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“Well, howdy, howdy.” Clarence’s eyes roamed across my breasts before skimming lower. He was a typical teenage boy with no veneer of politeness.
Too late, I wished I’d taken advantage of the distraction my nakedness provided. But he was up there and I was down here and Grace was....
“Looking for this?” Clarence’s foot nudged something. No, not something. Someone.
The fact I could see Grace from the bottom of the cliff meant she was inches from rolling over. She lay still, hands lashed together with the end of the rope that the swing was still attached to. The wooden board pressed up against her skin.
I clenched my fists, assessing the situation. Clarence had been more clever than I’d expected, finding rope to bind his captive then tricking me into heading to the bottom of Lover’s Leap while he hid on top. Still, he was alone and I had backup coming. The only question was—how long did I need to stall before my companions showed up?
As if in answer, the still air was stirred by one last gasp of the storm’s energy. Clarence’s bitter aftershave wafted toward me followed by Grace’s fruity conditioner. My human nostrils shouldn’t have been able to catch the scents so strongly....
Rather than skittering away from incipient wolfishness, I sank into it. Let my pelt seep partially into the skin of my shoulders as I strained for yet more information on the air.
Yes, there it was. Luke’s delicious spiciness. A hint of gun oil. Backup was nearby, speeding toward us down the trail.
So I raised my voice until it was loud enough to be heard even by distant humans. “You tied a fashion designer to a tree? Because...why? You thought she’d overpower you?”
Grace had been so still up until this point that I’d thought she was unconscious. But now her eyes opened. The glare she pinned me with could have melted glass.
She glared...then gasped as Clarence tugged on the rope that ran taut beside him. I hadn’t paid attention to the spiderweb of line after noting that it led to Clarence. But now I understood what he’d created while waiting for me to arrive.
Because Clarence was a human spider. He liked to kill...and he apparently liked to build webs also.
In this case, he’d taken the swing rope and wrapped it around tree after tree to create a pulley system. Clarence could walk the length of the cliff, leaving Grace behind but still threatening her. All he had to do was yank on the rope and Grace’s body would flip over the edge.
***
THE WEBWORK WAS A CLEVER and effective threat, but I forced myself to ignore it. “She won’t hit the ground if she falls. It’s a swing. It’s meant to skim above the surface.”
“You’re so right. How could I overlook that.” For a split second, Clarence’s face pinched in worry. Then he smacked his hands together, mimicking an explosion. “She’ll just slam into the side of the cliff. Pow! Fashion-designer puree.”
The image of Grace’s body dangling by her arms as she splattered against the jagged cliff-face froze me. I had absolutely no answer, and my silence gave Clarence time to take the conversational lead.
“Where’s my present?”
That I could answer. “Bastion’s coming.” I hoped he was also on his feet and ready to grab for Clarence’s pelt. I hoped Luke’s werewolf senses had been sufficient to catch the drift of our conversation so he could utilize the element of surprise. If not....
My fingers slid across my own fur, seeking comfort. And the motion backfired, drawing Clarence’s attention to something he was meant to overlook.
“I’m sick of waiting.” He jerked his chin. “Toss that up.”
“This? We talked about my fur already. It’ll only....”
Up until this point, Clarence had been indolent. But now he dropped into a predator’s crouch, my dagger materializing in his hand so quickly he might as well have been lupine.
He didn’t threaten again. Didn’t warn me. Instead, the blade flicked, left, right, left.
Grace screamed. Blood spurted.
Clarence bent his head, licking at the red fluid. And I didn’t hesitate. I wrapped my pelt around my back and was running before my forepaws hit the ground.
***
THE SIDE OF LOVER’S Leap was too close to vertical for human access. Lupine, I could handle the slope, but rocks still skittered away from beneath my paws.
Meanwhile, the rich aroma of iron rose like a bloody curtain. The harder my lungs billowed, the more I inhaled.
Grace screamed a second time. I pushed my muscles faster. Off to my right, a more masculine yell boomed across the forested expanse.
Luke was coming, but there wasn’t time to wait for him. I crested the rise. The clifftop was muddy. Bloody.
Clarence and Grace were locked together. Between the rope and the dagger, I was afraid to attack them lupine. I shifted upward, mentally kicking myself as I rose.
Why had I suggested drinking blood? It was a stupid, childish parry. My twin...
...broke free, hands still bound together. A jagged cut across the entire left side of her face oozed blood.
The facial beauty she spent so much time perfecting had morphed into a Halloween mask of fury. Her eyes met mine. Piercing. Intense.
I blanched. “Grace, I’m sorry....”
My voice was little more than a whisper. But Clarence heard it. He swiveled, still crouching. His dagger arced upward, as if he might stab my sister next instead of taking another slice out of her.
But he didn’t stab yet. Instead, he spoke with blood smeared across his mouth like a four-year-old’s attempt at applying lipstick. “Not so graceful now, is she?” Just like when we’d first met, he waggled his eyebrows...
...And Grace struck. Raising her bound hands above Clarence’s head, the trailing rope looped beneath his neck garrote-style. One yank and she’d pulled the rope tight. Another and she smiled as Clarence’s hands rose to claw at his throat, my dagger clattering to the rocks at their feet.