by Dana Davis
She noticed something, not far from Wil’s feet. A horseshoe. It looked old. Of course! How could she have overlooked that? Wil needed something to invoke the skinwalker, something that would bring it here, tie it to this place, a physical link. His ancestor’s bones, or whatever else Wil had dug up, wouldn’t be enough to call on such a horrid spirit.
Daisy fought the image of the old man grave digging. A vile thing to do in any culture, but especially for Indians.
Metal created a strong talisman. This one connected to earth and animal, a relic that tied Wil to the past. And the past here had a bloody history.
She remembered the u-shaped letter Noah had spotted on her book in the attic library. That horseshoe had to be Wil’s talisman. It was the right shape. This couldn’t just be a coincidence. Witches believed the universe brought answers when they most needed them. And Daisy had never been more desperate.
She threw herself forward onto the ground, ignoring the pain in her ribs, elbows and knees as she slammed into the dirt, and grasped the horseshoe. She held on as tightly as she could and rolled to aching knees. Wil started for her but stopped in mid-stride. His face contorted, eyes locked on her hands.
Daisy glanced at the shattered glass from the Kachina jar. Of course! That just might work. She gathered her strength and cast a wind spell to stir the Kachina ashes. The air grew static around her, working at her command. The gray ash flew up into the air and blew toward her, like a monsoon wind carrying a dust storm. Ashes stuck to her sweaty skin and she gathered her courage, braced for pain, and began an inferno spell. Then another. And another. The horseshoe grew warm in her hands.
Wil, probably realizing what she planned, fought. His disruption spells slammed against her body, nearly knocking the breath from her, but she managed to keep her grip on the horseshoe and keep up her chants. He wasn’t at full power, yet. Not until he had subdued her, conquered her, taken her soul. She couldn’t let that happen.
Her voice grew louder as she fought to keep from passing out from his continued assaults. Her skin tingled where the Kachina’s ashes stuck to her sweat and she sucked power and courage from them. Her strength increased. The horseshoe grew hot but she held on and continued chanting, the air around her crackling with static. She had to break through his spells. Destroy his power. This was the only way she knew to do that.
At one point, she heard her cousin’s voice. Whatever Bridgette was doing, the skinwalker retreated long enough for her to continue the spells. She felt his resistance give and she put all her power into her voice.
His body contorted and she watched in horror as he morphed between human and animal. Coyote. Bobcat. Wil. Vulture. Mountain lion. Noah. Snake. Bridgette. Owl. Wil again. He could actually transform himself into other shapes, not just wear the skins to take on their qualities.
Daisy kept chanting, her throat blistering from the effort. An anguished cry hurt her ears, her own voice, and she gripped the scalding horseshoe tighter, screaming out the spell’s words.
She saw visions of Wil’s family, the gold lust, the blood spilled on these mountains. The ancient rocks that were melted and eventually turned into a horseshoe by a smithy’s hammer. The powerful beast that once wore this shoe, downed by an Apache arrow, its rider dead even before that. So much blood and violence. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She force bile down and choked out her chant.
Power merged with her own. Old power. Perhaps as ancient as the mountains themselves. And she sensed the years stretching behind her. Strength flooded her to the point of ecstasy. Her eyes found Wil’s frightened and angry gaze. He’d given her no choice. With renewed vitality, she finished the last line of a very ancient inferno spell. One she had never used.
The horseshoe blazed in her hands, seared her palms and fingers. She cried out in agony. Tears blinded her. Did she still have hands? When she felt the metal give, she dropped it and fought to stay conscious. Her breaths came in heaves and she blinked to clear her vision. The talisman melted into liquid and sank into the dirt near her knees. Her hands burned, raw meat showing where her palms and fingers had once been, and she clutched them to her breasts. She bit back nausea and gazed up at Wil.
He gave her an astonished look just before he cried out and collapsed, Daisy’s original spell no longer blocked. A simple one, really, that atrophied his heart. The skinwalker’s spirit writhed and fought as some invisible force plucked it back to its own world, leaving behind an old man’s corpse.
Bridgette crawled to him and pressed fingers to his neck. “He’s dead,” she said in a breathy tone filled with relief and astonishment. “The sonofabitch is dead.”
Noah embraced Daisy. Once she realized he and Bridgette were alive, all she could think about was the agony of her injured hands. She moaned, cried, and fell into semi-consciousness. As the world faded in and out, Bridgette cast healing spells. She’d never felt pain like this in her life.
What have I done? What have I done? She wept. Noah mistook her grief for pain and crooned to her as Bridgette continued with healing spells.
After what seemed an eternity, the pain finally diminished, until it became an awful memory. Sweat coated Daisy’s body as Noah cradled her. She studied her hands to see pink scars snake across her palms and the undersides of her fingers. Marks she would wear the rest of her life. A reminder of what she’d done. Noah helped her sit. She didn’t think she would be able to stand.
She gazed at her attacker’s still form, his old face frozen in terror like something out of a horror movie. I did that. How could I do that? Renewed tears spilled over and fled down her cheeks. “I killed him,” she uttered, not believing she could take a life. Evil or not. What have I done?
“You had to, Daisy,” Bridgette said as she buttoned her jacked to hide her ripped blouse.
She stared at her scars. The melting metal had taken skin and blood from her. A blood spell. Something she’d vowed never to attempt. She had used it after the atrophy spell, another she had vowed never to use, to destroy the skinwalker.
Bridgette stared at Daisy with what looked like a mixture of respect and sympathy.
She knows what I did. Even Bridgette had never attempted a blood spell.
“He didn’t leave you a choice, Daisy.”
Didn’t he? No. It was the only way to defeat such an ancient power. But did I have to kill him?
Bridgette nodded, picking up her thoughts.
Daisy’s emotions rose and fell like a raging tide. Guilt. Relief. Sorrow. Anger. Then she looked up into Noah’s face and saw trails of dried tears. He thought I would die. She almost did. We almost did. The three of them would have rotted here in this old mine, no one ever knowing what happened to them, if it hadn’t been for Daisy’s blood spell.
She glanced at her arms, slick with sweat. The ashes were no longer on her skin. Thankfully, the Kachina had fed her strength when she became most desperate.
Something flickered in her corner vision and she turned to it. A figure wearing animal skins and face paint appeared on the rock just behind Wil’s frozen corpse. Noah and Bridgette didn’t seem to notice it. The Buffalo Kachina saluted Daisy with its spear then faded until only the rock remained.
The mountains had a new guardian.
Despite what she’d done, Daisy smiled. Her eyes met Bridgette’s and she said, “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
The rock and debris Wil had caused was now gone and nothing blocked their exit. Daisy sent a silent thank you to the Buffalo Kachina. Once they were clear of the mine, her legs gave out and Noah and Bridgette sat with her. The mountain suddenly shook and the mine entrance collapsed in on itself, dust puffing out from what used to be the entrance. Then the mountain was still. Birds began to sing.
Daisy glanced at the blocked entrance, Wil’s corpse buried somewhere behind all that debris. A fitting end. The bastard. A pang of regret raced through her and she fought it. You had no choice. He would’ve killed your family. She struggled to her feet with Noah’s help.
Limping and staggering, the three finally made it down the mountain. An exhausted Daisy sat in the backseat of the Jeep with Bridgette as Noah drove them toward Superstition Park. The three looked like they’d just come from a spelunking trip. Dirt and grime covered their clothes and exposed skin. No doubt they would have cuts and bruises to nurse, as well. The temperature dropped quickly as the sun dove for the western horizon. Daisy shivered and put on her jacket.
“What’ll we tell them about Wil?” Noah said, speaking over the grinding tires and flying debris they left in their wake.
“There was a cave-in,” Daisy said. “We were lucky to escape with our lives.”
“That’s the truth.”
Despite all that had happened, Daisy chuckled.
“Wil turned that Kachina to dust, didn’t he?”
She met Noah’s eyes in the rearview mirror and nodded. “Good thing becoming ashes didn’t diminish its power.” Or we’d all be dead now. Or worse. She let the unspoken words fade and shook her head. “I’m gonna have a lot of explaining to do when Paul Manny realizes his museum piece is a cheap knockoff.”
Chapter 22
A New Beginning
They sat in Paul Manny’s office. Daisy and Noah apologized profusely, while Bridgette tried to persuade him not to turn them over to the police.
“We told you,” Bridgette said for the umpteenth time. “We had nothing to do with its destruction. That was Wil’s doing. The bastard knew we needed it. We were planning to return it. No one would’ve gotten suspicious. Not even you.”
“That’s not the point, Miss McDougal. You stole from me. From this museum. After I told you I couldn’t allow you to use the Kachina. You betrayed my trust. And now an important artifact is gone.” He uttered what sounded like several curses in his native language. “Problem is, I can’t prove a damn thing. It’s my ass in a sling right now. I don’t know how I’ll explain this to the council.”
“Then don’t?” Daisy said. She took in a long breath to invoke patience. “Look, you’re the expert on Kachina’s right? So, why not keep the one we made until you find a replacement? There must be another authentic Buffalo Kachina somewhere.” She didn’t tell him his precious artifact now had a new resting place. Even if he knew, he wouldn’t get it back. “You didn’t leave us any choice when we borrowed it.”
Dark eyes gave her a hard glare.
“Okay. Stole it,” she corrected. “We stole it. But we had every intention of returning it. You can’t imagine what it was like to see that skinwalker merged with Wil. He would have taken my soul and Bridgette’s and killed all of us. You have no idea the power we were up against. What kind of hell we avoided. We barely made it out of that mine alive. If I had to steal that damn Kachina all over again, I would.” She took a breath.
“Look. We can do some more locator spells. Try and find another Kachina for you.” Though they’d tried that in their original search without success. “We might get lucky. Then maybe we can persuade whoever it is to part with it. It’s all we can do at this point. I’m really sor—no.”
Her anger flared and she studied the scars that snaked across her palms and fingers. “Damnit. I’m not sorry for saving my life and the lives of my family. I’m not sorry for possibly saving the lives of everyone in the Phoenix area. Even yours, Mr. Manny. What I witnessed in that mine—Wil wouldn’t have stopped with revenge on me. I know that now. I was just the catalyst. An excuse to do something vile. He used my family as a target for something one of my ancestors had done. His need to dominate paranormal souls scared the shit out of me. In fact, I’m not even sure Wil held the power in the end. I have no control over the past and I won’t apologize anymore.”
She stood and scooped up her purse. “If you want us to help you locate another Kachina, fine. But I’m not going to keep groveling for forgiveness.” She motioned Noah and Bridgette up. “Call the police if that’s what you want. I really don’t care.”
Bridgette stared at her. Probably the last thing she expected to come out of Daisy’s mouth. Noah’s gaze held pride.
Paul studied her with dark eyes and an unreadable expression. After a moment, he said, “You’re right.”
Daisy’s jaw nearly dropped. “I am?”
“Yes. I didn’t realize just how dangerous the situation was.” He stood. “I’ll keep your Kachina. For now. No one has commented on it. Maybe I can come up with an excuse to have the display removed for a while. I’d appreciate your help locating another.”
Daisy smiled. “We’ll do what we can. But I’m not making any promises.”
He nodded.
“Thank you.”
“No. Thank you.”
She turned to leave.
“Wait,” Paul said. “The police mentioned three young women near the premises the night my office alarm went off. That was you three, wasn’t it?”
Daisy smiled but she didn’t answer. Instead, she simply said, “Thank you, Mr. Manny. You have our gratitude.”
As they left the museum, they saw Joe Running Bear and his wife Maria standing near the Kachina case with their daughter. The couple smiled and nodded. Daisy nodded back.
That afternoon, she and Noah invited Bridgette over for a celebratory lunch. She prepared her mother’s favorite lasagna recipe and they ate until their stomachs were ready to pop. Noah decided to work from home the rest of the week.
They never did learn what happened to the Peralta fortune. Even if Wil had found it after all these years, it probably wouldn’t have been a fortune by today’s standards. Daisy honestly didn’t care. He was gone and the Valley of the Sun was safe. From the skinwalker, anyway. The police had taken statements but Daisy and her family told them they had no idea how to get to the mine again, since they followed Wil down so many different paths. The police believed them and called in a search team. But Daisy knew they wouldn’t find the mine. The Buffalo Kachina wouldn’t let them.
After lunch, they lounged in the spa, sipping tea and enjoying the crisp desert air. The warm water soothed Daisy’s aching muscles and she leaned into the jets.
Movement caught her corner vision and she gazed out into the wash. Two coyotes sauntered past the view fence. One stopped midway and seemed to look straight at her. He opened his mouth in what Daisy thought looked very much like a canine smile, if such a thing existed. She smiled and nodded, toasting him with her cup. The coyote pair continued past the yard and out of view.
She uttered, “Guess he was a good guy after all.”
Bridgette and Noah both had eyes on her. The three broke out into chuckles and chatted about mundane things until their skin began to prune. It was so nice to be normal again.
Noah let Perky out for a few minutes to do his business then they all went inside for a quick shower.
Afterwards, Noah flipped on the TV as they sat in the family room to relax in front of the fireplace.
“I think I’ll sleep for a week,” Daisy said through a vicious yawn.
Noah chuckled and patted her thigh.
Bridgette had taken over the large chair, one long leg dangling over the cushioned arm. She fingered the therapists’ business card Daisy had given to her, flipping it over and over in her fingers like a magician with a playing card.
Daisy wanted to ask if her cousin had called the woman. In fact, she and Noah just might schedule a session after all they’d been through.
Bridgette gave her a smirk. “I have an appointment next week. So don’t get all maternal on me.”
Daisy smiled. Yep, I need to call her too.
Suddenly, Bridgette leaned forward and nodded to the TV. “Turn it up.” She’d gone pale.
Noah reached for the remote.
“Bridge?” Daisy followed her cousin’s gaze. “What is it?” The news was on and the newscaster interviewed a chatty young woman about a new singles club. “You know her?”
“Not her. Him. The guy behind her in the blue jacket.”
A chill ran up Daisy’s arms and gooseflesh brok
e out as she studied the handsome man with dark features that screamed virility. “Shit. That’s your siren, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“He can’t hurt you now, Bridge. We know about him. You’ve broken his spell.”
Bridgette’s siren stepped to the chatty young woman and place an arm around her shoulders. He smiled into the camera.
“Who’s going to protect her?” Green eyes moved to Daisy. “Who’s going to protect the rest of them?”
On the one hand, Daisy was proud Bridgette thought of protecting someone outside the family. On the other, the last thing she wanted just now was another battle with another goddamned paranormal.
She sighed, knowing she had no choice. Noah took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Guess we’d better hit the books,” she uttered. She started to move from the couch but her cousin’s voice stopped her.
“Not now,” Bridgette said. “One more day won’t make a difference. He’s not going anywhere.”
Daisy watched the siren until the news switched stories. “You’re right.”
Though neither of them had mentioned it, Bridgette would’ve had to confront him sooner or later anyway. Now Daisy could help her. Getting rid of a siren might not be the easiest thing they’d ever done. With his influence over mortal women, he could hide out just about anyplace. But it certainly wouldn’t be the hardest task, either. They would win against him. Daisy had no doubt about that. Still, she didn’t look forward to the altercation.
She looked back to the news and caught the name of the club. At least they had a place to start. She sighed as she said, “It sucks being a superhero.”
Noah chuckled. “Oh, I don’t know about that.” He took her in an embrace and raised his brows a couple of time in succession. “I love a woman in tights.”
Daisy laughed and pulled him into a breathless kiss.