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"Not yet," a voice said, deep and inhu out in shock In his mind he could see the faces of the prisoners from the Umatilla, and he forced himself not to match those faces to the shouts of dis through the wall "Not … yet…," the voice said again, separate frorowl, yet so similar "Go Run"

A sudden clamor of footsteps rushed past the door, and others faded in the opposite direction The prisoners, escaping! But Jack already knerong that idea was He heard heavy thu even stronger, and then a low ruht have been an anihter

This was not an escape

The whole ship seemed to hold its breath Distant, muffled screams shattered the way outside the locked door, and these had claws A howl rose up, so powerful and wild and familiar that Jack’s spine seemed to vibrate

"No!" Jack shouted, the word bursting from him He hammered the door "Let the!" He slaainst the wood several tied breath … staring at the locks

He grabbed the latch of the heavy dead bolt and began to draw it back

"Jack, stop!" Sabine said, clutching his shoulders and trying to pull him away

The dead bolt unlocked, he spun on her, searching her eyes for a thousand truths that seeic creature and what hold did Ghost have over her? Could it truly be love?

"Give me the keys to the padlocks," he dee exhilaration lit her eyes, and he thought he caught the glimmer of a sain "You can’t unlock the door We’re safe in here, with all the locks on, but if you go out there--even if you just open the door--we’ll both be fair gaa the other prisoners!"

Sabine faltered and lowered her gaze as if in shame "You can’t stop it, Jack You can only die with them, if that’s your choice But if you open that door, you’ll be killing me as well"

Paralyzed by her words, Jack racked his brain for some alternative, so prisoners--whose distant screams reached them even now--but he was at a loss He could picture every one of their faces--the trapper, the woman in her torn dress, the man in the broken spectacles--but the one that haunted hiirl with the bow in her hair

The horror was unfolding above and around the cries of huh to save lives He could set the ship afire and atteet himself, Sabine, and any other survivors to the small boats while the crew put out the flah ti but stand and listen to innocents die

Jack screaainst the inside of the door After several long e, he slid the dead bolt he’d opened back into place

"Sabine…," he said From elsewhere on the ship caony … and then silence "What are they?"

"You knohat," she said gently "You’re bright enough, Jack, and the clues were all there Don’t tellof them as wolves"

CHAPTER FIVE

OUT OF SIGHT

Jack had read that if a person was deprived of one sense, then some or all of the others would be enhanced to coe room in the ship’s hold--a safe room, built for just this purpose, constructed to keep people protected fro not to listen to the slaughter

It seeo on forever, but it couldn’t have been uish between footsteps--the prisoners’ were panicked and shuffling, running this way and that through gangways and across a deck they did not know; the wolves’ were definite,that he could feel in his bones He followed both sets of sounds in his mind’s eye, and each would stop for a ht

He closed his eyes, trying not to listen to the slaughter

Then would come the cry of terror, the screa bones

And even in the safe room, Jack could sether in the love seat, but for those few minutes they existed very far apart Jack felt utterly alone, even though he could hear Sabine’s uneven breathing and s her hand, but that would feel wrong She had knoas to co to warn him, nor to help those ed in readiness for the hounds’ amusement

Worst of all, if she truly had soht and she had used it to lead the Larsen to the Umatilla, then she had to share in the blahtless witness, though in soination

It was a surrealmotionless while all around him were the sounds of pursuit and murder, and the ship swayed in tune with the Pacific swell He felt like the center of things but not the focus He was like the un observer in the flow of life, a rock in a river of chaos Someti and screaain There was more than one howl, and their tones were triumphant, some distant and some close by The hair on Jack’s ar the brash light of the room to the darkness behind his eyelids The ship dipped and rose, and he wondered as steering, atching the sails and ensuring the Larsen remained on course

Of course, the ansas no one The nors--on board were either in this room or scattered across the decks, torn to pieces, their insides being lapped up by monsters that followed the moon

"But even we’re not normal," he whispered

Sabine’s hand touched his ar contact Jack jerked away "Sh," she said, holding his arhter

"No," Jack said, and he pulled away "You’re not nor at the door

"No, I didn’t mean that I meant…" Jack shook his head, not sure how he could verbalize what he had been thinking

"They’re monsters," Sabine said "You’ve talked of the ani of the nobility of beasts, the beautiful sis--those wolves--aren’t animals They are low creatures"

"Ghost doesn’t seem to believe that"

Sabine scoffed "Ghost has delusions of grandeur"

"Why do you help the in his ut, because he so wanted the answer to make sense Sabine was beautiful, and he had been enchanted by her beauty and sadness But was she just a different sort of monster? "Is it Ghost? You love him?"

"Jack," she said, and her eyes were sadder than ever "I do hope you cannot even begin to equate me with them?"

"No, I--"

"In your voice, then An accusation"

"No," he said, pulling his ar her arm "I just need to understand"