"Yes. Before she"d only cast nasty spells to do her handiwork, carving sigils on her victims to make them burn to death. Not this time." Shogun wiped his forehead with the back of his sleeve, clearly disgusted. "She needed a body to feed. She"s no longer in the state the Unseelie Fae left her in."
"If she is no longer disembodied, then she will be easier to track," Hunter said, staring at his brother for a moment. "Fortunate for us . . . but unfortunate for the humans. Time is not on their side. We must find her soon. Whoever returned her to a bodied state had to employ dark magica"and that is the beginning of our countercase at the UCE."
"d.a.m.n it all!" Sir Rodney shouted and then paced away through the wide opening his Fae archers allowed so he could pa.s.s. "Ever since the UCE event I"ve had sleepless nights knowing there would be repercussions, and now my friends and allies are being set up? This should have never been! You and Sasha came to the aid of my court. We were under attack, and you helped us hunt down and exterminate the sourcea"now you are being brought up on charges? This is insane! What"s just as bad, I have been attacked in my own sidhe by a possession spell cast by the Unseelie."
"True, but typical," Hunter said, stalking away from the rotting-body stench. "The Vampires are strategic. So are the Unseelie. We knew Cerridwen was in with them since we brought Kiagehul to trial. She and Vlad left arm in arm, so is there any wonder? They know if they break our backs, we of the wolf Federations, then an unchallenged return to rule will be easy for them."
"You have permanent asylum in the sidhe," Sir Rodney said, lowering his sword in Hunter"s direction. He glanced around at his men. "Always will the fortress be at your behest."
"But where will we run under the moon?" Shogun said calmly, moving in a slow, zigzag path among the trees. "Where will we hunt?" His calm gaze locked with Sir Rodney"s. "I am sure you have heard the slogan "Live free or die," yes?"
"Yes," Sir Rodney said with sad eyes. "Yes."
"And there is a complication that we must not forget now," Hunter said, staring at the men before him. "The humans. This has moved beyond the realm of our hidden communities. Humans have been fed on, one of the bodies at least has been found . . . and before it"s all over I am sure more will conveniently find their way to the human authorities to inspire a wolf hunt."
"This is why I"ve said to seek asylum, man!" Sir Rodney shouted, becoming exasperated. "Our Fae magic can hide you; we can give you glamour to ensurea""
"Appreciated, but not as effective as you would believe in this era," Hunter said, cutting him off. "I have been with Sasha"s military. The humans have become more sophisticated, their weapons beyond our comprehension from years past. These are not mere villagers who are fighting demon-infected werewolves with wolfsbane and silver-tipped crossbows from the eleventh century. This is what the Vampires know, too. Our biggest advantage had been that humans didn"t know we existed in the modern era. But now that they do, their tracking devices and DNA forensics are effective. With full military cooperation, they can monitor from the air, from satellites so sensitive that they can pick up the correct digits on a license plate from beyond the earth"s atmosphere!"
Hunter walked away and punched a tree. "Rodneya" when they do a wolf hunt, this time they have RPGs, machine guns, C-4 to blow dens . . . tanks. Do you understand what I am saying to you? If humans feel threatened by an ent.i.ty that can die, that actually bleeds red blood, they will have no compunction about initiating an extermination directivea"especially if they believe that species is feeding on theirs."
"But what about the Vampires, brother?" Shogun"s quiet, steady voice drew everyone"s attention. "If the Vampires are fanning the flames of a human wolf hunt, and the Unseelie are attacking our ally here, might we return the favor? The Art of War." He bowed slightly and then waited.
"Harder to do," Hunter said, "and against our beliefs." He waited until Shogun nodded. "Are any of us prepared to grab innocent humans and then try to drain their bodies of blood by inflicting a deep jugular vein wound? Or would we set a possession spell upon an innocent human, to incur a witch hunt and burnings at the stake like medieval times, just to have evidence drawn toward Cerridwen for revenge? The evidence would soon fall apart if we did anything less dramatic. As I said, the humans" knowledge of the different supernatural species is in-depth in this modern era. Their forensic gathering techniques are to be respected."
"Especially since Sasha helped them understand," one of the Seelie archers muttered. "And she has not yet responded to a missive we sent hours ago."
Both Shogun and Hunter turned toward the sound with a snarl as Sir Rodney wheeled around.
"She was doing her job and has not been where she could receive it!" Sir Rodney shouted toward his men. "Never forget that! She is a head of state, the she-alpha of the North American Shadow Wolf Federation who kept the humans at bay as long as was possible. This was not her offense! Captain Sasha Trudeau will have our respect at all times, and any challenge to that order is treasona"are we clear?"
Tense silence strangled the night, and Hunter looked at Sir Rodney with thanks as he paced away from his men.
"We need her here," Shogun said carefully.
Hunter couldn"t immediately answer. "I know . .. but her own have turned on her and her travel has been restricted."
"Then she is in danger," Shogun said, coming up to Hunter. "We musta""
"Do nothing," Hunter said evenly, leveling his gaze at his brother.
"I don"t understand." Shogun landed a hand on his brother"s shoulder. "What happened?"
Hunter shrugged away from him. "She is safe in the North Country for now. We have work to do here to save our clans."
"Redirect the missive to locate her there," Sir Rodney ordered his missive archer. "Make sure it contains all that we have recently learned. Call the other one back. It is dated." Sir Rodney and his men looked between the huge male wolves with confusion as Shogun pursued Hunter deeper into the underbrush.
"What work is more important than ensuring her safety, brother?" Shogun called out behind Hunter.
"She is coming to her own conclusion about which comes firsta"us or the humans!" Hunter shouted, wheeling on his brother. "Do not allow your personal feelings for her to eclipse what is our priority as Federation leaders."
"Unnecessary and way out of line," Shogun said, taking a stance. "As a Federation leader, she is a prioritya" her safety is no less an issue than yours or mine would be if we were being tracked by the human military. Maybe it is you who has allowed your personal feelings to eclipse what is a priority of our national interests."
"Gentlemen ... the war is with those who seek to destroy us, not one another," Sir Rodney offered in a solemn tone. "We cannot afford to be divided or conquered."
The night wind parted Sasha"s silvery coat with each bound as she ran wild and free across the Uncompahgre. Summer scents of lush flora in bloom filled her nose and broke her heart as she raced through the breathtaking land that Hunter had once shown her. He"d coaxed out her wolf, had shown her its majesty, and had opened her eyes to an entire new plane of existence that she"d once thought was frightening and evil. But it was so beautiful, his version of wolf, that her soul wept.
So she ran to keep from throwing her head back and releasing a mournful howl. Everything she"d known was being stripped away again, being savaged from her grasp. As vast as the open country was, there was no escaping her thoughts, no getting away from Hunter"s wordsa"or the look on his face. The hurt that she"d caused him cut her to the bone as though they were linked, as though they were the same body and owned a singular spirit. Yet the independent wolf within, or the fiercely independent woman, would not allow her to easily relinquish her old military life that she"d fought so hard as a woman to prove herself within.
What was it all for, though?
The words echoed inside her brain, chasing her like a predator, making her heart slam against her rib cage as her body defied gravity, leaping, stretching, to out-race herself until she collapsed.
That"s when the tears camea"the private purge, the private mourning. Wolf paws receded into human female fists that hammered the broken gra.s.s. Her hair spilled over her arms and shielded her face from the moonlight as bitter sobs racked her body. She was a soldier, G.o.dd.a.m.n it! She had worked so hard, saved so many lives, had followed all the rules .. . well, enough of them, given the circ.u.mstances. She"d endured the humiliation of being different, being a lab experiment. Had overcome the so-called limitations of being a woman in a male-dominated profession, those of a combatant... and had dominance-battled her way to the top of the Shadow Wolf Clan. Yet none of that seemed to matter. Still, in this day and time, she was defined by her mate-status in one world, Hunter"sa"and by her DNA in the other.
Fatigue and slowly accepted defeat ebbed her sobs. Sasha pushed up and wiped her gra.s.s-stained face with dirty hands to stare at the moon. But the sight of" the large, luminescent disk made her vision blur again with sudden moisture. The realization that this was the first full moon she"d spent alone since she came into her wolf stabbed her so unexpectedly that she could barely breathe.
Sasha closed her eyes and allowed the tears to flow down her cheeks without censure. There was no getting around it, she loved that man.
"I heard they found another body," one nervous bystander said as a crowd gathered on the balconies of the French Quarter hotels.
Police lights flashed an ominous red and blue stain against dim bar windows and asphalt. Onlookers craned their necks to see the carnage, ignoring warnings from authorities to go back inside. Cell phone video ruled; digital cameras set off a paparazzi bonanza.
"It"s a free country!" one man shouted from a balcony with a beer in his hand.
"Yeah!" another called out from across the street.
"Whatchall "fraid of, huh? Tell the truth and shame the devil," a huge woman shouted, holding her children close under her meaty arms.
Black police helicopters hovered over rooftops warning people to go back inside, to no avail. Crowds had gathered wherever was possible without being directly down on the street in violation of martial law. It was a fine line, a balancing act, but a defiant refusal to disperse nonetheless.
Russell Conway used the telephoto lens on his camera to get a better view, and judging by the size and strange angles of the body tarp in the side alley, there wasn"t much left of the victim. He cringed inwardly and took the shot, adding it to his collection of paranormal incident photos. When were humans going to realize that really horrible things owned the night? If the government wasn"t going to put down these beasts and exterminate them, he would. He owed the memory of his little sister and mother that much.
CHAPTER 7.
A hot shower after her run had helped a little, just as the good clean cry had helped wash some of the pain out of her spirit. The combination had relaxed some of the tense muscles in her back and neck, if nothing else. Right now she was simply numb.
Sasha sat on the porch kneading the nape of her neck and watching the aimless pattern of fireflies. Their haphazard blinks had a hypnotic quality that she latched onto, trying to find some semblance of peace. They seemed to know as much about where they were going as she did at the moment. Tomorrow she"d have to deal with all of that.. . would no doubt have to face Colonel Madison, would have to figure out how to shield her team ... would have to figure out what to say to Hunter.
For a moment she looked around at the rustic cabin that had become her second home. This was indeed a refuge that Hunter had created, a place that had once hid her from her people when they didn"t understand her transition. It was a place where he"d healed her after a nasty she-alpha battle . . . and it was the place that he loved her hard and good and true. Sasha squeezed her eyes shut. There were so many things that had been left unsaid.
But a swoosh and the hard thunk of an arrow hitting the wooden post beside her put Sasha on her feet. The Fae missive instantly unfurled from the arrow that carried it. She read the words carefully. She had to get to New Orleans, no matter what. Someone had tried to send another possession spell through the sidhe barricade and this time had nearly succeeded?
Panic filled her as she thought back on everyone who might still be vulnerable to the old discharged spell. Clarissa had puked, and it didn"t smell righta"not that vomit ever did, but something was definitely wrong. Conflict tore at her. If she went to New Orleans, she"d be violating a direct order, which was grounds for court-martial. But if she stayed, her people could die. The choice was basic: She was going back in.
Sasha held the missive in her fist and spoke to it. "Tell Sir Rodney I understand. I may have a civilian squad member who"s been affecteda"Clarissa McGill. I"m coming in, but I need a body double . . . some type of Fae glamour for a couple of hours so I can do a quick recognizance and get out without my bra.s.s being any the wiser. Can you do that? I"ll wait for a reply." She flung the arrow back into the air and shut her eyes tightly as it sped away. "What are you doing, Trudeau?" she murmured to herself. "This is crazy!"
A familiar howl broke her concentration and made her eyes snap open. Sasha listened intently as the bushes moved and then noises came from within Hunter"s shed across the clearing. She waited until Crow Shadow opened the door wearing a pair of Hunter"s jeans without the benefit of a shirt or shoes.
"Just wanted to borrow these for a minute so we could talk," her brother said as he loped across the clearing. "Will drop them in the yard on my way out. Good thing Hunter keeps changes in there and in the cabin for when we come out of the shadows . . . makes it less awkward."
"It"s all good," she lied, looking at a taller, darker, lankier version of herself. There was no reason to bring her brother into this madness. She needed to know more before she got the entire clan in a lather.
Her brother hesitated at the bottom step and stared at her, his eyes still glowing with his wolf. "It doesn"t sound all good."
Sasha shrugged. "What can I say?"
"Hunter told me what happened." Crow leaned against the stair rail for a moment before taking the porch steps in one easy bound.
Sasha just looked at him.
"About how you"re confined to the state," her brother added, coming to sit on a pine chair in front of her. "But from the way you just looked at me, my wolf instinct says it was more than that."
Sasha sent her gaze out toward the darkness to study the fireflies again. "Got busted for the New Orleans situation ... the paranormal didn"t remain "contained,"" she added, making little quote marks with her fingers in the air. "The news got out to the general public, human civilians got killed, and they took the mission from me. I"m stranded here until they can figure out what to do with me. Not much to tella"other than it kicks my a.s.s because we"ve got a ticking clock at the UCE. That"s the part the military doesn"t geta"there"s a whole bunch of paranormal nations involved and I have to keep the lid on that or else things will really blow."
"Sis, can we just be real with each other?" Crow Shadow said, leaning forward on his elbows. "I got that parta"that"s the warrior-to-warrior conversation. Hunter gave us all a debrief before he headed out. Bear is to watch Silver Hawk"s back, and to be sure the old man is cool when he goes on his vision quest. I"m supposed to be your backup, with Woods and Fisher, and to be sure your human squad isn"t jumped by those a.s.sholes on the base. But that"s not what I"m asking you."
Their eyes met in a standoff before she looked away. "There"s not much more to tell," Sasha said in a quiet tone.
"How"s your head?"
She returned her gaze to Crow Shadow and shrugged, then bit her lip.
"I thought so," he said, and let out a long breath. "Look, Sasha, we"re family . . . albeit we found out late in the game."
She nodded and swallowed hard, biting down harder on her lip as her brother spoke.
"I mean, who knew?" Crow Shadow opened his arms wide and let his head drop back. "s.h.i.t... I was grown and thought I knew who my father was." He sat up straight and stared at her with a pained expression. "Then I found out about Doc, that he was the one. It made all the parts and pieces of my life fall into place ... why the father I grew up thinking was mine always looked at me funny, always was extra hard on me, as though he was carrying a grudge that I was even born."
"I know," Sasha murmured. "So much came out that yeara"but I don"t blame Doc."
"I don"t blame him, either," Crow said, leaning forward and clasping his hands together. "He was never told about me, and he made you to keep you from being the kind of monster the boys in the lab were playing around creating. But what I am saying is, you and me and Doc have wasteda"or losta"a lot of time. If I ever have a kid ... I"m gonna be there, no matter what. Must have killed him not knowing about me, then finding out like he did ... or knowing about you and having to love you without letting anybody know so they wouldn"t put both you and him in a gla.s.s cage. d.a.m.n. It"s no wonder we"re all screwed up."
She could only nod; what her brother was saying was true, but right now she was so worn out emotionally that it was hard to process.
"Like . . . remember when the Vamps s.n.a.t.c.hed me and kept me hostage, hooked up to their frickin" blood machine?" Crow Shadow was leaning forward with his hands clasped together, and Sasha covered his hands with her own.
"Oh, G.o.d, how could I forget?"
"I thought I was gonna die, but I could feel you searching for me. That"s what gave me hope."
"I felt it," she said quietly. "I can"t explain it, but I knew you were alive and that I had to find you."
"Righta"that"s what I mean. There"s no explaining the wolf."
Sasha offered him a sad smile. "Now you sound like Hunter."
"Then you have to know that I know something between you guys isn"t right."
Sasha slowly sat back and wrapped her arms around her waist.
"He didn"t say anything to me, Sasha, so relax." Crow got up and came to sit on the bench beside her. "I could feel it as he talked about you, and I could sense it when I came up those steps and looked into your eyes. Something isn"t right. Whatever is going on, don"t do this. He loves you, you love him. I can say it to you, because you won"t bare fangs at me."
She gave him a wan smile. "You sure?"
A supportive arm came across her shoulders. Little by little she gave in to the pull of it and allowed Crow Shadow to hug her.
"You are such an alpha... I can feel you fighting the tears, Captain . .. can feel you fighting to keep that stiff upper lip. But I"m telling you it"s coola"I"m your brother, okay. It"s safe with me, Sasha. I don"t know what happened, and it isn"t my business ... but I can tell you that something built up inside that mana"he"s wounded."
She couldn"t answer, could only squeeze her eyes shut more tightly and nod, breathing in short, anguished bursts.
"You can let down your guard and I"ll have your back just like you had mine." Crow Shadow hugged her tighter until she rested her forehead on his shoulder. "If this is all I can do for my baby sister, let me, all right? You saved my life, came in there with another huge alpha, Hunter"s brother, and kicked a.s.s when it would have been so easy to just leave me. You didn"t even know I was part of you, then, but you wouldn"t leave me."
"We don"t leave our own," Sasha said in a m.u.f.fled voice, her voice beginning to quake. She drew in another deep breath to steady herself and then fisted her hands at Crow"s back. "I am just so tired . . . of proving myself."
"With us, you don"t have to," he said quietly. "Just be youa"that"s good enough."
Elder Vlad stood at the edge of Lake Pontchartrain eagerly awaiting the uncustomary icy breeze that would announce the arrival of Queen Blatand of Hecate. She was an Unseelie masterpiece. The ancient Vampire felt his fangs begin to lengthen as frost covered the blades of gra.s.s beneath his feet, even in New Orleans in July. Within moments his sight was rewarded as the fragile, porcelain beauty materialized out of an icy mist. A wash of blue-white moonlight sparkled in the tiny, sequinlike icicles that crusted her pale blue gown. Penetrating pale blue eyes arrested him, and her frosted blue lips quirked up in a half smile. Tonight she"d left her long platinum hair down as though to tease him, and he studied how it spilled over her shoulders and pet.i.te, perfect b.r.e.a.s.t.s.
"Cerridwen," Elder Vlad murmured.
"You have summoned me," she said, quietly coming to him and placing a cold hand against his cheek.
He turned his face into her palm and kissed the center of her hand. "Yes ... it is done."
"The creature has a body?"
Elder Vlad smiled a toothy grin. "Indeed." But his smile faded as Cerridwen backed away.
"Witches and warlocks can be ... how shall we say ... sometimes unreliable. They are, after all, human."
"True," he said, with confidence, taking up her hand for a moment. "But given your opposition to Sir Rodney, and all that you have to gain from taking his place at the UCE when this plays out... your hands must be clean." He stared into her eyes and then kissed the back of her chilly hand.
"I am slightly uncomfortable with some of the logistics a.s.sociated with this plan, but I do trust you implicitly."