“He knows you guys have run. He was searching for you until he felt the runes break on everyone.” I sat up and my mom helped me stand as Shelly came over and grabbed Rick.
“What’s going on?” She looked at Rick. His breathing was coming in small gasps. His hand went to his neck, and he screamed. Shelly looked at me. “Amy?”
Rick looked at me and he screamed. “No.” He shook his head, then he dropped.
“Amy!” Shelly screamed.
“Get him on the table…quickly.” I called as I grabbed the tiny knife from the box. I had a ghost of a smile as I shook my head. Fucking Carl. “Roll him on to his stomach.” Ternen and Toya had lifted Rick onto the table and then turned him over. “Shelly, I need you to trust me.”
She blew out a breath and walked around the table to sit at the table that Carly sat on and grabbed Rick’s hand. “Do it. Whatever you have to do. Just save my mate.”
“Okay.” I pressed the one inch knife at the base of his neck, right over the brand. This had to be precise. I braced my hand on his head, steadying it. Then I pressed it through his skin, severing his spinal cord. “Rick, I command you not to heal.”
Toya went to press a towel against the wound, but I stopped her hand. “Are you just going to leave the knife in?” She sounded confused.
“I have to. If I take it out, he will die.” I took a breath. “He might stop breathing.” I winced when Shelly jolted up. “Don’t do that.” I held up my hand. “Any jarring movement can shift the knife and kill him. Stay still. Pray to the goddess. And hope that I can break the bridge inside of him.”
I turned to Nix for the last time, and I could see both her and Megan were exhausted. “Last time.” They nodded.
“Last time.” Nix sank down so I could climb up onto her. “Let’s go save this idiot.” Megan snorted. We trotted through the trees. Saving our energy for whatever we were to face over in Rick.
“Do you think it is another leech?” Megan’s voice was tired, but hopeful.
I shook my head. “I don’t think so.” We ran until the woods shifted from my trees with light streaming through the canopy to darkness. Same trees, but dark shadows, grew all over the place.
“This doesn’t feel like a dangerous place.” Nix was cautious but still moving through the trees.
I sent out feelers, but she was right. It didn’t seem dark because it was malicious like the others. This seemed like a quiet, restful place. “What is this place?”
Megan trotted around us. “This is a place like where I lived before you spoke to me. A safe place to stay hidden. A place to recharge, heal, and relax.”
I looked around, but Rick’s wolf was nowhere to be seen. “Where is his wolf?”
Chapter Thirteen
There was a howl in the distance. A call full of pain. We looked at each other and started running towards the noise. A second howl ripped through the air, only this time, it broke. We sprinted, because the second howl sounded exhausted, and close to breaking. “We need to make it there.” I shouted to my wolves.
“We will.” Nix’s breathing was quick gasps at this point. We have been pushing ourselves way too close to the edge. And if we pushed much more, we would be the ones breaking. But we couldn’t leave Rick or his wolf to die.
We broke through to a clearing and stumbled to a stop. “What the fuck?” Megan panted next to us, and she dropped to her side. I turned to her. “Are you okay?”
“Just tired.” She panted for a second before she rolled back to her belly. “What is he doing?”
We turned back to Rick’s wolf. He was running around the perimeter of the clearing, and he had obviously been running for some time. The ground had worn down into a dirt path. Gone was the green grass that the rest of the field was made out of.
We watched as he stumbled and rolled. I winced, because it was clearly painful, but he let out a new howl, popped back up and started running again. I couldn’t see what was going on, but Megan and Nix both hissed at what they saw. “What’s wrong?” I leaned forward, trying to see, but the brown wolf was on the other side of the clearing. He stumbled again. This time something happened to his paw, but still he hopped up and hobbled on three legs. “Why doesn’t he stop?”
Nix started running towards him, and as we got closer, I heard a buzzing. I whipped around, trying to find the source, but Nix just kept running towards the hurt wolf. We drew up beside him, and I realized the male was being chased. Giant bees the size of my thumb were chasing after him, and his poor body was covered in welts.
He glanced our way and I could see he was barely surviving. He sighed. “Is it time?” His voice was choppy, but resigned. He was ready to let go.
“Time for what?” I panted.
He looked at me. “You’re the goddess, aren’t you? Is it over?” He looked over his shoulder and stumbled over his foot again. This time, he went down hard. The yelp was painful, but when the bee struck, his howl was staggering this close. Every sting was torture. “Please let this be over.”
“Nix.” I slid off her back and she nodded. She ran to his side, earning a sting for herself. We both screamed. The pain was like being stabbed with a red hot poker. The burning point where the stinger hit was instantly swollen. But something weirdhappened. After the pain faded, the rush of power that followed was an amazing rush. “How is this possible?”
“The rune. The creatures are just a manifestation of the rune. The leech was just that, but this creature. It injects pure power into someone.” My grandmother’s voice surprised me. “But if a wolf or person is not made to carry such power, it burns away at them until there is nothing. His wolf is at the brink.” Nix was at his side, and Megan was at their side. I watched as another bee went to strike, but Megan took this sting. I screamed again, but then my mind was a little clearer.
