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Though thickly muscled and sleek, Simon’s wolf had a twisted look to it, as though it was slightly deformed. Snarling, he took an aggressive step toward me. As strong as he’d been in his human form, I did not want to start a fight with him now, especially with how strange he looked. I couldn’t figure it out, but something about his wolf looked bizarre, like it shouldn’t have been possible.
“Wyatt!” a scream sounded from down the hall.
I glanced toward it. Kira. She’d managed to shift back and was trying to come for me, but Crew and Gavin had her by the arms, trying to drag her away. The bootsteps drew ever closer, and now I could make out voices. Simon inched closer, saliva hanging from his maw.
We weren’t going to make it.
Zoe, her face covered in blood but showing no injuries, rounded the corner like the answer to our prayers. “There you are, you assholes! I thought you’d left me.”
Simon swiveled his head around and growled at Zoe, who sent a massive cloud of pitch black smoke toward him. The tendrils of the ink-black mist enveloped him, and barking wolf coughs erupted from the fae/shifter’s mouth as he tried to breathe.
Zoe turned and sent an additional cloud down the hall behind her. It swarmed the corridor. The sounds of screams and coughing echoed down the hallway, Simon’s reinforcements overcome by the magic.
Zoe rushed toward me. “Move it or lose it, fuzzy boy.”
Shifting back, I ran after Zoe, and we joined Crew and the others. Kira collapsed into my arms and ran with me. The gunfire and spell-casting had stopped. All we could hear were confused shouts as the entire compound staff dealt with the cloud Zoe had manifested.
Exiting the final hallway, we rushed out the door that hung from destroyed hinges from our earlier breaching. That had only been ten or fifteen minutes ago. How was that possible? In my mind, we’d been in there for hours, fighting, searching, and battling our way out.
The darkness of the night embraced us as we ran.
“We need to hurry,” Zoe said. “That smoke spell only lasts two or three minutes.”
Her insistence that we hurry was unnecessary—we were all moving as fast as we could with our injuries and hindrances. After the sterility and man-made nature of the compound, being in the green and brown of the jungle made my head spin, like we’d stepped out into a different reality.
“Has anyone seen Jackson?” Crew asked as we ran.
“He didn’t make it,” Eli said sadly. “I took care of it. Simon won’t get his hands on him.”
“Son of a bitch,” Crew hissed.
We went on in silence for a few minutes. Crew seemed to be going through a gamut of emotions. Losing one of his people was hitting him hard. The man had a deep sense of responsibility for those in his care—that was easy to see. But he also understood the peril we were in and pushed his mourning aside.
“We can’t go straight back to Haven,” Crew said. “Simon might try to track us. There’s a river ahead. Some of us need to go upstream, the rest downstream. Find someplace to hide, then we’ll make our way back to Haven when we’re sure he’s not following.”
“Got it,” I said. “I want you to take Leif. Eli can keep him asleep. I’ll take Mika, Zoe, and Kira with me. The rest of you, branch off.”
Gavin glared at me as we ran, obviously wanting to argue. At least he was smart enough not to start with his shit in a middle of a crisis.
Crew gestured to his other team member, who took Leif’s limp body from Mika. Crew’s team was heavily laden, with Leif and Abel both unconscious. It’d be slow-going for them.
“We’ll hang back after you guys run,” I said. “Try and make sure our scents are the heaviest when they eventually get to the river. That should give you a head start.”
“The river is only a couple of feet deep,” Eli pointed out. “Too shallow for any nasty beasts. We’ll cross to mask more of the scent. Make it as difficult as possible for them to follow.”
“Good call,” Crew said. “There it is.” He pointed at the river through the trees.
We all crossed, and Crew called us over, pointing first in one direction, then another. “I’ll take my team this way,” he said. “You guys head that way. Once we’re sure we aren’t being followed, we can all loop around and head to Haven. You guys already know how dangerous this place is, but watch your backs.” He tapped his eyepatch. “Lots of nasty things out there. I don’t wear this as a fashion statement.”
We were running for our lives, but curiosity got the best of me. “How did you lose that eye, anyway?” Shifters healed from almost any wound unless it was truly terrible.
“Nasty thing got a hold of me about a year ago,” Crew said. “Looked like the grim reaper. Swiped at my face with this big scythe. I dodged, but the silver blade took my eye. Even the fae and wiccans in Haven couldn’t fix it.”
I shuddered, remembering my own run-in with the revenant. “Understood. We’ll see you soon.”
Crew gave me a meaningful look as he departed. “Be careful. We’ll see you soon.”
I nodded and led my team away from the river. Knowing that Simon’s people might be right on our tails pushed most thoughts from my mind, but we were still on Bloodstone Island. Any of a hundred different dangers might be lurking around each tree and shrub. Worry ran through me like a high-voltage wire.
