Relentless (15 page)

“Let’s just hope it ends there, and they don’t decide to kill you anyway, just to be on the safe side. Or kill me just because I said no.”

I pulled my hand from under his then, wrapping my arms around my middle, trying to hold back the sick feeling that was building there. “Would they do that?”

“It would certainly heighten the war between us, which wouldn’t be good. So let’s hope they don’t want that.”

I glanced out the window, noticing the last rays of sunlight fading into the trees. The nightlights clicked on. “Guess I better go now. Aunt Louise will be back soon, and I’ve got to move my stuff.”

“I’ll help you.” Myles pushed himself up from the chair.

He followed me down the hall with Beowulf trotting at his side, and I was glad for the company. We each picked up a plastic container from my room, and I threw a tote bag on top of the container Myles held.

“What?” I asked innocently when he frowned. “You’re supposed to be the strong one. Surely you can handle one little bag.”

He didn’t answer, only shifted the plastic box and headed toward the elevator. When we walked outside, it was dark, and after all our talk of Fenryrians wanting us dead, I couldn’t stop looking behind me every few minutes.

“What’s the matter with you?” Myles stopped to look at me after the tenth time I’d glanced behind me.

“Nothing, I guess.” I tried to keep my eyes forward as we started walking again. A twisting feeling in the middle of my stomach just wouldn’t let me relax. “Something’s not right out here.

“You’re just paranoid after what happened in Key West.”

“Maybe,” I said slowly.

Then Beowulf growled.

I knew immediately it wasn’t Beowulf’s
I-hear–a-critter–in-the-bushes growl. It was a there-are-big-things-out-there-that-might-want-to-kill-you growl. Myles had started walking again but came to an abrupt stop at the deep rumbling from his dog. In front of me, Myles transformed so quickly his clothes flew to shreds. Beowulf disappeared into the trees, still growling. I spun around, unsure what he or Myles had seen to make them react this way. Myles bared his teeth at me, and I immediately transformed. We faced in opposite directions, our tails bumping against each other as we swished them nervously, waiting for what was coming.

We didn’t have to wait long. The full weight of a wolf slammed into me and knocked me to the ground. I roared in anger and tried to right myself, but the wolf weighed me down. I could see Myles latch on to its neck, trying to get it off me, but then two more broke through the bushes to attack him. I was on my own. The wolf was strong, stronger than I’d imagined one could be. I kicked with my back feet. The animal above me didn’t budge. Saliva dripped from its teeth just before they closed over my shoulder, crunching bone in its steel jaws. Through the haze of pain, I could see Myles on his back, and I struggled harder. I had to get away before the animal went for my neck. Twisting, I managed to get the wolf’s leg in my mouth, and with all my strength, I rolled my body, sending it flying into the brush. Its teeth tore fur and flesh from my shoulder as it went. I scrambled to try to help Myles with the two wolves that had him pinned to the ground. As I sank my teeth into the neck of a huge gray animal, I was jerked backward, pain searing through me, as the wolf I’d just gotten off me now had my leg. I hung on, dragging the gray wolf with me. No one on the island was near us. No one would look for us. We were on our own, and I was pretty sure we would not win this fight.

From my left, a huge red figure crashed through the foliage and rammed into the wolf on top of Myles, and I let out a howling scream. Not in fear this time, but in amazement. It wasn’t another werewolf; it was Beowulf, only a huge, giant-sized Beowulf. The three of them rolled into the bushes and out of sight. I refocused on my attacker, kicking my leg hard and swinging the other wolf with the motion. He didn’t let go. A cry sounded, and the brown wolf, who’d been knocked off the path by Beowulf, came out of the brush, blood streaming from its neck. It disappeared down the path. Myles, still in wolf form with the huge red dog beside him, emerged from the woods. He caught the gray wolf by the neck, and I let go of it as he hurled it into the trees. There was a thud and then quiet, except for the heavy breathing of the wolf who had my back leg in its mouth. Beowulf’s huge jaws closed over the top of the animal’s back, and it let go of my leg. When the dog straightened, the wolf hung down, its feet not touching the ground. I think Beowulf actually smirked before trotting off through the trees with the wolf’s writhing body in his mouth. For a moment, I lay on the ground panting, bleeding, and waiting for my wounds to heal. Myles stood near me, his head low and sides heaving with effort. He was covered in blood. From somewhere on the island, a yowl of pain echoed through the night. I had no idea if it was Lycernian or Fenryrian.

Slowly I managed to get to my feet, exhaustion from the fight beginning to pass. I knocked open one of my plastic containers with my nose and pawed through my clothes until I found a T-shirt and shorts that Myles had let me borrow at some time.

“These are yours.” Grabbing the clothes in my mouth, I tossed them to him.

“Okay, thanks.”

He’d taken a step and stopped abruptly, turning back to me, realizing what had just happened. We stared at each other. I’d thought the words, just like I did with Louise. Myles had heard me.

“Holy shit, Alexis, you’re talking in my head. Can you hear me back?”

I bobbed my head up and down.

“How long have you been able to this?”

“Since the beginning, but only with Louise.”

“Can you talk in everybody’s head?”

“I don’t know. Just get dressed for now, okay?”

He disappeared into the thick foliage. I snapped up a shirt and shorts then went into the edge of the woods on the opposite side and transformed. Once I was dressed, I joined Myles on the path.

“Who were the werewolves, Myles? Why were they here?” I shoved clothes I’d strewn on the ground back into the boxes.

Myles didn’t answer, simply stared at the edge of the woods. Sitting there, licking a rapidly healing scratch, was a normal, miniature-sized Beowulf.

I walked over to Myles. “And what about that? Why haven’t you ever told me that dog can turn into a monster-sized killer dog with no warning? And where was he this summer when I needed him?”

Myles’ head moved slowly from side to side. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know why he didn’t help me?’

“I don’t know why or how he did that.”

“Are you saying he’s never done that before?”

He shook his head at me. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. I have never in my life seen him do anything but bark and growl. He likes to act like he’s a big dog, but he’s definitely never turned into one.”

The dog trotted over and put his paws on my legs, scratching at me to pick him up. I reached down, almost afraid he might transform in my arms. But he didn’t. He snuggled his head into my neck and sighed.

I stared at Myles. “What happened to cause him to do it now?”

“I guess he knew we were in trouble.” Myles ran his hand along Beowulf’s back, and the dog lifted its head to look at him. “I don’t think you and I would have come out of that attack very well without him.”

I hugged Beowulf closer, nodding. “You’re right about that. Have you ever studied in any of your classes or heard any stories about werewolves’ pets transforming into…monsters?”

“No, I’ve never heard of it. And he wasn’t a monster.”

“Okay, then, a giant superhero dog. Do you think he could be some kind of anomaly, the first of his kind?”

Myles didn’t answer. We were both quiet as we stroked the dog, who dug his nose into my neck and seemed to go to sleep.

“Maybe we shouldn’t tell anyone,” I said quietly as if I might be overheard, even though we were in the middle of the island’s forest. “What if they want to do some kind of testing on him?”

“Nobody’s doing any kind of testing on my dog,” he said harshly then took a deep breath. “I need to think about it for a while. So I agree we shouldn’t tell anyone about Beowulf until we know more.”

Myles grabbed the boxes we’d dropped. “We have to tell Louise and the others about the attack.”

Picking up our pace, we hurried to the cottages to find Myles’ dad, Louise, and Mr. O’Rourke, the math teacher, each running into the clearing from a different direction.

“There have been attacks tonight from the Fenryrians,” Mr. Branton said. His shirt was half buttoned, and it looked like he’d just flung his clothes on.

“We know. They caught us on the way over here.”

“You’re both all right?” Louise asked.

“Yes, we’re both fine. It was like they attacked, and then suddenly they just stopped and took off,” I said a little breathlessly, surprised at how easily the lie rolled past my lips.

This time, the lie was for a good cause. Though I didn’t feel like I’d ever lied when it wasn’t for a good cause. Myles didn’t want anyone to know what had happened with Beowulf, and I wasn’t going to be the one to tell. Besides, what if they did decide to do some kind of experiment on him? It wouldn’t be fair. I glanced down at the little dog I’d placed on the ground. He was now sniffing around the bushes. 

“We can’t figure it out. Maybe it was just a warning to us all about what will happen if you keep seeing the son of the Fenryrian leader,” Mr. O’Rourke accused angrily.

I wished I knew more about what he’d been doing out here that night I’d stumbled upon him and the stranger. What if he’d been working with the Fenryrians? I wanted to say something but knew I didn’t have any evidence, and I’d only end up looking like I was trying to put blame on someone other than myself. Maybe I was.

“Was anyone seriously hurt?” I asked quietly.

“We don’t know yet.” Louise put her hand on my shoulder. “I’m glad you two are all right. Let’s get your stuff inside, then we’ll go back to the dormitory to see if we can figure out what happened.”

After I tossed my boxes onto the floor of the cottage, we all headed back. A small group waited in front of the dorm with more people coming out of the building and down the paths.  The school board members and instructors gathered students in groups. I’d been assigned an advisor on the first day of school, and this person was still responsible for me. I huddled with other students as heads were counted and counted again, then we waited some more. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. What was taking so long? Scattered about in groups like this, I couldn’t tell who was here and who wasn’t. None of my friends were with me. Jared was in a different group, but he’d waved when he’d come up. Now I couldn’t see him among the crowd, though he might have gone to medical because he’d had a significant wound to his arm. My shoulder was covered by the T-shirt I’d put on, and I didn’t bother to have it seen to. I knew it would heal; the pain had already faded to a dull ache.

I finally spotted Myles and Brynna and stepped away from my group to make my way to theirs.

“What’s taking so long?” I asked in a low voice.

“Not everyone has shown up yet,” Brynna answered.

“It seems like everyone.” My voice faded away as I saw the stricken look on Myles’ face.

I leaned toward Brynna. “Is it Lana?”

Brynna nodded. “She hasn’t been found yet.”

“Is she the only one?”

“No, that boy who works in the lab. You know, the one who came over on the boat with you.”

“Daryl?”

“Yeah, him. They’re both missing, which is worrisome because they would both have been in the lab.” She looked around the groups again, scanning for the familiar blond head. I could only watch her as I started to get a really sick feeling in my stomach.

“What about Robert?” I asked in a low voice. “Wasn’t he with them?”

“No, he’s not even on the island. He went to work in a lab in Miami for a few days. They’ve contacted him, and he’s fine.”

Myles remained quiet, and I didn’t know what to say. While he’d been helping me haul my junk across the island, his girlfriend had been attacked, and now she was missing. I couldn’t imagine how he must feel.

“Okay, everyone,” Mr. Branton called out to get our attention. 

We all turned to face him. The low hum of conversation stopped abruptly.

“We’re missing two members of our school, Lana and Daryl. We’ll be splitting up into teams and searching the island.”

People began to divide on their own, and the instructors guided them into the areas they were to cover. Brynna went with Myles and his dad, while Jared came over to go with Louise and me. No one said what we were all thinking. We were looking for bodies. Obviously, if they were okay, they’d have come back to the dorm, even if they were wounded. They had to be dead. I kept trying to tell myself that maybe, just maybe, they were still hiding. It was the only way I could keep going, keep looking without lying down on the ground and screaming. Daryl and Lana weren’t fighters. So of course they would have hidden at the first sign of trouble.

“Aren’t we going to the lab?” I asked as Louise led us along a path that veered away from Lana’s workplace.

“It’s been checked several times by now.”

“They didn’t find anything?”

“The lab was destroyed. It looked like quite a struggle.” Louise’s voice seemed to crack as she labored to get the words out.

“Maybe they’re hiding somewhere.” I hoped for some reassurance from Louise. I didn’t get it.

“I doubt it,” she said shortly.

Jared’s hand pressed against the small of my back as I half stumbled on the path.

Louise paused in front of us. “Maybe you should go back to the cottage, Alexis.”

“No, I want to help look for them.”

“Then you have to be prepared for what we’ll find.”

“I am prepared.”

Louise sighed, and I could feel her eyes on me even in the dark. Finally, she spoke. “Let’s keep going, then.”

Three abreast, we shoved our way through the underbrush and trees until the rocky shore was under our feet. Offshore, we could see several boats with lights flashing.

“They’re searching the ocean.” My voice was flat and heavy, even to my own ears. Jared nodded, and we turned back toward the center of the island, spreading out at arm’s distance, side by side. One step at a time, we moved forward. It wasn’t easy to stay together while walking through trees, low-growing grasses, and wild ferns. But we couldn’t afford to miss anything. Without a word, we covered another section of ground. When we’d finished our assigned area, we went back to the dormitory. The sky had begun to lighten, and we chose another section of the island that hadn’t been searched.

The sun was high in the sky when all the groups gathered in front of the dormitory. No bodies had been found.

Mr. O’Rourke stepped onto a wooden box so he could be seen above everyone. “Students are to go get cleaned up and rest. Stay in the dormitory today.”