Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Colletion_ Books 6-10 - Laurell K. Hamilton [474]
I knew they’d find me. That wasn’t the point. It would take them a little time to get me out of the hole. I was trying to buy time. I wasn’t even sure time for what. I needed a plan, and I didn’t have one. The munin thought that Richard might save us. That thought scared me all on its own. Richard was sort of squeamish when it came to killing. The thought that he might get himself killed trying to save me was almost worse than me getting caught. I would probably survive being raped. I wasn’t at all sure I’d survive Richard’s death. Of course, having never been raped, maybe I was jumping to conclusions. Maybe I wouldn’t survive.
I heard them moving around the log. More than one, more than two. Three, four? Shit.
Claws ripped at the rotted log, and I screamed, one of those short yips that is almost exclusively a girl sound. I heard one of them rolling around on the ground. I felt the rush of energy as he shifted into wolf form. And just like that, he was out of the running. If you lost human form before the lupa you were chasing, you couldn’t mate with her. You went furry, you lost. The rules about going Frejya had never been written for a human who had no other shape. We’d lose the lesser wolves to their beasts, this close to full moon with sex and violence in the air. We’d maybe lose half a dozen, maybe a dozen, to their beasts. Fifty wolves in Verne’s pack altogether, a dozen helped.
Something heavy hit the side of the log. I managed not to scream. At least that was an improvement. I heard the sounds of scuffling. At least two of them were fighting. But I was almost sure there was a third.
The fighting stopped, and there was a loud crack as if something brittle and wet had broken. The silence was so heavy, my heartbeat was thunderous.
The log moved. I froze as if just holding very still would save me.
The end of the log near my feet lifted into the air. The cavity that had hidden me kept me trapped as that one end raised slowly into the air. The fallen tree was at least six feet around. I didn’t know how much it weighed, but it was heavy. A tall, bearded man was lifting it. He pushed it overhead, palms flat against the wood. He smiled down at me, his teeth white against the beard.
His voice was more growl than words, “Come out, little one.”
Little one? I crept very carefully out from under the huge log. It was a crushing weight. A fine trembling ran through his body all the way to his feet. It was not effortless to hold the fallen giant up. I stayed crouched just beside his leg. He’d have to put the log down before he could touch me. His smile widened, as if not moving away from him was a good sign for him.
I shoved the knife into his belly and rolled away from him, tearing the blade along the meat of his stomach as I moved. He looked surprised as he fell to his knees and the tree fell on top of him. It pinned him to the ground, and I didn’t wait to see if he could get out from under it. There were two bodies on the ground. One man’s skull was smashed open, and thicker things than blood licked onto the ground. In the dark, everything was grey and black. The second guy might have had a pulse, but I didn’t check. I ran.
I felt the rushing of air and looked in time to see a blur of motion. A man hit me from the side in a flying tackle. I was on my back with him on top of me, one arm pinned between us. I had a second to recognize Roland, then I slashed at him with the knife. He jerked back too fast to see, and his fist was suddenly connecting with my chin.
I didn’t pass out, but my body went limp. The knife fell from my fingers, and I couldn’t stop it. Part of me was screaming silently. The other part was saying, “Oh, what pretty trees.” When I could move again, my jeans were halfway down my thighs. The only thing that kept me that much dressed was the jeans were tight and wet with blood. Wet jeans peel slowly.
“Roland, don’t do this.