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Chapter Six

Loi propped up on an elbow, watching with an amused expression. 'Can't manage without a pillow?'

'Not yet anyway,' I rolled my eyes. 'But with leaves crunching in my ears all night I might learn to.'

'Why don't you use Audi as your pillow,' teased Sian.

Audi looked up at hearing her name and then snuggled back down with Lucky.

'Shuuuussh,' mumbled Kassie, curled up like Lucky and Audi, snuggled down in her cloak. I sighed. Scooping the leaves up, I crawled to the entrance and dumped them out. I could learn to manage like Kassie. Crawling back to my cloak I stuck my tongue out at Loi, who still wore that amused look. Wrapping the cloak around me I pulled my knees up and tucked into the fetal position.

Sleep came quickly and it must have been around midnight when Audi's soft growl woke me.

What's she growling at?

Blinking, I peered around; the full moon made it surprisingly light in the shelter. I whispered her name and Audi crept to my side then gave another low growl. Placing a hand on her back I realized with shock that her fur stood stiff, like when she'd first spied the elgrids.

Oh God, what now?

It couldn't be anything little, considering Audi hadn't raced out of the shelter to scare it off. Audrey wasn't cowardly but did seem to know when to hold back. With trembling hands I knelt and strapped on the sword and daggers. The rustling I'd mistaken for leaves in the wind sounded horrifyingly close and my stomach plummeted when I recognized the noise of bodies pushing through the undergrowth. Not again, I thought while goose-bumps rose over my arms, the village is half a day's walk—there's no way to make it back to the safety of those gates. Swallowing hard and trying to calm my breathing I crawled over to Kassie and shook her, placing a hand over her mouth. She mumbled and then her eyes flashed open in shock.

'Shhh, something's outside and Audi thinks it's bad. Strap your sword on and get ready.'

She reached for her sword and I turned to repeat the process with Loi and Sian. We packed the loose gear into the packs and Loi placed them at the back of the shelter into the tree's roots explaining, 'When we jump out we'll pull the shelter down quickly so the packs are covered, we can dig them out later.'

We nodded in agreement.

KASSIE SCOOPED LUCKY up and draped the cat over her shoulders, wincing when she clung tight. Sian crouched at one side of the shelter's opening and Loi at the other, with Cat and Kassie right behind them. Audi, pressed to Cat's side, growled again.

Sian nodded to Loi and they ducked, stepping out of the shelter with the other two following.

LOI TURNED BACK and, with a hard kick, knocked the main supporting branch down. The roof collapsed covering the packs like she'd intended and she turned back to the others. 'Right, back to back until we sort out what we're facing. Have your swords ready and if you go to strike, step forward so you don't clip the person next to you.'

WE STARED, WHITE-FACED, at one another for a moment then fanned out and peered into the forest. The rustling in the undergrowth stopped and then odd noises began, soft snarls, whines and a strange husky grunting. I shifted into a fighting stance and pulled my sword out. The rustling and strange noises started again, moving nearer still. My eyes widened in shock at the number of creatures that stepped onto the path before us.

Fuck.

This wasn't the few uglies Mentan and Lenol had warned us about, but a mass of them. I counted at least ten on my side and from the hiss of surprise from Loi I guessed that just as many stood behind us too. Fumbling with the straps, I wrenched off one of the daggers and reached blindly toward Sian.