Dark Heart Wolf - Haley Weir Page 0,23
this train, Sam.” The salt of her tears filled his senses, and Sam wondered if Boone knew his mate was in danger. He followed her gaze to the window and saw a horde of wendigo rushing towards the train. A moment later, the horrid screech of the brakes slamming down caused Sam to collapse. He pressed his hands to his ears. Mary Ann stood over him protectively. He wanted to tell her to run but was weakened by the painful onslaught of noise.
“So, you’re the one who tamed the Red-Eyed Demon?” Ethan snorted. “I must admit, I expected more. A pretty face won’t help them win this war.” The possessed outlaw pressed a kiss to Abigail’s cheek. “This one has a unique gift. Such a sweet purity that tastes of exquisite wine. And Charlotte...my darling, darling Charlotte is filled with so much power—”
“And Beth?”
Sam was finally able to climb to his feet after Mary Ann interrupted Ethan and the train came to a full stop. He touched her arm to still her anger, but she shrugged him off and stepped closer. To his surprise, Ethan took a step away from Mary Ann. There was something in his gaze that Sam could not quite read.
“The shifter female will not last long enough to see the war,” Ethan snapped. He jutted his chin toward Beth, where she had been pinned on the floor by several outlaws. She squirmed and fought against her captors as if she didn’t care whether she lived or died.
“When I get free from these bastards, I’m going to stomp your face into the dirt!”
Ethan tossed his head back and laughed. “We will see who ends up face down in the dirt.”
~*~
Wendigo crashed into the sides of the train from all angles. It looked as though hundreds of frothy, sightless eyes glared at her through the glass. She tossed Sam his knife and lifted her rifle. They stood back to back. Mary Ann watched the windows and Sam watched the beast that controlled them.
The wendigo released a high-pitched scream that shook the train. Sam stayed on his feet, but blood trickled from his ears. He breathed heavily, panting over her shoulder. Sam hurried to shield her body when the glass finally shattered. Shards of glass sprayed through the passenger car and wendigo flooded into the carriage. Beth managed to loosen the hold of the outlaws that held her down and reached her blade.
Mary Ann fired her rifle at the outlaws and wendigo that got too close.
The horrific screams of passengers filled her ears as they were slaughtered. Hot blood squirted all around, bathing them in scarlet liquid from head to toe. Beth threw the blessed dagger Itsá gave her and it stuck between the Wendigo Spirit’s eyes. He dropped Abigail, roaring as he twisted the knife out of his skull. Black blood dripped from his mouth and horns appeared upon his head as he shifted. The Wendigo Spirit tossed the blade aside and leaped through one of the broken windows.
Wesley and the others fought their way to the passenger car and created a path through the wendigo. No matter how hard they fought, the creatures continued to get back up and charge towards them. Sam shoved Mary Ann towards Boone. “Get her out of here! I’ll buy you some time.” He disappeared into a swarm of outlaws and wendigo. Mary Ann screamed as Boone forced her off of the train.
The harsh chill in the air caused steam to rise from her mouth as she called out for Sam.
Jesse guarded Beth as she carved through the wendigo. Those that were stabbed with the ancient blade that had been forged upon the mountain where Itsá’s ancestors dwelled combusted into a pile of ash with a sharp scream. Mary Ann wiggled in Boone’s hold, but he was too strong.
“Wait!” Abigail shouted. The group stopped in their tracks and looked out at the field.
Standing in the clearing was the Wendigo Spirit in its true form.
Dark, matted fur covered most of the skeletal form. Long, disfigured limbs bent at unnatural angles as it took on a pose of dominance. The places on its body that weren’t covered in the fur were patches of pale, greasy skin. Open wounds glistened with blood and pus as a ghoulish mouth peeled back to reveal razor-sharp teeth. The head of a beast looked so out of place on a body that still held a slightly human appearance.
It dropped into a crouch and summoned even more of the flesh-eating