The question was, for how long.
The two of them stood that way for what seemed like hours to Katelynn, but what in reality was only a few seconds, before Jake’s eyes suddenly popped open and she found herself staring into their depths. Her heart cried in anguish at the intense pain she could see reflected within them; he was suffering, there was no question of that. Along with the pain, Katelynn could see the blaze of his anger and determination; a wave of emotion that caused those usually gentle eyes to go icy blue with resolve. Jake was still fighting, but Katelynn wondered how much longer he could keep it up.
They had to get there in time!
Suddenly, she sensed a third presence in the link, one that emanated from the Nightshade itself. It was aware of her presence in return, might have even pulled her into the link intentionally, for the waves of anger and fury that were directed at her almost swamped her.
A realization came to her; the necklace worked in both directions! As long as she had it, the beast could seek her out in turn, at any moment, anytime it liked, and could pull her into the twisted depths of its mind.
Before she could react to that knowledge, the beast suddenly plunged both her and Jake into the well of its memories.
She came to in the back of the Bronco, with the doors open on either side and Sam and Damon leaning in to help her. When they saw that she was conscious they released her and backed up slowly, the concern on their faces evident.
“Sam!” she cried, grasping his arm tightly. “We’ve got to keep moving. The Nightshade has Jake!”
Sam didn’t have time to answer. Damon was already sliding behind the wheel, and Sam had to hustle to keep from being left behind. In seconds the car was moving, speeding toward Riverwatch.
34
A FIERY END
In the end, it was Loki who saved him.
Jake was unable to move, frozen in place by the pain radiating out from his left leg and the mental weight of knowing that no matter what he did, he wouldn’t be able to stop the beast.
As those savage jaws descended, Jake gave himself up for lost and sent a quick prayer skyward that his friends would take his death as a sign to get out of town as quickly as they could.
As he felt the Nightshade’s hot, fetid breath on his face and heard the rumble of eager anticipation in his ears, Jake turned his face away, unable to face his own destruction. In doing so, he caught a flicker of motion out of the corner of his eye and watched in spellbound fascination as Loki hurtled through the doorway, aimed for the Nightshade’s back.
Loki’s form seemed to glide through the air in slow motion, all grace and power, his lips pulled back from his teeth in a vicious snarl of ferocity and rage, 140 pounds of solid muscle aimed at the thing that threatened his master.
As Loki reached the zenith of his leap and arced downward, his paws extended before him to absorb the impending impact, Jake found the energy to wrench free from the creature’s grip and fall to the floor.
He was just in time.
The Nightshade’s jaws snapped shut with an audible clack in the space where Jake’s face had been only seconds before.
The beast whipped its head around, following Jake’s motion instinctively, and in the cold gleam of its eyes Jake could see the raw, undiluted hatred as the beast realized that its prey had managed to elude its fate.
Before it had time to act on that knowledge, however, Loki slammed into it from behind, driving its body against the wall with incredible force.
Something snapped with a loud crack, and the beast roared with pain.
Jake moved along the wall, away from the vicious confrontation happening behind him. Pain welled up from his leg, and his feet didn’t want to cooperate with what his mind was telling them to do, yet he managed to put several feet between him and the Nightshade. A voice in the back of his mind was wondering just how Loki had managed to get loose from the Jeep; but he ignored it, knowing he was still in incredible danger and needing to concentrate on finding a means of escape.
He had to find some way to stop the beast long enough that he and Loki could get out of the confines of the garret and into the rest of the house, where they might be able to lose the beast and escape with their lives.
Behind him, the beast roared in anger. The answering snarl of fury let Jake know that Loki was still alive and fighting.
He looked around desperately, trying to find something to stop the beast, even if it was for only a short time. His glance showed Loki standing a few feet away snarling, his back to Jake, his legs tensed and his belly slung low to the ground. It didn’t appear as if the Nightshade was afraid of the dog in any way, though Loki must have hurt it since the creature stood with its right side forward, favoring its left. From where he stood Jake could see that the beast’s left wing hung limply at its side, and he wondered if that was what he had heard snap when the creature had been forced against the wall. Was it really that fragile?
As he watched, Loki dashed in at the beast, keeping low, snapping at its legs the way a wolf will worry the legs of a deer. Every time he would rush in, the creature’s claw would lash out in a vicious strike. Jake knew that if the beast managed to connect with even one of those blows, Loki would be in trouble.
Jake had to find a weapon before that happened.
Had to.
But where?
The only objects in view where those few things he had brought with him, along with several rotting beams that had broken away from the room’s walls. The gun had proved useless, and the short pocketknife he always carried would be as effective as throwing stones.
A sharp squeal sounded from behind him, and Jake knew he was about run out of time. The beast had scored a blow, and it was just a matter of time before Loki jinked when he should have jagged and ended up a bloody ball of fur on the floor.
Jake’s gaze fell on the Coleman lantern, and he knew he’d found what he needed.
* * *
Swerving into the drive, Damon slammed on the brakes just in time to avoid smashing into the back of Jake’s Jeep. Before the car had even come to a full stop Sam was out the door, running over to his friend’s vehicle. Katelynn and Damon joined him there a second later.
A great, gaping hole could be seen in the Jeep’s wind-shield. Shattered glass covered the hood as if something had burst free from the inside.
Some of the shards were edged with drying blood.
Without a word Damon walked back to the Bronco and opened the back, removing the rifle from the rack he kept there. He chambered a round, and the sound was strangely loud in the still morning air.
He smiled grimly.
“Let’s go,” he said.
The lantern stood on the other side of the room near the doorway through which he’d entered. Jake dragged himself across the room, scooping up the pistol as he went by, ignoring the searing flash of pain that radiated from his injured leg. Gun in hand, he reached the opposite wall and picked up the lantern.
A glance across the room told him he didn’t have much time. Loki was still harrying the beast, barking up a storm to confuse it; but his motions were slower, weaker, and with each attack he came that much closer to the beast’s claws. It would only be a matter of time before another blow connected. Jake could see a wide wound in Loki’s flank where the first blow had struck, and the brilliant red of the dog’s blood was shocking against the pure white of his fur. He would need extensive care at the hands of a good vet if they got out of this alive.