Darkest, BK 2 of Lightwalkers (completed)

XIII

Jonathan

I'd managed to slip past the wolves so far today. I felt lucky. Today was it; I could feel it. The upstairs hallway was empty, and the French doors to the veranda stood unguarded. I smiled.

Yes, today was it.

The cat had stuck to me like glue yesterday, but I hadn't seen her today. Kain as well. It seemed like whatever he'd done to the wolves this morning had exhausted him. I took a deep breath. It's true that I didn't want to die, but like hell if I was going to stick around to be the key of a plot to assassinate a queen and take over a kingdom

I moved across the hall and glanced out the glass panes of the door. The balcony was as bare as it was that first night I'd stood out there. Why hadn't I thought about this before? I turned the handle. It was unlocked! The door pushed open easily, and soon I stood looking out at the lawn and the forest that lay beyond it.

There wasn't time to stand and gawk. I climbed over the railing and hung to the other side, looking down. It was only the second story, and even if I landed wrong, as a vampire I'd heal quickly. The trick was going to be keeping quiet.

I let go, and after a brief moment of air rushing past, I hit the ground. Hard. I thought belatedly to roll to the side, but I'd felt the jolt all the way up my spine.

Crouched in the bushes under the windows of the first floor, I listened hard. Had anyone heard me?

The bush to my left rustled. An orange face peaked through a few of the lower leaves. Stupid cat. She walked over to me, purring as she rubbed against me. I pushed her away.

"Go on, shoo," I whispered.

She purred louder.

Rolling my eyes, I ignored her and looked out through the leaves. I couldn't see any of the wolves. I couldn't see anyone. Escaping had started to feel like it would be impossible, but not now. Not when I broke it all up in my mind. First, I'd focused on getting out of the house; now I just had to get to the tree line. Once there, I'd think about what I would do next.

I looked around again. No one in sight. I fixed my sight on the trees and started to run. The lawn stretched out before me, looking bigger than it had from the windows. I willed myself to go faster.

A loud roar from behind was my only warning before I was forced to the ground by a solid weight. I rolled over, fighting to free myself from the wolf that flattened me. It snarled, jaws snapping as I struggled with it.

I heard yelling from the house. More were coming. If I didn't get free, they'd drag me back. I reached mentally, like Kain had done, and gripped the icy core that had given him extra power. Kain stirred as it flooded into me, the cold burning everything it touched. I screamed, forgetting everything but the pain.

Not that much! Let it go! Kain pushed his presence forward, trying to take control. I felt his panic rise when he couldn't. Let it go, or the power will...

I pushed the power away from me, and the wolf that held me down flew backwards. Two more pinned me back down in his place. I hissed at them as I pushed them away too. I turned toward the tree line again and tried to run, my body protesting every movement I made.

"Sedate him!"

Something whistled in the air behind me. I glanced back just as I felt a pinch in my shoulder. The world swirled as the ground rushed up to meet me.