CHAPTER 34

Rain poured down among trees, a soft, breathy sound as the droplets struck the leaves, gathered and ran in rivulets to the ground. The higher areas, as they passed through a tall rise between mountains, had been mostly dry, the soil there quickly absorbing the rain, but as they descended into the next valley, the ground softened, it became sticky, the mud clinging to their legs as they walked.

Strale walked beside Adda, a glower on his handsome face. His hair hung down in wet strings against his cheeks. The droplets must have been cold against his skin.

“Wish you had taken those clothes?”

“So I can smell like a dead animal, as well as look like one? No thanks.”

Ahead of them, Kiskan turned, glaring back at him. He tried a charming smile, but it came off a little more like a grimace.

“I think I might have pinpointed your problem with the Shifters.”

Adda didn't think it was possible, but Strale looked even more miserable.

She ran into Kiskan's backside. Kiskan grunted, but otherwise made no reaction, her body stiff and alerted.

“What's happening?” Adda peered around her. The rest of the Shifters had spread out, looking warily around them, all except one who lay, face down, on the trail before them. A lean warrior with ropey muscles, built more for stealth than brute strength, his skin was dark, but not as deeply brown as Kiskan’s, long locks of hair, similar to the Alpha's tangles, splayed out around him. He was breathing shallowly, but was unmoving. The hush of the rain suddenly felt eerie and wrong.

Scet knelt to the man and pulled up an odd looking dart impaled in the man's shoulder. It gleamed in the falling rain, not a bright metal like Adda was used to seeing. This looked black, like the Dragon Lord's blades.

Scet's nostril's flared as he glared at the forest around him.

“Poison...A trap?” Strale questioned.

“Old traps...ancient traps,” Kiskan had pressed forward, the rest of the group appeared to still be in shock. She held up something from the nearby ground. “A trip line anchor.”

There was something on it. Adda stepped toward her for a better look: etching, lettering, but it was faded and worn.

“Can you read it?” Adda asked.

Kiskan shook her head. “No, but I gather it's meaning just fine.”

Scet stood abruptly, and without a word moved a distance into the forest, eyes closed.

“Uh... are you sure that's wise?” Adda asked, alarmed. If there was one trap, there were certainly more.

No one else moved, no one dared. Whatever had downed the man was fast and effective.

She watched Scet step carefully around, her heart climbing into her throat, and blinked several times. She didn't want to name the fear coursing through her, but the thought of losing him became suddenly very real, and it was more than the lust they had shared.

*Foolish. Love is a fool's downfall. By all that is dark, you are going to get us killed.

Shut up, Nex*.

Scet took a few more steps, each one driving her fear higher. Then he shook his head, tiny drops of water flying. His shoulders slumped.

“I didn't want to believe it,” he muttered.

“Am I missing something?” Strale swiped the rain from his face, glancing from the anchor in Kiskan's hand to the still man on the ground.

“You're missing several things as far as I can tell, modesty and humility being two,” Kiskan announced.

Strale blinked at her as though seeing her for the first time.

“I remember this. I remember the forest, the traps...I think I...Alikeye-Baroth laid them. This was *his* forest.”

“Who?” Strale demanded.

Adda nibbled her bottom lip. She still didn't believe the entire reincarnation bit. It was hard to deny, however, when Scet strode forward three paces and revealed a second dart contraption hidden cleverly in the hollow of a moss covered stone. This one was broken with the wear of time, crumbling when he laid a finger on the trigger point. Still, it had been perfectly hidden. Overgrown even. No one *should* have detected it.

*Perhaps you bear-beast is useful after all*.

Adda thought about that. They had to be nearing the temple. What other reason for traps in the middle of the forest? And if Scet had some latent memory of the traps, then maybe he remembered other things as well.

“What about the temple? Do you remember anything about it? Or the orb?” It would be nice to have a little more knowledge of the weapon. If it could be wielded at all, there had to be a way to live through it. Maybe *that* memory would come to him, too.

But he was shaking his head.

“It isn't a memory really, it's more of an innate knowledge, like how your feet know where to go on a path you've walked thousands of times.”

The answer wasn't what she had hoped. They could have used an advantage over the orb. Still, if Scet could prevent more deaths, she supposed she had to be grateful. She glanced at the fallen warrior. Andas was picking the man up and slinging him across his shoulders.

“What are you doing?” Strale demanded.

“We cannot leave him here.”

“He is dead, or soon to be. This is not time for sentiments, we cannot haul bodies of those lost along with us, it will only lead to the death of more,” Scet told him.

Andas didn't answer, but he didn't set the man down, either, a stubborn firmness creased the area between his brows.

Scet sighed heavily. Adda wondered if this was how he had imagined being Alpha, the constant pull of opposite sides, trying to strike a balance.

“Very well,” he said at last. “But you abandon him in favor of anyone else if we're threatened.”

Andas gave a tight nod, his jaw relaxing.

“Follow me,” Scet commanded. “Keep your steps aligned with mine. Do not deviate from my path.”

But he didn't get a chance to move. Through the rain and mist, a scent grew, one that Adda recognized, and she didn't like it.

*We don't have time for this*. Nex growled so loud in her head she was certain the others around her would hear. They didn't, though, their heads swiveled, almost in unison, following the scent to where the woman appeared though the trees.

Adda gaped. It was Illaise, alright, but she did not look well. She moved with a sort of jarring gait, the mist and mud sticking to her skin. One arm was cradled closely to her body as she strode forward, pain flowing in tight lines across her face. She was flanked by two warriors, one, Adda noticed, was the boy she had threatened to kill to get to Adda. The other she didn't recognize, but she was sure he had been there, as well. Illaise looked at the pack warily, her lips lifting into a sneer when they rested on Adda.

That was all she had time to see before Scet moved in front of her, his big wide body blocking her from view. Not that it would help, she had seen Adda and Adda knew Illaise could scent her as easily as she scented Illaise. The rest of the pack followed Scet's suit and, soon, Adda was separated from Illaise by a wall of Shifters. Even Andas moved to the group, confirming solidarity.

Adda stepped sideways so she could see past Scet.

Illaise stood, holding up both hands, showing she had no weapons, a gesture of submission.

“Peace,” she managed. Her body might have been broken, but she was still Alpha and the word came out more of a command than a request.

“You have not sought peace before now, why should I grant it?” Scet growled.

She hesitated, her hands sinking lower for a moment. “There is no reason except our once association.”

Did she think forgiveness came so easily?

Scet did not retreat, but he did not advance, either. “What brings you to this point? And where is the rest of your pack?”

Now, Illaise's hands fell to her side. For the first time, she looked less than powerful, less than confident.

“Dead. These are all that are left. I lost most to that thing, but three have fallen in this forest as well, to the traps that lay here.” She was silent for a long time. “I am done,” she said at last with a tired, sad sigh, “but together we might succeed still.”

“I doubt our versions of success are compatible,” Strale snorted, unmoved by her plight.

Illaise sneered in his direction before turning to Scet once more. She hadn't looked at Adda at all since the first.

“You have gained Alpha I see, and a pack of your own. Your strength always indicated that you might.”

“What do you want, Illaise?”

“A truce.”

She couldn't be serious. She was the attacker, the one who had hunted them, why should they allow her peace? Adda opened her mouth to tell her so, and where she might go with her truce, but Scet spoke first.

“What kind of truce?”

Adda blinked up at him. He was serious, however, his face calm and thoughtful, as if this woman hadn't nearly killed them...killed her. As if they weren't in the middle of a deadly forest full of traps and enemies, hunted by evil. They didn't need any more complications, couldn't he see that?

“We will leave off our hunt...”

Adda snorted. Some compromise. She was outnumbered now, she didn't have a choice but to give up. Illaise ignored her, resolutely looking at Scet alone. Adda glared at her. Did she even care about the lives she lost in her crusade? The men she had been responsible for? Adda closed her eyes against the memory of the man who had burned in the forest. Did she live with such things, or did she brush that off as easily as she did logic?

“In exchange for what?” Scet asked.

“The orb, destroyed.” Illaise was firm. “The orb's existence is what sparked this entire folly, what tempted those who released the first of the evil. I am certain its destruction will end it.” Her voice was confident, righteous even, and it sparked a deeper anger in Adda than she thought possible. She could keep silent no longer.

“You're crazier than I thought if you think we'll consider such a proposal. Why would we make a deal with you in the first place? At the moment, you are at the disadvantage. And second, we would be fools to believe you will destroy the orb. You, who want nothing more than to fight and destroy, despite the cost...or the truth?”

Illaise did not argue, nor did she bother with an angry glance Adda's direction. She straightened herself, standing tall.

“I have only my skill and honor to offer in return.”

Scet hesitated.

“You can't seriously be considering?” Adda turned to him.

“Illaise is an excellent warrior, better than most, and she has survived the woman once...”

“Yeah, by sacrificing those that follow her. Scet, you have to see that she is crazy?”

He looked down at her, his eyes solemn. “At this point, I don't think that's a reason to deny her help.”

*The beast man is right. She might be useful*.

Great. Nex, too.

“I'm outnumbered,” Adda muttered.

*We are running out of time and options, Adda.

Yeah, well given I have no idea what you're after, I'm not sure that is such a bad thing*.

“Outnumbered?” Strale blinked at her.

Scet's eyes narrowed.

“Fine. I agree. The more the better, right?” Adda said at last.

She turned away from the scene, unwilling to spend more time worrying about bringing her own death. There was an odd flash in Illaise's eyes before she did, a brightened look, one of triumph.