Page 71 of The Shadow of the Count
Maybe he just had to love Donnie more than anyone else ever had. The count didn’t love Don; he loved the ghost of a memory. That never won the day.
He’d seen that with Douglas and Charles and the mummy during their time in Egypt. Love could move mountains of sand, so why not those of rock?
He tried to force words out, tried to tell Don to remain strong. But his throat felt torn, and when he breathed in, he began to cough until blood bubbled between his lips.
“Peter! Peter, no. Peter, love.” Donnie grabbed him, shaking him hard. “Don’t you dare leave me now.”
Never. Never, I could never leave you.
He shook his head, hand to his throat. No, this was just some kind of showy magic. His arm now? That was real pain, and he grimaced.
“Sorry. Sorry, love.” Donnie laughed, the sound wild and harsh. “I forgot.”
He snorted, but he checked the sky again. So dark. Could the count blot out the sun?
“It’s a storm, men. Just a storm.” Clark’s teeth were set, the blue eyes burning with a holy light.
“Are you sure?” Jeb said.
“Yes.” Clark gave Jeb a sideways look. “I can tell by the wind. The ravens were not a natural phenomenon.”
“No kidding.” That drawl was as offensive as ever. Jeb really knew how to poke the tiger that was Clark’s temper.
“Just be ready to shoot whatever comes at us,” Clark snapped.
“I’ll split the raindrops in half, padre, mark my words.” Jeb rubbed the bridge of his nose, and Peter frowned at the dark spot on the man’s coat that seemed to be growing.
He reached out, though, and Jeb pulled away, giving him a dark look. So Peter subsided. No sense calling attention to it now. He would make sure Clark saw it. Soon.Whatever it was, it would need to be treated.
They rounded a bend in the road, and Yvgeny slammed on the brakes. The castle rose into view, not far now. And a huge gray wolf stood in the center of the road, staring at them.
Jeb raised his gun, but Clark held up a hand. “Wait. He’s not threatening. I don’t want to shoot a real animal. I mean, one that has no interest in us.”
“Fair enough.” Jeb lowered his gun as Yvgeny crept up on the wolf.
It stood its ground, but it never even lowered its head or flattened its ears in warning. Indeed, it never growled, and its eyes stayed a normal wolf color. What on earth was it doing?
Jeb frowned deeply. “Lord have mercy, what on earth is he doing? Stop the car.”
“We don’t have—” Yvgeny started, and Jeb slammed his hand on the dashboard.
“Stop the goddamn car!”
Yvgeny stopped creeping forward, and the wolf moved finally. Toward them. Pushing them, he thought. Still not threatening, but definitely expecting them to back away from him.
“What do I do?” Yvgeny asked.
“Put the car in reverse.”
Peter didn’t understand. They needed to hurry. The storm was coming, and with it the darkness.They didn’t need to be going back instead of forward.
“Do it,” Clark said. “Jeb knows what he’s talking about.”
Yvgeny began to back up, which was a little harrowing, considering the road. They moved slowly but surely, the castle moving out of sight again, and from above, there was a terrible cracking noise, and a plume of earth shot out over the road before them.
Peter’s eyes went wide as a huge boulder careened over the road and down the mountain, leaving a crater in its place.
They were not going to survive this.
