Page 18 of Gone Hunting

The wolf’s heart is barely beating. If he goes, Gemini will follow. “Celia,” I call over my shoulder. “We need to move fast.”

She rises from where she’s bent over the river. “I’m coming.”

Although we told her not to, she washed her claws. Water drips down the length of her blade-like fingertips, casting a sheen of silver in the dulling light. It’s then I see how shredded and banged up her feet are.

“Why aren’t you healing?” I ask when she settles between us.

Koda does a double-take when he sees Celia’s mangled feet. “Did you swallow some of that crap, too?”

Celia stares at the belly of Gemini’s twin. “No. I heal at a human’s pace.”

“You took on the skinwalker and you can’t heal?” I don’t mean to yell, but that’s exactly what I do.

Her gaze melts into mine. “I couldn’t just leave you.” She averts her chin when she catches herself. “Let’s get started. We’re wasting time. Gemini, where do you want me to cut?”

Gemini gasps. “Start from the sternum and go down in a straight line toward the groin.” It’s taking all he has to remain conscious. “Hurry. It’s trying to tear into my small intestine.”

I speak fast. “Koda, once Celia starts removing whatever is lodged in there, the wolf’s spirit will start to heal him. We’ll have to keep the sides from closing. Otherwise, Celia will have to keep slicing him open.”

“Got it,” Koda replies. He casts Celia a nervous glance when she pales.

“You can do this,” I tell her. “I know you can.” I square my shoulders, gripping the wolf’s lower limbs. “Ready?”

Celia nods.

Koda nods.

And Celia cuts.

It’s a perfect incision. The wolf barely reacts. But when Celia reaches into the wolf’s belly, it’s another story entirely.

The wolf whines in agony. Gemini grunts, his head slamming back into the embankment. “Left, go left . . . there, down . . .” He roars. “Both hands . . .You have to use both hands . . .”

Celia’s hands disappear deep beneath the flesh, her delicate features pinched.

“You have it,” Gemini chokes. “That’s it . . . . take it out . . . take it out,now.”

Celia pulls on what can only be described as a sticky gray wasp’s nest. I snag the wolf’s limbs with one hand when it’s halfway out and the skin begins to knit closed. Koda follows suit, giving Celia enough space to remove it and toss it away from us.

The clump of gray matter bursts open, releasing thousands of moths that take flight. I reach for Celia, dragging her behind me when Gemini’s wolf breaks free from us.

Celia doesn’t pay attention to the wolf, she’d too busy gaping at the moths as they disappear into the forest. “What was that?”

“Death,” Koda says. For the first time since he met her, he smiles. “The same thing you saved our friend from.”

She whips around, rushing to crouch beside Gemini. He’s breathing hard and his skin shines with sweat. But with each breath he takes, his face resumes its normal healthy color. He smiles at Celia when his twin bounces to his side, wagging his tail. “Thank you for saving us,” he whispers.

“I had help,” she says, glancing away.

Celia rises, wiping her grimy hands against the sweatpants as she walks to where Liam lays silently.

“It’s all right,” Koda assures her. “That poison he swallowed didn’t make it to his stomach. All you have to do is slit his throat and reach in . . .

The extraction went as easily as could be expected. Which is why I can’t understand why Celia seems so, what’s a good word here? Grossed out. Yeah, that works.

Sure, she had to shove her hand down the length of Liam’s esophagus (Koda was a little off on where the lump of death was), and yeah, there was all the bile Liam spewed like a fountain. But he’s fine now and there were way fewer moths than last time. Look at him, yapping away. He’s as good as new.

“Celia, I’m never going to know what it’s like to give birth,” Liam tells her, making like she’s not bent on all fours, working hard to breathe. “I don’t have the parts, you hear what I’m saying? But I gotta tell ya, when your fist came out of the hole in my neck, holding that slimy, pulsating thing in your hand, it was everything I’ve ever imagined birth to be. You should have slapped that clump and gave it a name.”

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