Page 9 of Prison Moon
Chapter Three
Something hit him in the head. Toren opened one eye and peered into the darkness. The lair he’d been calling home looked exactly the same as it had when he’d last closed his eyes. He saw nothing out of place other than a stone not far from his nose. Was that what hit him? He lifted his head and looked around the chamber. Nothing moved but he could hear the steady thump of a heartbeat. It was coming from above.
He yawned, then sniffed the air. The scent of something unfamiliar filled the upper cavern. The sound of voices floated on the breeze but it was a language he’d never heard before.
A shadow along the top of the stairs drew his gaze. It moved from left to right and as it stepped into the light of the upper chamber doorway, he saw its small shape.
Someone was in the temple.
He stretched out his limbs, then stood, raising his snout into the air where he saw the shadow move again. The heartbeat grew louder as he moved his head closer to the door and he noticed two different rhythms instead of one. Did he get lucky and have a meal come to him? He’d not eaten in ages. Should he thank whoever it was careless enough with their life to trespass where he slept or just eat them without a word?
A glance around the lair showed nothing disturbed. The darkness hid what remained of the temple hoard from prying eyes, so if someone was here for the treasure, they hadn’t come down for it yet. Every gold coin and glittering jewel the priests who once lived in this temple had gathered as an offering was still nestled in close to him. Nothing was missing that he could see. He’d had centuries to count every last piece of it. He’d know if something was gone.
He looked back at the entrance of the lair and wondered what sort of creature lurked out there. They must be new to this world. Not many who lived here now ventured into the ruins and those who did never made it back out. Even though most of them were vile and tasted like ash in his mouth, he’d stayed hidden too long to be found. Those who ruled this world now didn’t know he was here and he liked it that way, which is why he made sure anything that came inside never left. He’d protect this lair if he had to eat every foul creature that ventured inside, including the two making so much noise in the upper chamber.
He shifted and his tail slid along the hoard making the pile shift and slide. He raised his head higher until his eye was level with the entrance and he squinted against the bright rays of sunlight that flooded the upper chamber. The shadow from earlier was there, still moving back and forth and once his vision cleared he saw it for what it was. A female—the first he’d seen in over two hundred years.
The air blowing through the doorway carried the faint scent of sweat against heated skin, the unique sweetness only a female carried, and that distinct feminine musk between her legs made every nerve in his body sing with anticipation. A rumbling growl vibrated through his chest as he watched her, muscles attuned to every move she made. He sat there unmoving, watching her until the shadows in the room shifted as the sun arched across the sky and by the time she moved to the crumbling outer walls as if to leave, the word,mine, was thundering through his head.
* * *
They stayed by the pool for most of the day. It wasn’t until the sun lowered in the sky that Marcy’s stomach growled loud enough they both frowned. The moment she heard it, hers growled too.
Sara walked to the crumbling opening in the wall that led into the jungle. She hadn’t seen anything move out there in the entire time she’d been sitting there watching. Not a bird or even the sound of an insect buzzed nearby. It was as if the jungle around the ruins was portioned off, as if some invisible barrier separated it from the rest of the world. Was it? Was this part of the jungle protected? She turned to Marcy. “What do you make of the silence surrounding this place?”
Marcy sat up from where she’d been lounging near the pool. “What do you mean?”
Sara gathered her hair and attempted to braid it and stared at the silent jungle. The more she saw no movement, nor heard the sound of anything moving, the more the entire place felt more—off. “Well, remember when we stopped in front of the ruins? And nothing moved or made a sound?”
“Yes.”
“Well, it’s like that here, too.” She motioned toward the jungle. “Nothing is stirring back here, either. It’s just weird.” She dropped her braid and crossed her arms over her chest, staring at the trees. “It almost makes me think something is keeping everything away?”Like maybe whatever made that loud sighing noise earlier?
“I hope not.” Marcy stood, a worried look crossing her face. “If things aren’t hanging out near the ruins because of something bad, then us being in here is pretty stupid, don’t you think?”
She bit her lip and looked toward the doorway to the lower chamber again. Marcy had a point. “Maybe.” Her stomach growled again a moment later. “It doesn’t really matter. We can’t stay here anyway. We’ll starve if we don’t find food soon. My stomach already feels like it’s ready to gnaw a hole in my backbone.”
“Same here.” Marcy crossed to where she stood. “As much as it terrifies me to go out there, I don’t think we have a choice.” She took several deep breaths and let them out before saying, “I’ll let you lead the way.”
“Why me?”
Marcy grinned. “Because if there’s anything out there going to eat us, it’ll get you first.”
“Unless it sneaks up on us from behind.” She laughed at the look on Marcy’s face and stepped across the crumbling wall.
They left the pool of water and the shelter of the ruins behind and ventured into the jungle again. The trees weren’t as densely packed here, and they walked a good distance before she saw the first sign of disturbed dirt. She had no clue if the tracks were old or newly made, but she steered them in the opposite direction they were going just in case it was something large enough to eat them.
Something rustled the branches low on the ground a few feet ahead of them. They froze, both staring at the underbrush. A tiny blue creature the size of a small rabbit popped out from under the brush but it looked nothing like a rabbit. She wanted to say it was a small troll. Its body was skinny and it stood upright on two legs, its head was slightly larger than the rest of it and it had no hair. Ears that hung and drooped off the side of its head to rest near its shoulders made it look almost cute. It saw them, it’s large dark eyes turning their way. The creature blinked, looked toward the brush again, then scurried in the opposite direction.
“I don’t know what that was, but I want one.”
Sara snorted a laugh. “For all we know, that cute little critter had teeth sharp enough to chew bone in half.”
Marcy laughed. “I doubt that. It was too cute to be vicious.”
They kept walking, cautious now that they’d seen the first signs of wildlife that inhabited this place. She was pretty sure not everything here would be tiny and cute like that blue thing was and she knew it was only a matter of time before they found it.
They’d walked far enough from the ruins she could no longer see it when she heard the first grunt. Marcy grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop. She must have heard it, too.