Waking Up Dead (The Western Werewolf Legend #1) (4 page)

“
How much further, Abram?”
Ty halted to allow his slower companion to catch up.

Abram Clemens, the Confederate who’d
stumbled upon the horrid encampment, strained to keep up with Ty’s
accelerated pace.

Bending over, Abram grabbed both knees
with his hands. The struggle to breath prevented his answering
right away. “If we could just rest a minute, Lieutenant, I’d be
able to finish tellin’ ya what the monster said when I came upon
him. He drew in air before meeting Ty’s gaze. “They know about
Sonja. The monster said the blood of werewolf-gods allowed the
vampires to walk in the daylight. He said she carries the
blood.”

Ty peered at his companion with
narrowed eyes. How could Abram be speaking anything but the truth?
“We don’t have time to rest. If you can’t keep up, go back, and
stand guard for Sonja.”

Abram straightened. “How you gonna
find this here place without me? I’m the only one who knows where
it is.” His hands settled on his hips. “Peers to me, you need my
information more than you’re lettin’ on.” He spit and glared at Ty.
“You’re moving so fast, I can hardly keep up.” Waving a hand to
brush away Ty’s concern, Abram went on, “I’ll manage, but you need
to listen to what I got to say.” Huffing out another impatient
breath, Abram struggled to keep up with Ty as he bound off down the
dim trail once more. Stumbling yet again, Abram growled and yanked
hard at his boot. “Confounded briars.”

Abram’s comment reminded Ty of
something vague he’d managed to discard from his collection of
thoughts. The remembrance centered on these wooded glades. The
undergrowth seemed alive, not in the sense of springing forth and
multiplying as nature had intended. No, the phenomenon proved more
otherworldly. Small vines moved without provocation and followed a
person’s movements. If danger lurked nearby, tiny sounds went up as
the warning call echoed throughout the forest. Reasoning the things
he’d witnessed nothing more than an overactive imagination brought
on stress, Ty tried ignoring his apprehensions. Yet, his movements
had been hampered in a solid attack. There was no denying the fact.
The vegetation could capture an unassuming traveler by winding
their sticky little feet around the victim. He’d discovered this
all too well on his last attempt at making it through these
woods.

A frown creased his brow. If the
events of the past several weeks had taught him anything, it was
the fact that another universe suspended precariously under the
reality he’d known all his life. While the undergrowth thrived in a
sunless environment, it took on powers he’d never witnessed in
other plant life. Having grown up on a cattle ranch, the growth of
plants was a point of concern most of the time. Here it proved a
point of major concern. When the plants reached out and wrapped
their vines around a man’s leg, bringing him to his knees and
binding him in order to prevent his movement, the phenomenon became
quire.

Slowing, Ty glanced back at his
companion. “Would you pick up the pace, Abram? We’ll never make it
before nightfall at this pace.” Wiping the sweat from his temple,
he paused with a sudden change of heart. The idea of a brief rest
would do them both good. No sense in pushing his scout to
exhaustion. After all, Abram was the only person with an idea where
they were going.

Lowering himself to the moss covered
earth, Ty’s eyes cautiously tracked to a nearby Morning Glory vine.
The vine twitched in response causing Ty to roll his eyes skyward.
Only a few days before, he traveled this way in search of Sonja
after she’d become a wolf right before his eyes. Mentally checking
his truths, he corrected himself. He’d traveled in search of the
white wolf, the one that was Sonja. A gnawing feeling of dread
crept past his guard. Slapping his Stetson against his thigh, Ty’s
mind went to her gleaming blonde hair like gold in the
sunlight.

The mental picture he carried with him
eased some of his foreboding and he dropped his head a moment to
regroup. Was he letting his emotions get the better of him? This
trek through the woods could be a fool’s errand – both ladies had
said as much when he’d announced his decision to save the men he’d
lost because of the attack on the Rebels’ supply train. The fact he
was responsible for that mission weighed heavily on Ty. When the
supply wagons ended up ditched outside of Spotsylvania, speculation
went up about where all the guns had disappeared. Jeb Stewart had
been killed by one of those confederate rifles. The fact a Yankee
soldier carried the gun made their lose that much more
devastating.

“
Tell me what you know of
Jeb Stewart’s death.”

Abram dropped his head, sighing. “It’s
a powerful sorry story, sir. The bastards ambushed us at the Yellow
Schoolhouse. Our men were out manned and I would say out gunned
but...”

“
But what?” Ty urged Abram
to finish.

“
Well, it’s just peculiar
the way they all but swooped in and attacked, the Yankees I mean.
It happened so quick and without much gunfire.” He shook his head.
“I can’t recall them firing the first shot come to think of it. I
just figured they used their knives and swords. No, they didn’t
fire a shot,” he said with a look of bewilderment creasing his
brow. “All I heard was the men screaming, begging for mercy. I
heard lots of screaming before things got real still. The Yankees
was gone. Hell, I didn’t even hear a cannon go off. Before any of
us knew it, the whole mess was over and the general was dead. I
skedaddled back the way we’d came.”

Abram’s account sounded familiar to
Ty. The Yankee actions proved similar.

“
The witch found me and
took me to her place. She said I was lucky.” Abram’s shoulders
hunched. His looked like a whipped dog. “Peculiar how I didn’t feel
all that lucky. But she said I could lead the Rebels to the Yankee
vampires’ hideout.” He tugged off his cap, scratching at his skull.
Bemused, he flicked a hesitant glance at Ty. “Sure was odd how the
strangest feelin’ came over me. Felt like I knew just what she was
talkin’ ‘bout, you know?”

Ty understood exactly what Abram
meant. The sensation wasn’t new yet at one point not long before,
he’d had the same feelings assail him. The confusion he’d
experienced was something he’d never forget. If a man studied on
the perplexing aspects of the whole thing, he’d surely go mad. Ty
considered how he could best relieve Abram of the worry over
things, which didn’t make sense. While he pondered the answer, a
birdcall went up some place close to their location.

“
That ain’t no ordinary
bird, Lieutenant.” Abram peered owl eyes first left and then
right.

“
I know. Let’s get the hell
out of here. This place gives me the creeps,” Ty
growled.

Chapter 2

Belief

Soft, wet flakes of snow fell around
her. The ground underneath her was warm though. How long had she
been there? No twilight stars peeked from behind the clouds
blanketing the spring dusk.

Sonja took small uneven breaths as she
rose. The pain seared through her in waves, stealing her breath,
robbing her conscious mind of calm. Her mortal part realized she
would live while the beast in her raged at the atrocities she’d
endured. The havoc her beastly soul wrecked in the time before she
returned from her romp with the vampires was yet unknown to
her.

Gingerly, she tested the arm which
sang out in agony with a touch. She needed time, she mused, time to
heal and a safe place from further attack. Night came quickly to
this part of the forest. She’d best be getting to a safer clime.
Since her house lay in ruins, she set her hopes on the barn. The
effort to rise brought on more waves of stabbing discomfort and
nausea. Stumbling toward her home place, her ears ever alert, her
keen wolf sight taking in every twig and flutter of a new leaf,
Sonja limped toward home.

She’d taken no more than a handful of
steps when a huge shadow stepped into the path ahead. His long arms
hung well past normal, making him appear to drag his knuckles on
the ground out of habit. Talons of a blue-green intensity jutted
from his hairy fingertips and reminded her of an eagle’s
claws.

Sonja recognized the soundless
appearance of the one called Guardian. “Damn it, quit doing that!”
She’d grown more accustom to his appearing and disappearing on
whims. Still in the aftermath of a battle, she senses remained on
high alert.

“
You could have helped, you
know,” she snapped the words out before thinking. Wouldn’t do to
antagonize the first assistance she’d garnered since the battle
began, Sonja mused.

“
How would that have
benefited your training?” The Guardian’s long wolfish silhouette
gleamed with droplets of dew clinging to the course, straggly hairs
on his snout and chin. “You did well.”

A small surge of pride sparked inside
her chest. “Of course you watched.” Her short snort of laughter
ended in pain. Stopped by the sharp thrust of what seemed like a
blade piercing her side, Sonja swayed. She reached out with her
good hand to grip a nearby tree for support.

“
Your injuries are many,
Sonja.” The Guardian stood alongside her and Sonja realized he’d
used his transport powers once more. His disappearance and
reemergence used to bother her. Perhaps she was growing accustom to
his strange talents, or possibly madness was slowly taking
over.

“
I’ll be fine with some
time.” Blinking at his great presence next to her, she asked, “Can
you get me to someplace safe?” The pain shot through her side again
and she caught herself before she winced. “I seemed to have burned
down my house.”

The grin which appeared on his ugly
mug, couldn’t be described as pleasant. More of a smirk. “I’ll have
you safe in a few minutes.” With the statement, he whisked her into
his massive arms and the next place they came to was her sister’s
house.

A big strapline Cur dog rested in the
doorway to the modest but comfortable looking cottage. A trail of
flowering Jasmine peaked out from the trellises on either side of
the front porch. The steps down to the ground were steeper than
Sonja’s steps and immediate gratitude to the great one came over
her, when he deposited her on the planks of the porch rather than
make her walk up the small flight of stairs to the door.

“
I shouldn’t be here,” she
told him as he knocked on the portal for her.

“
You’ll be safer here than
in that rundown barn of yours.” Resting his great claws on her
shoulder, he reminded her, “Besides, there are few who can cross
one of Hortence’s protection spells.”

The truth of his words gave Sonja a
moment’s comfort. The old witch, the Guardian spoke of was both her
trainer and friend. Waiting on the moonlight rising over the ridge,
Sonja said, “She disappeared this morning before the fun started.
Are you two planning these disappearances or just scared of
vampires?” Her wry poke at her mentor’s behavior brought an arched
brow from the Guardian. The beast possess little of a humorous
nature.

Without giving her room to argue the
point, Guardian simply scooped her up again when the door opened to
reveal a tall, slim redhead holding a large bowl full of
flour.

“
Sonja?” The young woman’s
voice quivered for a second before the bowl thudded on a nearby
table. She took a step forward gathering Sonja in her
arms.

Guardian opened the door wider and
guided them both back inside.

“
I’m fine, sis, no need to
look so upset.” Sonja did her best to calm Briann’s concerns before
her older sister fell on her like a mother hen. “Just a few scrapes
and scratches is all,” she said trying to sound nonchalant. “I’m
sorry to barge in like this, but I seem to have no place to stay. I
burned down the house.” Her sister’s mouth dropped open and Sonja
shrugged. “Too many memories anyway. I’ll be out of your hair
tomorrow.”

With a wink at Guardian, she relaxed a
fraction as they settled her on a daybed near the fire. Her only
living relative lived a few miles from Sonja with her two boys
since the passing of her husband, Stephen. Being an empath gave
Briann more defenses against danger than most.

“
You sister should be
concerned. The woods aren’t empty of danger.” Guardian wandered
over to the small window of leaded glass and peered out. He formed
such a strange sight in the otherwise warm, homey room. Sonja
forced her eyes from him before addressing her sister and
explaining further, why he was there to begin with.

“
Had I not the power of
reading people’s minds, I would have shot you a long time ago,
Guardian. Your mind is unreadable but your actions are honorable.”
She glanced at Sonja. “This mess, which has unwittingly become my
sister’s life I wanted to blame on you.” Briann paid little
attention to the creature as his bushy brows winged up. “But I
can’t. I have to admit, if anyone or thing could protect my baby
sister, Sonja, it’s you, despite your grotesque animal appearance.”
Turning her focus on Sonja, Briann winked, “At least you’re alive
and we can deal with the cuts and wounds until…” Biting her lip,
her sister faltered over her next words, “Until the healing you do
commences.” She tried valiantly for a positive smile and managed a
trembling tight-lipped purse. The tears welled in her eyes.
Spilling in a slow trickle down her face, she gave in resting her
forehead against Sonja’s and simply sighed. “Oh, baby girl, you’ve
been getting into more and more trouble ever since this whole wolf
thing started. When will it ever end?”