Tracker: A Rylee Adamson Novel (Book 6)
Page 21
“Pamela, another time we can discuss this, but I believe we have things to accomplish tonight.” I watched as Pamela’s face shifted from wariness to reluctant agreement.
She let out a slow breath and then nodded. “Yes. That’s true.”
“Rylee,” Doran said. “Let me give you a hand with this.” He winked and a flood of strength rippled through me, washing the fatigue away in less than a heartbeat.
“You invoked the bite?”
He gave me an oversized grin, more than flashing his fangs. Tara squeaked and stepped further back. “My soul is intact, and it was you who kept it grounded. I owe you my life and my soul. Seems like I should at least invoke the bite when you needed it.”
With Doran’s bite invoked, I temporarily had a burst of strength, speed and stamina that would rival any vampire. This was what I needed to get through the next few hours.
Feeling like myself for the first time in what seemed like forever, I snorted and turned away from him. “Well then, let’s deal with Ingers.”
What came next was almost boring compared to everything that had happened so far. Ingers was waiting in a small office, oblivious to what had been going on. No witches were waiting with her, which surprised me.
A small cage held two tiny, what I learned were half-breed, children.
Ingers never even got a shot off. Tara saw her, saw the children, and went mental. Literally tore the agent in half. Messy, but effective. It made me think a few trolls, or even half trolls on our side wouldn’t be a bad thing.
We let the children out and they clung to Tara. Orphans who needed a mother, and a mother who needed wounds to heal.
All we had to do was wait for the Army contact who was supposed to show up for his “meeting.”
Again. Boring. The vampires fed well that night, and we staged the scene to look like a lover’s tryst gone very wrong. Mind you, we had to put Ingers back together again, which Milly was able to do.
Tara took the children home. Doran, Faris, and Berget left, and just me, Pamela, Milly, and Alex remained.
And a hell of a long walk home.
You didn’t think I’d forget you, did you?
My knees sagged with relief. Even with the burst of energy from Doran, I was done. “You took long enough, what’d you do, tuck Liam in bed?”
The dragon roared with laughter.
No, but perhaps next time I will do just that.
Blaz dropped out of the sky in front of us, his claws digging into the earth for balance. The four of us climbed onto his back and he took off. Finally, finally we were done.
About fucking time.
Chapter 22
“What are you going to wish for?” I poked at Pamela who stared into the candles like she’d never seen them before.
“I don’t know,” she said softly, her eyes round with childlike wonder that surprised me. Though she could be a truly tough little witch, it was easy to forget her early life was far from kind. Simple things like a birthday party with friends, presents, and a cake meant a great deal to her.
I glanced at the clock above the stove. “Almost midnight, you’d better decide and then blow them out or it’s not your birthday anymore.”
We’d held the party late so Doran and Berget were able to attend. Faris decided not to come, which was just as well. I might have accepted what he’d done and how he’d got my oaths, but I was pretty damn sure Liam hadn’t.
When everything had been said and done with Ingers and the weapons, Liam showed me the two files he’d pulled from Ingers’s office. In them were details that made me shudder, and we burned them.
Ingers had been tracing the movements of several supernaturals, Faris included. Her goal had been to set up the supernaturals not only to kill one another, but come “out” of the closet.
She’d even been working with Denning—Will’s boss and head honcho at SOCA in London.
The weapons they’d been making were the first step in starting the “cull,” as they’d tagged it. But now with Ingers and her Army contact dead, that left only Denning to carry on.
And I would deal with him soon enough. For now, Will watched him, and kept tabs on everything the piece of shit did.
It would have to be enough; I needed a fucking break.
The birthday party was in full swing when Doran pulled me into the kitchen. “You said you have a young necromancer in your pack now. Be careful, Rylee. Necromancers innately hate vampires and it goes both ways. If Faris had come, and your Frank had been here, there would have been bloodshed. I have the control to hold back, and amazingly so does Berget. But not Faris. He has always hated necromancers.”
“Are you shitting me?” I whispered.
Doran shook his head. “Just be wary. The hatred goes both ways—Frank would take a shot at us too, even if he didn’t understand why.”
And of course, the whole pulling me into the kitchen to “chat” had Liam’s feathers ruffled. Despite the fact he knew Doran didn’t have a chance with me, Liam couldn’t relax around him.
Speaking of … Liam curled his arm around my waist and tightened his grip on me. Since I’d been back, he’d been particularly possessive. I couldn’t blame him; it would not have been easy on his wolf to let me wander off on my own.
“Ease up,” I grunted, pushing at his arm. “I need to breathe.”
He relaxed, but then Doran grinned and gave him a wink from across the room. I shook my head. They would work it out. More so than ever, this was a game to the Daywalker. No, vampire. That would take some getting used to.
Pamela finally leaned forward and blew out the candles. “Do I tell you what I wished for?”
We all shouted no at the same time, Berget included. Even Milly.
Pamela smiled and sliced into the cake, handing out pieces. Of course, Alex was first, his drool making a shallow lake on the warped floor. We were still at Giselle’s, but only for twenty four hours. Eve was on her way back with Frank, and I felt her anxiety at hurrying home. Not too long at all and she’d be at the farm.
A day off seemed like a luxury at that point. And I would take it.
Everyone brought gifts for Pamela and I eased myself back, watching the pure delight on her face as she carefully opened each gift. A book of spells from Milly, a mortar and pestle made of clear quartz from Doran, a pair of diamond earrings from Berget.
“I can’t, these are too much.” Pamela looked more than a little horrified at the fine gift. Berget stepped close and put her hand over Pamela’s.
“You took care of Rylee when I couldn’t. That is worth all the diamonds in the world, Pamela.”
Pamela, being who she was, was not tentative in the least. She wrapped her arms around Berget, hugging her tight.
The party went on for a few hours, and Pamela didn’t mention that neither Liam nor I had given her anything. Doran and Berget slipped into the basement when the sun began to crawl through the sky, and Alex and Milly had gone to their separate beds.
Liam was sprawled on the couch. “Think we should give her the present now?”
Pamela’s eyes widened. “I don’t expect anything from you, I truly don’t.”
I gave her a wink. “Well, too bad, you’re getting something anyway, kid.” I held out a long, narrow package. By the look in her eye, she knew what it held.
There was no care in her as she ripped the paper off and opened the box. A sword lay in the bottom, already edged in silver, spelled by Milly to cut deep.
“You can’t always protect yourself with magic, you’ve seen what happened to Milly,” I said, lifting the sword out. “This was Giselle’s sword, and the one I learned with before I graduated to the two I have now.”
I held it out to her and she took the handle carefully. “Thank you, this is all too much.” Her eyes filled with tears and I gave her a hug.
“Never. It will never be enough if it keeps you safe.”
Liam cleared his throat. “On that note, I have something for you too.”
&n
bsp; From his pocket, he pulled a small black bundle that fit in the palm of his hand. I frowned; I had no idea what it was.
He unfolded it and put it on her wrist. “It’s made from my and Alex’s fur, woven using a spell Milly knew to keep it strong. It will make other wolves fear you, even if they don’t know why. They will avoid you at all costs.”
Well, that was wild. Not the bracelet, but that he’d worked with Milly. Maybe they had gotten past things. Maybe I’d needed to be out of their way for a bit.
Pamela thanked us again, and again, and finally, I sent her to bed.
Liam flopped back onto the broken down couch, and I sat beside him, my hand curling around his thigh.
“Rylee, I’m still pissed at you for sending me away with Blaz.”
“Hmm. I’ll take a spanking for it if I must.”
He cleared his throat. “Woman, you are a devil, you know that?”
I chuckled. “Yeah, I’ve heard that a time or two.”
We fell silent, the sunrise peeking through the windows.
“Liam?”
“Hmm?”
“It’s the calm before the storm, isn’t it?”
He turned my face to his, kissing me lightly. “Yeah, I think it is.”
So much to do, so much was coming, and yet for the first time, I felt hope. The crushing despair that had nearly consumed me after Dox’s death had lifted. I knew there would be more losses—that was the way of things. There was never a world so perfect that everyone survived a war.
But since this really was the calm before the storm, and it wouldn’t last forever, I took advantage of it.
“Liam?”
“Yes?”
“About that spanking …”
Authors note
Thanks for reading “Tracker” I truly hope you enjoyed the continuation of Rylee’s story, her friends, and the world I’ve created for them. If you loved this book, one of the best things you can do is leave a review for it. Amazon.com is where I sell the majority of my work, so if I can only ask for one place for reviews that would be it. Again, thank you for coming on this ride with me, I hope we’ll take many more together. The rest of The Rylee Adamson series, along with my other novels, are available in both ebook and paperback format from Amazon.
Enjoy!
Shannon Mayer’s Amazon Author Page:
http://amzn.to/19vLaCg
About the Author
Shannon Mayer lives in the southwestern tip of Canada with her husband, dog, cats, horse, and cows. When not writing she spends her time staring at immense amounts of rain, herding old people (similar to herding cats) and attempting to stay out of trouble. Especially that last is difficult for her.
She is the author of the The Rylee Adamson Novels, The Nevermore Trilogy, A Celtic Legacy series and two contemporary romances. Please visit her website for more information on her novels.
Website:
http://www.shannonmayer.com/
Facebook:
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https://twitter.com/TheShannonMayer
Shannon Mayer’s Amazon Author Page:
http://amzn.to/19vLaCg
Also by Shannon Mayer
The Rylee Adamson Series
Priceless (Book 1)
Immune (Book 2)
Raising Innocence (Book 3)
Shadowed Threads (Book 4)
Blind Salvage (Book 5)
Tracker (Book 6)
Contemporary Romance
High Risk Love
Ninety-Eight
Paranormal Romantic Suspense
The Nevermore Trilogy
Sundered
Bound
Dauntless
Urban Fantasy
A Celtic Legacy Trilogy
Dark Waters
Dark Isle
Dark Fae
Copyright
Tracker, A Rylee Adamson Novel #6
Copyright © Shannon Mayer 2013
All rights reserved
Published by HiJinks Ink LTD.
www.shannonmayer.com
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a database and retrieval system or transmitted in any form or any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the owner of the copyright and the above publishers.
Please do not participate in or encourage the piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. Or deliberately on purpose, depending on whether or not you have been nice to the author.
Original Cover Art by Damon Za
Mayer, Shannon
Table of Contents
Praise for Tracker
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Authors note
About the Author
Also by Shannon Mayer
List Of Characters
List Of Characters
Rylee Adamson: Tracker and Immune who has dedicated her life to finding lost children. Based near Bismarck, North Dakota.
Liam O’Shea: Previously an FBI agent. Now he is a werewolf/Guardian as well as lover to Rylee.
Giselle: Mentored Rylee and Milly; Giselle is a Reader but cannot use her abilities on Rylee due to Rylee’s Immunity. She died in “Raising Innocence”.
Millicent: AKA Milly; Witch who was best friend to Rylee. Now is actively working against Rylee for reasons not yet clear.
Kyle Jacobs: Rylee’s personal teenage hacker—human.
Doran: Daywalker and Shaman that helps Rylee from time to time. Located near Roswell, New Mexico.
Alex: A werewolf trapped in between human and wolf. He is Rylee’s unofficial sidekick and loyal companion. Submissive.
Berget: Rylee’s little sister who went missing 10 years prior to “Priceless”. In “Raising Innocence” Rylee found out that Berget is still alive. In “Shadowed Threads” Rylee discovers Berget is the “Child Empress” and a vampire.
Dox: Large pale blue-skinned ogre. Friend of Rylee. Owns “The Landing Pad” near Roswell, New Mexico. Deceased
Louisa: Tribal Shaman located near Roswell, New Mexico.
Eve: Harpy that is now under Rylee’s tutelage as per the Harpy rule of conduct.
Faris: Vampire and general pain in the ass to Rylee. He is in contention for the vampire “throne” against Rylee’s little sister, Berget.
Jack Feen: Only other Tracker in existence. He lives in London and is dying.
Agent Valley: Senior in command in the Arcane Division of the FBI.
Blaz: Dragon who bonded (reluctantly) with Rylee in “Shadowed Threads”.
Pamela: Young, powerful witch that Rylee saved in “Raising Innocence”. She is now one of Rylee’s wards.
Charlie: Brownie who acts as Rylee’s go between when working with parents on all of her salvages. Based in Bismarck, North Dakota.
Dr. Daniels: aka “Daniels” is a child services worker and a druid Rylee met up with in “Raising Innocence”. Rylee and Daniels do not like one another.
Sla, De
v, Tin and Lop: Ogres and friends to both Rylee and Dox who were killed by Orion’s thugs.”
Orion: Demon that is prophesied to take over the world.
William Gossard: AKA, Will. Panther shape shifter and officer with SOCA in London. Friend to Rylee.
Deanna Gossard: Druid, sister to William. Friend and help to Rylee.