The Amulet Of Nicmir (The Scripts Of Neptune, Book 1)

Chapter 10

When Lillian's eyes found Chad, lying there in a patch of weeds, his clothes decorated with leaves and mud, relief swept over her even more fiercely than the storm around them.

There was hope. There was hope.

She was at his side in an instant. He looked up at her, his eyes hazy and a confused look on his face. There was black dirt smeared on his forehead and cheeks, mingled with crimson blood from a gash at his hairline. And he smelled awful.

"Lillian?" he asked, her name a slurred question. "What are you doing here?"

She wanted to slap him, or possibly hug him. Her thoughts were too tangled to decide which. But the fact that he had the insolence to ask what she was doing here...

"What are you doing here, you idiot?" she hissed, gripping the front of his shirt and dragging him halfway to his feet. Anger replaced the relief, coursing through her like fire. She didn't even know why she was so angry. She hardly knew him, and he'd disobeyed one command. One command that came from someone who held no authority over him, no less. "I told you to stay at the camp, and instead you come here? What were you thinking?" His eyes cleared, and he looked at her in confusion for a moment before his features pulled into a glare.

"I was only trying to save Sam's life," he ground out, his voice low. A portion of Lillian's anger dissolved, replaced by guilt.

"You don't even know him."

"You both saved my life. I was trying to return the favor," Chad snarled, his hurt coming through in his tone.

"Lillian," Nyle warned, gripping her arm firmly, his hand pressing the cold, wet fabric of her sleeve against her skin. She let go of Chad's shirt, taking a step back. He fell, catching himself with his hands, still glaring at her. Nyle's hold loosened a bit, but he didn't let go. "You're angry," he said quietly. "I get that. But you're not angry at him." She glared into his dark eyes fiercely, unblinking, even as the rain ran down her face and blurred her vision. Or were those tears?

"Then find me something to punch," she growled, roughly pulling her arm from his grasp. She took a deep breath and glanced out at the yellowing leaves of the forest before offering Chad a hand. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you." He gripped her outstretched arm, and she pulled him up, leaning backward to heave his weight.

"It's all right," he said, ducking his head and shrugging. "I, uh, heard about the camp. Is it true? That it's gone?"

Lillian glowered at her boots, watching the water eat at the mud caked on the outer soles. "How did you know that?" she asked, looking back up at him suspiciously. He shouldn't have known that, not unless he was involved somehow. He shrugged, looking past her.

"I—" he began, but cut off at a faint whistle that echoed over the patter of the rain and thunder.

Lillian whirled, her heart lurching. One thought dominated above all others, panicked and frantic. "Sam," she whispered.

She was off like a streak. The minute she hit the trees, she changed. She didn't even have to think to do it. Thick, warm fur covered her, her bones reshaped themselves, and in less than a second, she was weaving around trees with the speed and agility of the lynx she'd become. Her quick steps were silent; the only sound she heard as she ran through the drab, wet forest was the constant tip-tap of the rain on the leaves, like an army of sprites marching through the treetops.

When she saw Sam lying on his back on the ground, motionless, his head lolled to the side, her heart plummeted. She was human again and crouching at his side faster than a wicked man's soul plunged to the depths of the underworld.