Lost and Found

Chapter 13- Close Call

Turns out Saint lived about 1 mile to his perspective away from Markus, which meant they'd be walking for a long while. Riley sat perched on Saint's shoulder, which the giant had, apparently, no pockets. Riley shivered at the thought of what would happen if Saint ran into other giants. What would he do to hide her?

     Hopefully he doesn't think of eating me as a hiding option! Riley thought, shuddering at the thought of being able to fit in this giant's mouth.

     "Hey, what's your plan for hiding me when you run into other giants?" Riley asked.

     "I don't know," Saint began, stopping as he heard voices. Giants. Was the thought that had popped in his head. He had to think of a way to hide her, and fast. Maybe under my tongue, but then she wouldn't trust me, and that's the first place a giant would check for smuggled humans. He finally picked Riley up, then set her down on a branch.

     "Hide, and don't come out unless it's me, understand?" Saint said.

"Wait, where are you going? Don't leave me here! I'm terrified of high and open places like giant tree branches!" Riley squeaked.

Saint growled "would you rather be under my tongue?" And Riley stopped making noises. Saint used his finger to nudge the human out of sight, and once he couldn't see her in the overgrowth, he turned around. Three Giants approached, each with a crossbow.

"Halt." One of them barked. "We're looking for a human."

"Aren't we all? After all, they are a delicacy!" Saint said. Gods above I'm terrible at this.

"She couldn't have gone far you know. She's not that hard to find. Brown hair, brown eyes, very shy but snippy, looks like she hasn't even bothered to stop and Groom." Another said. "She was last seen at Coriander Pineclaw's home. She's wanted by demand of the King."

"No, I'll keep an eye out for her. Why do you want her?" Saint asked.

The same one walked up to him, backing Saint into the tree. "She is a WildBlood. She must be dealt with. We can't let her go."

"Actually, you will"

Saint peaked over the taller giant's shoulder and saw Markus.

"Well, you're a little late, Brachiosaur." Saint said flatly.

"I'll be taking her back, she's mine. And you don't mess with the Pineclaws." Markus warned, pulling out his colt and aiming for the giant that had Saint cornered.

"Let him go, otherwise you die. And, I really don't want to kill anyone." Markus said, lowering the gun.

The other giant let Saint go, and he grabbed Riley from her hiding spot. Markus glared daggers at the other three Giants, then shot at the ground in front of them, the bullet landing mere human inches away from one of the giant's feet.

Saint sighed with relief as Markus turned, then brushed past him. Saint opened his mouth to speak, then closed it as he felt Riley squirm in his grip.

"Here, Markus, you can have Riley. I'll just go and head home." Saint said.

"It's too dangerous for Riley to be in my house, and you can't go back to yours. We have to go elsewhere." Markus said.

"What about Scott or Parker?" Saint asked.

"That would be a smart idea. The Giants don't know anyone related to me but you and my family. So, yes, we can see if they'll shelter us until I can find out what to do to get us, as humans would say, "flying under the radar"." Markus said.

Riley trembled, hearing more names of Giants. Shrike, well, might as well drizzle myself in gravy if these guys are carnivorous and eat humans!

"Hey, Riley, I know you're not shivering out of being cold. Parker and Scott are good friends of mine. They wouldn't dare try anything with you. They've helped me shelter humans before, so they're alright." Markus said, trying to calm Riley down.