by Cherie Marks
“That I was bat-shit crazy?”
A quick, relieved breath left my lungs. “Yes. There. I said it.” So glad I didn’t have to.
“I’m not always so…normal.”
He marched on in silence without explaining any further. “Well, we all have our issues, don’t we? Do you care to elaborate on not…normal?”
No response for several minutes was his reply. I waited, wanting to push him to answer. But something told me it would come out. He was trying to earn my trust, and he would continue to piece together the story he wanted me to know. He’d continue to drag me along physically and mentally through these woods, which meant he’d give me some kind of answer, and I’d need to decipher what it all meant for me and my mission to find my parents.
He paused and held out a bottle of water. I took and opened it, guzzling down cool liquid and staring over the bottle at him. He licked his lips as his eyes dipped to half-mast. His look turned pensive.
“Over this next hill is a suspension bridge crossing a river. Once we’ve crossed that bridge, I’ll tell you about the prophecy and how I’m not exactly…normal.”
I stopped drinking and lowered the bottle. “I don’t do heights.”
“I was told as much.”
Now, who was feeding information to the wildman? Things were starting to become clear. Someone was working with Ethan, and they were conspiring against me.
“I’ll help you the whole way. You won’t be in danger for a second.”
“You don’t get it. You’ll have to knock me out to get me over that bridge. Heights and I do not mix. It’s not that I’m being stubborn. I’m being honest. I will freak out all over you.”
“I wasn’t joking about the tight deadline I’m on. If we don’t make good time tonight, there’s a definite chance we won’t make it to our destination at all, leaving our parents imprisoned forever. Is that what you want?”
“Well, that’s a loaded question. Of course I don’t want our parents in a dungeon for the rest of their lives, but there’s got to be another way. I won’t be able to cross that bridge.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Take a look at it and then decide.”
I screwed the lid on the water bottle slowly, watching the motion of my fingers. I glanced up at him, keeping my voice even, though panic was beginning to take hold. “I’ll do all the looking you want me to, but there’s no way I’m crossing of my own volition.”
Long moments passed while he seemed to mull over whatever was twisting through his brain. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like what he was planning. He rubbed his hand down his face and gave one, quick nod before turning and starting up the hill.
I followed, barely picking up my tired feet. Clearly, I wasn’t cut out for this type of travel. Put a champagne glass in my hand and maybe I’d feel okay, but currently, all I could do was put one foot in front of the other and keep pace with the wildman.
At the crest of the hill, he paused and waited for me to catch up to him. I took one look at the swinging monstrosity someone dared call a bridge and turned right back around. I got five feet down the hill before he caught my shoulder and turned me to face him.
“It’s not as dreadful as it looks.”
“Says the guy who might or might not be in his right mind.”
He winced at the jabbing words, and I immediately regretted them. But he had to know that I couldn’t be coerced across the bridge. It just wasn’t happening.
His heavy breath fanned over the top of my head. “Don’t worry. I have a plan.”
The laugh that sprang from my mouth twittered in a way that made me sound just as crazy as I was beginning to suspect he was. “Famous last words spoken by every idiot right before he’s wheeled into the hospital emergency room.”
His lips lifted in a wry smile, but he began to pull me back up the hill, toward the last place on earth I wanted to be right now.
“So, when we get to the edge of the bridge, I’m going to blindfold you.” He produced a dark blue handkerchief.
“Um…I’m going to say no to that.”
“Then, I’ll lift you in my arms and carry you across. You’ll remain safe as can be in my arms, and you won’t even see anything until it’s over.”
I crossed my arms and shook my head hard. “Again, Ethan, unless your plan involves me being completely unconscious, then this is all for nothing.”
His frustration was showing in the tightness of his mouth. “At least try it. If you can’t do it, I’ll bring you back, and though it will cost us time, we’ll find another way.”
I didn’t want to do this, but as I looked up and down the stretch of water, I realized this was probably the only way to get across for miles. There was still the chance he was lying about my parents, but even if there was the tiniest bit of truth to their captivity, I wanted to get to them as soon as I possibly could. If this was the only way, then shouldn’t I sacrifice my own comfort in order to make up for all they sacrificed for me?
“Fine! You can blindfold me, but no carrying. I’ll hold your hand and walk by myself. No matter what, if I want to come back, promise me you will.”
“What if we’re over halfway across?”
“Promise me!”
He held up his hands in surrender. “I promise. If you want to come back, no matter what, I’ll turn us around and we’ll come right back.”
I breathed deeply in and back out a few times. I needed to steady my nerves and remind myself why this was important. “I’m doing this for my parents. It’s the least I can do.”
“Understood.”
We made our way to the bridge, and I inspected the large, metal cables sunk deep into the solid rock of the ground, held fast with corrosion free connectors. My gaze strayed to the wooden planks that stretched across, the entire line of them swinging freely in the breeze. The railings were made of braided rope and looped over the long, metal cables that formed the structure of the bridge. A few of the ropes appeared frayed, but none were loose. All in all, the bridge looked well maintained.
“Satisfied?”
I glanced at him sideways. “Not even close, but I’m ready.”
He gave me a sharp nod and indicated I should turn around. As I did so, he lowered the wrapped handkerchief over my head and let me take over. I tied it twice, tight enough to block any sneak peeks that would surely send me reeling and running.
I felt his hand grasp mine, and he asked, “Do you want to sing?”
With a shaky nod, I began singing, “When the lights…go down…in the city. And the sun shines on…the bay…”
He joined in and we took the first step. For the first few boards, everything felt stable, and I started to breathe easy again. But as we inched along, the bridge began to sway right to left slightly, enough to make me cringe.
“I…I don’t think I can do this.”
He squeezed my hand tighter. “I’ve got you. We’re making progress. Just keep singing with me.” He picked up the song again, and after a moment’s hesitation, I did too as we started forward once more.
We continued along the wooden slats, little by little, and I did my best to ignore the motion of the bridge with each of our steps. The creaks and groans of the structure sent my heartbeat racing.
I held onto the lifeline of his hand and trusted him to lead me across safely. He seemed so confident and secure that the feelings began to transfer to me. I stumbled slightly, but it didn’t worry me too much as I grabbed onto his upper arm and felt the strength there. I knew what it meant to be an independent woman. It meant taking care of and watching out for yourself. I knew that didn’t mean living without fear, but it did often mean not relying on any other person to get by. Clearly, the pendulum had swung in the other direction today. This was a whole, new sensation for me, but I didn’t hate it.
I kind of liked feeling like I had a partner. I liked feeling like I didn’t have to face my fear alone, and that there was no judgement toward me whatsoever. As I continued to sin
g, trying to harmonize with Ethan, I got a sense that with the right person by your side, you felt supported, not controlled. With the right partner, you felt free, not imprisoned. With the right mate, you felt loved, not smothered. It was enlightening, and the humor of the situation wasn’t lost on me. I had to be blindfolded to see the truth. Come on, irony, no need to beat me over the head with a lesson.
Ethan’s voice faded as I continued to sing. He stopped, and I bumped into his back.
I stopped singing and asked, “Why’d we stop? I can keep going.”
“What do you want?”
Confusion filled my brain at his words. Was he talking to me? Because I thought I’d already made it pretty clear.
“Are you crazy? What are you doing?”
The next minute, an ear-splitting pop, like a loud gunshot sounded, and the entire bridge began to slide sideways and down all at once. I screamed and grabbed onto Ethan’s back as I felt the bridge go out beneath my feet. We dropped rapidly to the water and plunged into the cold river. I lost my hold on Ethan and sank, waving my arms wildly. The blindfold slipped off as I hurtled down.
In the next moment, I didn’t think, just acted. I began kicking hard toward the surface, pushing my arms through the water. When my head broke the surface, I pulled in a full breath and attempted to make sense of where I was and where Ethan was too. I looked behind me, but the remains of the bridge were quickly fading in the distance with a blurry, brightly-colored figure standing nearby. I couldn’t make out any other physical details, but there was definitely someone standing there.
With a turn, I glimpsed out ahead and spotted Ethan swimming for the shoreline. I did my best to follow with short, hurried strokes of my arms, but the rush of the fast-moving water pushed me past the place where he pulled himself out.
“Celia!” He called after me, reaching out his arms. I continued to paddle my hands and feet but slipped farther away. As I floated around a bend in the river, I watched him sprint along the shoreline until I twisted and he moved out of my line of vision.
The current continued to push me downstream until the water began rushing at me faster than I could safely maneuver through. Water splashed my face, and I spotted glimpses of the land racing by through the froth foaming into my eyes. I began to choke as my mouth filled with liquid. This could seriously be a situation from which there was no coming back.
I was quickly approaching a collection of rocks in the water. My goal was to try to grab onto them to stop my progress down the river. But the minute, I reached for them, I got a face full of water and hit my elbow on a sharp edge, bouncing off into a dip in the current. Like taking a step down, I dropped and floated on.
Yet, in that moment, I spied a fallen tree trunk spanning the river, and on top of it was a beautiful, light-brown color bobcat. In a blink, he shifted and dropped to his stomach. He reached both hands down and sank them into my backpack. A grunt came from deep in his chest as he lifted me straight up out of the water until I could grab onto the log. With a slight bit more effort, I was hugging the tree, and my belly was flat on the bark.
I didn’t feel like I could move at all, but the next moment, the log began to shake and bounce slightly.
“Come on! She’s at it again.” He reached a hand down to me, and pulled me up. I didn’t allow myself to think about the log about to give out beneath us. Instead, I held tightly to his hand and followed him back to the side of the river from which we’d started. The minute we jumped to the sandy bank, the log rolled into the current, turned slowly, and took off down the river.
I threw my arms around Ethan as intense relief filled my body. He held me tightly, but for some reason, I couldn’t seem to get enough of his touch in that moment. Maybe it had something to do with the life or death sitch I’d just been in, but suddenly I didn’t want to let go of him.
I pulled back and looked up into his eyes. He seemed confused but aroused, and his gaze strayed to my mouth.
He didn’t seem to consider any ramifications as his lips lowered to mine. My precarious equilibrium was thrown completely off as I pressed my body flush to his and felt all the butterflies return to frolic in my abdomen. It was divine, and I wanted more.
I rubbed a hand into his wet hair and another along his neck. His masculine warmth seeped through my skin to warm me up from the inside, and I couldn’t seem to get enough of him.
The kiss was tender and desperate at the same time as our mouths moved together, and his hands slipped under my shirt to rub up and down my spine. I shuddered and moaned, feeling his proprietary claim in every touch of his hands and lips. He caressed my lips with his tongue, and I opened my mouth to let him sweep inside.
Desire fired high like flames, and even I was starting to feel desperate with passion. Unfortunately, his grip became a bit rough and he nipped my lower lip hard enough that I yelped and pulled back. He stared at me with a dazed look in his powerful eyes. He seemed to be in a frenzied state that made me anxious and aroused all at the same time.
In the next moment, he appeared to wake up, and he pulled back, dropping his arms to his sides. He slammed his hands into his pockets like he was trying to protect me from them.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to get rough with you.”
I nodded, feeling the effects of the near-drowning and sexual frustration all at once. I collapsed gently on the solid ground of the riverbank, and nearly cried with relief and confusion. I was sure I could’ve died, and I didn’t like the thought of that at all, but more than that, I didn’t like the idea of how close I’d been to losing myself in Ethan’s arms. And I’d liked the idea of that.
I glanced over at him, gripping his forehead in his hands. Did he regret the kiss? Yes, I’d made a sound when he’d gotten a little rough. But, he’d been the one to pull away. Now, I had to question what was going on. I’d been worried about having a mate forced on me, but perhaps, I wasn’t the only one.
“Dammit! What was she doing?”
“Who? Me?”
“No. Not you. She…she…keeps showing up, and I don’t know why she’s doing what she’s doing.
“You keep saying she. You believe someone sabotaged the bridge?”
I met his frustrated gaze, and he explained, “I didn’t get out of my prison on my own. The witch who helped me escaped just crumpled that bridge like so much paper. It was like she was trying to kill me. But why would she set me free if she didn’t want me to get back to the castle?”
“Is she an ex-?” The blurry image of a brightly dressed person standing at the end of the bridge came back to me. There’d definitely been someone there. Whoever it was, did that person want us dead?
“Most definitely not.”
I shrugged. “I got nothing.” Then, something he said sunk into my addled brain. “Castle? Like a real one?”
He nodded. “What are we going to do now?” He searched from side-to-side around us, like he was hunting for something…or someone. “We’re on the wrong side of the river with no way to cross it. And, we’re running out of time.”
“Is there something you’re not telling me? They’ve been imprisoned for ten years now. And you keep talking about a deadline? What exactly has changed?”
“I’ve changed. Or, at least, I will change.” He didn’t elaborate as he stared up at the noonday sky. “Come on. We have to find a way across if we’re going to meet the helicopter pilot who will take us to Wicked.”
“Wait! What? Where are we going?”
“The bobcat shifter kingdom is called Wicked. You didn’t know that?”
“That’s…a little strange. Is it an evil place?”
“No, far from it, but the name certainly does keep people away, especially humans. Not that they’d be able to find it. No one can find it without the right person guiding them. There’s a trick to it that no one but the royal family knows.”
I stood up on shaky legs and wrung the water out of my hair. “So, you’re taking me to a hidden place called Wicked, we must get ther
e by a certain deadline, I’ll have to fight my fear of heights again, and the witch who saved you is now trying to kill you?”
“That’s about the sum of it.”
“Yeah, well, let’s hope the math starts adding up in our favor soon because I don’t think I can take any more surprises.”
Totally jinxed us.
Chapter 8
After about an hour of walking, he pulled out a paper map and compass again and checked our bearings. “We have to get across somehow.”
“Maybe we could tie some logs together and make a raft, Huck Finn style. What do you think?”
His eyes lit up, and I didn’t have the heart to tell him I was being a smartass again.
Yet, he began pointing at something behind me, a huge smile erasing the frustration from before. “Boat. Flipped over in the bushes there.”
I glanced at the spot to which he was referring and saw the boat he meant. It was a two-man canoe, and I actually felt a minute bit of hope that we’d touch the other side of the riverbank within a half an hour or so.
Ethan seemed more nervous as we paddled across the flowing water. He kept looking around anxiously as he dipped his paddle in and pulled on one side and then the other. The minute we hit the sand, he leapt from the boat and splashed onto the riverbank. He waited for me to step out and dragged the canoe into the grassy area where the forest met the sand.
He consulted his map and compass once more and started off in a westerly direction. I dropped my head back on my shoulders and took a moment to catch my breath before straightening and starting off after him. This journey was becoming so extra—as my students would say. I was still on board to save our parents, but I was really not a fan of the drama of late.
Even more disturbing to my exhausted brain was the realization that we were making our way to a helicopter. Again, my fear of heights was going to be tested. And seeing as to how the last test with a collapsing bridge was a total failure, I wasn’t too excited to take on another trial so soon.
“Hey, Ethan! Why don’t we just make camp for tonight? My feet are so barking angry, I’m about to literally kick my own ass.”
