Page 71 of Shifter King

Agh! One of the eagles had seized her and ripped back out of the chasm. As she struck the edge of the reed-covered platform, she glimpsed Eskiatlo plunge into the frothy waters. Stretching out with her mind, Amelia caught the last tendril of thought before she disappeared entirely from sight. Relief and fear, hope and cold.

An eagle kept her pinned with one large claw as the Ki Valo Nakar screamed curses at her in her mind.

Zorna's voice bellowed through the chambers of stone. "Beat her!"

THE RIVER

The blood trail ended with three large droplets. Naatos snarled as he spun around, searching for any other sign. They’d practically soaked into the earth, leaving only the smallest of traces.

There was nothing now. No scent. No mark. He'd found her sash and wore it now around his neck, her dagger now wedged into his belt, and her shoes in his hands. The goliath tunneler had taken to the air and the pattern of those discarded items suggested that it had taken her to the south. But that assumed the goliath tunneler wouldn't take a weaving route or change directions yet again.

Worse it was as if her scent had been removed entirely. Almost assuredly that Abliato tech had been switched on and set to only remove her scent and the goliath tunneler's.

He took to the skies again and searched. QueQoa, AaQar, and WroOth had spread out as well. No signs. No clues. No traces.

The fury of the sky had not abated either. Winged serpents dove at him. A mother quetzie and her adolescent attacked as well. Each time he shredded through them, casting their corpses into the forest canopy and letting the other predators feast.

Proof of the goliath tunneler's absence intensified as more and more came. But there were only endless blue skies with forests and mountains and deserts, all with countless places to hide.

Minutes turned into hours. He and his brothers met together long enough to divide the most likely territories into quadrants and then resumed their search pattern with intentionality. But it seemed to make no difference.

All trace of Amelia and that specific goliath tunneler had vanished. All the other goliath tunnelers they found had nothing to do with her. And if his instincts were right, these Bealorns had released quite a few out into this territory for the express purpose of making it harder to find her.

But that wouldn't matter. He'd find her.

A bolt of consciousness sliced through him. The river. A point at the river. A woman.

Blinking, he struggled to regain his own awareness. A jagged stretch of boulders between pines screeched up at him. Besreds fed on a bloody kill only a short distance away.

He flung his wings out, bitter adrenaline flooding his mouth.

Relief and curses flooded his mind. It was her! Damn that woman. If she could just figure out how to do this to her enemies, she could flatten a warrior with just one thought. It was like getting bludgeoned with a gabbro mace! But it was her.

He surged up into the sky.

The Sutinko River was older than most myths, broad and deep with many tributaries. But if they were where he thought, then here it narrowed. They could use this.

He sent out the call and then tore through the air, dodging the aerial predators and slicing to the nearest access point.

The broad bank was most exposed about half a mile away. The yellow grass grew only an inch or so in height, scrambling for territory on the otherwise stony soil.

Naatos landed roughly at the river’s edge, knocking bits of stone and debris into the churning waters. Amelia’s outcry had struck him hard enough to give him a headache for what would likely be hours. But he was here. Where was she?

AaQar's shadow swooped over the river, wings splayed and talons wide. Naatos cast only enough of a glance up to confirm it was his brother before shouting, "She's in the river!" He ran along the edge, searching.

The river narrowed to a dangerous point here. Dozens of jagged rocks stood up like the spines on a dragon's back.

He leaped onto the nearest one and clambered across as the choppy waters frothed, roaring around like some primitive beast.

A form twisted among the foam upriver.

"Amelia!" He dashed forward, almost losing his footing on one of the rocks. He dropped back into his state of rest. Flinging himself down, he reached out. The stone grated and stabbed into his chest as the waters tried to slam her away. But he got her.

He got her!

He seized her by the arm. Cold weak fingers grasped at his arm, twisting against the leather.

No. The cold knowledge choked him.