by Mari Freeman
Quentin knew just who wanted it now. Who had spent money and men to get it. He’d closely followed what had happened with the other Halfling, knew Sonja’s sister and that Prime had beaten Crey’s attempts to get the box. That Sorcerer had been greedy but weak.
Quentin knew because he’d been connected with the necklace from afar for years. It haunted his dreams, called to him, seduced him in ways a woman never could. The Chiwa wanted his power, his ability to manipulate the wants and desires of men. But Quentin was smarter than that. He was a Dreamstalker, an architect of visions, with the ability to feel the emotions of others, experience their feelings. That was hard enough to manage with the power he’d been born with. Even a small nudge from the talisman and he’d lose his mind.
No. The Chiwa would not manipulate his power. But he would use the Chiwa’s power to move up in the world.
In order to get the necklace to the powerful Palero Priest who wanted it, Quentin had needed a mule whose motives didn’t include gaining power from the talisman. He’d been biding his time. Waiting for the right moment to make his move. After Crey’s failure, the Palero would be very happy if Quentin retrieved the necklace. He wanted it in his hands before contacting the priest, but he certainly didn’t want to actually meet the man if he could avoid it. Quentin wasn’t sure he could protect himself against such a being.
When he’d learned the Prime was going to turn the talisman over to the Council, Quentin had to act fast. The Council would be able to hide it even from him. Bury it in so much power and energy that no one would ever feel its pull again. Either that or some corrupt Council member would use it for his own plan.
No. The time was right. His plan had been hasty but solid.
And the little Halfling enlisting the hillbilly would only make that plan stronger. She’d have a Sorcerer to protect her on her journey. The sexual tension would be unbearable before long, despite the fact she really tried to suppress her sexual desires.
Quentin would enjoy toying with them both. Even now his cock hardened as he remembered the image of her naked and spread for the hillbilly.
The first few times he stalked in someone’s mind, they always fought him. The fight itself was a tiny thrill for Quentin, but when they gave in, lost their own will and began to want his images, the feelings he imposed, well…that’s what he craved. He wanted them to want him in their heads, even though they were clueless he was there at all.
Sometimes he could alter an entire being from the inside out, make them hate-filled shells of what they previously were. A banker once pissed him off over a loan and Quentin was able to influence him enough to ruin his career. But his crowning jewel was the mother he’d convinced to abandon her child. He’d had no real reason for that little feat. It was merely an interesting self-test. A challenge to see just how far his influence could reach.
That was real power. He wasn’t going to risk it by having the Chiwa too close.
He moved silently through the trees and back to his car, very happy with himself. A good Sorcerer was hard to find. He hadn’t considered the Gremlins, but surely the hillbilly could manage that small matter. And Quentin could always enter the girl’s mind and poke around if he needed to alter the situation. He’d head to Asheville and wait for them in luxury…give them a chance to bond.
* * * * *
Sonja glanced behind her. The passage was narrow and at this point, very steep. Down here the feeling of being watched faded into the uneasy sense of being hunted. Gremlins weren’t dangerous one on one. Nope. It was the pack of them that would get you. Like furry piranha, the little green monsters’ power came from numbers. She was not thrilled as the prospect of facing them in their nest, but what choice did she have?
She slammed into Ray’s back. He’d stopped while she was looking back. “Watch out,” he said under his breath.
He had braced and caught the cave wall, preventing them from tumbling down the steep passage. She had to place her hands on his back and push herself off him. “I was watching. Behind us.” She cursed herself for considering lingering just a moment more to feel the muscles under his shirt.
“They won’t circle behinds us here. It’s too narrow.” He twisted to help her balance, his hands gripping her shoulders.
She shook her head and let out a breath. “I still can’t shake the feeling of being watched. It was worse up there. But here…”
“You are being watched by something.” He’d pointed the tiny flashlight he was using so they could see each other’s faces instead of the floor. He indicated up with the tilt of his head.
“Crap.” She didn’t look up. “Don’t tell me that stuff. I don’t want to know what’s hanging from the ceiling, crawling on the floor or oozing down these walls unless it’s attacking and I need to get my ass out of its way in a big hurry.” He grinned at her. “Not funny, mister. Unless you want me running through this cave with a huge case of the screaming meemies, it’s best I remain ignorant of the local fauna.”
His smile reached his blue eyes. “Okay. Good information. Sonja doesn’t like critters.” He started to turn away but looked back at her, the light directly on her face. “Except moths?”
She gave him a shut-the-heck-up look. Honestly, she wasn’t crazy about the moths either, and given they were Black Witch Moths, it was worse. Her sister had lived with them for days until they had figured out the moths were the key to opening the puzzle box. Sonja had gotten to be okay with them. Kind of.
“Fine.” He headed a few steps ahead and Sonja followed, gaze trained on the tiny sphere of light. The stench of rotting meat made her queasy when she thought about what might be hovering around her in the dark.
Ray ducked down to see through a waist-high opening and held up a hand to have her stay put. Which was fine as long as he didn’t go wandering away with that flashlight. It still lit the ground around her feet but everything else was shrouded in darkness. She looked down. Water trickled past her mud-splotched shoes. She looked at the wall of the cave and couldn’t help but reach out and run her hand over the surface. It was shiny and slick. This was definitely the place from the vision.
“Ray.” It came out as a whisper.
“Shhhh.”
She held her breath until he straightened. “We’re close. I can hear them.” The disgust in his voice gave Sonja an even bigger shiver. He got his gun ready and then fished around in his front pocket. He pulled out his fist and opened it to check the contents. He held a shiny black stone the shape and size of a roll of quarters.
He used a wand.
She’d heard of them, of course, but had never seen a Sorcerer who could use a wand instead of having to cast a spell to manifest his power. Impressive. She followed him through the opening. “Stay behind me,” he whispered.
No problem. She nodded even though he had already turned to go into the next tunnel and couldn’t see her silent agreement. Strong Sorcerer or not, Gremlins were dangerous and disgusting. She’d seen a girl whose legs had gotten chewed up once. Sonja wanted no part of that. She tried to walk on tiptoes but with the stream of water twisting through the passage, she still made little splashing sounds with every footfall. She noticed Ray did not, even wearing heavy work boots.
A green glow appeared in one opening just around a horseshoe bend in the passage. He abruptly put his back to the wall. He edged his way along the slick surface in order to take a quick look around the corner. Crunching and grinding and all manner of grumbling echoed into the tunnel. Sonja’s heart was pounding. She had no idea what to expect.
He slid down to a squatting position and nodded for her to take a look. With Ray’s knees jutting out in the narrow passage, Sonja had to straddle his legs in order to peek around the wall. She couldn’t help but shiver at the thought of him under her like this.
But the sight of the nest doused any arousal she may have been feeling.
Hundreds of the little buggers were crawling around the cavern. She’d seen one or two of them at a time scurrying throu
gh the forest or trying to break into her trash. A slight residue of their collective magic tickled at Sonja’s senses. She was surprised she could detect it. It must be creating the glow, lighting the cavern just enough for them to forage and move around.
The beastly, bi-pedal, wet-cat-looking things had opposable thumbs, lots of sharp teeth and a hint of magic to protect them from human detection. Their muddy, slimy fur looked putrid green as they clamored around the cavern. A small skirmish broke out a few yards away from where she and Ray hid. Maybe three or four of the Gremlins were snarling. One pounced on another, long claws drawn for battle. Several other creatures in the immediate area joined in. Ripping and tearing and snarls became a mass of indistinguishable carnage.
It ended as abruptly as it had begun. Most waddled away. Two were left bloody and lifeless on the cavern floor.
She retreated and fell to her haunches next to Ray. She did not want to go in there.
“Smells like piss in there,” she whispered.
Ray looked at her and blinked a couple times. “Piss. Of course.” He stood.
Sonja had no idea what he was talking about. But he fished a tube out of a pocket on his hunting vest and held it out for her to see.
Dean’s Deer Urine.
For a moment her mind wandered and she tried to imagine how they got deer to piss in a cup for this product. Or why Ray would have it in his pocket.
That train of thought flew out the window when he started sprinkling the stuff on his legs and chest. Then he held out the tube for her.
“I don’t think so.” It came out louder than she’d intended.
He looked in the cavern then back to her. “You’d better think again, sunshine. They’re coming.”
She looked past him to see the vermin rushing toward the entrance, clawing and biting at each other to be the first to make it for the buffet.
“Deer piss? Really?”
He started to toss it on her himself. “Attracts deer. Repels most everything else. Should work.”
“Should?” Cauldrons! Her eyes were burned from the stench. No wonder it repelled everything. She tried breathing through her mouth. No help. She wanted to vomit.
He propped his gun against the wall. “Now. Move.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the cavern, into the nest. The man was crazy. They were heading for the Gremlins.
Several steps toward the rushing, clamoring heard of teeth and fur, Ray stopped and pulled Sonja close behind him. She heard the chant of a spell but didn’t understand the language. He raised the wand above his head. The stench of urine still burned in her nostrils but a cloak of soothing, cool magic wrapped around them. It certainly had a much better feel than the dark energy she’d gotten from the Chiwa. Heck, it felt better than her own paltry magic. It called to her Demon.
Her shift should bring out the shimmering Water Dragon that was confined under her skin, making her grow a few inches, get a little stronger. But it hurt her scars. The once-burned skin was no longer pliable, wouldn’t stretch to accommodate a larger rib cage or longer torso. So Sonja never shifted. She worked hard, in fact, to control any situation that called for it.
Ray’s magic did more than call to her Dragon, it shattered Sonja’s hard-earned command over her body. She took long, deep breaths, trying not to panic, trying to stop her Dragon, but it wanted out. The Gremlins started to attack one another, and instead of coming at them, the freaky, cat-like fiends seemed to be on the retreat, rushing past the couple and heading toward the exit, frightened, escaping.
Ray chanted again. Sonja grabbed his vest from behind, gripping hard. Her eyes rolled up in her head. The Dragon was stretching, roaring. There was no way to halt the process this time. His spell, his magic, was somehow imposing her shift.
Pain seared her side. She stared at her hands as her fingers lengthened, nails growing stronger and yellow. She ripped the fabric of his vest. Had Ray called her Demon to frighten the Gremlins?
It hurt like hell. She sure would have appreciated being clued in on this plan. The old scars ran from just under her breast to the top of her thigh on her right side, wrapping over part of her belly. The skin was thick and wavy and didn’t give to the presence of her Dragon. She tried to bend to her right to alleviate the stretch, even as she felt her spine getting longer.
She gripped the tight skin on her hip, hoping it wouldn’t tear. It felt as if it was about to give way. More of the shaggy little beasts scurried by as Ray turned and Sonja finally let a scream burst from her lungs.
“STOP!”
Chapter Five
Dear Goddess, she was beautiful in her natural Halfling state. But she was screaming in pain. Something was wrong, and his spell was obviously the culprit. He quickly pulled back, shutting down the flow of energy he’d been pulsing into the cavern. It didn’t seem to be helping.
One of the few Gremlins that remained came to his senses and made a beeline toward Ray’s leg. He turned and hit him with a short blasting spell. The thing tumbled, screeched and darted through a small hole on the other side of the cavern. A couple more were coming back in through the large opening where he and Sonja had entered. The rest were nowhere in sight. His illusion spell was broken, but he and Sonja still smelled like deer urine so the few beasts hovering around the cavern opening seemed confused.
Gremlins were ferocious but alone or in a small pack, they were manageable. He held up his wand and thought the spell. A strong, quick blast sent them scurrying away.
He grabbed Sonja by the shoulders as she slumped to her side. Her face was contorted in pain. Her skin glowed a rich teal from within. All Demons had an other. Most shifted fully and had really strong magical gifts to go with their shifted form. Ray could barely make out the scales of her other as it stretched and squirmed under her skin. “What’d I do?”
She was shaking, clutching her side. When she opened her eyes, they looked distant and were the color of perfect amber gems. He hadn’t meant to do any harm. Those spells were almost child’s play. “Called my change.”
“What?” He eased her a few steps back and eased her down on a rock. “How?”
She gave him a halfhearted laugh. “Your spell.”
“That shouldn’t be possible. It was an illusion.” He searched for something to sooth her but there wasn’t much in the dank cave. At least the light had lingered even after the Gremlins had vacated the premises. It wouldn’t last long, though. “I don’t have any water or anything.”
She just shook her head, closed her eyes again and took in several deep breaths. He could feel her magic tingling over his skin. She was trying to pull it back. To reverse the change. From what he knew about Demons, it wasn’t exactly an easy thing.
Ray didn’t know what to do. He scooted next to her and braced her against his side as best he could without adding pressure. “Ride it out. I got ya.”
She was still shaking her head but unable to speak. He felt her ribs shifting, shrinking and settling into a slightly different place. This close, her magic was caressing him wherever their bodies touched. Its icy-cool flow made his body react despite the fear he felt for her at the moment. Magic spoke to magic. It was a hard thing to control. And when magic was attracted to magic, it was impossible to ignore.
Ray watched as her faced scrunched and her jaw tightened. Sweat dripped from her forehead and she was clutching her side hard. He placed a hand over hers. Obviously unhappy with that, she tried to move his hand away—but not before he felt the rough texture of her skin under her shirt.
He’d caught a glimpse of the burn scar when he’d carried her into his cabin. Even though he’d only seen a bit of it, he’d guessed it was extensive. He’d carefully covered her up as soon as he laid her on his couch so as not to intrude on her privacy. He didn’t need some kind of sexual lawsuit on his hands on top of everything else.
She moaned and exhaled, her body relaxing against his. “Goddess, it stinks in here.”
“I think that’s us,” he replied, happy to hear her
speak, to feel the tension slipping away from her. It was a good sign.
“Oh. Yeah.” She lifted her head from his shoulder. “The box?”
He’d almost forgotten about the box. Clearly she had not. “You okay?”
She sat up on her own and nodded. Her brows were still drawn in pain. “I don’t shift well.” She pushed her hair back out of her face. “What kind of spell was that?”
“Well, the idea was to make us stink and use the spell to make us appear as monsters. But the language I used was a bit vague.” He found a stone in the ground suddenly very interesting.
“So you called a monster and my shift came?” She attempted to stand but decided to sit another minute. “Nice one.”
“I…I really don’t mean that you’re—”
“A monster? Hardly.” She pushed her shoulders back to stretch. “But…wow.”
Ray stood and scanned the area. He saw a broken watch, several cell phones and the remains of what may have been a laptop. He walked to the far end of the cavern where there was a group of larger rocks. Behind them sat an old bike frame, two copper pasta strainers and what looked like a ravaged chandelier. Ray shook his head. No golden box. “I don’t see it.” He headed back toward Sonja. “And for that matter, I don’t feel it.”
She covered her face with her hands, trying not to cry. He could tell by the shaky shoulders. He felt sorry for the girl, but still couldn’t help feeling she was better off without the thing. “Let’s get you out of here before the Gremlins decide they want their nest back.”
Sonja reluctantly made her way back up the tunnel. She was crying by the time they hit the fresh air. He kept moving, herding her toward the creek that passed not far from the cave. She stood in the cold, knee-high water without any argument, swishing it, splashing it over her jeans and shirt, trying to rinse the smell from her clothes. It wouldn’t work completely, but they’d be bearable until he could get them home.