Protector: Book 1 *NEW DRAFT*

Chapter 16

Phantom ran ahead, very much living up to his name. If she did not have such a strong connection to him she would have never known he was there. When he sent her a warning of a human scent up ahead she pulled Chance off the road and left the mare behind. She continued the rest of the way on foot, stepping silently and carefully with the hood of her cloak pulled over her head.

Jade crouched some distance away and closed her eyes. She reached out to Phantom, feeling the connection and then solidified it. The sensation was strange, almost as though she felt her own thoughts leave her head and jump into Phantom's. There was no training for this. Jade just did what felt right.

There was a moment of darkness and then Jade was seeing through Phantom's eyes. The darkness melted away and the shadows were brighter. His nightvision was incredible. She saw the scout who was left to watch the road. He sat underneath a small shelter made from branches and leaves. A cloak was wrapped around him and he started in front of him, half asleep.

Relief flooded through Jade. If there was a scout then Viper's men were still here. Phantom kept his body low to the ground, his paws spread before he took the next step. Completely silent, he slipped past the scout and made his way toward the campsite. Jade was amazed how his ears turned, picking up every small sound of the forest. He ignored the normal sounds and instead picked up on voices and horses.

Jade sent a warning to stay away from the horses. If they caught a whiff of a wolf their panic would give them away before they ever showed up. Phantom moved around, cutting to the other side of the camp. The wind was coming from the opposite direction, which meant the horses shouldn't pick up on his scent over the smoke of the fires.

He crouched low to the ground and looked at the clearing. It was much the same as when Jade had left. The wagons where she had been tied hadn't moved and the cage was still open on the back of the cart. When Phantom saw the cage Jade could feel the darkness that he felt toward it.

She counted the men and refreshed her memory on the layout of the campsite. Any and all information would be useful when they went back and reported to Lander. Jade didn't see Viper, but her tent was still pitched and glowing from the inside. The same darkness Phantom felt seeing the cage now resided in Jade when she saw Viper's tent.

Jade never thought she'd hate anyone so purely. She hardly knew the woman but it was enough that Jade wanted to see her fall. Phantom pulled away after he'd seen everything he could and returned to Jade. She left his consciousness while she waited for him to return.

Her thoughts came rushing back into her own head and the world spun a moment. She rested her hand on a tree to steady herself. Her head pounded but it did not recede and a familiar feeling spread throughout her body as her gut tightened.

No.

Jade pressed her hand to her mouth, but the pain dropped to her gut. She pressed her other hand to her stomach but there was no point. Her inside twisted and churned, as though blades were piercing her organs. Her lungs struggled to breath through the pain and Jade coughed violently as her lungs heaved.

She tasted blood and gagged from the force of the next cough. In the back of her mind she prayed that she was far enough away from the scout and that the wind would mask her coughing. She prayed would not be discovered or heard by anyone else at the camp.

Breathe. Just breathe.

Phantom's panic rushed over her but she pushed his thoughts away as she fell to her knees. She bit down on her fist as to not cry out. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Jade coughed until she was on the verge of passing out. Then, as quickly as it had come, the pain left without a trace and her lungs took a deep clean unhindered breath of air.