Approaching Storm (Normalcy Book 1)

by A. L. Kessler

Zephyr opened his mouth to answer, but Lee cut him off. "I don't know. It sounded like it wasn't a temporary thing."

  Zephyr swung around to look at the wolf. "You knew?"

  I put my hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Zephyr. She and I have already talked about it."

  He nodded. "Sorry, it's just -"

  "You love her," Lee said without missing a beat. "You're worried about her, and that's understandable."

  There was a but coming, there was always a but when she used her alpha voice.

  "But…"

  There it was.

  "You're the stranger here. Not her. She knows us, she trusts us, we don't know you. We don't have to share our secrets with you, even if it has to do with May." She shoved her hands in her pockets. "Now if you'd excuse me, I need to go rest my feet and check on my soda shop."

  I let her walk off without a word. It was nice enough that she even offered to come with me, and now that Zephyr was back, my friends didn't have to feel obligated to babysit me.

  "What are you thinking about May?"

  I shook my head. "Nothing really, just grateful for the friends that I have. I need to dig into more about Maverick and see why he might have become a hunter. I can't imagine that's a job a lot of shifters take on."

  "Not willingly. Maybe he started and then never stopped. Shifters tend to be predators."

  "But why start to hunt your own kind? These victims, they were outskirt people, but they weren't the worst of the worst out there. Why not kill Taylor instead of Allie's sister?"

  He nodded. "You're right. It's not like he was enacting justice, not that we know of."

  I shook my head. "This is all just too weird. Secret identities, secrets, strange spells. What happened to my life being semi-normal?"

  He chuckled. "Maybe this is the new normal."

  Part of me was hoping not, because it was chaos. I started walking toward my house and then paused. Callister had been there last night; he could still be there. I turned on my heel and started to head back to Lee's house.

  "Your home is the other direction." Zephyr stepped up to my side. "Or did you have something else to accomplish today?"

  "Callister was at my house last night." I pressed my lips together. I'm heading back to Lee's because, at this point, I'm at a standstill on everything."

  He sighed. "Callister, my mother. I want to know why they insist on tormenting you."

  "I want to know why too." I didn't have any answers though.

  He walked with me and kept my hand in his while we silently made our way to Lee's house. I stood outside the doorway and sighed. "I want to go home."

  "It's just down the road. I can make sure he's not there." Zephyr squeezed my hand. "Or I can call Ike and have him look."

  I shook my head. No, I wasn't going to put either of them in danger of facing Callister, not right now. He'd already stabbed Zephyr once. "I'll deal."

  "He's not just going to go away. We're going to have to face him eventually."

  Dark clouds rolled in overhead and lightning cracked. Zephyr looked up and then looked at me. "That upsets you."

  I didn't answer as the sky opened and the rain fell. "I'm not ready to face him."

  Zephyr wrapped his arm around me as the rain soaked us. "I don't think we're going to be able to avoid it. I can't take you away from here. You're trapped." There was worry in his voice.

  The thought had crossed my mind. I was a sitting duck for Callister, and it made me wonder if Davina was working with him.

  "Then we need to chase him out of town."

  "There's only so much I can do." Zephyr sighed. "He's my brother. Our abilities are matched in power. Without you having your abilities, we don't stand a chance flat out facing him."

  I smiled. "But we have more than just you and I."

  "What?"

  "We're in a town of supernatural creatures. We're a big family, at least in the main town. We have wolves, a water sprite, maybe even wind sprites." I grinned, and I know it was partially evil. "We can get him out, have Davina redo the wards, and keep him out for a little while at least." That was assuming she wasn't working with him. And if she was, I guessed we were going to have to look for a new witch.

  Zephyr turned me to look at him. "We have a small army."

  "Against one demigod. We can do it as long as we can pull everyone together." The clouds started to part. "And then we can deal with my memories."

  Zephyr leaned down and kissed me as the rain started to fade. "That's my poulaki."

  Chapter Thirteen

  I sat on Lee's couch, cupping my tea with my hands. It was late. Lee and Zephyr had gone to bed some time ago. I had tossed and turned for a couple hours, but sleep alluded me.

  The warmth of the tea was doing nothing to calm me. Ike's words burned into my head. Maybe all I needed to do was pull the veil down and I could see what happened. I was getting closer because every time I laid down, I could hear Callister's voice.

  "I. Will. Ruin. You."

  Each word was accompanied by phantom pains through my back, scalp, and head. I bowed my head trying to clear away the thoughts. I just wanted a night of good sleep. Where the hell was the dream god when I needed that?

  Thunder crashed outside, and I tried to rein in my mood. The weather was becoming more respondent to me than normal, and I wondered if I was on the verge of coming back into the abilities that Zephyr seemed to think I had.

  A knock at the window made me jump. I looked up to see a face between the curtains, and I let out a high pitch squeal. In a moment Zephyr was by my side and Lee was running down the stairs.

  She flipped on the light, and we all saw the face clearly.

  Van became solid instead of a creepy face in the wind. I was going to smack him. I took a deep breath. "Sorry guys, I'll handle this." I went to the window and opened it. "Can I help you?"

  "We're almost done with passing through, and I thought I'd offer any assistance I could. I'll be around until all the sprites have passed through."

  "And you couldn't have waited until tomorrow morning to tell me this?"

  He raised a brow and seemed to take in the scene around him. "It's nearly dawn. I'll see you at the soda shop this afternoon, we can discuss it then." He disappeared in blurred lines as if the wind just carried him away.

  Zephyr put a hand on my shoulder. "Why don't you come back to bed."

  I was still staring at where Van had been. "Yeah, I'll come back to bed."

  Lee took the teacup from me. "Honey, have you been up all night?"

  "I didn't think I'd been sitting there that long. I was lost in my thoughts, that's all."

  Zephyr took my hand and pulled me toward the stairs. "I'll call Ikelos; he'll be able to help guide you to a peaceful sleep."

  I felt an odd moment of weakness come over me. I wasn't sure how to express it, but I was ready to end the nightmares and the guessing games. "No, let the nightmares come."

  Zephyr wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "You're not facing this alone. Rest tonight, please poulaki. After we face him, after he leaves this town, then we can deal with what he's done to you."

  I wasn't sure if I wanted to wait that long. I was ready to sleep again. I wanted to go back to my house without fear. I didn't want to worry about what I'd find in my dreams.

  But he was right. "Fine, call Ike, and I'll let him help me."

  He kissed my head. "Thank you. Later today we'll make plans on what to do with Callister."

  I let him guide me up the stairs. I looked over my shoulder at Lee and wondered what she was thinking. When I had come downstairs to make tea, I hadn't realized that dawn was so close to coming.

  We got into the room, and Zephyr pulled me into the bed and covered us with the blanket. "You're distracted and dwelling," he whispered. "You want to be able to solve this murder? You want to take Callister down? Then you need rest an
d a clear mind. I promise we'll work on your memories and the spell keeping you here, once we figure the other two things out."

  I turned to him and pressed my forehead against him. "I can't help it. I hear his voice in my head. I see him when I close my eyes. I need him to stay away long enough for me to sleep."

  He reached for his phone and sent a quick text. It was barely a minute later when a ding came back.

  "Ike says he'll help you sleep. Now please, lay down and get some rest."

  I snuggled into the crook of his arm. I had a strange urge to tell him I loved him. But I didn't, did I? I barely knew him. And yet, here I was snuggled up against him because it felt right.

  The warm sun flooded over my skin as I woke. I quick glance at the clock on the bedside table told me that it was almost noon. I had a dreamless sleep, and it'd done wonders. My brain was clear and my thoughts straight.

  The first thing I noticed was Zephyr was snoring ever so slightly against me. I kissed his nose. "Wake up; I need to go meet the wind sprite at the shop."

  He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close. "Do we have to?"

  "Do you want to see if he'll help us with your brother?"

  He groaned, and I took it as a yes.

  "Then get up." I wiggled out from his arms. I found a pair of Lee's clothes laid out on a chair for me. If this was going to be a common occurrence, I was going to need to get someone to grab my things from the house.

  I put my hands on my hips. No, we would deal with Callister soon, and I could return to my house. My home.

  "You've got a determined stance, what are you thinking about?"

  I glanced over my shoulder. "That I'm going to be able to go home once Callister is gone. That's all."

  He chuckled. "Is that all? Then I guess we better get dressed and get to the soda shop to start our plans."

  I nodded and stripped my shirt off without thinking. He'd already seen me shirtless once. In an instant, he was up against me, kissing my shoulder. "I will find a way for you to gain your wings back."

  I shivered at his words against my skin. I leaned into him a little bit, feeling him curve against my ass. "I don't even know how I lost them, how do we figure out how I get them back?"

  He stepped away. "I don't know." His fingers traced up the scar on my right side. "But we're demigods; we can figure it out." He kissed up my neck, and I leaned my head back trying to keep from letting out a soft moan.

  I turned around and cupped his face with my hands and pulled him down to crush my mouth to his. He wrapped a hand around my neck, and his tongue traced along my lips, teasing me.

  I parted my lips and let him in. I moaned into his mouth as his teeth scraped my bottom lip, and we stumbled backward towards the bed.

  We crashed onto the bed in a tangle of limbs. I lifted his shirt, letting my fingers trail over his abs, my body remembered this, even if I didn't.

  A bang on the door made us both freeze.

  "Hey you two, it's time to get up and get out." It wasn't Lee's voice, no, she was at the shop so it must have been one of her wolves.

  I groaned and leaned my head against Zephyr's chest. He chuckled, and it went right through me, tightening my insides. "We'll get our chance. It's probably a bit rude to have sex in Lee's house."

  I pushed myself up and went back to the clothes. "You started it."

  "Yeah, and I would have finished it too." There was something feral in his voice that had me looking back over my shoulder at him.

  He was grinning at me, and I laughed. "We'll get our chance," I repeated his words and got dressed.

  He also got changed, and we headed out of the house to the soda shop. Hand in hand we walked together, but I stopped when I saw Allie running down the road again.

  "May?" Zephyr pulled on my arm a little bit.

  "I'm sorry, I just saw Allie."

  She disappeared around the corner, and I made a note to myself to ask her what she was doing back in town again. Zephyr led me to the soda shop where Van was sitting patiently at a table for me.

  "Sorry I'm so late, it was a long night." I put on my best diplomatic smile as I sat down. Zephyr went to the bar to order drinks and give us some space. He was still close enough that if Callister came in, he could grab me.

  Van bowed his head. "I understand, and I did not mean to frighten you this morning. I simply wanted to offer my gratitude and my help. I've heard you've had some pesky unwanted business and visitors here lately." His eyes darted to Zephyr, for a moment it seemed Zephyr was resisting the urge to stick his tongue out.

  I nodded. "There's a man here by the name of Callister Kateyitha, and I need him out of my town."

  "Your town?"

  I lifted one shoulder in a shrug. I wasn't going to explain to him how I couldn't leave. "I need him gone. He's attacked me a few times."

  "And how can I help with that?" He folded his hands on the table. "I will not put my people at risk."

  "And I don't expect you to, but a nice wind storm when we face him would be lovely. Just blow on through here in a horde, and that would be help enough."

  I glanced at Zephyr, and he nodded approvingly.

  "You have two days to let me know when you want the majority of us to go through. Our younger ones are migrating now with our elders, so enjoy the gentle breeze."

  He stood up. "I'm staying locally while my people move through, you can find me at the bed and breakfast off North Street, by the old church." He walked out, and I leaned back in my chair.

  "So who told him we had unwanted visitors?"

  Lee and Zephyr stayed quiet.

  "He's not in town often or long enough to know that. So unless he has some sprites spying around our area, he shouldn't know about Callister."

  Zephyr brought me over a soda. "Maybe he does have sprites? Or maybe the wind carries information to him?"

  "Teal would know if there were wind sprites here." Lee put her hands on her hips. "I don't like that he knows. Are you sure you can trust him to help?"

  "If he truly wants his people to be safe, he will, and if not, well we've seen Zephyr banish the sprites before."

  He nodded. "It's easy to do."

  A sinking feeling started to claim my stomach. We were actually planning on facing Callister, with an unknown factor in our plan. I shook my head. It didn't matter; it was a small risk.

  My phone rang, and I actually jumped. I answered it and tried not to snap. "What?"

  "So your little friend from yesterday?" Davina's voice came over the line. "I just caught her sneaking around the house again. She panicked and is demanding to speak to you before I call the deputy."

  I rubbed my eyes. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

  I got to the house and walked in to find Davina standing there with Allie. "What on earth are you doing back here?"

  She sighed. "I was hoping to catch the person who killed Maverick because I wanted to talk to them."

  "You were snooping around the house," Davina snapped.

  "Looking for some other clue. Look, I saw the person who killed him."

  I about shit a brick. "I'm sorry, what?"

  "Just from the shadows, so I don't know who. I know he was male judging by his voice. I went to see Nokken to see if he could help me." She rubbed her eyes. "I want to know if the killer knew why Maverick killed my sister."

  I narrowed my eyes. "Except you acted surprised when I told you that it was Maverick. That was before Maverick was killed, before you could have seen the murder."

  She nodded. "We, the outskirt people, thought we knew Maverick was a hunter. I came here that night to confront him. I tracked him to this house."

  "Why didn't you tell me this? It would have been useful." I tried to keep my voice even. Zephyr was oddly quiet behind me, letting me handle the situation.

  She crossed her arms. "Because you didn't ask. I thought you knew. Yo
u're hunting for Maverick's killer, that has nothing to do with me."

  I let out a frustrated growl. "Someone still killed Maverick, and if I don't bring that person in, then Zephyr is going to be the one on trial for the murder." I shook my head. "Look, I'm sorry that Maverick killed your sister, but I need your help. Zephyr is the only piece of my life right now that makes sense and feels right. I need him to stay." I kept my voice low and hoped it didn't sound too much like begging. "I need you to tell me everything you know about the man that killed Maverick."

  She thought for a moment and glanced at Davina then to me. "If I tell you, I want to make sure she doesn't call the deputy."

  I glanced at the window. "You have a couple hours before the sun goes down. So I think we can arrange that. Spill."

  Allie shifted on her feet. "That night, I tracked Maverick down, it was easy enough, I used magic to follow his path around town easily. We had another death recently, and someone had said he'd been in town looking for a love potion."

  I motioned for her to continue.

  "I followed him here and ducked behind the trees. There was a wind storm that night, so the trees were casting all kinds of weird shadows. I tried to keep an eye on what was going on. I know Maverick greeted the person like a friend, but it was also like he was expecting the person. The male voice said something about an agreement, and that's when Maverick turned away. The man staked him and then disappeared."

  Disappeared. So we knew it wasn't a shifter, or a werewolf, or a witch, but it could have been a vampire or a demigod. I looked at Zephyr. "Do you think it could have been Callister?"

  He shook his head. "No, not his type. He would have left it on display for the whole city to see, not just drop it on your porch. Besides, he wasn't here yet. I would have sensed him."

  I nodded slightly. "Allie, would you know the voice if you heard it again?"

  "Yes, I would."

  I paced the floor. Davina finally spoke. "What, are you going to round up all the men in the city and make them speak?"

  "I don't have that type of power, and I doubt Hamish would do it. He seems pretty certain that it was Zephyr."