The Portal and the Panther by R. A. Marshall

Author:R. A. Marshall [Marshall, R. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Empty House Books
Published: 2014-12-18T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

I ran through the woods in my second form, heading in the direction of the state park, pushing my panther's body to give me all the speed it could muster. I didn't know where the others were, but I assumed they'd be headed the same way or would be soon.

Good, Dave's voice said, surprising me so much that I faltered and slipped on a patch of ice, my hind legs twisting behind me. I knew you'd come around.

I regained my footing and sprinted on.

Bramlett. How are you inside my head right now?

Wolf Shifters can do that. Thought you knew.

Did I? Maybe Patti had told me that during one of her interminable lessons on the Code, but I couldn't remember.

Do you know how to get to the portal? he asked.

I said nothing, not wanting to admit my ignorance to him.

Go roughly a quarter-mile behind your old house, Dave said. There's a ravine back there -- a steep hill on one side and a cliff on the other. It's inside a cave in the cliff. You're coming from the Curtis place?

I wanted to ask him how he knew where I was, but decided it didn't matter.

Yeah. I can be there in twenty, twenty-five minutes.

Same as me and Mom. There was a pause. Ok, Layla's arriving right now --

What?! She's there already? I asked, panicked. I pushed my run harder, hoping I could keep my pace up without exhausting myself before I arrived.

It's ok, she's in the air. No one's seen her. A pause again. And she says there's only one -- a man of medium build wearing a leather bomber jacket. Dark hair, maybe mid-twenties. He's... it looks like he's just sitting there in the ravine. Dave sounded confused.

I ran on. I didn't care what he was wearing or what color hair he had. The only thing I cared about was getting there before Layla did anything that might provoke him into hurting her.

Jon, if you get there before my mom and me, don't do anything, ok? I already told Patti and Layla to keep him contained to the park. Don't attack him unless you absolutely have to.

Something odd happened inside me when he said that. I suddenly couldn't even think about attacking the intruder in the bomber jacket; it was as if Dave had frozen that part of my mind. Somehow, he wasn't just reading my thoughts -- he was controlling them. I had a feeling that if I tried to lunge at the man in the bomber jacket, his order would control my body, too. And that really pissed me off. But all I could do was run faster.

Just so you know, I can't stand you, I said.

I know. He sounded tired.

And I'm only going because I care about Layla.

I know. But I could have forced you to come tonight, and I didn't.

He didn't say anything else; neither did I. Right now, we both had bigger problems to worry about than each other.

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