Shift (The Pandorma Adventures Book 1) (23 page)

I jolt awake. Ryan is slightly pressed to my back, his breath tickling across my cheek. The warmth and pressure of Ryan’s body makes my skin tingle, but I force myself to focus on other things. Like Shiver squished against my chest. I gently push her away and she doesn’t stir. I then move away from Ryan so that I can roll onto my back. The night air is sweetly warm and slightly smoky, a light breeze whispering through the cave before leaving. Whenever I dream that I’m about to fall, I always jump and wake myself but a haunting sensation tells me there was another reason I woke. A sound.

I move farther away from Ryan so I can stand without disturbing him. I hobble outside and lean against the cave wall. Now that I’m awake the pain has started to get more intense. I close my eyes, trying to focus on other things.

A sharp bark makes my eyes snap open. I scan the flat terrain, which is brightened by moonlight, around the volcano. A dark figure, a dog I think, is sniffing the ground. My eyes rove around and come across three others. One that is closer to me I can clearly see is a wolf, which means the others are wolves as well. They meticulously sniff along certain paths, their determination to retrieve something obvious. I watch them for several more minutes and it becomes clear what they’re looking for—us. They must be the ones that the lion had to send after me. Ryan was right; we should’ve kept going.

I want to get closer, but I don’t dare. Instead I carefully observe them. At times they bark at one another or one bounds a few paces then jams its nose back to the ground. I suddenly realize what the paths they are following are: where the giant fissures used to be. I look back at Ryan, sleeping like he’s on Earth and there aren’t creatures trying to kill us. I should wake him.

I limp back over and kneel beside him. “Ryan.” He doesn’t wake so I jostle him.

“What?” he mumbles.

“Shhh. Come here.” I take his hand when he doesn’t move right away. He trips over his feet as I pull him toward the front of the cave. I point to the wolves but I don’t think he sees them right away. He looks at me, confused.

“Look,” I say more insistently.

Ryan rubs his face and looks closer to where I’m pointing. He stands up straighter when he catches sight of the wolves. He goes back for his weapons then stands next to me again.

“What should we do?” I would suggest running but I can’t run and they could easily follow our trail.

Ryan doesn’t answer right away and we continue watching the wolves. One of the wolves barks and the others fall in behind it. Determination set on its face, the lead wolf heads right for our cave.

Chapter 16

“Lissa stay here,” Ryan tells me in a tone that says not to argue. My heart starts pounding as he walks toward the wolves. He stops about thirty feet before them and raises his bow, taking out an arrow. The wolves halt and size up Ryan.

“Lower your weapon,” commands the leader, a male.

“Don’t set a paw any closer,” Ryan says firmly.

The wolves look at each other. The leader takes two steps back, forcing the wolves behind him to move back also. “The girl is injured,” he says. “She also trespassed when she walked through our caverns.”

“Well she’s out now.”

“That may be so but our protocol demands all trespassers be detained until proven harmless. We’re at war,
any
creature could be a spy.”

“We’re not spies and you guys need to leave now.” As a warning, Ryan fires the arrow. I think it grazes the leader’s ear but he barely flinches. The wolf to his left says something very quietly and the leader flicks his tail irritably. “Tell us, who did you get your weapons from?”

“What does it matter to you?” Ryan asks sternly. He already has another arrow ready in his bow and his muscles are taunt.

“Just answer the question,” says a white female wolf.

For a second Ryan is silent then he answers, “Cobalt had them made.”

The wolves look at each other again. The hostility seeps away from the leader’s eyes and he dips his head. “We apologize if we’ve hindered your journey. Take care,” he says then they turn and trot away toward the valley.

Ryan comes back. “Could you hear?”

“Yes. You knew mentioning Cobalt would make them leave didn’t you?”

He nods. “It was just a hunch.”

“A good one.”

We go back into the cave. Ryan sits near the entrance though and keeps his eyes trained in the direction of the valley. Normally I would sit with him for a bit or offer to take first watch, but my leg is aching and a heavy weariness is hanging over me. I lie next to Shiver—who is still deep in sleep.
Just like Ryan,
I laugh to myself. Not a sound wakes her.

* * * *

“Bye Lissa!” Shiver cries sorrowfully, like it’s our last day together. She squeezes me tighter then lets go. If those wolves decide to come back I don’t want her to be in danger too. With my leg injured I’m doubting myself and I don’t feel fully capable of protecting her.

“I’ll see you again soon,” I tell her then stand up to face Ryan.

“If those wolves come back, run.
Don’t
try to fight them. You could open up your wound.”

I give him a look. “Ryan, I can take care of myself. And I can’t exactly run,” I add a second later.

“I know,” he sighs. “It shouldn’t take me long. We’re not very far from the cliffs. It won't take long,” Ryan repeats. I don’t know if he’s trying to convince himself or me. Ryan looks at me. He’s trying to convince himself.

“It won't take long.
I know
,” I cut in before Ryan can say it again. “I’ll be fine. I will,” I add when it looks like Ryan will contradict me. He turns to face the direction he’ll be heading, then looks back at me and lets out a breath.

“You sure you don’t—”

“Positive,” I interrupt even though I don’t know what he’s going to say. “Now go,” I order, turning him around and giving him a push for emphasis. Ryan heads off, his steps reluctant. He looks back and I make a shooing motion before limping back into the cave, not wanting to see his reaction. He acts like he’s leaving a helpless puppy in a snake pit. And he’s not. I might be hurt, but I can still hold my own if push comes to shove.

For most of that day I sit at the edge of the cave, watching the volcano, the birds, anything that my eye catches. I scribble nonsense into the soft dirt. I practice using my senses, straining them as far as they’ll go, pinpointing and labeling scents, sounds, anything. My leg hurts too much for me to go anywhere but I hop around to exercise my other leg so it won't fall asleep.

That night I lie on my back and stare at the moon and stars—again looking for Orion and again not finding it. And I think I know why I haven’t. It’s so obvious I feel stupid that I didn’t realize before: different planet, different stars. I sigh then scuttle to the back of the cave. I lay awake, restless and in pain before boredom starts to take hold of me. I wonder where Ryan is. I mentally trace the route in my mind.
What could possibly be taking him so long?
I hope those creatures don’t attack him. I grab a pebble and toss it up; it drops back down on my neck. I wince at the sharp jab.

I try to wait up for Ryan, but eventually I do fall asleep. I’m woken by a hushed growl. I sit up and quickly press myself into a corner. My eyes strain to adjust to the near darkness, and when they do, I make out a black snout peering around the corner. Two yellow eyes and the pointed ears of a wolf follow it. He raises his snout to the air, inhaling deeply, satisfaction peeling back his lips seconds later. “She’s still here,” I hear him whisper.

A gray and white-bellied male, and a white, charcoal-smudged female trail behind the black one. My heart starts to beat faster. I stand and inch along the wall, moving deeper into the cave. But it comes to a dead end.

I drop to my hands and knees and feel along the wall, searching for the source of the colder, deep-rock scented air. My hand touches emptiness and I feel around the cavity. It's about four feet high and wide. I hurriedly crawl through the opening. Pushing my tender leg to move faster than it can. The tunnel opens up into a larger one. One exit is blocked, the other about seven feet up. I head over to it and prepare to jump, but a wolf barrels into me and I crash to the floor.

“That was a nice trick—using Cobalt’s name. Didn’t work though,” he growls.

Before I can shift the wolf pounces. I shove my uninjured leg into its shoulder hard. The wolf is knocked off track and I take that moment to shift.
Tiger.
Teeth sink into my neck and I roll onto my back. There’s a yelp then the teeth let go. I slink over to the wall, the black wolf pinning me, the other still lying where I’d rolled over it.

I cringe as a flash of pain jolts up my leg. With every movement the wad of leaves flakes away and I can smell new blood beginning to trickle out. The black wolf darts at me, favoring his leg I kicked. I flatten my ears and strike out but he sidesteps and nips my thigh. I spring away and am about to go after the black wolf, but I’ve exposed my wound to the white wolf I didn’t know was there. I shriek in agony as it takes away a mouthful of leaves and flesh. I try to channel the pain into anger, but I can’t. I’m not angry—I’m scared and want out of here.
Bear.
Intense pain jars through my leg and I nearly black out but fight it off. I shake my head but the cave doesn’t stop spinning.

I sense them communicating with each other and that they’re pinpointing my now bleeding wound.

My eyes flick back and forth between them as they circle, trying to push me away from the wall, but I stick to it like my life depends on it—which it kind of does. The black one rushes at me and I stumble away only to have the white wolf snap at my ankle. I weakly strike out and she easily avoids it. The black wolf leaps for my back. Just as it's about to reach me I rear up and slam the back of my paw into it. It hits the cave wall with a sickening thud and I know my blow killed it.

The white wolf’s eyes flick to her fallen companions and then back to me. She blinks once then slips out of the cave. I don’t even try to understand what just happened, instead, struggling to keep myself standing and conscious, I make my way over to the entrance. I’m too big and shifting seems dangerous.

I look back at my injury. If it’s even possible, I’m in more pain than I was before. I slump to the ground. Weakly I sniff at the wound. I don’t think the wolf hit an artery when she tore at it. I lie my head down and squeeze my eyes shut. I’ll give it a few minutes to heal then shift and get out of this cavern.

I hear something brush the ground. I wearily force my eyes open just in time to see the wolf I’d rolled over race at me. Without thinking, I lunge forward, catching it off guard. I sink my teeth into its scruff and shake it before tossing it hard over to the opposite wall.

I give myself several more minutes to heal then shift.
Mountain lion.
The pain is dreadful and I just barely stay conscious. I weakly pull myself up and drag myself out of the cave. It’s still dark. I sigh. I wish when things were bad time moved faster instead of stretching out.

I need to clog my wound back up with leaves or something. Maybe clean it if I can. I grimace thinking of all the dirt and rocks probably stuck in it. To my left the land slants upward. I prick my ears and listen hard. I can hear water trickling somewhere. It doesn’t sound like much and if it’s a stream it’s very small. But at least it’s something. I set out in search of it.

* * * *

Sunlight blazes overhead by the time I find it. I hate how it took me forever to get here and that I had to keep resting. I lie down heavily in the thin stream. The water is cold but it feels so good, washing away dirt and pain and exhaustion. I feel lightheaded. I’m pretty sure that’s because of blood loss.

I watch the water trickle by. Now what? I need a cloth or something if I’m going to clean it. And I need something else if I’m just going to stop the bleeding. I glance back at my leg . . . it doesn’t look much better in daylight but at least it's not bleeding as much. My stomach rumbles, mercilessly demanding food. It’ll have to wait though; I barely have the energy to stand.

* * * *

The sun is descending behind the craggy mountain peaks, its rays flickering in between the clouds. I’ve made my way back to the cave. Normally I would watch it fully set but I have a feeling that if I lie down now, I won't be able to get back up. And I have to sleep at the back of the cave since I promised Ryan I would.

I’m awakened by soft footsteps approaching the cave. I scuttle into a sitting position. Moonlight silhouettes the figure and I let out a furious hiss, ears pulled back. The figure recoils and jumps back a few inches before shining a flaming branch farther inside the cave so he can see better. My ears perk up.

“Oh. Sorry Ryan.”

Ryan’s defensive, puzzled face disappears under a bright, crooked smile. He quickly approaches, crouching beside me. I want to shift back into my human form, but I’ve had more pain than I care for so I stay as I am. Ryan brings the flame closer and peers at my wound.

“I’m so glad to see you again Lis!” Shiver chirps, bouncing over to me.

Before I can answer Ryan asks, “What happened?”

“Nothing.” I avert my eyes.

“Lissa,” Ryan warns.

“The wolves came back. But they’re gone now,” I add hurriedly when Ryan begins to get up. He settles back down uncertainly. Ryan takes the bag off and sets it next to him. He rips open the top then digs out a tiny bottle.

“We should probably clean this up first,” Ryan says mostly to himself.

“There’s a stream.”

“Where?”

I close my eyes as a stab of pain goes through my leg. “I can show you where.” I open my eyes.

“Is it far? I can find it myself.”

“No. We can go in the morning,” I say. Ryan starts to object and I interrupt, “You’ll be able to see better when you’re cleaning it and you won’t have to walk back and forth a hundred times.” What I don’t add is that he looks exhausted and in no shape to stay up all night picking dirt out of my wound.

He looks at me hesitantly but I close my eyes and drop my head. I’m not arguing with him about this. I hear Ryan stamp out the fire then lie down.

“Goodnight Lis,” Shiver sighs.

“Goodnight.”

Gentle rays of light stroke my face. I open my eyes. Ryan sits less than five inches away, closely watching me. When he sees that I’m awake, guilt crosses his face and he quickly looks away. I sit up and stretch my stiff muscles, realizing seconds later that I’m human. I must’ve changed back overnight. I wish new shifters were given a manual on shifting—I could certainly use one.

Ryan looks back at me then the corner of his mouth twitches up.

“What?”

“You were mumbling.” He looks away again. “You were happy.”

I cock my head. “About?” He shrugs. I laugh a little. “I mean, what was I saying?”

Ryan picks up the burnt branch from last night and begins grinding the black ends between his fingers. “Your dad.”

“Oh.” I didn’t expect that and that is the last thing I want to talk about. Clumsily I pull myself up then hop to the cave entrance. “Come on. We should probably get going.”

He doesn’t move. “You're not like that. Happy, I mean. Did something happen to him? Your dad?”

“Probably,” I say vaguely, hoping he understands that I don't want to talk about my dad.

Ryan is silent for several seconds then says, “Alright, let’s get to that stream.”

It’s a slow trek. I hop on one leg, Ryan supporting me so that I don’t have to use my hurt leg at all. When we finally do get there, Ryan doesn’t waste any time. He pulls out the jacket, rips off a piece and soaks it, slowly dripping water around the edges of my injury. It doesn’t hurt much until he moves farther inside the wound and begins brushing at the dirt. It gets harder not to cry out in pain and I make a few strangled noises but tell him to keep going when he stops. I dig my nails into my palms and that helps but it's not enough. I need to think of other things. I think of how I responded to Ryan’s question. I start to feel bad and I try to squish the feeling, but it won’t go away. Ryan has been nothing but generous and when I ask him something he only answers with honesty.