Nowadays each of them was fiercely loyal and dedicated to their destiny as shifters, but Burr explained it hadn’t always been that way.
He told us how they’d become shifters, describing a raging forest fire in Montana. How when they believed they’d beaten back the blast, smoke had risen in the distance.
“We were dead beat, but the five of us gamely trudged down there. And then it came.” Burr folded his hands on the table and his lips became a grim line. “An Ash Walker.”
My hand went to my throat as the shadows in the room seemed to lengthen. Juniper and Fox were leaning across the table, riveted on Burr’s face and eager for more. But I felt a thrill of terror.
“I knew what it was immediately, of course,” Burr said, his face darkening. “The other guys didn’t. They were bewildered, terrified, and had no idea what to do. Neither did I. Not really.
“And I was angry. So, so angry. I threw an ax at it – little good that did.” He paused. “I remember thinking we were going to die at its hands and there was nothing I could do. For a moment I considered throwing myself at it and trying to give them a running start.”
My fists clenched under the table and I looked away.
Burr continued on, “Then Rayner grabbed me and dragged me back. But I was staring it down, wishing and praying that the guys could get away. Wanting nothing more than to destroy it, even if it cost me my own life. And like it heard me, the Ash Walker started forward, pushing through the trees and spewing poison smoke.
“And we fell, one by one. Choking, on my back, I saw the stars and moon wheeling overhead. That was the last thing I saw – the full moon through the smoke. And I remembered Mom’s old stories. I remembered Akba Atatdia.” He blew out a breath and I looked up.
“What happened next?” Fox asked in a small voice.
Burr shifted in his seat. “It’s a blur. Light pulsed behind my eyelids and I awoke to a great white coyote, the color of moonlight, looking into my eyes. He touched his nose to my chest and I could breathe again. Then he touched my forehead.
“All of the sudden, there was a rush of images and stories in my mind. It was hard to sort through, but the gist of it was this: to follow my instincts, seek out Aunt Sil and the Elders for training. To keep my brothers close. It would take years to learn our skills, but the five of us – if we stayed together and learned to work together as a pack – could rid the world of a great evil. The one that had taken my parents. Your father.” He closed his eyes.
“Whoa,” Fox breathed. “You’re a herald of Akba Atatdia. That’s amazing!”
“Wait, so you’ve been training and fighting since when, exactly?” Juniper’s voice had dropped a degree. “This wasn’t recent, was it?”
“No. Over five years ago,” Burr said, his face clouding. “Juniper, I wanted to tell you guys. Trust me, once we woke up the next morning and I realized it hadn’t been a dream, that was one of my first thoughts.” He sighed. “But I had four friends who’d been thrust into this world of shadows and spirits and demons. They had to come first.”
“Wait!” Fox burst out. “So, what you’re trying to say is that you’ve never had time since then? We’ve talked like a million times! Why not tell us? We’re shifters and healers by blood!”
“I know,” Burr said miserably. “I’m sorry I kept this from you. I kept putting it off.”
“Leave him alone you two!” popped out of my mouth and they all looked at me. “What? Just because Burr knew about the Ash Walkers and shifters doesn’t mean anything. He needed time to adjust, too. Plus, he had four complete novices with him.” Juniper muttered something under his breath and I stiffened. “What was that, Juni?”
“Forget it, Willow. You wouldn’t understand,” Juniper said harshly, glaring at the floor.
Glancing around the table, I saw Burr staring at him in amazement, “Juniper, what…?”
“What wouldn’t I understand?” I asked as I looked back at him and reached for his hand.
Juniper pulled away, swallowing and shaking his head. “Never mind. I don’t… Please, just continue, Burr. I want to hear what happened next.”
On some instinct, Burr and I exchanged a worried look.
But then I looked away and Burr continued in a low voice, taking us through the adventures of both wildland firefighting and being a coyote shifter over the last five years. How in the first year his brother Ben had run off, obviously scaring Burr half to death from the roughness in his voice, and how he’d had to chase him all the way to Seattle. Their training with the Elders and first battles together, where they were clumsy and bumped heads.
Yet now they were a force to be reckoned with.
Burr paused. “Then last year was something else. A lot happened.”
Hesitating, he then told us about a girl named Hazel Pemberton. She’d met Ben in Seattle when he’d been there and then came to Montana, seemingly by accident. He grinned a little then, his face softening. “Ben and Hazel have found each other in every life. She found out she’s a shaman.”
Hazel had awoken Ben’s latent healing abilities, one that had only grown in the time since, while her gift stagnated and bloomed at odd intervals. Juniper looked intrigued at that and asked a great many questions about Hazel. He seemed put out that she and Ben were together.
After that, Burr told us about the end of the summer and the dark day when the Ash Walkers had broken through the wards of Aunt Sil’s.
“But that’s impossible!” I exclaimed, my heart pounding.
Burr gave me a measured look. “They weren’t broken so much as evaded. An enemy brought them into her lands – to distract us and weaken us.” His face twisted. “The Crooked Man.” He paused. “A Skinwalker.”
Fox let out a small yelp, Juniper sucked in a hard breath and my eyes went huge.
“That’s why Aunt Sil didn’t want us visiting last summer,” Juniper murmured.
“There was also a lot going on besides that,” Burr said kindly. “Since then, all of the defenses have been shored up and we’ve found ways to know if it’s close by.”
From there, he took us from Montana to Arizona, telling us about finding out more about the Skinwalker and how Hazel had managed to track it to a small town where people kept vanishing. There they’d found its base and rescued a girl from being turned into one of the Pale Eyes.
“A Pale Eye?” Juniper was white to the lips. “I’ve heard rumors. So, it’s true then…”
Burr swallowed and nodded. “The fell thing can somehow turn humans into blind, obedient underlings. We don’t think they can live very long – their souls are swallowed by its dark energy – but it gives them superhuman abilities for a little while.” I put a hand to my throat and Burr gave me a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, though, Ben can heal them. But after we saved Kalin, we found out her sister had been turned.
“And then the Skinwalker came after Kalin… We didn’t find out why till later.” He made a face halfway between amusement and annoyance. “So we had to split up.” He shook his head. “I hated splitting up. But Rayner insisted.”
Wes had been tasked to safeguard Kalin through the wilderness – something he’d grumpily agreed to – only because there’d been no other option. However, from Burr’s smile, things had gone well between Kalin and Wes.
It was a smile that made my bones go week. Burr had never been one to begrudge the happiness of another – their happiness had always been his.
“Jeez, how come you guys get all the action?” Fox groaned as Burr finished telling us about a showdown on the banks of Lake Mead. “Fighting bad guys, rescuing damsels in distress – you’re like superheroes. That’s not fair. We don’t do stuff like that.”
I winced and now Juniper and I exchanged a look. We both knew my mother’s deepest terror was Fox’s reckless bravery – how much her shifter son wanted to fight and risk his life.
“So you’re chasing this Skinwalker around?” Juniper asked quickly.
Burr hesitated, then nodded
and cleared his face of expression. If I hadn’t known him since I was ten, I’d think that was all there was to the story. But at that moment, I knew he wasn’t telling us something.
Before I could shoot him a look or make a comment that let him know I was on to him, he told us about Kalin’s photograph. She’d managed to capture the Skinwalker’s true face – the only clue the Hotshot Brothers had to its identity. After he finished, he frowned, his eyes distant, and I wondered what he was thinking about.
“Burr?” Fox jostled his arm. “So how much do you love being a shifter?”
“What?” Burr blinked and put a hand to his head.
“I want to know how you like being a shifter.” Fox bounced in his seat. “It’s the best, isn’t it? Running around, manipulating elements. It’s so cool we both deal with the wind.”
Laughing, Burr nodded. “When you visit, we’ll go out for a run, kid.”
Fox was radiant, and chewing my lip, I changed the subject, asking “Um, Juni, Fox, are you staying the night?”
Looking at Juniper, Fox shrugged and said, “Maybe. Although we did tell Lark we’d get the snowmobiles back by tonight. I’m sure he could wait till tomorrow though.”
“Hold on, little brother.” Juniper turned to Burr. “We have your stuff.”
“What?” Burr’s face lit up. “You do? How?”
Juniper and Fox exchanged impish grins. “Persuaded the cops to give it to us.”
“You used it to track me, huh?” Burr frowned. “I wonder why it didn’t work.”
“The mark, duh,” Fox said, a little too cheerfully. “But I’m sure it’s something Aunt Sil can take care of,” he added hastily.
“What I mean to say is – we should go get your stuff, contact Aunt Sil and then come back.” Juniper frowned. “The only thing is that the phones are down for miles, I think.”
I gasped as I realized something I meant to do yesterday and they all looked at me.
“Sorry,” I muttered, standing up. “I just remembered I meant to check on the generator. It’s been running for days with all the storms and the regular power going in and out.”
Fox was making faces at Juniper. “Man, we’re going to have to go all the way back to the city. With the roads and stuff, we might not be back for two freakin’ days.”
Juniper nodded, his face grim. “I know. But Willow has to stay here with Burr. It’s up to us, Fox. We have to go get help.”
“Get help?” Burr asked and his nostrils flared. “Watch who you’re talking to, Juni. I’m not that badly off. I can still hold my own.”
“But you shouldn’t,” Fox said, standing up as well and looking worried. It made my heart ache at how grown up he was. “Alright, let’s go now, so we can get back here as fast as possible.”
“Tell Sil to tell my brothers…” Burr trailed off. “I’m not dead? Jeez, they’re gonna be pissed.”
“They’ll understand,” I said immediately.
“Of course they will,” Burr sighed. “That’s not the point though. It’s been almost three weeks that they’ve thought I was dead. I can’t imagine what they’re going through.” His shoulders slumped. “What I put everyone through. Aunt Sil, the Elders… That’s on me.”
“Burr,” I said, my throat tight, but to my surprise, Fox launched himself at Burr, hugging him fiercely.
“Don’t say stuff like that!” my brother exclaimed, his voice muffled. “It was that stupid Spider Demon’s fault. I know it. You’d never do anything to hurt anyone, Burr.”
Juniper patted Burr’s shoulder and said, “Burr, blaming yourself won’t help anyone. Let us help you out for once.” Nodding, Burr reached up and squeezed Juni’s forearm.
A sudden longing to be in Burr’s arms went through me, but I turned and went into the patio. Mechanically, I pulled on my heavy coat and boots, then trudged outside. Breathing in the sharp winter air, I tried to let it clear my head, but then Juniper appeared beside me and I jumped.
“Juni, you startled me!” I studied him. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
My brother’s face twisted, his eyes cold and hard. “Lolo, I love you, but… I’m–”
“What? Juni, you’re scaring me now,” I said, gripping his arms.
He stared down at me and a shudder went through me. “I’m trying not to blame you or be angry with you. I know you have your reasons.” Juniper looked away. “I know losing Dad and Uncle Aspen and Auntie Sana was…” His throat worked. “But everyone came together. Except you. You pushed everyone away. You wanted to be strong for us and you were. And I love you for that – but it’s your fault that Burr didn’t tell us about becoming a shifter.”
I stumbled back and away from him. “No,” I said harshly. “Juni – that’s not fair.”
“I know,” he muttered. “I know I shouldn’t be angry with you, but I am. Burr knew if he told us, we’d tell you. And if he told his brothers about us, he’d have to tell them about you.” Juniper turned and walked a few steps away. “Stop fighting so hard to be independent and strong, Lolo. It’s tearing apart our family. It’s tearing you apart.”
“Juniper! What – you don’t mean that!” I snapped as I recoiled, suddenly feeling like a cornered and wounded animal. “You’re wrong.”
“I’m not. And, honestly, what’s not fair is that you drove Burr away.” Juniper said this so quietly I almost didn’t hear him. “But at least now you have a chance to make amends. Think about it – he could have gone anywhere.” He looked back at me. “And he came to you.”
Chapter 9
I walked out of the house with Fox, who was chattering in my ear. Some things never change. At the bottom of the stairs stood Juniper, his eyes cast down and cheeks pale. Willow was nowhere to be seen.
“Lolo says to be safe and we’ll see her soon, Fox,” Juniper said tonelessly as his brother paused for air.
Stopping on the stairs, I studied Juniper carefully. “Juni, everything good?”
He nodded, coming over to embrace me. “It’s good to have you back, Burr.”
Fox gave me another hug, then the two loped off. I felt like an old man standing there, watching them leave, the cold curling against my bones and making me light-headed.
I kept waving until they got to the snowmobiles, waved back, and took off. Then I limped back inside and into the living room, where I collapsed on the couch.
Dozing off, I didn’t hear when Willow came back, but some time later in the afternoon, I heard her steps, quiet and controlled, moving through the house.
I wondered what was going on between her and Juniper. There seemed to be some strange tension between them that had never been there before – something outside of normal sibling friction. Then I recalled what he’d said right before Willow had appeared at breakfast.
But weren’t you here when she found out you were missing? Was she okay?
Leave it to Juni to calmly drop a nuke like that in the kitchen.
My head began to pound. I can’t think about things like that. Yet, deep within my heart, a flicker of hope flared up – one that had refused to die on a rainy night seven years ago.
The rest of the day passed quietly, with Willow stopping at the door to check on me occasionally, and then padding off quietly around the house. Long after the sun had set, I was lying there with my eyes closed, drifting through plans aimlessly, when I heard Willow coming towards the room.
Instead of glancing in and leaving, she came across, set something down on the table and then knelt down. Cool fingers touched my forehead and I opened my eyes.
Her dark gaze was startled and then she winced. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“I wasn’t sleeping,” I murmured, then I sat up. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“You’re recovering still,” Willow said. “You felt a bit feverish earlier, but now you don’t.”
“Thanks,” I said weakly.
An awkward silence stretched out, then Willow got to her feet and handed me a tray of food. “Do yo
u want to eat something?”
“I can try,” I said, reaching out for it. After she handed it to me, to my surprise, she sat down next to me and pulled her feet up. Her arm brushed mine, setting every nerve alight in my body and I almost bit the spoon in my mouth in half. “Everything okay?”
For a second, Willow looked over at me, her eyes full of desperate longing.
But then she shut down. As always.
“Everything is okay,” she said, as though reciting a lesson she’d learned. “You just focus on getting better, and let me know what I can do to help.”
I opened my mouth, then shut it quickly and simply nodded. While I ate, we were both silent and I wished there was a TV or a radio on.
But Willow didn’t even seem to notice it, sitting there and brooding. Everything is okay, my ass, I thought. I know something is up with you and Juni, Willow. But as usual, you have to be a pain and pretend to be fine.
When I finished, Willow brought my tray into the kitchen and came back, standing a few feet away from me. She began to fiddle with the end of her braid, not looking at me and I waited patiently. Has to ask me something, doesn’t want to. Typical Willow. I fought down a laugh.
“Um, you don’t have to sleep in here tonight, Burr,” Willow finally said.
I leaned back against the couch cushions and regarded her. “It’s comfortable. Not a big deal.”
“No, you need a good bed.” Willow’s fingers were becoming more agitated and she scowled at the floor. “Just sleep in my room, okay?”
“Where will you sleep, though?” I asked. “Not–”
“I’ll sleep in my bed too,” she blurted out and now she turned away. “That way I can keep an eye on you.”
Now a laugh escaped me. I saw her shoulders hunch. “While you’re sleeping?”
HOTSHOT BROTHERS: Coyote Shifters Page 40