Chills & Thrills Paranormal Boxed Set (65 page)

"I, uh . . . I'm not sure . . ." He sat up and
gingerly stretched his limbs, grunting from the effort. Touching a spot on his
ribs, he winced. "Hurts. But nothing seems broken. Must've just had the
breath knocked out of me."

He gave his body a double-check, then looked at her.
"You came back for me?"

"Yes."

Using the boulder as support, Tony levered himself to his
feet. He took his time getting his balance before letting go and standing
straight

"We must go back," he said gravely.

Lily's eyes darted involuntarily to the lodge. Sitting high
on the mesa, it seemed under assault by the intensity of the storm. It wasn't
too late. She could still run. But Tony was staring at her imploringly, waiting
for her answer. When she'd looked down at his motionless body she'd thought he
was gone, lost to her forever. It had been more than she could bear.

"Yes," she repeated softly.

He took her arm and they started the treacherous climb back
to the lodge, one or the other of them losing balance several times. As Lily
righted herself once again, the fine hairs on her body bristled. She paused,
turning to look at the riverbank.

"What is it?" Tony asked.

A howl rose above the cacophony of the storm. Another
followed. Soon the sounds joined with the thunder and lightning in unholy discord.

"Sebastian's here!"

     
Tony turned from
the howls and mentally measured the distance to the lodge. "We've left
sacred ground," he told Lily. "We have no protection."

He was more familiar with the treachery of a desert storm,
so he took her arm, supporting her, forcing her to practically leap up the
slick mud slope. Soon his ribs throbbed. He almost lost her, and when he
twisted to keep her from falling, he grunted and doubled over. Lily bent and
ran her hands along his ribs and asked him if he could go on.

Then the wolves were at the base of the mesa, hunkering on
all fours. Forcing himself beyond his pain, Tony took Lily's hand and began the
last leg of their slippery climb.

Suddenly Sebastian was ahead of them in man-wolf form. He
ripped Lily away from Tony, scooping her into his arms, then whirled and sped
down the slope. Lily kicked and screamed, but couldn't break free. Not wasting
a single breath on words, Tony projected the hawk into the air to follow Lily,
then turned to pursue.

From the base of the mesa, eight pairs of hungry eyes
glinted red in the lightning flashes. Crouching, they slunk forward. Tony
wrenched his knife from its sheath and began cautiously backing up the slope.
The lodge was only feet away, but judging by the swiftness with which Sebastian
took the hill, the four legged ones would be on him in an instant.

Taking a chance, Tony pivoted and took the remaining
distance in long, rib-splitting strides. When he was within feet of the door,
he fell to the ground and rolled beneath the curtain. His side screamed in
agony, and he held it as he crouched by the fire. His breath came in
excruciating heaves.

The wolves let out an angry howl. One came crashing through
the curtain. It yelped, somersaulted, rolled out the way it had come. Another
tried and left just as quickly, with pain.

None of the others attempted to enter. Except for the roar
of the rainstorm, all was silent on the other side of the curtain. Then Tony
heard feet approaching. Not the even beat of four paws on the ground, but the
sound of a creature walking upright.

"Another time, Shaman," someone snarled through
the curtain.

"Arlan?" Tony asked, sure he recognized the voice.
"We thought you were dead."

"Yes, I'm alive. More alive than I have ever been. I am
one of the Lupine now, and I shapeshift with ease. Soon you, Riva, and that
mewling offspring of yours shall serve as our dinner. None shall mourn your
names."

Tony's heart filled with pity. "It might not be too
late," he said. "Lily has ways. She could restore you."

"Bah! I do not wish to be restored. I am destined for
greater things. When the People pass into Quakahla I shall rule them in the
ways of old."

"Arlan . . ."

But he was gone. Tony knew it by the way the Stone People
flared again, filling the lodge with light.

Although he hated to lose sight of Lily, who was still
pounding her fists on Sebastian's back, he called back the hawk. Its eyes soon
told him the wolves had truly gone, and a few minutes later he saw them
scurrying after their king.

He had no smelling salts, nor had he advised Lily to bring
the sanctified water. They were to stay in the sacred lodge by night, and
werewolves seldom ventured out by day except in human form.

His ribs still throbbing, he moved through the curtain, the
knife in his hand. The raptor was again rising and falling with the currents
above Sebastian's head. Lily had stopped struggling. From what she'd told him,
he knew Sebastian's plan had been to return her to his pack. But what now? Had
she angered him so much his plans had changed?

Tony started down the perilous side of the mesa, taking
minimal care, his only goal to reach Lily while she was still alive. What he
would do when he got there, with only his knife and the hawk to aid him, he
didn't know.

Tony raced along the river trail. The hawk's eyes told him
Lily was as yet unharmed, but had no way of escaping.
 
The pack was miles ahead of him. He compelled
his legs to move faster. They gave him their best, which wasn't enough, and he
considered sending the hawk in to attack. But even the agile raptor couldn't
take on nine werewolves. Should it be injured, Tony would feel the pain as
acutely as if he'd received the blows himself.

He'd never catch up this way. His only hope was to meld with
his thought-form, glide down from the sky, and shapeshift to human form when he
landed near the werewolves. He'd done it before. Surely the gift would come
again.

Delving deep into his psyche, he willed himself to join with
the hawk.
 
He waited for the merging to
occur as it had in New York and again at the Clearing of the Black Hands, but
instead of feeling talons drawn against a feathered underbelly, he felt human
feet pounding the riverbank. He tried a second time, again without success.

When his third attempt also
failed, Tony's frustration mounted. As he fought off despair, he heard a small
voice inside him.
Call on me in your hour of need.

"Brother, I need you," he cried, more from
hopelessness than faith that Bear would appear.

Suddenly, instead of looking down from the air, as his
thought-form had been doing, he saw leaves and pine needles. He moved with an
awkward gait that still managed to deliver considerable speed. As the
thought-form turned its head, he saw a round brown nose and got a glimpse of
white shaggy fur.

Bear had heeded his call.

* * *

Rain fell in sheets off the leaves of the towering trees,
soaking Lily to her bones. She bounced miserably in Sebastian's arms as he ate
up the trail with his long strides. She'd almost forgotten how monstrously tall
werewolves were. If he let go, she'd drop more than five feet.

Tony's safety concerned her the most. Her heart had fairly
stopped when the hawk disappeared a short while before. But now it glided above
them again, giving out an occasional shrill cry.

The rest of the pack had joined them, most retaining their
wolf form. Beryl and Ravenheart, however, had returned to the man-wolf shape,
and the latter wore an arrogant expression as he jogged behind Sebastian. With
relief, Lily noticed that none of them showed signs of recent feeding, giving
her additional hope for Tony's safety.

"Let me go, Sebastian!" she demanded again,
although her earlier cries had done no good.

Sebastian lowered his muzzle until it touched her ear.
"Give me no orders, bitch. You forfeited your queenly status the night you
slayed the wolfling."

The old defenses sprang to Lily's lips: Sebastian had
insisted she go after Morgan; Jorje had been about to kill him; she never would
have–

Those excuses didn't work anymore.

"Yes, I killed Jorje," she replied sadly.
"I'll live with that for the rest of my days. Take me back if you like,
but you'll only be stuck with a sniveling mortal. I'll never go into the
ceremonial ring."

Sebastian hesitated, the idea obviously troubling him.
"You have no powers now, Lily. Do not pretend you do."

But she did. Although she had no idea what they were. If she
alchemized now, how would she fare? Without fangs or claws, could she defend
herself? She was five feet tall. They were nearly eight. Still, the element of
surprise might cause enough confusion to let her escape.

She willed her alchemization.

Nothing happened. She tried again. Still nothing. Dismayed,
she absently brought her hand to the crystal, thinking about Tony, where he
was, whether he was hurt. She must find him. The crystal grew warm against her
fingers.

Sebastian groaned suddenly, his pace turning choppy. Lily
was so lost in thought she gave him little notice. The gem in her hand was hot
now, warming the chill in her body.

As soon as she found Tony and knew he was safe, she'd return
to the sweat lodge. The Tribunal was incomplete. Although its outcome remained
nebulous, she suddenly knew she'd never find peace unless she finished the
inquisition.

Escape, she must. But how?

Sebastian's groan accelerated to a whimper, tearing Lily
from her thoughts. She looked at his face and saw his muzzle wrinkling with
pain. He stumbled. His grip on her relaxed.

Lily seized the moment. Twisting, she jumped from his arms,
landing bent-legged on the soggy ground. He didn't try to recapture her.
Instead his hands flew to the sides of his head. His whimper turned into an
agonized howl. Staring at him in puzzlement, Lily wondered if his agony had
something to do with the crystal in her hand. It practically thrummed now,
pulsing with so much heat it was slightly uncomfortable to hold.

Beryl and Ravenheart moved beside their king. "What is
it, Lord?" Beryl asked.

"Stop . . . stop Lily," Sebastian croaked,
grinding his hands into his head.

Just as the pair converged on her, the forest came alive
with noise. Hands still pressing on his head, Sebastian turned stiffly. His
companions whirled.

A huge bear was charging at them, rain skittering off a
shaggy coat, mud splattering beneath the force of gargantuan feet. Lily took it
in with wide-eyed shock. What was this massive creature who barreled down on
them so determinedly?

* * *

From the riverbank, Tony saw the werewolves and felt the
bear's massive head lower. The wolves had turned, prepared for battle, but Bear
surprised the closest one with a swipe of his paw before it fully registered
his presence. The wolf rolled with a yelp, then crouched to defend itself.
Raising on hind legs, the bear lumbered forward and dropped on the wolf's back.
When he reared again, the wolf didn't get up.

Now the pack was howling and caterwauling. Several shifted
to the larger man-wolf shape. Up ahead, Sebastian held his head as if it were
splitting apart. Lily stood before him, hand on the gemstone, appearing
paralyzed by the sight of the rampaging bear. Ravenheart and another taller
werewolf stayed close to their king, disregarding his orders to move in on
Lily.

Still speeding beside the river in his human body, Tony's
head suddenly swirled. He lost consciousness for the space of a breath. Then he
was looking through the bear's eyes, feeling a rocking motion as his enormous
body swayed above the approaching pack.

He had become the bear.

A wolf was in midair, aiming at his throat, and he fell back
on all fours, tossed his head, and caught the wolf's forelegs in his teeth.
Shaking it brutally, he pitched it into the muddy runoff at the edge of the
path. Another wolf flew forward, met Tony's swinging paw, and soared into the
trees. Then a man-wolf approached, eyes blazing, fangs bared.

Tony rose on two legs again, wrapped his front ones around
the charging beast. Sharp fangs punctured his shoulder, but still he held on.
Two wolves hammered at his back, nipping and tearing. The man-wolf fought
fiercely, driving a hind leg into Tony's stomach, its sharp claws tearing fur and
flesh. Barely noticing his wounds, Tony upped the pressure of his hold to
bone-crushing intensity.

He heard the spine snap even before the werewolf felt it.
Its livid eyes widened in surprise, glazed. Then it grew limp. Tony let it
slide to the ground as he whirled to deal with the two animals savaging his
back.

One of the wolves fell off, landing on its fallen companion,
its muzzle sinking into the muddy runoff. The other jumped down, hunkering on
the ground, lips drawn back and revealing dripping fangs. Another man-wolf
stood behind it. Still keeping an eye on them, Tony lifted his head to seek out
Lily.

She was backing away from Sebastian, holding the crystal
spear in front of her like a weapon. The minions stood protectively at their
leader's side.

"Get her," Sebastian barked.

Beryl instantly lunged forward, but Ravenheart merely looked
at his master. "The gem, Lord. It is enchanted. We cannot–"

"Get her!"

Reluctantly, Ravenheart moved to join Beryl, who even now
was closing a hand on Lily's shoulder. A ki-yi-yi abruptly left Beryl's mouth.
He fell to his knees. Ravenheart stopped in midstep.

Lily bolted for the forest. Although Sebastian bellowed
orders, neither Ravenheart nor the fallen werewolf moved to obey. Whirling, he
bayed, "Philippe!"

The man-wolf in front of Tony turned at the shout, heard the
second order —"Catch, Lily!"—and dashed into the forest. The
four-legged wolf backed up, whirled and joined his packmate.