by A. C. Arthur
“And nobody thought it was imperative to inform me?” Nick questioned, feeling like an ass since Melanie had come into his office acting strange and asking all kinds of questions about Kalina. Had he known what she was, he would have killed the bitch then. “Okay, so she was a shifter. We’ve already talked about having some sort of registry for the stateside shifters. When did she go Rogue? And why didn’t we pick up her scent?”
“There are ways to mask a scent,” Alamar offered.
Rome nodded. “All the more reason we need to implement that registry Nick just mentioned. Melanie’s mated to Peter Keys, a low-level jaguar who mainly keeps to himself. But she was also sleeping with one of our good friends—Ralph Kensington.”
“That’s why Kensington stank of shifter back in LA,” X added.
“Exactly. So by sleeping with a human and a shifter, the change in her scent wouldn’t have been noticeable. We would never have known she’d gone Rogue.”
“Dammit! So she was working with Sabar, too. And they knew about Kalina even before we did.” Nick wasn’t liking what he was hearing.
“It seems that way,” Rome admitted.
“What about the threat from their government?” Alamar asked, bringing more silence to the room.
X spoke up first. “They don’t have any positive proof, just some reports from people who think they’ve seen things. If we go under the radar, it may die down.” He looked pointedly at Rome. “But they are the government. They lie and cheat for a living. My guess is they’re going to keep investigating until they find something tangible.”
Rome had a sick feeling in his gut. “You mean until they actually find one of us.”
X only nodded.
“One of our biggest fears is becoming a reality,” Alamar said solemnly.
Baxter slipped into the room at that moment, coming to stand by the Elder, handing him a piece of paper.
The older shifter’s usually restrained features changed, his lips drawing into a tight line.
X and Nick looked at Rome, who waited a few seconds before asking, “Is everything all right, Elder?”
Alamar shook his head solemnly. “There has been trouble in the forest. One of our cherished curanderos has been taken. No one has seen her for two days now. There is great concern from her family.”
Curanderos were imperative to the tribes’ survival in the Gungi. They were considered saviors to the shifters, providing remedies—be they medicinal or spiritual—to the infected. Without curanderos the tribes would almost certainly be near extinct. There were only one or two within each tribe, and they usually carried on from their parents’ training, so losing a healer was not a good thing for Shadow Shifters.
But for the three shifter friends, this announcement held a different message—a much more personal one.
The air in the room crackled with tension as they each sat up just a little straighter, listening intently.
“Which one?” Nick asked, ignoring the fact that Rome should have been the one speaking first.
Rome and X were perfectly still as they waited for Alamar’s answer.
“It is Aryiola.”
“Nick,” Rome said, immediately standing from his chair. But it was already too late. Nick was up, wrenching the door open and letting it slam against the wall.
“I’m on it,” X said with a slight bow to the Elder before going after Nick.
Rome sighed. “She was his first love.”
Elder Alamar only nodded. “She is his companheiro. I have known this for some time. Go to him,” he told Rome. “This will not be easy for him or his cat. I will leave for the Gungi in the morning.”
Rome bowed to the Elder and moved to the door himself, stopping to add, “We’ll be going with you.”
Chapter 29
The Gungi rain forest, Brazil
The scents hit her first. From the moment they stepped off the boat that carried them from the village where two jeeps had taken them after picking them up at the airport, Kalina had been inhaling deeply. It was the euphoric scent from her dreams, the one she’d sworn was heaven. It was here, in the rain forest.
A seemingly small boat had carried her, Rome, Nick, Elder Alamar, Eli, and Ezra and all their luggage smoothly down a river with gurgling water and jutting rocks. Everywhere she looked was green, fresh, and filled with vitality. It was such a contrast to the smog-filled city and the hustling and bustling of people.
Rome helped her out of the boat, his hands sliding from her hips the minute her feet hit the ground. She heard it then: birds, lots of them. She looked ahead, down a hill of grass, to trees as tall as her neck could stretch. Above, the sun beamed as humidity rose to an almost stifling rate. But she didn’t feel hot, she felt exhilarated.
Her breath came in short quick pants, her eyes moving here and there trying to take in everything as quickly as she could. It was surreal, this feeling overwhelming her, this sense of immediate acceptance in a land that for all intents and purposes should feel foreign.
“She’ll want to get loose, to run free. Stay with me for now. She’ll have her chance later,” Rome said, taking her hand and leading her down the hill.
He was talking about the cat within her—that’s how he referred to it, as if it were another person inside her. He referred to his own cat the same way. Kalina wondered if she’d ever become that comfortable with the two parts of herself.
Anxiety swamped her the minute they entered the deep foliage of the forest. It was unlike anything she’d ever seen except in books or on documentaries on television. Vines and mosses roped through the terrain like some intricate road map that only the natives would understand. Eli and Ezra were in front of the group carrying packs on their backs and bags in their hands. They knew exactly where they were going. Beside her Rome’s breathing seemed to change, his eyes drinking in the sights just as she did.
Elder Alamar walked with a regal air, his feet lightly touching the thick vegetated lining of the forest floor. X moved agilely, which was something of a mystery for a man built as he was. And Nick—Kalina’s heart went out the man and the beast. He was a solemn form of anger, walking but not experiencing this lush forest.
He’d lived here for eight years of his life, so there was no doubt that he’d walked this same path before, had seen the wonders that Kalina was just experiencing. But there was pain here as well. It all but emanated from his body and was etched over his face. This woman, the curandero whose name was Aryiola—pronounced ah-re-olah, as Baxter had informed her—had once been very important to Nick. Baxter, who was quickly becoming a great reference guide for all things Topètenia- and rain-forest-related, had told her a little about Nick and his first love. Her heart had broken at the what sounded to her like the jungle version of Romeo and Juliet.
Now Aryiola was in danger. They believed she’d been kidnapped. Rome and X had even discussed Sabar’s possible involvement last night. Kalina still wasn’t clear on the Rogue’s intentions. She knew the thirst for power and money well but was having a harder time digesting the rule-the-world mentality. Then again, she’d only known of her heritage for a matter of days. There was still so much she had to learn.
Her mind was so deep in thought Kalina hadn’t been watching where she was going, and she tripped. The downward descent was halted when Rome grabbed her around the waist, lifting her up then setting her down again.
“Sorry,” she said, feeling as foolish as she possibly could when she looked down to see she’d tripped over a tree root. But this wasn’t any tree root, it was gigantic, as big as the entire trunk of a tree back in DC. The spidery-looking limb stretched upward beside others just like it, sprawling above to one mammoth tree that branched out hundreds of feet above.
It was then that she noticed how dark it had grown. She wondered where the sun had gone.
“It’s okay, take a few minutes to get your bearings,” Rome said, pulling a bottled water from the backpack he carried. “The jungle’s a tricky place when you’re here for the
first time.”
“Tell me about it,” she said, taking the bottle he offered and drinking. “Where’d the sun go?”
Rome chuckled as he nodded to the others to keep moving ahead.
“The trees branch out at the very top, forming a canopy of sorts that allows a minimal amount of sunlight onto the forest floor. These are called buttress roots,” he said, stomping his booted foot on the root she’d tripped over.
“Guess I should watch where I’m going, huh?” She smiled, handing him back his bottle.
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” he said seriously. “I know you’re worried about all this and still trying to figure out your place, but I need you to trust me.”
Looking up into his eyes, she couldn’t help but feel the love she had for this man swelling in her chest. “You’ve been telling me to trust you since the first time I met you.”
“You’d think you’d get the hint by now.” He smiled.
She loved his smile, loved the way it put a light in his dark brown eyes. She’d seen that light much more often in the days since the weight of finding his parents’ killer had been lifted from his shoulders. He still had other worries, she knew, as a leader of his people; that was justified. But he definitely seemed happier now. Kalina liked to think she’d played a part in that.
“I trust you, Rome. I trust you with my life.”
He kissed her hard and quick. “Good. Now let’s go before they get to the Gungi ahead of us.”
“We’re not in the Gungi yet?” she asked holding his hand and trying to keep up with his gait.
“No, this is the rain forest, but it’s not the Gungi. Our land is concealed deep within the recesses of the forest so that tourists and poachers can’t easily find us.”
She nodded. “It’s hidden well. I have absolutely no idea where I’m going.”
Rome chuckled. “Then I’ll have to bring you here more often so you can get to know your homeland.”
Her homeland. Kalina wasn’t so sure about that.
* * *
That night with the sounds of the jungle echoing around her, Kalina lay on a cot next to Rome. They were in a hut, one of the larger ones in the village with as many of the modern amenities as one could expect in the middle of a rain forest.
Sheer netting covered the cot to keep away the mosquitoes and other insects that shared this living space. She’d had a full night of meeting various Elders and speaking with the women of the Topètenia tribe.
Elisa, one of the younger jaguar shifters, had come to the table where Rome and Kalina sat with the Elder Alamar for dinner. They’d eaten on the Elders’ Grounds, which to Kalina’s shock was not Elder Alamar’s personal lodgings. The Elders’ Grounds was a huge hut divided into two halves. On the one side was the temple where the Elders met and prayed for guidance; that side was sacred. The other half was a large space with heavy tables made of cut and sanded wood and benches designed for special occasions. Apparently, announcing the joining ceremony for a stateside Faction Leader was a pretty big deal.
Elisa was garbed in what Kalina’d learned was the traditional outfit for female shifters—a soft leather top with intricate and colorful beadwork that looked like an elaborately decorated bikini top, and a matching skirt that put Kalina in mind of a rap video dancer. She noticed that this was the attire for younger female shifters, while the older women opted for more flowing cotton sarong-type dresses. None of them wore pants—which for Kalina was a huge issue.
“The joining will be tomorrow night when there is a full moon,” Elisa whispered as they made their way down the aisles of tables toward the front entrance.
“Can we see a full moon from here?” Kalina had asked and quickly felt like a colossal idiot for daring.
Elisa smiled, her skin the color of golden-brown leaves. Her eyes were an intricate mixture of orange and gold, which Kalina figured would transform easily to the eyes of a cat. Her dark hair had been cut viciously to her chin, but it worked for the female Kalina sensed might be just a bit unconventional, even by the forest standards.
“Full moons are beautiful in the Gungi. They are sacred times for commitment and renewal. That is why we have joinings at that time.”
She held Kalina’s hand and with her other hand pushed through the screened door of the hut so they both could walk through. Once outside Elisa led Kalina down a winding path to another hut. When she stepped inside, Kalina was greeted with a variety of different scents.
“It is purification,” Elisa said. “Breathe deeply, let them move throughout your body. It will prepare you.”
“Prepare me for what?” Kalina asked while inhaling once more.
“For taking your companheiro.” This new voice was deeper, raspier, and came from Kalina’s left.
Instantly she looked in that direction to see a wide woman with a long graying ponytail that stretched down her back. She was wrapped in dark red material from one shoulder down to her ankles. A thick dusky-tinted shoulder was bare, as well as beefy arms and fingers that folded in front of her generous midsection.
This was an older female, Kalina thought. Not because of her staunch build and webbed eyes, or even the graying hair. It was the look in her eyes, the knowledge stored there that gave her away. She was a woman learned in the ways of the Gungi, one of wisdom whom all females most likely went to for guidance. Kalina didn’t know whether to be fearful or thankful to Elisa for bringing her here.
“This is Magdalena. She is a Seer of the Topètenia.”
Kalina wanted to ask what a Seer was but something kept her from doing so. Maybe it was the stern way in which the lady, the Seer, was eyeing her. Instead she cleared her throat and said, “You have a lovely place.”
Once again she looked around the interior of the hut, which was a filled with candles and incense. There were several tables, some high and some low, all crudely built but sturdy looking. On each was at least one candle along with clay pot burners filled with heating oil. In the far corner of the room there was a fireplace with wood that crackled beneath glowing flames. Along the walls slim sticks jutted from invisible openings, all burning at the tips, filling the space with a spicy aroma.
Alongside another wall hung a dress of flowing white material that was as see-through as a layer of gauze. Along the neckline was more of the intricate beadwork she’d seen on Elisa’s top, except this was different. The beads, unlike Elisa’s, were not multicolored but gold and frosty white. They bordered the neckline and slim sleeves that grew wider at the bottom. They also sparkled from beneath two layers of wavy solid white material at the very bottom.
Elisa whispered in her ear. “This is the dress you will wear to the joining. It is made by the older women when a joining is announced.”
“But he just announced it,” she spoke to Elisa, her eyes never leaving the dress, as if the material were somehow calling to her.
Elisa shook her head. “Elder Alamar knew before he left for the States this would be needed.”
So he’d known a hell of a lot longer than Kalina had.
“You are Topètenia,” Magdalena interrupted. “We believe in loyalty and commitment. Your parents believed and were forever joined.”
At the mention of her parents Kalina’s heart thumped louder. “Did you know them?” she asked, her voice sounding eager to her own ears. She didn’t care. All her life she’d wondered about the people who’d had her and given her up. Wondered why she hadn’t been good enough for them and continued to not be good enough for anybody to keep. If this woman and her scent-filled hut had an answer, Kalina wanted to know.
For a moment Magdalena looked as if she wouldn’t speak, wouldn’t dare tell her about the people who’d created her. Kalina was more than prepared to yell. They’d known about her all along, this tribe of people who’d left her out there alone all her life. They’d known she existed and that someday she’d come back. That’s why they’d designed that dress. She’d bet her life savings the dress fit perfectly. It was be
autiful and had almost brought tears to her eyes if she weren’t still full of so much doubt about belonging here.
Magdalena continued, “They were good and honest. It was not their fault that you could not stay.”
“Were they forced to give me up?”
“The choice was never their own. Their lives were soon ending. It was a sacrifice they make to save you, to keep you safe.”
“Safe from who? From what?” Rome had told her the Rogue Sabar wanted her, but Kalina wanted to know why.
“You are of natural power, they knew this. They knew others would want that power. In the Gungi they cannot protect you, so you go away.” She stood a little straighter, her gaze grabbing hold of Kalina’s and refusing to waver. “Now you are back to claim your rightful place as a leader of our people. A leader to walk and fight beside her companheiro forevermore.”
Something about those words, about the way she spoke them, created a shift inside Kalina. Not the weird kind of shift she’d felt when her cat had taken over, but a welcoming revelation. Words couldn’t quite explain it, but her eyes felt brighter; what she could see through them clearer.
“This belonged to her,” Magdalena said gruffly, reaching into one of the deep folds of her dress and pulling out a necklace.
She handed the necklace to Elisa, who quickly snapped it around Kalina’s neck. Kalina’s fingers went instantly to the shiny piece of onyx that hung from the corded string.
“It is the symbol of the Topètenia,” Elisa informed her. “The mark of the jaguar.”
Inside the circle it did look like the paw of an animal, but it wasn’t just the look of it that struck Kalina. It was the feel of it against her fingers, a simmering heat that the cat inside her immediately responded to with a leap.
“I wish I could have known them,” she said in a low voice.
Elisa smiled wanly. Magdalena cleared her throat loudly.
Elisa took a step back from Kalina and gave her a more serious look. “As part of the purification, she will cleanse you for the ceremony.”