Soul Survivor

by Misty Evans

  “Doctors say his fever’s already coming down,” a now awake Chee murmured from the chair. “He could go home as soon as tomorrow.”

  Keva lifted her head from Rife’s chest and smiled down at his face. “He sure is stubborn.”

  Chee cleared his throat and shifted. “Look, Keva. I hate to dump this on you right now, but what are you going to tell the FBI agents from Eugene? They’ve already been here once to ask you questions, and Doc Carver held ’em off as a favor to me. But they’re coming back any minute and they’re going to be asking some difficult questions. Did you bring the dagger and the doll back? I didn’t see them.”

  Keva didn’t want to think about the fact that she was still a suspect in the murders of her Moon Water sisters. All she wanted to focus on was Rife’s chest rising and falling. Unfortunately, she didn’t have any choice but to face the cold hard facts. “I left them in the past where they belong.”

  “So the murder weapon is missing,” Chee said more to himself than to her. “And a piece of evidence.”

  A ball of worry tightened Keva’s stomach. “But if there’s no evidence linking me to the murders, I should be okay, right?”

  Chee stared at the muted TV, avoiding her eyes. “The preliminary report stated the only prints on the knife were yours, and you were the only survivor. You have a bogus background, which makes you a suspicious character even without the evidence. Worse, the doctors and nurses witnessed you leaving this very hospital with Rife two days ago. And today, returning with him.” He glanced at her, conveying more in his sad eyes than in his words. “It looks bad for Rife. You understand what I’m saying?”

  Her stomach cramped like she’d drunk one of Enann’s poisons. “They’ll think he destroyed the evidence in order to cover for me. That he’s gone rogue again because he’s…” She wanted to say, in love with me, but was he? Rife had obviously been sexually attracted to her, but in love with her?

  She pushed that thought aside. She had to stay focused on the matter at hand. “He’ll lose his job, and they’ll accuse you of trying to protect him, so you’ll lose yours too.”

  “And they’ll do their damnedest to pin the murders on you.” Chee leaned forward in the chair and met her gaze straight on. “Keva, they could send you to prison.”

  She took one of Rife’s hands in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze, scared of prison, but more worried about him. “Just tell me what I have to do to protect him.”

  Chee was silent for a moment, studying her and his grandson. “I can’t tell you what to do. For instance, I can’t remind you that you know how to disappear, how to slip under the government’s radar like you’ve been doing for a thousand years. Or tell you that those Eugene agents will probably have another dozen cases come across their desks over the next few months, things like terrorist threats and militia uprisings, and other murder cases to divert their attention.”

  Pushing himself out of the chair, he stretched and gave her another intense glare. “Even though yours is a sensational case, there are no relatives or friends looking for retribution, which means no one will be harassing those agents to find the killer. I also can’t tell you, you understand, that your file will get put in the FBI’s cold case files and forgotten pretty fast if you’re not around.”

  She understood exactly what he was telling her, but her brain searched for alternatives. “What if I stay here and tell them Rife had nothing to do with the missing evidence. That I took it and destroyed it. I can clear his name.”

  Chee shook his head. “It’ll probably cost me my job, but I’ll take the blame for the missing evidence.” He stepped up to the bed and gazed down at his grandson. “What I’m most concerned with is the fact Rife’s already on probation from Quantico. Any kind of inappropriate action will get him fired. Getting involved with a witness who’s also on his suspect list? A sure ticket to the unemployment line. They’ll fire him and discredit him before he can blink. He’ll never work in law enforcement again, and, Keva, this is his whole life.”

  Of course. Rife’s job meant everything to him. She’d put him through so much, she couldn’t—wouldn’t—cost him his job. She’d do whatever she could to at least save that. “If I disappear, you can say I stole the evidence. They might still try to prove Rife was involved with me, but they won’t be able to if both of you deny it. They won’t be able to threaten me or hold me over his head and manipulate a confession from him.”

  “Exactly.” The monitor beeped softly as Rife’s chest continued its easy rhythm. Chee let out a depressed-sounding breath. “Even though it’s not in his best interest to find you, you know he’ll tear up the whole West Coast trying to and then start on the East, and as you already stated, he’s damned stubborn. You’ll have to be really clever to avoid him.”

  Keva shrugged, wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, and went for nonchalant. “I’ve never been to Alaska. I hear it’s nice.”

  For a long moment, neither spoke, their love for Rife binding them in a continuing friendship.

  Chee held out a hand to her. “I’m sorry it had to end this way, but I appreciate what you’re doing for him.”

  Her throat closed up and more tears trickled from her eyes. She shook his hand and felt a tingle of vibration in her throat. The FBI agents. They were coming. “It’s time for me to go. You best head to the restroom or the vending machines, so you have an alibi for not seeing me disappear.”

  “Thank you, Keva.”

  She nodded, watched him exit the room. As the door hissed shut behind him, she let the tears flow. Leaving Rife was like being gutted by her own sacred knife.

  If only Rife had been Kai. Then he wouldn’t have cared about his job. They could have run off together. Started over in another place. Had a chance at the life they never got to live in the past.

  She laid her head once again on his chest. Listened to the beat of his heart, committing it to memory. “I love you, Rife St. Cloud.” She took the Thunderbird amulet from her jeans pocket, placed it in the palm of his hand, curled his fingers around it and said a prayer to Thunderbird.

  As the FBI agents drew closer, the vibration in Keva’s throat intensified. Laying a kiss on Rife’s lips, she stared at him a moment longer before disappearing into the night.

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Two months later

  Sun glinted off the hood of his car as Rife drove it up the road to the Catholic church early on Sunday morning. He didn’t know why he was coming here yet again. Keva was long gone and even he, with all his skills and government contacts, couldn’t pick up her trail. Chee told him she’d been revived at the hospital and had stayed by Rife’s side until she was convinced he would live. Then she’d snuck out, leaving nothing but a note to Chee, telling him where to find the deed to the church and bequeathing her collection of Virgin Marys to him and Rife.

  For two months he had searched high and low for her, wondering if she had left him and the present to return to the past. He’d sat alone in her bedroom and mentally called to her for hours at a time, getting no response. Could she still hear him if she was in another time and place? Finally returning to FBI headquarters in Virginia, he’d thrown himself into a new case, only to find he couldn’t focus on it. Thoughts of Keva tormented him night and day, until he began flying home to Wolf River at every opportunity to look for her. Instinctively, he knew she would stay in that area, no matter what time she lived in.

  She’d saved his life and shown him a world he never knew existed. Her love for him, as Kai and as his current self, had sparked a fire in him long dead. He needed her, not just for a few days, but forever. While his past memories of her played over and over in his mind, that world existed only in the past. He wanted her—needed her—in this world, here and now. He had another life to live and he didn’t want to spend it with anyone else.

  His heart, his soul, belonged to Keva.

  A For Sale sign stood rigid next to the drive, its presence making Rife’s gut cringe. After the poisoning, his sto
mach was still sensitive to certain foods, but the lead weight he felt as he slid out of the driver’s side had nothing to do with jalapeños or curry powder. The church was his last link to Keva. He didn’t want anyone to buy it. Jerking the sign out of the damp grass, he threw it in the back of the car before walking up the steps of the church.

  The key to the door slid in with ease and Rife instantly knew it was already unlocked. He froze, training kicking in. Someone was there. Someone…

  There were no other cars in the drive, so it wasn’t a real-estate agent, and Rife had just left Chee at home, performing his weekly Nature Church ritual which consisted of meditating in the backyard.

  Pushing the old wooden door open a notch, cool air drifted through the crack. A low hum of electricity started in his chest and slid into his veins. His senses grasped at it, straining to hear, feel or see the intruder.

  The hum became musical, soft notes vibrating on the air around him. Even before his ears registered the sound of her voice, her energy rushed over him. Keva.

  He found her in the sanctuary. Dozens of lit candles flickered amongst the Virgins, lighting their solemn eyes with warmth. Keva sat in the middle of the circle of chalk outlines on her knees, her hands steepled in prayer. On each outline sat a glowing candle, wildflowers and a figurine selected from her collection. Her head was bowed, her long hair falling like a curtain around her face.

  Rife sucked in a breath of incensed air and watched quietly, listening to her voice, melodic and comforting, slide over him. For the first time since their night on Starved Rock, he smiled. The Divine Feminine incarnate was back.

  After a few minutes, Keva’s voice fell silent. Her back was to him, but as she lifted her head, he knew she was aware of his presence. “You’re supposed to be in Corpus Christi working on the Desert Vampire serial killer case.”

  “The Academy had an opening. For the next ten weeks, starting Monday, I’m teaching Psychological Profiling and Anatomy of Homicide at Quantico.”

  Even though he couldn’t see her face, he sensed she smiled at his news. “So everything worked out for you.”

  “Not everything.” He let the statement hang between them for a moment, searching for a way to say what he needed to say without it sounding like a trite accusation. Found he couldn’t.

  “I came back,” she said softly, “because these women were my family and I needed to sing their souls to the After Life.”

  A mix of pride at her continued desire to perform the duties of a High Chieftess, and fear that the only reason she had come back to the church was for the same reason, twisted his stomach. “I’m sure they’re grateful.”

  She glanced around the room as if looking for the spirits she’d just been singing to. “Did you bury them as I requested?”

  Her note had left instructions to Chee to take care of the burial services for all of the women. “Grandpops made sure everything was done to the last detail.”

  She sighed with what seemed like relief. “Thank him for me.”

  “Come back to the cabin and thank him yourself. He’s been searching for you almost as hard as I have.”

  Rising to her feet, she dropped her gaze to the floor. “But he told me…” She shook her head as if what she was about to say didn’t matter. “Did I cost him his job?”

  “He played the bumbling backwoods sheriff and told the Feds the knife got lost in the shuffle. His hands got slapped, but he’s still harassing the folks here in town.”

  “The knife, like a lot of things, belongs in the past.”

  Rife agreed. He didn’t want to resurrect the past. He wanted to build a future. “I’m glad you came back.”

  Slowly, she raised her gaze and turned to look at him. “I’m still wanted for the murders. I can’t stay.”

  He shook his head. “The FBI is looking for Enann. I gave them a complete profile workup on him, and Chee and I drew up a sketch. His picture, not yours, is on the Most Wanted poster in every police station and post office on the West Coast. I told them you ran because he was still out there hunting you and you didn’t believe we could keep you safe.” He met her eyes and said the words he’d been rehearsing for two months. “You’re in the clear, Keva. Let’s start over.”

  A small snort of disbelief emanated from her. “After all the crap I put you through, you can’t mean that.”

  “I’m standing here, aren’t I?”

  Her facial muscles softened. “The past still haunts me, Rife. When I look at you, I see…”

  Her voice trailed off and she glanced away.

  “I know,” he said, taking a step forward. “You see Kai. I get that, and there’s a good reason for it.”

  She cut her eyes back to him, searching his for his meaning. “You remember?”

  He nodded. “Your throat. You awakened Kai’s soul when you put my hand on it. My mind flooded with images after that, and I couldn’t handle it, didn’t want to handle it. It freaked me out. Way out. That’s why I yelled at you to leave.”

  The corners of her lush lips tweaked up in a small smile. “I knew it.”

  He took another step toward her. “Here’s the thing, though, Keva, I’m not Kai. I’m Rife St. Cloud. Like you said, some things belong in the past and that’s were Kai belongs.”

  Her smile faltered. He felt her energy cloud. “That’s what I was afraid of.”

  “That doesn’t mean I want you to be part of the past, though.” He stepped forward again and stood at the edge of the circle. “I want you right here. With me.”

  She visibly shuddered under his gaze. A jolt of energy, like a match striking flint, leaped between them. “Is that why you kept calling me? With your mind?”

  He frowned. “You heard me and you didn’t respond?”

  Touching her throat with her fingers, she hesitated. “I was scared.”

  “Scared of what?”

  “I’m not immortal anymore. When your soul—I mean, Kai’s soul—awoke, the spell was broken, but like you just stated, you’re Rife, not Kai.”

  Letting his eyes take a mental inventory of her body, he remembered the shape and feel of her under him. Remembered the taste of her lips and the smoothness of her skin. Immortal or not, she was beautiful. Her heart was true and he’d known few people as strong and loyal.

  He’d never wanted her more. “Yeah, well then this is probably my last go-around too. After everything we’ve been through, we’ve got this one last chance to do it right. Spend our lives together. What do you think?”

  “You mean it?”

  “Hell, yes, I mean it.”

  Her head bowed and she rubbed her throat with her hand. “There’s something else you should know about me becoming mortal again.” She hesitated, glancing at the Madonna figurines in the circle. “About me becoming mortal before we made love on Starved Rock.”

  For some reason, the hairs on Rife’s arms stood up in warning. “Okay.”

  She shifted her weight and a sudden rush of protectiveness made him reach out and touch her arm. Why was she still scared of him? “Keva, tell me.”

  “I’m…” Taking a deep breath, she blew it out all at once. “I’m pregnant.”

  Every cell in Rife’s body froze for a split second. “You’re…you’re…”

  She nodded. “Pregnant.”

  “Holy…” Grabbing her by the arms, he pulled her out of the circle and hugged her against his body.

  She gasped and then laughed as he twirled her around. “We’re pregnant,” he repeated.

  He set her down and she smiled up at him. “That’s how I knew the curse was really broken. As an immortal, there was no way I could have gotten pregnant. When we went back to the past, I thought I’d screwed up the timeline somehow and that’s why I wasn’t healing as fast as normal. Back in this time, when I realized I was pregnant, well…” She pressed her lips together as if to hold back her joy. “I knew the spell cursing us had really ended. I just didn’t know if you’d come to grips with your past. Our past. Or if you hat
ed me for screwing up your present even more.”

  Rife was gripping his past, present and future. He hugged her again. “I don’t know anything about being a dad.”

  “Actually—” Keva stepped back and picked up a small cloth doll, similar to the one she’d made a thousand years ago, lying in the circle. “You do know a little.” She chuckled as she handed him the doll.

  His elation left in a rush. A baby. He and Keva were going to have a baby. How could he ever protect both of them from all the psychotic maniacs in the world?

  “I let Enann hurt our last child,” he murmured, rubbing a thumb over the spot where the doll’s heart was drawn. He raised his gaze to Keva’s. “And you.”

  She touched the doll too. “Neither of us knew Enann was capable of such terrible things. He’s gone now. He can never hurt us or our baby again.”

  After a moment of silence, they fell into each other’s arms once more. He touched her lips with his, a soft brush, even though he wanted more. She responded by kissing him hard, her joy flowing over him. He laughed and gave her what her lips demanded. A second later, between their bodies, Rife could feel a new energy, small and light, pulsing, also demanding his attention. He broke the kiss, and hugged Keva tight against his chest. “It’s a girl,” he said, smiling into her hair. “A new generation of Moon Water women.”

  Keva sighed against his chest. “I just hope her future is brighter than our collective past.”

  Rife took her by the arms and slid their bodies apart. “It’s time we let go of the past, Keva. Both of us. Not just so we can be together, but for our baby.”

  “So, you going to marry me?”

  He grinned. “Right here in this church.”

  She grinned back. “You mean you don’t want me to take you into the woods and truss you up to a big ol’ oak tree and perform a binding ceremony?”

  The image of her naked body and lust-filled eyes in front of the fire splashed across his mind. The smell of sweat and sex filled his nostrils. He stroked one finger down her cheek. “You might talk me into that later, after the official ceremony.”