by Kit Tunstall
He looked regretful. “I didn’t think they did, but it’s a strong possibility I was wrong. If they knew how to find me, they would have done so by now. They turned up at Twitch’s place just after you, and now they’ve found us here, just after our—your—arrival. That’s why I think they’re tracking you. That sure as hell isn’t your fault, Tianna, but we have to go on the assumption they know about your involvement.”
She wanted to continue arguing, to insist he was wrong, but his words made a terrible kind of sense. Even knowing it was only a theory, no matter how strong the anecdotal evidence, didn’t keep a shaft of pain from shooting through her. She shook her head instinctively, wanting to reject his words. If they were true, it meant she had led the black ops group to Twitch, and now possibly to Loris. She was also endangering Devon just by being with him. If he was right, she had to figure out how to keep the group from continuing to use her in their pursuit of the shifters.
How had they found her? Had she left behind an innocuous data packet, and they had tracked it back to her? She’d thought she had been so careful, but she was dealing with some of the most sophisticated encryption systems in the world, and it was possible they’d had a way of tagging and tracking her that was unfamiliar to her. Her shoulders drooped, and tears pressed against the back of her eyes as a big black helicopter came into sight, choosing to land in roughly the same location Phil had chosen. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
Devon took her hand, squeezing gently. “It’s okay. You couldn’t have known they were using you, and I’ll make sure after this is over that any means of tracking you are disposed of permanently.”
His words were encouraging, both because he clearly didn’t blame her, and because he was speaking as though they would defeat the four super soldiers double-timing their direction in order to have a future to worry about. She tried to be as confident as him, but she wasn’t feeling it. She didn’t even have the gun she’d had last time that he’d given her, since they had to leave all that behind before crossing over the Canadian border. It was just her, untrained as she was, and Devon, to face four of those things.
Devon shed his long coat before slipping off the rest of his clothes. She was vaguely aware the murmurs of shock running through the group behind them had turned to cries of surprise when Devon shifted into his tiger. She joined their whispers of alarm as the super soldiers got closer, and she realized they had already shifted as fully as they could. They were a conglomeration of human and shifter, and she could see recognizable parts in each of them, tentatively identifying the hybrids as two bears, a wolf, and a hyena.
“Wendigo,” said one of the men behind her, and she turned to look at him in time to see the group running away. She glared at them, even as she wanted to join them. Her knees were trembling, and she wasn’t certain what use, if any, she would be to Devon by staying with him, but she refused to abandon him.
He stood firmly in front of her, placing himself between her and the four soldiers who’d almost reach them. She looked around frantically for a weapon of any kind, snatching up a thick tree branch that was within reach. Judging from the sharp edge, it must have cracked off the tree above her, perhaps from snowfall. She hoped it wasn’t completely dead or brittle and wouldn’t shatter the first time she used it to hit one of those things.
They reached her and Devon a moment later, and it was chaos. Three of them focused on Devon, and it angered her to see them circling around him, to know he was outnumbered. She didn’t have a chance to register her outrage at the situation though, because one of the bear-shifter things had turned his attention to her.
She grasped her tree branch, which might as well have been a toothpick when facing something like that, and vowed she wouldn’t surrender easily. It lunged at her, and she hit as hard as she could with the branch, connecting with the thing’s cheek. The skin broke, and blood welled, but it didn’t even slow down the shifter thing.
She cried out, though she hadn’t meant to, not wanting to distract Devon, when the thing wrapped its arms around her, claws protruding from its paws. It held her tightly, pressing the claws against her neck. She expected to feel them puncture her skin at any moment, so she jerked in shock when a voice spoke near her ear.
“Give me the coordinates for Loris Tabor.”
She looked over her shoulder reflexively, craning to see the expression on the super soldier’s face. It was vacant, and she wondered how it had managed to speak. She hadn’t had a lot of experience with them, but from what she had gathered, they mostly just grunted and made animalistic sounds, if they weren’t completely quiet. “How did you do that?”
The super soldier holding her didn’t even blink. The voice came again though, and she realized it was from a small intercom clipped to the thing’s chest. “Tell me Loris’s coordinates, or 142 will crush you.”
The voice sent a chill through her, sounding cold and commanding, but she stood strong. “I don’t know where she is, and I wouldn’t tell you if I did.”
“Don’t be foolish. 142 can rip you apart. I have little interest in you. You’re simply a human. I’m trying to track down the freaks from Project Shift.”
She let out a harsh laugh. “I don’t think they’re the freaks. Have you seen the things you’re working with?” It was a guess, but she assumed she was speaking to one of the handlers. From the way he spoke, he must have been someone in charge. “What’s the matter, Lt. Col. Caswell? Are they harder to track than you expected?” She was just guessing on the identity, but she must have hit a nerve, because 142’s arms tightened around her, and she found it difficult to breathe. One of the claws started to press into her throat, and she closed her eyes as she prepared herself for the end.
They snapped open a moment later at the sound of gunshots. The body holding her slackened and moved back, turning to face the threat approaching it. She dropped to the ground, not wanting to be shot, as she took in the sight of all ten of the men who’d surrounded them before now standing and facing the things that had invaded their home. Every one of them carriedrifles, and they were firing with precision.
The thing that had been holding her fell to the ground after one of the band executed a perfect headshot, and she turned her attention to Devon. He’d dealt with one of the super soldiers, and it lay unmoving, but he was still facing off with the other two. She didn’t want to distract him, but she also wanted him to be aware they had backup.
She moved closer, but froze when he turned to growl at her before returning his attention to the other bear-shifter and the hyena-shifter hybrids in front of him. He leapt on the hyena as several shots peppered the bear shifter soldier. Another headshot took it out, and it was just Devon fighting the hyena hybrid then. Once he clamped his jaws around its neck, the thing let out a rasping, liquid sound, and its heels drummed against the snow for a moment before it went still.
Apparently, Devon was satisfied the threat was over, because he shifted back to his human form and slipped on his clothes and donned his coat. He shoved his feet into his boots as he turned to face the Ojibwes who had rescued them. He nodded toward the one who’d spoken to them before. “Thank you.”
“Loris told us about them, but seeing it is something completely different.”
“Someone called them a wendigo,” said Tianna as she stepped closer to Devon, needing to put an arm around him to assure herself he was all right. He must have felt the same, because the arm not holding his clothes came around her waist and pulled her tighter against his side.
The man nodded. “It’s an old legend. The man-beast, often created from cannibalism or some other unspeakable acts. These things are about as close to a wendigo as I’ve ever seen, even though I know their origins.”
“Is Loris safe?” asked Devon.
“She’s in a hunting cabin near the edge of the reserve. It’s remote and reachable only via dogsled. I’m due to take a supply drop to her in a few days, but I’ll take it after the storm instead. You can come with me.”
Her eyes widened. “Why the change of heart?”
The man smiled, making his handsome face even more handsome. “Many of the band have decided you’ve been blessed by the rugaru, and you’re worthy of help.”
His words were directed at Devon, and Devon frowned. “What’s a rugaru?”
“He’s a wolf-shifter god, usually benevolent to Anishinabeg people.”
Tianna recognized that as the word the band called themselves.
Devon looked embarrassed, but he didn’t offer a different explanation for his origins. “I’m not sure we can afford to wait until the storm passes. There’ll be more of those things coming.”
The leader shook his head. “It’s going to be a blizzard, and it isn’t safe for anyone to travel for the next several hours. You’ll have to stay here in the village, and I’ll take you as soon as it is safe.”
Devon frowned. “I don’t want to drag you into the middle of it.”
He looked briefly troubled before blinking. “I’m already in the middle of it, as you say, because Loris is my responsibility. I made the decision to allow her to stay here when she came to me. At that time, she became my responsibility.”
“Are you Chesabogue?” asked Tianna, hoping she remembered the name accurately from Loris’s son’s birth certificate, and that she had pronounced it somewhere near correctly.
He seemed briefly startled, but nodded. “How did you know she was here?”
“We didn’t, but I found the birth certificate for your son while investigating, and I hoped she had come here. So remote that maybe she’d be safe.”
Chesabogue looked at the bodies surrounding them before shaking his head. “She isn’t as safe as we’d hoped. Come with us, and we’ll find you some accommodations while we wait out the storm.”
Devon stood up completely, straightening his shoulders. “First, we have to deal with this mess.” He started stacking the bodies together. “We need to burn them. I don’t know what kind of tracking or listening devices are in these things.”
The leader spoke to one of the men beside him before turning back to Devon as the man went jogging toward the arrangement of homes. He said, “Omemi will bring fuel for the fire.”
Devon turned to her. “I need your things to burn too.”
Instinctively, she clutched her bag tighter, which held her precious laptop. “But my research—”
“I uploaded it all to the cloud for Malcolm, remember? It won’t be lost, I promise, but we can’t risk them being able to track us after we leave the settlement here, or completely leave Bullhead Reserve if we find Loris.”
She knew he was right, but it was still painful to withdraw the laptop that had been such a big part of her life for the last few years, and her main connection to her webzine, along with how she made a living. There were assignments on there for her editing clients, but it couldn’t be helped.
With a regretful sigh, she handed the equipment to him before taking out her wallet to remove her driver’s license and three credit cards. She passed her phone over to Devon as well, but couldn’t bring herself to watch as he opened her laptop and started stepping on it. It would have been like witnessing the murder of a friend. It might be necessary, but it was still hard to stomach.
When Omemi returned, Devon quickly spread the gasoline over the bodies and the remnants of her belongings before lighting it all on fire. By the time he was clearly satisfied the fire had done its job, ravaging anything it touched until there was little more than a steaming, smoldering pile of melted bodies and electronic equipment, the snow was really coming down. He used handfuls of it to pack around the fire, ensuring it wouldn't spread, and then turned to her. Together, they faced Chesabogue, who was the only one still standing out there with them.
“You’re ready now?” he asked.
At Devon’s nod, he gestured for them to follow him, leading them into the heart of the small settlement.
Tianna looked around with interest, noting the buildings were simple, but appeared sturdy. They had steeply angled roofs that would allow the snow to slide off, and the cement paths around the buildings were currently mostly free of snow, indicating someone had shoveled recently. She was certain that would change by morning, after the blizzard had passed through. She shivered at the thought as much as the cold, because she wore a heavy down parka and several layers underneath. She was dressed for the cold, but just the thought of the approaching blizzard was enough to make her tremble with fear.
He took them away from the main arrangement of buildings around the square, going to the second road behind it. The path here was also made of cement, but it hadn’t been shoveled, so it was harder to slog through even with her sturdy snow boots. She was grateful for Devon’s steadying hand on her elbow as they moved through the quickly deepening snow.
He led them to a small house that was unlit. “This was my parents’ home. My mother died three years ago, and my father followed her last year. Jaseance and I live three houses over.” He pointed to a dwelling of similar size and design. “You’ll find me there if you need anything. I’ll send over some food and supplies for you before the weather gets worse. You can shelter here tonight, and we’ll find Loris as soon as the weather clears enough to take out the dog sleds.”
Devon stepped onto the porch first, taking her hand to assist her up the slightly slick stairs. When he reached the door, he looked back at Chesabogue, who nodded. The knob twisted in his hands, and the door swung open easily.
“The light switch is behind the door on the right side. Expect supplies soon.” With those words, Chesabogue left them, heading toward his own home.
Tianna inferred Jaseance was the son Loris had borne Chesabogue. At some point, the father had clearly taken over raising his son, though his parents had been the ones who’d officially adopted Jaseance.
She followed Devon into the small home, finding it surprisingly cozy. It was cold as heck, but he went straight to the wood stove in the middle of the small living room area, loading it with wood that was beside it. She wasn’t certain if the wood was from this season or the previous year, but it seemed to burn just fine, because he had a fire started in a few minutes. She moved closer to it, extending her hands to revel in the heat pouring off the old potbellied stove as Devon did the same.
He moved away first, his metabolism clearly more resistant to the cold than hers. By the time there was a knock on the door, and Devon had accepted a box of supplies from a woman who didn’t introduce herself, Tianna was finally warm enough to pull off her gloves and remove her parka. She didn’t take off any of the other six layers she wore as she moved into the kitchen with Devon.
It was colder in here, since the stove wasn’t quite in range, but there was also a space heater that she flipped on before assisting him with unpacking supplies. There was food, toiletries, a roll of toilet paper, a couple of bath towels, and a handgun with a box of bullets. As Devon lifted it out and checked to see if it was loaded before setting it aside, she said, “I thought it was hard to get a gun in Canada.”
He shrugged. “Perhaps it’s because they’re a sovereign group, or maybe they found a workaround. However they acquired them, I’m just grateful they had them.” His mouth twisted. “I couldn’t protect you from all four of those things.”
She put a hand on his arm. “The odds were ridiculous. You weren’t armed, and you managed to hold your own against them. Don’t beat yourself up because I couldn’t fight off the one that got me. We’re both safe, at least as safe as we can be in these circumstances, so let’s not think about what could have happened.”
After holding his muscles tensely for another moment, he slowly relaxed. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have brought you here, though. I should’ve called my teammates for backup and made sure you were safe somewhere else.”
She leaned closer to him, putting her head on his shoulder. “I’m the one who endangered you. I didn’t realize they were tracking me, and that they knew all about my investigation. I thought
I had been so slick, so if you want to blame anyone, blame me. If I hadn’t been careless, they wouldn’t have known how to find Twitch, and they wouldn’t have followed us here.”
His arms came around her, and he rested his chin on top of her head. “You couldn’t have known either. I don’t blame you for anything.”
Snuggling closer, Tianna said, “And I don’t blame you for anything either. We’ve done the best we could, working on the information we had, and trying to act accordingly. We just need to keep doing that and trust each other.” Considering how briefly she had known Devon, she did trust him implicitly.
Maybe that should have alarmed her, but it just made her feel safe and secure instead. She was positive Devon would do his best to protect her, and she would do the same for him, even if it was completely inadequate. As a normal human, she was ill-equipped to face off against the shifter hybrids, but she was still smart, and she had brains as her advantage. Together, she and Devon made a formidable team.
The embrace changed from one of comfort to something more. She lifted her head as his descended, and their mouths met in a deep kiss. She twined her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, and he lifted her snuggly against his body, his hands supporting her buttocks so he could bring her to the right level for kissing. Hours stretched before them as they waited for the blizzard to wax and wane, and she had a clear idea of just how they would spend that time.
Chapter Five
They moved to the bedroom, which was as cozy as the rest of the residence, complete with a queen-size bed and rustic log headboard and footboard. A quilt on the bed appeared to be hand sewn, and though it didn’t follow any particular pattern, it was still beautiful. That was the last thing she noticed of her surroundings as Devon laid her down.
Devon lay atop her, supporting his weight on his arms as he bent his head to kiss her. Tianna strained upward, eager to meet his mouth with her own. This kiss was full of their hunger for each other, and it sent her heart racing almost as soon as his lips touched hers. She stroked his tongue with hers when it glided into her mouth, sucking lightly on the appendage and making him groan with his arousal. It matched her own.