Blood of the King - Khirro's Journey Book 1 Page 0,94
a deer slung over her shoulder, though not any deer Khirro had ever seen—dark brown with white spots and a single three-pronged horn protruding from between its eyes. She hummed to herself, a guttural sound not as deep as the giant’s voice. When she lifted her eyes and saw the campsite, the humming stopped.
For a few seconds, nothing happened. Khirro and his companions stood at the top of the hill, breath held, tensed to attack if necessary. The giantess stared.
Has she seen us? Smelled us?
Impatience got the better of Ghaul and he took a step toward the creature, but Athryn stopped him with a hand on his chest and a shake of his head.
The deer carcass tumbled to the ground as the beast’s arms fell limp. She took a step, a whimper sounding deep in her throat. She cried out what might have been a name and stumbled toward the corpse, gaze fixed on the body of her slain friend, or brother, or husband.
Elyea tugged Khirro’s sleeve, pulling him away from the scene, guiding him over the top of the hill. Before cresting the rise, he looked back and saw the beast collapse to her knees beside the slain giant. When she noticed the ragged flesh where his head should have been, she wailed toward the branches above, her monstrous voice filled with sadness, then slumped across the corpse, sobbing.
When the giantess passed from their line of sight, they bolted into the forest, the beast’s anguished wails following on their heels, tugging at Khirro’s heart.
An hour later, they still heard the wails of the giantess, distant and fading. She made no attempt to follow.
“Not yet,” Ghaul said when Elyea commented about it.
“Ghaul’s right,” Shyn said. “When her grief has been slaked, she’ll thirst for revenge. We best put many miles between us before that happens.”
“But which way?” Elyea asked.
“South still,” Khirro said without hesitation. The others looked at him, unused to his confident tone. “The ruined village is only a day from here. The tyger told me.”
They stopped walking and stared at Khirro.
“What tyger, Khirro?” Elyea asked, the first words she’d spoken to him since he rejected her and, despite their tone, they lifted a weight he hadn’t realized he carried.
Khirro sighed. “A tyger visits me in my dreams, tells me what to do.”
Athryn grasped him by the shoulder, eyes gleaming behind black cloth mask. “When did you first dream of this tyger?”
“A month ago, I guess.”
“Since the journey began? Since you have had the vial?”
“Yes.”
“What does this tyger look like?” Ghaul asked. “Is it pink with wings? I might have seen it, too... when I had too much mead.”
Khirro ignored him. “It’s huge, with paws as big as my head. Its fur is white, with black stripes. He comes to me as a friend.”
“He is,” Athryn said taking his hand from Khirro’s shoulder. “Each man’s soul takes the form of an animal, Khirro. That is what you see in your dreams.”
Khirro raised an eyebrow. “The tyger is my soul?” The thought instilled pride in him—the soul of a tyger.
“No.” Athryn shook his head, dashing his conceit. “It is Braymon’s soul which comes to guide you.”
The vial radiated warmth against Khirro’s chest, as though agreeing with Athryn’s words. They stood silently; the distant wails of the giantess had ceased.
“I’m not one to argue with a man-eater,” Shyn said, sweeping his arm across his body, gesturing for Khirro to lead the way. “South it is.”
Ghaul shook his head but said nothing as Khirro took the lead.
Chapter Thirty-Four
The branches overhead offered little protection from the deluge. The ground turned to mud, sucking at their boots as they walked, slowing their progress. By Khirro’s estimation, it was mid-afternoon the day after they fled the giant’s encampment, but it might well have been evening for the lack of light penetrating the trees. No one spoke as they tramped through the muck, the patter of rain on flora and armor and clothes conversing with the splash of boots in mud the only words.
So far, there had been no signs the she-beast followed them, but they pushed on as though she did. Both Shyn and Ghaul were convinced she’d come after them; since they agreed so infrequently, Khirro assumed they must be correct. They also agreed the giantess would be able to track them, given they’d seen no wildlife since setting foot on the cursed earth of Lakesh, yet the giantess returned to camp with a deer over her shoulder.