The Witness of the Sun by Suki Fleet

Author:Suki Fleet [Fleet, Suki]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stars and Ink Press
Published: 2022-09-22T16:00:00+00:00

The pathway to the schoolhouse had grown unnaturally quiet after all the chaos of minutes earlier. As I edged out from between the cabins, I thought I could hear someone sobbing quietly. I pushed out, trying to feel for heartbeats, searching for Caleb, for Ma, Masha and the twins, but it was still too hard to concentrate, too hard to hear anything but my own panicky heart. A low growl rumbled through the air. I recognised it immediately. Caleb was close. Or at least, his wolf was. My brain was struggling to see him as both human and wolf. They were different things, weren’t they? Totally different things. But if Caleb wasn’t the wolf, then where the fuck was he? Because he certainly wasn’t back there standing naked between the cabins anymore. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to get my head around it.

Barely daring to breathe, I edged around the side of the grain store until I could see into the square. The wolf growled again, easy to spot on the far side of the square with his bright white fur. Teeth bared, he backed slowly towards the schoolhouse, and my breath caught in my throat as I saw why. The huge brown bear advanced towards him from between the cabins with a slow, menacing sway. The bear dwarfed the wolf utterly, as it had in the glade, but the wolf showed no sign of fear. A little way away, Kristoff lay slumped across the schoolhouse doors, a massive red gash across his stomach. No. No no no. I squeezed my eyes shut, forced myself to concentrate, and, with no small sense of relief, sensed his heart was still beating. He was badly hurt, but he was alive.

Another growl echoed from the wolf, this one deeper and even more threatening than the last. The sound of an animal protecting something. No, I realised at once. Someone.

My stomach lurched as I took in Sonny’s body splayed and still on the far side of the square. He wasn’t far from the schoolhouse. Both he and Kristoff must have been trying to help people get inside. Neither of them had had a gun. I took a shuddery breath, trying to blink back tears. I couldn’t feel Sonny’s heartbeat. Was this why Caleb had changed? Had he somehow sensed Sonny was hurt? I knew he would die for his brother. He’d said as much.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a face pressed against the schoolhouse window. Masha. Her anguished eyes met mine. Immediately, she held two smaller hands up to the glass. The twins were with her. They’re okay. They’re okay.

“Hide, Ilya,” she mouthed.

But I couldn’t. I shook my head. I had to help Caleb somehow. If the bear didn’t kill him, Jakob’s men would the moment they returned. Sonny was already dead, and Caleb risking his life like this was for nothing. I bit back a sob. I couldn’t let it be for nothing.

I stared at

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