It was impossible to argue with him when he made up his mind to do something.
She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Whatever past they may have had seemed to intrude at the worst times. She knew him. She knew what he was like. "Just go, now, while it"s dark. Remember, if you"re right and he followed us, he could already be searching the riverbanks to see where we came out."
"You"re upset."
"Of course I"m upset. I"m stuck here with this stupid leg and you"re going to risk your life to stop this. .h.i.t man." She shoved her hand through her hair, angry and near tears. "Don"t you realize he"ll send another? And one after that?
And another and another? He"ll never stop."
Rio nodded. "I figured as much. It doesn"t matter, Rachael. We"ll take them one at time and if necessary, I"ll have a little talk with him."
Her face drained of all color. "No. No, promise me, Rio. You can"t ever try to get near him. Not for any reason. You can"t hurt him. And you can"t try to see him."
The anxiety on Rachael"s face twisted at his insides. "Rachael, I"m coming back."
"I know you will." He had to. She couldn"t stay in a cave beneath the riverbank forever-unless he was with her. She might be able to live anywhere with him. The thought was frightening. She"d never considered that she might want to spend her life with someone. A lifetime seemed a long time to want to be with someone, yet, if she could have him, she would want more than one lifetime with Rio.
Rio forced himself to turn away from her, from the look
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on her face, so lonely, so vulnerable, so much pain in her eyes. He didn"t dare gather her to him, he"d never let her go. He waded away from her.
"May all the magic of the forest be with you and may good fortune be your companion as you travel." Her voice was rough with raw pain. "Good hunting, Rio."
He stopped, keeping his back to her. He had glimpsed pain in her before. Knew the signs of trauma and betrayal. Was familiar with rage born of helplessness.
The anguish went deep and left scars. He couldn"t look at her. Her suffering was harder to bear than his own. "I don"t know anything about love, Rachael. Meeting you was unexpected, but everything about you makes me happy. I"m coming back for you."
He continued to wade out into the water. She was crying. Her tears would be the end of him. He"d rather face the entire bandit camp than face her tears. There was no way to change what he had to do. He couldn"t comfort her. There had been violence in her life. He recognized the signs. He could only hope that by doing what was necessary he didn"t lose his chance with her.
Rio went under the water, swimming through the narrow tunnel he had painstakingly scooped out and sh.o.r.ed up with an artificial tube. It had taken several years to find the chamber and secure an entrance. He had several places scattered around the river and forest he could use if necessary. His people were a secretive, cautious species and he had learned over the years the value of preparation.
Once under the small falls, he swam underwater to the center of the river and allowed it to sweep him farther downstream. He didn"t want to leave tracks or scent for the hunter after he"d taken such careful precautions to keep Rachael safe. It was a risk leaving her in the chamber injured as she was. She had the weapons and light and food for several days, but still she could easily panic being underground. They were arboreal, preferring the high branches of the trees to the ground.
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Rio spent many hours lying perfectly still, backup for his men. The others entered the camps to retrieve the victims. He remained outside from some vantage point, a marksman few could surpa.s.s, the last line of defense for his unit. He was used to the solitary life, living alone the way he did and carrying out his job, but unlike the leopard, his species were not meant to be alone. They mated for life and beyond. Rachael was certain to have a difficult time alone.
He exited the water a mile downstream from the waterfall, shifting into his animal form, happy to feel the full strength and power of his kind. He lifted his muzzle and scented the wind. At once he was flooded with information. He stretched languidly before springing easily over a fallen trunk. Dawn was beginning to break in the forest.
The thick, haunting mist shrouding the forest began to lift, slowly evaporating as the warmth of the sun penetrated the clouds. A chorus of birds began, each trying to outdo the other as the strange music rang through the trees. The range went from melodious to harsh, even tuneless,,as they all called to one another flitting from branch to branch. A burst of colors as birds took to wing signaled morning in the forest. Gibbons joined in, claiming territory with gurgling cries and whooping yells.
The leopard ignored the noisy flapping and whooshing of birds with great wings as he leapt into the lower branches of a nearby tree to make use of the overhead highway. The forest had stirred to life and Rio utilized the noisy chatter, hurrying through the trees back toward his home in the hopes of picking up the scent of the hunter. Rio made his way quickly back upriver, listening for calls of warning or sudden silences that would indicate an intruder was stalking through the territory of the pigtailed macaque. Timid and shy, the macaque would often leap to the forest floor and run when disturbed, another sign of trouble.
It was the barking of the deer that alerted him first. The short, harsh calls were used to warn members of the herd
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among the trees as tail flipping couldn"t be seen through the heavy shrubbery and thick tree trunks. Rio snarled and sank low on the branch, going completely motionless in the way of his land. The hunter had just become the hunted.
Because he wasn"t high up in the canopy, the leaves of the tree he was crouched in remained still, unaffected by the wind. The sunlight filtered through the breaks of foliage overhead to dapple the leaves and forest floor below. That provided more concealment for him, a natural camouflage. Insects buzzed around him; a green fence lizard shifted its color from bright green to dark brown as it settled against a branch just a few feet from him.
A bearded pig grunted and crashed through the shrubbery beneath his tree, startled by something. Spring-loaded muscles bunched in antic.i.p.ation. The tip of his tail occasionally switched, the only thing to move. Piercing yellow-green eyes smoldered with fire and intelligence. The leopard waited, frozen in place.
The spotted leopard, a fully grown male, emerged cautiously, pushing its head through a mult.i.tude of ferns. The animal limped as it padded across the forest floor, snarling at the troupe of gibbons screaming foul things at him from the safety of the canopy. Twigs and leaves rained down as the monkeys threw things in defiance. The spotted leopard maintained his dignity for a few moments, then in the mercurial way of their kind leapt into the lower branches with flattened ears and exposed teeth. The gibbons erupted into a wild, terrified frenzy, rushing through the trees in every direction in an effort to get away.
Rio never moved, not even when the evil eyes, two spots lost in a pattern of spots, appeared to be staring right at him. Rio locked in on his prey. His yellow-green stare became focused, all tension gathered hi his eyes. With great patience, he waited and watched, completely motionless. The intruder leapt back to the forest floor, a silent lift of his lip indicating his contempt for the gibbons. Cushioned feet allowed nun to move in silence over the thick vegetation.
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Rio stretched out on the branch, a slow belly-to-branch stalk, using incredible muscle control. He crawled forward a few inches, froze and repeated the crawl, going from cover to cover-gaining inches, then feet, pacing above the spotted leopard. He reached the end of the branch. The spotted leopard moved silently just below him, unaware of Rio stalking him from above.
The intruder took one step. Another. Hesitated, opening his mouth wide. Rio sprang from above, hitting him hard, sinking canines deep, puncturing the fur- covered throat, while razor-sharp claws dug deep in an effort to rip and tear.
Rio wanted the battle over as fast as possible. Fights between leopards were extraordinarily dangerous.
The spotted leopard was game, twisting with its flexible backbone, raking with extended claws, bucking hard to try to throw the larger cat off. Rio held on grimly, determined to end it. The roars and grunts echoed through the forest, a vicious battle between two dangerous foes. Overhead the birds took flight, calling warnings in every language they could. Squirrels and lemurs chattered and scolded.. Monkeys screamed in panic. Flying fox took to the air along with the birds so that the sky seemed alive with wings.
The spotted leopard shook and twisted and snarled, raising at Rio, trying to eviscerate or cripple him. He couldn"t shake the black leopard off; the canines remained buried in the nape of his neck, the jaw pressure enough to snap bone.
It was over quickly, the surprise attack giving Rio the edge he needed in the fight. The spotted leopard gasped, suffocating, me throat crushed. The black leopard held him longer, making certain it was really over before dropping the cat on the ground.
Rio shifted into his human form, staring at the leopard regretfully. They needed every member of their species alive. Each leopard they lost was a blow to their survival. There had been no labels in the clothing the sniper had left behind, no means of identification. Rio had no idea which country his enemy had come from, or why one of his kind
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would choose to betray bis people with such an act, but he was certain this one had not been born anywhere near his village.
Did that mean that Rachael"s people knew what she was and that she was under a death sentence? They had strict rules they all lived under. The laws of the forest were for the common good of their species. If she had committed some crime against her people, it was possible they would send hunters after her.
Rio rubbed his hand over his face. If that were the case, her elders could appeal to the elders of his village to carry out the sentence for them. Rio was already under banishment. He doubted if the elders would stick up for his mate, especially if she wasn"t known to them and under a legitimate sentence of death.
He swore as he shifted back into the shape of a leopard to drag the carca.s.s up into the high branches of a tree. He had no choice but to burn the leopard to preserve the secrets of their species. He had to find his nearest stash of supplies fast. Leaving the body of a leopard was extremely dangerous so he had no choice but to cache the body until he returned.
His mind raced with the possibility of Rachael"s people condemning her. She admitted her own brother had taken out a contract on her life. It made sense, although he couldn"t imagine what Rachael could have done to warrant a death sentence. He moved swiftly through the forest, ignoring the warning cries of the gibbons, still panic-stricken from the fierce fight that had ensued. Birds fluttered overhead, darting in and out of the trees. Deer crashed ahead of him, scattering as he leapt from branch to branch, occasionally taking to the forest floor and leaping over rotting tree trunks.
The wind shifted slightly, a tiny breeze where ordinarily the uncanny stillness in the air gave nothing away. Rio came to an abrupt halt. There was another in the forest close by. He recognized the scent of the leopard. The birds and gibbons and even the deer had been warning him, but 200.
he"d been so distressed over the thought of Rachael being under a death sentence, he hadn"t picked up on it.
Fortunately, he was close to his pack. The box was buried nearby, in the cage created by the b.u.t.tress foots of a large dipterocarp tree. He had marked-the fruit-bearing tree with a small symbol. Using his claws, he dug up the box quickly, listening now to the news of the forest. The second leopard was approaching quickly, obviously catching his scent.
Rio shifted to human form, strapping on weapons as fast as possible, his expression grim. Only after his guns were checked and his knives concealed did he drag on the clothes and attach the small medical kit to his belt. Feeling the impact of the leopard"s focused stare, he whipped around, rifle up and ready, finger on the trigger.
"You"re up early, Drake." His voice was pleasant, relaxed, casual even, but the barrel never wavered from dead center on the cat"s brain and he didn"t take his finger from the trigger.
They stared at one another for a long moment. Drake"s form contorted, lengthened, muscles reshaping to form the man. He glared at Rio. "You want to tell me why you"re still pointing that thing at me?"
"You want to tell me what you"re doing here?"
"I spent most of the night tracking you and that rogue leopard. You, I lost, he wasn"t as good. You wounded him and that made it easier for me to track him."
"Why?"
Drake frowned. "You tick-ridden son of a bearded pig. I decided to go back to guard your b.u.t.t out of concern for your well-being. By the time I got back to your place, you and Rachael were gone and I had to track you through the forest.
It was slow going when I realized the sniper was tracking you as well. He lost you a few times and I stayed behind him, wanting to see what he did." Abruptly he stopped and glared. "d.a.m.n it, Rio, put the rifle down. It"s not only insulting, it"s annoying."
WILD RAIN.
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, Rio slung the rifle over his shoulder. He kept his hand free, ready to go for his knife even while he grinned at Drake. "I am not tick-ridden."
"That depends on who you ask. Where"s Rachael?"
The smile faded from Rio"s face. "Did the elders send you, Drake?"
"What is wrong with you? Why would the elders send me to protect your sorry b.u.t.t, Rio?"
Rio didn"t smile. His eyes gleamed with piercing intelligence, smoldered with danger. "Did they send you after Rachael?"