Invasion of Her Heart by Trinity Blacio, Ana Lee Kennedy

trees.”
    She had to have traveled over a mile, but she realized she wouldn’t have much time to explore. Cautiously, Venus rubbed her hand over a large oak tree and grinned. “At one time these trees had been all over the city. It was so beautiful back then. Mom and I used to sit under one for our picnics, just the two of us.” Tears filled Venus’s eyes. “Why can’t Volund and Jaxxon bring my parents back? I miss them so much.”
    Ino nudged her with his head, almost as if he sensed her pain, and then licked her hip.
    Venus scanned the ground, looking for signs of a spring, when she heard the gurgling of water. Careful where she stepped, she traveled around trees, shrubs, and weedy patches, until she came to a stream at the east end. Where there was water, game should be plentiful too, but Bone Eaters were a constant danger. She lowered herself to the ground. On her belly, Venus made her way toward the bank of the stream. Ka and Ino crawled next to her. She smiled. Jaxxon and Volund had trained their pets well. Even Tonto inched slowly forward, not making a sound.
    A large Bull Thistle bush blocked her view. Venus brushed the shrub down with her hand and snapped her mouth closed when two of the thorns sank into her arm. Damn!
    With a sigh, Venus crept forward a few more feet. No Bone Eaters were in sight around the stream, but there was a buck drinking at the bottom of the bank. Its large antlers jutted through the air like branches as the deer drank, its ears flicking back and forth, trying to catch any sounds. Very slowly and quietly, Venus lifted the crossbow off her back and nocked an arrow against the string. She took aim as an ancient hunter would have done aeons before. Father, guide my arrow to its target. The hiss of the bolt slicing through the air was the buck’s only warning of impending death.
    The arrow entered the deer’s side right through the lungs. The animal fell to the ground. Tonto ran around the watering hole, sniffing the area behind the deer.
    With his ears back and his tail between his legs, he growled. Ino and Ka rushed at him. Two Bone Eaters slowly moved out from beneath the trees.
    “Shit! You’re not stealing my damn deer from me!” Venus yelled and jumped up.
    A whirring sound and sharp flickers of light danced around her. She spun around toward the noise and illumination
    Volund appeared next to her, his weapon drawn as he scanned the area. He fired at the two Bone Eaters before they advanced any further. “My scanner isn’t picking up any other Bone Eaters.” Volund’s voice came out as a snarl, which sent a shiver down Venus’s spine.
    She nodded, reached down, and grabbed her knife from her boot. Cautiously, she crept around the small water source and knelt next to her kill, removing the tainted part of the deer. The buck had to be over two-hundred pounds. There was no way she could carry it back to the bank building.
    She glanced up at Volund, who stood guard. “Can you lift this and carry it back?”
    He nodded. “I only need to touch it, and it will come back with us.”
    “You can’t take all of us back, can you?” She pulled a rag and her canteen out of her pack, poured water over the knife, wiped it down and then placed it back into her boot.
    “No, it’ll be pushing the limits to take both the buck and your pet with me.” Volund grabbed her arm and turned it over. “You’re hurt.”
    “It’s nothing, just a couple of thorns. I’ll take care of it as soon as we get back.” Venus glanced around the watering hole. “I want to take some samples of the water back with me to test. Why don’t you take the deer and Tonto back? I’ll wait here for you.”
    Volund pulled the thorns out of her arm before she could say anything. “This needs to be treated.” He removed a small tube from his pack. Once he’d opened it and squeezed a few drops out, he smoothed the gel over the cuts, which stopped the bleeding along with the sting. “I’ll be right back with