Eva made a sound of frustration, one that sounded very like a growl. “I’ve already told you I did. They haven’t been able to help. Aren’t you all part of the same people?”
“While I sympathize with your plight, we are unable to help,” Braden said, his tone a clear dismissal.
Eva’s face fell before she rallied enough to hide her thoughts.
“I’ll help,” Shea said. “Can you show me where your herd is?”
Hope lit in Eva’s eyes, and she gave a sharp nod, before shooting the rest of the group a grim look.
Charles looked offended. “The Telroi is too important to waste her time on such insignificant matters.”
“I think I should be the judge in how my time is spent.” Shea kept her voice gentle to soften the rebuke.
Charles felt the sting of it, nonetheless. His face flushed and his mouth tightened in a frown.
“If you don’t mind the company, I’d be interested in seeing this as well,” Fiona said. She and two other men stood off to Shea’s left, watching them with curious eyes. “My men and I have a lot of energy to spend since we’ve been cooped up in camp for the last few weeks.”
Eva studied Fiona and her men before nodding. “We’ll take any help we can get at this point.”
Eva’s friend looked no less worried than he had before Eva had confronted Shea, but he did squeeze her shoulder in support. “If you’ll follow us, we can show you where we keep the herd and the tracks we found.”
Shea gestured for them to lead the way.
*
Eva was right; these did look like bandisox tracks, only they were bigger than any Shea had ever seen. Nearly as big as her head, they were also set almost an entire arm length apart. That meant the stride was pretty long. Shea was guessing from these that the beast was as tall as her waist and probably her weight as well.
Fiona crouched a few feet away and pressed her hand down into the track. “Piss and bollocks. This thing is huge.”
“Looks like more than one of them,” one of Fiona’s men said from where he crouched.
“The smaller bandisox tend to scavenge in packs,” Shea said, standing and walking along the tracks. “I wouldn’t be surprised if these are the same.”
While big compared to their smaller cousins, the bandisox in this forest would still be small when compared to many other predators. Horses, dangerous in their own right, and perfectly capable of killing their predators, were probably less aggressive than some of the other animals here. They would be easy prey if enough bandisox attacked en masse.
“What are you looking for?” Trenton asked as he shadowed Shea. She’d followed the tracks to a tree.
“A nest. There are too few tracks for this to be a colony. My guess is a few broke with their original colony when resources became plentiful and that they’re setting up their own nest close to a food source.”
Eva followed, listening with an attentive expression. “Are you saying there are going to be more of them?”
“Probably sooner than you think,” Shea warned. “It’s good that you brought this to our attention when you did. A colony can grow to several hundred strong. At that point, they wouldn’t have only attacked the horses. You would have been prey as well.”
Eva looked apprehensive at that news, her eyes going to the forest around them as her body tensed.
Seeing the alarm in her face, Shea gave her a reassuring smile. “Your warning came in time. I think this is a small nest so far. We shouldn’t have a problem uprooting it.”
Fiona and her men trailed Shea and Trenton as they swept through the forest. The horses were allowed to roam in the meadow that had popped up due to a gap in the canopy above. The wildflowers and long grass made it perfect for grazing, and the open space made it easy for Eva and her friend to care for them.
One of the horses, a white gray mare with a black mane and tail, and gray spots on her lower legs trotted up to Eva. She butted the woman playfully and then tossed her head. Eva patted her absently, her eyes on the meadow around them.
“She’s a beauty,” Fiona said, her eyes on the horse.
“Last herd master wanted to put her down because he thought she was too aggressive,” Eva said stroking the mare’s nose. To the mare, she crooned, “You just thought the man was an idiot, didn’t you sweetheart?”
One of Fiona’s men stepped close, his hand going up to touch the horse’s neck. The mare squealed and wheeled, her lips pulling back as she tried to nip the man. Eva grabbed the horse’s head and pulled before the mare could trample the other man.
“Hey, just ignore the fool,” Eva told the mare, her voice soft and gentle. “Just because someone’s rude doesn’t mean we have to go get all bent out of shape.”
Shea chuckled. She liked the herd mistress.
“How long have you been with this herd?” Shea asked.
Eva continued patting the mare even as she threw a glance at Shea. “Not long. A few months at most.”
“We don’t normally accept women as tribute,” Braden said, thoughtful eyes on Eva.
Eva’s smile was humorless. “I wasn’t tribute.”
“Someone claimed you as a telroi?” Trenton asked.
She shook her head. “My village cast me out. One of the warbands found me and offered to take me with them. I didn’t see much of a choice.”
“Brave,” Fiona said, a bit of respect on her face. “Not many women would be so accepting.”
Eva’s smile was gentle as she looked up at the mare. “Their horses made the risk worth it.”
The mare let out a loud snort as its ears laid back and its tail swished aggressively. It lifted its head and pawed the ground.
Eva stepped back, her gaze going to the forest around them as the mare alerted them to the danger. The others with them immediately went on alert, weapons coming out as they eyed their surroundings.
The forest was quiet—the trees looming like silent watchers.
The mare lifted half up and then came back to the ground, stomping as she released a scream of challenge.
Charles took several unsteady steps back, fear showing on his face. Clark had already drawn the bow and arrow he’d brought.
A large form, about the size of a dog, appeared in the grass not far from them. Its yellow eyes focused on Shea and her group. It was a bandisox, smaller than the tracks had indicated, but bigger than any she’d seen before.
The mare used her shoulder to herd Eva away from the bandisox.
“Don’t shoot.” Shea’s voice was eerily calm.
“Kill it,” Charles said, his voice tight.
“No, not yet. Look in the trees above it,” Shea said.
Above them, massed on the branches like crows, were a swarm of bandisox. The grass rustled on both sides of their group.