“They said Harry fixed you up. Who knew a bigfoot would have so much medical skill?”
I bristled at the implication that Harry should somehow be less capable, but thought the better of saying anything at the moment. “Whatever he did worked. Did you meet him?”
“Yeah, Rider introduced us after Harry finished with your arm.”
“How was Rider? I only caught a glimpse of him-”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Ethan asked.
I guess he was ready to talk about it. “Tell you what?”
Chapter 10
Ethan let out a short, frustrated sigh, but looked like he was trying to keep most of his agitation reined in. “About you and Vincent.”
“I’ve told you before that nothing is going on between Vincent and me.”
He wouldn’t look at me. “I don’t pretend to know. I mean, really know what a person’s soul is, or what it looks like. But sharing one with someone, with another man, then that sounds like there’s something between you.”
“I can’t help what it sounds like. It was a side effect of what happened.” That it was a side effect of Vincent taking my soul and giving it back was the last thing I wanted Ethan to be thinking about, so I didn’t say the words.
“A side effect. Huh.” He looked down and seemed like he was trying hard not to be upset. Even with the Path closed, I could tell it wasn’t working well. “Then, what’s the side effect of him having a piece of you inside of him?”
There was no way I was telling Ethan how deeply Vincent knew me from taking my soul. For a short time, I was a part of him and now Vincent probably knew more about my past than I knew myself.
“He senses things.” It was a vast understatement, but it was a lie I could live with.
Ethan shook his head. “I feel like I’ve stepped into a place that I shouldn’t be.”
“You’ve stepped into my world,” I said, trying to lighten the mood a little. “That’s all.”
“You and I haven’t been seeing each other that long. Since I met you, I’ve seen things and done things beyond my wildest imagination.”
“Like protecting Harry?”
A ghost of a smile came across his face, but only lasted moments. “Meeting a bigfoot was a big one. I’ve seen a lot and I’ve rolled with the punches as best I could.”
“You faced the fairy.”
We both grinned at the memory and Ethan looked at me again.
“I think facing your rabbit was a bigger feat,” Ethan said.
“Poor Frank,” I said, thinking of my dead, but still hopping rabbit.
“But you and Vincent? I’m not sure that-”
“Vincent has made it very clear to me, to everyone, that he wants to fix what he broke and nothing else.”
Ethan shook his head. “You didn’t see him before he ran off to find you. When he knew something had gone wrong.”
Using my good arm, I pushed myself up to a sitting position as best I could. How could I still be so tired after sleeping for so long?
“Lie down,” Ethan said.
I raised an eyebrow at him.
Ethan sighed. “Lie down, please?”
“Join me?” I asked.
He looked uncertain at first, but at last, he smiled. “Sure.”
Once he had settled in next to me, I put my head at the crook of his neck, ignoring the searing pain across my chest.
I decided honesty was a good way to go here. “I don’t know how to fix this.”
“I’m not sure it can be,” Ethan said.
“Is it something that needs to happen now?” I asked.
“What do you mean?”
“This. This conversation. Does it need to happen now?”
Ethan was quiet for a few moments. “No. I know you’re tired. I’m not sure what happened, but I saw you after.”
“And in case either of us forgot, we still have almost a week of vacation.”
“I assumed you’d want to go with your partners.”
“You assumed wrong.” I looked up at him to make sure he saw my grin.
“You want to continue our vacation?”
“Well, first I want a bath or maybe two, but yes, I’d like to enjoy the rest of my trip with you.”
Ethan hugged me to him and kissed my forehead, only stopping when I winced at the pain in my chest.
“Sorry,” he said.
“It’s okay.”
“Are you all right, though?” he asked. He pulled his arm out from under me and propped himself up.
“I am,” I said.
His response was to look me over more carefully. Then he brushed his hand down the side of my face.
We smiled at each other. Not quite sad, but not exactly cheerful either.
Noise in the woods made Ethan look up. Despite my pain and fatigue, I looked over as well.
“It’s the wolf,” I said.
Ethan was off the ground before I knew it.
“No, don’t scare him,” I said. Leveraging myself up was difficult. Everything hurt.
“Where is it?” Ethan hissed.
Seeing the gun in his hands, I strained to get to my feet as quickly as I could. I held Ethan’s arm to keep myself up. He tried to put himself between the woods and me, but I wouldn’t let him.
“It’s okay,” I said, trying to stay calm while I pushed his gun to the ground. “He’s not going to hurt us.” Then I heard the animal growl. “At least I don’t think…”
The wolf wasn’t looking at us. He was looking towards a tree quite a bit away from where we camped.
“What’s he watching?” I took a step towards him and Ethan gripped my arm.
“What are you doing?” Ethan hissed.
“What’s over there?” I asked, indicating the tree. “Is Rider back?”
“That’s where Peter is,” Ethan said.
“Oh no,” I muttered. “Not good.”
My heart beat faster. I tried to lurch away from Ethan, but he still held my arm tightly.
“Are you crazy?” he asked. “Where is it?”
I could hear Peter’s voice in the distance.
“We have a man in custody,” I whispered an explanation as fast as I could, “and he’s about to get murdered on our watch.”
If there’s one thing that Ethan always understood, it’s that work is work.
“Stay next to me,” Ethan muttered.
At least he was going in the right direction. When I moved faster, he kept pace.
I heard the wolf growl and Peter started talking rapidly.
“Fenrir,” I called.
The wolf looked at me, his teeth bared.
“Wait. Please, you can’t do this.”
Fenrir didn’t move when I put myself between him and Peter. Extracting my arm from Ethan’s hand, I knelt down in front of Fenrir. He licked his lips, but his teeth were no longer bared.
“Ethan, can you take Peter back to the camp?” I asked.
Peter made a noise that almost sounded like a return growl. “That mutt can-”
“You,” I whipped my head around and glared at Peter, as Fenrir growled, “can shut up and be thankful I’m not feeding you to him.” It was harsh, but the man deserved harshness for the way he had treated the wolf.
Still, there was a way to do things and letting Fenrir kill him wasn’t the way.
“Is the wolf here?” Ethan asked.
“Yes, please, move Peter away,” I said again, turning my attention to the white wolf in front of me.
“I can’t leave you here alone-”
“I’m here,” Vincent said, walking out of the shadows.
Ethan let out a frustrated breath.
“I’ll take Peter,” Vincent said.
“No,” Ethan said. “If something happens, I think you’ll be of more use here than I would.” He didn’t sound happy about it, but he untied Peter and took him away.
Fenrir growled louder when Peter moved.
“Wait,” I said when the wolf stepped fo
rward towards Ethan’s retreat. “I know you’re angry, and you have every right to be, but do you really want to kill him?”
Fenrir looked at me grimly, and I could feel the fire from his gaze.
“We’re not helping him,” I said, trying to reassure him. “I know it must look like that, but he’s going to pay for what he did out here. He’ll be locked up.”
Fenrir licked his lips again and sat down, but he looked reluctant.
I moved off my knees and sat in a more comfortable position.
“You don’t have to hurt him to get back at him.”
Fenrir bared his teeth for a moment.
“Yeah, I’d like to at least kick Peter in the jewels and watch him flail around for a while-”
Vincent chuckled behind me, but I ignored him.
“-but I won’t. He’s tied up, and we’re taking him to where he can’t hurt anyone anymore.”
Fenrir gave an angry grunt, but I’m pretty sure he understood. He might even have agreed with me, but it was hard to tell.
We stared at each other for a while, and I held my hand out again.
“Cass.” The warning in Vincent’s voice was clear.
Fenrir had moved forward, but stopped when Vincent’s spoke.
Glancing back, I saw Vincent move to stand beside me.
My mind was starting to feel fuzzy, so I didn’t discount his worry. “Do you see him?” I asked.
“No,” Vincent said.
“Then shush,” I said with a smile and turned back to Fenrir. “It’s okay.”
He didn’t move, and I let my hand drop.
“I understand,” I said. “You don’t have to come any closer.” I yawned and started to blink heavily. The shadows around us were condensing and falling away as the sky began to lighten.
Fenrir shook himself from head to tail. He looked almost as tired as I felt. He turned and trotted off a few paces.
“I’m not sure where you live or how you get around, but you can visit,” I said.
He looked back in acknowledgment, then walked a few paces and vanished.
“I think he’ll leave Peter alone,” I said. “Not that Peter deserves it.”
“Is he gone?” Vincent asked.
“Yeah.”
Vincent squatted down next to me. “You okay?”
“I must look really crazy talking with the air, huh?” I grinned and wavered.
“You look tired,” Vincent said.
I stretched, but winced and drew back in on myself. “I’m not sure I’ve ever been this tired.”
Vincent motioned behind him back to camp. “Everything else okay?”
What was there to say to that? “I don’t know.” It was the best answer I could give. “For now, maybe?”
“Think you can make it back on your own steam?”
My nose scrunched up automatically. I hated being carried.
“I’d prefer to at least try,” I said.
“Wait here and let me get Ethan,” Vincent said.
The confusion must have been written across my face.
“I don’t want to make things more complicated,” Vincent explained. “Take it from me, it’s better this way.”
The thought made me sad, and the realization that Vincent was trying to tread so carefully took me by surprise. “You’ve seemed different on this trip. Lighter, almost.”
Vincent looked confused, and I wasn’t sure why I even said it. What I did know was that I needed sleep.
“Don’t let this stuff with Ethan and me weigh you down,” I said.
“You got it,” he said. “You’re sure the wolf is on our side?”
“I’m sure he won’t hurt us unless provoked.”
“Well, don’t provoke it. I’ll get Ethan.”
I pulled my knees into my chest and despite the ache, put my head on my knees and watched Vincent walk away.
When Ethan came to help me, he didn’t look as upset as I thought he would be. He helped me to my feet. When I swayed too many times, he picked me up and carried me the rest of the way. It was the last thing I remembered of that night. I must have fallen asleep before we got back.
It was almost noon when I woke up to the quiet camp. No one looked like they were in a hurry.
It didn’t take me long to get back on my feet. Sort of, anyway. We debated leaving the site, or staying and waiting for Rider. In the end, we decided that we were running low on food and water, so it was time to go back.
The walk back took a day and a half longer than our trip into the forest, and it was exhausting. Peter soon realized his ‘friend’ wasn’t going to help him out and he turned pretty nasty. When he spoke to me, it was either condescending or lewd, which pissed everyone off, especially me, so I walked well ahead or behind and out of his sight whenever I could.
Harry showed up twice on our way back, but only when Peter was out of sight. Harry examined my arm both times, and each time, he unwrapped it and it looked better. Whatever he was putting on the wound was helping it heal faster than I had anticipated. The last time he visited, his injury had already healed, and he left me an earthen bottle full of a sappy substance and told me to add it to my arm for three more days.
Then he was gone. We avoided his house on our way back, despite the fact that I really wanted to talk with him more, but there was no way we wanted Peter near him.
My daydreams were visions of a shower and a bed, but that vanished when we reached the vehicles. Rider was leaning against his truck, arms crossed, waiting for us.
Chapter 11
Once I saw him, my heart felt lighter than it had in days. “You’re here.” I wanted to run up and hug him, but I wasn’t sure where we stood.
Ethan went straight up to my friend and shook his hand. “Thank you for what you did. I don’t know what it was, but from what little I understand, Cassie wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you.”
Rider returned the handshake, but only nodded to Ethan, which was then followed by awkward silence.
“Well,” Ethan said, “I’ll take our bags and give you two a minute.” He took my almost-empty backpack and went to his car, leaving Rider and me alone.
It might have been easier if Vincent was there, but he had lagged behind with Peter.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He nodded.
I stared at him, waiting for more, but I didn’t get another reply.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “I’ve been really worried. We all have.”
“There are no lasting side effects from finding you in the Path,” Rider said.
“That doesn’t really answer the question.”
“It was…I was uncertain that you would return.”
“But I did,” I said with a grateful smile. “Thank you for helping me.”
Rider nodded again.
“You’ve been gone for a few days,” I said, not making it a question, but wanting an answer all the same.
“Are you well?” Rider asked.
Would he tell me anything if I asked him directly? Probably not.
“I will be after a shower and sleep,” I said.
He wrinkled his nose and stepped away from the truck over to me. He lifted my injured arm carefully and started inspecting it, moving himself around more than jostling my arm.
“Why do you do that?” Ethan came over and joined us.
Rider looked confused but didn’t stop. “Because she is injured. If I move her arm more, it could cause more damage. Humans are…fragile.”
I’m pretty sure that wasn’t what Ethan was asking, but I was more focused on what he said. Hating to be referred to as fragile, I shot Rider a dirty look, which he ignored. He tried to pull up my shirt and I slapped his hand away. He sighed and rolled his eyes.
Rolling his eyes was the one thing I really wished he hadn’t picked up from me.
“The wolf did not trouble you?” Rider appeared uncomfortable with the thought as he made a final pass around me.
“No, but we might see h
im around more,” I said.
Rider stood up straight, looking around. “Why should we see the animal again?”
“I don’t think he’s an animal,” I said. “He’s a person. I believe he was a very lonely person and paid attention to the first human who saw him and spoke with him. He needed someone as a friend, and he ended up with Peter, who used him.”
“That is not a friend,” Rider said.
“It’s not,” I agreed.
“He will be happier if he is friends with us,” Rider said.
“I think he will be, yeah.” I looked at Rider who was still scanning the woods. “Are you happier-”
“Why did Peter see the wolf?” Rider asked.
I looked away. Rider still wasn’t going to talk to me, but I would get it out of him eventually. Right now, though, he only aggravated me.
“I don’t know,” I said, looking back to see if Vincent had caught up. “I didn’t talk to him.”
“But you-”
“If you want to know, you can speak to him,” I said. “Ethan, I’ll help with the packs.”
“Okay,” Rider said to my retreating back.
Ethan stayed behind for a few seconds, and I heard him say something to Rider, but he caught up to me at his car.
“The packs are taken care of,” he said.
I shrugged and started rummaging around in the one I had been using. As an excuse to look busy, I took two pain relievers out of the bottle Vincent and I had passed around the past few days and stowed them in my pocket.
Vincent was in view now, but I waited until he inspected the back seat in Rider’s truck and secured Peter inside before I joined them.
“What’s going to happen to him?” Ethan asked, gesturing to Peter.
“We still need to talk to Logan, but there’s an AIR substation a few hours away,” Vincent said, while keeping his face impassive. “That gives Harry a chance to move on before we talk to them.”
“Move on? He still has to leave his home?” I remembered all those books that had littered the floor and the beautiful carvings out in the hall. It seemed wrong that Harry needed to move.
“He doesn’t have to,” Vincent said. “He’s choosing to.”
It didn’t sit well with me, but I nodded.
“I know this wasn’t how you planned to spend your vacation, but thanks for the help.” Vincent held out his hand to shake Ethan’s.
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