Dark Heart Wolf - Haley Weir Page 0,53

and showed Mary Ann. It was merely a black symbol with a red slash running through it.

Chapter Twenty-One

Outskirts of

Cheyenne, Wyoming

The sun began to set in the distance as Sam guarded the entrance to the caves. They didn't have long to set the explosives before the wendigo migrated their way. Though they struggled in the beginning, they learned the patterns and habits of their enemy. Wendigo were quite similar to bats. They hunted at night and slept during the day due to their blindness. They made an eerie clicking noise to locate their prey. But the wendigo were bloodthirsty and moved much faster than any normal creature, for they had darkness in their veins.

A shrill sound reverberated from the cave, and Sam's heart dropped. He abandoned their gear and ran into the cave without caution. Gunshots ricocheted off of the slimy walls, causing sparks to fly. One bad move and the entire place would blow. Sam didn't know if he or Jesse could survive a blast with the special gunpowder. They didn't know if the blessed weapons could harm them as badly as they wounded wendigo and the witches.

Sam made it to Jesse and found his friend propped up against the wall. A large gash in his side looked to be the worst of it...until he pulled Jesse's shirt up and saw three large bite marks. "Can it spread to us?" Jesse asked shakily.

"I-I don't know. Let's get you out of here, partner." Sam shoved his shoulder beneath Jesse's arm and all but dragged him out of the cave. "There must have been a second entrance that wasn't on the map. How the hell did they get the jump on us?" He lifted Jesse onto his horse and ran back into the cave.

Sam saw the cases not too far from where he had found Jesse. He took a deep breath and pressed his back to the wall. Six wendigo sniffed around the boxes. Sam closed his eyes and shot around the corner. The roar of fire in his ears was just as bad as the gust of hot flames and smoke. Hands reached in and grabbed him, pulling Sam out of the inferno.

"You crazy son of a bitch!"

"Boone?" he croaked.

"Damn right, it's Boone. I got a message from Itsá that you two were lookin' to do somethin' real stupid. And guess what? He was right."

"I just killed at least six wendigo, asshole. You should be thankin' me." Sam smirked. He could barely hear a damn thing over the ringing in his ears. "Besides, you would be bored if it weren't for me and my stupid ideas."

"And what, pray tell, did this plan involve?" Boone asked with an expression that said he expected an answer just as stupid as their execution of the plan.

"I used the rubble at the bottom of Beth's forge to make modified gunpowder like what's in our guns to make explosives. As you can see, it's effective." Sam pointed to the healing burns on his shoulder.

Wesley went inside the cave with his gun drawn to check if Sam's words were true. He confirmed them with a quick thumbs up. "It looks like minced meat in there, Boone. I'd say the plan worked out just fine."

"Not exactly," Jesse said as he collapsed against the saddle. Sam ran over to him and checked the bite. They weren't any different than the first time he saw them. Sam didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Jesse should have started healing by now. Boone and Wesley gasped when they saw the bites.

"Sam…"

"I know, all right! Don't give me that look, Boone. It might mean nothin'. Let's just get him back to Abbey." Sam climbed into his saddle. Boone and Wesley followed him back to Cheyenne. The roads were too dangerous to travel after dark, so they rode to the inn and laid Jesse on one of the beds.

Jesse was in and out of consciousness. A thin sheen of sweat covered his skin, and he shivered as a fever took hold of him. Sam did what he could to clean Jesse up and bandage his wounds before letting the man rest. He washed the blood from his hands and sat beside the window. "How did I let this happen?"

"Ya'll had to have known the risks goin' into this," Boone said. "Jesse knew what he was gettin' himself into. No one is to blame for this except the Wendigo Spirit."

"How rude," a voice growled. Sam, Boone, and Wesley bared