Lincoln listened and nodded. “You’re right. I should trust you. Let’s go.”
His face and arms sprouted fur and he changed right in front of me, assuming the form of his giant wolf. Tossing his snout behind him, he stared me down. The intent was clear.
Get on.
I leaped for his back.
Sylvie
The pain in my shoulder and the rest of my body was secondary as I grabbed fistfuls of fur and held on for dear life. Lincoln tore after the tree-thing. We passed other wolves and he barked orders as he flew by. Some came with us. Others stayed.
I had to focus on not falling off the massive beast as he raced along, following the tree-thing’s tracks out of the den and into the forest beyond. Bushes slashed and tore at my face and arms as we left the borders of the den. I buried myself in his thick fur. Water came down through the canopy out here, drenching my clothing, plastering his fur to his sides, and turning him slick.
“Sorry if I’m grabbing too tight!” I hollered, forced to twist my fingers into his hide to keep from being thrown off.
Once upon a time I had ridden horses for a summer. I’d thought it would be similar. I was wrong. The wolf was sleek and powerful, able to cross terrain a horse would never dare. His spine was straight as he ran, but without a harness or saddle,
I had nothing but my fingers and the squeezing of my knees to keep me on him.
If we had to turn sharply, I was doomed.
Around us ran the other wolves, their fur wet and matted as well. Silent and deadly, they followed him into the dark, chasing down … whatwere we chasing down?
Not just the tree-thing, but something from me. I could picture it now, the darkness oozingout of me, and into it.
I had a million questions but couldn’t ask a single one of them. Even if we caught up to the tree-thing, it couldn’t answer anyway. It had no mouth, no features. Nothing.
Up ahead, I saw movement in the deepest of shadows. The three-thing. We were closing on it. I bared my teeth. Glancing to the side, I saw a similar look on the face of the wolf nearest me.
While the wolves flowed across the forest like the breeze, the tree-thing seemed to pull itself forward, each extended leg diving into the forest floor and hauling the rest of the body with it. The weird gait was unsettling to watch but undeniably effective. Upon noticing that we were now in sight, it increased speed, reducing our rate of closure.
I couldn’t smell water yet, but at the clip we were moving, it wouldn’t be long before we reached the river. As if sensing this, the other wolves surged ahead, breaking left and right as they raced to intercept the tree-thing.
Lincoln was lagging behind, and I could sense his frustration matching the rumble of thunder audible through the treetops.
“Let me off!” I shouted, spewing water as it dripped down my face. “I’m only holding you back.”
The answering snarl told me all I needed to know about his feelings regardingthat matter. He didn’t want to leave me alone. I wasn’t keen on being stranded in a dark magical forest either.
We pushed on, perhaps even picking up the pace a bit, but I knew that had to be tiring for him. He’d already fought a battle tonight.
Up ahead, the trees gave way to low bushes and open skies.
We burst out into the open, immediately pelted with thick droplets of frigid rain. The ground below was soft and mucky, courtesy of the storm still raging overhead. Rivulets of water had formed channels, following the slope down to the right. Mud flew in the air as the giant paws of the wolves dug in, seeking any sort of traction.
In the middle of the clearing, the tree-thing stood still, surrounded by the wolves of Lincoln’s pack. He now approached it from behind, snarling as it turned, assessing its situation.
I had no idea how close we’d come to danger. The sound of the storm was overpowering anything that would tell me if the river was nearby. Thunder cracked consistently overhead. Sliding from Linc’s back, I let him move on his own while I stayed a step or two behind.
The tree-thing rotated until it faced us. I think. It was impossible to know for certain without any facial features, but its body language made me confident.
“Give back what you stole from me,” I called as the night turned all manner of white and purple, the sheet lightning forking wildly through the sky above us.
Thunder crashed over us a second later, the sound loud enough to drive me to a knee momentarily. The tree-thing predictably did not flinch. Neither did the wolves.
The wolves growled and took steps forward. Pressing the tree-thing in tightly. I drew in a breath. I had no idea if I could repeat my sonic-scream from earlier, but I wanted to be prepared.
Lincoln snapped his teeth at the tree-thing and leaned forward. Above, the sky went dark as the lightning ceased with impossible finality, plunging everything into blackness. I reached out for Lincoln’s flank, unable to see.
But I could feel him crouch low and growl. Then he backed up a step. And another. He never retreated. Ever.
I swallowed nervously. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.
I followed his steps, easing back and wishing I could see what was happening to make Lincoln retreat. The biggest bolt of lightning I’d ever seen slashed across the sky, and I got my wish.
I immediately regretted it. Boiling out of the trees and right toward us was a wave of tree-things. They stood half the height of the one that attacked me. Like saplings to a mighty oak. But there were alot of them.
Lincoln snarled orders, and the rest of his wolves spun on the spot and charged at the newcomers without hesitation. As they did, they took the attention of the bigger tree-monster with it. Lincoln never hesitated. The second it turned, he leaped on its back, bringing it to the ground.
Wood cracked and split as his jaws ripped it apart. Then he sprang free in a flash before the return blow could land. I took an unsteady step forward in the mud as the ebony-skinned monster lunged after him.
“Hey! Ugly!” I shouted, trying to get its attention. “I’m the one you want. I’m bloodbound.”
It hesitated.
Bloodbound.
The word echoed in my head once more.
“That’s right,” I said, stepping closer while Lincoln crouched low. “Focus on me.”
A wooden hand extended toward me. The giant gray wolf leaped on his back. Or tried to. The instant his paws left the ground, the tree-thing whipped its torso around, snagging Lincoln out of midair and using his own momentum to propel him up and over, before driving the wolf into the ground with a yelp.
I froze as the mighty wolf was slammed into the muck and lay still. Watching his body, I willed him to rise. To get up and fight back, but he didn’t so much as twitch.
Bloodbound.
The tree-thing came for me, stepping over Lincoln’s limp, mud-covered body.
“You killed him!”
I screamed, throwing every ounce of whatever was inside me into it. The impact hit the tree-thing and drove it back several steps. Tree-roots sprouted from its legs and dove deep into the muck, improving its grip. It slowed its backward progress and then stopped.
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