by Bianca D'Arc
Ray shrugged. “Perhaps,” was the only thing he said in reply.
It would be up to the Goddess whether or not this bear shifter shaman was made part of the ever-widening circle of those who knew the extent of Ray’s service to Her. Though he suspected the time was coming when he and his brother Knights would have to reveal themselves in order to fight the evil he feared was fast approaching. Ray thought the shaman might just be a very powerful ally in that fight, should it come to pass.
Evie was surprised when she saw where Fred was leading them. She’d thought she’d known every square inch of territory around here, but this place was new to her…but ancient in its structure and purpose.
Entering a hidden canyon she had never noticed before, they took the snowmobiles up a gentle incline, crisscrossing the grade as it steepened in an unpredictable pattern. Fred didn’t hesitate. He seemed to know exactly where he was going.
Underneath the solid blanket of snow, Evie knew the rock formations beneath them would be striped with the layers of earth that had been laid down over the millennia. It was a unique feature of this area. Erosion and the unstoppable movement of the earth’s crust over eons had caused the entire area to be painted in broad stripes of brown, tan, ochre, yellow, rust and every shade of color between darkest brown to palest cream.
It was breathtaking when not buried under feet of snow. In fact, in the warmer months, hikers were common, if not exactly encouraged by the local tribe that oversaw the land. Still, Evie couldn’t blame the people who trekked out here, to the back-of-beyond, to witness one of Mother Nature’s most artistic settings.
Photographers, painters and just adventurous day trippers checked in at the ranger station for safety, and so area residents would know who to expect out in the wilderness. Occasionally, they also saw trespassers who didn’t necessarily play by the rules, or tell anyone in authority what they were doing or where they planned to be. More than one intrepid soul had tried to hide out here, running from the law or their fellow criminals, but they were always found in the end.
Their circuitous route took Evie and the others to the top of a rocky outcropping that was oddly shaped at its apex. In a small depression—so it could not be seen from below—was an amazing rock formation. Covered in snow on the outside, it looked like a big lump with jagged breaks between craggy rocks that towered over her. But when Fred led them through one of the openings, the vision before her stole her breath.
Outside, it was deep winter. Inside, it was warm. No snow. No dust. No debris of any kind.
The striped marks that were characteristic of the rock formations in the area showed here, on the inside faces of the stone monoliths that formed a perfect ring at the top of the outcropping. A sacred circle of living rock. A Goddess circle.
Fred signaled for them to park the snowmobiles near the center of the ring. As she pulled up a few feet from Ray’s ride, she saw the low stone altar that sat at the exact center of the circle. When all the motors fell silent, she stepped off the snowmobile and looked around her in awe.
“I had no idea this place was even here,” she breathed, looking up at the beauty of the Mother’s creation.
No wind howled here. No snow powder flew up to hit her in the face, as it had the whole ride here. It wasn’t exactly tropical inside the circle, but it wasn’t the cold of outside, either. It was definitely above freezing and warm compared to the snow beyond. This place was a sanctuary that would shelter someone in trouble, and keep safe those of pure heart.
It was a place of worship and would soon become a place of purification. Evie completed her circuit of the natural stone temple and turned back to her companions in time to see them place the bodies of their enemies on the altar. Fred caught her eye and nodded, standing and moving a step toward her.
“If you’d stayed in the area, I would have shown you this place eventually,” he told her, his tone almost apologetic. “When Josh was old enough.”
Evie shook her head, smiling at her old friend. “It’s okay. I understand. This is a special place that must be protected. Even I can feel that.”
Ray moved to stand beside her, his gaze traveling over the circumference of the circle. “This will be perfect for what we have to do,” he said approvingly.
What followed, over the next hour or so, was a very intense ceremony. Fred led the ritual, and Ray assisted, seeming to be perfectly in tune with whatever Fred needed him to do at a particular moment. It was as if they had worked together for years, even though they had only just met. Some things transcended time, Evie supposed. And those who served the Goddess, no matter in what form, shared that unifying force in common.
Evie jumped a bit when the magic started swirling. There was real snow outside the circle, but within the powerful bounds of the stone monoliths, a magical storm was brewing. It was the pale gold of Ray’s energy, mixed with the rainbow hues of Fred’s. Evie felt her own energy rise to aid the spells they were working and knew they would take only as much of her magic as they needed.
Of course, she was willing to help in whatever way she could. She’d played her part in killing one of the men on the altar. The least she could do was lend her strength to be certain he was laid to rest properly, his magic returned to the earth where it could never harm anyone else ever again.
The spell was mighty, and the magical whirlwind was hard to look at. Evie shut her eyes as the power came to a crescendo, blinding white emerging from the myriad colors as Fred loosed the energy he’d been gathering. It coalesced at the apex of the standing stone, in the exact center, above the altar. Then, it descended with a near-deafening boom that didn’t hurt so much as startle Evie.
She jumped again as the crash of power flowed out and down, into the earth. When she dared to open her eyes—first, a crack, then wider as the storm dissipated—she was shocked to see nothing left of the bodies that had lain on the altar. They’d been turned to dust, the ashes of them carried into the earth by the whirlwind of magic for all time.
Wow. Evie had never witnessed anything like it before.
“The Mother of All has blessed our endeavors,” Fred intoned, drawing his ritual to a close. “Be at ease, Eve, daughter of Morris and Anita Grey Wolf. Our Lady sees the questions in your heart and offers Her blessings upon you for standing with the Light against evil. You had no other choice. You did only what was right in the Lady’s sight.”
The last few uneasy qualms Evie had harbored about killing the yellow mage dissipated in the Light issuing from Fred’s eyes. He was filled with power not entirely his own, and she wondered again exactly how close a servant of the Goddess her bear friend was. Judging by what she’d just seen, Fred was a lot more than he advertised. Shaman, yes. But his magic had grown by leaps and bounds since the last time she’d seen him all those years ago. He was a whole lot spookier than she remembered, and if she wasn’t mated to a consecrated Knight of the Light, she might almost be uneasy around Fred.
As it was, she was beginning to get used to having powerful people nearby. Between Ray, Josh, and the priestess who was her new daughter-in-law…and now Fred. Evie felt totally outclassed by the levels of power all around her, and a more insecure werewolf might get a complex of some kind.
Not that Ray would ever let her feel inferior. Not for one moment would he allow that. She knew where she stood with him. They were partners. Not exactly equal in all ways, but they evened each other out. She was good at some things and he was good at others. They complemented each other perfectly. As it should be with true mates.
When the power left Fred, he staggered, just slightly before he caught himself. His eyes were dull with the loss of the intense energy that had flowed through him. Ray steadied him and led him to the altar. Fred leaned against it as Ray moved back, keeping a close eye on the bear shifter.
“That was masterfully done,” Ray commented. “Now, if you’ll allow me, I’m pretty good with mechanical things. It’s a particular talent of mine.” Ray shrugged a little as if it wasn’t m
uch to brag about. “Since I assume we’re going to pass these snowmobiles on to someone else, we’ll want to be sure there are not latent traces or traps upon them before we let them go.”
Fred looked impressed, and Evie was outright surprised. She hadn’t even thought such a thing was possible, but magic and spells was Ray’s bailiwick. If he said they should check, they should check. And by they, she, of course, meant him. Him or Fred. Those two were much better at consciously using magic than she was. With her, it was all instinctual—except for the little bit Ray had taught her about casting wards.
“Please,” Fred said magnanimously, gesturing toward the vehicles, parked all in a row.
They were spaced out enough that Ray could walk between them and around each completely. He did this, chanting something Evie didn’t quite catch and took his time examining every inch of every machine.
Evie leaned against the altar, now just a slab of striped rock empty of magic and any evidence of what had just happened here. She kept a close watch on Fred. He was drained of energy, which wasn’t surprising after what she’d just seen. They watched Ray work silently, and a few minutes later, he seemed to finish, leaving the snowmobiles and heading back toward them. He was grinning.
“There wasn’t much on the machines. I think they bought them new only a day or two ago and didn’t have a lot of time or energy to spend on them. If they’d been older, it would have been worse, but as it is, they’re clean and ready for whatever you decide to do with them,” Ray said.
“Me? I thought maybe you two would want them,” Fred replied. “Or at least two of them.”
“Nah,” Evie told her old friend, in perfect alignment with Ray on this subject, though they hadn’t talked it over much. “We’re not staying. And even if we did, we don’t really need snowmobiles, though they are more fun than I’d realized. Your people could use them, can’t they? For one thing, if anybody comes looking for them, which I doubt will happen, you can easily say they were abandoned on res land, which they were.”
Fred looked thoughtful, scratching his chin for a moment. “My nephew, Bruce, is the tribal sheriff now,” he told her, which was news to her. “He can start legal proceedings in our system. The outside world wouldn’t have to know, but there’d be a legit human paper trail if anyone did come looking.” He looked her straight in the eye and grinned. “I like it.”
“Use them for good,” Ray agreed. “That’s a win for the good guys.”
“And with all the snow this year, the tribal police could use another way to get around. They have a snowcat, but that thing is a monster, and it takes a while to get anywhere in it. These things can just zip around, and if a call comes in for help, they can send someone out right away. My nephew Bruce will put them to good use.”
Fred was regaining strength as she watched him, and his eyes were beginning to sparkle with life once more. Bear shifters were really amazing beings. So magical. So strong. Evie truly admired Fred, though she didn’t really understand him. Her wolf was always a little shocked by the hijinks bears got up to when left to their own devices, and Fred had pulled some unsurpassed feats of hilarity when they’d all been younger.
“Since these machines are going to the res, why don’t you two come back with me? I’ll feed you a good meal and then get you a ride back to your place. Sound good?” Fred asked, graciously inviting them onto the reservation proper.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Fred’s nephew, Bruce Standing Bear, was about Josh’s age, Evie reckoned. He was tall, muscular like most bear shifters—she could tell from his scent and size that he definitely was a bear under that very civilized sheriff’s uniform—and had silky-looking black hair and piercing brown eyes. He was a very serious young man and seemed quite distrustful of Evie and especially Ray, until his uncle cuffed his ear and had a few words with him privately.
Nothing made a grown man look more like a child than one of his elders taking him to task. Evie would have giggled if she hadn’t wanted to rile the young bear even more. As it was, she felt distinctly uncomfortable until Bruce came back and made a very gracious apology for being so standoffish.
“I’m really sorry, ma’am,” he said contritely, though he didn’t seem to be all that put out that his uncle had given him what-for. Actually, he was handling his rebuke better than Josh would have in similar circumstances. “Uncle Fred reminded me that not everyone is an enemy, though it seems like it lately.”
“Have you had trouble here?” Ray asked, his brows drawing down in concern.
Bruce sighed and ran one hand through his long-ish hair. “The res was quiet for so long, I admit we’ve been unprepared for the stuff that’s been happening lately.”
At this point, Fred reentered the conversation, walking into the space between Bruce and Ray. He touched both men’s shoulders, connecting them in a visible way. Evie knew shamans were all about symbolism.
“And this is where I admit I had ulterior motives for inviting you back here,” Fred said, looking a bit embarrassed himself. “I think you might have just eliminated a major source of our recent problems,” he went on, looking pointedly at Ray. “But I want to hear your analysis of the mages you encountered—and I want Bruce to hear it too—so we can be sure we’re all on the same page. I didn’t want to make too many assumptions.”
What followed was a detailed discussion of everything they had noticed about the three mages they’d fought. They talked over a plentiful meal provided by Fred and Bruce, who both seemed to be masters at grilling steaks and took turns working the grill while the conversation ebbed and flowed.
Evie told them her observations from the shifter’s point of view, which they both seemed to understand, even when she didn’t have exactly the right words to express what she’d felt. Ray seemed to connect more with Fred, since they both knew more about the ways of magic than either Evie or, it seemed, Bruce did. Though, as a bear shifter, Bruce probably had way more magic in him than Evie ever would. Still, he was quite a bit younger than Fred, and not a shaman, so that probably accounted for his comparative lack of knowledge.
Some of the things Fred and Ray were talking about were pretty arcane. She just enjoyed her food and let the boys talk. They were definitely on the same wavelength, so more power to ‘em.
“I hear Josh is newly mated,” Bruce said quietly to Evie while the other two men discussed some minute point of magic. Evie was surprised.
“You know my son?” she asked, perhaps a bit ungraciously. She blushed a bit, but Bruce didn’t appear to take offense at her abrupt question.
“I remember him from when we were both really little. You used to bring him with you to the res clinic, right? My mother was the nurse. Still is, in fact. A few times, you left Josh in the daycare attached to the clinic, and we played together. I remember him as a nice kid with a powerful flavor of magic that I’d never felt before…until now.” He looked pointedly at Ray. “I see where Josh got that from now. Your mate is something special.”
“You can say that again,” she said, not really guarding her words.
Had she sounded too mushy? By shifter standards, she was in the prime of her life. She could easily live two or three human lifespans, but compared to Josh and Bruce, she was probably an old lady. She felt compelled to explain.
“We were separated for a very long time. In fact, he’s only just been released from the fey realm and returned here. He didn’t even know about Josh.”
Bruce’s eyes narrowed. “That’s really rough. I remember you as a single parent, but I didn’t know why. I’m glad you two seem to have had a happy reunion, though I guess it’s been a bit more adventurous than you bargained for, eh?” His smile softened his words, and she realized he was teasing her.
Bears were quixotic like that. One moment deadly serious, the next joking around.
“It’s been pretty wild,” she agreed. “I’m just glad we were up to the challenge, and if we’ve taken out some of your troublemakers along the way, so much the better,
right?”
Bruce grinned. “Definitely. We’ve been harassed by magical traps for months, and several of our shifters have gone missing.” His mood changed again, darkening as he mentioned his lost people. “I suppose we know what happened to them now.”
“Can I make a suggestion?” Evie asked politely, not sure she wanted to step on this bear’s toes in any way when his face wore that dark expression.
He looked at her, one eyebrow raised. “Fire away,” he invited.
“If you can backtrack the snowmobiles—or maybe get the identities of the mages from that woman we sent to the Lords for questioning—then you can backtrack to their lairs. If any of your missing people are still alive, you might find them. If not, you might at least find their remains so you can return them to their families and give them a proper send off.”
Bruce looked at her with respect in his eyes. “I’ll definitely do that. Our tribe is pretty spread out and mostly human, but there are a few of us shifters interspersed in the territory. All the missing were from shifter families. It would be good to give their loved ones closure with definite news of their fates. Or, if anyone is still alive, by some miracle, we’ll want to get to them as soon as possible.” She could see him thinking as he spoke. “I’d better make a few phone calls right away.” He stood abruptly, grabbing for his jacket. “Please excuse me, Uncle.” He nodded to Fred and then to Ray. “Sir. Your mate has just given me an idea I have to follow up on right away.” He tossed a set of keys to Fred, who snatched them unerringly right out of the air. “Milo can drive them back. Just give him the keys to the tractor.”
Bruce leaned down and gave Evie a quick, surprising hug and a peck on the cheek. “Thank you,” he told her. “You’ve given me something I can do to possibly help, which pleases my bear no end. You might even have helped me save a life or two.”
“I sincerely hope so. Go get ‘em,” she told him, feeling the same sort of motherly affection for Bruce she felt toward her own son, even if this big guy was a bear and not a half-fey wolf.