Heart of the Hunted (Infernal Hearts Book 1) Page 4
CHAPTER FIVE
Taredd
"Is it just me, or does this pass get longer each time we come through here," Dain asked.
"It's just you," Arun told him.
"It probably feels longer because you have usually given up walking with us by now. Generally, you shift into a bird or something, and have abandoned us by this point," Taredd said.
"I don't do that, do I?" Dain asked, looking at Arun.
"Yep, Taredd's right," Arun agreed. "Normally you meet us on the other side."
"Yeah, I suppose that does sound like something I’d do," Dain said, smirking.
Taredd had to admit, he was surprised Dain was still with them. Normally he’d long since left them by the time they reached this point, preferring to take to the sky and meet them on the other side.
Taredd hoped this wasn't the start of Dain's complaining though, because they still had a couple of days travel. That was if they didn’t stop at night. The last thing Taredd wanted was to spend the whole time listening to Dain complain about it every step of the way.
"We've still got quite a way to go yet, so why don't you just fly on ahead and meet us there like normal?" Taredd asked him.
"What? And miss all this fun? I don't think so," Dain said, smiling.
"You call this fun?" Arun asked. "If I had your abilities, I would have done that at the start of day one. I've had enough of wearing wet clothes already."
"And you thought I was going to be the one moaning, didn't you?" Dain asked Taredd.
"You've got magic,” Taredd said. “Use it to dry your clothes."
"What do you think I have been doing?" Arun snapped. "It doesn't matter how many times I dry my clothing, within minutes it's soaked through again."
"I seriously wonder why I stick around with you two," Taredd said, shaking his head at them. "One, if not both, of you are always fucking moaning about something. In fact, I don't think we've gone a single day without one of you finding something to bitch about."
"That's not true," Arun said.
"Yeah," Dain agreed. "There was one day the other week were neither of us bitched about anything. I remember it well because it was such a boring day."
"It was, wasn't it." Arun laughed.
"Where the hell was I then, because I don't remember any day in the last century where you two haven’t bitched," Taredd told them.
"Yeah... I don't think you were with us that day," Dain said.
"Hadn't he gone ahead of us to scout the area where the last group of Humans we were hunting had been spotted?" Arun asked.
"I think he might have done," Dain said.
"So, the one day I could have had peace and quiet around you, I was off scouting ahead?" Taredd asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure that was the same day," Dain said.
Sounds about right. Taredd thought before he said: "To be honest, that doesn't surprise me. I bet you’re the same every time I scout ahead, aren't you?"
"I don't know about every time," Arun said.
"But most times," Dain admitted, grinning from ear to ear.
"You're a dick," Taredd told him.
"Yeah, I know, I got a pretty big dick," Dain said smugly.
"I didn't say that," Taredd said.
Smiling, Dain said: "You didn't have to."
"Just change into a bird or something and fuck off already," Taredd told him.
"Can't do that, you'd miss me too much," Dain said.
"I fucking wouldn't," he said adamantly.
"Oh, you would,” Dain said, grinning. “You may not admit it, but I know you love having me around."
"Yeah, like I love stabbing hot pokers into my eyes," Taredd said sarcastically.
"There's no need to be like that," Arun said. "It's not that bad having Dain around."
"You like stabbing hot pokers in your eyes?" Dain asked. Shaking his head, he added "You Demons are a really weird bunch of fuckers. I don't see how anyone would love to do something like that."
"Oh, for fuck sake," Taredd said, rubbing his forehead.
"What's wrong now?" Dain asked.
Slapping him around the head, Arun told him: "You're giving him a headache with your stupidity."
"I'm only messing with him," Dain said, laughing. "I know he doesn't like sticking hot pokers in his eyes."
"He's not giving me a headache," Taredd said. "Because I already have one."
"Do you want me to use my magic to get rid of the pain?" Arun offered.
"No, thank you. Can we just walk in silence for a while, please?" Taredd asked them both.
"Yeah, of course," Arun said.
"I suppose," Dain pouted.
"Thank you," Taredd said.
Taredd didn't have a headache, but if it meant he could have a bit of peace and quiet, then he was more than happy to lie and tell them he did. He didn't even feel guilty about it either. It wasn't as if they've never lied to him, or each other, if it suited them in the past.
From the look of it, they weren't going to be walking for much longer today. While they had been bickering, the weather had been slowly deteriorating. Taredd guessed they had another hour or so, before it was going to be too difficult to see through the snowstorm, that had been building up.
"We're going to have to look for shelter soon," Arun said, reading Taredd's mind.
"I know," he agreed.
"It's getting too fucking cold for me. I need to shift into something with a little more fur," Dain told them.
Taredd didn't blame him. Dain couldn't regulate his body temperature as well as Taredd and Arun could. The only way for Dain to stay warm in the rapidly plummeting temperatures, was to either put on more layers, or shift into an animal with fur.
"No problem," Arun said.
Dain didn't say another word. One moment he was stood in his Human form, then within a blink of an eye a dark grey wolf stood in his place.
"Better?" Taredd asked as he looked down at the wolf.
Dain nodded his head to let them know he was ready, then they started walking again. This time, they kept a look out for a place they could take shelter from the storm. As much as Taredd wanted to get this bet over and done with so they could get back to normality, he wasn't willing to travel when he couldn't see where he was going.
Pointing towards a black shadow in the snow, Arun shouted over the noise of the wind as it picked up speed. "I see a place over there."
"Okay," Taredd shouted back.
It didn't take long for them to reach the cave. Dain ran off ahead and was already waiting for them when they reach it.
Sat in his Human form, Dain said as they walked in. "I've checked the cave. There's no animals taking shelter here."
"Good," Taredd said.
The last thing they wanted to do was to disturb any wildlife in the area.
"Now that you're here," Dain said to Arun. "Do you mind using your magic to start a fire? I'm fucking freezing my ass off here."
“Sure,” Arun nodded as he walked over to where Dain was sitting.
Within seconds, Arun had a fire roaring in front of Dain.
"Thanks a bunch," Dain said as he stretched his arms out towards the flames.
"How long do you think this storm is going to last?" Taredd asked.
"I don't know. It could be as little as a few hours, or it could last for days," Arun said.
"Wonderful," Taredd said.
The last thing he wanted, was to be stuck in a cave for days with Arun and Dain.
"At least Arun can magic us up some grub," Dain said, looking on the bright side.
"I never said I was going to feed you as well as keep you warm," Arun told him.
"You can't let me starve," Dain whined. "I'm a growing lad, I need plenty of food."
"Don't start. I'm not in the mood to listen to either of you right now. Arun, stop tormenting Dain, you know you're going to sort out some food
for all of us," Taredd said. "And Dain... just shut the fuck up."
"That's it?" Dain asked.
"Yeah, that's it. Just shut the fuck up for a while, okay?" Taredd said.
"Okay then," Dain said, dragging out the words before looking at Arun and saying "Someone definitely got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."
"I wasn't in bed this morning," Taredd told him. "In fact, I haven’t been in bed for days."
"Yeah, I know. Neither have I," Dain replied.
"None of us have," Arun added.
Sighing, Taredd said: "I know. So, how about we have something to eat, then get some well-deserved sleep while the storm passes?"
"Sounds good to me," Arun said.
"Yeah, me too," Dain agreed.
"What do you both want to eat?" Arun asked them.
"To be honest, I don't really care as long as it's food," Taredd told him.
Which was true, he didn't care what he ate as long as he had something. Taredd was more interested in finally getting some sleep. As long as Arun and Dain could shut up for long enough, that is. Moving over to the side of the cave, he sat down and leaned against the wall. Closing his eyes, he listened as the other two talked while Arun used his magic to manifest some food.
"Here you go, Taredd," Arun said after a couple of minutes. "Sorry if I woke you."
"Thanks," he said, taking the offered plate. "You didn't wake me because I wasn't asleep, just resting my eyes."
"It sure looked like you were sleeping from where I'm sitting," Dain said.
"Well, I wasn't," he snapped.
"Okay, no need to get snappy with me," Dain said, holding his hands up.
"Sorry, I'm just tired, that's all," Taredd apologized.
"I know man, we all are," Dain said.
"Get that down ya, then you can get some sleep," Arun said, pointing to the food.
"Yeah, I'm going to," he said.
Taredd tucked in to the food as Arun took a seat across from Dain by the fire. They needed the heat more than he did. Arun had to rest his magic just as much as his body, so Taredd was more than happy to sit further away from the flames.
Dain was the first to finish eating, which was no surprise. Taredd was positive Dain didn't bother chewing his food before swallowing, just shovelled it in and swallowed it whole. It was the only explanation Taredd could come up with as to how Dain could eat so fast.
Taredd and Arun liked to take their time eating, savouring their food. Many times, Dain had complained, saying that they took too long, but neither of them cared. They would rather take their time and enjoy their meal.
Within minutes of Dain finishing his meal, he was snoring his head off, sprawled out next to the fire.
"I don't know how the fuck he does that," Arun said.
"Me neither," Taredd admitted.
"I wish I could fall asleep as easily as he does," Arun said.
"You and me both," Taredd agreed.
It didn't matter where they were, Dain always managed to fall asleep within seconds of closing his eyes. It took Taredd ages to switch his brain off so he could sleep. Tonight however, he didn't think that was going to be a problem.
"It's going to take me ages now, his snoring is going to keep me awake," Arun moaned.
Normally it would play a part in keeping Taredd awake as well, but he was so tired he didn't think anything was going to disturb him tonight. Not the cold. Not the solid rock. And certainly not Dain and his snoring.
CHAPTER SIX
Natalia
"Why have you brought us this way?" Bella demanded. "You shouldn't have worried about the monsters killing us." She used her fingers to make air quotes when she said ‘monsters’, which Natalia decided to ignore. "No, you're going to make us freeze to death instead."
"Don't be so melodramatic, Bella. None of us are going to freeze to death," Donovan told her.
"Not all of us, no, because I for one am not going in there." She folded her arms in front of her chest.
Natalia had known that Bella was going to cause problems when she decided to take this route. That's one of the reasons why she hadn't said anything before they arrived at the beginning of the mountain pass. She would have kept it secret for even longer if she could have, but unfortunately, she couldn't hide it when it was right in front of them.
"I'm telling you, she's going to get us all killed," Bella said.
Finally reaching the end of her patience, Natalia turned to face Bella.
"I tell you what, you want to go your own way, then by all means... go. If not, then shut the fuck up. I've had enough of listening to you now." Looking around at everyone else in the group, she added: "And that goes for the rest of you as well. If you don't want to be here, then fuck off, because no one is forcing you to stay. Either way, I don't care, I'm taking this route north. If you want to come with me, then you best be ready to go because I'm leaving now."
Without saying another word... or even looking at any of them... Natalia started walking. She didn't care one way or another if they joined her because she was more than happy to make the journey on her own.
"I'm with you, always," Amberly said, coming up alongside her.
"Me too," Donovan said as he joined them.
Smiling, Natalia said "I thought you two might."
"You best believe it, because you're not getting rid of us that easily," Donovan said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
"We couldn't lose you if we tried," Amberly said.
"And it's not like we haven't tried," Natalia said playfully.
"Now you see, I know you're only kidding," he said smugly. "You two would be lost without me."
"Hah, I think you've got that the wrong way around," Natalia told him.
"I'm with Natalia, it's definitely you who needs us," Amberly agreed. "Half the time you don't know which way is north, even when we're heading in that direction."
"If you're talking about yesterday, that was just a joke," he said. "I knew that was east, I was just testing that you two knew it."
Natalia and Amberly shared a look, before bursting out laughing.
"I'm telling you the truth," he said.
"Yeah, whatever you need to tell yourself," Natalia said.
"Looks like everyone except Bella is coming with us." Amberly looked back at the group. "Do you think one of us should go back for her?"
"My answer would be no, let her fend for herself," Donovan said.
"We can't do that," Amberly said.
"Why the hell not?" he asked. "It'll be a lot quieter without her."
"Yeah, that may be, but she wouldn't last two minutes out there on her own, and you know it," Amberly told him.
As much as Natalia hated to admit it, Amberly was right. It wasn't safe for any of them to be alone, especially someone like Bella. She could barely cook a meal and that was only if somebody else started a fire for her, because she couldn't start one on her own. So, there was no way she would last very long on her own.
"Amberly's right, someone has to go back for her," Natalia said.
"Well, I'm not," Donovan was adamant.
"I know you're not," Natalia said. "I'm going back for her, and I'm going on my own."
"You can't go alone, Natalia. At least take someone else with you," Amberly said.
"No, I'm not going to risk anyone else for her," Natalia said.
"Don't go at all," Donovan told her. "Just leave her to fend for herself."
"I can't do that either," Natalia told him.
"Why?" Amberly asked.
"You know why," Natalia said.
Natalia could see Amberly was getting upset about it, but there was no other choice. Natalia could never live with herself if something happened to Bella and she didn't do anything to prevent it.
"Fine," Donovan sighed. "I'll come with you."
"No, you won't," Natalia told him. "I need you and Amberly to make sure everyone else makes it safely through the pass."
"I can do that on my
own," Amberly said. "Take Donovan with you."
"No. I've made my mind up. I want you two to look after the rest of the group." Taking Amberly's hands in hers, she added: "I will be okay, I promise."
"But..."
"No buts, Amberly," she said sternly. "I need to do this, and I need you two looking after the rest of the group."
Natalia could see the worry in Amberly's eyes, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. At the end of the day, it was Natalia's responsibility to make sure everybody in the group was safe.
Softening her voice, she said: "I promise I'll be okay, and I'll catch up with you before you know it."
"You best do," Amberly told her. "If you don't, I'll find you and beat the shit out of you."
Natalia laughed. "You couldn't hurt a fly, let alone beat the shit out of me."
"It's not funny, Natalia," Amberly said. "I'm serious, you best catch up with us."
"Amberly may not be able to beat the shit out of you, but I certainly can," Donovan told her. "So, you best do as she says."
"I will, I promise," she said again.
Natalia didn't know how many times she was going to have to promise them before they believed her, but she was definitely coming back. There was no way in hell Natalia was going to let Bella keep her away from Amberly and Donovan for too long. So, the faster she left, the faster she was going to be able to catch up with them again.
"Fine, but be as quick as you can," Amberly told her.
"And if you can't find her quickly enough, then just leave her," Donovan said. "Because she obviously wants to go her own way."
"I'll give it a day," Natalia said. "If I can't find her in that time, then I'll turn around and come find you. How's that sound?"
"I would be happier if it was just half a day," Amberly said.
"You know I can't do that," Natalia said, shaking her head. "I have to give it at least a day."
"Okay, one day, but no longer than that," Amberly said sternly.
Natalia stuck out her tongue. “Yes, mum.”
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Donovan said. "Stop walking further along the pass with us and head back now before she gets too much of a head start on you."
Amberly stopped walking. "He's right. You could have caught up with her in the time that's passed since we noticed she wasn't with us."