BooksBarbecue
Back Rapture
Chapters (55)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. 1.
  5. 2.
  6. 3.
  7. 4.
  8. 5.
  9. 6.
  10. 7.
  11. 8.
  12. 9.
  13. 10.
  14. 11.
  15. 12.
  16. 13.
  17. 14.
  18. 15.
  19. 16.
  20. 17.
  21. 18.
  22. 19.
  23. 20.
  24. 21.
  25. 22.
  26. 23.
  27. 24.
  28. 25.
  29. 26.
  30. 27.
  31. 28.
  32. 29.
  33. 30.
  34. 31.
  35. 32.
  36. 33.
  37. 34.
  38. 35.
  39. 36.
  40. 37.
  41. 38.
  42. 39.
  43. 40.
  44. 41.
  45. 42.
  46. 43.
  47. 44.
  48. 45.
  49. 46.
  50. 47.
  51. 48.
  52. 49.
  53. 50.
  54. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  55. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

She had heard things about wild beasts in the north—something besides bugs and cats and shape-shifting dogs, parrots, ravens, and even the elusive foxes. What kid hadn’t? But when you got old, got out into the world, you generally came to realize that all those stories were just junk your mothers told you to keep you from wandering around in the desert after dark. She had been a farmer’s kid. Encouraging children to stay within the confines of the irrigated land and brushy thorn fences and windbreaks meant keeping them alive another season. Plenty of kids got hauled off to war or indentured servitude on the interior back then. Those stories were scarier than animals, so wild animals made the best children’s stories. She heard a lot about vicious desert beasts with massive talons and tails and thorny ridges and poison mucus.

But you never really expected to see any. Not really.

“What the fuck is that?” Nyx said.

“I have no idea,” Eshe said, “but there are at least six or eight of them… and they’re coming this way.”

“Up!” Nyx yelled back at the camp as she drew her sword. “We’ve got incoming!”

The whole team—all but Eshe’s Ras Tiegan—were up and armed in less than sixty seconds. Nyx had about three seconds more to appreciate that fact before the first of the things hurled itself into camp.

It was some kind of animal. That’s about all she could say about it with any certainty. If it was a dog, it wasn’t like any dog she had ever seen. Matted dreadlocks covered the face and hooked snout, and fell in a long, jagged frill along its spine. The paws were big as a cat’s, and clawed, visibly clawed—

The tail swept out behind it, thick as a table leg, knobbed at the end with a spiky protrusion that looked like something on a thorn beetle. It must have been about the size of a sand cat, which meant the head was as wide as Nyx’s chest.

What the fuck did a thing like that eat?

You, Nyx thought as it came at her.

She swept her blade low and pivoted right.

Three more of the things barreled past her, snarling and grunting like a pack of mutant cats. Maybe that’s really all they are, she thought, but that thought was short lived as the one snarling at her lashed out a forked tongue that slapped the back of her hand, leaving a long trail of stinging mucus.

Fantastic.