Discovery: Altera Realm Trilogy (7 page)

The wolf nudged her leg and looked off into the woods as the girl's taunts began again. He wanted her to move. The others were getting close. She nodded in agreement. Purple lightning had to wait. The two began their trek again.

Cass

Pain shot through Cass's arm as she struggled to sit up. It was probably broken, which, considering the day's events, wasn't so bad. She looked around the destroyed store; boxes and bags of food were scattered everywhere.

"Raine?" she called out, as she gritted her teeth against the pain and stood up.

A gray wolf trotted up to her, blood soaking its fur in various places.

"Are you OK?" Cass asked.

He let out a whimper before lying down. After a moment his fur changed into smooth skin, his limbs enlarging and his facial features growing smaller. Raine, now human, looked up at Cass, carefully covering certain parts of his anatomy, which were now bare. "Somewhat," he said. "Never took down a bear before."

"I'll get you some clothes," she said, and hurried out to the car. She had seen Raine change before many times, but he was always very good at making sure he was covered. Cass tossed some clothes to him and turned to give him some privacy.

"Arm broken?" he asked.

Cass nodded. "I think so." She winced as Raine, now fully clothed, touched her arm.

"Not too bad. Nothing that can't be fixed," he said.

Cass glanced over to the other end of the store, where Raine had fought the bear, but he quickly blocked her view. "Is he dead?"

Raine nodded.

"There were three of them," Cass said, worry filling her voice.

Raine nodded again. "The panther went after Hunter. And she was a snake. Smelled like one at least."

"We have to find Syney. They were after her."

"I know." He placed a reassuring hand on her good arm. "But I also know Hunter, and he'll be with her. He'll protect her with his last breath."

"What if he already took it?" Cass asked, tears coming to her eyes. There was no way they had come so close to bringing the Chosen One home just to have her lost forever.

"He's still alive. I can feel him. He's not close enough for me to get an exact read. But he's out there," Raine reassured her.

Cass sighed. "How are we going to find them?"

Raine steered her out the door and to the car before answering. "Hunter knows what to do. He just needs to call on the emergency cell phone and give his location"

Cass still didn't feel completely satisfied. She never had heard of a Shifter attacking out in the open like that—and a panther at that. Only members of the royal family were big cats, although not all were. Cass looked over at Raine as he pulled onto the road. "Where are we going?"

"I know some people who can help with your arm." He glanced at her. "No questions asked."

She nodded. Most magic users never left the Village, but all Protectors were required to spend time out in the human world in order to prepare for situations like today. They needed to have resources should their charges need them. "Are they human?"

Raine hesitated. "No, but it's all right."

Cass shivered. The only other non-humans in the Human Realm were Vampires, and the stories of them were more terrifying than those of the Shifters.

"I promise you, Princess. Everything will be fine," Raine said in a soft voice. "I pledged my life in protection of you, and I'm a huge fan of being alive." He looked at her with a smirky smile.

Cass managed a small smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. Being hurt, attacked by Shifters—this was why royal Magic Users never left the Village. She turned to stare out the window at the trees blurring past. That's how she felt, constantly in motion. She closed her eyes and blocked everything out. She was quickly in her place, a small creek not far from the Village with clear water, colorful rocks, and dark-green grass. Her heart rate immediately slowed. Her mother had shown her this trick. "Just go to your secret place," she'd say when Cass was feeling agitated. It had to be somewhere away from your problems, where pain and darkness never could find you.

Cass wasn't sure how long she had been hiding in her head when she felt the car stop. Her eyes flew open, and she found herself staring at an old Victorian house with a wide wraparound porch. It would have been beautiful if not for the massive trees surrounding and almost covering the entire house.

"Creepy," she whispered.

Raine nodded. "It's OK. Come on."

Cass followed, holding her swollen and bruised arm. The pain, which had been constant the whole ride, now began to thump harder. She gritted her teeth and kept up as Raine went to the door and knocked. The massive wooden door opened slowly to reveal a thin woman with dirty blond hair and striking blue eyes. She didn't look like a Vampire, Cass thought. Her skin was too tan for one. She was beautiful though, Cass noted, giving the woman a once over. She was thin, almost as thin as Cass herself but was tall and almost majestic looking.

The woman smiled. "Raine. It is so good to see you!" She looked at Cass. "And you've brought a friend."

"Becca, this is Cassandrianna, my charge," Raine said.

The smile fell from her face. "This is a serious visit then." She moved to the side. "Please come in."

Raine guided Cass into the sitting room off to the right of the entranceway. The furniture was very ornate. The couches looked uncomfortable and were, Cass found out after Raine pushed her down into one.

The woman, Becca, hovered in the doorway. "How badly is she hurt?"

"It's her arm. Possibly broken."

Becca nodded. "I'll be right back."

Raine watched her go before turning back to Cass. "How are you?"

She shrugged and winced at the movement. "Overwhelmed."

A deep chuckle filled the room. "Of course. Little girl far from her safe Village."

Raine rolled his eyes and turned toward the door. "Joseph. Nice to see you."

Cass looked past Raine's large body to see a tall, thin man, his skin as pale as a ghost. A Vampire. He looked young, but with a Vampire, looks had nothing to do with age.

"Why are you so far from home?" the Vampire asked, strolling into the room. He stopped by the window, flinching in the sunlight but not bursting into flames.

He must be very old
, Cass assumed. Only Vampires past their centennial mark could stand in the sun.

"We're on a mission," Raine said.

Cass sat back and took a deep breath. She wasn't one to let someone else talk for her, but in this instance, she seemed to have lost her voice. Shifters and now
a Vampire. What was next, a Daemon? She knocked softly on the wooden arm of the couch; it was best not to jinx herself.

"A dangerous one, I see," Joseph said, eyeing Cass.

Raine hesitated. "We were attacked by Shifters. One royal."

Joseph made a disgusted face. "Filthy creatures."

"Why don't we all just settle down?" Becca said, walking back into the room with a glass of something blue. She sat down next to Cass. "This must be overwhelming for you."

Cass nodded and tried a small smile.

"I can help with your arm, but it'll take me a while to mix up a few things." She held out the glass. "This will help you sleep and take away the pain while I do."

Cass looked over at Raine, but not before shooting a glance at Joseph.

"It's all right. I won't leave your side," he assured her.

Cass inhaled deeply and took the glass. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Princess," Becca said, as Cass downed the glass.

Cass barely had enough time to hand the glass back before everything started to dim then faded to black.

Syney

An hour later Syney and the wolf finally came to a small cliff that led to civilization. She nearly kissed the ground as she looked down at the back of the superstore in front of them. There wasn't much daylight left, and the woods were tricky enough with light. She looked over at the wolf and noticed, not for the first time, the blood on his fur getting worse. He was hurt somewhere; she just couldn't see it under all the fur.

She sat down and looked him in the eyes. "I could be really off base here, but I don't think I am." She paused. "Hunter?"

The wolf stared back at her for a few moments before huffing and turning his head.

Syney laughed, mostly out of disbelief. Her day just kept getting weirder. "OK, well, you're hurt, whether you'll admit it or not. And, for the past couple miles, you've been struggling. My guess with trying to...stay a wolf."

He still looked away, but his ears perked up a bit.

"I'm going to go get some first-aid stuff and...clothes. Just stay here," she said, standing back up.

The wolf bit her shirt and pulled her back down.

"OK. One, ow. And two, we haven't heard that chick for a while now. I'll be right back."

The wolf stared her down.

"I promise."

After a moment he looked away and laid down his paws in front of him.

Syney stood up and dusted off her jeans. "I'll take that as a concession."

The wolf groaned, and Syney laughed. She hadn't enjoyed someone's company this much in a long time.

Once inside the store, she wasn't quite sure her idea had been a good one. She threw peroxide and bandages into a basket while constantly looking over her shoulder. She kept thinking about one of Jess's favorite comments—"It's not paranoia if there really is someone after you."

Carrying five bags back to the edge of the woods, she made a mental note to thank her mother for always drilling in the rule to carry your emergency credit card around. She would have been completely lost with out it. She sat next to the wolf and pulled clothes out of the bag. He looked up at her for a moment before grabbing the clothes in his mouth and stalking off behind a series of bushes.

Syney sighed and pulled out a bottle of water. She hadn't realized how thirsty she was until almost the whole bottle was gone. She stopped to catch her breath and opened a box of crackers.

"You didn't happen to grab shoes, did you?"

Syney looked over, as Hunter, fully human, slowly walked toward her. He had put on the pair of sweatpants she had bought but held the T-shirt in his hands. It didn't take her long to realize why. He held his hand at his side, as blood dripped out between his fingers. She nodded and pulled out a pair of sandals. "Let me look at that first."

He shook his head. "It's fine."

"You're bleeding. Badly." She pulled out a roll of paper towels and pulled off a few before standing next to him.

He reluctantly pulled his hand away, and she applied pressure to the wound.

"Is it a bite or a scratch?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Just hurts."

"I bought some aspirin."

He scoffed and looked away.

Syney stared at his profile and felt her heart beat a little faster while her palms slowly became sweaty. She swallowed and took a deep breath. "Hold this."

He placed his hand over the paper towels on his palm while Syney pulled out a bottle of peroxide.

"This is gonna hurt," she said, as he moved his hand away. She gritted her teeth as she poured the clear liquid over the large cuts on his side. Hunter showed no emotion as the chemical fuzzed and fizzled over the wound, but Syney felt a whole lot of sympathy pain. She dabbed at whatever was left while
glancing at Hunter's turned-away face. There was something about him that was so compelling.

He continued to ignore her as she dressed his side, taping the gauze over it.

"We'll have to change this in an hour or so, I'm thinking," she said.

"Whatever," he said, throwing his shirt on. "We need to keep moving."

"OK." Syney grabbed the bags of stuff. "Which way?"

Hunter looked around. "Our best bet is to get out of sight. Maybe find a motel and lay low until the others come."

The two headed out and started along the road at the front of the shopping center.

"By 'the others,' do you mean Raine and Cass?" Syney asked.

"Maybe not Cass. She shouldn't have been with us to begin with," Hunter grumbled.

"Why?"

Hunter didn't answer; instead he picked up his pace.

Syney sighed in frustration. She had so many questions, but it didn't seem she was going to get any answers.