"You're a healer," she announced, her voice laden with awe and understanding.
"Hot damn," Dylan exclaimed.
"You have to trust her now," Alice chimed in. "What have we got to lose, Rachel?" Alice said, addressing the human woman who was staring at me, dumbfounded.
"All in favor of going with the plan?" Dylan stood and moved beside Xany, his hand in the air. Slowly, every hand in the room lifted, including Rachel's. The woman with the infant even held the baby's hand up. Xany's expression instantly brightened and she spoke again.
"We, as Breeders, and honorary Breeders," she said and glanced to Rachel, "are a pack, too. We have to unite, and call our Sept to us."
"How do we do that?" Laura was suddenly reenergized after her healing. She smiled at me as the life returned to her sunken face. I wove my way through the women and returned to Xany's side.
She leaned in and whispered to me. "We're running out of time."
"We've got to get in a circle, everyone, quickly," I said. Laura, Alice, and Dylan helped everyone scramble to sit in a circle.
"Sit as close as possible, knee to knee, and hold hands," Xany said, as she joined the women.
"Dylan." I gestured at him and he hurried over to me. "As the only man in the group, your job is going to be important." I held up my forefinger so he would wait, then hurried over and grabbed one of the empty water jugs and brought it to him. "Turn it upside down. This is your drum. Your job is to sit in the middle of the circle, and hit the drum in single steady beats in tune with your own heartbeat. Can you do that?" I asked.
He looked at me for a moment then narrowed his eyes with determination. "I can do it," he said and took the makeshift drum with him to sit in the center of the circle.
"Let the drum beat get inside you. And each of you has to think about our Sept. Alice, think about Hank and Barron. The rest of you, think about the strongest and bravest werewolf you have ever met. The werewolf that you would trust with your life, and the lives of your children," Xany said.
"What if you don't know any?" Rachel asked, still looking between Xany and me doubtfully. I crouched beside her and placed my hand on her shoulder.
"Then think about your favorite superhero. Who did you look up to when you were a kid?" I asked her.
Rachel thought about it for a minute. "She-Ra, or Spiderman," she said.
"Then call them to you. Remember the feeling that believing in them made you experience. Use that," I instructed. Rachel stared at me for a moment longer then nodded.
"Everyone hold hands." Xany initiated this as the circle was now fully formed. "No matter what, don't break the circle. If Sander and Eva come back, keep the circle and the drumming going. Shawnee and I will try and hold them off as long as possible," she said and met my gaze. I wished she shared Mal's gift for mind speaking.
I turned to Dylan and nodded for him to begin beating the drum. The two children fussed at first, though after a few beats they got used to it. I sat with the circle and Xany patrolled around us. The women on either side of me squeezed my hands at nearly the same time as something gripped the center of my stomach. The women watched me as I closed my eyes and lifted my chin toward the center of the circle, something I had done many times in my young life.
When the drum beat grew more intense, Xany shouted. "Call for them!"
My thoughts were on Mal, Caden, and Vanessa. I called for Mal's wolf and pleaded with Gaia to allow us to be seen somehow. These people couldn't be hurt again, and I couldn't bear knowing it. I called for our Sept, for our family. The others were calling too because of the energy that radiated from the center of the circle. It was as if an invisible force surrounded us and tugged my consciousness upward. I imagined a beam of light shooting up from the center of the mountain like a beacon to guide our Sept to us. Suddenly, I was pulled from my summoning when Xany placed her hand on my shoulder. I looked up at her wide-eyed and she nodded. When I stood to join Xany, I guided the women whose hands I held to grasp each other.
"They're here," she whispered to me.
A surge of fear raced through me but I pushed through it. "This will work, Xee. It has to.”
She nodded just as Sander appeared in human form at the opening of the room. "Well...looks like you've been busy," Sander shouted over the drumming.
Xany positioned herself between the werewolf and the circle. "You didn't think we'd go quietly, did you?" she said.
Sander snarled at her and looked beyond her to the others.
"No, but you will," he said and stalked past Xany, who stumbled when he bumped her shoulder. When Sander approached the group, the drumming stopped and the circle disbanded. The women scrambled to gather behind Dylan and Alice, both of whom seemed to step up as protectors.
"Get away from us," Dylan said as he tried to hold Sander's stare. I watched the fight roll across his face until Sander had him on his knees. No human would be able to resist the staredown of a wolf, regardless of his dominance.
"We've been through this," Sander said. His fist flew forward and grabbed Alice by her hair. He dragged her from the group but she fought every inch of the way, her nails leaving scratch marks in his forearm. Some of the women started crying and others shouted. Laura lunged at Sander but fell short. One of them threw a rock that hit Sander square in the forehead. It only made him angrier. Alice pleaded with him, and Xany tried to block his exit from the room. Her eyes were wild and I knew she was contemplating a bargain with him. It wasn't until I heard Sander roar and knock Xany to the ground that I realized I had been frozen against the far wall, clutching my chest.
Alice screamed as Sander dragged her out of the room. I heard a hand slap against flesh as my vision started to blur. Xany pulled herself to her feet to go after them, but she hesitated in the entryway as I fell under the spell of panic. Instead of going for Alice, she rushed to me as my knees slammed into the ground.
"No," I told her. "No." I wanted her to go after Alice. I didn't deserve her worry.
I gasped for breath and glanced at the others. They were crying and covering their ears while Dylan tried to soothe them. Xany dropped down beside me and cupped my face. I knew she was trying to talk to me but all I could hear was Alice screaming and pleading with her captor. I tried to fight it and gripped Xany's arms tightly enough to leave marks, but I was overcome.
"Get off of me!" I shout. My father's rattling, alcoholic breath is in my face. His hands are slimy. I reach for something, anything. My fingers find shards of glass from the coffee table that I fell through. I grip a long shard and toss my hand in his direction. I clip him in the neck. He shouts and wrestles the glass from my hand. He takes it, pressing it against the side of my face, and makes a slow, clean cut from my cheekbone to my jaw. Blood pools in my mouth.
"Shawnee." Xany shook me from my flashback. I blinked at her, and then I remembered.
I jumped up from my crouched position and rushed past Xany toward the entry of the room, then turned in the direction of Alice's screams. There were no thoughts in my head other than to stop what was happening. Xany's voice shouted my name but I ignored it. I turned down the curved stone hallway and followed the glow of light from another carved-out room down deep at the other end. My feet slammed against the rocks and slipped on some stones. I skidded to a halt at the archway of another dynamite-carved room. Sander was on top of Alice in the middle of the room. Dark spots littered the floor around them. I knew they were dried blood. She squirmed and fought the grip that he had on her wrists. Her pants were pulled down but all he was doing was demanding that she look at him. The more she resisted, the more enraged he got. Sander lifted his hands above his head and let out an earth-shattering roar. A few rocks tumbled from the wall beside me. With his head tossed back, I made my move. I bolted toward them and grabbed Alice by the ankles, then dragged her through his legs and out from under the raging werewolf. I yanked her so hard that I sent her sliding all the way to the entryway. She looked around, stunned by the sudden breakaway.
&nbs
p; "Go!" I shouted, pointing out of the room.
Sander hadn't noticed that his victim was missing until he heard my voice. He turned just in time to see Alice race out of the room, and me, crouched on the floor a few yards behind him.
Chapter Twenty
"You dumb bitch," he said and took a swipe at me. I'd had too much practice at dodging to be caught so easily. I ducked and rolled out of the way, then popped up standing without much thought. My heart pounded in my ears and this time it wasn't because of panic. I kept my gaze from his but watched every muscle in his body tense as he turned to face me.
Suddenly, I heard the thundering of the drum. Dylan must've reassembled the women to call for our Sept. Sander made another grab for me but I spun past his hand and made a run for it. He chased me down the narrow passageway as I leaped over fallen rocks and lanterns. His snarling and growling fueled my speed. He couldn't catch me, just like all the wolves I'd ever run from. He had a difficult time running through the narrower parts of the cave, which gave my smaller frame the advantage.
The sound of my beating heart matched the drumbeats. When I rounded the curve that led back to the room where the others were, I slammed right into Xany. She squealed and threw a punch that I was narrowly able to avoid.
"He's coming, go back!" I shouted, and shoved her in front of me. We burst into the room where Dylan was once again leading the assembled circle in calling for our Sept.
A loud crack rang out from behind us. Xany and I turned to see that Eva had joined Sander, and they were both now standing in the doorway. Eva shouted something inaudible over the loud drumming and at the same time, they both lunged for us. Eva caught Xany in a roll then slammed her into the wall. The women in the circle began to cry again and I heard Xany shout, "Don't break the circle!" as she struggled with Eva.
I ducked under Sander's arms as he tried to grab me. The force behind his grab made him stumble. He crouched and roared in my direction with a fury only a frenzied werecreature could muster. I bolted toward the far side of the room. Xany kicked Eva square in the face before Eva grabbed her around the neck and threw her to the ground. Sander tossed himself to his feet and raced at me. Out of the corner of my eye, the flash of Eva's crystal glimmered in the light of the lantern. Laura was right; it was on a gold belly chain and sat on her hip.
"Xany! The crystal!" I shouted as Sander tackled me around the middle and sent the two of us flying across the floor. I cried out as rocks scraped over my back but I fought him hard and grabbed a handful of his hair, tearing at it wildly. He roared again and lifted his right hand to punch me. In the same practiced manner, I rolled out of the way just in time to hear his fist slam into the rock floor. The earth cracked beneath his force. Sander stood up and sucked in his breath just as I noticed the fur sprouting along his forearms. I scampered away from him and looked for Xany. She was eluding Eva by jumping, running, and diving under her legs. Eva was not as fast as Xany and she seemed distracted. I noticed she was muttering something under her breath.
When I looked back, Sander was now partially transformed. There was no way I was going to fight a werewolf and survive without a silver bullet. There was no way anyone in this room would survive if Sander managed to fully transform and attack everyone. I had to get him out of there. It struck me when I remembered the difficulty he had had running through the narrow tunnels of the cave. I turned and bolted from the room, knowing full well he wouldn't be able to resist the chase. As expected, his giant feet slammed into the cave floor. I raced back down the hall toward the room where Sander had taken Alice. The area was confined and the ceilings were low, which meant it would be terribly uncomfortable for him to move around while in beast form. There was nothing he could do to stop his transformation now that it had started. I glanced over my shoulder at him. His muscles bulged as he chased after me. In just the short run, he grew nearly a foot in height and his fingernails turned into claws. I dove into the narrowest part of the passageway to avoid the lethal swipe toward my face.
The last thing I saw was his furry head scraping on the ceiling before I was pinned to the ground by a snarling partial-werewolf. He rolled me onto my back and pressed my shoulders to the ground. He threw his head back to roar but his head struck the ceiling again and caused a few stones to crumble down on us. I tried to wiggle free but he grabbed my hands and pinned them above my head just as he had done to Alice. His snarling half-muzzle was an inch from my face. He smelled putrid, like rotten eggs and toxic waste. It was the clear sign of a Tainted One. I kicked at him and wiggled as much as I could to try and break his grasp.
"You will be a tasty treat." His words were a slurred mix of English and sneering gargles. He reached down between us and gripped the waist of my jeans with so much force that I heard the tear of the seams giving way.
I screamed and dug my heels into the ground. The rocks made it difficult to get traction. Sander was now in full beast form, his head and shoulders curved under the rounded ceiling. He tugged at my jeans again, this time in a downward motion. My heart raced in my chest and flashes of light blinded me. I saw my father's face on the werewolf's body. I cried, but rage overcame me. I wasn't going to let this happen without a fight. I remembered the flashback I had in the room when Alice was taken. My whole body trembled hard, which made it difficult for me to think of an escape. There was no glass convenient enough for me to grab. No mates around to save me. I cried out when a sudden burning sensation tore through my boot and caught my ankle. I gasped at the sudden pain. Sander was burning me and I'd die in a heap of my own ashes. All my attention was focused on the burning. I had to put out the fire. With his giant hands turning into full-blown clawed paws, I was able to slip my small hand from his grasp. I patted at my ankle in a desperate attempt to put out the fire. There was no fire, only the silver dagger that I'd forgotten about.
Sander grazed his teeth over my shoulder as I struggled to pull the leg of my pants up to get at it. My nails dug into the leather of my boot before my fingers finally wrapped around the hilt of the silver dagger. It was blisteringly hot. I yanked it from its sheath and gripped it. The dagger fit perfectly in the palm of my hand and I was overcome with a sensation of rightness. In one quick motion, I managed to slink my hand between me and the beast above. Sander's body jerked upward when the blade of the dagger grazed his thigh. He must've sensed the silver because he began to search around the small space in manic fashion, though his shoulders were pinned tightly between the walls of the small passage and forced him into a bow.
As I watched him, I heard my own voice echo in my head. I hope to Gaia that I never see you again.
Followed by my father's response, "You will see me again. I'll always be around to haunt you. You'll never forget me."
"You're a murderer," I say.
"No one will ever believe you."
"Die, you bastard!" I screamed at him as I closed my eyes and swung the blade across his neck. The poisonous, razor-sharp silver blade sliced cleanly through his thick, leathery skin and matted fur. The hot spurt of arterial spray gushed across my face as I sliced right through his throat until the tip of the dagger slammed against his oversized vertebrae. The dagger moved through his flesh as if he were nothing more than gelatin. I opened my eyes and Sander gripped his neck, his wide, yellow eyes suddenly melting back to brown as his body slowly shifted to its natural human form. His body shrank on top of me, still kneeling between my legs as he held his throat. The skin around his neck bubbled and turned a terrible shade of green. His blood ran black and poured down his torso, then out of his mouth and ears. He met my gaze as terror filled his eyes before they rolled back into his head. He dropped down dead, half on top of me.
I cried out and pushed his lifeless body off of me. When I stood, I was still holding the dagger. Sander's body continued to bleed out all over the cave floor. I looked at the dagger then raced back to the room.
Eva had Xany in a headlock, and she was mumbling wildly something I couldn't understand. When Xany saw me, h
er eyes lit up and she slammed her head back against Eva's mouth. Eva snarled and let go of Xany then spat blood in her face.
"You fucking bitch!" she shouted as Xany hit the floor and rolled under Eva again.
In one quick motion, Xany snatched the crystal from Eva's waist. The chain snapped and Eva screamed. Xany stood up and ran across the room with Eva in hot pursuit. Xany tossed me the crystal and I caught it.
"Break it!" she shouted.
I dropped it on the ground and stomped on it until it shattered into a million sparkling pieces. Eva screamed again then turned her attention to me, but Xany picked up two of the oil lanterns and threw them as hard as she could. The lanterns crashed into Eva's torso and covered her in oil. Leftover flames caught the oil and lit her ablaze. She cried out, her hands shielding her face. The destructive heat of the fire crackled, causing her skin to blacken and peel back in gnarled curls. Pink tissue protruded from her wounds before it too was devoured. The smell of burning flesh filled the room and Eva, like Sander, began to bleed black blood and emit an odor of putrefaction.
The people in the circle screamed and cowered together, though Dylan continued drumming as best he could. I scampered over to Xany, who looked on with a horrified expression. Eva's body contorted and twisted in the fire. The skin and muscle melted from her body and pooled on the ground. The rest of her hardened into a charred, blackish skeletal creature. Her inner demon manifested in the moments before her final demise. In a heap, the creature collapsed on the floor, and the fire burned out on top of the remains. Xany and I looked at each other wide-eyed while the rest of the room looked on in awe.
Chapter Twenty-One
"She was a Tainted One." Alice's voice broke the silent reverie. The women had broken the circle and Dylan stopped drumming.
"She was a monster," Laura said. "Look at her remains."
"Where's the man?" Rachel asked.
Birthrite (Legacy Series Book 2) Page 20
