Chapter 76

Ava

I managed to get up on shaky legs, blinking hard to try and clear the dizzying swirl of stars clouding my vision. My entire body throbbed, and I could feel the sticky warmth of blood matting my hair to the side of my face.

But none of that mattered. All I could focus on was the crumpled form lying at the center of the clearing.

“Chris!” I croaked out, stumbling toward him.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I made my way over to him and fell to my knees.

“Chris… Oh, Goddess…”

Up close, the damage looked even worse. Angry welts and deep gashes covered his chest and abdomen, one eye already swollen shut while his other was barely even managing to stay open. But worst of all was the knife sticking out of his abdomen, all the way to the handle.

Despite it all, though, his eyes fluttered open at the sound of my voice, fixing me with a bleary, unfocused stare as I tenderly cradled his head in my hands.

“Ava…” he rasped out, a trickle of blood escaping the corner of his mouth as he managed a wry smirk up at me. “I think I won…”

“Don’t talk,” I murmured, tears burning hot streaks down my face as I fumbled for my phone. “I’m going to get us help. Just stay still.”

With shaking fingers, I navigated to call for Leonard—but when I hit the call button, I was met with a robotic voice on the other end.

“No service.”

Of course. There was no cell service all the way out here.

“Dammit,” I growled, tossing the useless device aside as I moved to stand. “I have to go back to the village for help.”

“No.” His hand shot out with surprising strength, his fingers wrapping around my wrist with a vice-like grip. “Stay.”

“Chris, you’re hurt. Badly.” My skin burned as I tried to pull my hand away. “You’ll die if I don’t—”

“You won’t make it,” he croaked out. “Look at yourself.”

I swallowed, looking down at my own form; even now, my head swam sickeningly and my body felt like it might crumple at any moment. I would live, but I knew that Chris was right; if I tried walking that far now, I would likely just collapse in the woods and then it would be too late by the time I managed to actually get help, and that was assuming that the Beta and his one living friend didn’t return to finish us both off.

But there was a way to find help.

It had been years since I had last attempted to use my Mindlink. Ever since cell phones and radios had become so readily available, the ancient telepathic gifts of our people had gradually fallen out of use. Many in the younger generations didn’t even know how to do it anymore.

But maybe, just maybe… if there were any members of the Moonstone pack in the vicinity…

Shutting my eyes, I reached out with my mind, groping blindly through my mind until the familiar pathways began opening up once again. It was like a muscle I hadn’t exercised in ages; rusty and neglected, but still there, waiting.

Visualizing a shining silver thread, I allowed my consciousness to bleed outward along the strand, merging and overlapping and seeking out any spark of life in the forest.

Nothing.

Panic surged inside of me, and I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, straining with every fiber of my being until beads of sweat began to form on my brow. Still, my mental voice remained unanswered.

“Ava…”

I opened my eyes to see Chris struggling to keep his one eye open, his head lolling to the side. He was falling unconscious, and even though the knife remained in his stomach, there was a bloom of blood working its way around his shirt.

He was dying.

“No,” I sobbed, gripping his bloodied hand tightly. “No, Chris, you have to stay awake…”

Chris didn’t answer. His mouth worked uselessly, no sound other than a soft, strained groan escaping his lips. And then his eye slipped shut, and his neck went slack. His chest rose and fell a few times, but just barely.

“No—No—Chris!” I begged, shaking him.

But then, something happened; movement in the corner of my eye. I whipped my head around, opening my mouth to scream out for help, only to feel the words die on my lips.

A soft, ethereal glow pierced through the shadows at the edge of the treeline, filtering towards us like a beacon in the darkness. Impossibly white and pristine, a massive set of antlers took shape first.

Then, the rest of the creature slowly came into focus, seeming to materialize out of the shaft of moonlight filtering in through the canopy. A towering, majestic stag with fur that rippled and shimmered like liquid moonlight stepped delicately out into the clearing.

A moondeer.

I felt my breath hitch in my throat as the moondeer languidly stepped forward, its glowing blue eyes fixed on Chris. Time seemed to slow down as it cautiously moved toward us, and I didn’t know whether to stay put, speak, or move away.

“H-Hello,” I whispered.

The moondeer suddenly stopped short, its nostrils flaring as it shifted its gaze to me. I didn’t dare to breathe, fearing that I might scare it away. No, I thought to myself. No, please don’t leave. We need you.

As if reading my thoughts, the moondeer snorted softly and continued moving forward. This time, I stayed utterly motionless and silent. The moondeer’s cool form brushed past me, its soft fur grazing my skin as it lowered its head down to Chris, and still I didn’t move a muscle even though every fiber of my being was screaming with excitement.

But then the moondeer looked at the knife, and then at me, and back at the knife.

I swallowed. “You want me to…”

The moondeer blinked at me, those brilliant blue eyes seeming to speak a thousand words. I knew what it wanted me to do; slowly, carefully, I wrapped my fingers around the handle of the knife and pulled it out.

Fresh blood spilled forth from Chris’s abdomen, causing a soft, choked cry to escape my lips. The moondeer, however, remained utterly unfazed. Rather, it lowered its head and began to lick at the wound.

Something amazing happened then. I watched, transfixed, as the stag worked its magic. I had known that moondeer saliva was said to have healing properties, but… I had always thought that that was just a rumor, a fascinating story to tell kids.

But I was wrong.

Chris’s wound began to close before my very eyes. The cuts and welts on his chest began to fade, the blackness and swelling around his eyes returning to normal—or close to it, at least. His chest began to move more steadily beneath the layer of sticky blood coating his skin, and then…

His eyes flickered open.

“What…” he murmured.

No sooner had that word left his lips did the stag lift his head, his fuzzy silver antlers seeming to catch the moonlight. His muzzle, now stained red with blood, twitched slightly as he regarded Chris.

And then, slowly, the moondeer leaped over the two of us and bounded away into the forest without a sound—like a beam of moonlight washing over the forest floor.

Chris blinked up at me, his chest heaving in tandem with mine. Neither of us dared to speak for the longest time, too astonished to even find the right words.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I felt my mind return to me. “You’re alive,” I gasped. Without hesitating, I cupped his face in my hands and threw myself over him, kissing him deeply as though the world had just ended and it was only the two of us left floating through the empty universe.

When we finally pulled apart, our lips and tongues stained with the metallic tang of blood, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Well, you asked for a miracle,” I said. “And you got it.”