by Janna Ruth
Natural Enemies
Spirit Seeker Book 2
Janna Ruth
© September 2021 Janna Ruth
www.janna-ruth.com
Jana Mittelstädt
67 Montgomery Avenue
Karori, Wellington 6012
NZ - New Zealand
Cover Design by Deranged Doctor Design
All Rights Reserved.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Excerpt from Back to Nature (Spirit Seeker Book 3)
Keep reading for a sneak peek of
CHAPTER ONE
WULF BACHMANN HAS survived. The legendary commander of the spirit seekers has returned home from fighting a volcano, and he’s not liking what he sees. Which is mainly me.
“Let’s talk about this inside,” he says with a not-so-promising scowl.
I steal a glance at Aeola in the sky as I follow him to the gate. The sylph looks nervous as she hangs out above the tree line. I mouth “Later” only to bump into Wulf, who has been holding the door for me. “Sorry…”
“Were you talking to that spirit?”
Caught red-handed, I find myself blushing. “What?”
His eyes narrow. “You were clearly communicating with…” He interrupts himself with a sigh. “Later.” His inviting gesture is a little too adamant to feel welcoming.
Great. Not even five minutes in and I’m already in trouble with the commander. Bunching my shoulders, I head into the dark gateway. In there, I make sure to reach the opposite gate before him, so I can return the favour of holding the door open. Wulf takes note of it with a chuckle.
Everyone but Miriam is soaking up the early spring sun in the courtyard. Leon sits against the mighty trunk of an old oak tree, the only tree in the courtyard, warming his face in the sun. A bandage still covers his eyes, but he looks at ease. Close by, Camille and Lukas are sparring with a pair of practice staffs. I glance at Wulf and see a smile spreading on his face. Instantly, my heart softens towards him. He’s clearly missed his team and this place.
We’re almost halfway across the courtyard before Lukas notices us. He freezes on the spot, earning him a direct hit on the shoulder from Camille.
“Gosh, Lukas, I’m sorry,” I hear her say, but when he doesn’t react in the slightest, she turns around herself. As soon as Camille catches sight of Wulf, a high-pitched squeal escapes her mouth. She drops her staff and comes running straight into his arms. “You’re back!”
Wulf’s laughter rings through the air as he embraces Camille and whirls her around. Camille is crying for joy, squeezing Wulf as tight as she can.
“You’re alive.” Lukas comes closer. He looks absolutely awestruck, as if he just saw Wulf rise from the dead. I guess, in a way, the commander has.
Wulf lets go of Camille and clasps hands with Lukas, pulling him close. “Didn’t you read the debrief last night?”
“We were… No.” Lukas’ face softens uncharacteristically as he’s somehow caught between laughter and tears. “You’re back.”
“I am,” Wulf says, patting Lukas’ shoulder. “Your form was looking good, by the way. You kept up your practice.”
Lukas looks as if he’s about to pass out. A rueful grin appears on his face. “Not that last hit.”
I stare at him in wonder. That’s the most submissive I’ve ever seen him. Guess I found out who holds Lukas’ reins.
Meanwhile, Leon has come to his feet. “Is that you, Wulf? I’m not hallucinating voices, am I?” He laughs nervously.
I step to his side to lead him closer. “He’s really here.”
“I am.” Wulf comes our way, instant concern on his face. “What happened to your eyes?”
“Had a little rough-and-tumble with a sylph,” Leon quips. Relief floods his face. “I can’t believe it. I thought I’d never see you again.” He huffs. “Not that I’ve seen you yet, but you get the gist.” Out of breath, Leon stops his rambling.
Is there anything more heart-warming than men showing their emotions? Though Wulf’s face briefly tightens at the mention of Leon’s accident, he immediately puts his hands on his shoulders and squeezes them. “We’re both here. That’s all that matters.”
All this ruckus has lured Miriam from her lab. She’s quickly striding over to us. “I just saw the message,” she says as soon as she’s in earshot. “Did you teleport home?”
Wulf lets go of Leon and shakes his head, grinning. “I took the first flight I could get.” For the flash of a moment, his face freezes. It’s so quick I wonder if I’ve imagined it.
They embrace, but Miriam’s curiosity gets the better of her. “It said the mission was a success. Does that mean…”
“He caught a volcano spirit,” I announce matter-of-factly, as if I’ve already had a whole run-down. It still amazes me how anyone can do that. It would be a bit like taking on the Erlking and his rolling storm of sylphs all by yourself, only instead of strong winds, you have fire raining down on you.
Modesty turns the tips of his ears an adorable red. It makes me realise that he’s only eight years older than me at most. “I managed to catch him, yeah.” And yet, he’s been a celebrated spirit seeker for the better part of a decade.
“And that’s…” Lukas announces, pointing at Wulf with both of his index fingers, “… why this guy’s a legend.” He shakes his head as if, even though he just claimed it himself, he can’t believe it. At least his confidence is returning. “You single-handedly beat Vesuvius. What the hell, man?”
Wulf raises his hand and declares rather earnestly, “Not single-handedly. We were a team.”
“But the others came back before you,” Camille interjects. “They said you helped them escape.”
“And some of us died,” Wulf adds, now completely sombre. “Even so, I wouldn’t even have lived long enough to complete the mission if not for everyone else.” He’s clearly been through a lot, maybe even lost some dear friends, but for his team’s sake, he puts it aside, forcing a smile back on his face. Looking around at each of them, his gaze finally comes to rest on my face. “Looks to me like you’ve got a lot to tell, too? I heard you had a big battle with a sylph called the Erlking? I hopped on the plane as soon as the report arrived. You can’t tell how glad I am to see you all alive and… well, in reasonably good shape.” His eyes flicker to Leon with concern.
Leon can’t see him, but his fingers search for mine. When I grasp his hand, he claims, “All thanks to Rika here. You haven’t met her yet, right?”
“We had a quick chat outside,” Wulf replies politely, scratching his nose. His eyes let me know he hasn’t forgotten about Aeola yet.
Camille steps in to explain. “We met Rika in February. Not sure if you read any of the reports, but there was a huge sylph attack on Central Station. It still hasn’t opened yet, though they hope to have trains start again by the end of the month. Anyway, we later learnt that the Erlking led the attack, and Rika helped us defuse th
e attack before the sylphs did too much damage. We haven’t tested her NAV yet, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it were as high as yours or…”
“Even higher?” Wulf completes her sentence, not sounding particularly convinced. His eyes bore into me. He knows exactly how good my natural attunement is.
“She was living on the streets,” Lukas adds, apparently eager to share that embarrassing detail about me. “You should have seen her when she arrived here. Run-down clothes, matted hair, half brown, half… I don’t know if that even was a colour. Reeking of coffee…”
I’m convinced that Wulf doesn’t need to know all of these details. Fortunately, Camille is of the same opinion and interrupts Lukas before Wulf can fully digest the wealth of information and turn away in disgust. “She’s been a real asset. She has a way with spirits that is unrivalled by anything I’ve ever seen. And without her… we would have stood no chance against the Erlking. She’s the one that fought and caught him.”
Naturally, Lukas stresses, “With our help.”
Wulf studies me as if he’s still trying to imagine how I must’ve looked before I met the spirit seekers. There is no smile on his face for me. “A way with spirits, hmm? You mean like casually hanging out with them outside the citadel?”
Here we go. Tensing up, I take a deep breath and await everyone’s judgement. Sure enough, everyone turns their attention on me. Confusion battles revulsion on all but Leon’s face.
“You’re hanging out with spirits?” Camille asks to confirm.
I fold my arms and shrug, letting go of Leon in the process. “They aren’t all bad.”
“What are you talking about?” Lukas exclaims loudly. “Of course, they’re all bad. We just fought a bunch of them off while they tried to destroy Berlin.”
I won’t take it, not from him. “And we would have lost without her help.” I fixate on Wulf. “Aeola is my friend. I saved her life; she saved mine.”
“I can’t believe it,” Lukas mutters and takes a little walk. He stops several times to say something but is lost for words for once in his life.
Meanwhile, Camille is still battling her confusion. “Since when has this been happening?”
“I met her before I met you.” It’s true, if only barely. I saved Aeola from drowning in the Spree before we headed to the Central Station in search of shelter. “She’s been with me all this time.”
“And you never thought to mention it?” Camille sounds more than a little hurt.
“A sylph in our citadel…” Lukas is muttering to himself.
Miriam looks at me as if I’ve just hurt Camille. “You should have told us about her. This is a serious security issue.”
“But it wasn’t,” Leon interjects, a feeble attempt to help me. “It was obviously okay in this case.” He’s reaching out to me, gently running his fingers down across my elbow. I feel horrible for being incapable of reciprocating the touch he so obviously longs for.
“Okay?” Lukas screeches. “Did you forget the storm of sylphs we had to fight off? Where do you think they came from?”
It’s all too much. Apart from Leon, everyone is staring at me as if I ordered that attack, even Wulf, who shouldn’t even have the slightest idea of what Lukas is talking about. Defensively, I take a step back. “So what if I’m friends with a spirit? Who, by the way, did not attack any of you. You’ve always been so anti-spirit I knew I couldn’t tell you about her, but she’s a friendly spirit. The Erlking would’ve killed me if not for her. She went up against her own family. For me. A human.”
I turn to face Wulf, the one responsible for this mess. “Welcome back, I guess.”
Before anyone can voice any more concerns, I turn around and walk away with long strides.
“Rika,” I hear Leon say, but I don’t heed his call, knowing that he can’t come running after me. Instead, I keep walking until I’m safely in my room, the door shut behind me.
My heart thumps heavily in my chest, and my whole face twitches in an effort not to burst into tears. I’m so mad I could scream. Everything was perfect yesterday. They all celebrated me then. Now, I’m the worst again.
Stupid Wulf. Why couldn’t he have stayed gone? Without him, nobody would’ve ever learnt of Aeola.
I swallow hard, my head spinning. Did I really just wish him dead? That man has just survived a two-month-long ordeal under a volcano, fighting off Vesuvius, risking his life to save not only his team but millions of people.
Dejected, I sit down on the bed. It’s easy to see why Lukas idolises him so much. Wulf is a hero, the best of this generation of spirit seekers. In comparison, I’m just a girl from the streets who happens to talk to spirits.
A knock sounds on my door. For a moment, I’m tempted to pretend I’m not here, but then I let out a sigh and rise from the bed. “Coming.”
I almost reached the door when the thought that it might be Wulf crosses my mind. Unconsciously, I rub my face, testing for tears and gratefully finding my cheeks nice and dry. My hands are midway to my hair when I stop myself cold. What am I even attempting to do here?
Fuelled by my previous anger, I unlock the door and rip it open. “What?” It’s not him but Camille. “Oh, it’s you.” I’m not disappointed, am I? No, I’m glad it’s her. She likes me, after all. At least, she used to.
“Can I come in?” Camille asks, now nothing but deep concern in her eyes.
Flustered, I gesture into my room. “Sure.”
As soon as the door closes behind us, she launches into it. “I’m sorry if we scared you away. I think everyone was a bit overwhelmed by Wulf’s return. We thought he was dead.” She seems a lot more fragile now that the first joyful shock of seeing him has worn off.
I cross my arms and keep my distance. “I’m glad he’s not.”
“Me too. Very glad.” Camille steps forward, and I keep still only because it seems silly to back away from her. “How are you?”
“Me? I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” Well, maybe because I’m standing here in the most defensive position, ready to go to battle against my friend. With a sigh, I relax my arms. “I’m good.”
Camille doesn’t believe me. “You don’t look good.” Disappointed, she shakes her head. “I thought we were beyond this. You know you can trust me. I always had your best interests at heart.”
And now you know I can’t be trusted. “It’s not that easy. My friendship with Aeola was still developing, and you all… Everything I’ve learned here is so different from what my mum taught me when I was a kid. She taught me to respect spirits, showed me how they lived, and…” Oh no, I’m rambling. “But that doesn’t matter right now. Why aren’t you downstairs with Wulf? You must be so happy that he’s alive and well.”
“I am,” Camille confirms, yet she takes my hands. “But right now, you need me more than him. I don’t want you to feel like you don’t belong here anymore.”
“But I don’t.” I bite my lip. I want to belong here, but I don’t see how that’s possible. “Your commander is back.”
“So?” Camille puts her hands on my shoulders and tries to look into my eyes, which, admittedly, is challenging since I keep avoiding her gaze. “It doesn’t matter that Wulf has returned. You’re part of this team as well.”
It doesn’t feel that way at the moment. “He wanted to kill her, Camille.”
“Who?” A moment of confusion passes over Camille’s face.
“Aeola, my sylph friend. No questions asked, no warning. He just went straight for her. I only barely managed to protect her from him.”
Camille looks like she’s about to faint. She’s only able to respond once she’s straightened her shoulders. “Right. Well…” Part of her obviously agrees with him, or she would’ve assured me already. “I think that you have a special way with spirits, Rika. Something I’ve never seen before. Honestly, I don’t think anybody has seen this before. So, can you understand that it’ll take us some time to process?” As I’m starting to sag, she hurries to add, “But I believe you
when you say that this spirit is your friend. If she’s truly done what you said, then we all owe her. It’s just that Wulf and sylphs…” Camille rubs my arms, biting her lip as if there’s more to say about that. After a while, she steps back. “Let him settle in first. He’s someone you can talk to, I promise.”
Maybe she’s right. Maybe all of this can be resolved after we got all the awkward truth bombs out of the way. “You should go back to him. I bet he’s got a lot to tell you guess. For the record, I’m glad he didn’t die.”
“You’re not coming down?” Camille asks, seeing right through my dejection.
“Maybe later. I’m on dinner duty today.” Yeah, celebratory dinner duty. Can this day get any worse?
Camille doesn’t push me. She nods and smiles gently. “Okay. I’ll see you then.”
As soon as she has left, I drop back on the bed and run my hands over my face. Just when things got better, they fall apart. I had a place in this team because of my ability to see and hear spirits. Wulf can do that as well as I can, plus he’s a highly skilled seeker. A living legend.
A lump forms in my throat, and I blink back tears. Time to face the truth; they no longer need me.
CHAPTER TWO
DINNER IS ABOUT as delightful as I thought it would be. The moment I reappear downstairs to prepare the food, Miriam waves me away. “We already ordered pizza for at least twice as many people. Come, sit!”
She scoots closer to Camille on the couch, who bites her lip for a second before returning her attention to Wulf. The commander is sharing the other long couch with Leon, while Lukas occupies the single chair, glowing with attention.
He doesn’t mind me one bit, instead prompting Wulf, “You caught it alone?”
“It’s really not such a big deal,” Wulf says. Though he chuckles, his eyes aren’t meeting Lukas but flitting around the room. “I didn’t really have a choice. To be honest, I couldn’t bear losing anyone else, so I sent them home.” His eyes come to rest on me as I squeeze in with Miriam. Quickly, he turns away again to look at Lukas. “If I have to be completely honest, we were woefully underprepared. The spirit was far beyond our capabilities.”