by Dianna Love
He said, “Yazzle’s right. He was in the bathroom while that came up and we were onto something else when he returned. ‘Evil blossom’ is what Imala’s spirit whispered to me as it left his body. Before we accuse someone of a crime, did Adsila have any contact with Sonny or Imala specifically on the days of their deaths?”
The head of security stood and had his electronic pad up, reading it. He said, “She punched out from work two hours prior to Sonny’s death and ... was off duty four hours before Imala’s. She should have been at work both times.”
Bidziil said, “I want her brought up, but don’t make a scene so she doesn’t run.”
“Yes, sir,” his head of security replied, “Let me call down and determine if she’s still on the property.”
“She should be,” Bidziil said. “We had a tech issue she intended to stay tonight and track down.”
Nodding, the officer walked off to use his radio.
Directing his words at Bidziil, Storm said, “Tell me how to get to Haloke.” As he listened, he ended his mental debate over what to do about Evalle. In the past, he’d normally tell her before going.
For any hope of getting their life back, he had to continue treating her the same way and speak to her first.
When Bidziil finished with the directions, Storm said, “I’ll wait to talk to Adsila. If she’s the one behind this, you won’t be able to handle her. As soon as she’s contained, I’ll know how to approach Haloke.”
The head of security walked back flanked by his two other men. He said, “Adsila is gone. She signed out a car in the name of Tso to transport someone to the seer.”
“Why take it in my name?” Bidziil asked.
Fuck. Storm said, “Not you. Me.” He yanked his phone out and called Evalle.
No answers.
Bidziil said, “What do you think Adsila is doing?”
Storm knew in his heart where Evalle was because he’d been played. He yanked the keys from his pocket and turned for the door. “She’s taking Evalle to the seer. How long ago did she sign out her car?”
The security guy said, “Thirty-three minutes.”
Storm roared.
CHAPTER 18
Evalle had second thoughts. She should’ve waited for Storm to join her on this trip to the seer.
But that might have meant missing this opportunity.
She couldn’t put this off.
He almost snapped this morning. What would he do the minute he saw her eyes no longer glowed?
Bond with her.
Enough with the mental chatter, even if it was more than she could get from Adsila who drove with a single-minded focus.
The young woman had a heavy foot on the gas pedal for an employee, but during the drive from the villa she’d spoken little. The only time she sounded the least bit interested in the conversation had been when Evalle asked what else she did at the resort.
According to Adsila, she had a serious gift for technology.
She’d said Bidziil couldn’t truly appreciate her skill, because he had so little ability.
Arrogant much?
Evalle lost interest in conversing after that.
They might be traveling down the same roads Evalle and Storm had taken earlier but being out here in the night changed the feeling from tourist to interloper.
Adsila slowed the car.
Evalle looked for a turnoff. None.
That didn’t stop Adsila from taking a hard right and driving through the desert.
Huh? Evalle looked around. “Uhm, where are we going?”
“To the seer. She doesn’t live near the noise and chaos around electronics. It interferes with her powers.”
Storm had described the seer’s home as way off the beaten path. He hadn’t been exaggerating.
Evalle had never felt unease at being around humans, but she did now. Was that because she hadn’t been able to tap any of her powers earlier?
Probably. This must be how a human would feel around a preternatural.
Never think like prey.
Wrong frame of mind.
Even without them, she still had fighting skills and reflexes sharper than a human’s.
What brought on those thoughts?
Her gaze traveled to where she clutched her leg to keep it from bouncing with nervous energy. Black lines split and crawled two more inches down her right arm, filling in a blank area. How long before they covered her entire body and linked together?
She checked her left arm. A new outbreak squiggled around to the under side. She should have stopped to grab a watch or phone, but Adsila had been in such a hurry and Evalle had just faced the demise of her powers.
No powers and black veins that might turn deadly.
She’d been in panic mode and jumped at the chance to go.
Hopefully, the seer would have something useful to share.
How could she and Storm have a life if Evalle had no control over her body any more?
The car bounced over bumps and the tires dipped into holes. Adsila steered with skill, avoiding short fat bushes that turned the terrain into a living obstacle course.
They slowed as the headlights reached a round structure. Storm had talked about the older structures a few members still lived in today, but this one caught Evalle by surprise. “Is that a hogan?”
“Yes.”
“The seer lives there?” Evalle couldn’t hide her surprise at the dwelling for someone the tribe revered.
“Haloke holds to the old ways as any strong seer should,” Adsila replied in a terse tone.
How dare this woman chastise Evalle just for questioning the hut.
Not Bidziil’s best representative for the casino.
It didn’t matter. Evalle would not complain after the woman had driven her to meet with the seer.
Evalle would have likely gotten lost on her own.
Adsila parked.
A fiftyish woman in a blousy pale-blue top with multiple strands of beaded necklaces appeared at the opening where light flickered from inside the hogan. Her dark skirt made of geometric designs stopped short of her ankles. Silver ran through her black hair, which fell loose to her chest. She had an attractive face Evalle could see being used on brochures about Native culture.
This must be the seer.
As Evalle got out, a large eagle swooped down and landed on an arm the woman extended.
The bird lifted its head and stared at Evalle through dark eyes that appeared as black holes. She squinted. Was her night vision going?
Or ... was it gone?
The eagle reminded her of the bird she’d dreamed about. Maybe not a dream.
Just like the one on the patio, this bird didn’t so much as twitch a feather.
“Welcome, Evalle. I am Haloke,” she said in a warm voice.
Smiling to hide her misgivings over seeing the eagle again, Evalle said, “Thank you for the invitation, Haloke. I’m humbled you agreed to meet me.”
“It is an honor. I knew your mate’s father.”
That was a surprise. Maybe that was why Storm felt confident he could arrange this meeting.
Should it surprise Evalle that Haloke called Storm her mate when Adsila had referred to her as Storm’s wife?
He probably referred to her status that way when he set this up.
“I have to go, Mother Haloke. Will Roy find peace tonight?” Adsila asked in a longing voice.
“Yes, child.”
Adsila turned toward the car she’d left with the motor running again.
Evalle had to remind Adsila not to forget her. “Are you coming back in enough time to return before daylight?”
Adsila paused then angled her head with a glance at Haloke before her gaze went to Evalle. “Storm will come.”
“Oh, well shoot. That’s okay then.” Storm would bring the vehicle he’d placed a protective coating on. He’d be here for sure before sunrise. “Thank you for the ride, Adsila,” Evalle said, trying to be polite while grinding her teeth at
the woman.
Adsila could have mentioned earlier Storm would be coming.
Evalle relaxed a little.
Storm knew so much more than her about medicine men, shamans, and seers. Wouldn’t it be a nice surprise if Haloke figured out how to fix Evalle by the time Storm showed up?
Haloke spoke with gentle authority. “You have questions for me?”
Taking a deep breath, Evalle prepared to explain all she could without giving up the secrets she had to shield. “I don’t know exactly how this works, but here’s what’s bothering me. I was kidnapped recently and put in a place that ... ” Evalle struggled for words that would accurately convey the physical abuse and mage’s spell she’d suffered in Abandinu’s realm. “Let’s just say a bad place and I left with some issues.”
“You were tortured?”
“Yes.”
“You are not one with yourself.”
Finally, someone described Evalle’s inner turmoil. She felt separated from who she’d been for so long. There were two people inside her—Evalle before the kidnapping and Evalle after the rescue.
Everyone kept waiting for her to be the before version. She did, too.
She’d once been a warrior, mate, friend, and gryphon shifter.
She came back a ... shell, unable to find those parts again.
With no better idea of how to put all that across, she simply asked, “Is my Hózhó broken?”
Evidently she’d surprised the seer with knowing that word. The seer smiled. “Hózhó is not a thing, but all that surrounds you and is within.” The seer stroked her eagle and whispered words that sounded affectionate.
Returning to Evalle, Haloke said in a light voice, “I understand you do not wish to bond with Storm.”
Why would he tell the seer that?
Maybe it was the only way he could gain Evalle an interview. She wouldn’t fault him for sharing that after all he probably went through to make this happen.
“We’re still talking about bonding,” Evalle said, noncommittal.
“Why do you hesitate?”
Why was Haloke asking about something personal? Evalle held her patience and admitted, “My messed up Hózhó, for one reason. I want to feel whole again before I do that.”
“You will heal. You hurt Storm by not bonding.”
Evalle mentally sagged with a new load of guilt. She’d see this through for him. That reminded her to ask, “Do you see the lines on my face and arms?”
“Yes. That is why I had you brought to me.”
“How would you know?” Evalle mumbled more to herself.
Haloke stroked her bird and said, “My eagle brought news of your struggles.”
Evalle gave the bird another look, but the bird’s body and head blurred a moment then came back into focus. Her throat dried up.
She coughed and asked, “He talks?”
“She,” Haloke corrected. “We need no words to communicate. She shares her memories with me.”
Squinting to focus on the seer and her nonverbal bird, Evalle said, “I ... I don’t understand.”
Haloke started singing as she smiled at her eagle.
Light began to glow brighter inside the hogan behind the seer until she stood in an electric aura.
Evalle stared hard, trying to figure out why that happened. The longer she looked, the more she felt drawn to the light and took a step forward.
Continuing in a soothing tone, Haloke said, “Walk with me, Evalle. We will go where I can help you.”
That sounded like a champion idea.
Evalle stumbled on her first step, caught her balance and joined Haloke as they walked around the hogan.
The eagle took flight into a black sky lit only by an unfinished moon.
Watching the majestic bird glide, Evalle murmured, “So beautiful.”
Haloke lifted her hand, moving it slowly in front of Evalle. “You wish to fly as the eagle does. This is your heart’s desire.”
True, but Evalle felt so relaxed and at peace, she sighed. “Yes, I want that.”
“Your mate has a cat inside and you have wings.”
Haloke said the nicest things. She definitely understood.
Evalle smiled, “Yes. His jaguar is amazing.”
“You are more than amazing,” Haloke said. “You have giant wings.”
“Yes, they’re beautiful.” Evalle smiled at the compliment. “I can change into a ... ” She lost her train of thought. Had she almost said gryphon?
She couldn’t share that, right?
Haloke said, “You must open up for this to work.”
That made sense. The seer couldn’t help if she held back.
Lifting a hand, Evalle rubbed her forehead. She’d never taken drugs, but she felt weird and happy at the same time.
Her feet walked on soft ground as if it had turned into a cloud. She chuckled.
That sounded stupid. Good thing she hadn’t said it out loud.
“You may talk to me, Evalle,” Haloke encouraged. “I will protect your secrets. They are weighing you down and keeping you from flying.”
Evalle’s heart thumped slow, but hard beats. She envisioned being a gryphon again and Storm thrilled at watching her fly. He wanted that, too.
She asked Haloke, “Are you sure I’ll fly again?”
“Oh, yes. We must make your Hózhó whole first, then you will be complete.”
Yes. To be whole, Evalle mused silently. To be the woman Storm had mated. She wanted him to be proud of her again.
She desperately wanted her gryphon back.
But she’d take having her powers and getting rid of these black lines, if nothing else.
Lifting her hands, Evalle watched with disconnected curiosity as the lines moved frenetically over her skin. She followed each movement, fascinated by the designs created.
Was this what floating in a dream felt like?
Or was she hallucinating again?
She couldn’t find the energy to care.
Haloke stopped, shaking Evalle from her relaxing moment.
She looked around to a cold fire pit. “Where are we?”
“This is my sacred spot, the place I will heal you.” Haloke reached into a pocket on her skirt. She spoke strange words then tossed shiny chips of what looked like glass at the pit.
A fire sparked to life.
Evalle shook her head.
Something was wrong.
Healing.
Storm said a seer did not heal. Evalle’s eyes were locked on the robust flames. Haloke had started a fire the way someone like ... Adrianna would.
Adrianna?
Warning bells rang in Evalle’s head, but in a slow dull gong. Evalle took a wobbly step back and lifted a hand to her head. The landscape moved around her. She mumbled, “Wait. Are you a seer or witch?”
Haloke shouted and her eagle screeched.
The bird swooped across the fire, sending a wave of smoke into Evalle’s face. She inhaled a strong anise smell and choked on her next breath.
Singing reached her ears as if the sound came through a tunnel.
Haloke raised her voice and the world spun faster. She tried to move, get away.
The eagle bumped her from behind.
She stumbled to her knees in front of the fire. Bright flames danced in her gaze and wouldn’t let her go. Smoke flowed over and through her.
Haloke shouted, “Mate of Storm, rise and prepare to be healed.”
Evalle lost all control of her body and stood upon command. “I’m ready,” she murmured. Her head argued, but Evalle couldn’t understand Haloke’s words.
No longer singing, the seer spoke undecipherable words in a harsh tone full of authority.
The fire burst alive with color.
Evalle’s vision blurred.
Close to her ear, Haloke said, “Are you ready to surprise your mate with your new Hózhó?”
“Am I ... healed?” Evalle asked in a slurred voice.
“Not quite. You must do
one more thing then you will fly with the eagle.”
CHAPTER 19
Storm ran at top speed in his jaguar form through the dark desert. His animal’s sharp night vision allowed them to leap over or sweep around any obstacle. He’d shifted outside the resort property as soon as he reached the first place he could free his jaguar without starting mass chaos.
His animal had been tearing at him the whole time.
As Storm rushed away, Bidziil had shouted that he’d catch up by car and deal with Haloke.
Not if Storm’s jaguar reached the woman first.
For her sake, he’d better find Evalle unharmed.
As he streaked across a paved road, his jaguar found fresh ruts where a vehicle carrying Adsila’s scent had driven.
That should make finding Haloke even quicker.
Storm’s jaguar caught Evalle’s scent when he reached a hogan. He slid to a stop, sending dust flying, stuck his head inside only long enough to determine the place was empty.
Inhaling the scent of his mate, his jaguar tore around the structure and stretched out his stride to eat up ground.
In seconds, he had a small fire in view.
A narrow figure stood silhouetted against the glow. Too short to be Evalle, but that’s where her scent led him. His jaguar snarled and raced forward.
Thirty yards out, he slowed his animal.
Storm wouldn’t hesitate to enter the territory of a deadly witch, but neither would he put Evalle in further jeopardy by blasting in with no idea what was going on.
As his animal slowed, it snarled and growled. Storm apologized to his jaguar and forced a fast shift that ripped his body in opposing directions.
He lost no time, striding to the fire where the seer stood. Who else could it be? “Where is she, Haloke?”
“Evalle is healing herself.”
“Liar. Tell me now or I’ll let my jaguar out and rip you apart.”
“That will not provide answers,” she said, full of confidence.
She had no idea what she faced.
Storm let the demon roll over him long enough for his eyes to glow red.
Losing her cocky smile, Haloke hissed, “Get away from me, demon.”