Circus Wolf (21 page)

He twisted and threw her against the cave wall.

Skully whirled for the counter-attack, as, from the
shadows, Werewolf-Hugh leapt and landed on his back. Hugh ripped off Skully’s
cape with the red lining, thrust it to the ground, and then attacked full
throttle. Tigra felt like cheering as she watched the claws and fangs of her
beloved alpha wolf sink into Skully’s flesh. But the vampire held his own—to unlock
the grip on his flesh, the lithe, aerialist vampire used the same kind of
twists, skilled somersaults, and hand clutches he used nightly in his act.

Growling, her Alpha wolf circled for another attack. Quick
as lightning, he charged Skully and clamped his fangs on his throat. The wolf
and vampire tore and clawed at one another’s flesh, both drawing blood and
inflicting pain, but neither gaining the advantage.

Tigra’s heart pounded. With two equally determined and
skilled males with super strength, either could come out the victor. To save
Madam Mystic’s life and their lives, she couldn’t let her beloved werewolf
fight this battle alone. The wolf and vampire parted and crouched, ready to
charge each other again. Their full concentration was fixed on their opponent.

Tigra used the moment of distraction to grab the nearby
lantern by the handle and swing it into Skully’s face. He shouted in pain. As
the glass broke, kerosene splashed over him, and his hair caught on fire. He
slapped at the flames. Flames dropped to his black shirt and it caught fire. He
dropped and rolled, cursing.

She’d read that perhaps a vampire could be destroyed by
fire. Her heart filled with hope and then he dashed it when he sprang to his
feet and ran deeper into the tunnel, his screams echoing through the darkness.

Would he burn to ashes and fall somewhere ahead in the
darkness?

Tigra wanted to race to Hugh and tend his wounds,
but he whirled, uttered a low guttural sound, and raced after Skully.

“No!” she called. She started after Hugh.

Madam Mystic made a muffled, grunting cry.

Tigra stopped mid-step and glanced into the darkness,
feeling pulled between the two people who needed her. She glanced at Madam
Mystic again. At minimum, she had to set the dear medium free. She rushed to the
medium’s side, crouched, took the gag from her mouth, and untied her.

“Good thinking about the lantern, Tigra,” Madam Mystic said
in a hoarse voice. “And thank you. I thought we were all goners. Our
predicament is my fault for being a coward.”

“Forget fault.” Tigra helped the mystic to her feet. The
nude, bruised, and abused fortune teller, wearing only Tigra’s inadequate
cardigan sweater had shown no shock that the three of them, including the
vampire were dual beings. God only knew what other secrets she’d learned from
her crystal ball. “Can you get back to the circus on your own? I need to find
Hugh and help him take down that demon.”

“You two are amazing, sacrificing yourselves for each
other. But Hugh would want you to come with me to safety. Skully is a sneaky
devil
who’s
lived many lives. Best you leave him to
your feral friend.”

“I can’t leave Hugh. Abandoning him would be like forsaking
my heart.”

“My crystal ball foretold your werewolf was born with the
power to slay a vampire. But it warned that desire could kill your alpha hero.”

Tigra laughed without humor. “We’ve already doused
ourselves in the pool of desire. Your warning only intensifies my desperation
to find him. You can help best by scooting out of here to the safety of the
circus grounds.” She stripped a small, broken, dry tree branch and touched it
to the still burning broken lantern. “You can use this torch to light your way.
Now go. Just follow the walls.” She gave the mystic a gentle push. Then she
whirled and headed deeper into the bowels of the cave in search of her Alpha
wolf.

Alert and running, she
scanned the darkness with her keen tiger eyesight.
Her
heart drummed so hard she could scarcely breathe.
Every
fiber of her wanted to run in the opposite direction.
I will do this and I’ll survive,
she repeated to herself in a
mantra. She had to save Hugh or she would never be the same. Additionally, if
she didn’t succeed, the circus would never be the same either.

She brought forth a cherished image of the man she'd come
to love. She’d known the dream of them together after this was over was
impossible. She had to be satisfied with saving him. "Hugh," she
mouthed silently into the emptiness. She wished she had her rosary with the
silver cross Grandy had given to her to keep her safe and ward off evil. She
had only her willingness, if absolutely
necessary,
to
die for the man she loved.

The irony of
racing into the inky passages of hell where a vampire crouched waiting in the
shadows, when all she wanted to do was run away, terrified her as much as the
bitter taste of her own fear. The chill of the cave and eerie silence closed
around her. Icy sweat dripped from her face. A shaft of icy fear sliced through
her bone deep. Just ahead a rock skittered into her path. Tigra froze, her
straining gaze scanning ahead. Her neck prickled. Nothing moved. Dank, icy air
lay still around her, oppressive, unsafe. The taste, smell, and feel of terror
pressed deeper into her nerve-endings. She listened intently, afraid to even
breathe, her heart lunging in her chest. She picked up a stake-shaped rock.
Okay,
Skully, I'm ready for you.
He was more dangerous than a rattler,
but he was only one vampire.
What am I
thinking—he’s a vampire! I’ll never get a better chance to escape. But I can’t
leave without Hugh.

She moved
forward again, more slowly. Her heart pounded in quaking thuds. She held back a
cough as she inhaled mustiness. Was Skully waiting just ahead?

 
Damn
you, Skully. Let's get this show on the road
. Precious minutes ticked by.
Where was he? Where was Hugh?

Chapter Twenty-Two

Hugh perked his
alpha ears, listening, as his nerves jumped under his skin. He couldn’t let
Skully escape. Thank God Tigra was safe. If necessary, he could die happy
knowing she and Madam Mystic were out of harm’s way. Skully had already killed
an unknown number of innocent people. Hugh’s heart thundered in his ears. He
drew up an image of Tigra in her little strips of fake fur. The memory of their
last kiss twisted his heart. In that moment, he had forgotten everything but
how much he wanted her—the texture of her lips as familiar as his own, and the
taste of her rushing through him with the force of a descending roller coaster,
the downward thrust threatening to sweep him away on plunging passion.

Since joining
the circus and meeting Tigra he’d learned he didn’t need the perfect, tidy
package of life to be happy, and he no longer cared about finding the ideal
homemaker or the problem presented by their mixed species. If he ever got the
chance, he’d work with her to solve the species problem and they would have the
rest of their lives to love and make love. His thoughts forced heat to pool low
in his belly. Dammit. Tension charged his nerve endings. If
.
..no,
when
he had his
fiery-haired, hot blooded Tigra in his arms again, there would be no holding
back. And she
would
be in his arms
again.

Hugh wiped the
sweat from his brow with his hairy arm. There were many places for Skully to
lie in waiting and spring out at him. The tunnels ranged from six to twelve
feet wide with eighteen to twenty-four foot ceilings and twisted around in a
tangled maze. There could even be tunnels with dead ends where he’d be more
vulnerable. But so would Skully.

Something sharp
dug into his right rear paw. He looked down and, with his powerful
eyesight,
he recognized the white powder with chunks of
ivory pebbles under the soft pad of his foot. It was crumbling human bones, the
thin outer layer disintegrating into a powdery dust. If he were attacked and
died now, his bones would appear mixed, half human, half beast. He didn’t dare
close his eyes…he had to remain ever alert…so he prayed with his eyes open.
Lord, when my time comes, let me die a man
in every sense of the word.

****

With effort,
Tigra squelched a shiver.
Show no fear!
She pressed tightly against the wall as she inched forward. Her heart pounded
in her ears like ancient war drums. The musty, mildew odor of death grew
stronger and almost gagged her. Why hadn’t she caught up with Hugh? Had Skully
killed him?
No, God,
no.

 
She heard a whoosh of air as a grasping hand
shot out of the darkness
and fingers
clamped around her throat. A white, vivid face loomed out of the shadows.

“Did you think I’d left you?” Skully whispered. He
squeezed tighter, cutting off her air and making it impossible to clamp her
sharp tiger fangs on his juggler. She tightened her hold on her stake-shaped
stone. Struggling, she met his gaze. His eyes were red and glowing like hot
coals. Fighting queasiness from what she was about to do, she jabbed him in the
fiery eyes with the stony weapon. Blood and fire spurted from the corners and
he screamed in agony. As the sound echoed through the tunnel, he loosened his
hold and she whirled away and crouched in readiness for the next attack.

“I didn’t want to take you
by violent force, my little ferocious tiger bitch,” he whispered in a
curse-like tone as his gaze locked on her throat. “I wanted to enjoy a slower
dance with you, but once again, you have forced my hand. I suggest you make it
less painful for you and more pleasant for both of us and give in.” His icy
breath feathered over her face.
“
I’m bigger,
quicker,
smarter
and I always win.”

His gaze intensified as
though he were using his strongest hypnotic power.
God, don’t let me succumb to this monster.

Tigra heard a hollow thud, and Skully fell forward.
With her sharp eyesight she saw Hugh had a huge boulder in his clawed hand.
Skully shook his head as though to clear it and somersaulted to his feet. The
arch enemies pounded each other while trying to clamp their fangs on one
another’s necks. The power of their blows and the open mouthed attempts to
close their teeth on soft flesh guaranteed this would be a bloody fight to the
death.

Hugh shouted, “Get out of here, Tigra.”

“I won’t leave you!” She stepped closer to the
warring feral creatures of the night, but couldn’t get close enough to jab
Skully again with her stone. She stuffed the stone into her pocket and picked
up a bowling ball-sized boulder. Lifting it high over her head, she aimed
carefully and brought the boulder down with all of her might toward Skully’s
head.

The half animal, half men rolled and shifted
positions. The boulder missed Hugh’s temple by a fraction of an inch.

“Damn it, Tigra! Whose side are you on?”

Tigra’s stomach knotted. Her heart thundered. She
could scarcely breathe.
Dear, God, I
could have killed Hugh. I’m only making things worse.
When she turned to
go, Skully reached out and yanked her feet out from under her.

She screamed and fell to her knees. Skully grabbed a
handful of her hair close to the roots and yanked her between himself and Hugh.
He bit into her throat. She struggled. Warm blood slid down from the concave of
her throat into her cleavage.

“Let her go!” Hugh
said,
his voice hoarse.

“Never.
She’s mine for all eternity.”

With an expression that revealed nothing, Hugh
stared at the blood trickling down her neck.

“Don’t give him the upper hand, Hugh,” she managed
to choke out. “You can’t save me. It’s—”

Unable to say more past the constriction, she tried
to reach her pocket where the stone waited to be put back into action. Skully’s
icy hold on her intensified, while his piercing eyes remained on Hugh, as
though calculating his next move.

Distracted, probably by the idea he had won, he
loosened his hold slightly…just enough for her to break loose.

When Skully tried to grab her again, Hugh tackled him. They
scuffed and Skully fell backwards against the stone wall. With all the courage
she could gather, she rushed toward him and stabbed her stake-shaped rock into
his neck, followed by clamping her teeth onto his throat. Almost in unison,
Hugh charged forward and locked onto the opposite side of Skully’s neck. They
sank their fangs deep into the soft tissue, extracting mouths full of flesh,
blood, and muscle. Skully pulled back and, as two chunks of
halblar
blue flesh tore free, a fine mist of blood fell from his organs and settled on
the stony floor. She glared at the blood oozing from him and thought,
For
all the innocent women you murdered and for
the sake of the circus.

He staggered toward them as though determined to fight on.
They charged him again, and this time their mouths closed on the vampire’s neck
in a unison dual death grips.

Skully’s horrifying screams were much like Rolo’s and
although both would haunt her nightmares forever, the soulless vampire had
earned his agony. He had attacked the innocent merely for his own malicious
pleasure and to satisfy his devilish hunger for blood and flesh.

When Skully’s cries faded and he went limp, Hugh
drew her away from the motionless parasite and brought her firmly to his warm
solid chest, holding her desperately like a man who’d almost lost the person
who gave meaning to his life. Experiencing similar rushing emotions, she
clutched at him like a drowning woman, breathing hard and feeling contaminated
by the acidy taste of the vampire’s blood and the horror of what they’d felt
compelled to do.