Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Misery watched with rapt attention as another symbol appeared on the medallion. This was the third one and Cyrus was simply having a bit of fun with the spider. The red light of the runic writing illuminated his face and Misery’s expression became ecstatic when she finally saw his dark soul.

The light made him look extremely pale, white-blue skin tone accented by protruding cheekbones. It could have been a trick of the light but his mouth was stretched into an insidious smile with yellowed teeth and deep black pits for eyes that let her see directly into the lower pits of the underworld.

When the light faded, the little boy he actually was reappeared. He was stretched out on the concrete on his belly with his arms crossed and his chin resting on the backs of his hands. His feet were waving back and forth in the air and he was humming a nonsense tune that appealed to Misery’s own darkness.

Cyrus stopped waving his feet and jerked his head back to look up at the sky just as rain started to fall down on them in heavy sheets.

“He is angry,” Cyrus whispered.

“Who?” Misery asked with a deep frown, frustrated she could no longer watch the fake innocence Cyrus had produced.

“Kane,” Cyrus said. “He’s felt the pain and come to play with me… but my new toy isn’t ready yet.”

Thunder boomed loudly above them and Misery looked up at the sky then back down at Cyrus. He was on his feet and sheltering the medallion against the rain, preventing the blood inside the spider from being diluted.

With a final look at Misery, Cyrus turned and ran down the alley as fast as he could. Misery watched with a pleased expression as Cyrus easily leapt over the eight foot high wall at the end of the alley and vanished from sight.

For a fleeting moment, Misery felt the most delicious pain she’d ever experienced before lifting her head toward the rain. A bright flash of lightening and another loud boom of thunder signaled Kane’s arrival. Misery took in his expression and saw that his pain made him even more appealing to her. He would shed his blood for her soon enough… the pain was only foreplay.

Kane felt his sanity slipping and the supernatural migraine he was sporting wasn’t helping matters at all. Blood red tears were streaming down his face as he looked at Misery. The physical pain he was feeling in his head didn’t compare with the pain in his heart… but he had let her go and he was losing it quick.

“Kane,” Misery said over the pattering rain, “So good of you to come.”

Kane's laugh bordered on hysteria before he silenced himself and pulled up the sleeve of his jacket. He sank his fangs into his wrist and pulled it away to let the blood flow. Holding out the bleeding wound beside him, he glared murderously at Misery.

“You want to combine our power, bitch? Come and see if you’re strong enough to take it from me.”

Misery’s smile widened and she looked at his blood pooling on the ground. In the blink of an eye she was there, reaching out for his bleeding wrist only to stop when his other hand wrapped tightly around her throat.

“Now Kane,” Misery said condescendingly in her childlike voice. “Is this any way to treat your partner?”

The ground beneath them began to tremble and Kane jerked his gaze down to see Misery standing in the blood he had just spilled. Car alarms started going off and dogs for miles around were barking at the trembling earth. Kane paid this no mind. Focusing on her shadow, he could see her pouring her power into it from where she stood. A long crack ripped in the concrete between them and slowly pushed itself open.

Kane threw Misery away from him and backed up a few steps then cursed himself when he realized he could have just now thrown them both in. The ground continued its shaking beneath them and Kane glared at her wishing he could kill her and be done with it all.

Misery moved toward the rift and lifted her hands over it to call forth more demons from the other side. She felt the oppressive heat coming through it and closed her eyes in ecstasy.

Kane started toward her seeing his second chance of ridding this world of both of them but before he could reach her, a scream abruptly tore itself from her lips when various objects came out of nowhere and pierced her in several places. Kane growled when he saw the silver feathers embedded in her skin.

Black smoke flowed from the wounds and he knew time was running out. If he couldn’t have Tabatha, then he would leave this world and by god, Misery was coming with him.

Kane ran straight at her with all intentions of flinging the both of them into the rift. More feathers rained down from above, driving into the concrete and forcing Kane to stop when Misery’s flesh dispersed.

Misery screamed again and her body faded into a black mist that quickly raced out of the alley and into the dark night.

Kane growled when she vanished and cursed another missed opportunity due to ‘heavenly’ intervention. Throwing his head back he searched the nearby rooftops for any sign of his prey and found him on the top of a building across the street.

His sanity snapped and he raced out of the alley toward the building. Without stopping Kane continued his pursuit, his feet taking him up the side of the building and defying gravity. Dean watched him with wide, curious eyes having never seen a vampire do this particular trick before. He wasn’t completely prepared for the intensity of Kane’s body slamming into his.

The two of them landed hard on the roof, tumbling across it before coming to a stop at the opposite edge with Dean’s head dangling over open air.

“What the hell Kane! Get a hold of yourself!” Dean yelled as they struggled and saw the crazed look in Kane’s eyes.

“I could have rid this world of her!” Kane yelled and punched Dean in the face. “Everyone would have been safe but no, you just had to try and save me. What gives you that right?”

Dean reached a hand up to stop Kane’s fist from hitting him again and rolled until Kane was beneath him. His eyes widened again when he saw Kane’s soul. Someone or something had marked him… he could see the demonic poison winding its way through Kane’s soul, attempting to control it. Dean knew this wasn’t Kane’s fault and now tried to turn the tables so as not to hurt the blonde vampire.

His nostrils flared when he caught the whiff of familiar perfume along with the unmistakable pheromone scent of Tabatha on him. She had been aroused in Kane’s presence… and within the last hour. His eyes flew to Kane’s. The vampire had claimed her body but not her soul. Why? What had stopped him?

“Stop talking and acting crazy!” Dean shouted as he caught the fist coming at him in his palm and shoved it back. “You’re going to wind up dead if you don’t.”

“What does it matter?” Kane raged and rolled them back over so he was on top and straddling Dean’s legs. “I’m already dead!” he hissed leaning down to bare his fangs in Dean’s face.

Kriss appeared on the rooftop behind Kane and stood there stunned. The two seemed to be locked in more a battle of wills than anything physical. He could feel Kane’s sanity still below the surface and knew something had to be done before Kane somehow killed Dean.

“Stop this Kane!” Kriss shouted as he surged forward, wrapping his arm around Kane’s neck and dragging him off the other fallen. “Dean is your friend.”

Kane rammed his elbow into Kriss' stomach causing Kriss to double over. Kane then took hold of Kriss' neck and flipped him hard onto his back. Kriss felt pressure on his neck and grabbed Kane by the shin when Kane pressed the bottom of his boot into Kriss' Adam’s apple.

“Stay out of this!” Kane growled. “Take your little boyfriend and leave me the hell alone!”

Kane removed his foot and started walking away from them across the rooftop. Kriss got up and almost called out to him when he caught the scent of Tabatha resonating from Kane’s clothing. Kriss knew everything about Tabatha… what she wore… the kind of perfume she used… even her scent at different emotional highs was imbedded into his brain.

Dean had pushed himself back up to his feet and his chest constricted when he saw the dangerous glint in Kriss' soft brown eyes. Kriss had caught the scent of Tabatha’s mating on the vampire and was ready to kill.

Kriss leapt at the other blonde, knocking him to the ground and another fight began. He slammed Kane into the floor of the roof creating a body-sized crater in it. Kane lifted his leg and kicked Kriss in the face, knocking the fallen away from him and gracefully flipped to his feet. He ran at the fallen, ready to deal a killing blow when Dean moved.

Kane felt Dean wrap him in a full Nelson maneuver trying to subdue him and snarled in anger. Kriss was up by this time and coming at him, thinking Dean was holding Kane still for him to get in a good shot. Much to his surprise, Dean turned them around at the last second, taking the brunt of the hit meant for Kane.

“Dean!” Kriss cried out in shock and gasped when something grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and flung him away from the roof.

Dean looked over his shoulder just in time to see Kriss get tossed away like a kite that had caught a powerful updraft. His hold on Kane went slack just in time to feel a jerk at his neck and he too was tumbling through the air before slamming into another building with so much force it actually knocked the breath from his lungs.

Syn looked dispassionately at the building he’d tossed the two fallen into before glancing down at his wayward son.

Kane pushed himself up to his knees and gasped when a hand grabbed his forehead. He raised his eyes to Syn and with an anguished expression, took hold of Syn’s wrist, keeping him there… momentarily thankful for the sanity his father was providing him.

Everything abruptly went quiet and the storm that was still raging around them dissipated, leaving behind a calm peace. The earth below them trembled again as the rift Misery had left behind violently closed, trapping whatever demons had been coming through in eternal limbo.

Syn delved into Kane’s mind, seeing what his son had planned to do. He watched the memory of Kane interact with his soul mate… come close to marking her, only to leave her behind. Kane had planned to let the demon Misery open a rift between dimensions, intending to fling the both of them into it. Syn released Kane’s head and looked away, his long black hair whipping wildly in the strong wind that had suddenly appeared.

“You’re supposed to bite your soul mate, not leave her.” Syn’s voice was heavily accented and definitely pissed as he turned to show Kane his profile.

“How very Dracula-ish,” Kane sighed in relief now that the pain that had been plaguing his mind was gone. “By the way Dad… did you know Mom is running around the city trying to kill demons?”

“Like mother like son it would seem,” Syn noted and raised a dark eyebrow.

Pushing himself to his feet, Kane noticed several silver feathers scattered around him and picked one up in confusion. “You didn’t happen to eat any man-sized birds did you?” he glanced up at Syn who only gave a frightening smile.

“Bloody hell,” Kane said running his hand through his hair as he glanced around the roof in concern.

Syn's eyes narrowed as he smelled demonic magic. He reached for Kane again, “Here is a parting gift for your new… friend.” Kane felt Syn’s fingers touch the center of his forehead making him jerk. “They should know better than to mess with what’s mine,” Syn whispered before vanishing.

*****

Cyrus yelped and dropped the medallion on the ground, backing away from it in fright. Misery watched him curiously and knelt down to pick it up herself when a searing heat made the palm of her hand start sizzling. She abruptly dropped it and took a step back as the spider began to writhe and the blood in its abdomen boiled angrily.

Her eyes widened when the symbols Cyrus had worked on began to vanish and rage coursed through her.

“No!” Cyrus cried out and dove for the medallion. The young demon grit his teeth when he took it up in his hand and tried to block the power that was erasing everything he’d done up to this point.

“My toy,” he whimpered as the last symbol vanished and he looked up at Misery. “He broke my new toy.”

“Fix it!” Misery hissed and turned her back on the crying demon child.

Cyrus sniffled and wiped his nose on his arm while looking down at the silver trinket. His eyes widened and he laughed happily when he realized there was still enough blood in the spider to rewrite the symbols. This time he would do them better and Misery would be proud of him… he would still be able to play.

*****

Dean and Kriss had lain on the ground for a few minutes before Dean got to his feet. He stretched the muscles in his shoulders and rolled his neck to get the tightness out of it. Kriss was glaring up at the rooftop with murder in his eyes. Dean saw the heavy breaths Kriss was taking and his jaw dropped when Kriss reached for his chest. A small hole appeared beneath Kriss' hand and he withdrew a long, glowing dagger from the place his heart was.

“No Kriss,” Dean insisted taking hold of Kriss' wrist. “Leave him… it’s over now.”

“Like hell!” Kriss rumbled. “Tabatha’s scent was all over him… I know you picked up on it.”

“Because they were meant to be,” Dean said in a low and dangerous voice. “You would deny her that happiness? Are you really that selfish?”

“You’ve never liked Tabatha, so what the hell do you care?” Kriss yelled. “Besides, with the mood Kane was in, I doubt Tabatha was left very happy!”

Dean punched Kriss, sending him into the side of the building. “You are ignoring the fact that the scent you smelled was her arousal. She wants Kane… not you!” he roared.

“Oh you like rubbing that in, don’t you?” Kriss demanded, “You, the one that loves no one. You’ve forgotten what it means!”

Dean’s expression became murderous and he slammed into Kriss, causing large cracks to appear in the wall behind them. “No, I remember what loving someone to DEATH means… that’s why I don’t do it anymore.”

“You admit it,” Kriss growled as he curled his fist at his side. Knowing he’d been right about Dean didn’t make him feel better… it only angered him more. He pushed Dean away from him into the opposite wall and rose up the side of the building intent on reaching Kane. Dean always had premonitions and Kriss hadn't understood until he’d had one of his own. Kane was going to be the death of Tabatha if he wasn’t stopped.

Dean shook his head and glared up at Kriss, then quickly went after him, catching Kriss around the waist and sending the two of them tumbling through open air. Kriss lifted the dagger and brought it down but Dean stopped him, taking hold of Kriss' wrist in a punishing grip. Dean was surprised that Kriss had pulled his dagger… he hadn’t done so in over a millennium… there’d been no reason to. Dean needed to take Kriss' anger and point it in another direction.

“I keep away from her but it’s not enough for you is it?” Kriss demanded while driving a knee into Dean’s stomach. “I can’t even protect her from him.”

Dean caught Kriss' other wrist and turned him around with his arms crossed over his chest and Dean pressing against his back. Kriss gasped silently at the contact and squirmed in an effort to make Dean release him.

“It will never be enough you spoiled little child,” Dean hissed against Kriss' ear as he lifted them both higher into the air keeping a tight hold on his prisoner. “As selfish as you are, you’ve forgotten… I’m just as selfish.”

Within minutes, Kriss crashed through the window of his penthouse bedroom and landed hard on the bed, moving the piece of furniture across the room to slam into the wall. Dean was right there on top of him and Kriss struggled against Dean’s strength, fought against the bindings that once again appeared, glowing as they were wrapped tightly around his wrists.

“What the hell are you doing?” Kriss growled. The first time, he had agreed to the restraining… but not this time. He couldn’t help the feeling of helplessness that gathered in the pit of his stomach… the feeling of domination that had always made him want Dean.

“I’m going to teach you a lesson in love.” Dean sat back up still straddling Kriss. His smile was almost angry as he studied the restraints, testing them before lowering his gaze back to Kriss'. When Kriss bucked and tried to kick him off, Dean raised a hand toward the foot of the bed. New restraints appeared wrapping around Kriss' ankles and pulled tight, leaving him spread eagle on the bed.

“What lesson,” Kriss thundered while trying to catch his breath, “That you’re into bondage?”

Dean stared down at him, his gaze heated as he grabbed the collar of Kriss' shirt and ripped it open, exposing the younger Fallen’s bare chest. He leaned forward and found himself taking pride in the soft pink hue that appeared on Kriss' cheeks.

“If that’s where you want to start,” he whispered in the shell of Kriss' ear before tracing his lips, tongue, and hot breath down the arc of his neck.

Dean felt Kriss harden under him and ran his hands over Kriss' soft skin. Rising back up, he could see the passion-glazed look in Kriss' eyes and the way heat rose into his cheeks, turning them a deeper shade of red. That look made Kriss seem so much younger than he really was.

“Lesson one… I’m not the only one who likes bondage.” To emphasize his point, the bonds around Kriss' wrists were drawn tighter, but not enough to hurt. The action made Kriss' back arch slightly and a soft whimper accompanied his harsh breathing.

“And lesson two?” Kriss asked breathlessly.

Dean moved until he was straddling one of Kriss' thighs and then ground his erection down on Kriss' making the denim of their jeans rub together deliciously. “It’s not Tabatha that you have a hard on for… it’s me. And it’s not you that she made love to only a couple hours ago… it was Kane.”

Kriss tried to buck him off again but Dean just reached down and grazed the tips of his fingers over Kriss' erection. Kriss couldn’t contain the gasp and jerked his hips, trying to push closer and pull away at the same time. “Kane can offer Tabatha immortality as a lover. You can only offer her a horrible death.”

“I know that.” Kriss said angrily. “I don’t want to be her lover anymore. I only want to protect her as a best friend.” He felt his anger start to fade when Dean’s hands began caressing his chest barely brushing them across his nipples.

“In a fight to the death between you and Kane… you would lose. I can’t let you fight him. He can protect her better than we can.” Dean whispered heatedly.

“When have you ever tried to protect Tabatha?” Kriss accused and inwardly cursed when his voice shook due to Dean’s hands creating havoc on his body.

Dean leaned down and barely brushed his tongue over one of Kriss' nipples, making Kriss whimper softly. “That’s what I’ve been doing… protecting both of you. I don’t have a problem with you and Tabatha being friends, Kriss… there are women I am friends with and want to protect. There is, however, only one creature I would ever consider sacrificing myself for if he asked.”

Dean’s gaze took on a quality that made Kriss want to beg for him. His breath quickened. Dean had always shown him passion when it came to seduction… but when they were not feeding their desire, Dean had always been so distant… untouchable. Was he finally getting a fleeting glimpse into Dean’s heart?

Dean closed his lips over one of the hardened nipples and circled it slowly with his tongue making Kriss cry out. His hand toyed with the other nipple while his thigh pressed against Kriss' erection giving him the pressure he knew he was craving.

Kriss arched his back again and pressed the heels of his feet into the mattress, thrusting his hips against Dean’s thigh to create the friction he so desperately needed. Dean grabbed his hips to stop the movement while his tongue made a slow path across Kriss' chest to the other nipple.

“Why are you doing this to me?” Kriss felt tears of frustration gather in his eyes.

“Because you pissed me off,” Dean growled caught between anger and seduction.

“What?” Kriss asked harshly as he arched against Dean in confusion.

“You said I didn’t know how to love,” Dean clarified.

Before Kriss could respond to that, Dean gently bit down on the nipple making Kriss toss his head back against the pillows and cry out again.

Dean watched Kriss' reactions to his touch and knew Kriss was right about one thing… he was better at hiding his feelings than Kriss would ever be. He’d seen Kriss' soul many times, could read it like an open book. Though Kriss didn’t realize it… the truth was there, Kriss loved Dean in a way he would never love Tabatha.

He’d been wrong to hide his soul from Kriss and this was the penalty he was paying. He’d pushed Kriss toward Tabatha by holding back from him. He hadn't meant to be so cold. Dean was about to fix that little misunderstanding by showing Kriss what he’d always longed for.

Kriss felt the air around them shift and his eyes widened when he saw Dean’s wings come into view… at the same time shattering the barrier that kept his soul from prying eyes. For the first time Kriss could see what Dean had been hiding from him. Dean’s soul had been reaching for his this whole time. Kriss knew he’d been wrong… Dean knew what love was… because through Dean’s angry eyes… Kriss was more than loved, he was worshiped.

“Now I’m going to show you exactly to whom you belong,” Dean informed him with a growl and sat back, moving away from Kriss' body… running his hands all the way down to the waistband of his jeans.

Kriss inhaled sharply when Dean literally ripped his jeans from his legs, taking his shoes and socks with them. The shirt came next, tearing it on the shoulder seams before pulling it out from underneath him and tossing it over his shoulder to join the rest of the ruined clothing.

Dean slipped his jacket off and let it fall before pulling off his own shirt. The rest of his clothing and shoes soon followed, leaving him as nude as Kriss. Dean closed his silver eyes as he reclaimed the barrier that hid his soul. Allowing Kriss the quick glimpse was all he was offering… the rest was for him to keep.

*****

Tabatha rolled over and pulled the blanket up over her head when someone started gently shaking her.

“Just five more minutes, Kriss,” she muttered.

Jason chuckled and yanked the blanket off of her, his amusement escalating when she started to blindly search the bed for the warm cover.

“Come on, Sleeping Beauty,” Jason said, “Time to get up so we can grab a bite to eat before work.”

Tabatha took the collar of her nightshirt and pulled it up so her head was covered up by it. “Go ‘way,” She whined. “I just now went to sleep.’

“I’ve got coffee!” Jason sang.

Tabatha pulled her head out of the shirt and blinked sleepily up at him. “Coffee?”

“Uh-huh,” Jason nodded his head, “Nice and hot and all for you.”

“That’s cheating,” Tabatha groaned but got out of bed to follow Jason into the kitchen. She was reminded of that morning a few weeks back when Kriss had woken her up almost exactly the same way, except Jason hadn’t had a cup in his hands ready for her.

Sliding up to the kitchen counter, Tabatha took her first drink of ambrosia and sighed. That’s when it all came back to her. How she’d made it from the bed to the kitchen without remembering what she’d done to Kane last night was amazing. With another sigh, she wished she hadn't remembered. Maybe she shouldn’t have tried so hard to beat his thrall.

She’d let go of her anger for Kriss… understanding a little better why he was staying away. It still hurt, she wouldn’t deny that, but it was more bearable. And as far as Kane went, she’d tried… even seduced him, which wasn’t easy for someone who had never done it before. She understood why both men had rejected her and that really sucked. If Kane wanted her to forget so badly, then she would forget it… at least by pretending it hadn't happened she wouldn’t have to deal with the shame.

Looking over at the small television on the counter, Tabatha frowned at the silent news report about another earthquake. Reaching over, she turned up the volume and listened in.

“… The 4.8 quake was in a localized area and there have been no casualties reported at this time.” The picture switched to a building located on the edge of the slums that bore the signs of two very large and visible cracks.

“The mayor and local police are urging anyone in this area to please evacuate until the buildings can be surveyed for more structural damage.” The reporter continued.

“That’s a very large crack, Phil,” the other news anchor, a woman, stated. “Do investigators know why it was only this building that seemed affected by the quake?”

“Not at this time, Marjory,” Phil said. “But the city building inspectors will continue searching for answers.”

Jason turned off the television. “That’s all they’ve been talking about this morning.” Jason said and placed a toasted bagel in front of Tabatha along with a tub of cream cheese. “Forget the strange weather we’ve been having, forget traffic… earthquake, story of the century.”

Tabatha laughed quietly as Jason threw his arms wide to emphasize his point. “So what are we doing today since you got me out of bed for work?” she asked.

“We’re outside today,” Jason said. “Hunter’s joining us on the game preserve to hunt for traps.”

“I really hate poachers,” Tabatha admitted feeling for the animals.

“You’re not the only one,” Jason muttered. “I keep expecting to find a huge pile of skinned animals lying around or something.”

Tabatha shook her head, “That’s not a nice thought but it could also be true.”

“Speaking of not so nice thoughts… are you ready to tell me why you called me crying last night?” Jason asked in a soft voice.

“It was a bad hair night,” Tabatha winked. “Let’s just say I owe you one.”

“Got to love it when a pretty girl owes you one,” Jason smirked. “You want to go by your place to pick up a uniform or use one of the extras you leave at work?”

“I’ll change at work,” Tabatha said. “That way we can get there on time and not have to rush around.” Last thing she wanted was to go anywhere near Kane’s stalking grounds… not yet anyway.

Jason looked at his watch. “We’d better get going soon then.”

Tabatha pushed away from the counter. “I’ll make us coffee to go.”

Less than an hour later they were in one of the heavy duty jeeps with Hunter driving on an uneven trail through the forest.

“We all missed it last night.” Hunter said as they got out of the jeep.

“What happened?” Jason asked.

Hunter shook his head, “From what I read of the reports, a couple of really weird looking guys strolled out of the forest and right past the guard station. The weird part is the guard on duty said they just vanished as soon as he saw them. He said they were looking up at the sky acting like they were following something.”

“You think they might be the people that are killing the cougars around here?” Tabatha asked.

Hunter shrugged, “We don’t know, that’s why we’re here. But from what I understand, those same cougars have been showing up dead in Night Light’s parking lot.”

“How do you know about that?” Jason asked.

“I go there quite a bit,” Hunter said then turned a smirk on Jason. “I do have fun once in a while.”

Tabatha remained silent wondering if Hunter had any idea what kind of club Night Light really was. Her thought processes came to a standstill as an ominous feeling swept over her body. She stopped walking at the exact same time Hunter did and stared into the forest.

“What’s wrong?” Jason asked feeling the sudden need to whisper.

Hunter frowned squatting down and picking up a broken twig in his hand. He slid his fingers over the drops of blood on it so that the other two wouldn’t see. “Someone’s been through here recently,” he informed them tossing the twig to the side and standing up. “Come on.”

They followed Hunter through the forest. The way was hard to negotiate but they finally emerged into a small clearing. The embers of a large fire pit were still glowing white hot and they all froze at the sight of a dead body next to it. A little ways off, in the roots of a large tree, signs that the earth had been disturbed caused them all to go on edge.

Hunter’s eyes narrowed and his head whipped around when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. A large black crow cawed loudly at them, ruffling its feathers in agitation. Hunter exhaled loudly through his nose and he held out his arm when Jason stepped forward to get a closer look.

“Go no further.” Hunter warned. “We have stepped into an unholy place.”

“Unholy?” Jason asked and laughed nervously. “I think your Apache legends are starting to get to you.”

“This isn’t a joke!” Hunter exclaimed loudly refusing to take his eyes off the crow. “Do not enter this place.”

“What should we do?” Tabatha asked somehow knowing the bird was a danger to them all. Its head kept moving at different angles as it looked at each one of them in turn and it was creeping her out.

“We leave,” Hunter whispered and took Jason by the arm as he started to back away. “When I tell you… I want the two of you to run like hell.”

“What’s going on?” Jason whispered as the fear of suddenly being struck dead washed over him.

Tabatha took hold of Jason’s other arm refusing to look at the bird directly. Hunter walked them backwards a good ten feet before his voice broke the horrific silence.

“RUN!”

The three rangers turned their backs and ran like their lives depended on it. Hunter leapt through the brush and over fallen trees like a deer, with Tabatha and Jason close behind. The loud cawing of the crow followed behind them and Tabatha swore she could hear the flapping of its wings right in her ear.

Jason kept close to Tabatha to make sure she made it okay. He could hear the flapping of the crow’s wings behind them and started to turn his head to look.

“DON’T LOOK BACK!” Hunter shouted at them. “KEEP RUNNING!”

Jason’s fear escalated and cold sweat broke out all over his body. He cried out when something snagged his ankle making him fall. The crow was on him in that instant and he felt himself being dragged back toward the clearing.

“JASON!” Tabatha screamed.

She went back and grabbed hold of Jason’s hand, ignoring the crow that was flapping around her head. The bird was suddenly knocked aside with a large fallen branch.

“Back to your forest!” Hunter commanded. “This one is not yours.”

The crow came back at them and Tabatha was using all of her strength to hold onto Jason’s hand.

“Don’t let go,” Jason whispered feeling icy fingers wrap around his ankle even though he couldn’t see a hand touching him.

Tabatha shook her head and gritted her teeth. “I’ll go with you first.”

Hunter took hold of Jason’s other hand and helped her pull against the invisible force that had Jason in its grasp. The more they pulled, the more power was put on Jason’s leg as they were being forced back to the clearing in a tug of war.

When the crow came back around for another pass, Tabatha finally looked directly at it.

“Let him go!” she yelled, her rage coming to the surface.

The crow cawed loudly and twisted around in the air in front of them before turning around and flying off into the forest. The hold on Jason’s leg vanished making Hunter and Tabatha fall backward.

“What in the hell was that?” Jason demanded between harsh breaths.

Hunter was breathing heavily and staring into the forest. “Don’t ask. Let’s just get back to the jeep. Someone needs to be told about the dead body out there.”

“What if the crow attacks them like it did us?” Tabatha asked.

Hunter looked at Tabatha and said nothing.