by Jami Gray
She remembered flying through the air, her body’s trajectory abruptly halted by a tree. The cracking of her ribs lost in the impact. She barely got her feet under her as she landed. She tried to locate the threat, yet there was nothing to fight. She lost sight of Cheveyo, but could hear his voice, thunderous and commanding, calling in a language she didn’t recognize. The darkness was so complete she couldn’t see her own hands.
That was when she recognized the threat was the overwhelming darkness and whatever hid inside its inky depths. It was so thick it left her enhanced vision useless. Normally able to register heat in various shades of orange and red, there, in that unnatural darkness, all she saw was endless emptiness.
Honed instincts warned her that whatever they faced was targeting Cheveyo. Ignoring the screaming protests of her ribs, she dropped into a crouch, her hands grasping the hilts of her boot blades. Drawing them out, she whispered the command to trigger the protection spells on her weapons.
As her magic flared, outlining the blades in blue-white flames, the devouring darkness paused. She began to straighten when it rushed her. Unable to brace, it hit her, the impact stealing her breath, leaving her unable to scream. Unseen fingers ripped through skin and bone, tearing her magic from the bones of her soul.
Her blades fell into the opaque stew. Their light flickered out like fading stars as she desperately tried to protect her magic, slamming the shields Cheveyo had been teaching her into place. It didn’t stop the clawing fingers. They scored through old scars, shattering her defenses with agonizing speed. By sheer luck, she managed to reinforce her critical inner barriers with hastily cobbled pieces of her magic.
Claws closed over her right thigh, on top of a recently acquired burn scar, and snapped the bone in half. For a singular moment, she had the stupid thought that it didn’t hurt as bad as expected, then a wildfire of pain seared through her leg, driving her to the ground.
The destructive hands clamped on her shoulder, slamming her into an unyielding surface. The agony of her bones breaking barely made a dent to the chorus of pain her battered body wailed.
That inhuman grasp disappeared and her torn body fell to the forest floor. Time passed, and when she could finally raise her head, the darkness was seeping away through the trees. Her vision faded in and out, but she could swear there was someone standing just on the edge of the clearing.
“Cheveyo?” Her voice came out weak and unsteady. The only answer was a chilling laugh that followed her into unconsciousness.
“I woke up and began crawling.” Ending her retelling, Raine swallowed hard and opened her eyes, unable to meet Gavin’s gaze.
Shame coursed through her. It didn’t matter if she was one of the most feared warriors in the Kyn society. Whatever that darkness was had been so fast, so destructive, it left her choking in debilitating fear, her vow to protect Cheveyo fracturing under the threat. It managed to reduce her to the child who’d been chained to a lab table.
“Whatever you’re thinking, stop.” The command came out sharp, verging on cruel. Gavin grasped her chin, forcing her to meet the merciless demand of his gaze. “You can’t fall apart.”
She winced. He had no right to judge. He hadn’t been there.
His face grew grim. “We need to find Cheveyo and figure out what the hell is going on here.”
She jerked her chin out of his hand. The abrupt movement sent blades of pain flaring through her head. “How did you get here?”
“You didn’t check in.” He absently traced the inked Celtic markings circling her left shoulder. “Mulcahy ordered Xander and me down here to find out what was happening.”
Her lip curled into a sneer at her uncle’s perception of her abilities.
Catching it, Gavin’s lips twitched. “He gave you three days before he sent us in.”
Fine, maybe her uncle wasn’t being a complete dick. At least he sent in Xander, she was the best tracker in the Northwest. “So Xander found me.”
Gavin shook his head. “We got a call en route that Tala Whiteriver found you.”
Recognizing the name, Raine blinked. “Blonde? Tall? Has a pet wolf?”
His eyes narrowed and tension tightened his jaw. “You met her?”
“In a manner of speaking.” She went to raise her right hand to rub her aching head only to find she couldn’t. Looking down, she finally noticed the splint. “She was in my dream.”
She turned back to Gavin, only to catch a shadow rising behind him. Her body moved before her mind clicked in. She was half way out of the bed before he stopped her.
Firelight flared and illuminated the tall blonde in question. “Sorry to startle you.” The mocking tone undermined the words. “I’m glad to see you made it.”
“Not like you gave me much of a choice.” Raine tried not to groan as Gavin helped her lay back down.
The tinkling of Tala’s laughter floated through the air. That laugh was dangerous. It rang around Raine, pressing her to drop her guard and relax her defenses. The false sense of security had her refocusing on her mental shields. The woman must have some Fey running through her blood to pull off such glamour against another Kyn. Especially one with Fey blood. Tricksy, very tricksy.
Tala moved around Gavin to lay her hand across Raine’s sweat beaded brow. “Good try, warrior, but you need the rest.”
Warmth seeped into her bones, leaching the pain away, allowing her muscles to relax. She could feel her eyes growing heavy. “No, don’t want to sleep,” her voice slurred.
“Shh.” Tala’s voice was soft. “You need it.”
Gavin’s fingers stroked down her arm, and Raine clenched his hand tightly.
He squeezed back. “I’ll be right here.”
She let her eyes flutter closed. There was a brush of warmth on her forehead, but it was so faint maybe she imagined it. Regardless, it made her feel safe. Holding his hand, she fell into the waiting darkness.
Chapter Three
When Raine opened her eyes, sunlight was drifting across her face. The spicy scent of burning wood layered the air. She lay in a comfortable bed, and it took a minute to realize it no longer hurt to breathe. Moving her head slowly, she released a small sigh of relief when nothing complained.
She let her attention roam around the silent room. This was not the same place of drums and firelight. There was a simple wooden dresser with a mirror, sitting on the same wall as a partially opened door.
Rolling to her side to sit up, she pushed away the patchwork quilt. Remembering the splint on her right arm, she stopped short. She looked down and found her arm bare, no splint in sight. Weird. Although Kyn healed much faster than humans, it still took time to heal the kind of damage she sustained. Testing her arm, she used it to prop herself up. It was sore, but held. She rolled her shoulder to find the same there. Sore, but movable.
Time to test her leg. She sat up, the oversized T-shirt riding high on her thighs. A lingering scent teased the edges of her mind, but it disappeared the memory of her thighbone snapping in half rose. Ghostly echoes of pain crawled over her body. She focused on keeping her breathing under control as she ran a shaky hand over her undamaged thigh. Well, undamaged if you didn’t count the weird hand-shaped scars from her last adventure. She took her time getting to her feet, not letting go of the bed until her shaky legs steadied. Unwilling to trust her balance, she used the dresser to hobble to the door.
Passing the mirror her reflection brought her up short. Hell, she could give the Grim Reaper a run for his money. Wincing she tried to smooth the tangled mess of her long, dark hair. It didn’t take her long to give up. Her gray eyes were sunk in bruised shadows and her cheekbones pressed white against her abnormally pale skin. The too large T-shirt revealed the old scar collaring her neck, but the colorful artwork ringing her upper arms was hidden under the short sleeves. Thankfully, there seem to be no new scars in her existing collection.
Turning away, she pulled the door open. The sound of voices drew her down the carpeted hallway. She stop
ped in the entryway to lean against the wall and eyed the three people seated in the living room.
Gavin’s long frame was slumped into a big easy chair, his booted feet stretched toward the fireplace with its merrily snapping flames. Seeing new lines in his face, probably brought on by recent exhaustion, she fought the urge to offer comfort knowing damn well he’d push her away. He didn’t appear to be listening to the conversation of the room’s other two occupants.
Tala sat on the edge of a small couch, elbows resting on jean clad knees. Her face was somber and one hand absently combed between the ears of the black and gray wolf resting its head on her knee. “There were no clues left around the car. As good as Cheveyo is, he can’t just disappear into thin air.”
“There was a blood trail.” The comment came from the woman curled on a larger sofa across from Tala. Between the mesmerizing tattoo tracing delicate patterns from temple to chin on the right side of her face, and her wild hazel eyes shot through with gold, Xander was nowhere near forgettable. “Granted most of it was Raine’s, but there was a small amount of Cheveyo’s on the other side of the car.”
Tala’s knuckles whitened on the wolf’s ruff, her mouth curving down into a frown. “A small amount means he wasn’t gravely injured.” Her voice carried a sharp edge.
“Maybe,” Xander agreed, her gaze watchful. “He might not have taken a physical beating like Raine, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t seriously hurt. We still don’t know what left the dent in the car’s hood.”
The witch opened her mouth to answer, when Gavin broke in, proving he was listening regardless of appearances. “Does it matter?” He aimed his attention at Tala, pining her with a steely glare. “We need to know why you asked Cheveyo to come down.”
Raine moved forward, the hardwood floor creaking underfoot and snapping Gavin’s attention to her. Taking in her appearance, his gaze narrowed. An unwelcome shimmer of female vanity woke, but she shoved it away. Granted, she wasn’t at her best, but still…
Whatever had attacked her and Cheveyo had managed to kick her, but at least she was still standing. So was Cheveyo. She clung to that belief even as lurking shame and fear curled in her belly. Gritting her teeth, she tamped them both down. Damn it, she would get through this, and so would Cheveyo.
Caught in her thoughts, she was startled into taking a quick step back when she Gavin suddenly stood in front of her, his hand out to help. At her visible retreat, his hand dropped. Obviously taking her reaction wrong, he stiffened slightly and a shadow passed over his face leaving it unreadable.
Misery flashed through her and unable to deal with her unstable emotions hidden, she retreated behind her familiar blank face. “What the hell is going on?” She looked beyond him to include Xander in her question.
She took a step, stumbled, and her hand automatically reached out to brace. Gavin caught her before she could fall. His arm curled around her waist as she clutched at his arm. He drew her shaking body closer, his heat warming her cool skin. Another kind of heat flared, and burning her fear to ash and leaving her wanting something she didn’t deserve.
“What are you doing out of bed?” His growl sent unsettling vibrations down her spine even as he pulled her in tight.
Uncomfortable awareness washed through her as she tilted her head back and snapped, “My job.”
He caught her furious gaze with and his lowered his head. “You’re barely able to stand,” his rough voice scraped over her nerves
Realizing how close his mouth was, the heat inside her body went up a notch. Memories of their last shared kiss seared across her brain. Her breath caught and her tongue nervously wet her lower lip. The revealing movement on her part caused an equally apparent reaction in him. One she couldn’t miss feeling. Her gaze widened and her traitorous body melted. A discrete cough reminded her they had an audience.
Gavin wasn’t done chewing her ass out. “You’re too weak to be out of bed.”
Weak? She hissed at him like a cat. No one called Raine McCord weak. “Let me go!”
He snarled under his breath, but dropped his arms and stepped back.
She forced her legs to work and aimed for the nearest couch. Unfortunately, it was already occupied by Tala. Raine considered the longer trek to Xander’s couch, but nix it when the room took a slow spin. She took a seat next to the smart-ass witch.
“Nice to see you up, Sleeping Beauty,” Xander’s greeting cut through the tension filled air.
Breathing through her body’s numerous complaints, Raine sat back carefully and flipped Xander a one-finger salute.
Not taking offense, a small answering smile played around Xander’s mouth.
“Any word on Cheveyo?” Raine shifted another pillow to her right side, trying to get comfortable.
Next to her, Tala shook her head, but Gavin answered, “No, we were just getting to why Cheveyo was invited down here in the first place.” Settling in his chair, his attention turned to the witch.
Tala’s fingers continued to move over the wolf next to her. “I asked him to come down and consult on a situation I’m dealing with.”
Raine stayed quiet. Based on her experiences with the Kyn leaders, demanding a straight answer from Tala would get them nowhere. In fact, such an approach would generally garner the opposite reaction. If anyone could get information from the witch, it would be Gavin. He was a damn pied piper of females.
Not easily discouraged, Gavin pushed. “And that situation would be?”
Tala took her time answering. “Someone’s murdering innocents under my protection.”
Her response dropped in to the room, its ripples brushing against the protective instincts of the three hunters. Xander straightened, her golden gaze sharpening, while the sudden stillness of a waiting predator fell over Gavin. For Raine, the words were the phantom touch of a cold finger on her neck. She fought the urge to shiver as her skin pebbled.
Killing in its varied forms was not a mystery to any of Tala’s visitors. They were elite Kyn warriors, known as the Wraiths. An ancient collection of races, the Kyn co-existed with their human cousins. Most humans considered the Kyn mere fairy tales. Unfortunately, when those fairy tales came to violent, vicious life, mortal authorities didn’t stand a chance. That’s when the Wraiths were called in.
“Start at the beginning,” Gavin demanded with a startling abruptness.
Tala’s lips tightened and her spine snapped straight at his command.
Noting her reaction, he visibly gritted his teeth before adding, “Please.”
Her pursed lips relaxed fractionally, but her spine remained ramrod straight. “A couple weeks ago, Daniel, one of our younger witches, went missing. His pickup truck was found abandoned on the side of the highway between Flagstaff and Page, in the middle of reservation land. The truck was perfectly fine, nothing wrong with the engine or tires. There was no sign of a struggle and his cell phone was on the passenger seat with a full charge.”
“Did you have someone try to track him?” The question came from Xander.
Tala nodded. “We had one of our local shifters come in. He tried to track Daniel, but the scent disappeared a few feet from the truck.”
“That doesn’t make sense.” Xander frowned. “Scent can’t just disappear. There should’ve been some sort of trail.”
“I agree with you, but I was told the trail ‘went blank.’” Grim amusement played over Tala’s face. “Since tracking is not my forte, I have to take him at his word.”
Before Xander could push, Gavin interrupted, “What happened after this Daniel disappeared?”
“For a week, nothing,” Tala answered. “We searched everywhere, used every tool we had. We couldn’t find him. His parents swore he wouldn’t just take off. He was trying to save money to go to school next year. Most of the families out here struggle to keep food on the table.”
Raine finally spoke up. “Was he the only one to disappear?”
“No.” Tala’s hand stilled on her wolf, her lashes coming down
to veil a sudden spark of checked anger. “He’s the fourth one in the last three months.”
Raine was stunned as Tala’s unexpected response. “Four?”
“Four.” Strain crept through Tala’s voice. “Two witches, one wizard, and one shaman. They’re a combination of male and female, between the ages of eighteen and forty-two. None of them seem to have anything in common, other than the fact that they live around here.” She raised her chin, guilt and anger struggling over her face. “We’re being hunted and we have no idea who’s hunting us. Protecting my people is paramount, so I turned to an old friend for help.”
“Cheveyo,” Raine murmured.
Tala’s gaze dropped to the wolf at her feet. “Daniel’s body was found the day before I called Cheveyo. We identified him with dental records.”
Raine was surprised to see Tala battling for emotional control. It was unusual for the head of a Magi House to be so transparent. Maybe Tala was as young as she looked, a rarity among the Kyn. But if that was true, had Tala had been given the position at too young an age?
Normally the most powerful, most controlled, and sometimes the most ruthless member of a Kyn House became the one in charge. Tala Whiteriver did not seem to fit the mold. Yeah, she could shred a person with words alone, but she wore her emotions too close to the surface.
Or maybe Tala was a damn good actress who lured Cheveyo here for some other reason. Cynical much? Maybe, but she was still breathing, wasn’t she? Either way, something was definitely going on here. “What happened to Daniel?”
Tala lifted her head and Raine suppressed an instinctive flinch at the raw emotions turning Tala’s eyes into bottomless pits of night. “They broke every bone, then they nailed him in place and skinned him alive.” Her voice was eerily blank. “From what the coroner could tell, he was alive during the entire process. Cause of death was a slit throat.”
Silence ticked through the room. The image Tala painted hung like a smothering shroud.
“It would require a great deal of magic to keep someone alive and aware through all of that.” Gavin’s voice was matter of fact in its tone. “Most people pass out from the overload of pain.”