by Ally Shields
She ducked when she heard the swish of wings above and behind her. The flock from overhead had drawn closer and a few of the most aggressive darted in her direction. She backed away slowly, but the other crows abandoned their efforts to break through the shield and circled toward her.
“Over here.” A burly werewolf held open the door to the Second Chance Saloon and gestured wildly.
“Run!” she yelled at the men under attack. She raced toward the door and was overtaken a few feet from safety. The crows pecked at her hair and back. She spun to fight them off, lost her concentration, and her shield wobbled and failed. In the chaos that followed, the burly werewolf pulled her inside, and the hunters and officers stampeded into the bar, nearly running her over.
A hunter in an orange vest stumbled and fell ten feet from the door. He began shooting in panic and was swiftly covered by dozens of angry crows.
Ari shoved her way to the door and released a magical whirlwind, clearing the space around the victim long enough for two police officers to drag him inside and begin medical aid. Ari glanced at him before turning away. Her stomach roiled. What she wouldn’t give right now for the ability to heal others. If the man recovered, he would never see again.
Ryan’s cruiser pulled up to the curb. Crows beat at his windshield and windows. He’d never make it inside. Ari was frantically waving him off when her phone rang.
“It’s me,” Ryan said. “Is everyone in there OK?”
“We have one casualty who badly needs medical attention. Other than that, scrapes and bruises, nothing major. How are we going to get him out of here?”
“Beats me—”
A magical beam shot across the street, clearing a path ten feet wide to the front door of the saloon and encompassing Ryan’s car. Ari stared at the figure of her husband striding toward her, his fist with the Valvano ring held high over his head, his jaw tight with anger.
She shook her head in amazement. He was beautiful. “I guess that’s how we get out of here,” she said into the phone. She disconnected and stepped out the door. Ryan emerged from his car.
Andreas’s expression softened with relief the moment he saw her.
“Show-off,” she said.
His lips twitched. “Inside. I cannot hold this for long.”
The bar patrons moved aside and showed a wary respect as Andreas entered. He was a public figure in Riverdale, but his warlock powers and his ability to rise before dark were not generally known. This new view of him was making them uneasy. His carefully cultivated image as an ordinary businessman was blown.
He ignored the furtive looks. “Cara mia, you’re bleeding.”
Ari rubbed her head and wiped a blood smear on her jeans. “Only a scratch or two. How did you get here without being attacked?”
“I was moving swiftly enough the crows didn’t see me. When I noticed Ryan was trapped, the energy tunnel seemed the easiest way to get us both inside.”
“But what now? We can’t rejuvenate our magic fast enough to go all over town conjuring tunnels through hordes of birds.”
His eyes lit up, seemingly amused by the thought. “They’ll roost in the trees as soon as it’s dark. Then we should be free to move around until dawn.”
“That’s another three hours.”
“Do you have a better idea?”
“I’m thinking.”
Andreas looked around at the armed occupants of the bar. Most of them had started drinking. “Did they do something to set this off?”
Ryan shifted his gaze to the armed men. “Yep, and I intend to fix that right now.” He spoke to a couple of his officers, and they began collecting guns.
Ari told Andreas about the earlier shooting. “As far as I can tell, the crows didn’t initiate the attack, they reacted. So you may be right that they’ll calm down at dark. I think they’re still waiting for something bigger to happen. A signal, maybe.”
A loud voice rose over the other chatter. “Waiting to do what? Wipe out the town?” A six-foot forty-something in a camouflage vest rose from the nearest table and walked toward them. “The cops are taking away our only defense.”
The room grew still.
Andreas lifted a brow. “The guns won’t help you. I thought you’d realize that by now. Go home and stay inside. Quit antagonizing them. We need more time to figure this out.”
“You heard him,” Ryan said. “Now sit down or you’re going to spend the night in jail.”
In the flood of chatter that broke out, Andreas turned to Ari and lowered his voice. “You need to go home too.”
She started to object, then caught herself, and nodded. Yeah, she couldn’t risk getting waylaid again. And there was a lot she could do from home.
In the next few minutes, they collected the remaining guns and offered a safe ride to anyone who wanted to go home. Most of the men elected to continue to drink until dark.
Ryan stood at the front of the bar. “Hey, all you gunslingers, listen up.” His eyes narrowed into his cop look. “Your weapons will be at the PD. Let me repeat what we’ve already said, you can’t get rid of the birds by shooting them. When that’s sunk into your thick skulls, come to the station. And if you’re sober, I’ll return your weapons. But be forewarned, you pull this stunt again, you’ll sit in jail for the next thirty to ninety days.”
Once Ari and Andreas had shielded the officers and a few of the patrons into appropriate transportation, they slid into Ryan’s cruiser. He drove them to Club Dintero, where Ari could take the underground tunnel home. The vampires’ entire tunnel system from compound to club and club to Andreas’s mansion might come in handy the next few days.
“How will you get under cover?” Andreas asked Ryan before they went inside. “You could wait with us until dark.”
“Thanks, but the PD has a below-ground transport entrance. I’ll be OK. My superiors will want an update, and I’ll find out what’s going on in the rest of the city. If we have any big problems, I’ll let you know.”
“Arianna won’t be going out on calls,” Andreas said firmly.
She elbowed him. “Have you forgotten I’m right here? I can speak for myself.” She turned to Ryan. “But he’s right, I’m going to stay behind the scenes and not take any unnecessary risks.”
“Understood. I’ll approach the media again, explain what happened tonight, and reinforce our warnings to leave the crows alone. Thank God it’ll be dark soon. With any luck we’ll stay quiet until morning…as long as no one else gets gun-happy.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Ari overslept the following morning. It was heavily overcast when she glanced outside her bedroom windows. A summer storm must be building. Large black clouds rolled in from the east, bathing Olde Town in a dim light more appropriate to dusk. She showered quickly, pulled on white jeans and a blue T-shirt, opened the door to the second floor hallway, and came to an abrupt halt.
A lanky werelioness with black, spiky hair—and two semiautomatic pistols in holsters that formed an X on her chest—sprawled in a chair outside the door. Ari raised an eyebrow, but the sight wasn’t entirely unexpected. Although Lilith was half of Club Dintero’s husband/wife security team, Andreas frequently assigned her as a bodyguard to Ari whenever he felt she was especially vulnerable.
“Why are you in the hallway? I’ve never known you to be shy about entering my suite uninvited.” In fact, the women had been through a lot together, had few secrets between them, and were close friends.
Lilith smirked as she got up. “Andreas didn’t want your sleep disturbed. He was very clear in his orders.”
Ari sighed. “Sorry about that. He’s gone into alpha mode.”
“Can’t say I blame him.” Lilith gave an uneasy shrug. “These birds are creepy. I swear there are even more out there this morning.”
Ari gave a groan of disbelief. “Is that possible? We were already saturated.”
“Yeah, well, all this darkness isn’t just clouds. There are birds circling all the time. Guess they’ve run o
ut of places to land.”
Oh, Goddess. Someone needed to put a stop to this. Ari had intended to spend the day at home but not if the situation was getting worse. She punched in Ryan’s number. “Any new attacks?”
“Nothing since last night, but the freakin’ crows just keep coming. The sky’s thick with them from here to the far side of Goshen Park. Can’t the Magic Council do something?”
“Uh, just a minute, Ryan.” She covered the phone with one hand and threw an impatient look at Lilith, who was shuffling from one foot to the other. “What’s wrong with you?”
Lilith avoided her gaze. “I need to go.”
“Then do it.” Ari stared as the lioness hurried down the hall, shook her head slowly, then focused on Ryan again. “I’m leaving for the Magic Hall now. I’ll call when I know something.”
“I thought you were sidelined.” Ryan’s tone was tentative.
“I won’t do anything dangerous. If the birds have calmed down, I should be able to get to my office. You don’t have to remind me to be careful, Ryan.”
“Doesn’t mean it’s safe,” he muttered. “OK, I won’t argue with you, but you tell Andreas this wasn’t my idea.”
Ari smiled and let him hear it in her voice. “Afraid of him?”
“You’re damned right. Call me when you get there.” He hung up with an audible click.
As Ari put her phone away, Lilith hurried up. “Sorry about that.”
Ari started to frown, took a long look at the lioness, and a slow grin spread across her face. “I thought you said ‘never, no, not me.’ Does Russell know?”
“What do you…?” Lilith’s mouth dropped open. “How did you…?”
“Auras. You have three. Twins? Really?” Ari grinned with happiness for her friends. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice right away. Why didn’t you say something? We should celebrate.”
Emotions chased across Lilith’s face—dismay, confusion, embarrassment, pride. “It’s so early, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. And, no, Russell doesn’t know.” She collapsed onto the chair in a display of vulnerability Ari hadn’t seen before.
Ari crouched beside her and took Lilith’s hands. “It’s a happy thing. You’ll get used to it, and Russell will be dancing in the streets.”
“That’s why I’m afraid to tell him. Werelion cubs, especially multiples, rarely come to term.”
Ari didn’t hesitate. “He’d want to know anyway. You need to let him go through this with you, whatever happens.”
“I can’t be a mother.” Lilith shook her head, her brows deepening into a scowl. “I don’t know how. I have zilch in the maternal instincts department.”
“That’s BS. You’ll learn.” When Lilith withdrew her hands, Ari stood. “Look at me. I haven’t a clue what I’m doing, but I trust that somehow it’ll work out right. And our babies will have wonderful fathers to fix anything we screw up.”
Lilith’s lips quirked, and she met Ari’s gaze. “Yeah, Russell would be terrific. OK, I’ll tell him tonight.”
“Good. Now, I have to go to the Magic Council. I’m not sure you should be coming with me, but if you are—”
“I can do my job,” Lilith interrupted, standing. “Can we please not talk about this anymore.”
“Fine by me. But congrats anyway.” She turned toward the stairs. Lilith huffed but followed without comment. They stopped in the kitchen, where Ari snagged her one allotted cup of half caf, and exited the mansion’s front entrance.
Her magic stirred immediately, and the hair on her arms stood on end. A sense of menace hung in the air. Oppressive, suffocating. The heat and humidity only added to her discomfort. Heavily laden trees rustled with restless birds; the warded wrought-iron fence remained clear. She looked up at the dark sky. The magical warding extended high enough the birds were avoiding the air space directly over the mansion and yard. But the moment she and Lilith passed through the gate, they’d be vulnerable.
Ari turned and went back inside. “We’ll take the tunnel as far as the club,” she said tersely. She’d never been one to avoid a fight, but she hadn’t been pregnant before or faced a horde of vicious birds. Now, to add to her concerns, Lilith was carrying twin cubs. A little caution was called for, and the tunnel would cut off several blocks of exposure between here and the Magic Hall.
It still didn’t seem right to hide.
Andreas had built this section of the tunnel system eight years ago when he’d become the managing owner of Club Dintero, and he’d insisted on electric lighting, motion sensors, solid wood walls, and keypad locks. Happily for Ari, daily maintenance kept it free from bugs and spiders.
In contrast, the older section that stretched from the club to the vampire compound had been built by an earlier prince and modeled on the tunnels of Europe—rock and dirt, torches for lighting. It was cold, musty, and filled with spider webs. Fortunately, they only needed to go as far as the club today.
When they pushed the hidden door open at the other end of the tunnel, Ari peeked out to make sure no one was around, and they exited into Andreas’s private office. They stopped in the security office next door to let Lilith’s husband know where they were going.
“I heard you arrive,” Russell said, giving them a smug look. “I know every sound in this place, including the tunnel door. What are you doing here? I thought you were on leave.”
“I am, sort of. No fieldwork. That doesn’t mean I can’t work on the problem of the crows. I’m headed to the Magic Hall.”
He looked at Ari, then at Lilith. “Does Andreas know about this?”
“He’s not awake,” Ari said before the two lions got into an argument. “How could I tell him? So I’m telling you.” When Russell continued to frown, she sighed. “He knows I was going to stay involved. Last night I thought it would be from home, but since the crows aren’t being aggressive, it’s safe enough.”
His eyes narrowed. “Then why’d you come through the tunnel?”
“Being careful.”
“It’s creepy out there,” Lilith snapped, giving him an impatient glare, “but I’m watching out for her. Quit giving us the third degree.”
The lions glared at one another.
Ari had a moment of sympathy for Lilith. The next few months were going to be trying. As soon as Lilith told him her secret, Russell would go ballistic and smother her with concern. Well, not much different from her own situation. Alpha males definitely had their rewards, but they could also be annoying.
“If you two are through, I’m leaving. Russell, when you tell Andreas about this, be sure to tell him I’m fine. Which I will be.” She exited the security office, turned left, and punched the code into the side door keypad. By the time it opened, Lilith had caught up with her. Ari stalked out, letting the door slam shut behind them. They walked briskly and in silence for the first block.
Lilith gave her a sideways glance. “He won’t deliberately tattle on you.”
“I know.” Ari sighed and moderated her pace. “But Andreas will get it out of him. I’m just frustrated with everything that’s happening. I shouldn’t have taken it out on Russell. He was just doing his job. I’ll apologize…later, when I’m in a better mood.”
“Don’t worry about it. He won’t.” Lilith grinned. “Especially if I distract him with other news.”
* * *
The streets between the club and Magic Hall were lined with crows but eerily quiet. The only traffic Ari saw was a solitary police car two blocks away. When she and Lilith entered the front door of the Cultural Center, the waiting room was empty. They stopped at the front desk, and the receptionist filled them in. The center had closed due to the deepening crisis.
The huge Otherworld complex was relatively unoccupied, except for the council representatives and lab techs who were working on the crow problem, plus a few workaholic assistants who’d come in despite the admonitions to stay home. Olde Town citizens had been advised by authorities to stay off the streets, and a partial curfew had been
established for the human population, giving them a police-protected two-hour window between 10:00 a.m. and noon to conduct business that couldn’t wait. Anyone outside at any other time was on their own. No wonder the streets had been empty. Even the Otherworlders were heeding the warnings.
Ari went straight to Merlin’s office. The president sat at his desk, absently smoothing his beard and staring into space. He stood when he saw her. “Arianna, I had not expected you today. I believe your leave is due, and your substitute arrived last night.”
“Tom’s here? I thought he was waiting until the weekend. But that’s good. We can use all the help we can get. Has he been brought up to date?”
“He’d already heard most of it. That’s why he came early. We talked for a while, and Steffan is with him now.” He picked up a letter from his desk. “He brought you a message from the witch Moriana.”
Ari frowned but took the white envelope. Why hadn’t her mentor just called? She tore one end open and shook out the note.
Witchling,
You may find it necessary to leave Riverdale in the coming days or weeks. I am offering you asylum in St. Louis. I sense danger around you, even from someone close. Be wary. Trust few.
Blessed be, Moriana
Ari read it a second time, her frown deepening.
“What is it? Is something else wrong?” Lilith stepped forward, leaving her guard position at the door.
“Moriana is…” Ari stopped when the door opened. Steffan, Tom Bodie, and two of the council reps walked into the room. “She’s just wishing me good luck with the baby,” Ari finished lamely. With Moriana’s warning echoing in her head, she would keep the contents to herself for now and tell Lilith later. She slipped the note and envelope into her back jeans’ pocket and greeted the newcomers, holding out her hand to Tom. “Nice to see you. Sorry I’m dumping such a mess in your lap.”
“Is Riverdale ever quiet?” He gave her a rueful smile. “I’m always ready to get back to my peaceful retirement by the time I leave here. Looks like this summer will be no exception. But don’t you worry, we’ll do our best.” Tom had been there last year when the local vampires were under attack from a powerful warlock. It had been touch and go, and not everyone had survived.