Barbarian Mine (Ice Planet Barbarians #4)(21)

“I guess we’re stealing their home, huh?” I smile at him. The animal lover in me should be upset that we’re raiding their cave and taking it over, but living on Not-Hoth has taught me that it’s very much kill-or-be-killed around here.

Plus, the quill-beasts make a tasty lunch.

I follow Rukh into the cave, cautious. There’s not a lot of natural light to see by, but the ceiling of the cave is tall, so at least we can keep a fire going and not choke on the smoke. There’s a nice big interior room in the cave and a few nooks that we can use for storage. There’s a perfect spot for a fire pit, and an alcove that will make a good sleeping spot. It’s the nicest cave I’ve seen so far, and it makes me happy. “I like it,” I tell Rukh excitedly, not that he can understand me. He’ll grasp the tone of my voice.

He smiles at me and gestures at the floor, indicating sleep.

“Yes, this will be home,” I agree. The place needs a good sweep and some prepping, but the potential is awesome. I can’t stop smiling. Home, after so long. I love it. Eager, I follow behind him as he shows me the stream of fresh water nearby that comes from deep within the rock and trickles down the cliffs. He leads me to the beach, and I make mental comparisons. The waves are larger than the gentle surf I remember at home, and each one crashes hard against the sand. The sand itself is a dark, glittery green, and the water has a greenish tinge instead of Caribbean blue. But it’s the beach, and it’s familiar to me. It makes this feel like an Earth vacation instead of being totally stranded.

That is, until I see the sand-scorpions.

They crawl along the beach, a weird, Geiger-esque cross between a spider and a scorpion. Many legs scuttle along the sand, all leading back to a thorny-looking carapace covered with spikes. As a wave rolls in, the legs dig into the sand and it hunches down. When the wave rolls back again, it unhooks itself from the beach and scuttles along its way, a feeler (or stinger) bobbing overhead.

It’s easily the most disgusting looking thing I’ve seen so far. I make a face of horror and point it out to Rukh. “Look! So gross!”

He gives me a surprised smile and then trots forward in the sand. When he drives his knife through the center of one, I squirm and gag quietly. Damn language barrier. He must have seen it and thought I wanted lunch. Eeeew. Guess I’m having crab legs for dinner. As Rukh holds it up and legs twitch wildly, I amend that thought.

Rukh is having crab legs. No way am I letting that thing near my mouth, cooked or not.

The salty breeze picks up, and I gaze down the beach. Actually, now that I look at things, there’s not a lot like Earth here on this beach other than the water and sand. The waves are rough, and out in the distance, I see greenish icebergs floating in the water. Dark shapes move on the distant ice, and on the shore, there’s an ostrich-like something bobbing for things in the waves a short ways away. As I peer at the water, undulating humps flash and then disappear again.

Oh well. I didn’t want to swim anyhow. I just want a nice home, and this will do. I smile encouragingly at Rukh as he returns to my side. “I like this place, big guy.”

“Eat?” He asks, holding the leggy sand-scorpion out to me.

I shake my head, swallowing hard. “Later.” Much, much later. I wish I had a piece of paper to write on, because I feel like I need to make a list of everything we need to make this place a home. Blankets, spears, a stack of dung-firewood, maybe some of those pink potato-like plant trees that grew near the old tribal caves if we can find them…I stare off into the distance, mentally cataloguing things. Just thinking about everything that needs to be done is exhausting, because the only people here to work are myself and Rukh.

At my side, Rukh puts his kill into his bag, sheathes his knife, and then takes my hand in his. The smile dies from his face and he reaches out to touch my cheek.

Uh oh. “What’s wrong?”

His throat works, and then he stares off at the ocean. Worry shoots through me, and I reach out and touch his arm, squeezing it. Or I would if he didn’t have those strange plates running along his skin. But he gets the idea, and he reaches out to touch my cheek, a faint smile on his face again. “Vaashan home.”

I tilt my head and my brain scrolls through the alien language, looking for a match. “I don’t recognize that word.”

“Here.” He gestures at the sand, then at the distant cliffs. When I give a small shake to indicate my confusion, he pulls my hand to his cheek and rubs my knuckles against his skin. Then he sighs sadly and begins to tug me forward.

I follow, though I admit I’m wary. What now? I can’t possibly imagine what he’s going to show me. We head down the beach, and Rukh seems to know exactly where he’s going. He already showed me the cave we were going to stay in…is someone else – or something else – nearby?

I’m not prepared for what he shows me, though. We find another cave, and Rukh holds my hand tightly as we stoop and enter. This cave is some distance away from the other one, and very small. But I figure out what it is the moment I see the mound of rocks piled into an oval, and the beaded necklace hanging above on a rocky outcropping.

This is a grave.

Rukh drops to his knees by it, and he holds my hand tight, as if terrified of letting go. After a moment, he looks over at me. “Vaashan home.”

“Vaashan is your father?” I ask. That has to be who this is. I’ve gotten a few hints from him over the time that I’ve known him that he was with his father, but then his father was gone. And of course, a wild boy has to come from somewhere.