Free The Destroyer by Michael-Scott Earle Page A

until they began to ascend the cliff face over the trees of the jungle. It was not easy to spot them, even from our better angle, so I assumed they would be safe from patrols.
    "Let's go set up camp. Watching them won't make the time go faster," Greykin said as we strained our eyes to follow them. We grabbed the horses and made the trek back to the clearing.



Chapter 6-Kaiyer
     
    It took us half an hour to make it to the top of the six-hundred-foot cliff face. Nadea was a fast, capable climber. Her placements of the pitons were perfect, even if I hadn't needed their aid. Much like the earlier battle against the Vanlourn soldiers, climbing seemed very comfortable to me. My hands naturally found holds, my legs seemed to know when to push, and I had to restrain myself from moving up past Nadea.
    Nadea had taken the lead in the ascent to hammer in the pitons, which allowed me a perfect view of her legs and ass while she maneuvered the sheer face of the cliff. The view of her body from below made me think about the two nights ago when Greykin woke up at the most inopportune time. Perhaps tonight I would have a chance to taste her.
    The stables were empty except for the two of us and her horses. With a casual ease she ascended the ladder to the hay loft. “Follow me human,” her voice was a seductive purr that controlled my body like reins.
    The wind on top of the canyon carried the scent of a drier jungle to my nose before it dashed off the side of the cliff to the valley below. I looked down at the jungle beneath us. It seemed to stretch on forever, like a green rolling ocean that curved down the edge of the planet, beyond the reach of my vision. I didn't recognize any of the scenery, but the scents in the air and the sense of accomplishment that penetrated my hands and legs after the climb were familiar.
    I turned around to contemplate the jungle on top of the canyon. It seemed thicker than what lay on the valley floor, and there were no game trails through the foliage. There did appear to be a twenty-foot-wide gap that separated the green tangle of plants from the edge of the cliff. We were going to have to explore to see if the edge could be followed west and then northward. If it appeared too treacherous, then we would have to figure out a way through the guards. I did feel much stronger from the food, water, and travel, but I had been lucky with the eight in the jungle clearing. Killing forty would be impossible for our small group.
    "Let's walk around the edge," I said to Nadea as she finished tying off the rope. She glanced at me over her shoulder and the wind picked up again. I could smell her salty sweat on the breeze. I hadn't perspired at all, but the scent of her skin and the wind brought me a memory. A man's voice.
    Wind and Water are two sides of the same Element. They both crash into the Earth and wear it down to the smallest particle of energy. Earth and Wind create Fire, Earth and Water create life.
    I shook my head to clear it of the cobwebs and focused back on the sound of Nadea's heart beating.
    "Okay. But we have to go back as soon as we can," I guessed she said, as I set down the coil of rope I had carried up the cliff face.
    We moved away from the edge twenty feet, then followed it west toward the main road that cut through the canyon. If we were lucky, then the ridge would be free of the jungle for a few more miles north of the canyon's corner. Then we would be able to get back onto the road safely behind the guard post.
    Nadea handed me a water skin and I took a small sip as we walked. I went to hand the skin back to her, but she shook her head and untied her hair, retying it tighter. The movement brought up another memory. It was of a woman, beautiful like Nadea, but of sharper facial features, hair a darker shade of brown, and eyes that sparked green. I put the skin back into my pack as the memory faded.
    Within a quarter of an hour of shadowing the canyon precipice, we arrived at the edge, where