Tides of Spring: A Dark Shapeshifter Urban Fantasy (Echoes of the Past Book 3)

by H B Lyne

  'The others? The Witches?' Claws asked.

  'I don't know, I don't remember.'

  'What can you tell us about the Witches?' Claws pressed on gently.

  'Beware the Green Man!' Crimson Thorns suddenly stretched up and out, a shudder going right through every stalk and thorny vine. Eyes stepped back reflexively, but the fae settled back down and gave a smaller shake, as if clearing her head.

  'The Green Man?' Wind Talker asked.

  'He walks with the Witches. They will invoke him at the equinox and he will be at full strength, master of life and death, lord of rebirth.'

  'I see,' Eyes said softly. 'How long is it until the equinox?' he asked, turning to Weaver.

  'Eight days,' she replied solemnly.

  'Can you tell us anything else about him or them?' Claws urged.

  'They corrupt all, they serve the Envious Anger of Megaira.'

  'Is that the Hunger?' Stalker asked. Eyes thought of the murdered girls, saw flashes of the images from the news coverage of the island surrounded in crime scene tape and the police cars parked on the grass by the lake. Another memory bothered him, too vague and distant to recall properly.

  'No,' Crimson Thorns said, her voice jingling softly like distant bells. 'Megaira is a Fury, one of three. The others are Alecto, the Never Ending, and Tisiphone, Voice of Revenge. The Green Man is bound to Megaira, just as the Witches are.'

  'Then what is the Hunger?' Claws asked. Eyes glanced quickly between his confused face and the faceless fae.

  Where have I heard this before?

  From Jorogumo, Stalker replied. He shot a sideways look at her and saw her chewing the inside of her cheek.

  'I don't know. I just know that it's coming, and feasting.' Crimson Thorns gave another shudder, dropping a few leaves. 'They made a sacrifice to it here, urging its arrival.'

  'Years ago? And it's only coming now?' Eyes asked, frowning.

  'I cannot explain it,' the fae whispered. 'It is not a demon I understand, and I have never understood your kind.'

  'Thank you,' Claws said, bowing his head.

  'Yes, thank you for answering our questions,' Eyes added with a resigned sigh.

  'Not at all,' the fae replied. 'Thank you for freeing me from that evil being. Good luck.'

  Eyes led the Lightning Lords back up the slope. The wall of thorns remained, but the demons were gone and nothing but small fae remained to serve their mistress. The Lightning Lords crossed the veil back into the human world. The park was pitch black and deserted. He cast a wary glance at Stalker, then Wind Talker. The tension between them kept them from meeting each others' eyes.

  'Sorry,' Stalker muttered. Eyes frowned, he still hadn't connected all of the dots, but clearly the others had.

  'You were angry,' Wind Talker replied. 'You didn't know that the Hunger was something separate from the spider. The main thing is that you rescued me, you got me out of there before it could sacrifice me.'

  The final cog clunked into place and Eyes let out a huge sigh.

  'Of course,' he said, a little too pleased with himself. The others glowered at him. 'So the spider demon was serving the Hunger, and so are the Witches?'

  'It looks that way,' Claws replied. 'Or at least, they were five years ago when they made this mess. Maybe they aren't anymore, maybe they turned over a new leaf?'

  'Guided by the Green Man?' Eyes suggested. 'Well, either way, we have a week to intervene before they bring him up to full strength. I would hazard a guess he's pretty powerful, and responsible for the walking dead girls, given his association with rebirth. We don't want to risk waiting too long and having a demigod to deal with as well as a pack of Furies. Let's get to work.'

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Stalker-of-Night's-Shadow

  The noise was maddening. Constant, inane chatter that crowded Stalker's mind. She closed her eyes and took slow, deep breaths. The vial around her neck seemed to be having no effect. A vein in her temple throbbed ominously. It had been two days since she retrieved the tooth talisman and almost every moment since had been like this. Even when it wasn't against her skin, but in a pocket or bag on her person, it seemed to heighten her adrenaline levels. She lifted the cord from around her neck and shoved the necklace into her bag at the side of the room.

  Instantly, the noise in her head subsided and she could think again. Right now she needed to focus on teaching her class and not injuring any youngsters. But she needed to figure out how to use the talisman safely. It could be vital in a fight, and she had to admit that she was looking forward to confronting the Witch that had once owned it.

  The class fell silent as Stalker moved to the front. It wasn't yet dark outside, and the dull grey sky filled the huge windows behind the group of teenagers. Stalker slapped a smile onto her face and began the class.

  After they had warmed up, Stalker had them practising some blocking moves and she moved among the students to check their form. The calming talisman against her chest had nothing blocking it now, and she was able to hold back her strength in the way in which she was now well accustomed. Teaching was almost easy these days. Stalker smiled and laughed with her students, they felt comfortable enough to tease her from time to time, the way they used to before she ever changed. It had been a struggle to get here, but she felt some satisfaction at having achieved a balance that she was happy with.

  She got through three classes that evening, and as the last group filed out to enthusiastic analysis of the class, she went back to her bag to retrieve the tooth. She ran her fingers over it and turned it over in her hands, examining every tiny groove in the yellowing surface. She felt her pulse picking up the longer she studied it.

  A presence in the doorway dragged her from her reverie, and she looked up to see Wind Talker standing there uncomfortably.

  'Hi, come on in,' she said, waving him into the studio.

  'What did you want to see me for?' he asked, moving over to her.

  'I need your help figuring out how to use this safely.' She passed the talisman to him. He looked at it closely and lifted it up to let it spin on the cord.

  'Its name is Savaging Fury. I'm guessing it increases your adrenaline levels?'

  'Yeah, just a bit,' she replied sarcastically. She heard Ron locking his office door at the end of the hall and dashed out of the studio to see him. 'Hey Ron, I'm still here but I can lock up for you when I'm done.'

  'That would be great, Ariana, thank you.' He tossed a thick bunch of keys to her, which she caught easily, then he set off down the stairs to the exit. She went back to her pack mate and dumped the keys with her things.

  'Show me,' Wind Talker said, passing the talisman back to her. She took it and put it around her neck.

  'Okay,' she said, nerves causing a shiver to go through her. This was a training dojo, she rationalised, she was simply training in a new discipline. The strip lights on the ceiling felt brighter under the influence of the talisman, the traffic in the street was louder. Wind Talker smelled as though he hadn't showered in weeks. 'It amplifies all my senses,' she explained. 'It's like the Agrius is closer to the surface.'

  'That's interesting.'

  'No, no it's more like someone else's Agrius. I don't feel connected to it.'

  'Like someone's controlling you?' Wind Talker asked, concern flickering into his voice.

  'No, there's no one in control.' She started pacing the room. Why didn't he understand? He was getting it all wrong! 'No, it's like the first time I changed, before I understood my beast. It feels alien.'

  'I see. I think that probably means that it needs attuning to you, it's still attuned to its previous owner at the moment, or perhaps to no one. We'll need a demon to help, fear I think. I'd say the purpose of the talisman is to make the wearer more fearsome. We can get it focused to you so you won't feel like this, and you should be able to use it then without feeling less in control.'

  'Okay,' Stalker agreed, nodding.

  She switched off the lights, and rubbed her throbb
ing temples. Wind Talker got some supplies out of his bag. He lit a black candle and passed it to Stalker. The flame sent eerie shadows dancing across the room as the candle shook in her unsteady hands.

  'You okay?' Wind Talker asked, as he lit a smudge stick.

  'Fine,' she snapped. Wind Talker eyed her warily, which only frustrated her more. He walked in a circle around her, wafting the smudge stick around. Its sickly fumes made Stalker gag.

  'Fear and darkness, we call on your assistance,' Wind Talker uttered into the still room.

  The shadows at Stalker's feet seemed to darken, the flickering candle went out and a tendril of smoke rose from the wick. There was the faint clink of metal, and Stalker's hackles immediately went up. Her head whipped one way then the other, her eyes desperately searching the dark for the presence she felt.

  'Well, well, well. What have we here?' The voice was deep and dangerous, and agonisingly familiar.

  'Knight-of-Shadowed-Fear,' Wind Talker said, his voice trembling slightly. 'I didn't expect you to answer.'

  'Really? It felt as though you were addressing me directly.'

  He was right behind Stalker, she felt his breath on the back of her neck. A sudden shiver ran down her back and she dropped the candle with a clatter to the floor. 'A fine young spine you have there,' the demon sighed.

  Oh God, Stalker's inner voice cried. Her heart pounded violently and she felt bile rise in her throat.

  'You asked for assistance,' the Knight said. His voice sent a tremor through Stalker's veins, but she stood paralysed, unable to turn to look at him, or move away from him.

  'Stalker has a talisman that needs a fear demon to attune to her. It will allow her to strike fear into her opponents with her impressive might. Can you help?' Wind Talker's voice was barely above a whisper and his breath left a little mist in the cold air.

  Wind Talker! she snapped. What is he doing to me?

  Her body began to convulse. She felt the Knight's heavy, plated hand on her shoulder. Each finger digging into her flesh. He inhaled deeply at her neck, his empty helmet mere millimetres from her ear.

  The tooth felt white hot against her skin, compared to the ice cold air that the Knight had brought with him. The Agrius inside that didn't belong to her began to howl.

  'Stalker! No!' Wind Talker cried out.

  But it was too late. Her body wrenched away from the Knight's clutches, and she fell onto all fours. It was crawling up inside her, the Beast was tearing its way out. Her whole body shook and she could hear nothing but the pounding of her pulse. Fur erupted all over her body, and her limbs cracked as they doubled in length. 'What did you do?' a faraway voice screamed.

  Stalker leaped away from the demon, lost to the Agrius. She bounded across the floor, splintering the wooden boards with each thunderous pound of her huge paws. She reached the fire exit and ripped the door from its hinges as easily as if it were paper.

  The cool air of the night rushed over her fur as she leaped down onto the street below. She landed with a crunch and cracked the tarmac. Without a backward glance, Stalker galloped through the city, consumed by the mindless Agrius. Behind her, a flickering light rose behind the windows of the dojo, and smoke slithered out of the open fire exit.

  She ran for a few miles before skidding to a halt in the middle of a large park. The Agrius released her and she fell to the ground, shrinking slowly back into her human form. She pressed her cheek to the cool grass and closed her eyes. She felt sick and dizzy. Eventually her eyes peeled open and she risked lifting her head to look around.

  The dark sky overhead was cloudy and the glow from the city's lights coloured the clouds. The park was vast, with woods along the edge up a shallow slope from where she lay. She knew this park. She groaned and rubbed her face with her hands. She was right in the heart of Fenwick; the wood that she could see was where the Witches had held Weaver.

  It was very likely that her scent was far from suppressed when she stormed the border in the form of the alien Agrius. She took a few moments to draw in the power of the night around her, masking her scent from other shifters and hiding her in the shadows. She shifted silently into her fox form and trotted swiftly for the cover of the trees.

  She made her way towards civilisation, running over the events of the evening in her mind as she jogged. The Knight had had a very powerful effect on her. Had he been able to trigger the talisman? Or did she simply react strongly to his fear-inducing presence? The most troubling thing was that she felt drawn to him. Her alliance with the dark was perhaps exerting some influence. Maybe he was drawn to her too?

  Stalker glanced around, suddenly aware that she wasn't concentrating on where she was going. There was the scent of a Witch on the air, then another. Startled, she ran for cover in a garden. Voices reached her from nearby, and a van door slid shut. Carefully, she picked her way to the garden gate and peeked out between the wrought iron struts. She was almost directly opposite the crematorium, and a large van idled at the kerb.

  The Alpha of the Witches, Gaze-of-Purity, stood by the van and a gormless-looking driver sat behind the wheel staring at the road. Stalker could just make out two other figures moving in the shadows on the other side of the perimeter wall of the grounds of the crematorium. Two Witches that she didn't know by sight emerged from the dark, carrying heavy bags that weighed them down.

  'We move the rest tomorrow,' the Alpha barked. 'Patrol the south-western border tonight, both of you. I want that breach found.'

  Stalker swallowed, that's where she would have entered Fenwick on her trek from the dojo. The burdened Witches set off walking towards the park, while the Alpha climbed into the van beside the glazed-over driver. Stalker suspected he was not in complete control of his faculties, a puppet of the Witches.

  The van was about to set off somewhere. Stalker snarled in frustration, she had to confirm what they were moving, though dead bodies would be a very good guess. She shifted into the form of a moth and fluttered swiftly across the road and crawled into the back of the van through the small gap in the doors. She landed and shifted silently back into her human form.

  A stack of lumpy shapes in thick plastic body bags was piled against the wall of the van. Stalker covered her mouth and looked around. There was no window between her and the cab, no sign of a camera either. She breathed a silent sigh of relief and crept to the pile of bags. She poked one carefully, inside was something heavy and as hard as she would expect a dead body to be. She kept her nose and mouth covered with the sleeve of her jacket as she very carefully and slowly unzipped the top bag.

  The smell of death greeted her and she gagged. The van lurched into motion and she lost her balance, staggering slightly. Grabbing the side of the van, Stalker steadied herself and peered into the partially unzipped bag. There was indeed a body inside, recently deceased, or well preserved at a guess. She hastily zipped the bag back up and shifted back into moth form to wait out the ride to wherever they were going.

  When the van pulled to a halt a short while later, Stalker clung to the ceiling, her wings twitching slightly. She heard gates creaking open and the van rolled slowly forwards and down a slope. They were at the factory! Stalker flew to the doors and squeezed out through them. She didn't want to end up trapped inside the Witches' headquarters. The night air was cool and there was a strong breeze. Stalker pushed off from the back of the van and soared into the sky over the factory. Once she was high enough to not be seen against the cloudy sky, she shifted into owl form and flew swiftly back to St. Mark's.

  Why were the Witches moving bodies from the crematorium to the factory? A pillar of smoke caught her eye and she flew towards it. A heavy feeling sunk in her stomach as she flew over the burning dojo and the memories from earlier in the evening came flooding back to her.

  Wind Talker! She flew lower over the burning building. The fire engines were already there working on the fire. There were people in the street, pointing and looking worried. Ron was there, his hands clutching his balding head. There
was no sign of Wind Talker, and she felt her connection with him was intact. She flew higher and soared to Grove Street, landing in the dark alley that they usually used to change form. She shifted and ran to the house, bursting in through the door to hear the raised voices of her pack mates.

  'I'm here! I'm all right!' she called out as she ran down the hall. Wind Talker grabbed her and hugged her so tightly that he was in danger of suffocating her. She patted his back and he released her.

  'I'm so glad you're okay,' he said breathlessly.

  'Likewise,' she replied. 'I saw the fire. Was that you?'

  'I had to cover the damage you'd done to the place. I'm so sorry.' He really seemed to mean it. His cool demeanour was quite abandoned and he chewed his lip anxiously. She nodded and tried to give him a smile. She looked around the room and noted the absence of Weaver and Claws.

  'They went looking for you,' Eyes explained, seeing her confusion. 'Wind Talker told us what happened and which direction you ran, so they went to see if they could track you. I'll call Claws now.'

  He drifted into the living room, his phone to his ear. Stalker and Wind Talker exchanged awkward glances.

  'Do you know what happened?' Stalker asked, her voice trembling slightly. 'Why I lost it like that?'

  'I don't know exactly,' he replied, sitting heavily at the table. He clutched a glass of whiskey. Stalker joined him and poured herself one. She felt her heart begin to settle as she drank the warming liquid. Her hand went quickly to the talismans around her neck and she tugged off the tooth and slid it across the table. 'That's probably wise. I don't think the Knight unleashed any powers on you. I think the talisman just had you really fired up already and the Agrius took over when we introduced fear. I'm so sorry.'

  He picked up the necklace and examined it carefully. He poked it and it swung back and forth, spinning on the cord.

  'Does it have a demon inside it?' Stalker asked, unable to wrench her eyes off the tooth.

  'Yes.'

  'I want to be able to use it like the Witch did. I want control over it.'