Sandy immediately turned on his heel and started down a hallway she presumed would lead to Felipe’s bedroom. When he opened the door she saw the boy writhing atop the bed sheets, his face beaded with sweat and a pain-filled cringe on his face.
Advancing on him quickly, Rhia began her examination. He was burning up with fever and just the barest touch to his skin had him wincing. Gently, she moved the legs of his jammies up and inspected his limbs. Finding nothing, she moved on to his arms. Again, nothing. Rolling him easily to his stomach, she lifted his shirt and found what she’d been expecting to see on his upper shoulder.
A bite mark, inflamed and angry.
“Damn,” she hissed, then dropped back onto her rear end beside him on the bed.
“What is it?”
Raising her eyes to the Sandman, Rhiannon paused until she could restrain her emotions. “Werewolf,” she whispered, “I’d say about twelve hours ago. The change goes through stages over the course of a day. I think I have something to help with the pain.”
She began rummaging through her bags, finding a bottle with the oils that would help Felipe relax and sleep. Even as she prepared the dose to administer to him, the child moaned and tensed his knees up to his chest.
“Then you’ll stop it?”
Rhia didn’t pause in her ministrations. Her mind was racing ninety to nothing, but she quietly, slowly mixed up the medicine. Then she slipped a hand behind the little boy’s head so that she could drop some it onto his tongue. He swallowed, then licked his lips and after no more than thirty seconds he exhaled a slow breath and relaxed a little.
Wrapping her fingers around the handle of her bag, she headed towards the living area of the cabin, hoping that Sandy would follow without question. He did and when she plopped onto the couch, he easily sat down across from her in a rocking chair.
“Tell me, Rhiannon. Can you stop the change?”
“It’s almost impossible, Sandy. Can you get in touch with his parents?”
“They’ll be home tomorrow at noon. I can try to reach them. You said almost. That means there’s a chance. We have to try. What if the change kills him?”
What if it didn’t? That was the question. For the most part the MAUC world avoided the creation of hybrids. It was a tricky business that rarely turned out as planned. Still, there were those who sought the power that might be possible if one could join the magic of one creature with another.
The wolves waiting outside the cabin must have a power-hungry Alpha ruling over them. There was no other reason for them to seek a hybrid. And clearly they knew what they’d done or they wouldn’t have been waiting for the kid to change.
The change took hours, but if she was right that he was twelve hours into the process, then they had no more than five hours before he would reach the point of no return. And that was when the wolves would pounce, ready to take possession of their new were.
Chapter 4
Before she could anticipate his intention, Sandy leaned forward and placed his hand atop her knee, his dark eyes searing her with a pleading gaze. “I care about this kid. I care about this family. There’s got to be something we can do. Please.”
And so that did it. There was no way she could say no at that point. She’d admired Sandy from afar for a very long time. She’d secretly imagined that one day he would turn those very eyes on her with a very different look behind them. And yet he had rarely given her much attention at all, only Lynlee.
Still, there was something to be said for the fact that he’d called her for help tonight. And since he had, she couldn’t let him down.
“There’s something. It’s not going to be easy and we don’t have much time. But I can try.”
The curl of his lips into a wide smile had her arms feeling tingly. When he grinned wider and showed his teeth her stomach lurched with attraction for the man. She stood and crossed the room to put some space between them. She didn’t need distraction for what she had to do.
“Okay, so I need a map. I need to figure out where we are because I’ve got a long way to go before those wolves attack this cabin.”
Sandy got up and headed for a cupboard against the wall, rummaging around until he finally emerged with a book of road maps. She snatched it from his hand and slapped it onto the table where she skimmed through pages.
“I imagine we’re about here?” she pointed to a section of mountains on the map of Colorado.
“Yes, well, more like this area.”
She nodded, then turned a few pages. On the New Mexico section she put her finger on a spot in the Northwest corner of the state, then whistled. “Could be worse, but it’s gonna be a doozy of a trip. And I don’t have a lot of time,” she glanced at her watch and mentally considered when the wolves were likely to advance. T-minus four hours and thirty minutes.
“What’s there exactly?”
Pushing the map book aside, she faced him and forced what she hoped was an optimistic smile. “I’m counting on there being a chupacabra.”
“You’re kidding...” his voice trailed off as he realized she wasn’t. “I’m coming with you.”
Rhiannon moved to the center of the room, making sure to stand in a place where there would be plenty of space. “You have a kid to babysit. I can handle this.”
“It’s a bad idea. I’ll call Lynlee and she can...”
“No!” she shook her head and inhaled a long breath. Reaching into her bag she withdrew an empty glass vial, then tossed the bag aside with a thud. After carefully placing the bottle on the carpet in front of her, she turned her gaze back to Sandy. “We don’t have time and besides she’s already got her plate full with Halloween calls. I’ve got this, Sandy. But I do need your help.”
He stared at her hard, the intensity of his glare searing into her. She wasn’t sure what she saw in those dark eyes but it mesmerized her for a few seconds until he spoke again. “What can I do?”
“Well,” she began unbuttoning her shirt, “For starters, turn around so that I can get undressed. These are brand new jeans and I’d rather hold onto them.” He obeyed immediately, swiveling and presenting his back to her. She gave herself just a second to admire his shapely rear, then finished stripping off her clothes. “I’m going to be heading south, but let’s throw them off by giving me an opening to the north. Think you can put a few of those pups out there to sleep so that I can slip past them?”
“Yes, that I can do.”
“Okay, then, I’ve got to get there and back in four hours. Now if I don’t make it and those wolves start knocking at the door, there’s not much you can do about it. Unless you’ve got some silver bullets handy, they’re going to take their newling. Don’t put your life on the line. They won’t hurt him. He’ll be a part of their pack, okay?”
She didn’t wait for him to answer, just crouched down onto all fours and closed her eyes. She found that spot deep in her chest and touched it with her mind, willing the change to come. And within an instant she felt the stretch of her limbs and heard the popping of the bones. Heat built up inside her as hair instantly sprouted all over her body to create a pale brown mane of fur.
Rhiannon threw her head back, opening her mouth as the bones lengthened into a snout, then she growled low and deep. When she lifted her paws and turned she saw Sandy staring at her in awe. If she’d been still in her human form she would have blushed, but there was nothing but admiration in his expression. She couldn’t speak, so she just nodded her head to give the signal. He mimicked the gesture, then from bottom to top his body turned to dust and he disappeared.
She leaned down and took the glass vial carefully into her mouth, then bounded out of the house and into the night.
Chapter 5
Running in werewolf form is exhilarating. Rhiannon might be a girly sort of were, but she would never get tired of the way she felt when her paws were pounding the ground with the wind in her hair, blazing through the forest. Her vision was extra sharp and she could detect obstacles and changes in the
ground level without even thinking about it. Her wolf just moved in and out between trees and bushes with the greatest of ease.
And on nights like this one when time was of the essence, she could appreciate too the added bonus of her vampire half. It more than doubled her speed and also heightened her senses. They turned her into a super-were. And she would need that when she confronted the chupacabra.
But first she had to find it.
By the time she arrived in the area just about ten miles north of Aztec, New Mexico, she halted so fast that her paws skidded along the hard soil. Panting, she placed the empty bottle in a spot just behind a boulder, then she went in search of prey.
Anything would do really, as long as it would provide enough fresh blood to draw out a chupacabra. She needed to be on her way back to the cabin in Colorado within the hour, so there was no time to waste.
After about twenty minutes of stalking the area, she finally snatched up two rabbits. She would have preferred something larger, but beggars can’t be choosers. She killed them quickly. She might be a werewolf with wild instincts, but she didn’t like to make animals suffer. Then she placed one rabbit carefully on the ground without any marks on it whatsoever. The other, she ripped into and began shaking it wildly in her muzzle as she ran in a wide circle around the other.
Blood went flying in all directions, coating the ground, the rocks, everything around her within a thousand foot radius. This was the key. It was basically a sort of mating ritual for chupacabras. They were a very rare breed of animal and for good reason. Their mating season depended entirely on the male and he generally only got the urge every five or six years. That meant the female was always on the alert for a randy chupacabra to impregnate her.
If Rhiannon was lucky a female would start lurking any minute in search of the offering presented her by a potential mate.
Rhiannon hid behind the boulder and waited. She wasn’t the most patient person in the world and her wolf was even worse. It was tough to stay still and quiet. She smelled the approaching animal without seeing it. That wasn’t surprising. Chupacabras had a leathery reptilian skin that actually changed colors like a chameleon. Even in the dark, one could mask itself so that it would be difficult to see.
Difficult but not impossible for a werewolf. When the female was about five yards from her, it finally came into view. She was big, about the size of a coyote, but the spines along her back were nearly as tall as her body was from paw to shoulder. Those pointed spears would be deadly in a fight and Rhiannon knew she would be difficult to kill.
Of course she didn’t necessarily have to kill her. All she needed was a little sampling of the animal’s spit and then she could head back to Sandy and Felipe. Easier said than done.
Inhaling slowly, Rhia waited for just the right moment. The female chupacabra approached the clean rabbit carefully, sniffing at it with her ugly bat-like snout. It was clear by the way her spines rose up into a hackle that she detected the scent of something other than her own species on the carcass.
And that was when Rhiannon pounced, her wolf holding nothing back and emitting a ferocious growl as she barreled into the female. They both rolled along the ground, teeth bared and claws drawn as dirt was tossed up all around them.
The chupacabra bowed up her back and heaved her shoulders into Rhiannon’s chest, trying to knock her away. Some of the spines impaled her along the ribs and she roared in pain and anger. Her wolf unleashed her rage, chomping down on the other animal’s neck until the female hissed and jumped back. There was no reason to worry about accidentally infecting the animal with the werewolf change since they were immune to it.
Rhiannon didn’t waste any time, she leaped at the chupacabra hard enough to force the wind from her chest, trying to daze her. It didn’t work. The female bounced right back and charged her again, spines pointed with deadly intent.
Just before it got to her, a sprinkling of dust appeared from just above them both and in barely an instant the chupacabra’s black eyes rolled back into her head and she dropped to the ground like a lead weight.
Sandy appeared as the sands of an hourglass just in front of her, “I thought you said you had this.”
Chapter 6
Rhiannon wanted to pop off a mouthy response, but weres couldn’t speak when they were in their animal form. She motioned her head at him, trying to indicate that he should turn around. After a moment he smirked down at her in such a way that she suddenly felt like a pup in heat. Then he put one of his hands out in front of her as if in presentation. A pile of sparkling dust piled up into his palm, materializing into her previously discarded clothing, neatly stacked. He placed them on the ground beside her and then presented her with his back.
She quickly sought the magic inside her and reversed the process of the shift. When she was back in human form she was on all fours but before standing she pushed herself back onto her haunches. Covering the bleeding side with one hand, she winced in pain. Her eyes caught sight of Sandy rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet and she decided she’d better get dressed before he became impatient and turned around to find her naked.
“Please tell me you didn’t leave the kid alone,” she said as she finished buttoning up enough of her shirt to satisfy her modesty.
Sandy turned with a grin, then frowned when he noticed the bright red stain growing along her side. “You’re hurt,” he commented as he advanced and reached out to staunch the flow of blood.
Rhiannon brushed his concern aside with a wave of her hand. “It will heal.”
And she hoped that was true. Chupacabras’ spines weren’t just sharp, they were also poisonous. Deadly to most animals and humans, she was fairly confident her combined werewolf/vampire magic would close up the punctures soon enough.
But until then it was going to hurt like a son of a gun.
The look in Sandy’s eyes said he wasn’t sure whether to believe her, but he stepped aside after a few moments and gave her a stern nod. “I was able to reach Felipe’s parents. They’re with him.”
“Geez, Sandy. I hope they’re smart enough not to engage those weres. That’s all we need is three hybrids in the making.”
“They’ll be careful. Now what do we need to do?”
She was already moving towards the empty bottle she’d stowed away earlier. Taking it in hand, she held it up to him in display with a smile.
“Oh, I get it,” he nodded, “We need its blood.”
“Uhm, no. We need this,” she lifted the sleeping animal’s head in just the right way so that its drool began to slide down into the vial. When the flow slowed, she manipulated the female’s mouth a little so that she could milk a bit more. She hoped it wouldn’t take much, but it was certainly safer to get more than to run out.
As soon as she finished, she dropped the chupacabra’s head back down onto the ground and pushed the cork tightly onto the vial. “Okay, we’re ready to go. You get back to the cabin and keep those daywalkers away from the werewolves. Unless I’ve screwed up my estimates, I still have time to get back before they hone in on their new pack member.”
“Can’t I just take that for you?” he asked, pointed to the vial.
“Mmm, I don’t think so,” she scrunched up her face and shook her head. “I can’t be sure your dust-shift won’t screw up the magical molecules in the saliva. Don’t worry, I’ll get it there. Now go.”
He inclined his head in agreement, then started to evaporate into sand.
“Oh, wait!”
He immediately turned solid again and looked at her in askance.
“I need you to take my clothes back.”
He turned on his heel and waited while she stripped and shifted back into her wolf form. Her body would be sore from all of the back and forth tomorrow. Werewolves didn’t usually do a lot of shifting in such short time. Generally they turned into their animal forms for hunting or during a full moon and then they remained that way all through the dark hours.
Rhia didn’t wait fo
r Sandy to get her things, she just snatched up the vial of precious chupacabra spit and bounded off at full speed towards Colorado.
Chapter 7
Rhiannon was only slightly slower returning to the cabin than she had been getting to New Mexico. The wound in her side was barely oozing now, but for a while the pain had really held her back.
At the cabin the wolves were now gathered closer together so she was able to slip close to the back door. She was surprised to see her clothing there in a neat stack. Damn, it’s no wonder I’m half in love with the guy. He’s more thoughtful than any werewolf would ever be.
Lickety split, she returned to her human form, stifling a groan as her muscles and bones were manipulated once again. Once dressed, she walked into the cabin and received a swift kick in the chest, her entire body propelled backwards into the dining table.
The vial went sailing through the air and it was all Rhia could do to jump up and grab it before it fell onto the hard wood floor and shattered.
“Maria, no, that’s Rhiannon!” Sandy ran from Felipe’s bedroom with his hands up in alarm.
“I’m sorry. Oh, I’m so sorry,” the woman cried, her hand to her mouth in alarm. “I saw a wolf outside the door and then you walked in and I just assumed you were one of them.”
“No problem,” Rhiannon insisted, slipping past the nervous woman and towards the bedroom. On an afterthought she turned and muttered, “My bag,” but Sandy had already retrieved it and handed it to her even before she spoke.
Felipe didn’t look well at all when she found him. He was no longer writhing in pain. Instead he was sitting on the edge the bed, staring off blankly, his eyes ebbing a reddish glow. His legs were dangling, but he was flexing his toes back and forth.
By her guess they had less than an hour before his body would begin shifting. There was no time to lose.
Opening her satchel she found a vial of saline and mixed about half of the saliva with it, shaking it rigorously to mix it. “Sandy!” when she looked she saw that he was standing close behind her and there had been no need to shout. “Sorry. Get a few of their UV lamps and bring them in here.”
The Werevamp Diaries: Moon Dust (A Lynlee Lincoln Bonus Short) Page 2
