just as confused as I am. I rub a hand over my ass—only to encounter something that shouldn't be there.
A pincer.
16
RAVEN
With a squeal, I jump to my feet. The thing falls off my ass and falls to the sand in front of me. It looks like something out of a horror movie, a big, ugly lobster the size of a small cat covered in thick fur like a caterpillar. The pincers flex and as it scuttles away, I see far too many legs and a spiny tail. It heads toward the distant water, and as it does, more of the sand ripples. Another one emerges nearby and starts to head to the beach, too.
I look over at U'dron in shock. "What the fuck is going on?"
He glances down, and when I do, too, I see that all of the sand seems to be moving. He jumps to his feet and there's one pinching his tail, another on his foot.
They're everywhere.
U'dron thinks fast, though; he grabs the blanket and slings me over his shoulder before I can say anything, carrying me caveman-style as he sprints away from the fire. I don't protest, because this seems like a good idea to me. I don't want to be anywhere near those awful creatures. "We will go to the rocks," U'dron says, jostling me as he runs. "It will be safer there."
"No complaints here," I call back, inwardly shuddering. My ass still hurts where it pinched me, and I'm just glad we weren't asleep. Would we have woken up to being bitten all over by those things? Or…worse?
A moment later, U'dron begins to climb, and the world heaves around me. He sets me down carefully, and I notice we're on one of the boulders at the base of the cliffs that shield the beach cove. He lets out a sigh of relief as he looks me over, and then carefully tucks the fur blanket around me again. "We might be sleeping up here tonight."
"I'm fine with that." I sit down atop the rock and wiggle, trying to get comfortable. My feet are cold, and my ass is cold thanks to the chill of the stone, but nothing bites me. That's something, at least. I look back over to the fire…and want to puke.
The beach seems to be alive with the lobster-caterpillar things. Over and over, they crawl from out of the sand, emerging onto the moonlit beach and heading for the water. It's like a swarm of ants, only bigger and far more terrifying. As I watch, one overtakes another and begins to eat it, and others swarm onto their fallen brother to eat their share.
"Okay, well, that's horrifying," I breathe. I look over at U'dron. "What's going on?"
"They are hatching." He puts a hand atop my head for a moment, then drops to the rock next to me and sits down. "We had something similar back home. In the flower season, we would head to the beach at night on a full moon because it would come alive with small, hard-shelled creatures that would surge toward the waters, leaving behind their nests. They were good eating." He looks thoughtful. "Do you want me to grab a few for you? Are you hungry?"
I look at him in alarm. "God, no! I don't want to eat those things. One pinched the hell out of my butt." I'm actually glad it was just my butt and not a place nearby that's far, far more sensitive. The thought makes me shudder.
He leans over and tries to look at my butt. "Does it hurt? Should I check it for you?"
I shoot him a skeptical glance, only to see a hint of a smile playing on his lips. "You know, back home, if you have an injury, they say you can kiss it to make it better."
"I would be more than happy to do such a thing," he teases, his fangs flashing in the moonlight as he smiles.
I snort. "Sorry, but the mass of killer crabs has kinda ruined my mood." It feels like the universe is conspiring against us. Every time we go to kiss, something shitty happens. If I was the Raven I've pretended to be, I'd say we'd racked up some bad karma somewhere. Grumpy, I offer U'dron a corner of the blanket. "Are you cold? Want to share?"
"I have a better idea." U'dron puts an arm around my waist and hauls me into his lap. His legs are crossed, and he settles me into the