Dark Knight of the Skye (12 page)

“Wow, that really comes in handy, doesn’t it?” D`nae said, smiling up at the enormous creature. “I have a way out, but we have to go now.”

Tabitha turned her head, grunting, indicating that she was somewhat confused at the lack of the small woman’s fear of her appearance, at the same time showing she may have found humor in what D`nae had just said, and then simply nodded once. D`nae took it as an okay and tried to pull herself up off of the floor, only to find herself much more exhausted than she felt she should have been. Tabitha reached down with her clawed-filled hand. D`nae slowly placed her delicate one around the massive talons and let Tabitha pull her to her feet.

Once they were back in Alasdair’s room, D`nae went through the opening in the closet first with ease, and then turned to watch the wolf, Tabitha, take out the entire piece of hidden door just to get through. They made their way through the tunnels and found the exit just like Alasdair had explained. The sky was filled with stars and the moon lit their way as they found the dried riverbed that was supposed to lead them in the direction that she was told would find her the aid that she needed. Tabitha stopped, grabbing D`nae by the arm. She put her snout in the night air and made several attempts at identifying the new scent that was becoming stronger as they made their way farther down the riverbed. Tabitha spun around, bringing D`nae down close to the ground with her, then started pulling her into the underbrush.

“What is…” was all that D`nae had time to say, before Tabitha had her pulled into her fur covered chest, with one large hand pressing gently on the back of her head. About that time, several dogs went wild with manic barking and howling, not fifty yards from where they were hidden, causing Tabitha to rumble with her own deep guttural growl that put every hair to attention on D`nae’s body. Tabitha put her claw hand up, sitting her on the ground, then slid out of sight leaving her huddled under the not-so-secure cover of a dried river bush. She stayed perfectly still until she heard the cries of the first dog. The screams crawled right up her spine and she ran, not back into the riverbed, but into the wooded area that surrounded it.

Shots rang out, stopping her in her tracks as she thought about Tabitha. She slid behind tree after tree until she made her way back to the riverbed, straining her eyes to find any sight of her huge friend, who she now feared was in mortal danger. She was about to move further down, when three men came rolling backwards, sprawling where they fell. Tabitha backed into view with a net over one shoulder. She had areas of blood where she must have taken several hits. D`nae called out her name, causing her to look over, losing her balance and allowing the two men who were approaching to pull her to the ground with another net.

D`nae took off running right at Grady once she realized who he was. She knew she could explain that Tabitha was the one who had helped save her, if she could only get his attention. Grady reached out to grab her, dropping his gun and losing his grip on the net. Tabitha thought he was going to hurt the only friend that she had ever had and went mad. She pulled the net, throwing the man who still held firm into the air, then swung her large claw at Grady, catching D`nae, who was now pulling herself up to Grady’s chest. The claws took D`nae from the center of her back to the middle of her ribs and went all the way to her hip bone. Grady received a mark no bigger than an inch on his forearm, barely ripping his uniform.

Tabitha dropped to her knees in disbelief that she had missed her mark, taking her savior instead. Grady looked down as D`nae slid from his chest leaving a trail of blood as her legs collapsed. He gripped her shoulders and lowered her to the ground, shaking his head in disbelief.

“She’s my friend, Grady,” D`nae whispered, reaching up and touching his face. When Grady looked over, Tabitha was looking down at D`nae, and even in her wolf form, he could see the horror in her eyes.

Danny was in midair when D`nae took the hit, piercing his heart like a burning arrow shot from an invisible attacker. He dropped like a rock, losing all ability to control anything. He landed in the middle of a lake, still clutching his chest. For ten minutes, his body stayed submerged, then he burst out several feet before crashing back, having to swim to the shore to get out. Danny lie covered in mud on the edge of the water, in an area that he didn’t know. The pain had eased, but he knew that his one true love was in grave danger. Her life was draining away and he could feel her pain as if the wounds had been inflicted on his own body.

“She’ll nae be for dyin. Ah be cumin luv!” he said pushing himself up.

He stood and looked around, seeing a lone cow standing close to a group of trees. The moment he was within five feet, the cow caught his scent and woke from its apparent slumber. “Keek, Ah wud just like a wee skelp.” He began to trot beside the cow, as she tried to get away. Danny gave up the run and jumped on it’s back, sinking in his fangs as he held on, trying to grip the animal’s huge neck to keep from being bucked off. The cow made a quick left around the trees and galloped over a small hill, right into the waiting herd. Her cries and Danny’s scent sent them into a stampede. Danny broke his release, only semi-sated, and tried to jump off the manic beast. As soon as he loosened his grip, she bucked, bringing her backend up so high that he went over her head before plunging under her feet.

Danny grabbed her back hoof as it came down and pushed it forward, tossing the cow up in the air and over into the rushing herd. He dodged several others, then rolled out to safety. He laid there looking up at a sky, which was beginning to take on a nice purple hue. The thing to do now, no matter how bad he wanted to get to D`nae, was find shelter for the coming day. He walked up on the hill and looked out, seeing only the barn where the animals were headed and decided to join them. Once there, he opened the small door on the large one and stepped in. He could see the night sky coming through half the slats and knew this would never do, so he went to the back of the room where the hay was stacked high, and began digging into the soft earth.

“Wake in me ain coffin, noo in the mither earth. A’ Ah be missin is me last rights,” he smiled, then crawled in and started covering himself.

* * *

Tabitha, now changed back into her human form, rode in the back of vehicle holding D`nae’s head in her lap. She was wearing one of the men’s uniform tops, but chose to keep her feet bare. Grady drove as fast as he could down the rocky dirt road that led to the river, looking back every few seconds at the woman he loved.

“She has lost too much blood,” Tabitha said, moving D`nae’s hair away from her face. “If you take her to the place of which you speak, they will see the poison in her veins.”

“What are you talking about?” Grady yelled back, now looking at her.

“My affliction runs through her body as we speak. This you should know, as long as you have chased us,” Tabitha explained with her own raise in tone.

Grady looked back at Tabitha, who looked down at D`nae. Her face was pallid from the loss of blood, and her breathing had slowed to the point of almost stopping. The jeep pulled into the driveway of her apartment, where a stretcher and two men in medical scrubs waited. Grady jumped out and ran around to the other side of the jeep and pushed the soldier that was getting out, out of the way. He reached in to pull Tabitha out, but was met with a loud growl and a ferocious look. She slid out on her own, lowering D`nae’s head. Grady got in as soon as she was out of the way and lifted D`nae’s limp form out, handing her over to the two medics.

They all rushed in, where another man was drawing blood from a man in a soldier’s suit. “What blood type is she?” he asked, pulling the needle out of the soldier’s arm. Grady ripped the sleeve on D`nae’s shirt and told the man to start the transfusion, never telling him that her blood type was O positive. It was in her file. The man in the green outfit didn’t say a word, he just slid a clean needle into her arm and started attaching a tube that soon filled with a dark maroon fluid. The other two in green were cleaning on the four huge slices on her side, while Tabitha stood back and watched. Grady looked over at her, and for the first time realized that the beast he saw in the riverbed was nothing more than a small, delicate woman.

“It was her bravery that saved us both, and I have repaid her in the worse possible way,” she replied in a timid voice, then turned and headed up the stairs.

Grady turned around to make sure that they were doing everything they could for D`nae, then followed Tabitha up the staircase. He found her looking into the kitchen then turning to go into the bathroom, and frightened her to the point of jumping when she saw him standing in the middle of the room. “It’s the last door on the left,” Grady said, pointing down the hall. Tabitha lowered her head as she walked past him, going directly into D`nae’s room, the very room that she had been in once before, yet had a hard time remembering how she got there. It wasn’t until she picked up Roland’s scent that the memory of him biting her neck came into view. She was holding that very spot when Grady came through the door.

“Was it Alasdair?”

“No, though he has taken his share. I was brought here to seek her out. One of the Master’s followers gave me orders after taking my blood, that’s when I…”

“You killed the old woman?”

“No!” she claimed, spinning around. “I took my new masters things, and found her for them. I came down when… after, but I heard her begging for her life.”

“What will happen to D`nae now? I’ve heard you can either die or change over, is it true?” Grady asked, stepping in front of the dresser and picking up a photo of D`nae and her mother.

“It is true, but I fear for her, because the master fed from her several times in such a short period, she was already very weak.”

“The one she loves must hurry and free her from this world,” she explained, looking deep into his eyes. “It would be far worse to be like me than the one she loves. He comes, but will he make it?”

“Who comes? Are you talking about Danny coming here?” he asked, pushing her back. “You expect me to let him drain her, to keep from letting her…” Then he sat down on the edge of her bed, putting his face down into his hands.

Grady stormed out of the room, refusing to believe that D`nae would wake up anything other than her beautiful self, but fearing that Tabitha’s words could be true at the same time. Time passed while everyone waited to see if D`nae was going to wake up. She had been given three pints of blood and eighty-eight stitches in all. Her color was no longer the ashen gray of the living dead, and her heart rate was back to more of a normal rhythm. Tabitha sat on the small brown stool next to her on the couch, placing a cool cloth to her forehead because she was starting to develop a temperature. Grady paced back and forth behind the couch, looking out the window every other turn. The sun was starting to set, and Grady’s anxiety began to rise. He knew if Tabitha’s words were true and Danny was on his way, that it would be night when he showed up. Short on men and half the equipment that he needed, he knew it would be hard to set up much of a warning device.

Danny woke to a male voice speaking and decided to stay where he was until they left, because of what happened at the last place where he jumped out. From what he could make out, the man was talking to the cattle, telling them they were good girls and doing a great job making the spring count. He laid there with his eyes and mouth closed, thinking he didn’t have a clue what the man was talking about, but was hoping he would hurry with his little conversation. The moment the barn door closed, Danny shot up spitting dirt and hay. He shook his head, swatting at his coat and pants then went right to his head, starting the process over several times. He closed his eyes and lifted his head, smiling.

“Thanks be ta Glory.”