by Jami Gray
She took an unsteady step forward, forcing her gaze to the forest floor, trying to stem the nightmares in her mind. Small drops of blood spotted the dead leaves and branches scattered over the ground. Agony spiked through her leg and she could feel the ghostly hands snapping bone.
Struggling to find her way out of the past, she spun around. Through her reeling vision a broken branch, about two feet down from the first stain, sent searing pain blazing through her shoulder.
It was over, damn it! She screwed her eyes shut and clung to the silent mantra, trying to find a way free of the maelstrom of memories.
An unexpected sting on her lower lip snapped whatever spell held her. Her eyes opened to find Gavin cupping her face, his eyes dark with worry. He leaned in and gave her another sharp nip. Air shuddered out of her stalled lungs, loosening the bands tightening her chest. He raised his head, watching her carefully.
“What the hell?” she rasped, her tongue tracing over her stinging lip.
His hands dropped to curl around her upper arms, holding tight. “You were stiff as a board, not breathing.”
“So you bit me?” She tried pulling back, but he wouldn’t let go.
“I was going to slap you, but that left your hands free. I didn’t want to get slapped back.” Wicked male amusement curled his lip. “Besides, biting works faster than CPR.”
Narrowing her eyes, she stomped on his foot.
Chuckling, he released her and stepped back.
She turned to find Tala and Xander huddled near the weirdly shadowed trees. Not wanting to rehash what just happened, Raine raised her voice, keeping it firm. “That thing threw me all the way across the clearing.” She jerked a thumb at where the blood still stained the ground behind her. “It held me there and took pieces of me.”
Tala began walking closer. “What pieces?”
Since Raine didn’t have an answer to that question, she forced her legs to move and resumed her study of the clearing. She found the drag marks first. She followed them. Blood smeared here and there as if an injured animal tried to crawl away. An old emotion, one she thought long gone, rose. Mortified shame rose, but she kept to the trail, hearing the others follow behind.
Minutes passed, and a clinical part of her was amazed at how far she managed to crawl despite her injuries. She finally came to the fallen tree she hid behind and stopped. She turned to study the path she made when crawling, trying to step outside the morass of her emotions, to pretend it wasn’t her attack she was tracking, but someone else’s.
With her emotions locked down, the details began to bug her. “Why didn’t it follow me?” she mused out loud.
Xander came up on her side. “It had what it wanted.”
“I don’t think so.” Raine cocked her head, thinking it through. “It had Cheveyo, but it wanted to chase, to play.” She remembered that. “It wasn’t done with me, yet.”
“It almost killed you,” Gavin growled.
She looked at him. “Almost doesn’t count in our world. It’s a hunter. It should have kept going until I was dead. It didn’t.”
“It’s on a leash,” Tala chimed in.
Raine nodded, recalling the brief glimpse of someone who was not Cheveyo before she passed out the second time.
“So how strong do you have to be to keep something like this on a leash?” She was amazed at how steady her voice sounded. No outward sign of the fractures threatening her sense of self. Ironic that she would panic at the thought of losing the twisted magic she spent years cursing. Now she wanted it back, every frightening piece of it.
“If it’s a Soul Stealer, you’d have to be really damn strong,” Tala said quietly.
Gavin folded his arms across his chest. “Who fits that description in your Houses?”
Tala opened her mouth to answer, but branch snapped nearby. Xander raised her hand for silence. Gavin, Xander and Raine spread out in front of Tala, their Wraith training coming to the fore. Ash crouched at Tala’s side, his muzzle flared in a silent snarl. Raine palmed a wrist blade just as two forms slinked out of the surrounding forest.
The concealing shadows fell away to reveal two oversized wolves, one dark and one light. They stopped short and sat at the edge of the clearing. Before Raine could move, a man with a rifle cradled in his arms stepped clear of the forest. “Tala!”
Short and stocky, he fit every preconceived notion Raine held of a rancher. His barrel chest was covered in a faded, long-sleeved, blue-green plaid shirt with a gray thermal underneath. Worn jeans met the scarred leather of well-used boots.
The man stepped in front of his two furry bodyguards and continued forward, his worn felt cowboy hat shading his expression.
Gavin and Raine shifted to block his path to Tala, while Xander stepped back next to Ash.
The rancher stopped a few feet away, the glimmer of his white teeth startling in the tanned face. “Whatcha doin’ here, Tala?”
“I should ask you the same thing, Tomás.” The witch pushed her way between Gavin and Raine. “Step back and let me introduce the Southwest Alpha of the Red Thunder Pack, Tomás Chavez.”
Raine snagged Tala’s arm, halting her before she could step closer to Tomás.
Tala stiffened, raking her with a death glare.
Unimpressed with Tala’s temper, Raine didn’t remove her hand. “He’s armed, you aren’t. Considering what’s happened, I’d rather not lose a second magi.”
A sharp pain at her wrist left Raine’s arm momentarily numb, allowing Tala to jerk free. The witch stepped into Raine, her extra couple of inches allowing her to stare down into Raine’s face. “I’m never unarmed, girl.”
Not bothering to shake the numbness from her arm, Raine leaned in to whisper back, “Neither am I.” She gave Tala a feral smile.
Tala looked down their bodies to find Raine’s blade poised delicately above her kidney.
Raine held still, knowing she had no business taunting the witch, but unable to help it. Before she could step back, Tala surprised her with a quick kiss. Startled, Raine stumbled back, her blade falling to the ground. What the fuck was that?
Tala’s laughter rang out while Raine crouched down to pick up her blade and hide the furious blush searing her face. When her blade was back in its wrist sheath, and the stupid heat in her face was under control, she glared at the still laughing witch.
“Oh gods, Raine,” Tala gasped. “Your expression was priceless!”
Rattled and off kilter, Raine snapped, “Glad to amuse.” She didn’t dare look at Gavin or Xander. Hell, it was all she could do, not to slap Tala, a move more suicidal than threatening her with a blade.
Chuckling, Tala continued toward Chavez. “Tomás, let me introduce you to our visitors. This is Gavin Durand, Xander Cade, and Raine McCord.”
Moving his rifle to his side, Tomás held his hand out to Gavin. “Pleased to meetcha.”
At some point during Raine’s exchange with Tala, Xander managed to move to Raine’s side. Probably worried she’d need to step in and keep the witch from killing her, Raine thought with grim amusement.
Tomás offered Xander his hand. “Ms. Cade.”
Raine found Xander’s reaction interesting. The other woman shook the dark-haired man’s hand, but kept her eyes focused over his shoulder, avoiding direct eye contact.
Tomás turned to Raine. “Ms. McCord.”
She met his gaze without hesitation, even as the electric tingle she associated with all shifters ran up her arm. Going by the slight widening of Tomás’s eyes, she wasn’t the only one who felt that little jolt.
Introductions done, Tala asked her question again. “What’s going on?”
“I’m missing a wolf.” Tomás’s voice carried a rough edge, the anger lying just under the surface reflected in his tense jaw.
Tala searched his face. “Who?”
“Jeremiah Davis.”
“Did you go to the authorities?” Gavin asked, drawing Tomás’s attention.
The older man snorted. “Son,
out here the human authorities deal with the humans and we deal with our own. As long as you can pass for human, most agencies are comfortable pretending the Kyn are humans with a few—” he made quote marks with his fingers “—special skills.”
Xander asked, “If you can’t pass?”
“There are still varmint laws on the books in this state.” Darkness settled over the alpha’s face as tension crackled in the air. “A wolf is just another varmint, regardless of the skin it’s in,” he continued. “Especially if certain respected people claim to be losing cattle to rabid wolf packs.”
As the bitter bite of his words faded into the strangely silent forest, the two wolves sitting behind the alpha moved to his side. An uncanny intelligence shone in both canine gazes, and Raine realized she was staring at the alpha’s guards.
With heavy sigh, Tomás banked his churning energy, dialing it down.
Gavin got their conversation back on track. “What was Jeremiah doing?”
Tomás grimaced. “Following a lead on Daniel.”
“He’s your tracker?” Xander asked. When he nodded, she continued, “He told Tala there was no scent to track. That it disappeared. So what lead was he following?”
Obviously not used to being questioned, a soft growl escaped Tomás. “The absence of a scent is as telling as a scent, girl.”
The clear condescension in the alpha’s answer left Raine worried she would have to pull Xander back. Raine didn’t need the headache of explaining to Mulcahy why Xander flipped out and attacked the Southwest Alpha.
Instead of backing down, Xander’s voice went soft which somehow made it more menacing. “Our chief magi is missing, our Wraith was attacked, and we’ve come down here to help. Only we’re being kept in the dark. We can’t do our job if we don’t have all the information. So if my questions displease you, take it up with my alpha, Warrick.”
Raine silently cheered Xander. Shifters managed to corner the dominant male market, which made being female a bit of a bitch—no pun intended.
While Xander and Tomás engaged in a silent battle of wills silence stretched and tightened.
“Enough!” Gavin snapped.
When both shifters’ heads swiveled toward him, Raine softly snorted. There was no missing how close the two wolves’ animalistic sides were riding under their skin. Neither Xander’s bright gold gaze nor Tomás’s disturbingly dark one were anywhere near human.
“We need to focus, people,” Raine interjected. “Where did your tracker do his vanishing act?”
Tomás flicked a hand back to the forest behind him. “About a mile out from here.” He deliberately turned his shoulder to Xander and rested a hand on the lighter wolf’s head, before continuing. “Carlos and Andrew reported it.”
Looking to the wolves, Raine asked, “Carlos and Andrew?”
The lighter wolf sat back, tongue hanging out. The darker wolf remained standing, staring at her.
Tomás nodded. “The boys tracked him to a spot back there. Unfortunately, like I said before, the scent trail disappeared.” Frustration carved deep lines in his craggy face. “There are some signs of a struggle, but no blood and no trail out of the clearing.”
“Can we ask what brought you our way?” Xander’s voice held no trace of her earlier anger.
Tomás answered in a similarly even tone. “Voices carry in the woods, Ms. Cade.” Giving Raine an unreadable look, he added, “Besides, big cats aren’t native to these woods.”
Chapter Six
Xander closed in on Raine’s side, but Raine gave a sharp shake of her head. “Is it a problem?” She kept an eye on Carlos and Andrew, her muscles coiled as she waited for his answer. In the small part of her brain not currently worried about becoming a tasty wolf treat, she wondered if she’d get a chance to explain any of this to Gavin. The low growls emanating from the darker wolf moved her odds closer to probably not.
Tala stood off to the side, watching but offering nothing. Raine figured the witch hoped Tomás would strip a few pieces off her hide.
The alpha wolf didn’t move. When he finally spoke, his gravelly tone grated along her nerves. “No. No problem, Ms. McCord.”
“If you all are done comparing who has bigger teeth, can we move on to figuring out what in the hell is going on out here?” Gavin’s frigid voice cut in.
Hearing the fury riding under it, Raine shot him a quick look. Catching sight of the cold remote mask he wore, she winced. Yep, he was half past pissed.
“We should split up,” Xander offered. “One group can start from where Jeremiah’s scent disappeared and the other where Raine and Cheveyo were attacked.”
Xander’s suggestion triggered a question from Raine. “Mr. Chavez, did you or your men notice anything different about where Jeremiah was taken from?”
“Different how?”
Explaining magic sucked. Trying to explain an unknown ability to someone familiar with magic was even worse. Raine did her best to keep it simple. “Just different. Echoes of something that didn’t belong, maybe?”
The alpha’s puzzled stare meant she was bungling it.
Fortunately, Xander rode to Raine’s rescue. “In the clearing were there residual traces of magic? Similar to faint scent markers? Something that felt off or missing?”
The lighter wolf shifted on his haunches, drawing his alpha’s attention. Tomás cocked his head, listening to something no else could hear. Xander once explained the ability to hear your pack, regardless of the form they wore, was a nifty perk of being the top dog.
“Carlos says near one side he thought there might have been a dead rabbit or something. The scent of rotted flesh was old, really old.” Tomás’s lips flattened. “He was going to go and investigate, but when he stepped forward to search the temperature dropped slightly. Then we heard you.”
“Why do you ask, Raine?” Anger still frosted Gavin’s voice.
She absolutely hated when he used that tone with her, and her sharp reply made that abundantly clear. “The traces of whatever magic attacked Cheveyo and me left a twisted echo of itself behind.”
“You see magic?” Tala’s voice was carefully neutral.
Raine stiffened. “I’ve been working with Cheveyo in the last few months learning to trace magical signatures. This was unlike anything I’ve run across.”
Something in the solemn look Tala and Tomás shared made her nervous. Tala turned back to Raine, giving her a considering look. “Were you able to track the traces just before you…” here she paused, as if searching for a word, “…froze?”
Giving Tala a short nod, Raine was grateful the witch hadn’t chosen another, more accurate word.
Tala blew out a silent breath. “We need to see what you can sense where Jeremiah disappeared.” She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “In the meantime, I have to meet with a couple of people.”
“Take Gavin,” Tomás ordered.
Tala shook her head. “I don’t think so.” Her sly smile left Raine bracing for whatever came next. No doubt, it was going to piss her off. Sure enough, Tala didn’t disappoint. “He’s seems to be the only one who can keep our little kitty cat under control.”
Yep, before everything was said and done, Raine was going to hurt the Southwest Magi. She’d figure out a believable story for Mulcahy later.
Chapter Seven
Xander and Tala headed back to the car accompanied by Ash and Carlos, the lighter of the alpha’s two wolves. Gavin stayed close to Raine while Andrew kept pace with Tomás. The group backtracked to the second site.
Gavin didn’t say a word or touch her. It didn’t bother her—much. Her headache was morphing into a distraction she couldn’t afford. Their ever-growing laundry list of necessary conversations simmered between them, leaving her concentration in shambles. As soon they were alone, Gavin would no doubt corner her for answers. Oh joy!
It didn’t take long for them to reach the second site where Jeremiah pulled his disappearing act. Tomás stopped. “This is it.”
Taking a deep breath, she lowered her shields once again. Emptiness yawned shredding her confidence. Closing her eyes, she blocked out the whisper of doubt and pictured herself pushing against a solid mental door. It slowly gave way. The effort left sweat beading on her forehead.
Anticipating a wild rush of magic, she braced. Only nothing came. No familiar brush of fur under her fingertips indicating the leopard dwelling deep inside was awake. Not even a growl. Forcing her panic down, she reached into the seemingly empty space. A few heart stopping beats later, she felt delicate cobwebs brushed against touch. She went to grasp them, only to have them disintegrate into mist.
Her heart clenched as her magic slipped away. She couldn’t function without it. Wild and unpredictable it may be, but it was hers. Utilizing every ounce of discipline she possessed, she tried again. This time, she coaxed and pleaded, attempting to lure the fragile power in.
Slowly, it answered wrapping around her wrist and palm, and twining through her fingers. Gathering it with every trick Cheveyo had shown her, she managed to send it outward.
Opening her eyes, relief filled her. The scenery was once more a surreal tapestry. Needing a focal point to start her search, she found Gavin’s unique signature.
“See anything?” Tomás’s voice came from behind and had her turning to find him and Andrew watching her.
“Give me a minute,” she muttered. The dizzying colors settled until she could pick out the three men.
Tomás and Andrew stood to her right with Gavin behind them. Near the young ash trees, something snagged her attention. Like the flickering flame of a candle brushed by a breeze. Narrowing her eyes, she tried to bring whatever it was into focus. It didn’t help. Ignoring her watchers, she moved closer.
The flicker came again.
For a moment, she caught a glimpse of something dark hiding under the flowing colors. Instinctively she sent her magic in pursuit. It proved to be a bad move. With no warning, she was slammed with a cold so deep, her bones ached and her blood froze. Even the air in her lungs iced over.