Shadow Army: A Shadows Rising Novella

17. Gorge

Cress

"Chaghara scat," Jimmy muttered. He stabbed his walking stick at a pile of bright yellow pebbles.

I nodded toward another tattle pile not too far away, and another, and another, then tipped my head back and looked up, searching the shadowed lower branches of the massive pines rising from the rocky hillside. Jamesh did the same, his breath hitching in his chest when he saw what I did: hundreds of ghostly, transparent chaghara husks draped from twigs and broken branches, swagged across rough pine trunks and drifting gently in the breeze.

Without a word, the both of us sidled backward, easing on down the animal trail we were following. We didn't run until we were out of sight of the shedding ground, but then we turned and pelted as fast as we could, flying back the way we had come.

We pounded into the clearing several minutes later, both of us breathing hard, our sudden re-entry startling Becks out of sleep and bringing Ephie bolt upright on her bedroll.

Doc put down his tin of leftover soup.

"Chagharas," Jimmy panted, bending to put his hands on his knees. He squinted up at me, nose wrinkled to keep sweat from dripping into his eyes. "All the way over the top of the ridge, you think?"

I nodded, walking past him to the weapons bag. "Big den up there. Old, too. Well established... " I grabbed the ammo box and started checking magazines. "We're in their forage territory, which means we might just stumble into a mess of them." I pursed my lips, muttering under my breath, thinking out loud. "We could head west to the gorge instead of trying to get over the mountain... Be good, either way. There's that smuggler's bridge Da used to use. Might get us across the river to the other side. We could make camp in Da's old cabin tonight."

Doc took one look at what I was doing and started packing Malush's stove and the food, while Becks got himself on up, moving stiff as an old man but rousing Lolarose while he was at it.

Five minutes later we left, setting off just as the sun began peeking through the tops of the trees behind us. I kept a wary eye to our backs, but for all their fury when cornered, chagharas weren't known for stalking prey over long distances. They much preferred to drop from a tall tree or wait for some unsuspecting bird or rodent to wander past their burrow. Humans were actually a little too large for the average chaghara. Still, I didn't want to tangle with a whole clan of the things, not with a group of townies stomping around. Ephie and Lolarose made enough noise for five people, with all their blundering through the underbrush.

We could cross the river gorge, then Nox could cut the bridge. No one would be able to follow us, or at least not easily, and Da's hunting cabin was on that side. Even if the old place had fallen in, it would offer safe shelter and dry firewood.

It was good to have a plan, and a little of the weariness dogging my shoulders began to ease, my stride a little longer, my steps a little lighter.

An hour later, we emerged from the tree line a bit farther down the ridge, coming out on top of a bluff of sheer, wind-weathered rock. Below us, a narrow ravine wound like a fraying grey ribbon through the folds of the mountain. During the spring thaw the water flowed fast and cold, but after a long, hot summer, it had dried to little more than a few pools in the low spots.

And there, just like I had remembered, Da's rickety old three-chain bridge swung in a lazy bow from one side of the ravine to a ledge on the other side.

Behind me, Ephie came to a halt and dropped the bag of goods Doc had made her carry. Her voice rang high and shrill. "This was your plan?" Then she cackled, the sound echoing from the walls of the dry riverbed. "You want us to walk across that? Why are we following her around? She can't even read!"