Father and son hammered him from both directions. The instant Ash lost his balance, they leapt on him with all their teeth and claws flying. They mangled his ears and crunched his knees. They sliced his skin and nipped at his muzzle. They nagged and tormented him every way they could.
When Ash rounded on one of them, the other swept in from the other direction to distract him. He couldn’t fight them both at once, not like this.
June reeled from her father’s escape and came up to see them attacking her mate. She heard hundreds of tales of she-bears fighting to protect their cubs and their mates, but it never happened to her before.
Her senses went dark. Her whole mind and spirit switched off in the blink of an eye. She ceased to exist. She never really understood exactly how it happened. To her, the world went black. She heard a great rushing sound of blood in her eyes and ears and brain. Then a whirlwind took hold of her and catapulted her off her feet.
She barreled across the room so fast she couldn’t keep track of it herself. She watched the whole scene unfold from a forgotten corner on the ceiling. A black she-bear hurled Arryn aside and came to rest near Ash’s shoulder. She plastered her weight against him and faced her brother.
Her black lips shivered away from her ivory teeth. Her small eyes smoldered in their sockets. She didn’t look Arryn in the eye. She kept her head turned and shrieked at him through her wide-open mouth.
He recovered his surprise and lowered his head between his shoulders. He bellowed and threatened, but he wouldn’t come anywhere near Ash with her standing there.
Ash leaned into her. His solid bulk dwarfed her, but they stood back to back against anything that could come at them. Ezra roared on Ash’s other side, but the fight was over. Ash didn’t have to turn away from Ezra to defend himself against Arryn anymore. June had his back. She protected him. Nothing could stand against the two of them working together.
Arryn coiled his muscles under him, but he dared not attack. He didn’t want to face that she-bear. That force of nature marshaled all her bloody fury to protect those she loved. No bear on Earth would raise his claws to her.
Arryn swiped his jaws at her, but he didn’t come close enough to do any damage. June couldn’t let that pass, though. She darted out of her place and snapped her teeth at him. She caught a pinch of his skin and tore a ragged hole in his leg. He squealed and retreated another few feet. He made a big noise, but he wouldn’t bother Ash again.
Ash’s weight lifted off June’s shoulder, and a human hand appeared in its place. She stole a peek behind her and found Ash standing there. His hand rested on her back. The other balled into a fist. He swept the room with his sharp eyes. The three bears glared at each other in matched hostility.
Ash murmured into her ear, “It’s all right, June. You can back down now.”
She didn’t understand the words, but his tone carried his message to her brain. Her bear skin sloughed off. She straightened up and took her place once more at his side. His hand covered hers. They stood back to back with the bears still watchful and menacing on the outskirts of the room.
Ezra relented first. He swung his big head from side to side. He wouldn’t look at the couple again. He lumbered a few steps to the right, but he couldn’t go any further. The overturned table blocked his way.
He swung his head back the other way and shifted. He kicked his forepaws off the ground. His neck shrank into his shoulders, and his powerful frame collapsed into the shape of a man.
He kept looking from side to side. He gave Ash and June the briefest glance. “Well, I guess that’s that.”
June took a calculated risk. She let go of Ash’s hand and stepped across the room toward her brother. She lowered her voice to a confidential murmur, “Come on, Arryn. It’s all over now. Come and sit down and talk to us. We need your help. Let’s not fight anymore. It’s all over now. Come on. Come back. We need you.”
He turned away and stared at the wall.
She took one more step and put out her hand to stroke his fur. “Please, Arryn. You know I can’t do this without you. You’re part of me. I can’t live if you don’t see me through this.”
Something shifted behind her. She didn’t have to look to feel Ash’s eyes on her. Arryn grumbled under his breath. When she ran her fingers through his fur, he rounded on her and snapped at her hand. He didn’t bite, but she jumped back in fright.
She wheedled higher and softer than ever. “You’re the only one who can help us, Arryn. I don’t want to do anything without you. You’ll lead this family after Daddy’s gone. We all need you with us, and I need you with me now, more than ever. Please. Please come back. Do it for my sake.”
After he snapped at her hand, he didn’t take his eyes off her. He glared at her out of his furry black head. June started to despair when he jerked back. His snout retracted into his face. His eyes widened, and his chest flattened out. He snorted through his nose, and the bear disappeared.
June let out a shaky breath. It was all over now.
17. Chapter 16
Ash picked up the upset table and set it on its legs. He got two chairs and set them in place while June grabbed the third. He started to scoop up the scattered remains of food, but she laid a hand on his arm and shook her head.
Ezra and Arryn sat down in two chairs. June stuck her hand through the back door and brought in a fourth. Ash’s eyes widened, but he said nothing. All four sat down at the points of the compass.
Arryn stared at his hands in his lap. Ash hated to see him like this. Defeat did not become that powerful, handsome man. Fate dealt Arryn a cruel blow by pitting him against a Bruin he couldn’t beat.
Ezra sat silent and reserved, too. What could Ash say to these men he just defeated in their own house. How could he bridge the gap to bring them together as one family?
He glanced at June for some clue, but she had no answers for him. He had to do this all by himself. He took a deep breath. He had no idea what he wanted to say until the words came out of their own accord.
“Listen to me, both of you,” he began. “June will never leave Renegade Ridge. I started to understand this yesterday, and now I see it’s really true. We both have to stay here. Taking her away would tear your family apart, and I’m not the man who will do that. NightShade belong to this Ridge. I couldn’t tear June away from that any more than I could rip a tree out by its roots and expect it to survive somewhere else. June will stay here forever. You have my word on that.”
Both men stared at him with their mouths open. Even June stared at him with her mouth open. Ash never thought that way before now, but once he got the words out, he knew they were true.
Ezra cleared his throat. “What will you do? Will you go home and leave her here?”
“No, I’ll stay here with her. I have to. She’s my mate. I’ll live the rest of my life with her. No one will ever separate us.”
June interrupted, “You understand what this means. This means making the NightShade your people. It means giving up Bruins’ Peak and your whole family and everything you know.”
Ash took a shaky breath. “I know. It’s not my first choice, but it’s the way it’s got to be. Whatever power made you my mate, made this. It’s meant to be, just like me and you. I have to stay here with you. We have to face this future together, and I’ll do whatever I have to do to make that happen.”
Ezra and Arryn exchanged glances. “You would have to give your word, on your honor as a man and a Bruin, to commit yourself to the NightShade,” Ezra told him. “You would have to accept our way of life. You would have to abide by our laws and our customs. That means accepting the Elders’ decisions on all matters related to our existence. You couldn’t run off and do your own thing, according to your own agenda. You understand that, don’t you?”
“I understand, and I’m ready to give my word. I’ll do everything you say, and I’ll live according to your laws and customs.”
A shrill cry pierced the air. June lurched out of her chair and ru
shed across the room. She flung her arms around his neck and covered him with kisses. Ash fought her back. “Hey! What’s going on? What are you doing?”
She wouldn’t let him go. “I’m so happy! Oh, this is so wonderful!”
Arryn jumped up. He seized Ash’s hand and pumped his arm off his shoulder. “This is great! I never thought I’d live to see the day!”
Ezra pointed to the door. “Quick, Arryn! Run to the Elders and tell them what’s happened. Then come back here as fast as you can. We’ll do this thing before nightfall.” Arryn rushed out of the room.
Ash sat stunned. His body wouldn’t budge from that chair. In his wildest dreams, he couldn’t imagine a more different reaction from everybody. “Do what thing?”
Ezra waved his hand and shook his head. “You’ll see, but we have to wait until Arryn comes back. We can’t do anything without informing the Elders.”
Ash sat back to wait, but Ezra leaned his elbows on the table. He cast a beatific smile on the young couple. “None of us dared to dream this could happen. It’s the best thing to happen to our people in a long, long time.” He extended his hand to June. “Come here, honey. Let me give you my blessing. I couldn’t be happier.”
She clasped his hand. “Thank you so much, Daddy. You don’t know how happy this makes me.”
He patted her hand. “It’s me who should be thanking you. You two do an old man’s heart good. I always wanted to see you mated to a decent guy who would do credit to our people, and that’s exactly what you’ve done. I know you two are going to be happy together.”
June threw her arms around him. “Oh, Daddy! Thank you so much.”
Arryn came back in a flash. He burst into the cabin all out of breath. “The Elders give their permission.”
Ezra drew himself to his feet. The bright smile faded off his face, and he confronted Ash in all seriousness. “This is it. I’m gonna reveal our most closely guarded secret, but I have to make you swear on your life you’ll keep this secret, even from your closest family.”
Ash climbed to his feet. He squared his shoulders. “Whatever you have to tell me, I swear I’ll protect the secret like a native born NightShade. I’ll be as NightShade as you, and your secret will be my secret. I’ll protect it with my life, and I’ll never leave Renegade Ridge without permission from the Elders.”
Ezra squeezed his hand. “Good. Come on, then.”
He conducted Ash outside. June and Arryn came behind, and the whole family trooped down the well-worn path Ash already trod so many times. His heart skipped a beat. Whatever these people wanted to show him must be pretty important. The secret kept them anchored on this mountain, to the exclusion of contact with everyone else in the world.
What was Ash about to discover? What if it turned out to be really awful? He shook those thoughts out of his head. Whatever it was, June lived with it all these years. Whatever he did, he would be with her. If she could face it, he could face it, too.
Ezra led him to the Blacks’ house, but Ash didn’t see anybody around. Did word fly along the Ridge to clear the way for the newest NightShade? Were Abel and Eden and Luna watching him right now behind the trees?
Ezra didn’t knock on the door. He made no move to contact the family, but strode around the house to an innocent-looking shed attached to the house. He held the door open until Ash, June, and Arryn stooped under the low roof.
Ezra let the door bang shut, and darkness fell. Dust sprinkled into Ash’s hair from the shingles overhead. The family peered at each other in the shadows. “Are you ready?”
Ash held his breath. How could he know if he was ready when he had no idea what he would find? Ezra didn’t wait for an answer. He eased back the lid of a wooden grain bin in the corner. He propped the lid against the wall and peered down into the dark.
Ash leaned over and stared down into the bin. Instead of grain, he looked down a long staircase plunging into the ground. It wasn’t a wooden staircase, either, but solid stone. Ash noticed chisel marks on the stone in the dim light. Someone carved these steps out of the mountain’s dark heart.
Ezra swung his leg over the bin. He climbed inside it and tripped down the stairs. Ash looked around at June. She smiled at him and nodded. Even Arryn’s eyes shone. He smiled and held his breath.
Well, Ash had to find out what lay at the bottom of those stairs. He wouldn’t find out by standing up here. He flung his leg over the bin and lowered himself down the steps.
18. Chapter 17
Darkness enfolded Ash. He followed Ezra’s footsteps down the stairs, and June’s pattering bare feet came after him. Arryn came last and closed the lid behind him. The square of light cut off, but another glow met them coming up from below.
The stairs dropped down, down, down, into the Earth itself. The farther he climbed, the lighter it got until the stairs ended at a huge stone landing. Ezra walked forward a ways before he stopped.
Ash’s steps slowed until he halted in his tracks. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He would have stood there forever if June hadn’t taken his arm and led him the rest of the way to where her father waited for them.
The landing kept going and going a long way under a covered platform of solid stone. A big building loomed huge and statuesque alongside next to the platform. In front of Ash’s eyes, half a dozen doors in that building opened. Some hundred people flowed out of the building onto the platform.
At the same moment, an enormous contraption rolled up on the other side of the platform. It hummed with the sound of a motor. It reminded Ash of a train, but it made almost no noise and he didn’t see any tracks. It floated a few feet off the ground and wheeshed to a stop next to the platform.
Doors slid open, and more people exited the train before the people on the platform got on. Then the train sailed away somewhere else. Ash stared at the sight. He couldn’t get his mind to accept what he was seeing, not even when another train came along and the process repeated all over again.
Ash looked everywhere at once. His eyes stung from not blinking. Huge buildings rose above him on every side. They touched what would have been the sky if he had been outside. How could buildings rise so high when he hadn’t climbed that far down those stairs?
Electric lights lit the whole scene. They lined the…there weren’t exactly streets, but spaces between the buildings where people walked. The lights lit the place as bright as day, and they hung from the…was that a ceiling up there beyond Ash’s sight?
Nothing made sense here. People moved down the streets, in and out of the buildings. Never in his life had Ash seen so many people in one place. He’d seen cities on TV, on the internet and in books, but never in person. He never imagined he would visit a city as big as this, and definitely not buried under Renegade Ridge.
Another vehicle like the train, only much smaller, whizzed overhead. It zipped between the buildings and disappeared out of sight. Another and another zoomed around in different directions.
Ezra strolled down the platform. Ash didn’t move until June guided him forward. Farther down, he saw a man step into what looked like a telephone booth. He touched a bright flat screen on the wall. A curtain of dancing iridescent sparks showered around the man, and he vaporized behind the glass. A few seconds later, a tall woman materialized inside the booth. She pushed the door open and went on her way to catch her train. She never gave the visitors a second glance.
Ash sucked his breath between his teeth. He could hardly whisper. “What is this place?”
Ezra clapped him on the shoulder. “Welcome to Arion, son. This is it. This is our big secret. We’ve kept this city secret for centuries.”
Ash waved his arm toward the train station, the disappearing telephone booth, the hovercraft. He couldn’t form the words he wanted to ask.
June murmured into his ear, “Do you remember the cornbread you asked me about? We have technology that exceeds anything the humans have come up with. We have ways of enhancing your food so we get more nutrition out of the same r
esources. We don’t have to raise as much livestock or crops to feed all these people. We have the ability to travel and communicate with each other, and this city extends for hundreds of miles in all directions and under the ground. We have entrances all over Renegade Ridge. Our territory even extends under Midnight Moraine, but the Midnight don’t know that.”
Ash couldn’t look at the place enough. “How many people do you have living down here?”
“Millions,” Ezra replied, “and they’re all NightShade like us.”
Ash shook his head. “It’s hard to comprehend it all. I never expected this.”
June squeezed his arm, and Arryn chuckled. “You thought we were poor old mountain folks, didn’t you? If any strangers come up to Renegade Ridge, that’s all they ever see. That’s the best way we can keep them from finding out the truth about us.”
Ezra motioned toward the train platform. “Come on. We have to take you to the Elders so they can officially accept you. You can see some more of the place on the way.”
At that moment, another train pulled up in front of the party. The doors hissed open, and Ezra stepped on board. Ash hung back, but June nudged his forward. “Come on. It’s perfectly safe.”
He could believe it was safe. These people never did anything by half. He could see that now. He let her ease him through the door, and he took his place in a seat between Ezra and June. The train’s interior reminded him of any other train car, only much more luxurious. Plush fabric embraced his body when he sat down, and woolen carpet covered the floor. Fancy curlicues in metal and glass decorated the safety handles and railings.
The train glided away on a pillow of air. The city slid past the windows. Buildings, people living their lives and conducting their business, electric lights—the city just went on and on and on, without end. Ash couldn’t believe his eyes. How could this city exist just a few hundred yards below those crude dirt-floor cabins he saw on the surface?
Bruins Peak Bears Box Set (Volume III) Page 10