Chapter 81: The Call of Tayun (4)
Yoa growled at the Croc, his hand closing on the totem behind him, muscles bracing to face him. His inner beast rippled against his skin, aching to be unleashed on the reptile who had killed so ruthlessly, and to someone who’d thought him to be their friend. The dishonour and wrongness of it clawed at him, twisting his instincts into fury, sharpening his nails into claws, golden eyes glowing in warning.
A low rumble rolled from Sahco, sending ripples across the rising water. But his eyes glinted with amusement as his jaw snapped shut, a whoosh of air sweeping across Yoa’s face from their close proximity. The young cub didn’t flinch, holding the Croc’s gaze.
Sahco swam past him and sank his teeth into the crocodile totem, then cast a sideways glance at the nearby Takaru. His body slid beneath the surface, leaving only his eyes above water—watching, waiting, hunting.
The totems remained firmly stuck in the ground as the water swallowed them up. Panic shortened Yoa’s breath as the last of any light from outside flickered from the narrow entrance to the cave. He grabbed his totem and kicked his feet, eyes targeted to make it out of the cove filling up and essentially will drown them.
He was halfway through across the vast cove, his heart racing, arms straining with his rapid and powerful movements to escape.
A loud splash echoed in the cave.
The Takaru had leapt into the water to grab his totem, risking his life for the spot of becoming Tayun’s guardian.
Sahco sprung towards him and the monkey screeched out in alarm, scrambling to get purchase on the cave wall and away from the crocodile’s jaw.
He kept slipping and the limited space was drawing higher, ready to swallow them all.