“Cremaschi made big houses, but not this big.” Ametta kept her hold on his arm as they walked. There were no doors, and no paintings or wallpaper decorated the walls. Only the simple brass lamps sparkling with tiny icicles and frosted hunter green paint.
Every creak and groan made her jerk. Why did she think the kikimora would even make a sound? Or even the elk. Though, if his hooves clattered on the hardwood floors, it would be easier to find him.
Two minutes of walking brought them to another split in their path. She sighed and pressed her forehead against his shoulder. “It’s a maze. The totem is playing mind games with us.”
“Then we’ll just keep on searching. Keep going left until we can’t go left anymore.” Lucky marched forward, picking up his pace.
There was no sign of the spirit or the totem. Was being tortured by suspenseful tedium part of the elk’s plan? Because it was working. She wanted to cry as she waited for something to happen, anything! Well, almost anything.
Rounding a corner, they entered the mancave. Everything looked exactly the same as it had been. Lucky eyed the room and patted the back of his recliner. “I hope this is all an illusion and nothing ruins the electronics. There’s a big game on Sunday.”
Yes, of course, the television and the surround sound. Can’t have those things being affected. Ametta rolled her eyes and let go of his arm.
Picturing the layout of the house in her mind, the way they’d walked shouldn’t have taken them to the mancave. Really, they should be someplace near the driveway. Maybe even near the road. If this room was real, then the totem was messing with their minds. Or the kikimora. Which was far more frightening. She’d experienced what the spirit could do.
“Of course I care what’s happening here!” Lucky exclaimed. “I know what’s at stake.”
Ametta spun to see he had wandered to the center of the room. Her brows furrowed. Did he hear her thoughts about the electronics?
“I am taking this seriously. How can you even ask me that?” Lucky ran his hands through his hair and yanked at it with a growl. “Ametta!” His voice thundered through the house. “Mett, get back here!”
As he ran to the door that would lead to the foyer, she waved her arms. “Hello! I’m standing right here.”
He raced by as if he didn’t even see her. Oh shit. The kikimora was messing with his mind now.
No way was Ametta going to let the bitch split them up. Her heart pounded as she took off after Lucky into the front foyer. His footsteps disappeared up the stairs.
Night shone in through the windows, and the front door sat open. Freedom yawned before her. It would be so easy to walk out and wait for Sedge and Saskia. They probably had special Black Shamans X-ray vision to see through the trick of the illusions. And Lucky would be okay. The house spirits wouldn’t hurt him, right?
With the token so close, they couldn’t depend on anything. Right now the kikimora could be locking him in a closet or pushing him out a window. Or worse. Ametta grasped her mind before it could go in that nightmare direction.
Ametta took the stairs two at a time as she ran up. The tinkling of the frozen crystal chandelier raked down her spine. “Lucky!”
“Lucky!” Ametta skidded to a stop at the top of the stairway. Long corridors stretched out to her left and right.
Don’t think about it. She sucked in a breath and released it out through her teeth. Go left until you can go left no more.
Her huge boots flopped with each stop. No way could she sneak up on anyone. Not that she would try to creep about. She wanted Lucky to know where she was. And wasn’t this the way to the master suite? If she could find the door through this illusion.
She trailed her fingers along the frosty wall. The door could still be there even if she couldn’t see it. She didn’t trust the situation to close her eyes, but if she could feel the door and even smell the masculine scent of his bedroom…
There! The scent was so clear. Either Lucky was close or that was his room.
“Lucky?” Ametta couldn’t feel a door frame, but this spot, she was certain it wasn’t just a wall.
Laying her hands on it, she pushed and met only a little resistance before she stumbled through into the master bedroom. She let out a little giddy laugh until she jumped at movement from her right. And her left. Oh God, all around.
Mirrors. The entire room was mirrors. Even the ceiling. Her own reflection stared at her from every angle.
Ice clung to the edges of the glass like a meticulously crafted frame. Pretty as it was, Lucky was neither vain nor the kinky sort to have a room full of mirrors.
From a maze to funhouse mirrors? No, nothing amusing here. Her reflections weren’t warped. Just her in a too big coat with wild eyes and a pale face. Did she really look that young and frightened?
Something moved in the mirror to her right. Ametta spun around, but there was nothing in the room with her.
Breathing shallowly, she glanced back at the spot where she saw movement in the glass. No, it wasn’t something. It was she. Her reflection had a life of its own.
Ametta’s double removed the huge coat and kicked off the massive boots. She smoothed out her designer skirt and slipped on her favorite pair of De’gatsi pumps. Her hair and makeup were in perfect order, and she smiled as she picked up her portfolio.
Ametta remained motionless as her sharp and professional reflection walked through three panes of glass to open a door to a grand office. Her name stretched across the back wall, and everyone stood as she entered. Smiles, applause, awards… Was that the Eiffel Tower outside the big picture window?
It was everything she’d ever wanted. Her heart ached for it. Once she found this totem, she’d buy a ticket and would be gone. Her dream was calling to her.
Farther to her right, another one of her reflections stripped off the oversized clothes. She wore a cute sundress and ran to jump into the arms of a shirtless hunk. Lucky. God, he looked amazingly hot.
Lucky picked up her reflected self and spun her around, kissing her as he set her back onto her feet. He whispered something into her ear, and they laughed before kissing again.
The ache inside of her intensified. How easy it looked, how happy they were.
Glancing back over at the Paris scene, her reflection shook the hands of… was that Prince William and his lovely wife?
In the other glass, Lucky and her double became more passionate. He picked her up, and she wound her legs around his waist.
Heat raced through Ametta’s body. How long had she wanted to do that?
Another mirror, another successful designer Ametta. Her family, all dressed up, visiting her. Her father in a suit all puffed up with pride. And Saskia, in a dress, nodding her head approvingly. Kinley so excited, admiring the office and view.
She’d done it. She made her dreams real.
The mirror on the ceiling reflected a scene on Lucky’s huge bed. The two of them intertwined, breathing hard after sex. They cuddled together with his muscled arms around her. Comfortable, sated, and in love.
Another scene. A party in her honor. People celebrated her, and she left, going home to her penthouse. Alone. She stared over the city and drank a glass of wine. No smile.
The reflection on the far left hurried over to pick up a crying toddler. The wee girl screamed and kicked her legs and told her mommy to put her down. Was her double wearing yoga pants?
Christmas Eve. Alone at her office working.
Two blond children fighting and pulling at each other’s hair.
A big empty bed and her reflection staring at the ceiling as she silently cried.
A firefighter holding her double’s hand as he told her Lucky had died saving a woman in a fire.
“No!” Ametta squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her palms to them. It wasn’t real. It was just the kikimora messing with her head.
Taking a deep breath, she released it slowly and lowered her hands. When she opened her eyes, every pane of glass held a different reflection.
Being filmed for a documentary about her success.
Another designer winning an award as her double politely clapped and held back tears.
Lucky proposing to her on a gondola in Venice.
Two crying children demanding her attention, her belly round with a third, and Lucky ignoring them all.
Saskia and Sedge cursing her that she let the elk totem get away.
Her family and Lucky falling to the ground. The souls of their bears rising and vanishing with the wind.
Her double tumbling forward as her bear was ripped from her.
“No, no, no!” Ametta screamed and yanked off a boot. She smashed one mirror and the next. All the way down the line.
None of it was real.
Ametta reached the other side of the room where she stood panting. Frosted glass shimmered on the floor, and finer particles danced in the air. Still, there was movement in the broken shards. A hundred possible versions of herself.
Was she supposed to choose? Did she just fail the totem’s test or was this a trick by the kikimora? And where was Lucky? He was okay. He had to be okay.
Homewrecker. Harpy. Whore.
The raspy voice. Shit. Ametta stood ready to fight or run.
The pieces of glass quivered as if cold themselves.
Tramp. Little bitch. Vehemence dripped from each syllable.
The broken mirrors rose into the air. No more Amettas went about their lives. The darkness of the glass reflected only one thing: death.
“Oh fuck.” Ametta turned toward the bathroom and ran. She didn’t dare look behind her.
A soft and sharp whoosh filled the room. This was it.
She crouched and covered her head with her arms. Something big hit her. Not a stabbing, but thick and cold. She smashed against the wall and nearly lost consciousness as she fell into the darkness below.
Ametta crashed to the ground, and pain shot up her legs. She rolled to her side and curled into a ball, biting her tongue so she wouldn’t scream.
But the only major pain was in her legs. No glass. None of it had hit her.
She couldn’t see a thing, but her nose told her she was still in the house. She sniffed. Rock and wood. A hint of wine. The cellar? How?
It didn’t matter. The last place she wanted to be caught by a crazed spirit was in a basement. Whimpering, she rose onto her hands and knees and began to feel around to find a wall. God, she hoped she didn’t break an ankle. She had to get moving and find Lucky.
Take a moment and catch your breath.
The deep voice caught her off guard, and she yelped. She held up her arms as if she could fend off the kikimora.
A scratching noise hissed loud in her ears, and a small flame bloomed to life. The hand that held it lowered it to the wick of a candle.
As Ametta’s eyes adjusted, she choked back a sob. “Lucky!”
She reached for him and then froze. No. That wasn’t Lucky. The beard was too long, the eyes too beady, and he was short. Shorter than she.
Was the kikimora fucking with her mind again? She couldn’t take much more of this.
He gave her a small smile. I know my wife has you frightened. But she is not herself.
Ametta swallowed hard. If this wasn’t the kikimora… “Grandfather?”
Yes, child. He dipped his head and stroked his beard. There is some other magic in the air that makes her act murderous. I’m not certain what it is.
“The totem.” Ametta hugged herself. The domovoi seemed a squat, furry version of Lucky. Didn’t Sedge say the spirit took on the traits of the master of the house? Maybe he would help her. “It’s the elk, a piece of missing magic that causes things around it to act a little crazy.” That was an understatement! “If I can find and retrieve it, then I think everything would return to normal.”
The domovoi cocked his head. The strange animal… It’s in the kitchen. But my wife comes.
“Can you help me?” Ametta swiftly asked. Her heart raced. She couldn’t meet the kikimora in a dark cellar filled with wine bottles. The insane spirit would finish what she started upstairs.
I do not like seeing my wife this way, but I cannot stop her even if I wished to. She is too strong. It was enough that I protected you and sent you down the laundry shaft. Grandfather hung his head and sighed. But I will bring Lucky to you. He chases shadows on the upper floor.
Lucky was okay. She let out a watery laugh of relief.
You care for him, and he for you. That will be enough.
The domovoi vanished before Ametta could say anything more. If only her feelings for Lucky were enough. The kikimora would lance her with the nearest sharp object whether she loved him or not.
But if Ametta could get to the elk before the kikimora found her…
She pushed herself to her feet and bit back a cry. Thankfully she could stand. Nothing felt broken, but she’d sprained her left ankle. No matter how fast she healed, it wasn’t going to be fast enough.
Limping to the stairs, she decided it would be easier and faster to crawl up. Maybe if she shifted, it would be better. She’d have three good legs to stand on, but what about the elk? It was a prey animal. Magical or not, it might misinterpret her intentions when a polar bear ran toward it.
Ametta reached the door and rose onto her knees to open it. She cringed as it squeaked, but nothing jumped out at her. The door knocked the snow off the limb of a pine tree.
Wait. Did she go to the right door? She was certain there wasn’t one leading outside from the cellar.
No, there was the counter… with snow on top of it. Evergreens and bushes made a circle around the center of the kitchen. The scent of the house faded to that of the autumn woods. And like a ghost itself, the elk stepped out of the thickets.
He held his head high like the noble beast he was. And the size of him, so much bigger than she expected. His antlers stretched wider than Ametta could with her arms. And hanging from the right antler was a necklace.
The token.
Yes! All she needed to do was grab it. There was nowhere the elk could run.
“Hi there.” Using the wall for support, Ametta slowly rose to her feet. She gritted her teeth against the pain. “You don’t mind if I come close to you and take the token, do you? I won’t hurt you.”
Whether the elk understood her or not didn’t matter. She hoped her tone would be soothing enough as she took a few steps forward. Something bashed into her side and knocked her to the snowy ground.
I will kill you! The kikimora screamed, and it was as if someone banged cymbals together inside Ametta’s mind. She writhed on the floor with her arms wrapped over her head.
Ametta curled into a ball as the furious spirit assaulted her. Slaps, kicks, scratches, and bites. The relentless attack was accompanied by horrendous shrieks. She might not be able to hit back, but… No. How had she forgotten? She’d struck the spirit before when the kikimora had a hold of her.
Shifting into her bear form, Ametta roared and pushed up off the ground. She could see the ugly spirit now. Grandmother looked more like a bird than a person with skinny legs, talon-like claws, and a long nose. White blond hair, a blue patterned scarf that looked like… And a golden Greek fashioned bracelet. Ametta’s bracelet. Her scarf.
In a hideous way, the kikimora looked like her.
Ametta bellowed a gigantic no to that. Was the spirit thinking she could kill Ametta and take over her life? That wasn’t going to happen. Whether Ametta was alive or dead, she refused to let this maniac win.
“Ametta!” Lucky burst through the bushes and slid in the snow. His mouth hung open as he looked around until his eyes found her. Then his mouth settled into a tight line as he charged to her and shifted.
The kikimora screeched and knocked the Kodiak back onto his ass before renewing her attack on Ametta. While her hide was much thicker as a bear, the bitch’s claws ripped fur and flesh. The spirit would skin her alive if she didn’t find a way to stop her. Skin her as the hunters did with those poor sh
ifters. Would the kikimora steal her identity with claiming her hide?
Ametta railed against the spirit and whacked her with her paws. Grandmother didn’t budge more than an inch. How was she so powerful?
And all the while, the elk stood motionless. The kikimora hadn’t paid it any attention. Neither had Lucky.
Lucky barreled forward, running right through the spirit. He skidded to a stop against a tree and tried again. He snarled and lashed out against the trunk of a tree before rushing to cover Ametta with his humongous body.
No! What was he doing? Ametta refused to let the bitch tear through him to get to her.
But it didn’t matter. Lucky was lifted into the air. The kikimora held him by the scruff of the neck as she floated several feet off the floor. He growled and roared, looking like an overgrown cub, unable to get his paws on anything.
The spirit tossed him away as if he weighed nothing and dove at Ametta. She rammed her against a wall, or a tree, Ametta wasn’t certain which it was as she swiped at the kikimora and ripped the scarf. Grandmother dug her claws into Ametta’s throat and pushed hard inward.
There was no way to beat her. How could someone fight such an invincible thing?
Tears seeped into her fur. She’d never see her dad or sisters again. And Lucky. Oh God. She’d put him through hell. And why? She cared about him, maybe even loved him. She didn’t know. There would be no time to explore it now.
All because she didn’t want to be a failure. She refused to give up on her dreams even when she wanted something else.
Eat her.
Ametta yelled wordlessly at the rumbled command. Was the domovoi telling his wife to eat her? Did the totem affect Grandfather too?
Lucky. The domovoi wouldn’t attack him, would it?
She struggled and tried to cover her neck with her forelegs. The kikimora’s mouth twisted, snarling as she squeezed harder yet. The wrinkles smoothed on the spirit’s face, taking on more of Ametta’s appearance.
Eat her.
The voice boomed more insistent. What the fuck?
Just over the kikimora’s shoulder, Ametta spotted the elk. It stared at her and nodded once.
Shattered Spirit (Totem Book 4) Page 7
