Renegades (Hotbloods #3)

A moment later, the enormous beast rose from its slumbering spot, ice sliding from its scales as it shook off the evening’s frost. It was about the size of an elephant, though it was lower to the ground, a stout neck giving way to a bulky head that was somewhere between a wolf’s and an anteater’s. Icy fangs glinted as it yawned, its beady green eyes surveying the cave for signs of a disturbance. Lifting its oddly long snout, it sniffed the air, drawing in great puffs, scenting out anything that didn’t belong. I clung to Navan, holding my breath, hoping it wouldn’t smell us.

It opened its mouth wide and let out a curious sound, partway between a wail and a song, which seemed to float across the cavern in a slow, melancholic melody that made me feel unexpectedly sad. Coming from any other creature, I might have thought it was a sweet sound, but this beast was anything but endearing. There was malevolence in its eyes.

Navan went still beside me, his gaze frozen on the monster.

“We need to get out of here,” I whispered, tugging on his arm. “Let’s regroup, figure out how we can fight this thing,” I continued, trying to make him turn around. I didn’t want to be nearby if that hulking beast decided to charge us.

“Navan?” I tugged at his arm again, but he wouldn’t budge. A strange noise rippled through the air toward me, a kind of growling hiss. At first, I thought it was coming from the scaly creature, but its mouth was shut now, its nostrils no longer sniffing at the icy air. With a shiver of dread, I realized it was coming from the back of Navan’s throat, his shoulders rising and falling rapidly with each grunt. He was panting like a frantic hound.

I lifted my hand to his shoulder. “Navan! Are you okay?” I asked, though I knew something was wrong. All I wanted was for him to turn and look at me, but his focus was fixed ahead. It was like I wasn’t even there. “Can you hear me?” I whispered, keeping one eye on the creature, who seemed frozen too, at the far side of the cavern.

As Navan’s shoulders relaxed, his growling easing, the creature opened its mouth wide and sang its curious song once more. The effect was instantaneous. It was like something had taken hold of Navan, making panic ripple through his veins, speeding up his breath. I could feel his pulse through his shirt, pounding like mad. Whatever song that creature was singing, it had a hypnotic effect on Navan. Somehow, it was controlling him.

“Navan, listen to my voice,” I said, hoping to soothe him back into reality.

His head whipped toward me, his eyes a strange, milky white, their gaze unfocused. I snatched my hand away, staggering back, but he just stood there, his muscles tensed. Drawing back his lips, he flashed his fangs at me. A growl rumbled from his throat. It was a warning.

“It’s me… Riley,” I breathed, praying that part of him would recognize my voice. There had to be a way to snap him out of this trance. “If you can hear me, reach out for my hand,” I said, lifting my own hand in his direction, though I was careful to keep enough distance between us.

His unfocused eyes glanced at my outstretched hand for a moment, but it was clear he had no idea who I was, or what I was doing. As his gaze flicked back up, meeting mine, a second growl emerged from his throat, louder than the last, and his lips curled in a savage snarl.

“Navan, you have to—” I didn’t get to finish. Without warning, he lunged at me, his wings spread wide, his fangs flashing hungrily. Before I had a chance to back away, or make a run for the cave exit, his hands grasped me by the shoulders, his fingers digging in until I thought my bones might shatter.

“Stop!” I shouted, but he couldn’t hear me. I was speaking to a stranger who didn’t recognize me as anything but the enemy. I could see the hatred burning in his white eyes, his mind and body under the influence of the beast’s strange song. This was the creature’s defense mechanism: it got the encroacher to do the dirty work. It made the attacker become the attacked. I didn’t know why the song wasn’t affecting me. I could only assume it had something to do with my human genetics.

“Let go!” I yelled, trying to fight against his fierce grip. “Navan, you’re hurting me!” I grimaced as his grip tightened, my whole body screaming out against the pain.

As tears of agony pricked my eyes, I lifted my leg and kicked him in the shin as hard as I could. It made no difference. Panic flooded through me, and I tried to slap his face with my tortured arms, but the impact barely made him flinch. I wasn’t strong enough, especially not with the sapping effect his savage grip was having on my muscles.

“NAVAN!” I roared, knowing I was running out of options. He wouldn’t listen, he couldn’t feel anything, and I wasn’t powerful enough to force him off me.

Thinking quickly, my arms feeling as though they were about to break in Navan’s grasp, I shoved the emberstone against his stomach, gripping the smooth edges as hard as I could, knowing it would heat the stone up to the burning point. I hated to do this to him, but I had no choice. As sparks erupted from within, burning up the fabric of Navan’s t-shirt and searing his flesh, I felt his grip on me loosen. His eyes flickered for a moment, a look of recognition passing across his face, just for a second. His mouth opened, as if he wanted to say something, but the moment disappeared as quickly as it had come.

Seizing the opportunity, I slipped out of his grasp before he could grab me again. The emberstone’s shock to his system had worked in snapping him out of his trance, but it hadn’t been applied for long enough. No, if I was going to snap him out of it completely, then I needed that shock to last longer.

As his eyes went blank again, the white fog intensifying, I turned and ran, wracking my brain for an idea. There had to be something I could do to stop him. My feet pounded the hard floor of the icy cave, my mind ever-conscious that I could slip at any moment. If I did, I knew there was every possibility that Navan would actually kill me. He didn’t know who I was. To him, I was a faceless enemy, and his only duty was to end me. Even so, I didn’t let the slippery terrain slow me down as I sprinted for the cavern’s exit.

Behind me, I could hear his wings as he took flight, setting my pulse racing. There was no way I could outrun him for long—but maybe I wouldn’t have to. In my head, a desperate idea was forming.

Sprinting out of the cavern, following the sound of rushing water, I turned left, into a tunnel we hadn’t been through before. At least Navan wouldn’t be able to fly in the narrow tunnel. He’d have to get back on his feet, giving me a momentary advantage. My lungs burning in my chest, I continued to run, keeping the sound of water at the forefront of my focus. I knew it had to give way to actual liquid at some point. If it didn’t, I was doomed.

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that Navan was only a few paces behind me, his eyes terrifyingly blank. I peered farther down the tunnel, and the sight that met me filled my heart with hope. Just in time, I skidded to a halt on the edge of a glittering lake, forcing my body to twist off to the side as Navan barreled past me, plummeting into the ice-cold water below. Panting heavily, I crawled up to the lip of the lakeshore, peering into the dark water, watching the center of the ripples that flowed outward.