by Dannika Dark
Apparently we were close.
He swung his arm in front of me, bringing me to a grinding halt.
“If you keep doing that, I’m going to cut off your—”
“Up ahead,” he said quietly.
I squinted at the shadows in the distance. The moon had made another appearance, but it wasn’t enough for me to make out anything other than slender tree trunks and patches of darkness.
Just then, the shadowy outline of an animal moved up ahead where two hills joined. A long tail swished, the dark tip making it stand out all the more.
When another lion roared in the distance, the creature before us bounded out of sight.
Matteo and I sprinted after it.
I tripped on a thick root but gripped a tree and kept going. Matteo was four paces ahead of me, but neither of us could use our gifts to run fast. Not on this rough terrain, and not in the dark.
“He’ll outrun us!” I said, out of breath.
“I got his scent.”
I thought about pulling out my dagger and carrying it, but then I stumbled on a loose rock and decided it might be wise not to slice open an artery by accident. The straps on my backpack tugged on my shoulders, and every so often, a branch would snag it and yank me back.
Matteo clawed at the ground like an animal when he lost his footing.
I fell back a step, uncertain if he’d flipped his switch. I had better things to do than tangle with a confused Chitah in the middle of nowhere.
My leg muscles were on fire by the time we reached the top of a steep hill. The ground leveled out, and there were fewer trees. Our feet were no longer crunching on leaves but treading across wet ground cover like grass or moss. I swallowed, my throat parched and lungs burning.
The lion veered left. Matteo branched away from me and tore after it, but I headed straight.
The smell of burning firewood invaded my nose. There was also a flicker of light in the distance and the sound of another lion.
Out of breath, I stopped for a second and scanned my surroundings. The campsite was within view, but I didn’t hear any screaming, running, or fighting.
That could only mean one thing—an imminent attack.
The acrid smell of urine wafted from a nearby tree, and I kept catching a whiff of it from the soft wind that blew from the direction of the campsite. That meant we were downwind, so Claude wouldn’t be able to smell the territorial markings, let alone my panic. My boots were quiet against the mossy forest floor.
Since Matteo had gone left, I went right. Part of me wanted to scream out there was an attack, but I didn’t know if Christian was anywhere near camp. My yelling could incite the animals to strike sooner.
I scoured the woods and stalked to the right. My breath caught when I glimpsed a lion charging for the camp. His massive paws tore up the earth behind him, and he moved like a bullet shooting through the dark. With level ground, I had a chance at cutting him off, so I flashed at breakneck speed toward the camp. The firelight grew bigger and bigger, but the bodies were indistinct shapes as they blurred into view.
Please, not the kids.
Time slowed to a crawl as the animal and I raced to the group. I spotted a stone at the last minute and used it to propel me into the air. The animal arced over the fire, his massive body glowing like butterscotch.
Carol’s scream pierced the silence. Though it looked like the lion was going for her, he was targeting Claude, who had his back turned. I harnessed my energy and slammed into the animal with all my strength.
Before we even hit the ground, Claude ripped Carol from her seat to safety. Energy blasted through my palms as I gripped whatever body part I could on the beast. We tumbled to the ground, and he flipped over before I could blast him again.
Christian grabbed him by the haunches and dragged him away from me. The lion roared, and the sound made every living thing in the woods tremble with fear. When it kicked its hind legs, Christian lost his grip. The lion took off in a flash with my partner hot on its heels.
Claude held Carol tightly to him, his eyes as black as coal. She blanched, and I couldn’t tell if she was more afraid of the near-death experience or Claude flipping his switch.
“The lions want the kids,” I said, quickly filling everyone in.
The twins stood with their backs to the fire, Adam holding a big stick and Eve clutching his jacket.
Viktor pulled a gun out of his bag. “How many?”
“I don’t know. Maybe you should shift.”
He loaded a clip into the gun. “I’m a better shot than my wolf is a lion killer. Children, stay close.”
I turned my back to the fire so I could scan the woods. “Where’s Blue?”
Viktor looked around. “She was just here.”
I steered my gaze upward. These trees weren’t suitable for climbing, and the kids needed a safe place. If the lions lured us out…
I held my breath. “Shhh.”
Leaves rustled in the distance.
“Another one!” Eve shrieked.
I spun in the direction she was pointing and braced myself, but instead of a lion, Matteo appeared. Blood speckled his cheeks and nose, and it coated his right hand.
“Oh shit,” I muttered.
Claude was still in beast mode.
“He won’t be a concern,” Matteo informed me, barely casting a glance Claude’s way.
“His switch is flipped. You need to get out of here.”
“As long as the child is near him, he won’t separate himself from her. He’ll shield her from harm. That is the Chitah way.”
Viktor delivered a scrutinizing gaze to our guest. The grip on his gun was tight, and I reached for his arm.
“This is Matteo. He brought me here.”
In that moment, I suddenly realized how careless that looked. Viktor could have burned holes through my head with his fiery stare.
Matteo drew in a breath. “I’m not the threat.”
“I have no reason to trust you.”
Matteo straightened his shoulders. “Do you think I don’t know who comes and goes in my woods? Your secret’s safe with me. You must know that a Chitah’s word is his bond. Gather your things and come with me. The lions will return soon.”
I snapped my fingers at the twins. “Come on. Get your stuff together. Hurry up!”
Matteo must have scented their fear and approached. “I know these woods better than anyone. You’re safe as long as you’re with me. If you stay here, you’ll die.”
That was enough to get everyone hauling ass. Matteo took the position in front, Claude in the middle with the kids, and Viktor and me in the rear. Matteo switched on the flashlight and widened the beam so we could see.
“How could you bring us this danger?” Viktor said, scolding me.
“The lions aren’t with me. Remember General, the loan shark who tried to murder my father? He’s behind this, and he wants the kids. I’m not sure how he knew about them, but one of his brothers wound up in the jail. I did everything I could to catch up.”
I didn’t need to speak Russian to understand Viktor was cursing.
“Don’t worry,” I assured him. “Christian will keep them distracted. He can shadow walk and follow their sound.”
Viktor kept looking back, and I knew it had to do with leaving Blue.
“I’ll go back for her,” I promised him. “She’s probably tracking everyone from the treetops.”
That was a lie, but sometimes you need to tell yourself lies to get through a situation. And we were in a big fucking situation. We skidded down a hill, and Eve fell twice. Her brother clutched her to him after the second time.
I kept my eyes alert for any signs of movement.
When a lion roared in the distance behind us, Matteo shouted, “Move it!”
I glimpsed the lion darting between the trees.
I touched Viktor’s arm and fell back. “I’ll hold him off long enough for you to find shelter.”
Viktor gripped my shoulder and ga
ve it a firm squeeze before catching up with the children.
I flashed toward the lion. The Shifters must have communicated their plans to their animals prior to shifting: follow the kids and kill the rest. But animals were also instinctual. Would they follow their human counterpart’s advice if a juicy little stray darted in front of them?
As I neared, I let out a shrill scream and veered left. I wanted him to think I was weak prey. I weaved around trees, charged through bushes, and finally skidded down a hill before stumbling into a shallow stream. The ice-cold water splashed my jeans, but the boots Matteo had given me were blissfully waterproof, so I felt light on my feet when I stepped out of the water.
Before I had a second to breathe, a roar filled my eardrums. The weight of the beast blindsided me, and before we hit the ground, I blasted him in the face with what little energy I had left. It knocked him out long enough for me to stand.
Warm blood trickled down my right arm from the tear in my sleeve. Incensed, I knelt down and blasted him again.
“Dammit! If I had my long dagger, I’d gut you from neck to navel.”
I pulled the push dagger from my belt and sliced his neck, but his skin was too thick. So much for learning anything useful about animal biology in school. He belly-crawled away and then shifted to human form. The gash on his neck healed, and I looked at his distinctly familiar face and shaved head. It wasn’t Major or any brother that I had met, but it was definitely someone from the same gene pool.
When I lunged forward to strike, he shifted back to animal form.
I reeled backward. With too much of my core light depleted, fighting him was a death wish. I climbed a steep ravine covered in decomposed leaves and roots. To keep from sliding down, I gripped slim trees, but my backpack was throwing me off-balance. The lion lunged, clawing his way up behind me, but his weight pulled him back down.
Halfway up, I rested behind a vertical tree with my feet anchored at the base. I needed a minute to think this through. I could drink a man dry in less than a minute, but this was a lion. I’d have to do some serious damage to his neck. My core energy was too low to continue fighting with light, not unless I wanted to end up as lion food. At least I was keeping him preoccupied. If he gave up on me, he might search for the kids again. Had the team reached safety by now?
The animal pounced at me and slid back down. The second time, his massive paws got too close for comfort. I caught my breath as blood continued to stream down my arm. There might have been exposed tendons for all I knew, and the thought of climbing again was agonizing.
“Hold still,” Christian said from above. “I’m coming for you.”
The lion tried a third time, and his claws snagged the bottom of my boot before he fell back down. He paced back and forth, huffing and growling with frustration.
The next thing I knew, Christian hooked his arm around me and dragged me the rest of the way up. Out of breath and dizzy, I sat there in a stupor.
“The scent of your blood will hold him here for a while,” Christian said. “Here.”
He didn’t offer his vein; he forced his wrist to my mouth. My fangs punched out and broke skin as I made holes large enough to drink from. When they retracted, I drank greedily. The searing pain in my arm turned to prickles and then disappeared, and while my Mage light was still depleted, I felt a different kind of power filling up my well.
Vampire power.
Christian remained kneeling, his eyes trained on the lion below. “I killed one and saw at least three others. Then I heard you up here, offering yourself as vittles. It’s not easy to shadow walk in the fecking wilderness,” he grumbled.
Tell me about it, I thought to myself.
“I tracked them by sound, but then everything went haywire.”
I took one last drink and used the trace amounts of Vampire magic in my saliva to seal the puncture marks. “What do you mean?”
“They put sonic weapons on the trees near the camp but spaced them far enough out that I didn’t hear anyone setting them up. When I went after the lion, someone set them off, and I couldn’t hear a bloody thing. The deafening pitch forced me to shut off my hearing at close range.”
“How did you find me?”
“I had to break them. Did you separate from the group for thrills?”
“That one was closing in on us. Someone had to distract him.”
Christian gave me a crooked smile. “That’s my girl.”
I wrapped my arms around him. It felt good to be in his arms, to feel healed again.
“You smell like a litter box,” he muttered, squeezing me tight. “How did you get out of jail?”
“Long story.”
He removed my backpack and helped me up. “Do you know where they went?”
“I know the general direction. Matteo had a place in mind. It can’t be far.”
Christian put his hands on his hips. “Matteo? And who the feck is this you’re bringing along?”
“He helped me get here, and we made a deal. I trust him. Well, sort of.”
Christian arched an eyebrow. “Sort of? Thank the heavenly angels you only partly trust the man in charge of three children.”
I gave Christian a light shove and headed north. “I only trust him because he gave me his word.”
Christian snorted. “Are you afflicted in some way? A man’s word is as good as a gas station burrito.”
“You’re not even making sense.”
“It’s as reliable as a three-legged horse in a race.”
I glanced over my shoulder. “Do I know you?”
“If something happens to them, you’ll never forgive yourself for being so naive.”
“He’s a Chitah. You know how they are about their word, and despite all the scumbags I’ve run into, they’re pretty serious about a promise.”
“You haven’t fallen for him, have you?”
Christian was joking, but something beneath his tone made me wonder. Ah, the smell of jealousy.
“Sorry it had to work out this way, Christian. But after nearly dying in one of Matteo’s traps, I realized it was true love. Of course I’m not falling for him. He’s not my type. He’s Claude’s height. Not that there’s anything wrong with tall men. If he were skinny it might look strange, but he’s definitely buff and filled out in all the right places.”
“What are you blathering on about?”
“Never mind. I can’t trust a man who makes me smell like animal urine.”
“Do I even want to know?”
I sniffed my hair and wrinkled my nose. “No, you don’t.”
When we’d walked far enough to put distance between us and the lion, we crossed the stream. I removed my sweatshirt and washed the blood off my arm. Then I let the stinky garment float away.
“I think as long as we walk slowly and stay calm, they won’t be able to track us,” I said, shivering in my T-shirt. “Vampires don’t have a scent, and I smell like—”
“A toilet,” he answered. “If there was ever a test of love, this is it.”
“Careful, Poe. I just might want to make out later on after we kill these bastards.”
I froze in my tracks when a gunshot erupted, followed by three more. Christian and I tore through the woods in the same direction. The sounds were close, and I knew Viktor had a gun.
Christian shadow walked, gliding through the darkness like liquid. I’d seen him climb a tree that way, but it wasn’t as easy with uneven ground. A rabbit scurried off when I jumped over a fallen tree. I was having trouble seeing until the moonlight appeared again.
The fourth gunshot made me duck.
Another fired.
“It’s me, you dolt!” Christian yelled.
Confused, I lost my concentration and smacked into a tree.
“Next time fucking announce yourself,” Shepherd snarled. “I almost shot your damn head off!”
When I backed away from the tree and weaved around a thicket of overgrown bushes, I saw Shepherd standing with a gun in his hand
and a torch light strapped to his head. His leather coat was zipped up to the collar.
“Nice hat,” I remarked, not winded at all thanks to Christian’s blood. “Where did you come from?”
“You wouldn’t happen to have seen a mountain lion running around, would you?”
“Don’t tell me. Joshua got away?”
He put his gun back in the holster and shifted his backpack. “A lion just came at me. I think I got him in the leg. Mind filling me in?”
Christian scanned the woods.
“Remember General?” I straightened my T-shirt. “They ambushed the campsite, and it was well planned. They put those sonic blockers or whatever on the trees so Christian wouldn’t hear them once the attack began.”
“What do they want? Revenge?” He patted his gun. “I got their revenge right here.”
“They want the kids.”
He cursed under his breath. “We’re in a tight spot. Where is everyone?”
“North, but that’s all I know. A local tracker is helping us. He knows these woods, and before you ask, we can trust him.”
Shepherd rubbed the whiskers on his jaw, which had ventured into beard territory. “He must know of a nearby house. Only an idiot would pitch another campsite.”
I walked past them. “We need to get moving.”
“Everyone all right?” Shepherd patted the shoulder strap of his bag. “I’ve got all my medical gear.”
“I don’t know. Blue’s missing.”
Shepherd walked ahead of me, but I could tell he was worn out from all the hiking he must have done. He suddenly jerked his head toward me and blinded me with that damn headlamp. “You smell like—”
“Roses. That’s what you’re about to say, isn’t it?”
He chuckled. “Something like that.” After a few more paces, he pointed at some brush. “Footprints. They’ve been through here.” He aimed the light at the ground and moved it around. “This way.”
“I hear them,” Christian alerted us. “They’re not far.”
“You can hear again?” I asked him.
“Aye. They only planted the devices by the camp. Guess their plan backfired.”
My stomach turned. “I don’t know. They thought this through. Maybe this was part of the plan.”