A Shift in the Air

by Patricia D. Eddy

  The bartender shrugged and reached for the remote control.

  “A dozen people are unaccounted for, and the coast guard search-and-rescue has been deployed to retrieve seven bodies at the foot of the cliffs. Ireland has very little history of earthquakes, and seismologists are baffled. A plaque at the top of the cliffs, installed only a decade ago, cracked in two, one half crashing into the sea, the other tossed two hundred meters inland. We’ll continue to update this story as it unfolds.”

  “Fergus…did…this.” Caitlin turned into Liam, pressing her face to his shoulder. “All those people…dead…because of me.”

  “We don’t know that.” But the lack of conviction in his words left her cold, despite his tight embrace

  She shook her head. “The plaque. There’s a photo of him…after I jumped…with the plaque. I know he did this to get my attention. He knows I’m alive. He’s calling to me. If I don’t go to him…”

  “Hell, no. We’re goin’ to Cade’s. Now.” Liam steered her out of the restaurant, pausing only to grab their coats from the table. He’d parked his motorcycle in her underground garage, and he gestured to the chrome and black beast. “Ya okay ridin’?”

  Numb, barely able to nod, she let him adjust the helmet for her and slid onto the bike behind him. With her arms wrapped around him and her eyes closed against the buildings, cars, and sidewalks streaming by, she let his warmth and steady breathing calm the storm inside her. I have to stop him. Maybe I can save him.

  Liam eased the bike to a stop. “We’re here, luv. Ya can let go now.”

  If only she could. Her arms wouldn’t obey. “I’m scared,” she whispered, her head still pressed to his back.

  “Ye’re also half-frozen. Do this for me, Caitlin. Please. We’ll talk to Cade and figure out what to do.”

  Somehow, she managed to release him and get the helmet off her head. Liam kept her close, his arm curling around her shoulders. The red door stood sentry, and on the other side, an alpha wolf she’d almost killed and an unstable elemental waited. Both times she’d been in this house, she’d left running, terrified and alone. Would this time be any different?

  Liam knocked, each sharp rap of his fist another tick of the clock counting down to her greatest fear: losing herself, once again, to Fergus’s insanity.

  Chapter Eleven

  Liam kept his hand on the small of Caitlin’s back under her jacket. The warmth and deep-seated sense of calm kept her steps steady as Cade led the way into the living room. “Mara’s getting dressed. I’ll make coffee.”

  “Do you get BBC?” Liam picked up the remote and flipped on the television. Channel after channel flickered by, and the whir of the coffee grinder and rich scent of the beans temporarily distracted her.

  “Shite.” A live shot of the Cliffs of Moher filled the screen. The sun beat down on an empty landscape, the missing crowds stark in their absence and a gaping maw bisecting the cliffside.

  “Experts say the cliffs will be closed for the foreseeable future. Our on-scene reporter obtained amateur video of the earthquake. We want to warn you that these images may be disturbing to sensitive viewers.”

  The jerky video captured the moment a massive section of earth sheared off and crashed into the sea below. Churning spray exploded fifty feet in every direction, screams filled the air, and tourists fled, streaming like rats from a sinking ship. As the narrator called for God’s help, the camera panned and focused on a lone man standing at the top of the path that wound around the tallest of the majestic cliffs. Arms raised to the sky, black hair whipping in the gales, the man stared into the camera. A metal and rock plaque next to him cracked in two, and the narrator screamed and dove for cover as half of the metal flew towards him.

  On screen, the newswoman shook her head. “The videographer suffered minor injuries, but the death toll is up to seventeen confirmed, with six more missing.”

  Every frame burned into her mind, and memories of Fergus’s fists, his charms, and his words sent her sliding off the couch and onto the floor, her hands over her ears, lost in the terror of his insanity.

  Liam wrapped his arms around her. “Ye’re safe, luv. I won’t let him get to ya.”

  She didn’t want his comfort or his promises. Fergus would continue to kill and maim and threaten until the day he had her in his thrall once more. “N-no. Not safe. I have to go.” Struggling out of his embrace, she looked to Mara, curled on the couch. “Please. You said you’d help me.”

  Mara raised a brow. “Caitlin, I gave Liam your letter for just that reason. He’s my family, and he loves you. And I’m pretty sure you love him, too. Don’t run off to Ireland on your own and let Fergus kill you. Please.”

  Love? Caitlin tried to focus on Liam. “You said”—she hiccupped, fighting back a sob—“not yet.“

  “I said we wouldn’t mate, luv. There’s a difference, yeah? And that’s not important right now.” He shot Mara an angry glance, then turned back to Caitlin, the golden flames in his eyes overtaking the green. “Ye’re still chilled. Let me hold ya.”

  Caitlin measured the distance to the door, but Cade blocked her path. Four mugs of coffee balanced in his hands, he met her gaze. “If you’re going to run, do it now. But I’ll warn you. If you walk out that door, don’t bother coming back. You vowed to help Mara, and we’re depending on that. You run now, you’re through with this pack. So is Liam if he goes after you.” Cade set the mugs down on the coffee table.

  Mara averted her eyes as Liam clenched his fists. Running would save Liam’s life. Or would it? He’d go after her—she had no doubt about that. And without his pack, what would happen to him? And Mara. The water elemental cupped her mug and watched her mate with bloodshot eyes and a vaguely uncomfortable expression. The connection between them tugged at Caitlin, and she dropped her head, sending the barest hint of a charm towards Mara. A little air to balance the fire.

  “Well?” Cade asked, his arm tight around his wife.

  “Help me,” Caitlin whispered and let Liam wrap his arm around her and ease her up to the love seat across from Cade and Mara.

  “All right. What do you know?”

  Caitlin looked to Liam, drawing strength from the absolute conviction in his eyes and the fingers wrapped tightly around hers. “I can feel Fergus—the charm between us. Earlier tonight…we’re so far away from one another, the sensations are muted, but…loneliness, pain…those carry. He thinks he needs me to survive…to do what he’s certain will fix him.”

  “Getting all four elements,” Mara said, her fingers fluttering on the mug.

  “Yes.” Caitlin glanced at the television. Someone—Liam?—had turned off the sound, but the videos taken by helicopter showed the devastation. The once-majestic cliffs crumbled along their north end with a great slide of rubble tumbling in a slow crawl towards the sea. The southern heights towered over them, and the yawning fissure between the two extended almost to the visitor’s center.

  A fresh wave of panic rolled through her, and she leaned into Liam long enough to take in a breath of his spicy, woodsy scent, tinged with the leather from his jacket. How could she need him so desperately in such a short time?

  Shaking off the thought, she looked back at Cade. The alpha’s cold eyes, steel gray and focused completely on her and Liam’s joined hands, didn’t reassure, but she cleared her throat. “Katerina’s charm protected me from him. I remember now—her promises. Air can…do many things: insulate, carry sounds, move objects. But our true power comes from what we can do to minds. Air is persuasion, subterfuge, lies. Katerina’s fire combined with my air, and we crafted a charm that would change me. Caitlin disappeared into Bella. Cade, the charm she used on you…fire hardens, consumes. Nothing escapes. She trapped Caitlin in the same way, with my blessing, and used my air to convince Bella that Caitlin had never existed.”

  “Fuckin’ bitch,” Liam muttered.

  Shame wove amid the deep-seated knowledge that she’d had no other option and let loose a storm of emotion inside
her. Anger boiled over, and she pulled away from him.

  “Katerina had a lot of darkness in her. And she did terrible things. I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make up for the evil she wrought on all of you. But this…I asked. Begged, even. I tried to end my life again in the hospital. Had a scalpel to my throat when she came to visit me.” Tears gathered in her eyes, but her element whirled around her, drying them as quickly as they fell. “Death saved me. Can’t you see that? Death brought me back to you.”

  “Dammit, Caitlin!” Liam snapped, and she flinched. “Stop makin’ excuses for the shite Katerina did.”

  “Liam, outside. Now.” Cade jerked his hand towards the hall and strode out of the room. Liam followed, meekness and anger battling for control in his churning eyes. He cast a lingering gaze at Caitlin at the door, then turned on his heel and followed his alpha outside.

  “I think we need something a little stronger than coffee.” Mara let Caitlin gather herself alone, memories of Katerina, of Bella’s first few minutes of life, of the feel of the cold scalpel against her overheated, sunburnt skin simmering in her mind.

  “I can take away your fear.” Katerina’s quiet words and her grip staying Caitlin’s hand gave her the first bit of hope she’d had in weeks.

  “How?”

  Katerina offered Caitlin a red crystal on a chain. “Your air holds the key. Air stokes fire, and my charm will seal who you were inside a cocoon, protected by flames so strong, nothing will penetrate. Will you trust me?”

  “He’ll find me.”

  “And if he does, I will kill him.”

  “Here.” Mara handed Caitlin a glass of whiskey, and the sweet scent of caramel and butterscotch wafted over her. “He shouldn’t have snapped at you. But Liam had a hard time after Cade disappeared. He had to act as alpha—something he never wanted—all while mourning his best friend. No one but Livie believed Cade lived.”

  “He told me a long time ago that he’d be an alpha one day. Why didn’t he want that?” A sip of whiskey burned down her throat.

  “You’ll have to ask him. Liam and I had some trouble when Cade and I mated. Your leaving soured him on the whole elemental community, and my sister’s actions didn’t help. But that’s not important right now. I’m more concerned with you. Fergus couldn’t sense you as Bella?”

  “I don’t think so. Air elementals can use location charms. That’s how he always found me before. I would have sensed one—even if I wouldn’t have known the who or the why in the casting.”

  “But he knows you’re alive now, and what? He’s doing this”—she waved her hand at the television—“to get you to come back to him?”

  “Yes. He’s scared to death of flying, so he won’t come to the States until he’s done his worst in Ireland.”

  The door shut, and Caitlin stifled a nervous breath. Liam trudged after Cade, his eyes back to their usual green as his gaze locked on hers. Cade eyed the whiskey, shrugged, and went to pour two more glasses, returning with the bottle tucked under his arm.

  Tension formed a wall between them when Liam sat, and Caitlin stared into her glass. “Fergus won’t stop. Absorbing my element broke him. Something triggers him—casting a charm, my defiance, even a whispered rumor in town…and the insanity changes him…like a switch. His episodes can last a few hours or even weeks. I learned to manage them. I could calm him, say the right things, pretend I wanted to help.”

  “Could you do that now? Call him? Get him to stop the violence until we come up with a plan?” Cade asked.

  The idea of talking to Fergus again, even with an ocean between them, brought a shudder. Unsure of how to ask for what she needed—Liam’s strength—Caitlin downed the rest of her whiskey. “Get me a number for him and I’ll try.”

  Liam shifted uncomfortably on the other end of the love seat. “Farren can help, yeah?”

  “Who’s Farren?”

  A smile tugged at Liam’s lips. “That’s a long story,” he said, digging his mobile out of his pocket, dialing, and putting the call on speaker. Equal parts affection and discomfort in his tone had her reaching for the bottle of whiskey and pouring a generous shot.

  “Ya’ve reached Ghealach Lán Investigations. Please leave a brief message, and we’ll return your call as soon as we can.”

  “Farren, I need your help—“

  “Mailbox full.” The click of the disconnected call reverberated in the room.

  “The fuck?” Liam scrolled through his contacts and punched a second number. Strain tightened the small lines around his eyes, and his lips pressed into a straight, firm line.

  “Farren?” A young male voice answered, and his worried tone did nothing for Caitlin’s nerves.

  “No, lad. I’m Liam O’Sullivan, Farren and I grew up together. Where is she?”

  “Uh…missing…I think…we—“

  Cade grabbed the phone. “Listen up. This is Cade Bowman, alpha of the Seattle pack. Where the fuck is she, and who the hell are you?”

  “I’m Tierney, sir. Farren and our beta, Colin, went to Lahinch yesterday and no one’s heard from them since. She said somethin’ about a rogue elemental makin’ trouble.”

  “Shite,” Liam whispered, and the wall between them fell away as he reached for Caitlin and pulled her into his arms. The vise-like embrace settled her. He clearly cared for this woman, and her heart ached to comfort.

  “Fergus Tharp?” Cade asked.

  “Yeah, that’s the bloke. Farren said he used to be trouble, but vanished a decade ago. Came back to town last week and started hurtin’ folks. Most of the elementals around rabbited after that. We’re scared. No one’s willin’ to leave the house in case she comes back or calls, but she’s not answering her mobile, and we rang the Garda, but they’re all too busy with the feckin’ mess at the cliffs to handle a missin’ person case now.”

  Cade rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t suppose you could find a phone number for Fergus?”

  “No, sir. Farren keeps her informants a secret. Truth be told, we know little of her work. Ewan wants to go after them, but the rest of us…”

  “Tierney, leave Fergus to us. Your concern is your alpha.”

  “Beggin’ your pardon, sir, but ye’re in Seattle. How are ya goin’ to stop the arse from there?”

  “We’re not. We’re going to come to Ireland. Make sure one of your pack stays by that phone. I’ll be in touch.”

  ***

  Cade stood in the front of the pack’s cavernous living room with Mara at his side. The other wolves took stations on sofas, chairs, or the floor. The glares they shot towards Caitlin had her hiding behind Liam’s bulk. Every single one of them probably wanted to tear her apart for her role in Katerina’s attacks.

  All eyes turned to Cade when he spoke. “Farren Denair went missing yesterday morning. We’re pretty sure—at least Caitlin is—that the earth elemental after her years ago had something to do with Farren’s disappearance.”

  “And you believe her?” Peter spat, glowering at Caitlin. “Bella would say anything—“

  “Enough!” Liam banged his fist against the wall, rattling a framed photo of Livie and her daughter. “Caitlin isn’t Bella.”

  “Stop,” Caitlin said, not proud of the squeak in her voice. “I hurt all of you. I don’t expect you to forgive me or even understand why I went along with Katerina’s plan. But—“

  “You could have killed all of us.” Peter surged forward, grabbed Caitlin’s arm, and shook her.

  “Get your fuckin’ hands off of her!” Liam’s punch caught Peter in the gut and almost took Caitlin down with him as Peter fell to his knees.

  “Enough!” Cade’s roar stilled the fight, and he grabbed Peter by his shirt and pulled him up. “Caitlin’s apologized to me and Mara. Katerina had her under some sort of charm, and while that doesn’t completely excuse her actions, we’re both willing to forgive her. I’m not asking you to do the same. Not after what you went through,” he said, looking first at Livie, then Peter. Livie’s l
eft arm hung awkwardly at her side, and her blond hair fell over her scarred left eye and cheek. Peter’s neck bore the same twisted red ropes of scar tissue, and as he slunk back to his place against the far wall, he limped noticeably. “I am asking you to treat her with some respect.”

  “Sorry,” Peter grumbled.

  “Anyone else want to go at her? If so, leave. Now. We don’t have time for this bullshit. Farren’s missing, Fergus killed more than a dozen innocent people yesterday, and Caitlin’s convinced he won’t stop.” Cade avoided mentioning Caitlin’s fears about Mara’s elements, but outlined how Fergus stole Caitlin’s air and the resulting insanity. “We have two problems: figuring out how Caitlin can take back her element and stopping Fergus. Mara and I are going to Oregon. The elemental elders there might be able to help us. Caitlin and Liam are going to Ireland.”

  “Uh, look. Don’t get me wrong. I want her out of this house. I don’t give a shit if Fergus kills her. But why is she going to the one place she probably can’t get away from him?” Livie bounced the fussy baby in her arms.

  “Because I can’t have more blood on my hands,” Caitlin said quietly. “Air elementals can work location charms. If I go to Ireland, I might be able to find Farren. And if Fergus knows I’m close, he’ll come after me directly.”

  “Liam, this is insane,” a tall, older werewolf—Ollie?—said. “You’re going to get yourself killed.”

  Caitlin wanted to agree—hell, she’d raised the same objection a dozen times as the four of them planned, but Liam refused to let her go alone. He wouldn’t lose her, he’d said, wouldn’t let her risk her life without him. Cade stepped in now, as he had then.

  “If we don’t do something, Fergus could murder hundreds. Thousands. This is the best option right now. So unless anyone else has a brilliant idea that doesn’t involve sending Caitlin to her death alone, shut up and listen.”

  ***

  “I need a few minutes with them, luv.” Liam led her up a set of stairs at the back of the house and opened a door to a small living area with a television, a futon, and a messy workbench. “Make yourself at home.” He gestured towards a small bedroom. “Ye’re exhausted. We’ll catch a few hours here before we get your bag.”