Hunted in the Valley (Old Sequoia Valley Book 1) by C.R. Pugh

Author:C.R. Pugh [Pugh, C.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-08-21T05:00:00+00:00

20

Thorne

The piercing cries of Night Howlers in the distance brought us both out of our silent reverie. Though they were not close by any means, it was foolish to be standing out here in the dark with hardly any weapons. Anything or anyone could be stalking us. We were so distracted by each other, neither of us would notice until the enemy was upon us.

“We ought to be getting back to camp, little warrior,” I murmured. “Are you tired?”

“I couldn’t sleep now.”

I felt her shiver.

“We’ll just talk, then.” I grasped her hand once more and began leading her back to the tent. “I have more questions.”

Having Ravyn at my side, her hand in mine, felt natural. I knew that I had just missed a perfect opportunity to reveal my intentions, but she had been backpedaling so much I did not want to frighten her away. I still had time.

The stories of Ravyn’s past continued to get worse and worse, and I had the feeling that this horrifying memory was not the only one she was holding onto. My stomach was still in knots over the brutality she had experienced on that final testing day. Ravyn had suffered more than I had first imagined. It was no wonder she had gotten sick in the bushes earlier. My body was trembling with rage simply from listening to her tale. Moving to sit with her, stroking her hair, had been an attempt to calm myself. I was aching to kill Wolfe and any other soldiers who hunted her, but running off recklessly into the Valley would accomplish nothing.

It was clear the General needed to be dealt with. Would my clan support such a decision? With winter coming in a month or so, an attack on him would need to wait until springtime.

As we closed in on the camp, I stopped to scan the area. Archer and Max did an excellent job setting up the perimeter around camp. We did not often need to use explosives but, when we did, I could always count on them to have some extra surprises up their sleeves.

“What is it, Thorne? Do you hear something?” Ravyn looked around us, warily.

“I’m looking for the tripwire. Archer and Max laid down traps around the camp. Trust me; we will not enjoy what happens to us if we touch it.”

“What will happen?”

I chuckled and squeezed her hand in reassurance. “Who knows what those two cook up as traps these days, but they are extremely effective. I have seen them set up crossbows that shoot when the wire is triggered. They have even concocted tripwires that cause landmines to explode, spraying shrapnel in every direction.”

“Why didn’t you warn me about it on the way out of camp?” she huffed.

“I was carrying you. There was no need to tell you.”

I moved forward carefully, keeping Ravyn behind me to keep her from setting off the traps unintentionally. Finally, I saw the almost invisible wire. It was barely a foot off the ground stretching in both directions, making a wide loop around the camp.

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