Ghosts of Winter: A Dark Shapeshifter Urban Fantasy (Echoes of the Past Book 2)

by H B Lyne

  'You were raised in the woods? To the east?'

  'That's right.' Rhys looked at her properly for the first time. Stalker groaned and leaned back on the bench.

  'So you were raised by Furies?' She didn't dare look at him.

  'I was.'

  'Caerton's shifters aren't too fond of your people.'

  'I know, it goes both ways. I never questioned it when I was growing up. My family were members of the sect of Alecto, the Never-Ending. They hated Caerton's shifters, they taught me that the throne had been stolen and corrupted by soft, city-dwelling shifters of the moon. When I ended up in the city I hid from the shifters because I thought they would kill me on sight. I've lived here for over a decade now and have matured a lot. I never moved among humans before, I despised them. I believed they were like cattle, there to be controlled and used.' His voice trailed off and Stalker watched him carefully. His eyes were sad and totally open, his walls were right down and she could see inside his soul. 'But living among them changed me, saved me. I realised that my people had been wrong about humanity and they were probably wrong about the chosen of Artemis too.'

  He looked into her eyes and tentatively reached out a finger to brush her cheek. His touch felt warm. She wanted to believe him, but she still felt utterly deceived by him and she brushed his hand away.

  'How can I trust anything you say? You hid your true nature from me, you live under the cloak of a demon. How do I know you aren't Spiral Hand?'

  'Spiral Hand?' He blinked, his eyes full of confusion as he leaned away from her. 'Why would you think I was anything to do with them?'

  'Because you sneak around in hiding. That's what they do.'

  'No, they infiltrate. That's what I was always told. They work from inside shifter society. My family always said that the Spiral Hand were rife in Caerton, that was part of the problem. They were planning to cleanse the city of the “plague”.' He raised his hands and made quotation gestures with his fingers.

  Stalker grimaced and her breath caught in her throat. She began shaking.

  'They used that word?' She wondered if it were a coincidence or if the Furies had been linked to what had almost been set loose in the city.

  'Yeah. What's wrong?' He moved closer and tentatively touched her arm.

  'I can't tell you, I'm sorry. I just can't trust you.' She shook her head and pulled her arm away from his touch. 'I'm sorry, I can't see you again.'

  Stalker stood up and glanced down at him. He looked stung by her words, but nodded with acceptance.

  'I understand that. I am so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you, I never wanted to break your trust. If I can ever earn it back, I will, I will never stop trying. But I will give you space, if that's what you need.'

  Stalker drew a deep breath and walked away, tears falling down her cheeks.

  Later that evening, she stared into the fire, a paper cup of beer in her hand. The noise was deafening. She had never seen so many shifters in one place before, but the revelry passed her by in blur. It was a small park, neatly fenced off from the surrounding crystalline landscape, and the bonfire in the centre roared, the elementals dancing and singing their unearthly song. Shifters danced, drank and fought around the fire in various states of undress and drunkenness. Skin and weaponry were on display everywhere, with no humans to hide from.

  The Watch had arranged everything, and kindly invited almost all of Caerton's shifters to their winter solstice celebration. Many had come, though the Glass Wolves were notably absent.

  A dark figure dropped down onto the floor beside her, and Stalker looked across to see Fire Talon smiling at her.

  'Penny for your thoughts?' he asked, his voice slightly slurred.

  'We killed a plague demon yesterday. We saved the whole city,' she shouted over the din.

  'Shouldn't you be celebrating that?' Fire Talon asked, looking confused.

  'I am,' she said with a half-smile and raised her cup. 'Cheers.'

  'It takes more than a beer to be a celebration,' he chided. 'Why are you so sad?'

  'I had to leave my boyfriend.'

  'Oh,' he said, suddenly sobering. 'Oh yes, I know that one well.'

  Stalker looked at him with a raised eyebrow. She knew he wasn't gay, but she couldn't resist the joke.

  'You had to leave your boyfriend too?'

  'No,' he replied. 'My girlfriend, and baby.' He knocked back his drink and they sat in uncomfortable silence. 'I'm never falling in love with a human again.'

  'Me neither,' Stalker said sadly, letting him believe that was the reason.

  Fire Talon gave her a pat on the back and moved away. Weaver appeared by her side and lifted her to her feet.

  'It's a party, come on. We won! We beat the bad guy. Enjoy it.' Weaver pulled Stalker over to the rest of the pack. Scribe-of-the-Fallen and Last-Breath-Echoes were standing with them, joking and fooling around, or as close to such behaviour as Echoes ever came. She exuded such stillness and serenity, yet a playful smile lingered on her lips and Stalker saw clearly the resemblance that she held to her father.

  'Honestly,' Eyes was saying. 'We couldn't have done it without you. Thank you both so much.' Scribe thumped Eyes on the shoulder and the Alpha winced.

  'Sorry,' Scribe said, looking concerned.

  'It's okay, I'm still healing. I'll be fine.' Eyes reassured him.

  'Are you having fun?' First Strike whispered at Stalker's ear, and she whirled around to face him. She laughed, enjoying the shock. He pulled her into a hug and she returned it. He felt warm and smelled amazing. He was topless and she let her hands linger a little too long on his smooth, dark skin. He pulled away, reluctantly, and Stalker knew she was blushing, she only hoped that the glow from the fire hid it.

  First Strike gently touched her chest where her new tattoo was and she felt an intense spark run through her entire body. 'New ink?' he asked.

  'Yeah,' she replied. Her heart was hammering and she felt confused and unsettled, but tried hard to overcome the feelings.

  'Nice,' he gave her a sad smile. 'Lovely way to honour them.'

  'Thanks.' Her voice came out a little cracked.

  His finger was still resting on her skin and his eyes roamed. Stalker enjoyed it; just for a minute she allowed everything else to melt away so that she could enjoy the attention. Suddenly he cleared his throat and took half a step back. He smiled warmly at her and placed his hand on her shoulder; his thumb gently stroked her neck just for a second before he pulled away.

  'Lovely Stalker,' he said with his wonderfully silky voice. 'Have a good night.' He walked away and she watched him go before internally scolding herself for being such a hussy.

  It was almost dawn when the Lightning Lords returned to Grove Street. They were all very drunk and fell into the hallway laughing and tripping over each other. Wind Talker flipped the light switch, but nothing happened. He tried it a few times and suddenly the pack sobered up. Eyes led the way into the house, Stalker right behind him. None of the lights worked and the digital clock on the microwave was blank.

  Stalker felt the veil blowing gently and led them into the back garden. Unchained Lighting lay curled up in the corner, still black but beginning to glow a little at his core.

  'He must have drained the power from the whole house in order to cross over,' Wind Talker whispered.

  The elemental groaned and crackled. A few small sparks flew off him and he lifted his head.

  'We cannot express enough how grateful we are for the aid you gave us,' Eyes said, his voice more humble than Stalker had ever heard it.

  Unchained Lightning coughed and spluttered, sparks flying everywhere and dying on impact with the cold earth.

  'Whelps,' he spat. 'You have taken me too much for granted. I am Power. I will be demanding more from you soon.' He suddenly reared up and threw himself against the wall. Thin strands of light erupted from all over his body and wrapped around him, sticking him to the wall, right in the corner of the garden. Stalker watched in horror, unsure of what s
he was witnessing. Everything fell still, the shimmering cocoon breathed gently in and out and the Lightning Lords exchanged nervous glances.

  Stalker was both impressed and unsettled. Their ally had never spoken to them like that before, it was his father's voice. She thought it would probably be best if he didn't spend too much more time with the Lord-of-Storms-and-Rain after he emerged from his cocoon, and she wondered what he would transform into.

  The Witches may soon be knocking at their door, the King-of-Glass-and-Steel was still missing without a trace and they had the Spiral Hand to uncover. It was going to be a long winter. Let their patron sleep now and pray that there may be a calm before the storm.

  ###

  Thanks for reading Echoes of the Past: Ghosts of Winter. I hope you enjoyed it. Please take a moment to leave a review with your favourite retailer.

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  - H. B. Lyne

  Out now, the third instalment

  Echoes of the Past: Tides of Spring

  Prologue

  Jessica Carter

  She pulled her long, blond hair back and tied it in a sloppy pony tail. Examining her face in the grubby mirror the Alpha observed her tanned and lined skin. Her lips were far thinner than they had been in her youth. Two teenage daughters, well, one now, and a lifetime of fighting were evident on her face. When she thought about it, maybe she was just unusual for a shifter and looked her actual age, rather than ten or more years younger.

  With a snort of laughter, Jessica turned away and swept down the stairs and into the small room in the basement of the shop, where Spinner-of-Crystal was trying to calm the thrashing, frantic girl on the metal table.

  'Hold still,' Jessica snapped. She climbed up on the table and wedged her knee against her daughter's chest to pin her down. The girl would not stop bawling. You would have thought that being brought up around shifters she would have been prepared for the change, but Victoria had completely lost control. Unlike her twin sister, Angela, who had handled the change like a pro and embraced her true nature. Victoria was just one big disappointment and always had been. But blood was blood and initiation into Megaira was mandatory for all Witches.

  'It will hurt less if you hold still,' Spinner-of-Crystal whispered. Victoria's eyes darted between the two women who were holding her down, gradually she relented and went limp. Jessica sneered as she pushed the needle through her daughter's ear lobe. Victoria winced and let out a whimper, but she held steady. Jessica was surprised, half impressed and half disappointed. If Victoria toughened up and came through for her then she would be a credit to her, but then she would have no one on whom to take out her anger.

  The worst was still to come, however, and Jessica carefully picked up the silver claw. It burned her fingers but she hardly noticed. Victoria's eyes latched onto the small piece of jewellery as Jessica moved it slowly towards her ear and she began to thrash about again.

  'You will wear this with pride,' Jessica said, her voice low and threatening. 'You are one of us now, for better or worse and you will wear the mark of our kin and our Patron, Megaira.'

  Jessica pressed the delicate silver claw against the girl's ear while Spinner-of-Crystal held her face and shoulders still. She shook violently as the silver burned her skin, and Jessica had to contend with the jerky movement. She sighed and bent lower, gripping her daughter's ear and the claw more tightly. She pressed on, forcing the claw through the new piercing. It broke through the flesh and fresh blood spilled down her neck and into her hair. Victoria screamed and managed to wrench an arm free.

  The Alpha was finished and she released her grip on the girl. Spinner-of-Crystal followed her lead and Victoria leaped from the table and threw herself against the wall of the little room. She shrieked and tugged at her ear. 'If you pull it out we will only have to put it back in again,' Jessica said in a bored drawl.

  Victoria began to calm down as she got accustomed to the sensation, she pressed her back flat against the wall and took some deep breaths. Jessica watched her carefully, she doubted the girl's strength of will, but was seeing a hint of her sister in her now. She wasn't going to hold her breath, the apparent calm may be fake or fleeting.

  Jessica's phone rang and she grudgingly left the room to answer it. She glanced at the caller ID and stopped in her tracks. She drew a deep breath before answering the call. 'Your grace.'

  'I hear congratulations are in order,' the sombre voice on the line said.

  'Indeed, thank you, your Grace,' Jessica replied.

  'I hope this compensates you somewhat for your loss.'

  'Thank you, it remains to be seen.' The scorn in her voice couldn't be hidden and Jessica was met with awkward silence.

  'Well, are you nearly ready?' the caller asked after a long moment.

  'I believe so,' the Alpha replied with a slight tremor to her voice. An uncharacteristic lump rose in her throat and she coughed to clear it.

  'You had better be, I need you to settle this vendetta quickly so as not to interfere with my plans.' The voice dripped with bitterness.

  'Of course, your Grace. It will be dealt with swiftly and decisively.'

  'Good. I will know when it is done. If you succeed, the Blue Moon will finally be eradicated and their scourge ended. You will be rewarded.'

  'Thank you, your Grace.' Jessica allowed herself a small smile.

  'If you fail, however, you will feel the heat of my blade.'

  'Of course, your Grace.' The smile fell from her lips. The line went dead and Jessica slowly lowered her phone. She wouldn't fail. She couldn't fail.

  She returned to the room to find her daughter sobbing in a heap on the floor, blood all over her face and in her hair. The silver claw was laying in the middle of the floor. Jessica sighed and stooped to pick it up. 'Put her back on the table,' she ordered Spinner-of-Crystal. 'Let's start again.'