Shift (Castlerock Shifters Book 1) Page 10

  True panic hit him – they were both in the north. He wanted to run and catch up to them, but duty drew him back to the valley to inform the elders first. It wouldn’t do to have yet another search party looking for Quinn. He shifted and ran, hoping and praying that nothing would happen to them.

  When he returned to the village, he sought out the elders cautiously, trying not to alarm anyone. Of course, Tate and Colin were by his side the moment he returned. He managed to explain the situation to them all. Unbelievably, the elders said to wait for Seff’s return. If he was correct on the timing of her actions, she should be returning to her cabin by nightfall and Seff would return to them. They need only wait.

  Quinn was speechless. His frustration compounded by the fact that they all slipped right back into their celebrating. Well, all but the boys. They sat and watched the northern edge of the forest, clearly on edge.

  Quinn found he was unable to listen to anything spoken the rest of the afternoon. His worry focused equally on the two people to the north.

  Be safe, he thought. Be safe.

  * * *

  When night fell and the boy had not returned, his fear hitched up another notch. But every time he would glance at an elder, they would just give him a look as if to say, “be patient.” Surely, by now, they knew that patience was not one of his strong suits.

  He sat frustrated deep into the night as their stories and songs went on and on. He was unable to pay any attention and even caught himself a few times starting to stand to leave. When the night finally drifted to a close, he jumped up and headed to the Healer’s side.

  Aatu was speaking quietly with Seff’s guardian, Ulric. Seff’s parents had both died when he was younger; both under tragic circumstances. Ulric had never married, so was ill-equipped to handle a child. The pack elders had helped as much as they could. The man just didn’t have a compassionate bone in his body. He’d mostly taken to letting Seff do whatever he wanted; ignoring him completely.

  Quinn had sort of been instructed to take Seff under his wing and keep him in line a few years before. As it turned out, Seff had become the little brother he’d always wanted. How anyone could be unaffected by the joy the child took with him wherever he went, well… that was just beyond him. He felt his eyes narrow a bit as Ulric glanced at Quinn and then turned and walked away. He was headed home.

  “Does he not care that Seff is missing?” he asked, unable to stop the contempt that crept into his voice. No doubt the man had heard him as well.

  The Healer put his hand on Quinn’s arm, claiming his attention.

  “Ulric has a different way of seeing things. Right or wrong, he is entitled to it,” he said.

  Quinn looked at him in disbelief. How could he stand there and defend the man after all he hadn’t done for the boy and should have?

  “You are too generous in your assessment Grandfather,” he replied gruffly. But he let it drop.

  “Quinn, go home and get some sleep. We’ve seen no danger to our mountain. There is no reason to suspect anything is amiss with Seff. We will give him until the morning to return. If he has not returned by sunrise, you may run the full width of the range to find him,” he said. He had only a hint of a teasing smile, but Quinn was in no mood for it.

  “Why can’t I just go now?” he demanded.

  The old man glanced meaningfully behind Quinn. Unsure what he was getting at, Quinn turned. There behind him were seven boys, ranging in ages from ten to sixteen. All were good friends with Seff. Tate and Colin were right at the front of the group, waiting expectantly.

  So, the elders were going to let him search in the morning and the boys would be helping. They were protecting the boys from the potential dangers of the night. He got it. It didn’t make him happy, but he could see the necessity of it.

  He nodded gruffly and turned to the boys. They were clearly ready to head out immediately as well. It took a lot more convincing than he would have thought to get them to head home and rest. They accused Quinn of wanting to go alone and leave them out of the search for their friend. The thought had crossed his mind, but now he realized he would welcome the help. There were miles and miles of territory to the north and they had no scents to follow. He would need help in locating them. He only hoped they were not in any trouble or danger.

  His frustration only deepened as he heard the rain starting up again. It weighed on him heavily that they might not find them. He had a difficult time falling asleep; for the first time in his life, the sound of the rain held no comfort. When darkness finally descended on him, he had mapped out the routes each of them would take to cover the most area in the least amount of time.

  Fifteen

  Jaisey

  Jaisey woke immediately on edge. Something was wrong. It wasn’t like waking with a dream that intruded into the daylight hours; it was more like she had become aware of something in the real world while she had slept.

  She pulled her boots on quickly and left the shelter of her little tent. Jack was missing, so that didn’t help. Maybe his stirring had been what had awakened her.

  The sky was barely light enough to show the beginning of the day, let alone any details in the forest. The sky was heavy with clouds, but there was no rain falling.

  A glance around the small clearing didn’t help. Nothing was there. She tried to calm the pounding in her chest, but the anxiety would not be pushed aside. She listened intently to the forest. There was no sound to explain her feeling. No sound to alert her to danger or a threat. There was simply – no sound.

  Her eyes widened in shock.

  No sound.

  That wasn’t right. At the very least she should be hearing crickets or birds or even smaller critters moving through the deadfall on the ground. But there was nothing. That was what had intruded on her sleep; the eerie silence. Her own breath rushing in and out of her lungs sounded painfully loud in comparison.

  A deep fear began to settle over her. She’d never come across any threat that could silence every sound. What could possibly be so dangerous as to send a whole forest into complete quiet? The terror kept her from moving. She feared if she moved that whatever unnamable thing had caused this silence would focus on her. The silence pressed in on her – tangible, more terrifying than anything she’d ever felt in her life. Her heart was racing, pounding in her chest.

  She stood motionless for what felt like a lifetime and then a sound broke through the silence. A wolf howled not far off in the distance. For once that sound didn’t scare her; rather, it comforted her. Somehow that seemed to release the tension of the silence. It was a physical relief to her when the sounds slowly started up again. A rush of lightheadedness hit her; she hadn’t even realized that she’d been holding her breath.

  Seconds later, Jack came bounding back to her and she went down on her knees to hug him. She’d never welcomed his presence more. Feeling safer simply because he existed.

  As the unease worked its way from her, she felt the need to move. Quickly. She didn’t even take the time to roll her tent correctly. She pulled it all haphazardly together and headed to the south toward the cabin as quickly as she could move. Jack took off again, disappearing ahead then working his way back to her.

  She didn’t have to go far before stumbling onto the paved road. She had been quite close to home as it turned out. She felt relief to be so close to the cabin; wanting to escape the eerie feeling of the morning. She had come out right between the ranger station and the cabin. As she turned the last curve heading to the cabin, she found Seff standing in the middle of the road with his back to her. He was looking up – watching a bird that was soaring past into the forest.

  “Hey,” she called out, feeling yet another sense of release. Her voice didn’t sound right.

  Seff turned and she watched as relief washed across his worried features. She immediately felt guilty for leaving. He took a step toward her but stopped short and whipped his head back to the forest in the direction the bird had flown. Before she could say anyt
hing, a black wolf bounded out of the forest – headed straight for Seff.

  She barely heard her own scream over the throaty growl of the wolf. It lunged and knocked Seff to the ground. Seff had his arm raised and the wolf bit down on it with a sick, crunching sound. The horror of the moment that had frozen her in her tracks dissipated at that sound and Jaisey acted.

  She dropped her pack and ran straight for the boy. Her walking stick firmly in hand – raised for a strike. Somewhere in the back of her mind, reason was screaming it was insane for her to be running toward the beast, but that was stifled under the protective feelings she felt for Seff. She could only think about saving him.

  The wolf didn’t seem to notice her or saw her as no threat. It seemed it was trying to drag Seff, but when it couldn’t get a good enough hold of him, it let go of Seff’s arm and bit into his side. The scream from Seff kept her moving toward him.

  It took her only a few moments to reach them, but the wolf had already done a lot of damage to Seff. It pulled its teeth from the boys’ side and raised its head to her. At that moment, she was hit with a feeling of déjà vu – recognizing the wolf as the one she’d crossed on her hike to the ranger station. A deep growl issued from its throat and the hair on its neck bristled up; it would turn on her now.

  She didn’t think – couldn’t think. She just swung down fast with all the force she could muster as it took a single step toward her. It tried to dodge the swing, making the stick contact with its left eye. It made a sick popping noise, followed by a loud crack as she carried through with the swing. The wolf was knocked back several feet onto its side; yelping in pain.

  It rose in a staggering motion with a high-pitched whine. It turned back to her, teeth bared and suddenly there was Jack – all over the wolf. He was biting and snarling – every bit as ferocious as the black wolf had seemed moments before. The wolf pulled away and took off back into the forest in a crazed zigzag pattern.

  She had to call Jack back to her, not wanting to chance him being hurt out of her sight. She realized she had raised the stick for another swing. She let it tumble from her hands next to Seff as the danger disappeared.

  She fell to her knees next to him and saw his body was in a heap. He was pulled in on himself, looking very small and then she saw the bloodstain that was spreading on his shirt. The panic returned tenfold.

  “Seff,” she practically screamed, her voice breaking.

  His eyes opened just a slit and a look of relief came into them, though the pain was still clear.

  “Jaisey. You okay?” His voice was the barest whisper. Stupid kid – worried about her as he was lying in pain from a wolf attack.

  “Shhh, stay put. I need to grab my bag,” she said, trying to hide the alarm in her voice. There was so much blood.

  She ran to get her pack and ripped things out tossing them aside to get to her small first aid kit. It wasn’t what she needed, she knew that. But she couldn’t help hoping it would suffice. Something in her wanted, no needed, it to be a superficial wound, regardless of the amount of blood that was spreading on his shirt. She ripped the small gauze pad open and lifted his shirt. His side had a deep puncture that was oozing blood.

  Her stomach heaved at the torn flesh around the edges. She tossed the pad, hating the uselessness of it. She needed something larger. She grabbed her bag again and pulled out her flannel shirt, quickly turned it inside out, then wadded it up and pressed it on the wound.

  “Seff,” she said, his eyes were drooping. “Stay with me, Seff. I need you to hold on. I have to run get my Jeep. You need to keep pressing this to your side to slow the bleeding.”

  He nodded and pulled his bloodied arm down on the shirt and pressed lightly. The arm didn’t have the strength to do more. The panic just kept escalating. Too weak… he was getting too weak, too fast.

  She knew running full force, it would only take a few minutes to get to the cabin and back. She didn’t have time to debate the decision.

  “Jack, stay!” she shouted, and she ran, praying the wolf would not return in her absence and if it did, that Jack would protect Seff. For his sake, she hoped it didn’t return.

  She had the even ground to aid her, thankfully. Her boots grabbed the road well; the image of Seff’s blood-soaked shirt making her move faster than she would have thought possible. She tried to push the image from her mind, but the thoughts flowed freely even as she concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.

  It normally took about two hours to get up the mountain from the highway. She tried to figure out how fast she could drive down and still couldn’t see it taking less than one and a half. There were just too many twists and turns – no good straight shots to drive fast on. She needed to get him down the mountain quickly. And then it was at least another hour into the nearest city that would have a hospital. She couldn’t see the boy having that much time or blood, she thought grimly. But she couldn’t just give up. She had to try. She ran.

  It seemed an eternity before she finally hit the turnoff for the cabin. She nearly took the cabin door off its hinges getting through it. She grabbed a handful of dish towels and her keys and flew back out the door, jumping into the Jeep.

  The Jeep was so much faster. She made it back to him only a few minutes after she’d left; Yellow Jeep skidding to a halt as she slammed on her brakes.

  She jumped out, opened the passenger door and ran to Seff, fearing the worst. His eyes opened at her arrival – again with that look of relief. It was starting to irritate her that he was worried about her, rather than himself. But she took it as a good sign that he was still conscious.

  “In Jack!” she commanded the dog.

  She tucked the fresh towels into Seff’s side, tossing the soaked shirt away. She had to get him up and she tried to lift him carefully, but he still sucked in his breath when she got her arms around him. She carried him, half stumbling to the Jeep. Jack moved to the backseat as she helped Seff in. He collapsed against the door after she closed it.

  It occurred to her then, that with how fast he was fading, she should go back and call 911 from her cabin. She almost smacked herself in the head for not doing that when she was there before.

  She belatedly recalled the hiker that had gotten stranded with a broken leg up off a hiking trail years before that had been airlifted out. Of course, the ranger had been the one calling it in, but surely, they would come regardless of who called. Even if they wouldn’t send a helicopter, they could send an ambulance to meet her on the road.

  She got back in the Jeep and was backing up to turn around when she heard Seff mumbling something quietly to her.

  “What?” she asked, stopping the Jeep to focus on him.

  “Take the dirt road… just up… past the ranger station. It will take you… my home… healer,” he trailed off, but she was sure he had said something about a healer.

  “Seff, I think we should go back to the cabin and call 911. You need a hospital,” she said as calmly as she could muster. She didn’t want to scare him, but his injuries were serious.

  He shook his head, a look of pain flashing across his features. “Just get me home… they can take care of…” the pained look flashed again. He was hurting and she wasn’t helping. “Please, go…” he faded out.

  She threw the Jeep back into drive and hit the gas. It wasn’t going to help the boy to just sit and try to decide. She trusted him to know what he was asking her to do. And if they couldn’t really help, hopefully, they could call for the right assistance. Time was slipping away; she just needed to get him to someone that could take care of his injuries.

  Seff mumbled something else and she had to focus on him again. “What?” she asked softly.

  “Tell Quinn to look up. Looking for… red.” His breathing was becoming more labored, making talking more difficult.

  That sentence didn’t make any sense to her, but she wasn’t about to make him repeat it. She sped up the road toward the ranger station. Another glance at the boy and she realized
that he had lost consciousness; she punched the gas harder.

  She had to stay focused. This had to be the right thing to do. His home had to be closer than a hospital. After all, he came to visit nearly every day. And if there was someone there that could help him, she had to trust that it would be right to take him there instead. She kept repeating the same things, trying to convince herself that she was doing the right thing.

  She found the break in the fence that was actually a gate. She thought about jumping out to open it, but with another quick glance at Seff, she dismissed the idea. His color was bad – very bad. His normally glowing bronze skin was so pale; it shook her to her core. She rammed the gate head on with her Jeep.

  The wood slats disappeared under her hood and she found herself on the dirt-packed road. It was a narrow, tree-lined path; only her Jeep could fit the width, but thankfully, it was smooth. She drove as fast as she could – slowing only at blind corners, her frustration growing with each passing second. Why had she agreed to this? She drove and drove. How long had they been on the road… five minutes… ten… more? He needed a doctor.

  If anything happened to him… but she couldn’t complete that thought.

  As she wound around yet another corner, she found two men standing in the middle of the road blocking her path. She had to slam on her brakes and throw her arm up protectively in front of Seff to keep him from slamming into the dashboard. They had the same coloring as Seff and that same dark hair. They had to be his family.

  “Please, help!” she screamed.

  The men were there quickly pulling Seff out before she could even explain. One man cradled him gently and crossed back in front of the jeep and took off through the forest at a good pace.