Demons' Nest: Deleted Scene

Good morning, lovelies!

I'm still plucking away at Demons' Nest edits. Transferring the red ink edits from the printed out manuscript to the computer screen is the worst part of writing. Yes, I catch more mistakes this way, but ugh.

Anyway, I ended up deleting this whole chapter because it was repetitive and covered some unnecessary information. So I'm posting it here.

For context: this group is hunting a creature called a nemico. At this point in the book, the audience hasn't seen it yet. We just know it's extremely dangerous and very furry--which is why Olivia & Co want it. They need animal pelts to survive the incoming winter, since she, Riley, and the half dozen other humans that have joined them since the end of Citadel are out in the middle of the Flooded Forest with little to no supplies, and it's autumn. Anyone who's glanced at a history book will tell you, they ain't surviving if they don't get their asses in gear, quick.

Riley and Asiya are there as medical backup, plus to help Olivia remove and transport the pelt.

All the other characters here are chimera. Some are from the Isilna Pack (Mek'tay's old pack, which has since come under new management hostile to humans). Some are from Sanctuary--the new human/chimera hybrid town. Inyetaz is, of course, our "friend" from the Kimuud Pack, the one with the little cub Ta've who fell into a cave that Olivia had to go rescue. She's in charge of that pack now, and has a wife named Ekij. The final chimera is from the Deep Water Pack, a very old, very traditional group of chimera that helped them out a little bit in an earlier chapter.

Finally, Logan--who isn't in this scene but gets talked about--is a twelve-year-old trans girl. She was a street urchin at the start of the book, and ended up helping Olivia's sympathizers sneak out of Citadel via the sewer system. Ebevil and Siyet have been not-so-subtly asking other people in Sanctuary about raising "human cubs." (Another reason why this chapter got cut: Ebevil asks these questions to another character in a previous chapter, so it makes no sense to see it again, even with a different character.)

Chapter Forty-Two: Riley

Riding a flying chimera was an experience, and still not one Riley was used to.

He and Asiya both initially refused. It seemed demeaning to ride on people’s backs, even in the interest of time. Until Ebevil dropped a mental map in their heads of just how vast the Flooded Forest was, how large a chimera pack’s territory was (on average, a three-day walk from end to end), and ordered, “Wings are faster than legs. Ride.”

And, well, fair enough.

Riley, being the smallest and lightest, was supposed to go to one of the Isilna chimera, the golden-winged young man named Kuneg. He was only a few years older than Cyrij, by Riley’s estimate.

However, the young kizaba could not quite hide his distaste of being so close to a human, something that Riley privately pointed out to Ebevil. (A hundred blessings for telepathy.) “Any chance I could convince you to take me again?” he asked. He didn’t want to tire the leader out, but this strange alliance seemed more fragile than chimeric muscles.

Ebevil made an open link: “I make mistake. Kuneg, humans are heavy. You carry bags. I carry Riley.”

Kuneg’s golden wings and shoulders loosened, and he gripped Riley’s and Olivia’s packs in his talons. His mother, the Elder Ik’yub, took Asiya’s.

Asiya went back on Flies-with-Thunder, and Olivia got Rukas, whose silvery wings almost matched her hair. Eb’hama and Is’hav were to guard their flanks while Inyetaz and Ekij led the way.

Riley gripped Ebevil’s brown fur as tight as he dared, praying, Hundred-Faced God, grant me your Face of Courage. Grant Ebevil your face of StreNGTH—

The chimera launched himself into the air. Riley’s stomach lurched and the wind rushed through him.

Ebevil stabilized just under the forest ceiling of crumbling leaves and branches, the titan trees far enough apart that multiple chimera could fly in a line without difficulty. The ground flowed below them like a river, too far away for Riley to be comfortable with, but utterly fascinating. It was an odd, heady mix of power and helplessness as they rushed through the forest.

They stopped after only twenty minutes or so, but covered more ground than Riley would’ve been able to walk in a day. His legs were jelly as he slid off Ebevil’s back, the chimera panting and all but dropping to the ground. Rukas and Flies-with-Thunder weren’t much better.

“Sorry,” Olivia said, quickly getting off of Rukas. “I know humans are heavy.”

“We stop. Breathe,” Ebevil ordered, belly flat on the dirt.

“Is there a tide pool nearby?” Asiya asked, digging out her water canteen. “I think you all need a drink.”

“Close,” Ekij confirmed. “This way.”

“Olivia, could you come with us? Riley…”

“I’ll stay here,” he said, sitting down, legs still shaking. “I don’t think I’m much good to anyone right now. Frankly, I don’t understand how you’re still standing.”

“Childbirth and an iron stomach.” She patted her thick belly.

“Experience,” Olivia said. “This was much easier without the Mulo pack chasing us down.”

“God’s Faces, do not tell your father,” Asiya muttered, following her and the Kimuud Elder through the forest.

Riley hiccuped. “Are we going to do that on the way back?”

Rukas whined. “How heavy is nemico fur?”

“I don’t know. Probably pretty heavy.”

The chimeras’ best tracker dropped his jaw on the dirt floor and whined again.

“Maybe these Kimuud warriors will be kind enough to help?” he asked, looking at the Kimuud pack leader hopefully.

“No,” she said flatly.

Riley shrugged. “Worth a try.”

They sat in silence for a while. Riley wasn’t terribly familiar with most of the chimera Ebevil had chosen. In fact, most chimera in Sanctuary tended to avoid humans. It didn’t help that they were naturally nocturnal while humans were diurnal.

Is’hav growled, making Riley and the others stiffen. But she was glaring at Inyetaz, and that was when Riley caught the private link between the two of them, right before Is’hav broke it. The cub pointedly approached Ebevil and sat next to him, ignoring the pale-gold chimera with grayish-blue wings.

Riley tried his own private link with the girl. “Everything okay?”

“She thinks kizaba cubs should be with ‘bigger, stronger packs,’ not leave and start packs so quick,” Is’hav grumbled.

Ah, right. Olivia had mentioned Inyetaz trying to poach Is’hav during the whole kidnapped-by-Mulo business. Riley backed off, letting Is’hav cool her temper.

“I have human question,” Ebevil said, breaking the silence, so to speak. “How do humans raise their cubs?”

Riley let out a breath, leaning back on his hands. Luckily he had years of experience fielding random questions; Olivia could jump subjects like fish through hoops. “This is probably a question for someone who has cubs, but it honestly depends on how old they are. Someone like Mikey needs constant support. He can’t feed, clothe, or defend himself. He won’t even be able to talk for a few more months, and won’t walk for another year. Someone like Logan is much more self-sufficient. She can be left alone for a few hours at a time, can even feed herself a bit. Evelyn’s almost an adult and only needs a helping hand now and then.”

“I hear Logan lives without pack before Sanctuary,” Flies-with-Thunder said.

“She shouldn’t have had to,” Riley said sadly. “That was a horrendous failure on her parents’ part. Frankly, I’m amazed she lasted as long as she did. I don’t think she’d have made it through the winter if she hadn’t come here. You’ll notice that the nest we’re building? Really only the adults and near-adults are working on it. Logan’s too young for that kind of work, could only help make the bricks. Olivia’s teaching her how to hunt small creatures, enough to feed herself. But something like a leoheim or serovim? To say nothing of a nemico—absolutely not. She still needs that type of physical support, as well as emotional support and guidance. The kind you give Cyrij. I think they’re the same age.”

“Then there is little difference, between human and chimera cubs,” Ebevil said.

Riley see-sawed his hand. “None that I’ve seen so far. You can give Logan and Cyrij meat, she’s just going to have to cook hers. She’ll also need fruits and vegetables. They’re not just an easier food source, we need to eat them to avoid getting sick.”

“How often? Use the waters.”

Riley did a quick calculation. “Someone Logan’s age? If she stops eating vegetables now, she’ll start getting weak and sick after the waters go up, down, and up again. Maybe sooner; I wouldn’t be surprised if her immune system is already compromised from a few months of malnutrition. Someone my age or older can last a while longer. And then there’s the risk of hypothermia. I’m guessing it’s difficult for a chimera to die of cold?”

Rukas showed him images of chimera swimming for too long in the water and failing to get dry fast enough before freezing, but only in major blizzards or horrendously cold temperatures.

“Water is certainly a risk,” Riley agreed. “But if a human doesn’t have proper coverage—like a warm nest or a very thick blanket—we can and will die just from standing out too long in the winter. That’s why we so desperately need this nemico.”

“Oh!” Rukas shared memories of finding men dead in the trees that made Riley wince, clearly dead from exposure, but the Rukas in the memory is confused, as he could not smell any blood or sickness, so how did they die? Now he knows!

The silver-winged chimera then shows Olivia’s hair, and Riley’s, and Aaron’s bushy beard…

“Your fur does not help?” Rukas asked.

Riley shook his head. “That’s really just for decoration. Our hair doesn’t do much to keep us warm. But Ebevil, if you have more questions about cub health specifically, I’d ask Asiya. Especially mental health. She and—for all his faults—Ormus took Olivia in when she was just about Logan’s age, right after her mother was killed. Logan’s experience is different, but still harsh. Peterson’s another good source for this kind of thing.”

Gratitude filled the link. “Thank you, Riley,” Ebevil said.

Riley picked up a private link with Kuneg, Ik’yub, Eb’hama, Flies-with-Thunder, and Rukas. “Is he planning on doing what I think he’s planning on doing?”

All five chimeras’ minds bubbled over, Eb’hama’s barely restrained. “Siyet tells him he wants another cub long before Silver comes to forest.”

Riley bit back a grin just as three familiar minds returned.

Ekij landed near Ebevil, carrying a water canteen in her jaws that the kizaba telekinetically took from her. The canteen floated in the air as it was uncorked and tilted enough for him to drink. Olivia and Asiya were right behind their chimeric host, with more water. They made sure everyone was hydrated before Olivia scooped up her bow and arrows. “Where’s the nemico?”