* * *
“Keensay tay?” the huge native asked, looking them over.
Garret paused. Damn, his eyes. Big and gold like a cat’s. Striking didn’t begin to describe them.
Eli rubbed the top of his head and made a face. “Come again?”
The other males approached, flanking the speaker’s sides.
Their spokesman tried again. “Tay.” He gestured to Garret’s men, then showed his blood-covered hands. “Keensay tay?”
Paris pursed his brows and glanced at Garret. “I think he’s asking if we’re hurt.”
They cared if they were injured? That had to be a positive.
Garret glanced at his comrades, heart still hammering. “You guys good?”
“Just scrapes and bruises, Chief,” Eli answered, eyeing the natives. “Thanks to these big, purple bad asses.”
The rest of the team nodded.
Thank God. No one was hurt. Garret looked back at their rescuers. “We’re all right.” Not that he expected them to understand.
The dark giant smiled as some of his buddies wiped their blades. “Bellah,” he murmured. “Genji may.”
“Right. Okay.” Garret scratched his chin. He had absolutely no idea what he was saying. Oh, well. Why not add some one-way speak of his own? Rubbing his shoulder, he offered a smile. “Thank you… by the way… for the save.”
The large male looked down at the beast he’d just slayed, then casually nudged its side with his foot. Like taking down the fucker had been no big deal. Like maybe he hunted their kind all the time. “Tachi,” he stated.
Garret glanced at the thing. Was he telling him the name of that species?
The other five dropped to their haunches and manned their kills.
He watched as they gripped the beasts’ jaws and wrenched them open. Geez. What were they doing? But then the males grabbed their knives and got to work removing the creatures’ fangs.
Garret grimaced at the sound of blade grinding against bone, until another noise abruptly stole his attention. A heavy thump at his team’s back, only a couple feet away. Evidently, another pack mate had arrived. But before he could do more than turn his head, the large male clutched Sasha’s shoulders from behind.
“Meesha,” he growled softly, burrowing his face in the medic’s blond hair.
Sasha froze like a statue, his blue eyes wide.
“Hey!” Helix barked, shoving forward to grab the male’s wrist.
Eli, however, merely did a quarter turn. No doubt, to keep one eye on the rest of the pack while his buddy, Helix, took care of business. Garret moved to assist though, and Kegan came as well. Something the male at Sasha’s back didn’t seem to like.
Snarling in warning, he bared his fangs, then spun Sasha around and—stopped dead. His expression immediately fell as he raked the medic’s face. Clearly, he was disappointed. He hid that shit fast, though. Curling his lip, he let go and glowered at Helix—which Helix took as a clear sign to step off. Smart, that soldier. After all, these guys were huge.
The spokesman smirked at his angry friend. “Mah, Gesh. Mahn meesha.”
The male shot him a glare. “Tah, Roni. Deletta et.”
Sasha backpedaled fast, bumping into Paris. Helix, on the other hand, stayed put, undaunted.
Garret eyed the newcomer suspiciously. He’d thought Sasha was someone else. As in, another human. Which meant, at some point he’d been in contact with the others.
Quickly, Garret ran the first team’s file through his brain. He stopped on one man’s image in particular. A younger guy. With hair very similar to their medic. Noah, he believed his name was. One of the scientists.
Determined to get some answers, he faced the male directly. “You thought you knew him.” He pointed to Sasha. “You’ve seen others that look like him. That look like us.”
The dusky giant clenched his jaw and leveled him with knowing eyes. “Tah,” he murmured darkly. “Ocha hewmens.”
Kegan stilled at Garret’s side. “Did he just say ‘humans’?”
“Think so.” Garret studied the guy, then lifted his chin. “You speak English?”
The male’s lips curved. He pinched his fingers. “A leetle.”
His spokesman friend beamed and nodded. “Bitch.”
Garret’s brows rose. Bitch? He swapped looks with Kegan.
“Yeaaaah, I don’t know about you, Chief,” Eli drawled. “But if bitch is the only word this big fucker knows? Doesn’t sound like the chitchat between species was all that pleasant.”
“Yeah,” Helix grunted, narrowing his gaze. “I don’t trust them. At all. Something’s off.”
Sasha frowned and rubbed his nape. “I dunno. He felt pretty friendly just a second ago.”
“Right.” Paris nodded. “Meaning he was probably friendly with the other team, too.”
Eli crossed his arms. “God, I hope not, ’cause that did not look like ‘friendly’ to me. More like ‘I’m about to fucking mount you’.”
Garret stiffened at the thought and shot the male a look. “Where are they now? The humans. We need to find them.”
The newcomer eyed him broodingly. Opened his mouth, then shut it. As if he too knew the language barrier made speaking pointless. Looking to his pack mates, he pointed into the jungle. “Filli. Fin. Miros. Aussa tuga gai.”
Three males stood up, two looking identical, and obediently tromped off to God knew where. Guess the newest arrival was this formidable pack’s leader. Garret watched the trio leave, then looked back at their boss, still waiting for an answer to his question. What he found though, was the dark male curiously eyeing the team’s medic. Must still be thinking about his lookalike.
Garret gestured to Sasha. “You thought he was someone else. Who? What was his name?”
The leader averted his gaze, clearly fighting back a frown. Long moments later, he muttered, “Noah.”
* * *
The three males returned not too long after, each carrying a load of orange, pear-shaped objects. Kind of looked like fruit, or maybe they were vegetables, although for all Garret knew, they were some kind of freaky eggs.
As they drew to a stop, boss man rumbled off fresh orders, gesturing once again to Garret’s team. The trio ambled over and offered each man a share. Then the non-twin, Miros, tossed one to their leader.
The big fucker caught it and turned back to Garret, making a pointed show of taking a bite. “Gewd.” He motioned for Garret to eat his, too.
“Did he just say ‘good’?” Kegan asked, eyeing his gift.
“Think so,” Eli answered, studying his, too.
Helix scowled and looked at Garret. “He doesn’t seriously expect us to eat this.”
“I think he does,” Garret muttered, giving his ‘pear’ a brief sniff. Smelled okay. He turned to Sasha. “Looks safe, but you’d better check it.”
The medic nodded, then stilled. “Shit. I can’t. The instruments were in my pack.”
Fuck. Didn’t take long to feel the bite of ditching their shit. Garret exhaled and dragged a hand down his face. “Right. We should probably go back and look for our gear.”
The pack leader shot him an incredulous look. “Mah. Mahneenta kai. Moyos besh dedók tay tacha.”
Garret stared at him in utter frustration. He could tell from the male’s tone that his message was important, but still had no clue what he was saying. He looked at Paris. “Did you catch any of that, by chance?”
Paris frowned. “Sorry, Chief.”
Garret turned back to the seven-foot giant. “Look, man,” he extended his arms out to his sides, “I can’t understand a fucking word you’re saying. And we really need our shit to survive.”
He gestured with his chin for his team to head out. This exchange was getting them nowhere, and now that the coast was clear, they needed to find their stuff while there was still light. If any luck whatsoever remained on their side, the scientists would be somewhere near their beacon.
“Mah.” The leader threw out his hand to stop them. Features tight, he prompted them again to eat their food. “Eat. Help talk.” He ordered his pack to do the same, as if trying to assure Garret the stuff was safe. The natives all but rolled their eyes, but nevertheless took big bites.
“Mmm. Bellah kai,” they rumbled, nodding encouragingly.
Their boss grinned at Garret. “Tah. Gewd.”
“Oh, my God.” Helix grimaced at the males in disgust. “These big, purple bad asses are fucking idiots. Like we can’t see through their stupid charade.”
The leader shot him one seriously scathing glare, looking as though he’d understood Helix’s remark. Jaw clenched, nostrils flaring, he turned back to Garret, clearly discerning him as the human in charge. “Eat,” he insisted, sounding frustrated now, too. He pointed to Garret’s forehead. “Help talk.”
Garret frowned and looked at his fruit again. The male acted as if the stuff would somehow allow them to communicate—which made no sense at all.
Eli eyed the orange pear he’d been given too, then offered up his own brief two cents. “I doubt they’re trying to poison us, if that’s what you’re worried about. I mean, if they wanted us dead,” he glanced at the beasts on the ground, “I think they’d’ve used quicker methods.”
“They might not think it’s poison,” Sasha countered, expression nervous. “It might not be poison to them.”
The big leader growled in aggravation. “Mah, mahn besh. Bellah. Gewd. Noah eat.” He pointed to Garret’s brow again, a tick forming in his jaw. “Eat. Now. Talk gewd.”
“You know what? I say fuck it,” Paris chimed in impatiently. “These guys saved our asses. They’re not the enemy. And what if we aren’t able to find our shit? Eventually we’ll have to eat this planet’s food anyway. If we can’t trust the guys that literally wrenched us from the jaws of death, then who in the fuck can we trust? Besides, he’s obviously saying this stuff’ll help us communicate. If that’s true, that’s one serious advantage. Lemme try it, Chief. I won’t eat the whole thing. And we’ve got anti-poison pills in our belt’s first aid kits, remember?”
Garret cursed under his breath, but reluctantly gave a nod. Discovering what these natives knew about the scientists was important. They might prove helpful in other ways, too.
Sasha frowned.
Helix scowled.
Kegan muttered and crossed his arms.
But as Paris lifted the whatever-it-was up to his mouth, Garret stilled, because his veggie-fruit was different. Not a fat, orange pear, but what looked like an eggplant. Which the native leader did not seem happy about, either.
Bristling, the male stalked over and snatched it away, then shot a venomous glare at the twins. “Senna`sohnsay? Mahneeta tay?” he snarled, whapping them upside the head.
The two males grinned wolfishly and rubbed their skulls. “Tah,” one murmured quietly. “Senna`sohnsay gewd.”
Their leader growled and yanked a pear from one’s hand, then turned and irritably handed it to Paris. Paris took it, looking—understandably—a bit warier than before, but nevertheless took a decent-sized bite.
Munch—munch—munch—
A smile curved his lips. “Tastes great. Like a strawberry-flavored apple.”
Eli quirked a brow and eyed his own. “Yeah? I love strawberries.”
“Wait till Paris is finished,” Garret muttered. “We don’t need more than one of you barfing.”
The tracker continued cautiously until half of it was gone. Ten minutes passed. He shrugged. “I still feel fine.”
Sasha’s tense expression eased. “If it was poisonous, it’d’ve kicked in by now.”
The pack’s boss smiled and crossed his arms. “Denza?” he rumbled smoothly. “Gai bellah. Reesa tay.”
Paris’ eyes flared wide as he looked at the male. Then his mouth fell open, too. “Holy shit.”
Garret glanced between them. “What?”
“I totally understood him. He said, ‘See? The fruit’s good. It won’t harm you’.”
“Shut the front door.” A grin spanned Kegan’s face.
“No fucking way,” Helix muttered.
“That’s it. I’m eatin’ it,” Eli announced. He looked at Garret. “Right, Chief? So we can talk to them? Find out about our boys?”
Garret couldn’t believe it. It didn’t seem possible. And yet it was exactly the outcome he’d hoped for. “Uh, yeah.” He nodded, scratching his head in amazement. Cutting the natives a look, he brought the fruit to his lips and took a tentative bite with his team.
* * *
Twenty minutes later and all kinds of shit had been sorted, including proper name introductions. Not just of those present though, but of things like the planet—which it turned out was Nira, their sacred ‘mother.’
When that concluded, Gesh, their ‘Kríe’ leader, went on to explain the language barrier—or rather, its disappearance thanks to the fruit. Evidently, its nutrients triggered a kind of awakening, unlocking a portion of the brain humans didn’t use. One that involved a type of telepathic communication. Which wasn’t to say they could read minds now or anything, just somehow decode the language of other species.
Now, as they sat around on big fallen logs, they finally addressed the specifics about the scientists.
“So you spoke to them?” Garret clarified. “Gave them food like us, and interacted?”
“Tah.” Gesh inclined his head. “We fed them and interacted.”
“Extensively,” the twin, Filli, piped in, grinning.
His brother, Fin, chuffed a laugh and nodded. “Tah, extensively. We helped them do research. It was fun.”
Garret frowned at their tone. It sounded suspicious.
The big Kríe named Miros spoke up. “Their leader was strong. Protective.” He pointed to Garret. “Had eyes like you.”
Alec Hamlin. Ex-combat pilot. Garret remembered him, too. Although, according to his file, Alec’s eyes were blue-green, where Garret’s, incidentally, were blue-gray.
Garret nodded. “That’d be Alec.”
Miros smiled fondly. “Tah.”
Roni, the spokesman, chimed in next. “The big one liked to wrestle. He challenged me. I beat him.” He shrugged a beefy shoulder. “Still called me bitch.”
Eli swapped looks with Helix. “I think he’s talking about Chet. The military escort in the file.”
Kegan coughed a chuckle, eyeing Roni. “One of their team took on this guy?”
The male rumbled, grinning. “He had fire in his veins. I enjoyed our time together very much.”
Garret narrowed his gaze, getting a strange vibe off him, too. Like he and his pack were enjoying some inside joke. Sitting straighter atop the log, he looked back at Gesh. “So where are they now?”
The Kríe shuttered his expression. “We went separate ways just two days after meeting. Many moons have passed since.”
“Do you know where they went?” Sasha asked, a few seats down.
Gesh slid his eyes to the medic, his gaze lingering on his face, then smiled sadly and shook his head. “Mah.” No.
“Well, damn,” Eli muttered. “That sucks.”
“Yeah, it does.” Garret exhaled, then looked at Paris. “Their beacon still on your radar?”
The tracker tapped his wristband. “Yup. Still blinking.”
Garret nodded. “All right, men. We should probably get moving.”
Across the way, Gesh stiffened. “Mah. You cannot leave.”
“We have to.” Garret stood. “Gotta find our stuff, and then our people.”
Gesh rose to his feet too, and gestured to some of his pack. “Naydo. Miros. Beng. Go find their things.” He turned back to Garret. “You stay.”
Garret frowned as the three Kríe traded looks, then trudged off.
Kegan sidled up beside him. “That wasn’t weird.”
“No,” Garret muttered. “Not weird at all.” Back to suspicious, he crossed his arms. “Why’s it so important that we stay?”
Gesh met his eyes and held them. “Because otherwise you will die. And that cannot happen. You are far too important.”
Garret stilled, Gesh’s sentiment hitting his brain all wrong. It should be comforting, after all, to know the Kríe wanted them safe. That he planned on taking measures to protect them. Instead, all it did was make him feel apprehensive. Like Gesh wanted them alive for his own benefit.
Garret narrowed his gaze again. “Important to whom?”
Gesh’s eyes flared hot. Pressing his lips tight, he lifted his chin. “To those you came for. They need you, do they not?”
“Yeah, but why do you care? They mean nothing to you. You haven’t even seen the guys in ages.”
A gravelly growl rumbled in the big Kríe’s throat, as if Garret’s words had inadvertently struck a nerve. But instead of his baring fangs, or angrily lashing out, he reeled in his ire and stiffly shrugged. “They would want us to help you. And we are kindly creatures.”
Roni grinned a few yards away. “Very kindly.”
Garret cut him a dubious look.
Helix grunted, not sounding sold.
Kegan, however, seemed notably less put off. “Don’t mean to sound like the devil’s advocate here, guys, but what are our other options? There’s no guarantee we’re gonna find our gear. For all we know, it’s in the possession of some spider monkeys now. And if that’s the case, then what do we do?” He dragged a hand through his ginger hair and frowned. “These guys might be handy to have around.”
Gesh looked at Garret. “We will escort you to their beacon. Keep you safe from predators.”
Garret fought back a shudder at the thought of a tachi repeat.
Sasha nodded. “I like that idea. In case more sniff us out before we find our gear.”
“Yeah,” Eli added. “And our ammo.”
Garret held the Kríe’s eyes, still sensing ulterior motives. But maybe he was just frazzled from the attack. Paranoid that everything on this planet was out to get them. He didn’t want to put his team at unnecessary risk just because his nerves were freaking shot.
He looked at his co-pilot, his second in command, the man he always defaulted to in times of uncertainty. “So that’s your vote? To stick with these guys?”
“It is,” Kegan answered, eyeing the purple pack. “I think they’re our best bet. At least for now.”
A sentiment the rest of the team seemed to concur with. Well, except for Helix. Brows furrowed, muscles tense, their military escort remained silent, staring at the Nirans as if he trusted none of them. Which wasn’t really surprising. The toffee-skinned, ink-covered ex-marine trusted no one. With the exception of Eli. He trusted him.
Reluctantly, Garret turned back to Gesh and gave a nod. “Okay. We’ll stick together. Thanks for your help.”
Gesh grinned, eyes glittering. “Wise choice.”
Right. They’d let time be the judge of that.
Garret shifted his weight, anxious to get moving. “Do we need to wait for your guys? The ones you just sent off?”
“Mah. They will catch up with us soon enough.”
“Okay. Cool.” Garret motioned to their tracker. “All right, Paris. Lead the way.”
The black-haired, twenty-seven-year-old studied his wristband, then glanced toward the cliff’s edge and frowned. “Shit. The beacon’s on the other side of that river.”
“Do not fret,” Gesh rumbled, happily gesturing to their left. “There is a crossing not too far from here. I will show you.”
* * *
“Oh, yeah.” Eli nodded as they tromped alongside the river. “Definitely better than getting chased down by more cobuars.”
“Cobuars?” Kegan chuckled. “Is that what you’re calling them?”
“More fitting than ‘tachi.’ I mean, shit, did you see them? Face like a king fucking cobra on steroids? With the body of a jag big enough to ride?”
“God.” Sasha shook his head. “And to think they almost ate us.”
“Don’t remind me,” Paris mumbled. “Nearly shit myself. For real.”
“At least you would’ve died quickly,” Helix tossed in gruffly. “I was a prisoner of war once, and let me tell you, humans are way crueler. They keep you alive.”
Eli nodded, but didn’t reply.
Garret frowned at the thought, but promptly refocused on the present. Specifically, the fact that they’d been following this river for what felt like a couple eternities. He glanced over at Paris. “How far off our path are we getting?”
Paris checked his wrist gear’s intel screen. “A half dozen miles. We’ll have to backtrack for a while.”
“Wonderful,” Garret muttered, looking ahead at Gesh’s back.
Leading the way beside Roni, with the twins pulling up the rear, the huge male’s demeanor seemed noticeably lighter. As if, with each step he took, he was taking them closer to a location he was eager to reach. But why? Surely a bridge wasn’t all that interesting. And if he was anxious to see Noah, why hadn’t he tracked him down sooner?
Unsettled, Garret called to the oversized Kríe. “How much farther to that crossing?”
Gesh peered over his shoulder, his dreads shifting against his back. “Not far. Almost there.” He smiled and flashed his fangs.
Kegan chuckled at Garret’s side. “Damn. Can you imagine getting bit by those things?”
“I’d rather not.” He forced a smirk and looked at his friend. “I’m not into vampires. How ‘bout you?”
“Depends.” Kegan wagged his brows and grinned roguishly. “If the vamp was a babe, I might be game.”
Garret laughed before he could tamp it. “True. Only live once.”
“That’s right, my man.” Kegan nodded. “Hence, why we’re here.”
True again, Garret thought as he scanned their surroundings. Adventure, after all, was what drove him. Fueled his fire. What kicked him out of bed every morning. That unquenchable thirst to live hard and never stop. It was a yearning he’d had since as far back as he could remember. To push himself. Go far. Explore his boundaries as well as the universe’s. And here he was, getting exactly what he’d wanted.
Well, minus those cobuars who’d nearly eaten them for lunch.
They trudged on for what seemed like another eternity, with Paris peering more frequently up through the trees.
“What’s wrong?” Garret asked.
The tracker shook his head. “Just watching the sky. The time spans are different here. Not much daylight left. Maybe five hours, tops.”
Kegan cut Garret an uneasy look. “We can’t travel at night. Gonna have to set up camp.”
“With what?” Sasha chimed in, glancing back the way they came. “Those Kríe Gesh sent out have yet to show with our gear.”
Garret frowned and called ahead to their guide again. “How long till your guys catch up? And how much farther till that crossing?”
“Soon,” Gesh answered, not bothering to look back.
Helix glowered. “That’s what you said two damn hours ago.”
And still, they trekked on, only breaking to pee or rehydrate, which quickly depleted the water in their canteens. After that, the Kríe provided fruit from trees in the vicinity whose produce were like little juice receptacles. Sweet and refreshing, the liquid didn’t just quench their thirst, but kept them feeling satisfied and not hungry.
Didn’t keep away the tension though, that was steadily building—in Garret’s gut, but especially on Helix’s face.
As the convoy resumed, Helix irritably addressed Gesh. “How much longer till we cross this fucking river?” he demanded. “We’ve been traipsing across this jungle all goddamn day.”
Gesh chuckled and slid him a patronizing smile. “Be patient. I assure you, I know where I am going.”
“Really? You sure?” Helix bit out, halting. “’Cause, honestly, it doesn’t fucking seem like it.”
Gesh narrowed his eyes and growled. “You know nothing, hewmen.”
Helix glowered right back. “I know more than you think.”
And, yup, that’s pretty much when the other shoe dropped.
Helix heatedly turned to Garret. “He’s fucking playing us.”
Garret cursed and pulled to a stop. He’d been suspecting the same shit. He shot Gesh a glare. “You’ve been lying?”
Gesh shook his head. “Your companion is confused.”
“The fuck I am,” Helix snapped.
Eli quickly concurred. “Not Helix.”
Garret clenched his jaw. “Where,” he gritted. “Are you. Fucking. Taking us?”
Standing at Gesh’s side, Roni amicably smiled. “To your friends, of course. Just as we said.”
“Bullshit.” Helix pulled out his big-ass machete. “They’re up to something. I can feel it. They’re fucking lying.”
Unfortunately, Garret’s gut was saying the same.
These Kríe were deceivers, which made them dangerous.
They needed to part ways with them now.
Kegan cursed.
Sasha and Paris appeared just as wary.
Garret slid his men a look. “Time to go.”
An order the team seemed happy to obey, but nevertheless, would be impossible to fulfill. Without warning, Miros and Naydo dropped from the trees and yanked Eli and Helix into choke holds. Evidently, the fuckers weren’t just sneaky, but strategic; they’d just eliminated their largest threats first.
“Fuck!” Garret barked, charging forward with Kegan, but the twins snagged and restrained them before they could help. The final arrival, Beng, faced off with Sasha who, impressively, managed to land a couple shots. Not really a surprise, though. The medic was tougher than he looked. Excelled in Aikido something fierce. Martial arts that typically worked well against larger adversaries since its strategy utilized the motions of its opponents.
Unfortunately, Beng wasn’t the average contender. Once he managed to secure a grip on Sasha? Yeah, the end. These Nirans were just too big and too strong.
A species that took down cobuars like it was nothing.
Roni chuffed in amusement, his hand a manacle around Paris’ nape. “Moyos ochay.” Funny creatures. “As if we would let you just leave.”
The marines grappled furiously to get free from their detainers, but Naydo and Miros refused to loosen their holds. Holds that, evidently, were pretty fucking tight, going by the men’s blue’ing faces.
Garret fought the full nelson Filli had him in too, but the fucking Kríe’s cage wouldn’t budge. Glowering, he sliced his venomous glare to Gesh. “What the fuck is your problem?” he grunted. “Let us go.”
Gesh smirked, like the smug prick he was proving to be, and casually sauntered over to Sasha. Like the others, his dagger had been confiscated in the scuffle, only his empty gun remaining in his possession. “I do not have a problem,” he murmured, clutching Sasha’s jaw. His smirk widened. “Not anymore, that is. Thanks to your team.”
Garret grit his teeth. “What the fuck’s that supposed to mean?”
Gesh’s grin ebbed a little as he stared at the blond’s face. “It means you are the restitution I have been waiting for.”
Garret wrenched his head to the side to trade looks with Kegan. His co-pilot looked equally as baffled.
Gesh moved to Paris next and confiscated his wristband. “Many moons ago, someone was taken from me, and only one thing will get him back. One specific payment that is acceptable.”
Garret swallowed. Oh, shit. That did not sound good.
“Us?” he bit darkly. “My team is the payment?”
“It is.” Gesh exhaled a small, contented sigh. “So long I have waited for your arrival.”
Garret bristled. “We’re not currency. Not your shit to fucking trade.”
Gesh chuckled and strode leisurely over to Kegan. “Mah? You do not think? Because I am very certain that you are—and have been since the moment my pack first rescued you.”
Helix coughed a livid curse and tugged harder on Miros’ elbow. Eli dished every defensive move to get free, too. But all that did was spur on their handlers to wrench the men’s arms into submissive holds as well.
Heart pounding, Garret struggled too, but as he helplessly glanced around, the truth of Gesh’s words swiftly sank in. Once the Kríe had come onto the scene, they’d been under the pack’s control but hadn’t realized it. To the point that they’d just walked voluntarily for hours toward whatever fate those bastards had in store for them.
Garret seethed as the big fucker waltzed over to him next. “Let us go,” he grated, peering angrily up at him, “and we’ll help you get what you want. We’ve got firearms.”
Gesh’s golden eyes hooded, a soft chuff sounding in his throat. “Your firearms are worthless. Look how they served you thus far. You were nearly eaten by a pit of tachi. And now, detained effortlessly by my pack.”
“We were taken off guard by those things,” Garret snapped. “And you motherfuckers deliberately tricked us. If we had the chance to strategize, we could come up with a plan and—”
“Mah,” Gesh cut him off. “I am not interested in your plans. You and your team are my one and only option. I have waited long enough. I will not risk it.”
“But—”
“Quiet, hewmen,” he snarled, his mood snapping to glacial, “or I will silence you myself with a muzzle.” Features tight, he stalked to a liana-covered tree and irritably broke off the vines. “Bind them,” he ordered, tossing the tendrils to his pack. “We go to the castle now. I want my meesha.”