Starlight Web

by Yasmine Galenorn

  “Find a new case?” I asked, breezing by him.

  “Maybe,” he muttered, shaking his head. “It’s odd, to say the least. I’ll have to look into this more before I see if it’s something worth pursuing.”

  Caitlin waved at me. She was in the middle of taking apart one of the computers.

  “When does Wren get back?” I asked. “I’d like to meet her finally.”

  “Week after next,” Tad said, from his desk where he was staring at a printout of what looked like a planet.

  “Don’t tell me we’re going after aliens next,” I said.

  “Nope, but we could. We’ve got plenty of reports lately about UFO sightings. I’m just looking through some of the reports the Pentagon recently declassified and boy, you wouldn’t believe some of the crap these guys saw.” He paused, pushing up the glasses that had slid down his nose. “So, ready for today?”

  “I wish we could have taken care of things for good. It feels like we didn’t finish anything with the asylum.”

  “That’s the way some cases go, January. You’ll get used to it.”

  “Yeah, well, I don’t have to like it,” I muttered. I hated unfinished tasks. I was one of those annoying people who thrived on checklists and planners and schedules.

  I finished my breakfast while I typed up all the notes I could think of from the past week, then glanced at the clock. “If we’re going, we’d better leave now.” It was 9:40.

  We decided to take the van and, once again, Tad drove. We arrived at the site about ten minutes later, to find the supervisor of the demolition had brought in a number of big machines—bulldozers and dump trucks. That made sense. After the building came down, they’d have to haul away all the debris. Val himself wasn’t there, given…well…vampire. But a man who introduced himself as Daniel Ashante was.

  “I’m Mr. Slater’s administrative assistant.”

  There was something about him…he wasn’t human, that much I could tell. I closed my eyes, trying to home in on his energy. Yep, there it was—he was a shifter. And a powerful one at that. Shifters and vampires didn’t get along too well, so Slater must be paying Ashante a fortune.

  “How are you going to do this?” I asked. “Just start knocking it down?”

  Daniel shook his head. “No, we’re imploding it. The dynamite’s been set, so don’t go near the building. Here.” He handed us a bag containing earplugs. “You’ll need these. Also, wear these masks and goggles. The dust will be horrendous.”

  We gratefully tucked the earplugs into place and put on our masks and goggles, then pulled back to the other side of what had been the parking lot.

  I wondered what the hell the land elemental would do once we exploded its shell. Anxious, I glanced at my phone. Nearly ten. Apparently they’d been here setting up all morning because they were ready to go on at the top of the hour.

  We huddled near the tree line.

  “I really hope the workers who placed the dynamite know the difference between an implosion and an explosion,” I muttered as a few snowflakes began to flutter down.

  I glanced up at the sky. It was starting to come down again, and everything seemed so picture-perfect when I looked at the Mystic Wood behind me. I felt a pull to wander into the thicket, but kept myself from doing so. That could easily be the land elemental enticing me. After all, the creature had two acres to prey on.

  When I thought about it like that, I no longer regretted talking to Val. At least we had a chance to reduce the number of victims.

  “Places,” Daniel called out, and his work crew scattered around as though they had choreographed the action.

  “Here goes nothing,” Tad said, watching with doubtful eyes. “I’m not sure this is the best idea, but it’s out of our hands now.”

  “There’s nothing else we can do,” Hank muttered. “From what January said, Rowan refused to take any other action on it. If she can’t take care of something, then you know it’s a problem. Let’s give this a chance. We may not like dealing with a vampire, but he’s the only one who stepped up.”

  “True,” I said. “And it’s not like I didn’t talk to the mayor about it.”

  We continued to chat until Daniel held up his hand for silence.

  “Check in safe. Wilson?”

  “Here.”

  “Dram?”

  “Yo!”

  He continued down a list of names until everyone in the work crew was accounted for. Then he called out, “Let’s go. Five…four…three…two…one…detonate!”

  There was a pause, then a slow, low roar began to build as the building trembled. I could see explosions running up the sides, all around the visible surface. The building began to crumble in on itself as a cloud of dust rose up, billowing out toward us as the remains of the institution crumbled.

  The ground shook and my jaw ached from the force of the explosion, but the wind was blowing the other direction and carried the smoke away from us.

  I was about to breathe a sigh of relief when I felt something nearby—something looming large and predatory, like a winged beast rising behind me.

  “What the hell?” I turned around. It was then that the spirit—and it was a spirit—body-slammed into me, knocking me on my butt. I felt it prying at the corners of my mind, trying to find a way in.

  “Esmara!” As I called my guardian, I instinctively slammed my shields down, preventing whatever it was from entering my psyche. I could feel it struggling before it withdrew.

  Hank suddenly leapt forward, his hands clutching my throat.

  Oh crap! The spirit hadn’t been able to get through to me, so it had jumped him.

  “Hank—” I tried to say, but he had such a tight grip I could barely breathe. I struggled with him. I was a larger woman, but he was strong, and the spirit possessing him was even stronger.

  I could hear Caitlin and Tad shouting. I was seeing stars now, flashes of light, as my lungs burned, trying to catch a breath. Hank’s fingers pressed hard against my throat and my head was beginning to swim with the pain. I couldn’t think, but several years of self-defense courses finally took over and the next moment, I brought my knee up hard against Hank’s groin, putting as much oomph into the thrust as I could.

  That worked. While his soul might be possessed, his body still registered pain and he let go, doubling over. I stumbled back. Everything was still a blur, but someone grabbed me by the arm and dragged me away from the scene. And then, I heard a massive crack.

  Seconds later, with my nose bleeding and my throat aching, my vision began to clear. Tad was standing there, a stun gun in hand. Hank was laid out flat on the ground, and I could sense that the spirit had fled, sucked back into the elemental.

  “He’s clear,” I breathed, my throat so rough it felt like I had strep.

  “Are you sure?” Caitlin asked.

  Hank is clean, Esmara whispered to me. The elemental retreated—the explosion weakened it and now it’s licking its wounds, so to speak.

  “Yeah, Hank should be free from it,” I gasped out. “But let’s get out of here. We’re too vulnerable and the elemental is still around.”

  Daniel’s men helped us over to the van. With Hank out cold in the back, we headed away from the site, as fast as we could.

  I hoped that the work men would be okay, but they seemed to all be shifters, and shifters had less of a chance of being possessed. Plus, I had the distinct feeling Val had supplied them with some sort of magical protection.

  As I leaned my head against the headrest, I couldn’t help but wonder—what else lived in these woods? What else prowled the shadows of Moonshadow Bay? The town seemed more sinister than it had when I was a child, but I was beginning to realize that I had just never seen the underbelly before.

  Tad insisted we stop at urgent care to get both Hank and me checked out. The doctor cleared us both, though Hank had done a number on my throat. But honey and lemon tea would help with that, along with a chiropractor visit. Hank came around and the look on his face w
hen he realized what had happened was stronger than any apology he could make.

  “I can’t believe that happened,” Hank said. “I’m so sorry.”

  “This caps it,” I squeaked out. “I can’t believe all of you have been going out without proper protection. Before we even think of taking a new case, I’m making protection charms for everybody.” I shook my head. “If I’m going to work with Conjure Ink, I’m going to make sure that we’re beefed up on the magical side of things.”

  Tad grinned. “I’d ask how you’ve enjoyed your first week on the job, but I’m afraid I might actually get an answer. You got tossed into the deep side of the pool on this one.”

  I waggled my fingers at him. “Way to give someone the full immersion treatment. How about we take the rest of the day off? My throat’s so sore I just want to go home and rest and not say anything. But hey, now I can say I know what it feels like to be strangled.”

  Hank groaned again. “I will never be able to make this up to you. I second January’s motion. Being stun-gunned isn’t much fun, either.”

  Tad agreed and told us to take the next day off and to be in Wednesday morning as usual, and so we closed the case as best as we could on the asylum. I just hoped it stayed in the past. Unresolved hauntings usually had a way of creeping back, but for now, I was content to just avoid the area.

  On Friday night, the night before the cotillion, I curled up in the glow of the tree lights. Xi was sitting on my lap, and Klaus was pouncing after a toy that Ari was teasing him with. I had sprayed the tree with a diluted solution of peppermint oil and water, and the cats apparently decided it was something to steer clear of.

  Meagan was stretched out in front of the fireplace, gazing into the flames, and Aunt Teran was in the kitchen, stirring a batch of homemade chicken soup. Killian sat on the other end of the sofa, giving me a foot rub. My throat was feeling better, but I was still talking hoarsely.

  “So, you’re sticking with the job?” Ari asked.

  I nodded. “Yeah, I am. I like it, and I like my coworkers. The pay’s good enough to live on, and I have insurance. I had business cards printed up for our own business—The Magic Web—and we can start passing them out. I already have two tarot readings booked for Sunday.”

  “I’m glad you came home to Moonshadow Bay,” Ari said. “I’ve missed you. I may not live down the street anymore, but it’s good to live in the same town again.” Ari had lived a few doors away when we were young, but after she left home, her parent sold the house and moved into a condo.

  “Same here,” Teran chimed in, carrying in a tureen of the soup. She placed it on a trivet on the coffee table. Meagan darted into the kitchen, returning with the soup mugs and spoons. Teran made one last trip for the French bread. The room smelled like chicken soup and warm bread, and I gently moved the snoring Xi to one side.

  As Teran handed out mugs of soup, Killian caught my eye. He had returned on Wednesday, relieved that his sister was starting to heal up, and we had spent the evenings together. He had been furious at Hank, until I convinced him that it wasn’t Hank’s fault at all.

  I turned on It’s A Wonderful Life, and we gathered around, watching Jimmy Stewart learn that his life wasn’t so bad after all. By the end, we were full and sleepy, but it felt like the evening had brought the five of us closer together.

  As Ari and Meagan left, I hugged my best friend. “Don’t let this one get away, Ari. I think she’s good for you,” I whispered.

  She nodded, biting her lip. “I think so, too. And that’s what makes me so afraid,” she said before ducking out the door.

  Teran gave me a hug. “On Sunday, after you get done with giving your readings, I’ll come over and we’ll take a look through your mother’s tools and see what you still need to find. The Ladies have been pushing me the past couple days about it.”

  “Esmara talks to me,” I said. “What about you?”

  “Great-great Aunt Prue,” Teran said. “She was a firecracker. I’ll tell you all about them on Sunday.” She gave me another hug, then headed out to walk home through the snow.

  I turned to Killian. I had been so sore from the attack all week, and was just now feeling like myself again. He wrapped me in his arms, kissing me soundly.

  “So should I get out of here too, to let you sleep?”

  I gazed into his eyes, and right then, I knew I didn’t want him to go home. “No, I want you to stay the night,” I said. “I want you.”

  He let out a faint sound that sounded like a cross between a moan and a snarl. “Oh, love, if I do, you have to know that I don’t want anyone else touching you—not like that. I’m a wolf shifter. We tend to be territorial about our mates.”

  The word “mate” threw me for a moment, but then I thought about it. Ellison couldn’t have cared less if anybody else looked at me, as long as he didn’t have to touch me. But Killian, he wanted me. And he wanted me to himself. I had friends who were poly and that was fine, but it wasn’t my path.

  “As long as you never try to control me. I can’t do that again,” I said softly, stretching my arms out around the back of his neck. My breasts pressed against his chest and all I could think about was that I wanted him to tear off my clothes and take me to bed.

  He sniffed the nape of my neck, gently. “I can smell you. You’re aroused.” He paused, then said, “I’ll never try to dominate you—not in a controlling way. Not in any way, except know that if we share a bed, you’re my mate and I claim you as my woman. It’s who I am, love. Can you handle that?”

  I leaned up and nibbled on his lip. “I’ve never been interested in playing the field, not in the past and not now. So that’s not a problem, my sweet.”

  Killian kissed me, long and deep and hard. He swept me up and carried me to the sofa. And there, in the glow of the lights and tinsel, with Xi and Klaus racing around, he undressed me.

  Outside, the snow still fell, and ghosts wandered through Moonshadow Bay, some lonely and haunted by their lost lives, others blissfully silent, locked in their own worlds of contemplation. Deep in the bowels of the earth, a land elemental was biding his time, angry and waiting for revenge. And partying it up in the spirit world, my Ladies watched over me, my mother with them.

  There would be danger to come, I knew that as sure as I knew my name. And there were a lot of things I had yet to untangle. But here, now, on the night before the Winter Cotillion, Killian and I rode on a wave of passion, and all was right with the world.

  If you enjoyed this book in my Moonshadow Bay Series, don’t miss the rest! Starlight Web, Midnight Web, Conjure Web, and Harvest Web.

  If you love urban fantasy and mythology, then you might want to read the Wild Hunt Series. Begin with The Silver Stag, Oak & Thorns, and Iron Bones. Book 16—Witching Fire—is available for preorder now. There will be more to come.

  Also in the realm of paranormal women’s fiction are my Chintz ‘n China books. Begin with Ghost of a Chance, Legend of the Jade Dragon, and Murder Under a Mystic Moon. Book 7—Well of Secrets—is available for preorder now.

  Return with me to Whisper Hollow, where spirits walk among the living, and the lake never gives up her dead. I’ve re-released Autumn Thorns and Shadow Silence, as well as a new—the third—Whisper Hollow Book, The Phantom Queen! Come join the darkly seductive world of Kerris Fellwater, a spirit shaman in the small lakeside community of Whisper Hollow.

  If you prefer a lighter-hearted paranormal romance, meet the wild and magical residents of Bedlam in my Bewitching Bedlam Series. Fun-loving witch Maddy Gallowglass, her smoking-hot vampire lover Aegis, and their crazed cjinn Bubba (part djinn, all cat) rock it out in Bedlam, a magical town on a mystical island. Bewitching Bedlam, Maudlin’s Mayhem, Siren’s Song, Witches Wild, Casting Curses, Demon’s Delight, Bedlam Calling, Blood Music, Blood Vengeance, Tiger Tails, and Bubba’s origin story—The Wish Factor—are available.

  I invite you to visit Fury’s world. Bound to Hecate, Fury is a minor goddess, taking care of the Abominations
who come off the World Tree. Books 1-5 are available now in the Fury Unbound Series: Fury Rising, Fury’s Magic, Fury Awakened, Fury Calling, and Fury’s Mantle.

  For a dark, gritty, steamy series, try my world of The Indigo Court, where the long winter has come, and the Vampiric Fae are on the rise. The series is complete with Night Myst, Night Veil, Night Seeker, Night Vision, Night’s End, and Night Shivers.

  For all of my work, both published and upcoming releases, see the Biography at the end of this book, or check out my website at Galenorn.com and be sure and sign up for my newsletter to receive news about all my new releases.

  QUALITY CONTROL: This work has been professionally edited and proofread. If you encounter any typos or formatting issues ONLY, please contact me through my Website so they may be corrected. Otherwise, know that this book is in my style and voice and editorial suggestions will not be entertained. Thank you.

  Playlist

  I often write to music, and STARLIGHT WEB was no exception. Here’s the playlist I used for this book.

  Adele: Rumour Has It

  Android Lust: Here And Now; Saint Over

  The Animals: The House of the Rising Sun; Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood; Bury My Body

  Arch Leaves: Nowhere To Go

  Asteroids Galaxy Tour: The Sun Ain’t Shining No More; Sunshine Coolin’; Major; Heart Attack

  Band of Skulls: I Know What I Am

  Beastie Boys: She’s Crafty

  Beck: Qué Onda Guero; Farewell Ride; Emergency Exit; Think I’m In Love; Cellphone’s Dead; Nausea; Broken Train; Where It’s At

  The Black Angels: Don’t Play With Guns; Love Me Forever; You’re Mine

  Black Pumas: Sweet Conversations

  Blind Melon: No Rain