Phantom Warriors: Riot (6 page)

The beam flashed wildly, before landing on
something with dark fur and red eyes. The animal ducked behind a
clump of trees. Had she scared it away? Nina wasn’t sure. She
didn’t want to wait to find out. She swallowed hard and slowly
backed away. A bear could run thirty miles an hour. No way would
she outrun one, if it were hungry and determined to get her.

Maybe it was a deer?

Even as the thought crossed her mind, Nina
knew what she’d spotted had been far too big to be any kind of
deer. She picked up her pace, wondering if there was any way she
could shimmy up a tree in the dark.
Bears can climb,
remember?
Something crashed behind her. Nina screamed and took
off running, her flashlight bouncing as she tried to scan the
ground in front of her. The sound grew louder—and closer.

Don’t panic. Don’t panic. It’s as scared
of you as you are of it.
Wishful thinking on her part.

Whatever it was didn’t sound frightened. It
sounded like it was chasing her. Nina leapt over a log. The ground
should’ve been there, but instead she dropped down an embankment.
Her feet slipped out from under her and she fell with a loud
‘
oomph
’, rolling end over end until she came to rest beside
a shallow creek.

Nina shook her head to clear it and slowly
sat up. Her arm hurt, but it didn’t feel broken. Moisture from the
creek seeped through her fingers. She reached for the flashlight
and shined it on her body. Cuts and scrapes covered her hands. She
was bleeding, but not too bad. She struggled to her feet. It took
two tries before she made it. The trees swirled for a minute before
righting themselves. Nina took a step. Her legs held. Thank
goodness. No way would she make it out of the woods if something
were broken.

She heard the crunch of footsteps as they
slowly approached.
Oh god, the men had finally caught her.
With trembling hands, Nina turned the flashlight toward the sound.
A giant bear stood twenty yards away. It’s shoulders reached the
bottom branches of the tree it stood beneath. Nina had never in all
of her life seen a bear this size. It looked like a grizzly had
mated with an elephant. Except, grizzlies weren’t indigenous to the
area.

She shined the flashlight into the creature’s
eyes, but it didn’t flinch, didn’t run away. So much for
frightening it. Nina’s heart leapt into her throat as the monster
bear took a step forward. The irony that she was about to get eaten
by a bear, when she’d been out trying to save them, was not lost on
her.

Nina kept the flashlight trained on the
animal. With her veterinary practice, she knew every species in the
area, along with many others. She should’ve been able to identify
this species of bear, but its markings were all wrong. It was brown
where it should’ve been black, its ears weren’t shaped like a
typical bear, and…

“Are you all right?”
It talked.

The world spun again. This time Nina reached
out to steady herself. She had to have hit her head in the fall.
That was the only explanation. She was imaging its voice. She had
to be. Bears didn’t talk. That was animal kingdom rule number one.
She stared at the trees around her.

The bear tilted its head. “What are you
looking at?” it asked.

“The trees,” she said calmly, like talking to
a bear was an everyday affair for her.

Its furry brow rose. “Why?”

“I’m waiting to see if they’re going to join
in on our conversation,” she said.

His mouth moved a few times without any words
coming out, then he finally said, “Trees don’t talk.”

Her gaze met his squarely. “Neither do
bears.” She swayed as the gap in her reality widened.

“You don’t look so well. Perhaps you should
sit down.” The voice was a deep rumble as the bear’s jaw twisted to
form their words.

Nina stared at its incisors, as the bear’s
mouth opened and closed. The teeth were longer than two of her
middle fingers put together. “This can’t be happening.” She shook
her head again and pain sliced through her skull.

“I think you need medical assistance
,
”
the bear said.

“I know I do,” Nina said. “The fact that I
can hear you is a dead giveaway.”

“Good, I was worried for a minute that you
couldn’t understand me.”

“I plan to schedule a psychological exam the
second I get back to town.” She’d finally lost it. Well and truly
lost it. Between the stress over her grandfather’s failing health
and trying to keep the business alive, she’d gone over the deep
end. How else to explain talking bears? Nina swayed on her
feet.

The bear gave her a look that on a person
would’ve been interpreted as concern. “Please sit down. You need to
catch your breath after a fall like that.”

For some strange reason, Nina found herself
following his suggestion. “I wouldn’t have fallen had you not been
chasing me,” she muttered under her breath.

The bear pawed at the ground and ducked his
head. “Sorry about that. I just wanted to make sure that you were
okay. You were running like something was after you.”

She blanched. “Men were following me.”

His massive head rose and he scented the air.
“I smelled them earlier, but they’re gone now.”

She exhaled. “Good!” Nina didn’t think she
could handle the poachers and a talking bear. Great Spirit, bless!
She was talking to a bear. An honest to goodness bear.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

She responded automatically. “Nina
Whitetail.” She hesitated, then added, “Do you have a name?”

“My name is Riot,” he said groaned, which
came out more like a roar.

“Riot?”
It’s a bear Nina. What did you
expect him to be called? Yogi? Perhaps Bob?

“Can I ask you something?” The bear shuffled
his massive feet on the forest floor.

His gaping maul gave her the impression that
he could swallow her whole if he desired.

“Sure, why not? None of this is real anyway,”
Nina said.

“You’re not going crazy,” he growled, then
snorted as if to clear his throat.

“Sure, whatever you say.” She wasn’t about to
take a bear’s word for it that her sanity was still intact. Nina
scooted further down the log, although it wouldn’t do much good if
he rushed her. A ‘normal’ bear could outrun a person. This one,
given his massive size, could probably match a cheetah. “What do
you want to know?”

He took a step closer and she stiffened. The
bear stopped instantly.

“Why aren’t you frightened of me?” he
asked.

Nina frowned as she took inventory of her
emotions. He was right. She hadn’t been frightened since he began
to speak. She was nervous, sure. Anyone would be when confronted by
a bear the size of a draft horse. But she wasn’t afraid. “How do
you know that I’m not?”

“I can smell you.” He sniffed. “You smell
musky and sweet. You’re rich, ripe, and full-bodied like a woman
should be.”

She blinked. “You make it sound like I’m a
bottle of wine.”

“In a way, you are. At least your essence
is,” he added.

Was the bear
flirting
with her?

Her face flushed. Nina didn’t know why she
was blushing, but it seemed odd to have a bear talking to her in
the way that a man would. “Thanks,” she murmured, then glanced
away. She didn’t want him to notice the affect he was having on
her.

Flirting?
What was she thinking? This
was a bear, not a man. He wouldn’t know embarrassment if it hit him
upside his fuzzy head. And he darn sure wasn’t flirting. Bears
didn’t flirt. But that didn’t stop her from changing the
subject.

“You asked why I’m not afraid of you. One
reason is that I’m a vet. I treat all kinds of animals at my
practice.” It was a reason, but not the main one. Nina never
fancied herself as a
Dolittle
. Her patients didn’t routinely
come in and talk to her. Nothing in her work life could have
prepared her for this moment, but the same couldn’t be said about
her personal life. She thought about her grandfather. Nina couldn’t
believe she was about to admit this. She knew it would sound crazy,
but did that really matter when one was talking to a bear? Nope,
she didn’t think so.

“And the other reason?” he asked,
patiently.

“My grandfather, Harold Twofeathers,” she
said.

She was pretty sure that the bear’s face
crinkled in confusion, though it was hard to tell with all the fur.
Maybe he just had fleas. “What does he have to do with your
fearlessness?”

Good question. Without the bear meeting him,
it was going to be hard to explain, but Nina did her best. “Ever
since I was a little girl, he’s filled my head with stories of The
People. One of his favorite stories is that of the Great Bear.”

“The Great Bear?” he sounded puzzled.

Nina laughed. For some reason, it struck her
as funny that he wasn’t familiar with The People’s stories about
him. “Sorry, I guess that concept would be weird to you. The Great
Bear is a story that has been with the Cherokees for
centuries.”

The bear sat down. “What exactly does this
bear do?”

She smiled. He looked so content to sit there
and listen to the story it was almost comical. “He leads a band of
brothers on a merry chase. See, the brothers are hunting the Great
Bear. They are so determined to catch and kill him that they follow
him into the sky, where they remain to this day.” Nina glanced up,
but could barely see the stars through the trees. When she looked
back, she noticed the bear was staring at the sky too.

He didn’t say anything for the longest time.
He just continued to watch the stars. “Did they ever catch
him?”

“Yes, and they killed him, but the Great Bear
has powerful magic. He was able to put himself back together. When
he does, the brothers chase him across the sky again,” she said.
“It happens every year.”

His gaze lowered and he looked at her.
“Hmm…Do you think I’m the Great Bear?”

For a bear, he seemed awfully serious. “What
else can you be?”

“Good question,” he said, watching her
closely. “Would you follow me to the stars?” The teasing lilt that
had been in his voice all but disappeared.

Nina’s brow furrowed. “Not to kill you. If
that’s what you’re asking.”

“It’s not,” he said.

She thought about it for a moment, then
sighed longingly. “The answer really doesn’t matter, since neither
of us can run to the stars.”

“But what if we could?” he asked.

She looked at him. “We can’t, so it’s a moot
question.”

“Someday, I might ask you again,” he said
softly, as if weighing each word.

Nina stared at him, wishing she could somehow
read the strange bear’s mind. She had a feeling that she was
missing something vitally important in the conversation. Finally
she said, “And when you do, I’ll give you the same answer.”

***

Riot’s hearts raced. He couldn’t believe that
he’d finally found a woman who didn’t fear him. He knew Nina would
be the one, when he first spotted her splattered with mud. She was
a woman who cared for beasts, and he was the biggest beast of them
all. He may not be
the
Great Bear she was referring to, but
he was a great bear.

He would be
her
great bear…if she’d
have him.

Riot didn’t want to rush her, or frighten her
away, before he had a chance to test their compatibility, so he let
her non-answer slide. She didn’t understand the question. At least
not yet. Or maybe she did, and didn’t want to answer. Always
possible. Females were far more complicated than their male
counterparts—or so he’d been told repeatedly. He tended to agree.
“Do you know the way back to town?”

She looked around warily, then slowly shook
her head. “My compass is broken.”

“Climb on.” He jerked his head to the side
and stood.

“Excuse me?” Nina’s eyes widened as she
tilted her chin up. “Um, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Riot growled, forcing his jaw to form words.
“You are in no condition to walk. Besides, without that light, you
can’t see a thing. I can. So climb on.” He gestured to his
back.

Nina stood, but didn’t move.

Riot stared at her. “What? Is there a
problem?”

“You’re too tall and…” She paused. “I’ve
never ridden a bear before.”

He snorted. It was the closest sound he could
make to a laugh. “Well climb on and then you’ll be able to say that
you have.”

Nina laughed, then slowly approached. “You’re
going to have to lie down or there’s no way I’ll be able to get on
you.”

Riot dropped to the ground on his belly. Even
lying as flat as possible, Nina still had trouble scrambling onto
his back. “Grab my fur.”

“Are you sure?” She kicked her legs until she
was high enough to swing one over his shoulder. Finally she was
seated.

“It won’t hurt me,” he said.

“Okay, if you’re sure.” Nina grabbed a
handful of hair at the back of his neck.

Riot slowly rose to his feet. She gasped and
tightened her hold, pulling at his fur, but he hardly noticed. He
was too busy enjoying the feel of her thighs clutching his sides.
“Hang on. This might be a little bumpy.”

Bright sunlight splashed across her face,
waking Nina, even though all she wanted to do was sleep in. She
stretched and winced, feeling the soreness in her stiff muscles.
Scratches still covered her hands from where she’d taken a fall.
Dried blood was caked beneath her nails. She reached up and felt
her head. It was tender, but there were no bumps. She wasn’t
nauseous and didn’t have a headache, which probably ruled out a
concussion.

Nina had called Kim last night after she
found her truck parked in the driveway and her keys tucked under
the mat on her porch. Her best friend had been about to send the
Sheriff’s Department to look for her. Fortunately, Nina was able to
convince Kim not to, and claimed that she was fine.