by Kimber White
“Instinct fuels most of what we do, Payne,” I said. “And mine are right about this girl. They just...are.”
Payne sat back. He held the green file in his hand and flipped it open. “This is everything we have. It fits on one piece of paper.”
He tossed to me. Icy fingers of dread made their way up my spine as I skimmed the sheet of paper. It was as he said.
“Nothing,” Payne said. “Your Zendra’s face hasn’t matched any of our facial recognition software. The shopkeeper, Flavia Soltis? She’s filed no paperwork on her. So she’s paying her under the table in cash.”
“That doesn’t have to mean anything sinister,” I said.
“In and of itself, no,” Payne said. “I’m not in the business of interfering in that sort of thing. It’s just, this girl, Zendra, she doesn’t seem to legally exist.”
“What?” I said. I flipped the report over. There really was nothing. No social security number, no driving record.
“So she’s undocumented,” I said.
“No,” Payne said. “I’m not saying she doesn’t legally exist in this country. I’m saying she doesn’t seem to exist anywhere. The only thing concrete I’ve got is that she showed up in Luna Point just about two years ago. Before that, there is no trail of her anywhere. I’ve reached out to every contact I have that might have actionable intel. Covens. Packs. Bear clans. No one knows her. No one has heard of her. No one even recognizes her. If she changed her identity, I’m confident my...uh...channels...would have led me somewhere. It’s like she just...materialized out of thin air two years ago and started working for Flavia Soltis.”
“Except we both know that’s not possible,” I said.
“I want you to let me have someone follow up with the Soltis woman. I understand if you don’t want it to be you. I think it’s better if it isn’t. If you have built up some trust with Zendra, I don’t want to upset that. We don’t know how loyal Flavia is to her. I’m guessing very. The Soltis family...them I do know something about. Travelers. White hats, mostly. If I need to, I can put some pressure on her through her family.”
“I’m not looking to hurt this girl,” I said. “Zendra’s running or hiding from something. That’s pretty clear to me. This medallion is connected to that. I just don’t know how.”
Payne nodded. “All right. But I am going to have a conversation with my contact inside the Soltis family. I can be diplomatic.”
“I appreciate that,” I said. I scanned Payne’s report on Zendra, such as it was, one more time. Ultimately, it gave me no more information on her than I already had. I folded it then put it back into the green file folder and set it on Payne’s desk.
‘What about Nadia?” I asked. She was my cousin Milo’s mate and a powerful earth mage. She’d been the one to cast the binding spell over the medallion. It was meant to protect me from its magic but also keep anyone else from taking it off my neck unless I let them.
“She’s as stumped as the rest of us,” Payne said. “The magic within that medallion is unknown to any coven on earth.”
I looked down at it. It was hard to believe this dingy looking thing held any power at all.
“I mean,” I said. “Is it not of this earth?”
Payne ran a hand over his jaw. “As in, off-planet? You telling me you believe in aliens now?”
“I don’t know what I believe,” I said. “Maybe it’s just a magic so old its maker is extinct now.”
“That’s actually Nadia’s working theory. She and a few of her coven elders are elbow-deep in old textbooks as we speak.”
I rose to leave. “I’ll leave them to that. Field ops are more my style.”
“Right,” Payne said. He watched as I took the cell phone out of the bag and slipped it into my back pocket.
“I appreciate your trust in me,” I said.
Payne rose and stuck a hand out to shake mine. “Always,” he said. “You've earned it time and again. I don’t have any reason to believe this time is different until I do.”
His eyes flickered with concern. Did he know? Did he suspect? My wolf stirred within me as if to answer. No. There was no cause for Payne’s concern. I had things under control.
As I turned to leave, I wondered who needed the most convincing of that fact. Him or me.
Chapter Eight
Edward
The next day, I met Zendra at the Oracle after they closed for the day. I’d promised her a fresh start that day she cried on my shoulder at the state park. It was just the two of us. Flavia had been called away on what she described as family business. I tried to keep the note of worry out of my voice. I couldn’t help wondering if her business intersected with Payne’s inquiries. One thing was certain, if Flavia suspected Zendra was drawing heat from Wolfguard, she’d probably cut her loose.
I sat at one of the reading tables near the bookshelves. Zendra came out bearing tea on a tray. She poured us each a cup.
I hated the stuff, but took mine and thanked her.
“Have you had time to think over my offer?” she asked.
“Zendra,” I said. “I’m not going to take your life savings.”
She smiled. She had a haunted look about her that tugged at my heart. Was it a trick? I clenched a fist beneath the table to help quiet my wolf.
“Then name your price,” she said.
“And I’ve told you, the medallion’s not for sale. Only information about it. And I’m the one buying. I’ve told you everything I know about it. It’s time for you to hold up your end of the bargain. You said it’s a key. To what, Zen?”
Zen. The nickname came unbidden. The color came into her cheeks when I said it. It felt natural. Normal, almost. I clenched my other fist beneath the table.
“There are things I won’t be able to tell you,” she said. Her words tumbled out, but they sounded rehearsed. It had been three days since her breakdown in the park. She’d had a lot of time to think. So had I.
“A show of trust then,” I said.
“I’ve already done that,” she said, her eyes sparking. “The fact that I’m still here. That I didn’t just run at the first sign of trouble.”
“Why didn’t you?” I asked.
“You know why,” she answered. Electricity sparked between us. I wanted to believe the medallion was the answer for both of us. That it was the thing that kept her here. But, with each moment I spent with her, a different truth burned through me.
She burned through me.
“It’s just,” she said. “That medallion could help me get something back I lost.”
“What did you lose?” I said. “The other day in the car you said it was the key to home. What did you mean by that?”
There were tears in her eyes.
“Zen,” I said, leaning forward. I put my hand over hers and tried to ignore the warmth I felt. I had to keep my head clear.
“Everyone,” she whispered.
“The Ring,” I said. “You can tell me the truth. You can trust me. You can trust Wolfguard. Is that it? Your family got in the crosshairs of the Ring?”
She bit her lip. “Yes. You could say that.”
I sat back. “So let me guess. If I give the medallion to you, you’re planning on using it to get them back?”
Her eyes went wide. I’d hit on it.
“Zendra,” I said. “Whatever they’ve told you. It’s a lie. I’m not going to let this thing fall back into their hands. But, I swear I’ll do everything in my power to help you find your family. Only I can’t do that if I’m flying blind. What is this thing? It’s not witch’s magic. I already know that. It’s not dragon magic. It’s not...well...it’s not of this earth.” I hadn’t meant to repeat Payne’s words verbatim, but there it was.
I expected Zendra to laugh or express some sort of shock. Instead, she went cold and still.
“Christ,” I whispered. For the first time since I’d put the medallion around my neck, I wanted to get it the hell off of me.
“I can’t,” she said. “I
’m sorry. I can’t tell you anything else. I wouldn’t even know how.”
My anger rose. I was sick and damn tired of this woman jerking my literal chain. Every time I thought we’d taken a step forward, it was three steps back. Maybe Payne was right. Maybe bringing her into Wolfguard for a proper interrogation was the only course left.
The front door chimes went off. Zendra startled. She smoothed a hand down the front of her dress and rose.
“Just give me a moment,” she said. “Flavia was expecting a delivery. I have to go sign for it. Wait here.”
I raised a brow. “Where the hell else am I going to go?”
Zendra brushed past me. It was hard not to turn toward her. She smelled so good. She walked out to the front of the store, and I heard her voice change, becoming light as she engaged in small talk with the delivery person.
I turned to rise. She might need help carrying whatever it was back to the stockroom. As I made my way through the bookshelves, I passed the counter with Flavia’s old-fashioned cash register. There, on the shelf below it, was Zendra’s bag. It was made of colorful silk scarves sewn together.
Dammit. I hated myself for thinking it. But, if she didn’t start giving me information, I wouldn’t be able to keep Wolfguard from demanding more. We would never hurt her, but we would get to the bottom of this cursed medallion.
I picked up the bag, intending only to look for a wallet or any trace of an I.D. But, something about the bag...did...something to me.
No. Not to me. To the medallion. The thing lifted off my neck as if magnetized.
Zendra’s bag spilled to the floor with a clang. When I went to pick it up, my heart stopped.
There, partially wrapped in purple silk, was another jagged, crescent-shaped piece of metal. A perfect match to the one I wore around my neck. I didn’t even have to compare them to know the edges would match like a jigsaw puzzle.
“Stop!” Zendra shouted. She dropped the cardboard box she held and started to run toward me.
Chapter Nine
Zendra
Time froze.
No. It would have been better had time frozen. It just moved at a glacial pace as I tried to cross the distance between Edward and me. He held one piece of the medallion in his right hand, the other in his left.
A rainbow arced between them. One he couldn’t see. What he must have felt was the pull.
“Don’t!” I shouted.
But he couldn't hear me. He couldn’t see me. To him, it must have seemed like the world exploded, or he was floating in space. In a way, he was.
His hair blew back. His eyes went feral. His fangs dropped. His body readied for the threat he couldn’t yet see. Even when he did see it, I doubted he could understand.
The air in front of him shimmered. Edward held the two pieces of the medallion up. The muscles in his arms flexed and veins popped out on his temples. As the medallion tried to mend itself, Edward at least had the sense to try and stop it.
Except, he couldn’t. Only someone like me could do that, and I was too far away.
I dove for him, knocking over one of the bookshelves. I thought Edward could hear me, but he couldn’t see.
A shaft of lightning crashed down, splitting Flavia’s counter in two. Then it caught fire. The ancient cash register hit the ground hard, splintering part of the wood floor.
The force of the bolt threw Edward backward. The medallion piece flew out of his hands. I couldn’t see where it went.
The air filled with screams, sounding like metal on metal as if a speeding freight train were trying to break.
Edward rose on all fours. He seemed half-man, half-wolf. My blood turned to ice as a disembodied voice filled the air.
“There you are,” it said.
“No,” I whispered. “No. No.”
A hand emerged from the crevice of light in the center of the room. I searched frantically for my piece of the medallion. Thank the gods these two hadn’t joined. But, they’d gotten too close together. And it was enough to draw him to me.
“Zendra!” Edward cried out.
“No,” I yelled. I threw myself in front of him.
That scraping freight train sound grew so loud it drove Edward to the ground. A trickle of blood dripped from his ear.
I had to find my medallion. My power started to rise. The chasm Edward had unwittingly opened beckoned me.
I could feel them. My mother’s cry. My father’s shout of alarm. My brothers had roused and tried to gather strength.
But, he was there too. If I could hear my family, so could he. I was too far away to help them.
Which meant there was only one thing left to do.
“Olen!” I shouted. Edward got his bearings. I felt his arm come around me. He pulled me against him, trying to drag me away from the chasm of light. Deep laughter came from it.
Edward’s growl grew fierce. He had no idea what was happening, but he rightly sensed the danger I was in.
He was strong. So very strong. His pulse seemed to fill my head, driving out all sense of reason.
One leg emerged from the chasm. Then another. I watched in horror as Olen squeezed his way out, drawn by the sound of my voice.
The chasm spit him violently out. He dropped to the floor, his long red hair matted with blood. It was a birth of sorts. I remembered the trauma of it when I came through. The disorientation. Every pore in my skin had felt like fire.
Olen writhed on the ground, cradling his head. In another moment, he would find his bearings. If I was going to do something, it had to be now.
I found the strength to pull away from Edward though every instinct in me told me to stay close.
As Olen lifted his head and tried to focus, I put my palms out. I took a great breath, then let it and my light come out. Olen’s purple eyes widened with shock, then recognition. Then, my power shot out from my palms. As he opened his mouth to scream, a band of light went straight into it, turning his eyes sun gold.
His whole body spun. He did the one thing he could to protect himself from my next assault. He turned to his own light. It crackled and popped. Then, in an instant, Olen disappeared.
I fell to my knees. A glimmer of light caught my eye beneath the nearest bookshelf. I dove for it, closing my fingers around the medallion. As Edward roared behind me, I shoved the piece of metal in my pocket.
As suddenly as it appeared, the chasm vanished. But, the damage was already done.
Edward staggered to his feet. Sweat poured from his brow. His skin looked ashen as he lunged at me. He got his arms around me and dragged me away from the spot on the floor where the chasm had been.
“What the hell was that?” he gasped.
How could I explain? How would he ever believe me?
Tears rolled down my face. “I can’t stay here. He might come back.”
Edward went rigid. Though he couldn’t understand what just happened, I felt his instinct to protect me rise up. A muscle jumped in his jaw.
“Get your things,” he said. “I know a place.”
I let out a bitter laugh. A place? There was no place far enough anymore. But, once he’d set himself to a purpose, there was no stopping Edward Kalenkov. He grabbed my silk bag from the floor and held his hand out to me.
I had no time to think. No time to argue. And no one left to turn to.
As we ran through the front door of the Oracle, I cast one glance back, realizing it would likely be the last time I ever saw the place. There was no help for it. I had only one goal now.
Survive.
Chapter Ten
Zendra
Edward ushered me to the passenger side of his SUV. I climbed in and waited for him. After he got behind the wheel, he tore off from the curb.
I didn’t ask where we were going. At the moment, it was better if I didn’t know. The air felt thick. That charred smell from the chasm lingered. It was in my hair, on my clothes.
Edward’s eyes glinted. He was having trouble keeping his wolf at bay. I don’t kno
w what made me do it, but I reached for him, resting a light hand on his arm.
Skin on skin contact. The moment I touched him, he seemed to settle.
We hit the highway at breakneck speed. The mile markers whizzed by. Edward headed north. Though he seemed more in control, his temper ran hot. Part of me wanted to jump from the vehicle as soon as he slowed. But, the simple truth was, I was probably safer with him than alone. And he wasn’t going to fork over that damn medallion piece anytime soon. If he’d been inclined to do so before, the notion evaporated the second lightning struck in the Oracle.
After about an hour, Edward peeled off. We’d reached Stanton State Park. Edward didn’t go to the ranger station. Instead, he took a rough trail and parked his vehicle under the cover of some brush.
“Come on,” he said. “We can make camp before it gets dark if we hurry.”
“Camp?”
He was in no mood to answer questions. I climbed out of the car. Edward tossed me a backpack. I caught it against my chest and put it on. Then, I followed him into the denser part of the woods as the sun disappeared.
He led me to a row of secluded cabins along the shores of a small lake. They looked abandoned. That was strange for this time of year. He picked one at the end of the row.
Edward Kalenkov was full of his own surprises. He produced a key from his back pocket and we went inside.
There wasn’t much to the place. Just two worn couches along opposite walls. A kitchenette. One bathroom. One bedroom with two bunk beds.
Edward paced in the middle of the living room. Quietly, I sank down on one of the couches. He tore a hand through his hair. His eyes glinted again. Finally, he stopped and turned to me.
“Has there been one thing you’ve told me that was the truth?” he asked.
“Everything I’ve told you has been the truth,” I said. It was. I just hadn’t told him everything. I didn’t know if I ever could.