Senora ducked and closed her eyes the instant before she crashed into the water fall. The water pushed against her, weighing her down and making the harness pull up hard. Water rushed down her face, and she felt like she was about to drown, then her feet were on the ground and she was out of the water.
She shook herself off, unhooked the line and ran a few steps away from the waterfall in the dim light before she stopped, pressed her back against the wall and looked around.
She was in a cave that was half as wide as the waterfall, if that. The floor was a little slick with the vegetation that grew in damp places, but she was able to keep her footing.
She was trembling from the adrenaline rush and the fear she’d felt in the moments where she was sure she was going to die. Wrapping her arms around herself, she tried to control the shivers, but she couldn’t help herself. She’d never been so scared in her life, and she was going to need a few seconds to recover from that.
Ty burst through the waterfall then, hitting the floor and rolling to a stop just in front of her.
“I’m glad you can follow directions. I was afraid I was going to hit you on my way in.”
“You’re insane,” she said, her voice catching. “I can’t believe you didn’t warn me you were going to do that.”
“I told you I was going to yank you off the side of the cliff.”
“You could have told me why.”
“You promised to trust me, you got scared and I helped you let go.”
She glared at him, but he was unconcerned.
“I was terrified.”
“But did you die?”
She pursed her lips together.
“That’s what I thought,” he said. “Let’s get going. We have a long way to go still.”
“Still?”
“They wouldn’t call it a stronghold if it was easy to get to.”
“Oh boy. I need a drink first,” she said, sliding her backpack off her shoulders. “How is this thing dry?”
“It’s a Duck Pack. Have you seen water roll off a duck’s back? It’s a lot like that.”
“Whatever it is, it’s pretty awesome.”
“I’m glad you like it, because I have a feeling you’re going to need it more than you ever imagined.”
“I think you’re right. I never thought working with a partner would entail so much one-on-one time with nature.”
“Try being the guy with the first human partner. This isn’t exactly a cakewalk for me.”
She shrugged.
“I didn’t ask to work with you.”
“I did.”
“I find that hard to believe, even though you said it before. How did you even hear about me?”
“You’re more well-known in some circles than you realize.”
“That sounds ominous.”
“It’s not meant to be, but that’s probably a good thing. There are good and bad guys watching you. It’s best if you keep your eyes and ears open and watch out for traitors.”
“I think this case is making you paranoid.”
“I was born paranoid. All wolves are. That’s why we usually choose villages in the woods over living in the city. We trust no one but each other.”
“Do you trust me?”
“More than I should.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing personal. It’s just that humans and shifters have such a complicated history.”
“I thought you were created by the universe to protect us.”
“That’s putting it arrogantly.”
“I call it like I see it.”
“In essence, yes. That’s what we are called to do.”
“That doesn’t seem complicated.”
“Any time you add humans to the mix, it gets complicated. If humans could simply exist without causing issues, then things would be a lot easier.”
“But then we wouldn’t need you.”
“There is that fact, but that’s not the biggest problem. Throughout history, our two species have lived together in harmony and then in conflict. Every time things settle down, some group decides to bring up old legends or superstitions, and things just get out of hand.”
“Superstitions?”
“Haven’t you ever read a fairytale?”
“I have, but I don’t usually look to children’s fiction for historical facts.”
Ty rolled his eyes.
“You’re something else.”
He sat down and pulled a few protein bars out of his bag and offered her one. She took it and thanked him, eating the dense, almost sweet bar while he continued.
“I’ll stick to werewolves, since those superstitions have affected me directly, even in this age of the Internet. It’s so weird that there’s all this knowledge out in the world, and people use the web to watch cat videos.”
“They’re funny.”
“So are humans. Anyway, through time, there would be groups of people that knew about us, and they would work alongside our kind.”
“That doesn’t sound bad.”
“Do you want to hear the story or do you want to keep interrupting?”
Senora laughed.
“Tell the story,” she said, settling her back against her backpack, which was shoved between her and one of the walls.
“That’s better. Now, these groups were called the Sentinels. They were the humans that we could go to when we needed assistance or to hide for a period of time. They were completely trustworthy, and some even died to keep our secrets. But the universe craves balance, and good can’t rule exclusively.”
“I’ve never thought of it that way.”
He arched a brow at her, and she took a breath and closed her mouth so he could continue.
“Occasionally, a Sentinel would find that a person in their inner circle was superstitious, or at least believed the werewolves were creatures of hell and should be killed. They would go to great lengths to kill us, and when their standard methods of killing didn’t work, they used more creative methods.”
“What were they called?”
“What?”
“There’s the Sentinels, Guardians, Shifters- What were the bad guys called?”
“They weren’t called anything. They weren’t important enough for a title.”
“Ahh. So when someone says that ‘they’ are doing this and ‘they’ are controlling that, this is who people are referencing.”
“I feel like you’re aggravating me on purpose.”
“And I feel like you’re spinning a tall tale for your amusement.”
“Do you want to hear it?”
“Of course, I do.”
“Anyway, the Sentinel would sometimes be followed, sometimes by a well-meaning villager and other times by someone who started a friendship or affair with the Sentinel to gain their trust and to find the shifters.”
“An affair?”
“Women can be conniving manipulators just like men.”
“Or they can be Sentinels, and the conniver can be the man.”
“I haven’t met a female Sentinel.”
“There’s always a first time for everything.”
“When the traitor found the wolf and had enough proof, they would run to the village and cry wolf basically, sounding the alarm and sending the people to hunt us down. We would fight them off as much as we could without harming them, but some people gave us no choice. We would relocate then, and we would start fresh. Many times, our Sentinel would get killed in the fighting, and soon, human Sentinels were unwilling to put their lives and their families at risk.”
“I can see why they would be scared. All of the responsibility without the powers. Why didn’t you just bite them and make them wolves?”
His shocked expression made her regret asking the instant the words were out of her mouth.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to be crass.”
“I get it. It’s hard to understand when you’re trying to pick apart my story and poke holes in it.”
“That’s not what I’m trying to do.”
“We can change a human with our bite, but it’s not something that we just do. There have to be extenuating circumstances, and when we do bite, we’re putting our own life in danger.”
“How?”
“We’re giving up a part of ourselves and transferring it to you. It seems like a small thing, but it’s a bit like giving blood. You give some, and your body slowly regenerates what you’ve given until you return to normal.”
“That makes sense and-”
“Except turning someone into a werewolf is more like giving blood and donating vital organs. We are weak afterwards, and we risk dying before our body can recover.”
“Oh.”
“That’s why it is so aggravating when humans claim that we change people to build our armies. I don’t need to change a human to build up our populations; mating accomplishes that just fine. And we’re more about quality than quantity. Because we’re so large and strong, we don’t need as many of us to fight and win.”
“Why do humans think that you’re doing that then? I mean, humans from hundreds of years ago? Obviously, people nowadays don’t believe in wolves.”
“You do.”
“That’s different.”
“I don’t see how, but okay. I don’t know why they thought that. But it caused an uproar and many epic battles. We eventually hid ourselves away, even from the Sentinels.” He paused and looked at his watch. “We should be going. We’re going to run out of daylight in a few hours, and I don’t want to startle anyone when we show up. Ethan has no idea that we’re coming. With everyone on alert, we’re already taking our lives in our hands showing up uninvited.”
“Maybe you should have told me that before you almost drowned me in the waterfall.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” He put his hand out to help her up. “I know you’re tired. We’re almost there. Let’s go.”
She took his hand and allowed him to help her up.
They began walking, Ty in the lead and Senora following right on his heels. The cave got darker as they went deeper into it, and within a few minutes, Senora found herself reaching out in the dark and grabbing onto the tightening strap on Ty’s backpack.
“What’s wrong?” he asked without slowing down.
“I can’t see a thing.”
“Why not?”
“What do you mean, ‘why not?’ I can’t see in the dark.”
“You can’t?”
“You’ve been around shifters too long. No, I cannot see in the dark. I feel like I’m trapped in a nightmare with my eyes closed.”
“I’m right here; you’ll be fine.”
“Do you have a flashlight?”
“I do, but I wouldn’t advise using it.”
“Why not?”
“Let’s just say that there are a lot more critters hanging out with us than you probably think. Well, I guess I should say hanging up with us.”
“Oh hell. There are bats, aren’t there?”
“Hundreds of them.”
“You’re lying,” she said.
“Just a little. There are a few bats, but they’re off to the side, and they are unbothered by us.”
“But they are there.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll pass on the flashlight. How much further?”
“We’re going through the mountain peak and onto the other side, which is only visible from the air, and even then, the trees cover the nest. I hope you didn’t think we were going to go through the cave and come out on the other end in a few minutes.”
“Nope. Can’t say a cave behind a waterfall came up when I was thinking of all the ways we could possibly get to the dragon’s nest.”
Ty chuckled.
“I like your sense of humor.”
“My humor is a little dry for most people.”
“I’m not most people.”
“I’ve noticed.”
She closed her eyes and leaned her head on his backpack to give her some semblance of balance. She still felt lost and a little panicked at what felt like an incredibly tight space, but she knew that it wasn’t forever. She just had to relax, focus on her breathing, and pretend that there weren’t bats hanging from the ceiling on each side of her.
She froze, backpack straps still gripped tightly in her fingers.
“What?” Ty asked.
“They’re not vampires, are they?” she whispered, wishing the thought had never crossed her mind.
“I thought you were a skeptic.”
“I was. I mean, I am.”
“Okay. Well, vampires aren’t actually real.”
“They’re not?”
He chuckled.
“Just kidding. All the vampires live in Canada. It’s much too hot in the US.”
“That’s not funny.”
“I’m not joking.”
Ty started walking again, and Senora went back to her spot, holding onto his bag and staring blindly into the pitch-black cave.
She didn’t notice the black begin to turn gray for several minutes, but once she did, she sped up.
“What are you doing?”
“We’re almost outside. I can finally see a little.”
“Man, humans are blind.”
“Hush. Am I right? Are we almost there?”
“We are.”
“Thank goodness. I don’t think I could take another minute of that darkness.”
Ty chuckled again but said nothing. Senora was expecting some quip about how strange her kind were, but as she watched, Ty became tenser and more focused. He was in the zone and on high alert. Senora decided that the time for friendly banter was over and to follow suit. She didn’t know what they were watching for, but she was going to be ready when she saw it.
There was a hiss and the sound of stone rubbing across stone. Ty grabbed Senora, pushing her down just as something whizzed over her head. She felt the minuscule displacement of air, and knew that whatever the tiny object was, it had been very close.
“That was close,” he whispered.
“What was it?”
“Tranquilizer darts. You must have stepped on the stone with an ‘x’ on it like that one.”
“I don’t see an ‘x’,” she said, peering into the dark grayness ahead.
“That’s probably why they work on humans. Stay close and only step where I step.”
“Got it,” she said.
She followed him, watching every move and repeating his steps on her tiptoes just to be safe. The light continued to brighten, and a few yards later, she was able to make out her first gray stone with a gray x that was only a shade darker.
“How in the world was I supposed to see that?”
“We’ve passed ten of them. I think there are a dozen total.”
“I feel like anyone who gets this far probably deserves to see the dragon’s nest without a dart embedded in their shoulder.”
“So true.”
They made it the past the final two, and Ty relaxed visibly.
“That was the hardest part.”
“But there are still some parts to get through?”
“Just one more.”
“What’s that?”
“You seem to deal with things better without preparation.”
“I hate surprises.”
“You keep saying that, but you excel at dealing with them.”
“What’s next?”
“A hop, skip, and a jump.”
“Oh crap.”
“What?”
But she didn’t hear him. She was focused on the sight in front of her, and the end of the cave. He followed her gaze and laughed, but Senora was not amused.
“Can you swim?” he asked, speaking louder to be heard over the water as they moved closer to it.
“I hate you right now,” she seethed.
“As long as it’s just right now, I’ll take it.”
“If I find out that there was another way to get here, I’m going to be pissed.”
“Just by air and through here. Why do you look scared? This is my favorite part.”
“We should have skydived.”
He laughed.
“You’ll be fine. I’ll hold your hand.”
“You’re a bad friend,” she said as he grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the edge.
“Your backpack floats,” he said, tightening it on her arms until it was impossibly tight. “It’s made to slow your descent in the water, then bring you back up, and it will help you float. The water is deep, so you might want to hold your nose.”
Before she could protest, he grabbed her and flung her out and away from the edge, then jumped in after her, laughing the entire way down.