Page 15 of Shadow Caster
We turned back to the trail we’d stumbled on and had barely gone five meters when the smell of copper hit my nostrils.
Animal blood.
“Whoa, that’s strong,” Thomas said, bringing a hand up to cover his nose.
Yeah, he’d probably never fed off anything but human blood, never had to scavenge to survive. I wondered how he’d take to rat blood. Bile climbed up my throat. Never again.
Howls filled the air.
Harmon growled low before falling into a crouch, knuckles grazing the ground.
Oberon cursed softly under his breath.
Animal blood meant there was a predator about.
Looked like we were about to face our first challenge.
Five
“Those are moonkissed howls,” Harmon said. “I can smell them, but they smell … off.”
“Of course they do,” Thomas said. “This is a test, so they’re probably rogue. Shit, they’ve probably been feeding off humans.” His eyes widened in horror.
“Delirium pack?” Minnie said, mouth set in a grim line. “We need to get out of here. We can skirt around them, and—
“Help! Please, help!”
The new scent hit me, and my mouth filled with saliva. “Human. Male. He’s hurt … bleeding.”
“Definitely delirium,” Harmon said, his expression somber.
I took several steps in the direction of the cry for help before pulling up short. What was I doing? This wasn’t real.
“The task was to get from A to B,” Harmon said. “We need to stick to the task.”
“A to B,” Thomas agreed. “This is a distraction we don’t need.”
“You really think that’s all there is to it?” Oberon said. “We’re training for the Watch here. And there’s ahumanin distress.”
I folded my arms under my breasts. “He’s probably dead now that you guys spent so long discussing what to do.”
“I say we help him,” Minnie said. “It’s what we’re meant to do. It’s what Nightwatch is all about.”
No, Nightwatch was about saving our own asses. Saving humans simply contributed to this goal by maintaining the universal glamour that prevented them from seeing our true natures intact and keeping our existence a secret. But heck, what was the point in arguing.
“Indie? You with me?” Minnie asked.
Always. “Whatever. Let’s stop gabbing and do something.”
“Please! Help!”
I turned and headed toward the sound, and Minnie followed. The others would just have to catch up.
Branches lashed at my face, and leaves kissed my cheeks as adrenaline coursed through my limbs. We dove deeper into the forest, the smell of earth and blood mingling to make a heady concoction.
A bloodcurdling scream tore the night, and I broke into a run.
“Wait!” Thomas called from behind us. “We need to talk about this. What do we know about delirium? How do we subdue these moonkissed?”
