Savor (28 page)

M
y bear form had transformed into something unstoppable. I was larger and stronger. Nothing could slow me down as I easily took down three brown bears. Who did they think they were messing with Norco? Anger welled up, pushing me on through the waves of opponents. How many witches and double crossing bears were there?

We pushed on, ignoring pain as we continued forward. I was exhausted. Strong as I was now, there was only so much a bear could take.

I heard shouts and cries behind me, but I ignored them all. I had only one goal in mind, getting us off the island with the crystals. We had to get the knowledge so we could stop the witches from waging the war. There was too much at stake to waste a moment. I had to trust that Gareth and his army would protect Norco. I couldn’t stand the thought of my people being destroyed by the witches. My people. Despite my earlier hesitation, I was willing to accept it now. I was home, finally home, yet now I had to leave.

“Vera!” Jared called my name, and I snapped back to reality.

I’d slowed down and was several feet behind the others. It was then that I really looked at him. He wasn’t Jared. He was huge—enormous, bulging muscles that looked like they could crush you. His eyes were pitch black, distorting his face and making me doubt there was anything human inside him. Whatever the crystals did to us as bears, they did even more to him as a Pteron.

“Run!” he screamed, but his warning was too late. A burst of light hit me. I fell to the ground.

The sky lit up again, and I realized belatedly I was bleeding. Really bleeding.

“Vera?” Jared asked worriedly as he looked between me and where the others waited near the forest’s edge. “Can you make it over there?”

I nodded, wishing again I could communicate with him while in bear form.

I started running, and Jared stayed by my side. My pace slowed, and I felt my body weaken. My head got hazy, and I knew I couldn’t hold up much longer. We were so close to the tree line. So close.

I felt a searing pain in my back again, and my body started its change back into my human form before everything went black.

“What’s wrong with her?” I heard a voice yelling from nearby. It was Gemma, but I couldn’t open my eyes. “Vera, wake up!” Someone shook me.

“We have to go.” Jared spoke calmly. I struggled against my eyelids.

“We can’t swim that far. She is clearly injured.” Gemma’s hand rested on my arm. It had to be her. It was such a gentle touch.

“Slade can’t hold them off much longer. We’re going to have to go.”

“Jared!” Gemma cried, and I opened my eyes in time to see the vapor moving toward us again.

“Fuck this.” Jared grabbed me and Gemma, and sprinted to Slade. “I’m getting us out of here.” He scooped up Slade.

“You can’t hold us all!” Gemma yelled as Jared took to the sky.

I watched in panic as more bright orbs filled the sky. The witches weren’t going to give up easily.

Jared’s breathing became labored as he soared over the water deftly dodging the orbs until I felt his body go rigid. We weighed too much, and something had hit him. I was sure of it.

“We’re almost there,” Gemma said in a soothing voice, and for once I didn’t mind her optimism. Jared needed it if we were going to make it to the far shore.

“Drop me. I can swim the rest of the way.” Slade argued.

“We’re. Almost. There.” Jared barely got the words out as he struggled to continue.

A loud explosion made my ears ring as we neared the shore. The echoes of cries filled the air, and I was terrified to imagine what the witches were doing to Norco.

We reached the shore, but Jared didn’t stop.

“You can’t do this much longer,” I forced the words out of my mouth. Maybe he’d listen to me.

“Have. To.”

After several minutes he finally landed. He dropped us and stood there trying to regain his balance.

I watched the new diesel Jared as he slowly transformed back into human form. His wings had retracted, but he was still more muscular than he’d been, and his eyes were black. He nearly collapsed on the ground from exhaustion, but he appeared uninjured. We were all fine. But what about the island? I lay back in the dirt and closed my eyes.

I
blinked a few times, waiting to feel normal again. My vision usually returned to normal instantly. It didn’t. I still had the enhanced vision I only had when I was transformed.

I ignored my problem and did a quick inventory of everyone else. The bears quickly dressed, and I was particularly glad that Slade now had pants on. I hoped no one ever found out I’d flown a naked guy for that long.

I stretched, glad that my body had at least gone back to normal. I blinked again, and finally the intense vision started to subside.

I turned to look at Vera. Her wound was healing fast, but I knew it was more than the physical hurting her. It had been an emotional night for her.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Slade kneeled down beside her in the dirt.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She brushed him off exactly the way I expected her to. I’d have to get some time alone with her to see how she was really doing. “I’m not worse than anyone else.”

“Your parents might be fine. We really don’t know.” Gemma’s voice sounded as upbeat as ever, and in much the same way as I knew Vera had brushed off Slade, I also knew she was going to snap at Gemma.

“Might be fine? The island is overrun by crazy witches. How on earth are they going to be fine?”

“Your father is a fighter. A trained warrior.” Slade continued kneeling. I’d have thought he’d grow tired of that position.

“What if the witches kill them all? What if they destroy everything while we run?” She spoke without emotion, but I knew the truth. She was hurting.

“Trust me, I’m scared too.” Gemma looked down, and Slade patted her back gently. “I love Norco. It’s everything to me. It’s okay to feel this way, but it’s not going to help. What will help is finding the knowledge and fighting back. You think Norco is the only place the witches will attack? Not by a long shot. If we fail, we fail everyone.” Gemma’s face was red. For the first time I was getting a look at her angry side, and I knew I never wanted to be on that side of her.

“But those are all big ‘what ifs’. We don’t know where we’re going, or what we’re supposed to do. What the hell is the knowledge?” Vera ran her hands through her matted hair.

“We’ll figure it out.” As much as I knew she didn’t want an answer, I had to try.

“That’s helpful and very specific.”

I shrugged. “I’m not flying you all again. I can tell you that.” I’d never been so exhausted in my entire life.

“Why? Too tired?” Vera’s sudden return to teasing both relaxed and scared me. She was still in there, so was she having a manic response to everything?

Either way, I decided to run with it. “Believe it or not, flying nearly five hundred pounds over an extended distance can wear on a man.”

“Well, most men can’t fly.” Gemma grinned. Good. I’d broken the tension. I needed that if we were going to get anywhere.

“Let’s rephrase that. It can wear on a Pteron.”

“The question is whether we are being tracked. Will we get caught if we try to buy plane tickets?” Slade asked. “I don’t want witches waiting for us when we land. They can’t know what we’re up to. It will ruin everything.”

Plane tickets. What a thought. I’d been flying myself or using the Laurent’s private jet for my entire life. Flying commercial would be a whole new experience. “It’s not that far. Driving makes more sense.”

“We still have to rent a car.” Slade shrugged.

“Or buy one.” That was always an option.

“Nope. No wasting money like that.” Vera shook her head.

“Since when has my money been your business?”

“Since you petitioned me to be your mate. You’re supposed to keep me financially secure.” Her lips quirked into a smile. Yes, she was losing it. She was going to break down again any minute.

I played along. We all needed to relax and get far away from the island. Distraction would help both those issues. “Oh yeah? Worried I won’t have enough to support your lavish lifestyle?”

“Could you guys discuss this stuff later? We really don’t have much time.” Gemma sighed. “I haven’t been off Norco for… well—ever, so I can’t be much help.”

“Wait. What?” I turned to her. “You’ve never been off the island?”

“I haven’t taken my sabbatical yet, and really I had no plans to for a while. I had too much work to do.”

“They never let you leave?” Vera stared open mouthed “That’s insane.”

“It’s not insane.” Slade pushed around dirt with his shoe. “It’s different.”

“But why? Is Norco a cult or something?” Vera was evidently done being careful.

“Norco is no cult, and you know it.” Gemma’s face fell again. “At least you should. You weren’t raised with us, but it’s in your blood. You have to feel it.”

“Does it bother you to leave?” I asked the obvious question that had been floating on the tip of my tongue. “Is it hard?”

“It’s scary.” Gemma glanced back in the direction of Norco.

“I’ve left before a few times.” Slade stretched. I probably wasn’t the only one who was sore and tired.

“For more than one sabbatical?” Was he more important than I originally thought?

“I was in the military.”

“That entitled you to more time away?”