Great Falls was, she knew now, in the Washington, D.C., suburbs, in heavily populated Fairfax County. Yet out on the rocks like this, she felt nearly isolated but for the smattering of multimillion-dollar homes dotting the woods nearby. The place had a wild, untamed quality to it she wouldn't have expected to find so close to the nation's capital.
The drive from Feral House had taken little more than five minutes along winding, hilly, two-lane roads through dense woods, roads crowded with expensive cars, minivans, and high-dollar SUVs. Hawke had parked his car on an upscale residential street a short walk through the woods from this spot.
Oddly, or maybe not so oddly, her paralyzing fear had slowly ebbed as they'd driven farther from the house. The fear wasn't entirely gone, but had dulled to the level of dread she'd experienced yesterday, leaving her with an inner certainty something was wrong, even if she no longer felt she was in imminent danger.
Something or someone in that house meant her harm.
Lyon insisted otherwise. He said she was perfectly safe, but she wasn't. She hated Feral House. Hated feeling so scared all the time.
Lyon said she had to stay, but she couldn't. And Lyon wasn't here to stop her this time.
Hawke sat cross-legged on the wide, flat rock high above the rushing water he'd led her down to and held out his hand to her.
"Sit, Kara. It's important the Earth learn you."
"Learn me?"
He took her hand and pulled her down to sit facing him. Their knees almost touched. "You are the focal point, if you will, of the Earth's energies. The Radiant is the one through whom the Earth's power flows, the power that strengthens all Therians, particularly the Ferals."
"Are you talking about literal power or something more spiritual?" Her gaze caught on a bald eagle flying high over the water, his white head and tail flashing in the sunlight.
"Literal. You'll be the conduit, once we get you ascended."
But they wouldn't get her ascended. Not if she had any say in it. They were going to have to find another way this time. They were strong. Virtually immortal. There had to be another way.
"You're trembling, Kara."
If he thought this was trembling, he should have seen her last night. But clearly she wasn't as calm as she thought. It was best if he didn't know why.
"I… um… will the Ascension hurt?" As good a reason for her jitters as any, she supposed. At least she hoped he thought so.
"Not much. All our rituals require a little bloodletting from each of us, and the Ascension is no different. But the cuts will be shallow. You'll be fully healed before the ritual is over."
She gave him a wry look. "Easy for you to say." A memory surfaced from one of her nightmares, then disappeared, but not before she felt the stabbing pain of a knife piercing her abdomen. A hard shudder went through her.
Hawke put his hand on her arm. "It won't be bad, Kara. I promise. We'll all be cut right along with you. One of the hazards of being marked by the goddess." Hawke smiled and shrugged. "To tell you the truth, this will be my first Ascension, too. I was marked about the same time as Beatrice, but I didn't find my way to Feral House until after she was ascended."
The cool wind breezed over Kara's face, pulling a lock of hair loose from her ponytail. She tucked it behind her ear. "Then why did Lyon choose you to prepare me if you've never done this before?"
Hawke smiled, but his smile seemed directed inward. "I understand what has to be done. Until Foxx was marked, I was the youngest of the Ferals. I've spent a lot of time learning everything I can about our race, our powers, our rituals. I sometimes think I know more than any of them, even though they've been around much longer. I know what to do." He shrugged, a self-deprecating smile forming on his mouth. "I'm a natural student. I used to be a teacher."
He'd finally caught Kara's full attention. "Me, too. Did you teach children?"
"Yes, but Therian children are rare, so I never had more than one pupil at a time."
"When was that?"
"Soon after the humans' Civil War."
Kara stared at him. She knew they were immortal. But understanding was coming more slowly. The man didn't look a day over thirty. "How old are you?"
"One hundred fifty something." He thought about it for a moment. "Fifty-seven."
And he was next to the youngest. "What about the others?"
With his finger he tapped her hand. "Lay your palms on the rock."
"Why? So the rock can learn me, too?"
He grinned. "Something like that."
"How old is Lyon?"
"Close to seven hundred, I think."
"Seven hundred?"
Hawke nodded, his expression wry. "He's not the oldest."
"Who is?"
"Kougar, though no one knows how old he is."
"He won't tell you?"
"Kougar isn't exactly the sharing kind." Hawke leaned forward and covered her hands with his, pressing her palms more firmly to the rock. His touch was warm, but impersonal.
"You aren't as touchy-feely as the others." She grimaced, realizing she'd spoken the thought out loud.
But Hawke didn't seem to take offense. "As my name implies, I'm a hawk when I shift. We're naturally less physical than the cats and dogs. In ancient times, the various lines of shape-shifters lived separately. The felines and canines lived in prides and packs. The packs may be gone, but the Ferals are still physical beings for the most part. The snake and I less so. And Lyon, almost not at all."
"But Lyon should be, shouldn't he? He's a cat."
"He should be. Why he's not, no one really knows. Personally, I think it's the way he was raised. No one knows the full circumstances, but it's said he grew up on the streets without family. He may have been Therian, but he was still a child. And kids need family."
"Has he ever been married?"
"Mated? No. Few Ferals mate except for the one chosen for the Radiant. Few Therians mate, for that matter."
"Why is that?"
"Malting is for life. And when you live as long as we can, that's a promise few are willing to make. I, like most, will mate only if I find a woman I can't live without. And that's never happened. I have relationships. I enjoy them until I tire of them, then I move on. It's the way of the species. Bonding for life is rare."
"But you're not lonely?"
Hawke shrugged. "It's hard to get lonely when you live with ten others." He tapped her fingers. "Do you feel anything beneath your hands?"
"The rock's getting warm, but I suppose that's to be expected."
"Actually, this rock doesn't heat like that. It's warming to you, which means it's time to get started." He lifted his hands from hers and placed them palm down on the rock at his sides. "Do what I'm doing. Then close your eyes."
"O-kay." She was having a hard time believing this was accomplishing anything. Then again, she had no idea what they were supposed to be doing.
Kara mimicked Hawke's move and was startled when the rock at her sides felt just as warm to her palms as the rock she'd been touching while they talked.
"Keep your eyes closed, Kara, and think about pulling the warmth from the rock into your body."
"How did you know it was warm?"
She heard the low sound of his amusement. "I told you it was warming to you. Now, I'm going to put my hands over yours and call to the goddess."
Her eyes snapped open. "The goddess?" How many more creatures didn't she know about?
Hawke's hands slid lightly over hers. "Easy, Radiant. By the goddess, I only mean Mother Earth. Nature. She's not a living, breathing being, but the world in its purest state. The wind, the sea, the sky. The lifeblood of every living creature. And the power and energy that flows through all. An energy only a few can tap into, and only one directly."
"The Radiant?"
"Yes."
She took a deep breath. Calling to Mother Nature was kind of like calling to God, wasn't it? Oh, man, this is all too weird.
"Close your eyes, Kara."
She nodded and let her lids drift shut.
Hawke's hands covered hers more firmly, and he began to say something under his breath, something she could barely hear, let alone understand. With a start, she realized something was happening. Her palms were beginning to tingle.
Strange sensations rippled under the skin of her hands, climbing into her wrists, crawling like worms beneath the skin of her arms. The worms turned to geysers and shot up her arms, into her chest.
With a startled shriek, Kara jerked her hands back and stared at her normal-looking hands.
Her gaze flew to Hawkers. "What just happened?"
"Did it hurt you?" Hawke asked worriedly.
"No. It just felt… bizarre. Like if I didn't quit, it was going to short out my heart." She rubbed her upper arms, trying to dispel the lingering crawling sensation.
"You're strong," Hawke said, a note of admiration in his voice. "Especially considering you came to us only yesterday without an ounce of Therian energy. I hadn't expected the Earth to respond to you for at least another day, yet it leaped, didn't it?"
She nodded slowly. "That was supposed to happen?"
Hawke grinned. "That and more. At this rate, we're going to be able to ascend you early. Ready to try again?"
"No, I…" God, she didn't like this. Any of it. She was beginning to suspect the role of the Radiant was little more than electrical plug. Hook her up to the power source and watch her buzz.
Kara rubbed her upper arms, not having to pretend she was chilled. "I'm going to run back to the car and get my jacket, Hawke. Then I'll be ready to try it again." She stood and thrust out her hand, hoping Hawke didn't notice it was trembling. "Can I borrow the keys?"
To her dismay, he shook his head and rose. "Sit, Kara. You look a little pale. I'll get your jacket."
Damn, damn, damn. "No, I… feel like moving."
Hawke nodded. "HI go with you, then." Kara saw no hint of suspicion in his eyes. No clue she meant to use this chance to run. The man was simply being annoyingly chivalrous. Or protective.
Getting the car would have been ideal, but the important thing was to be left alone. She sank back down to sit on the rock.
"I think I'll wait for you, after all. That power surge hasn't quite left my body."
Hawke nodded. "I'll be right back."
As Kara watched him climb the rocky path, her pulse began to hammer. This was it. She was finally alone. Away from Feral House. Away from Lyon.
She hated leaving him this way, but she didn't have a choice. He wouldn't let her go, and she had to get out of here. Even the thought of returning to Feral House had the fear leaping all on its own. She wasn't going back there. Even if it meant she would never see Lyon again. The thought rolled through her, harsh and miserable, as her gaze followed Hawke.
The moment he reached the top of the rocks and was out of sight, she took off in the opposite direction of his car and Feral House, climbing along the rocks, staying below the level of the woods so Hawke couldn't look back and accidentally spot her. She felt a pang of guilt for leaving him, knowing Lyon would probably be furious with him.
Hawke was a nice man. But if this worked, she wouldn't see him again. She wouldn't see any of them again. As long as she managed to stay ahead of Lyon and his finder's skills until he finally gave up on her.
When the rock face curved around a mansion built on the edge of the cliffs, she used the house to shield her and raced into the thick woods on the other side. Not too far was the road they'd traversed to get here, a busy two-lane that ran parallel to the river. With Lyon's ability to track her, her only hope of escape was to get to the road and try to flag down a ride. Preferably a ride heading out of state. Way out of state. Maybe halfway around the world.
A soft, illogical part of her hoped Lyon would eventually find her anyway. That he wouldn't give up on her.
How had the man become so important to her in such a short space of time? Too important, she admitted. Was it the man, or merely the circumstances? Would she have felt this same intense need to be in his arms if she'd met him casually at a wedding or at a church social? She tried to imagine him taking her to Bill Barton's Steakhouse, chatting with her neighbors in Spearsville, and utterly failed. There was something too wild about him, too untamed. She almost found it easier to imagine him shifting into an honest-to-God African lion.
Yes, she thought. She would feel this same need to be in his arms no matter how she'd met him. Even when she'd thought he was there to hurt her, he'd stirred her senses. But it was his combination of strength and gentleness that had her aching at the thought of never seeing him again.
She ran through woods dotted with houses as sound carried to her from every direction. The rumble of the falls behind her, the wind in the trees, and the dull roar of traffic ahead. Far behind her, she thought she heard her name. Her breath caught, and she quickened her pace. Hawke knew she was missing. He'd be after her, now. And though she was pretty sure he didn't have Lyon's finder's senses, it wouldn't take much for him to see her if he headed in this direction. And, really, where else could she have gone?
A bead of sweat ran between her breasts. Branches scraped her hands and cheeks and tangled in her hair, but she pressed on, desperation lending her speed she didn't usually have. Getting caught meant going back to that house of nightmares. And she wasn't doing that.