Avian unwrapped the linen that covered her face, revealing pale skin with not a single hair. Her nose was flatter than the average human, with visible nostrils.

  Taking a step back, my mind scrambled. Another Fidi. This one is much younger than Layla. After twenty winters of never meeting a Fidi, I’ve now met two on the same day. It couldn’t be a coincidence. “Who is Layla to you?”

  Avian hissed. “A Rasmun my parents hired.” She glared at me. “Our numbers have dwindled, but not to where we’re all related.” Her tongue darted from her mouth and flickered.

  Despite having a nose, the Fidi mostly used their tongues to smell. I wasn’t sure exactly how it worked, but I knew they could detect a Tysaura, even when it took the form of a yaksha. This ability was the main motivation for generations of Tysaura to hunt and slaughter Fidi.

  Before continuing, Avian removed her shoes and rubbed her feet. “I hate wearing them, but unlike Layla, I don’t have the luxury of being myself in public.” She grinned as her feet plunged onto the ground. “Feels much better.” Her head whipped to the side in time to see Kiri emerge from the thick brush.

  I studied Kiri’s white eyes. She was still affected by Sani’s blood. Every one of her movements seemed ridiculously fast. She sniffed, bared her teeth, then headed back into the darkness.

  “I also sense it,” Avian said.

  “Do you smell something?” I asked.

  She shook her head. I feel footsteps. Something heavier than a yaksha. It’s keeping its distance, for now. She turned to the left and flicked her tongue.

  I glanced at her bare feet, trying to understand how she sensed something so minute as footsteps far away.

  Avian locked eyes with me, glanced down at her feet, then made eye contact again. “You know about my smell, but not my sensitivity to vibrations. Now that I don’t have leather blocking my ability, I’ll be able to tell if someone tries to sneak up on us.”

  I wondered if most yaksha know these things about the Fidi. Being a citizen of Mallma had many advantages, shielding us from the many dangers that lurked in this world. But those that survived outside the walls must rely on skills I had yet to hone.

  “You can smell the difference between a human and a yaksha, can’t you?” I asked.

  Avian nodded.

  “That is how you knew Joklo was neither.”

  “He smells like nothing I’ve encountered before.” She allowed her tongue to flicker again. “Neither does whatever creature is lurking near us in the forest.

  My skin felt itchy thinking about what Joklo and the mystery creature could be. What if they are working together? “Do they smell similar?” I asked.

  She shook her head.

  I looked back at Joklo, wondering what secrets he held.

  “Why do you stare at Joklo?” He plucked a string on his lute.

  “I ah...” Scrambling, I said, “I thought I saw something. “I pointed over his shoulder.

  He scurried over and hid behind me. “Oh no. What is lurking behind Joklo.”

  Avian flicked her tongue in the direction I had pointed. “Nothing is there.” She pointed to a clearing ahead of us. “That is a suitable spot to set up camp.”

  “How close are we to the hunting lodge?”

  “Too far to reach this night, but we shall be there after Patra rises twice.”

  While Avian crafted a fire, I pulled the supplies from my bag and set up my tent. The chill of the night air already made my muscles feel stiff. I needed to warm up.

  Once the fire was roaring, I placed my talc stones around the fire ring, allowing them to warm up. Sani and Avian set down a leather mat to sleep on. Kiri circled the camp, weaving in at times, mostly to stare at Sani before disappearing again.

  Avian glanced at Sani. “The blood is wearing off. She’ll be craving more soon.” She smirked. “Keep alert until she sleeps.”

  “She doesn’t enjoy drinking the blood,” I said.

  “Enjoy has nothing to do with it.” Avian settled onto her makeshift bed. “Her body will crave it.”

  Joklo sat on a log near the fire. “Sleep well my friends, for Joklo will watch you during your slumber.”

  A shiver ran up my spine as I thought about him hovering over me, staring as I tried to rest.

  Everyone must have given the same face, because his pulled back in surprise. “Not in a creepy way. I’ll guard the camp and make sure Kiri doesn’t drink Sani.”

  “If she decides to take his blood by force, we will need more than a bard to stop her,” Avian said.

  He giggled. “Nobody knows how persuasive Joklo can be.”

  Hoping he would, I asked, “Aren’t you going to sleep?”

  This time he chuckled, almost falling from his seat in a manner that appeared forced. “Joklo doesn’t sleep.”

  The strange bard went from a minor annoyance to the subject of my nightmares in a single night. I knew of no living thing that didn’t sleep. Just as I thought I couldn’t be more scared, something howled in the distance. The deepness of the voice was more pronounced than any wolf I’ve ever heard.

  Sani and Avian moved closer to the fire, each holding their weapons in the ready position. I drew my sword while keeping an eye on Joklo. Unlike the rest of the group, the sound didn’t seem to faze him in the least. Whatever he was, he didn’t fear an unknown beast, nor worry that everyone in camp had their weapons drawn but him.

  Avian flicked her tongue. “It’s not getting any closer.” She let her arms drop to her side, stayed there for a moment, then sheathed her daggers. Sani sat back down, keeping his spear at hand.

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  The howling stopped. Both Avian and Sani started getting comfortable on their makeshift beds.

  After moving my talc stones to the tent, I went in and lay down. Avian already began to snore, a sound that combined hissing and whistling, all at a pitch much higher than I would have thought.

  Joklo remained by the fire, plucking his lute periodically.

  “Must you do that?” Sani asked.

  “Yes.” He strummed. “Joklo can’t help but listen to the sound his lute makes.”

  He sighed loudly, turning onto his side, facing away from Joklo and covering his ears with his hands.

  My intention was to stay awake until Kiri returned to camp. Avian said something was out there, and I didn’t want Kiri to face whatever it was alone. But Joklo’s plucking had a different effect on me than it did on Sani. My eyelids felt heavy as sleep took me.

  A howling pulled me from my slumber. As my eyes flipped open, I saw Kiri’s face staring down at me. Her eyes weren’t as white as they had been, but they weren’t quite back to normal.

  “Are you awake?” She asked.

  “I am now.” I crawled out of my tent. Kiri moved out of my way as I neared the fire. I turned my back to the flames and peered at her. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded.

  The howl sounded off again. It came from ahead of us, not too close, but not far away.

  “Do you hear that?” Kiri asked.

  “How could I not?” I flipped around, warming my hands and body.

  “I want to go see what it is. Joklo said he would stay here and watch over Sani and Avian.” She bit her lip. “Will you come with me?”

  I hesitated. If she was nervous about seeing for herself, then Sani’s blood wasn’t affecting her much. Without her extra speed and strength, I wasn’t certain the two of us were the best ones to venture into the unknown. “Perhaps we should wake Sani or Avian.”

  She shook her head. “Whatever that is out there. It doesn’t sound like it is angry.” She put her hand up to her ear.

  The creature howled in the distance.

  “See,” she said. “That is distress in its voice. Both Avian and Sani are hunters. They will want to kill whatever it is and go back to sleep.”

  I shook my head. “We don’t know what it is, so we have no idea what it normally sounds like.” Thinking for a moment, I added. “Why do you think Avian is a hunter?”

  “Brigand assassin.” She huffed. “She hunts people.” After a pause, she said, “I’ve been listening to that thing for half the night. I can tell the difference in its sound when it was in trouble.”

  “You trust Joklo here without us?” I whispered.

  She shook her head. “You make excuses because you are afraid.” Turning, she muttered. “I’ll do it myself if you’re too much of a drux.” Moving swiftly, she disappeared into the woods.

  “A drux?” My posture stiffened. I remembered her calling me that when we were younger, right before our dads left for the war. She wasn’t the first. But since becoming a soldier, I hadn’t had anyone question my masculinity. Realizing she knew exactly how to manipulate me, I still decided not to let her go alone. “Wait up.”

  By the time I caught up, she was almost to the sound. The creature was under the canopy of a particularly large tree, making it even darker. I pulled my jacket tighter around my body as I moved next to her, attempting to stave away some of the night chill. “What is it?”

  She shrugged, then moved forward.

  The creature howled, but stopped abruptly and started growling instead. It must see us. I crept beside her. As we got closer, I could finally make out some of the creature. The beast was taller than a yaksha but shorter than a giant. Its muscles reminded me of a Jotun, but unlike them, it was covered in shaggy hair. “What is it?”

  The creature growled again, swinging its hand at us.

  “I don’t know.” Kiri pointed down at its feet. “But it’s stuck in a trap.”

  Moving a little closer, I saw the bear trap clenched around his hairy ankle. While the beast didn’t take its eyes off us, it fumbled with the device, trying to remove it.

  “It doesn’t know how to release the trap,” I said.

  “I do.” Kiri put her hand out as she moved forward. The volume of her voice rose, but the tone became softer, like a mother soothing a crying baby. “I’m not sure if you can understand me, but I want to help you.”

  It stopped growling, and howled instead, much softer than before. Watching her every movement, it pointed at the trap.

  Kiri nodded. “I see it. I see it.” She pulled in a long, slow breath as she leaned within reach. The creature pulled its hands back and pushed the trapped leg closer to her.

  “You can’t trust that thing Kiri,” I said.

  The beast locked eyes with me and let out a throaty growl.

  “Ignore him.” Kiri bent over and put one hand on the trap. She petted the hairy creature’s leg gently, right above the contraption’s teeth. “You’ll feel a little pinch before it releases.” Her hands glided down to the base of the trap. She turned the release, then grabbed the metal with both hands and pulled.

  The beast yanked its foot from the trap, howled, then turned and sprinted into the woods, limping with each step.

  “You’re welcome,” Kiri shouted as she stood. She turned to face me. The alluring green was back in her now tired eyes. Her shoulders slumped as she yawned. “I’m exhausted. Let’s go to bed.” Her eyes widened. “I mean each to our own individual beds.”

  “I can think of at least one interesting place to shove it,” Kiri shouted.

  My eyelids fluttered, adjusting to the light outside my tent. I wiped the sleep from my eyes and climbed out. Joklo walked backwards, holding his lute behind his back. He plucked a string while shaking his head.

  Kiri ambled toward him. Partially hunched over, she glanced up, her eyes squinting. Her body retracted as she shielded her eyes from Patra.

  “Is everything alright?” I asked.

  “All night with the strumming.” She stopped moving for a moment, leaned over, and made a motion like she held back the urge to puke. “Every time it feels like a drum going off in my head.”

  Avian moved next to me and stretched.

  “I think she’s hungover from the wine,” I whispered.

  She shook her pale head. “From the blood.” She shrugged. “By the time Patra is above us, she should feel better.” Walking toward Kiri, Avian said, “You need to drink some water.” She glanced at Joklo. “Can’t you stop just for a while?”

  He plucked a string. “Joklo never stops. Don’t make Joklo stop. I don’t want him to come.”

  “Not this again.” Kiri shook her head. “He keeps insisting if he doesn’t play the damn lute, his father will come.”

  “He will.” His eyes widened. “Joklo must play. He must.”

  “Kiri.” I walked up to her and handed some small swatches of linen. “Roll these up and put them in your ears.” I handed her a brimmed hat I had taken from Lar’s house. “This will help keep the sun from your eyes.”

  Avian’s tongue flicked at Kiri. “Did something happen last night?”

  As Kiri put the linen in her ears, she said, “We found something stuck in a trap.”

  “By the smell, I can tell it was the one that had been following us,” Avian said. “What was it?”

  “It was a hairy creature, about half an arrow taller than me,” I said.

  “A bear?” Sani asked.

  I shook my head. “Leaner, but with a lot of muscle. It howled and growled.” I paused, thinking about the creature’s face. “The features were more similar to to a man’s than a bear’s, but with a wider nose, and large nostrils.”

  Sani’s eyes widened. “The sasquatch.”

  “This creature is from your realm?” Avian asked.

  Sani shook his head. “But some have come to our realm. Protectors of the forest. Can be very dangerous when provoked.”

  Avian glanced around, flicking her tongue. “He is still close. Should we track him?”

  “No,” Kiri said. “After we released him from the trap, he ran off. He could have attacked us, but he didn’t.”

  “We must keep our guard.” She looked behind us, flicking her tongue. “I believe your sasquatch is following us.”

  The color seemed to leave Sani’s face. “It might be hunting me.”

  “I remember you saying something was following you when you first came to my gate,” I said.

  “My people fought two sasquatches in the forest. They managed to bring the beasts down, but many died in the battle. I was at camp when they fought.” He hung his head. “My grandfather barely survived, only to succumb to his injuries before night.”

  “You think there may have been three, and one is following us to get his revenge on you?”

  Sani’s eyes narrowed. “If he comes to fight, we will need to be ready.”

  “How many of your people did they kill?” Avian asked.

  “Including my grandfather, there were ten.”

  “Ten on three,” Avian said. “All warriors like you?”

  Sani shook his head. “I was training to be a healer, not a warrior. They were the best fighters in our tribe.”

  “Three took down ten of his best fighters.” I shuddered. “What are our chances against one?”

  Avian grimaced. “The one that survived must be a better fighter than the others. Regardless of our strategy, any battle we engage in will end with casualties on our side.”