Zephyr
Son of a bitch! I tore out of the bedroom after Everlyn.
The raised voices of my brothers and sisters in the main part of the cabin told me that she’d left the cabin.
My heart pounded. She’d seen our eyes. And the gods only knew how long she’d been in the room and what she heard.
We’d been so involved in Raider, we hadn’t sensed her.
Some of the others were rushing toward the door.
“I’ve got her. Stay here. I don’t want her scared to death!” I yelled as I shoved past them and out the open door.
The night had cooled off. My heart was pounding so hard, I couldn’t hear anything.
I wanted to run off, but I had no idea which way she went.
So, I halted and closed my eyes, taking deep breaths to erase the thundering in my ears.
Panic made me want to give it only a couple of seconds, but I knew it took more than that.
Because of my worry for her, it took over a minute, maybe two, before I could sink into myself and bring the inner ulfhednar to the surface.
Like the other Grave Prowlers in my chapter and the one in Alabama who followed Ragnarok, or Ragnar as we called him, we had evolved into something more than Vikings who were cursed with immortality.
We had become an elite category of warriors.
Most people have heard of berserkers, who were solitary, uncontrolled fighters associated with being bears in battle.
They were ferocious, without a doubt, but undisciplined, non-strategic, and unspecialized individuals fighting rather than teams. They weren’t the ones who would be chosen by Odin as his elite warriors.
Ulfhednars, wolf-skins, fought with supernatural strength and were thought to be immune to fire and pain.
That’s what our mythology said. We could attest to its truth.
We did fight when we let our inner wolf surface, as if we had supernatural strength. As for immunity to pain and fire, well, the pain could be pushed away for periods, especially amid battle. And since we were immortal, fire hadn’t been able to destroy us.
Back when I was growing up, ulfhednars were rare. And they fought in animal skins and often went into battle with little to no armor, showing how fearless they were and how much they believed in Odin. Some actually swore they shifted into wolves during battle.
I had never seen it happen with any of us, but our other senses were heightened, such as smell, hearing, and sight. That was what I needed. As my awareness changed, everyone in the cabin grew quiet. They knew what I needed to do to find her.
Inhaling deeply, I smelled the dirt, the trees, the scent of campfires.
And layered subtly underneath it all, barely there, was Everlyn.
Sniffing more, I strained to hear the rustling of grass, the thud of footsteps, or breathing.
Then, I opened my eyes and scanned the surrounding darkness.
I knew that my eyes were really glowing. Strength pulsed through me.
Suddenly, it all came together. I zeroed in on where she was. She was running. I caught a choked sob. She gasped for air. Everlyn was headed in the general direction of Kenny’s house. I’d pointed out which way it was the other day. I took off running after her.
I was fleet of foot. My feet made next to no sound as they touched the ground.
As the distance shortened between us, I thought of calling out to her, asking her to stop.
But remembering the sheer fear on her face back in the bedroom, I knew she wouldn’t listen.
Her fight-or-flight response had been triggered.
I needed to get to her before she hurt herself out here in the dark or disturbed anyone with wild tales.
I was gaining on her. Up ahead, I saw her. She was running full out, but she kept looking back. That was the wrong move, because it slowed you down. Her eyes couldn’t detect me yet. I sped up. It wasn’t long before I was able to see her clearly. Given how close we were, I tried talking.
“Everlyn, stop. We need to talk. You’re going to get yourself hurt,” I called out.
Her cry of terror twisted my gut. It happened as she glanced over her shoulder to see how close I was. She tripped and fell to the ground. Her scream was sharp, then abruptly gone. The grass was higher in this section. I couldn’t see her. Panic hit me.
“Everlyn, answer me! Are you okay?”
At first, there was nothing, then I heard a rustle, and she rose from the grass. As she did, she revealed that she held her handgun in her outstretched hands, pointed straight at me. I came to a stop. While I knew she couldn’t kill me, it would still hurt, and I didn’t want to make her shoot me.
“Stay back! Don’t come another step closer, or I’ll shoot,” she shouted.
“Everlyn, there’s no need for that gun. I won’t harm you. I love you. I would never do anything like that,” I told her in a soothing tone.
Her laugh was void of amusement and cracked. “You love me? Sure you do. I don’t know what you got out of lying and stringing me along, but it ends tonight. I’m leaving here. I’m returning home.
“I don’t know what you are, and I don’t care.
All I want is to go home and forget I ever met you.
If you let me go, I promise I won’t mention any of this to anyone.
I’ll live my life and let you live yours.
Hell, it’s not as if anyone will believe me if I tell them your eyes glow, and God knows what else. Just go, Zephyr.”
Hearing her dismiss our life together, a future between us, and her calling me Zephyr rather than Leif snapped something inside of me.
If I lost her, eternity would become more unbearable than I’d ever imagined.
Being with her for even five years was worth the eternity I faced.
I lunged, and my faster-than-normal reflexes allowed me to get to her between one blink and the next.
However, her reflexes were fast, too. Her finger pulled the trigger.
Pain shot through my upper chest as the bullet slammed into me. She screamed. I dropped to my knees as the pain took my breath away. I had to give it a few moments to settle.
“Oh, my God! Why did you do that? Why?” she sobbed.
The next thing I knew, she was kneeling before me. The gun was placed on the ground next to her. Her hands were running over my upper body. I hissed when she hit the entrance wound. She gasped. I grabbed and held her hand on my wound.
“Everlyn, shh, I’m fine. Stop crying, elskling. It’s just painful. It’ll be okay in a few minutes,” I assured her.
“You’re crazy, like Raider! You’re not going to be fine. You’ve been shot in the chest. He’s gutshot. I heard it. You both need a hospital. I need my phone. I’ll call 911,” she muttered, the last bit mostly to herself.
The sound of pounding feet reached me as three of my club came racing out of the darkness. She screamed and fell back on her ass, almost taking me with her, since I held her hand to me. It was Icelander, Plunderer, and Slayer.
“Stay back!” I ordered them.
“We heard a gunshot,” Slayer said.
“It’s nothing,” I replied.
“Like hell it is. I smell blood. You’ve been shot,” Icelander snapped.
“He lunged at me. If he’d just left, this wouldn’t have happened. You need to call an ambulance. He’s been shot in the chest, near his heart. Hurry!” Everlyn shrieked.
For someone who wanted nothing to do with me a few minutes ago, she sure was all about getting me medical attention. A flare of hope came back to life inside of me.
“Why?” I asked.
“Why? Why what?” Everlyn asked.
“Why get me help? If you think we’ll hurt you, that we’re something to be feared, why do that? Just let me bleed out,” I said.
“He’s delirious. One of you call,” she demanded of my three brethren.
“Why should we?” Slayer asked.
Everlyn’s head snapped to the side, and I watched her glare at them.
“Because he’s your brother. You’re supposed to look out for each other, to protect each other, aren’t you?”
Plunderer shrugged before answering her. “Well, in theory, yeah, but I mean, he was the one stupid enough to get himself shot. He should’ve let us help him. Instead, he ran after you, not wanting you to be more scared, and got his stupid ass shot. I think he deserves it.”
Everlyn tore her hand from my chest. She bound to her feet.
Even in the dim light, I saw the fury on her face.
She charged Plunderer. He did nothing. When she got close enough, she drew back her fist and punched him in the jaw.
His head snapped to the side. Then, she began screaming at him as she repeatedly punched him wherever she could land one.
“You’re fucking heartless! If you don’t do it, I’ll make sure you die right after him,” she hissed.
“Everlyn, stop hitting Plunderer and calm down. I’m fine,” I told her as I slowly stood.
The pain was easing, but wouldn’t fully go away until it healed. She whipped around to face me, putting her back to the three of them. Seeing me standing with my hand still holding my chest, she stomped over to stare up at me. Her hands went to her hips.
“You’re not fine! Stop saying that. You need an ambulance, a doctor, and surgery. Lie down. Don’t move. I’ll make the damn call,” Everlyn stated.
She patted her jeans, no doubt looking for her phone. Icelander was the one who brought that search to an end. He held up a phone, one I recognized to be hers based on the protective case.
“Are you looking for this?” he asked Everlyn.
She froze, then held out her hand. “Give me that. How did you get it?”
“No. He doesn’t need a doctor or surgery, and neither does Raider.
There are things that you need to be told.
Let’s go back to the cabin so we can do it.
Or if you prefer, Zephyr will do it. It’s ridiculous to stand out here arguing.
If we were inclined to hurt or kill you, we would’ve done it already.
I think deep down you know that. Otherwise, why would you lay your gun down?
And you love Zephyr, or you wouldn’t be so frantic to get him medical attention,” Slayer added as she picked up Everlyn’s discarded gun. She tucked it in her waistband.
“Give me back my gun,” Everlyn demanded.
“I’m gonna hang onto it for now. We don’t need anyone else shot tonight. Everlyn, I know that you’re scared, but I swear, we’re not monsters. As my friend and Zephyr’s shieldmaiden, please listen to the explanation first.” Slayer asked her.
I thought I saw Everlyn waver. She looked back at me.
“I need to go back to the cabin and take care of this wound. I want you to come with me. If you want, everyone else will clear out and give us privacy to talk. Everlyn, elskling, please let me explain. If you still want to leave afterward, I'll help you. But don’t throw us away without hearing the truth. I love you. If you decide to rip out my fucking heart, at least do it knowing everything,” I pleaded.
She said nothing for several seconds. I knew she was thinking it through. Finally, she answered.
“Okay, I’ll listen to what you have to say. But if I say I’m done and want to leave, don’t keep pushing. And I want us to do it alone with no one lurking right outside the door. We have to be the only ones in the cabin.”
“Deal. Icelander will go ahead with Slayer and Plunderer to tell the others and get them cleared out,” I said.
“We can do that,” Plunderer stated.
“What if I can’t get you back by myself?” Everlyn asked.
“My legs work perfectly. I can do it,” I assured her.
Not wanting to delay, I nodded to my brethren.
They disappeared into the darkness without a sound.
I knew there was no way Everlyn would allow me to hold her hand, so I gestured for her to come with me.
The walk back took a while since neither of us was running.
The tension hung in the air. The whole way back, I kept up the inner praying to the gods that when she knew the truth, Everlyn wouldn’t run from me for good.
If she did, I wasn’t sure how I’d handle it.