Beauty's Beast(70)

“Kristine, don’t. I need you to be strong for me.”

“I’m sorry.” She wiped her eyes with a corner of her cloak, and then she smiled up at him, her eyes luminous with unshed tears. “We should go. The sooner we find the mage, the sooner this nightmare will be over.”





Chapter Twenty-Two



The River Onyx appeared as black as its name. Erik knew it was simply a trick of the light reflecting off the black stones that lined the bottom of the river; still, it was disconcerting to gaze at that murky ribbon of water and think of crossing it.

Though the water was only thigh-high, it ran swift. The horses balked at entering the dark water and only Erik’s firm hand, and the stallion’s trust, enabled him to lead Raven across the river. When he reached the far side, he went back for Misty. Fearing the mare might panic, Erik told Kristine to wait. In the end, he had to blindfold the mare to get her across the river.

He went back one more time to get Kristine. Lifting her in his arms to keep her from getting wet, he carried her to the other side.

Valaree and her family, in wolf form, swam across easily enough. Standing close together, they shook the water from their coats, then ran off toward the woods that edged this side of the Onyx.

“You’re cold,” Kristine said as Erik put her down.

“I’ll be all right. We’ll rest here a few minutes.”

“Are you hungry?”

Erik nodded.

“Me, too.” Delving into one of the saddlebags, she withdrew a loaf of brown bread and a square of yellow cheese.

Erik drew his knife and sliced the bread and cheese. It would satisfy his hunger, but what he craved was meat. Only days ago, he had insisted Valaree cook the venison she had offered him; now he found himself yearning for a hunk of meat that was raw and dripping with the juices of life. A part of his mind was disgusted by the mere idea of eating uncooked meat while another part, a part that was growing more dominant with each passing day, hungered for the taste.

“Erik?”

He glanced up to find Kristine staring at him. “What?”

She shook her head. “Nothing.”

“Tell me.”

She shook her head again. How could she explain it? How could she describe the feral look she had seen in his eyes? For a moment, his eyes had looked just like those of the werewolves.

They washed the bread and cheese down with wine. Kristine put the remainder of the food back in the saddlebags, and then Erik lifted her onto Misty’s back. She took up the reins, watching as he climbed into the saddle. Once he had moved with effortless grace; now his movements were sometimes awkward as he tried to adjust to his changing form.

“What about Valaree and her . . . her family?” she asked.

“They’ll find us. Are you ready?”

Kristine nodded. “Yes, let’s hurry.”

It was a dark, forbidding region they traveled through. Huge boulders dotted the landscape, looming out of the swirling mists like nightmare creatures ready to pounce. Trees rose up out of the ground, misshapen by a devil wind.

Kristine shivered, wondering if they had made a mistake in coming here. Surely nothing good could dwell in this accursed place.

She glanced at Erik. He rode beside her, careful, now that he had lost his mask, to ride on her left side so that she was spared the sight of his disfigurement as much as possible.

She had told him it was unnecessary, yet she knew it bothered him when she saw the ruined side of his face. It bothered her, too, but not in the ways he imagined. She felt only pity for him, and an increasing sense of sadness.

The setting sun had turned the sky to crimson when the wolves materialized out of the shadows. They trotted beside the horses for a few minutes, and then the big gray one barked and veered into the woods to the right.

“They must have found a place to spend the night,” Erik remarked. Two of the black wolves ran after the gray, while the third kept pace with the horses.

A short time later, they reached a large cave carved out of the side of a rocky hill.

Dismounting, Erik lifted Kristine from her horse, and they went inside.

Valaree had changed into human form. She wore another long gown, this one a pale shade of blue. The other wolves sat in a half circle behind her. A small fire blazed cheerfully near the rear of the cave.

“Why don’t the others change?” Kristine asked.

“It is more difficult for them than it is for me.”

Kristine looked at Valaree, puzzled. “I don’t understand.”

“And I don’t know how to explain it,” Valaree replied. “Only that it is easier for some of us to change from wolf to human than it is for others. My sister prefers the wolf form.”

“And your parents?”