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scritch of cloth rubbing, then nothing.
My blood pounded. To lay there and wait for them to pass us had been one of the most frightening
things I d ever done. The jays noise went soft, and I exhaled, started to pant.
Waiting for Jenks, my thoughts returned to the soft sureness the invading Weres had shown. Their sly
hesitancy made the stark brutality of the three packs I had just escaped stand out all the more. Weres
weren t savage they just weren t and I felt a spike of worry remembering the ugly ferocity of them
ringing me. It had been more than them wanting to see a fight. They had been like a different species,
younger and more dangerous, lacking the control that the alphas gave them. The trouble a cocky Were
pack in Cincy could get into was enough to give me the shivers. The only reason Inderlanders and
humans could coexist was because everyone knew their place in the social order.
I was so intent on my thoughts that I all but barked in surprise when Jenks dropped out of the tree
above me.
 Holy crap, he whispered, eyes dancing.  I was sure that one saw you. Damn, that deer stinks worse
than a fairy s ass-wipe. Let s get out of here.
I couldn t agree more, and leaving my disturbing thoughts about the strength Weres found in packing up,
I crawled from my shelter, leaping over Nick in my haste. His eyes flashed open and he came up on an
elbow after seeing Jenks, leaves falling to hide the deer s glassy eye.  I fell asleep, he said, sounding
ashamed.  Sorry.
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 We re behind their line. Jenks didn t offer to help him stand, and I waited while Nick slowly gained his
feet using the snag as support. His hands were swollen and there was a soft sheen of moisture on some of
the burns as they oozed, bits of leaf chips stuck to them. I whined at Jenks to be nicer, but he wouldn t
look at me, moving to play vanguard to the road.
I tried to find evidence of the invading Weres passage as we went, seeing nothing. Nick stumbled
behind me, stinking of dead deer, and I tried to pick a way that would be easy for him. His breathing
grew labored as the forest thinned and we came out onto the road. A quick dart across and the forest
closed in again.
Jenks was nearly silent to my wolf hearing, and I was pretty quiet myself. Nick tried, but every
misplaced step brought a stumbling snapping of twigs and leaves. Being barefoot didn t help, and I was
wondering why we hadn t taken someone s boots. After a few moments I trotted to Jenks, giving the
pixy a look I tried to make meaningful before I loped away to make sure no one was nearby. Sound
didn t travel as well as one might think in the woods, and as long as no one was close, Nick could make
all the noise he wanted.
 Rache, Jenks hissed as I trotted off.  You playing scout? he guessed, and I bobbed my head in an
unwolflike manner. Nick came even with him, panting. He leaned against a dead tree, which promptly
snapped with the sound of a gunshot.
While Jenks cursed him in thinly veiled disgust, I slunk through the brush, starting a sweep to the left
when I couldn t hear Nick stumbling about anymore. Somewhere ahead of us was our scuba gear.
Maybe we could hide out on Round Island. Unless by some miracle Marshal was still there. I prayed he
wasn t, not wanting to have to make that choice.
Jenks and Nick s forward progress was maybe a third of mine, and it wasn t long before I had made a
complete circuit and found nothing. I started a back-and-forth pattern before them, one ear on their
progress, one on the forest ahead. Sooner than expected the green light filtering through the leaves
brightened and I heard the sound of what seemed surf. But my heart almost stopped. I realized that the
hiss of what I had thought surf was radio static.
 Their radio silence is continued, a voice said, and I froze, one paw lifted as I slowly crouched, all of
my muscles protesting. In the background were sporadic thumps echoing against water. I was sure this
was where we came in and not the marina. And Brett had said they hadn t found our boat, which meant
they hadn t found the scuba gear either. It must be the six boats we had heard about.Great. Just great.
Out of the frying pan and into government control.
 They haven t regained him, a higher, masculine voice said through a radio.  The third air tank and gear
says she s probably headed right for you. Move the boats behind the curve of the shore and keep watch.
With any luck, they ll walk right in on you. If you retrieve him, don t wait. Move out and radio from the
water.
 Aye, sir, the Were said, and the radio retreated to a hiss.
Damn it,I thought. They had seen the tanks from the water and landed right where we had to leave. They
knew everything the island Weres did, having listened in to their efforts to regain us. Someone else
wanted Nick too.Just what the devil was this thing?
I tried not to pant, my head weaving as I attempted to spot them. I caught a glimpse of a green outback
hat and a clean-shaven face. The noise behind them became loud with decisions being made, and I got
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scared. Slowly I backed away, carefully putting my feet down until I couldn t hear voices anymore.
Turning tail, I made a beeline to Jenks.
I found them together, Jenks looking marginally more accommodating as he held Nick s elbow and
helped him over downed sticks. Nick moved like an eighty-year-old man, head down and struggling for
balance. Jenks heard me and brought them to a stop.  Trouble? he mouthed.
I nodded, and Nick groaned, looking desperate behind his beard. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]