Page 56 of Lost in Barbarian Space

“Colm?” She stepped in front of him, her worried gaze on his face. “What’s wrong? We need to go.”

Why was she questioning him? He was a warrior. He knew how to fight. He felt his hearts drumming in his chest, a muscle ticking beneath his eye, rage flooding his veins.

Was this how his father had felt?

Colm froze.

“Colm?” Her voice edged with concern. “Tell me what’s wrong?”

“No…control. Move away.”

Her eyes narrowed and she stepped closer. “You are the most controlled man I know.” She pressed her hands to his cheeks. “Let me help you. What can I do?”

Just the warm touch of her seemed to help. It seeped into him, and he managed to draw a deep breath into his chest.

“I feel better.” Now he could hear the grunts and snarls approaching them quickly. He grabbed her arm and pulled her forward. “Come.”

They ran again. The sounds of the creatures echoed down the tunnels.

Honor and Colm rushed out of a tunnel and into a huge ice cavern. The white-blue walls glittered and the ceiling was a huge dome above them.

“Over there.” She pointed across the cavern. “We can climb the wall. It’s cracked, so we should be able to find toe and hand holds.” She smiled at him. “I hope you can climb, warrior.”

They reached the wall and he watched her start upward. She didn’t rush, taking her time to find cracks to jam her feet and hands into.

Colm took a breath and followed her.

A few times, his hands slipped. The wall was slick; some of the cracks couldn’t hold his greater weight and crumbled. Above him, Honor looked like a Markarian monkey. Damn, she was good.

“Come on, Colm. Almost there.”

Finally, he pulled himself onto a high ledge beside Honor. He saw another tunnel entrance nearby. Quickly, he reached out and touched her face, just to reassure himself she was okay.

She pressed her palm over his hand, turned her face into his touch.

“You okay?” she asked.

He nodded. He was. For the moment.

Then he heard noises below. He pulled back, holding a finger to his mouth. Together, they leaned over and looked down.

Five of the white-furred creatures had entered the cavern below. Even from up high, they looked huge. Their fur was thick and covered every part of their body. The lead beast moved around the cavern, searching, sniffing.

If these things were what Colm thought they were, he knew they’d have an excellent sense of smell.

“We need to keep moving.”

The creature reached the base of the wall they’d climbed. And looked up.

Colm saw dark eyes lock with his. He ducked back, away from the ledge. “Go. Into the tunnel.”

Honor scrambled up and into the tunnel. Side-by-side, they carried on.

“So, more than the wolves call Ansar home,” she said. “Do you have creatures like these ones on Markaria?”

He shook his head. “But we used to.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”