Chapter 10
The four beasts facing us were huge and snarling. The beasties’ coats were dark and matted with filth. Their eyes were red and round, like twin marbles. The hounds resembled something between a dog and a wolf, only bigger and much, much scarier.
I felt Scott tense beside me as one of the wolf-dogs –I think I’ll call them Wogs- came forward, foaming at the mouth as he growled, his intent obvious. We were dog meat.
“Don’t try anything stupid,” I cautioned Scott.
His pale eyes lit with amusement. “Funny, I was going to say the same thing to you.”
As if on cue, the other three wogs circled Scott and I. I kept a wary eye on them as my mind spun furiously, trying to find a way out of this. I should have asked for help, I knew that. I could have run to Riley. Oh, Riley, I need help!
I briefly released Scott and tugged off my bag, cradling it against my body and returning my arm around the man. He eyed me curiously for a second but I shrugged, my eyes on the wogs. They were growling at us, snapping at our heels. My grip on Scott’s waist was probably as painful as his on mine. I held my bag tighter. If it came down to it, at least I had a weapon; my bag. It wasn’t much but with the weight of my laptop, it could probably land a good hit. I just needed to make it count. My throat clogged at the thought of what damage it would do to my precious machine but it was only that; a machine. Our survival was more important.
Suddenly, everything happened at once. The leader of the wog pack surged forward and I grabbed my bag, ready to throw it. Simultaneously, Scott’s grip on my waist tightened as he spun me around to face the two oncoming dogs. With the momentum of the swing, my bag went flying out and hit the first dog with a solid thwack! It went colliding into the second dog. Wog. Whatever.
Scott’s arms were around me and I abruptly felt him tense before crying out in agonizing pain. I turned my head sharply and found the head wog’s jaws in Scott’s side. It was clamped on and wasn’t letting go!
I tried beating at its nose with my fist, it was supposed to work with sharks, but it only made the beast more furious. Scott’s arms held me in place so I couldn’t swing my bag to hit the wog. The two others were slowly getting back up and I couldn’t see the fourth one. I looked down at my bag, trying to think whether I had any potential weapons, when I noticed the middle pocket was still open from when I’d pulled out the water bottle. I could barely make out a dark shape but I immediately knew what it was; the Taser! Riley must have slipped it in when we’d gotten out of the store.
I didn’t hesitate, didn’t even check if the batteries still worked. I pulled it out and jabbed at the wog’s nose. It yelped and released Scott; he fell and pulled me down with him. The advantage of our new position? I was on top, my back on Scott’s front, ready to protect him with my trusty Taser. The disadvantage? Well, if my Taser failed I was the first to go.
Seeing their leader in pain made the other wogs hesitate. They circled me, all four of them. I could feel Scott’s breathing coming out in short gasps and I could also feel him growing weaker. I was angry, furious at the animals. I jabbed at the closest one blindly but it jumped out of harm’s way. An incoherent mix of sounds and noises escaped the beasts and it took me but a second to realise they were communicating between themselves.
Uh oh. Not good. Not good at all.
Their heads all dipped as one and a constant growling-keening sound escaped them. It made my skin crawl and my heart pound painfully. They circled us in a tight formation. They must have understood that if I jabbed at one, the others could get to me during the distraction. It was only a matter of seconds before I was in reach of their foaming mouths.
The closest to my right snapped at my face and I immediately jabbed at his paws. I swung the other way but the beasty was coming too fast, I knew I wouldn’t have time to bring my hand around. I closed my eyes.
A bark, yelp and growl had me snapping my eyes open. A pack of dogs had jumped in between the wogs and us. I glanced around and spotted Riley amongst them. Riley!
As if sensing my thoughts, he turned and glanced my way. I smiled, relieved, before scooting off Scott, turning on my side, hovering over him. I didn’t like keeping my back on the action but he needed help and my weight on him probably wasn’t good.
Scott’s eyes were closed and his face was red, feverish. I could feel the waves of burning heat pouring off and out of him. His right hand was clutching his left side but I couldn’t see the damage. I needed to.
“Scott?” I said softly.
His eyes, when he pried them open, were even paler, feverish and unfocused. “Hey pretty girl, you have nice eyes.”
I grinned down at him. “Same to you, handsome.” I grew serious. “Scott, I need to see the wound. Will you let me?”
His involuntary response to my question was to clasp the wound tighter. He flinched then gently released his side. I gasped and he flinched once more. The wog’s teeth had done some serious damage to Scott’s skin. I could see flesh dangling from his ribs and my throat clogged as I tried to remember if there were any important organs on that side.
Discovery channel, where are you when I need you?
“How bad is it?” Scott asked weakly.
“You want the truth or a lie?”
“The truth.”
“It’s just a scratch.”
A ghost of a smile appeared on his lips. “Liar.”
I glanced around for some help but the dogs were still fighting. The skies suddenly broke open and in a matter of seconds, we were soaked. I didn’t know if the cold water would be good or bad for Scott’s condition. His eyes were clenched shut and a deep frown marred his forehead. My bag had been thrown several feet away in the fight and I had no over shirt to cover Scott’s face. I bit my lip, then got on my hands and knees, creating a bridge over Scott’s head. I looked down at him between my arms as his eyes popped open. “Hey, nice view.”
“Oh, shut up.” I chuckled as water pounded me relentlessly. It created small rivers flowing down my face and hair. I closed my eyes. “We need shelter,” I muttered. “Shelter, shelter, shelter.”
Scott gasped. My eyes flew open and my body tensed, ready to defend us. But it hadn’t been a gasp of alarm; Scott was now laying on a thick bed of grass and we were being protected from the raging elements by a tree. A weeping willow, if I wasn’t mistaken. It seemed big and the branches were thick and heavy; I couldn’t see the sky above. The branches were bent almost to the ground and the leaves offered protection even from the cold wind. I could hear fighting outside the wall of greens but it was distant.
I straightened but remained on my knees on Scott’s right side. His eyes were open wide and I knew mine were too.
“Did you do that?” we said simultaneously.
“No,” we said in unison.
“I’m new here,” I explained as simply as I could. “I haven’t any experience with magic. How about you?”
“I’m not sure but . . . I don’t feel like I have this in me, you know?”
I said slowly, “Maybe we did this together?”
We stared at each other, unsure what to say or to believe. I felt a deep connection to this stranger, this Scott. Why was it I was able to write about him, so suddenly? Why had I felt the danger surrounding him? Why wasn’t I anxious or awkward around him, like I tended to be around people I didn’t know? The connection I felt was maybe as deep as what I felt for Riley, but in a different way, I just couldn’t explain the difference. The pain and hurt etched into the lines of his face tugged at the strings of my heart. I wanted to comfort him, to care for him.
I glanced down at his wound. “Look, Scott, I recently arrived here with glasses, scars and bruises. Within a few minutes, all my physical imperfections disappeared.”
He frowned, unsure where I was going with this.
“My mother said that I come from a long line of Royal Magicals and that we are natural healers. Maybe you are too, maybe that’s why we did this together.”
His frown deepened. “Shouldn’t I have healed myself then?”
“Possibly, I don’t know. Considering the extent of your wounds and how water deprived you are, maybe you can’t right now. I’m thinking that if we try together . . .” my voice trailed off.
His gaze searched mine and he seemed satisfied with what he saw because he nodded once, tightly.
He laid his hand on his wound and I laid mine on top. He lifted his fingers and interlaced them with mine. Pain etched his voice when he said, “Now what?”
I thought quickly. “Well, just before this was built,” I indicated the shelter, “I’d been thinking that we needed shelter.”
“Yeah, so was I.”
“Okay, so let’s keep it simple.”
“How about something like ‘heal’, we could chant it over and over.”
“Sounds good to me.”
And so we chanted. At first, my eyes were closed but I felt the irresistible urge to open them. I did, and found Scott’s feverish gaze on mine. Only, it wasn’t so feverish, his eyes seemed steadier. I didn’t want to break our connection so I didn’t look down but I could feel power humming through me, through my blood, my veins and out of my hand.
With every ounce of energy I gave, though, I felt myself grow weaker. As if my own life force was escaping me. I noted Scott’s colour was much better, his eyes were more vibrant, more alert. I knew it was only a matter of moments before I collapsed; I just hoped it was enough for Scott.
A throat cleared and I looked up to find Riley, under the canopy with us, a furious expression on his face. “Am I interrupting?”
“Riley, I- ”
I blacked out.
* * *
My unconscious state was not peaceful. I dreamt of Wogs, trying to tear Riley and Scott apart. I kept wanting to protect them both but they were too far apart, I couldn’t save them both. I tried to create a shelter, a barrier, but when I managed it for one and ran to the other, the first shelter would collapse. The last image I had before waking up was me, having used up all my energy, collapsing while a wog ran for me.
I woke up screaming as I bolted up in bed. A soft voice was cooing to me but I couldn’t make it out; instead I fended off the attack of the oncoming Wog. I screamed and fought and might actually have bitten, I wasn’t sure.
A sudden voice cut through the fog surrounding me, “Shanna!” it was a commanding enough voice for me to obey it immediately. I froze, blinked, looked at my surroundings.
Grace stood above me, panting, and Riley was at the foot of the bed, arms crossed over his chest. He still had the same furious expression on his face as he had earlier.
I turned back to Grace and discovered she had scratches and marks all over her arms and even on her face. Her hair was dishevelled as if she had gotten into a fight with a clawed cat and had lost. Had I done that?
“Grace? Did I do that? I’m sorry.” I couldn’t stop the trembling of my bottom lip. It was the aftershock of what had happened and the subsequent dream. She made soft sounds as she wrapped me up in her embrace. I leaned against her shoulder, content to be held, even if it wasn’t by my mother. I tensed. “Are my parents back?”
Grace was gently running her hands through my hair. “No, they aren’t. They were able to let us know that they were safe but couldn’t leave for now; they are stranded in the storm.”
“It’s still going on?” I turned my head to the windows but the drapes were closed.
“Storms here in Rydon have grown more and more frequent with the years. They are dangerous and unpredictable. Luckily, your parents have created a shelter for themselves; they will be fine.”
She pulled back and her warm brown eyes searched my face. “Are you hungry, child? Would you like some soup, or some tea?”
I peered up at Riley and knew that with him staring at me like that, I couldn’t eat. “Not right now, but maybe later?”
She quickly glanced over her shoulder at Riley, then back at me. She didn’t say anything but seemed to understand why I’d refused. Grace leaned over and softly kissed my forehead. “I’ll be back to check on you later.”
I nodded and she left me alone with Riley. He stared at me, stonily. I needed to break the silence so I said the first thing that came to mind. “Is Scott okay?”
Oops. Wrong question.
If possible, Riley’s face was even stonier. “Unlike you, he is doing amazingly well.”
“Good,” I murmured as I bowed my head and stared at my hands.
Riley was making me very uncomfortable. Making me feel like I’d done something wrong. But I’d saved Scott, hadn’t I? Wasn’t that good?
“I don’t understand why you seem so mad, Riley.”
“You don’t? Let me enlighten you then.” He paced. “You went rushing off out of the security of the castle and the guards, into a brewing storm, for Rydon knows what reason. You brought trouble upon yourself and would have been killed if not for me deciding to go looking for you!” He shouted the last words. “You’d been gone for almost twenty minutes when I found Gaspar. He told me you’d run off and the guard was about to go after you. I brought along some of the other guards with me and I was able to catch your scent quickly enough.”
I could almost see the fumes escaping his ears. “Yes, you saved us from the wogs.”
He stopped. “The what?”
I waved an impatient hand. “The wolf dogs.” Blank stare. “The hideous beasties you fought. I called them Wogs for wolf-dogs.”
The look on his face was not a comforting one; it was something between ‘I’m going to strangle you myself’ and ‘I’m calling the insane asylum’. Neither pleased me. “Well, what were they then?”
“I’ve never seen the likes of them before,” he answered. “They were tough, that I can say.” He frowned. “It doesn’t bode well for us if new . . .” he glanced at me, “beasties are appearing in our midst.”
I smiled, pleased. “Then, we will call them Wogs.”
He did not see the humour. “Shanna, what were you thinking?”
I told him everything.
When I was done, he said, “It didn’t occur to you to come and get me? It would have taken five minutes of your precious time! Five minutes! How the hell am I supposed to protect you if you-”
I froze. “Excuse me? Protect me?”
It was obvious by his expression that he had spoken too fast. Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair. “Yes, protect you. I made an oath.”
“So Travis was telling the truth.” Frowning, I swung my legs off the side of the bed and rose slowly. I needed to stretch my legs and make sure they still supported me. They did, but they were wobbly.
I stood and faced Riley. “An oath to whom and why?”
He was tense, alert, watching my every move. I knew that if there was any chance of me going down, he’d be there to catch me. Part of me was happy. The other, wasn’t.
“Shanna, my father is sixty years old. He was the head guardian for the RM’s for the better part of his life. When all the killings occurred all those years ago, he tried everything to find the perpetrator. He had made it a personal vendetta when my mother died. But he couldn’t find anything, not a trace of the killer. No one blamed him but he felt guilty and he quit his job. He continued trying to look for the killer but he had no luck and he was getting depressed.” He resumed his pacing. “A year ago I went to visit and found him covered with blood, dying. I thought the killer had struck again but it was odd because he had always attacked RM’s. But,” he swallowed, turned to me, “it wasn’t the killer; my father had tried to kill himself. I got a trusted healer to come help him and she did but he hasn’t been the same since.”
Riley was only standing a few feet from me now. “I needed to find a way for him to hang on, to keep living. And so I made him a promise to look for the killer myself. I told him I’d try to find you three also to prove that not all hope was lost. I arranged for a council meeting and told them it was about time for you and your family to come home and I offered to go and find you.”
“And so you did.” My voice was even, I liked that. It wasn’t shaking, or trembling like my body was. “So, that’s all I am to you? A job? The means to an end?”
“No, I- ”
“So your interest in me is purely professional, is it?” I was not proud that my voice was getting higher and higher. “Is that why you’ve been sleeping with me? Because you needed to keep your eye on the prize? Make sure it doesn’t do anything stupid!?” I slapped my forehead. “Now I know why you’re mad; I almost jeopardized everything by running into the hands of the enemy, didn’t I! You would have lost me and possibly my parents if I’d died. And then what? You’d try to kill yourself too?”
He winced and I knew I was being harsh but I couldn’t get my mouth to stop running. I laughed and I recognised the edge of hysteria in it. “To say I . . .” I shook my head, lowered my voice. “Aren’t I glad I didn’t have sex with you because wouldn’t that have been the topping of the cake for you?”
He flinched, “Shanna . . .” He took a step forward, and I took one back, hitting the night stand behind me.
“Get out.”
“Please, let me explain- ”
“I said get out!”
I shrieked and trembled and wobbled. I was only holding up by sheer will and my mind knew it. It fought the will with all its might but I wasn’t going to collapse in front of Riley, not again. Some distant, reasonable part of me knew I was being irrational. But I couldn’t make myself care. I had been through a lot this morning, reacting to events I never would have in the past. I experienced a new side to me and it scared the ever loving shit out of me. I woke to find a stranger embracing me and my parents were gone. T
The only comfort I might had taken was from Riley who was pissed because I’d run out. Pissed because I’d almost endangered his precious oath.
I heard the door click shut behind him and I ran to it, slammed the lock, then went to the other side of the room and dragged the chair to the door knob and pressed it underneath. No one was getting in tonight.
I curled up in bed and fell asleep crying.
