Sa'lok by Elin Wyn

Author:Elin Wyn [Wyn, Elin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Clockwalk Publishing
Published: 2020-02-13T06:00:00+00:00

Sa'lok

“Please, be careful,” I grumbled as Teisha lowered her hovercraft far too close to the jutting rocks for my comfort.

“Don’t be such a baby.” I didn’t have to look at her to know she was rolling her eyes. “This isn’t the first time I’ve done this.”

“Just make sure to pick a place that’s inaccessible on foot,” I warned her.

“You’re worried about those camps?” she asked.

“I know there’s no way they didn’t notice us,” I said. “A low flying hovercraft tends to attract attention.”

“Which is why I’m looking for ledges someone can’t climb alone,” she said. “However, I think it’s bold of you to assume people who set up camp at the base of a mountain don’t have mountain climbing equipment.”

I hadn’t considered that.

Teisha expertly drifted her hovercraft around the mountain so that our landing place, should we be lucky enough to find one, was out of the camp’s sight.

“That could work,” Mariella pointed to an outcropping.

“Look at the mountain beneath it,” Teisha said. “See how it looks crumbly? That’s because it is.”

“I’ve had enough crumbling mountain sides to last me a lifetime,” Tu’ver muttered.

I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but I didn’t miss the smirk that appeared in the corners of Mariella’s mouth.

“We could try lower on the mountain,” I suggested. “It won’t be as dangerous if we’re not in sight of the camp.”

“Good idea,” Teisha nodded after some consideration. “Something is off about this mountain. I just can’t put my finger on it. I’ll feel better knowing we’re closer to the ground.”

“Never thought I’d hear those words come out of your mouth,” I chuckled.

“Me, either,” she agreed.

If I had to guess, I’d say we were on the exact opposite side of the mountain as the camps. Teisha finally found a rocky outcropping she was satisfied with.

It was flat enough, sturdy enough to support the weight of the hovercraft, and roughly one third up the side of the mountain.

We disembarked carefully in case the outcropping wasn’t as sturdy as it looked from the air.

“We need to do recon on the camp,” Tu’ver said. “No human settlements are supposed to be out here.”

“Is there a law against it?” Teisha asked. “I don’t want to creep around treating ordinary people like criminals.”

“That’s foolishly optimistic of you,” I warned her. “Remember the world we’re living in now. We have to assume a group of humans purposefully separating themselves from society in secret are up to something unsavory.”

“I know you’re right,” she sighed. “Just let me pretend the world isn’t as horrible as it is for a moment, okay?”

“Okay,” I nodded. “You go ahead and spin your fantasies while I prep the climbing equipment.”

“Deal.”

I made my way to the storage compartment under the hovercraft and pulled out crates of rope, grappling hooks, attachable cleats, and anything else we might need.

Tu’ver appeared beside me.

“Why do you do that?” he asked.

“Do what?”

“Indulge her delusion,” he said.

“She’s not deluded,” I replied. “She knows full well why we have to check out the camps. I just don’t like completely crushing the optimism out of her.

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