by C. C. Hunter
• • •
“You need to slow down!”
Burnett, shirtless and wearing only jeans that weren’t even buttoned, stood in the doorway. Kylie had obviously woken them up. She didn’t care.
“Didn’t you hear me? I can’t slow down. She said we need to hurry.”
“Kylie.” Holiday, wearing a pink fuzzy robe, moved around Burnett, pulled her into the living room and pressed a calm touch to her arm. “Just slow down long enough to tell us what happened. What was said. What you saw. She may have given you a clue.”
“I just saw the room and then she was in the woods.” She looked at Burnett. “Go see the Were councilmen and make them tell you where he is!”
Burnett ran a rough hand over his face. “They don’t make themselves accessible to the FRU. But I can reach out to . . .”
“You can’t just reach out!” Kylie demanded, air not quite getting to her lungs, her lips and hands tingling from raw nerves. “You have to find them. You have to stop them before they kill Lucas.”
Burnett looked at Holiday, his expression echoing the same hopelessness Kylie felt. The caterpillar of fear she squirming inside her ripped out of its cocoon and turned into a winged creature slamming into her ribs, making her soul rage with anger.
“I’m going to try to make some contacts,” Burnett said. He flew out of the room, flew back in dressed, and then bolted out the door.
No sooner had the door closed, then it whooshed back open. Della rushed in, her expression one of a best friend who would fight for her and stop at nothing to help.
“What can I do?” The vampire’s stance indicated that she was ready to take on the world.
Kylie stood there wishing with all her heart she had something to tell her, but she had nothing. She felt as hopeless as Lucas’s grandmother had looked. If only . . . if only she had someone who could give her answers. Someone who could—
Then she realized she did have someone. She ran out, went straight to flight, not even offering an explanation. Air hit her face, her hair tossed back by her speed. There was no time for politeness.
Everything in her soul said this was urgent. That Lucas was already facing danger. That if she didn’t do something, and fast, he would be lost to her. Gone.
The love of her life would not share this life with her.
She refused to accept that. But how could she get to him in time? She really needed a miracle.
Flying lower, she continued to the one place where miracles happened.
• • •
Lucas ripped off his light blue shirt. The arrow still buried in his shoulder, he moved from tree to tree, heading back to his campsite. He listened to locate his attackers, using the large pine trees as a shield. Fury, not fear, boiled inside him. Who had shot him? What vampire and werewolf traveled together?
He shifted to another tree, inhaling deeply.
The scents were not familiar. Was he just an easy target, or was he “the” target? He pushed the question aside to focus on staying alive, on finding a plan to bring down his unnamed enemies. On not letting the pain take him down.
Blood spilled from the wound. As much as he longed to pull out the arrow, he knew if he did, he might not be able to stop the blood flow. And that could be fatal. He needed to get back to the fire, hoping a few dry branches were still hot enough to cauterize the wound. As painful as that sounded, there was no way around it.
He darted to another tree, only to have an arrow whiz past. It missed. But the next one might not. He needed to be more cautious. To make sure his moves from tree to tree were unexpected and still led him where he needed to go. He hugged the tree closer, accidentally ramming the arrow deeper into his shoulder. The deep, hot ache had him grinding his teeth.
When the pain became manageable he started moving again. Dashing between trees, he went back and forth, slowly making his way to where he needed to be. A couple more arrows whizzed by.
“Wasting ammunition, aren’t you?” he spoke aloud.
He could almost feel the shooter’s frustration. Which was good. A flustered shooter never aimed as well as a calm one.
The smell of his fire hung in the air and assured him he grew closer to the camp. He ran behind another tree and saw four sets of cold eyes staring up at him. His breath caught, then released when he realized it was nothing but the coyotes. Yet the fact that he’d missed their scent was discouraging. This was no time to let down his guard.
The four larger-than-usual animals crouched close to the ground, studying him. The leftovers and bones he had tossed them lay almost devoured. Coyotes and wolves were not always friends, but neither were they always enemies.
The largest of the four creatures, tan and gray in color and obviously the alpha, started forward.
“No.” Lucas held up his hand. The coyote stepped back. The arrow came flying between the trees, barely missing the animal.
The creature lifted his snout and growled. Not at Lucas but into the dark. Then the creature hurried to Lucas’s side. Lucas extended his hand. The coyote smelled it, licked some blood that had flowed down his arm, then lowered his eyes and head in a submissive gesture.
Behind that animal the three others did the same.
Lucas crouched down, stared the animal right in the eyes, accepting the superior role offered to him. I’m in a tough spot, and if you could help me out that would be greatly appreciated.
The coyote looked back at his pack. Let out a low sound, and they quickly darted off into the night.
Leaving Lucas alone and in a hell of a bad spot.
Chapter Eight
He slowly let out a deep breath, found his footing, stood, and searched the distance for any last glowing embers from his fire.
Before standing, he heard loud growling in the distance, then came a yelp, from either an animal or one of his attackers. He couldn’t tell. But then he heard loud footsteps running, and the thudding of coyote feet racing after them.
Lifting his nose, he smelled blood. Vampire blood.
Knowing this might be his best chance, and hoping it was the vamp wielding the bow and arrow, Lucas ran toward the scent of his campsite.
Aware he was out in the open, he saw several still-smoldering sticks. Not wasting any time, he reached up and yanked the arrow out. Blood gushed rapidly. Kept gushing. Biting back the groan of pain, preparing himself for more, he grabbed the largest smoldering stick by its cooler end and pressed the hot part into his wound.
The pain–or was it the smell of his burning flesh–made him retch. But with no time to linger, he tossed the stick down and moved away from the smoldering ashes. He spotted the only weapon he had–the sharp rock he’d used to clean his dinner–and shot back into the woods. He wasn’t running away now, but giving chase. If he was going to die, it wouldn’t be sitting down.
• • •
Kylie didn’t slow down until she got to the falls. The half-moon, bright in the sky, painted the magical place in silver. Even in December the temperature held a spring feel. Green plant life clung to the landscape.
She rushed through the sheet of water. Unlike being here in daytime, only a cavern of darkness greeted her. No sun reflected off the cascading water to create patterns of color on the cave’s walls. Yet peace still filled the space.
Here, at the sacred falls, was where most of the death angels were known to hang out. But she wasn’t looking for just any death angel. She was looking for her father.
“Hello,” she said, feeling her way and stepping from the pool of water up onto the rock floor behind the falls. Even in here, the temperature wasn’t cold, but she trembled for other reasons. Fear. Not for herself, but for Lucas.
“I need help.” Her voice echoed and was nothing less than desperate. “Daddy, are you here?”
No answer. She dropped to the hard stone floor, hugged her knees and started praying. Prayed her father would show up and with all her heart begged to everything holy that Lucas was okay. That the vision she’d had was just
a warning.
“You said you would always watch over me,” she spoke to her father-turned-death-angel, even though all she saw was blackness. “You said I would always be your little girl. You promised. Where are you now? I need you!”
The only sound filling the blackness was the rushing water and the cracking of her heart breaking bit by bit. She hugged her wet legs, hugged them tight, then dropped her forehead to her knees.
Just as she was about to give up, a peace consumed her. She opened her eyes and saw the bright apparition that took on the shape she knew as her father.
Magically, now color danced on the walls. “Please, Daddy, help me.”
“I have child,” his voice resounded with peace. “I’m the one who allowed Lucas’s grandmother to come to you.”
“But she didn’t tell me where he is. I can’t help him.”
“She said she showed you.”
“But . . . All she showed me was a room and . . . a forest.”
She remembered. “The trees were mostly pine trees.”
The brightness, floating mid-air moved closer until she was consumed by the presence of greatness. “Think, Kylie. Is there a—”
“The piney woods.” Her mind raced. “The Sam Houston National Park.”
“Then go. And be careful, child. I will watch over you, but my powers now are not meant to protect.”
“Thank you, Daddy!”
She flew out from the cave, slowing down only seconds to pull her phone from her pocket and call Burnett. He didn’t answer, so she left a message. “He’s at Sam Houston National Park. I’m going there now.”
She flew, fast, hard, not caring that her departure would set off the camp’s security alarm. Only one thing mattered. Finding Lucas. Finding him alive.
• • •
Lucas moved quickly on the hunt for the vampire, following the scent and disregarding his pain. The night clung to darkness, but occasionally moonlight spilled through the trees. He spotted a trail of blood. Several feet later, he found a large pool of blood. Beside it was a clean arrow. His would-be killer had stopped here.
His raised his foot to move on, but heard a rustling in the brush a few feet off.
Lifting his face, he took in the air, testing it, tasting it to know what he had found. The closest scent wasn’t vampire, but coyote. He moved in slowly, dreading what he might find.
A slight whimper had him heading toward a path of tall grass and less dense brush. There, crouched down in the weeds, was the Alpha coyote. The animal tried to stand but dropped back down, an arrow spiked through the top of one leg.
Beside him was a female coyote. Her gaze filled with sorrow. A coyote mated for life. Lucas’s gut clenched. An injury of this caliber, in a coyote’s existence, meant death.
The female let out a whimper that sounded like grief.
Lucas knelt down and gave the injured animal’s side a soft stroke. “If I survive, I will come back and care for you. I promise.”
The female whined and rested its head beside her mate. The male’s golden, pain-filled eyes gazed up as if to say he held no blame toward Lucas, but would hold him to his promise.
Lucas took off, his pace faster now. Ten minutes into the hunt, he heard growling. Had his other clever coyote friends found the injured vampire?
Ignoring the pain that throbbed in his shoulder and the fresh blood flowing now from his wound, he pushed himself to run. He slowed down only when the coyotes’ howls were close, only a few feet behind a thick line of trees.
Almost dizzy, and out of breath, Lucas eased in, heard the distinct growls, and knew his friends must have the injured vamp trapped. Keeping himself hidden, he peered around the wide trunk. He spotted the large male vampire, the bow and arrow held tight in his hands as the two other coyotes circled him. Drawing closer. And closer.
The blood gushing from the vampire’s neck made Lucas’s own loss of blood appear minimal.
“Put down your weapon,” Lucas called out in the same growling tone of the coyotes. “Do as I say and I will call off my friends. Do nothing and I will let them tear you apart and fight for the big pieces.”
Lucas moved in ever so cautiously. In his condition, he couldn’t afford to let his guard down. Now closer, he noted the vampire looked half dead, but had enough will to live to toss his bow away.
“Back,” he told the coyotes who listened and inched a few steps away. He refocused on his enemy.
“Who are you? Why are you here?” Lucas kicked the bow farther away just in case the vampire tried to reach for it. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
Right then, the vampire’s chin dropped. His eyes didn’t close, but the life in them vanished. Lucas knew he was gone.
“You did this to yourself.” Lucas’s words had barely left his lips when the wind brought another scent. A familiar one. His hackles rose.
Before he could turn around, he heard it.
“You are the stupid one,” the deep voice spoke behind him. Before Lucas could react, he felt something crash into the back of his head. Felt himself fading into unconsciousness, blackness, nothingness. Then he felt his soul prepare to leave his body.
Thu-thump. Thu-thump. Thu . . . thump. His heart worked to beat, to hold on to life, but the muscle grew weak.
Weaker.
His last thought was of the thing he would miss the most in this life.
His joy.
His love.
His Kylie.
Thu . . . thuummmm . . .
Chapter Nine
Arriving over the state park, Kylie inexplicably felt a deep sense of loss. The Eastern sky now offered the barest of light. Enough that Kylie spotted the pine trees reaching up to the sky. Even with her vampire scent and speed, the park loomed so large, and her faith grew small.
But she wouldn’t let that slow her down for one second.
She pushed herself to fly faster, to cover more area. Taking in buckets of air to attempt to catch his scent, her chest expanded with oxygen and raw pain. Her lungs screamed No more! Her heart screamed Never stop.
Then the sound of growls and yelps of coyotes split the early morning dawn. As she drew closer, she first caught the scent of smoke. Then blood. Then . . . Lucas.
Lucas’s blood.
No!
She moved lower, zigging and zagging between the trees, dodging limbs, clinging to hope. Praying. Praying. Praying.
Her next gulp of oxygen caught another scent. Vampire. Vampire blood. Then another trace hit. Somewhere in the dense forest loomed another were. Maybe even two.
Friend or foe, she didn’t know.
Her gut said foe.
The growls and howls suddenly stopped, and she had to let the scents lead her. She cared not for the odor of the other weres, nor for that of the vampire. She sought only one. Lucas.
He needed her. She could feel it. Taste it. Knew it like a vampire knew how to fly, how a Were knew how to change with the moon, how a protector knew how to save.
She dipped down even lower, afraid she might miss him. Then she saw movement. There walking between the trees, she spotted two males. Her nose told her they were the weres. She heard their laughter and without knowing why, it incensed her. Fury coiled up inside her.
Had they hurt Lucas?
Then the mirthful sound ended. They stopped walking and looked skyward. Their scowls found her, and she scowled right back.
She passed them when Lucas’s scent led her away. She heard a howl. Thinking it was time she landed, she hit the ground with a loud thud. Her tennis shoes sank into the damp ground, mud rising up over the rubber soles.
She ran through the dead brush, thorns clinging to her red-checkered flannel pajama bottoms. Some speared through the fabric and sliced her skin. Ignoring the slight pain, she held her face high to follow the scent of the man she loved. Moving past a line of trees, she saw two coyotes. And they saw her.
They growled, bared their teeth, defending their ground.
She changed into werewolf
quickly, hoping to calm their moods. One of the coyotes shifted, and she saw what they surrounded. Saw Lucas. Saw the blood oozing from his shoulder and from his head.
Time stopped as she took in the sight. He lay there, so still, so lifeless. She let out a cry and shot between the animals, prepared to fight if she had to.
She didn’t have to. They parted, and even bowed down as if they sensed she meant no harm. Dropping to her knees, tears slipping from her eyes, she began to pray harder. Hands trembling, she touched the base of his neck searching for a pulse.
His skin warmed her finger tips, but it lacked the true heat of were.
Pressing against his pulse point, she felt nothing. A moan that came from the very bottom of her soul echoed in the forest.
She rubbed her hands together, looked up, and pleaded for the healing heat. Then she gazed again at the boy, now almost a man, who had captured her heart when only a child. The boy who had protected her from bullies, whose smile and blue eyes had stolen her breath and never strayed too far from her thoughts through the years.
“You can’t die,” she said. “You can’t die.
“You. Can’t. Die!”
Her hands started tingling, growing hot. She pressed them to his chest, above his heart. “Come back to me. Please. I don’t know how to be me without you.”
She closed her eyes. Inhaling a calm breath, she pushed her panic back and brought to her mind healing thoughts. Images of love. Soft music. Energy.
The sound of dry twigs being crunched beneath someone’s feet sounded behind her. She didn’t stop. Didn’t move. She focused on healing. Even at the prospect of danger.
“You’re too late!” A deep, menacing voice spoke and caused the tiniest hairs on the back of her neck to stand and sting with warning. The sense of danger surrounded her.
Lucas was still not breathing. “Please!” she screamed.