The mist was rising more quickly than Ka’ya had expected. Normally, it cleared throughout the day, forcing the Gondas to remain in the hidden recesses of the cliffs. The few times she had come through the area, she had been fortunate. Her one encounter with the creatures had come on such a day as this – when the mists rose earlier than normal. The difference between that day and today was that she had been closer to the valley floor.

The Gondas were limited in how low they could fly. The forest was too thick and the cover of the mists never sank to the ground. The creatures needed constant moisture to breathe. If Ka’ya and Alexandru could get below the mists, they would be safe.

“Keep an eye out behind you. They like to distract their prey while another attacks,” she warned, stepping forward. “The only way to kill them is by cutting or piercing the red line that goes down their chest or cutting off their head. The red line marks the main vein to their heart.”

“Got it,” Alexandru tersely replied.

Ka’ya slowly stepped forward. She could feel the warmth of Alexandru’s body against her back. Together, they cautiously moved forward.

The faint sound of rocks falling told Ka’ya that one of the females had landed behind them. She hoped that Alexandru knew how to handle a sword. She had a feeling that if they were going to live, it would be by fighting their way to the bottom.

The first strike did not come from the front or the rear, but from the side. Ka’ya felt the wind from an immature female’s wings as it emerged from the edge of the cliff onto the narrow path. She started to turn, but Alexandru was already swinging his arm outward. The head of the Gonda tilted at an unnatural angle before it and the body of the creature fell back into the abyss. Ka’ya barely had time to process what had happened because a female in front of her attacked at the same time.

Ka’ya waited until she saw the band of red running down the creature’s chest. She released the arrow and fitted another one, turning at the same time as Alexandru swung out to knock the sliding body of the female she had just killed over the edge of the cliff before it could hit them. She released the second arrow when he turned, striking another female that came up from below them.

“How did you cut…?” she started to ask.

“Not now. There is at least a half dozen more approaching from below. We need to get out of here!” he ordered.

Ka’ya turned on her heel, concentrating on the narrow path. She fitted the arrow as she ran. She twisted and released it when a male Gonda swooped down from above. The arrow pierced the red vein and the creature spiraled downward. She caught a brief glance of the body as it was caught by others of its kind and torn apart.

Behind her, she could hear Alexandru’s footsteps. A pocket of warm air up ahead gave Ka’ya a better view of where they were. There was one thick band of mist separating them from the safety of the valley floor.

Ka’ya quickly pulled an arrow free from her quiver. It was her last one. She was almost to the mist on the other side of the pocket when she saw the thin vapors swirl as something moved within it. The ground beneath her feet shook and she stumbled to a stop. Her gaze narrowed on the shadowy image beginning to emerge from the thick fog.

“What is that?” Alexandru asked, stopping close enough to her that his lips were near her ear.

“A mature female,” Ka’ya said, unable to keep the slight quiver out of her voice. “She rules the nest.”

“Shit! That is one big bitch,” Alexandru murmured when the shadow began to form into a more solid figure.

“Yes – she is,” Ka’ya answered. “This is my last arrow.”

“Make it count,” he said.

Ka’ya swallowed and nodded her head. Her gaze narrowed on the long, boney skull of the female. Unlike the males who tended to be a deep rich red, the females were plain with their dark gray leathery skin stretched over a skeletal frame that made them look like a walking corpse.

This female was uglier than the younger Gondas. Her head appeared far too large for her body. She walked forward, using the claws at the front joints of her wings. Sharp talons of bone emerged along the curve of her wings, making them look like the serrated edge of a knife. The Gonda’s twin tails snapped like whips, breaking the sound barrier and causing a loud echo to reverberate through the valley.

The ground shook again, this time over and over and the sound of rocks raining down warned Ka’ya that the snap had been a signal to the other creatures. Ka’ya’s eyes glanced at the edge of the cliff when a male lifted his head over the side before climbing up to shield the front of the female. She heard Alexandru’s hiss and knew that they were trapped.

“If I kill her, the others may scatter,” she murmured, keeping her eyes and arrow pointed at the large female.

“Why aren’t they attacking?” Alexandru asked.

“They can only breathe in the mist. We are in a pocket where the warm air is rising. The female is trying to stir the air. Once the pocket is cooled, the mist will engulf us. Even now, it is shrinking,” Ka’ya explained.

“Can you kill the female?” he asked.

Ka’ya shook her head. “The male is protecting her,” she answered in a soft voice.

“I’ll draw him away. The moment you get a clear shot, take it,” Alexandru instructed

“Are you crazy?” Ka’ya exclaimed, glancing over her shoulder for a brief second before returning her gaze to the Gondas when they snapped their jaws.

“We don’t have much choice, the fog is closing in,” Alexandru reminded her in a tense voice.

“How do you plan on leading him away?” she snapped.

“I’ll think of something,” Alexandru stated.

Ka’ya watched with a mixture of horror and frustration as Alexandru stepped around her. She wanted to reach out and pull him back, but couldn’t with the bow ready to shoot in her hands. A silent groan escaped her. There was no way she was going to lose him again.

When he had fallen down the side of the cliff, she had felt a rush of emotion that she had never experienced before. It had been more than fear – there had been an intense wave of grief. The power of it reminded her of when her father had been forced from the village and she had felt powerless to stop the mob.

“Please – I don’t want to lose you,” she whispered under her breath.

A shiver ran through Ka’ya. The mist was closing in. She could feel the cool vapor swirling around her. The Gondas behind her were beginning to fight to get to the front. She refused to be distracted by them. Her focus had to remain on the massive female.

She watched Alexandru approach the male. It snapped its massive jaws at him. The sword in Alexandru’s hand swirled in a mesmerizing motion. It was obvious from the grace and pattern that he was a master swordsman. She had seen only one other man who could control a sword like that – her father.

The male Gonda started forward, but quickly pulled back when the tip of his nose broke through the mist. The creatures could only live for a few seconds without the life-giving moisture. Even that brief exposure caused their skin to shrivel. The male roared with rage at Alexandru and used its claws to gouge long, deep cuts into the rock.

Ka’ya didn’t want to think of what those claws could do to Alexandru’s flesh. Ignoring the ache from holding the bow ready, she drew in deep, steadying breaths. The female was focused on Alexandru.

“Watch out!” she warned.

The female Gonda rose up, balancing on her thick tail, and flapped her long wings. The maneuver caused the rising mist to rush forward in a wave that engulfed Alexandru. The moment it did, the male surged forward.

Ka’ya’s lips parted in shock when Alexandru moved – or at least, she thought he moved. One second he was walking toward the male, twirling the sword, the next he was gone. She knew he was there and that he had attacked because the male froze in mid-strike. Blood seeped from the hollow sockets where its eyes were and a fraction of a second later, its severed head leaned to the side before it and the body fell over the edge of the cliff.

Ka’ya reacted the instant she saw the dark red vein on the female’s chest. Her fingers opened on the string, releasing the arrow. She didn’t have time to see if the arrow struck true or to locate Alexandru. The mist had finally closed in behind her – and so had the other Gondas fighting to rip her apart.