Chapter 7
There was no question that they were under attack, and thank the Gods the vehicle behind them had been too far for the grenade launcher to do any real damage. But now Bellis wondered if the Megalya were trying to get Sam back, or simply permanently silence her.
“Get off me!” she gritted from beneath him.
Pulling back off Sam he glared at her when her terrified blue eyes met his. He couldn’t stop the animalistic rasp to his voice when he growled, “Did you know?”
“No!” Her eyes narrowed and she frowned up at Bellis. Her words rang with honesty, and it’d have to do, because the vehicle slammed to a halt and Bellis had to brace himself to keep from pitching forward. Sam groaned, and he looked down to see her arms pulled taut, her hands beginning to turn blue at the end of the length of chains that held her pinned to the floor.
“Fuck!” Not even bothering with the key, he reached down and gripped the chain before Keo’s hand gripped his forearm.
“What are you doing?” The Keeper growled.
“Getting us the fuck outta here!” Bellis jerked on the chain, and it gave just as the back doors were pried open. He, Keo, and Sam tensed, but it was the Keepers who’d been driving.
“Into the forest,” one of them barked, as Bellis grabbed Sam by the waist and hauled her up.
Stepping out of the truck he saw that their vehicle was parked in a thick stand of trees below a steep embankment, the road above out of sight. He could hear a rapidly approaching vehicle. “Spread out!” he commanded. He pulled Sam behind him by the chain still cuffed to her wrists as he rushed for the forest. Luckily, the Keepers knew enough to cover them, but the dumb bastards thought they were a hell of a lot better protectors than they were. They held no weapons, and Bellis snarled. Even Skin Walker Sentries knew enough to carry firearms. He glanced up at the road. Where the fuck is my team?
He knew a Walker team was accompanying them to the North Fortress, and all he could hope was that they were parked somewhere up on the road, lying in wait for their attackers.
Sam followed quickly behind him, and he was surprised she didn’t attempt to stall out or hold him up. Keo followed closely behind her, stopping just long enough to open his arms wide and drop his head back. A bright white light centered in his chest, drawing both his and Sam’s attention. Something shimmered in the center of his chest, and then a massive cheetah exploded from him. The animal didn’t hesitate to turn and run in the direction from which they’d come.
Bellis didn’t know Keo’s plan, and he didn’t care. He had to move Sam. The Megalya weren’t getting her back, and they weren’t going to kill her on Bellis’ watch either.
Breaking off, Keo veered left as Bellis pulled Sam to the right where the trees got thicker. Gunfire erupted behind them, and he prayed it was the Skin Walker team firing on the Megalya and not the Megalya firing on the unarmed Keepers or their Soul Sentries.
As they raced across the snow covered forest floor, Sam kept pace surprisingly well. Only once did she attempt to tug him in a different direction when she saw a cave she argued would be, “Good cover.” It’s exactly why Bellis avoided it, anyone else would think it good cover as well. He led her a few hundred feet past the cave and shoved Sam down behind a large boulder before kneeling beside her. One large hand covered the lower half of her face as he turned to pull her back into him. He couldn’t trust her not to give away their position.
Waiting, Bellis tried to slow the beating of his heart as he strained to listen. A few shots popped off, but then there was silence. It was odd being this worked up in a firefight. It’d never happened before, and he realized his concern now wasn’t for himself, but for the dainty package currently squirming in his hold.
Footsteps approached, and Bellis tensed while Sam went still in his arms. Peering around the boulder, he relaxed a little when he instantly recognized the redhaired behemoth shouldering a rifle and scanning the forest.
Bellis waited until York lowered his rifle before he stood with Sam and stepped out from their hiding spot.
York’s eyes instantly locked on him, and the Sentry’s hand shot up and closed into a quick fist, indicating that Bellis should hold his position. It let Bellis know that there was enemy still unaccounted for.
He watched as York lifted his nose and scented the air. More footsteps could be heard, and then James and Shane were stepping up to form a line on either side of York.
Bellis pulled Sam back down and waited. It was hell. He wanted to be out hunting, but didn’t trust relinquishing Sam to another.
A twig snapped too close behind Bellis and Sam and he spun, prepared to shift and attack. Keo’s cheetah stepped out of the trees and sniffed at Bellis before circling around and planting his big hairy body in front of Sam.
More noise behind him drew his attention, and he assumed it was Keo by the way his cheetah didn’t even bother turning. Bellis did though, and at the same instant his eyes locked on Keo behind him, a shot rang out.
Several things happened in the next instant, all of it a blur. Keo’s eyes rounded, his cheetah screeched, and Bellis was jerked forward when Sam lunged. He’d assumed it was an attempt at escape, but the noise that followed said otherwise.
There’s a certain sound a bullet makes when it hits flesh and bone and that sound froze his blood in his veins. Scrambling to grab Sam by the hips, he pulled her back until she splayed across his chest and he hurriedly crabwalked backward to get them back behind the boulder. There was blood on the ground, and on Keo’s cheetah who wasn’t moving.
“Sam!” Bellis barked, but she wasn’t moving either.
Gunfire erupted, and he knew York and the team were engaging, but he didn’t give a fuck right now. Rolling, he laid Sam on the ground, his hands traveling frantically over her body as he searched for injury.
Keo jumped over them and went for his cheetah. Dragging the animal back behind the boulder his tone was panicked as he shouted, “Bronx!” The animal chuffed loudly and stood, turning to butt his head against Sam’s still-lifeless body.
“She saved Bronx,” Keo told Bellis in dazed astonishment. “She covered his body with her own. Is she hurt?”
Fuck yes, she was hurt! “Sonofa…” Bellis ripped his shirt over his head and pressed it to the bleeding wound on Sam’s side.
“She saved Bronx,” Keo repeated, and Bellis growled.
“Get eyes on the fucking shooter, Keeper! And if that fucking animal is going to be a distraction, then put him the fuck away!” He was angrier than he should have been, but he was pissed at how confident he’d been about keeping Sam safe on his watch, only to have her now bleeding in his arms. They should have been prepared, should have known the Megalya would come for her.
Another explosion sounded, and Bellis threw his body over Sam’s. He gritted his teeth at the urge to race into battle.
Sam stirred beneath him and suddenly gasped in a breath and tried to sit up.
“Easy.” Bellis held her down. “You’re hurt, and we’re still under attack.”
One hand planted on Sam’s chest to keep her down, he leaned forward to peek around the boulder. The Walkers had spread out and were firing in the direction of the road. He watched Keo and Bronx cut through the trees and wondered what the Keeper planned on doing without any weapons.
A sound behind Bellis made him tense and his eyes rounded as he turned to look at Sam. She was still lying flat on her back, and she was…laughing!
“You do know we are still under fire?”
Sam only laughed harder, and he couldn’t help the grin that tweaked his lip at her reaction.
“Shit!” Sam snorted, lifting a hand to swipe at the tears in the corners of her eyes before shoving at Bellis’ hand. He pulled the hand back and Sam sat up with a grimace, inhaling sharply.
“Sam?”
She looked down at her side and pulled Bellis’ shirt back to inspect her wound. “I’ll live, just knocked the wind outta me is all.”
Bellis looked back toward the firefight. “I’m glad one of us is amused by this.”
There was a smile in her voice when she responded. “You don’t know them like I do. This is so typical fucking Megalya.”
When Bellis turned to look at her she explained. “Send ‘em into the forest to retrieve one person. They encounter a small army, and the only person they end up shooting is the one person they were going after and weren’t supposed to shoot.” She shook her head and sighed heavily. “Idiots!”
Bellis smirked as he watched her get to her knees. “We’re gonna make a break for those trees.” He jerked his chin over her shoulder. “You think you can make it?”
“You think I can’t?” she challenged, with a glint in her eyes.
Good girl! Bellis grabbed her arm. “On three.” He looked back to the fighting and counted, “One, two…” But Sam didn’t wait. She started moving on two, so when he saw a Megalya step forward with the grenade launcher pointed at them, he reached out to try and yank her back behind the boulder, but she was already a few steps up the hill. Bellis’ head whipped around and he looked at his empty hand that had been holding Sam. She stalled in her escape because Bellis didn’t say three, and when she turned to look at him, she was standing fully erect. A perfect fucking target!
“Get the fuck down!” Bellis yelled the words and lunged, but the ground behind Sam exploded, sending her flying. “Fuck!” he snarled, abandoning his position behind the boulder, racing to Sam as she disappeared in the cloud of smoke and debris.