Tarnished Prophecy: Shifter Paranormal Romance (Soul Dance Book 3)

by Ann Gimpel

  “I will,” Stewart replied. “Ilona. Ye must find a way to let Meara know about your vision. No one else. Just her.”

  Jamal spoke up, aiming his words at Ilona. “That thing I told you earlier about one first being able to destroy another doesn’t apply here, since the first wolf isn’t what he appears.”

  “Got it.” Ilona clamped her jaws together.

  “In the meantime,” Jamal murmured, “it’s business as usual. We’re still settling in here. Maybe today we’ll team up for the work ahead. We cannot let even a breath of what we know escape. It’s going to damn near kill me, but I can’t even tell Tairin—or Elliott. The more who know, the better the chances the first will catch wind we’re onto him.”

  “Elliott was with Meara, but wasn’t Tairin there when your first outlined his plan last night?” Michael asked.

  Jamal shook his head. “She sat through the first part of his speech, but then slipped away. The first was so caught up in the sound of his own rhetoric, he didn’t notice. I almost ordered her back, but didn’t want to draw attention to her leaving. Once he launched into his other agenda, I was glad I’d left well enough alone.”

  “Do we just let the next part play out?” Ilona brushed tears from her cheeks. “Go out on missions with people we don’t trust?”

  “I’m hoping it willna come to that. Find Meara as soon as ye can. She will know the tarnished prophecy was true-seeing.” Stewart flexed his fingers in front of him, cracking the knuckles.

  “I’m still reeling from that bastard saying he wanted more caravans here,” Michael sputtered. “That would make it mighty convenient since all he wants is to thin our ranks.”

  “I’m back!” the wolf cried. “I have news.”

  Jamal held up a hand. “Just a minute. The wolf has returned. Let me listen to what it discovered.”

  The wolf snarled long and low before saying, “It’s rumor, but the vampire alliance with our first went bad, and the vampire took over. No one is certain how long ago it happened, but everyone I asked believed it was true. The worst part is the vampire maintained the ability to shift.”

  “Why didn’t any of the animals bring this to light before now?” Jamal asked and bit back a stern rebuke. For such a critical piece of information to remain hidden was unconscionable.

  “They all hoped the first wolf would never show up again. I believe they felt deeply ashamed of him. The animal who was his bondmate has been absent for hundreds of years. No one knows where it went.”

  Michael raised questioning eyebrows. Clearly he’d felt the energy, but couldn’t make out the words and wanted to know what they were.

  “My wolf corroborated Ilona’s prophecy. The only mystery is why more vampires haven’t targeted shifters since they somehow preserve our ability to alter forms.”

  Stewart moved his hands in a complicated pattern, and the power throbbing around the group fell away. His face settled into worried lines. “Just because one could manage it doesn’t mean others could. Mayhap they tried and found the price too high. My guess is your first invited possession.”

  “He did, at least according to my wolf.”

  “Every group has a few that are corrupt,” Michael said. “Some start out that way, others choose depravity after the fact. I’ve gotten rid of my share of blackguards to keep my caravan strong. We face enough problems, though. We didn’t need this one.”

  “Mayhap not,” Stewart agreed, “but I’m not convinced we canna leverage things to our advantage even now. Return to your wagons afore the camp wakens. Part of my casting was a sleep spell, so ye have a wee bit of time yet.”

  Jamal turned to him. “What are you?” The words ripped out of him.

  “Does it matter, lad?”

  Before he could answer, Ilona moved toward the door, saying, “I sense something too, but he’ll never tell us that. Come on.”

  “She’s right,” Stewart said.

  Jamal pushed his questions aside—for now—and told Ilona, “I’ll meet you at Tairin and Elliott’s wagon. Because we’re the ones who rescued you, it’s a logical location and one unlikely to rouse suspicion.”

  “Be there in half an hour. I want to make certain Trina doesn’t need me to help with her mother.”

  Emotion raced through Jamal, tightening his chest as he watched her leave. She was such a pure and decent woman. He’d have spared her pain and suffering if he could.

  “’Tisn’t how it works,” Stewart said. “We all have a part to play. Not all of us will survive, but if we listen to the goddess and heed her instructions, magic won’t die out of the world.”

  Jamal turned to face the other man. “How much do you know of our future?”

  “Ye know better than to ask such a question. If ye had the gift of foreseeing, ye’d realize that altering actions to avoid a future event rarely works the way we hope it will. Even though things appear uncertain, we are all exactly where we are meant to be. Now might be a good time for that list.”

  He pushed a tattered scrap of paper and a pencil into Jamal’s hands, and Jamal scribbled names of the treacherous wolf shifters onto it before making his way into a dank, gray dawn. He hadn’t been set upon in Ilona’s vision. And she’d been able to save herself. Both had to be good omens.

  “Don’t you see?” the wolf chimed in, barking excitedly.

  “See what?” Jamal set a course for Tairin and Elliott’s wagon.

  “The first finally came out of hiding. Now that we know what he is, we can do away with him once and for all.”

  “I love your enthusiasm, but we’re talking about a crafty vampire who’s been alive since something like the dawn of time.”

  “Everyone makes mistakes,” the wolf insisted. “When he does, we’ll be there to make him pay.”

  Jamal smiled. “I’m glad you’re mine.”

  “No. We’re each other’s. Can we hunt before breakfast?”

  The wolf sounded so hopeful, Jamal said, “Sure. We stop at four mice, though. We have a date to meet Ilona in half an hour.”

  “You’re on. Hurry.”

  Jamal trotted to a distant side of the mesa and stripped off his clothes. Shift magic ran through him like rich, heady spirits, and he ceded their shared consciousness to his bondmate.

  Chapter 13

  Ilona hurried toward Tairin and Elliott’s wagon. More than her estimated thirty minutes had passed, but Marguerite hadn’t been doing well this morning. Her breathing had been labored, and Trina needed help settling her over a brazier fragrant with herbs to ease her chest. The women had shared a bowl of boiled grain thick with dried fruit before Trina shooed her away.

  “Go on. I know you’re anxious to see that beau of yours.” A fond smile wreathed Trina’s face.

  “I haven’t said one word about Jamal. Why’d you call him that?”

  Trina’s eyes had sparkled knowingly. “I’m Romani. And a fortuneteller. We know these things.”

  Ilona had laughed. “Hard to hide anything in a caravan.”

  “Indeed it is.” Trina’s smile had turned wistful, and she sighed. “I had me a fellow once. Thought I did. Turned out he was one of those with a gal in every caravan. Soon as I found out, I told him no more, but it still hurt.”

  “Aw, I’m sorry. There were a few like that in my caravan too.” Ilona stopped short of saying most of the ones in her caravan were inclined toward men and had been total players.

  As she wove through the tightly packed wagons, her thoughts turned to Meara. She sent power zinging outward, hunting for the vulture shifter, but didn’t find her. Probably meant she hadn’t returned from wherever she’d gone last night.

  Jamal, Tairin, and Elliott sat on three-legged stools around a small camp stove. The stove was cold, and they were nursing cups of what smelled like herbal tea.

  Jamal sprang to his feet, relief streaming from him in waves. “There you are. I was getting ready to hunt for you.”

  “Sorry. Trina needed my help.” Ilona smiled, wanting to hug Jam
al, but uncertain with his family present. How much had he told them? Or had he said anything at all?

  “Would you like tea?” Tairin asked.

  “That would be nice.” Ilona unfolded another stool from where it leaned against the wagon and settled onto it.

  Tairin poured from a small, dented, metal teapot and handed Ilona a ceramic mug. “Not sure how hot it still is,” she said.

  “Doesn’t matter. It smells heavenly.” Ilona inhaled appreciatively and took a sip of tepid liquid, sweetened with honey. “Thank you.”

  “Welcome.” Tairin sat back down. So did Jamal.

  “What do you suppose happened to Meara?” Elliott asked, keeping his words quiet.

  “I was wondering the same thing,” Ilona replied, all too aware of her assignment to clue Meara in. “She went back through the barrier last night.”

  “I’m sure she’ll return soon,” Tairin said. “She’s come this far with us. No way she’d abandon the project now that things are heating up.”

  “Say.” Elliott looked at Ilona. “Did you ever figure out where your brother is?”

  Ilona shook her head and drank more tea. In truth, with everything else that had transpired, she hadn’t thought much about Aron. Guilt pricked her.

  “Looks like we’ll have a spot of time this morning,” Elliott went on. “Want to see if we can join forces and scry his location?”

  “I’d love to.” Ilona leaned forward. “When would you like to do that?”

  “No time like now.” Elliott pushed to his feet. “Hard to say exactly what this day will bring, but we have time and we’re both here. I can chase your blood markers with my magic. We might not be able to talk with him, but we should be able to locate him.”

  “How much magic will that take?” Jamal asked.

  Ilona stood too. “Ask that a different way. What exactly are you trying to find out?”

  “If it’s possible to mask your magic from all the shifters here. I’m not concerned about the Rom discovering a seeking spell.”

  Elliott shrugged. “It’s kind of the other way around. Most Rom don’t have enough power to sense expended magic, but almost every shifter does. Do you want us to conceal our efforts?”

  Jamal nodded. “It would be wise.”

  Elliott exchanged a pointed glance with Tairin. In turn, she leveled her gaze at her father. “What aren’t you saying?”

  “Those aren’t words I can speak out here in the open.”

  “Telepathy?” Tairin raised an eyebrow.

  “Won’t help. I can’t say anything in any form.”

  “Mmph.” Tairin drained her tea and stood, joining the others. “Maybe we’ll all take part in the seeking spell for Aron.”

  “Bad idea,” Jamal said. “The more of us throwing magic around, the harder it will be to hide.”

  Elliott rummaged in a chest and withdrew a small box and a leather pouch. “I have what we’ll need here. Come on, Ilona. This shouldn’t take long.”

  As she followed after Elliott, who was heading toward the horse corral, she heard Tairin interrogating her father. “What the fuck is going on? My magic was activated during the night, but I don’t know why.”

  If Jamal answered, he swathed it in spells because she didn’t hear his reply.

  “Where are we going?” she asked Elliott since he walked like a man with a firm destination in mind.

  “The far side of the horses. More private and less competing magic. It might be easier to project our seeking spell beyond the barrier.” He hesitated for a beat. “I’m worried about Meara. I felt her energy dissipate when she moved beyond the barrier, but I was expecting her to return last night.”

  “Any particular reason?”

  “Not really. More intuition than anything else.”

  “Men aren’t supposed to be driven by intuition.” Ilona considered leading them through the place she and Jamal had crossed the previous night.

  “Funny, I’ve always put great stock in mine. Where are you going?”

  “We can cross beyond the barrier just over there.” She pointed.

  “Really? Without a heap of fanfare—and discomfort?”

  Ilona didn’t say anything, just turned sideways to slither through the break in the magic surrounding the camp.

  “Wow!” Elliott’s eyes widened as he joined her. “How’d you discover that?”

  “It wasn’t me, but Jamal. The barrier should shield what we’re doing from the rest of the camp, though.”

  Elliott trotted to a flat rock at the base of a cliff and opened the box he’d carried tucked beneath an arm. He spread a worn piece of leather with runic markings over the rock and placed two candles atop it. Next he opened the leather pouch and sprinkled rosemary, fennel, cowslip, and garlic around the candles.

  “Do you have preferred herbs?” he asked without looking up as he arranged the accoutrements of the spell he was planning.

  “Never use them.”

  He did look at her then. “Really? They make opening gateways much easier, and your magic lasts longer.”

  “I’m a woman. We’re not supposed to have magic strong enough to worry about conserving it.”

  Elliott rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t looking for a lecture.” Bending, he snapped his fingers and both candles caught fire. “We can debate this later. Give me one of your hands, and then lend your power to this casting. We won’t be long at this.”

  Ilona offered her left hand.

  He drew a small blade from a pocket and made a quick, clean slice in the meaty part beneath her thumb. Stepping close, she turned her hand and urged her blood to flow into the smoking candles. The air turned first yellow, then orange, and then a flickering red.

  Elliott chanted, summoning spirit guides to follow the blood trail.

  She wove her power in with his. He was strong, much more so than Michael, the man whose caravan he’d been part of. Ilona closed her eyes, urging a vision state. It was how she accomplished most magic.

  No candles. No herbs. No rune-studded artifacts. Just her innate power and trust in her ability.

  The blackness behind her eyes yielded to a caravan. Dust rose around horses and wagons. Smells buffeted her. The gypsy scents of herbs and living things mingled with the unmistakable sweet rot of death.

  Aron, his dark hair tangled and falling to his shoulders, stared at her through gray eyes that were twin to her own. “Ilona?” His mind voice was a ragged whisper. “Is that really you or am I dreaming?”

  “Yes, it’s me,” she said quickly. “Where are you?”

  “You escaped. Tell me you escaped.” His face contorted into a sob, but he got hold of himself.

  “I did. Be quick, Aron. I sense the caravan. Did you return to Valentin? Where are you?”

  Elliott’s magic pulsed and throbbed. She had no idea how much she was burning through. How much was his versus hers, and she couldn’t take her attention away from her brother to ask.

  “You’re too late,” Aron said. “We’ve been captured. We’re on our way to a camp. Some of us are already dead, but the Nazis won’t let us stop to bury them.”

  “Run! Just like you did before.” Ilona bit so hard on her lower lip, she tasted blood.

  He raised shackled hands and shook them until rattling chains reverberated in her chest. “My feet are bound too. Do not come after me, Ilona. You got away. Stay free so I have something to believe in.”

  The reflection holding her vision shattered outward in a flash so bright it seared her corneas. Elliott’s candles guttered and died.

  “Ilona?” He gripped her shoulders. “Did you sever the connection?”

  “No. It was Aron.” She blinked spots away from her visual field until Elliott’s face came into clear focus.

  He frowned. “That’s almost unbelievable. He supplanted my spell with his own. What kind of magic does your brother hold?”

  “Good question. I never knew. He’s just sixteen, and he and I had different fathers.”

  “W
ell, he’s amazingly powerful for one that young. Hell, for a Rom of any age.” Elliott poured wax that had pooled atop the candles into the dirt and began packing his accoutrements away.

  Ilona inhaled raggedly. “Were you able to tell where he was?”

  “No. I heard what he said and sensed Rom all around him, though.”

  “I figured it out.” Jamal strode into the small area where they’d launched their spell.

  Ilona fell back a pace. “I left you back at the wagon. Were you spying on us?” She shook her head hard. “Sorry. I didn’t mean that. I’m still disoriented from how abruptly the spell ended.”

  “It’s all right. We understand. We felt the casting implode too.” Tairin hustled past her father and joined Elliott, wrapping an arm around his waist. He hugged her back.

  “Tairin and I shielded your casting from the rest of the camp by strengthening the barrier while you were occupied,” Jamal explained. “Because I didn’t have to focus on maintaining your gateway, I was able to look past the caravan, and I recognized a few landmarks. The caravan is on the main roadway south of Hamburg.”

  “Must mean they’re headed for the prison camp there.” Ilona raked her hands through her hair, culling through her memory for its name. “Esterwegen.”

  “My guess too.” Jamal held out his arms and she walked into them. “That’s a long way from here. Maybe five hundred miles.”

  “Through country that’s not easy to move across undetected.” She wound her arms around him, grateful for his solid presence.

  “That’s true even for shifters. Cities are thick in northern Germany and wolves less common.”

  “We might pull it off if we traveled at night,” Tairin said from the shelter of Elliott’s arms.

  “We can add it to the list,” Ilona murmured. Sorrow and fear for her brother sliced through her, but she couldn’t do much from such a distance. “We have bigger worries that are much closer.”

  “Yes, like where Meara is.” Elliott let go of Tairin and tucked his box back beneath one arm. Tairin picked up the leather pouch.