The Rift (28 page)

“A field around the house will make sure none
of Wraith’s wolves escape to attack us another day,” Henry said. “I
can’t fight with my arm in a sling, but I can shoot. You got any
guns in this car, Wraith?”

“In the back,” Wraith said. “Under the floor.
The wolf who wore this body before me liked to hunt with weapons as
well as claws. I’m told that’s unusual.”

Henry shrugged. “I don’t know about that, but
it suits our purposes. Whose side are you on, here, Wraith?”

“The wolves are no longer under my
leadership, and the west coast pack is more likely to leave me
alone if I fight with you,” Wraith said. “I’ll fight as a wolf and
so will Jeremiah. Just don’t kill any of my wolves, I’ve got folks
who want their bodies.” I looked out the window and noticed we were
surrounded by reapers, probably Wraith’s friends waiting to reap a
wolf. I glanced at Henry and he shook his head. Now wasn’t the time
to argue with Wraith, and I wasn’t sure it mattered. If a wolf
tried to kill me, I wasn’t going to risk my life to keep him or her
alive for Wraith, I wasn’t skilled enough for that.

“I don’t think—” Jeremiah started, but he
stopped at a look from Wraith. It was good to know that Wraith was
truly his alpha. “Right. I’ll fight as a wolf.”

“I can shoot,” I said. “If you’ve got a
handgun. That’s what I’m best on.”

Wraith nodded. “There’s a nice one back
there. Let’s move fast. Our greatest asset will be surprise.”

Gravel crunched under my feet as I followed
Henry out of the SUV and to the back gate. He found the guns and
handed me one he knew I’d used before. Wraith shifted while we
picked out weapons, but Jeremiah struggled, his face twisted in
pain. He didn’t make a sound or argue with Wraith, which surprised
me. Caleb had never been the type to suffer in silence. Maybe he’d
changed. Or, I’d never really known him at all. Angelica stood next
to the SUV and watched Jeremiah, her face blank of emotion. I
wondered if it hurt her, knowing how recently Bruce’s soul had
occupied that body and how she’d loved it when it had been his.

Wraith growled at Jeremiah, jerked his snout
toward the house, and started walking. We followed, stepping on the
gravel as quietly as we could. A wolf snuck its snout out the door,
and Wraith leapt forward onto it. I had no idea if the wolf was one
of his or one of ours, and my stomach dropped with fear. There was
no guarantee that Wraith would fight on our side.

“How do we know who to shoot?” I asked Henry,
my voice a hiss.

“If they attack Jed, Thad, or the doc, we
shoot,” he said. “That’s all we can do.”

I stepped to the left side of the door, and
Henry took up position at the right. I peeked in and saw absolute
chaos. Bits of fluff from the decimated couch flew and swirled in
the air, along with bits of fur. The walls, floor, and furniture
were covered in red. It looked too bright to be blood, and I hoped
it was tomato sauce. Bodies, both furry and furless, twisted and
writhed, filling the room. I looked for anyone I recognized and saw
Jed, his back against a wall, facing off with a growling wolf. I
raised my gun, but a bookcase, moved by Jed’s telekinesis dropped
onto the wolf before I could take the shot.

Thad was flat on his back on the stairs, a
wolf on top of him. The wolf was snarling and trying to get to
Thad’s neck, but Thad had the wolf’s jaws in his hands and was
holding him off. I stepped inside, raised my pistol, aimed, and
fired, as Henry aimed at something in another part of the room.

My first shot hit the wolf in the shoulder,
but he, or she, barely noticed it. I fired again and got a clean
head shot that made the wolf go limp. Thad shoved the corpse off
and looked around, confused. When he saw me with the gun, he
grinned and waved. I scanned the room again, but the fight actually
seemed to be slowing down. There were bodies on the floor, and I
didn’t see the doc anywhere. I was looking for someone else to
shoot when I heard my name. I spun in the direction of the sound
and saw a wolf charging me, its jaws open wide to reveal a mouthful
of sharp teeth. I braced for impact and squenched my eyes closed,
but the hit never came. I heard a snarl and a growl and watched as
another wolf tussled with the one that had leapt at me. I shook off
my fear and scanned the room again.

Before I could get too far, another wolf was
on me, and that one made contact. It knocked me to the ground so
hard all my breath left my lungs, and pain erupted in my back. When
it dove to bite me, I twisted so that its teeth snapped the air. My
gun clattered to the floor and, when the wolf lifted its head
again, I grabbed it by the jaws and pushed back with everything I
had. I drew on whatever life energy I could and used it. Energy
flooded me and I pushed and twisted until I heard a snap, and the
wolf went limp. I pushed the wolf off and leapt to my feet, still
riding the high of extra life energy. I scanned the room, looking
for something to do with that power.

I saw Jed on the floor, his eyes closed like
he was sleeping peacefully, except for the wolf gnawing on his
neck. Without breathing, I raised my pistol, aimed and fired. It
took me three shots, but the wolf finally dropped on top of Jed and
was still. I ran to him without a look around to see if any more
wolves were coming for me. When I got to him, I dropped to my knees
and shoved the wolf. I had to push with everything I had to get it
off Jed. When I did, I saw the blood and the gaping hole in Jed’s
neck. I looked around, but I didn’t see any sign of his ghost, so I
took off my t-shirt, bundled it up and pressed it into the wound.
It was red with blood in seconds, and his face was white and still.
He was dying, and there was nothing I could do.

I looked around for the doc, but I didn’t see
her. There were wolves all around me, still fighting. One lunged
toward me, but there was a bang and it hit the floor. “Focus on
Jed,” Henry shouted. “I’ll cover you.”

I nodded and went back to Jed, but I knew
there was nothing I could do. “Get Angelica in here,” I yelled.

Henry nodded and disappeared for a moment. It
seemed like an hour, but was probably no more than a minute before
Angelica was next to me. “Do you know any healing spells?” I asked
her.

“Yes,” she said. “But I’m afraid he’s too far
gone. I won’t have enough energy to save him.”

“Please, try,” I said. She looked at me with
pity and I wanted to slap her. “What kind of energy do you need?
Maybe I could give it to you?”

“I need life energy, but it can’t be
transferred between living people like it can between reapers.”

“I can try, Angelica. Please. We have to
try.”

She pursed her lips and looked toward the
door. Then she nodded. “I’ll do what I can, but try to put your
life energy directly into Jed, not into me. If it’s going to work
at all, it will work that way.”

I was already starting to feel the life
energy I pulled on to fight the wolf leave my body, but I dug deep
and brought everything I had to the surface. I placed my hands on
Jed’s chest and I pushed it all into him, while Angelica chanted
next to me. I heard growls and snarls, and smelled the iron tang of
blood, but I kept my eyes on Jed’s face. He didn’t move. I wished
for something from him, a wince or a grimace, anything to show me
he was going to be okay. I heard a voice, a little girl’s voice
yelling at me, and I knew it was Alice. She’d shown up, like she
always did, in response to the danger around me. She yelled at me
to stop, but I ignored her. I kept staring at Jed’s face, pushing
everything out of me. When my vision left me in darkness, I ignored
my racing heart and kept on pushing energy into him. I concentrated
on his cold chest beneath my hands until I couldn’t feel anything
anymore. I listened for the sound of his voice until I couldn’t
hear anything anymore.

I woke to pain. My head felt like someone was
trying to pull it in two and lights danced behind my lids like I
had my own personal fireworks show going on in my brain. I sat up
straight in bed, sure I was going to throw up, and my world
exploded. I thought I was in pain before, but that was nothing. A
trashcan was suddenly under my face, and I leaned over and vomited.
Not much came out, and I dry heaved for another minute before my
stomach calmed. I tried to look for Jed, but everything was blurry.
I fell back onto the bed out of energy. I tried to speak, but I
couldn’t make my mouth move. I kept trying until someone told me to
hush, everything was okay, and I chose to believe them, having no
other option. I relaxed and let oblivion reclaim me. It was so much
better than the pain.

The next time I woke, my head still hurt and
I didn’t dare try to move, but the pain seemed manageable. I opened
my eyes, one at a time, and tried to see where I was. I didn’t hear
any growls or snarls, so I figured the fight was over. I was in a
bed and there was a warm body next to me. I twisted just enough to
see, my head begging me to stop moving, and there was Jed, his head
propped up on one hand, his beautiful face smiling down at me. “How
do you feel?” he asked.

“You’re alive.” His smile faltered for just a
moment and my pulse raced, making my head hurt worse and my stomach
protest. “You are alive, right?”

He forced a smiled. “Yes, I’m alive. How do
you feel?”

“Like my head might fall off if I move.”

“Go back to sleep,” he said, his voice
gentle. He didn’t touch me, for which I was grateful. I hurt too
much to be touched. I closed my eyes and went back to sleep.

When I woke again, I felt almost human. I
turned my head to look for Jed and found him, still next to me, his
eyes just opening to meet my gaze. He smiled, and my heart nearly
burst. I’d saved him and we were finally together. My stomach
growled, ruining the moment and Jed laughed. He kissed me on the
forehead and leapt from the bed. “I’ll be right back with
food.”

He was back moments later, but without food.
“Henry is going to cook you breakfast. I didn’t want to leave you
alone.”

He lay back down on the bed next to me. “Will
it hurt you if I touch you?”

“I don’t think so.”

He slid an arm under my neck and pulled me
against him. I rested my head on his chest, and he let his breath
out in a long sigh. “I thought I was going to lose you,
Kelsey.”

“You’re the one who almost died.”

“You
did
die. You shouldn’t have done
what you did. If Angelica hadn’t been there…”

“I died?”

“I wasn’t there for it, but Angelica said you
were technically dead for a full minute. Tucker fed your spirit and
sent you back into your body, with Angelica’s help, but you still
only just made it.”

I knew I should feel terrible or scared about
dying, but it felt like heaven to be wrapped up in Jed’s arms, and
he smelled so good, like soap and deodorant and himself. I snuggled
in against him, and he squeezed me tighter. “How long have I been
out?”

“A week.”

“A week? Is everyone okay? Did Wraith’s
wolves hurt anyone else? What about the new reapers in town?”

Jed smiled down at me so, so sweetly and I
forgot all of my questions. “We can talk about all of that when
you’re feeling better. But first…” He leaned over and kissed me
with a sort of need and desperation I hadn’t felt from him before.
I kissed him back and forgot who or where I was for a few very
long, intense moment. It would be so easy to get addicted to his
touch, and his kisses. He pulled away and I tried to follow him,
but my whole body hurt too much. He touched my face and looked at
me with such awe that my chest hurt. “I really thought you weren’t
going to make it.”

“And I really thought you weren’t going to
make it,” I said. “If my attempt at healing you didn’t work, how
are you here?”

He put his fingers on my lips and shook his
head. “Not now. For as long as we can get away with, let’s just be
glad we’re alive and together and worry about all the rest when we
have to.”

Something in my chest twisted, and the room
spun. “That sounded like goodbye. Are you saying goodbye?”

“Never. Never goodbye, Kelsey. Never again.
Not unless you want it.”

“Never,” I said, and I meant it. The one
thing I knew with my whole heart and mind was that I wanted to be
with him. I turned on my side, pressed my back against his chest,
pulled his arms tight around me, and closed my eyes. I was still so
tired and, as much as I didn’t want to, I knew I needed to
sleep.

I lay there and tried not to feel his body
against mine, tried not to breathe in the scent of him, tried not
to imagine him kissing me again and sliding his hands under my
shirt. He lay perfectly still, almost too still, like he was
concentrating really hard. I tried to wiggle away a little bit to
put some space between us, but his arms around me were like
granite, and I couldn’t budge them. “Um, Jed, I don’t think this is
going to work.”

He released me so quickly I fell over onto my
face and struggled for a moment to turn over, until his strong
hands were on me, lifting me and putting me on my back. My muscles
all felt so weak and sore, but at least my head had stopped
hurting.

There was a knock at the door, and Jed leapt
up and opened it. Thad walked in with a tray of food and a sort of
funny smile on his face. I pushed myself up to a sitting position
as Jed arranged pillows behind my back and Thad placed the tray on
my lap. “Are you okay, Thad?” I asked, worried that he’d hit his
head really hard or something.

“Never better,” he said. His gaze focused on
me and his smile faded. “How are you feeling, Kelsey?”

“Starving.” I reached for the fork on the
tray and scooped up a huge bite of scrambled eggs.

Thad took the fork and dumped the eggs back
on the plate. “Careful, you haven’t eaten all week. Take small
bites and wait between them.”