by Cecy Robson
Earthquake, I think, pushing myself forward. No. Not now.
The ground splits in front of the skinwalker, the zigzagging crevice shooting toward Celia as if aimed. Still she taunts the skinwalker, keeping his attention while she leaps away from the dismantling ground.
“Come on,” Celia snarls. “Is that all you’ve got?”
The skinwalker screeches, charging straight at Celia. He doesn’t know I’m on my feet, ready to make mince-meat out of his hide.
The crevice breaks off in multiple points, creating a cobweb of deep fissures. Celia scrambles ahead and toward the cliff, leaping left and right, narrowly missing falling through the expanding cracks.
Her head whips around and she catches my eye. It’s only for a second, long enough for her to realize she won’t fight this thing alone.
Celia’s final leap is the longest and most daring. She barely makes it onto the sole pillar of earth protruding from the ground. What remains of this part of the mountain has collapsed around us in a booming sound of noise and chaos.
The pillar is just a few feet in diameter. Celia barely keeps her balance, teetering back and forth as the ground trembles. The skinwalker jumps, his claws outstretched as he takes flight.
His strength is no match for Celia’s. She knows it, yet she meets him dead on, her arms out and her nails ready to slash.
With all the strength of my hindquarters, I push off the ground, soaring into the skinwalker and throwing him off target. It’s not hard, he’s too far ahead. It’s just enough to tilt him at an angle, making it easier for Celia to sever his spine.
The lower half of the skinwalker spirals into the gorge. The upper half snags Celia’s waist, wrenching her down as the pillar tips at an angle. I slam against the side and slide after them, digging my claws through the soil to help me steer.
I catch up to Celia halfway down, her long nails stabbing the earth to keep herself in place as she kicks at the skinwalker holding tightly to her legs.
I lift my paws and increase my speed, ramming him hard. He barrels down the side, screeching, arms flailing with rage.
My speed and weight worked well to bring down the skinwalker, but now, they work against me. I barely manage to shift my weight and drive my claws into the ground to keep from joining him.
He disappears deep into the earth, the last of the sickening mist coursing behind him.
A screech of pain accompanies the first breath of fresh air filling my lungs. We did it. We brought him down.
My relief is brief. Slowly, the ground begins to reseal, the broken chunks of earth rising and filling the gorge. I glance up to see Celia looking down. Claws protrude from her toes, while the rest of her remains human.
Neat trick, but now is not the time to ask her about it. I climb up as fast as I can, encouraging her forward with a nudge of my nose. The ground is rising faster, loudly, like a crater being formed in reverse.
Celia grunts and groans each time her claws spike into the ridge. She keeps her head down, attempting to shield her face from the bits of dirt and gravel raining down on our heads. She’s exhausted and weak from lack of food and water. Yet, here she is, moving as fast as her body will allow.
We barely make it out before the ground mends shut, falling on our sides and breathing hard. I turn, watching her claws dissolve back into her skin. She tilts her head, her dirt coated face meeting mine. “Just so you know, this sort of thing doesn’t happen in Jersey.”
Magic feathers along my spine as I change back, my lopsided smile widening when she covers her eyes. “Colorado’s seen better days,” I confess.
“Come on,” I say rising. “We have to find my friends.”
“First things first.” She digs into the pocket of my sweats and pulls out a pair of boxers.
I chuckle and pull them on as fast as I can. I forgot I’d shoved them in there.
I stand over her when she continues to lie on the ground and offer her my hand. “Celia, I’m dressed. Now, come with me. The skinwalker has returned to its domain, but I can’t be sure he’ll stay.”
Her eyes widen and she clasps my hand. I shudder when another wave of that gentle warmth surrounds us, struggling to focus on anything past her.
“My friends,” I repeat. “We have to find them.”
Celia releases me, staring at her palm, as if whatever connection we share will somehow be explained. “All right,” she says, startling when a stand of trees pokes through from the ground. They twist up and out, spreading their long limbs and resuming their original form.
“Did the skinwalker do that?” she asks, following me as I head forward.
“No. It’s the power of good within nature. The skinwalker was only about the evil that’s been done to it.”
My nose twitches when it picks up the scent of blood. Koda’s blood.
I take off, back in the direction of the river. We find my friends further down from where I met Celia, hovering near an old fallen tree.
Gemini has resumed his human form, his pale body leaning against the bank and his twin wolf draped across his lap. He turns his head when he sees us approach. Koda kneels over Liam, whispering low. Like Gem, they’re human and partially dressed, the sweatpants they wear muddy and torn.
Koda whips around, hanging tight to his stomach and snarling when he hears us approach.
He drops his hand away when sees us. “You’re alive,” he says.
Blood oozes from the wound in his stomach. If he’s still mending, the injury was worse than I thought. “What happened to you?” I ask.
He glances behind me where Celia is standing. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.”
“What happened?” I ask again, this time louder.
“I was impaled. Like I said, I’m fine.” He jerks his head to the side. “They’re not.”
My feet splash through the mud as I fall at Liam’s side. His alabaster skin is saturated with sweat and his eyes stare blankly at the overcast sky. “Why didn’t you call for help?” I ask.
“Our phones are dead,” Gemini says. “We howled like crazy. No one came. Between the distance and the earthquake, I’m not sure anyone can hear us.”
Gem’s hand passes along his twin wolf’s fur. The twin’s neck remains at an angle and his deadpan eyes dart back and forth.
Celia kneels beside them. “Why are you so sick?” she asks Gemini.
Gem motions to his twin. “He’s a part of me. I think we’re dying.”
“No,” Celia insists. “You and Liam were poisoned when your wolves bit that creature.” She looks around. “We have to get whatever you swallowed out. Can you throw up or something?”
Gemini shakes his head slowly, the effort appearing to rob him of his strength. His hand falls still over his twin. “It’s deep in our stomach. I feel it expanding. I thought it was blood.”
“No. It’s poison, like Celia says,” I agree. “We have to cut it out of you.”
Koda scans his surroundings. “A stick. We can sharpen a stick.”
“It won’t be enough,” I argue.
“Then I’ll bite through it!”
“And swallow the same poison we want to get out?” I snap. “You’re angry and scared, I get it. But we’re on our own and we have to play it smart.”
My attention falls on Celia, where she’s petting the wolf’s head. As her eyes assume that of her beast, I realize she already knows what I’m about to ask. That doesn’t mean she’s happy.
I kneel beside her. “We need something sharp,” I remind her. “Celia, I need you to cut open my friends.”
Chapter Five
Celia rises on wobbly legs that have nothing to do with hunger or weakness. She shakes her hands. “I need to wash my hands. They’re dirty. I can’t . . .”
The slow shake of my head causes her voice to trail. “Mud, dirt, bacteria—none of it will harm our system. But the skinwalker, whatever he left inside my friends, is killing them. You have to get it out.�
�� My attention falls on the wolf. “Gemini’s twin goes first. He’s been infected the longest.”
“Can you tie his snout?” Celia asks. “He’s weak, but I’m afraid if he startles, he’ll try to bite me.” She wrings her hands. “My tigress won’t take kindly to anyone hurting us.”
“You have nothing to fear,” Gemini murmurs. “We would never hurt you.”
The muscles along my spine pull against the bone. I shouldn’t feel like this. Not now. I spit out a curse and refocus. “Koda and I will hold him just in case.”
Koda fixates on Celia. “Aric, you sure we should do this?”
“The only thing I’m sure of is that we’ll lose them by nightfall if we don’t.” I place my hand on his shoulder. “I trust Celia, Koda. I need you to trust her, too, so we can help our friends.”
Koda hesitates only briefly. He understands what’s at stake. “I’ll take the top half. If he puts up a fight, I’ll be the one he bites first. Aric, you get the legs.”
“Belly up?” I ask.
“Yeah,” Koda replies. “It will give Celia the best access.”
Gemini slumps to the right when Koda and I lift the wolf from his lap, his eyes closing.
“You want something to bite down on?” I offer.
“No,” Gemini slurs. “I need to guide you.”
We lay the large wolf where the muddy bank flattens out. His breathing is nearly imperceptible. I listen hard, exchanging a firm glance with Koda.
The wolf’s heart is barely beating. If he goes, Gemini will follow. “Celia,” I call over my shoulder. “We need to move fast.”
She rises from where she’s bent over the river. “I’m coming.”
Although we told her not to, she washed her claws. Water drips down the length of her blade-like fingertips, casting a sheen of silver in the dulling light. It’s then I see how shredded and banged up her feet are.
“Why aren’t you healing?” I ask when she settles between us.
Koda does a double-take when he sees Celia’s mangled feet. “Did you swallow some of that crap, too?”
Celia stares at the belly of Gemini’s twin. “No. I heal at a human’s pace.”
“You took on the skinwalker and you can’t heal?” I don’t mean to yell, but that’s exactly what I do.
Her gaze melts into mine. “I couldn’t just leave you.” She averts her chin when she catches herself. “Let’s get started. We’re wasting time. Gemini, where do you want me to cut?”
Gemini gasps. “Start from the sternum and go down in a straight line toward the groin.” It’s taking all he has to remain conscious. “Hurry. It’s trying to tear into my small intestine.”
I speak fast. “Koda, once Celia starts removing whatever is lodged in there, the wolf’s spirit will start to heal him. We’ll have to keep the sides from closing. Otherwise, Celia will have to keep slicing him open.”
“Got it,” Koda replies. He casts Celia a nervous glance when she pales.
“You can do this,” I tell her. “I know you can.” I square my shoulders, gripping the wolf’s lower limbs. “Ready?”
Celia nods.
Koda nods.
And Celia cuts.
It’s a perfect incision. The wolf barely reacts. But when Celia reaches into the wolf’s belly, it’s another story entirely.
The wolf whines in agony. Gemini grunts, his head slamming back into the embankment. “Left, go left . . . there, down . . .” He roars. “Both hands . . .You have to use both hands . . .”
Celia’s hands disappear deep beneath the flesh, her delicate features pinched.
“You have it,” Gemini chokes. “That’s it . . . . take it out . . . take it out, now.”
Celia pulls on what can only be described as a sticky gray wasp’s nest. I snag the wolf’s limbs with one hand when it’s halfway out and the skin begins to knit closed. Koda follows suit, giving Celia enough space to remove it and toss it away from us.
The clump of gray matter bursts open, releasing thousands of moths that take flight. I reach for Celia, dragging her behind me when Gemini’s wolf breaks free from us.
Celia doesn’t pay attention to the wolf, she’d too busy gaping at the moths as they disappear into the forest. “What was that?”
“Death,” Koda says. For the first time since he met her, he smiles. “The same thing you saved our friend from.”
She whips around, rushing to crouch beside Gemini. He’s breathing hard and his skin shines with sweat. But with each breath he takes, his face resumes its normal healthy color. He smiles at Celia when his twin bounces to his side, wagging his tail. “Thank you for saving us,” he whispers.
“I had help,” she says, glancing away.
Celia rises, wiping her grimy hands against the sweatpants as she walks to where Liam lays silently.
“It’s all right,” Koda assures her. “That poison he swallowed didn’t make it to his stomach. All you have to do is slit his throat and reach in . . .
The extraction went as easily as could be expected. Which is why I can’t understand why Celia seems so, what’s a good word here? Grossed out. Yeah, that works.
Sure, she had to shove her hand down the length of Liam’s esophagus (Koda was a little off on where the lump of death was), and yeah, there was all the bile Liam spewed like a fountain. But he’s fine now and there were way fewer moths than last time. Look at him, yapping away. He’s as good as new.
“Celia, I’m never going to know what it’s like to give birth,” Liam tells her, making like she’s not bent on all fours, working hard to breathe. “I don’t have the parts, you hear what I’m saying? But I gotta tell ya, when your fist came out of the hole in my neck, holding that slimy, pulsating thing in your hand, it was everything I’ve ever imagined birth to be. You should have slapped that clump and gave it a name.”
“Please stop speaking,” she begs him.
He frowns. “Why? I’m just getting to the good part.”
“Because she’ll vomit,” Koda snaps. “And die,” he mutters to me.
“What?” I ask.
Koda shrugs. “Look at her, Aric. She can’t heal and she’s more human than beast.”
“I don’t know about that,” I say, keeping my voice low.
“Didn’t you say she couldn’t even catch a fish?”
“Yeah,” I begin.
“Ever hear of a cat who couldn’t fish? Let alone a big cat? She’s what you call delicate. Delicate beings throw up and die.” He shakes his head. “It’s a wonder she’s made it this long. I mean, how many times have you heard about humans found dead, lying in their own vomit?”
“I see your point,” I admit.
Gemini and his twin edge toward Celia. The twin whips his tail back and forth when he reaches Celia. Celia doesn’t seem to notice, too busy scrubbing Liam’s leftover bits from her arms in the river.
“That was some impressive surgery you performed,” Gemini tells her.
Celia rubs her hands harder, the amount of dirt and fluid that caked her skin clouding the water. “I’ve watched a few operations online.” She makes a face. “I’ll be honest, it’s easier to handle when you’re not actually the one poking around.”
Gemini smiles. “Are you planning on becoming a surgeon?”
She shakes out her hands, examining her fingernails closely. “No. I’m actually starting nursing school in another few weeks.”
“Nursing school? Wait, how old are you?” I ask. I’m just suddenly there, although I didn’t feel myself approach.
Celia tilts her head to better see me. It’s more than she’s done with my friends. “Fifteen,” she replies.
“You’re not in high school?”
She shakes out her hands and stands. “Not anymore. I dropped out and took my G.E.D.”
“Why?” I ask.
Celia lowers her lashes, appearing not to want to say more. “My foster mother is really sick and she can’t support us m
uch longer. As the new head of the household, it’s up to me to make sure we’ll be okay.” She lifts her chin. “It’s one of the reasons I have to get back. They need me, Aric. They won’t make it without me.”
You’re just a kid. I want to say. Too young to have so much responsibility tossed on your shoulders.
“I understand,” I tell her. “But you can’t go home. Not tonight. We don’t know what’s out there.”
She wipes the remaining moisture on her shirt. “If I can just get to a bus or train station, I can get out of here. I’ll take my chances. I’ve already been gone for too long.”
“Celia, we can’t let you leave on your own,” I insist. “We just took on a skinwalker—a creature most are too terrified to speak of. He’s not dead. Do you hear me? Even after everything we did to him, at best, he’s vanquished. He could return, and this time with friends.” I ignore Liam’s shudder. “You’re not safe out here, and you’re definitely not safe on some bus. Come home with me and I promise to protect you.”
“Aric,” Koda begins.
“I’m not leaving her out here,” I tell him.
“I’m not suggesting that,” Koda says. “I wouldn’t leave my worst enemy out here. Not after everything we went through. But you’re a pure, Aric. It won’t look good if the pack finds out you brought her home with you.”
“My parents will understand,” I insist.
It’s true. But the rest of the pack won’t.
Chapter Six
Celia wouldn’t let me carry her, insisting she could manage. She slapped Liam’s hands and growled when he tried to throw her over his shoulder. It was good for a laugh, and something we all needed given the day.
It’s just about twilight when we reach the back of my property. We would have arrived faster, but Celia struggled to keep up in the sneakers Liam lent her. We shoved some moss inside and tied them tight, but her feet, like everything else, are tiny.
“Do you want us to walk you to the door?” Gemini asks. His twin should have returned to join his human counterpart, but like Gemini, he seems taken by Celia and doesn’t appear to want to leave her. He sits beside her as I reach for the gate.