and not show it to her unless she asks. And if she does, I can show her something else and claim that it is the treasure I meant.
No, that would be dishonest. I do actually want her to see it. I’m quite proud of both the treasure itself and the plan I have. But the plan will stay secret.
The jungle seems brighter today, almost friendly. It’s as if the world has changed since last night, become better.
A flying Small comes towards us out of the trees ahead, about the same size as Dolly. My sword is in my hand before it can get close enough to be a danger. It has huge, colorfully patterned wings that sparkle in the light and seem to keep changing in a fluid movement. It’s easy to stare at them and not notice the long, venomous spear it holds out in front of it.
I stop, make sure that Dolly does, too, and then calmly cut the thing in three pieces. The wings fall to the ground like dead leaves, while the middle part hits the dirt with a meaty thud. I chop it in half and re-sheath my sword. These things don’t travel in packs. Much like dragons, they seem to avoid each other.
“They look pretty,” I explain to Dolly, keeping my voice low. “But they can kill.”
She shudders. “Are there many of them?”
I don’t want her to worry. “Not many. Probably, this is the only one we’ll see today.”
She smiles, and the day grows even better. “I’m not worried. You are clearly in complete control here. It feels as if you own this jungle.”
My chest swelling with childish pride, I lead us through the woods, ready for anything.
’Anything’ comes in the form of two rekhs, old enough to be smart about it. They come quietly bounding towards us, one from each side, slime dripping from their open, nightmarishly toothed gapes.
In a split second I whip around, push Dolly to the ground, and quickly spin one circuit around myself, sword held outstretched. It catches both rekhs, one in the throat and one further down. The first one sprays blood from its neck and collapses on the spot. The other ignores its injury and me, shakes off its confusion, and crouches down, ready to pounce on Dolly. Before it can release the gathered power in its long, coiled-up body, I hack down into its spine, hard. The rekh drops to the ground like a wet sack.
I give Dolly my hand and help her up. “Sorry about that. I needed you out of the way.”
She brushes sand off her dress. “That’s fine, Brank’ox. Whatever you have to do. Shall I just throw myself down next time?”
I look her up and down, checking for injuries. But there are none. “No, just let me do what needs to be done. If it’s better that you’re low down, I’ll push you. Sometimes it might be better if you stay where you are. Go low if that is obviously the best place for you. It depends.”
She smiles again. “I can tell Brax’tan picked the right escort for me. But of course I knew that already. Time for lunch soon?”
“Soon,” I promise. “I think I know a good place.”
There are no more attackers until we reach the spot I had in mind. It’s a bare, flat rock sticking up from the jungle floor. Nothing grows on it, and from the middle of it we can immediately tell if something is sneaking up on us. Or someone.
Dolly sits down and unpacks the food, while I take off the pack full of pots and carefully put it down.
I scan the sky above us. There’s a hole in the foliage, and an irox passing overhead could spot us. “It should be safe to stay here for a little while. Oh, thank you.”
Dolly hands me a leaf with all kinds of food on it. “Eat as much as you want. No sense in returning to the village with food left.”
I am actually pretty hungry, so I dig in with relish. This mission looks like it will work out fine. “Very true. Food packed for the jungle must be eaten in the jungle.”
Dolly chews merrily on a grilled piece of meat. “Oh, is that like a rule?”
“Yes. It’s called ‘Dolly’s Rule’. Everyone knows it.”
She looks up with laughter in her eyes. “They do, huh? But I just made it up.”
“Perhaps they don’t know it yet,” I say airily. “But I’m sure they soon will.”