“Jacob said to wait.” That voice was familiar, and Holly followed it until she found Trish and Cayden. Cayden was halfway over the edge of the cliff, climbing down, and the sight sent a shock through Holly, terrified that he would fall. He lowered another inch and, when she realized he was descending a staircase, her nerves calmed, but only slightly. Trish was grabbing his shoulders as though she meant to pull him back up.
“That was Mother,” he snapped at her. “I have to make sure she’s okay.”
In the middle of the bickering, Holly cleared her throat and decided to make her presence known. “Trish,” she said simply.
The two stared at Holly, shocked, as though she were some sort of ghost. She discreetly put her hand behind her back, trying to hide the talisman from Cayden.
“Holly,” Trish said, stumped. “What’re you doing here?”
“Who’s down there?” Holly asked, ignoring the question.
“Jacob,” Cayden said. “Brent. And my mother.”
A recipe for disaster if there ever was one. Holly would have to play her cards right if she wanted to keep this situation under control. She moved over to where Trish stood and held out her hand for Cayden. “Let me take care of it,” she told him.
“Why should I trust you?” he hissed. His eyes were flashing now, his animal barely caged.
“Because you’re smarter than this,” Holly told him. “Think. Whatever is going on down there, you don’t want to walk into the middle of it. I’ll handle this.”
Cayden looked at her and, reluctantly, his expression softened. Finally, he climbed back up the cliff and launched himself up, hitting the dirt with ease.
“Watch your step,” he grumbled and Trish squeezed him arm encouragingly.
“The key,” Trish whispered.
Cayden reluctantly reached into his pocket and held out a key for Holly. “Take this. It’s for Brent.” He must have noticed Holly’s deeply confused expression because he added, “You’ll see when you get there.”
“Thank you,” Holly said. Then, she unraveled the necklace and looped it over her neck so it wouldn’t fall midclimb.
Trish and Cayden stared wide-eyed at the talisman. Neither of them said a thing, not even as Holly kicked off her shoes and slung her leg over, making the trek down the cliff face. She felt the sharp ocean wind blow up underneath her dress, chilling her straight through her bones. Holly tried to shake it off and clung closer to the stone. Keep going…Jacob needs you.
Slowly, carefully, she climbed down until the stairs came to a stop. Holly glanced down to find the landing was just barely out of reach. Her eyes made the mistake of falling down, far down, to the crash of the ocean below. She pressed flat against the wall, her cheek on cold stone, and gasped heavily until she felt the wave of vertigo pass. Finally, she chanced one more glance at the ledge, drew courage from deep in her bones, and flung herself at it.
Holly’s knees hit hard stone and she splayed her palms out to catch her fall, protecting her belly. She winced, palms and knees sore, and brushed herself off, rising to her feet.
The cave was dim and it took a second for her eyes to adjust. She heard animal noises—bear—and then saw the glint of…what was that? Metal chain? Holly moves closer and found Brent perched up against the wall, collared and chained to the wall like a dog. When his eyes caught hers, both hope and fear shimmered there.
“Holly,” he said, voice hollowed with surprise.
“Brent.” Then it clicked—the key. She reached into her pocket and tugged it out and then rushed over to him. “Come here…Cayden gave me this.”
Brent twisted his head back to give her access to the lock there. The contraption was half-rusted, but she twisted the key in and it snapped off his neck with a click. Brent rubbed the sides of his throat, red imprints left there.
“Are you okay?” Holly asked.
“It ain’t over yet,” Brent replied gruffly. When Holly turned, she saw Jacob. Or the bear-that-once-was-Jacob. The Beast paced angrily back and forth in the cave that suddenly seemed too small to contain him. He huffed and he shook his thick neck, as though he were trying to physically shake the Beast off of him. But to no avail. It was stuck, and he was stuck, like this. Animal. He dug his claws into the lip of the cave and even Holly cowered back when he let out an agonized, bellowing roar.
Brent caught her before she stumbled back.
“Where’s Miranda?” Holly whispered even though she got the feeling she didn’t want to know the answer.
“Ocean took her,” Brent said and then he murmured, “We’ve gotta get outta here.”