Ghost Stalker

by Jenna Kernan

  He ended with a sharp cry that made Jessie’s blood curdle. She found herself choking the water glass.

  Tuff smiled at her. “Thank you.”

  He rose to take the water and drank it down as if he was parched. Then he kneeled beside Nicholas.

  Only then did she realize he had uncovered Nick, drawing the blankets, folding them carefully over his feet. Most peculiar of all was that he had torn away the bandages on his eye and at his chest, revealing the hole where the chest tube had been.

  “Hey, he needs those.”

  Tuff lifted a hand toward her. “Hush now.”

  He rested one palm on Nicholas’s forehead and the other on the middle of his belly. He closed his eyes.

  Jessie felt a disturbance in the air, as if a breeze blew through the bedroom, except the trees outside were still. The indoor disturbance spun in circles, lifting loose papers on her desk.

  She was so distracted by the strange wind that pricked at her skin like static electricity that she did not notice Tuff. His face was now beaded with sweat and the muscles at his cheeks bulged. He was pale and every line of his young face showed strain.

  This was like no healing ceremony she had ever witnessed. Something dangerous passed between these two, something dark. She sensed it in the dimming of Tuff’s aura and the startling crackling in the air.

  She moved to flee but instead found herself at the foot of the daybed, standing like a sentinel. She did not know of what use she might be, but she would intervene if Nicholas showed signs of distress.

  She stared at Nick’s face and had to blink to be sure of her own eyes. The scabs on his cheek, forehead and eyelids dropped away like gorged ticks. She gasped and looked to Tuff for some explanation. Instead, she had to force her hand to her mouth to keep from crying out. The familiar gouges now marred Tuff’s flesh.

  Chapter 14

  Tuff’s face swelled as the deep red marks grew longer and gaped open. Blood streamed down his cheek and neck, but he kept his hands on Nicholas.

  What was this? She backed away and then halted. She wanted to run, but she could not abandon Nick. Stronger even than her instinct for self-preservation was her need to protect him. She glanced from one Skinwalker to the other. Nick’s breathing grew rapid and Tuff’s shallow.

  Jessie’s jaw ached from clenching as she watched the deep blue-and-red bruises bloom on Tuff’s previously unmarred ribs. She heard a loud crack.

  Tuff hissed and leaned toward the injury, bracing against the pain as he struggled to hold his position. Jessie was certain that beneath his smooth young skin, his ribs were breaking.

  “Stop,” she called to him. “Stop now.”

  She grasped his shoulder to pull him away, but the electric shock of pain threw her backward. She landed hard on her backside, feeling as if he had punched her in the chest. Her ribs ached, but Tuff had not moved.

  She rose unsteadily but did not try to intervene again. Instead, she stood with her hands clasped and pressed to her open mouth. Her front teeth bit into the flesh of her index finger as she stared in mute horror.

  Finally, Tuff’s hands slipped from Nick’s head and belly and he collapsed to the floor.

  “Tuff,” she cried and rushed to him, but paused before touching him again. He was cold and his hair damp from sweat. Blood matted his long braids. “Oh, what did you do to yourself?”

  Tears ran down her cheeks as she gazed down at the boy. He had taken Nicholas’s pain. She was in awe of the selfless powers this Skinwalker possessed. This was not a power given to heartless killers, for such a selfless gift would be useless among such a race. No, the Great Spirit would grant such a power only to those who understood selflessness and sacrifice. Jessie stared down in wonder as she realized she had discovered a deep respect for their kind.

  Tuff’s face bled crimson rivers. She knelt beside him.

  “Stay back,” said Tuff.

  She didn’t want to, but she did as he asked. Would he bear the scars on his face for the rest of his life? They were not his to bear. She was grateful, but so sad. It wasn’t fair.

  Then she noticed something. She inched closer, not sure she should believe her eyes. Yet, it seemed as if the cuts were growing shallower. “You’re healing!”

  Tuff’s face now held pink streaks where the gashes had been only an instant before. He straightened, as if his ribs were knitting beneath his skin. The bruising dissolved away by slow measures, changing before her eyes.

  “How do you do that?”

  Tuff’s pale face showed strain and his eyes were somber reflections of concern. “It’s not finished. His body is whole now, but his mind is beyond my reach.”

  Jessie glanced at Nick, seeing how still he lay, his breathing barely moving his bare ribs.

  She turned to Tuff. “What do you mean?”

  Jessie knelt at Nick’s bedside, staring down at the dark feathery lashes that brushed his pale cheeks. It was the face she had seen in his dream, but not his face, for here his cheeks held no glow and his skin was as bloodless as stone. “I don’t understand.”

  Tuff hugged his ribs and struggled to a sitting position on the floor. “His mind is resting far away and I have no talent to reach him. My gift is purely corporal.”

  Jessie felt her panic rise to her throat, squeezing off her air, as she turned to Nick. She grasped his wrist, feeling for a pulse. Thready, weak, reported the analytical portion of her mind.

  “Nick!” She tapped his smooth cheek and got no response. “What’s happening?”

  “He cannot hear you now.”

  “A coma, are you talking about a coma?”

  “Yes.”

  “But it doesn’t make sense. He was getting better. What did you do to him?”

  Tuff shook his head. “I did nothing but heal. It is a mystery to me.”

  Desperation choked her. “I promised him I’d take care of him.”

  “Then you must. Hurry, Dream Walker, for he is sliding from this world.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “Follow him. Reach into his mind and convince him he has not finished walking this path.”

  “But I have never… I mean, I only enter dreams. He’s not sleeping.”

  “No, he is dying.”

  The panic pounded with her frantic heart. “Even if I could, I can’t just project. I have to be calm and relaxed, meditating.”

  Tuff gave her a worried look. “You must do what must be done. I will sit with you and pray while you use your gift.”

  He dragged a chair beside the bed and offered it to her. She glanced at Tuff, who sat peacefully in her reading chair, as if Nick were not dying before them.

  Jessie sat, drew a deep breath and closed her eyes. But all she could think of was that she believed Nick. He had to live to protect the Healer and the Seer. He was needed here. Her panic choked her ability to relax. It took many tries and false starts before she finally sank into her meditative state and felt the click of disengagement as her astral body separated from her physical one, reaching out to find Nick in the void.

  This dream was different than any of Jessie’s experiences. It did not reflect color and life, but was a dead predawn gray, a shadow land of dark, menacing outlines.

  “I saw them.”

  She startled at his voice, so near yet she could not see him.

  “Nick, you must wake up now.”

  “I heard them talking. There are two of them now. They’re watching.”

  She felt a prickle run like rodents’ feet up her spine. “Who?”

  “Ghosts. Nagi sent them. If I go to the Healer, they will follow. If I don’t go, they will hurt you. How could they know?”

  The melancholy of his vision chilled her nearly as much as the hopelessness of his tone.

  “Know what?”

  “That if they hurt you badly enough, I would jeopardize everything to save you.”

  Her eyes adjusted by slow degrees. She could make him out now as he stood, head down.

/>   “Nick, you must come back.”

  He lifted his head. “I’m sorry I dragged you into the middle of this. I had no right.”

  What could she say to convince him. “Nick, I trust you to protect me.”

  “If I were whole, that would be true. But as I am, I am useless as your protector.”

  “But you’re healed. The buffalo fixed everything.”

  “What?” Nick stepped closer and she could see his muscular form.

  “You are whole and strong. You can protect me and together we can find a way to warn the Seer.”

  Nick reached for her, then hesitated. “Together?”

  She gazed up at him quizzically. “Of course.”

  He stared at her, but something in his eyes was so sad.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “It’s just, I never…I never felt this protective of another person. It weakens me. It gives my enemy a tool to use in the destruction of my friend.”

  “Caring for others is what strengthens us.”

  He stepped closer. “You’re wrong. It was my father’s love for me that brought him to an ambush.”

  “No, it was your mother’s betrayal. Not your doing.”

  “Perhaps. But such connections are liabilities I cannot afford.”

  Connections? Did he care for her? The idea excited her for a moment and then she felt a nervous flutter in her belly. In that moment she knew what he meant. Liabilities, complications, a relationship with this man would be all of that and more. The notion of caring for a Skinwalker scared her out of her wits. And she didn’t understand the attraction they shared. It was like nothing in her experience. It wasn’t caring. It could not be love. They just met. Love did not work that way; it required time, commitment.

  In any case, she must first bring him from this shadow land.

  He moved as close as he could without touching her. “Do you feel anything for me?”

  She wanted to deny it but hesitated, somehow knowing intuitively that his return depended upon her answer. She lifted her chin and met his pale eyes. The safest path for her was to reject this strange attraction that tugged at her even now. But to protect Nick, she must expose herself in the most raw way possible by admitting to something that she was forbidden to feel.

  “Jessie?” He extended his hand.

  “Nick, come back to me.”

  The touch electrified her with a rippling energy. At the contact, she sensed the depth of his protective instinct for her and it stunned her.

  His eyes glowed pale gray as they rounded in astonishment, as if he read something from their touch as well. “Together, then.”

  He squeezed her hand and the gray world brightened to a flash of brilliant gold. She blinked her eyes and found herself sitting at his bedside.

  Tuff sat quietly across the room, a placid smile upon his lips.

  “What happened?” she asked.

  “You asked him to come back to you and you touched his hand. After that his breathing changed.” Tuff motioned to Nick. “Look.”

  Nick’s eyes blinked open and he stared at her in astonishment. She knew that she had lost her mask of aloof indifference. He would recall every word of their meeting. She held her breath as he studied her face.

  She grinned at him, happy to have him back. He returned her smile and her heartbeat jumped like a young colt. How could she have guessed that the torn and swollen face could transform into such perfection? His smooth, strong jaw begged her to stroke it. She wanted to explore the hollows beneath his cheeks and touch the dark feathery lashes that framed his frosty blue eyes. His full lips made her remember their dream encounter.

  “You’re even handsomer than in your dream.”

  He chuckled. From behind them, Tuff cleared his throat and stood stiffly. “Welcome back.”

  Nick’s attention flicked to Tuff as he leaped off the bed with such speed and agility, Jessie gasped. Nick landed in a crouch, placing himself between Jessie and the other male.

  “Who are you?” Nick growled.

  “His name is Tuff.”

  Nick inhaled. “A buffalo.” His voice held a note of wonder and his shoulders relaxed.

  “Will you look at him!” said Tuff, his voice ringing with pride and excitement.

  Nick seemed completely recovered. His jaw dropped open as the realization sunk in. He clapped both hands on his torso and drew a deep breath.

  Jessie glanced at Tuff, but the man did not share her smile. He swayed on his feet, still sweating and pale.

  “He still feels it,” she whispered, stepping closer.

  “Yes.” Nick stooped beside him and Jessie followed. Nick studied the young man. “Can I do anything?”

  She stared at Tuff’s ribs. The purple-and-blue bruises faded to green, then brown. At last there was nothing but a large patch of red skin.

  “I am nearly whole again. I need only a short rest.” He sank wearily back into the chair and closed his eyes. His breathing changed almost instantly.

  “Tuff?” she said, and when she received no answer, she glanced at Nick.

  “A trance. He will be all right in a little while.”

  “That’s miraculous. He healed you.”

  “No, not healed. Buffalo have great strength, but they cannot heal. They can only assume the injuries of others.”

  She met his troubled gaze. “He broke his bones for you—a stranger.”

  “Buffalo must be strong and noble to do such things.”

  “But what if you were paralyzed? What if you had cancer? Could he still do this?”

  “I don’t know. Every creature, even the mighty ones, has limits. They can’t raise the dead. That much I know.” He rubbed his neck. “Well, maybe they can, but it kills them.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “All Inanoka hear the tales of the buffalo. They are legendary.” He kneeled beside the chair and laid a hand on the buffalo, then quickly drew it back. “His ribs are still healing.”

  Tuff’s eyes flickered open. He stared up at Nick and smiled, seemingly satisfied with his accomplishment.

  “Thank you, brother,” said Nick.

  “Walk in beauty,” replied Tuff.

  Jessie recognized the blessing and felt a lump in her throat. He had taken Nick’s pain and then blessed him. Her admiration for Inanoka grew.

  Every single thing she had learned about these Skinwalkers was wrong. Her mother called them talking animals, one of the few names she could repeat without blushing.

  How could her people hate such nobility?

  It was then she realized how closely she stood to Nicholas. She tilted her head to gaze up at his restored face. He was as he had been in the dream, powerful, devilishly handsome and staring at her with a longing that made her skin flush in anticipation.

  His nostrils flared as he inhaled and then smiled. She recalled his acute sense of smell and wondered if he could detect her desire. His knowing smile removed all doubt.

  Nick inclined his head toward Tuff. “I think we’d better see to him first.”

  This reminder and his assumption that she would act on her impulses irritated her. Her face went from warm to hot as she felt her emotions churn. This also was unlike a Niyanoka, who prided themselves on control of animal impulses.

  “I am not in the habit of doing whatever comes into my head.”

  “Too bad. I’m sure you’d enjoy it.”

  She resisted the urge to slap his smooth cheek. Jessie whirled toward the kitchen on the pretext of getting her new patient some water. When she returned, Nick was sitting in the office chair beside Tuff and the two were speaking in low tones.

  Nick noticed her first, probably well before she even entered the room. It was maddening the way he could track her by scent and by sound.

  She glared at Nick and then gave Tuff a warm smile. “That was very brave.” Jessie managed to get the pitcher and glass on the side table without touching Nick. “Are you thirsty?”

  Tuff nodded. A moment lat
er she offered him a full glass.

  “How long until you are healed?”

  “Oh, very soon. Only one of the ribs was bad. The other two were just cracked.”

  Nick winced.

  Tuff tried to laugh and then began coughing. The water helped. Jessie sat on the bed and rested a hand on his, feeling the tingling ache begin in her ribs. He patted her hand and then set it away, as if he was trying to comfort and protect her, as well.

  “Don’t worry,” he said.

  But of course she did. Of the two, Tuff was the gentle one, the thoughtful one. So why did she feel nothing when she touched him? It was Nick she was aware of, every move, every glance. He didn’t have to touch her to be disturbing. She did not realize she was gazing at Nicholas until Tuff’s bemused voice interjected.

  “You two want me to crawl outside?”

  Jessie forced her attention back to Tuff. “You’re mistaken. There’s nothing between us.”

  Tuff glanced at Nick, who winked.

  “She keeps telling herself that.”

  Tuff smiled at Jessie. “I do not like to disagree with my hostess, but there is something between you.”

  “You misunderstand,” she insisted.

  “I can feel the tug between you.” He held her gaze. “And your resistance, but this is not within your control. I do not understand this pair bond. It is unlike a female in heat. Nor is it like the lust of humans. I only know that you call to him and he answers.”

  Jessie stood. “That’s absurd. I’m not calling anyone.”

  Nick leaned close to Tuff. “Stubborn.”

  Tuff did not share Nick’s cavalier smile. “Careful, brother. Something is happening here. Something new. The Thunderbirds forecast it, or they would not have left you here. This woman is more to you than her resistance. More than a new challenge.”

  Nick stopped smiling and he stood. Jessie noted the worry on his face. The expression did not suit him. He was always so confident. But now she went cold at the uncertainty reflected in his ice-blue eyes.

  Chapter 15

  Nagi received the messenger as he took his next woman with the body of a host. The undulating rhythm was somewhat distracting but he focused on the ghost.