The air exploded with cries and growls—unnatural and extraordinary.
The pressure on her body lifted off; the clamps on her wrists disappeared. Scuffling, shouting, an ungodly shriek. The thunderous noise of the thrashing water. A freakish howl that faded away. Nothing else.
Her lungs were empty. Her head was light and spinning, spinning, spinning. Something stung the side of her face.
“Jo, breathe!” Hands gripped her shoulders and shook her.
She drew a sudden breath and opened her eyes. The bluing sky and greyish-green trees came into focus. A face, shrouded in black hovered over her. Déjà vu.
Galen looked down on her with panic in his silver eyes. Lines cut deeply into the skin on his forehead. “Are you all right?”
“I think so,” she whispered. She tried to raise her head, but it wouldn’t come off the grass. It was heavy and her neck couldn’t lift it. The spinning had left her nauseated and her temples throbbed with dull pain. He scooped her from the ground and stood up. He was warm and smelled of a fire and something sweet mixed with the scent of the trees. She curled into his body, laying her head against his hard shoulder. She took a long, deep breath. Her mind was a jumble of pictures—a manic slideshow of the vampire’s face, his searing blue eyes—and Galen.
Someone was coming toward them, running. Her body tensed, but she didn’t have the strength, or courage, to raise her head to see who, or what, it was. Galen didn’t seem to be alarmed.
“Jo! Is she Ok?” Mike was winded, his voice near hysterical.
“I don’t know.”
“Where’s the vampire?”
“He went for a swim.”
Tension escaped Jo through a deep sigh and her body went limp again. Her hair, draped over her face like a golden screen, created a dark, safe place for her mind to rest in. Her hand relaxed on Galen’s warm chest. She slid it upwards, over his shoulder, and around the back of his neck. She mindlessly fingered the soft waves of hair behind his head. It soothed her.
“Get the others. We’re crossing this river,” Galen told Mike.
“Didn’t we just have this argument?”
“Get ‘em,” Galen commanded.
“Why? The vampires are gone now. Let’s just go back on the trail.”
“We need to get back to the cabin—fast.”
“I agree, but we’re not in the best shape to try to cross this thing again.”
“We’ll make it—if I have to carry you guys over one at a time.”
“Well, you just might,” Mike argued. “We’re tired and beat up—I don’t see the need to take the risk. She’ll never make it.”
“I’ll take care of her.”
“Right—of course you will.” Mike’s tone was bitter.
Galen’s chest swelled.
Jo forced her head up. Galen’s jaw was set and his blush-colored lips pursed together. Her hair fell away from her face, revealing the bruises and grime of the night.
Mike’s brow creased and his lips pulled back in a grimace when he saw Jo’s face. He quickly approached them. Galen’s body tensed. Although it was probably an involuntary reaction—Jo reasoned—he held her tighter.
“I’m Ok,” she told him, her voice unsure and ragged. “You can put me down.” She didn’t want him to put her down. She wanted to stay cradled in his arms and drift into dreamless sleep—and not wake up until the sun was a burning yellow ball in the sky. She wasn’t ready to stand on her own, but she had to keep them from fighting. Time was precious and Dove and Lary were out there alone.
“Are you sure?” His voice was soft and cool in her ear. His eyes drenched her with concern.
“I’m fine,” she said. She rubbed his shoulder and grinned.
Galen lowered Jo onto her feet and kept his arm around her. Mike was there immediately, reaching for her, embracing her, forcing Galen to step aside. “Jo, thank God.”
As Mike held her, the side of her face pressed on his shoulder. She placed her hands on his waist. Galen was standing sideways, his thumbs hooked in his pockets, looking off into the trees. He ran a hand through his jet-black hair and tilted his head back to stare up at the sky. Closing his eyes, his lips came together. He was beautiful in profile. Jo’s heart burned.
Mike pushed her back gently. “Are you Ok, Jo?”
The moment he asked her that question, she thought about what the vampire had tried to do. She blinked to destroy tears that were forming against her will. “I’m fine,” she told him, with all the bravado she could muster, though her legs were filled with jelly and her head still throbbed.
“Jo, what happened?” Mike was staring at her torn shirt.
Her cheeks were seared with heat. She lowered her eyes. “Nothing,” she said. She looked over at Galen, but his eyes darted away from hers. Mike touched the torn piece of fabric that hung below her collar bone. “It got caught on a tree limb,” she said demurely, taking it from his fingers and smoothing it back in place over her skin.
“Jo—” His turquoise eyes wandered over her.
“I’m Ok, Mike.” She waved his hand away and grinned. She put her hands on her hips to appear tougher. “You know, I think we can make it across this river,” she said with a forced tone of confidence. She peered at the water as if she was studying it, but it was just for effect.
Mike stared at her. A dark teardrop fell over the rim of his right eye and ran down through the dirt on his face. “Jo,” he reached out for her. She clasped his hand, stopping it from its target.
“Mike, I’m fine, really. Please, let’s just get out of here.” She let go of his hand.
“I’m all for that,” he said. He turned to Galen and spoke louder. “But I say we go back on the trail.”
“We can’t.”
“Why not?”
Galen drew in a sharp, deep breath. “Because…there are more of them—and they’re coming for us.”
Jo gawked at him.
“That’s what that thing said right when I threw it in the river,” Galen explained. “I don’t know how soon they’ll get here. We’ve got to move fast.”
Mike pushed a heavy breath through his lips. “I’ll get Dove and Lary.” He gave Jo a last a look. “Will you be Ok?”
Jo smiled. “Of course. Hurry back.” They were empty words. She didn’t know if she’d be Ok, and she didn’t want him to hurry back.
Her eyes followed him as he ducked under the boughs of the trees and disappeared. Once he was out of site, she sought Galen. He was watching the river. It was swollen and swift at this section, full of large rocks jutting out of the wild, frothy currents.
He stepped away from the bank and walked past her, heading for the trees. Stooping under the branches of a pine tree, he leaned back against it, bending one knee and pressing his foot flat against the trunk.
Jo stood at the edge of the tree’s boughs, out in the blue-grey air, while he stood inside the shadow. He was uneasy, looking up at a limb and keeping his folded arms pressed against his body. She took a quick breath.
“Are you cold?” He was staring at a pinecone. His arms unfolded. He stuck one hand half-way into a front jeans pocket and reached the other up to the pinecone, twisting it back and forth.
“No.” She instantly regretted her quick reply. If she’d said yes, he might have wrapped his arms around her. She took a deep breath. She stepped under the tree limbs and put her timid, nervous hand on his forearm, “Galen, are you Ok?”
“Yeah, sure.” He pulled his arm away from her and tucked it between his back and the tree trunk. His head turned downward, his hair falling forward, obscuring his eyes.
Jo’s stomach dipped. “Well, you’ve been through a lot too. I just want to make sure that you’re Ok…and…thank you for saving me—again.” Her voice quavered.
He switched feet and folded his arms in front of him again. “Yeah, I’m quite the savior.” His tone was crisp with sarcasm. He stared at the ground, pursing his lips.
The earth shifted under Jo. She teetered.
&n
bsp; Galen’s head came up. He pushed off the tree. “Hey, you might want to sit down.”
“I’m all right,” she said, but her skin was hot and moist.
He took a deep breath. “No thanks to me.”
Jo took a step backwards to steady herself from the tilt of the ground. “Galen,
what’re you talking about? You saved me.” It was hard to get the breath to talk.
“I barely made it in time. He could have…he could have killed you. I missed it when they took you—I missed this. Jo, you could have been—” He pinched his lips together and grimaced.
“I don’t know how you could you have done any more?”
“They shouldn’t have been able to get to you in the first place.”
“You couldn’t have stopped that.”
“I should have—it’s my job!” He looked shocked from his own words. “I mean…it’s a guy’s job to protect his friends.” His eyes darted in directions all around her.
Jo blinked rapidly. Her heart drummed and her skin was singed with a clammy, sweaty heat. She did need to sit down. She turned away from the pine tree. The ground flew at her. Feet scrambled on crunchy pine needles. Someone grabbed onto her. In a second, she didn’t feel anything at all.
Chapter 35