rogue shifter 05 - caught between

by Gayle Parness

  "It's worth a try." I sat down in an arm chair in the living room and made the guys stand by the kitchen doorway, keeping them out of the way."

  When she appeared she looked stronger, as if being away from the Carmel villa was restoring her health, somehow. "Good afternoon, Jacqueline."

  "Hello, Marie."

  "Whoa. You didn't tell me she was such a fox." Kyle said from the doorway.

  "Shut up, you tool." Ethan smiled and walked forward. "Hello, Marie. I'm Ethan and this is Kyle. We work with Jackie."

  "It is lovely to make your acquaintance." She smiled at both of them, doing a double take when she saw Kyle.

  "Hey, Marie!" Kyle walked forward and put out his hand.

  "It is dangerous for you to touch me. I apologize"

  "Oh, sure. No problem."

  Her eyes grew wider. "I am sorry if I am being rude, but were you in a horrible accident?"

  Ethan and I started to laugh, but Kyle's glare got us under control before the tears began to flow.

  He changed the glare to a smile for Marie's benefit. "You're not being rude."

  "It is just that you have pieces of metal embedded in your face."

  "Those are there on purpose. It's kind of like jewelry." He explained.

  "It is common to wear jewelry in your nose and eyebrow?" She looked quickly at Ethan, who didn't have any studs, then back at Kyle. "This is considered attractive in this era?" Ethan lost it and buried his face in a couch pillow. I was more in control because I had to stay focused to hold her in solid form, but still, c'mon. This was awesome.

  "Yeah." Kyle was glaring at us again. "Anyone who has them is particularly cool."

  "Cool?" She looked bewildered.

  "In fashion. Up to date."

  "Ah. Thank you, Kyle, for explaining that to me. However, I must tell you that I am a cheetah, not a fox."

  Kyle chuckled. "You are both, Marie."

  Ethan explained. "He means that you're an extremely attractive female. That's what he means by a fox."

  "Oh." She smiled. "Thank you, Kyle."

  "I hate to interrupt this fascinating conversation, but she's here to help in the investigation."

  "Hey, no prob. I was just being polite."

  I rolled my eyes. "Marie. We think a demon is responsible for a murder that took place in the bedroom of this house. Could you confirm this?"

  "Please direct me to the room."

  She was able to confirm that a demon was in the room within the last few days and that he'd worked a spell. She followed his scent outside the house and into the nearby woods, but then the scent disappeared. I thanked her, then said goodbye, releasing her from my hold.

  I was tired, but not as tired as I'd summoned her to meet Bridgett. I guess I was getting stronger too. "I'll call you guys and let you know what I find out from Isaiah."

  Ethan touched my shoulder to get my attention."Maybe it's him. Take someone with you to talk to him."

  "According to the agreement, he can't leave our property. Plus, Marie and I both know his scent. It's not Isaiah murdering these women."

  "Okay, but be careful." Ethan warned.

  As I pulled into the driveway of our home, I wasn't surprised to see that the demon in question was sitting in a chair on the front porch, his legs up on the iron railing, crossed at the ankles.

  "Out investigating, little demon?"

  I sat on the chair next to his. "Two shifters have been murdered. Do you know anything about this?"

  "I follow your rules. I cannot leave your property and I cannot harm anyone while I am your guest."

  "I didn't say it had anything to do with you, I just want to know if you have any idea who did it." I handed him the woman's pillow case and a scrap of her clothing that appeared to have been ripped from her nightgown.

  He closed his eyes and sniffed the items. His mental wheels seemed to spin as he thought for a moment, probably trying to work out how to answer my question without giving everything he knew away. "I do not know who committed the murders."

  "But it was a demon?"

  "These articles carry the scent of a demon. And..."

  "And?"

  "There was talk at home about a demon being summoned to this area." He looked at me more closely. "You were at one of the murder scenes?" I nodded. "I smell him very faintly on your clothing, along with the stink of blood magic."

  "Do you know why they were targeted to be killed?"

  He waited. "I do not know why they were killed."

  I had a sudden inspiration. "Give me your best guess."

  He frowned at me, not enjoying my new tactic. "If I were to do such a foolish thing as guess, then I would remind you that blood taken with violence could become an ingredient in a spell."

  "What spell?

  "I do not know what..."

  "Give me your best guess." I interrupted.

  Now he was angry. "Jacqueline, a guess is not truth and I am only required to tell you the truth. The truth is that I do not know. There are millions of spells."

  "Your guess might not turn out to be fact. But regardless, if it's what you believe to be true, then your best guess is truthful."

  He practically hissed at me. "You are putting me in a dangerous position. Dangerous for both of us."

  "You've heard something, right? I want to know." I was surprised by how calm I felt.

  He grunted. "There was talk of a spell being used to thin the veil between our worlds."

  "The Demon Realm and the mortal world?"

  "Yes. And also perhaps Faerie."

  I twisted what he'd told me into many shapes, puzzling it out, then asked, "Are there any in your world who can pass into mine without an invitation or a summoning?"

  "I will not discuss this."

  I glared at him, angry with his attitude. I was in control here, not him. "Please answer my question."

  His eyes narrowed, but he answered me anyway. "There were some demons who were able to travel between the realms using only the magic that lies within themselves. They needed no invitation nor summons. There have been perhaps a dozen who have tried over the centuries. Some did not survive the journey. Others were successful."

  "Are there any alive today who can do this?"

  "You already know the answer, ma petite demon." He'd leaned his body closer to mine, trying to get a rise out of me by using an endearment of Garrett's. I didn't like it one bit.

  But then his words sunk in and my eyes widened with shock. "Me? And Bridgett?"

  "Yes, and others with the blood of two worlds. You and your sister can live and move between both plains. You need only to be trained to hone in on an exact location."

  "You can teach me to..."

  "Yes, I can if I so desire. You wouldn't need a circle or a spell to visit us in scaly demon land." He teased again." However, without training, you might land in the lap of an enemy."

  The thought horrified me."And Charlie? He'll be able to cross between my world and yours?"

  "Your son will be the first to flow freely between the three realms without invitation nor summons. The—very—first."

  I flattened my mouth. "But I can travel to Faerie without any fae blood in my veins."

  "Because you have been made an ally by the elders. A friend of Cascade. You could not travel to the fae court." I nodded, finally understanding. "Because of this skill, Charles will be constantly sought after, becoming a pawn in a much larger game."

  "Garrett and I won't allow that to happen. Neither will Lord Caelen."

  He laughed heartily. "Lord Caelen is indeed a major player, but you and your mate will have little effect on the outcome. Charlie is currently on the fae side of the board but he's still in your womb. Think of all the maneuverings that will go on after he's born. And the question remains, where will he plant his feet and grow roots? Where will his loyalties lie? With the purple Queen or the orange Archdemon?"

  "Not in your realm."

  "You seem so certain. Your grandmother might disag
ree."

  "I'm positive. But you're forgetting, there's another world. Mine and Garrett's. Here there's freedom and friendship and family. This is where he'll always belong."

  "Your world is the mortar between the two bricks, easily flattened by either side."

  I scowled. "Maybe we're the icing in the Oreo cookie. The most delicious part."

  "The first eaten." he winked.

  Okay, that wasn't a great analogy, but Isaiah was smiling now. He put his hands behind his head and leaned back against the wall of the house, looking perfectly human, which was creepy on so many levels.

  I decided to resume my questioning. "So you think that another demon was summoned to Crescent City to take shifter blood for an unknown spell?"

  "It seems likely, but I do not know for certain."

  "Has it happened yet? The thinning of the veil?"

  "No."

  "When?"

  "I don't know. Truly. To bring an army across the veil would require much more than the blood of two shifters. This spell will be something simple, yet important."

  We sat quietly for a few moments, both of us lost in our own thoughts. I watched him out of the corner of my eye. "Why are you really here, Isaiah?" I'd decided I'd keep asking this question until I got a truthful answer.

  The young man with the mousy brown hair, brown eyes and average build turned to look at me with an expression that was nothing short of terrifying. "To fulfill your bargain," he stared at me intently for several seconds longer, then let go of his anger and turned away. "Also because of a promise made to another."

  This time he'd spoken the truth. "A promise to Grandmother?"

  "No." There was the tiniest hint of scorn in his answer.

  "You don't like her?"

  "We have had differences of opinion in the past, but the Bassilissa Naberia is Dingir to me." I raised my eyebrows. "A god, obeyed without question and loved above one's own life."

  His eyes had slowly begun to flame with orange, a sign of his very strong emotions. I was betting on a tightly controlled rage. "You don't necessarily choose to worship at that altar, do you?"

  His grin was suddenly huge, causing me to lean away from him in surprise. "Such a smart-ass, little demon. You make me proud of our blood connection."

  I decided to plunge straight into the depths of my suspicions before I lost my nerve. "Are you planning to move against her soon?"

  It was his turn to look shocked. "Disloyalty to the Bassilissa ends in true death only if you are lucky. She is powerful enough to keep me alive throughout centuries of torture, and I value my skin too much to watch it flayed from my body over and over for all eternity." He leaned much closer and whispered, "One should never rush pleasure. La vengeance se mange très-bien froide." He touched his birthmark and disappeared into the lines, probably feeling he'd answered enough of my questions.

  So what the heck did that mean?

  I grabbed a hooded sweatshirt from the hall closet, told Liam where I was going, called to Samson, and then took us both through the ley lines to a remote Crescent City beach. It was deserted because of the day's chilly temperatures and steady winds, so I pulled the sweatshirt on and stuffed my hands in the front pocket. I needed to sort through a lot of information and I found it hard to concentrate around the house at times. We walked along the shoreline, my hood pulled up to keep my ears warm, and went over my entire conversation with Isaiah.

  A person with some demon blood had killed two shifters so that someone else could work a spell, possibly to move between the DR and our world. I spent the first few minutes of my walk worrying over what could be coming through the veil, when it would happen and mainly, what it wanted when it got here. After deciding that there was nothing I could do about any of it, I chose to think about things brought up in the conversation that I had some power over.

  A real shocker was that with some training, I'd be able to travel to the Demon Realm. Just like I could hop the ley lines into Faerie because I'd been given ally status by the elders, I could take the lines into the DR. I could ask Isaiah to teach me this skill, and then, well, then maybe I could explore my full demonic potential. I might one day be as powerful as a young fae.

  But at what cost? I shuddered and let the idea float away on the late afternoon breeze. Nope, not for me. I had my feet firmly planted on shifter soil, my heart forever entwined with Garrett's and my loyalties blended with my shifter/vamp/were/fae friends and family. I might have demon blood, but it was definitely diluted by my stronger cheetah hemoglobin.

  However, Charlie was in real danger. Isaiah had said he'd be used by both sides, a tiny player in their supernatural game. How could I protect him? Should I really dismiss the only chance I might have to gain more power if agreeing meant that I could better protect my son and my mate? I rubbed a spot between my eyes, the stress making my head hurt.

  The clouds must have cleared away because I was suddenly standing in the sunshine. The wind was still blowing strongly but it was now refreshing and no longer made me shiver. I yanked down the hood and enjoyed the rare burst of warmth on my face.

  There was a large boulder up ahead with a young man sitting at the very top staring out into the ocean, possibly as lost in his own thoughts as I'd been in mine. He was dressed in loose black pants, the kind you'd wear at a martial arts class, and a loose fitting peasant-style shirt. His very dark hair was tied back with a leather strap, the long tail hanging down to his waist. His feet were bare and he seemed to wear no weapons, but his toned muscles were evident when the wind pressed his shirt against his chest and arms.

  Samson ran down the beach toward the stranger and then stopped and sat at the foot of the boulder, looking back over his shoulder, as if expecting me to hurry up. He didn't bark. He always barked at strangers. Maybe he knew this male from his time with Carly.

  As I lumbered through the sand, I speculated as to whether or not the young man might be fae because he had the feel of a warrior about him. However, his profile was rounder, softer, unlike the usual sharper bone structure of the fae males I was familiar with. Plus he didn't seem to be all that tall, although it was hard to tell with him seated.

  Because he was a stranger, I reinforced my walls, then curiously reached out with my magic. I couldn't sense his aura, even though I tried in several different ways. His heart was beating at the same rate as my own, so he wasn't a vampire or a shade. Perhaps he could mask his aura. If so, he was at least as powerful as a young fae or demon.

  I ground to a halt in the warmer sand at the base of the boulder. I'd gotten close enough now to see his face, and my god, his face was beautiful; his expression alight with joy and bathed in a serenity I'd never achieve even if I journeyed to Tibet and spoke to the Dalai Lama himself.

  He didn't turn toward me as I stood there staring, probably hoping that I'd just walk around the rock and continue on my way. Instead, I slowly turned my body to look out over the ocean toward the horizon, interested to see what made his face light up with such unbridled joy.

  The view was spectacular in this slightly sheltered spot on the deserted beach. The angry ocean, churned up from an approaching storm, went on and on forever until it met the sky, which was decorated this evening with multi-colored strips of cloud as sunset approached. Standing here, I could understand the fear and excitement of early explorers as they looked at the unending horizon, and I admired their courage in those early days. Without the knowledge of today's science, a sea captain might believe he'd be crushed between the sea and sky, or fall off the edge into a never-ending abyss.

  Today I could so relate to that fear. Crushed by Faerie or the Demon Realm, didn't sound any less terrifying. Isaiah had said we were the mortar between two bricks, easily flattened. How could I keep my tiny baby safe from being swallowed by war?

  I heard the young man sigh and then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him turn in my direction. I looked up and smiled at him in a friendly way, one nature-lover to another. He smiled back instantly, his gaze mo
ving automatically to my enormous belly. His large, lovely eyes were dark blue, sparkling with streaks of bright green. As spectacular as they were, I was a tiny bit disappointed, because for some reason I'd wanted him to be fae and he obviously wasn't. What he was, I couldn't say.

  Still, I smiled at him shyly, in awe of this male and his breathtaking beauty. I broke the ice, feeling a need to explain my intrusion. "My son and I enjoy walking on the beach. It's peaceful, even with the wind howling." I rubbed my belly so he'd understand.

  "Peace is not always as you might imagine." His voice was rich and deep and I wanted to crawl up onto the boulder beside him just to hear his voice more clearly. He spoke without any discernible accent, and every word sounded like it was created brand new in his mind and spoken for only my ears to hear, an intimate language of our own.

  "It beats the alternative. War." I whispered with a shrug, then felt embarrassed by my silly response and the crude sound of my voice next to his perfect one.

  "A war fought with passion for a true cause, even if the result is death, gives one's life significance."

  I shook my head and touched my belly. "Most males probably feel that way."

  "But you, a female, do not?" He arched a curious eyebrow and met my eyes. Suddenly I was floating in the blue and green ocean of his soulful gaze and had no desire to ever touch land again. "Ah—you cannot." He nodded and smiled, the perfection of his mouth drawing me closer to the rock.

  I forced myself to respond."A life is significant because of the choices we make in the daily living of it. Not in the manner of death."

  He looked so pleased by my answer. This time my knees trembled. "You instruct me with wisdom. I have been away, and have—forgotten."

  "Forgotten?"

  He looked back toward the horizon. "So many words and delicious sensations. The taste of the sea air. The smell of a beautiful woman." He winked at me and then gestured toward my belly. "The promise of a newborn soul. How lovely the world can be. And how terrible."

  "Why did you decide to return to Crescent City?" I wondered if he was some foreign traveler who'd been away studying in some out of the way country.

  He sighed loudly again, stretching his arms over his head as if he'd just woken up from a long night's sleep and his body was still stiff. "I am needed. Come stand there, young mother. I wish to look at you."