SHADOWS FALL
TOTEM #7
Christine Rains
Shadows Fall (Totem #7)
Christine Rains | Copyright 2017
Kindle Edition
All rights reserved. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events, or occurrences is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Tagline: Sometimes it isn't what lurks in the shadows we must fear, but the shadows themselves.
Summary: Ametta Dorn is hosting her first family Thanksgiving feast. Everything must be flawless from the appetizers to the desserts. But the totem quest weighs heavily on her and her family. If she can’t even fold a perfect crane napkin, then how can she help her family find the next token?
That totem is closer than any of them realize. The Shadowmen have opened a door to their world, and they’ve targeted Ametta as the weak link in her family. She will show everyone she’s just as capable as they are. Except her daring might be the very thing that loses not only the raven totem but also her life.
Cover design: Christine Rains
All photos came from BigStock. Ametta model – Photographer: kjekol. Background – Photographer: Paxson Woelber. Frost – Photographer: Rafinade. Raven art for chapter headings – Artist: 9and3quarters.
To receive information about new releases, cover reveals, and exclusive content, sign up for her newsletter.
To Renee,
forever a crow girl in my eyes.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Totem Series
Where to Find Christine Rains Online
Other Works by Christine Rains
Untethered Realms
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Ametta crushed the crane napkin with the flat of her hand. She pictured so many heads on that bird at the moment. Her eldest sister Saskia and her bad manners, Ransom and his annoying rambling, Sedge and his grunting responses, the rude woman at the grocery store with the bad hair, the bag boy who dropped her eggs, and Ransom with his horrible jokes!
The smack on the table, even with the cloth between her palm and the wood, was loud enough to echo in the small space of her condo. Ransom stopped yammering—thank God!—and he and her sister Kinley turned their heads to the dining room where Ametta sat at the table.
“It wasn’t folded right.” Ametta gave them a tight smile.
“You always fold them perfect, Mett.” Kinley rested her hands on the keyboard of her laptop, which sat half on her lap and half on her boyfriend Ransom’s. They were so cuddly it made Ametta want to retch. “And besides, it’s still two days until Thanksgiving. You have plenty of time to prepare.”
“Yeah, kick back and relax. Come sit with us.” Ransom patted the empty cushion on the couch beside him. “Make me the meat in a Dorn sister sandwich.”
Kinley laughed and nudged him with her elbow. Ametta repressed a shudder. First off, she refused to go near him because the elk totem she carried wanted to be near his lynx totem. The tokens, all coming from one mystical totem pole, needed to be reunited. The power of that pull frightened her almost as much as the fact she had to eat a spirit that looked like her to earn it.
Secondly, Ransom’s scruffy rock star look was so not her type. Nor was his flirt with everyone personality, his cocky grin, his geeky fandoms, and his grunge-inspired clothes. He better not wear jeans to Thanksgiving dinner.
Yes, the head on the crane was his. She picked up the napkin and shook it out harder than necessary. “I’d like to get done what I can before Thursday. Who knows how much time we’ll have to prep then?”
Thanksgiving was the most important feast of the year. At least it had always been in her family. Even when times had been rough, they always came together. This meant she had to do it right this year. They needed it more than ever.
“Hopefully enough.” Kinley twisted toward her. “Would you like some help with those?”
“No, I like doing them. I’m the hostess this year.” Ametta started the folds for a new bird. It was the first time having the whole family over for dinner at her place. Never mind the fact that they had the hunt for the missing totem tokens and a threat to the survival of all the shifters in the world hanging over them.
She would do Thanksgiving right. Maybe she was a bit of a perfectionist. No, she wasn’t going to kid herself. She was a total perfectionist. Every detail mattered in the overall presentation.
“I can help.” Kinley eased the laptop onto Ransom’s lap and scooted forward on the couch to stand.
“No.” Ametta gritted her teeth. She wouldn’t let her sister take this job away from her too. Like when Kinley agreed to decorate Jerret Bell’s house. Ametta was the interior decorator in their family business, Dorn Pararenovations. Kinley was the architect and didn’t have the artistic sense for properly decorating a home. Bell wanted a steampunk theme, and as garish as that sounded to Ametta, she would have done it. She was a professional after all.
When Kinley told her a few weeks ago, Ametta had her first fight ever with her sister. Ametta fought often with their older sister, Saskia, but Kinley had always been the peacemaker, the one to compromise. Ametta had backed down and let her sister give it a try, but she still resented the fact Kinley agreed to it in the first place without consulting her.
Ametta’s stomach twisted, and she squished the napkin in her fist. The head on the crane was Kinley’s.
The front door flung open. Saskia stomped inside and tossed three duffel bags onto the foyer floor. “What the hell do you have in your bag, Dad? Half of Alaska ground into your dirty laundry?”
Standing from her chair, Ametta winced as the wet bags slid a foot across her pristine floor.
Kunik followed Saskia inside and knocked the slush off his boots against the doorframe. “I have a goose in there, and you better not have bruised it.”
Ametta bit her lip as dirty snow splashed on the wall and door. She could clean it later. It was time to be a good hostess. She hadn’t seen her father in weeks as he’d been on the other side of the state following leads on the totems. She held open her arms as she approached him. “Dad, so glad you’re here. And you didn’t have to bring anything. I have a turkey.”
Saskia walked by, stuttering a few steps when she was closest to Ametta. Recently Saskia had acquired the salmon totem, and she clearly felt the magical yank to bind together with Ametta’s token. None of them ever said anything when they felt the pull, but none of them, not even iron willed Saskia, could hide it.
“Nice to see you too, hon.” Kunik didn’t take off his boots as he walked in to hug her. “Can’t have too much food. And goose is so much better than turkey.”
They always had turkey for Thanksgiving. Ametta released her dad as she clenched her jaw. That napkin crane should have his head.
Kinley slipped through to hug the
ir dad, and Saskia shouted from the kitchen, “Where’s the beer? All you’ve got is wine in here. You know none of us drink that stuff.”
Ametta squeezed her hands together and imagined smacking Saskia flat on the table. Why did she agree to have everyone over? They could have gathered at her father’s house. Maybe she should direct them all there right now.
Sedge, turning his broad body slightly, stepped through the still open door. He nodded to Ametta and walked to her kitchen with his boots on carrying several brown wrapped packages. “I have seal meat.”
Saskia snorted and laughed from the other room.
What was that laugh about? Just when Ametta thought her head might explode from trying to figure it out, Lucky came through the door and closed it behind him. He wiped his wet boots on the mat. Before he could bend all the way to unlace them, she rushed over to hug him.
“Take me away from here before I kill them all.” She buried her face against his chest and nuzzled the downy fur on the edge of his coat’s hood.
Lucky wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. Chuckling, he gave her a little squeeze. “You’ll make it through this, hot stuff. And when it’s done, they’ll all want dinner here every year because you’re the hostess with the mostest.”
Ametta smiled and lifted her head to tug him to her for a kiss. Corny as that line was, it made all the difference in her world. She would have to show him how much later. “How was the drive?”
“Good. It was mostly quiet despite all the ruckus now.” He kissed her once more before he unzipped his coat and shrugged it off. “And I have all the stuff you wanted in the trunk. Just let me know when you want me to go get it.”
Ametta sighed at the noise, and while she missed her family when they weren’t together, right now she craved the quiet calm of her private space all the more. “Not right now. Let’s get everyone settled first—”
“What the fuck? Do not touch me again.”
Ametta turned to find Saskia growling at Ransom who held his hands up and stepped back. Her sister better not start a fight within the first few minutes the family was all together. In fact, Ametta marched to the kitchen, no fighting in her house at all. “What’s going on?”
“I was just curious as to whether we could feel Saskia’s and my totems zap like ours do, and boy! Yeah, they do.” Ransom rubbed his upper chest where the top of his totem necklace tattoo peeked out from the neckline of his hooded sweatshirt. “Maybe the three of us should all touch at the same time—”
“No,” Saskia and Ametta snapped in unison.
Kinley put a hand on her boyfriend’s shoulder. “I know it isn’t the most pleasant feeling in the world when a bearer touches another bearer, and we’re not quite certain what could happen, but it would be interesting to experiment and see—”
“No one is experimenting in my house.” Ametta put her hands on her hips. Where did Kin get these ideas? Experiments led to messes. “And there will be no fighting either.”
“Hey, I didn’t come here looking for a fight.” Saskia placed her hands on the island counter and leaned, narrowing her eyes at Ransom. “But just remember you’re in a house of bears, Cat. Keep your paws to yourself or you might lose them.”
“I’d appreciate it if you’d stop threatening my boyfriend. He’s not only here for me. He’s here for all of us.” Kinley didn’t speak as loud as Saskia, but there was equal conviction in her tone.
“Then keep a fucking leash on him. It’s not like he’s—”
“What? A bear? This isn’t all about bears. It’s about shifters everywhere—”
“Girls,” their father rumbled from the seat he took at the dining room table.
Ametta pinched the bridge of her nose and drew in a calming breath. If her sisters started to fight, her grasp on the world as she knew it might end.
Saskia slapped her hands on the marble countertop. “I know that! It’s not about his animal. It’s about you being too good for him. It’s about needing the fucking strength to stand in this battle for the totems.”
“He’s more than good enough for me and for the totem.” Kinley lifted her chin. What happened to her quiet and amenable sister? Ransom kissed the side of Kinley’s head, but wisely didn’t say a thing.
Saskia opened her mouth with a retort, but Sedge put his hand on the small of her back. “Ransom is worthy. The fact the totem chose him says enough in itself.”
“So it’s all settled. No more fighting, no experimenting, and Ransom is worthy.” Ametta stepped into the center of the kitchen and into a puddle of melted snow. “Let’s decide what we’re having for dinner tonight. I think maybe it would be good if we went out to eat.”
“I’m going to get some beer.” Saskia pushed past Sedge and didn’t look at anyone as she stormed out of the condo. The door bounced on its hinges and didn’t shut properly with the force of her exit.
“I’ll go with her.” Sedge headed to the foyer. “Remember, no one with a token should ever be alone.”
“Let’s meet at the Kettle of Fish in half an hour for dinner,” Dad called after him.
Ametta resisted rolling her eyes. She had somewhere classier in mind for dinner, not a place where their clothes were likely to stick to the benches they sat on. Lucky gave her back a little rub and a sympathetic look. At least someone understood how she felt.
“Well, if we’re going out to dinner, I need to change, and I’ll ready the rooms upstairs for later.” Ametta motioned to the stairs and gave Lucky’s hand a squeeze as she parted from him.
Kinley and Ransom sat down at the table with Dad and asked him about what he’d seen on his last foray to Cold Bay.
Lucky gave Ametta one of his GQ smiles. “I’ll tidy up here in the kitchen and put all this meat away.”
Ametta mouthed a thank you to him and hurried upstairs, cringing at the wetness of her socks. Who just walked into someone’s house and didn’t take off their boots? There had never been any ceremony at her father’s house, but he clomped around in muddy boots all the time. He didn’t have designer ceramic floor tiles with heating underneath them, though.
She flicked on her bedroom light and bent to remove her socks before walking on the Oriental rug. Her oasis was decorated in muted blues and golds. Her king-sized Matisse bed was white as the rest of the sleek furniture. No chaos in here. Just beautiful, perfect artistic order.
Her family may have just arrived, but if they continued to annoy her, she could escape here. After her father, Saskia, and Sedge had returned from their most recent trips, they’d all agreed on staying in one house until the totems were found. They’d keep the tokens they had together, not only for safety but to attract the remaining ones. Both Kinley’s and Saskia’s cabins had only one bedroom, and her dad’s was tucked away from civilization. Staying in town where the hunter was less likely to strike was the best decision, and so her little condo had been chosen.
She’d moved all her work essentials into her bedroom as her father would sleep on a cot in her small home office. Kinley and Ransom could have the guest bedroom. Or Saskia and Sedge. Something had changed between those two since Saskia obtained the salmon token. And it wasn’t as if she could have a girl chat with her older sister. It would probably be easier to ask Sedge if they were together.
Ametta deposited her socks in the hamper in her walk-in closet and plucked a clean pair from a drawer. Slipping those on, she fixed her makeup in the vanity mirror and debated changing into something more dressy. Nope, jeans would be more than fine at the Kettle of Fish.
Done, she took her spare pillow and blankets out of her closet and brought them to the cot in her office. Not the most comfortable thing to sleep on, but it would lock her dad away in a room where his snoring wouldn’t deafen everyone in the house.
A squeak on the stairs drew her to peek out the door. The light from the master bedroom silhouetted a man and drowned him in shadow. Not burly enough to be her father and taller than Ransom, she grinned at the fact Lucky had
come up for a few minutes alone with her.
Ametta turned and tossed the pillow in her hand onto the cot. When she went into the hall, he was gone. Not in her room. Not down the stairs.
Just gone.
Ametta leaned her head against Lucky’s shoulder as they strolled down the main street with her family behind them. Snow lightly fell from the sky, and several shops already had Christmas lights up. A giddy rush of glee briefly surged through her at the sight of all the decorations. “I forgot to mention Grandfather dropped by to say hello.”
She reveled in the fact that downtown Anchorage was a hopping place. There were dance clubs and pubs and coffee bars. Always something open so you could go in and warm yourself. The holidays brought out the joy and need for celebration too. They could’ve been in London for how busy it was.
“Grandfather?” Lucky raised his brows. “Here in town?”
Ametta glanced back at her father, Saskia, and Sedge to make certain they hadn’t heard. The three of them were lost to their own conversation.
“Yes, earlier when I went upstairs to get ready for dinner. I came out of my office, and there he was, standing at the other end of the hall. I thought it was you, but you were still cleaning up in the kitchen.” Her arm sat twined through his, and if she could forget about her family there with them, she might’ve considered this walk romantic. “He didn’t say anything. Just checking in.”
“Huh.” Lucky scratched his chin and then smiled at her. “He’s never followed me anywhere before. I think he’s extra protective of you. Or maybe he was just checking out your digs.”
“You don’t think he’d consider moving—” Ametta shook her head and laughed. Ravens in a nearby tree cackled as if sharing the joke. “No. Not when he’s living in a Cremaschi house.” She gave his arm a little squeeze. “If he’s overprotective, it’s your fault. He is like the master of the house, after all.”
“And I don’t see you complaining one bit.” He winked with his unmarred eye. Was it weird that she thought the asymmetry of his eyes was sexy? Once upon a time, she imagined herself marrying a handsome celebrity that would Botox first before he got any wrinkles. Now with his scar, his crow’s feet, his laugh lines… Lucky was the most beautiful man in her mind.
Shadows Fall (Totem Book 7) Page 1
