by Austina Love
Trip glanced upward with worried eyes. Shye had never been gone this long nor had she ever run away from him. He’d been riding all day searching the skies, hoping and praying that one of those majestic eagles soaring overheard would’ve been his love. The possibility that she may have been one and ignored him flitted through his mind. He wouldn’t fault her after his floundering moment with the three women.
Situations such as these are why he had chosen to ride alone for the past several years. He loathed female drama and Natayla thrived on it. His thoughts drifted back to Shye and the sorrowful expression in her lovely eyes moments before she’d shifted. The satiny feathers of her wings had merely brushed his fingertips before she’d taken flight. This had been the longest day of his life thus far.
Never had a woman become fixed in his soul as Shye had. From day one everything about her had drawn him in even though he knew she’d be trouble. He was addicted to her sweetness as deeply as he was captured by her mystical and at times dangerous nature.
He refused to believe that she’d simply leave him over the reappearance of his ex. Surely Shye is strong enough to weather a small confrontation with a jaded ex. Then again, Natayla’s aim to uncover the mystery behind the bank explosion most likely added to Shye’s apprehension.
After riding the highways all day he finally decided to stop for a break. Night had fallen and storm clouds loomed overhead as if at any moment the ominous sky would unleash its fury. Shye had clearly put him on ice, but in his heart he believed she’d done the right thing and shifted back to human form. Even in her anger toward him, she’d never abandon her parents or her people and she definitely wouldn’t defy the spirit world.
No…she came back. I feel it in my spirit. She’s hurting and torn. Her heart is too pure and her generous character goes far beyond the temptation to fly away forever.
While parked at a convenience store after fueling his bike, he sat watching the storm build. Lightning veined from cloud-to-cloud and thunder rumbled in the not so far off distance. He tried to visualize where Shye would’ve taken refuge. An hour north would take him to her parents’ cabin on the reservation. Her spirit connection to her father may have drawn her there.
But being closer to her farm Trip didn’t want to lose time, with Draven prowling around just in case she’d gone there. No doubt the prick was tracking Shye as well.
We’re both after the same woman, but for different reasons.
He pondered which way to go—north or south. After checking his gear to make sure the rain stick was still safely attached to the holster along with his weapons, he throttled the engine. Will she seek guidance from her father or solitude on her land? Rain began to fall then the heavens opened to release torrential downpours. A déjà-vu moment ensued.
Another night just like this came to mind—with him sitting on his bike in the pouring rain after Draven had captured Shye and hauled her off to his base of operations. He recalled how Nagi had appeared and beckoned him in the right direction.
Turning his face upward and letting the water pelt his face, he offered thanks to the spirit world for granting him wisdom. He knew exactly where to go.
* * * *
“That rain,” Pike muttered as he stood guard over Shye in the barn. “I hate the rain.”
“What’s wrong, tough guy?” she mocked. “Afraid of the Rain Riders? Can you hear them coming for you?” She paused deliberately, then added, “I can.”
He tried to hide it, but she saw the brief look of horror flash across his face when lightning illuminated the darkness.
“They would have taken me when they took Gage, so your head games won’t work on me.” He glanced through the crack in the wooden door. “Besides, I have this rain stick to protect me.”
“You’re such a fool. That stick isn’t protecting you. In fact, the reason the riders came in the first place is because your idiot crewmembers took it from a sacred resting place. I don’t know how you managed to become a cop. You’re so stupid.” She rattled on in an attempt to shake him. “Oh wait, you couldn’t make it as a cop so you turned on your own partner for easy money. What kind of man betrays his partner? Not a man at all…a grubby little parasite is all you are. No wonder you’re still single. I bet you can’t even—”
“Enough!” he bellowed. “Shut. Your. Yap, woman!”
His hand gripped the rain stick so tightly that the skin on his knuckles paled. She studied his face as he continued with the anxious peeks through the door as if he was waiting for someone. In the dimly lit area she could see profuse sweat beading his face. She sat on a bale of hay, her hands and feet bound with twine.
“I don’t see any riders coming…it’s just a storm,” he said, turning to face her.
She glowered through narrowed eyes, but decided to remain silent for now. Peals of thunder split the night and lightening sent flashes of light into the barn.
He pulled up a barrel, placed a booted foot on top, rested one arm over his bent knee and stared down at her. “Why don’t we get down to business? You aren’t going anywhere and I’m betting that as long as I keep you away from the sun you won’t be able to do your tricky little shifting thing.”
Shye looked past him into the distance through an open space near the roof. An eerie shade of red hung around the moon in spite of the raging storm.
“Fine.” He sighed. “Play the silent game. You won’t hold your tongue much longer.” He reached around the corner of a wooden wall and pulled a long stick into view. “What do you think, little miss, should I sell it? Give it to you? Or maybe Natayla would offer me the best price to back up her story.”
She bit the inside of her cheek until the taste of blood oozed into her mouth. No way would she bow to this man! Go ahead…shake it, you idiot! Her eyes must’ve been blazing with the fury she felt in her soul because he actually faltered and took a few steps back. Unfortunately, he quickly recovered.
Squatting on bent knees in front of her, he sneered. “I see the rage in your eyes. You’re the feistiest and most alluring Indian chick I’ve ever met. If you’re nice to me then maybe I will give this rain stick to you.”
There it is right in front of me. The ancient rain stick taken from my land—the same instrument that summoned the Rain Riders. She longed to touch it. Just take hold and never let go. In her lost moment of contemplation Pike must have sensed her wavering because he leaned closer. She tried to back away, but only tumbled backward off the bale of hay. Before she had time to catch her breath he was on top of her with fast hands and seeking lips.
She averted her face to stop his lips from touching hers. The rain stick lay right beside them.
“Get off of me!”
“The choice is yours,” he growled. “If you want the relic then I come with it, we’re a package deal.”
“Never!”
He didn’t back off. She continued dodging his attempts to kiss her, struggling for a position where she could knee him in the groin. Suddenly the door burst open.
“Pike Draven!” a woman’s voice barked. “What ARE you doing?”
Immediately he rolled off of Shye. She shook the hair off her face and scrambled to her knees. Natayla! What is she doing here? Shye held her tongue and waited. Then to her shock and dismay La walked in behind her. Can this night possibly get any worse? What the hell is La doing here, too?
“I was trying to get her to talk,” Pike said rather weakly.
Natayla threw her bag to the dirt floor. “By sticking your tongue in her mouth? We had an arrangement. I don’t take lightly to betrayal. Don’t forget that I know everything about you and could easily make you front page news tomorrow.”
He brushed hay from his jeans while walking toward her. “Look, Nata, maybe I got carried away. It’s that damned rain stick.” He pointed at the stick lying there. “I haven’t been myself since we found the thing.”
“So she is the one?” Natayla shot Shye an intrigued look with arched brows.
“Yeah…she’s
the one. If you hang around long enough I’m sure you’ll get to see her shift. She seems to need a shadow or something from the sun to do her trickster thing.”
“This is fabulous! You were telling the truth.” Natayla chirped then planted a long, affectionate kiss on his lips. “You’re forgiven.”
Shye wanted to retch at the sight of them kissing. Never had she seen a more disjointed couple. Not only was this woman working with Trip’s enemy, but she was involved with him as well. The entire revelation was both shocking and sickening.
La stepped into the dim lighting cast by a lantern and pointed a finger at her. “You little bitch! So that’s how you knew about the missing money and how you drove everyone in town crazy. Did you use your special powers to seduce Gage and Trip? Is that what you were trying to do here with my sister’s man?”
Shye scowled. “Your sister’s man?”
“Phft! Like you didn’t know.”
“I didn’t…until now.”
“Well imagine that,” La said with a haughty laugh. “Shye Halayi not knowing something. And here I thought you had it all figured out. Me and Gage…Nata and Pike. You’ve surprised me, Shye. I had you pegged as a cunning vixen when all along you were nothing but a simple little Indian girl using your magic spells on the town.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Shye snarled, enraged over her insults. The urge to attack engulfed her. Every nerve in her body sparked to life and the adrenaline spiked, making her tremble inside.
La stepped forward and brought her hand down on Shye’s face with unexpected force. “You think you can just run around taking all the men, don’t you? Are they all drawn to your mysterious Indian allure or do you have to cast a love potion on them by using some old stick? Honestly, I don’t know what Gage ever saw in you.”
“More than he ever saw in you.” Shye licked the blood from her broken lip.
“I’ve waited a long time to see you on your knees.” La’s eyes shone with malevolence. “Twenty years I watched the man I loved wait for you. Then when you finally breezed back into town, you rejected him. Did you think you could do better? Do you think that lowlife rebel is a better man? He’s nothing but the brother of a pathetic cop.”
“You don’t know the meaning of love,” Shye spat.
Her remark drew another belt on the face from La. “You’d be amazed at what I know. We did your boyfriend a favor by planning Ty’s death…spared him the disgrace of an incompetent brother.”
“You?” She felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her.
“La! Shut the hell up!” Pike bellowed.
“No! We have her now and I am sick of looking like the dumb blonde! I played that role long enough.”
Shye’s mind began to blur. What is actually going down here? She shook her head to clear her thoughts.
“You think all those stupid men had enough brains to plan this out?” La let out a short, cynical laugh. “They don’t have enough combined intelligence to screw in a light bulb. I am the one who planned Ty’s death. No man dumps me and gets away with it. But I knew it would take a little help to keep everyone’s eyes off me.” She knelt down in front of Shye and got in her face. “Everyone wants something…and I found the perfect scapegoats to carry out my plan. Carter wanted power…he thought he’d be mayor one day.” She laughed again and evil lurked in her voice. “Pike wanted money and my sister. Pike was an easy mark…he hated the Viper brothers and couldn’t wait to steal Natayla away from Trip. Gage had been more of a challenge because he was in love with you. But once the others were on board, he joined us, too. He just couldn’t resist the almighty dollar.”
Shye slunk back on her haunches—utterly stunned by this cold, hard disclosure. The targets had shifted so many times in this scheme that it was mindboggling.
Still, she wasn’t going down without a fight. It was time to shift the focus once more. “Looks like your sister still has a hot spot for my man…maybe she’s using her bag of tricks just to get a story. I doubt that either of you are capable of loving one man. After all, she seemed quite excited about taking a ride on Trip’s bike.”
Pike shot Natayla a heated glare. “What’s she talking about?”
Natayla shook her head and let out a contemptuous laugh. “Oh nothing, I was trying to work Viper over to see if he’d slip up. Two witnesses are better than one when presenting a story of this magnitude.” She placed a hand on Pike’s face. “You know that I am terrified of riding motorcycles and would never get on one. And you should know by now that I am long over Trip Viper.”
She was lying! Both sisters lied with staggering ease. How could I allow myself to become caught up in their game? Shye felt suddenly foolish. These two women had baited her and she’d fallen right into their trap. If she’d flown away and never returned all because of them, she’d have broken Trip’s heart without just cause.
“You best be telling the truth, Nata,” Pike said in a menacing tone. “I’m not the kind of man who’ll play second to Viper.”
“I assure you that I’m not carrying a torch for him or any other man except you.” She offered him a demure smile.
A shadow moved in the background. “Are you sure you’ve got the story straight this time?” Trip’s voice was heavy with sarcasm as he came into view. He carried his precious gift from Nagi at his side.
Shye’s heart leapt at the sight of him. Everyone whipped around to face him. Seizing the moment, she flung herself at Natayla who stood closest and knocked the bitch off her feet. Even with bound hands and feet she managed to fight the woman by using her body and teeth. They rolled into some loose hay with Natayla screaming for the others to help her. Shye felt more than one pair of hands tugging at her hair and arms. But her rage had peaked, making her very hard to control. She flailed about like a wild horse tied in hobbles and her strength surprised even her.
Eventually a very strong grip pulled her off of Natayla, but not before the woman reached up and grabbed hold of Shye’s beaded necklace—the gift given by Nagi with her shifting feathers attached.
In her side vision, Shye noticed that Trip had La in a stronghold. Obviously he’d pulled her away to even the odds. Pike had a vise grip on Shye’s arms when Natayla’s gaze met hers and instantly Shye knew something beyond anyone’s control was about to happen. With Natayla’s hand clutching the one-of-a-kind neckpiece, sheer terror flooded the traitorous woman’s eyes.
“Let me go!” she screamed.
“It’s not me…the necklace was placed on me by the spirit world.” Shye watched in utter amazement as Natayla began to fade. “You have sealed your own fate.”
“Nooooooooooo…” her voice steadily weakened. Her flesh became translucent, revealing her skeleton then her organs.
La shrieked in open horror. “Oh my god! Nata!” She kept on screaming.
Within minutes Natayla turned to dust right before everyone’s eyes. The twine on Shye’s hands and feet uncannily fell away. Though she felt dazed by the experience, years of combat training enabled her to remain focused and react fast. Instinctively she knew what to do. Just when Pike reached for her, she dove between his legs, rolled over then kicked the back of his knees with both feet. He went down with a thud.
Shye lunged for the rain stick, grabbed it and sprung to her feet in almost the same move. In a flash she was out of the barn, leaving Trip behind to handle La and Pike.
Once outside, she ran full speed to the orchards behind the barn. Elderberry trees laden with fruit bent low from the storm. Dropping to her knees, she smashed a cluster of the deep bluish-black fruit in her hands. Using the index and middle fingers of both hands, she streaked the fruit dye across both cheeks twice, creating four stripes of war paint on each side of her face.
She took hold of the rain stick and stood, then raised her arms toward the heavens. Nagi! The riders had been on their way as she’d warned Pike. Within seconds Nagi appeared with the herd of magnificent stallions carrying proud warriors on their backs. As
before, the white stallion pranced to the front of the group and pawed the ground while snorting hot breath through flared nostrils.
Shye swung herself onto his bare back. With the fingers of one hand tangled in his wild mane and the rain stick of her ancestors raised high in the other, she leaned in and whispered eagerly, “Yaye!” Her steed responded excitedly to her Lakota command go and broke into a full gallop without delay. They raced at thundering speed toward the barn.
With a soft clucking sound, she urged her mount to scale the fence surrounding the barn and race straight in the back delivery entrance. She found Trip holding the frantically struggling La with one hand and holding his rain stick in the other. Pike was circling him while clearly seeking an edge on how to take him down.
When they saw her coming, everyone scattered. Pike threw himself out of her path. Trip stepped aside and kept his focus on Pike. La managed to break free and took off running toward the front door. Shye didn’t think that she and the horse could fit through the tack room entrance so she swung the stallion around by using her legs and shifting her body weight. No way was La going to escape. The blonde wench had been dancing with the devil long enough.
She caught sight of her running through the field toward a car. As if he smelled La’s guilt, Shye’s horse did not need encouragement—he charged her down with breathtaking speed. His hooves ate up the distance, barely touching the ground. Shye leaned to one side and positioned the rain stick.
Chapter Six
La glanced back once before Shye closed in. She held tight to the horse’s mane while sliding sideways to be sure she didn’t miss her target. The blonde murderess was mere feet from her car when Shye drew the stick back. In the next move, she plunged it forward and propelled the rain stick straight into La’s back.
She never had time to scream. La’s head shot back and their eyes met briefly, but long enough for Shye to see the look of dread sweep across her face. Her slender body collapsed on the ground before beginning the transformation to dust.