“How fast is it spreading?”
He didn’t answer.
“I guess the answer is no, then,” I said. My arms couldn’t support my body any longer. I rolled back against the cave floor.
“Calla!” Shay wrapped his arms around me, drawing me against him. “Come on, there has to be something we can do.”
I shook my head. “There isn’t. Just get out of here.”
“No.”
“Shay, you need to get off the mountain. If anyone finds you up here, they’ll kill you.”
“I’m not going to let you die in this cave,” he snapped.
“You don’t have a choice. There’s nothing you can do.” The pain that racked my muscles began to subside but gave way to a creeping numbness all the more terrifying.
“Yes. There is.” I tried to focus on Shay; even through the fog of sickness his fierce tone startled me.
He shrugged off his jacket, pulling his sweater over his head and ripping off his white T-shirt.
“What are you doing?”
“You have to turn me, Calla,” Shay said. “Hurry, before I lose my nerve.”
He shivered and I knew it was as much from fear as the chilly air.
“No.”
“We don’t have time to argue.” He repositioned himself so my head was cradled against his neck. My body had grown so cold that his warm, bare skin felt like it was searing my own flesh. “Make it so my blood can heal you.”
“You’re insane,” I murmured. “I can’t do this. It doesn’t matter what happens to me. Leave now. Just make a run for it. You’ll be okay.”
“Yeah, right. If you die, I’m as good as dead,” he argued. “You know that. I need your help.”
“I haven’t ever turned anyone,” I said. “It could go badly.”
“Come on,” he snapped. “A bite and an incantation, that’s what you said. How hard can it be?”
He cupped the nape of my neck, pressing my face into his shoulder.
“Please, Calla.”
The scent of his skin, crisp and sharp as a glacial pool, wrapped around me and cleared the haze of my mind. My flesh suddenly shrieked with renewed pain, desperate for healing. I dug my nails into his bare chest, drawing blood. He tensed but didn’t pull away. My canines sharpened. Shay gripped my shoulders and molded my body against him. He gasped when his hands dug into fur, his arms around a white wolf. I sank my teeth into his shoulder. He drew a sharp breath. His muscles tightened, but he remained still.
Blood gushed from the deep punctures in Shay’s flesh. He moaned and his eyes rolled back. He swayed a bit as he clung to me. I shifted into human form, raised my trembling arm to my mouth, and bit into the soft skin. I pressed my wound against his parted lips. My strength was sapped; I could barely hold myself upright. I struggled to keep my mind clear and my body from shaking as I chanted in an ever-weakening voice.
“Bellator silvae servi. Warrior of the forest, I, the alpha, call on thee to serve in this time of need.” The cave floor seemed to be rolling beneath me. Shay’s face blurred and contorted as I tried to focus on him, hoping I’d gotten the incantation right.
A ripple of energy passed through Shay. His arms dropped from my waist and he fell back against the cave floor. He became very still, drew a shuddering breath, and in the next moment his entire body convulsed. He screamed.
No longer able to control my limbs, I dropped to the ground alongside him, trembling and fighting to remain conscious. Muscles quivering, he twisted and writhed next to me. His face contorted as he was slowly divided from one essence into two. Once only human, Shay’s being parted into wolf and mortal: two selves, fully Guardian.
Another minute passed, and then another. My eyes were open, but I couldn’t see anything or move. Breathing had become difficult; dark waters rose up to swallow me. The silence of oblivion pooled in the cave.
It’s too late. I let my heavy eyelids close.
A quiet whimper echoed in the blackness. Fur brushed against my skin; nails scraped on the stone floor.
My lips parted and I tried to speak. No sound would come.
Something warm and soft pressed against my open mouth. Hot liquid trickled along my tongue, gathering, pouring into my throat. It had a sweet bite, like wild honey.
Pack blood.
“Drink, Calla,” Shay whispered. “You have to swallow or you’ll choke.”
I forced the muscles of my throat into action, struggling to get the blood down.
“That’s it,” he said, stroking my hair. “Don’t forget to breathe.”
After a few painful swallows I could drink steadily. Sensation returned to my limbs. First came the pain, but it slowly ebbed. My vision cleared and the cave stopped vibrating beneath me. I pushed his arm away and sat up.
He clamped down on his punctured skin. “Is that enough?”
“I think so,” I said. “Take a look.”
I lifted my shirt again and he nodded. “Yeah. It’s definitely healing up.”
He swallowed, looking away. “Not pretty to look at yet, though.”
I quickly pulled my shirt down. “If the healing has started, I’ll be fine.”
“Good.”
“Are you okay?” I inched closer to him, peering at his face.
“Yeah.” He rolled his neck back and forth. “It hurt. A lot. But I feel okay now.” He frowned briefly. “Different, though. I think I like it.”
“You are different. You’re a Guardian.”
He shifted and a gold-brown-furred wolf blinked at me with moss green eyes, wagging his tail. Then Shay was smiling at me.
“So how do I look as a wolf? Good? Badass?” he asked. “How strong am I now?”
“Oh God.” My heart skipped a beat. “This is very bad. This is a disaster.”
“Why?” His smile vanished. “Don’t you think I can cut it?”
“That’s not it, Shay,” I said. “I can’t believe I did this. What was I thinking?”
“You weren’t thinking,” he said. “You were dying. We didn’t have a choice.”
“I might as well have died. Now I’m dead for sure.” Not one wolf in Haldis Cavern, but two. Me and this strange, new wolf.
“No,” he said. “You’re not dead. But you would be if you hadn’t turned me.”
“Your wolf scent will be all over the cavern now too, Shay. How are we going to hide it?” I stared at him. “What I did is forbidden . . . twice! I can’t be here, and turning you should have been out of the question!” I thought about the spider carcass, my blood pouring over the floor—there was nothing I could do to erase the evidence.
He offered me a lopsided smile. “Just add it to your list of things you weren’t supposed to do but did anyway. It’s starting to get long.”
“Could you please be serious?”
“I am, Calla.” His voice was firm. “You turned me. I’m happy about it. I thought I’d already convinced you that no one is going to come to the cave to smell our wolfy crimes. As far as school goes, we’ll figure out a way to hide it. Will anyone be able to tell?”
I wanted to argue but forced myself to consider his words. “As long as you don’t give it away. You’ll have to be careful.”
“What would give it away?”
“You can’t shift forms when anyone can see it.”
“That’s easy enough.”
“Not as easy as you think,” I said. “Anytime you get angry or feel threatened, the predator instinct of the wolf will push to take over your body. Don’t let your teeth sharpen. Don’t growl, and for God’s sake don’t lose your temper.”
“So avoid Ren at all costs?”
I let it pass. “You’ll have heightened senses now. Smell, hearing.”
“I noticed.” He laughed. “I thought that spider smelled bad when I was human.”
“Exactly,” I said. “You can’t react to things you notice that a human wouldn’t.”
“I’ll be fine,” he said. “I’m a good actor.” He stretched his a
rms before him, as if checking for any lingering signs of wolfishness. “So are you going to teach me how to be a wolf?”
I nodded slowly.
“Great!” He shifted forms several times in rapid succession.
“What are you doing, Shay?” I rose, brushing dirt from my jeans.
“I just can’t believe how easy it is,” he said. “To go back and forth, I mean. I’m a werewolf . . . It’s so cool!”
I couldn’t help myself, laughing until my sides hurt. Maybe it would be okay. Shay’s delight made me fearless. I knew it was dangerous, but it was also addictive. He smiled sheepishly.
“I have never, ever heard a Guardian say anything like that.” I wiped tears from my face.
“Well, I am one of a kind.” He grinned.
“You certainly are.” I shook my head but smiled. “Come on, special boy. Let’s go find out what the monster spider was protecting.”
Shay nodded, pulling his shirt back on. The wound where I’d bitten his shoulder had already closed, and we continued to pick our way through the darkness. I frowned as we made our way deeper into the tunnel. Maybe it was my eyes simply adjusting to the darkness, but the cave seemed oddly brighter. Shay reached up and switched off his headlamp. The cavern remained alight with a warm, reddish glow. He pointed ahead to where the tunnel abruptly turned right. The source of light seemed to emanate from around that corner.
We exchanged a puzzled glance and continued our cautious progress. The crimson haze intensified as we drew closer to the turn in the cavern. The air around us grew warmer, almost hot. Shay shrugged out of his jacket. I unzipped my coat, glancing around nervously as I stepped toward the curving wall. I was about to pass the threshold into the next chamber when I felt his hand grab mine. When I looked at Shay, he smiled.
“We do this together.” He drew me alongside him so we moved lockstep around the bend.
The curve of the tunnel opened into a broad space. The walls of the inner chamber undulated with waves of rust, ochre, and crimson light. As my eyes moved along the cavern walls, I realized that they were covered in crystals reflecting the infinite shades of red, which emanated from the center of the chamber.
In the middle of the spherical room was a woman. She floated rather than stood, her ghostly form shimmering with warm light. I tensed when her eyes found us. But she smiled. Her gaze focused on Shay, hands stretching toward him, beckoning. I gasped and had reached out to grab his arm when he dropped my hand and walked swiftly toward her. He was out of my reach before I could pull him back. When he reached out and took both her hands in his own, I wanted to scream a warning, but my body, tongue to toes, was suddenly paralyzed.
The light in the cavern wavered and then intensified so quickly that I covered my eyes. All at once it blinked out, plunging us into darkness. I jumped when Shay switched his headlamp back on. I rushed forward, terrified that he’d been harmed.
“What happened?” I searched his body for signs of injury. “Why did you just run up to her like that?”
He blinked at me. “Couldn’t you hear her?”
“Hear what?” I asked, unconvinced that the strange woman hadn’t hurt him.
A wondrous expression moved over his face. “It was so beautiful. She sang, and the melody was like a song I’ve always known but hadn’t heard in years.”
“What did she say?”
“May the Scion bear the cross,” he murmured. “The cross is the anchor of life. Here rests Haldis.”
“Here rests Haldis?” What he’d just said made no sense.
He glanced down and my eyes followed. The light from the headlamp shone directly on his hands. They weren’t empty. Lying on his palms was a long, narrow cylinder that curved up at the ends into slightly raised edges. In the light the object reflected the multitude of red hues that had sparkled on the walls of the cavern.
“What is it?” I frowned at the strange cylinder.
“It’s Haldis,” he replied in a hypnotic tone.
“Uh, sure,” I said. “But what is it?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “It’s not heavy, and it feels warm. Like it’s full of energy.”
“Really?” I reached out and had barely touched the object with the tip of my finger when I jerked my hand back and swore.
“Calla?” His voice was full of alarm.
“That hurt.” I stared at the cylinder, fingers still throbbing. “A lot. Like it bit me.” I turned my eyes on Shay. “I guess you’re the only one who gets to touch it.”
“Only me?” His fingers curled protectively around Haldis, turning it over in his hands, examining it. “Interesting.”
“What is it?” I leaned over his shoulder.
“It has an opening on one end. Like a slit.” He angled the cylinder to show me.
“Is there something inside it?” I peered at the narrow slash.
He shook it, holding it up to his ear. “No, and it’s not completely hollow either. I don’t know what it is.”
“Well, we need to figure that out later. Right now we have to get back down the mountain before the next patrol comes out.” I threaded my arm through his, pulling him back out of the chamber.
“Will they track us?” he asked.
“Not likely,” I said. “Now that you’re a Guardian, they won’t recognize the scent. They’ll think it’s a normal wolf that strayed into this range.”
“Cool.”
When we reached the mouth of the cave, I shifted into wolf form; Shay followed suit. He shook his ruff and gazed at me, eyes questioning.
Come on, it’s time to run. I playfully nipped at his shoulder.
He barked and jumped away; his ears flicked as he gazed at me. He whimpered, pawing the snow.
I watched him for a moment and then understood. If you need to talk, focus your thought and send it toward me.
His tentative response quietly entered my mind.
Okay.
My tongue lolled out in a wolf grin before I spun around, bounding away from the cavern into the cover of trees. I glanced back once to be certain he followed and saw Shay close at my heels. We burst into the forest, plunging through the deep, fresh powder. We sped down the hill as though we had wings, leaping over icefalls, churning snow in our wake. It was as though we traveled backward through time, from winter to fall, as we streaked down the mountain.
I feel like I could run forever. Shay’s awed voice rang in my mind.
I yipped and put on another burst of speed, reveling in the power of my limbs.
Night cloaked the base of the mountain when we arrived at Shay’s truck. Silver wisps of cloud barely veiled bright moonlight, which shone down in ghostly beams through the pine trees.
He shifted forms and headed for his Ford Ranger, shoving his hand into his coat pocket to rummage for the keys. The keys jangled in his hands when he turned, watching me. I shifted into human form and walked up to him.
“Can I give you a ride home?” he asked.
I gazed up at the moon, swallowing a sigh when I remembered Ren’s invitation to cull the local deer population. “I’d rather run. All our time in the library has kept me indoors too much.”
Shay smiled. “Yeah. That was incredible. You must want to be outside all the time.”
“I’m glad you liked it.” I moved closer to him. Despite the change, he still had the same scent I’d come to love, the smell of new leaves striking a sharp contrast to the heady incense of the autumn night. “I didn’t thank you for saving my life.”
“Well, you saved me twice, so I’m still one behind you.” He laughed. “But I don’t know that I’m looking to even the score. I’d rather you didn’t almost die again, if you can help it.”
“That makes two of us.” I lifted my eyes to his. He was watching my face, his green irises swimming with moonlight. He reached out and stroked my cheek.
“Do you want to go home?” I caught his fingers in mine, letting my face press against his palm, taking in his scent again, shivering with excite
ment that I had an entire world to share with him. “Are you tired?”
“Not really. I’m pretty wired from all of this.”
My lips curved into a wicked grin. “Are you hungry?”
TWENTY-THREE
STOP WHINING; YOU’RE EIGHTEEN YEARS old and you keep acting like a puppy.
Though my complaint carried a teasing note, the irritated edge behind it was real. The focus required by the hunt made me tense.
It’s not my fault. His plaintive reply came back. I’ve never had a tail before. I can’t figure out what exactly it’s supposed to do. It’s so distracting.
I halted on the top of a ridge, eyes tracking over the broad meadow before us. The small group of deer I’d scented grazed a half mile below us, upwind and completely unaware of our presence, their brown coats transformed to slate gray in the moonlight.
You’ll need to figure it out now if you want to do this. My snapping thought raced toward him.
He loped up beside me and then dropped to his haunches, his tongue lolling out in a wolf grin. I’ll be fine.
We’ll see about that. I lifted my muzzle, testing the air again. Do you remember what I taught you? A deer is different from rabbits. We need to coordinate the attack to take one down.
The brown wolf, whose thick fur glinted with golden streaks, pawed at the snow-covered ground, clearly irritated by my patronizing tone. Yeah, I know. I get the hamstring, you take the throat.
Right. My gaze moved back over the herd. The yearling on the far right. That’s the one we’ll separate for the kill.
He took a step forward, making his own assessment. It’s a little scrawny, isn’t it?
There are only two of us, Shay. We don’t need a fully grown deer. We just ate that rabbit. How hungry are you anyway?
He threw me a reproachful glare. So long as you’re not implying that I can’t take down a buck.
I flicked my ears irritably. It’s not a competition; we’re just trying to get some food.
He bared his teeth, dancing in a playful circle beside me. If it’s not a competition, then why are you critiquing my wolf skills?
I’m not critiquing, I’m teaching. I turned to watch him weave slowly around me.
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