Tor (Women of Earth Book 2) by Jacqueline Rhoades Read Free Book Online

"Are you saying there are other things out there? Are they as big as the bloodsuckers?"
    "Bigger. There are things that eat the things that tried to eat us. Now move it, we don't have much time. You can ask your questions later.
    He pulled. She pushed. She stabbed, but it was a small one. She saw nothing larger until they were moving up the beach and the open escape pod sank beneath the surface.
    The water that had settled back to a glassy surface erupted into a geyser of spray. A bloodsucker was tossed into the air. An octopus of sorts, its many legs flailed in every direction. For the first time, she got the full impact of its enormous size, but it was the massive jaws of the creature that followed it upward that caused her to stop and stare. The size of a small whale, it looked to be more mouth than body. The jaws widened, seemed to unhinge to form a basket of row upon row of long, pointed teeth. The bloodsucker fell into that deadly basket to be instantly pierced by the razor sharp points. The jaws closed over it and she could have sworn the creature's black and soulless eye zeroed in on her.
    "Showtime's over, Princess."
    Tor grabbed her hand and dragged her with him. He snagged the pack on the way by and only let her hand go once they were well away and deep under the canopy formed by the broad, leathery leaves of the trees. He settled the pack over his shoulders. It reminded Wynne of the way a boy her sister once dated always wore his sweater.
    She'd been about ten at the time and for some reason thought he, and the way he wore that sweater was the coolest thing she'd ever seen. That kid's shoulders were nothing compared to what she was looking at now.
    Tor, with the shirt sleeves capping his broad shoulders and the knot pulling tight at the center of his massively muscled chest, was way more than cool. He was spectacular.
    "I've shown you mine, now it's your turn to show me yours," he quipped when he caught her admiring stare.
    Embarrassed, she turned and walked a little faster. "In your dreams, cowboy."
    "Obviously in yours too, Princess." He laughed, caught up with her in two quick steps, and then grabbed her hand again. He veered left. "Unless you know where you're going, it's best to let me lead."
    That was the last smile he gave her for what felt like hours as they trudged uphill. Wynne didn't ask for relief. While he said nothing, his tension was communicated though the hand holding hers. The other held the knife. He paused fairly regularly, but only long enough to listen and scan the surrounding area. She wanted to ask what he was searching for, but his silence was so complete, she didn't dare.
    Several times she thought she heard movement or saw dark shapes melting into the lighter shadows cast by the trees. Twice, Tor stopped and dropped the pack to the ground. Both times he made a stirrup with his hands and motioned with his chin to a branch high above his head. He never asked her if she could complete the climb, just accepted that she would.
    And she did. She never could have reached the lowest branch without his helpful boost. She was too short. What surprised her was that once there, she had the strength to pull herself up onto the branch. It was a struggle, but she managed, and when he tossed her the pack, she actually caught it. Another chin lift told her to move upward. She did it with the heavy pack held firmly on her arm.
    Even more amazing than this personal and heretofore unrealized athleticism was Tor's leap, unaided, from ground to branch. With one swing, he was on the lower limb and with the next he was sitting on the upper branch beside her.
    The grin he gave her was the grin of any schoolyard show-off. Had the forest not been so eerily quiet, she would have giggled aloud. Instead, she rewarded him with silent applause.
    His bow was interrupted by his sudden alertness to something she couldn't hear or see. He put his finger to his lips in a familiar gesture for silence.
    Wynne returned his