The Rising Moon (15 page)

“
What is it?” I earnestly asked.

“
Can’t you smell it?” He whispered, taking another deep breath.

I sniffed the air.

I did smell it.

I turned my head to the right and followed the coppery, bitter smell of blood. My head became heavy, my vision foggy, as I fell unto a trunk of a tree for support.

Ryan flew to Kima’s side. Her throat was slashed. Her legs looked to be broken because they were twisted in a position that made my legs weak, just by looking at them.

“
Rya---.” She began to speak. It was a miracle she was still alive.

“
My God! Kima I’m right here. You’re going to be ok,” he said as he kneeled beside her, struggling for the phone in his back pocket.

I froze. I wanted to go to her side but my body wouldn’t let me.

“
We found her!” Ryan yelled into his phone. “Hurry! I don’t know how long she’s going to make it. We’re north-west 200 yards from the Shoshone Lake, near the Popo Agie woods. She’s alive, but badly hurt. Please hurry!”

Kima slowly, raised her hand and dropped something black on Ryan’s knee. It looked like fur.

“
Don’t worry. We’ll get who’s responsible for this,” he said brushing blood drenched hair off her forehead. He leaned forward and kissed her on her forehead, “Oh Kima, don’t die, my love. Be strong.”

She turned to look at me and then she closed her eyes.

My legs gave up on me and my breathing was beginning to turn on me also as I dropped to the ground.

“
I think I know who did this.”

“
What? Who?” Ryan asked as he turned to look at me. His eyes were dark and unfamiliar. His lips were pinched.

“
Yesterday, at school I had a vision. I saw a black bird, a wolf and a pool of blood. I didn’t tell you about it, because I didn’t know what it meant.” I cried out.

“
Who did this?” He yelled out, squeezing the patch of black fur in his hands.

“
The wolf that attacked Emi in my room last night, had the scent of blood on his muzzle and a patch of fur was missing from his shoulder,” I sat up slowly, “that wolf was Lyle.”

“
That son of a Bitch! I’m going to make him pay for what he did to you,” he told Kima as he held her in his arms.

Deputy Woodruff and a team of EMT’s made their way to us. Ryan and I watched as they carried Kima on a gurney and quickly rushed her into the medical helicopter.

“
Thank God you guys found her,” Deputy Woodruff said. “We almost called off the search due to the rain.”

“
Is she going to be ok?” Ryan asked.

“
I’m not sure, son.” He replied, placing his arm around his shoulders.

“
Where are they taking her?” Ryan asked staring at the helicopter.

“
Lander Regional,” he replied.

“
I’ll meet you there,” he said quickly making his way toward the car. I followed close behind.

I don’t know how we did it, but we arrived at the hospital before the helicopter did. Our clothes still wet and sticking to our bodies, Ryan and I waited near the emergency room entrance. The doctors rushed to the room as the EMT’s pushed through the swinging doors with Kima, barely clinging to life. We overheard one of the nurses inform a Doctor that she had lost too much blood and was comatose.

After a few hours of not knowing if she was going to make it or not, we were allowed to see her in the Intensive Care Unit. Her head was wrapped in bandages and her legs were in casts. My heart sank to my stomach seeing what Lyle did to her. And for what? What did she ever do to him?

Knock. Knock.

“
Come in.” I said in a low voice.

Ani, Tyler, and Denise made their way into the room. Denise flew to her side, with her face full of tears.

“
How is she?” Ani asked.

“
She’s in a coma,” Ryan replied, gently placing his hands on Kima’s frail hand. He never took his eyes off of her. He tried to look strong, but I could tell he was worried she was going to die.

“
Poor thing,” Denise replied, as she ran her hand on Kima’s bandaged head.

Ani reached for Kima’s other hand. She held it gently and closed her eyes. While in a trance, she began to shake. When she let go her legs crumbled and she slammed into the floor. Tyler and Ryan both lifted her and sat her on the chair beside the bed.

Ryan asked. “What did you see?”

She rubbed her neck and opened her eyes wide---so wide that they were white, “she was attacked by the Lobison.”

Ryan pounded a fist through the wall, making the plaster crumble into dust. A nurse opened the door to see what the noise was but one look into Ryan’s flickering eyes, scared the hell out of her. She quickly shut the door behind her without asking what happened. I placed my hand on his shoulder to try and calm him but he shrugged it off. He looked past me, shook his head and began to pace the room.

“
Kima?” Ani asked.

Our eyes flew on Kima when her bloodshot eyes flew open. “Pro-tect her, ” she struggled to say.

She pointed at me. Then her hand dropped and her eyes tracked back and forth behind closed lids once again.

“
Kima!” Ryan cried out. His mouth at her ear, he whispered, “Come back. We need you.
I
need you, please come back.” But she remained stiff and lifeless.

A woman wearing white rumpled scrubs came into the room holding a clipboard. Tyler quickly stood in front of the hole Ryan made on the wall to keep her from noticing it.

“
I’m looking for a Ryan Woodruff and Angelia Lafosse.”

“
I’m Ryan.”

“
And I’m Angelia.”

The doctor was absorbed in her chart again, “so the two of you were the ones who found Miss West is that correct?”

“
Yes, ma’am,” Ryan replied.

The doctor pulled out a pen from her coat pocket and wrote into the chart, “And she was found unconscious at the scene?”

“
Yes.” We both replied at the same time.

The doctor nodded her head in agreement, “are you her mother?” She asked Ani.

“
No. Her parents are out of town,” she replied. “They’ve already been notified and should arrive first thing in the morning.”

The doctor clicked her pen and wrote the information down.

“
Very well then, we’ve stabilized her condition. The next forty-eight hours are going to be crucial for her recovery.” She placed the pen in her coat pocket again and walked to the door, “even if we can keep her alive, the swelling to her brain can cause significant damage. All we can do at this moment is hope for the best.”

Silence filled the room after the doctor stepped out. We stood frozen, staring at each other and then at Kima. Denise began to sob on her mother’s shoulder.

Footsteps approached behind the door, followed by a soft knock. It was the same nurse who walked in after Ryan punched the wall.

“
Visiting time is over. You’re welcome to come again in the morning.”

One by one, we walked over to Kima and gently placed our hand on hers.

“
I’m sorry for what happened to you,” I said and gave her a kiss on her head.

“
If you can hear me, I want you to know that I’m sorry for the way I’ve treated you the past couple of months. I love you and need you here with me,” Ryan whispered to Kima after the others had left the room. Ryan breathed in deeply and fought back tears. His hand rolled into fists, “Lyle is going to pay for what he did to you. I promise you that.”

We joined the others out in the hall.

“
Go and tell your uncle what’s happened,” Ani said to Ryan. “The elders will know what to do.”

∞
CHAPTER 20 ∞

THERE WAS a crowd of men gathered outside the Tribal Center by the time we arrived.

“
Who are all these people?” I asked as we pulled in.

“
They’re shifters,” he replied as he pulled up beside the parked patrol car. “Some are relatives and others are from nearby tribes.”

Two out of the eight men that stood outside the glass doors, were extremely tall, one was wider than the other was. They seemed like ordinary people to me.

“
How is she?” One of the men asked Ryan.

“
Not good,” Ryan replied. His lips were pressed together as he greeted the men who had come seeking revenge against Lyle for what he had done to Kima.

Deputy Woodruff turned to look at me. “Wait for us out here, only the tribal members are allowed to attend the meeting.”

I wanted to go inside and be a part of the meeting. I couldn’t help but feel guilty for what happened to Kima. I felt that the attack was somehow my fault. I didn’t think it was fair that I had to wait outside.

Ryan handed me the keys to his truck, “I won’t take long.”

I sighed deeply and took the keys out of his hands. Annoyed at not being allowed to attend the meeting, I dragged myself back to the truck. As I waited inside, I thought about Lyle. I dialed his number again, but again the call went straight to voicemail. ‘
Where are you?’
I sighed deeply.

Was he really capable of hurting another human being? Maybe it wasn’t him, perhaps it was Emi. She was evil enough to do it. She did try to kill me after all. I refused to believe that Lyle would hurt Kima. It had to have been Emi who hurt her in order to get back at me. Maybe she wanted to frighten me.

But Lyle did have blood on him and I was certain the blood was Kima’s. My head pounded as I sat alone in the dark truck trying to make sense of it all, when finally it hit me. What if he did do it, but he didn’t know what he was doing. Perhaps he was under one of Emi’s spell when he attacked her.

The wait was driving me crazy. I nervously and impatiently tapped on the stirring wheel. I began to chew on my fingertip as I waited for what felt like forever staring every few seconds at the glass doors for a sign that the meeting was over. Finally, I saw the door crack open. I sat up in the seat and saw Ryan and the rest of the men make their way out of the center. I quickly stepped out the truck and joined them.

“
Everyone I want you to meet Lia,” Ryan introduced.

“
My name’s Paul and this is my brother Martin.” One of the men replied. His face was long and tan. He had a tattoo that ran from the side of his face down to his neck. I nodded and shyly gave them a smile.

“
They’re my cousins. They came all the way from Colorado,” Ryan said. “We’re waiting on some more men to arrive. The plan is to meet here and head to the Ulric’s ranch tonight at midnight.”

“
And what are you planning to do once you get there?” I asked nervously.

“
Find the son of a bitch who hurt our little sister and make him pay for what he did.” Martin said, with a wide grin.

“
What about John?” I asked Ryan. “Shouldn’t we make sure he’s not in the ranch when you guys arrive?”

“
Don’t worry about him. I’ll make sure he’s ok,” he replied.

“
I’m going with you,” I added. “I need to see for myself that he’ll be okay.”

“
No, you’re not going,” he commanded, “you’ll be safer here at the Rez with my aunt and Denise.”

“
What?” I snorted, “I’m going with you. There’s no way I’m staying here.”

“
You should listen to him. You’ll be safer here,” Paul interrupted. I looked at him up and down. Suddenly his tattooed appearance didn’t intimidate me. He was just someone who needed to mind his own business.

“
I’m going with you and that’s that. There’s no way I’m going to stay here while you go in search of Lyle,” I protested in a mumble and walked to the side of the truck. My arms wrapped across my chest. Ryan followed me and held out his hand for mine. I looked at it and rolled my eyes, refusing to take his hand. He stepped closer, loosened my arms, and grabbed my hand.