“Get under the wagon,” Jason ordered, pushing me in that direction. I could hear the others moving around in their tents and the sound of zippers in the suddenly restless night.
“I’m not hiding!”
Jason dragged me toward the chuck wagon despite my protests. “You can do more from under there than you can do out here, so get under the fucking wagon.” It took me an especially dull moment to understand what he meant—the animals. He meant I could call in outside help, raise an army of teeth, claws, and talons.
Staring into his eyes, I nodded and whispered, “Don’t hurt the one in the lead. It’s their prey.”
“I’ll do what I can.” Jason kissed me, hard, then more or less shoved me under the wagon.
I didn’t resist. I was already searching the forest to the south and the desert to the north. If this had happened during daytime, my resources would have been limited, but not at night. Night was when the most dangerous creatures came out to play. Of course, it didn’t matter how dangerous they were if they weren’t close enough…
A female mountain lion was hunting in the desert, about a half mile north of our camp, and a pack of coyotes were hunting a few miles to the east. The coyotes were too far away to bank on, but the mountain lion’s location was a lucky break. And just beyond Wings’s field, several bobcats were watching the pack of not-quite-humans stalk after their prey. A human who, like the other two I could sense, could communicate with the bobcats. Like me.
A second was all I could spare to be utterly dumbfounded, to wonder if that was why I could sense these three humans’ minds—because they could mind-meld with animals like I could. I was getting the impression that my Ability was the only similarity I shared with this roving pack of wild humans.
The mountain lion hissed when I told her what—or rather who—was attacking my camp. She was already sprinting toward me, her leaping strides consuming the distance with astonishing speed. I just hoped she made it in time.
Flat on my stomach under the wagon, I took a deep breath. Reinforcements were on the way. I rolled onto my side and reached for my gun. Which wasn’t there. I no longer had to wear the sling for my broken forearm, but the cast made it almost impossible to don my shoulder holster by myself. My only weapon was the combat knife in my boot sheath, which I never went without—not ever.
I reached down to my calf and drew the half-foot blade just as I felt the first like-me mind—the prey—reach the outer circle of our tents. I squeezed my eyes shut and hoped that Jason had found a way to alert the others that that one wasn’t the enemy.
Footsteps, short and quick, rushed toward my hiding spot. My eyes snapped open and my muscles tensed, ready to strike. Except I couldn’t sense the mind of whoever was approaching, which meant it was more likely a friend than a foe.
“Dani,” Zoe whispered. “I’ve got Sarah. Can you help me get her under there before—”
There was a gunshot, closely followed by a screech from Sarah.
Another gunshot.
I could feel the prey in the center of our circle of tents, stationary but unharmed, as far as I could tell.
Sarah wiggled under the wagon so quickly that I didn’t have time to even think about trying to help her; all I had time to do was move out of the way. Zoe followed, and within seconds, the three of us lay side by side, Sarah on her back, cozy to the point of being claustrophobic.
“What’s going on?” Sarah asked, her voice thready and too high. “Jason sent us here…” Though I couldn’t actually see much of her face, shielded as it was from the dim moonlight by the wagon overhead, her terror was palpable.
“He said we’re under attack,” Zoe added.
“Shhh!” I hissed. Because at that very moment, the other two human minds I could sense neared the edge of our camp.
There were a handful of them; I’d gleaned as much from the horses as the strange humans had passed through their pasture. And tapping into Jack’s and Cooper’s keen senses, I could tell that these intruders were hanging back several dozen yards, staying low and hiding in the tall grasses and behind stray boulders and trees around the outskirts of camp. If they continued to move like that, slow and incredibly quiet—like wolves—they’d be almost impossible to find in the moonless night.
Another pair of footsteps crunched closer, coming from the circle of tents. More of our people, I assumed, but I still gripped my combat knife tightly, preparing to strike.
I watched the darkness as they neared. Knees landed on the ground by the front left wheel just before Ky’s face, a mask of silvery light and shadows, appeared less than a foot from mine. “D—you under there?”
“Shhh…,” I repeated. “They’re really close.”
“We can’t get a lock on ’em,” he said, lowering his voice to the barest whisper. “Ben’s on the other side of the wagon. We’ll keep you safe.” Ky paused. “Any chance of some wolves or something…?”
“No, but a mountain lion’s on her way.”
A low-chorused growl started from right beside Ky. Jack and Cooper had arrived, and feeling their mind signatures so close was immensely comforting. Abruptly, the dogs’ growls intensified, and both moved around the back end of the wagon.
“Shit!” Ben shouted just as one of the strange minds rushed straight toward us.
There was a loud thud, and the wagon creaked and groaned overhead. I heard a wet, tearing sound, and then a thump.
Ben was lying on the ground on Zoe’s side of the wagon, his limbs floundering and his neck glistening in the faint moonlight. Blood as black as tar gushed out of a gaping hole in his neck.
Sarah sucked in a breath, likely for a scream, but I slapped my hand over her mouth before she could actually propel the shrill sound into the night and alert any of the other attackers as to our location. I should have been paying closer attention to my own reaction.
A low rumble started in my chest. A growl. I was growling, and it felt like the most natural thing in the world. It merged with the vicious snarls coming from Jack and Cooper as they circled Ben’s attacker, pushing him away from the wagon.
“Ben…” Ky’s voice was low and pained. I could just make out his boots as he took slow steps along the length of his brother’s body.
Ben was no longer floundering; he wasn’t moving at all anymore. I refused to think about what that meant.
“You killed my brother.” Ky’s voice was rough, harsh. “You fucking piece of—”
There was a gunshot, closely followed by another loud thud, another moment of groaning wood over the three of us, then vicious grunts and snarls. It sounded like Ky was grappling with a bear, though I knew, based on what I could sense telepathically, that it was one of the like-me two-legs. And I couldn’t do a damn thing from under the wagon. But I had other resources.
I handed my knife to Zoe and closed my eyes, focusing on Jack. I slipped into his mind completely, becoming a single, unified entity with him in seconds.
I was Jack.
My hackles were raised, my lips retracted. I licked my teeth, eager to feel them sink into flesh, eager to protect my pack.
“Help me, dog,” the enemy two-legs ordered silently as he wrestled with one of my two-legs pack-mates. “Fight with me, dog.”
I snarled and snapped my teeth at him. The desire to bite—tear—rend—was so deep. It was a need. To protect. I had to protect my pack.
Beneath my paws, I felt the ground shudder. One of my larger pack-mates. I raised my nose high and inhaled deeply. Wings. She was coming. Good.
Thud-a-thump.
Thud-a-thump. Closer.
Thud-a-thump. Almost here…
I lunged for the grappling two-legs. I sank my teeth into my enemy’s arm.
Thud-a-thump. So close…
My enemy swung his other arm, hitting the side of my head.
Darkness.
“Jack! No!” Without thinking, I crawled out from under the wagon and lunged for my dog. My lips retracted, and an inhuman snarl crawled up my
throat as I wrapped my good arm around his limp body.
Our attacker paused, halfway to his feet, and cocked his head to the side. “She-drifter…” He watched me, but not for long.
The sound of hooves pounding on earth drew his attention, and he snapped his head to the side. My mind was linked with his, and I could hear him ordering the horse to stop.
Wings trampled him without hesitation. He fell, bones crunching under her hooves, and she turned, rearing up and stomping on him a few more times for good measure. She snorted and tossed her head, then met my eyes. “Protect herd.”
I nodded. “Protect herd.”
I loved my herd—my pack—humans, horses, dogs, goats, birds, and even the wild animals I spent time with only fleetingly. But I’d never loved them as much as I did when I saw them spread out in the dark field behind Wings.
There were still several enemy two-legs, skulking in the cloak of darkness…laying wait. I could sense them through the animals and could still feel the mind of one just beyond the opposite side of camp. I’d heard a bevy of gunshots and shouting while I’d been in Jack’s mind, but only a few had actually hit home. Our attackers’ tactics were too wild, too unpredictable, and it seemed it was far too dark for my people to be very effective with their guns.
As the mountain lion neared, I warned her to leave the horses alone while I let them know the predator was a part of our herd, at least for a short time.
More gunfire. Another shout. An inhuman, human snarl.
I dragged a limp Jack closer to the wagon, where Ky was kneeling next to his brother’s body. I swallowed roughly, forcing back a wail. Ben…was gone. But I had to focus. Mourning could come later; we didn’t have time for that now.
“Zo!” I whisper-shouted. “Keep Jack safe.”
She tried to hand me my knife, but I pushed her hand, knife and all, back under the wagon.
“Protect them,” I told Cooper before I stood and faced Wings.
She was prancing nervously, eyeing the graceful, deadly creature slinking closer.
“Thank you for coming to our aid,” I said to the mountain lion.
She was huge, far larger than either Cooper or Jack. She sat on her haunches and opened her mouth, emitting a soft, almost purr-like growl. “Your enemy is my enemy.”
I nodded. “Come,” I said, both to her and to Wings. I turned and led them around the back end of the wagon, toward the heart of our camp, picking my way across the uneven ground carefully. “Don’t fire,” I called ahead as I touched the single enemy mind I could sense. “Which one of you is pack leader?”
“I am, she-drifter.” He was on the opposite side of the ring of tents.
“Stop attacking.”
“Your pack-mates killed three of mine. Only one thing could make us stop.”
I assumed he meant killing us all. “And what’s that?”
“A female, she-drifter. You.”
Surprised, I blinked. And then I smiled. If he wanted me, then he could have me. “Fine. Deal. Gather your pack. I will come to you now.” Of course, I never said I would come alone. “Jason?”
“Yeah?” he said from almost dead center inside our camp.
I continued forward, shifting trajectory slightly and aiming for where I’d heard his voice. “They’ve agreed to a ceasefire.” As I entered the circle of tents, Wings remained outside, but the mountain lion trailed after me. I could sense my other human pack-mates’ eyes on me, on her. Soon I was standing in front of Jason, my hand resting on his forearm and my eyes scanning his moon-shadowed face.
But he wasn’t looking at me; he was staring at the mountain lion flanking me.
“Ben…he’s dead,” I said softly. Pain and sorrow were overshadowed by the absolute need to protect the rest of my herd—my pack. This had to end.
Jason’s eyes shifted to me, grazing over my face before traveling lower, scanning the rest of my body. “Zoe and Sarah?” His voice was barely a whisper.
“They’re fine. Everyone else?” I glanced around at the shadowed forms of our other companions, barely visible as they crouched within the circle of tents.
“Jake’s wounded.” Jason nodded toward the ground, toward a smoking body.
I focused on the man’s charred face, and for a moment, I feared that it was Jake’s.
“That one took a chunk out of his arm when he dragged him in here, before Carlos got his hands on him,” Jason said, and I exhaled in relief. “What’s going on?”
“I can speak to their leader—telepathically,” I said as quietly as possible. I hesitated. “They’re like me,” I told him, holding my head high and keeping my gaze steady. “So is he.” My eyes flicked to our attackers’ prey, huddled in by the flameless fire pit in the center of camp. “They agreed to stand down if I went with them.”
“No.”
“Jason…this has to end. Ben’s already dead. He’s dead.”
“There’s no fucking way you’re—”
I dug my fingernails into his arm, wishing they were claws. “I agreed to go with them, but I didn’t say how long I would stay with them.”
Jason shook his head. “I’m not letting you—”
Irritation flared, and beside me the mountain lion stood, lashed her tail, and roared. I offered him a small, sad smile. “You can’t stop me.”
Starlight glinted in his eyes.
“I have a plan, Jason. Trust me. Please.”
He didn’t respond, so I released his arm and pushed past him, but he grabbed my wrist before I’d taken two steps. “Don’t fucking die.”
I grinned. “I wouldn’t think of it.”
Nobody else tried to stop me while I moved through camp. I could hear Jason speaking to the others behind me, too far away and his words too hushed for me to make out what he was saying.
“Be ready,” I told Wings.
“Protect herd,” she said. “Protect you. Destroy enemy.”
When I reached the leader of the enemy pack, he and his remaining companions stood, one by one. There were four of them in total, and they were all male and of various ages, as far as I could tell, and the leader appeared to be the youngest, a tall, sturdy man in his prime.
I stopped a few yards away from the leader, my feline guard still at my side me. “Here I am.”
“She-drifter,” the leader said as he stepped forward. He moved closer, until he was standing less than a foot away from me, and my blood turned into liquid nitrogen, then lit on fire. His face, though shadowed, was one I would never forget. It was the last thing Ray had seen before he’d snapped her neck.
Shock. Recognition. Rage. “You.” A sound started, a low rumble that was nowhere near human. The growl was coming from me, from somewhere deep inside my chest, born of a sudden, desperate hunger for vengeance. “You killed her.”
The man’s eyes shone with awareness of what he’d done. “Had to get your attention. You belong with us. With me.”
My growl ceased, and a grin spread across my face. Anticipation melded with my hunger for vengeance. With my lust for blood. “Do I? Then take me away from here.”
The pack leader returned my grin and held his arm out for me to walk beside him…away from my old pack. “We will worship you.” He touched his hand to my lower back, and I fought the urge to twist around and tear his arm out of its socket. It didn’t matter that I was far from strong enough to accomplish such a feat, the desire still swelled.
I walked with these strangers, this small pack of apparently wild men, for minutes. When we were halfway to the tree line, when I was certain that we were far enough away from camp that all of my people would be safe, I spoke to Wings. “Now.”
Thunder filled the air.
The earth quaked under the beating of dozens of sets of hooves.
And as I slipped out of my body, the mountain lion pounced on the pack leader.
I was Wings.
I led the herd, racing through the night toward our enemy. Close.
So close.
The
re.
I skidded to a halt while the rest of the herd stampeded onward. I guarded her body from the horses trampling the rest of our enemies, guarded my predator-ally while it tore into the enemy leader.
Rearing up onto my hind legs, I screamed in triumph. The battle was done, and the enemy was no more, nothing but lifeless flesh, bone, and blood under our hooves. We won.
~~~~~
I made it back to camp less than ten minutes after I’d left, feeling numb, both mentally and emotionally. My feline companion had already gone her own way, returning to her regular routine of nocturnal hunting.
The horses, however, moved as a mass behind Wings and me, clingy in their post-fight euphoria. They remained just beyond the ring of tents as I, alone, entered camp.
I felt exhausted, wrung dry of energy and emotion. “It’s done,” I said hollowly. “They’re dead.”
Jason strode toward me, closing the distance between us in three steps. His arms wrapped around me so tightly I could barely breathe, but at the moment, I didn’t really care. I wanted him to hold me like that, suffocate me with the strength of his relief, for all eternity. Possibly longer.
Seconds later, he set me back on me feet. His mouth covered mine, his lips gentle, but demanding.
“Why couldn’t you fucking warn us?” Ky shouted, and the kiss ended abruptly. Jason and I turned our heads in time to see Ky stalking toward Becca. “My brother is dead. You see the fucking future. What the fuck is wrong with you? You should have warned us! You should have fucking warned us!”
Jason and I exchanged a wary look.
“Back off, Ky,” Harper said, stepping in front of Becca and blocking her from Ky before the irate man could reach her and do something really stupid. “It doesn’t work like that.”
Jake joined Harper in shielding his sister.
“I didn’t know,” Becca said, a tremor in her voice. “I swear it…I do.” I’d never heard the chronically composed Re-gen sound so distraught. “I’m so sorry about your brother, I—”
The Ending Series: The Complete Series Page 104