by E G Bateman
Lexi’s gaze studied him. He looked uncomfortable. “I feel like you haven’t told us everything.”
He sighed. “They’re talking about taking Kindred on too.”
That brought a scowl of disapproval to her face. “They’ll bite off more than they can chew.”
Scott exhaled a long sigh. “This is suicide.”
She nodded but focused on Broullard. “We need to speak to Joseph.”
The two friends sat with Joseph and Geraldine in the courtyard of the little bar.
“You’ll get yourselves killed. You need to give us a chance first.” Lexi pleaded with Geraldine.
“A chance to do what?” The shifter shrugged.
She rubbed her face. “Firstly, a chance to think of something.”
The woman smiled a cold smile. “We’ve already thought of something. We’ll rip Lorenzo’s head off.”
“I cannot even begin to explain to you how fast he is. He must be ten times faster than any vamp I’ve seen in my life. I looked right at Thomas when his head was taken off and I didn’t even see Lorenzo. He’s that fast.”
“Not in the daytime, he’s not.” Geraldine coughed into a handkerchief and they waited.
Scott stood and walked to a wall of flowers. He leaned into them and breathed deeply. “That’s amazing.” He sighed, then turned to the others. “We need to get that ring back.”
Lexi shook her head. “I don’t think either of them is willing to let that happen.”
“I might be able to assist with that.” A light breeze rippled through the courtyard as Joseph spoke. “My spirits have dominion over the dead, so the dead are mine to command.”
She looked at him and quirked an eyebrow. “Could you make him get up in the middle of the day and walk into the sun? Because that would really work for me.”
The man drew his mouth down in thought. “Possibly.”
Geraldine folded her arms. “What about Kindred? They interfered with the first night of The Shifting. Worse, they plan to murder our children and deserve to be destroyed.”
“Something is bad in Kindred. We’re looking into it, but we don’t know who’s involved and who’s not.” She lifted the coffee in front of her and took a sip. “If the kids have somewhere safe to go, will they still be able to continue tonight?”
“Most of the families observed the first night at home. Tonight is shifting night. How can we ensure our young are safe to shift?”
Scott sat and leaned forward. “I’ve spoken to Dolores. The fae are offering the Immortal Glades.”
The shifter’s eyes widened. “I thought the Immortal Glades was a myth. But the fae can be tricksy. How can we be sure the kids will come back?”
He smiled. “You can select a few of the elders to go with them.”
“And you.” She pointed at him. “I want you with them. I trust you.”
The sorcerer shook his head. “But you barely know me.”
Geraldine grinned. “I’m a good judge of character.”
“We really need to—” he began, still shaking his head
“That’s fine,” his partner interrupted. “We’ll make it work.”
The shifter nodded her agreement.
Lexi looked around the table. “Great. So, we’ll get the kids to safety and Joseph can do his thing with Lorenzo. Does anyone know where he’ll be sleeping?”
Joseph nodded. “He lives at the bar.”
She turned to Scott. “Can you sort out the details with Dolores and Geraldine? If this doesn’t work, you’ll need to get the kids to safety. I’ll see you across the street from Lorenzo’s bar in an hour.”
He nodded. They walked away from the others and although he didn’t look happy, he took her hand and transferred magic to her. “We only transferred this morning and you’re almost empty again. It’s getting worse. We shouldn’t be apart.”
The magic drained remarkably fast, something she’d noticed, and it worried her. Still, this wasn’t the time to discuss it. “I’ll get back to the apartment and let Broullard know what’s happening.” She turned at the door. “Joseph, do you know where in the bar Lorenzo sleeps?”
“He has an apartment over it but his entire clan has been there for the past few nights. He won’t let any of them go home.”
“Okay, I’ll see you there in an hour.” She walked through the bar and out onto the street.
At home again, Lexi took out the key to open the door but was immediately dragged into the opposite apartment by Dick.
She opened her mouth to speak but he made wild helicopter signals with his finger. While she wasn’t happy to use the magic, she made it safe to speak. “What’s wrong?”
The vampire closed the door and whispered, “You paid you a visit.”
“Excuse me?” She narrowed her eyes. “And why are you whispering?”
He continued in a low tone. “Your doppelgänger was here earlier with a tall, dark-haired young man. Very handsome, actually.”
“Did she see Broullard?” She glanced instinctively toward her apartment door. “Where is he?”
“He put a note under my door a while ago. He went to check on his wife and will be back soon.”
Lexi sighed with relief. “Okay, so I’ve been to her place and she’s been to mine. What did she say?”
“Do you think I’m crazy? I didn’t speak to them. I peeked through the peephole in the door and didn’t make a sound. She looked exactly like you…well, except for the thighs, obviously. And scars down her face. It looked like she’d been mauled by a bear or a shifter. Maybe a shifter bear.” He stopped and thought for a moment. “Would that be a werebear? Anyway, he couldn’t get past Scott’s shielding but she did. She walked straight in.”
“They were in our apartment?”
“Only her and for less than a minute. They were talking when she came out. She said ‘There’s no way that apartment is being used by Kindred unless Julia Child is a legacy. The place is full of cookies.’ Then they walked down the hallway. Where’s Scott?”
“He’s making arrangements with the shifters and I’ll meet him with Joseph at the bar. Hopefully, we can put an end to Lorenzo and Delphine. If that doesn’t work, Scott will help to get the shifter kids to Fae tonight.”
Dick walked her to the door. “It’s so frustrating having to stay out of the way in daylight.”
Lexi met with Scott and Joseph across the street from Lorenzo’s bar.
She scanned their surroundings in all directions. “Is he in there?”
Scott nodded. “Yes. Well, the ring’s in there. Assuming it’s still on him, so is he.”
The other man began to shake his staff. She hadn’t looked properly at it before. The symbols carved into it were unfamiliar to her and bones and shells hung from a fibrous string wound around the top. They made a clattering sound when he shook it.
He stooped and dropped granules of salt or maybe light sand onto the sidewalk in an intricate design. When he spoke, it was in a language that sounded vaguely French but was possibly an African dialect. She raised her eyebrows at Scott.
“Haitian, I think,” he whispered.
Joseph continued while the two friends stared at the door of the bar across the street.
The sorcerer stiffened. “The ring’s coming closer. I can feel it.”
After about a minute, Lexi opened her mouth to ask what was going on when she heard shouts from inside the building across the street. The door opened and several vampires massed in the doorway. The man at the front pushed back against the others and wedged an arm and leg against the frame, while he covered his face from the daylight with his other arm. After a few moments, he was shoved out into the sunlight. He emitted a short scream and burst into flames. It wasn’t Lorenzo, though. Several vamps behind him edged—obviously against their will—toward the door, pushed from behind.
She turned to Joseph. “What’s happening?”
“I’m pulling him to the door but he’s forcing his clan to block his exit. I can cont
inue but he’ll push them all out to save himself.”
Another vampire, this one a young woman, stood at the edge of the doorway with a look of terror on her face. All she could think of were the parents of the vampire girl Lorenzo had killed. “Stop. Just…stop.”
The man stretched his staff out and dragged it through the symbol on the ground. The door across the street slammed.
“Shit!” She punched a wall in utter frustration. “Let’s get out of here.”
Broullard, Scott, Joseph, and Lexi sat around the table in the apartment.
The detective stood, walked to the window, and looked onto the street. “The only people equipped to deal with this are Kindred, and they’re the ones behind it.”
Scott looked at the time. “We need to start moving those kids to Fae. Hopefully, Lorenzo will spend the night running around the bayou looking for them.”
Joseph shook his head. “He’ll know instantly by the smell that they’re not there.”
The sorcerer folded his arms and pushed his bottom lip out, his expression thoughtful. “Maybe.”
Broullard looked at him. “What are you thinking?”
He smiled. “I can leave a wolf-scented trail through the least populated parts of the bayou. It should keep him busy for a while.”
The man looked doubtful. “But he moves so fast.”
Lexi leaned forward and took one of Betsy’s cookies from a tub in the middle of the table. She grinned. “He can’t move faster than his boat.” She pushed the bowl to Scott. “That deserves a cookie.”
Chapter Forty-Eight
Dolores, Scott, and George arrived at a small jetty in the bayou, twenty miles out from the city.
The sorcerer looked at Agatha’s father. “Are you ready?”
He nodded “Ready when you are.”
They climbed aboard the boat and set off. George sat at the outboard motor and steered the craft through the bayou, deserted by all life beyond gators and bugs.
Scott worked his magic as they moved through narrow channels and paused to climb onto dry land and push through tendrils of Spanish moss dangling from the limbs of trees.
They climbed aboard the boat and continued the journey.
Dolores twisted to face the shifter. “Can you tell me about the shifting ritual?”
“On the first night, the children gather with their parents, older siblings, or other elders. We spend the evening around campfires in the bayou. The older ones tell stories—old stories, the passing on of knowledge—and tell them their own stories.”
The sorcerer looked curiously at him. “Their own stories?”
George nodded. “About their first shift, however many years ago that was. The second night, the kids shift. They feel the moonlight for the first time and run. After that, they can shift anytime. Those who get the curse—the ones who shift because they are bitten—can only turn on the full moon or the command of their sire. They are not shifters and are what we call werewolves.”
The others already knew this but both nodded politely.
“What happens on the third night?” Dolores asked.
“The new shifters tell their story and they repeat the old stories back to us. Usually, they shift a few more times too, merely because they can. We run as a family. We’ll run with Agatha tomorrow night, I hope.”
For several hours, they laid a trail around the bayou over miles of wetland. Scott carefully increased the scent as they moved, giving the impression that the shifters were closer together.
“I’ve done everything I can. It’s almost sundown. Let’s get to Fae.”
On land, Dolores summoned the fae door and stepped aside for them. The shifter hesitated and peered through to a forest path that opened into a grassy glade.
Scott tapped his shoulder. “Or you can stay here and wait for Lorenzo.”
George turned to him. “Have you been over there?”
He grinned. “Nope. This is my first time and the anticipation is killing me.” They stepped through.
When they reached the clearing, Agatha ran to her father and hugged him. “Dad, there were fae people here and some of them were flying.” She caught his hand and pulled him along the edge of the glade to the base of polished wooden stairs that led to platforms in the trees. They ascended to find nine youngsters and twenty adults seated there with cups and plates, laughing and joking.
“How’s Marcel, Agatha?” Scott asked.
She grinned. “He’s great. I looked after him good. Mom couldn’t come because she has to look after Anton, so she’s watching Marcel too.”
A girl of about sixteen in a pair of denim shorts and a strappy top that revealed her midriff jumped up as they approached. “You sit here, Dad.” She spoke to George but she gazed at Scott in a way that made him feel uncomfortable.
The shifter nodded to the other parents before he sat and put his arm around Agatha. The sorcerer sat on a tree branch that extended a foot higher than the platform they were on. Immediately, the young shifter woman sat beside him, closer than he felt was appropriate.
“We’ve learned about the first shifters, and Grandpa told me about when he shifted for the first time out in the bayou and he ate a raccoon—can you believe that?” Agatha pretended to throw up.
George laughed. “He told me that story too, Nugget.” He mussed his young daughter’s hair.
She straightened and finger-combed it. “Tell me about your first shift.”
He flicked an uncomfortable glance at Scott and Dolores.
“I have work to do,” the fae announced.
“I’ll help.” Scott attempted to rise but the young woman curled her arm around his.
She turned to George. “Scott doesn’t need to go anywhere, does he?”
The shifter shook his head. “Of course not. Scott, you’re welcome to listen. But Gretchen, don’t you make a nuisance of yourself.”
The girl released his arm but tutted and rolled her eyes.
He tried to concentrate on the tale but he worried about how Lexi was doing without him. They’d agreed that she and Dick would stay in the apartments unless needed. She was a world away, but he could still feel her emotional state. She was pensive. Although, he reminded himself, she was always pensive, so that was a good thing. He came out of his reverie when Gretchen put her hand on his knee.
He stared at the hand and into her face. Her lips twitched. He looked at George who was finishing his tale. “And that’s what a muskrat tastes like.”
“Daddy, you didn’t.” Agatha was horrified.
Something tickled Scott’s head and he patted his hair. Finding nothing, he lowered his arm and tried to think of a way to get the girl’s hand off his knee without offending her.
The shifters began to look at the moon.
“It’s almost time.” George looked into the sky, and the youngsters stood to make their way down the steps.
“Remember what you’ve been told.” Dolores’ voice came from below. “You mustn’t travel beyond this forest. I’ve secured safe passage for the pack in this forest and glade only. This isn’t your world and to put it bluntly, humans are not the top of the food chain here. Neither are shifters.”
Scott felt another tickle and slapped the back of his neck quickly. Something crawled down the back of his t-shirt. He leapt to his feet, yanked his shirt out, and searched down his back with one hand and up with the other. Gretchen moved away from him. The remaining adult shifters stared at him as though he had gone crazy.
As the crawling sensation moved to his side, tickling him, he fought a manic giggle. He pictured a spider or scorpion and hopped frantically before he finally pulled his t-shirt off. It was on his stomach. He swept his hand to flick the tiny winged creature off as it seemed to be making its way into his pants. It spun away and landed on a branch, and he squinted to see it better from where he stood, breathing heavily.
“What the hell is that?”
Gretchen addressed his abs, “Did it bite you?”
He
held his t-shirt up to cover himself in front of the girl, who looked much too appreciative.
His gaze remained fixed on the creature as it began to grow.
It slowly became larger and was clearly not an insect. A fully formed and very beautiful young fae woman sat on the branch and studied him.
Her eyes sparkled. “Well, that was quite a ride. Do you want to go again?” She tilted her head and smiled.
He stared open-mouthed at the scantily clad fairy. Her shiny auburn hair hung over her shoulder like satin, her lips were large, and her eyes smoldered with an intense dark-brown. As if that wasn’t enough to befuddle his brain, her clothes were just the wrong side of decent.
“Do you like what you see?” She winked.
“Aleena!” Dolores stood on the platform. “The forest and glade are off-limits to fae tonight.”
Scott jumped at the woman’s voice and replaced his t-shirt quickly.
Aleena kept her gaze on him. “I’m going.”
A low growl issued from beside Scott. He turned to see Gretchen’s golden wolf-eyes fixed on the fae woman.
“Gretchen!” George admonished the girl. The fairy glanced at her, giggled, held her arms out to her sides, and fell back off the platform.
The sorcerer gasped and stepped to the edge, but she skimmed the long grass of the glade gracefully with almost no movement to her wings. She floated upright at the edge of the forest and gave him a little finger wave before she vanished.
Gretchen stepped beside him, her face like stone. “With a little luck, she’ll hang around and Agatha will bite her wings off. That’ll make a better story than a muskrat.”
Scott turned to Dolores. His brows were drawn in thought. “Can you fly?”
She looked at him as though he’d lost his mind. “Of course I can.” She looked into the forest where Aleena had disappeared. “I probably shouldn’t have let you come. This could be a problem.”
He bristled. “I’m not interested.”
“It’s not always optional with some of my kind. Be careful while you’re here.”