“The elders created this, many hundreds of years ago. It is to be guarded, has been guarded. It takes more than one man to set the rock in place.” Suddenly he grew still, staring at the rock barricade, head cocked.
“Where…”
He held up his hand. “Quiet. Listen.”
From the other side she heard the muffled roar of engines. She looked at Gabriel in horror.
“They’ve found the slot opening.” His voice was cold, ominous.
“Can they find another way in?” She whispered, certain they could hear her. Gabriel shook his head, then shrugged.
“I don’t know. We need to find my people, find out why there are no guards.”
She heard worry in his voice, but turned when he did, quickly moving deeper down the narrow canyon. The sound of the machine ceased almost instantly, but she didn’t know if it was turned off, or if the walls of the canyon blocked the sound. It was cool, dark with shadows, only small patches of fading light, reaching the depths. The canyon twisted and turned, and after only a few minutes she felt they were in a different world, totally foreign to anything she’d ever known. Gabriel slowed down to a steady walk.
After a time, she noticed that the walls were covered with carvings, symbols. She trailed her fingers along the wall.
“Gabriel, what are these?”
He looked over his shoulder, but kept walking. “Directions, stories…records of battles. A history, of sorts.”
“Are there books? Do you have those?”
He stopped, turned. “We have no need. We have lived here since before time.” With obvious reverence, he touched the wall, tracing the lines of what looked like words. “This has been our way of tracking history, remembering our dead. Of keeping their memory alive. But come…we need to keep moving.”
They kept going. Senna’s feet were bruised by the stones and rocks on the ground, but the alternative of being barefoot was not appealing. She kept pace with Gabriel, with his long strides. Until he stopped abruptly, and she banged into his back.
“What is it?”
“Look.” He pointed to the ground at her feet. “Tracks. Machines.”
“Your people had machines?”
In the dust at her feet, were regular, even tread, of what could only be machines that the shifters used. Gabriel knelt to look at them, and she peered, curiously, over his shoulder.
“There are two sets of tracks. Those with new tires, well-maintained. And these…” He pointed to a track running beside the first. “These are old tires…worn.”
Side by side, it was very easy to see the difference. “Shifters, and aliens. In the canyon.”
Gabriel stood, looking ahead. Senna shrank back, worried. “You mean they’re in here now? How did they get past us, if that’s the only way…”
“No, don’t worry. They aren’t here now. They’ve been here before, though. Many times.”
“Why on earth would they have come here? I don’t understand.”
Gabriel stood. “I don’t know, Senna. But it can’t be for any good reason.”
There was a sense of urgency about him now, and she followed him further into the canyon.
Suddenly, the narrow canyon widened, opening onto a flat circular area, with cliff walls rising above them. The machine tracks fanned out, the dust on the canyon floor, a welter of tracks.
Walking up behind him, she saw small buildings nestled into the cliff face, looking for all the world like a huge beehive. The small domed buildings looked to be made out of earth, sharing walls, connected by short walls and walkways. Only a few were more than one story tall, but all had only a few windows, arched openings covered in wooden shutters. Senna had feared the sound of roaring machines would greet them, but it was silent, too silent.
Gabriel was silent as well, and even without asking she could tell he was deeply worried. He stood, hands on hips, scanning the cliff walls. After a moment he put his hands to his mouth and made a cry, something that sounded like a bird. It echoed around them, then faded. He waited, then repeated the sound. Again there was nothing.
“Something is very wrong. Come.”
He circled the flat open space, coming to an area cut into the cliff face. It was a series of steps, with wooden handholds set into the very rock. Even so, the climb was daunting. There was nothing between her and a fall to the canyon floor. And the higher they climbed, the greater that distance became.
Finally, the steps ended at a shallow shelf. Gabriel waited for her.
“There are ladders that are left out, pulled up when there was an attack.”
“So there are no ladders. Then there was an attack?”
“Yes.” He looked across to the other side. From here, even she could see that some of the buildings were badly damaged, smoke casting dirty shadows above, and shuttered windows everywhere she turned. Other buildings looked oddly fortified, windows shuttered, the doors with shiny bits of metal attached.
“If I can get to one building, I can tell if they fought and died here, or if they fled.”
“Can you do that?”
“I could when I was younger.”
The cliff rising in front of them, seemed completely sheer. Gabriel reached up, feeling along the wall. To her amazement, he pulled himself up, somehow finding finger and toeholds in the rock. She watched, as he finally reached the plateau above, hoisting himself onto the rock and disappearing from her sight. Suddenly, she felt very alone and very, very exposed. After what seemed a small eternity, Gabriel stuck his head over the edge.
“Stay there. Don’t try to follow me.”
And then he was gone.
She wouldn’t have any idea how to follow him, much less the strength. Or the right shoes. Instead, she looked across at the buildings on the other side of the opening. From below, the buildings had looked small, but here, seeing them almost on the same level from where she stood, she realized they were really much larger, more complex. Only the smaller buildings sat on the edge of the ledge. Further back, the buildings were taller, several floors high, rising up in the shadowy darkness of what really were caves. It was peaceful in a way she’d never experienced, silent save for the singing of a soft breeze.
It was all stunningly beautiful, almost as intricate in appearance as her own palace, but in a different way. She struggled to put words to the grandeur of the city. It was elemental, primal…organic. It fit with its surroundings. And it made her palace seem artificial, contrived. Superficial.
A pebble hit her shoulder. Gabriel must be coming back. She looked up the cliff face to where he’d disappeared, expecting to see his face. But there was nothing. Another rock hit her, and she looked further up, to the very edge of the canyon. Someone—or something—was climbing down.
She’d taken half a breath, ready to call his name, but stopped. If it hadn’t seen her, she could climb down the stairs and hide…somewhere. She took a step and froze. A shadow moved along the base of the stairs. She watched in horror as a shifter, a muscular yellow cat wearing body armor, advanced into the canyon. As she watched, a sleek black cat joined the first. Those were the Ottway’s men then, the cats. What was above her, had to be an alien. But how many more of those were there? She’d lost count.
With a low growl, the black cat advanced into the open circle. It lifted its head, sniffing the air. Then it turned, padding toward the base of the stairs.
She needed to hide. But where? Turning in a circle, she already knew the truth. She was on a ledge, exposed, trapped. The cat could easily climb to where she was. And the alien was obviously adept at climbing down, like a lizard would be on a sunny, stone wall.
Panic swept through her. Where was Gabriel? Had another of the aliens gotten him? But she would have heard a struggle, she was certain. As she tried to stand still, to keep from attracting attention, she heard a scrape above her. It must be the alien; it had finally reached her.
“Senna.”
She looked up. Gabriel was above her, expression tense, pushing a woo
den ladder toward her. Before it even touched the ground she grabbed it, started to climb. Above her she heard a shriek, and a shower of rocks pelted her head and shoulders. She closed her eyes, ducked her head, but kept climbing. Behind her, she heard a rippling growl, but there was no way she was going to look to see how close the cat was. There was another sound from above, a guttural gibbering that sent the hair on her arms on end. At that, she did look up. The alien clung to the rocks, claws dug in, black eyes staring at her. Its lips were pulled back, exposing rows of jagged dirty teeth. Behind, she saw its tail, swishing back and forth. She grabbed frantically at the next rung, pulling herself up, arms shaking with the effort.
The ladder was moving beneath her, and for a dizzying moment, she was suspended, disoriented. But she realized Gabriel was pulling the ladder as she climbed. When she was in arm’s reach, he pulled her off the ladder.
“Run. Hide. Anywhere. I need to shift…I should have already shifted by now.” He’d barely gotten the words out before his body began to change.
It was horrifying to watch this close, as his arms and legs began to bend at impossible angles, the muscles thickening in his thighs, thinning lower on his body. Then dense, black fur began to grow at an amazing rate, tufts sticking out through the plates of armor. She could hear the snap and pop of bones, and muscles, and whatever else inside him, moving and changing, a sound she thought would give her nightmares. For an instant, she felt his pain, cried out.
His jaw lengthened, sharp fangs growing out of his mouth, his cry of pain turning into a wild howl. His curly hair receded, his skull changing, showing big pointed ears, lined with silver fur on top of his head. An unearthly growl rose from his muzzle.
Then it was over, and a sleek black wolf with silver-tipped fur, and dark eyes stood looking up at her. He whined low in his throat, then growled. She took a step back in amazement, and the wolf advanced with another growl.
“Yes, I’m going…” But she was reluctant to leave him. Even if he was going to fight the Ottway’s shifters, and the alien climbing swiftly down to them, she wanted to be by his side. But he bared his fangs, and she backed hastily away.
There was a small door behind her, and she stepped behind it. Gabriel gave her one last snarl, and then the alien dropped onto the ledge. For an instant, they faced each other, circling, the alien crouched low, moving with a disgusting reptilian slowness, black lidless eyes never leaving Gabriel.
From below, she heard a howl, and an answering roar. Both were close, and she guessed the shifters had found some way to climb up to where they were. Her heart was beating in a sickening rhythm. Gabriel could never handle all three at once. She needed to do something, anything. The only weapon she’d had—the travel bag, with the bottle of wine—had been left down below.
She began frantically searching the room she was in. It looked like a storage shed, or cooking area. Bags of grain sat in the corners, and braided ropes of garlic hung from the ceiling. In one corner, was a small cooking area, a rammed earth dome with a tiled hearth, a sooty iron framework fitted inside. The air was pungent with herbs and spices and the smell of wood smoke. But unless the wolf was a lychophant, and killed by kitchen herbs, there was nothing here that could help her.
Outside, she could hear the sounds of fighting, the thud and crunch of bodies colliding, growls and the horrific sounds of the alien, whistles and shrieks, and that insane chattering. She needed to do something, and she needed to do it fast.
There was a small cabinet in the corner, and she tore open the doors. This was better. There were pot sticks and wooden spoons. She tore through the contents, throwing smaller items on the floor. Finally, near the back her fingers closed on cool metal. She pulled it out. It was a long iron rod with a hook on the end. She had no idea what it was used for, and she didn’t care. It was strong, it wasn’t too heavy, and she was out of time.
Flinging open the door, she stepped into the blazing sun. Gabriel and the alien were on each other, and she could see rents in Gabriel’s armor, chunks of black fur littering the ground—speckles of red blood staining the dust. She’d need to do something, quickly.
The alien had Gabriel on the ground, claws tearing at the body armor. It had already pulled away several pieces from Gabriel’s back and shoulders. He was exposed, vulnerable. The alien was pulling on a section that covered Gabriel’s stomach.
Gabriel kicked at the alien’s stomach, claws cutting through the leather the thing wore, tearing through scales. Something black and sticky oozed out. She’d seen it before; with revulsion she realized it was the alien’s blood. The alien staggered back, looking down at itself, then baring rows of teeth as it snarled at Gabriel.
Senna swung the iron rod as hard as she could. It caught the alien across the back, low, just above its hips. The rod vibrated in her hand, all the way up to her shoulder. She blinked in surprise, fighting to hold on, fighting to keep her balance. Gabriel was on his feet, eyes moving between her and the alien. He bared his teeth and growled, and for a moment she wasn’t sure if the growl was meant for the alien, or for her.
The alien made a sound, high and piercing, then turned toward her. For a moment she didn’t think she’d done any damage, but when the thing tried to walk, it stumbled, one leg refusing to move, dragging in the dirt behind it. It shrieked again, snapping its jaws. Spittle flew, hitting her arm. The silk instantly dissolved, and where it touched her skin it began to burn.
Without thinking, she set her feet, swung again as hard as she could. The blow caught the creature across the chest. This time she heard something crack—ribs, she thought. If it had ribs. It screamed, and black liquid oozed out its mouth, running from its eyes. It stumbled back on the narrow ledge, dragging the injured leg, arms waving in her direction, claws slicing the air.
From behind, she heard a new sound, a low growl. Gabriel answered with a howl of rage, and then there was a thud, the sound of bodies colliding, someone hitting the ground. She risked a glance back, and saw the cat had gained the ledge and Gabriel had it pinned on the ground. They rolled in the dust a few yards away.
She turned back to the alien. It had taken a step toward her, the leg twisted behind it. Its breathing had gone shallow and fast, and she knew instinctively it was badly injured.
With a yell, she ran forward, shoving the end of the iron rod into the thing’s middle. It grunted, then made a whooshing sound like air leaving a bellows. It lumbered back a few steps, long arms pin-wheeling, claws slashing the air. One swipe caught the silk of her skirt, tearing a swath away. The brightly colored piece hung from the alien’s claw, then fluttered over the edge.
She yelled again, pushed hard, impaling the thing and the alien went to the edge of the cliff. It grabbed the rod in both hands, pulling Senna with him. Stubbornly, she held on, not wanting to give up her weapon. But the weight of the alien was too much and she couldn’t pull the iron rod free. At the edge of the cliff, she finally let go, falling to her knees. The alien fell, taking the rod with it, screaming as it plummeted down.
Breathing hard, she watched it land, heard the thud of its body hitting the rocks below. She’d killed it, but she’d lost her weapon. Pushing back from the edge, she got to her feet, turning to the battle behind her.
Gabriel had the cat pinned, using his greater mass and weight to hold the animal down, his massive chest against the animal’s back, driving the cat into the dust. Even so, the cat bucked and thrashed, snapping over its shoulder, unable to do more than pull ragged tufts of hair from Gabriel’s legs. Gabriel grabbed the back of the cat’s neck, biting hard. Senna winced at the sound of bones crunching. For a moment, the cat went limp. Gabriel shook the animal, then let go, stepping warily off of the shifter.
Senna held her breath. Gabriel grabbed the cat’s tail, tugging it toward the edge of the cliff. She moved aside, edging back toward the door of the shed. The cat remained limp as Gabriel pulled it closer, inch by inch. He dropped the tail, set his head against the cat’s midsection and pushed. The an
imal went over the cliff in a boneless slide
She breathed out a sigh of relief. Gabriel turned, walked toward her. He was limping and she frowned, mind racing as to how she’d be able to help, what she’d be able to do. He didn’t seem too badly hurt, but she wasn’t sure how shifter injuries would affect him as a human. He looked up, whined softly. She smiled, reached out to touch him.
Something grabbed her, pulled her back into the doorway of the little shed. A hand clamped itself around her neck. For a moment she froze, trying to determine if it was an alien hand or a human one. Then the thing spoke.
“Stop right there, Gabriel.”
Human. She struggled to turn around, but the hand tightened its grip, cutting off her air. With no choice she stopped fighting. The fingers relaxed, but just barely.
Gabriel growled, the hackles rising on his neck. His eyes were looking over her shoulder, glowing almost red. He took a step toward them.
“Stop. I will kill her. It’s nothing to me if she’s not recovered. Either way I get my bounty.”
The voice was low, gravelly, and it struck her that she knew the voice. Someone on the train, one of the men who had been in her car, on her trip back from her first visit to the Ottway. He’d been courteous but distant, like the rest of the entourage. But he’d been one of the few to speak to her.
“Shift into your human form. Now. I want to talk to you.”
Gabriel stood for a long moment. Then he shook himself, fur rippling over his body. He closed his eyes. For a moment, he was still, then he rose, front legs coming off the ground. For another minute, he was a wolf, standing on his back legs. With a painful snapping and popping, his front legs bent and twisted, his back legs straightening, lengthening, taking on the proportions of a human. It was impossible to look away, but the last thing Senna wanted was to see Gabriel’s handsome face emerging from the long-jawed, fanged wolf. Pain flashed in his eyes before he closed them, and she wondered how he could do this, time after time. Then, the last bits of fur on his body began to disappear, leaving behind only the armor. And in the places where the armor was missing, she saw cuts and scratches, some deep, all of them bloody.
Wild Things (BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance): Shifter Lovers Romance Page 10
