"We can't stay out here all night." I think Roy had reached the limit of shocks he could process, he looked numb but he raised a good point.

"Agreed but the hotel is not the best place to do what I have to," Cougar replied, "Between the smoke, the chanting and whatever she does people will probably call the cops."

"Jim's house," Sam said, "If he's gone we can use it. It's closer than the hotel too."

I looked around at the guys who were groaning in pain and waking up from being knocked out. "We need to get going either way." I pulled my phone out of my pocket, it had miraculously escaped damage but there wasn't much reception. "Do what you need to start helping her but keep our Spirits out until we get back to the river. I'll take point since I'm figuring you're carrying her. The ones that ran may have called some friends."

Cougar nodded, "Good point. Can you move away please?"

"Yeah," I stood up and started walking away, my wolf stayed where it was, "C'mon buddy, let him do his thing. You heard him."

It took a minute but it got up and followed me, Sam looked like he was going to join us but I just turned away. I had other things to worry about than my feelings being hurt. I spotted one of the guys who was waking up from being knocked out and headed his direction. "Let's do what we do best wolf, be the guy no one wants to fuck with."

The wolf stopped walking and I looked down at it. It apparently knew which guy I was planning to talk to because it was staring straight at him, head held low, fur standing straight up and with all it's teeth showing but was completely silent. Somehow that was even more unnerving then when it was full on growling at Cougar. The guy went as pale as a Native could and started whimpering. I had to give it credit for style. Since the wolf was doing such a good job I figured I should add the finishing touch. "Good boy," I said as I patted it's back, "He moves an inch, kill him." That was when the low, rib cage rattling growl started up. What can I say, my wolf knows how to make an impression.

I resumed my walk to the guy, who's wide eyes were rapidly jumping back and forth between the wolf and I, and squatted down next to him. "Here's the deal. Not sure if you guys have phones with you but I'm heading downhill to call for help. I could just finish you all off but I'm trying to stop doing that, bad for my soul as you can see. So, cops come, you don't know anything and you convince all your buddies up here that they don't know anything either. If we get heat, I'll track you down and finish what I started." I pointed at my wolf, "He knows your Spirit, pretty sure I can use that as a way to find you in one world or the other. This isn't my first rodeo on the wild and crazy side of things. Most of those scars came from something a whole lot scarier than Leaping Deer was. Get my point?"

"Y..yes." He wouldn't say anything to anyone. I'd be surprised if he actually stayed to help any of the other guys. I was pretty sure he'd take off at the first chance he got.

"Good."

I stood back up, looked at the wolf. "Let's go."

I guess it felt my threat was lacking because it jumped right at him and landed with it's paws on either side of him. He yelled, threw his arms over his face and started babbling in some Native language. It wasn't Lakota but I was pretty sure he was begging for his life. My wolf snapped and snarled at him for a few seconds then made this weird huffing sound, took it's paw, smacked the guy across the face and trotted away. My Warrior Spirit had just bitch slapped a guy who was begging for his life. Now that was pretty damn cool.

"Wow," Sam said. I turned around and saw he was looking at my wolf in utter disbelief,"Did it really just do that?"

"I know right?"

"Your Warrior Spirit's kind of a dick."

"Effective though."

Coyote screamed and I had to stop myself from running back to her. This was going to be worse than watching Sam detox from demon blood.

"Everyone back away." Cougar ordered. Roy and Sam took several steps back, I just started walking downhill. Sam and Cougar could carry her, Roy would keep them safe but I had to get out of range of her screams. If I didn't I'd just do something stupid and make things worse, like I always do.

I didn't get too far before my wolf went from walking beside me to standing in front of me. "What is it?" He didn't say anything, of course, but looked behind me. I looked over my shoulder and Sam was standing there. I'd been too preoccupied and hadn't heard him which was bad, especially since I was going to take point on the way back down.

"He's done doing what he can for her up here. We're ready to move. You okay?"

I ignored the question, he knew the answer, "All right. Let's go."

Sam looked over his shoulder and waved his arm at the other two. Cougar had Coyote on his back, piggy back style. He'd tied her hands together, put them around his neck and found a piece of rope long enough to wrap around their waists to help keep her close to his back so her weight wouldn't pull him backwards. It was a pretty clever idea actually. He was holding onto her legs and moving like there wasn't a six foot tall woman strapped to his back.

"When you guys need to switch who's carrying her let me know."

Cougar nodded. Sam's wolf ranged out to the woods on our right, the cougar faded into the woods on the left and me and my wolf started moving downhill again. Going down took a lot less out of me, probably because I wasn't sprinting. I angled south of where we'd taken out the second group of guys and didn't notice any new tracks or traps we missed. It took us about thirty minutes to find the main trail again. I decided to use the trail as a guide back to the river and not actually follow it. No point in making it easier for anyone to find us. My wolf crisscrossed in front of me the whole way so technically it had taken point. It popped up in front of me once we'd found the main trail, stopped, sat down and looked up at me.

"What?" I sort of felt like I was talking to Lassie.

It turned it's head towards the trail, let out a low barking sound, looked back up then laid down.

"Someone coming?"

It wagged it's tail so I held my hand up and heard the rest of them come to stop. "Someone's coming, or so the wolf says."

"Since we're stopping anyway Cougar, let me take her," Sam offered.

I looked back and saw that Cougar was panting and his shirt was covered in sweat. I'd set a pretty quick pace to get us as far away from possible threats as I could and Cougar had kept up without a single word. Guy was tough.

"Thank you."

They shifted her to Sam's back, she was still twitching and her face was contorted with pain but she'd been quiet. I wasn't sure if she somehow knew we were on the move or it was because of whatever Cougar had done. The swishing of bike tires caught my attention. Sam ducked behind some trees and the rest of us squatted down and watched as a group of five mountain bikers flew down the trail not more than twenty feet away from us. Once they passed I shot a quick glance at my wolf who was standing again.

"Coast clear?"

It nodded. I took a quick look at my phone and saw I had service again, may as well get the search teams started. I really didn't want more deaths on my conscious.

I dialed 911. "911. What's your emergency?"

"I found a body in the woods, about three miles north of the Black Rock trail in a clearing. Send someone." That'd give them a general direction to start looking. I hung up and led them north, paralleling the trail until the river came into view. It took about two hours, Sam and Cougar switched off carrying Coyote twice along the way. We didn't come across anyone else along the way which was a nice break. Once we got to the edge of the river we stopped. "Cougar? Time to put these guys back where they belong."

"Yes it is."

Sam's wolf and Cougar's cougar materialized out of the woods and stood in front of my brother and Cougar. My wolf sat down, tilted it's head to one side and gave me an odd look. I sort of got the impression it thought that I was banishing it or something, like it had failed me in some way which was why I was kicking it back inside me.

"Hang on a minute."

"Okay," Cougar replied.

I crouched down in front of my wolf and put my hand on the small white patch on it's chest. Just like when I touched it's scars memories hit me but the emotions that came with them seem dulled. Memories of Mom, Sam and I when we were being stupid kids and having fun, times at Bobby's place, the few times Dad managed to be at Bobby's with us and we barbecued, the one time we shot off fireworks for Fourth of July, stuff like that. I would have thought that the good times would hit me as hard as the bad but I felt like I was watching them through someone else's eyes, like they weren't really mine. They felt distant and weirdly empty to me. Things from another life, another time.

I pulled my hand away, the wolf leaned it's head on my shoulder and whimpered. "Guess I haven't taken real good care of us have I? Maybe it's time I work on that. Look, I can't exactly have you walking next to me in the middle of a city. You did your job, took care of someone that was going to cause a lot of pain, kicked some serious ass, but it's time to go back. We got to get somewhere safe so she can heal up. Got it?"

It stood up, looked at Cougar and did that shake thing dogs do when they're loosening up or whatever. I figured that meant it was okay with the plan. Cougar started chanting and that warmth spread through my chest again. The wolf tensed as it became more transparent. Just as the warmth became almost unbearable it jumped directly at me, I felt that sucking feeling again as it's head went through my chest and it disappeared. Weirdest thing ever in a long list of weird. When I looked behind me again Sam's wolf and the cougar were both gone. We crossed the river, laid Coyote across the back seat of her car and headed to Jim's place. Coyote had to survive another eighteen or so hours before the spell would fade and there didn't seem to be a damn thing I could do to help.