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They fol owed the path down the side of the mountain

Half-way down a low rumble under her paws told Claire a trap had been set off She felt the terrestrial shock rush upward, above the away fro, and chased them down the slope The boulders slammed into the side of the al oped ahead off her

A boulder landed inches from her tail

Zinaida-Fox stu to crush her There was no way to avoid it Claire lunged, shielding the Fox with her shoulder and snarled The jungle shook The blast of sound slah It slah her powerful frame Claire turned, scooped Zinaida into her mouth, and ran

Five seconds later the anirass on the side of the mountain, while the rocks continued to rol behind theround

"Thank you," the older wohed in labored heavy gasps "Let’s do that again!"

"Why are we so tired?" Charles-Bul breathed "Al this, it doesn’t exist We didn’t real y run"

"You’ve forced your brain to make connections at maximum speed," Claire said "The ued just as your bodies do

Cole Carnivorous plants snapped at their feet Nooses disguised as vines reached for their necks Leaves hid pits with spikes Sairy bees and Claire had to jump in after him and fry the insects with a focused mental blast

Finally, scratched, bruised, and tired, they ee of another cliff, this tiht behind the twisted network of roots clenching the round dropped down Far, far below silvery waters of an ocean lay placid, tinted light pink and the yel ow to the left, where a golden globe of the sun set, cushioned in soft clouds Above the clouds, the cos into the glow of nebulas and distant galaxies

To the right, past the gulf of the ocean, another cliff rose, naked rock wal topped by a lush jungle Twin rivers spil ed from the cliff, wrapped in feathery mist Between thelowed, beckoning her

Claire squinted A narrow rock spire, like a finger of basalt about a hundred yards wide at the top, thrust from the water between the place, a wide stone bridge led to the spire

On the other side of the spire, a thick rope woven of lianas, sturdy, woody vines, stretched to the other cliff Thick enough for her to cross, if she used her claws and paid attention

Kosta-Ape climbed the tree to her left and leaned to her ear "There are mutants on the smal mountain," he said

She saw them too: lean, muscled beasts with the body of a fast hound and the jaws of a crocodile One, two, three seven On Uley, the warning cal to a psycher would occur if three or more were kil ed Sometimes it only took two

They could’ve used Nonna

Well, no use regretting what she couldn’t fix She would have to take the chance

"We should go now," Charles-Bul said "Remember, we’re here to save the children We do this so they can have a life"

The beasts murmured

"Thank you," she told them "Stay safe Don’t fal into the water"

Charles bowed his head to her

Claire bowed back

One by one they disappeared into the jungle She lay by the roots of the tree and waited

A shril screech announced Mittali The bird ran onto the bridge, feathers fluffed out, and shook her butt at the dog beasts The hounds snarled, showing sharp fangs

Yellow frothy spit bubbled up on their lips They looked rabid

The bird shook her feathers "Co peeled off froered on the bridge for a long ave chase

She watched the three others grab their AI beasts one by one Kosta was last He scootedThe three re in ain, oblivious

The AI hound stalked closer Closer

The wicked jaws opened