B008IJW70G EBOK (24 page)

Sun hit Riley’s eyes, made them pop open. She cringed. They were puffy, hot, burning. 

      And then it all came back to her. Slammed between her eyes even stronger than the sunlight. Hunter was gone. She jumped up, checked the tree, and felt his absence like a limb had been cut from her side. 

      
Claudia
. The pain made her think of Claudia. 

      This was just like when she’d thought she’d lost her sister for good. She pressed a hand to heart, rubbed there, like it was broken. The only other time in her life she’d felt like this was when Claudia had been taken from her. 

      Claudia. She needed to see Claudia. Now. 

      Riley pulled on a loose dress, not bothering with shoes or underwear. She hurried into the bathroom, wiped at her face with a damp facecloth, pressing it against her eyes to soothe them. She went to drag her hair back into a ponytail but stopped. There was no point. 

      She walked hesitantly to the hall, paused, then quickly walked out. She’d never been out alone to the forest before, and it was about time she learnt to rely on her own instincts. Why hadn’t she done this before?

      Riley kept up her pace as she entered the forest. Her skin felt cool, the sun not following her in. She listened to her feet as they fell over branches and leaves, for the first time thinking how loud it was, out here,
alone
. 

      Every other time she’d been busy thinking about Hunter, listening to Hunter, talking to Hunter. Used to him looking out for her. Being her companion. She forced his name out of her brain. Hunter wasn’t here, so there was no point thinking about him. He wasn’t coming back. At least not until she was gone. 

      She had to fend for herself.

      Riley saw the tree she’d been looking for, took a quick look around, then stripped off her dress. Quickly. She focused her mind, like Hunter had taught her, and instantly the fast burn started, before her body morphed. She stretched, limbering up fast, before starting a slow lope. She wasn’t entirely sure where to find Claudia, but she was going to call her until they found one another. 

      
“Guide me, Claudia.”

      She kept running, enjoying the pace. Pleased to be heading away from the house and out into nothingness. 

      “
Claudia. Where are you?”
She begged with her mind. “
Please.”

      The air turned cold around her, made her fur stand on end. Whispered past her face. 

      Claudia. She was here. She could feel her presence. 

      
“Riley.”
She listened as her sister spoke her name. “
Why are you here alone?”

      Surely she knew? Surely she’d seen what had happened?

      Claudia appeared before her. Her beauty in the afterlife, if that’s what it could be called, was more striking than before. Her dark hair floated around her, trailing down her back. Her eyes were made up. Riley wondered where she did that. Green eye shadow with a hint of sparkle swept over her skin. 

      
“Claudia, don’t you know?”
      

      Her sister shook her head. She sat on a fallen tree, back straight, watching her. 

      “
I can only see your future when I’m not with you, Riley. I can feel emotion, I can see what you ask me to see. And I can see the enemy because I look for them every day. But I’m still learning, I can only focus on you and the enemy.”

      Riley felt tears flood her eyes again but she rebelled against them. Her sister would feel her pain, there was no need to make the situation worse. She didn’t even know if a leopard could cry. But they could certainly feel pain. Changing hadn’t helped how she felt. And she didn’t even understand what or how Claudia existed, and she missed her so much. 

      “
He’s gone. Hunter’s gone.”

      Claudia shook her head. A smile curled her lips, not a frown.
“He is in your future, Riley. He hasn’t left you.
”      

      She was wrong.
“The future’s changed, Claudia, he’s gone for good. He’s not coming back.” 

      Claudia rose, walked toward her, and started to stroke her fur. Her fingers traced over her back, before she sat, her smile drawing Riley down. To join her. 

      “
Riley
,” Claudia whispered into her mind. 

      The touch of her sister’s voice soothed her, made her mind calm, like she was seeing into her thoughts and straightening them out. 

      Riley’s legs buckled and she fell into her sister’s lap. Her big, sleek body folding over Claudia, craving the feel of her skin, of her hands kneading through her fur. 

      
“He will come back for you. I’ve seen you together. He’s your future, Riley. I see your future more clearly than anyone could.”

      Riley wanted to believe her, she did. But the pain was too strong. She knew he was gone. That she was never, ever going to see him again. If Claudia could look for him, could seek him out, she would see that he was gone forever. That he wasn’t coming back.

      Claudia’s hand stopped its slow motion on her fur. Abruptly. It made Riley jump to her feet, her lazy eyes popping open, senses becoming alert.       

      She should never have left herself so vulnerable, lying with only her emotions in her head. She didn’t have Hunter looking out for her here, which meant she had to take care of herself. Stay alert and on guard. Wasn’t that what he’d tried to tell her every day?

      “
What?”
She asked her sister as she stood still, ears pricked, nose tilted. 

      Claudia’s eyes looked frantic. She looked up. Riley could feel the intensity of her concentration. 

      
“Run!”

      Riley didn’t stop to ask why. She leaped into action, bounding back the way she’d come, fighting her way through the forest. Claudia’s voice stayed in her mind. She could feel her close, knew she must be hovering in the line of trees above. 

      “
They’re coming for you. They’ve picked up your scent. They know you’re alone, without protection.”
A pause rang out, silence stretching. “
They came with no warning!”

      Riley tried to focus on the movement of her body, the three-beat rhythm, but her mind was screaming out. Why had she been so stupid? Why had she come alone? What was going to happen to her? What was going on?

      
“Head for the house, Riley. Take a straight path.”
      

      She listened to her sister’s words, but crashing in the near distance made panic start to bubble within her. They were closing in on her. There was more than one of them. And they were out for blood. Or worse. And she didn’t even understand the enemy enough yet to know why they wanted her or what they might do. 

      Riley’s feet hit the forest floor faster than they’d ever moved before. Please, please let me get back. 

      
“They’ve got company, Riley.”

      What did she mean? What else was there to come for her? 

      
“Faster, Riley. You have to go faster!”

      She was trying, she was trying so hard but she just couldn’t. Her body was screaming out for rest, her nostrils burning and flared. Hunter had warned her not to push too hard, to focus on getting fit, on learning her strengths and limitations. But she’d been so worried about his absence she’d put everything at risk.

      
“They’re suckers!”
Claudia was screaming now, her voice belting Riley’s ears. “
They’ve taken your form. They’re after you, Riley. They will kill you. I can’t see them now! Their plans, nothing. They’ve blocked me.”

      There was silence, except for the pounding of her own feet as they moved. 

      
“They know who you are. That you’re the one.”
      

      No! She was done for. There was no way she could escape them, but she wasn’t giving up without a fight. Not now. 

      Riley pushed her body harder. She could smell the house, she could feel it getting closer, like it was calling to her. 

      
“Change direction! There are more of them.”
Claudia had calmed herself now, was back in control, her voice even. Focused. “
Get to safety. Get to the headquarters.”

      
“I don’t remember where to go. Guide me.” 

      She should have paid more attention when she was with Hunter. She should have locked in the location, zeroed in on it. 

      
“Left, veer left now.”

      She shot out sideways, not bothering to looking for danger. She just had to move and trust her sister.

      
“Hunter’s coming. I can see him,”
Claudia told her. 

      No! Please, no. If Hunter tried to save her he would die himself in the process. There was no way he could take on multiple leopards, let alone suckers too. Not when he wouldn’t even realize what they were, until he tried to defeat them. 

      She didn’t need him to be the hero now. She couldn’t face losing him all over again. Not if he’d decided to come home. 

      
“Start calling, Riley. Roar. Yelp. Tell them you need help.” 
      

      She forced her throat to cooperate. She roared, called, like she didn’t even know was possible. Made noises she hadn’t realized she was capable of making. 

      
“Straight. Follow this line of trees. Keep calling.” 

      Riley did as she was told. 

      
“Sophia’s guider will warn her, but we don’t have much time to fight back. I’ve already alerted her.”

      And then Riley heard her call answered, heard a response that made her blood run hotter than it already was. 

      They could hear her. She was going to make it. If she could just keep going…

      A scream echoed out, the wild call of a cat in pain, fighting. She slowed.
Or being killed
. 

      
“Keep going, Riley. Keep calling, don’t slow down.” 

      She increased her pace again, but her heart was thumping. 

      
“Claudia, what’s happening?” 

      She was answered by silence. Riley had to ask. She couldn’t just pretend like she was the only one in danger here. “
It’s not Hunter, is it? Please!”

      Silence again. 

      
“Claudia!”
      

      She heard the pain in her sister’s voice. “
Keep running, Riley. Just focus on getting help.”
 

      Her legs stretched out even faster than before, fatigue forgotten. She could still hear the shallow sounds of fighting, could imagine Hunter being ripped apart. Felt the torment of battle as if she was there, fighting herself. At his side. 

      And then a blur of black filled her vision. Big leopards covering the ground, fast. Male leopards. She could tell by their size, they way they moved. They tore past her, legs eating up the ground. Protectors ready to avenge her or Hunter. Not scared of death so long as they fought for the cause. 

      The smallest leopard slowed, Riley did the same. Kind eyes met hers, female eyes.
Imogen’s eyes.
 

      Riley stopped, her entire body quivering from the exhaustion. She didn’t know what to do. 

      “
Come with me.”
Imogen beckoned. “
Let me look after you.”

      Riley looked over her shoulder, listened to the fading sound of the other leopards’ footfalls.
“I have to go to him.”

      Imogen told her no. “
Let the men deal with it. You need to follow me.”

      “
No
.” Riley made up her mind. If Hunter was going to die saving her, she wanted to be there for him. Wanted to try to make it back to him if she could. She needed to see him, to tell him she loved him. 

      Now she had help, protection, she had to go.
“I’m sorry. I have to go. Come with me.”

      Imogen’s eyes pleaded with her to change her mind. 

      “
Listen to her, Riley. Stay.”
Claudia’s voice filled her mind but she chose to ignore her. 

      Her sister was behind her now. But she wasn’t going to let her stop her. Riley turned and started to run, back the way she’d just come. 

      
“It’s you they want. Stay. Hide,”
Claudia insisted.
 

      Riley wasn’t going to hide. She was her Sophia’s granddaughter. She was not going to cower in the face of battle. She was not going to become the widow Sophia had come, letting her man be killed by the enemy. Not now. 

      
“They know you’re the next leader. They’re here for blood.” 

      Riley grimaced. If only it was her blood and not Hunter’s they were spilling right now. But she also knew they wanted more than just her blood.
They wanted her soul.
 

      Riley was exhausted, but she kept moving. Punished herself with the pace she had to set. 

      “
Please, Hunter. Don’t be dead. Don’t die on me. Please.”
She tried her hardest to call him with her mind. 

      Riley heard more screams, bloodcurdling calls, but she didn’t slow. Didn’t let herself be frightened off. 

      
“They’re running, Riley. Stay low. The others scattered them.”

      She stretched, body near the ground, staying close to the line of trees. 

      
“He’s alone. Hunter’s alone.”
            

      “
Is he dead?”
Riley begged her sister. “
Please?”