me right now is their fear of heights. They won’t climb the tree, and they probably won’t ever leave the tree either. I’ll eventually have to climb down or fall.

The storm rages, the oscith prowl, I cling to the tree. I can’t tell what’s rain falling down my face or tears in my eyes.

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