Damned and Cursed (Book 2): Witch's Kurse (5 page)

"I can leave, if you want," she said.
 
"You can call the police."

"No.
 
That's quite alright."

She took a step forward, but stopped one more time as she looked down at herself.
 
The curtain was finally too much.
 
She undid the knot and cast it aside.
 
Nathan quietly took in a breath behind her, but said nothing.
 
She was uncomfortable, but ignored it as best she could.
 
Being naked in the woods was a very familiar feeling, but having company was not.

Marie kept low to the ground as they made their way through the tree line.
 
Nathan followed closely behind.
 
She tried not to get overwhelmed at the sounds and smells around her.
 
A squirrel running through the trees.
 
The relaxing water.
 
The trees moving with the gentle breeze.

Other scents rushed in, and she signaled for Nathan to stop.
 
She didn't move an inch.
 
The sounds followed, and she closed her eyes to better process them.
 
Her vision was supernatural.
 
She could even see in the dark when she wanted.
 
But she always found herself relying on her nose and ears more often.

"What's going on?" Nathan whispered.

"Shh!"

Pieces of conversations.
 
Scents she had to separate in her mind.

"…gonna kill the women?
 
Both of them?…"

A woman sniffling.

"…Eddie…hasn't called…"

A touch of marijuana.
 
Three, perhaps four men.

"…don't like this…"

Some arguing, raised voices.

"…Eddie…kill you…calm down…"

Marie couldn't hear Terri and Mackenzie, but definitely smelled them.

The third henchman from the basement was nowhere to be heard or smelled.
 
He'd decided not to run to his friends, but far away in another direction.
 
She had the element of surprise.

"Stay low," she said.
 
"Don't make any noise."

She led him further along the trees until they finally saw what they were looking for.
 
A van was parked not far from one of the old ramps.
 
Shadows moved about under the light of the moon.

"I can't see anything," Nathan said, his pulse quickening.
 
"Is my family there?"

She said nothing, but lay prone on the ground with the brush and leaves.
 
It was awkward exposing her bare body to Nathan, even if his mind was on far more important things.
 
She clenched her eyes shut and focused on her vision.
 
She willed the darkness to fade away.

A soft gray rushed in to replace the black, and she shielded her eyes.
 
Whenever she used her night vision her eyes glowed.
 
The last thing she wanted was for Eddie's men to see two glowing slits in the trees.

The shapes became figures.
 
Four men, all moving about near the rear of the van.
 
Two of them paced while another leaned against the open rear door, smoking.
 
The fourth man stared at a cell phone.

Terri and Mackenzie sat in the back of the van.
 
Tears ran down their faces as Mackenzie leaned on her mother's shoulder.
 
They were still bound and gagged.

The conversation was finally clear.

"You're telling me you're okay with killing a woman and a kid?"

"Hey, are you telling me you're okay with not doing what Eddie says?"

"Eddie would really do that?"

Laughter.
 
"I saw Eddie push an old man out of a wheelchair.
 
There's nothing that bastard won't do.
 
You should know, you're his brother."

"We're not exactly close."

One of the men stepped toward Terri and ran a finger down her cheek.
 
She recoiled.

"Hey, guys, seeing this doll tied up like this is kinda doing things to me.
 
Do you think Eddie would care if—?"

"Oh, great.
 
Not only are we gonna kill them both, but you're gonna rape the mom, too.
 
You're an angel."

"It's not rape if she enjoys it."

"You're a piece of shit."

"There's no way you're Eddie's brother.
 
You're not cut out for the work we do."

"You call this work?
 
Smacking around a woman and her kid.
 
That's work?"

"I'm getting real tired of your mouth."

Two of the men approached each other, one with his fist cocked back.
 
The one holding the cell phone separated them.

"Come on now, children.
 
Try to behave until we hear from Eddie."

"Something's wrong.
 
It doesn't take this long to rough up a little computer nerd."

"Nothing's wrong.
 
Sometimes Eddie just gets carried away.
 
When he gets what he wants, he'll call, and we'll put these two lovely ladies in the water."

"No.
 
If the guy does what Eddie wants, we'll let them go."

"Aww.
 
You're so cute when you're stupid."

Nathan squatted next to Marie.
 
He put a hand on her shoulder to keep balance, and quickly pulled it away when he felt her bare skin.

"What's going on?" he whispered.
 
"I can't hear anything."

"I want you to stay back.
 
Just give me a few minutes to deal with this mess."

"What are you going to do?"

"Save your family."

"I'm sure every one of those guys has a gun."

"As long as they're not using silver bullets, I'll be fine."

She took a deep breath, trying to prepare for the pain.
 
One change was rough on her body.
 
Three changes in thirty minutes would need a lot of Tylenol.

Nathan's eyes shot open and he covered his mouth as Marie changed.
 
She curled on her side as the agony took hold.
 
Usually the change was painful, but had a touch of sweetness to it.
 
She enjoyed being a werewolf, the thrill of the hunt, the peace of the woods.
 
But the sweetness was gone.

Her bones broke and muscles stretched.
 
She kept her mouth clenched shut, trying to make as little noise as possible.
 
A tear escaped and ran down her cheek as her hair turned dark and grew all over her body.
 
Nathan did his best not to gasp.

"Did you guys hear that?"

"Are you joking?
 
Now you're gonna be a spooked little bitch, too?"

"Shut the fuck up.
 
I heard something in the trees."

"Yeah.
 
You know, animals live in the trees.
 
Squirrels, bird, spiders."

Marie crouched down, her jaw only an inch from the ground.
 
Her tail moved absentmindedly through the grass.
 
Licking her lips with her long tongue, she watched the men argue and trade banter as Terri and Mackenzie cowered.
 
She sensed Nathan behind her, slowly backing up into a tree.
 
The full moon hung over the water, and it was tempting to sit on her haunches and howl.

She skulked through the grass, staying in the shadows.
 
The men continued their talk as she circled around them.
 
She sized them up as she finally left the safety of the tree line and moved near the front of the van.
 
She tried to keep Terri and Mackenzie at the front of her thoughts, but part of her was enjoying herself.
 
Humans would never know what it was like to sneak up on prey, the feeling of raw power in sharp claws.
 
None of the men stood a chance against her, but she had to be careful.
 
It wouldn't take much to put Terri and Mackenzie in harm's way.

One of the men was ogling and feeling Terri as Marie quietly jumped on the hood of the van.
 
It was all she could do to hold in a snarl.
 
Terri and Mackenzie's muttered cries from behind their gags, mixed with the men's laughter, enraged her.

Marie hopped from the hood to the roof.
 
Her claws made tapping sounds as she picked up speed.

"Hey, did you guys hear—?"

His last words.

She jumped from the roof, over Terri, Mackenzie, and the man trying to force himself on her.
 
She landed on victim number one, the man previously using a cell phone.
 
Her claws ripped through fabric and flesh as she buried her teeth into his cheek.
 
Her teeth touched bone, and she clamped down.
 
It took only a simple twist of her neck to rip half his face completely away from his skull.
 
She flung the loose skin behind her.
 
The flesh sailed through the air and struck another of Eddie's men in the chest, staining his nice shirt.

Her senses took over.
 
Terror filled her nostrils.
 
Heartbeats all spiked in unison.
 
Her eyes fell on one of the men reaching inside his coat.

Marie ran forward and pounced on him, attacking ferociously.
 
She raked her claws across his face before clamping her fangs on his exposed throat.

"What the fuck?"

"What is that?"

"Shoot it!"

She wasn't worried.
 
Their tiny bullets would barely penetrate her hide, and a simple drink of blood would force healing.
 
Getting shot definitely stung, but she'd been shot countless times over the decades.
 
Only silver was enough to really hurt her.

Terri and Mackenzie were the real concerns.
 
Everything would change if guns were pointed at them.

More than satisfied the second man was no longer a threat, she turned.
 
She expected to see the last two men with guns pointed at her, but was in for a surprise.

Terri and Mackenzie were doing their best pushing themselves into the back of van.
 
They didn't know Marie, and were just as terrified as everyone else.
 
The last two of Eddie's men nearly trampled on the women as they made their way through the van and started the engine.
 
They'd decided it was better to run than fight.
 
The rear doors were still open, and Mackenzie nearly fell out as the van sped away.
 
Terri barely saved her by placing her bound feet over her daughter.

Marie took six steps and lunged, and nearly made the leap.
 
Her front paws scraped the van's bumper.
 
She tumbled and rolled, but quickly recovered to give chase.
 
The van swerved for a moment before straightening out.

She ran.
 
She was incredibly dangerous as a wolf, and also very adept at running.
 
Running close to sixty miles per hour wasn't a challenge for her, and she could hold that speed for several hours.

The problem was the van was moving just a bit faster.

She did the math in her head.
 
It took several minutes to drive down the long stretch of road at normal speed.
 
Eddie's men might put some distance between them by the time they made it back to town, but she had their scent now, and probably wouldn't even lose sight of them.
 
They'd have to slow down once the road ended, and that's when she'd strike.
 
She'd kill them right in the middle of the street if she had to.

It turned out she didn't have to.

Her own car emerged from a path in the tree line and nearly sideswiped her as it leveled out on the road.
 
She turned to see Nathan behind the wheel.
 
She was so distracted she didn't even hear him start the engine.

Marie jumped nimbly on the hood and hunched down.
 
Nathan let out a girlish squeal, but managed to keep the car straight.
 
Their eyes met, and she yipped, hoping her simple message of
speed up
was clear.

He pressed the pedal to the floor.

She turned to face the back of the van.
 
Nathan was obviously terrified, but drove with a purpose.
 
She let out a quiet growl of satisfaction as the distance slowly began to close.

He tried to get closer, but it wasn't necessary.
 
Marie could jump extraordinary lengths.
 
She took the few short steps to the edge of the hood and leapt into the back of the van.

Terri and Mackenzie screamed through their gags.
 
Their fear turned to surprise when Marie skipped over them, ignoring them completely, and headed for the front.

The man in the passenger's seat saw her coming and reached for his gun.
 
He whipped his arm around, but Marie was much faster than any slow human.
 
She caught his arm in her jaws and sank her teeth in.
 
He howled in pain as he lost control of his muscles, and fired a single shot.
 
That shot slammed into the skull of the driver, killing him instantly.

The dead man behind the wheel slumped to one side, turning the steering wheel with him.
 
The van turned sharply and Marie felt them begin to flip.
 
She buried her claws into the back seat and held on as best she could.
 

She wasn't sure how many times the van turned over.
 
It wasn't many, maybe just two times, but it was enough to disorient.
 
The van came to a rest on the passenger's side.
 
The first noises to penetrate her ringing ears were a feminine moan of pain, followed by Nathan's voice.