Kitabı oku: «Footprints»

Annja knew there was no way she could turn her back on her friend

Jenny had to be protected—if not from the external threats, like the mysterious gunmen, then from herself. Annja had seen obsession kill people and knew that Jenny could easily fall prey to the same fate. I won’t let her die, she thought.

Joey came back into the camp, dragging branches behind him. “She still out?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

Suddenly Annja heard a low howl of some sort. It sounded like a cross between a coyote and a banshee. She looked at Joey. “What the heck is that?”

Joey busied himself thatching a roof together. “I don’t know. Now, if you’ll help me make this shelter, we can get to bed and hopefully forget we ever heard that. Because it’s not something I’ve ever heard before.”

“Never?” Annja asked.

“Never,” Joey said. “But whatever it is, it sounds like it’s coming this way.”

Footprints

Rogue Angel_™

Alex Archer

www.mirabooks.co.uk

Special thanks and acknowledgment to Jon Merz for his contribution to this work.

THE LEGEND

...THE ENLISH COMMANDER TOOK

JOAN’S SWORD AND IT HIGH.

The broadsword, plain and unadorned, gleamed in the firelight. He put the tip against the ground and his foot at the center of the blade. The broadsword shattered, fragments falling into the mud. The crowd surged forward, peasant and soldier, and snatched the shards from the trampled mud. The commander tossed the hilt deep into the crowd.

Smoke almost obscured Joan, but she continued praying till the end, until finally the flames climbed her body and she sagged against the restraints.

Joan of Arc died that fateful day in France, but her legend and sword are reborn….

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Epilogue

1

Annja Creed ducked around another thick pine tree and paused. A cool breeze blew through her hair, which she’d recently had cut, thinking she should take a chance and go for a new look. After her stylist had taken a good six inches off, she realized she’d made a mistake.

“You’re always on the go,” Rachel said, looking almost guilty. “It’s so much easier to take care of it like this, and besides, a lot of guys like short hair.”

“Yeah, but I’m not sure I do,” Annja said.

Rachel smiled at her and shrugged. “You can always grow it back.”

Two days after the haircut, Annja hid out in her Brooklyn loft, desperately wondering how long she could get away with her self-imposed hibernation. She didn’t have any urgent commitments and she wasn’t due to film another segment of her popular cable television series, Chasing History’s Monsters, for a few weeks. She realized that having a lot of downtime made her restless and led to rash decisions like ill-advised makeovers. Then the e-mail had arrived that changed her plans and suddenly she was flying out to the Pacific Northwest.

Now she stood in the forest on a trail that the guy who ran the combined gas station and grocery store had assured her would lead all the way to a small encampment hidden deep in the woods.

“Stay on the trail,” he’d said sternly. “Don’t get off it—whatever happens.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Annja asked.

He’d smiled at her. “That forest is like a maze of pine trees and vines that’ll trip you up and suck you under where no one can find you. You stay on the path, you’ll be all right. Venture off, and you’ll be lucky to be found by next spring.”

She could see what he meant. Since parking her rented Jeep at the entrance to the trailhead, she’d had a hard enough time just trying to find the trail itself. It was incredibly overgrown, almost as if the woods themselves were desperate to reclaim it from civilization.

The crack of a branch somewhere behind her caused her to freeze. Was someone coming up the trail behind her?

Annja hadn’t gotten the impression that this was a busy recreational hiking area. And the appearance of the trail itself didn’t exactly make a convincing argument about its popularity. So who else might be wandering in the woods?

The e-mail Annja had received was from an old friend named Jenny Chu. She and Jenny had taken many undergraduate courses together and their friendship had blossomed over in-depth discussions about American folklore and legends. Jenny’s passion was for things like the Lake Champlain monster and the legends of the Sasquatch.

The Sasquatch legend was why Annja was traipsing through the Oregon woods. Jenny’s e-mail suggested that she’d found new evidence of the creature’s existence. It was evidence she wanted Annja to see, as well, in case she wanted to do a segment about it on Chasing History’s Monsters. Annja didn’t believe for a second there would be any proof of a giant hairy creature roaming the woods, but her producer, Doug Morrell, was a sucker for those types of stories. Besides, Annja figured, I can buy some time before anyone I know sees my hair.

Annja smirked, thinking about the last time she’d seen Jenny, and their debate. Jenny had gone on and on about how it was anthropologically possible for a giant ape-man to exist in the farthest reaches of the forest of the North American continent.

Annja hadn’t been swayed. “You’re talking about a missing link, here, Jen. And it’s just not possible. Not with the technology we have nowadays. You’d think we could float a satellite over certain areas and just get readings if there was anything there.”

Jenny, her hair in two braids with her glasses slung low on her nose, had fired back. “You trust technology way too much. It’s not the magic bullet you think it is.”

“I don’t think it’s a magic bullet, per se,” Annja said. “Just that we have to acknowledge it could solve mysteries that we’ve created for ourselves.”

“I’ll prove you wrong, Annja. One day. You’ll see.”

Was this the day Jenny had forecast? Annja smiled and started walking again. She’d have to wait and see. Jenny’s campsite was supposed to be set up about two miles farther down the trail.

Annja took another five steps and paused again. She didn’t hear anything but something didn’t feel right.

She turned and looked back the way she’d come. How many times, she wondered, had she suspected that someone had followed her? The feeling was so ingrained that it had become the norm.

Still, she couldn’t discount it. Her safety might well be in jeopardy. It often was these days. And that meant she’d have to take precautions.

The words of the gnarled shopkeeper rang in her ears. “Stick to the trail.”

Annja frowned. If she stuck to the trail, there was a good chance that whoever or whatever was following her would overtake her.

Whatever?

She caught the mental slip and frowned. Was she already supposing that some giant creature might be tailing her? She chuckled. It couldn’t be helped. Despite the sunny start to the day, bloated clouds had moved in, threatening to drench the forest below. The forest itself had gone quiet, almost as if the animals and insects knew what was coming.

Or did they?

One thing was certain—if Annja didn’t make some progress and reach the campsite, she was going to get soaked to the bone and face the threat of hypothermia. Even though the day was relatively warm, it was still early spring and she knew that temperatures could fluctuate rapidly. In the space of a few hours, alone, wet and cold, Annja could easily become disoriented and disappear. Unfortuately, she knew such things happened all the time.

Not the best way to start off the trip, she decided.

Ahead of her, she spotted what looked like a redwood tree, its massive trunk almost too large to even attempt to hug. It’s been here for hundreds upon hundreds of years, Annja thought. Too bad Jenny can’t ask the tree what lives here. I’ll bet it could clear up the whole big-foot mystery right quick.

She walked around the tree, marveling at the sheer size of it, its branches reaching toward the heavens.

Fantastic, she thought. This alone was worth the trip.

She heard the noise as a twig snapped again, about thirty yards back.

Annja whirled. I need cover, she thought.

Another twig cracked. She spotted a clump of bushes and ducked toward it, squeezing her tall frame under the overhang until she could just about peer out from under the foliage.

She sensed movement farther back on the path. Was it the creature Jenny had been hunting for?

Or something else entirely?

She spotted a set of boots and relaxed somewhat. The last she’d heard, the Sasquatch didn’t wear trendy hiking boots. The feet were moving along at a casual pace. There wasn’t any sense of menace.

Annja poked her head out from under the bush and heard a shout of surprise.

The hiking boots belonged to a boy of about fourteen. His jet-black hair spiked out of his head at odd angles and he toppled back, landing on his butt as he reacted with shock to seeing Annja’s head emerge from the bush.

“Who are you?” he asked.

Annja climbed to her feet. “Sorry about that. I thought someone might be following me.”

The boy frowned. “You always go around hiding in blueberry bushes?”

Annja shrugged. “I’ve been known to hide in Dumpsters, too. Trees, sand dunes, snow caves.” You name it, I’ve done it.”

She helped him to his feet. “Who are you?”

“Joey,” he said easily.

Annja smiled. “Nice to meet you.”

He frowned. “That’s some haircut you got there. You pay someone to do that or did you hack it off yourself?”

Annja frowned. “She took too much off. I wanted a change, but not this much.”

Joey smirked. “Well, I think it looks killer.”

Annja laughed. “Thanks. So where are you heading with that backpack stuffed as it is?”

Joey pointed down the trail. “I’m spending my vacation working for an expedition that’s camped farther in. I get to hang out, run some errands and see what they’re up to.”

“That wouldn’t be Jenny Chu’s expedition, would it?”

Joey nodded. “Yeah. You know her?”

“She’s an old friend of mine. She asked me to come out here and see what she was up to.”

Joey’s eyes went wide. “You’re Annja Creed?”

“Guilty.”

Joey frowned. “Wow, you don’t look anything like you do on television.”

“Yeah, well I didn’t bother going to hair and makeup before hiking through the woods. I wasn’t expecting to run into any fans,” she said, winking. “How about you showing me exactly where the camp is? Those clouds look as if they’re going to open up any second and I don’t want to be out here when it pours.”

“No sweat, Annja. Follow me.”

Joey hefted his pack and set off. Annja followed along behind him. “You know this area well?” she asked.

Joey shrugged. “This is the land of my ancestors. We’ve been around here longer than anyone else.”

Annja nodded. “You made a lot of noise on the trail back there. Might be time to study the skills of your ancestors.”

Joey stopped walking. “What are you talking about?”

“On the trail. I heard you coming a mile away. Lots of twigs snapping, that kind of thing. Not very stealthy, huh?”

“Lady, I move pretty quiet. I don’t know what you heard, but it wasn’t me. They don’t call me Creeping Wolf for nothing.”

Annja frowned. “If I didn’t hear you, then what—”

Joey held up his hand. “Let’s not even go there, okay? No offense to your friend or anything, but she’s kind of obsessed with the whole Sasquatch thing, you know? I can dig having an interest and all, but she’s really going full speed into nut job.”

Annja smiled. “That sounds like Jenny.”

“It’s cool,” Joey said. “I get that way about things. Girls, mostly. But you have to know when to draw the line at becoming a lunatic.”

“Good advice.”

The trail started to descend into what looked like a valley. Annja could see the trees starting to part as they entered a clearing. Ahead of her, she saw the bright reds and yellows of tents.

“So there it is,” she said.

Joey nodded. “I’ve been gone all day. I had to go back to town and get some more supplies.”

“Did you drive?”

Joey looked at her. “I walked.”

“Yeah, but town’s six miles away.”

“And?”

Annja raised her eyebrows. “Nothing. Never mind.”

Joey smiled. “Like I said, I’ve been cruising these woods my whole life. I know them better than almost anyone else. And as the crow flies, the distance back to town is only three miles.”

“You fly, too?”

“Sometimes that’s exactly what it feels like.”

They broke out of the forest and into the clearing. Joey walked ahead of Annja, leaving her to take in the camp.

It was strangely quiet.

“Joey.”

He stopped. “What?”

Annja frowned. “Where is everyone?”

Joey turned and glanced around. They both stood for a moment, taking in the fact that there seemed to be absolutely no noise anywhere in the camp. Overhead, the clouds jostled together and Annja felt the first few drops of rain starting to flick down at her.

She felt uneasy and turned to see the barrel of a gun aiming at her.

The man standing behind the rifle did not look very friendly.

“How nice. Another guest,” he said.

Annja turned to warn Joey, but he had vanished.

Startled, Annja turned back to the man. He was looking her up and down and then he nodded. “Walk that way. Try anything funny and I’ll be more than happy to put a couple of holes into you.”

Annja turned and started moving. One of these days, she thought, I’m going to have to find a deserted island. Maybe then I can get away from everyone who wants to kill me.

2

Annja felt the rifle barrel jab into her spine for the third time. She risked a glance back at the man standing behind her. “That’s not necessary. I’m perfectly capable of walking without you stabbing me with your gun every few seconds,” she said angrily.

“Shut up and walk.”

Annja glanced around the camp as he escorted her past the tents. Everything seemed to be in good order and there wasn’t an air of chaos. Annja wondered if the guy with the rifle had surprised Jenny’s camp. She also wondered if he was alone.

She found the answer to that question when they turned the corner and she saw two other men similarly armed. One of them looked at Annja’s escort.

“Where’d she come from?”

“She’s been on the trail leading here. I followed her for a few miles.”

“Noisily, I might add,” Annja said.

“Sit her down with the others.”

Annja felt the jab of the rifle barrel again and sat down. Jenny’s expedition consisted of a number of college students—an even mix of boys and girls who looked quite frightened.

But where was Jenny?

Annja watched as the three armed men huddled together and spoke for a few seconds. They parted and the one who seemed to be in charge, a guy of maybe forty with thick pork-chop sideburns and a long scar down one side of his face, nodded at her. “You.”

“What?” she asked.

“Stand up.”

Annja tensed. Were they going to shoot her now? She closed her eyes and pictured the powerful sword she’d inherited from Joan of Arc. The weapon was ready for her to call forth. She knew her timing would have to be perfect.

Annja stood and asked, “What’s this all about?”

“Shut up. We’ve got a message for the professor.”

Annja frowned. So this wasn’t just some random occurrence. These guys wanted to speak to Jenny. But what had happened to her?

“What’s the message?”

The man leveled a finger at Annja. “Tell her to back off. She’s not wanted here. These woods belong to us. And we’ll do whatever it takes to keep it that way.”

Annja wanted to argue, but decided it would be better to just accept things and try to figure out what was going on once the danger had passed. “Okay. I’ll give her the message.”

“You do that. And tell her we’ll be watching. If we don’t like what we see, then bad things will start happening.”

Annja nodded. “I get it.”

The lead man regarded her for one more second and then turned. The three men walked toward the trees that bordered the clearing. In minutes, they had vanished back into the gloom.

Annja frowned. She turned and pulled one of the young men to his feet. “What the hell is going on around here?” she asked him.

“Who are you?” he said, sounding terrified.

“I’m Annja Creed. Where is Jenny?”

“Jenny?”

“Professor Chu,” Annja said.

Although he was big and strapping, the student looked frightened. Probably hasn’t had the experience of being shot, stabbed and blown up, Annja thought

“Professor Chu went out on a hike this morning. We haven’t seen her since.”

Annja looked around. “None of you have seen her?”

“No. And those guys showed up about an hour ago. I guess they just got tired of waiting for her.”

Annja peered out into the woods. “Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“Perhaps they were only supposed to deliver the message. Maybe it’s a scare tactic.”

“Those guns looked real enough.”

Annja smiled. “They were.”

“Hey,” a voice called out.

Annja turned and saw Joey standing behind her, sliding his backpack off.

“Where the hell did you disappear to?”

Joey grinned. “Creeping Wolf, remember? I can disappear in the blink of an eye.”

“Yeah, well, thanks for sticking around to defend the weak and all that jazz.”

Joey smirked. “Yeah, right. You defenseless? That’s a joke. And besides, I don’t do guns, man. I’m a lover, not a fighter.”

“Great. So, my creeping friend, maybe you can tell me what happened to Jenny?”

“How could I do that? I’ve been gone all day getting supplies,” Joey said.

Annja frowned. He had a point. And none of the college kids looked as if they were going to be particularly keen to set out on a search through the woods. Annja could hear them all talking in hushed tones. She knew what was coming.

Annja looked at Joey again. “They’ll want to leave,” she told him.

Joey frowned. “Because of those guys? That’s weak.”

“Didn’t you just tell me you’re a lover, not a fighter?”

“Sure, but I don’t lay down for anyone, either. I did that, I wouldn’t be much of a credit to my tribe.”

“Well, I don’t think any of these kids signed on for this kind of thing. The thought of gun-wielding dudes is probably giving them images of Deliverance.”

“Deliverance?”

“It’s a movie,” Annja said. “Rent it when you’re older.”

Joey shook his head. “I can download it for free. But thanks for dating yourself.”

“You’ve got quite the mouth on you, don’t you?” Annja said, attempting to sound stern.

Joey held up his hands. “No disrespect intended, ma’am.”

Annja smirked. “Wiseass.” She turned back to the student she’d spoken to initially. “Get your gear packed up. You guys aren’t staying here.”

He looked as if Annja had just promised him several bars of gold. Instantly, the college students all sprang into action, taking down tents and getting their packs squared away.

Annja watched them. She felt hesitant about taking command of the situation but, with Jenny nowhere to be seen, someone had to. She couldn’t tell a bunch of kids to hang around with gun-toting nuts lurking in the woods. And she was pretty confident that Jenny would tell them to get out of there, as well. There was no way Jenny would want kids under her care to be in danger.

It took them twenty minutes to break down the camp. Annja found Jenny’s tent and started to pack it up, too.

Joey spent most of the time complaining about the supplies he’d lugged back from town. “Hey, man, I’m still getting paid for this, right? I mean, charity’s nice and all, but I have to look out for numero uno.”

Annja fished out her wallet and gave him fifty dollars. “That enough?”

Joey’s eyes lit up. “Not bad. Jenny promised me a hundred per day out here, though.”

“Don’t push your luck. Jenny’s on a university grant and has to watch all of her expenses. That fifty’s a gift and you know it.”

Joey smiled. “Can’t blame a dude for trying.”

Annja finished breaking down Jenny’s tent and wrapped up the stakes in the nylon. “I’ve got one final assignment for you, Creeping Wolf.”

“Yeah?”

“You need to lead these kids back to the trailhead.”

Joey frowned. “They stay on the trail, they’ll be fine. They don’t need me.”

Annja pulled him close. “Take a look at their faces. Every one of them is terrified. Being confronted with guns isn’t a normal occurrence for these kids. And they’re probably considering very seriously the idea that they came close to being killed. If I let them go like this, they’ll wander off the trail and die from exposure. You know that’s true.”

Joey nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. They do look pretty shell-shocked.”

“As opposed to you.”

“I left, man. I don’t stick around for trouble. That’s bad medicine.”

“Well, do me this one favor and then you can get lost, as well.”

“What about you?” Joey asked.

Annja looked out into the trees. “I’ll leave with you guys as a group. But somewhere along the trail, I’ll bleed off. Don’t try to find me. I’ll search for Jenny and we’ll figure out what to do next.”

“You’re going to find Jenny in these woods alone? You?”

“I’m pretty good at finding my way around, Joey. I’ve been in a lot worse environments than this,” Annja said.

At that moment, the clouds finally opened up and rain pelted down from the sky, soaking everyone in seconds. The students shouted and complained that they had no tents to use for shelter.

Annja sighed and called them all together. “You’re leaving.”

“Now?” one of them said. “It’s raining.”

“So the quicker we get out onto the trail and headed back to the trailhead, the better off you’ll be. Move quickly and you’ll stay warm, too. Joey here is going to lead us all out.”

“Can he do it?”

Joey looked as if he was going to punch the person who asked, but Annja held him back. “Yes, he knows these woods better than anyone.”

“What if we get lost?”

“You won’t,” Annja said. “And I’ll be bringing up the rear so I’ll make sure no one gets left behind. Now, are we ready?”

They all nodded. Annja breathed a sigh of relief. If she could just keep them focused on the task at hand, getting back to the safety of town and away from here, then they’d be all right.

She looked at Joey. “You all set?”

“Of course,” he said.

“All right, then. Lead on.”

Joey started off down the trail. One by one, the students fell in, forming a ragged line. Rain continued to drench them all. Annja knew she’d have to find shelter pretty quickly if she had any hope of surviving long enough to find Jenny.

She figured the trio of gunmen were probably watching them leave. She hoped they would think that Annja had just wanted to get everyone out in one piece. Hopefully, they would believe that their threats had worked.

Even though they hadn’t.

The trees seemed to reach in over them as they walked down the trail. Overhead, the long spindly branches with leaf shoots and pine branches deflected some of the rain, but it was still getting very squishy on the ground. Annja’s boots left footprints behind her that quickly filled with water.

The trail was turning into a muddy mess.

“Joey?”

He turned back, hearing Annja call him. “Yeah?”

“Thanks for your help.”

He frowned for a moment and then simply nodded. He understood that Annja would simply take off on her own at the right time and not announce her departure. The quieter she was, the better. The last thing those kids needed was something else weighing on their minds.

Annja did find it peculiar that none of them had asked about Jenny’s welfare. But then again, when faced with mortal danger, most people do end up only considering their own personal safety.

Jenny was on her own.

Well, not quite. As Joey led the group around a bend in the trail, Annja saw her chance and quietly stepped off the trail. She crouched low and then slipped behind a thick pine tree.

The rain continued to fall and the light in the sky seemed to be dimming by the second. It was already late afternoon and the addition of bad weather meant that she was looking at spending a truly dark night in the woods.

Annja, soaked and not really knowing where she was or how to even begin looking for Jenny, was facing the very real threat of staying warm enough to survive her first night out here.

She smirked. Funny how her bad haircut paled in comparison to the dangers she faced now.

3

If Annja had initially believed that the rain would taper off as the evening progressed, she was wrong. Indeed, as the sky continued to darken, the rain increased until sheets fell from the clouds above her. The forest floor ran with mud and debris while a strong wind howled around her.

If I stay here, I’ll die, Annja decided. The good news was that the weather was a great equalizer. The men with the guns would also have to seek refuge from the storm. That meant Annja could risk setting herself up properly without fear of them showing up to shoot her dead.

She hauled Jenny’s tent out of her backpack and immediately got it staked into the sodden ground. There was no guarantee that the tent wouldn’t fly away at the next gust of wind, but she was grateful she at least had something that would keep her reasonably dry.

Her next task was fire. Annja could already feel herself starting to shiver. And she knew from experience that the onset of hypothermia would render her useless very soon. Her system would literally start to shut down, as her core drew heat away from her extremities and her brain.

She pulled out her knife and started scraping at the bark of the tree closest to her. The exterior of the bark was wet but the interior would still be reasonably dry. Annja produced a handful of shavings that would easily catch a spark. She put them into a plastic bag and then in her pocket to keep them as dry as possible.

Twenty yards from her makeshift camp, she spotted a downed tree. Closer inspection showed it overhung a fairly large area and provided substantial shelter from the rain. It was almost dry under the canopy of the dense pine. Annja could see the splintered trunk and reasoned it must have come down during a recent thunderstorm.

She hurried back and pulled Jenny’s tent from the muddy ground. Back under the canopy, the ground was much drier. It wasn’t high enough to set up the tent under the branches, but she could stretch the tent out and use it as a tarp. It was perfect to further protect her from the elements.

Annja also found a large pile of deadfall and the branches were almost all dry. She hacked several into smaller lengths and then scraped out a fire bowl depression in the ground. On the bottom she laid the tinder bundle and set some thin kindling sticks above it.

Here goes nothing, she thought. She scraped her fire starter against her knife blade and saw the sparks fly into the tinder bundle. They caught almost immediately, and even with the cacophony of noise from the rainstorm, Annja could still hear the snap and crackle of the wood as it caught.

Heat radiated up toward her and Annja shivered again, as if trying to throw the water off her skin.

I need to get these clothes dry, she thought.

She added more wood to the flames and set two of the thicker logs nearby to begin burning. When she was satisfied she had a sustainable fire going, Annja removed her clothes.

Her jacket was still fairly dry, but she’d gotten wet pretty much everywhere else. She stripped off all of her clothes until she huddled around the fire nude, feeling the wood smoke curl up around her, wrapping her in its warmth.

On the branches above her, Annja draped her clothes, letting the heat and smoke dry them out.

The area was littered with pine boughs and Annja knew that sleeping on them could be almost a luxury if they were soft enough. The spring growth hadn’t occurred yet so they were obviously dead leftovers from before the winter snows. Still, when she gathered enough of them and lay down, it was quite comfortable.

The wind howled around her sanctuary. I wonder where Jenny is in this mess? Annja frowned. She knew there was a chance that her friend would not survive the night without any of her camping gear. The wind, rain and falling temperature together could kill even an experienced outdoors type.

Still, Annja knew that Jenny was remarkably resilient. And she also had a lot of training. Annja rooted through her pack and found the energy bar she always kept there along with the bottle of water she’d packed. Some feast, she thought, but at least she had something.

The rain continued to hammer the forest. Annja couldn’t remember hearing about any major storm systems threatening this area, but that didn’t mean much in the mountains where the weather could change from minute to minute.

She finished her meal and then leaned back against the thick tree trunk. Thanks to the way the branches drooped almost to the ground, the heat from the fire warmed the area nicely. Annja felt relaxed and comfortable, despite the fact that she was sitting naked in the midst of a terrible storm. If she wasn’t worried about Jenny’s whereabouts she’d actually be having a great time.

But it was definitely not a night to be out alone. Still, she had her sword. And she had a fire and shelter. Water wasn’t an issue yet. She’d just eaten. So even though she was out in the woods with three armed guys who had warned her not to hang around, Annja didn’t feel too bad. As soon as the rain let up she’d start her search for Jenny.

She touched her clothes. The heat and smoke were doing their job nicely. She pulled them down and slid them back on. Her body heat would finish drying them.

She fed another log onto the fire, watching the flames jump around in the slight breeze that had managed to work its way inside the relative safety of the drooping tree. The heat enveloped her. Annja felt her eyelids drooping. She tried to blink away sleep, but she took another deep breath and nodded off.

When she woke, the sun wasn’t shining. In fact, it was still pitch-black outside. It was dark inside the shelter, as well. The fire had died out and only red coals remained, smoldering from a lack of fuel.

Annja reached for a branch to toss onto the fire. She felt a small chill run up her back and knew she would need to keep better alert to ensure the fire didn’t die out entirely.

Fortunately, the coals were still hot enough, and with a quick huff of air over them, they flared and caught on the branches, resurrecting the fire into a reputable condition. Annja shivered again.

The rain had tapered off. But the wind continued to blast through the trees.

Had she just heard something?

It was tough trusting her ears when the wind seemed to overpower her ability to pick out details.

The fire blazed to full strength. Annja sat with her back against the tree. The fire had compromised her relative invisibility. If those goons were out there looking for her, they would see its glow through the branches and know someone was in there.

Annja closed her eyes and made sure the sword was ready to wield. It would be tough in the close confines of the overhang, so she would have to get out of it in case a fight broke out.

She paused, waiting for another indicator that something was moving around in the woods. But she doubted that she’d be able to detect a twig breaking underfoot. The wind continued to howl and it was roaring in her ears.

Any telltale sounds would die long before they reached her.

She’d have to go on her instincts alone.

Annja took a deep breath and allowed herself to relax, slowly enabling her focus to expand outward like a circle around her. She hoped it would act almost like a radar and let her know if there was any reason to be afraid.

She had no evidence but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was out there.

But what was it?

Maybe it was Jenny.

Maybe it was one of the gunmen.

Annja frowned. Did she really believe that gang would abandon the comforts of their camp to come out in the storm? It was doubtful. Having seen them up close, Annja knew they were probably sleeping off an alcohol-induced state of euphoria by now. In the morning, they would become a problem.

But right now?

No.

That meant there was something else out there.

Annja frowned. There it was again. Something. She shook her head. Being in the dark woods during a rainstorm all by yourself could certainly make the idea of something like big foot seem possible.

But Annja would have to see the creature face-to-face before she bought into that. She knew of a bunch of expeditions that had tried to prove the existence of the mighty Sasquatch, without anything to show for their efforts.

Meanwhile, the true believers insisted that something like the Sasquatch had the ability to make itself as visible or invisible as needed. Just because a bunch of humans tramped through its woods didn’t mean they’d find it.

Annja sighed. In all likelihood, there was probably an animal out there just looking for a bit of something to eat. Maybe it had gotten a whiff of the fire and had come to see if there was any food to be had.

Annja smiled. Not this time.

Suddenly, though, she felt a sense of trouble.

Annja slowly got up on her haunches. She reached for her boots and slid them on, tucking the laces inside so she wouldn’t have to tie them up. She was on full alert.

What was out there?

The wind blew another blast through the overhang, rattling the branches around her. Annja felt a small shower of water rain down on her from somewhere high overhead.

She racked her brain for all of the animals that lived in these woods. She knew that there was fox, bear, coyote, but what else might call this place home?

A wolf?

Maybe a werewolf.

Annja grinned in spite of herself. There were times when her internal dialogue made her crack up. This was one of them. She’d been working with Doug Morrell for too long. Werewolves were exactly what he’d be thinking about.

But she had to find out what was threatening her safety.

She glanced up. She could climb into the branches for a look-see. She might be able to figure it out.

The wind died then and she heard a large crack somewhere outside of her shelter.

That didn’t sound like a small animal.

Annja fed another log onto the fire, letting the flames blaze up. It wasn’t doing her night vision any good, but seeing the fire made her feel a lot better about being alone.

Annja had no idea what she might be facing. And although she had her sword, the thought of running out of the shelter, blindly hacking at something, didn’t make sense.

She’d have to go up.

Annja reached up and threaded her way into the branches. With every move, more drops of rain fell on her.

I’ll need to strip off after this just to get dry again.

More sounds reached her ears. Something was definitely trying to get closer to the shelter.

She had to move fast.

Annja let her feet carry her into the higher branches of the tree. She still had her knife on her belt. And she had her sword. But she’d left her pack down at the base of the tree.

The branches below her yawned and then snapped back.

Annja kept climbing.

Was that a snarl?

Her pulse quickened. Wild packs of dogs sometimes roamed through the woods. And they would gladly tear a lone female apart without hesitation.

She knew she was far better to be off the ground. She reached for the next series of branches and pulled herself into a seated position about twenty feet up before pausing to catch her breath.

Below her, a series of snaps made her look. Something was destroying her camp. She could just make out the black shape moving back and forth. But it wasn’t unrestrained carnage. More like calculated destruction.

Whatever it was seemed to be searching for something.

She could easily jump down and attack them, but what would be the point? She was safe, and the idea of facing an unknown adversary didn’t sit well with her. She frowned and climbed even higher.

Annja’s foot slipped. And the branch supporting her cracked.

She gulped as her stomach spasmed.

The branch gave way.

Annja fell toward the unseen danger.

4

As Annja plummeted through the branches, time seemed to slow down long enough for her to feel every poke, prod and stab from the mighty tree’s limbs. She kept her eyes closed and prayed that her body would relax enough to somehow survive the fall. As she waited for the inevitable thump, she kept her eyes firmly locked on the sword. If, as she suspected, something nasty was waiting down there for her, she’d need it as soon as she landed.

If she could move.

But instead of a hard impact and broken bones for her trouble, as Annja’s body hit the ground she tucked and turned into a roll. She exhaled hard, rolling several feet before coming to her feet.

Underneath the canopy, something still lurked.

And now she heard a distinct growl.

Last I checked, the legend of big foot didn’t include any growling. Howling maybe, but growling? No way.

Annja closed her eyes and summoned the sword. In the darkness, its blade glowed a dull silver.

A gust of wind nearly knocked her off her feet but she bent her knees and kept her balance. What was rustling through her backpack? A bear? Was it late enough for a bear to come out of its hibernation? Annja wondered if the bears around these parts were grizzlies and then decided that pretty much any animal would be dangerous.

She caught a sudden glimpse of yellow and realized that there were two eyes staring out from under the tree canopy at her.

It had to be a wolf.

Annja stepped forward, keeping the blade in front of her. The last thing she wanted to do was kill an animal but if she had to defend herself, she wouldn’t hesitate. She knew it was highly unlikely the animal was maliciously trying to kill her. She had inadvertently stumbled onto its territory and the wolf was simply defending its home turf.

Still, a threat was a threat.

The wolf growled louder now, clearly threatened with Annja’s advance. But she kept moving. There were things in the backpack she wanted, and letting the wolf tear it apart wasn’t going to happen. Annja had already suffered through enough headaches thus far on the trip and she had no intention of giving in so easily for this.

“Get out of here! Scat!”

Annja thought it sounded ridiculous yelling into the night, but if she could scare the wolf off, that would be the best outcome.

The wolf, however, continued to growl, and it grew even louder. Annja took a glance around her and tried to recall if wolves hunted alone. As pack animals, she reasoned there could be others nearby. That would drastically reduce her chances of winning a confrontation.

She heard more rustling under the canopy and frowned. The wolf was probably tearing everything apart as punishment for Annja trespassing on his land. Great.

She stepped closer to the overhang and slashed the air in front of her with the sword. It cut several branches off with a dull singing sound that made the wolf stop and regard her again.

This time it didn’t growl.

Annja paused.

Had the blade convinced it? Could it see that if Annja pressed forward, it would probably die on her sword? Maybe it didn’t want any part of violence tonight. Maybe it was simply out hunting for something to eat after the terrible storm.

Annja looked around, but saw nothing else lurking in the night. It seemed likely that the wolf was alone. A lone hunter. Annja smiled. I know the feeling.

“You’re not going to kill him, are you?”

Annja nearly fainted from fright, but recovered quickly enough to pivot and aim her sword into the darkness.

“Hey, whoa, be careful with that thing, lady. I don’t want to be run through.”

Annja squinted and could just make out the form of another person in the shadows nearby. The voice was familiar enough for her to guess who it belonged to.

“Joey?”

“Yep.”

Annja exhaled. “Want to tell me what you’re doing wandering around out here in the dark?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m looking for you.”

“Why? I can take care of myself, thank you.”

Joey stepped out of the shadows, his eyes running along the length of the blade. “I can see that. Where did you ever get that thing? I didn’t see you with it earlier today.”

“It’s a tool I carry around with me.”

“Something that looks like that isn’t what I’d call a tool, Annja. That thing has one purpose—to kill.”

Annja shook her head. “You’d be surprised what else it can do other than just take a life.”

“Yeah, you’ll have to explain it to me. So you got a wolf rummaging through your gear, huh?”

“You know it’s a wolf?”

Joey pointed at the ground. “Tracks. Yep, it’s a wolf.”

Annja smirked. “One wolf under the canopy and one creeping wolf outside. I’m surrounded, I guess.”

“At least you had the good sense to find some shelter. I smelled your fire a ways back, too. I would have come in sooner, but I picked up the wolf stalking you and couldn’t interfere.”

“Why not?”

Joey shrugged. “He’s just doing what a wolf does. No sense interrupting him, you know?”

“Is it dangerous?”

“Sure. If he feels threatened. Most likely he’s just checking out your stuff. We don’t get a lot of humans out this way and the animals around here tend to be naturally suspicious, anyway. He’s probably making sure he understands what your intentions are.”

Annja raised her eyebrows and glanced back at the canopy. She couldn’t tell what the wolf was doing right then. There wasn’t any movement in the darkness under the canopy.

“You should probably put that away,” Joey said.

“Why?”

Joey smiled. “He’s not going to hurt you. Let him get on with what he’s doing and he’ll leave. He’s got other things to be doing tonight, like finding dinner somewhere. He was tracking rabbits when he veered off to check you out. Probably found you the same way I did—the fire.”

“I really needed it or else I would never have had one.”

Joey nodded. “No sweat. With all that rain, it was a good thing you did build one. You must have been soaked.”

“I was.” Annja thought about Jenny. She would be soaked, too. “You didn’t happen to find any sign of Jenny while you were out looking for me, did you?”

Joey shook his head. “No, but I thought I’d start with you first.”

“You took the kids back to town?”

“Yeah, they’re fine. I think they’re leaving tomorrow. They couldn’t stop talking about the guns and stuff the entire way back. I’ve never heard so much talking in my life. It got ridiculous and I had to tell them to shut up.”

Annja smiled. “Thanks for taking care of them.”

“They wouldn’t have lasted without me. Guess you were right.”

“Well, every once in a while I get something correct.”

Joey pointed behind her. “You really should put that away. The wolf doesn’t want to hurt you.”

Annja turned her back to Joey and let the sword return to the otherwhere. She wasn’t sure how to explain the sword’s behavior to Joey. When she opened her eyes and looked at him, he didn’t seem the slightest bit fazed by the sudden disappearance.

“I guess you don’t want me telling anyone about that, huh?”

“I’d prefer that we kept it between us, yes.”

“People find out, there’ll be way too many questions. I can dig it.”

“You sure?”

“Well, another fifty would help seal the deal.”

Annja pointed at the tree overhang. “Tell you what. If you help me get my stuff back from the wolf it’s a deal.”

Joey smiled. “No sweat.”

He knelt in the muddy ground and put his hands to his mouth. In a split second, he exhaled and made a strange sound that resembled a type of bark, but nothing like anything Annja had ever heard before.

The effect, however, was instantaneous. From under the tree, there was a rustle of movement. And then Annja saw a large shape dislodge itself from the branches and come through the darkness toward Joey.

Her heart raced but she stayed where she was. Joey must know what he was doing to tempt fate this way. She had to trust him.

The wolf trotted out and sniffed Joey’s hand. He spoke to the wolf in a low voice and a different language. With a casual glance at Annja, the dark gray predator stood at Joey’s feet and let himself be stroked.

Joey looked up at Annja. “You want to pet him?”

Annja held up her hands. “Are you kidding?”

Joey smiled. “Humans spend too much time thinking that animals are different from them. The truth is, we’re all just the same, made by the Creator. We’re not different—we all belong to the earth. And the spirit that moves in all things moves in this guy just as much as it moves in you.”

Annja watched the wolf loll its head back to better expose his ears to Joey’s fingers. From its throat, Annja heard a low rumble come out, but it didn’t sound remotely menacing. It almost reminded Annja of a cat purring. But somehow she thought maybe the wolf wouldn’t appreciate the comparison.

Joey waved her over. “Trust me, okay? I wouldn’t tell you it was safe if it wasn’t. This guy is one of the protectors of his forest.”

“You know him?”

Joey shrugged. “We’ve kind of grown up together. I’ve been coming here for years, ever since I was old enough to run around on my own. Cheehawk here has been around about the same time as me.”

“It’s got a name?”

Joey frowned. “Well, what’s wrong with that? I’ve got a name—several, actually. And so do you. Why shouldn’t this guy?”

“Cheehawk, huh?”

The wolf turned its head again to better see Annja as she started to approach. Joey held up his other hand.

“Take it nice and slow. Don’t do anything to upset him and you’ll be fine. Just like any other animal, you’ve got to give him time to scent you and get used to your smell. Once he does, he’ll be fine. Just come to him without the intent to harm him.”

Annja approached very cautiously. This was, without a doubt, one of the stranger things she’d done. Making friends with a wild predatory animal like a wolf wasn’t what she’d expected to happen when she responded to Jenny’s e-mail from her New York City loft.

Cheehawk continued to appraise her as Annja drew nearer. When she was within a few feet of the wolf, she sat down and extended her hand until it was under Cheehawk’s snout.

She could feel the wolf’s hot breath on the back of her hand as he sniffed her. And then she felt the curious sensation of his tongue lapping at it.

Joey chuckled. “I guess you passed.”

Annja let her hand wander up behind Cheehawk’s ears and ran her fingers through his coarse fur. It was almost like patting a big dog, but not quite. Even though Cheehawk seemed to have accepted her, Annja couldn’t shake the idea that this animal could easily tear her throat out if it wanted to.

Joey shook his head. “Don’t believe that.”

Annja looked at him. “What?”

“Cheehawk would only attack if he felt threatened, just the same as you.” He smiled at Annja. “Don’t look so surprised. The expression on your face was enough for me to figure out what you were thinking.”

“Oh. Well, this is a bit new for me.”

Joey nodded. “For Cheehawk, too. You’re only the second human he’s let pet him.”

“Really?”

“I’m the first,” Joey said proudly.

“I’m honored, then,” Annja said. She looked into Cheehawk’s eyes. “Thank you.”

Cheehawk rose without making a sound, looked once at Annja and then at Joey, before turning and stalking off into the night.

“Where’s he going?”

Joey got to his feet. “I told you. He’s looking for his dinner.”

Annja stood, awed by what had just happened. Then she thought about why she was even in the Oregon woods in the first place. “We need to find Jenny. If she wasn’t able to make a fire, she might die of exposure out here.”

Joey frowned. “All right, but we’ve got to be careful. Those lunatics with the guns are probably still around. And I don’t feel like running into them.”

Annja got her gear from under the canopy. Despite the awful sounds, very little of her stuff was damaged at all. She emerged and saw Joey standing on the trail.

“Ready?” the young man asked.

Annja nodded. It was still terribly dark and she had no idea how they were going to find their way. But Joey didn’t seem to notice and before she knew what was happening, they were headed down the trail.