Part 18 (1/2)

He longed to change to human form, run to her and fold her close. But they had to get out of this area before reinforcements showed up.

He didn't know much about warfare in this world. He wanted to find out if the soldiers had some means of communicating with each other in the field. Would they send reinforcements? What?

Rinna stood stock-still in the middle; of the carnage. Making his way around the bodies on the ground, he came up beside her. When he b.u.t.ted at her with his head she looked like she was coming out of a dream.

He touched her with his muzzle, trotted a few feet away, then s.h.i.+fted his head to the right several times.

She followed slowly at first, but as soon as they were out of the little area where the soldiers had been grouped together, she picked up her pace, then quickly sped past him.

Good. She knew that they had to get the h.e.l.l out of there.

He followed her through the rocks and out into the open. He wanted to tell her they were too exposed out here. If other men were coming, they'd see the wolves das.h.i.+ng away. They should head for the woods, where there was more cover. But she kept a steady course toward a ruined building.

They stopped in the shadow of a crumpled wall, and she pawed the ground, then blocked his body with hers, and he got the idea that she wanted him to wait.

No way was he going to let her take off on some dangerous mission on her own, so he stayed with her as she dashed into the open again.

She turned and growled at him, but he kept pace with her. When he saw her roll her eyes, he grinned.

There were more destroyed structures ahead, so there was some shelter. But when she came to one of the buildings, she stopped short.

Again, he heard her growl, this time low in her throat.

He followed her gaze and saw a group of men standing about a hundred yards away. They were grouped at the side of a half-standing building. Ten of them were soldiers. But two of them didn't fit the pattern.

One was an old man with white hair and a scraggly purple robe. The other was younger with close-cropped blond hair.

Falcone?

If so, he looked a lot less formidable than Logan had imagined.

Rinna slunk back, her fur bristling. She bared her teeth, then gave Logan a long look.

When she turned and dashed away, he followed. Maybe she couldn't talk, but he got the message.

Sticking around here was dangerous.

She took off across the plain, running fast, making for one refuge, then another. Each time she rested, she stopped and looked back.

They were both breathing hard, and Logan knew he couldn't keep up the pace for long.

Finally, she led him toward a much larger building. To his astonishment, it looked like a cathedral.

A cathedral? That was the last thing he'd expect to find here. But he had given up trying to figure out what to expect in this crazy world.

The closer they got, the more ma.s.sive it looked. Part of the roof was missing, but the walls were mostly solid. She bypa.s.sed the imposing main entrance and led him around the side where a partially intact wall enclosed what had once been a formal garden with flagstone paths and planting beds. Many of the paving stones had been removed and the beds were full of weeds, but he recognized a climbing rosebush. And some straggly thyme and lavender plants.

He watched Rinna trot down one of the uneven paths, thinking that the garden must have once been magnificent. She stopped beside an ancient-looking fountain, then changed from wolf to woman.

He made a similar change, pus.h.i.+ng past the ritual of transformation. The shadows were lengthening and the wind was picking up. Maybe that was why this place felt ten degrees colder than the air outside the enclosure.