Chapter 34: Venom

The warriors circled the sandy clearing with care, pausing every so often to check whether anything was stirring among the tangled roots. When they found an approach sheltered by a thicket of low shrubs, Seraya signaled to move in.

From far off drifted the faint shouts of the other women and the rhythmic thud of wood beating against a trunk. Tightening her grip on her spear, Seraya forced herself to take that first step onto the loose ground.

This time, she had no intention of wandering off without watching her back.

She advanced alongside Kaela, while the other two women fanned out slightly to the flank to keep one another in sight. Every tuft of scrub grass and every trickle of shifting sand drew their immediate attention. Seraya felt like she could hear her own heart thumping louder than the ambient noise of the forest, but when Kaela pointed toward several pale blossoms tangled among the lower branches, the tension gave way to sharp focus.

Dropping to their knees, they compared the blooms against the intact stem and began harvesting with care, wasting no more time on random finds.

Seraya sawed through shorter lengths with the sharp edge of a stone flake while Kaela held the runner taut, alternating so that one of them was always scanning their surroundings. The fabric of the warrior's top strained across her shoulders as she reached deep into the thorns, sweat trickling down her back, but she paid no heed to the discomfort or exhaustion - the bundle of plants was finally starting to look like more than a pathetic handful.

Just these right here and we head back... I'm not pushing my luck any further.

The other women turned up matching runners as well. After a short while, Seraya drew them close, inspected their haul, and nodded in relief, satisfied that they finally had reason to call off the search. She was just about to signal the retreat when a familiar, dry rustle rose from beneath a nearby thicket, making every muscle beneath her skin snap taut.

She whipped her head around to see the sand churning, followed immediately by several yellowish-brown forms cutting across the open ground between them and the tree line. Further back, something heavier shifted, exposing dark, glistening pincers, as more rustles erupted in rapid succession. Seraya clutched the bundle tight to her side on instinct.

"What are they doing..." Kaela choked out, staring toward the direction where the distraction had come from earlier. "Raska was supposed to keep them over there!"

Seraya couldn't hear the shouting anymore either, but had no idea whether the others had stopped, retreated, or if the whole plan had simply collapsed. All she knew was that the creatures were converging on them from multiple angles once more, and the nearest serpent was sliding forward so fast that hesitating another second meant waiting for it to reach their boots.

"To the trees, now!"

They broke into a sprint almost simultaneously. Seraya secured the bundle just as the loose sand began giving way beneath her boots, robbing each stride of momentum. During the first escape she had run on pure adrenaline, but now her legs felt like lead, her breath came in ragged gasps, and every yard hammered home that she wasn't built for an all-night march, hours of scavenging, and back-to-back sprints under the blazing sun.

Kaela and the other women began pulling ahead, moving far more nimbly across the treacherous terrain. When Seraya stole a backward glance, she saw a writhing body barely a few paces behind her.

Not now, damn it... Legs, move!

She tried to kick into gear, but her boot sank deep into the loose sand, sending her lurching sideways. She had to jam her spear into the ground to keep from eating dirt. That single lost second was all it took for Kaela to look back, wheel around, and charge back several paces, extending a hand.

"Give me your hand!"

Seraya grabbed it on reflex. Kaela hauled so violently she practically yanked her off her feet, dragging her at an angle toward the nearest clump of grass. For several strides she literally hauled her along, then, right at the edge of the sand, threw all her momentum into shoving Seraya forward onto firmer ground.

Seraya stumbled, crashed to her knees, and rolled onto her side, hugging the herbs tight to her belly. Coming to a halt against a thick root, she could do nothing for several seconds but heave air into her burning lungs.

"Kaela, run!" one of the women shrieked.

Seraya snapped her head up and saw that Kaela had been stranded a few paces short of the tree line, forced to dodge as a serpent cut across her path the moment she had turned to help the warrior. She drove it off with her spear, but another darted in from the flank, and as she pivoted to find an opening, the sand bulged right beside her foot.

Seraya scrambled up, ignoring the sharp throb in her knee. Kaela had just stepped backward instead of closing in on the forest.

"Help me get her out!"

She charged back to the edge of the clearing, thrusting her spear forward to ward off an approaching creature, while the other two women moved up beside her to do the exact same. They weren't trying to slaughter the whole nest, only carve out a narrow corridor, and Kaela seized the split second a serpent drew its head back from a thrust point to bolt toward them.

She plunged between the leveled spear shafts, hit solid ground, and tumbled forward from sheer momentum, skidding across dry leaves. Seraya and the others fell back behind her at once, eyes glued to the sandy border.

Kaela lay on her side for a moment, breathing so hard each gasp seemed like a monumental effort, before letting out a shaky laugh and lifting her head.

"I'm... I'm still in one piece."

Seraya rested a hand on her thigh, trying to rein in her own ragged breathing, but the sight of the swarm still churning at the edge of the sand kept real relief at bay.

"Now let's put some distance between us and them," she said. "I'm not waiting around to see if one decides it's worth checking out the woods after all."

The others nodded. Kaela pushed up from the ground using her spear for leverage, but the moment she shifted her weight onto one leg, a strangled groan tore from her throat and she collapsed back onto her knee.

Seraya spun on her heel so fast the bundle of herbs shifted under her arm.

"What is it?"

"My leg," Kaela answered, clutching her calf. "It hurts like hell."

Seraya dropped down beside her and gently pulled her hand away. Spotting the puncture marks on the calf and the dark discoloration spreading around the wound, whatever relief she had felt vanished in a heartbeat. Remembering the exact moment the woman had turned back onto the sand to save her, terror collided with a gut-wrenching spike of guilt.

"Kaela, damn it, why didn't you say something sooner?!"

"I thought I just caught it on a thorn," the woman gasped. But looking down at her own leg and catching the look on Seraya's face, her knuckles whitened on her spear shaft. "Warrior... I don't want to die."

Seraya swallowed hard, forcing her breathing steady, as the other two women crowded close, staring at the wound in mounting horror.

"Help her, please," one urged. "She went back for you..."

She didn't need the reminder; Seraya could still feel the phantom grip of Kaela's hand and the violent yank that had pulled her clear of the writhing pit. Setting her jaw, she laid her spear down, helped the woman lean back comfortably, and bent her head over the wounded leg.

"Hold still. Let me try."

Kaela froze, watching her with uncertainty, but as she realized Seraya was bringing her mouth directly toward the wound, she sucked in a sharp gasp and grabbed the warrior's shoulder.

"Warrior, what are you doing? Are you trying to bite me?!"

Seraya looked up, staring at her for a beat in utter disbelief, as if questioning whether she had truly heard the words.

"I'm not going to fucking eat you, so stop squirming."

Kaela loosened her grip, though she continued tracking every motion with a mixture of terror and bewilderment while Seraya lowered her mouth back to the wound, working to draw out the venom.

A bitter, metallic tang instantly twisted her features into a grimace, but she turned her head, spat blood onto the dirt, and bent low again, far too terrified for the woman's life to entertain disgust.

The companions watched in breathless silence. Gradually, Kaela stopped clenching her fists; the searing agony that had lanced through her calf with the slightest movement began, in this bizarre moment, to distinctly recede.

The dark discoloration around the punctures faded as well, until Seraya finally pulled away, wiped her mouth, and sank heavily back onto her heels, sweat dripping from her temple.

"How does it feel?" she asked, eyes locked on Kaela's face.

Kaela looked from her leg to the warrior, tentatively wiggling her foot. Finding none of the earlier blinding pain, her wolf ears slowly perked up, as if she couldn't believe the change herself.

"It doesn't hurt anymore..." she said, testing it once more, before staring at Seraya with absolute, unvarnished awe. "Just a little numb."