by D McEntire
Suma followed the signs to one of the camping areas and continued until she was at the end of the site, where she hoped her truck would go unnoticed.
Shoving clothes in a bag along with shampoo and soap, she headed for the showers, thankful she would soon be clean again.
Chapter Five
Jed had scouted the woods most of the day, but found nothing. “Damned waste of time,” he grumbled, pushing a low branch out of the way. He was beginning to wonder if the howl of a wolf he had heard last night was only his imagination, and he was chasing ghosts.
He should have been hunting deer to fill his freezers, he scolded himself as he continued to walk, the image of his empty freezers filling his head.
Tracks in the soft dirt caught his attention. “Well, looky here. Seems like we do have a wolf in the park.”
Elation overcame him, and he dropped to one knee to get a closer look. To his surprise, footprints were mingled among the large paw prints, and after further study, he could tell by the different shoe sizes marked in the dirt two or three people may have had an up close and personal visit with the wild canine.
Glancing around, he noticed crushed and trampled brush and broken branches. If he was not mistaken, it looked as though some sort of action had taken place here, but he had not heard of any wolf sightings or attacks from the media.
Good, he thought with a grin, telling himself it was all the better if no one knew about the wolf. Without others getting in his way, he should be able to catch the animal without any problems.
Chuckling softly, Jed stood and swung his rifle over his shoulder, then scanned the area closely. It only took a moment to find a small pool of dried blood as well as splatters scattered on the ground and nearby foliage.
“Injured, huh. Well, that ought to slow you down.”
Jed was in a giddy mood. Catching the wolf was going to be a piece of cake, especially if the animal was hurt. He would be on the lookout tonight. This wolf was not going to slip through his fingers, he mused as he touched one of the blood spots. What better way to catch a wolf than with a couple of traps? Jed’s mind began to buzz with plans.
After returning from a quick trip home, Jed pulled into his usual hiding spot and grabbed the tools from the bed of the truck. Anticipation soared through his veins as he approached the first spot he had mentally mapped out for his traps. The wolf was as good as his, and it was going to turn things around for him and Wildlife Refuge.
The sun was hot in the sky, unusual for late April, Jed thought as he continued digging. He planned to dig a couple of pits and lay traps at several locations where he had found tracks. Jed wanted nothing more than to catch the wolf and get out before he was caught by the park staff.
Finally, the pit was deep enough. He pulled himself out of the hole and began covering it with branches and other brush.
“That ought to do it.”
Jed gulped down a bottle of water, then swept his arm across his face to wipe away the sweat as he tossed the plastic bottle into the trees.
Wiping dirty hands on his jeans, he surveyed his work, smiling at his ingenuity. “Well, shouldn’t be long now,” he said cheerfully to himself as he picked up his tools and headed off to another spot to begin digging.
The setting sun woke Rayne in the cave where he had slept during the daylight hours. He crawled out of the hole, feeling much like Punxsutawney Phil leaving his den to predict six more weeks of winter.
He hadn’t gotten much sleep. Each time he had closed his eyes, he had thought about the woman. Questions had bombarded his mind. Who was she? Did she live in the area? Would he see her again? The last was the most important. A thought which had butterflies fluttering in his stomach from hope and anticipation.
A groan escaped his throat as he stretched his legs. They ached and muscle spasms threatened to make him pay for lying in one position in the small confines of the cave for the past several hours. He reached for his pack and began rummaging through its contents, then muttered a curse. “Damn, forgot my jerky. Must have left it in the Jeep.”
As Rayne neared the spot where he had parked, he picked up the scent of fresh meat as well as that of a human, a human female. Slowing his pace to quiet his steps, he drew closer until he saw a blue pickup in the parking lot with a woman sitting behind the wheel, her gaze focused on the woods.
Movement in the brush caught his attention. Rayne crouched low to hide his presence. A black wolf emerged from the trees, and his breath caught at the sight. It was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.
The wolf walked slowly, staring at the blue truck and the woman inside. To Rayne’s amazement, it didn’t bolt when she slid out of the vehicle, walked around the front and sat on the pavement, leaning her back against the passenger door.
He watched the wolf inch closer to two bowls in the grass, obviously left for the animal by the woman.
The woman’s voice broke the silence.
“I am so glad to see you again. I worry about you, you know. You gallantly fight these monsters, but you do it all alone. I’m afraid you will get seriously hurt. I owe you much. You saved my life. This small gesture of food and water is the only way I know to repay you. If there is anything else I can do, please find a way to let me know.”
The woman paused in speaking to look at her hands folded in her lap, then turned her face back to the wolf.
“I get the feeling you are not an ordinary wolf, but much more. There is intelligence behind those beautiful green eyes of yours. And, by the way, I do know wolves don’t normally have green eyes.”
Rayne stilled. “Green eyes?” The statement not only shocked him, it made him desperately want to see the wolf’s eyes for himself.
The wolf sat and regarded the woman with interest as if understanding her words. Rayne could even swear he saw the animal nod a time or two.
“My heart aches for you being out here alone. I don’t know where you came from or how long you intend to stick around. I wish there was a way for me to know when you have moved on because it is going to worry me sick when you don’t show. I am going to wonder if something awful happened to you.”
Rayne edged forward with as much stealth as he could muster, wanting to get a closer look at the wolf while its attention was focused on the woman.
“I want you to listen to me carefully. I can see in your eyes you understand at least some of what I am saying. There is a man you need to stay far away from. He keeps animals in cages to make money from demonstrations and animal shows. I heard him say recently he intended to come to this park for animals to fill his empty cages. I’m sure if he catches wind of you, he is going be on your tail like white on rice. Do you understand? This man is dangerous, and if he sees you, he will not stop until he has you in one of his cages. I don’t want you to get hurt, but I have no way of stopping him.”
A tear slid down the woman’s cheek before she brushed it away.
“Many animals have gotten hurt trying to get away. It breaks my heart. I’m sorry. I’m getting all mushy, aren’t I? Please listen to what I said okay? Oh, and I hope you enjoy your dinner.”
As Rayne moved forward a little more, the woman stood and brushed dirt from the back of her pants. The wolf’s head shot up and turned in his direction, its nose held high to sniff the air.
Shit. Rayne mentally cursed. The wolf knew someone or something was nearby. He held perfectly still, even holding his breath as the wolf peeled back its lips and snarled. It pranced and shifted in agitation. The animal turned its gaze on the woman and whined, then looked in the direction in which he was hiding and growled. Rayne observed the wolf do this several times. It was obvious the animal was trying to warn the woman of danger. The animal’s concern seemed to strengthen when the woman made no move to leave.
The emotions radiating off the wolf were strong enough for Rayne to feel its distress. Suddenly, the sensation stopped as if someone had cut the cord between them. The wolf swung around and ran in a direction leading away from himse
lf and the woman, disappearing into the brush and trees. After the wolf was gone, the woman climbed into her truck and drove away.
Rayne stepped out of the trees. The wolf had attempted to communicate with the woman, trying to warn her to leave. He was astounded at the level of the animal’s intelligence.
A deep frown creased Rayne’s brows. It occurred to him he had not picked up the wolf’s scent even though he was not far away from the animal. Curious, he walked to the spot where it had been standing. The only scent he gathered was the meat in the bowl.
Rayne bent and touched the faint tracks, then lifted his fingers to his nose. Nothing.
He could not understand why the animal carried no scent. What did this mean? Things didn’t add up, and he intended to get answers. Just as he had feared, this mission was growing more and more complex, which had him growling in frustration. “Damn,” he spat. “I don’t have time for this.” Though many Watchers were scheduled to be stationed on the riverfront in Louisville for the festival, he wanted to be there as well, patrolling alongside his brothers.
The wolf had disappeared, and it was going to be hell tracking it. He began to wonder about the woman and what she knew about the animal.
Chapter Six
Suma sat in her camper chewing on one of her nails. She hadn’t caught a wink of sleep thinking about the scent that had her on edge. It was not the same stench the vampires carried, but had a quality she couldn’t put her finger on. There was also something else. The scent had held such masculinity her legs had almost buckled. It was so strong even her wolf had been affected.
Alpha male.
“Stop it,” she berated herself while shaking her head, trying to focus on what she had picked up last night. There had been no sound coming from the direction of the scent. She hadn’t even heard a heartbeat or breathing, but the scent was definitely there. She could smell it now, penetrating her nostrils.
Closing her eyes, she took a deep, cleansing breath. She had allowed the situation to unnerve her last night and had lost the upper hand. Aggravation had set in because the woman would not leave.
Suma remembered the concerned look on the woman’s face as she warned the wolf to be careful and watch out for some man who captured animals. Her heart did a double beat, and she gasped. The truck.
Another thought occurred to Suma, and she smiled. The woman was genuinely concerned for the wolf. She had never had anyone care about her since her grandfather died.
Her smile quickly faded, and with a heavy heart, she climbed out of her camper deciding to check on her people at the Pow-wow on the riverfront. She hopped into the driver’s seat of the truck, and slowly headed out of the campsite and onto Highway 62.
The drive to Louisville’s riverfront took about thirty minutes, but Suma didn’t mind. Over the past five years she had driven many miles to keep watch over her people. It seemed like second nature to her. She didn’t know what home was anymore.
Suma parked in a parking lot not far from huge tents dotting the large grassy area—glad to see the city had erected a fence for the event. She figured the city had gone through the trouble to be able to charge an admission fee.
Several beautiful tee-pees had been erected to demonstrate housing of the various Indian nations participating in the event. She immediately noticed her people, the Ute tribe, at the back of the fenced off area, and she longed to be with them.
“Grandfather, why does it have to be this way?”
Her voice traveled on the breeze to no one’s ears but her own. Standing on the sidelines and watching as her people erected tables and decorated booths to sell their wares tore at her soul. She would always be on the sidelines. Though her mind knew this fact, her heart had never gotten used to the reality.
When Suma turned her head toward the river, she frowned. The houseboat was again docked in one of the slips by the River Walk. Unease for her people grew, and she knew protecting them this time, with so many others around, would be difficult. She would have to stay well within the shadows, alert for the monsters in case they decided to enter the confines of the fenced-in area of the Pow-wow. If they did, taking the creatures out without anyone noticing would be very difficult, if not impossible.
Suma sighed. After seeing the houseboat, she knew she was going to have to return to the park. Another group of vampires would most likely be transported there. But why? What are they planning?
“I’ll be back,” she said with a small wave, pretending she was actually speaking to one of her people, to a friend. She turned and went to her truck. Leaving them was always difficult. She longed to again be a part of the tribe. Living alone was hard and it had been a long, long time since she had been a part of a family. Her heart clenched as she started the truck and pulled out onto the street, heading for the Second Street Bridge to Indiana.
The sky was darkening as the sun dipped behind the skyline in the west. Suma decided to make her way to the Devil’s Backbone, which she finally had found on a map obtained earlier from the DNR office. She had no doubt another shipment of vampires would be dropped off tonight, and she planned on waiting for their arrival, then take them out, one by one.
Maybe this time she should wait in the trees to see if any spoke of the reason for being there. She needed to find out why the vampires were gathering because whatever it was, it surely wasn’t good. Something was going on, and she knew people were going to get killed, maybe some of her own tribe.
Suma held her totem in her hands, closed her eyes and called upon the wolf. In the wolf form, she could approach without being detected. Her black fur blended well in the shadows, hiding her.
A rumble of boat motors caught her attention as she drew closer to the cliffs to look upon the riverbank below. How many will there be this time? It was getting harder and harder for her to fight them as the numbers in their groups grew. They never traveled alone, but in pairs or more.
The dark water of the Ohio River came into view as Suma rounded a corner alongside Fourteen Mile Creek. She heard voices, laughter and even a few growls. Seems not all of them are pleased to be here.
The light from the houseboat as it anchored alongside a small slip jutting out from a cliff shone brightly in the night, almost blinding her. She crouched low in the shadow of the trees to get a better view.
Six vampires, their red eyes glowing, grumbled as they hopped off the houseboat and onto the small dock. They turned at the sound of a man calling to them from a speedboat behind the houseboat.
Suma peered closer and recognized the man as the vampire who had given orders to the houseboat driver after both boats had docked in Louisville.
“Remember what I said. You are to stay here until you are called for. You know what you have been promised, but if you screw this up you will get nothing. Do I make myself clear?” the man bellowed.
Suma heard growls and muttered curses from the group as they nodded their understanding. As soon as the boats left, the creatures made their way up the cliff.
She watched the vampires walk through the brush toward the mouth of a large cave. So that’s where they have been hiding during the day.
The wolf edged a little closer, almost crawling so as not to be seen. She knew vampires had excellent night vision, just like the wolf, so she stopped a few yards away.
“This is bullshit!” one of the vampires snarled as he turned to the others walking to the cave. “We don’t need them. We should have stayed out of sight in the city and waited for the festival. Then we could have taken all the humans we wanted and not have to wait for these guys to come and get us. I mean, what if this is some sort of trick? What if we are being brought here to round us up and take us out? Hell, they could be setting us up for the Watchers.”
Watchers? Who the hell are the Watchers?
Suma could see the look of concern on the others’ faces as they pondered what the one had said. A few began to inspect the area as if searching for signs of a possible ambush.
When they reached the cave
, the others singled out one, who happened to be the smallest, and pushed him forward to enter the cave, ordering him to check it out before the rest of them set foot inside.
Not so dumb after all.
After a few moments the guinea pig exited the cave, shaking his head. “There’s no one inside,” he told the others.
The group of vampires eyed one another nervously, then surveyed the area once again before another spoke. “Well, maybe we are the first group to arrive. Surely they’ll bring another group tonight. There are many of us downtown and, if they are planning to lay siege to the city during the festival, they’re going to need every one of us.”
The others nodded in agreement with the exception of the vampire who had voiced his concerns about a possible ulterior motive for them being sent here.
“Well,” the first vampire spoke again, “I’m not sitting around waiting to get my head chopped off. Anyway, I need to feed. Surely there must be some humans here if they were adamant we are not to leave this area. Anyone else up for some fun?”
A couple of the others shifted on their feet, obviously contemplating his proposal before all agreed and headed as one unit into the woods and toward the park.
Just as I figured. Killers never follow orders.
The wolf almost snarled aloud—its hatred of the creatures matched her own and grew with every battle.
Suma followed the vampires, being careful to stay well hidden, waiting for the perfect moment to attack. She needed to be patient. Six against one wasn’t very good odds, she argued with the wolf.
Attacking them as a group was risky, but it was a chance she had to take. They planned to kill tonight, and she wasn’t going to let that happen.