Night World : Soulmate Chapter 2

Hannah found herself on her feet. Her sentiency was fragmented and at a lower placestanding came to her inpieces because she simply couldnt take in the wholly situation at once. It was to a fault bizarre.At first she simply fantasy of a bomb. The explosion was that bald- go ab let on. thus she realized that roughlything had surveil in the move upow, that it had come flying through the glass. And that it was in the room with her now,crouching among the broken shards of move upowpane.Even past, she couldnt lay it. It was too incongruous her head t s perpetu wholey in allyer refused to recognize the shapeimmediately. Something pretty big-something dark, it offe blood-red. A proboscis wish well a dogs but set higher, with extensiveer legs. discolour eyes.And wherefore, as if the in effect(p) lens had suddenly clicked in front of her eyes, she aphorism it clearly.A wildcat well. There was a big swarthy savage in the room with her.It was a gorgeous animal, rangy and m uscular, with ebony-colored fur and a lily-white streak on its throat bid a bolt of lightning. It was work step to the foreing at her betterly, with an almost pitying expression.Escaped fromYellowstone , Hannah thought dazedly. The naturalists were reintroducing wolves to thepark, werent they? It couldnt be risky Ryan Hardens great-grandpa had bragged for years ab out killingthe survive woman chaser in Amador county when he was a boy.Anyway, she told herself, wolves dont attack people. They never attack people. A single animate being down wouldnever attack a full-grown teenager.And all the time her certain mind was thinking this, something deeper was making her move.It made her rearward up slowly, never taking her eyes off the wolf, until she felt the bookcase behind her.Theres something you need to arrest, a office in her mind was whispering to her. It wasnt like the congresswoman of different person, but it wasnt exactly like her own mental verbalise, either. It was a voice like a dark moderatewind competent and kind of bleak. Something you pr all everyplaceb on a shelf ear stayr, it say.In an impossibly lovely motion, from eight feet out, the wolf leaped.There was no time to be scared. Hannah saw a bushy, flowing black arc coming at her and hence she wasslammed into the bookcase. For a while after that, everything was simply chaos. Books andknick-knacks were falling near her. She was attempt to get her balance, nerve-racking to drudge the heaviness of afurry personate away from her. The wolf was falling back, then jumping again as she distorted sideways to get away.And the strangest thing was that she actually was getting away. Or at least evading the worst of thewolfs lunges, which seemed to be aimed at knocking her to the floor. Her ashes was move as if thiswere, somehow instinctive to her, as if she k peeled how to do this. notwithstanding I dont know this. I never fight and Ive certainly never played dodge ball with a wolf before.As she thought it, her movements slowed. She didnt feel sure and instinctive any longer. She feltconfused.And the wolf seemed to know it. Its eyes glowed eerily yellow in the light of a lamp that was lying on itsside. They were such strange eyes, to a greater extent intense and more savage than any animals shed ever seen. Shesaw it draw its legs beneath it.Move-now, the deep new part of her mind snapped.Hannah moved. The wolf hit the bookcase with incredible force, and then the bookcase itself was falling.Hannah flung herself sideways in time to avoid being crushed-but the case trim back with an unholy noisedirectly in front of the door.Trapped, the dark cool offheaded voice in Hannahs mind noted analytically. No exit anymore, shut out the window.Hannah? Hannah? It was capital of Minnesotas voice hardly international the room. The door flew open-all of four inches. Itjammed against the travel bookcase. God-whats discharge on in there? Hannah? Hannah He soundedpa nicked now, slam the door uselessly against the blockage.Dont think about him, the new part of Hannahsmind state sharply, but Hannah couldnt help it. He sounded so desperate. She opened her oral fissure toshout back to him, her concentration broken.And the wolf lunged.This time Hannah didnt move flying enough. A terrible angle smashed into her and she was falling, flying.She landed hard, her head flavour into the floorboards.It hurt.Even as she felt it, everything graynessed out. Her vision went sparkling, her mind soared away from thepain, and a strange thought flickered through her head.Im unawares now. Its over again. Oh, Isis, Goddess of Life, guide me to the other land.Hannah Hannah Whats going on in there? Pauls frantic voice came to her dimly.Hannahs vision cleared and the bizarre thoughts vanished. She wasnt soaring in sparkling vanity andshe wasnt dead. She was lying on the floor with a books sharp corner in the small of her back and awolf on her chest.Even in the midst of her terror, she felt a strange appalled fascination. She had never seen a wild animalthis close. She could see the white-tipped guard hairs standing erect on its event and neck she could seesaliva glistening on its lolling red tongue. She could smell its breath-humid and hot, vaguely dog-like butmuch wilder.And she couldnt move, she realized. The wolf was as long as she was tall, and it weighed more than shedid. Pinned underneath it, she was utterly helpless. All she could do was lie there shivering as the narrow,almost delicate muzzle got immediate and closer to her face.Her eyes closed involuntarily as she felt the dust-covered wetness of its nose on her cheek. It wasnt anaffectionate gesture. The wolf was nudging at strands of her hair that had go crossways her face. Using itsmuzzle like a hand to push the hair away.Oh, God, please make it tolerate, Hannah thought. however she was the only one who could stop this-and shedidnt know how.Now the cold nose was moving across her cheekbone. Its sniffing was loud in her ear. The wolf seemedto be smelling her, tasting her, and looking at her all at once.No. not looking at me. tone at my birthmark.It was some other one of those ridiculous, impossible thoughts-and it snapped into place like the last piece ina puzzle deep internal her. foolish as it was, Hannah felt absolutely certain it was true. And it set off thecool wind voice in her mind again.Reach out, the voice whispered, quiet and businesslike. Feel around you. The weapon has to be theresomewhere. You saw it on the bookcase. Find it.The wolf stopped its explorations, seeming satisfied. It lifted its head and laughed. genuinely laughed. It was the eeriest and most frightening thing Hannah had ever seen. The big spill the beansopened, panting, showing dentition, and the yellow eyes blazed with hot bestial triumph.Hurry, hurry.Hannahs eyes were helplessly fixed on the sharp white teeth ten inches away from her face, but her handwas creepin g out, feeling along the smooth pinefloorboards around her. Her fingers glided over books, over the feathery texture of a fern-and then oversomething square and cold and faced with glass.The wolf didnt seem to notice. Its lips were pulling back farther and farther. Not laughing anymore.Hannah could see its short front teeth and its long curving tolerateines. She could see its forehead wrinkling.And she could feel its body hover in a low and vicious growl.The sound of absolute savagery.The cool wind voice had taken over Hannahs mind completely. It was telling her what would expirenext. The wolf would sink his teeth into her throat and then shake her, lachrymation skin and slitping musclesaway. Her blood would spray like a fountain. It would sate her severed windpipe and her lungs and hermouth. She would die gasping and choking, maybe drowning before she bled out.Except. . . that she had coin in her hand. A silver picture set up.Kill it, the cool voice whispered. Youve got the right weapon. flash it dead in the eye with a corner. Drivesilver into its forefront.Hannahs workaday mind didnt even picture to figure out how a picture put in could possibly be the rightweapon. It didnt object, either. except obscure and faraway, there came another voice in her head. the likes of thecool wind voice, it wasnt hers, but it wasnt someone elses, either. It was a clear crystal voice thatseemed to discharge in jeweled colors as it spoke.You are not a killer. You dont kill. You have never killed, no matter what happened to you. You do notkill.I dont kill, Hannah thought slowly, in agreement.Then youre going to die, the cool wind voice said brutally, much louder than the crystal voice. Becausethis animal wont stop until either its dead or you are. Theres no other way to deal with these creatures.Then it happened. The wolfs mouth opened. In a lightning-fast move, it darted for her throat.Hannah didnt think. She brought the picture frame up and slammed it into the side of the wolfs head.Not into the eye. Into the ear.She felt the impact-hard metal against sensitive flesh. The wolf gave a yelping fink and staggeredsideways, shaking its head and hitting at its face with a forepaw. Its weight was off her for an instant, andan instant was all Hannah needed.Her body moved without her conscious direction, glide out from under the wolf, twisting and jumpingto her feet.She kept her grasp on the picture frame.Now. Look around The bookcase-no, you cant move it. The window Go for the window. scarce the wolf had stopped shaking its head. Even as Hannah started across the room, it off and sawher. In one flowing, bushy leap it put itself between her and the window. Then it stood looking at her,every hair on its body bristling. Its teeth were bared, its ears upright, and its eyes glared with pure hatredand menace.Its going to spring, Hannah realized.I am not a killer. I cant kill.You dont have any choice-The wolf sprang. But it never reached her. Somethin g else came soaring through the window and knocked it off course.This time, Hannahs eyes and brain identified the creature at once. Another wolf. My God, what is going on?The new animal was gray-brown, smaller than the black wolf and not as striking. Its legs were amazinglydelicate, twined with veins and sinews like a racehorses.A female, something faraway in Hannahs mind said with dreamlike certainty. both(prenominal) wolves had recovered their balance now. They were on their feet, bristling. The room smelled likea zoo.And now Im very going to die, Hannah thought. Im going to be part to pieces by two wolves. She was unruffled clutching the picture frame, but she knew there was no chance of fighting them both off at once. Theywere going to rip her to bits, quarreling over who got more of her.Her heart was pounding so hard that it agitate her body, and her ears were ringing. The female wolf wasstaring at her with eyes more chromatic than yellow, and Hannah stared back, mesmerize d, waiting for it tomake its move.The wolf held the gaze for another here and now, as if analyse Hannahs face-in special(prenominal) the left side of herface. Her cheek. Then she turned her back to Hannah and faced the black wolf.And snarled.Protecting me, Hannah thought, stunned. It was unbelievable-but she was beyond disbelief at this point.She had stepped out of her median(a) life and into a fairy tale full of almost-human wolves. The entire world had gone brainsick and all she could do was try to deal with each moment as it came.Theyre going to fight, the cool wind voice in her mind told her. As soon as theyre into it, run for thewindow.At that moment everything erupted into bedlam. The gray wolf had launched herself at the black. Theroom echoed with the sound of snarling-and of teeth clicking in concert as both wolves snapped again andagain.Hannah couldnt make out what was going on in the fight. It was moreover a blurred chaos as the wolvescircled and darted and leaped an d ducked. But it was by far the most terrifying thing she had everwitnessed. Like the worst dog fight imaginable, like the feeding frenzy of sharks. Both animals seemed tohave gone berserk.Suddenly there was a yelp of pain. tide rip welled up on the gray females flank.Shes too small, Hannah thought. Too light. She doesnt have a chance.Help her, the crystal voice whispered.It was an insane suggestion. Hannah couldnt even imagine trying to get in the midriff of that snarlingwhirlwind. But somehow she found herself moving anyway. Placing herself behind the gray wolf. It didntmatter that she didnt believe she was doing it, or that she had no intellection how to team up with a wolf infighting another wolf. She was there and she was holding her silver picture frame high.The black wolf pulled away from the fight to stare at her.And there they stood, all trinity of them panting, Hannah with fearfulness and the wolves with exertion. Theywere frozen like a tableau in the middle of the wr ecked office, all looking at each other tensely. Theblack wolf on one side, his eyes shining with single-minded menace. The gray wolf on the other, bloodmatting her coat, bits of fur floating away from her. And Hannah right behind her, holding up the pictureframe in a shaking hand.Hannahs ears were filled with the deep reverberating sound of growling.And then a deafening report that cut through the room like a knife.A zepshot.The black wolf yelped and staggered.Hannahs senses had been focused on what was going on inside the room for so long that it was a shockto realize there was anything, outside it. She was dimly aware that Pauls yells had stopped some timeago, but she hadnt stopped to consider what that meant.Now, with adrenaline washing over her, she heard his voice.Hannah Get out of the wayThe shout was tense, edged with fear and anger- and determination. It came from the opposite side of the room, from the darkness outside the window.Paul was there at the broken window with a gun. His face was pale and his hand was shaking. He wasaiming in the general direction of the wolves. If he fired again he top executive hit either of them.Get into a corner The gun bobbed nervously.Hannah heard herself say, Dont shootHer voice came out hoarse and unused-sounding. She moved to get in between the gun and the wolves.Dont shoot, she said again. Dont hit the gray one.Hit the gray one? Pauls voice rose in something like psychoneurotic laughter. I dont even know if I can hitthe groin This is the first time Ive ever shot a gun. So just-just try to get out of the wayNo Hannah moved toward him, holding out her hand. I can shoot. Just give it to me-Just move out of the way-The gun went off.For an instant Hannah couldnt see where the bullet had gone and she wondered wildly if she had beenshot. Then she saw that the black wolf was lurching backward. Blood dripped from its neck.Steel wont kill it, the wind voice hissed. Youre only making it more angry. .But the black wolf w as swinging its head to look with blazing eyes from Hannah with her picture frameto Paul with his gun, to the gray wolf with her teeth. The gray wolf snarled just then and Hannah hadnever seen an animal look closer to being smug. one(a) more shot Paul breathed. While its corneredEars flat, the black wolf turned toward the only other window in the room. It launched into a leapleap straight toward the unbroken glass. There was a shattering fragmentise as it went through. Glass fragmentsflew everywhere, tinkling.Hannah stared dizzily at the curtains swirling first outside, then inside the room, and then her headsnapped around to look at the gray wolf. atomic number 79 eyes met hers directly. It was such a human stare and definitely the look of an equal. Almostthe look of a friend.Then the gray wolf twisted and loped for the newly broken window. Two steps and a leap-she wasthrough.From somewhere outside there came a long drawn-out howl of anger and defiance. It was fading, as ifthe wo lf was moving away.Then silence. Hannah shut her eyes.Her knees literally felt as if they pauperizationed to buckle. But she made herself move to the window, glassgrating under her boots as she stared into the night.The moon was bright, one day past full. She thought she could just see a dark shape loping toward theopen prairie, but it might have been her imagination.She let out her breath and sagged against the window. The silver picture frame fell to the floor.Are you hurt? Are you okay? Paul was mount through the other window. He tripped on awaste-basket getting across the room, then he was beside her, grabbing for her shoulders, trying to lookher over.I think Im all right. She was numb, was what she was. She felt dazed and fragmented.He blinked at her. Um .. . you have some particular fondness for gray wolves or something?Hannah agitate her head. How could she ever explain?They stared at each other for a moment, and then, simultaneously, they both sank to the floor, squatting among the shards of glass, breathing hard.Pauls face was white, his red hair disheveled, hiseyes large and stunned. He ran a rickety hand over his forehead, then put the gun down and patted it. Hetwisted his neck to stare at the wreck of his office, the overturned bookcase, the disconnected books andknickknacks, the two broken windows, the glass fragments, the bullet hole, the flecks of blood, and thetufts of wolf hair that still drifted across the pine floorboards.Hannah said faintly, So who was at the door?Paul blinked twice. Nobody. Nobody was at the door. He added almost dreamily, I wonder if wolvescan ring doorbells?What?Paul turned to look straight at her.Has it ever occurred to you, he blurted, that you may not be paranoid after all? I mean, that somethingweird and uncanny really is out to get you? actually funny, Hannah whisperedI mean- Paul gestured around the room, half-laughing. He looked punch-drunk. I mean, you saidsomething was going to happen-and something did. He s topped laughing and looked at her withwondering speculation. You really did know, didnt you?Hannah glared at the man who was supposed to guide her back to sanity. Are you crazy?Paul blinked. He looked shocked and embarrassed, then he glanced away and shook his head. God, I dont know. Sorry that wasnt very professional, was it? But He stared out the window. Well, for amoment it just seemed possible that youve got some kind of secret locked up there in your brain.Something extraordinary.Hannah said nothing. She was trying to forgetabout too many things at once the new part of her that whispered strategies, the wolves with humaneyes, the silver picture frame. She had no idea what all these things added up to, and she didnt want toknow. She wanted to force them away from her and go back to the safe ordinary worldofSacajaweaHigh School .Paul cleared his throat, still looking out the window. His voice was uncertain and almost apologetic. Itcant be true, of course. Theres got to be a cere bral explanation. But-well, if it were true, it occurs to methat somebody had better unlock that secret. Before something worse happens.