True North (The Bears of Blackrock Book 4)

by Michaela Wright

  Theron didn’t move as Sinead pulled a small glass of water and the first aide kit from beneath her arm.

  Theron moved toward her, slowly. What did she mean to do with that knife, he thought?

  “Well, are you coming or not? Get over here so I can cut that godforsaken thing out of you!”

  Theron’s eyes went wide as he remembered the tiny bump that moved just beneath his skin when he touched his chest. “What? You’re gonna perform surgery on me, right here?” He asked, taking a step away from her.

  “No, I’m going to do a dissection. I’m not a surgeon, I’m a biologist.”

  Both Charlie and Theron shuddered at these words, but Sinead didn’t flinch as she held the flame beneath the knife until it grew orange around the edges.

  “If they see you heading toward the perimeter, you’ll be caught. Come on, Theron. Darrell did this to himself once! You want me to tell him you were too chicken shit to have me do it?” Sinead said, shooting him a glare.

  The words were biting, but teasing, and Theron couldn’t argue with her logic. He didn’t give a damn about Darrell, but the tracker in his chest would betray him. It would betray them all. They’d be able to see that he’d left the Extension, maybe even track him north or out into the water. If this was their first real shot at getting off the Extension, he couldn’t blow it because he was afraid of a little pain.

  Theron stepped up to the desk and settled himself atop it, his heart pounding in his chest.

  “Oh shit, we’re really doing this?” Charlie said, squirming by the meeting house door.

  “You go get me a glass of hot water. The kettle should still be warm. And here – take the thermometer. I need you to adjust the water temp to 103 degrees.”

  Charlie came closer to the desk, hovering there for a moment as Sinead demanded Theron unbutton his shirt. Theron closed his eyes.

  “103? Why 103?”

  “Because it’s their average body temperature.”

  Charlie made a strange gasping sound. “Jesus, that can’t be right!”

  “Just do it, Charlie!”

  “Alright -”

  Blinding pain shot through Theron’s chest before he’d even realized she’d begun. Charlie made a soft retching noise and hustled away from the desk, his heavy boots stomping down the hallway toward the bathroom.

  “God damn!” Theron hissed, gripping the edge of the desk beneath.

  Sinead cooed to him, softly. “Grit through it, baby. I’ve almost got it.”

  He could feel his blood pooling on his bare skin, then her fingers pressing down onto his still unhealed wound as she pried the pen knife under the tiny device. He began to think he’d be following Charlie’s example as his stomach turned at that sensation.

  “Do you have that water, Charlie?”

  The sound of boots returned, but Theron still refused to open his eyes. This event could pass without him seeing.

  “Right here – oh for fuck’s sake!”

  Charlie stomped back out of the room and proceeded to vomit in the bathroom down the hall. The sound didn’t help Theron’s composure.

  Suddenly, there was a soft plip sound, and Sinead was up from her seat, marching across the room in a hurry. Theron finally opened his eyes to find Sinead stooped down beside the space heater, settling the glass of warm water just in front of it.

  “I hope you weren’t planning on saying goodbye to anyone,” she said, and sadness registered on her face.

  Theron winced as he lifted himself up from the desk, pressing the bandages from his wound back over the new viscera.

  Sinead’s energy was strange. Her hands were bloodied now and clearly shaking, and she was moving around the space as though repelled by his gaze. She wouldn’t look at him.

  “Shinny,” he said, moving across the room toward her. She turned toward the back hallway, smiling at Charlie as he reappeared. Even as Theron touched her arm, she turned her face away. “Shinny, what’s wrong?”

  Her face contorted, and she tried to walk away. Theron held on, pulling her toward him to hold her as she covered her face with her hands. “I’m never gonna see you again, am I?”

  Theron wrapped his arms around her and pinned her to him, ignoring the pain that shot through his wounded chest. “Don’t you say that.”

  “It’s how this place works, Theron. You try to fight back, you try to do what’s right – they shoot you. Or they hurt you. Or they make you disappear.”

  “Stop,” he said, trying to brush her hair out of her face.

  “- You’re gonna get off the Extension and if you make it, no one’s ever going to believe you. No one is going to care about this tiny corner of the world.”

  Theron took hold of her chin and made her look at him. “Sinead Dalton. If that is true, then I will come back here with an army. I promise you – look at me.”

  She fought to turn away from him again, but he wouldn’t let her.

  “I will find every Talbot, every Fenn - every single one of my kind, and we will come here, and we will tear this place to the ground. Do you hear me? I will die before I let them keep you from me.”

  She met his gaze then for the first time since he’d said he was leaving, and her eyes welled over. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

  Theron’s chest grew tight. How long would this take? How long til they reached Black Tickle? Then from there, how long until they could get Mounties to come north and set things right? And would they even come?

  Or would Theron be on the receiving end of the same disbelief that Charlie witnessed?

  He’d seen how the government responded to injustice when it came to its native people.

  Theron inhaled sharply as he realized something.

  If they didn’t believe him – he would shift.

  He would betray his clan, his family – every single shifter from there to the ends of the world. He would let them see what he was if he had to. He would make them believe.

  Theron’s throat grew tight as he realized why. He’d known Sinead Dalton for less than two weeks – and he loved her.

  The thought of leaving suddenly hurt far more than the searing blade Sinead used to cut the tracker from his flesh.

  “If we leave now, we can hit high tide. It’ll be quicker.”

  Theron’s heart stopped for an instant, and he kissed Sinead, holding her to him as though he might absorb her into his skin and hide her there.

  Sinead wrapped her arms around him and shook as she cried. Then she released her hold, looking up into his eyes. The blue of hers was piercing now against the redness of her cheeks.

  “Go now. The water won’t stay hot forever.”

  Theron glanced back at the glass of water, its heat the only thing buying them time. Soon the tracker’s temp reading would drop. They’d know he’d taken it out. They’d come looking for him.

  “Tell, Darrell where I’ve gone. Tell him I’m coming back for everyone.”

  Sinead nodded as she watched them move toward the door. Theron stopped and pulled her into him again. He wanted to remember every tiny detail of her – from the smell of tea on her breath, to the feel of her tears falling onto his lips.

  Theron opened the door to the meeting house just in time to find Buniq hopping up the front steps. The three of them startled, and Buniq took a long moment to stare at Charlie Black. It was clear the officer felt small in her gaze.

  “Who’s he?” She asked.

  Sinead leaned out the door into the cold of snowfall and grabbed Buniq’s hand, pulling her inside. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s let the gentlemen go.”

  Buniq shot Theron a sideways glance, then another at Charlie, her brow furrowed. “Where you going, then?”

  Theron grabbed Buniq’s hand and squeezed. “I’m coming right back, honey. I promise.”

  With that, Theron turned for the door, afraid he’d lose control of his emotions if he stayed a moment longer. Just as he stepped outside into the cold, Charlie shrugged his pack off his shoulder and p
ulled two black boxes from inside. He turned and handed them to Sinead.

  “Not sure if the signal will carry further than Black Tickle, but we’ll have communication at least. Don’t use it unless you have to – let us get past Kilikut before we flood the line with chatter. Don’t want to take any chances that they might have the ability to listen in.”

  Sinead took the radios and clutched them to her chest, taking one last glance at Theron before turning her face away. “Ok,” she said.

  Theron could hear her struggling to speak in an even tone to Buniq as the warped school house doors shut behind them.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  SINEAD

  Buniq sat content by Sinead’s desk, happily munching on one of Sinead’s leftover granola bars as she colored in a makeshift drawing of Snoopy that Sinead drew on a small whiteboard. Sinead hovered close to the space heater, watching the tiny thermometer to make sure it never dipped below 103. Theron had been gone for over an hour now – long enough to be off the Extension.

  Oh god, he might actually be at sea by now. He might be free. Her heart raced and ached at the thought. It was almost enough to make her regret not going with him.

  She turned back toward the front of the classroom to see Buniq humming softly to herself as she worked, something she did when she was deep in concentration. Affection for Buniq surged in Sinead’s heart and she smiled.

  She almost regretted not leaving with Theron.

  Almost.

  Theron would come back for her, she thought. He would come back for all of them.

  “Miss Dalton, look!” Buniq said, and Sinead jumped. She hadn’t heard Buniq cross the room to her. Sinead turned to take in the sight of Buniq’s beautiful work. She wasn’t some art prodigy by any means, but she had a look of utter pride on her face. Sinead smiled, taking the whiteboard to give it a good look.

  “Very nice, hon. You want me to draw you another one, or shall we keep this one for a couple days? I can display it on my desk?”

  Buniq didn’t respond immediately as Sinead crossed the room to set the whiteboard on her desk for display. Sinead swallowed, glancing at the windows for a sign of changing light. She’d vowed to wait an hour before heading across the Extension to deliver the second radio to Darrell. She wanted to do as she promised Theron, and that meant finding Darrell and telling him what was going on, but she’d known Darrell longer than Theron. No matter the blood they shared between them, she knew the second Darrell knew Theron was off the Extension, he’d be furious.

  Darrell would be furious because he wasn’t with them. Sinead wasn’t looking forward to Darrell’s anger, but she would tolerate it to do as Theron asked.

  That, and she couldn’t imagine sleeping another frigid night in the school house – not after knowing the bliss of Theron’s warmth.

  No place would feel emptier than her bedroom without him in it.

  “We need to head over to your brother’s, anyway. I have something for him.”

  “What’s thi -?”

  The sound of glass shattering startled Sinead around. Buniq stood over the space heater, her shoulders hunched up to her ears.

  Sinead froze, watching the water spread across the stained linoleum from the shattered glass. She charged across the room, dropping to her knees beside the puddle in search of the tiny metal shape. She pressed her hand to the linoleum, feeling the floor and water beneath her fingers, but no sign of the tracker. She moved her hand again and pain shot down her middle finger as a piece of glass sliced through her skin. She hissed. How quickly would the temperature change register? How soon would they know Theron’s tracker was no longer in him?

  “I’m sorry, Miss Dalton. I didn’t mean to,” Buniq said, and her voice cracked with coming tears. Sinead turned toward the little girl and grabbed her hand with her uninjured fingers.

  “Honey, don’t worry. You did nothing wrong. It’s not your fault. Come on, though. I need you to go right now!”

  Sinead turned from habit alone to the left side of the door to snag a coat for Buniq – a coat that didn’t exist. She snorted softly at her mistake, then rushed across the room to grab up one of the two radios. She’d yet to hear anything from Theron, but she still wasn’t ready to break the silence. She didn’t want to take any chances.

  Theron needed a good head start. She needed to know he was safely out of their reach before she sought the comfort of his voice.

  “Here, honey. I need you to go give this to your brother for me, ok?”

  Buniq looked down at the small black radio, her brow furrowed over her teary eyes. Buniq sniffled, and Sinead grabbed the girl around the shoulders.

  “Honey, it’s ok. You did nothing wrong. I’m not mad, we just need to hurry a little now, that’s all.”

  Buniq took the radio from Sinead’s hand and held it tight. “What do I tell him?”

  “You tell him to hide it, but keep it close. He’ll hear from Theron when they’re safe.”

  Buniq swallowed loudly, then turned for the door. The snow was flitting in the air, but there was nothing new falling. It was becoming too cold for snow. Buniq glanced back from the front steps, and Sinead forced a smile. Buniq finally turned down the main road and took off at a run, her tiny feet leaving a path in the untouched snow of the night before.

  Sinead shut the door tight against the cold and turned back to the puddle on the floor. She dropped to her knees and scanned every inch of the stained linoleum, touching specks of dirt and grime to feel for a sign of the tracker. Her mind raced with worry. What if it was already too late? What if they’d already caught Theron and this tiny bastard of a device didn’t matter at all?

  Don’t think like that, she thought, scolding herself. He’s fine. He’s going to be just fine!

  Sinead pressed her hand to the floor, carefully this time, brushing at each dark shape. She collected the larger shards of glass and set them aside. Suddenly a dark shape appeared in the water, then changed shape, moving out from its center.

  Blood. Her finger was bleeding enough now to run down the length of her finger and drip into the pool of water below, clouding it. As the blood moved, its path seemed to warp, as though moving around some unseen thing. Sinead pressed her fingertip into the water and felt the small chip, half lodged into a crack in the linoleum.

  Sinead moved fast, hustling back to the bathroom and the small kettle she kept. The water should still be warm. Sinead poured herself a small glass of water, part warm, part cool, and set the thermometer into the water to watch the mercury rise.

  103 degrees.

  Sinead dropped the small tracker into the water and exhaled.

  Please god, let that be enough, she thought.

  She sat for a long while just staring at the thermometer.

  The door of the schoolhouse rattled, startling her around. Sinead rushed across the meetinghouse. Was Buniq back already? Knowing Darrell, Sinead wouldn’t be the least surprised to find him there, a grimace on his handsome face as he demanded to know what the hell Theron was up to – and why Darrell hadn’t been invited.

  Sinead pressed the steaming mug to her chest and braced herself for the blast of cold that would come when she opened the door.

  “That was qui -”

  She instantly remembered - no one knocked on Sinead’s door.

  No one from the camp.

  Sinead froze as she met the faces standing at her schoolhouse door, and this time, it wasn’t the cold that chilled her.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  THERON

  “Oh, I’d love it if they did. Sheriff might’ve taken my sidearm, but that wasn’t the only gun I had.”

  Charlie was stewing at the panel of the small boat, his hands clenching the rudder wheel with white knuckles. He seemed to be fuming ever hotter with every nautical mile. Theron kept his eyes on the black shape of land in the distance, waiting to spot new lights.

  They’d passed Kilikut by miles, and its lights were all but gone in the distance, even the soft glow in t
he sky over land was faded now. The water was calm, and the boat was cutting well through the small waves. Still, though Theron would never admit it to half his family back home, he’d never done well on the water, and his stomach was turning with every passing moment.

  “God, I have half a mind to summon the cavalry. You know? Just barrel in there – gun’s blazing! Who the fuck do they think they are?”

  Theron listened, but his mind was elsewhere. He’d left Sinead back with those very monsters Charlie now ranted about, and the thought of her there, sleeping alone and cold that night hurt his heart in a way he’d never felt before. He clutched the radio in his hands and watched the dark mass to the West.

  Come on, Black Tickle, he thought. Give me a light. Give me a sign we’re out of their reach. Let me call to her and let her know I’m getting her out.

  A higher wave hit the port side and threw Theron’s stomach for a loop. He took a deep breath, blowing out through pursed lips. He crouched down along the rail of the boat, still keeping his eyes on the horizon. It wasn’t easy to keep his eyes on a fixed thing when the world was pitch black as it was. There were no lights for miles, no cities for hundreds of miles. This was the kind of wilderness that makes a man lose sleep. A hopeless place if ever he’d found one. During those long months in Boston, this kind of quiet and solitude might’ve brought him solace, but now this quiet world felt like the walls of a prison – just as much as that electric fence did.

  “Oi, pal! Have a look up ahead!”

  Theron jerked around, nearly losing his balance as he stood up.

  Lights.

  Not many. No more than a dozen or so, but bright enough to betray flood lights and civilization.

  Theron surged toward the small awning over the navigation panel and glared through the windshield at the lights up ahead. He exhaled with relief and brought the radio up to his lips.

  “Sinead. Sweetheart. We made it. We’re coming into Black Tickle now.”

  Theron released his hold on the radio button and listened to the silence of the water around them, waiting.

  “Baby. Let me hear your voice. Are you hearing me?”