Shadow's Dream

by Jami Gray

  “Sure.” Tala pulled out one of the two barstools as Teagan began putting things together for tea. Based on her cousin’s weird behavior, it might be better to take a roundabout approach to things. Folding her arms on the bar top, she waited as Teagan filled the teapot and set it to boil.

  Teagan turned, leaned against the counter next to the stove, and beat her to the punch. “Why are you here, Tala?”

  Following her cousin’s example, Tala answer with the same bluntness. “Someone set a mirror spell at my place yesterday. Was it you?”

  Teagan blinked, but didn’t hesitate, “No.” Her smile was a twisted grimace. “Guess I shouldn’t be surprised you’d think it was me.”

  “You’ve made your opinions of me very, very clear, ’coz.” Tala kept her voice soft, even as the words carried an obvious edge.

  Teagan looked down, her dark hair mused, but long enough to provide a curtain. “Yeah, well, things change.” She paused. “I’ve changed.”

  “Have you?” Gods above and below, part of her wished her cousin could get past Jenny’s loss and the decisions Tala had been forced to make.

  Teagan nodded without looking up. Her voice cracked. “Jenny’s death—hurt. When you told me Lizbeth was responsible, I wanted to share that pain. You wouldn’t let me.”

  “I couldn’t let you strike back at the wolves, Teagan. I couldn’t risk losing you as well, no matter how much we were all hurting over the twisted situation.” It was an old argument, but she couldn’t stop making it. Not if it finally got through to her stubborn cousin. “I was protecting you.”

  “I know.” Teagan shoulders shuddered, and Tala didn’t miss the fact that Teagan’s grip on the counter’s edge was so tight, her bones pressed white against her skin.

  When she lifted her head, the warring emotions staring back took Tala aback, leaving her unprepared for Teagan’s next move. Teagan lunged across the narrow kitchen and grabbed a knife from the butcher block.

  Her gaze met Tala’s, filled with a mix of guilt, rage, but over it all, a panicked plea silently screaming for help. “Now it’s my turn to return the favor.” With that, she spun away, and an ugly pain-filled grunt sounded.

  Tala was off the barstool before she even realized she moved. She darted around the bar’s edge, her gaze going to the spreading stain high on Teagan’s thigh. She approached Teagan cautiously, her mind racing. “Teagan?”

  When she reached out, Teagan’s hand flew up in a warding motion, and she stumbled back, putting distance between them. Teagan didn’t release her grip on the knife sticking obscenely from her thigh. “Don’t, Tala.”

  “Tala,” Cheveyo’s low voice had her turning to find him right behind her. “Be careful.”

  “What the hell is going on?” Because something was really off here.

  “I don’t know yet,” he murmured, his attention focused on Teagan. He stepped in front of Tala, blocking Teagan’s access to her.

  Wild-eyed and shaking, Teagan watched him approach even as she whispered to herself, but when her gaze skittered, it was obvious she wasn’t tracking her surroundings.

  Tala waited until Cheveyo was able to crouch in front of Teagan before regaining her attention. “Teagan.” When her first attempt failed to get a reaction, she added a bit of power and raised her voice, “Teagan, look at me.”

  Teagan’s head snapped up, her fingers going bloodless on the knife’s handle. For a moment whatever tormented her stepped back, and sanity peaked through. “I didn’t set the spell.”

  Her already pale skin went sheet white. Her spine arched, causing her grip on the knife to shift. Her jaw locked, tendons straining along her neck as a low groan broke free. It lasted a moment, maybe two, but when the strange seizure passed, Teagan slumped against the far wall of the kitchen, bracing a hand against the refrigerator. Harsh sobs echoed in the small space. “Don’t touch me, please.” It was a plea, not a command.

  Shaken, Tala didn’t wait for Cheveyo’s next move. With a muttered incantation, she wrapped a protective spell around Teagan. Of course, without knowing exactly what she was offering protection from, it made casting troublesome. Still, she managed to get it in place.

  He shot her a look over his shoulder. “You need to let me in so I can take care of that wound before she bleeds out.”

  “No, stay out,” Teagan grated. “Didn’t hit anything vital.”

  She slid slowly down the wall until she sat on the floor, one knee bent, her injured leg stretched out, one arm braced against the floor, the other curled into a useless fist at her side, her body shuddering.

  Tala sank down in front of her, the protective spell a haze of pearlized gold between them. “Teagan, what’s going on?”

  Instead of answering, her cousin shook her head and remained mute. It wasn’t defiance Tala saw in her face, it was fear. Under Tala’s concern, anger began to simmer. Once again someone one was targeting those under her protection.

  She turned to Cheveyo. “Did you find anything in the house?”

  “No compulsion spells, no traces of any magic but hers.” And based upon the dark look on his face, he wasn’t happy with that discovery.

  Of course, it couldn’t be that easy. Determined to figure out what the hell was going on, Tala didn’t hesitate to sweep a magical eye over Teagan.

  Tala couldn’t see magic, but, like most Magi, she could feel it. Teagan’s normal energy was like a cool breeze dancing through trees. It always brought to mind the first breath of fall.

  As she examined her cousin, her attention was caught by tiny, icy pinpricks. Knowing how devious spells could be, Tala preceded with extreme caution, inching her way, until she could peel back the delicate skeins of magic. It took a moment to realize what she was looking at. When she withdrew her magical touch, she was beyond pissed and there was no hiding her fury as she snapped, “I think someone laid a geas on her.”

  “Any idea of the geas’s intent?” Cheveyo’s question was strictly neutral, his attention centered on the injured woman in front of them. “Because we need to get that knife out.”

  Teagan’s earlier comment joined with the ugly suspicions swimming through Tala’s mind, but she refused to voice them. Not yet. Not until they had Teagan somewhere safe, because depending on how the geas was laid, the simplest phrase could trigger Teagan. So she ignored his question and addressed his second concern. “I’ll open the spell for you.”

  Teagan’s gaze jerked to hers, eyes wide with a combination of panic and frustration.

  Before her cousin could say a word, Tala added, “It’s best I stay right here until you’re done.”

  Even though she wanted to go to Teagan’s side, Tala forced herself to turn away and pull out the nearby drawers until she found the hand towels. Grabbing them, she gave them to Cheveyo then suited action to words, adjusting the spell so Cheveyo could approach Teagan.

  With a sharp look, he took the towels from her. When his expression went dark, she knew he was following her thoughts on the geas.

  Tala stayed at the very edge of the counter, as far as she could get without losing sight of either one.

  When Cheveyo pulled the knife from Teagan’s thigh, her quickly stifled whimper made Tala wince. It didn’t take him long to wrap the wound in towels, but Teagan’s face was shiny with sweat, and Tala’s nails were leaving half-moon marks in her palms.

  He murmured something Tala didn’t catch then rose to his feet and stepped to the sink to wash his hands. He looked at her. “Grab Chay, we need to get her to the hospital.”

  She gave him a nod, turned on her heel, and rushed outside. The next few minutes passed in a blur of activity as Cheveyo took Teagan to the SUV, Tala locked up Teagan’s house, and Chay kept watch. When they piled into the SUV the guard wolf was long gone. Tala drove, Cheveyo sat with Teagan in the back, and a grim-faced Chay was in the passenger seat.

  The ride to the hospital was filled with tension and a hundred unspoken things, but Tala was too busy concentrating on getting Teagan
to medical help to fill the void. Ten minutes later, she pulled up to the ER entrance. Chay was out before the SUV came to a halt, opening the back door for Cheveyo.

  A touch on her shoulder from the backseat brought her head around. Cheveyo dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “Wait for us.”

  “I was planning on it.”

  He nodded then, between him and Chay, they got Teagan out of the car. Tala watched the trio disappear through the door before parking the SUV. Finally alone, she took a minute to sit in the quiet interior, the ticking engine the only sound outside her own breathing.

  Anger, guilt, and worry made for a caustic mix and her hands flexed against the wheel as she fought her way through it. She had to find her balance. Her earlier suspicions gained strength, making them hard to ignore. Yet she couldn’t rush out and confront the one she was beginning to believe was behind everything. Not alone, because that’s what they wanted. No way in hell would she make it easy. No, she’d wait for Cheveyo.

  She got out of the SUV and headed toward the hospital, with each step her molten fury hardened into unbreakable determination. This whole twisted mess was going to end.

  Since chances were damn good her appearance would trigger the thrice-damned geas on Teagan, Tala didn’t rush crossing the parking lot. Geas were brutal, unforgiving compulsions and would force the bearer to complete the task given, no matter the cost to the bearer or those caught in the fallout. Teagan was a damn strong witch, as evidenced by the fact she drove a damn knife into her own thigh to protect Tala.

  But Tala had no desire to test Teagan’s strength any further because whoever set the geas had one goal—Tala’s death.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Cheveyo leaned against a tree in the hospital’s courtyard as he watched Chay pace. “They want to keep Teagan overnight, and I’m not comfortable leaving her alone.” He tried his damnedest not to growl, but the younger witch’s attention to duty was starting to chafe.

  “And I’m not comfortable leaving you two alone,” Chay groused as he passed Tala sitting at a small table. “So find someone else to babysit.”

  This courtyard was supposed to offer visitors a peaceful retreat, but its intent seemed lost on Chay. Pushing off from the tree, Cheveyo intercepted Chay on his return route. “We are trying,” he snapped, a whip of anger creeping out. “But if Danny’s not available, you’re up.”

  Chay wasn’t mollified, “And who’s going to watch your ass.”

  “That would be me.”

  Both men turned to see Tala standing behind them, a frown on her face. “Danny’s not at home, so I left a message. I’m not sure when he’ll get it.”

  Mindful they were not alone in the courtyard, Cheveyo motioned them back over to the table.

  They all settled in, him next to Tala and Chay sitting across.

  At least this way they could keep their voices low and not have to worry about being overheard.

  Chay didn’t waste time. “There are two ways to break a geas—complete the task or kill the castor. You better be damn certain you’re going after the right witch.”

  Cheveyo held his tongue because Chay’s comment wasn’t directed at him.

  Tala leaned forward. “That geas had to be laid by someone close to her, someone she would never suspect. Considering who her visitors were yesterday and what was left in my home, I’m about as certain as I can be with out a written confession.”

  Unsurprisingly, Chay didn’t back down. “She had two visitors, Tala.”

  Her chin lifted, and her eyes flashed. “It’s not Danny.”

  Chay’s lip curled with mocking cynicism, revealing for a moment the hardened warrior. “Why? Because he’s a medicine man, and he’s been your trusted friend for years.”

  Even though Cheveyo couldn’t fault Chay’s suspicious nature, he didn’t have to like his tone. “No,” he cut in before Tala could. “Because if Danny wanted her dead, Teagan wouldn’t have missed.”

  “Actually,” Tala said before Chay could react. “If Danny wanted me dead, I’d be buried six feet under years ago.” She eyed the younger witch. “Don’t ever underestimate the holy men in our community. The Ancestors don’t choose weak vessels. Just because their magic comes from a realm we don’t understand, doesn’t make it any less terrifying.”

  In a way, she was right. Those who chose to walk the healing path of the Nations’ tribes had to have a core of steel. Otherwise, the merciless forces known as the Ancestors would ride them like stalking horses. Instead, the medicine men and women made unbreakable vows to serve their people, much like the monks of the Far East. Danny, for all his unassuming looks, was a formidable powerhouse and even Cheveyo would hesitate before going against him.

  Chay studied them both, his thoughts well hidden. “Be very careful your belief in him doesn’t blind you.”

  Her smile was tight. “I’m far from blind, Chay.”

  He shook his head and blew out a harsh breath. “If you two are so determined to do this, may I remind you that if Hadley really is behind this mess, you showing up on her doorstep is not going to end well. Hell, what makes you think she’ll even answer the door?”

  “Because she’s arrogant,” Cheveyo said. “As far as she knows, the mirror spell at Tala’s didn’t work. The traces we did find on the spell harken back to Leo, not her.”

  Chay’s fingers kept up a steady, slow rhythm on the table. “Leaving traces like that seems sloppy for Leo.”

  “More like sloppy on Hadley’s part,” Cheveyo corrected. “The magic used to create that spell is a tangled ball of witch-and-wizard-type spells, complex but easy enough to bury Leo or any identifying signatures in that mess. Including her’s, which is why she expects to stay off our radar.”

  Chay looked at Tala. “Hadley have enough juice to do that?”

  “Honestly? I don’t know.” She shot a look at Cheveyo, worry coloring her cheeks before she looked back at Chay. “We were friends once, but we drifted apart. Back then, I’d have said she didn’t have the drive to hone her skills to that level. Hell, I’m still struggling to figure out why she’d do it in the first place.” There was a hint of hurt in her voice.

  Oh, Cheveyo had some damn good guesses as to Hadley’s motivation, but it wouldn’t help the current situation. Not really. He wrapped an arm around Tala’s waist. When she sank against him, he realized how much the last couple of days had taken from her. “The why isn’t important. We just need to stop her.”

  “And how, exactly, are you planning on accomplishing that?” Chay’s question bordered on insolent.

  “Carefully,” Cheveyo drawled. “Very, very carefully.”

  Against his shoulder, Tala’s head turned until she could see his face. “Cheveyo.”

  Hearing the warning under his name, he looked down at her, taking in the features he cherished. Despite the emotional battering she endured, her strength shone undeniably through. No way would he let Hadley or anyone else snuff that out, a vow he made sure she saw. “Enough is enough, Tala.”

  She studied him, her dark eyes shadowed with apprehension. “If she’s working with Leo, you’re in just as much danger as me. Maybe more.”

  “You’re not helping to calm my nerves here,” Chay muttered.

  Cheveyo ignored him and focused on the woman in his arms, needing her to understand she would not be taking this on her own. “Whether their intended target was you or me, they started it, we end it. It’s as simple as that.”

  He held his breath while her gaze ran over his face, not letting it out until her lips curved up. “Yes, simple, and dangerous.”

  Hadley lived on the edge of the city in a scattered collection of homes tucked into the forest. Each home had enough space to ensure privacy—a good thing, in Cheveyo’s opinion, since he wasn’t really up to keeping nosy neighbors blissfully ignorant.

  “I’m going in with you.” It was no less than a command from the woman sitting beside him.

  He turned off onto a dirt road weaving its way thro
ugh the trees and fought to hide his grin. “I figured as much.”

  “Hmmpff.”

  He found her disbelieving huff adorable. If she were anyone else, hell, if he were anyone else, maybe he would risk making her stay in the car, but he wasn’t fool enough to risk his ass on her temper. Tala had every right to stand beside him as they confronted Hadley.

  “Turn right up at that mailbox,” she said.

  Following directions, he bounced along the rutted road, grateful for the SUV’s suspension. “Must make for a hell of trip during the winter,” he observed drily.

  “Yeah, I’m not quite sure how her little Prius does it,” she muttered.

  “Magic?”

  His quip earned him a soft laugh. “Probably.”

  Spotting the aforementioned Prius tucked under a carport, he pulled into the drive of a modest ranch-style home. There was nothing here that screamed “evil witch bent on revenge.” Through the ages, real witches pulled off the most-wicked shit under the sweetest guises. Take the old bat from the Brothers’ Grimm stories. Mad as a damn hatter and corrupted beyond belief, she managed to fool local villagers for years before they caught on and burnt her ass to the ground.

  Some of his thoughts must have leaked out onto his face, because Tala stilled in the process of releasing her seatbelt and asked, “What?”

  He turned off the engine. “Just ruminating on how much can be hidden under a friendly smile.”

  Her gaze went to the house, and a vein of sadness crept in. “Wonder if the friendly part was ever real.”

  Since he refused to lie to her, he had nothing comforting to offer. Instead, he said, “Ready?”

  She grimaced and opened her door. “As I’ll ever be.”

  With that, they got out of the SUV. As soon as they started walking up to the door, the hairs on his neck rose. He clamped a hand on Tala’s arm in warning. She turned to him in silent question. Uneasy, he sent his magic out to seek what was setting off his alarms. Nothing came back but the expected vibrations of Hadley’s personal wards.