Ronin (The Pike Chronicles Book 3) by G. P. Hudson

with long stalactites hanging from the ceiling. Then it dawned on him. He could see. He wheeled around, trying to identify the source of the light. He followed it and soon came upon an opening. As he walked through he was bathed in morning sunlight. He was sweaty and dirty, and his body ached all over, but at that moment he couldn’t imagine any better feeling than the sun on his skin.
    The peaceful moment was short lived as his instincts kicked in and he began to feel exposed. He dropped back into the cave, out of the sun’s glorious rays, and took a less visible position behind some rocks.
    Were the Chaanisar still there? Had they seen him? He scanned the surrounding sky, looking for the vessel that had attacked them a few hours ago. There was nothing out of the ordinary. Just endless blue sky. His eyes scanned the forest canopy. He saw nothing, but anything could be hiding underneath those trees.
    “See anything, cousin?” said Jason from behind, startling him.
    “Don’t sneak up on me like that,” he said, glaring back at Jason.
    His cousin laughed and slapped him on the back. He winced. How much damage had he done to his body?
    “No, I don’t see anything,” he said, scanning the trees again.
    “We made it.”
    “Don’t be so sure,” said his father, approaching from behind with Michael. “They could be anywhere down there.”
    “So what do we do?” said Jon. “Stay here?”
    “No, we keep moving. The farther away we get, the better.”
    Jon sighed. All he wanted to do was sleep.
    As if reading his mind, his father said, “If you stop now, your muscles will seize up and it’ll be worse.”
    Jon didn’t think his body could feel much worse.
    “We can sleep when we get home,” said his father. “Come, we’ve got a long day ahead of us.”
    Jon looked outside again, this time scanning the sides of the mountain. There was a small goat path stretching out away from the cave and down the side of the mountain. They could walk down. Thankful for the small reprieve, he rested a hand on his weapon and ventured out onto the path.
    He took a few steps and stopped. He whipped around and looked back at the treetops below.
    “What’s wrong,” said Jason.
    “Nothing. I just felt like someone was staring at me.”
    Jason laughed and punched Jon in the bicep. “Don’t worry, cousin. I’m here to protect you.”
    Jon shrugged, feeling stupid, and continued down the path.

Chapter 19
     
    “What’s wrong, father?” said Jon.
    “Nothing, why?”
    “You keep turning, scanning the forest like something’s out there.”
    His father cocked an eyebrow at him and gave him an approving nod. “We’re being followed, son.”
    “What? Where?”
    “I don’t know where, but they’re out there.”
    “How do you know?”
    “I just do.”
    It sounded odd, but he knew better than to question his father’s judgment. “What do we do?”
    “We keep walking. What we don’t do is lead them back home.”
    “They want to find our base.”
    “Exactly, or they would’ve moved in already.”
    “I wondered why we were taking this route.”
    His father gave him a grim smile. “Let’s see how long they want to play. Are you up for another climb?”
    “You’re not joking, are you?”
    “Sorry.”
    “This day’s never going to end.”
    “Listen. These are Chaanisar that are following us. They’re stronger, faster, better than us in almost every way.”
    “Doesn’t that mean they can out-climb us?”
    “Maybe. They have the physical ability to do so, but do you think they’ve done as much climbing as you have?”
    “Probably not.”
    “Do you think they know these mountains as well as we do?”
    “No.”
    His father smiled. “Maybe we can even the odds a little.”
    Jon looked back, trying to catch a glimpse of who was hunting them. He saw nothing but trees. He listened, but heard nothing more than birds.
    By late afternoon they were trudging up a steep incline through the forest. Jon’s leg’s ached