Test of Fortitude (The Torian Reclamation Book 3) by Andy Kasch

Author:Andy Kasch [Kasch, Andy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-09-14T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Alan hugged the rock and peered around it, first with one eye and then with both. He couldn’t see anyone, but that didn’t mean no one was out there. Much of the canyon floor was concealed in shadows.

Something didn’t feel right. And being alone was unsettling. Kayla and Casanova were probably crawling behind the rocks and brush along the base of the mountain ahead of him. Those two were used to prowling and staying hidden together. Extat, that’s exactly what Alan would have to do now himself. Jumper was hopefully climbing down from above somewhere, and he had the only laser.

It wasn’t possible to remain completely out of sight while skulking along the foothills, but Alan did his best. There were boulders that needed scaling and thick patches of brush which had to be darted around, briefly exposing him to any eyes in the canyon that may be watching. Sometimes birds scattered as well. Why couldn’t he see anyone yet?

A flock of birds exploded from a spot a hundred meters ahead of him. That figured to be Kayla and Casanova. Alan wanted to shout for them to stay put so he could catch up to them, but knew better.

He looked up. No sign of Jumper. At least he wasn’t using those boots to foolishly elevate down into the canyon.

Alan decided to risk moving faster than stealth would allow for in an effort to reach Kayla. Perhaps she had met up with Fardo and Kush. Whatever was happening down here wasn’t normal. No sounds, no visible beings. That wasn’t good.

Pushing his way through a small clump of brush, Alan found he had to hold himself up by the branches to keep from falling into a trench beyond it. But the trench ran along the base of the foothills for a ways, about thirty meters up from the canyon floor. It made a good travel path. He lowered himself into it and jogged.

He stopped at a cave entrance. It was a large opening and may have led to an underground labyrinth. Who knows, it could have held a passage that eventually connected all the way back to the Sulien city.

A short ways beyond, the trench turned inward and became a small gulley in the mountainside. Alan had two choices: He could go up the gulley and hope to find his way back down the other side of the rocky embankment in front of him, or he could try to scale the embankment. Alan decided to climb.

He made it up the dirt mound and started to climb the boulders above it when a small rock hit him in the shoulder. Did it come from above? He looked up. No. Couldn’t have. He looked down. There was Kayla and Casanova. Kayla frantically waved at him to climb back down with one hand while making the universal shushing signal with the other. Alan complied.

“Where’s Jumper?” she whispered when he was safely in the gulley. Alan noticed she was holding Casanova back, who seemed to desperately want to climb up the embankment.

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