Page 49 of Tusks & Saddles

Chapter Twenty-Two

Beatrix

W hen Beatrix woke up the next morning, she was surprised by two things.

One—she couldn’t remember taking watch at all, which most likely meant that she had not. Secondly, she was buried beneath Welborn’s coat, and that immediately brought back the memories of the night before.

It had been some time since Beatrix had sex quite like that. Not only good sex—Welborn’s ability to follow instruction and enthusiasm had made up for his inexperience—but sex that had stretched throughout the night. The kind that happened until neither of them could physically do it any longer.

“I want to, but I’m afraid my cock is a bit sore,” Welborn had said after the fourth time.

Four times, Beatrix thought with a pleasantly numb feeling.

Her body ached, but it was the kind of pain that she would gladly take over and over again if it meant having the kind of release she had.

Flexing her fingers and toes, Beatrix shuddered against the cold ground.

Her eyes were still closed when her pointed ears heard the shuffle of boots.

Ordinarily, she would have drawn her weapon at the first sound, but Beatrix had long grown used to Welborn’s steps.

However, she was completely unprepared to hear him talk.

“Hey, Boone!” The young man’s voice rang out.

Firm, but not so loud as to disturb her.

“It’s me! Welborn! Not sure if you could tell.

This is new magic from the All Seer. I need some brotherly advice about women, and I think Dad is too far away for me to reach him this way.

Actually, I’m not even sure if you’re close enough for me to reach.

This whole thing could be a waste, just like how trying to move the rock I’m on has been a waste of time.

I still don’t even know how I did it. I just panicked, and it happened.

Oh, sorry, I’m stuck on a boulder…that I kind of made.

I can explain later, but what I really need is some advice on how—”

Amusing as it was to listen to Welborn ramble helplessly, Beatrix quickly made her presence known with a slightly exaggerated groan. Welborn gasped, spinning on his heel as Beatrix made a show of rubbing her tired eyes.

“Miss Eaves!” Welborn exclaimed, pushing his smudged glasses up his nose. “I—you’re awake! Did you sleep well?”

The panic in his voice was adorable, and as much as Beatrix would have liked to tease him, the last thing she needed was for Welborn to wear himself out with worry.

“I slept wonderfully considering it was on a large boulder,” Beatrix pushed herself up, collecting the layers of her clothing as she did. “And you?”

“Good—” Welborn’s cheeks flushed. “I slept very well. I even had a dream about the All Seer.”

Beatrix lifted a brow at the confession.

While her family had a connection to the gods, it wasn’t the same as being in commune with one.

At least, she didn’t think her father had any dreams about the Dauntless Verity.

From what little Beatrix understood, it was a rare thing to dream of a god unless the connection was strong.

“And?” she prompted, unsure as to what else to say in that matter.

“They whispered some divine secrets,” Welborn laughed, as if it was completely normal. “Taught me something new.”

“Oh, really? Don’t suppose your god taught you how to make a proper bowl of rice porridge with magic?”

“Ah, sadly, no…” Welborn said, sheepishly. “It’ll be more cheese and bread this morning… sorry.”

While magical in nature, it was somehow more satisfying to share the meager meal with Welborn.

The intimacy between them hadn’t been planned, but now that it was here, Beatrix found herself reluctant to let it go.

Once fully dressed with the exception of her veiled hat, she leaned against Welborn’s side.

Beatrix pressed her head against his shoulder as her sharp eyes scouted the land around them.

The movement appeared to have startled Welborn, drawing her gaze as the younger man choked on a bit of bread.

“Are you all right?”

“Me—” Welborn coughed, a poor attempt at clearing his throat. “I’m—I’m fine, please don’t worry about me, Miss Eaves.”

Beatrix shifted her weight again, fingers playing with the brim of her hat on her lap.

Perhaps it’s better to have that talk now .

“Welborn, I’m going to ask you a question, and I want honesty. Can you do that for me?”

“Of course.”

“You may have noticed I’m a no-nonsense kind of woman,” Beatrix said, gesturing to Bad Company at her hip.

“Ordinarily, I don’t like mixing business with pleasure, but I enjoyed myself last night.

And I feel like you did, too. With that in mind, I understand if you want to go back to keeping things professional—”

“No!” Welborn exclaimed with such a fierceness that it left Beatrix stunned. “No—I mean, that’s not—”

The cleric gently took Beatrix’s hands, his fingers trembling slightly.

His expression was nervous, but his eyes were sincere.

Welborn was always sincere, despite Beatrix’s initial opinion of him.

A fact that Beatrix was grateful for and could admit endeared him to her.

Apparently, she was a sucker for yellow eyes like his.

“Miss Eaves, last night was incredible…and if it was up to me, I would love nothing more than—”

It looked like the moment—whatever it was—was over.

Beatrix hadn’t fully comprehended the strange shrill sound in the distance until Welborn paused.

She bolted upright, fingers already aiming Bad Company toward the direction of the water tower.

Welborn was quick to follow, standing close. If it was the mother…

“What the…”

Whatever Welborn was going to say, Beatrix didn’t know.

However, she understood immediately why he had trailed off if his line of sight matched hers.

There in the distance, perhaps sixty feet from the boulder and kicking up a long trail of dust was an iron ball.

The image alone was enough to make her suspicious.

It couldn’t have been bigger than a melon, and while it was fast, it was clearly not as fast as the—

“Sand Slithers!” Beatrix exclaimed.

Welborn cursed.

The trio that had been stalking the boulder for days had found the source of the noise and were headed straight for it.

A distraction that the pair had desperately needed.

It was an opportunity—one they couldn’t afford to lose.

Beatrix’s mind was trying to piece together how long it would take for them to grab their things and bolt.

The issue was how long that metal contraption would hold out before the Sand Slithers destroyed it.

If they were lucky, perhaps it was an explosive and it would take the rest of them out while they made it to the water tower on—

“Help!”

“It’s alive!” Welborn cried, hand wrapped around her wrist in his dismay. “That ball thing! I think it’s like Bit! It’s a construct , Miss Eaves, it needs our help!”

Fuck, Welborn was right. Now that it was getting closer, Beatrix could see the soft glow of an ocular piece near the center of the metal.

An eye—whatever eyes meant for constructs—that was flickering as it rolled rapidly toward the boulder.

Something akin to terror made the being weave through the dirt as it continued to cry for help.

Whether a construct was alive or not was something left up to debate by scholars and arcanists.

Some theorized they were no different than arcane intent crafted into reality, and thus had no desires outside of their creators.

Luckily, Beatrix had more sense than that.

Survival was always the priority, but her father had taught her privilege was knowing when to reach a hand down to someone who needed it.

While she didn’t have ten minutes to setup Gambler’s Luck , with Welborn at her side, they might have just enough time to save the helpless creature.

“Got any magic today?” Beatrix asked as she aimed Bad Company. “We need to come up with a plan, quick.”

“Magic—” Welborn’s eyes darted along the dirt, before his eyes widened. “ Plan! Yes, yes!”

“Then do it. I’ll cover you!” Beatrix ordered just before her finger pulled the trigger.

The bullet struck the hide of one of the infant Sand Slithers as it breached the surface.

The monster’s shrill cry echoed throughout the expanse before it dove back into the earth.

Slowed, but not easily scared away. Sand Slithers had no fear when they were made to be the dominant predator.

The hungrier they were, the more aggressive they became.

Each one would breach the surface in a mad dash toward their target.

Her next shot clipped a spike off another Sand Slither, but unlike the first, this one showed no distress over the impact. If anything, the Sand Slither doubled it’s efforts. They were running out of what precious time they had.

Whatever he’s got up his sleeve, he—

Beatrix’s eyes widened as she caught the form of Welborn descending the boulder.

“Welborn!” She cursed. “What are you doing?!”

“I have a plan!” he shouted before stumbling down the side of the boulder.

Beatrix felt her heart jump the moment Welborn disappeared from her sight.

She bolted toward the edge, ready to fire at anything that so much got within ten feet of the cleric.

Welborn had made it twenty feet down the side of the boulder, boots slipping as he leaned against the rock.

He quickly ripped his glove off his hand with his teeth, exposing the mysterious hole in his hand.

“Be ready to catch!” Welborn called from below.

Catch—

A wave of arcane energy burst from Welborn’s hand.

The force nearly enough to knock Beatrix back from her position, even so high up.

The blue light slammed into the earth, and before Beatrix could blink, suddenly the earth had exploded.

Rock formed beneath the construct, elevating to what appeared to be some kind of platform that arc—

The construct screamed as it flew through the air.

Catch them!

Beatrix holstered her weapon as the construct’s rotund body flew at her.

Her hands flew up, preparing to catch it the same way she caught apples her brother would toss her.

Except, this wasn’t an apple, but a fully metal being the size of her own head.

A fact Beatrix realized almost too late as she felt the impact against her hands.

The force of the hit knocked her flat on her ass, gasping as pain ricocheted throughout her.

“Thank you!” the construct cried, a warbled thing that echoed in her ears.

A single, glowing blue eye stared up at her.

“Miss Eaves! ”

Welborn!

“Get off the ground!” Beatrix choked, pushing the construct to the side with a clack against her belt. “Climb, Welborn!”

She scrambled to her feet, skirts catching on her boots.

Beatrix yanked at the material, darting toward the edge of the boulder just in time to see Welborn reaching a hand out.

All the while the shrieks of the Sand Slithers echoed around them.

Beatrix fell to her knees, her own hand outstretched.

He was so close, she just needed to extend her arm a little bit more—

Welborn slid down the side of the boulder.

Beatrix could only shout in horror as he fell to the ground.

The impact wasn’t nearly as hard as the metal flying through the air had been, landing on his side with a groan.

Beatrix wasn’t certain if anything had been broken, as Welborn pushed himself off the ground.

They could worry about his injuries later.

The trail of dust catching up to him made her eyes go wide.

“Welborn!”

There were three Sand Slithers within ten feet of him! Beatrix pulled her weapon into her hand and fired. The bullet impacted one of the Sand Slithers, tearing a chunk out of its face. A hard hit, painful, but one that wasn’t stopping the monster from chasing.

Fuck, they’re hungry. They’ve been starving and too stubborn to leave!

The realization sent Beatrix’s heart to beat at double time. There wasn’t enough time to get Gambler’s Luck set up to take a large shot and she had three bullets left. She could buy Welborn a fracture of a moment, and he would need to make it count.

Why had she indulged him in this rescue? Why hadn’t she ordered him to stay? Why had she given him so much freedom? !

The questions rampaged through Beatrix’s mind as her fourth shot rang out five feet from Welborn’s feet.

It frightened the monster, but not enough to stop the other two.

They were right on top of Welborn, bodies propelling forward.

Their armored hides were hard enough to cause a man’s heart to stop beating when it made impact with its prey.

Welborn, Beatrix panicked mind cried. Welborn!