He looked to the heavens, knowing the gods were watching him.
They were doing it to him again.
How much more did he need to suffer?
What lesson must he learn?
Surely, there was something he was missing.
He could not let another female die under his care.
He could not…
“You mean the bad guys? There are no bad guys here, Ajos.”
He didn’t understand.
“What?” He had to inhale hard as he stopped for a moment to lean against a tree.
The heat was overwhelming him.
Every muscle in his body felt strained.
Every fiber in his being pulsed with need.
And he knew…
He knew that when he did rescue her, she wouldn’t be safe from him either.
But that was something he’d have to deal with when he got there.
“It’s the roots, Ajos.”
Glancing down at his communicator, he frowned.
Maybe the heat was affecting his grasp on reality as well.
“The roots?”
“The roots.” She took a breath. “They wrapped around me. Pulled me away.” She paused and he could hear her panting a little. “I’m in some kind of hole or cave, I think. I’m not sure.”
The roots.
Ajos looked around him, trying to understand.
“There’s still one hooked around my leg and I’m trying to get it off now.” She panted. “If I can, I’ll try to climb out of here.”
Just as she said that, a fat drop of water landed smack on his face.
Ajos turned his face to the heavens.
Another drop landed on his cheek and a crack of thunder sounded above as the skies grew gray.
“Ajos?” There was a note of fear in her voice. “What’s that? It sounded like…”
Rain.
It was going to rain and Keh-reh-nah was stuck in a hole somewhere.
Pushing himself forward, Ajos took off on a run once more.
“Ajos?” He could hear her breaths. They were coming fast and hard. “I know this isn’t helping, but I’m kind of starting to freak out here.”
“I will find you, Keh-reh-nah.”
He knew this as sure as he knew his own name.
He was Ajos of the bloodline Khattull.
He would find her, if it was the last thing he did.
19
The root wrapped around her leg was hard to dislodge.
Kerena strained against the thing till her fingernails cracked and the tips broke, but she finally managed to pry her leg from its clutches.
Heart beating like it was pumped with drugs, she scrambled even farther away from the nestle in which she’d been a prisoner.
Her gaze moved around the strange place.
There were dark roots everywhere, and it did seem as if she was in a hole.
Why had the plants brought her here?
Standing on shaky legs, she glanced around as she spun in a slow circle.
She could hardly see the sky above and it had gotten darker.
Another crack of thunder echoed in the heavens and the faint sound of heavy rainfall reached her ears, but where she was, the rain didn’t hit her.
Kerena clenched and unclenched her fists.
She had to find a way out.
The roots were long, spilling over the top of the hole and hanging down to where she could reach them. They hadn’t moved since they’d deposited her there.
Staring at them, she exhaled through her mouth. She was no gymnast or rock climber, but she would just have to climb out by hanging on to one—regardless that the last thing she wanted to do was to touch them again.
She could still feel them wrapped around her and the thought made her skin shiver.
Gripping on to one root, Kerena tried to pull herself toward the opening above, only for her to lose her grip and fall back onto her tailbone.
Pain rocketed up her spine and she hissed, squeezing her eyes tight as she breathed through the pain.
But she had to try again.
Still breathing through the pain, she attempted to climb up once more only to slip again. This time, she managed to land on her feet.
The roots were too slippery.
It wouldn’t work.
If she could find a way to increase the friction…
Frantic eyes glanced around the hole.
She didn’t know what she’d expected to see.
There was nothing but more roots there. She couldn't even see the ground.
She could have probably used the dry earth to “chalk” her hands but that wasn’t an option.
Swallowing hard, a shiver went through her.
The plant had brought her here for a reason and she didn’t want to wait around to find out what that was.
It was obviously nothing good.
As she bit her lip and paced a little, she heard a faint drip of water.
Kerena’s eyes fastened in the direction of the sound.
There, running down one of the roots hanging from the top of the hole, was a thin line of water.
Somehow, that bit of fluid sent a shot of fear straight through her and as she turned in a slow circle, there were more and more little streams running from the roots down into the hole.
Droplets from the leaves of the canopy above started dropping down too, and one fell smack onto the bridge of her nose.
“Shit.”
She needed to do something, and fast.
She could get out of the hole. She was sure of it.
Think, Kerena. Think!
Her eyes were darting around as she worried her lip between her teeth and that’s when her gaze fell on her dress.
There was only one thing she could do.
Slipping the dress over her head, she stood in her underwear and shivered again. It was getting cold. Possibly, the change in atmosphere because of the rain was causing that.
Also, she was wet.
Enough raindrops had fallen on her that her hair was getting damp and the roots beneath her were wet.
“You can do this,” she whispered to herself.
Slipping one hand in the dress, she twined the clothing enough so it didn’t slip off before placing her free hand into the other side and doing the same thing.
She now had a sort of cloth handcuff, but she hoped it provided just enough friction for her to climb out.
Moving toward the hanging root once more, she
