The Midnight Watch

Chapter 31

I'm not late you're late.

I didn't really have the faintest idea what was going on. I don't think Kai did either.

We followed the rogues through the forest like dogs on leads, struggling to keep up and with no say in the destination. I had grown up on the island, and I couldn't work out where we were headed. They had been here less than a day, and they seemed unquestionably certain. Maybe they were using information from my head, I thought bitterly, then set the idea aside and blamed it on exhaustion.

After the rogues had loudly rejected the idea of travelling in a large group, we had sent Nate to bring the others, much to his annoyance. They shadowed us, maybe a mile behind. So it was just me and Kai, walking far behind the rogues, whose careless laughter floated backwards on the wind and grated on my temper.

After an hour or so, they stopped to let us catch up. As it turned out, that was purely because they wanted a recommendation for a good place to find rabbits. We couldn't offer a helpful answer; neither of us could admit to being ardent rabbit hunters. So, they looked at us curiously and Skye shrugged at Rhys.

"Go anyway. Just don't go too far — Jeff is still...upset."

He was grinning as he oh-so-graciously threw his rucksack at Leo, leaving him with twice the weight, and slipped away into the undergrowth. The old man paused his whistling when his name was mentioned, only to shake it off and change the tune to something far shriller.

"Where's he going?" Kai asked. When he got nothing but a flat stare in reply, he tried talking to his cousin instead. "Where are you going?"

Rhys turned, eyes glinting. "Ah, just scouting. But if a rabbit happens to run across my paws...well, I would say no."

I felt a smile tug at my lips. Paws. Finally, something they didn't know. Watching the rogue trying to shift in broad daylight would be a welcome treat, I dared to hope. Kai was far nicer than me — he tried a warning, "Sorry, but you need the moon to shift here."

"We worked that out the hard way," he admitted.

"You already know? Then why—"

A half smile had settled on Rhys's mouth. A smile which was quickly eradicated when the shift took over. I stared, arms folded and determined not to gape while the wolf replaced the human. Even when a hulking, giant tawny wolf flicked his tail at me, I found it hard to believe.

"Werecat blood perk," a voice said lazily in our heads. "Don't ask why — I don't understand or care."

Then he was gone, melting into the trees with laughable ease. And ghostly laughter echoed in my mind long after he had vanished from sight.

"Keep your scent off," Skye shouted after him, almost as an afterthought. She turned back around, only to swear loud enough to spook a rabbit. Yet no one even twitched to chase it across through the brambles — our attention snagged on Jeff instead.

He was sat cross-legged, rocking backwards and forwards with both hands clamped over his ears. I was sure his working eye was staring backwards at his brain. And I could hear a low muttering which sounded suspiciously like, "Shutup shutup shutup."

"Shit," Skye hissed, kneeling beside him. "Rhys linked, didn't he? Dumbass."

Fion was more forgiving. As she retrieved a water bottle from her rucksack and set it within Jeff's reach, she reasoned, "It's easy to forget. Should we call him back?"

"Can't do that without the mind-link...unless... No, we can't howl — we can't shift. Dammit. This island is really a pain in my ass." The rogue girl grimaced. She still didn't dare touch the old man, who was now hunched over on his knees. "You know the drill by now. Back away. We'll wait it out."