by Jami Gray
Normally such phrasing wouldn’t set off Cheveyo’s alarm bells, but as Danny was one of the most revered medicine men of the Southwest Kyn, his words carried more warning than comfort.
With a soft sigh, Tala stepped to the side, acceding to Danny’s request.
Cheveyo caught Chay’s eye and dipped his chin in silent command.
Chay pushed off the mantle. “Come on, I’ll show you the way.”
Tala, Danny, and Cheveyo waited quietly until the two younger men left, taking most of the tension with them.
Motioning to the couch, Tala said, “Danny, have a seat.” Only after he did so, did she take a spot on the couch’s other end, leaving Cheveyo the chair. She gingerly adjusted until she could draw one leg onto the cushion and brace her back against the couch’s arm. “I’m always happy to see you, but your timing is…” She trailed off, obviously looking for a polite turn of phrase.
“Awful?” Danny offered.
When Tala’s shoulders slumped, Cheveyo stepped in, “More like worrisome.”
She shot him a dark look, but Danny reached out and touched her knee, gaining her attention.
“Why didn’t you heed my warning, sitsi?” His gentle reprimand gained more of a reaction from the stubborn woman than anything Cheveyo had done to date.
She blinked rapidly as her shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. “I wasn’t ignoring you. I had every intention of following through. It’s just…” She drummed her fingers on her knee and slid a glance at Cheveyo. “Rio beat me to it,” she muttered.
Her admission caught Cheveyo off guard, but he worried if he voiced his questions, she’d clam up tight. So he reined in his curiosity and listened.
“Ah.” Danny shook his head, then looked at Cheveyo. “It’s good you’re here, then.”
Holding the shrewd gaze, Cheveyo leaned forward, braced his elbows on his knees, and laced his fingers together. “I think I’ll withhold judgment on that, if you don’t mind. I’m still trying to figure out why Tomás went after Tala.” He studied the woman in question then turned back to Danny. “There is something more at play in this than his grief.” When Danny’s mouth thinned, Cheveyo shook his head. “It was not why I am here, although I’m glad I came.”
Tilting his head, Danny smiled, but knowledge swam in his gaze. Still, he asked, “Why have you returned?”
Recognizing the question for what it was, Cheveyo didn’t bother to play word games. “I’ve come to ask you—what have you dreamed?”
Danny grimaced and exchanged a look with Tala. When he turned back to Cheveyo, a darkness dimmed his bright gaze. “Your people are sharing the same seeing?”
“Just the three most skilled at receiving such warnings,” Cheveyo admitted.
Danny nodded. “The inevitable is coming on wings weighted by strife and violence. If we do not step into its path, we will become nothing but ghosts.” He reached out and patted Tala’s hand. “I did not see it starting like this.”
Needing something more to work with, Cheveyo asked, “What did you see?”
Very little emotion leaked from the older man’s expression, but the skin around his eyes tightened. “Dissension among our kind, while the humans band together in the shadows. Despite our unique abilities, humanity dominates us by numbers alone.”
The stark words were unsurprising and eerily familiar. “Could you see any paths not ending in our extinction?” It was a question Cheveyo asked of his people, and they were unable to answer.
That earned him a raised eyebrow and a slow nod. “Paths exist, but they are shrouded in volatile darkness, hiding unseen dangers.”
His unexpected answer stirred Cheveyo’s waning hope. It was better than certain death. “Any guidance you could offer is welcome.”
That earned him a highly amused look. “I don’t mind offering guidance, but I’m not sure you’ll find it any more welcome than Tala did.”
Cheveyo spared a glance at the strangely silent Tala, noting the mutinous set of her jaw. Recognizing her expression, he knew whatever Danny told her had set her hackles on end. “Perhaps, but I would still appreciate the help.”
The medicine man nodded. “Then I’ll share what I told Tala.” His took a deep, his shoulders straightening even as his voice deepened. “The Kyn have long stayed hidden, but the time is coming where hiding will no longer ensure survival.” He fell into the familiar cadence of story-telling woven in the memories of Cheveyo’s childhood. “Unlike us, humans flit like lightning bugs on the world’s landscape, able to change course on the tip of a wing. We, who are mired in our history and blinded by age, are slower to react. As much as Mother Nature loves her various children, she is still a Mother at heart, and her patience, while enduring, can be harsh and exacting. For the Kyn to continue, they too must change, faster than the world around them, faster than some are comfortable with.”
Cheveyo settled in to wait, listening closely, while Danny captured the current Kyn situation in a nutshell.
“Long ago, there was one who saw much of this and began preparing for this day. He came to this new land to build a home far from eyes hazed by tradition. Despite the hunger of those left behind for his failure, he began to carve a new role for the Kyn. Each move he made, each deal he created with the humans, was done to build a safe harbor for his people when the winds of change became a storm.”
Cheveyo blinked when he realized Danny was talking about Ryan Mulcahy, Natasha’s predecessor and the previous head of the Northwest Kyn. The same man had not only been his friend, but had been murdered by a traitor’s curse.
“His success angered those positioned on the other side of the ocean. Jealousy began to fester among wounded pride, eroding the bindings of service to their people and replacing those ties with self-serving power and greed. Whispers and cunning have gained dominance, taking their place beside arrogance, and they now work in tandem to destroy him and all he built.
Danny’s story stirred Cheveyo’s simmering grief and anger because those forces were led by the current head of the Kyn Council, Leo DiMarcco, one of its most powerful members.
Not privy to Cheveyo’s reaction, Danny continued. “When death took the man, those who privately celebrated his loss were taken unaware by his legacy’s unexpected strength of spirit and determination not to lose what he built.”
When Mulcahy fell, the Northwest struck back with lethal focus, refusing to falter under their grief. Their leader had been well loved, even by Kyn outside of the Northwest. A fact made obvious when Danny met Cheveyo’s gaze, not bothering to hide his dark satisfaction laced with grief.
Cheveyo permitted a grim smile. Natasha’s gruesome message to Leo left no doubt on where the Northwest Kyn stood, and it wasn’t at the Council’s side. Cheveyo fully supported Natasha’s decision to send the head of the traitor, complete with a gift box and bow to Leo. While the Northwest may not be able to prove Leo’s involvement with Mulcahy’s death, after the latest betrayal, they had no doubts he was playing games in their territory. Now, Cheveyo wondered if Leo’s games were limited to the Northwest, or if they had stretched farther than expected.
“The lines have been drawn—do the Kyn step forward and take their place at humanity’s side or remain forever lost to the shadows of secrecy? It is time to choose.” Danny’s voice took on a timbre, which raised the hair along Cheveyo’s neck. “The only way to survive the pending storm of humanity’s fear is to set aside the wounds of old hurts and well-worn prejudices, turn our backs on the fears haunting us, and trust the unknown to lead us forward.”
The ripple of prophecy hung in the air, leaving a ringing silence in its wake.
“Trust is not going to happen if we’re killing each other.” The harsh comment came from the archway behind them.
“Andrew.” Tala scrambled to her feet, her hand bracing on the couch’s arm, her face paling at the quick move. “If I’d had any other choice—”
He raised a hand to stop her and shook his head sharply. “I know, Tala.” The
re was resigned grief in his angry tone. He came into the room and tapped his knuckles to the side of his skull. “I know, logically, but—” His hand fisted and dropped to his chest. “—this, needs more time.” He dropped his fist and gripped the back of an empty chair. He studied her before shaking his head slowly. “And I can’t explain why he choose to attack you.”
Cheveyo rose and faced Andrew. “But you recognize he did attack her.” He wanted to hear the wolf admit it out loud, making Danny another witness. Behind Andrew, Chay moved in to the archway and leaned a shoulder against the wall.
The look Andrew gave Cheveyo wasn’t friendly. “I wasn’t there.”
Not willing to back down, Cheveyo waited.
A low snarl escaped Andrew, his eyes taking on the glow of the predator under his skin. Cheveyo didn’t move and Andrew looked away first, turning his head to focus on Tala. His gaze flicked down to the bloodstained side of her shirt before coming back. “I can’t testify to what I didn’t see.”
Tala arched a brow. “Will you confirm that Tomás’s behavior has been erratic?”
He dropped his chin in a stiff nod.
His reluctant admission lessened her tension. Tala’s stiff shoulders relaxed a bit, but her voice was rock steady, “You’ll state as much to Tobias?”
Andrew gave another short nod before adding, “I would suggest you reach out to him first.”
Danny cleared his throat, garnering everyone’s attention. “Actually, let the Triune approach Tobias. It’s best he hears it from them.” He turned his attention to Tala, his face grave. “However, they will want to see you.”
The Triune was the three person advising body for the Magi house and Tala was answerable to them, a fact that left Cheveyo worried. Normally the strongest member of a Kyn house ruled without question, but Magi leaders were power checked by an advisory body. A holdover from the Burning Times when the Magi leaders’ unpredictable wrath and thirst for vengeance fueled humanity’s widespread determination to wipe them out. If they decided against her, the situation in the Southwest could easily become unsalvageable.
“I know.” She lifted her chin, no signs of concern evident. “I’ll attend the Triune’s meeting with Tobias, as I have questions of my own to ask. Do I need to worry about any others?” She directed her question to Andrew.
He flexed his fingers on the back of the chair. “For now, the pack will wait for Tobias’s direction.”
“You’re not gearing up to claim the Southwest then?” That question came from Chay.
Andrew shook his head. “With Tomás’s recent behavior, there were rumbles Tobias would be challenging him for the position soon. The Red Thunder pack is mine, but the Southwest belongs to him.”
The “for now” remained implied, and Cheveyo was happy to leave it at that. There was more than enough trouble to clean up without taking on tangled lines of Shifter succession. Besides, that was the Northwest Alpha, Warrick’s, bailiwick. Cheveyo had enough on his plate, trying to get Tala out of the crosshairs of whoever was determined to throw the Southwest into chaos.
“I would suggest your friends—” Andrew gave Chay and Cheveyo a pointed look, “—stay close.”
Offended pride washed over Tala’s face, but before she could say anything, Cheveyo cut in softly, “We plan to.”
Before the undercurrents could rise into a clash of tempers, Danny offered, “Then let me help you take Tomás home.”
Andrew gave a reluctant nod, uncurled his grip on the chair, and left the room.
Cheveyo stepped up to Chay, and they both watched the stiff back of the wolf disappear down the hall. Without turning his head, Chay kept his voice low, “He knows more than he’s saying.”
“He doesn’t trust her.” Cheveyo looked over his shoulder to see Danny talking quietly to Tala.
“Or us,” Chay added, following the direction of his attention. “Which doesn’t bode well.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Cheveyo admitted. “But then, I think that’s exactly what someone wants.”
Chapter Six
Tala closed the door behind Danny and Andrew then leaned her head against the wood. In the kitchen behind her, Cheveyo and Chay moved around, but she wasn’t quite ready to join them. In fact, it was tempting to open the door and run far, far away. As if that would help. Her mind wheeled uselessly, trying to figure out why Tomás snapped. The sound of Cheveyo’s deep voice triggered another silent worry—the timing of his damn, inconvenient visit.
As if she needed the added burden of dealing with the man who played a pivotal part in creating the woman she was today. Unlike his last visit, where he was the one being hunted, this time, it seemed, was her turn. The role reversal made her uncomfortable.
“Keep that up, and someone may answer.”
The droll observation had her head halting in mid-thump. When she realized she was repeatedly hitting her forehead against the door in frustration, heat flooded her face. Closing her eyes, she mouthed a silent curse before turning to face Cheveyo.
She studied him, her lips pressed together in an attempt to restrain the barrage of useless words threatening to spill free. He looked good. Too good. She ignored the tingle of relief when she couldn’t find any physical signs of his last disastrous visit. Well, unless you looked close, and she was definitely looking. His inky hair, now brushing his shoulders, was longer than normal, and there were more shadows in his dark eyes. The rest of him, though, still tempted her to reach out and touch.
The silence stretched between them, taunt with unspoken things. Strangely, he broke first, and held out his hand. “Let’s go to the kitchen, and I promise to answer your questions.”
The temptation proved too great. She forced her fingers to uncurl before taking his hand, an action she’d never permit in public, but here in her home, where no one could see, she could indulge. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
“I don’t intend to.” His fingers tightened then relaxed as he headed for the kitchen.
They met Chay coming out. He took in their joined hands, but other than a quirk of lips, ignored it. “I’m going to grab our bags and make sure the fur menace out front takes it easy.” He didn’t wait around for an answer, and soon the sound of the door opening and closing echoed in the quiet kitchen.
Tala tugged her hand free as she continued to the din ing room table, muttering irritably under her breath, “Go ahead, make yourselves at home.” She gingerly settled into a chair, her movements careful so as not to pull on the claw rakes decorating her side. By tomorrow, the worse of it would be healed.
Cheveyo sat across from her with an audible sigh. “Leaving you alone is not an option.”
She refrained from taking his response in a personal direction and kept the conversation to business. A much safer approach. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
“No, it doesn’t,” he agreed, unruffled by her temper.
Once, his ability to appear unaffected drove her to frustration. Now, thanks to her experience of leading the Southwest Magi, she understood it for the necessary mask it was. Leadership roles were a bitch to manage and an even bigger pain in the ass to maintain. Although being on the receiving end of his blank expression was still frustrating as hell. Which reminded her, “Did Rio really tattle to Natasha?”
He cocked his head. “Tattle?”
Bracing her elbow on the table, she rested her chin in her hand. “What else would you call it?”
Dry humor snuck through, and his lips twitched. “Not tattling. Rio is as far from a child as you can possibly get.”
She refrained from rolling her eyes. The Demon Lord riding herd on the resident Amanusas could out whine and out manipulate any child she’d ever known. Normally, he kept his devious machinations within his own house, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about being dragged into his games. Correction, she knew how she felt—irritated—but not enough to make it an issue. “But he’s not above game playing.”
“Obviously he’s not the only one
.”
“No, obviously not.” And that fact made her wonder. “Which leads me to my first question—what game are you playing?”
Cheveyo’s gaze was serious, almost too serious as he shook his head. “Not me, Tala. Not with you.”
That fast, he snuck under her guard, chafing against an age-old hurt. She bit her lip, the small pain allowing her a moment to construct her response. Before she could speak, the front door opened, and Chay crossed the floor, his hands filled with two duffel bags. He came through the kitchen, his step hitching as neither Tala nor Cheveyo broke their silent staring contest. He kept on walking.
It wasn’t until he disappeared down the hall that she was able to push old hurts down and choke out, “Then who?”
“The Council.”
The possible ramifications of his answer struck like lightning, burning away the echoes of the past and leaving her wondering if she truly knew the man sitting across from her. “Are you serious?”
“They’ve had no qualms about screwing with us,” he pointed out calmly, as if he wasn’t opening Pandora’s box of chaos.
Us being the Northwest Kyn, she surmised. If what Danny shared was accurate, there was no way to deny that one. Which meant the Southwest was running out of time to avoid the upcoming conflict. “Yeah, but it isn’t as if you didn’t make it easy on them.”
“What do you mean?”
She winced at his sharp question and dropped her gaze. “No disrespect to Ryan Mulcahy, but you can’t argue that from the get go he put himself in the Council’s crosshairs.”
“Is that what you believe?” Something bitter and dark drifted through his face before it smoothed back to his previous demeanor. “He left Europe to escape the Council’s manipulative eye.”
Catching the hint of a story in his words, she nudged, “Guess America wasn’t far enough away then.” She waited, hoping he’d share details. When he remained silent, she sighed, a little hurt at his reticence. “Regardless of what sent him overseas, when the Kyn settled here, they put more than an ocean between them and the old guard. The Council isn’t one to forgive perceived insults, and Ryan setting up shop, making alliances with the human government, allowing the original Nations’ tribes to join the Magi house as an equal power, and pretty much thumbing his nose at the old laws, didn’t win him any favors. It was only a matter of time before they decided to strike back.”