Part Four
Coalise wouldn't have found the trail to the cave if she hadn't had Scotch's mind still fresh in her memories. He knew these woods like he knew the path from his bedroom to the kitchen, and he could have found the cave blindfolded.
She didn't understand what had happened between them. All she was certain of was that she knew him, in a way people married all their lives might never know each other, and that her understanding evoked such sympathy that she couldn't help but love him.
She feared what he feared. She craved what he craved. She cherished what he cherished.
Including, oddly enough, Thursy West. When she'd heard Thursy's voice - unmistakable, though she'd never heard it before - echoing through the trees, her only thought had been to get Scotch away before Thursy found them. She hadn't cared about herself or her questions or the draw between them.
She knew Thursy was his rock.
She opened her water bottle and took a long drink as she hiked further up the mountainside. Her eyes scanned the ground constantly to make sure there wasn't another landslide.
Everyone in the pack was close, but Scotch and Thursy had grown especially important to each other when her parents and his sister, Brandy, died during a flash flood. Thursy was the one who had told him after two weeks that the important thing was for them to go on living.
Since then, she had always been telling him what was important. And when Thursy got over-excited, Scotch told her what wasn't important.
Coalise stumbled and fell to her knees. A twig poked painfully into her leg but she didn't get up.
"I know I have strange luck," she said to herself, "but this is becoming ridiculous. It's stupid enough that I think I've managed to fall in love with a complete stranger, but did he have to have a girlfriend? And do I have to like her so much?"
She was still on her knees when she heard people talking.
The path to the cave wound up the side of the mountain, always close enough to the edge that if Coalise had stumbled and fallen to one side, she would have gone tumbling down. A line of brush and small trees grew between her and the drop-off, sheltering her from the sights of those below.
"-vampires in the village," a female voice was saying furiously.
Coalise dropped to her belly and crawled very slowly to the edge. Scotch's brain was sending her a hundred memos a minute, little warnings like, Remember their hearing, remember their sight, make sure you aren't up-wind.
There were five people below. The mind meld had left her with instincts as well as memories--these were 'shifters. No, wait. Four of them were 'shifters, and one was…
Lamia. She didn't know the word, but she understood that it had something to do with vampires. Nor did her frontal lobe version 2.0 recognize the lamia girl the way it did the others.
Yared. Kiria. Galdwyn. Tish.
Yared and Kiria were Scotch's friends. Yared was also Thursy's brother, and Coalise could see a little of Thursy in his face. Galdwyn looked about forty but he was really more like eighty, and Tish was his seven-foot-tall, freakishly strong daughter. She towered over the rest of them, distinctly Amazon and yet totally devoid of all personality.
With the exception of Tish, they were all beautiful in that dazzling way Thursy was. Especially the lamia girl, who had black hair tumbling down past her hips. They moved quickly but smoothly between the trees.
"This is far enough," Galdwyn said. Coalise didn't like him already, didn't like the way he smiled. Scotch didn't trust him either, although he'd never done anything truly despicable.
"Far enough for what?" Kiria asked, with an annoyance that was purely hers. They had stopped almost directly below Coalise, forcing her to creep back from the edge a few inches or be spotted. She could no longer see them clearly, but the wind carried their voices up to her.
"Tish," Galdwyn said quickly.
"I knew it!" Kiria shouted.
"Tish, hold her."
"I knew! Lamia filth!"
Coalise wiggled slowly forward again, taking her chances. Tish had Kiria down on the ground and was sitting on her. Kiria had a rock in one hand and was hitting Tish with it over and over to no effect. The stunning lamia had opened a leather satchel attached to her belt and was holding something too small for Coalise to see, but that flashed in the setting sunlight.
"What the hell are you trying to do?" Yared demanded.
"Hold still and it won't hurt as much," Galdwyn promised.
Yared tried to rush him and the lamia threw herself into the fray at the same moment. She only touched Yared for a moment before rolling away, while Galdwyn began defending himself tooth and nail.
"Get off my land, you blood-sucking bitch!" Kiria yelled.
The lamia climbed to her knees, unaware of the leaves in her hair, and stared at Galdwyn and Yared. "Stop it," she said tightly. "Galdwyn, stop, you're going to leave bruises."
"So maybe Thursy hit him," Galdwyn brushed off, but he stopped and stood up.
Yared remained on the ground, awake but mostly motionless, as if hovering on the verge of action. Even Coalise, who had only seen him in memories, knew something was wrong--Yared was a vibrant, passionate person. He would never sit back when attack was still an option.
"It's working," the lamia said.
Coalise became aware of Yared's moaning. The sounds grew upward and outward until it was a keening growl.
Kiria said something too soft to be overheard. Yared got up slowly. His knees buckled and he got up again, stumbling toward Galdwyn like a drunk. The growling rose to shrieking.
Galdwyn spoke quickly, and then shoved him to the ground beside Kiria. Tish got her in a headlock and captured both her arms while forcing her to sit up.
"Yared," Kiria said desperately, "it's okay. We'll be okay."
"Help me," Galdwyn said to the lamia, but she shook her head. Yared's voice had risen to a scream. "Dammit, Maple, get over here."
Maple - it's a lamia name, Scotch's mind explained - took a number of steps backwards, deeper into the woods. Her hands crept over her face as if she were trying to cover her eyes and not see what was about to happen.
Galdwyn helped Yared sit up, and then guided his hands to either side of Kiria's face. "Closer," he said to Tish, and she pressed Kiria forward.
Galdwyn covered Yared's hands with his own, wedged one under Kiria's chin and wrapped the other around her neck, and then, in one, quick motion…
Snapped Kiria's neck.
Yared was screaming so loudly his voice shook the rock under Coalise's stomach. Maple tripped over a rock and landed on her butt in the leaves, and Tish allowed Kiria's body to fall on the ground as she let go of it.
Coalise would have vomited if she had been able. Yared's hands pulled free of Galdwyn's direction and he fumbled to reach for Kiria. His motions were unfocused, dizzy, and he looked constantly over his shoulder.
"Pick her up," Galdwyn commanded, and Tish lifted Kiria's body. Yared reached mournfully after her, his fingers finding nothing but air.
Galdwyn glanced at Maple. "Come along, we're not finished."
"I am," she told him.
"Don't start that again."
"I'm serious, Galdwyn. One of these days-"
Galdwyn interrupted. "On of these days what? You're going to sit back and do nothing while I make a pin cushion out of Amber? You're just going to look away and hold you tongue when I grab the bottle of syrup and-"
"Enough!" Maple shouted. "Fine, I get it. Let's go."
Galdwyn smirked as he stepped onto the path back toward the village. "You're a nobody, Maple," he said as he passed her. "Don't forget it."
Tish followed him with Kiria slung over her shoulder.
Maple hung behind, staring at Yared. He climbed to his knees but couldn't walk in one direction. He stumbled and fell down a few inches from her boots.
Coalise watched Maple hold out one hand, as if to a stray dog she wasn't sure was tame. She hesitated, almost pulled away, and then suddenly pressed her palm to Yared's cheek.
He calmed instantly. His arms dropped listlessly to his sides and he tilted his head into her touch.
Abruptly, Maple jerked away. She turned and jogged into the woods after Galdwyn.
Yared remained sitting perfectly still in the small clearing. He swayed slightly as the breeze picked up.
Coalise watched him for several long minutes, warring with herself. He didn't know her, but she knew him. She knew how funny and genuine he could be, and how he could lighten any situation. The emotions weren't hers, but they effected her just the same.
She walked back down the trail the way she had come and climbed through the brush until she reached the clearing.
Yared's eyes didn't aknowledge her. She called his name softly, hearing it come through her own lips for the first time, and walked forward until she could have touched him.
"Yared," she said. "Come on, let's go back to the village. Scotch is there, and he'll know what to do. I'm going to take you back, okay?"
She put her hand on his arm, only intending to coax him into walking, and it wasn't until she was on the ground that she realized he had hit her. For a moment her face was numb with shock, then a deep pain began pounding just beneath her right eye.
She stared up through the tree tops. Shit. Her vision was wobbly now, and when she sat up, all the blood rushed to her head.
Yared had begun making a keening sound again. Coalise knew she couldn't leave him here - he might never find his way home - but that he would probably kill her if she tried to lead him. She would have to go into the village and find Scotch.
She got to her feet, skirting the edge of the clearing until she reached the path, and slowly turned her back on him. His wailing became more and more distant as she walked over packed dirt and stone and fallen branches. She had no memories of them, but they were familiar just the same.
Just as the forest became completely dark, Coalise saw the lights of the village up ahead.