Read Online Barbarian's Touch: A SciFi Alien Romance (Ice Planet Barbarians Book 8) by Ruby Dixon - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Ruby Dixon
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here?” Kira asks.
I play on her worry for her kit. I do not want to stay here. Li-lah will not be returning, and the sooner I can separate from the group, the sooner I can go find her. “My knowing tells me we should return to the tribe. Already you have been away from family for too long.” Each of them is missing someone back at the home caves - Raahosh misses his Leezh, Haeden misses his Jo-see, and Kira cries every night for her young kit that she left at home to make this journey. “I do not think we should stay.”
“This is your knowing speaking to you?” Haeden asks.
I nod.
“Your knowing?” Mah-dee spits at me. “What, are you psychic?”
“Actually, kinda?” Kira says.
Mah-dee throws up her hands. “Oh sure. Why not? I’m going to bed.”
“You should get some sleep,” I call after her retreating back. “For your journey back to the tribal caves.”
She gestures at me with one finger, and that puzzles me. Does she think I speak their hand language? I decide to memorize the signal in case I need it to talk to Li-lah. I practice it a few times and then pack my bags for the morning.
My knowing sense is never wrong, and now that I have said it aloud, I know it to be true. We will return to the caves, and when the others are back home, I will quietly slip away and hunt for Li-lah on my own. It is then I will find her.
It will not be right away, but I will find her. I must be patient.
6
LILA
I t’s been almost three weeks, and I think I’ve slept for all of two hours.
I can’t relax. Not stuck here alone with Hassen. Not with him hovering constantly, offering me food and watching me like he’s waiting for something to happen. I still haven’t figured it out.
He’s nice enough, I guess, for a guy that kidnapped me away from everyone else. But the fact remains that I can’t help but resent him for taking me away from the others and dumping me here. I can’t talk to my sister, and I don’t want to talk to him, which leaves me with a lot of free time to plot how to escape.
I’ve got it all figured out, too.
Hassen leaves the cave regularly to go hunting, and it’s not like I’m tied up. Maybe he’s arrogant enough to assume that I won’t ever try to leave? Or maybe he knows that if I leave, he’ll just come get me? Whatever it is, I’m not guarded and for long stretches of time, I’m by myself. This gives me time to catch furtive naps, pack my bag, and hide away the spicy trail mix he keeps trying to feed me. My snowshoes are nowhere to be found, so I’ve spent the last few days stuffing my boots with extra fur that I’ve been ripping off of one of my blankets. I don’t have a knife, but when Hassen leaves, I take one of the bones and sharpen the tip against one of the rocks by the fire until it’s almost a shiv. Almost.
I’ve had a lot of time to consider where I’m going to go, too. I’ve seen some survival shows on television, so I know water and shelter are the most important things. Water’s pretty much handled, though I know you’re not supposed to eat snow because it lowers your body temperature or something. I’m not sure that applies to me with my new space-heater of a parasite, but that’s not my biggest worry. It’s shelter. With the coo-ee in my chest, I can withstand the terrible cold a bit longer, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be able to handle it for a long period of time. I’ll need shelter, which means I need someplace safe to go that Hassen won’t find me. I’m not exactly sure where that is yet, but I’ll know more when I see scenery. I’m thinking trees, maybe a nice snowy forest, something where it’ll be easy to gather foodstuffs.
From there, I don’t know where I’ll go. I don’t know where the big blue guys live, or if I even want to head in that direction. What if they’re all like Hassen? I want Maddie, but late at night, when I’m alone with my thoughts, I worry. I worry they won’t let me find Maddie. What if they
I play on her worry for her kit. I do not want to stay here. Li-lah will not be returning, and the sooner I can separate from the group, the sooner I can go find her. “My knowing tells me we should return to the tribe. Already you have been away from family for too long.” Each of them is missing someone back at the home caves - Raahosh misses his Leezh, Haeden misses his Jo-see, and Kira cries every night for her young kit that she left at home to make this journey. “I do not think we should stay.”
“This is your knowing speaking to you?” Haeden asks.
I nod.
“Your knowing?” Mah-dee spits at me. “What, are you psychic?”
“Actually, kinda?” Kira says.
Mah-dee throws up her hands. “Oh sure. Why not? I’m going to bed.”
“You should get some sleep,” I call after her retreating back. “For your journey back to the tribal caves.”
She gestures at me with one finger, and that puzzles me. Does she think I speak their hand language? I decide to memorize the signal in case I need it to talk to Li-lah. I practice it a few times and then pack my bags for the morning.
My knowing sense is never wrong, and now that I have said it aloud, I know it to be true. We will return to the caves, and when the others are back home, I will quietly slip away and hunt for Li-lah on my own. It is then I will find her.
It will not be right away, but I will find her. I must be patient.
6
LILA
I t’s been almost three weeks, and I think I’ve slept for all of two hours.
I can’t relax. Not stuck here alone with Hassen. Not with him hovering constantly, offering me food and watching me like he’s waiting for something to happen. I still haven’t figured it out.
He’s nice enough, I guess, for a guy that kidnapped me away from everyone else. But the fact remains that I can’t help but resent him for taking me away from the others and dumping me here. I can’t talk to my sister, and I don’t want to talk to him, which leaves me with a lot of free time to plot how to escape.
I’ve got it all figured out, too.
Hassen leaves the cave regularly to go hunting, and it’s not like I’m tied up. Maybe he’s arrogant enough to assume that I won’t ever try to leave? Or maybe he knows that if I leave, he’ll just come get me? Whatever it is, I’m not guarded and for long stretches of time, I’m by myself. This gives me time to catch furtive naps, pack my bag, and hide away the spicy trail mix he keeps trying to feed me. My snowshoes are nowhere to be found, so I’ve spent the last few days stuffing my boots with extra fur that I’ve been ripping off of one of my blankets. I don’t have a knife, but when Hassen leaves, I take one of the bones and sharpen the tip against one of the rocks by the fire until it’s almost a shiv. Almost.
I’ve had a lot of time to consider where I’m going to go, too. I’ve seen some survival shows on television, so I know water and shelter are the most important things. Water’s pretty much handled, though I know you’re not supposed to eat snow because it lowers your body temperature or something. I’m not sure that applies to me with my new space-heater of a parasite, but that’s not my biggest worry. It’s shelter. With the coo-ee in my chest, I can withstand the terrible cold a bit longer, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be able to handle it for a long period of time. I’ll need shelter, which means I need someplace safe to go that Hassen won’t find me. I’m not exactly sure where that is yet, but I’ll know more when I see scenery. I’m thinking trees, maybe a nice snowy forest, something where it’ll be easy to gather foodstuffs.
From there, I don’t know where I’ll go. I don’t know where the big blue guys live, or if I even want to head in that direction. What if they’re all like Hassen? I want Maddie, but late at night, when I’m alone with my thoughts, I worry. I worry they won’t let me find Maddie. What if they
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