Page 22 of Spirit Rites

“I couldn’t.”

I blink. “What?”

He sighs. “It latched on, and I lost feeling in that leg. That’s why I had you come to me. It wasn’t long after that I lost feeling in my right hand, and I couldn’t reach with my left to get him off.”

I stare down at his hands and realize he’s carrying his knife in his left hand, his non-dominant hand. Dread pools in my stomach. “You should have just gotten out and left me right away.”

He scowls. “No. We’re in this together.”

“Not if you’re dead,” I respond.

He gives me a small smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “I’m not going to die.” The hissing of the snakes still in the pit reaches my ears, and I shudder.

“Let’s get away from here, and we’ll figure out what we’re going to do about your back.”

“It will be fine.”

“You don’t know that,” I snap at him.

“I do.”

“How do you figure?” I ask, crossing my arms across my chest.

“If the poison was going to kill me, it would have already.”

My eyes widen in horror. “What?”

“It was a huge snake. It got enough venom in me. If it were poisonous, my heart would have stopped by now.” I can’t seem to get any air in my chest. I stare at him, mouth agape. “Breathe, Kinsley,” he says softly.

“That’s not something to joke about, Kaldar!”

His face is grim. “I’m not joking.”

I swallow. “You really thought you were going to die?” His silence is answer enough. “Then why didn’t you just leave me?” I demand.

His face softens. “I wasn’t going to leave you there to face your greatest fear.”

Tears blur my vision, and I lash out in anger. “That was stupid.” I shove his chest, but he doesn’t move an inch. “So stupid!” But my words are barely audible.

“It’s okay, Kinsley. I'm right here. I’m alive and healthy. As soon as it released me, I could move my arm and leg again. Thank you for that.”

I shake my head because I’m so overwhelmed by anger...shock...I don’t even know all what. I stride away from him, not having a clue where I’m going. I just know I need a minute to clear my head. He catches up to me quickly, but he stays quiet. And I’m grateful because my head is a mess right now. I don’t know how to deal with anything that just happened. After we walk for a little bit, I glance up at him. “Does it hurt?”

He shakes his head. “Naw.”

I’m happy to leave the snake pit behind, but I’m super jumpy. Every sound, every unexpected movement has me jumping. Several hours later, we decide to stop and make camp for the night. As tired as I am, I’m glad we put a few hours between us and the snake pit.

I start gathering kindling for a fire and drag over some branches, so we can make a shelter. After watching Kaldar build one twice now, I get the basic process. When I see him lift a heavy branch with his right arm, a wave of relief rolls through me. He catches my eye and smiles. “I told you it would be fine.”

“Only because you’re too stubborn,” I mutter under my breath, but when I hear his warm chuckle, I know he heard me.

“I’m going to go try and catch something for dinner,” he says after we step back from making our shelter for the night.

“Want me to go?” I offer.

“I’ve got it.” He slips away quietly a moment later, and I’m left to get a fire going. It takes some time, but finally, there’s a small blaze going. When Kaldar gets back, he hands me the skewered meat. I have no idea what it is, but at this point, it doesn’t matter. I’m starving; we both are. We haven’t eaten since last night.

When it’s finished cooking, Kaldar hands me a piece. “What do you think?”