The sarlag twitched impatiently, still trying to buck him off, but Baralt clung tenaciously to its back. With another bellow, the animal took off, and her heart skipped a beat as the pair of them headed for the mountains without her. What if he never came back? What would she do? But even as she panicked, Baralt turned the sarlag in a wide circle until they were headed back in her direction. A relieved sigh escaped her lips, forming a white cloud in the cold air.
Just as they were about to reach the herd, the sarlag took off again, and once more, Baralt let him run before circling him back in her direction. After two more circles, the beast finally seemed to settle down, and Baralt rode him slowly over to her. She was right—he was grinning.
“It has been a long time since I’ve done that,” he said, smiling down at her.
“Did you do it often?”
“It was part of my childhood. We—” A brief flash of something that looked like pain crossed his face. “Never mind. Shall we go?”
She looked up at the mountain of animal, easily seven feet high at the shoulders. “How?”
He laughed and leaned down far enough to offer her his hand. She gave it a doubtful look but placed her hand in his. She squeaked as he swung her up through the air with astonishing ease and dropped her in front of him. The ground looked dizzyingly far away.
“Warn me next time before you launch me into orbit,” she muttered.
“Is something wrong?”
“You just startled me. This is actually kind of nice.” The animal’s body radiated heat, and she buried her hands in the thick, curly mane. Baralt provided even more warmth as he pulled her against him. The sarlag gave off a heavy, earthy smell, but it wasn’t unpleasant.
“Good. I should have considered this earlier. The ride will be easier for you.” He dug his heels into the creature’s side, and it bucked slightly, but then it headed off toward the mountains. When it threatened to return to the herd, Baralt used its horns to keep it on track, and she relaxed into the easy rhythm of its movements.
She studied the approaching mountains curiously but couldn’t detect any signs of civilization, even as they got closer.
“Are you sure your tribe still lives here?”
“Of course. They would never leave the caves of our ancestors. It would be a great dishonor.”
For some reason, even knowing how he had lived on Tgesh Tai, she had assumed that the term cave was more figurative than literal. A brief vision of a cold, dark cavern, dripping with water, flashed through her head. It didn’t seem appealing.
Stop that, she scolded herself. Although he had tried to conceal it, she knew Baralt had been reluctant to return to Hothrest. If he was willing to do this for her, the least she could do was be a good sport about the accommodations. She kept searching the horizon, looking for something, anything, that would indicate more than completely primitive conditions. She would have been satisfied with a plume of smoke or a light glowing in the darkness at the base of the mountains, but there was nothing.
Baralt guided the sarlag up a long canyon, the pale sky narrowing overhead as the rock sides of the canyon closed in on them, and it grew increasingly dark. He brought it to a halt in front of what looked like a rockfall and leaped easily down before reaching up to her.
“Here?” she asked incredulously. She couldn’t see anything except rock and snow.
“Yes, my aria.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” she muttered, but she reached down and let him lift her off.
Once she was on her feet, he gave the sarlag a slap on the ass, and it wandered away, back down the canyon.
“You’re just going to let it go?”
“Why would I keep it?”
“In case we need it again.”
He shrugged. “I can always catch another one. We keep a few close by for milking, but the majority of the animals roam free. Now come with me.”
Taking her hand, he led her around the rockfall into the dead end of the canyon. To her surprise, what appeared to be a wall didn’t actually extend across the width of the canyon, and he took her behind it to reveal a tall, narrow opening. Inside the fissure, it was pitch black, but he didn’t hesitate as he strode toward it.
“Wait a minute,” she protested. “It’s too dark to see in there.”
“I have excellent night vision.” He looked back at her, his eyes glinting, and she suddenly remembered that first night when she had touched herself in front of him and thought he couldn’t see her.
“You saw me, didn’t you?”
He didn’t pretend he didn’t know what she was talking about. “Yes. You were—you are—beautiful in your pleasure.”
Her cheeks heated, and she started to sway toward him, but then she remembered their purpose. “All right. But you’ll have to be my guide. I can’t see in the dark.”
“Of course. I would never let anything happen to you.”
He looked so sincere that her heart skipped a beat.
“I believe you,” she said softly.
He sighed. “I wish to kiss you, but I’m afraid that it would only delay our arrival.”
“Maybe later.”
“Definitely later.” He took her hand, and this time, she followed silently.
The passage through the rock was dark but not completely without light. As her eyes adjusted, she realized that the rocks above their heads shone with a faint luminescence. She would still have had trouble finding her way without Baralt guiding her, but at least she didn’t feel completely enclosed in blackness.
A faint sound came from up ahead, and she thought it seemed a little lighter. Baralt came to a halt.
“Is something
