The Apex Shifter Complete Set: Books 1 - 3

by Emilia Hartley

  Blood watched her stride to the VW bus. He had to smile. His leverage: a troublemaking teenager, following her nature. He remained in the doorway until the big black car predictably followed Isabela. When he felt safe enough, he hurried down the block. Eyes swept the area for an easy vehicle to steal. Isabela’s cell phone reminded him that there were cameras everywhere. He didn’t have time to get busted for grand theft auto, but he didn’t have time to waste, either.

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  Chapter Twenty-one

  Kayla stopped at the office to update her boss on the case. And one other thing. In her cubicle, she took the obsidian tomahawk from her desk drawer. Gazing at the glossy head, she wondered if it really did provide some protection from dragons. She found the place in the book that described volcanic glass as a weapon. She saw photos of an enormous, stone-tipped lance, drawings of similar spears. But the little stone axe? What good would that do against a dragon?

  Better that she had it and didn’t need it than the other way around. She smuggled it out of the office under her coat. Outside, the sun dipped toward the west. She needed to get a move on.

  Sunset painted Mount Hood’s frosty face pink. She remembered sharing a sandwich with Elathan. Somehow, this one didn’t compare with the sunset they’d watched together. Mentally, she shook herself. Time to get on with the task at hand.

  Kayla drove south around the mountain to the national forest. She parked in a lot with few cars. Not many campers out in the middle of the week. Armed with the primitive hatchet and the book, she marched past the campgrounds, through the marshy surroundings. Without hesitating, she stomped up the stairs to the porch of a sway-backed cabin.

  Kayla burst through the door. “Tell me what you know about dragons.”

  Sybil Auger whirled toward her, face drawn down. “Dragons? You must be experiencing those headaches again, dear. You’re talking nonsense.”

  With a loud thump, Kayla dropped the book on a workbench, rear cover up. Sybil stared at the author photo for a long moment. It was a picture of herself. The Vet’s eyes flicked up to Kayla’s. “What is it you want to know?”

  “There’s one in the area, Sybil. Tell me how to find it.”

  “You won’t have to go far.” Sybil smiled, the expression not touching her eyes. “Why the sudden interest?”

  Kayla took a step closer. “I think you know why I’m interested.”

  The Vet folded her arms. “Perhaps you’d better tell me.”

  “My client is hunting a dragon. All this time, you’ve been misdirecting people against Elathan. Your theory that Elathan was coming to take his place as the apex set the biggest, baddest shifter against him.”

  Sybil angled her head, one brow raised. “It’s quite evident that Blood attempted to kill Thorn.”

  “No, not kill him—use him as bait. When Thorn was in mortal danger, it drew his mother out. Maternal instinct can’t be ignored, can it, Sybil?”

  “What are you suggesting?”

  Kayla realized she had uncovered the situation. She had to slow her thinking before her words came out in a rush. “I’ve always wondered how a normal human could be an expert on shifters, their ailments, their behavior. You’re not a normal human, are you?”

  “Don’t insult me by lumping me in with you half-animals.”

  Her pulse raced as she glommed onto the idea. Kayla continued. “That’s right, you’re not a half-animal at all. No wonder you always act so superior. You are the apex predator. Your other half.”

  Sybil pulled a gem from her breast pocket. Kayla’s eyes were pierced by a brilliant light. She reached for the tomahawk in her coat. Head screaming in pain, Kayla felt her body freeze. The Vet closed in until she stood only inches from Kayla. She could see Sybil’s eyes turn a mottled green, the pupils lengthening to vertical slits. Reptile eyes.

  Dragon eyes.

  ***

  Blood paced the cabin. Three hours, he’d said. Five of the obsidian wands were now primed and ready. He had climbed up on the table to retrieve a sawed-off shotgun from the rafters. With today’s technology, he had no doubt that the car he’d stolen had already been recovered. Even if he started now, he wouldn’t reach his destination until long after dark.

  Fucking kids.

  Outside, he heard the thunder of an engine. It was definitely not the putting of a VW bus. He broke the breech of the side-by-side and loaded two of the silver rounds. Shotgun loaded, a weapon against shifters, he moved through the front door. Kayla wouldn’t like it, but he had the right to defend himself. He wondered if she would be forced to defend his actions even more than she already had.

  It was not a big, black car rolling up the road, but a cruising motorcycle. Blood lowered the weapon. The ride pulled to a stop. Isabela revealed herself as she removed her helmet. “Hop on.”

  Blood eyed the bike. For the second time, he missed Kayla’s normal car. “It’s too late to go searching for her now.”

  “No it’s not. I know where she is.”

  “How?”

  Isabela took a spare helmet off the back of the bike and handed it over. “A couple campers spotted a UFO. They described it as a slow-moving ball of fire.”

  Damn it. Blood couldn’t argue the point. “Where’s the bus?”

  “I’ve had people following me, so I borrowed this from my brother.” She shrugged. “No one’s going to catch us on this baby. C’mon, gramps, let’s go.”

  Blood stuffed the scatter gun in one of the saddle bags and straddled the high rear seat. One hand grabbed the sissy bar behind him, the other clutched Isabela’s shoulder. Immediately, the bike roared off down the dirt road.

  “Lean with me through the turns,” she called out over the howling engine.

  In no time, they reached the highway. Blood hoped that the ride would smooth out. It did, but Isabela twisted the accelerator until they flew over the blacktop. He held on for dear life, wanting to be anywhere but on the back of the bike: a dragon’s lair, the heart of an exploding volcano—someplace safer.

  The sun dipped behind the trees of the campsite as Isabela brought the bike to a halt. Blood jumped off immediately, enjoying the feel of the earth beneath his feet. A few cars occupied the lot. Nothing but wilderness surrounded them. “The dragon was sighted here?”

  Isabela removed her helmet. “Yep.”

  “But there’s nothing around here. No caves, not even a big barn.”

  “Could she be hiding in a tent?”

  Blood shook his head. “She’d want shelter.”

  “The only shelter around here is the Animal Rehabilitation Center.”

  “The what?” Blood tuned into his grizzly senses. He could smell the unwashed campers, their fires, their food, and beyond, a habitation in the swamp.

  “It’s where The Vet works. She takes in injured wildlife.”

  Blood had heard about her. “Supposedly knows about shifters.”

  “That’s her.”

  Blood took the shotgun from the saddle bag. He headed into the swamp. “Let’s go see what she knows.”

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  Chapter Twenty-two

  Tonic immobility seizing her limbs, Kayla still managed to get her hand around the haft of the tomahawk. The Vet snarled in her face. In her hand, the gem’s glow blasted into Kayla’s brain. She had to fight it, for Elathan’s sake. His target was right here. She wouldn’t let Sybil get away.

  “You stupid girl. You don’t know what you’re doing.”

  Kayla managed to find her voice. “I know exactly what I’m doing. Who else could be an expert on shifters but another shifter? Who else could be an expert on dragons but another—”

  “Listen to me, Kayla.” Sybil’s words echoed in her head. “The trauma to your brain is clouding your judgement. There are no such things as dragons. I have helped you, cured you of your headaches. I am your friend, not your enemy. Elathan Blood is a dangerous killer. Listen t
o me, Kayla. You are experiencing one of your spells. You are confused, hallucinating. I can help you now as I have in the past. Listen to me, Kayla.”

  Hypnotized, she thought. The Vet was trying to hypnotize her. Summoning all her will, Kayla gripped the tomahawk and drew it from her coat.

  Sybil jerked forward, the hand holding the gem violently tugged down. It hit the floor with a huge bang that shook the cabin, as if the jewel weighed hundreds of pounds. Kayla held the tomahawk before her like a talisman.

  “Back off, Sybil.”

  “Aw, shit.” The Vet backed up a few steps. Her face was now fully human. Blue eyes widened at the weapon in Kayla’s hand. “You don’t want to do that, Kayla.”

  Fully in control of her limbs, she raised the hatchet and moved toward Sybil. “Why? Because it’s a weapon against dragons—like your book says?”

  The Vet raised her hands. “Put it down, girl, it’s dangerous.”

  “Dangerous to you—dangerous to dragons.”

  “Put it down, Kayla!” Sybil shouted.

  Kayla advanced. “You can’t shift, can you? You’re afraid to. How many shifters have you killed, Sybil? How many people have you poisoned with your musk?”

  “Don’t be a fucking idiot.”

  “After Thorn was threatened, after you thought he was murdered, the arsons started in Ripple. Elathan drew out your inner monster, didn’t he? Even a bitch like you harbors some maternal instinct.”

  “So what are you going to do, counselor? Hack me to death? Maybe that old head injury can get you off on an insanity plea, but you’ll spend the rest of your life in a mental ward.”

  Damn it, what was she going to do? Striking out at a monster was one thing—but attacking a woman? Kayla didn’t have it in her, no matter what evil The Vet harbored. Sybil still feared the sight of the obsidian blade. Maybe Kayla didn’t have to hurt her—not outwardly, anyway.

  She closed in, wielding the hatchet. Sybil moved away, eyes locked on the weapon. With a few steps, The Vet was backed into a corner.

  “I don’t think you can even stand the touch of this thing,” Kayla said. Slowly, she moved the tomahawk closer to the cringing woman.

  Sybil raised her hands in defense. “I told you, you don’t want to do that.”

  With a hollow thud, the entire cabin went up in a conflagration of flame.

  ***

  “This is it,” Isabela said as they rounded a turn in the marsh path.

  Blood took in a rundown log cabin. The roof arched with age, the porch sagging. Heightened senses heard voices within, and smelled something all too familiar. Was that Kayla’s perfume? More prominent, and more dangerous, drifted the scent of sulfur. He whirled toward Isabela. “Get down!”

  She grunted as Blood tackled her to the ground. A huge sound shook the very air and a moment later, burning debris fell around them. When the logs and smoking splinters stopped falling, Blood leapt to his feet.

  Scaled in blue and red, a head rose from the shattered cabin, twisting on a snaking neck. A great maw opened, vomiting smoke. It let out a piercing scream as blazing eyes fell on Blood and Isabela.

  “Holy shit, that’s a dragon?”

  “Stay behind me.” Blood drew a bead as the clawed tips of wings emerged from the wreckage. Bracing the stock against his shoulder, he pulled both triggers. The bright blast of the shotgun was followed by a sparking shower around the monster. Blood realized what it was. The gun was still loaded with silver. What he saw was the shrapnel turn to slag from the dragon’s heat.

  He broke open the gun, dumping the spent hulls, ramming home two obsidian slugs. Overhead, clouds roiled, the wind whipping them. Lightning spewed from the sudden storm, thunder shaking his bones.

  “End of the line, bitch,” Blood said, taking aim.

  Wings whipped in the air, the beast freeing itself from the cabin. Remaining logs of the structure blew apart from the motion, the wind of the dragon rising. Blood squeezed the right trigger. The shot boomed, hollow and weak. He saw the dragon peppered by black sand and shards of glass. Shattered—the slug had shattered from the shotgun blast.

  The dragon reared back, screaming as if hit. It scrabbled for lift, wings blowing a hurricane of debris as they flapped. Blood still had another round. “Stay back,” he tossed over his shoulder before racing toward the struggling creature.

  It rose higher on its pumping wings. Flaming eyes caught Blood’s charge. A breath of fire roared from the fanged mouth. Blood rolled to the ground, feeling his clothing burning. Somersaulting to put out the fire, he came up aiming.

  He drew a bead. The monster took a sudden dip toward the ground. An instant before he pulled the second trigger, the dragon rose again. Isabela screamed. A scaled claw snatched her from the ground.

  Blood had a shot. He could put the second slug right into the dragon’s back. But the slug could blow apart like the first. Isabela could be hurt—killed.

  “Blood, help me!” she cried.

  He couldn’t fire. He dared not. Racing after her, he vehemently tried to take a second shot. In only a few paces, the dragon found lift. In moments, it rose high in the air, Isabela’s screams trailing. Monster and victim disappeared over the tree tops.

  At a full sprint, he reached the clearing. Gouts of flame set the trees ablaze as the dragon soared. Even with miles of woods between, he knew where the dragon was heading. Ripple.

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  Chapter Twenty-three

  Watching the trail of fire in the sky as best he could, Blood raced through the storm toward the motorcycle. Could he drive the damn thing well enough to chase the fucker down? Isabela—what the hell had he done?

  Splashing across muddied ground, rain and wind lashing him, Blood made the parking lot. Headlights appeared, the sound of brakes fighting gravel. A car spun crazily at him, the side thumping into him. Blood staggered back.

  “Drop the weapon.” Oscar León rammed out of the Lincoln, his toy gun trained on Blood.

  A parade of vehicles raced into the lot behind the big black car. Trucks and cars quickly surrounded him. Blood dropped the shotgun into the mud; raised his hands. The silver pellets in Leon’s CO2 pistol had done Blood in before. A single silver bead beneath his skin would stop him from shifting.

  Thorn got out of the passenger seat, his face murderous. Blood turned in a circle. Laramie Marino, the girl’s father, stepped from a truck behind him. “Where’s my little girl, you son of a bitch?”

  “Contributing to the delinquency of a minor, kidnapping, possession of an illegal firearm.” Iwalani Johnson, the attorney, stepped from another car. Her passengers followed suit. Felicity Malkin, the puma shifter; Sally, whose inner bear Blood had coaxed out for his own purposes. “We’re bringing you in again, Blood,” Iwalani said.

  “You ain’t the law.” Blood’s eyes searched the stormy horizon, but the flame in the sky was gone.

  Johnson surged forward, getting in his face. “Call it a citizen’s arrest.”

  “Please say you won’t come quietly,” Thorn said through his teeth.

  “I don’t give a shit about all this—where’s Isabela you asshole?” Marino said.

  Blood’s eyes darted to the burning cabin in the distance. “She’s been taken.”

  “¡Mentiroso! She is here somewhere,” León said. “It was very clever, you sending Isabela to the cops to report us following her. But we’ve been tracking her with an app on her phone.”

  “Um, Oscar?” Sally held up a muddy cell phone in a purple case. The screen was shattered, as if it were dropped from a height.

  Laramie Marino grabbed Blood by the front of his shirt. “What have you done with her, you sick bastard? She’s only seventeen!”

  Blood’s first instinct was to throat-punch the angry wolf-shifter. Yet like all the others, his animal was very close to the surface. One act of violence would call forth an animalistic free-for-all. Not one of these people had the stones to kill him man to man, but
beast to beast all bets were off.

  “I said she’s been taken. By the same thing that’s setting all the fires. Get your paws off me.”

  Marino let go. He didn’t back away.

  Oscar’s eyes moved from the broken cell phone to the burning cabin; then to the southern horizon. Blood saw the gleam of understanding as the detective glared at him. “You finally found what you were looking for, Senor?”

  “That’s The Vet’s hospital,” Sally said. “We should call 911.”

  Marino shook his head. “We’re not doing shit until this psycho tells us where Isabela is.”

  At that instant, a bolt of lightning struck, close enough to blind them all and stand their hair on end. Blood took immediate action. Nearly as fast as the lightning strike, he shifted. The grizzly bowled Laramie Marino over. Blood’s bear leapt the Lincoln and kept going.

  A grizzly was one of the fastest animals on land. In moments, he raced out of the campgrounds. The rest couldn’t outflank him if he stayed on the road, couldn’t catch him—save one.

  Sally’s black bear could outrace Blood. While he could make short work of the smaller animal, even a few moments’ scuffle would allow the others to catch him. She had it in for him, the formerly mousy girl actually fighting with Blood.

  He could hear the grunts of the black bear’s breath gaining on him, claws scrabbling and scratching the blacktop as she sprinted. Had the others shifted, or would they come after him in their vehicles? In seconds, the angry bear would catch up, land a bite on his hind leg.

  Ahead, the road curved. Blood’s nose told him Thorn’s Kodiak raced there to cut Blood off. Headlights painted the trees. Putting his head down, Elathan charged with the rest of his strength. An instant later, the glare of the headlamps fully caught him. Brakes screamed. The side of the car brushed Blood’s fur as it swerved.

  Behind him, the black bear made a very human yelp of surprise. When he heard her crashing, rolling through the underbrush, Blood took to the woods. He loped through the trees, ears pricked for the sounds of pursuit.