Way of No Return (Champions of the Crystal Book 8)

Chapter 15.1

The dawn was just beginning to lighten the sky over the mountaintops when Sabrina and the others paused beneath a copse of stubby trees in a fold of the valley to catch their breaths. Seuréa wanted to scout ahead, but Sabrina and Kendara both insisted on keeping the group together.

"Any sign of pursuit?" Kendara asked Merith.

Merith pursed her lips as she looked at her scanner. "This is primarily a medical scanner, and the ore in these mountains is causing interference, so I cannot reliably distinguish enemies from allies. But judging by body temperature, it appears the four individuals nearest us are not Kyan. I noticed earlier that the Kyan appear to have lower body temperatures, perhaps because they are only partly organic."

"As long as we can tell them from us," Kendara said. "Are those four people heading toward us or away from us?"

"Toward us, more or less," Merith said. "I don't think they are following us as much as going in the same general direction. They are taking the path along the valley floor."

"And there's no one else about?" Kendara asked.

"This scanner's range is short," Merith replied. "I would not rely on there being no one else in this valley. I'm afraid the Kyan will have to be fairly close to us before I can read them."

"Great," Cynthia murmured.

Sabrina said, "Lyssara, do you sense anything? Any danger?"

Seuréa frowned. "It doesn't feel safe. But I don't feel any specific danger."

Sabrina wished she dared try to get a sense of their situation from the Great Crystal herself, but she couldn't risk endangering Lily by doing so. Of course, not being able to see where the enemy was also put Lily, not to mention the rest of them, at risk, she realized with a grimace. Ford, I could really use some help here, she thought desperately, but the link was still clouded with static, and she could not break through his concentration.

"I'm going to go take a quick look," Kendara decided. "You stay here out of sight, and don't make any noise. I'll be back as soon as I can. If anything happens to me, Cynthia knows the way."

"Be careful," Sabrina whispered.

The next few minutes seemed to slow unbearably, but at last Kendara ducked back under one of the bent trees, looking more cheerful. "It's Evis and Ranja, with Rutha and Pinsi. They're keeping to the trail on the other side of the creek. It's more exposed, but they're making good time."

Sabrina closed her eyes in relief. "Do they know the way?"

"I gave Evis directions," Kendara confirmed. "We can meet them there. It's safer if we stay separate."

Stones rattling somewhere above them made them all freeze, hearts pounding. Sabrina ducked instinctively, but none of the dislodged stones made it as far as their hiding place. After a few moments, Kendara carefully crawled to the uppermost edge of their cover and looked up. Then she let out a long breath. "It's just some yaks," she said, referring to the long-haired creatures who lived in the mountain heights and were often hunted for meat.

Sabrina tried to calm down. "Thank God." She was also grateful there weren't any large predators in these mountains to worry about, which explained the abundance of wild yaks. Maybe snow leopards would be a mistake after all, she thought, although she couldn't recall whether the beautiful, endangered Earth animals ever hunted people.

"We'll wait until they've passed to go on. We don't want to spook them and risk drawing attention," Kendara said. She looked around. "I'm going down to the creek to refill my canteen while we're this close. Anyone else need a refill?"