“Over here.” He motioned to a tall and still leafy bush.
I glanced down to mind my footing, but when I looked up, Boaz was gone. I walked to the shrub. “Boaz?”
A hand shot out from beneath the branches and jerked my ankle. I threw out my arms to catch myself from falling, but came up empty handed. Just as I was about to smack my head against the ground, I was yanked underneath the bush. Boaz caught my head in his hand before it made contract with the earth, his face only inches from mine.
“Oh!” I cried. “We’re under a bush.”
“It’s the only safe place for you to be for what I’m about to show you.”
“There’s not much room under here, is there?” Turning over was a slow process. Branches poked at me, and the wet ground soaked through my cloak.
“It will be worth it, just wait,” Boaz said as if sensing my frustration.
Finally, I maneuvered myself onto my stomach and whispered, “Do vampires usually hide under bushes?”
“No. This is a first.” He peered into the darkness, scanning the forest. “He’s coming. Any second now.”
“I don’t see anything,” I hissed, craning my neck in each direction.
“You’ll smell him before you see him.”
Even before the words left his mouth, the pungent smell of decay and feces filled my nostrils. I moved my hand to cover my nose and mouth. The smell grew stronger and a rumbling destroyed the peace of the forest. Something rotten was moving toward us.
I spotted a shadow in the distance, sauntering between two trees. It was enormous. “What is it?”
Boaz didn’t answer.
The beast moved closer, grunting as it swatted a large paw against a fallen tree. It shoved its enormous head into a log, splitting it in two. And then I knew.
“A grizzly bear?” It was at least a head taller than me, with shoulders just as wide. “But how? I thought only black bears lived around here.”
“How he got here doesn’t matter. He goes where he pleases.”
The bear rose tall and clawed its massive paws into a tree. Moonlight shined on its back through the cracks of the forest canopy. The tips of its fur were blond, almost silver looking, and for just a moment, I thought it shimmered.
“Look at him, Eve,” Boaz said. “Watch how he moves with strength and power, while creatures around him cower in fear. The bear doesn’t waste time thinking about others. He cares only for his desires and will stop at nothing to get what he wants. He who can show his might holds the greatest power.”
I held my breath, while his words sunk in. The bear dropped to all fours. I was beginning to understand what Boaz had been trying to teach me all along.
“You wanted me to see this,” I said aloud, not as a question, but more of a statement.
“Yes. The bear is the king of the forest, invincible.”
I turned my head to him. “Not invincible. We could kill it.”
A smile played at the corners of his mouth. “We could, couldn’t we?”
“Yes. But we won’t. He is like us.” Before I knew what I was doing, I wriggled free from beneath the bush.
“Eve!” he called in a hushed tone. I heard him scramble after me, but he stayed back. I didn’t doubt that he was as anxious as I was to see what the bear would do.
When my footsteps cracked a twig, the grizzly lifted its head and growled low. I closed the distance between us until we were maybe forty feet apart. The bear sniffed the air and snorted in my direction. We watched each other then, a silent assessment of one’s capabilities.
I reached out my hand. The motion caused the bear to charge. It stopped only a dozen feet in front of me, lifted onto its hind legs, and let out a monstrous roar that shook me to the core. As if waking from a dream, I quickly realized my dangerous predicament. My body froze, and I stopped breathing, afraid any movement might make him attack.
Boaz’s voice appeared in my mind. “Do something! Use your powers!”
“Get out of my head.” I pushed the thought back to Boaz and closed my mind. If there hadn’t been a bear standing over me with fangs bared, saliva dripping from razor sharp teeth, I might’ve been surprised that Boaz and I could suddenly communicate telepathically, but under the stressful situation, I could think of nothing else.
The bear crashed down on all four legs. It bounced its upper body up and down, threatening me, but I didn’t budge. Adrenaline coursed through my blood, and although I was frightened, I wanted to see what the bear would do next. I wouldn’t use magic just yet, even though it was racing through my blood as if searching for a release.