Beyond the shifting, strength, stamina, and other gifts we shared, however, each of us had an individual innate calling as well. It was unique to each of us, one which Akaba Atatdia, or Old Man Coyote, had awoken. It reflected who we were as men. That’s why for Ben it was healing, and for that hurricane of a human, Burr, it was a connection to the wind.
As for me, it was the ways of the earth.
I could sense things through the vibrations in the ground, could call upon the stone to supplement my strength, and fall into its peaceful lullaby.
The latter was a meditative state which both relaxed the body and sharpened the mind. It required enormous willpower to keep it up, especially while moving. As my teachers in the military had drilled into our heads, war was waged both on the field and in the mind.
If your head wasn’t in the game, you couldn’t hope to win, but if you’d already won in your mind, then how could you lose?
This state also served as an escape from my muddle of feelings regarding Kalin. It wasn’t that I wanted to avoid her; in fact, it was the complete opposite. With each passing day, I found myself enjoying having her around a bit too much. And I was becoming afraid that spending all this time together would undo my resolution to keep things friend-ish between us.
However, even the fact that Kalin didn’t feel the need to fill the silence with chatter – which she seemed to enjoy, as I did – sometimes undermined that resolution as well. I’d expected her to insist on talking about things, to pester me with questions, and harangue me about her sister.
In the past ten days, though, she’d barely uttered a word about it. I knew it had to be hard for her, but she never showed it or complained about it. Warmth coiled in my stomach thinking about it. That fierce, fearless look in her eyes. The quirk of her full lips drawing into a blinding smile. Or the way she tossed her hair before we set out each morning.
A gorgeous, alluring woman, with all the tenacity of a wildcat, but who was all heart at the end of the day.
I knew Rayner had said we had a connection, but I’d just thought he’d meant we were friendly and I’d saved her life. Now I wondered if he’d seen something I hadn’t.
Shutting those thoughts off – they would lead me straight into crazy town – I checked my watch and saw that it was nearing noon. Then I glanced around for a place to stop for lunch.
Here, the mountains guarding the east were becoming a lot steeper. While the riverbank was smooth, a few yards in, the land surged upwards. In some places, it was a steep, sheer wall. Other areas were of a gentler incline, yet filled with sharp spikes, like the back of a prehistoric beast. And finally, there were twisted, boulder-laden mazes, stretching into the sky.
I was taking a step forward when it happened. The faintest whisper of a tremor came and went through the ground. Eyes wide, I turned sharply, wondering if I was mistaken.
“No,” I said in one hard breath. “Kalin.” In my mind’s eye, I saw her falling to her knees, then scrabbling back up again. Digging my feet in, I focused. Three, no four, were in pursuit of her – running in precision like soldiers. My eyes slit. Pale Eyes. “Hold on,” I said, shrugging off the backpack and tossing it behind a boulder.
Running towards the bend in the river, I sensed Kalin was nearly there. Suddenly she tripped and her body slammed into the earth. They’ll be on her in seconds.
Instinct took over and I shifted, paws racing over the ground so fast I was barely touching it. Almost at the bend, I sensed one of them lunging for her. Kalin twisted away just as I leaped and slammed all four paws into the ground.
A shockwave trembled through the earth, knocking the bastard back. In the next instant, I was there, skidding around the corner, and head-butting the next one charging for Kalin.
“Dios,” I heard her mutter, then she let out a faint cry as she sat up. I chanced a look back. She was staring at me, eyes huge in her face, and a shaking hand over her mouth. “¿Qué estás haciendo?” Kalin asked.
My Spanish was rusty, but I was pretty sure she’d said “what is happening?”
Turning back to face the four in black, I wanted to know the same thing. I had no idea had they’d found us or how I’d failed to sense them. If I had to guess, they’d gotten very lucky.
Behind me, I heard Kalin get to her feet and whisper, “Trini, please, please wake up.”
I studied the four figures. One was a lithe female, with a reddish tint to her black curls. Above the bandana, I could see the familiar shape of her eyes.
Their color, however, warned me that this was no longer Kalin’s sister.
As the four advanced, pulling out serrated blades with handles of bone, I growled. Damn the Crooked Man and his twisted artifacts. Those particular tools were never meant to be used as weapons, but for hunting. And the blades were not supposed to be metal.
“We only desire the girl, Coyote,” said one of the men, his voice muffled.
Lip curling, I backed up and assessed the situation. The rocks on the hills next to us were precarious. Any motion would send them tumbling down onto these four.
But I hesitated. I didn’t want to hurt Kalin’s sister, or Kalin, who was still standing behind me.
Turning, I loped back to her and snapped my teeth. Kalin stumbled back and I let out a yip. When she kept backing up, I nodded, then snarled when she tried to take a step forward.
“Okay, okay!” she said, holding up her hands.
Run, I thought.
Glancing from me to the Pale Eyes, Kalin let out a breath. Then she sprinted off and disappeared around the bend. Turning back to the Pale Eyes, an idea hit me, and I sprinted at them. Cutting one off from the rest, I began running in a circle around him, so fast I was nothing but a blur.
It wasn’t something I’d tried before, but in theory, it should work…
There was a hiss, then ground burbled as it turned to muck. In another instant, he was trapped in muddy quicksand up to his knees.
A knife whizzed past my head, just missing me, and I darted away. Kalin’s sister had thrown it. Damn, she has a good arm. The other three had surrounded me, trying to box me in, but I slipped back towards the bend. Even though they had increased strength and speed, it was nothing compared to mine. Easily, I separated another and trapped him in the muck.
Now only Trini and the third man were left.
Another blade flashed in her hand. This time I was too slow, and she got me, slicing open my left shoulder. A whine of pain escaped me. Kalin’s sister had some serious athletic ability – it was the only thing that explained her uncanny aim – I’d never been hit by a Pale Eye before.
Backing up, I realized I was almost at the bend in the river. Here the river bank narrowed, and didn’t offer many escape routes. I didn’t like our odds if Kalin and I were trapped in there with these two.
Another idea hit me. The one advantage I had was the river. Pale Eyes abhorred bodies of water, avoiding them at all costs. Ben had a feeling it might have to do with its healing properties, but as of right now that was an untested theory.
Praying this would work – and that I also wouldn’t hurt Kalin’s sister – I slammed my paws into the ground, sending a fissure of energy up into the mountain. Then I kicked out a foot at the pillar of stone marking the bend of the river.
Instantly rocks rained down between myself and the Pale Eyes. As they piled up swiftly, I thought I heard one let out a cry of rage, but the crash of stone drowned it out.
Then it was silent.
A wall of rock now blocked the path around the bend in the river. Splashing in, I darted to the edge and poked my head around.
Trini had come to the water’s edge, her eyes glittering with fury, but she leaped away as a wave washed close. Then she went to help the other man free their companions.
With a sigh of relief, I loped back to shore and shook out my fur. Then I winced, my wound burning, and a wave of dizziness hit me. It must have been deeper than I realized.
Sniffing the air, I tried to catc
h Kalin’s scent, but the wind had shifted, and I couldn’t find it. Gingerly, I dug my paws in, wincing at the sharp flare in my shoulder, and focused.
For a second there was nothing. Then I heard the scrabble of her feet nearly half a mile ahead. Her steps were hesitant, slowing down, walking back, and then dragging forward.
Shifting back, I found my bag, slung it over my good shoulder, and trekked after her. Even though Kalin had seemed unharmed, I needed to see her. I had to make sure.
As I jogged towards where she was, my breath came out in sharp pants. She was hidden from view by scattered boulders and breakneck precipices marching towards the river.
Finally, I rushed around a rock and Kalin was there. Instantly she turned around. Her cheeks were flushed with color and she was breathing as heavily as I was.
“Oh, Wes, you’re okay!” she cried out, running towards me. Her cold hands seized my forearms and her watery eyes clapped onto mine. “How did you get behind me? Never mind, it doesn’t matter, thank goodness you’re okay. I thought something happened to you.”
Swallowing, the muscles in my neck feeling as though they were about to explode, I then exhaled in a long breath. Relief mingled with heat and sweetness – creating a curling, consuming desire – made it hard to think. Fighting down the urge to wrap my arms around her, I took a step back, gently freeing myself and looking her over.
But inside, my instincts were screaming to press my lips to her head, then her neck, and then her lips. To run my hands up and down her – make sure she wasn’t just pretending to be okay.
“What happened?” I asked after a moment, almost curt. “How did we get separated?” In my mind, an explanation for my whereabouts was already forming.
“Oh, um…” Kalin hugged herself and avoided my gaze. “I-I guess I fell behind. I looked up and you weren’t there, then there were Pale Eyes…”
“Pale Eyes?” I asked harshly, feigning ignorance. “How did you get away?”
“I–” Her eyes flicked back up in guilty confusion, then she saw my shoulder, and sucked in a sharp breath. “Wes, you’re hurt!” Alarmed, she stepped forward, studying me. “It looks deep! How did you…? Whatever, it needs to be cleaned immediately.” Her eyes met mine and for a second, my heart jumped in both anticipation and terror.
There was a struggling sense of comprehension in her eyes, along with real fear, real caring. For me.
It was as though I’d stumbled into a hidden whirlpool – one that sucked me straight down into a place of comfort and warmth I’d come to associate with Kalin. Only now I couldn’t escape it.
The urgency to hold her was becoming hot and electric, moving through my body like lightning, and seeking her out. She was the rod. Then, memories of being a kid – holding two magnets just close enough that you could feel the pull between them – flashed into my mind.
Eventually, that pull became too strong, and something had to give.
Or someone.
Responding in a miraculously normal voice, I said, “No, we have to get moving. If there are Pale Eyes, they could be coming right now. Although perhaps they lost our trail; they’re not bright.”
I started to walk, Kalin trailing next to me, and I could tell she was struggling with both questions and worry.
“Look, Wes, you’re bleeding like crazy.” She erupted after barely a minute. “Can I at least patch you up?”
“I can do it,” I said, stopping and wincing as I lowered the bag. My left arm was growing cold from blood loss. Clumsily, I tried to open the bag one-handed, but the zipper was being obstinate.
“Wes,” Kalin bit out. “Will you just let me help?”
“Fine,” I growled, sitting on the ground. Looking over, I saw my entire arm was a coat of blood, some parts a dark red shine, and other parts flaking off brown. It looked disgusting. With a groan, I got up and walked into the river, sticking my entire left side in.
“What are you doing?” Kalin cried out. “How is that sanitary?”
“Had to get the blood off,” I muttered, walking back over.
“Are you fu–” Kalin broke off as her knuckles whitened around the first aid kit. She jerked her head at a nearby rock and grit out, “Please sit.”
“Fine.”
“Oh, thank you,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Then I winced as she rolled up the sleeve, dabbing away the blood with a wipe, and then spritzing it with Neosporin. It stung like hell for a moment, then subsided. Soft gauze brushed my arm, then Kalin began wrapping it. “Is this tight enough?” she asked.
“Sure," I said.
“I can make it tighter.”
“Kalin, it’s fine.” I paused, then grumbled out, “Thank you.”
She finished and then laid a gentle hand above it. Her palm was warm against my bare skin. I gulped at the air as something tried to claw free from a place of raw need deep within me. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”
Struggling to focus, I said, my voice gruff, “Well, when I realized you were no longer with me, I climbed up into the rocks to try and spot you. Then there was a bit of a tremor and I lost my footing. Gashed my shoulder.” I kept my face and tone neutral, hoping she’d bite.
Kalin’s eyes slit. “I felt that too. You know what happened right after it? A massive black and brown coyote appeared out of nowhere and saved my life.” She let out a breath. “…Did you send it?”
I let out a laugh, not expecting that. “Me? What?”
“Can you communicate with animals?” Kalin’s fingers pressed into my shoulder. “I mean, I thought the thing with the birds was weird, but now I’m wondering if maybe that’s what you guys meant when you said only you could take down those creatures…”
Forcing a laugh, I shrugged her off and stood up. “Animals don’t like aberrations of nature. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve heard of them going after Pale Eyes. Not usually Ash Walkers, though. They know how to avoid getting incinerated.” I clenched my teeth. “Usually.”
“Wes, you’re not telling me the truth,” Kalin said quietly, and I looked down at her. “Or the whole truth. Now, I haven’t asked you anything, but what just happened to me was like a miracle and a dream combined. I know you know what happened. Please tell me. Please.” Her eyes were shining with unshed tears. “I need something. My sister was there, she came after me.” Kalin put her hands over her face. “It was her, but it wasn’t, Wes. What is happening?”
Gently, I laid my hands on her shoulders, my chest tight. I hated seeing her this upset, but her safety came first. “Kalin, I wish I could tell you, but I honestly have no idea.”
She lowered her hands and locked them over my wrists. Tightening her grip, Kalin let out a long breath and pulled me off her. “At least tell me something, Wes.”
“Come on,” I said, frustration mingling with a nauseating kind of fear. “I honestly don’t know. Besides, we told you that there are things that have to remain hidden from you. It’s for your own safety. Trust me, we’ve told you as much as we could. More than we should have, in fact. There’s not many who’ve escaped unscathed after a brush with the Ash Walkers, never mind the Crooked Man. You’re alive. Let’s keep it that way. We still have a lot of ground to cover and your sister to save.”
Instead of agreeing with a cute pout, as I’d expected, Kalin flushed with rage. The glitter in her eyes was like the light off a knife. “And how are you guys going to save her, exactly?” Her voice was low and poisonous. “What is that you do? Why can’t I know? I mean, what kind of a messed-up thing did I stumble into here?”
I sensed that Kalin was venting a lot more than just her frustration at my nonresponse. Behind her eyes was a vortex of emotions. Anger, fear, and diminishing hope. But I couldn’t tell her what she wanted to hear, and she needed to get that through her head.
Otherwise, she was walking straight towards the eager, waiting arms of the Crooked Man.
And death.
“Let’s get moving,” I stated, pointedly ignoring her
questions. When she didn’t move, a muscle in my jaw locked up, and I said angrily, “Kalin, now, please.”
“I can’t believe you won’t trust me,” she muttered as she stormed by me.
“It has nothing to do with that,” I said, my irritation cracking through my patience.
“Oh, sure,” Kalin snorted. “You know, you’re unbelievable.”
“Yeah, well, you know, Kalin, this isn’t exactly a picnic for me either,” I snapped, my temper starting to fray at the edges. I was sore, tired, and hungry – and I wasn’t in the mood for this bullshit. I’d used up a lot of power holding back those Pale Eyes. Even though I knew I needed to eat and rest, we had to keep moving. “I’d appreciate it if you could just keep your mouth shut for once.”
“Look, Wes,” she swung around to face me. “I’m sorry I fell behind and I’m sorry you got hurt. And I’m sorry I’m using the word sorry. But cut me some slack here. I’m in the middle of the wilderness with a guy keeping all sorts of secrets from me – secrets that could save my sister.
“I know you saved my life and I trust you, but it sucks that it doesn’t get reciprocated. In fact, it hurts. After all this time, everything that’s happened, there’s still this big question mark hanging over us. I think I’ve more than earned the right to know. I mean, Hazel knows.”
“That’s different,” I growled, then took a deep breath, trying to cool my anger. “Kalin, these are not secrets to be lightly shared. It’s life and death. And they’re not just my own.”
Suddenly, it hit me how I was in the same position Ben had been in over the summer with Hazel. Jeez, no wonder he’d been such a mess. This was a gnarly spot with a woman.
However, Hazel had ended up being involved in our destiny, so that’s why it was different…
“Oh, you think I don’t know that? Look where we are!” Kalin cried out. “Look at what’s after us. My entire world inverted the second I laid eyes on that thing you call the Crooked Man.”
“You shouldn’t have even been there in the first place,” I snarled at her, then a torrent of words ripped free of me after that admission. “You ask me to trust you, Kalin, but all I see is you runnin’ around and getting yourself into trouble. You’re reckless and impulsive… Honestly, it’s a goddamn wonder you’re even alive right now. And I’d like to point out that since the moment we met I’ve been savin’ your ass.” I pushed around her. “So forgive me if I don’t trust or act as rashly as you do.” My voice was a whip of sarcasm. “Sorry I don’t leap without looking first.”
HOTSHOT BROTHERS: Coyote Shifters Page 22
