Page 33 of The Vampire and the Case of the Cursed Canine

Shadow barrelled towards me and leapt up next to me. ‘Good boy,’ I praised him. ‘Clever, clever boy.’ Whatever he’d done, it had definitely injured the beast; its progress towards us was far slower than it had been before.

The fire within me was so hot it felt like I was scorching from the inside out. With a cry, I held out my hands to direct the flames, channelling them through me – and then I let go. A huge, scorching fireball launched from my hands. The blast was of such strength that for a split second I could see the huge wild cat at the centre of the inky shadows.

It looked a lot like Shadow. Oh fuck: Shadow and the beast were the same species!

Chapter 19

My fire struck true and the beast yowled. The sound was so intense that we all froze. The men couldn’t cover their ears or they’d risk dropping Sidnee, but I had no such problem. I clamped my hands over my ears, but even so my eardrums burst.

Blood dripped out through my fingers and everything went quiet. Discombobulated, I picked up Shadow. A few seconds passed and then, with a tiny snick, I could hear once again. I guessed the injury wasn’t severe enough to need blood to kick-start the healing process.

Thomas’s ears were still trickling blood, but I assumed Connor was also good as new.

The yowling quietened as the beast scrambled back up the cliff face as easily as it had come down. It was retreating; I had no idea how badly we’d hurt it but hopefully it was enough for us to escape.

Sidnee had reached the bottom. Connor made Thomas wrap the rope around himself and we lowered him down next. Once he was safe, Connor pulled up the rope. ‘You go next. I’ll lower you down.’

I shook my head. ‘I can go down on my own. I’ll lower you.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous. I’m a full vampire and we don’t know what you are. If I fall, I’ll heal. If you fall, you could die.’

‘I’ll be fine after I drink some blood.’

‘Are you going to drink from Thomas or Sidnee?’

I blinked. ‘I brought some with me.’

‘And you brought at least two bags? Because when you were shot, you drank more than one.’

That stopped me. He knew I didn’t have two, and no way could I drink from my friends. ‘Fine, dammit.’ I took the rope and grudgingly tied it around my waist. My rucksack was full of the plant so I couldn’t tuck Shadow in there; however, he jumped out of my arms and started down the cliff face like he was a mountain goat.

I grasped the rope and walked backwards off the cliff, trying to help Connor bear the weight of me by finding hand and footholds. It felt like it took forever to get to the bottom.

Thomas was holding Sidnee, who was visibly pale and shaking. She was scared, and who could blame her, but I was weirdly all out of fear. I guess there comes a time when fear isn’t of use so your body gets rid of it.

It was unbelievable: I’d seen the beast, and it was the hugest big cat I’d ever seen. Its malevolent red eyes were unlike Shadow’s golden ones but I knew there was some sort of connection between them. My kitten was curling around Sidnee’s ankles, purring loudly and trying to reassure her; he was as far from evil as you could get.

I could only spare a cursory glance for my companions because my heart was in my throat as I watched Connor descend. He coiled the rope over his shoulder and free climbed down. Even though I’d seen every inch of the rock surface on my way down, I had no idea what he was clinging on to. When he was about ten feet from the ground, he leapt free and landed gracefully.

An explosive breath burst out of me and I fell into his arms. ‘That was terrifying. Never do that again. Thank God you’re safe.’

He chuckled into my neck. ‘That was fun. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy climbing.’

‘Let’s move,’ Thomas said, still with one arm around Sidnee. He was right: we weren’t out of the woods yet, literally or figuratively.

Thomas consulted his phone’s map. I had no idea which way to go and that was disconcerting. With my eidetic memory I’d never had much opportunity to be lost before, but after running blindly and going over a cliff I honestly didn’t know where I was.

Thomas chose a direction and we followed. Sidnee stayed close to him and he kept a careful eye on her, though he relinquished his hold so he could navigate. He set a bruising pace, wanting to get off the mountain and back within the safety of the barrier as much as I did. He only paused once to hack some devil’s club to add to our plant collection.

Soon we were on our way down the trail and onto the road. Thank all that was holy; there was no sign of the beast or the nantinaq.

I crouched down to speak to Shadow. ‘Is it your mum or dad? Because if you want to stay with it…?’ Shadow climbed onto my lap. Okay, then.

Last time I’d gone through the barrier it had been damaged and it had refused us entry, so I was a little nervous. Holding my kitten, I muttered the spell, and this time it worked like a charm. Once I made it to the safe side, I almost collapsed in relief.

I smirked a little when I noticed that Thomas was holding Sidnee’s hand as they came through. Connor and I turned away so they wouldn’t see we’d noticed. If this was the beginning of something between them, I didn’t want to interfere. Dangerous as Thomas was, he was steady and true – unlike Sidnee’s last boyfriend. Thomas was at least fifteen years older than Sidnee – but who was I to talk? I had no idea how old Connor was, but he was definitely much older than me. I was currently queen of the age-gap romance.

Now that we were safe, Sidnee gave me a radiant smile. ‘I’ll ride with Thomas,’ she said. ‘Give you two some space.’

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