by S. L. Baum
“Charity,” Catherine called out. I searched the darkness until I could see her face. She’d found me, they all had. “Stay down,” she ordered.
I heard the angry growl of Elliott, the mountain lion, and watched as he launched himself at her.
“Catherine, your left,” James called out a warning.
Catherine unsheathed a large hunting knife from her belt and slashed it through the air, slicing the cat across its shoulder. He hissed as he fell, missing his intended mark, and now wounded for the attempt. Catherine moved back a few steps, bracing herself for the next attack.
Marcus and Oz continued hurling balls of fire toward Leviticus and Ezekiel, who were retaliating with their silenced guns. The whoosh of the fire balls and the zip of the bullets filled the air. The two pair of brothers were dodging each other quite skillfully until Oz, who had been steadily moving forward, found himself close enough to use his other talent.
“Zeek, cover me,” Levi shouted to his brother.
When he received no answer, or cover fire, Levi looked back to find his brother – frozen. Ezekiel was a statue, posed with his arms out and gun aimed, completely unable to move.
“Zeek!” Levi screamed. “What did you do to my brother?” he demanded in a rage, turning his gun on Marcus and Oz.
Eve appeared in front of them with both her arms raised up high. She closed her eyes and drew all of the energy she could, out of the air and toward her. Levi’s eyes widened as the wind again began to swirl. It rushed by him, and all of the surrounding trees started to bend in Eve’s direction.
“Sorcery,” I heard him whisper.
Eve lunged forward and unleashed the energy. A great shockwave rolled out from her, and toward Levi and Zeek. The two men were lifted up and flung twenty feet, landing on their backs in the snow. There was a crunch of bones as their bodies slammed into the cold ground.
Catherine was still circling around the wounded Elliott, who had shifted back into his human form. Blood oozed out of the open gash in his shoulder and dribbled from the earlier cut to his leg.
“Surrender,” Catherine demanded.
“Mere flesh wounds, silly woman,” Elliott spat back at her. “Brother,” he called out.
There was no answer. Rowan was nowhere in sight.
I remained by Link, huddled over his weakened form. James appeared at my side as Eve turned her attention to Catherine and Elliott.
“It’s bad, James,” I sobbed.
“The scratches can wait,” James muttered as he glanced at Link’s hands and face. James removed Link’s scarf and tied it tightly above the arm gash that Levi had inflicted earlier. Next, he examined the gunshot to the abdomen. He grabbed the scarf from my neck, balled it up, and placed it over that wound.
“Keep pressure on this,” James told me.
We needed to stop the blood flow.
Link blinked his eyes, as his brain registered my touch. “Get her out of here,” he managed to choke.
“Ssh, I’m not leaving you,” I whispered. I turned away from Link and spoke to James through gritted teeth, “Save him.”
“His injuries are extensive, Charity. I don’t know if I can. I won’t be able to extract enough of my blood to heal everything,” James shook his head.
“You have to try,” I pleaded. “I can’t lose another... I just can’t.”
While I was pleading with James, Eve was trying to convince Elliott to give up his fight.
“Surrender Shape-Shifter. It seems your brother has left you all alone. You are outnumbered,” Eve called out, trying to reason with the injured creature.
Catherine held her stance, hunting knife in hand, ready to defend herself again if necessary.
Leviticus and Ezekiel were beginning to gain consciousness. They sat up slowly. Marcus and Oz stayed close by, standing guard.
Ezekiel found his voice first, “Shape-Shifter, what are you waiting for. Transform into something fierce. Finish them.”
“You never mentioned the Witches,” Elliott shouted back.
“An unforeseen glitch in our plan. We’ll double what we promised you,” Leviticus sounded off.
“They promised you riches,” Eve spoke up, scanning Elliott’s mind. “I can see the conversation. ‘A half million in cash,’ promised Levi, ‘plus whatever jewels are found at the Immortal’s house,’ added Zeek,” she repeated the exchange.
Elliott stopped moving, apparently stunned by Eve’s ability. Shock appeared on his face.
“They’re lying,” Cozmo shouted. “I can sense when a person is truthful. I can see nothing but deception in their words.”
Eve stepped away from Elliott and toward the Lords. She took a moment to scan each brother, looking for further information.
“They planned to kill you and your brother as soon as the Immortals were reduced to ash,” Eve addressed Elliott. “I saw it in both of their heads. You were dead to them the moment you made the deal. They abhor you.”
“Rowan,” Elliott roared as his naked body grew suddenly furry. He dropped down onto all fours and his face distorted. A muzzle appeared in-place of his nose. The creature before us was not a mountain lion. The Shape-Shifter transformed into a bear.
Elliott, the bear, stood on his hind legs and let out a fierce roar. The bear turned toward the tree-line. A second roar escaped his muzzle.
I looked up to see two Eagles fly out of the high branches and circle overhead. They squawked back and forth, in conversation. One swooped down to land next to the bear. The eagle grew taller and began to change shape. I blinked my eyes. A second bear appeared where the eagle had landed.
The two bears spoke to each other in a language unknown to human ears. They grumbled and growled, and roared up to the sky. The remaining eagle screeched in response, then flew away, landing on the nearest tree branch.
“Kill them,” Levi cried out to the bears.
“Destroy them,” Ezekiel ordered.
The bears stood on all fours, poised, ready to strike. They charged forward - passed Catherine, passed Eve. Marcus and Oz hurled a few fireballs as the bears came their way. Oz took a defensive stance, ready to paralyze their muscles if they attacked. But the animals ignored the Witches.
The bears charged on - passed Oz, passed Marcus, and surged forward. They leapt into the air and landed on Leviticus and Ezekiel. The men shrieked in pain as the bears began to maul them. They managed to scramble backward when the bears were distracted by the squawk of the Eagle. The men stood, and limped away from the animals, moving closer to the edge of the iced over falls.
“Wait,” gasped Ezekiel. His voice was weak with fear. “They lie,” he uttered, unconvincingly.
As the two bears held their stance, a small red fox shyly crept out of the tree line. It stopped, a few feet behind the bears. The fox barked a small sad sound and the bears froze. The little creature grew taller and morphed into a delicate young woman with strawberry blonde hair, almost the same shade that the animal had been. She stood, bare and vulnerable, in the snow.
“Elliott... Rowan... My brothers...,” she cried out.
The bears turned their head for but a moment and nodded their muzzles toward the young woman. But their attention quickly turned back to the Lords. Rowan started the charge forward first with Elliott just a stride behind. Again, they attacked the two men, who were now much too close to the edge and standing on slick ice. In a jumble of fur, flesh, screams, and high pitched moans - the four beings slipped over the edge of Bridal Veil Falls.
“No,” the girl screamed and moved forward. When she reached the edge she found one bear, its claws dug into the ice, barely hanging on. “Help me,” she cried over her shoulder.
Cozmo and Marcus surged forward. They each tried to take hold of the bear’s enormous paws.
“Change back,” the young woman urged.
The bear shook its head and let go of the ice. It slipped away, down to the jagged bottom of the iced over falls.
“I told them no good would come of t
his,” she choked out the words through her sobs.
With the threat of further danger eliminated, James and I concentrated on Link. James pulled a dagger from his boot and sliced into his wrist. I pushed Link’s shirt up, exposing the gunshot wound. James held his arm over the bloody hole, but only a few drops of blood would exit his flesh.
“Catherine, we need your help,” James called out.
She was at our side immediately, cutting into her own flesh. But as with James, only a small amount of blood could escape her body before it healed itself.
“It’s not enough, Charity,” James whispered.
“No,” I screamed in anguish. “Give me the knife,” I held my hand out to Catherine.
She placed the hunting knife in my open palm. I held it to my arm, and without hesitation, I sliced through the layers of my flesh, making a deep wound. The blood began to ooze out, in a steady stream.
“Don’t heal yet,” I commanded my body aloud, “let the blood flow,” I whispered.
And it flowed.
I directed the steady dribble of red liquid to fall into the wound. The edges of his skin grew closer together and smoothed over. I rolled Link onto his side, located the exit wound, and repeated my actions. When the gunshot was taken care of I attended to the gash on his arm. That too, instantly healed. But Link remained pale and unmoving.
“What’s wrong, James?” I worried.
“You’ve only healed the flesh. The bullet caused too much internal damage,” James hugged onto my shoulders, consoling me.
I shook him off. “I’ve got to get my blood inside him,” I gasped at the realization.
I put the knife to my other wrist, making another deep cut. When the blood started to flow, I placed my wrist near Link’s lips, letting the warm healing liquid fall into his open mouth.
“Drink my love,” I whispered into his ear. With his head resting in my lap, I pushed my wrist tight up against his mouth. “Live,” I mouthed the word. “Live, live, live,” I quietly chanted.
Link’s hands came up and he clutched onto my arm. His lips began to move against my wrist and I heard him gulp as he swallowed a mouthful of my blood. I fell into a trance as he continued to drink from my veins. His grasp grew firmer and his mouth moved faster. He continued to draw more blood out of my body and into his own. He was growing stronger.
“Enough, Charity,” Catherine’s voice broke through.
She reached out and pulled Link’s hands away from my arm, and my arm away from his lips.
“How is this possible?” James asked, gazing at my wrist as it continued to ooze blood.
“Heal,” I murmured to my body. The blood flow stopped and the cut smoothed over. “I don’t know,” I admitted.
“Amazing,” Catherine exhaled.
Link sat up, his eyes sparkled with an alien inner glow. Something had changed within. But I didn’t care, he was alive. I grabbed onto him, hugging him close. He wrapped his arms around me, crushing me to his chest. His strength was amazing.
He pulled back, to look into my eyes. “You saved me,” he smiled my brilliant smile.
“I’ve got powers,” I shrugged.
“Awesome powers,” he whispered into my ear.
I looked up at James and Catherine. They stood, holding each other in a loving embrace, and smiled down at the two of us. Marcus and Eve stood a few feet away, in a similar pose. Cozmo remained by the edge of the falls. He had draped his coat over the shoulders of the young strawberry blonde. He stayed by her side, consoling her in the loss of her brothers.
Link and I stood up together.
I clung to him fiercely. “You’re alive,” I whispered.
“I’m alive,” he echoed.
The eight of us began our trek back to the vehicles. The female Shape-Shifter had changed back into her fox form and trotted along, next to Cozmo. There seemed to be a powerful bond that had instantaneously formed between the two creatures. Eve remained in the back, sending a small blast of energy every few feet behind us, to cover our tracks in the snow.
The fox whimpered when we neared the base of the falls. Four crumpled bodies, two bears and two men, lay broken in the ice and snow.
Cozmo knelt down to soothe the small animal. “It’ll be okay,” he said, stroking her fur.
We drudged on.
“This’ll go a lot faster if you let us carry you. Then we can run,” Eve offered.
“But there are only three of you fast beings, and four of us slow ones,” I pointed out.
“Charity, this may sound strange, but you have no idea how strong I feel. I don’t know why or how, but I know I can do this. I can carry you,” Link declared.
“There’s no way... I just healed you, minutes ago. You’re mortal and they’re Witches. ‘Incredibly swift and agile,’ any of this ringing a bell with you?” I tried to talk some reason into him.
“How about we Witches carry the Immortals, and you and the fox run?” Eve suggested.
“I accept that compromise,” Link smiled.
“No, he can’t” I protested.
“Let the man run, Charity,” Eve cut me off.
“Fine,” I grumbled in defeat. “If you get too tired, please call out for help.”
“I promise,” Link kissed my nose.
Cozmo swooped up Catherine and Marcus grabbed James. I hopped into Eve’s arms and we were off. The female Shape-Shifter changed from a fox to an eagle and hovered over Cozmo. Link kept a steady pace in front of Eve and me. We were the slowest two, pausing every so often so Eve could send another blast of energy behind us.
After she sent out the next shock wave and we turned back around, I noticed that Link was gone. “Where did he go?” I cried.
“Look below us,” Marcus laughed.
There was a dark blur of energy, zig-zagging down the mountain. It seemed to be gaining momentum as it descended, a bullet train speeding through the snow. It was Lincoln.
Eve gave a brassy whistle.
“How?” I asked aloud.
“Goodness!” Catherine exclaimed.
James, Marcus, and Cozmo simply laughed - and we sped down to catch up with him.
chapter sixteen
DARKNESS AND LIGHT
The three or so minutes that it took to reach the vehicles, and catch up to Link, seemed to drag on like the slow motion scenes in an action flick. Each and every swift step of Eve’s was an agonizingly slow trot.
“How?” was still all I could manage to say, when Eve set me down in front of Link.
“Apparently I’ve got powers,” Link answered. “You should have let me carry you,” he smiled.
“I’m in total shock here,” I gasped. “I have no idea how I was able to command my body, to keep my blood flowing so I could heal you. And now instantly, you are faster than the Witches,” I shook my head in disbelief.
“Hey now,” Oz balked. “That’s not a fair assessment. I was carrying Catherine and I wasn’t aware we would be graded on this assignment.”
“Okay,” Link smirked. “Let’s make it a true race. You and me... From here to my apartment at the other end of town.”
“I want in on this action,” Marcus rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
“Okay boys,” Eve laughed. “On the count of three,” she declared. They immediately crouched down, ready to launch themselves forward, ready to race. “Ready... ONE, TWO, THREE,” she screamed.
The three men shot off in a flash. An eagle followed along, high in the sky.
“Hurry,” I cried. “Jump in!” I motioned to Eve.
“Block the sound of the engines Eve. I know it’s still dark out, but I don’t want the early risers wondering what’s going on outside. We can’t afford to draw any attention our way,” James called out.
As soon as she was in, I jammed my foot on the accelerator. James and Catherine followed close behind. Up ahead, I could barely make out the three forms, silhouettes against the glow of the street lights. What was going on here? Where did this increas
ed strength and speed come from? It was definitely not a trait of mine.
A minute later, I slowed the SUV at the entrance to Link’s apartment. Link, Cozmo, and Marcus stood, laughing and slapping each other on the back.
“It was a fair win,” I heard Link protested, as I rolled down the window.
“I don’t know,” Marcus laughed. “Maybe he got a one second head start brother,” he teased Oz and punched him on the shoulder.
“Okay, okay, I accept defeat – this time. But I demand a rematch,” Oz smiled.
“Anytime,” was Link’s smug reply.
“You won!” I stated, incredulously.
“But of course,” Link smiled. “Wait here. I still need to get Grandma’s ornaments,” he said and was gone in the blink of an eye.
Mere moments later, he was back. I shook my head and closed my eyes, stunned to already see him leaning in the open window, with a small brown box in hand. “Let’s go,” he said.
“We’re off,” James called out as he and Catherine headed home.
Eve vacated the front seat, so she could sit between Marcus and Cozmo in the back. Link hopped in the front, next to me. The fox reappeared, and jumped in to curl herself up on Cozmo’s lap. He immediately started stroking her soft red fur.
“What’s her name?” I asked Oz.
Oz looked at me through the rear view mirror. “This is Lizabelle. She’s all alone now, so she’ll be staying with us.”
“I think that is an excellent idea,” I replied. “No one should be alone, especially at Christmas.”
“She has me now,” Oz murmured.
“She’s a lucky girl,” I said.
After I turned left, heading out of town and toward home, I reached across the console to grasp Link’s hand. I needed to feel the warmth of his skin. It was still a shock to me that we had both made it through the whole terrible nightmare alive. And, the new inhuman velocity was mind boggling. I squeezed tightly. A smile spread wide across my face when he reached over to stroke my cheek with his other hand.
