Page 131 of Starside

He doesn’t get the chance.

From nowhere, an arrow the size of my leg slices through the forest—and sinks right into the creature’s heart. It seizes. Gasps.

Then it falls. It falls and slides, dragging up dirt and stumps and roots, coming right toward me, eyes alit with that silver from its breath. I trip and am nearly crushed, before Raker yanks me to the side, out of its way.

“Fucking gods, Aris,” he growls. His sword is still up.

An immortal steps out of the woods.

He’s a man holding the largest crossbow I’ve ever seen. Its wood is pure silver, as if carved from a tree in the Land of the Gods. Just like the metal-tipped arrow currently buried in the bear.

He glances over at us, nods in greeting, then proceeds to climb the beast. He’s muttering to himself, as if taking notes. He sounds excited. In a flash, he unsheathes a massive, glimmering saw and begins to cut the needles right off the bear’s back.

I look over at Raker in question, but his gaze is still locked on that immortal. His grip is still tight on his sword.

I take a step forward. Another. I have the urge to sink to the floor, or retch, or simply curl into a ball and sob.

But I need to know. “What is that creature?”

The immortal glances down at me from his place high above. He looks me up and down for a mere moment, before grinning.

He has flame-red hair, tan skin, and bright, golden, glittering eyes. He has the body of someone who has done extensive fight training. Perhaps for centuries. He’s handsome. He tilts his head at me, in faint amusement, as if taking in my notice.

Then he turns back to the spines. I think he’ll ignore me, before he says, “This is a steelclaw.”

I glance down at the bear’s claws and my breath hitches. They’re each longer than my sword, glimmering in some ancient material that is decidedly not steel. The immortal seems to track my gaze, because he says, “Not really steel … but stronger than most metals. Melded into swords to make them stronger. Made into weapons itself …” He nods toward his arrow, and I notice its tip is made of the very same matter.

Interesting.

“And the spines?”

“Contain some of the most potent poison ever discovered.”

I raise a brow at him as he unceremoniously collects almost all of them. “And you’re what? A hunter?”

He flashes a white, perfect smile. “Precisely.” He turns fully toward me. “Thank you, by the way. For drawing him out. I haven’t seen one of these in a very long time … They’re rare. They hibernate for centuries. Some thought they were all but extinct …”

My back teeth grind together. So, I was no more than bait. I remember what Xara said about hunters. How they’re the reason some ancient creatures are all but extinct. I study this hunter, wondering if he’s one of the ones she was referring to. “Steelclaws have an appetite for humans?”

He tilts his head at me, looking amused again. “No. They’re aethervores.”

At my blank stare, he says, “They eat magic.”

Oh. I think about that glimmering silver beam it emitted. But that doesn’t explain why it was chasing me.

I must look confused, because he motions toward my back. “Your blade.”

“My sword?” He nods, and I shake my head. “It … it doesn’t have magic.”

He frowns. “I’ve never seen a beast chase an object with such singular focus. It most certainly does.” At my insistence, he shrugs. “You’re mortal. You can’t activate it.”

Both Xara and the book said scales and claws and bones from magical creatures can be melded into weapons, to give them a shred of their magic. Is that what mine has?

I reach back and trail a finger down its hilt. No wonder so many people are after it.

All at once, I remember the fact that this is an immortal. With a baldric full of weapons. If he wants this one, it won’t take much effort for him to steal it from me. I take a step back. As if sensing the direction of my thoughts, he flashes that smile again. “Not to worry, human. I’m more of a bow and arrow man myself. Your sword would go for a pretty penny, I’m sure …” He purses his lips, considering. “But it would also likely cost me my head in the process. And I quite like my head.” He winks at me. “You seem to like it too.” I scoff. He just smiles wider before shrugging. “A blade like that isn’t worth the trouble.”

I look over at Raker. The other person who might steal this blade from me. But he doesn’t spare me a glance.