by T. A. Foster
“No problem. I can get you something of theirs.” I had renewed hope that we could get through this nightmare.
“The rest. I just don’t know.” He shook his head. “You’re in deep with the council.”
I straightened my shoulders. “I’m a queen. They’re in deep with me.”
He laughed. “Yes, they are.”
“If I get the things that belong to the girls, can we do it tonight?”
He looked at his watch. “An hour?”
“Perfect.” I headed for the exit. “Can I get out of here?”
“Oh right.” He said a few words. I had been right. I was sealed in too. “See you in an hour.”
“An hour.”
In an hour, I would know where Case had taken Tegan, Abi, and Eva. I would reunite the Nox.
I walked out of the warehouse more confident than I had been since the kidnappings. Having witch help on our side might finally tilt the scale in our favor. We needed it. We needed anything that would give us an advantage over the Tribe.
Vix said she would have something for me to give Ian. Maya went with her for backup. We couldn’t be too careful where Case was concerned. The Tribe was making a new move every day.
I wondered if witch life was this tumultuous. There had to be more of them, but Ian was the one asking all the questions. I guess it was fitting. He was a detective.
“Dare, we’ve got clothes from all the girls. Will it work?” Vix slammed the front door behind her. There was something wrong. It looked like she had been crying.
“I think so. He wasn’t specific. What’s wrong?”
Maya sank on the couch. “I’ve gotten to the point I’m afraid to go anywhere. What if they take all of us?”
“That’s not going to happen.” I reached for the T-shirts from Vix. “We’re bringing them home. Where is Sloan?”
“She’s right behind us.” Vix eyed the door. “She wants to talk to you about something.”
Maya looked like she was going to cry again.
“What is it about? We have our hands full right now.” There wasn’t room for another problem or kidnapping.
Sloan knocked on the door and let herself in the living room. “I need to speak to you, Dare.”
I looked at the other two. “Can’t we all talk together?”
She shook her head. “I’d rather discuss it in private, your majesty.”
My ears twitched. “All right. We can talk in my room.” They never called me that unless it was related to magical protocol, something I was trying to get them to break.
I led Sloan to my room and asked her to sit on the bed. Whatever it was, we could still talk girl to girl.
“Has something else happened?” I asked.
She lowered her head. “I’ve agreed to bond with Ronan.”
I jumped away as if she had doused me with cold water. “What are you talking about?”
“He cornered me tonight when I was on patrol.” She sobbed. “He said I didn’t have a choice.”
I reached for her hands. “They always say that. Of course there is a choice. He was just trying to scare you.”
She sniffed. “Not like this. He threatened me. He said he’d kill my mother.”
“But she’s human. He wouldn’t do that.”
“I wasn’t thinking. He had pictures of her. He knows where she lives. He made me promise.” She put her face in her hands. “She’s all I have. I said yes.”
My stomach soured. I felt the panther side of me ready to tear through the streets and track down Ronan.
“A forced agreement can’t be upheld. He coerced you into saying yes. It doesn’t count.” I shook her shoulders. “We’ll get you out of it.”
“No. You can’t. It’s already too late.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can already feel it. I’m drawn to him.”
“But what about Daniel? You have a boyfriend. You’ve been with him for a year.” None of this made sense. She couldn’t just turn off those feelings.
“I think I care about him still, but I only want to be with Ronan. My bond with the Nox is evaporating.”
“No.” I shook her harder. “No. You have to fight it, Sloan. You’re a stronger panther than this. It’s a stupid verbal agreement. You haven’t actually bonded with him yet. It’s just in your head. He’s in your head.” My eyes tried to pierce through her defeated gaze.
She peeled away from my hands. “While I still have any loyalty to you, I wanted to tell you. I have to leave the Nox, or else you won’t be safe. My devotion is going to be to him now. I can’t help it. I can’t help you.”
“It’s not real. You don’t love him.”
“But I feel like I do.” She slid off the bed. “I know it’s new, but I feel it as if it’s been there forever. He’s a part of who I am now.” She turned. “I have to go.”
“Graduation is in less than two weeks. Your birthday isn’t until August. You have time, Sloan. We can figure this out. We’ll break the agreement. There has to be a way. You can’t bond with him,” I snarled in her direction. It was meant for Ronan.
I wondered if I could lock her away until the madness had left her body. Until the logic locked so tightly on her soul, she would start to fight back.
She wiped a tear away with the back of her hand. “I have to go to him. I need him.” Her eyes rose to mine, the tears streaming down her face. “But please find a way. Please. I don’t want to be human.”
I reached for her, but she darted out of the room.
My worst nightmare had just happened. Everything I had been fighting for hit me in the chest, shoving me, punching me, telling me I was powerless in this fight. The council’s magic had gripped us when I thought we could defy it.
Maya and Vix appeared. “She’s gone.”
I nodded. “We’ll get her back.”
Maya burst into tears. “But if she bonds with him…” None of us wanted her to finish the sentence. The unthinkable had happened.
“T-shirts.” I snapped my fingers. “We stick together. This is the only way. Now let’s go find Tegan, Abi, and Eva.”
I pulled my shoulders back as Maya and Vix followed me out of the house. I couldn’t let them see their queen falter.
We drove in silence to the warehouse. There wasn’t anything else to say. Sloan was gone, and our unity had been breached again.
I parked the car next to the entrance and turned to my friends. “Wait here. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“You trust this guy? The witch?” Vix questioned everything. I shouldn’t be surprised she would worry about Ian.
“Yes, I do. He’s a good guy. He’s offered to help and we’re pretty much out of options. I don’t like sharing shifter problems, but what choice do I have?”
Vix shrugged. “All right, but if he pulls out any wacky hocus pocus stuff, we’re charging in there.”
I laughed. “I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. But thanks.”
“We’re coming in if you’re gone more than twenty minutes,” Maya added.
“Got it.” I hopped out of the car and walked into the warehouse, anxious to see Ian again.
“What’s wrong?” His eyes were soft with worry. “I thought you would be a little more excited about the spell.”
I handed him the T-shirts. “I just lost another girl.”
“What? Ok, this is getting insane. You need me to find four people?”
There were tears on the edges of my lashes, but I held them from falling. “No. It’s still just for three. The fourth left on her own. Well, she was coerced into agreeing to leave. She’s a completely different story.”
Ian placed a hand on my shoulder. “I’m really sorry all of this is happening. I wish there was something else I could do.”
“This is exactly what we need. If I know where they are, I can get them back.” I appreciated the concern and the sympathy, but it didn’t bring the Nox back. The spell would.
He turned away from me a
nd flattened a map of Sullen’s Grove on a piece of plywood stretched across two sawhorses. He rolled the T-shirts like fabric burritos and placed them along the border of the map.
“If this is the only thing I can do, let’s get it started.”
I watched as his eyes closed and his hands hovered over the map. Within seconds, there were three lights of different shades of green dotting the map. They glowed.
Ian opened his eyes and pointed. “There you go. That’s where they are.”
I stood closer and studied the shimmery lights. “Thank you.”
“Not a problem. I’m happy to help. Really, Dare. Any time.”
I pulled out my phone. “Is it ok if I take a picture? Will the dots show up?”
“Yes. You can, but I need you to assure me you’ll delete it as soon as you have those locations nailed down. No cloud-loading or anything.”
“I would never. I understand how confidential this is.”
I snapped a picture of the lights and made sure I could zoom in on the streets. I smiled, knowing I could finally rescue them.
“You’ll call if you need something else?” Ian offered.
“I will. Thank you.” I stepped over one of the fallen beams. “Good night.”
“Good night. Be careful.”
“I will.”
I hurried to the car. After Sloan’s exit, Vix and Maya needed something to cheer them up. This would definitely do it.
Dare had been right. There was no way I could go to work on this leg.
I picked up the phone to call Lacey.
“Hey, boss. What’s up?” She sounded happier than the last time we spoke.
“I just need you to let the director know I’m working from home today. I’m going to take the day to write. Do some research for my book.”
“Right. And that’s the only reason?”
She seemed to think I was avoiding her. I didn’t care.
“Yes, that’s it. It’s part of my job.”
“I know it is.”
“Ok, will you email me any messages?”
“Of course I will. Whatever you need.”
“Thanks, Lacey.” I hung up before she tried to pry further.
I followed my same shower routine, hanging my leg over the side of the tub. This would be day two of not shaving. Maybe Dare would like the rough and rugged look. What in the hell was I thinking? That didn’t matter either. If she were interested in things going further¸ she wouldn’t have bolted out of my bed last night like I had electrocuted her.
I shook my head. The water pelted my face. That was what I got for trying to get involved with a college girl. Sure she was days from graduation, but still. She had life in front of her. With five years between us, I probably seemed anything but exciting.
I cut the water and steadied myself for a minute. I wrapped a towel around my waist and limped to the sofa.
I didn’t take days off during the week. I was too new at the museum to have acquired any days of vacation leave. No girlfriend. No family in town. No reason to skip work. I looked around the house.
Here I was again faced with the prospect of another day alone, trapped with memories and feelings of guilt that stabbed at me. I had another dream last night. It wasn’t any different from the others. It still felt as if the cold mist clung to my skin. I rubbed my arms.
Five years ago, I had started seeing a therapist at the insistence of my girlfriend. But after one session, I dumped her and the guy with his judgmental stares and questions about forgiveness. I didn’t need dream analysis to know why I was having the dreams. Blake was dead, and I wasn’t.
Instead of living in a town where I was pitied and blamed, I took off. I left without a destination. The only place I wanted to land was one where I didn’t hurt so damn much.
I poured a cup of coffee and sat on the couch. There was no way I was ducking back into that hole today. I didn’t want to remember the dream.
My laptop was in easy reach on the coffee table.
I flipped open the screen and typed in North Carolina she-panthers.
I skipped past all the sports-related stories. I was looking for something different. Something unique.
I clicked on a blog, then another, and another. Until finally I found what I was looking for. There she was. Of course, it was a drawing, not an actual photo, but it was her. I leaned closer to the screen. The sketch was captioned: Ghost of the Forest. Artist Silver Erikson.
I typed the name in the search engine. Silver was a prolific artist with a gallery downtown. I didn’t know if the sketch was from a personal account or copied from another photo. The only way to find out was to track down Silver Erickson.
I swallowed a handful of ibuprofen and struggled to my room to get dressed. There was an old pair of sweatpants in my dresser. I had to hope they wouldn’t rub across the gash. Without Dare, I hadn’t tried to re-bandage it. I grabbed at the pain running up my leg, but tried to ignore it. I could sleep it off the rest of the day.
I picked up the keys from the table and maneuvered myself to the car. This would almost be enough to make me forget the dream. Almost.
The Legacy Gallery was on the corner near a coffee shop. I hadn’t noticed it before. Admittedly, I wasn’t the artsy type.
The bell chimed as I walked through the door. I dragged my leg behind me. The walls were crammed with canvases. I recognized the skyline of Sullen’s Grove downtown district. The museum was in the foreground.
I moved to the next section of paintings. These looked like abstract pieces. I couldn’t make out the shapes. I squinted harder, thinking something might come into focus. As I edged farther into the gallery, the lighting dimmed.
In the corner, I saw the sketch that was posted on the website. Underneath was another one, bordered by a different pose. There had to be at least fifteen of them.
“Fan of the Ghost of the Forest?”
I almost knocked over a standing floor canvas. “Hi. Yes, I guess I am. New to her fan club.”
The man watched me. He wore a pair of glasses on his nose, while another set rested on top of his head.
“Are you the artist?” I asked.
“I am. All of these are mine—the whole gallery. Occasionally, I’ll bring in another painter to do a showcase. Got one planned next month, actually.”
This man must have been painting his entire life. The canvases were stacked on top of each other, covering all the walls.
“Impressive work.” I tilted toward a painting. If you looked hard enough between the trees, you could see her eyes.
He nodded. “Something in particular interest you?”
I backed up and pointed to the sketch. “This one. I saw it online.”
He chuckled. “My panther collection isn’t for sale. These are display-only. But I have to say they are my most popular.”
“Why not sell them, then?” I pulled out my wallet. “Name your price.”
“They’re special. I don’t paint these to sell.”
I winced. My leg was starting to take over. I didn’t know how much longer I could stand on it.
“What about a print of it, then?” I suggested.
He scratched his head. “Let me see what I can do. Wait here.” He disappeared into a side door and emerged five minutes later holding a scroll.
“Here you go. I had some of these made up for the festival.”
I unrolled the paper. It was similar to the picture I wanted, but not exactly the same. She was looking away in this one.
“How long have you been following the Ghost?” I asked.
“Since I was a boy. She’s sort of my muse.”
My eyebrows arched. “Muse? Does that mean you know her?”
“Yes and no. I’ve seen her, but I don’t know who she is.”
“She’s a panther. What do you mean who?”
He chuckled and rolled the print back into a tube. It was a tie on who was slower to the register. I followed him and watched as he punched in the numbers then gave m
e my total.
“Is there anything else?” he asked.
I hesitated. “I’d really like to hear more about the panther. I can’t seem to find anything but hand-me-down stories. I keep hoping I could talk to someone who had an experience with her.” I reached for my knee.
“Looks like you need to get off that leg.”
“I do, but it can wait.”
“Why are you so interested in her?”
The gallery was quiet. We were alone. “I’ve met her too.”
“When?”
I thought he might react, but as someone who studied the panther, perhaps he was used to this. “A couple of nights ago in the woods behind Oaks Park.” Maybe if I gave him some morsels, he would return the favor.
He leaned on a cane, knocked an empty box out of the way, and then walked to the front door, flipping over the open sign on the door. He locked the top bolt.
I waited for him to return to the back of the gallery. He waved me through a door. “Come with me.”
It appeared to be his studio. There were pallets and brushes on the table. The ceiling was open to the rafters.
“Cool place.”
“Thank you. I do most of my work here.”
I noticed an empty bottle of gin next to a pail of brushes.
“Can you tell me more about the panther?”
He wheeled a chair in front of me. “Sit.”
I followed his instructions and gingerly moved into it. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about what I saw since the other night.”
I glanced over his shoulder. The eyes were startling. They were a deep emerald green, and I immediately knew whom they belonged to. He had painted her in perfect detail. The fur around the ears was whipped in the wind. For a second, I thought the painting might actually growl.
“And what is it you saw?” He shoved tubes of paint off a milk crate before sitting.
“I was walking the trails behind the park, preparing for the festival. I went off the path a little too far and ran into—”
“Her?”
I shook my head. “Not at first. There was a different cat. I think it was a jaguar.”
I spent the next fifteen minutes recounting my two different encounters with the big cats. Silver listened. He nodded. He mumbled.