by Lucy Lyons
“You need to make sure you call her Maria to her face, Ash,” I warned her. “She gets touchy when we forget that the Fae are trying to assimilate into human culture.”
She slipped a wedge of processed cheese marked as “artisan” on top of a thin wafer and popped it into her mouth. “This stuff’s as bad as spray cheese,” she mumbled around the cracker dust. “ But I may eat the entire tray, just to keep all the other hungers at bay.” She swallowed and took a swig of the beer. “Is this the literal example of eating one’s feelings?” she quipped, and I coughed as my drink went down the wrong tube.
I glanced out the window to avoid seeing the look of feigned innocence on her face, knowing it would make me erupt in laughter again. The plane had been above the clouds for so long that I hadn’t bothered to look for scenery, but they parted below us now as I peered out the small hole, revealing a carpet of lush greenery far below.
From the information I’d been able to glean from Maria and company and a Google search while we were waiting to board, I knew the green below us was really the canopy of the giant ceiba and kapok trees hundreds of feet above the forest floor. I tugged on Ashlynn’s elbow, and she leaned over me to view the scene, just as the fasten seatbelt light came on and the pilot warned us to turn off our electronic devices for initial landing.
“That’s where we’re going for our super dangerous mission?” she asked breathlessly. “It looks more like a destination for the honeymoon we never had.” I laughed and turned her shoulders to point her toward the other window.
“No, that mountain. Over in the distance? That’s where we’re headed.” The mountain loomed up through the clouds so that its flat top appeared to float among the white cotton, a dark stain on the green and white landscape of clouds and rainforest canopy.
“Oh, of course. The forbidding mountain makes much more sense. Why’d I open my big mouth?” she grumbled, and I slid my hand over her thigh, teasing the skin just under the hem of her shorts.
“I’m sure you and I can find time for both, Ash,” I murmured close to her ear. “Just consider it motivation to find the mystery creature that much faster, so we have more time to spend alone when the mission is finished.”
She covered my hand with hers and pushed my fingers farther up the soft skin of her inner thigh, nuzzling my neck at the same time. “I’m holding you to that, Clay,” she informed me. “There will be no emergencies to cut it short this time.” Her breath on my neck made me shiver, but I heard the warning in her words.
We’d only had our hand-fasting a few weeks before, but from the morning after, we’d been inundated with business from both our new vampire partners and the Fae. The master vampire for the city wanted us to make our partnership official with a blood oath between him and me, since we’d lost the wolves most strongly connected to the vampire clan when Rae and Dirk left with the Night Mother, Onyxis.
She was the first of all vampires, a High Fae whose blood had mixed with something of the dark court and produced a new half-Fae magical kin, the vampires of the old stories. Their immortality was lost in the union, and blood was required to keep up their longevity, at least according to Onyxis herself.
Now Nicholas, her great, great, great-something grandson and master of Seattle, wanted me to oath myself to him to prevent me from leaving like Dirk and Rae had. They’d been connected to him through his wife, and while he understood their reason for leaving, the fact that they could physically turn away from the pact they’d made without repercussions made him fear losing others if he didn’t solidify his power base.
Ashlynn and I going to Brazil was one more concern for him, as Fae business seemed to be taking us away from pack and vampire clan business more and more frequently. It had taken a reminder from the Night Mother herself to remind him that Fae business was vampire business too. But with his begrudging blessing and a warning to watch out for tricks from the Fae, we’d accepted the Shedu’s mission to investigate a recent rash of deaths in the rainforest below the southern edge of Mount Roraima. Maria had told us the Venezuelan mountain was famous as the site that inspired the fantasy novel The Lost World, and looking down on its lush greenery and craggy cliffs, it was easy to see why. I was nervous about what we would find when we landed, considering the added mystery of what kind of magical creatures we might find.
Ashlynn’s hand sneaked over the wide armrest to clutch at me again as the pilot adjusted the flaps with a mechanical whir. I threaded my fingers through hers and let her clutch me with both hands, grateful that either the uneventful flight or the beer and food had calmed her enough to save me from having to heal myself again in front of passengers.
After a bumpy landing that made me wish my mate weren’t quite as strong as she was, we found ourselves in a lengthy and sluggish customs line. We’d been inching forward for a few minutes when I felt a tingle down my spine, as if we were being watched. I glanced around and saw the businessman glowering at us from another line with a hateful scowl in his face, his entire persona transformed from smarmy, fellow traveler to something far more sinister.
I stared him down until he looked away, my wolf pressing against me like a weight pushing at my control. Before I could say anything to Ashlynn, she tugged at my sleeve excitedly and pointed at a familiar face scanning the crowd.
She saw us and waved with a grin, pointing at us and speaking to the customs agent standing with her. The woman, Simi, was Venatores and an old friend. Simi had told us about the deaths in the first place after the Venatores had lost two agents and the Catholic Church had refused to permit another attempt to stop the creature without more information. Simi had come to us, and Maria had bankrolled the trip, certain that the creature was part of the resurgence of Fae in the mortal world that I had inadvertently caused when I released the wild hunt over my city.
The officer pointed at us and beckoned for us to follow him, which I did after one last glance toward the man. The stranger had disappeared from his line, and I couldn’t see him. I sniffed the air as surreptitiously as I could, but even the nauseating cologne he wore was fading. Somehow I knew that he was there for us, and we’d be seeing him again. The trouble was not knowing how heavily armed he’d be when we did.
CHAPTER THREE
As it turned out, we didn’t have to wait long to see him. If I’d known what waited for us outside the little terminal, I might’ve been in less of a hurry to get out of there.
Still safely inside, we were flanked by men in uniforms and led into a separate room, where Simi and Ashlynn hugged, and then it was my turn to exchange a “Hello” and “How are you?” The man had taken our documents before we’d followed him away from the customs line, and he checked our passports while we chatted in the corner, mostly about how Simi knew when we’d be arriving.
“What are you doing here anyway?” Ashlynn asked Simi as I half-listened, and answered the customs official’s questions about my trip.
“The Church is, understandably, in a bit of a tizzy over finding out that the old Fairy stories they’d discounted for so long are true,” she offered, and Ashlynn and I both glanced at her.
“You told them about the Fae?” I asked, but she shook her head.
“No. The Shedu went to them herself, apparently. I was just told to come back and keep an eye on you,” she replied. “Although, they seem a lot less upset about you being here than I thought. I don’t know what your boss said to mine, but they’re softening their stance on a lot of stuff I didn’t think they would ever accept, simply because they’re being forced to acknowledge not everything magical is demonic.”
“I wonder how long that will last,” I mused. Simi shook her head and glanced around.
“My guess is,” she replied in a low voice, “they’re waiting to find out these deaths are the work of something Fae.”
“Right,” I scoffed. “Then they put us all on a warrant and the Venatores are back in business. God, how I’m sick of their idea of righteousness.”
“Frankly, Clay, I doubt God has
anything to do with it.”
I didn’t bother to tell her I agreed with her. The Venatores and I had parted ways because they made me into a monster, created to kill for them, and I’d refused. I was no one’s attack dog, a point I’d have to make sure Maria and the Fae were clear on as well.
Despite the feeling of misgiving that had followed me back into the interview room, the customs officer cleared us within minutes and gave Simi a nod that she could take us with her. Ashlynn and Simi walked ahead as I grabbed the luggage then followed them out to the tarmac. We’d packed light, assuming that once we left civilization, we’d be in wolf form for most of the hunt. As werewolves, we didn’t have the ability to clothe ourselves in “light and shadow” like the High Fae had.
Simi led us to a waiting Venatores sedan, all black with dark, tinted windows, and pointed to the raised tailgate for me to load the luggage. I was just closing up when I smelled something familiar that I couldn’t place. I sniffed again then spun around just in time to see Somayo, my former Venatores weapons trainer, throw his arms around me in a giant bear hug.
“Clayton, my old friend, how are you?” he exclaimed in heavily accented English. “You were supposed to come see me in Nigeria, but you forced me to come to Brazil to catch up with you!”
I laughed and nodded. “I know, Somayo. Ashlynn and I were looking forward to the trip too. But I promise, when we finally get to go, we’ll give you lots of notice so you can show us your beautiful Abuja.”
He gripped my shoulders and frowned at me. “Have you lost weight? You need to start lifting weights again. Your reliance on your werewolf strength is making your human body soft.”
I flinched and rolled my eyes as Ashlynn chuckled behind me. I turned to shoot her a dirty look when I caught movement from the hangar. It was a baggage trolley slowly trundling toward us. Something about the way it moved caught my attention and held it just long enough so I noticed the glint of sunlight on metal before it stopped and two men with automatic rifles stepped out of the covered cart and motioned us away from the car.
“Don’t even think about pulling your weapon, my African friend,” a voice chuckled from just out of my line of sight. The man from our flight stepped into view, and I heard Ashlynn growl. Automatically, my hand went back to hold her, while I glanced around for options.
The little rural terminal was quiet, but in the distance I could see employees in orange safety vests. Scattered around us, small tanker trucks full of jet fuel increased the risk of damage from a firefight, endangering human lives.
“Look, I don’t know who you think we are or what you’ll get from this, but you’re making a big mistake, mister,” I began as I felt the anger in my companions skyrocket. None of us was exactly skilled at avoiding conflict, but the risk to innocents was high, and since none of us were murderers, humans were off our kill list. “What do you want from us?” I asked trying to draw the man, obviously their leader, into conversation. Simi was the only one of us they might not have seen, and I hoped she could sneak out the back of the SUV and flank them so we could disarm them without a fight.
“Look, mate, all I want is the woman and any guns your black bodyguard is carrying.”
I glanced at Somayo, who raised an eyebrow at me and shrugged.
“OK, my—uh—bodyguard gives you his Glock, you take my wife . . . How do you think this is going to end?”
“Not like a James Patterson novel, if that’s what you’re thinking, boy,” he taunted me. “I can get good money for a woman built like her—early twenties, legs that go on for miles . . .”
“Hear that, honey? He thinks you’re in your early twenties . . .” I snickered, and Ashlynn smacked the back of my head.
Can we kill him already? she asked me silently. I know I only look twenty, but you don’t have to tell people otherwise, brat.
“I heard him,” she said aloud. “I’m not a side of ham to be sold at auction.”
I half turned toward her, and her eyes flashed the amber of her wolf. Somayo gave an almost imperceptible nod, and in the reflection of the car, I saw Simi sidle up to one of the riflemen. I partially shifted my face, letting my teeth lengthen and my eyes change, fur filling in over my newly formed snout and over eyes I knew would be alien to any human—enlarged and canine.
Simi glanced in our direction, and I answered Somayo’s nod with one of my own, as though I were coming to a decision. I took Ashlynn’s hand and kissed it, still facing away from our aggressors. Her eyes flashed and the corners of her lips turned down in a scowl, but the pulse that jumped and raced under my fingertips told me she was excited for the fight.
She stepped past me, blocking my wolfish face from view for a few extra seconds as I turned with her, then as I revealed myself, Simi dropped the shooter closest to her, spinning and wrenching the arm of the second man with an audible snap of bone. Simi pulled his gun as I snarled at the man from our flight and took one menacing step toward him. He staggered back, his mouth gaping, and Ashlynn overtook him as I shifted my face back. She took the gun he’d been reaching for from inside his jacket and tossed it to Somayo, who hadn’t moved from where he leaned against the Escalade, a grin splitting his face.
The man twisted out of Ashlynn’s grip and managed to back far enough away that grabbing him might attract attention, and I shook my head at Ashlynn when she glanced for advice on whether to follow. Simi tossed the guns in the back of the car, leaving the two unconscious and injured men to be found by airport employees or security, and we closed the back of the car.
“As I was saying,” Somayo scoffed as we piled into the car.
I shrugged but pretended to surreptitiously feel my biceps as he laughed uproariously.
“I’m very strong, Somayo. What do want to do, arm wrestle?” I groused.
“In his defense, it’s hard to lift weights and get any benefit when you can lift a small car, Somayo,” she giggled. “We’re still arguing for more time in the Fae or the vampire training rooms. I guess we just need to add on to the longhouse and put in a full gym,” she sighed. “Do you think we should alert the Brazilian authorities about the bad men here to collect tourists for to be sold as sex slaves?”
“Already on it, Ash,” Simi replied. “Nothing like a good ass-kicking to warm us up for real prey, eh, Clay?” I glanced back and saw her rapidly typing something into her ancient PDA and assumed it was a message to the Vatican, which would have our slave trader apprehended in no time flat in a country as deeply tied to the Catholic Church as Brazil.
“I’m still smarting over the remarks about my body, Simi. So Somayo, you going to beat me in the basement of Club Pulse when we get back stateside?”
“No, I will come and help you with an outdoor course,” he countered. “Don’t you think, Clay?” he added, turning to me. I clapped him on the back and gestured for us to get moving. He turned the key and glanced at the two men one last time. “After we take care of business here, of course.”
“Honestly, I hadn’t thought of it,” I confessed. “It’s a good idea, Somayo, and the wolves would benefit from a beat-down from you,” I grinned. “Once this,” I said, gesturing around me, “is all squared away, we can all go back to Seattle for a little Venatores-style rest.”
“Which means instead of killing things, we’ll engage in back-breaking work building an obstacle course?” Simi asked, and I gave her a thumbs-up sign.
“Sounds like fun, but speaking of ‘all of this,’” Ashlynn interjected, “no one has given us much information on what we’re looking for, except that the bodies of the dead were burned.” She paused then continued. “So what does that have to do with Fae, specifically? I mean, the Venatores burn their dead too, don’t they?”
“The bodies weren’t burned on a pyre after being killed. The autopsies showed that they burned to death,” Simi offered. “It still doesn’t mean a Fae did the killing, but the locals have reported seeing one of the old gods in the surrounding jungle—a feathered, fire-breathing serpent.”
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“Quetzalcoatl,” I finished.
“Quezta-what’ll?” Ashlynn blurted.
“Quetzalcoatl,” I repeated. “I studied the Aztecs in history with Professor Eldritch back in school. The feathered serpent was one of their pantheon of gods.”
“Yeah, and how many of the High Fae have you learned were once worshipped by humans?” Simi reminded me.
“Crap.” I turned in my seat to look at Ashlynn, but she waved me off. “I really don’t love the idea of handing the Fae to the Venatores, Clay. But first thing’s first. Stop the killing of humans then worry about how to keep the Venatores from using this as justification for some sort of a Fae ethnic cleansing.”
Neither of the Venatores in the vehicle responded but tension filled the air like static and raised the hair on my arms. Ashlynn pouted and looked out her window, and I let the silence stand for a little while. I didn’t want my friends to feel attacked, but Ashlynn was right, and I couldn’t correct her in front of them even if she wasn’t. Not if I wanted to keep all my body parts in order, that was. Slowly, the air returned to normal, and behind me, Simi released a breath she’d been holding with a whoosh.
“I don’t know what it is about you, but sometimes it feels like there isn’t enough space for all of us when we’re together.”
“Yeah, but only when we don’t agree, right?” laughed Ashlynn. “Clay, I think you need to send Simi to Caroline for some psychic testing.”
“Oh, Caroline knows already. She’s just waiting until Simi’s ready before she tells her,” I replied without waiting for Simi to respond.