Chapter 5

As they rode their yaks, more and more animals avoided their path. Bird-like animals swooped overhead, and through breaks in the treetops, looked like nothing but a blur of grey-brown in the low light. The foliage had closed off the sunlight from view, and the farther into the jungle they progressed, the darker it became.

“There’s no way she could have made it this far,” Besry said, clearly uncomfortable with being outside the safety of the compound walls.

Yaliana pursed her lips. She felt a steady ache in her chest at the thought that Ulissa was in danger, and it was unimaginable that she could be dead. Impossible.

“She might have,” Yaliana said with a certainty she didn’t feel. “We owe it to the boss to make sure.”

“The jungle is so thick; she could be anywhere,” Gevery said. “How could she have made it through without a weapon to slice a path?”

“She wasn’t wearing our armour, so being thin enough, she could have made it through.”