Men, cast your gaze upon a woman and take pleasure from the sight, for I have made her image to be the foil to even the greatest of hunters, and a nurturer, like your mother, before your mate entered your life. Women, stake your future upon a man you deem as a prize, for I have made him capable of being your protector, provider, and leader, as was your father, before your mate came into your life—The Book of Obedience, The Sacral Compendium.

  “Who the fuck are you?” Maro asked. He gazed down the barrel of his gun, the bead still centered over her face. The rain came pouring down, splashing against the back of his neck, the droplets pattering against her dark face. A steady waterfall dripped down the barrel of his gun, splashing against her forehead.

  “Katya,” she said in a breathless voice.

  It took a moment for him to breathe, to realize she wasn’t a threat.

  “A Sional?” Runnel asked, and by the sound of his voice, he was just as shocked as Maro. Sionals kept to their homeland on the other side of Atar, or they congregated in cities. Few traveled far from their homelands that spanned mountainous terrain, swamp-covered jungles, charred-broiled deserts, and breezy coastal plains. Katya’s hair was dark, helped by the rain, though Maro could’ve sworn he noted red undertones.

  Maybe it’s the feeble firelight? He glanced at the camp. No, too far away. He turned back to her.

  Her eyes were on the darker shade of mauve, a grayish tinge coming through the purple.

  Ciacus, the Sional that sold Maro the bracer, was an exception to the rule; finding the man in a small town had been the exception, and now, Katya made a pair within two days.

  “What are you doing stumbling around in the dark?”

  She blinked a few times; the droplets filled her eyes. “Mind if I get up?”

  “Yes,” Maro answered, but she ignored him and stood, anyway.

  Why’d you even ask me?

  Maro didn’t holster the musket-pistol, but he lowered it to his side. Out of the corner of his eye, Runnel shifted his stance, an inattentive hand rubbing his belly.

  Yeah, makes you wish you put a shirt on, don’t it? Nothing like a woman to make you reevaluate your physical flaws.

  Dwelling on such things with mimics nearby seemed counterintuitive. But men thought in terms of physical attractiveness, and Maro was pretty sure Bloodbane could claim to be prettier, as long as a woman didn’t mind the kettle around his gut, or a shaggy cat fucking his neck.

  “What are you doing out here?” Maro inquired again. The thunder rumbled overhead, and he could’ve sworn it got a lot colder in the last few moments.

  Katya shrugged. “What business of it is yours?”

  He cocked an eyebrow. “Well, how stupid do you have to be to go running through the woods at night? There are people with guns, trigger-happy travelers, and monsters lurking about?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Lucky for me, you’re only a monster.”

  Maro grunted. She might have a point.

  “What Maro means—” Runnel began in his thick accent.

  But Katya cut him off, “—Huh? I can’t understand you.”

  “—dangerous,” Runnel finished.

  “What? Dangerous? Where’s your sense of adventure?”

  Maro could think of a lot of things that were adventurous: playing cards with armed, drunk citizens; riding an angry bull with nowhere to run; catching a coach to the ass-end of nowhere … but crashing through vegetation while the gods pissed on you in the icy darkness wasn’t on the list.

  “Alright,” Maro said, nodding as he spoke. “Have a good one.”

  Both Katya and Bloodbane jerked their heads in his direction. In unison, both blurted, “What?”

  He holstered his gun. “You want adventure?” He waved out to the wilderness. “Go on. Watch out for the Crocottas.”

  “The Cro-what now?” she asked.

  “Don’t worry; it’ll be fun. An adventure.” He turned and started walking back to the fire.

  “Maro?” Bloodbane called. “What you doing?”

  “Respecting her wishes. It’s what she wants,” he said over his shoulder. Once he reached the fire, he squatted and tickled the flames with his boon, causing the flares to leap over three feet high. He closed his eyes and winced.

  Damn, that was stupid.

  But he couldn’t help it; he was cold and soaked. Soon, the shakes would set in. A sudden wash of heat swept over him.

  Ah, that feels wonderful.

  “You have the boon of fire!” Katya gasped, coming forward with hurried steps. She held her hands out, drinking in the warmth.

  Maro looked up as she entered the circle of light and heat. “Hey, you wanted adventure, right? Go run around in the dark, make your own fire, catch your own food. Since you think I’m a monster, go play with the real ones.”

  “Maro!” Bloodbane admonished. “Don’t treat ladies so.”

  “She’s not a lady,” he countered, centering his gaze upon his partner. “She’s a stranger who refuses to answer simple questions. In my experience, that’s a fast way to die. Woman or not, she can slit your throat as easily as the next bloke. So, she ain’t welcomed until I’m satisfied.”

  “Really?” Katya asked. “You’d do that to me?”

  Maro turned his head at a ponderous pace, glancing up at her. “Damn right. You’ll get no special favors from me, and if more men were smart enough, they’d be doing it, too.”

  “What experience?” Runnel mocked. “You green, never hunted monsters.”

  “Hmm. New to the profession, but ain’t new to killing. I’ve got five years with the army, the basilisk dragoons. I fought on the Eastern Front of the Redinar Wild Lands in the Barren Frontier, and I survived the worst of it.”

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  “Oh,” Runnel said, sounding deflated. “Special hell.”

  Maro grunted. Yeah, even you wouldn’t want to go.

  Maro overheard officers saying the mortality rate sat near seventy-two percent. With those kinds of numbers, rumors were bound to circulate.

  “Okay, fine,” Katya said, squatting down beside him. “If I tell you, will you let me stay?”

  “Depends if I think you’re telling the truth.”

  She paused for a moment. “Fair enough. I’m out here hunting for Atine’s Reservoir.”

  Runnel laughed, slapping his knee. “So stupid.”

  Maro glanced between the two. “What the hell’s that?”

  Katya’s lips thinned in irritation, but Runnel spoke. “Atine’s Reservoir, a myth.”

  “It’s not a myth,” Katya retorted. “I’m close! I know I am!”

  “You think,” Runnel continued, “he buried treasure out here? Middle of nowhere?”

  “Can you think of a better place?” she countered.

  “Too easy!” Runnel said with a chuckle. “Two dozen. Even drunk, I can name five.”

  She nodded, and by her expression, irritation and indignation burned within her. “Alright, name them.”

  “What?”

  “Name them!”

  Runnel paused, cocking his head to the side. “Gastur’s Tier.”

  Katya nodded. “The best minds and treasure hunters have combed it over at least a dozen times.”

  “Pikovides?”

  “Been there myself, and archeologists have cleaned the ancient city out, not to mention thieves.”

  “Well—”

  “Sorry to cut into y’alls’ geological jaunt,” Maro interjected, “but this has no bearing on her right now, nor does it solve the problem of the Crocottas.”

  She eyed him, narrowing her eyes. “You said that earlier. What are they?”

  “They’re beasts.”

  “Monsters,” Runnel corrected.

  She focused on Bloodbane. “I’m sorry; what’s your name?”

  “Runnel. Runnel Bloodbane.”

  “And you’re a Mium, right?”

  He dipped his head in acknowledgement.

  “I’ve never seen one of you.”

  Runnel smiled, a thimble of color coming to his cheeks; or maybe the firelight caused it. “Meeting Sional is rare treat.”

  “If you two are done with your mating ritual,” Maro interrupted, “I’d like to get on with the story.”

  Katya’s head whipped back around to him. “Are you always this cheerful?”

  “Nah, just intolerant to bullshit.”

  She nodded. “Makes sense that’s your demerit.”

  “Yeah? And what’s yours? Carelessness?”

  She smirked. “Adventure. Can’t find one sitting at home.”

  I could. I mean, digging around in your sock drawer and finding two without holes in them is a miracle.

  Lightning flickered in the distance, followed by a rumble. Maro took a quick peek skyward. Clouds were supposed to keep the warmer air trapped, but with the rain and the dropping temperature, snow wouldn’t surprise him.

  But this deep into Spring?

  “Hmm. Well, that’s one I ain’t never heard: adventure.”

  “I know! I’m unique! Now, tell me about this monster.”

  Maro shrugged. “Bloodbane knows more, but they paid us a visit right before you showed up, which is why I greeted you with the business end of my pistol.”

  “What do they look like?”

  “Didn’t show themselves, but I can tell you what they sound like: us.”

  Katya stood, stepping closer to the fire. Maro’s eyes roamed over her. She was a damn fine-looking woman, just his type: fit and lean, her build honed by rigorous hours on the trail. The rain-soaked clothes left little to the imagination. Another notion struck him. Maybe that’s what she wanted by stepping closer to the fire, to distract from her part of the conversation. He realized he’d interrupted their discourse about some treasure, and she never returned to it.

  That’s kind of smart … and duplicitous.

  “What House are you from?” he asked, an uneasy feeling settling over him. He dreaded the answer.

  “Deceit and Compassion,” she answered without hesitation.

  Well, there ya go. Stumbled across a girl who’s gonna lie her ass off to you, but she’ll be benevolent about it.

  Now that he thought about it, how was she any different from all the other women he’d met?

  She’ll be better at it.

  He shook his head. He didn’t have time to think about that now. Women were a distant figment, and he’d never entertained the notion of settling down with one other than having a child of his own.

  In a world this botched, am I good or evil to bring a child into it?

  “Well, that’s unhelpful,” Katya said, breaking into his thoughts, “not being able to tell me what they look like.”

  Maro pulled his soaked coat tighter around him and fought like mad not to shiver.

  Runnel took over, explaining the finer details of the beasts they hunted. Through his flirtatious meanderings, Maro learned a few more irrelevant details: the mimics were a hybrid between mountain lions and wolves, predatory features of both despite looking more like an overgrown dog. In a lot of ways, by the details, they looked like a miniature warg, and Maro knew those beasts well enough, having killed one with fire nine months ago. Each Crocotta had a different color coat, and you’d never know until they were dead, since they shifted to blend into their surroundings.

  That means these creatures are on four legs, and if I was a smart man, I’d listen to Drallus’s advice and high-tail it out of here.

  But Maro also learned a little about Katya during the exchange. Despite Runnel’s obliviousness to her distance and subtle cues, she wasn’t interested in him in the slightest, and at a guess, it wouldn’t deter Bloodbane at all.

  When Runnel’s ramblings drew to a close, Maro spoke, “Well, I ain’t getting any more sleep tonight, and it’s too damn cold, anyhow.”

  “Agreed,” Runnel said.

  “Yeah,” Katya echoed, “I don’t think I can sleep in this weather either.”

  Uh, who the fuck invited you?

  “You sleep in my cot,” Runnel offered. “It’s dry, with furs to keep you warm.”

  Katya presented an insincere smile. “My clothes are soaked, and I’d ruin your dry cot.”

  Unperturbed, Runnel offered, “I have clothes. You change.”

  “Well, if Maro isn’t sleeping, and neither are you, I don’t want to hold up the party. We can start the hunt tonight.”

  He squinted in confusion and glanced up. “What’s with this ‘we’ shit? You’re not a bounty hunter, and I don’t remember inviting you.”

  Katya rounded on him, turning her backside to the fire. Good thing, too, cause he’d been staring the whole time the other two had been talking. “Are you assuming I’m not a bounty hunter?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Are you?” Runnel inquired.

  “And what if I am?” she countered.

  Maro stood. Water sloshed off his hat. It didn’t keep him from getting his head wet, but it kept most of the rain getting in his eyes, and his scalp a touch warmer than his hands, but not as ice cold as his crotch or toes. “Then, I’d say show me your bounty hunter chit.”

  “Chit?”

  “Yes,” Runnel added. “Every hunter has.”

  “I don’t,” she confessed.

  “Then, you ain’t a bounty hunter,” Maro finished.

  “Just because—”

  With a wave of the hand, Maro cut her off. “Did you pay your guild dues?”

  She held up her hands. “Fine, I’m not a bounty hunter, but I still want to travel with you.”

  He shook his head. “Sorry, sweetheart, I ain’t allowing you to take my cut of the prize.”

  She shrugged. “Fine, but when I find the treasure, you’re not getting a cut of mine.”

  He smirked. He didn’t believe a treasure existed, but if so, he doubted she’d find it. “I like that arrangement. Besides, you just want to travel with us cause it’s safer in numbers. I hope you got supplies, ‘cause you ain’t getting mine.” Now that he thought about it, she had nothing with her.

  What’s she really doing out here?

  Katya waved her hand out into the wilderness. “I left my stuff back at my campsite. We can stop by and collect it.”

  Oh, we can, can we?

  “What brought you to us, anyhow?” Maro asked.

  “The gunshot, of course.”

  Runnel took a step forward. “You hear shot, and run to it?”

  She nodded. “Muskets are single fire use, and judging by the sound, you were close enough that if I ran here, I could arrive before you reloaded.”

  “What if there’d been more than one person?” Maro asked. Judging by her face, she hadn’t thought of that.

  “You don’t like me much, do you?”

  He shrugged. “You haven’t given me a reason to.”

  “I like you,” Runnel said from behind her. “Come, you ride in wagon. We huddle for warmth.”

  Runnel turned, headed for the wagon. Katya gave Maro one last glance, resignation mixed with something else, as she followed.

  Maro glanced at the fire. Yeah, don’t worry about it, I’ll kill the flames. Cozy on up for a free wagon ride.