Barbarian King’s Mate by Ivy Sparks

Chapter Twenty

Garath

After reportingwhat we found to my father, I charged down the catwalk toward the hut where I had left Daphne. When I stuck my head inside, however, she wasn’t there. I darted back outside, ran one way, then the other, then took off back toward Father’s house.

But she wasn’t there, either. My chest tightened when I returned to the platform outside. Where was she? Just then, one woman came strolling up the ramp toward me. I grabbed her. “Do you know where Daphne went? She was working at the…”

She jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “She just went to the healer’s hut.”

That was all I needed to hear. I rushed down three flights of stairs and almost dove into the healer’s tent when Daphne emerged from the door. Her eyes widened when she saw me in such a frenzy. “What’s wrong? Did your father believe…?”

“I have to leave. I have to leave right now. Father has ordered all the hunters to wipe out the Vorlax in the area. If the Ranxi are using the Vorlax in their campaign, we have to make sure they don’t find where we’ve hidden ourselves.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. “Do you have to leave right now? Wouldn’t it be better to…?”

I shook my head. “Father is in a rage over the Ranxi using the Vorlax against us. I don’t like it, but I have to go. Niss and Zixor are coming with us.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Is everybody going? The rest of us would be left undefended.”

“I tried to tell him, but he won’t listen. If I stayed behind, I would be labeled a coward and a traitor, and I would lose the throne to Zixor. I can’t let that happen.”

“Well, at least take the anti-venom.” She pulled back the tent flap. “The healer made plenty of it after I showed her what I used to make it for you. We haven’t had time to create any other chemical weapons, but the anti-venom is better than nothing.”

She disappeared inside. I looked over my shoulder at the other hunters coming out of their houses. They carried every weapon they could manage. Over by the tunnel, the assembled party discussed their strategy. Father pointed in different directions and stalked between the hunters, inspecting their gear and giving them instructions.

Daphne touched my elbow, having returned from inside. “Are you going to be okay?”

I frowned at the hunting party growing bigger by the second. “I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all. We might be well-hidden in this cavern, but we aren’t invincible. This many warriors leaving at once will only attract attention. My father’s acting out of panic, but at this point, there’s little I can do to stop him.”

“Take this.” She pressed four gourd bottles into my hand. A woven rope connected them so they could hang over my shoulder. “This is all the anti-venom we have so far, but we can make more. If anyone gets stung, rub it on the sting site and give the person some by mouth. It takes time to work, but it’s better than dying.”

I nodded. “Thank you… for everything.”

“Since this substance counteracts the venom, it should theoretically be toxic to Vorlax. You could try rubbing it on your knives and arrow tips. It just might work.”

“I will try it.”

She squeezed my hand, and her eyes softened. “Come back to me.”

“You have my word of honor on that.” I dove in and kissed her once. I couldn’t do more than that, or I really would stay behind.

I tore myself away and crossed the last few catwalks to the tunnel. Father and the other hunters were already entering it, with more arriving from behind. I plunged into the throng and let the crush of bodies bury me. I didn’t look back, even when I sensed Daphne watching me until I was out of sight.

Once outside, the hunting party broke into a run. We plummeted down the mountain on the track of the Vorlax. We moved fast, and my mind slipped into battle mode. All thought of the past vanished. I even forgot about the anti-venom bottles bumping against my ribs.

I put on speed and made my way to the front of the phalanx. To my surprise, I found Father there running strong. I hadn’t seen him this energetic and vital since we fled from Kavius. He still had his fighting spirit. It just took a direct threat from the Ranxi to bring it back to life.

I got another surprise when I didn’t see Zixor at the front. He was far back in the ranks. Tennar ran on Father’s other side, and the three of us led the party over the hills to the lookout where we could survey the Vorlax’s territory.

We pulled up on a bald rock exposed to the sun and waited for a time. From here, I could see right down to the far-off stream that ran near the glade, but it was empty. The Vorlax weren’t there. Had they abandoned it?

“What is that you have there, my son?”

I looked up. I almost didn’t recognize that voice. It spoke out of my past, a past I thought was long dead. Father was examining the rope of bottles.

“It’s the anti-venom that Daphne and the healer synthesized. It will cure anyone stung by the Vorlax.”

He nodded. “She is a valuable addition to our clan. I made a mistake treating her like an enemy when you first brought her to us. I should have trusted your judgment.”

My heart leaped at his words, and I took courage. “Daphne thinks this same cure might work as a poison against the Vorlax. She suggested we tip our arrows and blades with it. It might kill them more quickly.”

“We will try it.” He peered down into the valley below. “But we must find the enemy first.”

“Where do you suppose they’re hiding now?” Tennar asked.

I looked over my shoulder. There was nothing to see but miles of forest and mountains in any direction. Over there on the far hill, the undergrowth hid the entrance to Caverncall. Daphne was in there… alone.

“What is bothering you?” Father asked again. His voice sounded soft—a lot softer than I remembered since I was a small child.

“He’s missing his enchanting mate,” Tennar teased.

I couldn’t take the joke. “I have a bad feeling. The Vorlax have been concentrating their efforts in this area for years, and now they’re nowhere to be seen? A hunting party this big should have attracted their attention. Why hasn’t it?”

Father scowled down the valley to the empty glade. The countryside down there sounded unnaturally quiet. We should have been able to hear creatures chirping and cawing from here. “You are right, my son. Something is off.”

I turned back. Some inexplicable force kept pulling me toward Caverncall, and it wasn’t cowardice. “Something’s wrong back at the cavern. Daphne…” I didn’t want to say it. They would definitely think I was a coward if I mentioned her, but that concerned expression on Father’s face pushed me the last inch over the edge. He looked downright warm. It encouraged me to continue. “She’s in danger. I feel it.”

His expression changed in a heartbeat. His eyes popped and his concerned look changed to cold, granite fury. “The same thing happened to me the night the Ranxi attacked our palace on Kavius. I never told anyone, but I felt my mate was in danger. I was on patrol and I turned back, but when I returned to the city, I was too late. I never had a chance to protect her.” He clamped his eyes shut and turned away from the memory.

I gaped at my father, the man I thought was all but dead these last few years. He understood.

I spun around and bellowed over the assembled hunters. “Turn back! We’re going back.”

The others jolted. “Are you sure?” Nissaya popped out from cover to ask, having been too far to hear my conversation with our father. “We just got here.”

Zixor came strutting through the crowd like he was on vacation from ruling the world. “What’s this about turning back? You aren’t running at the first sign of danger, are you? That’s hardly the behavior of a clan King.”

I opened my mouth to put him in his place, but in a blinding blur of movement, Father stepped between us. He stood up to Zixor, and his body seemed to expand to twice its former size. “This is the behavior of a clan King. Turn back—all of you. Caverncall is in danger.”

In sight of everyone, he turned to me. “Take command, my son. Lead the charge in my place.”

I didn’t wait to be told twice. I sprang into the throng and pulled the bottles from their loops, handing them to a few choice warriors. “Tip your arrows with this and rub it on your blades. It may work as a poison against the Vorlax, but work quickly. We have no time to lose.”