Jacinda put him down and filled the sink with water, hoping to reach her mother. Maybe she could go back to Chatan if she did.
Why didn’t I start there?
She cast the spell and found herself looking up at the mural on her mother’s bedroom ceiling. No one came to the bowl. Her heart shuddered and Jacinda called out, “Mom, you there?”
Nothing. Mom only left the bowl filled with water on the nightstand when she went to bed, just in case Jacinda needed to contact her.
Something was terribly wrong.
She hurried back to the living room, shifting her clothes as she went. She scooped up her bag and headed for the door.
The cat followed, staying at her side, and when she opened the back door, he jumped into the car, climbed over the front seat, and made himself comfortable in the passenger seat.
Frowning, she placed the box in the backseat and looked at the cat. “What happens when your owner comes back for you?”
He put his head down and closed his eyes.
“Fine, I’m not arguing with a cat.” She went inside, filled the water dish, and brought both to the car, placing them on the floor. Then she turned in the key.
The cat hadn’t moved.
“Guess you need some real food. So do I.” Not that she was hungry. “I still think you should wait for your owner. I’m not great at taking care of myself. Probably why I’ve never had a pet.”
Chapter 2
With a few states between her and Chatan, Jacinda wished she had a phone. She wanted to tell Chatan she was safe, but her mother wasn’t. Maybe he’d understand if she told him what would happen if he came with her.
She missed his voice, his embrace, him. Not to mention the second dream was about her mother, not him. She remembered something while she bought cat food, sandwiches, and bottled water. Thanatos always gave them their worst fears in nightmares.
Thanatos was going after her mother.
As if he sensed her distress, the cat climbed into her lap and made himself comfortable, rubbing his head on her tummy. She reached down with one hand to rub between his ears.
“I screwed up. I had a dream and panicked. I saw him dead in my mother’s home. That tends to mean Thanatos is hunting that person. I knew he was safe in Wanatoga. And the dream was in my mother’s house. I had to go.”
The cat meowed.
“Yeah, it was stupid. And I don’t have a phone. He asked me to get a phone, and I didn’t. I should have.” She sighed. “I’m too far now. I can’t turn back. I finally have what I need to stop Thanatos. I can’t lose my mom.” Thanks to Chatan, she’d found what her father wanted her to find. The bracelet by the pillar, and she freed Dove. She just didn’t know what to do with any of it.
The cat snuggled tighter, and she wiped her eyes. “I should have told Chatan what was going on, what that dream showed me. I should have bought a phone.”
He let out a meow that sound strangely like I understand. Only, she had to be imagining it.
* * * *
A knock on the door brought Brent’s head up. Something bad had happened, the sense of dread had been growing all day, and he had no vision to go with the feeling. Plus, a visitor that late had to mean something bad.
Amelia moved to the door and opened it before Brent could stand. He turned in time to hear her say, “Good evening, Robert and Tremaine. You look worried. Come in.”
They stepped inside and Amelia sat on the arm of Brent’s chair as he took his seat. Robert and Tremaine sank onto the couch across from him.
Robert ran a hand down his lapel. “Your granddaughter is missing.”
Brent snorted. He had never met his granddaughter, thanks to his son. And granted, Tyrell did what he thought was best for everyone, but it hadn’t been. Not to Brent. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
“No, you don’t understand. We met her a few nights ago.” Robert turned his head slightly. “She was key to stopping a strigoi feeding off Others moving through a rural town in Northern California. And when I went back to let her know what happened with the case, she was gone.”
“Let me get this straight,” Brent quietly stated. “You found my granddaughter, and instead of letting me know immediately, you let her disappear with no way to find her?”
Robert shifted his weight, then nodded. “How was I supposed to know you were actively looking for her? I didn’t even know you had a granddaughter.”
“I wasn’t actively looking,” he muttered. “Look, her mother was very good at keeping them away from me. But she’s not with her mother now, and something is hunting her family.”
“Well, until we stopped the murders in Saint Morton and dealt with the fallout, I didn’t have time to come to you.”
“That was several days ago, Robert. Why wouldn’t you tell me before now?”
Robert’s eyes narrowed. “I was busy dealing with a scumbag human who allowed magic to be shoved into him and now can’t live without more magic. The Council is still arguing over how to put him down. Then we have a warlock in custody they can’t seem to prosecute, though he’s guilty of a list of crimes longer than my arm. So, no, I didn’t get a chance to come to you and tell you about what happened to Jacinda. Keep in mind, I only know about the relation thanks to one of my DSF members who told me after Eddie at Ward Tower Security learned who she was.”
Brent scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck and sighed. “Fine, but damn it. I wish I’d known sooner. My son shut us out to protect us, and them. Then he died. I only know that a creature called Thanatos is hunting them, and there’s not enough information to figure out what the fuck it is or what it wants.”
“She made no mention of Thanatos,” Robert answered. “In fact, she was shocked to learn she had a grandfather, but she had been through enough I wasn’t about to pry when I had other things to worry about.”
Brent squeezed his hands shut and released his grip. “And she’s gone?”
Tremaine cleared his throat. “Did you know that your son was part of the Branches of Emrys? He left Jacinda a journal full of runes and arcane symbols. She had figured out all but two sets, and I helped her learn one. I had never seen the last. The emblem of the Branches of Emrys was all over that book.”
Brent leaned forward. “You’ve met her?”
Tremaine sighed. “I didn’t know she was related to you at the time. That was a few years ago, Brent. And I only assume her father is Tyrell since she is your granddaughter, and your girls had boys.”
Brent looked from one to the other and back. “If Tyrell was part of the Branches of Emrys, can Ceridwen find her?”
“I’ll ask,” Tremaine answered.
Robert ran his hands down the lapels of his suit jacket and caught Tremaine’s gaze. “How well do you know the girl?”
Tremaine chuckled. “Not that well. She came seeking knowledge. I taught her what I could about one of the sets of symbols. She had deciphered three other sets, but there was one I had never seen.”
Brent rubbed at his head. “If I could look at the journal, I could figure it out.” With help, but the spirits usually offered information no one else could find. And he was always careful not to let them in.
“Brent, I know you’re upset, but we’ll find her,” Amelia promised.
He took her hands. “What if we’re too late?” He turned to Robert. “Have you found her mother?”
“They’re looking for her at Ward Tower Security. Both of them are so far under the radar they’re having trouble. They’ve uncovered places the women had been to, but nothing about where they are.”
Brent nodded. “I’ll look through the letters Tyrell sent me. Perhaps there’s a clue in those.”
“Good luck. I hope we can find her,” Robert stated.
“If you find her, let me know. Please,” Brent asked.
“I will,” Robert assured before leaving. Tremaine followed.
Amelia sat beside Brent and took his hands. “We’ll find her. We’ll stop whatever is after he
r.”
“I really do hope so,” Brent answered.
* * * *
Another key to another motel and her heart was breaking.
Jacinda grabbed her box and made her way inside the room with the cat following. She dropped into a chair and the cat climbed into her lap, put his front paws on her shoulders, and rubbed his head against her chin.
“You need a name.” She rubbed behind his ears, then yawned. “Still don’t know why you picked me.” After filling his bowls, she curled up on the bed, where the cat joined her.
“How about Onyx?”
He purred, rolling to his back.
“Why didn’t I take his number? I’ll have to figure out a way to get in touch with Chatan when I get to my mother’s. He likes dogs, but I think he’d let you stay with us. If he still wants me after leaving like I did.”
Onyx rolled over and pressed tight. She yawned again and closed her tear-filled eyes. She’d reach her mother’s house sometime the next afternoon.
Though the closer she got, the more she feared she’d find the worst possible outcome. Her mother, dead, arcane symbols she still couldn’t find burned into her mother’s flesh.
She hoped she was wrong, and there would be a clue to where her mother could have gone. Either way, it was better she was alone. She didn’t know how to protect Chatan any more than she knew how to protect herself. And she was running out of hope.
Chapter 3
Jacinda started her drive early in the morning. Onyx had refused to leave her side, except when she went into the store and gas station. In fact, he’d sat in her lap the entire trip. The cat was the only thing holding her together. The more she stroked his fur, the less she thought about what she would find.
Finally, she pulled into the driveway of her mother’s home. Over the years, she’d only stay a week, maybe two before they moved on. Still, it was as close to home as she’d felt, until Chatan.
She picked Onyx up and looked into his eyes. “You stay here. It may not be safe. I can’t reach my mother, and I’m worried. Don’t come inside, whatever you do. I’ll be back in a few.”
He nuzzled her face and she sighed. “I mean it. Stay here.”
Onyx meowed, but she shut him in the car and hurried to the front door that blew open with the wind.
No trail of blood, no laughing.
A small relief, which might have been bigger if not for the evil essence lingering in the air.
At least she couldn’t sense a living being.
Had her mother been there when Thanatos arrived? Or had she left in a hurry? Jacinda prayed she left in a hurry.
She took the stairs two at a time, trying to be quiet. The bedroom door was smashed to pieces. Blood splattered the walls while pooling on the duvet.
Mom lay curled into a ball on the bed, clinging to something. Jacinda moved closer and saw her father’s smile as he held her mother who held her.
Her knees gave out with the cry that tore loose. Pain throbbed through her chest.
She had to know what happened—she needed to see.
Pushing down the pain, she climbed to her feet and cast the spell to playback the events that led to her mother’s death. She went back to the evening her mother didn’t answer her scrying. The spell moved forward through time until a ghostly image of her mother entered the room with a package wrapped in brown paper. A dove was drawn on the top.
Mom entered the closet and came back without the box. Then she moved toward the bowl of water on her bedside table but turned away.
The door burst into shards, spraying across the room as Thanatos marched in, his wings flaring open once he cleared the doorframe.
Mom whispered, “I love you, Jacinda. Don’t give up. It’s my time.”
Shadows wove around Thanatos. Nine feet of black scaled muscle. Scarlet veins twisted through wings that spanned most of the room. His giant hand wrapped around her throat before he lifted her off the ground. The bastard tore her clothes away. The claws started to glow red, dripping something that smoked on contact. Mom writhed as he drew the symbols over her flesh.
Mom’s jaw clenched as tears slid down her face. She didn’t make a sound. Not even when he threw her onto the mattress.
Thanatos fell into a pile of shadows that flowed through the floor.
Her mother pulled the picture from under the pillow into her arms and gripped the frame tight as the light faded from her eyes.
A cry escaped Jacinda’s lips as she let the spell go. Swiping at her eyes, she moved to the closet and found the package in the far corner, under the hanging dresses.
Jacinda traced the dove and swallowed back the sob that wanted out. Then she moved back to her mother. “Why, Mom? You had time to leave. You could have fought. But you gave up.” After wiping the tears away, she closed her mother’s eyes and sank to her knees.
Someone scooped her up, and she twisted away, slamming a wall of force into the beast as she fell. She sprang to her feet and turned toward the monster.
Chatan hit the wall with a grunt.
He immediately held up his hands. “It’s me, Jace. It’s me. We got to go. Now!”
Jacinda’s heart pounded in her chest. Fear flooded every pore. “You aren’t supposed to be here.”
His eyes narrowed. “Yeah, well, I couldn’t let you do this on your own. And now I’m glad I didn’t.” He closed the distance and took her arms in his hands. “We need to go, Jace. I don’t know what happened here. I get that thing did this, but it’s not safe and I know someone who can help us figure out the rest.”
“She’s gone, and you just want me to leave?” Jacinda shook him off and turned to her mother. Her heart was breaking. Mom was gone, Chatan was there, in danger.
Jacinda wiped her eyes. “I love you, Mom. At least now you’re with Dad.”
Tears fell down her face as she moved back to Chatan. “You shouldn’t be here. I was going to come back.”
“Yeah, but would you be able to move if you came here and saw this without anyone here to lean on?”
Her eyes closed. “I want you safe. I thought that would happen to you.”
“Yeah, and I want you safe.” He took her hand. “Give me the keys. We need to go.”
“Not back to Wanatoga,” she insisted. “If he follows me, he’ll go to your family. I can’t have that. I don’t want him near you or anyone you care about.”
“We’re headed to Washington. Trust me, Jace.”
She didn’t have a better plan, and he was right, she didn’t know what to do at the moment.
* * * *
Power rolled through Thanatos. He lay in the shadows, ready to fall back asleep. There was a time when the women he hunted populated the earth, and he could slaughter several of them, absorbing the souls before he returned to the shadow realm.
Now there were few left, and he could only take one, ensuring the line continued on. He needed to find the one who compared to his beautiful siren who cursed him as he cursed her line.
He peered through the tiny tear in the fabric of his plane to see the same red hair and crystalline green eyes. She replayed the last victim’s slaughter.
A man walked behind her as the spell ended. Tears flowed down her face. Colors radiated from the young woman, her essence glittering in the air, even stronger than the first of her kind.
Jacinda. He’d seen her through her father’s eyes when he sacrificed himself to protect her. She’d been small. Her magic hadn’t come to the forefront. And now, he saw the one who’d break the cycle, the one who had the power to sever Scathane from Thanatos.
As he reached into the real world, she flung her hand out, sending the man flying into the wall, while throwing Thanatos farther into shadow plane, until he couldn’t sense the girl at all.
Scathane murmured, “She’s the one. We will finally be free of this cursed realm, and I will finally be rid of you. If you hadn’t fallen so blindly in love with a siren, we wouldn’t be trapped for ages.”
“If you had
n’t latched onto me and found another, I wouldn’t have withered away until you finally showed me how to gain my magic back.”
“You were weak before you found me,” Scathane hissed.
He couldn’t remember if that was true, it had been so long. But that hardly mattered.
Thanatos needed the girl. He didn’t care about the man. He would die like all the rest who got in his way. And he didn’t need her cooperation, only her death as her essence flowed into his body.
He flew back for the tear between planes but couldn’t reach her in time. Her energy blinked out of existence as he stumbled through the darkness, searching out her energy.
* * * *
Stay in the car? Not a damned chance. Chatan waited until the door blew open and she stepped inside before he shifted and climbed out of the car. He followed her inside and his skin tried to crawl off.
Something purely evil had been there, and there was no telling if it would come back. He felt the residue left behind. An evil taint filled the home.
Jacinda staggered as she stepped into the bedroom. Bits of wood were scattered across the floor. A naked woman was curled on the bed with charred symbols in her flesh.
Mina, Jacinda’s mother.
Jacinda’s quick departure made a hell of a lot more sense. She told Onyx all about the nightmare that sent her running. She dreamed Chatan had died in a similar fashion in this home.
He couldn’t blame her.
And now he knew why Jacinda couldn’t reach her mother. She’d been dead at least two days.
Jacinda let out a cry. Before he could go to her she cast a spell that showed what had happened. Watching her mother’s death erased every doubt about why she had left. Didn’t mean he was going to let her go through the grief alone. There was no way in hell Chatan would let her run off without him again.
And he didn’t even care that she threw him against the wall. She thought he was that thing. At least she was able to protect herself, no matter how much she was hurting, and he knew she had to be hurting.
Chasing Dove Page 2