Dark Heart Surrender (32 page)

Ignoring the fact that I was shaking like my mother’s washing machine on full spin, I looked back. Relief flooded through me as I heard the crackle of wood catching fire and then saw the glow of the spreading flames.

It wasn’t much, but it was a start. I stepped back and then lowered myself, grabbing hold of Olivia’s hands and wrenching her forcefully out of the ditch, pushing her behind me.

The foxes had stopped moving, transfixed by the growing licks of fire. I could see something in their eyes that I had never seen before.

Fear.

Polly stood on her hind legs, quivering. In front of her, Ade tried but failed not to react. He backed into his sister, pushing her away from the flames.

‘Scared?’ I asked breathlessly, swallowing my own fear back. ‘How does that feel?’

Ade simply growled, a string of spit hanging from his jaw. Polly whimpered, her pointed auburn ears twitching.

‘You don’t like fire?’ I waved my hand at the hedge, now burning for all it was worth. ‘What’s the matter? Worried your souls will burn in hell?’

And then, above us, the skies rumbled and a mass of dark clouds swirled uneasily. It took a minute for me to realize what that meant.

Rain. Now, of all times. It was going to rain.

A dog barked from somewhere and for a second I dismissed it, before a new glimmer of hope sparked inside me. I concentrated on keeping my breath even and steady. Not easy. I felt Olivia pressed against me, her head buried in my back.

As I listened out, another bark came. Not the bark of a dog after all.

It was the sound of a wolf.

And there, sprinting towards us at the speed of light, was the longed-for wolf-boy I thought I might never lay eyes on again.

Luca had come.

L
uca saw them, his heart sinking as he approached. The Vulpecula and Jane with somebody hiding behind her, both backed into a corner.

But there was something else. The orange glow, illuminating all four of them.

Luca stopped. He felt his heartbeat slowing as realization crept over him.

He couldn’t feel thankful yet. The danger of this situation was stark. He knew that the Vulpecula would not disappear without a fight, though he knew now that their fear of fire was debilitating. And even from this distance he saw the demeanour of the two creatures: cowed, impotent.

But with rain threatening overhead, there was no time to lose.

Luca began to move, picking up speed again. At his approach the bigger of the foxes turned and, for a second, the animal’s face twisted into a snarl.

As Luca faced him, Ade bared his teeth, and that was all Luca needed to summon every bit of the wolf within in him.

With a ferocious roar he snapped his jaw at his enemy and the fox jerked away, its red-gold fur shimmering in the light from the fire that was still burning behind it.

The smaller fox moved to protect her brother, trying to form a unified shield, but there was a lack of confidence in her gesture. These creatures were doing what all wild animals know lays them vulnerable: showing fear.

‘Luca!’ He heard Jane call and lifted his head momentarily to see the anxiety in her eyes. He saw her struggling with something in her hands. She was lighting more matches, desperately throwing them on to the dying fire in the hedge.

Exploiting the distraction, Ade leaped, his clawed front paws tearing at Luca’s face. The fox’s face was so close that Luca could smell its acrid breath. He used his strength to swipe at the creature’s nose, leaving a bloodied gash.

Luca barely felt the pain when Ade tore through the flesh on his arms; he was too intent on closing his sharp incisors over the fox’s ears. At the sound of something ripping he pulled away for a second and saw the fox’s ear hanging, dislocated. Yet Ade looked as though he had hardly felt it.

These creatures had formidably blunted nerve endings. Or lead-like skin. Luca kept Ade at bay with regular nips at any visible part of the animal’s body, but inwardly he knew this method of action would leave no more than a dent.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the lick of flames climbing. He thanked the Celestials for Jane’s quick-thinking. But as he backed off from the fox in front of him to recoup a little strength, he saw that Polly had cornered Jane and her terrified-looking companion, forcing them closer and closer to the fire.

Seizing a chance, he leaped out of Ade’s way, charging towards Polly’s intimidating shape as she stood on all-fours with her back to him, yapping. Bundling into the back of her, he forced her forwards, willing Jane to leap out of the way – which at the very last minute she did.

Polly tumbled forward into the ditch, unbalanced and trapped, while the fire helpfully lashed out at her, catching her fur.

She let out an excruciating screech of pain, finally. Luca felt a rush of euphoria – and a moment’s instinctive horror at the smell of burning flesh and his part to play in that. He twitched, refusing to let that get in the way of what he had to do next.

Jane had her hand over mouth, but one arm still around the other girl. She looked over at him, her eyes almost opaque with shock.

She took her hand away from her lips, her mouth widening, then shouting, ‘Luca!’

But before he could react he roared in agony as Ade’s sharp teeth bit into his shoulder. With miraculous speed he shot forward and turned, ready to face the apoplectic animal before him.

I
 could barely take in what was happening in front of my eyes. All I knew was that Ade’s sense of retribution would be tenfold now that Polly lay burning to death in the ditch.

Luca was growling, sidestepping the great fox, but even as a werewolf, he had his work cut out. The fox’s face was covered in blood, his mouth red and dripping, giving him a mad, ravaged appearance. I swallowed, willing something to intervene to stop this.

But it had to reach its final conclusion. If Luca was ever to be free, he had to fight this out.

Behind me the fire had properly taken hold and, glancing to the side, I saw it ripple further along the hedgerow.

Below me, Polly’s body was inert. I dropped my arm from around Olivia, hoping that Ade had not yet seen the full extent of the damage.

But the fox and the wolf were deep in fighting, like a macabre animal fable. Was this really happening?

Suddenly behind me the fence collapsed, scattering fire perilously closer to Luca and, in front of him, Ade. Luca was too busy fending off the insane creature to take advantage of this piece of fortune.

But I wasn’t. My eyes darted around me, alighting on a hefty piece of kindling nearby. Moving quickly I picked up the wood, poking it at arm’s length into the expanding fire. The heat nearly made me drop the thing, but I held steady, gritting my teeth and praying to whomever might be on my side that the kindling would catch light.

For an awful moment it looked like it would remain unresponsive, but then the sliver of ember at the tip glowed fiercely before bursting into life.

Though the heat was nearly unbearable and the danger increasing by the second, I held on, waiting until the flames crept far enough along it, and then I launched it, with untested precision, at Ade’s moving body.

It missed the fox’s chest but struck his face, then snagged, hanging from his fur. It took a minute before the creature grasped what was happening. But when he did, the realization was visible in his eyes.

Ade howled, letting go of Luca, and staggered back, trying to use its mouth to wrench the wood free. But it was stubborn. It wouldn’t budge. Ade’s fur was blackening and a potent smell drifted over us all.

Inside I felt like fireworks of my own were going off, but it wasn’t the time for celebration. And when I saw Ade attempt one final attack, launching his burning body at Luca’s, I yelled and ran forward.

‘Luca!’ I screamed again, grabbing his wolf-leg, which felt thick and strong, rigid with muscle. But he threw me off.

And then I almost passed out at the sight of his body on fire. I vaguely heard Olivia next to me softly, before I screamed again – a scream of pure, frustrated despair.

Luca finally fell on to his back, while Ade had already collapsed, the whole of him up in flames. I registered that this was a good thing. Mission accomplished. But I couldn’t revel in the victory, not while Luca was fighting off death himself.

I tore off my jacket – Luca’s leather jacket – and knelt beside him, covering his smoking torso with it, desperately trying to dampen the flames. I pounded the leather down, eventually realizing that it had done its work.

The fire was finally out.

I sat back breathlessly, so overjoyed that I had succeeded, that it took a few seconds before I realized that Luca had turned back into a human and that his body was motionless.

I reeled forwards, swallowing back tears.

‘No. No … Luca, no!’ I wailed, bringing my head forward on to his chest.

All at once the whole training ground was silent, but for the noise of the fire all around us, picking up momentum. Slumped over Luca’s unmoving body, I was now aware of the heat. My own face was burning from it.

Olivia stepped forward timidly, kneeling down next to me. She stared in shock at Luca and then up at me.

‘Is he … dead?’ she said in a hoarse whisper.

I touched his face. It was hot from the fire, so it was impossible to tell. Vaguely remembering some first aid learned at college in my first week there, I lifted his wrist, feeling for a pulse.

There was one. Faint, but there.

I started to stand, shaking so badly that it took some effort.

Olivia waited, expectantly. Poor kid was confused – and I didn’t blame her. This was one weird set of events she had got herself embroiled in.

‘We need to get help,’ I said. ‘Luca needs to get to hospital.’ But as I spoke it occurred to me that too many awkward questions would be asked. Luca was only half human. Once he was in hospital, his true nature would be exposed.

If Luca was only half human then his ability to heal was greater than a mortal’s, wasn’t it? He was immortal, after all. He would never die. Reminding myself of this brought such relief I nearly gasped out loud.

‘Change of plan,’ I said, almost cheerfully, to Olivia. ‘But we need to move him away from the fire …’

We sat by Luca for what seemed like hours, but he didn’t move. I could see him breathing though; I knew he was just unconscious. Perhaps it was only a question of waiting. Olivia and I had dragged him laboriously over to one of the creepy Nissen huts, as far from the fire as possible. Just as we had got there it had started to rain, quenching the raging flames. Now all that could be seen was a long length of smoky, charred hedgerow and, just visible, the lifeless bodies of Ade and Polly.

I stared up at the sky, willing for something to intervene and put this right. For someone to just appear and make it all right. It seemed impossible. Who on earth would understand?

‘Jane.’ A deep, familiar voice came from behind us. Turning, I saw the tall, bearded figure of Ulfred. And next to him, a beautiful young woman, her black-brown hair in a single braid, her large brown eyes glistening with emotion.

‘Ulfred,’ I croaked, getting to my feet. ‘Dalya …’ I stumbled as I stood and both Luca’s father and his sister reached out instinctively to catch me. As soon as they touched me, something happened to release all the fear and the trauma of what had happened that night.

And I collapsed, sobbing, into Ulfred’s chest.

He stroked my hair, keeping me safe in his arms.

‘We’re here now,’ he said softly, soothingly. ‘The boy will be fine. He is recovering from the stress.’ He released me and went over to Luca. With one seemingly effortless movement he lifted his son into his arms. Dalya linked her arm through mine. She had no idea the comfort she gave me. How much she and her father were the only people I wanted to be with just then.

‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘If you hadn’t come …’

‘Ssh.’ Dalya squeezed my arm. ‘It’s over now.’

And as Ulfred walked towards us, I saw Luca finally open his eyes. He blinked at me, then smiled weakly.

‘I love you,’ I told him. ‘I’m so sorry …’

‘No need.’ Both Luca and Ulfred spoke together and I realized how startlingly similar they looked and behaved. Both gentle, yet strong at the same time.

‘We’re family now,’ said Dalya warmly. ‘And you have rid us, finally, of the Vulepcula’s curse.’ She looked me full in the face. ‘For that we will be for ever in your debt. And you will always be one of us.’

L
ydia stepped forward. Clothed entirely in black, she looked even more of a shadowy, defeated character. Behind her, the vicar was shaking hands and nodding at the trail of people coming out from the church.

She held out both hands, a little shakily, and grasped one each of mine and Luca’s.

‘Thank you,’ she said quietly. ‘I know you tried to save them.’ She looked pained as she went on. ‘They were always so wilful. I think that I always knew they would take their need for excitement too far.’