We stopped a few yards in and found some brush. Rourke was still very quiet. “Are you okay?” I asked as I took off my shirt. “You’re a little too introspective for me right now.”
He came over and encircled my waist, leaning down to take my lips in his. It was a light kiss that spoke volumes. He broke the kiss with effort, his eyes shining with emotion. “When the warlock finally dropped his ward and I found you, the scent of his magic hit me hard. It’s old. Very old. I’ve never met the warlock formally, but I knew then, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it was ancient magic. It made my beast wary and me very aware of the difficulty I have in protecting you. Against that kind of magic, it would be nearly impossible. My insides are knotted. Knowing the Hag will strike tonight is unacceptable. I’m just trying to ready my beast for whatever it takes.”
My hands threaded into his hair. “You heard Jeb as well as I did. Without my ‘team,’ I would’ve died already. You are necessary to my survival, but what’s more important is the way we work together. This is going to be hard, but we have to stay in sync. I need you in touch with me so we can work flawlessly as a team. If we do that, we have a chance.” I leaned up and gave him a tender kiss.
We stood like that for a few moments. I knew we had to get going, but this was necessary too. We needed to connect before we headed into known danger.
“I agree, we go in as a team,” he said as he pulled back. I let him go. “When the warlock said you should’ve already died, it was devastating. I can’t lie.” He brought his head down. “For my entire life I’ve always been one of the most powerful supernaturals around. Other supes cower in front of me. My battle skills, back when people used to fight with their fists and swords, were unparalleled. As my Pride began to die off, and there was nothing I could do to stop it, it changed something in me. After that I swore”—he arched back to look at the sky—“I swore I would never allow myself to care like that about another again.” He brought his forehead down slowly, placing it against mine. His eyes focused on me, drawing in my gaze like they held their own gravity. “But things didn’t go according to my plan. Now I care more than I ever have about one single person, and I find myself once again powerless to do much of anything to stop the same fate from befalling you that befell my family.”
I stroked his face with both my hands. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered. It was all I could say. “I know you loved your family. It had to be crushing to see them go.”
“Jessica,” he said. “I love you. With everything I have, and everything I am. And I’m willing to risk my life a dozen times over to save you. But even if I forfeit my life, I fear it won’t be enough to save you.”
“No one is going to need saving. We are both going to survive, and there will be no forfeiting anything,” I said firmly. “Not my life, not your life. We’re a team. We help each other and will keep each other alive. That’s the way this is going to work.” I refused to believe anything different.
Rourke didn’t look convinced.
I added, “I once explained to my brother and Danny that an army of anything could defeat even the most powerful supernatural. We’re that army now. Nobody is going to mess with our strength. We have too much firepower. I believe with all my heart we will survive—together.”
“I’m not sure of anything anymore,” he growled, separating from me to shift. “Enid is powerful and dangerous. The warlock said it was going to be a treacherous road.”
“Yeah,” I countered as I lay down next to him on the cool ground, “but we have Juanita.”
23
We’d been running for over three hours and still nothing. No signs of any trouble. We’d been staying to rural, densely forested areas as much as we could. We rounded a thick copse of trees and Rourke slowed in front of me for the first time. I followed suit. His nose was up in the air, so I raised my muzzle and sniffed.
There was a strange, pungent tang in the air. What do you think it is? I asked him.
I don’t know, but it’s not good, he replied. It smells decayed.
Jeb said Enid would have no trouble tracking us, and once we suspected trouble we should try and do the opposite of what we thought was right. His take—it was the only way to throw her off track. She was an oracle, so she knew what was supposed to happen, but things changed—especially if you made decisions counter to your beliefs.
I’ve smelled something like this before, I said. I ran my memory over the scent, hoping it would spur some recognition. All of a sudden, a picture leapt into my brain.
Oh no.
I froze. Not willing to take another step forward.
I figured it out, Rourke growled, so low it sounded like nothing more than a rumble.
I did too. It’s a ghoul, isn’t it? I asked. That’s what I’m coming up with. Tyler and I ran into one in the Underworld. It was foul, but didn’t harm us.