by Rivi Jacks
I’m discovering that my time spent with Estella and Maple is a little unsettling and interesting all at the same time. It seems that part of their effort to protect me requires my actual participation in their incantations. I asked why they can’t just cast a protection spell and have it work. Brit explained that if I’m proactive in the actual spell, the end result will be better. Well—I’m all for good end results.
Another thing I learned is that the finely carved jade necklace Taylor gave me at Christmas is an extremely powerful amulet. When I revealed that Taylor told me it would ward off evil spirits, Brit smiled and replied that Taylor downplayed the importance of the piece. She then asked if I would mind taking off the necklace and letting her look at it for a moment. And as crazy as it sounds, it felt as if the necklace tried to cling to my skin as I removed it. I watched as she held the charm up looking at it intently as it twirled on the chain.
It felt odd when her eyes met mine. It was my first experience glimpsing a bit of the power Lucas had previously hinted at and what Sawyer witnessed the night the Kihn came onto the compound.
“I would like to add a little something to the energy of this piece if you do not mind,” she asked in her usual rapid fashion, but her face was uncharacteristically somber. She looked back at the now at rest charm dangling from her fingers.
“O-kay.” What else could I say? I could think of a dozen questions to ask but—
She laid the charm in the palm of her hand, letting the chain slowly spiral down around it and then brought her other hand down to cover the necklace. I was conscious of the others, quietly watching us.
Brit murmured softly—something that maybe sounded Latin. Then she brought her hands up to her mouth, blowing between them onto the necklace.
She looked at me again, her whole face lighting up with a smile. “Oh this is a lovely necklace and it looks beautiful on you Sofie it practically matches your eye color and I am sure Taylor thought of that when he gave it to you now you be sure to wear it at all times to protect you and those within reach and be sure and ask Taylor to tell you the story of how he came into possession of this ancient amulet.”
She promptly held the necklace out to me, and it was then I realized I’d been holding my breath.
Ancient? Taylor gave me an ancient amulet? I plan to do more than ask him to tell me a story. I intend to find out what the hell he was thinking, giving me something obviously important and definitely far more expensive than I’d previously thought. The thing is, Taylor has been gone since I found out, and I have yet to talk to him about it. I do wear the exquisite piece of jewelry at all times, though. Even Lucas said it would be a good idea, evidently knowing the importance of the gemstone. It’s small but finely detailed. The body of a lion with the head of a howling wolf, carved from a vivid, emerald green stone. And it’s strange, but at times, I can actually feel it grow warm against my skin.
I do know I look forward to my time at the Zelts, as does Sam. He’s so interested in everything, always eager to learn. He always has been more book smart than the rest of us. Also—and I know it’s not my imagination—my focus is sharper since I’ve been working with the witches, which helps my confidence during training.
“Okay, your turn.” I try not to smile at the expressions on my cousins’ faces. I think Sawyer’s speechless at my sharing of the goings-on in Wyoming.
“Why do you get all the fun with the Kihn?” he asks.
I give him a choked laugh. “It wasn’t much fun at the time, Sawyer. Scared the hell out of me and if Lucas hadn’t been there….”
“Do you think there was more to the story of why Lucas went to Jackson Hole?” Sam asks.
“Absolutely. But I can’t begin to figure out what, other than it’s connected to the Kihn of course.”
“Don’t take it personally,” Sam says, knowing me well. “Taylor told me there is certain information supernatural are not permitted to share with us mere mortals.”
What? Why would Lucas not tell me that, especially when his evasiveness at times has caused trouble between us? If his extramundane activities are to be kept from the human world—that I can understand and accept a lot easier than just thinking he doesn’t trust me. We really know so little of each other.
“Okay, stop stalling. Let’s see who has the better story,” I tease, in a bid to get away from my dark thoughts.
Sawyer grins. “Well—” He leans close, even though there is only the three of us to hear. Sawyer loves intrigue. “Bud was out at his girlfriend’s—”
“Who’s his girlfriend?” I ask.
Sam grins. “Anna Mae.”
I frown and when I realize who he’s talking about my jaw drops. “Preacher Clines girl?”
Sam nods.
“Let’s keep on track here, Sofe,” Sawyer urges.
“Wow. Does Deiter know?” I ask then decide he surely does. Hard for his boy to be seeing Preacher Clines daughter and him not hear about it. “I wonder what Deiter thinks about that?” I say more to myself, but Sam laughs.
“I thought the same thing,” he says.
“Okay, y’all want to talk about Bud’s love life or how we discovered a way to mess with the Kihn?” Sawyer’s voice implies that he’s a little put out with the both of us.
“You have my full attention,” I say, turning toward him. “I want to hear what you and Bud did last night,” I then grin at Sam. “You and I will discuss our cousin later.”
“Like I was saying… when Bud was leaving the Cline place he saw two Kihn race across the road a couple hundred yards in front of his truck. He called me, and I met up with him out there. He said he was certain he saw another one right after he talked to me. So we knew something was up. To make a long story short, we drove up and down a few dirt roads and stumbled on three of them herding a couple of cows across Lester Fat’s field.”
“Herding?” I ask.
“Yeah. We thought that was strange too. They’d cut the fence, so we just drove right after them.” He grins. “They didn’t want to give up those cows, but we managed to distract them, and since the cows were already freaked out, they ran off as the Kihn chased us.”
“What!” Holy shit. “The Kihn chased you and Bud?”
He nods. “I know. I wasn’t so sure it was the smart thing to do—those suckers can move fast, but we jumped a ditch and took off across another field headed for a trail” —he looks over at Sam— “you know the one on Milo’s land, this side of the river?”
Sam nods.
“Well, we were roaring through the woods when we came up on two more Kihn who gave chase. We were tearing up that trail with five Kihn in pursuit when Bud decided we should double back and head right for them.”
I know for sure they weren’t very smart being out there, to begin with. “Were the two of you drinking?” I ask suspiciously.
He waves away my question. “That didn’t seem to shake the Kihn up too much.” He pauses long enough to laugh.
I give him a look I’ve learned from our aunt Jordanna, letting him know I think his idea of fun is not too bright.
“Well,” he continues, “you know how crazy those boys on that side of the family can be.” He pauses, raising an eyebrow.
I can’t stop my laugh. Sawyer is just as wild, maybe more so than any of Deiter’s clan.
“Bud cranks the radio and starts whoopin’ and hollerin’ as I do my best to drive between the two bunches. It was like they were suddenly confused, like all the noise disoriented them.”
I frown. “Seriously?”
Sawyer nods. “Yep. We left them behind and got back on the highway. When we crossed the river, we surprised another group.” He leans back in his chair, tipping the two front legs up off the floor. “Loud music confuses them, that’s for sure. The more I’ve thought about it, the more I’m certai
n they have trouble communicating with each other. With the noise and all.”
“You definitely need to tell Lucas,” I say. This could definitely be important. Of course, there’s the chance Lucas already knows.
“When’s he due back?”
“Not for a couple of days.” I shake my head. “Sawyer, you need to let Max know about this. If they don’t know already, they need to. The sooner, the better.”
“Sam and I were discussing what this could mean,” he says.
I glance at Sam. “We thought of several scenarios where confusing them might come in handy,” he adds.
“We wanted to talk to you first before we headed over to talk to Max and Taylor,” Sawyer says.
“Is Taylor back?”
Sam nods. “He is.”
“Have you told Jake?” I ask.
“Not yet. He and Nick left this morning on an errand for Max,” Sawyer says. “He said he’d try to call you tonight.”
“Okay, y’all need to head on over and tell all this to Max and Taylor.” I stand and shrug into my jacket. “But let me run in and say hey to your mama on our way out and then you can drop me off at the house. Max or Taylor will be there or at the arena.”
After leaving my aunt Pat’s, I call Diane as the guys take me home. I’ve been checking on her regularly since our episode with the Kihn. I’ve been a little worried she might have flashbacks or nightmares after our traumatic event. But in typical Diane fashion, she’s good. You wouldn’t think it about her because of the way she responds to stressful situations, but she’s one of the strongest people I know. She always has been.
She also has no idea where Jake went. She says Jake told her he wouldn’t be home until Sunday. We’re both right curious about what Jake and Nick do on their trips out of town. Well—maybe not Nick so much.
We usually knock off from practice a little earlier on Friday nights since there’s always a poker game. But this night I beg off when Sawyer offers to give me a ride over to the shotgun shack.
“I’m going to take a hot shower and go to bed,” I tell him. I’m not expecting a call from Lucas, but a girl can hope. I’m ready for him to come home. “What did Max and Taylor have to say about the music thing?” I ask him as we cross the arena.
“They think it bears testing. I could tell Taylor was excited by the possibility.”
“I’m sure Max is too, he’s just able to control his emotions better than Taylor.”
“I take issue with that remark,” Taylor says right behind me.
I laugh and turn to face him. “You should.”
His brow lifts and then he smiles his amazing smile that has the ability to render a girl stupid. He laughs then, reaffirming my suspicion that he’s totally aware of just what that smile does.
“What do you think about Sawyer and our cousin’s interaction with the Kihn last night?”
“Well, it explains a few episodes from past altercations.”
“Really?” I ask.
He gives me a grin as we head out the door into the dark night, but he doesn’t make further comment on the subject.
“Are you playing poker tonight?” he asks.
“No, I’m tired. I’m going to bed early for a change. Y’all have a good time, though,” I say as we reach the house. I look around the area as Sawyer offers Taylor a ride.
“Thanks, but I’m not certain if I’m going to make it tonight either.”
“Where is Wolf?” I ask. It’s not like him to be gone so much; I’m beginning to worry.
Taylor shrugs. “He comes and goes as he pleases.” Sawyer calls a good night before walking on around to the front of the house where his Jeep is parked. Taylor reaches around me to open the back door into the sunroom. Stepping inside, the jewels of light the crystal chandelier casts around the glass enclosure astounds me as it does every time I step into this room at night.
“Are you sure Wolf is okay?” I ask.
“I am. He won’t go far from you when Lucas is gone.”
I frown, trying to remember. “Is that true?”
Taylor laughs. “Have a good night, Sofie. Max will be back shortly.”
What? “He’s gone too?” He was present during practice. “What’s going on? Is there a party somewhere out of town that I don’t know about?”
He grins.
“That reminds me, you and I need to talk.”
His grin turns into one of his megawatt smiles. “About?”
“There’s the matter of the gift you gave me at Christmas.” I pull on the chain around my neck, lifting the charm. “I think there’s more to this necklace than you led me to believe.”
“Now why would you think that?”
“Brit. She said I should ask for the complete story about how you came into possession of it.”
He gives a bark of laughter as he heads out the door.
Diane calls just as I get out of the shower. “Do you want to go shopping with me tomorrow?”
“I don’t know.” I try to muffle my yawn.
“Please, I don’t want to go by myself.”
“Maybe Emma Rae will go with you.”
“She’s out of town with Andy, remember?”
“Oh, yeah.” It seems as if half the town is gone this weekend. “Call me in the morning and I’ll let you know—but not too early.”
“Okay. Have a good night,” she says.
“Night. Sweet dreams.”
I slide into bed after hanging up. One of the best things about sleep is it’s the only time of my day that I’m not missing Lucas. I’m going to have to take on more hours at work or take up a hobby, I decide. I’m staying plenty busy throughout the day, it’s the nights that are bad. I roll over, breathing in deeply and concentrate on relaxing every muscle in my body, starting with my toes. It works, and my last thought is that maybe I’ll dream of Lucas.
The night air is rent with a high-pitched scream that causes the hair at the base of my skull to raise. It sounds like an animal in pain. I shiver, looking across the expanse of yard, scouring the area around the house and barnyard.
I’m standing at the edge of the yard outside Diane’s house. The house is dark and still, but something’s not right. The night’s cold and pitch black beyond the glow of the yard light. Quiet. Too quiet.
I look down. I’m still wearing my bed clothes, and I’m in my bare feet. Why am I here?
A sudden movement near the side of the house that’s sheltered from the yard light has me straining to see what’s there. As I watch, I see dark shapes walk up to the house. I have no doubt about it being Kihn. Three big Kihn. They walk to the area that I know is right outside Diane’s bedroom window.
I want to see what they’re up to but my feet won’t work properly. I’m unable to move. It’s as if I’ve lost the ability to make my legs function as my feet remain welded to the spot. A part of me knows I need to get closer, but it’s physically impossible.
The Kihn are walking around to the front of the house now, coming my way. Two of them carry a bundle between them. Whatever it is, it’s wrapped up in the comforter Diane uses on her bed, and as I watch, the largest Kihn hoists the bundle up over his shoulder.
My heart thuds in my chest as they move closer to me, but I still can’t move. As they near the spot where I stand, they suddenly walk in slow motion as they move past me. What totally freaks me out though is the way they turn their heads to look at me, their odd, yellow goat eyes meeting mine.
After passing me, the speed of their steps returns to their normal pace. I continue to watch as they move away from me, headed down the road, their large bodies moving quickly. Long, light brown hair hangs down the back of the one Kihn, escaping the bundle he carries over his shoulder.
Diane!
I alm
ost drop to my knees when I realize they have Diane, but whatever held me immobile has lost its grip and I take off in a run after the Kihn. However, I’m no longer following them down the dirt road. Now I’m walking in water. Creek water. And I feel an overwhelming sense of impending doom.
I panic. I can no longer see the Kihn. When I stop, I can hear them, so I concentrate on that as I continue forward. It seems as if I’ve walked for hours and there’s dense fog shrouding the water and the woods beyond. I round the bend in the creek and up ahead, the Kihn are waiting for me on a gravel bar.
Diane is still slung over the shoulder of the Kihn, but now one of her arms has escaped the wrap of the comforter and hangs limply down the Kihn’s back, swinging back and forth as he climbs the hill that rises up from the creek bottom.
I feel intense anger; gritting my teeth to the point that my jaw aches, contemplating the blatant disregard for Diane’s comfort. It’s cold out here, and they should make sure she stays warmly wrapped in the comforter.
It’s so foggy, I struggle to see where I’m going. An occasional low hanging tree branch or briar snags at my clothes and hair as I follow.
I stop, no longer able to see or hear the Kihn. I look up to inspect the cave opening in the limestone bluff suddenly before me. I know that the Kihn have taken Diane into the cave, and reaching down, I pick up a solid piece of a tree limb lying at my feet. I grip the club and enter the cave through the slit in the rock wall.
You need to wake up, girl. You need to leave before they know you are coming.
I sit straight up in bed gasping for air as my heart and head pound with the rush of blood roaring through my body.
Shit!
I bound off the bed, looking at the bedside clock.