Lifting his eminit, he pointed it at the pile and pressed the claw from his thumb into a vertical groove along the staff. The spearhead split, revealing a hollow center. Rhyst’s grip tightened, squeezing the hand groove that wrapped halfway down the length. A tongue of flames shot out, licking the gathered fuel until it combusted.
“It is,” he agreed, smirking at her stunned expression.
Chapter 20
“How long was I out?” Charlie asked as she licked dry, cracked lips, her voice hoarse to her ears. Her throat was parched, and her belly had the constant ache to it of someone who hadn’t eaten in days. The alien rabbit things—strange-looking animals that had scales around their faces and running up the enormous upright ears and long, scaly tails—weren’t her idea of a meal. That said, she surprisingly had few qualms about eating them, when it came down to it. It still shocked her on one level, solely because she had never imagined she would be able to eat something she saw first in its flesh suit.
Her stomach growled. She really wasn’t sure how her body would react to eating native food. As far as she understood, there were no immediate plans in the lab to study native food sources. Outside the colony dome, they were busy sowing genetically altered crops from Earth, and the lab was maturing the livestock embryos in another section of the facility so that soon they would be able to move away from rations to real food, but everything was Earth stock.
No one knew whether the wildlife on Turongal would be safe to eat. She had to acknowledge that there was still a possibility that the meat could make her sick, but at that point, she was willing to risk it. The cooking rabbit-thingy smelled so good.
However, she still couldn’t get over the fact that Rhyst had taken care of her. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Should she be mad? Shaking her head, she banished that thought. Of course I shouldn’t be. He protected her for gods knew how long. Even now, he was cooking her food instead of expecting her to get it herself. Still, embarrassment creeped up her cheeks as she realized her skin was clean.
“Six diurnals.”
Six days? Her lips parted as she drew in a small gasp. Everyone probably thought she was dead. Had everything gone to plan, right now she would be sharing a prison cell with them awaiting punishment, not in the wilderness, unaware of what had become of her friends, or they of her. Although she didn’t want to be in prison, she hated not knowing. She only hoped that their punishment wasn’t too severe. It was unlikely that the colony wouldn’t be able to narrow down exactly where the codes came from, but there was a slim possibility that some of them may have escaped.
She hoped so. She needed to get back home and make sure.
That pressing need coiled within her; one she couldn’t ignore. When she was in the swamp, her thoughts in chaos, it had risen to the front of her mind. She had stumbled through the mire and muck for as far as she could walk. The last thing she remembered was squeezing through the rocks, hoping to rest before she returned home. Wait…
“How did you find me?” she rasped.
“The at’sahl have a very distinct scent.”
“Is that the death hound that attacked me? You followed its scent?”
“No” Rhyst looked at her for a moment before his lip curled in disgust. “At’sahl is a word that we have for your species—nothing more. I followed your scent.”
“Oh,” she murmured.
Wait. Did he just imply that she stank? Her brow dipped in a scowl. Rude. It wasn’t like there was a shower out here. She was uncomfortably aware of her body odor, especially sitting there in her TRS. It was a sight better than when she woke up naked.
That had been a bit mortifying once she realized, but after sharing quarters with Doug for three years, it wasn’t as uncomfortable as it might have been. Still, she had been quick to dress… if for no other reason to mask her body odor the best she could. It wasn’t something she could help right now, but by the gods, if she got to a shower, she would scrub her skin raw. Still, she could have done without him pointing it out.
Charlie returned his glare and crossed her arms over her chest with disdain. “Oh, I see.”