Worlds Apart (31 page)

Strength returned to Clive with
every step as the instinct to protect his mate grew. The silver
wolf had caught him asleep, but that wouldn't happen again. He
searched through the trees, following the other wolf's scent, alert
for all signs of danger. He whined once at the wrong smell of this
forest.

The moon was higher when he
glimpsed his quarry farther down the hill, and he turned that way,
sliding between trees. Crouching, he crawled close to the ground,
each paw placed with silent care. Reaching forward with his right
paw, he drew it back with a yelp as pain tore through his leg. He
jumped back, trembling. He stared ahead, sensing something, but
there was nothing there.

Then he saw the wolf on the next
hill over, slinking from the cover of trees toward some boulders. A
few leaps and Clive would have him. He leapt forward…

…and fell into an agony of fire,
as flames licked at his body, consuming him alive. He could not
move away from it, and with dim awareness, he knew there was
nowhere to move to, for there was no fire. The forest surrounded
him with cool wholeness, but here in this spot, he was trapped in
pain.

His howls filled the air as he
writhed, tearing at his own fur and skin, trying to escape. How
long he endured, he could not tell, but it ended as suddenly as it
began. He lay where he'd fallen, panting with fear as the other
wolf howled from his perch, pacing back and forth as he watched
Clive. Then the wolf turned and vanished through the
trees.

Chapter 36

Tina paced the length of her room,
crossing in front of Shandari, who sat curled on a chair, wrapped
in a thin hospital blanket. The healer's eyes were glazed with
blank exhaustion and her face seemed incapable of holding onto any
expression. Her dark skin was a paler ash color. She assured Tina
she was all right and just needed to rest, but Tina was worried
about her anyway.

She was even more worried about
Clive. The moon was high as the clock approached one in the
morning. A wind was blowing, and Tina could swear she heard howls.
That was nonsense, of course. Even if there was howling, the
werewolves were much too far away for her to hear them.

Kasia wasn't taking any chances.
She had placed a ward around the clinic and left guards to patrol
the area. Shandari kept in touch with Kasia through her strap, and
Kasia told them everything she knew as information came
in.

No one had spotted either wolf
since Clive had entered the forest. They had reported hearing
howls, described by one shaky guard as “soul-tearing.” Tina had
shuddered at that report. Maybe she was hearing it.

“I need to be there,” she muttered
under her breath as her pace brought her to the wall and she turned
around. “I need to help him.”

“Tina.” Shandari's weary voice
broke into her fretting. “Come sit down.”

“I can't sit. I need to be
there.”

“You don't understand what's
happening to you. Please. Sit down. Let me help you.”

Tina waved a hand at her. “No way.
Whatever you did to heal me has worn you out. You are not doing
anything else.”

“No.” Shandari sighed. “But you
are using magic and you're not even aware of it. I can offer you
some advice.”

“What do you mean, I'm using
magic?” Tina stared at Shandari and tried to make sense of
that.

“It's coming off you in sparks.
You don't have the slightest idea how to control it, and that can
be dangerous.” Shandari pointed a firm finger at the chair next to
her. “Sit down and listen to me. I'm too tired to chase
you.”

Tina sat, resisting the temptation
to jump back up and resume pacing. “What am I doing? I don't feel
anything.”

“Then why are you
pacing?”

“I'm scared. I'm afraid for Clive.
I want to help him and I'm stuck here in this room.”

Shandari wrapped her blanket
tighter around herself, as if cold. Tina's skin itched in
response—she was too hot. She shivered with suppressed
energy.

“Deep breaths,” Shandari said.
“Breathe gently, but deeply. You need to realize that you and Clive
have worked magic between you. You are connected while the spell is
in action. Some of your tension is coming from him.”

“How? When? I don't understand.”
Tina fought off a wave of dizziness.

“You don't need to understand.
When there's time later, I'll explain. For now, just listen. And
calm your breathing.”

There was a wild glittering light
in Shandari's eyes, as if Tina's anxiety was feeding into her.
Alarmed, Tina made an effort to follow her instructions. By her
second deep breath, the glitter began to fade.

Shandari nodded. “That's better.
Now try to focus the energy you feel. Picture yourself gathering it
together into a ball. Hold it close.”

Tina closed her eyes and tried to
see it. Shandari continued to talk. “In order to help Clive, you
need to turn your energy to him. He will have more power if it is
focused. That's better. Keep breathing. Relax your muscles, and
concentrate on sending your energy to Clive. Picture it filling him
and giving him strength.”

Tina's shivering eased as she
relaxed. She thought of all her anxiety and restlessness, picturing
it as electric current. When she paced, the current shot out in all
directions, uncontrolled and ineffective. She pulled it together
and saw herself send it to Clive. She didn't know what he looked
like as a wolf, so she pictured him as she knew him—human and male,
desirable and comforting. She felt him in her arms, sweaty and soft
from lovemaking, his heartbeat strong against her skin.

Her womb grew warm, and she placed
a hand there.
Come back to us, she thought to Clive. We're
waiting for you.

~~

The air itself seemed to harbor
the scent of the silver wolf, as if it were bound to do his
bidding. This confused Clive, often sending him down paths that
became impassable brambles where the scent faded to an illusion. He
would turn to retrace his steps or go another way, and find himself
surrounded by the scent again, uncertain of what was real. He kept
moving, ignoring confusion and exhaustion, the instinct to protect
growing until it was a siren pushing him on.

Memory of pain receded and he grew
more alert. He paused next to a stream, lapping the water for a
time, then crossed the ribbon of water to climb the hill on the
other side. A screech of agonized terror rent the air ahead of him,
sending him into a crouch, fur bristling along his back. He inched
forward through a bush, stopping within its cover when he saw the
source of the screeching.

A squirrel lay on its side and
scrambled in a circle along the ground, the screech a continuous
wail torn from its throat. Its eyes flamed with unseeing terror.
Its body jerked in deep spasms. Clive flinched, remembering his own
pain. A spasm flipped the squirrel onto its back. Its legs twitched
in the air as the screech echoed from the branches.

A flash of silver in the distance
drew Clive's attention. The other wolf paced in a cove, his eyes
glittering, fixed on the squirrel.

Clive's muzzle was the only part
of him visible, and now he inched back, withdrawing entirely into
hiding. Not allowing a single leaf to move, he pulled away from the
bushes. With no wind to betray him, he slipped through the trees,
circling around the invisible trap of pain. He came out several
feet behind the cove, pausing in utter stillness to gauge the
silver wolf's actions.

The wolf still paced, an
occasional anxious whine sounding in counterpoint to his steps.
Once he crawled forward, as if to approach the agonized squirrel.
His sharp
yip! yip!
mimicked the throes of mating. Clive
gathered his strength, and leapt.

The silver wolf turned a moment
before Clive slammed into him, too late to move or react. His teeth
scraped Clive's leg, but did not prevent Clive's fierce grip on his
back. They rolled, Clive sinking a deep bite onto the other's
shoulder and hanging on, ripping away a chunk of flesh when he was
thrown clear. He charged back, lunging for the wolf's throat. Their
jaws clashed, then pain burned through Clive as the other's teeth
tore through his ear.

The silver wolf raced away,
leaping a thicket of bushes despite his injury. Clive followed,
blood leading him close on his enemy's trail. His insides shook
with the fear of falling into another trap of pain, but now it was
easier to follow the wolf's scent. He knew without understanding it
that the other wolf had laid the traps and would try to lead Clive
into another one. Clive followed him with exact steps, knowing the
other wolf would not enter one of his own traps.

He spotted the wolf near the top
of a rise, facing away from him. With his blood roaring in his
ears, he leaped upward in two bounds, slamming into the hard silver
side as the wolf turned toward him. His speed carried them over a
stand of low bushes. Clive landed on top, teeth tearing into the
soft fur of his enemy’s throat. Chaotic light and noise distracted
him, and then a familiar and ominous scent struck his senses: the
sweat and terror of humans, elves, and others. The silver wolf
wrenched free, slicing a long tear across Clive’s stomach. Light
bounced confusing patterns on the ground and trees. Shouts and
frantic movement surrounded them.

Rage fed him, blocking pain, and
heightening his senses. Years of imprisonment under the weapons of
the enclave guards had taught him of the danger. But the wolf was
the more immediate threat. Clive lashed out, catching one back leg
in his teeth before the wolf got away. The silver wolf became a
raging ball of claws and teeth. Clive lost his grip and the two of
them rolled together, blood, fur, and saliva flying from their
furious embrace.

They parted a few inches, chests
heaving. The crackle and retort of a guard’s weapon flashed into
Clive’s vision, blinding him. Instincts honed in the prisons sent
him flying for the cover of a tree. Behind him, he heard another
retort, and a sharp yelp from the silver wolf. Still half blinded,
he saw the dark form of the wolf fly past him. Scrambling on his
torn paws, he turned and followed.

On the next hill over, the wolf
was waiting for him, attacking with desperate fury. Clive tasted
his blood, smelled the singed fur and muscles. The silver wolf had
Clive by the throat, but his hold was tenuous. Clive couldn’t break
free, but he managed to get his hind legs under the other wolf,
preventing him from using his weight to hold Clive down. The weapon
had torn low into the silver one’s side, and Clive kicked the
underbelly, ripping the tear further open.

With each kick he delivered, it
seemed that the silver wolf’s teeth gripped harder and deeper into
his throat. His legs were covered with blood and shredded organs,
but his open eyes saw nothing but darkness, falling as if from a
great distance, rushing inward at ever-increasing speed.

Chapter 37

Tina jolted to full alertness from
her meditation pose, chest heaving against a wave of vertigo. Her
spirit soared upward in a giddy spiral of freedom, like a dove
released from a cage. Shandari turned to stare over Tina’s head
with wide and glittering eyes.

“What is that?” Tina asked. She
looked around the room, trying to find what was different. There
was nothing to see, but every cell of her body was aware that
something had changed.

“The ward is gone,” Shandari said.
She stood. The expression on her face made it clear she was
listening intently for something.

“He’s dead, isn’t he?” Tina
breathed in, tasting exhilaration.

“Fontaine?” Shandari turned to
Tina, her gaze sharp and penetrating. “He might be. Or Kasia’s
witches finally deciphered the ward and broke it.” She crossed her
arms. “Tell me what you feel.”

“Like I’m flying.” Tina stood,
holding her arms out. “I feel excited and light. I want to run.”
She turned to the door as a laugh bubbled out of her, taking a step
as if to start her run immediately.

Shandari reached out to touch her
arm and Tina spun back around to face her. “Then I think he is
dead,” Shandari said. “It is only his death that could free you to
this extent.”

That brought all kinds of
disturbing questions to Tina’s mind, but she shunted them aside,
too happy to bother about it now. Her giddiness increased. “Let’s
go. I want to see Clive.”

This time Shandari gripped her
arm, holding her in place. “No, Tina. Not yet.”

“Why not?” Tina jerked away, her
happiness plummeting into a deep hole, leaving a creeping panic in
its trail.

“Clive is still in were-form. It’s
not safe until he’s changed back.”

“But he’s hurt.” Tina glanced up,
thinking to check the sky, but there was nothing to see except the
ceiling. The panic blossomed. She turned to the door.

Shandari’s call did not stop her,
but as Tina dashed toward the front of the clinic, she heard her
friend’s footsteps behind her.

A guard stood at the entrance,
blocking her way. His head brushed the nine-foot ceiling, and the
arms he crossed over his chest were thin tree trunks. Tina detected
a green cast to his face and hands, but it was his resolve that she
noticed. No one was getting past.