feeling that was like giving an ADD kid a bunch of Skittles.
“But the girl. The girl,” he said, the words practically tumbling out of his mouth, “Miss Marianne, Marianne, little Marianne, lamb fleecy white…”
Holy crap. “Wolf!”
“Yes. Sorry my succulent sweet…and you are succulent,” he stared at me for a second, running his tongue over his lower lip. A sharp tingle ran down my spine. Then he seemed to recover. “But she’s far ahead. I’d say a day’s walk. If they stop somewhere, perhaps we can catch them. The magic may very well need time to replenish itself. ”
“How?”
“Either from a source or its master.”
Suddenly Wolf froze, his nostrils flaring. He narrowed his eyes, staring down the path in the direction we’d come from.
“Someone is coming.”
“Someone bad?”
“I don’t know. I don’t like the scent. I didn’t catch it before because he’s upwind.”
“He?”
Wolf sniffed again and then huffed out his nose. “He smells a little bit like you.”
“What?”
“But he’s carrying metal,” he continued, ignoring my question. “Sharp metal. Metal that kills wolves.”
“Silver?”
“What? No. Just…” He shrugged in exasperation like he didn’t know how to explain it any clearer. “Metal that’s been sharpened to a point.”
“You can smell that?”
“Can’t you smell wood when it’s being sharpened?”
I opened my mouth and then closed it. Yes, actually, anyone could smell freshly cut wood.
“Come.” Wolf snatched up my hand. “He’s getting close.”
We ducked off the side of the path and hid amongst a clump of ferns. I wanted to know what was so dangerous, but considering what I’d gotten myself into the past few days, I trusted Wolf this time.
We waited amidst the foliage on the ground. For several minutes we saw nothing, and I started to wonder if maybe Wolf had made a mistake. Then a man appeared around the curve of the path. He was dressed head to toe in black, a canvas sack slung over one shoulder and a quiver of bolts over another. He held a crossbow in his hands. My heart hammered in my chest. Who the hell was this guy?
He crept forward, inching back the string and slipping a bolt into the bow. His gaze darted from the marks on the path to places in the brush and the trees. Was he looking for something? I tried not to breathe. Was he looking for us? How could that be possible? Unless he worked for whatever sent the phantasm after Marianne. The thought gave me pause. Hadn’t she mentioned men in black outfits? She said they were kind of mean, but who were they?
He paused at a place on the trail. He looked familiar, but his hat obscured his face and I couldn’t get a straight look at him through the ferns. He stood there for much too long. Not far from us, examining the trail. We hadn’t covered our tracks. If he was after us, he would see them leaving the road. He crept closer.
Wolf emitted a faint growl, and before I could stop him, he leaped off the ground and lunged at the man. The stranger spun and fired, but he’d swung too hard and his aim was off. The bolt sank into a tree and he crashed onto the ground, Wolf on top of him. He wrestled Wolf off and rolled to his feet to face him. He stared, his eyes going wide in shock and fear as he realized what he was dealing with before Wolf came at him again, crashing into him and grabbing the collar of his jacket. But in that moment I got a good look at his face.
I couldn’t believe it.
His back slammed into a tree. He tried to shove Wolf off, who was trying to bite him with a mouth of sharp fangs, his red eyes glowing.
I came to my senses and ran at them, trying to wrestle them apart.
“Stop! Stop it!”
I pulled at Wolf’s coat, relief flooding me when Wolf shoved him away and backed off. I held tightly to Wolf’s jacket, gaping at the only other man who ever made any effort to find me. My step-brother, Alex.
Chapter 10
I couldn’t believe it. Alex was here. Alex. He stood against a tree, breathing hard, dressed in some strange getup; black pants, black vest, white dress shirt, and a long black coat like Wyatt Earp wore in the Wild West. The black hat of similar fashion was what really threw me off. Alex didn’t wear hats unless he was out hunting. I hadn’t even recognized him until Wolf had him backed against