The Waking (The Upturned Hourglass) (22 page)

Out of nowhere, Noah appeared in front of them, human and fully clothed.

“Do you guys keep a wardrobe in the woods?” Valie asked with a nervous laugh.

Distractedly, Noah smiled at her in that brotherly way of his before he turned to Jack, totally ignoring Valie’s comment. “There’s a decent place overlooking the lake and the shoreline on a large outcropping of rock. An upper stream runs into the lake creating a small cataract. The sound should also help to mask her.” The boy set out in the direction he had come.

Jack nodded. “Okay.” He took a few steps and stopped—turning to look at Valie. “Are you sure about this?”

Of course not
, she thought. But all she could do was nod.

Jack closed his eyes and shrugged. “And the
Darwin Award
goes to,” he muttered. “Jack Haden—for allowing a helpless girl to walk willingly to her death.” The words were not meant for Valie, but she heard anyway.

“You’re not
allowing
me to do anything,” she protested.

“Right.
I forgot. You don’t need anyone else.”

Valie let the silence of the forest prevail in an attempt to control her anger.

Slowly, the three companions picked their way through the undergrowth—Valie scowling behind Jack, and Jack scowling behind Noah. The two followed Noah to the large outcropping of rock that bordered the lake where a small waterfall flowed over the protrusion. The stream was too shallow to cascade loudly over the rock, but it made a continual splash as the stream met the lake.  

Jack surveyed the area for himself. There was a niche in the rock at the top of the formation, a little back from the edge. The boulders actually jutted out over the lake and looked more than a bit precarious; but away from the edge, if Valie remained quietly in the shadow of the little cut-out in the rock and the foliage that would surround her, she could see.

“But I won’t be able to hear,” Valie protested weakly.

Jack dismissed the comment. “I never agreed to have you near enough to hear. I agreed to let you come and watch.” The decisiveness and seriousness of his tone made Valie to hold her tongue. 

Jack crushed and spread more aconite leaves around her settled location and disposed of the glove carefully, wrapping it inside the old, brown paper packaging.

“Remember what I said,” he warned before he and Noah descended to the shore. “Keep quiet. I won’t be able to keep an eye on you; they would become suspicious.”

“I understand. Go.” Valie motioned that she was all right where she was; and, reluctantly, Jack left her, stealing one last glance behind him.

Slowly, he and Noah began the descent down the other side. The girl was already concealed from his view, which was a good thing.
This might work
, Jack thought, but his nerves betrayed him.  Something in his gut told him that leaving her alone was a mistake, but it couldn’t be helped, now.

Noah nodded as Jack caught up at the base of the rock.

“Good choice, Noah,” Jack commended half-heartedly.

“Thank you.” Noah paused as they walked away. “If her presence bothers you this much, Jack, why allow her to come?  Shane could have guarded her well enough.”

Jack grunted and sighed. “Reason seems to escape me when I’m around her.”

The two young werewolves moved into position, probably only a mere twenty yards away.
Not nearly far enough. Thankfully, the breeze was blowing toward Valie, carrying her scent away from them. The aconite would help. Jack knew that the girl’s scent was all over him, but that could be easily explained.

With so much distance now between them, Jack’s nerves were tight as a bowstring. Jack looked up to the spot where Valie was hidden, only to look away with renewed regret. He couldn’t see her, or scent her, but those facts did little for him by way of comfort.

His eyes were still on the rock when he groaned. “I should have
forced
her to stay away. I will despise myself all the more if something happens to her.”

Noah shook his head. “Why would she want to come at all after what we’ve told her?”

“She’s just a young girl who wants to see her father—a notion I can’t exactly blame her for.”

“But he wants her dead,” Noah countered. His voice was calm and reasonable. As always, he was just trying to understand. The boy blamed neither Jack nor Valie for any of this affair—though, in Jack’s eyes, some blame was necessary.

Jack shrugged helplessly. “I know. It’s careless and insane, the whole thing. But a very small part of me prefers her close, no matter the consequences.”

Noah studied his brooding brother. “That doesn’t sound like you, Jack.”

Jack closed his eyes. “Don’t I know it,” he murmured.

More than a few minutes passed before the two could sense
that Eliza was approaching in the distance—alone.

“Perhaps he’s just late,” Noah offered in answer to the unspoken question in both of their minds.

Where was Isaac?

Jack didn’t respond.  All his senses were acutely tuned to Eliza.

Another minute or so went by and Jack found himself pacing.

“If you don’t stop, she’ll think something is the matter with you,” said Noah as he leaned against the base of the rock—Valie was only a short climb away. Jack took a deep breath and tried not to fidget. He wanted to get out of there.  He wanted
Valie
out of there.

Eliza emerged from between the trees, slinking forward, a red-haired she-wolf with a silky piece of cloth in her mouth. Jack and Noah both averted their eyes toward the lake out of courtesy

Still several yards from them, Eliza stopped and commenced her transformation. The change took less than a minute and the strain on the body was tremendous. Painful groans escaped from the she-wolf as the beast twisted and snarled back into her human form—shedding some of the coarse red wolf hair in clumps. Finally the naked woman leaned vulnerably against the ground, breathing heavily. Slowly, she took the long-sleeved silk dress in her hands and slipped it on.

Jack turned and watched as the lissome woman walked forward, her red hair already pulled tightly back revealing her perfect feline-like eyes. Eliza and Jack had never gotten on well, but in this instance, he would have to be cautious, not abrasive.

Jack took off his outer jacket and threw it to her in an attempt to be kind. Lycanthropes were in the habit of wearing layers for just such a reason. Someone always needed clothes.

“Thanks, cub,” she said unenthusiastically.

“You three have returned earlier than you planned,” Jack observed warily.

Eliza frowned. “Isaac thought it important to conclude our business quickly.”

“You don’t seem too pleased….”

The she-wolf laughed, putting the other two Lycans on
edge. “Let’s just say I found our excursion much more pleasant than following a pitiful human.”

“I assume there was violence involved, then,” Jack replied suspiciously. Eliza seemed only to enjoy others’ pain.

The she-wolf grinned and Jack took the expression as a ‘yes.’

“I thought Isaac was to meet us,” he continued in an attempt to learn more.

“He had more important matters to attend to,” Eliza informed him in her sultry voice. When her tone wasn’t deadly, it was seductive.

“Well, what are we here for, then?”

Eliza cocked her head and looked sideways at Jack, her eyes narrowed. “You’re here to listen to your instructions, so cut the attitude.”

Noah coughed and Jack clenched his jaw. He was pushing too hard, getting ahead of himself.

“Right,” Eliza continued, satisfied with Jack’s lack of response. “According to Isaac, you are to stay close to the girl. But when an opportunity arises, convince her to meet the rest of your ‘family.’ Isaac wants to speak to her personally before she is changed.”

Jack fought the instinctive growl building inside, but he managed to keep his composure and simply nodded.

“As he wishes.”

“Have you noticed anything strange or unusual about the Mark?”

Jack tensed, but immediately forced himself to relax. “Not especially. She’s generally athletic. Decent senses. Slave to her reactions. Probably the most notable of her traits is her stubbornness.”

Just like her father
, he thought. 

“So nothing special, then,” Eliza remarked in a bored voice.

“No. Nothing.”

“How disappointing.”
The she-wolf yawned and stretched before continuing. “Well, don’t reveal too much to her just yet. Isaac wants her . . . innocent.” Eliza’s eyes flashed wickedly at this concept. 

Another flare of anger and defensiveness pulsed through Jack. He fought it down, but this time not soon enough.

The woman’s eyes narrowed as she stared deep into Jack’s eyes.  He could sense Noah tensing behind him. And then, with no warning, Jack’s own personal hell broke loose.

As the three werewolves below the rock deliberated together, Valie remained as quiet as possible, straining to catch a word here and there, barely breathing, anxious to see her father. Eliza—at least that’s who Valie assumed the woman was—had transformed just opposite Valie’s position. The three pack members were now discussing something, but still Valie assumed Isaac would not be far behind.  After all, he was the one who had called this meeting. 

After repeatedly searching the tree-line for some sign of the pack leader, Valie became impatient.  Something told her she wasn’t going to see her father, and that all of the events of this morning had been for nothing. And as she watched Eliza standing with arms crossed, speaking to Jack, Valie began to feel the old familiar disappointment wrap itself around her heart. She fought back the tears. A sharp sigh escaped from her lips and an unfortunate set of Lycan ears instantly perceived it.

A shadow passed in the corner of her eye. Valie jerked her head around to find a fearsome, powerfully built man watching her with glowing black eyes, bloodcurdling in their deadliness.

Valie took a deep breath and tried to remain calm.
This must be Terrence
, she thought. And, by the look on his face—and the fact that he was no more than five feet away—she knew that this was a terrible turn of events. 

Valie screamed—a shrill, piercing cry that bounced against the rocks in echoing ripples, breaking the unbreakable silence. The Lycan wasn’t impressed. The girl was not going to waste time with more dramatics, however. She jumped to her feet and would have scrabbled down the other side of the rock had there been anything more than a sheer drop to the ground. She stopped and helplessly watched as her stalker slowly advanced. Terrence said nothing; he only smiled a very wicked smile.

Valie glanced around wildly and took a step in another direction, but in a flash Terrence was there, too—close enough now for the girl to hear the beastly snarl rumbling in his throat.

Preoccupied with her own plight, Valie did not perceive the turmoil which was ensuing below. Jack and Noah were scrambling up the rocks, with Eliza following behind--grabbing at Noah’s feet and shouting up at Terrence at the same time, as an instinctive warning to her mate.

Valie didn’t know if she could
scream again; her throat was constricting in fear.

“Nice doggie,” she whispered nervously, unable to control her mouth.

Terrence paused and cocked his head, the evil grin spreading across his dark face.

“You
know
about us,” he said in amusement.

Oops.

“Isaac was right; Jack
hasn’t
been playing by the rules. No matter. Perhaps Isaac will be happier now that there are no secrets. He would have you know of our kind.”

“No secrets?” Valie retorted shakily.
Come on, Valie. Think.
“Like Isaac being my father?”

Her words made Terrence stop dead in his tracks. He immediately glanced at Jack and Noah as they fought off Eliza who had morphed. He seemed to think deeply for a moment before turning back to Valie with a deadly look in his eyes. In seconds, he began to transform into a large, black wolf whose dark eyes and vicious snarl were spine-chilling. There was bloodlust in Terrence’s eyes.  Nothing was going to stop him. 

“Terrence! Stop!” Gaining the top of the dome at last, Jack roared out the command and took off to meet the menacing Lycan, but before he could plant himself between his pack-mate and the helpless girl, Eliza—without knowing the details, but perceiving that Terrence felt it necessary to incapacitate the Mark and her protectors—threw herself against the boy and tackled him, pinning him to the rock not ten feet from where Valie was cornered by a massive, looming werewolf.

Noah threw himself into the struggle to free Jack, grabbing Eliza from behind and yanking her off of him. She turned on Noah, unwittingly allowing Jack to struggle free. Without
hesitation, he ran toward the black Lycan that was trying to herd Valie away from the others like a scared sheep.

Terrence never took his eyes from the trembling girl, who kept inching her way around the edge of the precipice. Viciously the beast snarled his outrage with bared fangs.

“Jack!” Valie cried, but just as her frightened eyes turned to the fast approaching boy, the ground beneath her feet began to crumble. 

“Valie!”

Unconsciously Jack held out his hand to help her, but she fell before he could reach her, disappearing over the edge.
                           

For a brief moment all Valie could feel was the cold, autumn air hissing around her . . .

Slap! Whoosh!

She hit the water like a brick. The impact of the fall knocked the breath out of her and the cold water drained the warmth from her very bones as she sank. Frantically, she thrashed in the water, kicking futilely and throwing her arms in all directions.  The water was deep, and she found no footing beneath her. She didn’t know how to swim and the rush of adrenaline to her brain only intensified the panic. 

The water and the darkness were all around her now and only one thought was in her head.
She wanted to live!
She would have faced Terrence and Eliza alone rather than die like this—just sinking into oblivion. She didn’t want to die.

Vaguely, Valie perceived a disturbance in the water, a column of bubbles erupting from the fading surface of the deep lake. But the water pulled at her, dragged her down. Her lungs were screaming for oxygen, but she had none to give them.  She was out of air.

She couldn’t fight off the blackness any longer; it took her, sending her into the lonely unconscious as her body only sank deeper into the dark.

READY OR NOT

“Valie!” Jack sputtered as he broke the surface of the water. He cradled the unconscious girl’s head in his arm and, using his free arm, pulled her toward the shore with short powerful strokes. When he gained his footing, the boy lifted her limp body out of the water and stumbled onto dry ground.

In Jack’s mind, time stood still. He could only hear the pounding of his own heart. He stole a look upward to find Noah racing down at inhuman speed—thankfully, with no one following.

Hurriedly, his attention returned to Valie. Ripping her scarf and jacket off and tossing them aside, the frantic youth roughly placed his mouth over her blue lips, blowing, short, even bursts of oxygen into her starving lungs. This was not how he had imagined his lips against hers. Kneeling beside her, he pumped her chest with hard compressions and breathed more air into the water-filled lungs.

Jack worked tirelessly—for how long, he didn’t know. He just needed her to breathe.  Everything would be okay if she would just
breath!

After another tense minute of CPR—Valie coughed and spluttered the water out of her lungs. Jack exhaled a deep breath with a tight chuckle, edged with both his stress and sudden relief--although he had refused to imagine the sorry state of his existence if she died. Noah still remained motionless beside him.

“She’s breathing!” Jack cried, and sat back on his heels. But his next words were a whisper, “She’s going to be okay.”

“Good,” Noah said matter-of-factly. He was still panting from the fight and subsequent chase. “Terrence and Eliza took off, most likely to tell Isaac about our betrayal. They both took minimal damage in that scuffle, though. I wonder why they gave up so easily, but we’ve got to get out of here; we don’t have time to figure it out. Shane is on her way with the car.”

Jack nodded as he gently gathered the soaked and disheveled girl up into his strong arms—the teenager was as light as a feather to her werewolf protector—and the three started toward the road at a brisk pace.

When they reached the road, Valie was shivering, her body trying to generate some warmth, but color was returning to her face.  She still hadn’t awakened, though. Jack wouldn’t relax until she woke up.

A moment later Shane drove up in the smoke blue BMW.  She skidded to a halt next to them and burst from the car in extreme agitation, but halted mid-sentence at the sight of Valie in Jack’s arms. 

“What the hell did you guys do to her?”

“She fell in the lake,” Noah explained.

“What? She can’t swim?” Shane rolled her eyes in amazement and stared at the wet, shivering bundle.