Bloodrose

Connor nodded. “Okay, Scion, you run back here as soon as you have Eydis so Adne can weave a door and get us out.”

Shay shrugged off his tank, pushing it toward Gabriel. “I’ll be faster without it.”

“Ready?” Ren was looking at me. As alphas we’d lead this strike.

“As ever,” I snarled, drawing on my anger to push away any fear.

I’m sorry, Silas. I’ll try to make it up to you.

One by one our pack submerged, swimming away from Shay and the others. We stayed beneath the surface as long as we could. When the water was too shallow, Ren and I shifted forms in sync, two wolves bursting from the water. The ceiling came to life. Mason was running at my flank, while Nev and Sabine stayed close to Ren. The swarm of bats dove; I could feel the wind stirred up by hundreds of tiny wings brushing across my fur.

Now. I sent the thought to the pack.

We scattered.

A horrible shrieking echoed in the cavern. I leapt up at intervals, snapping at the air. Sometimes my jaws ripped apart a wing or crushed a small body. At others I bit nothing, the swarm having moved on to pursue one of my packmates.

A yelp jerked me around and I saw a dozen or more bats clinging to Nev’s shoulders. His muscles bunched and he jumped off the shoreline, crashing into the water, sending some of the bats careening through the air while others were sucked beneath the surface when Nev shifted forms and fully submerged again.

It was working. The bats couldn’t track so many of us, moving so quickly. And when the swarm did fix its hunt on one of our number, we were fast enough to get into the water before they could do too much damage.

Another splash echoed through the cavern. Sabine was in the water, taking bats with her-a lot more of the creatures clung to her than had to Nev. They were getting better at focusing on one of us at a time. I felt the rush of wind again. I didn’t have to look over my shoulder to know the swarm had targeted me. The first bat landed on my spine; its teeth cutting across my back was light as a pinprick, but the feeling of its tiny tongue lapping up my blood almost made me stumble. Another bat clung to me. Then another.

Calla! Ren’s shout filled my head. There are too many on you; get in the water now!

I didn’t want to know how many was too many. But I could feel their weight on my back and my blood leaking from dozens of minuscule cuts. I wheeled and flung myself into the water. The force of my leap slammed my chest hard into the surface, knocking the breath from my lungs. The bats struggled to free themselves from my fur and take flight before the water captured them. I shifted forms, trying to put in my mouthpiece and get air. My heart was pounding, but I forced myself to be still, drinking in the silence of submersion. Beneath the surface everything was dark, though my eyes were open. I felt as if I were floating in empty space rather than underwater. I was desperate to get back into the fight, but I had to be steady first. When I was sure I had my breath back, I swam to the shore, shifting, and burst back into the fray.

But there was no fray. The rest of my pack stood still, ears flicking back and forth, watching the ceiling.

The bats had vanished.

What happened? I padded to Ren’s side.

They left. He pawed the ground in agitation. The cavern shook and they all flew out of the opening to the cave.

The cavern shook? I hadn’t felt anything underwater.

Just a little. Sabine was licking a cut on Nev’s shoulder.

Mason and I exchanged a look. His tongue lolled out in a wolf grin. He’s got it. Shay found Eydis.

How do you know? Ren’s ears flicked back and forth when he turned toward Mason.

The cave shook in Switzerland. I nipped at Mason’s shoulder playfully. Go, Shay!

Right. Ren remained tense. But why would that make the bats leave?

I bristled. Let’s get back to the others.

We had started toward the alcove when the cavern rumbled again. The earth rolled under my paws, throwing me onto my side. The water’s surface began to stir, spilling over the edge of the shore. Soon it looked like a boiling cauldron.

What’s happening? Mason called to us.

I could hear the Searchers shouting, but I couldn’t make out their words over the roar of water pouring into the cavern. Scrambling to my feet, I started to run toward their voices. My paws were splashing through ankle-deep water. It should have been impossible. Water coming through that tiny cleft in the rock we’d had to worm through couldn’t be this forceful. But somehow it was. Water that had been at my knees was already at my waist and rising, forcing me to swim. The cave shuddered again. Slabs of stone dropped from the ceiling.

I could see Connor waving to us. Adne was beside him, fumbling with her scuba gear while Gabriel tried to help her. Ethan began swimming toward us.

Where was Shay? I couldn’t spot him among them.

“We have to get out of here!” Connor shouted.

The water was at my neck, but I’d almost reached them. A deafening roar filled the cave and then the ocean was crashing around us, roiling, hitting us with the force of a tidal wave. We were thrown apart.

I slammed into the cavern wall. My instincts screamed at me to swim up and find a way to surface, but whatever rational cells were left in my body stopped me. There wasn’t a way to surface, not anymore. The cavern was flooding with a speed that could only be credited to magic. Was it a final trap left by the Keepers or just a result of Shay claiming the water hilt? Whatever the cause, I knew my salvation lay in working with the water, not against it.

I shifted forms and shoved my mouthpiece in, knowing that I had to find Shay. He’d left his tank behind when he went after Eydis. He’d drown without an air source. I struggled against the new currents that swirled through the water, grabbing a single fin before it could float past me. Even the help of one fin would be better than trying to swim without them.

I worked my way toward the gleaming tones of the alcove, which wavered now that they were submerged. A flicker above me drew my gaze. I saw kicking feet. Shay was pushing himself toward the surface. Without a tank he had no other options. My fin gave me extra speed as I went after him.

When I grabbed his ankle, he jerked around, ready to strike at me. I pulled him down, taking my mouthpiece out and pushing it onto his lips. I held his shoulders, trying to remember Gabriel’s instructions. I had the tank, so I was in charge of the breaths. Keeping my eyes on Shay’s lungs, I counted: one breath, two breaths. He nodded at me. I took the mouthpiece from him and took my two breaths. We began to swim slowly toward the spot where I’d last seen the Searchers.

Shay pointed ahead. A light shimmered in the water-golden against the turquoise currents-a tall, narrow slab of light.

Adne’s door. She’d opened a door underwater. Shay squeezed my arm and we swam faster. Adne was hovering near the portal. She had her tank and mask on, and when she caught sight of us, she began waving frantically. But she wasn’t waving at us, she was pointing to something behind us. I flipped around and though I didn’t have a mouthpiece in, or air to waste, I screamed.

Gabriel was swimming toward us and the portal, but he wasn’t alone. He was dragging something with him. The limp body of a wolf.

Nev wasn’t struggling to swim or free himself from Gabriel’s arms. He wasn’t moving at all.

Shay shoved the mouthpiece between my lips with a shake of his head. Gabriel swam past us, dragging Nev with him into the portal. We swam after him, pushing through the shimmering passage and landing in a muddy puddle on the jungle floor.

“No!” Mason was kneeling over Nev. “Please, Nev!”

“Get out of the way!” Gabriel pushed Mason aside.

Mason snarled. He shifted forms, ready to lunge at Gabriel. Connor jumped between them.

“Wait!” Connor shouted. “Give him a minute. He’s a dive instructor, remember? He’s certified in CPR.”