Blood in Her Veins (Nineteen Stories From the World of Jane Yellowrock) (45 page)

If we had gotten here sooner . . .

I screamed and whirled and dove into the fight, a vamp-killer in one hand and a nine mil loaded with silver shot in the other.

Brute was battling a reddish wolf, the coat color visible in the moonlight. Rick was side by side with Eli, taking on a . . . a monster. I fired into
the monster's side, aiming for his heart, emptying my weapon into him. I slapped the blade flat under my arm and changed mags.

I caught a hint of motion out of the corner of my eye and dropped to one knee, lifting the vamp-killer. The bitch was in midair, midleap. Her body lancing through the space where I had stood. My blade took the bitch along the side of the belly, the point penetrating deepest beneath the back left leg. She screamed with rage and ducked her head, tumbling in midjump. Her fangs snapped close to my face with a
click
I heard over the deafness of the nine mil firing. I fell back. Into the mud. Rolled to my knees.

The bitch landed two feet away, spun on three legs, and rammed me. Lifting me high.

I slammed into something. Took a broken branch to my lower ribs. Right side.

I fired at the bitch point-blank. She yelped and raced away, into the saw grass. The monster whirled and followed her, limping. The third wolf was hanging in Brute's jaws, dangling and broken.

I was injured. I knew it was bad because I was hung on the broken tree as if I'd been skewered for cooking, bleeding like a stuck pig. I was having trouble getting a breath. Rick and Eli dropped to either side of me. Both turned flashes on me, so bright I closed my eyes. Or maybe it was the sight of the wound, vivid and slick with blood. I smelled bowel. Saw what might have been a strip of liver. Inside me, Beast hissed, and I hissed with her.

“If she were human, we'd cut the limb and take it with us to an ER,” Eli said to Rick. “But maybe she'll—”

“Pull her off it, fast, before the pain sets in,” Rick said.

Before?
I thought.
Too late.

“Under her arms,” Rick said. “On three.” They grabbed me under my arms, braced their bodies, and Rick counted. On three they lifted and jerked me off the branch. I didn't even scream. I couldn't. I had no breath. My chest ached, heart suddenly beating unevenly and with pain in each contraction. Lung collapsing maybe.

They let me down gently into the mud. I was under the branch I'd been impaled on. It was covered in gore for the first five inches. And yes, there was a piece of tissue hanging on the wood that looked suspiciously like part of my liver.

“Idiot damn woman!” Eli spat. “Just because you can heal is no reason
to keep dying.” His voice was gruff, not even trying to hide his worry/anger/fear. “You could
try
to be more careful.”

“What's the fun in that?” I whispered.
Huh.
My lips were numb.

“Someday you're gonna wait too long,” he warned.

I managed a chuff of laughter as he turned my body to the side. I was facing the water. It was closer than I had thought. Just beyond where the girl's body lay, her blood trickling into the canal. At the edge of the water something glimmered, an arc of bright light, all the colors of the rainbow, swimming through the water, moving with the up-and-down sweeps of a dolphin or porpoise. It was beautiful. Cool and bright and muted all at once, like a rainbow come to life and shot through with silver. I tried to point, but my hands weren't working.

The light being, so much like Rick's partner, Soul, but not, most certainly not, cavorted in the cold water, leaping in and out of the canal without a splash. When it came close to the shore, it halted, the light of its spirit body coruscating. It slithered closer, like a water snake, and seemed to dip part of its energies into a trail of the dead girl's blood. It wrenched itself back, leaped into the air, and was gone. Something indefinable inside me mourned. And the light, what little there was of it, began to go.

“Shift,” Rick said as he cut through my clothing and loosened my holsters and my Kevlar vest. “
Shift
, Jane.
Now!
” He unbelted leather and zipped my pants down. Eli unlaced my boots, their flashlights dancing pools of light on the scrub around us. If the wolves came back they'd never know in time. I tried to tell them, but my mouth wasn't working. I shivered in the cold air. Or in the cold of death. It's hard to tell sometimes.

I sought the gray place of the change, the place of my skinwalker energies. But it eluded me, like phosphorescent water slipping through my fingers.

Beast? Can you help?

Jane is stupid human.
But deep in my mind, I felt her bend and pick me up by the scruff of my neck. Holding me in her killing teeth as tenderly as though I were one of her kits.

And together we dropped into the gray place of the change.

The energies of what I had determined might be quantum mechanics, of the movement of electrons and neutrons and all the trons, were a
nimbus of light, arcing and racing and waving and dancing in a silver cloud of light. The energies were struck through with darker sparks of black light and blue-white sparks of brilliance.

The pain increased, but a different kind of pain, sharper, cutting. As if my flesh were being stripped from my bones.

•   •   •

Beast leaped away from men, shaking free of boots and clothing and racing up a stunted tree. Screamed into the night, big-cat scream. Claiming life and hunting grounds and calling to spirit being that had fled the dead.

“Jane?”

I hissed.
Am Beast. Not Jane. Jane is asleep inside.
Then smelled blood. Not Jane blood. Not dead-girl blood. Not werewolf blood.
Rick
blood. I dropped to ground, sniffing. Opened mouth and pulled air in over scent sacs in roof of mouth. Tasting/smelling mate. He was injured.

I walked to him and stuck snout to arm. Rick held still, not even breathing. Smelled Rick and smelled werewolf. Rick was bitten. Backed away. Hissed, snarled. Turned to Brute and snarled again. Brute and Pea were Rick's pack. His den-mates.
Should have protected Rick like kit against predator,
I thought at them. I growled and walked toward them. Angry.
Should have protected mate.

Wolf backed away. Lowered head. Dropped dead werewolf. Like offering. Pea chittered from Brute back. Sounded sorry. Beast looked at Pea.
Will mate become werewolf? Werewolf and were-cat too? Will mate
die
?

Pea jumped from Brute and raced to Rick. Climbed up his leg. Studied bite mark. Rick lifted Pea to shoulder and bent over Jane clothes.

“You're hit,” Eli said, opening box with bandages. Voice was toneless, but Eli body's smell changed, unhappy. Thinking many things. He put flashlight in mouth, held it with blunt human teeth. Ripped open large bandage. Cussed at sight of wound. “It bit you?” Placed sheet of white over Rick's arm.

“Yeah.” Rick wrapped wounded arm and bandage in Jane T-shirt. Pea chittered softly. Sad. “Tie it off,” Rick said. Eli swathed T-shirt bandage in stinky stuff that changed shape to bind arm. Pressed on wound. Rick hissed with pain. “He tried to rip off a hunk of muscle, but he got distracted when Jane shot him full of silver.”

“Bad?”

“Hurts like a mother. But I'll heal.”

“But . . .” Eli stopped. Bent and gathered up Jane clothes and weapons. “Let's book. We got a hike to make. And two pissed-off wolves between us and it.”

“And you with their keys,” Rick said, laughter in tone. Rick said, “Brute. That thing dead?” Brute nodded head up and down, human gesture.
Looks stupid
. Pea chittered in triumph, claiming kill.

“Okay,” Rick said. Slung weapons over shoulder. Rick stood, wavering on two feet. Should be on four feet. Would not waver.

Brute looked at girl, dead on ground. She smelled of meat. Of food. Beast was hungry. Needed meat after change. Did not look at girl meat. Growled at Brute. Wolf dropped own head and turned away from prey meat.

“Jane?” Rick said. “Let's get back to the . . . back to the . . . boat.” But Rick dropped to knees. And fell to ground, face in mud.

Pea leaped clear. Landed on Beast. Made soft mewling sound in ear, like kit. Beast chuffed with laughter.

Eli rearranged weapons and Jane gear. “Brute, get over here.” Wolf growled, knowing what Eli wanted. “You'll carry him or I'll shoot you myself,” Eli said. Not mad. Not angry. Speaking truth. Brute walked to Rick, growling.

Making grunting sound, Eli lifted Rick and laid him on Brute back. With more stinky stuff, tied Rick to Brute. I laughed. Went to Rick. Smelled wound. It stank. Stank of were-taint.

Pea mewled in ear. Not death sound. But sound like Rick was sick again. Sick with wolf. Beast swiveled head to see Pea. Thinking. Thinking like Jane. Was hard. Pea should have chased werewolves when they ran. Was Pea's job. But Pea stayed with Rick. Knew Rick was sick. Knew Eli and Jane and Beast would kill wolves. Beast walked upwind. Sniffing. No werewolf scent ahead. But they might circle in back. Hunters. Pack hunters. Sneaky pack hunters. But big wolf was full of silver. Could not change back to human form with silver inside. Would have to get female wolf to cut out silver bullets. Did not know what werewolves would do, attack or run away and try to heal.

“Okay. Let's go,” Eli said to Beast. Beast turned and faced water and scrub and bushes. Walked into dark. “So what? You taking our six?”

Beast chuffed with agreement.

“Good by me.”

•   •   •

Trip back to boat was long. Beast was hungry. Was muddy, dirty.
Do not like mud. Do not like mud at all. Belly aches with hunger. Body is weak. Want to eat. Want to eat deer and cow and rabbit.
Looked at Eli. Looked at Brute.
Would even eat Brute.

Eli untied Rick from Brute back while Beast stood watching trees and scrub. Did not smell wolves. Eli lifted Rick to lay on long seat of airboat. Was noisy—feet on hollow boat bottom. Rick groaned. Was sick. Retching.

Brute jumped into canal and swam. Blood and mud washed away.

“You too, Jane,” Eli said. “Make it quick.”

Beast snarled.
Am not Jane. Am Beast.
But stepped into water. Swam out from shore and back. Looked for spirit being of rainbow colors but did not see it. Followed Brute from water. Brute shook, pelt showering water and mud all over Beast. Shook with laughter.

Beast snarled. Leaped on Brute. Sank in claws. Bit hard on nose. Holding. Brute yelped/whined. Quivered. Did not know what to do. Froze like prey.

Beast let go and walked back to water. Washed again. Shook water from pelt. Climbed into airboat and sat beside mate. Kept back to wolf, but eyes turned to see. In wolf pack, Beast would be alpha. Wolf would be beta. Saw him lick his snout. Could smell his blood on air.

•   •   •

Was near dawn when we got to hotel. Jane was awake, watching through Beast eyes. Eli carried mate upstairs to room. Wolf and Beast followed. Eli turned on shower in Rick room, washed Rick. Cut off his clothes. Opened wound and saw healing. Carried Rick to bed and laid him, naked, on bed.

Beast went to mate and sniffed. Rick was sick. Sick with were-taint. Pea jumped from Beast back to bed with Rick and curled up in space at shoulder, neck, ear. “Is he gonna turn wolf?” Eli asked. Jane was shocked at question. Felt her pull away. Fear action.

Pea made sound, “Uuuuu,” and shook head.

“Is he gonna die?”

Pea made same sound and shook head again.

“So he's just gonna be sick as a dog and then get better?”

Pea made “Sssss” sound and nodded head.

Jane made choking laughter sound deep inside Beast.

“Janie? You want to wait till dark to go after the wolves?”

Beast nodded head. Padded from room and went to door of Jane room. Eli opened door and Beast went inside. The Kid rushed out of room talking too much, too loud. Was prey action when werewolves were hunting. Stupid human. Beast pawed door shut and lay down on floor. Entered gray place of change.

•   •   •

“Oh crap. That hurt.” It still hurt. And I had a wide, white scar to show me how close I'd come to dying. I made it to the shower, turned the water on hot, and rested against the wall as the water beat against me. I was starving. I could tell from the way my ribs stuck out that I'd lost at least ten pounds from shifting twice with no caloric intake. I needed food and a lot of it if I was going on a hunt.
Beast? You there?

Beast is here.

What happened?

Beast showed me. Showed me everything. When I saw Rick fall, I ached inside. When I saw the spirit being, the thing like Rick's Soul, I was taken off guard. But there wasn't time to whine or grieve or worry. Dawn had broken. We needed food, guns, and planning, and we needed to get back in the swamp. I half crawled from the shower and dried off, using the blow-dryer on my hair. Tossed my wet, muddy, bloody clothes into the shower and washed them off, wrung them out, and left them hanging over the shower door. I fell on the bed and closed my eyes, desperately needing rest, maybe even more than I needed food.

After my forty winks, I dressed in clean clothes and weaponed up, the leathers wet and slick even after I dried them with a towel. They needed oiling and a lot of attention, but they weren't going to get that until the wolves were dead.

I knocked on the connecting room door. Eli opened it and stood aside to let me enter. He had showered with scentless soap and dressed in clean clothes, not wearing the smelly stuff his girlfriend gave him. Brute was on the floor near his bed. Eating. Before I could accuse him of feeding the wolf before he fed me, Eli shoved a fork and a plate of microwaved scrambled eggs at me. I sank to the floor and shoveled the eggs in. Before I was done, he dropped four pancakes on my eggy plate and drenched them with syrup.
Then more eggs. And then he handed me a twenty-ounce protein shake that tasted like chalk and artificial blueberries, but I downed it too.