“To me, my friends! Let’s get him!”
His warriors whooped, men and women alike taking up the battle cry.
Kendrick climbed onto his motorcycle, settled the sword on his back, and waved his arm, signaling his Shifters to follow. He shot down the drive in the wake of Dylan’s white pickup, and headed east, into the summer sun.
* * *
The San Antonio Shiftertown lay outside the city a little to the east and south. A few years ago, so Dylan had said, it had been run by a Shifter doing diabolical things—that Shifter had been killed by Dylan’s son. The human government couldn’t let a Shiftertown be leader-less, so they appointed a Shifter they thought they could control. That Shifter was loyal to Dylan first, however, and Dylan still wielded almost total power here.
The San Antonio Shiftertown was more or less in the middle of nowhere, among flat, dry land. A hand-painted sign said, “Welcome to Shiftertown,” with the numbers after it crossed out, new ones put in over the crosses. “Population sixty-five Shifters, twenty-two horses, seven dogs, and twenty cats.”
Everything was silent and deserted. The air was still, not even a breeze to stir the heat. Even in May, this far south in Texas afternoons could climb into the three-digit temperatures.
Kendrick had dispersed his Shifters to come at the town on all sides. They were to look for signs of resistance and capture those Shifters. No killing. The Shifters with Lachlan were still under Kendrick’s protection.
Kendrick and Dylan had parked their vehicles at the entrance to the town and now walked in via the main road, not hiding their approach. A series of long, low houses surrounded the main streets, huddled together under the sun. Trees had been planted, mature now, the only things giving shade in this empty place.
Tiger and Spike, a Feline Shifter with body-covering tattoos, met them under one of these trees.
“He’s holed up in the leader’s house,” Spike said without preliminary, his voice deep and strong. “I wanted to go in, but Tiger insisted we wait for you.”
“He’s strong,” Tiger said in his slow way. “And cornered. If we break in, he will kill.”
Kendrick knew the truth of that. Lachlan was certain to have hostages, possibly the entire population of this little town, with him. The leader’s house wasn’t very large at first glance, but looks were deceiving.
Tiger gave Kendrick his golden stare. “He wants you.”
“No kidding.” Kendrick studied the leader’s house, which didn’t look much different from those around it.
“He will do everything in his power to have you,” Tiger went on.
“I know.” Kendrick scanned the road, noting his own Shifters filling the shadows beside walls, under trees, ready, waiting. “I’d like to do this without too much bloodshed.”
“That would be best,” Dylan said calmly. “Humans won’t mind their own business if a bunch of Shifters get killed.”
Dylan wasn’t only worried about the human police’s reaction, Kendrick knew. Dylan shared Kendrick’s need to take care of those in his realm. Though Dylan had conceded leadership of the Austin Shiftertown to his oldest son and “retired,” he was still a leader at heart. The hierarchy of office was one thing; a Shifter’s protective instinct was another.
Dylan was joined by a younger man who shared his looks—dark hair, blue eyes, Irish accent—and this man carried a sword. His son, Sean, the Guardian of the Austin Shifters.
Sean gave Kendrick a nod, an exchange among equals. “You know, Dad,” Sean said, “We’ll have to expose a lot of secrets to Shifters we don’t know to pry this Lachy out.”
Kendrick sent him a wry look. “Lachlan will have no trouble exposing them for you. Don’t worry, I and my Shifters can keep our mouths shut.”
Sean gave Kendrick a smile that was tight but genuine. “I thought you would. We all have secrets.”
“Tell me about it,” Kendrick said under his breath.
Sean’s eyes warmed and Kendrick knew he and this Guardian could be friends.
“How do you want to do this?” Dylan asked Kendrick. “You know the man best.”
“I once thought I did,” Kendrick answered. “I’m not so certain now.” He looked around, having thought about this a lot while he’d ridden out here, though he’d waited to make his final assessment until he saw the lay of the land.
“I go in,” he went on. “Lachlan will have taken hostages, and he won’t hesitate to kill if we do an all-out attack. I walk in and talk to him. If he wants me, he can let the others go to have me.”
“And doesn’t that sound like suicide?” Sean asked. “Are ye mad?”
Kendrick gave him a wintry smile. “I didn’t say I would walk in alone.” He turned to the Shifter at his side. “How about it, Tiger? Are you up for some cunning? Tigers together?”
Tiger’s eyes flickered, moving the slightest bit from side to side as though he were running through scenarios and choosing the best one.
His eyes stilled, and he gave Kendrick a nod. “Tigers together.”
“Besides, you’ll know your way around,” Kendrick said. “Dylan—here’s what I want to do.”
* * *
“You know where white tigers come from, don’t you?” Ben asked from where he lazed on the porch swing.
The laziness was feigned, Addie knew. Everyone on the porch—Ben, Zander, Jaycee, Robbie—was tense. The exceptions were Zane and Brett, who played as tiger cubs, content and unafraid.
“It’s a genetics thing, isn’t it?” Addie asked.
She’d had Charlie make up a big batch of iced tea, and she served it, pretending this was simply a fine summer morning to lounge outside. Never mind that her mouth was dry, no matter how much tea she poured into it, and her heartbeat wouldn’t calm. Kendrick might die today, and Addie couldn’t do a damned thing about it. She’d had to ask Charlie to make the tea or she’d have thrown the glass pitcher, ice, and tea across the room.
The tiger cubs did stop scampering and sat down to listen to Ben. Ben skimmed his hand, hanging down from the swing, across the porch’s board floor.
“White tigers were bred especially for the Fae princes,” he said. “Most Fae princes are arrogant s.o.b.s, and they competed with each other to own the most unique Shifters. Any unusual strain, like snow leopards and black panthers, were prized, but the white tigers were prized most of all. It was so rare that a white tiger bred true that any prince who had one could boast he owned something unmatched.”
“That’s awful,” Addie said. “And I don’t even know what a Fae prince is.”
Zander answered. “Total bastards. Fae made the Shifters centuries ago, with breeding and magic. I don’t want to know how—it was probably pretty disgusting. I have to say, they did a good job, because all these years later, we’re still here, we can cross-breed, we can have cubs with humans. We’re stronger than ever.”
“The princes were the worst—are the worst,” Ben said. “The warriors and generals at least understand the cost of what they achieve and can think with their brains. If they don’t, they’re dead. The princes are products of inbreeding and cushy living. They never leave their pristine palaces except to go on overly elaborate hunts. They invented glamping.”
Addie thought about Kendrick, his strength, his surety. “How did the white tigers feel about being prizes for these princes?”
Ben snorted a laugh. “Let’s just say that when the Shifters as a whole decided to fight back, the white tigers were in place, nicely close to the princes. A lot of princes lost their lives at that time. Of course, unfortunately, so did most of the white tigers. They sacrificed themselves to start the Shifter-Fae War. That’s why there are so few white tigers now.”
“Kendrick is unique,” Addie said, thinking of his rare flashes of smile, his emotion-filled green eyes. So were his cubs, who were watching Ben with all seriousness.
&n
bsp; “Unique,” Zander said with a laugh. “That’s one word for him.”
The man had been lying flat on his back across the top step of the porch, and now he sat up. “I have to confess something. It’s kinda burning a hole in my chest.”
“What?” Addie’s alarm returned.
Zander, his braids swinging on either side of his face, looked ashamed and chagrined. “Dylan was totally right,” he said. “I was the Shifter healer who found Lachlan. I’d been traveling around, seeing the world, and I came across a mostly dead Shifter. I had no idea who he was, or why he was half dead, so I took him back to my hideout, and I healed him.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
“What?” Addie was on her feet, her agitation surging into anger. “You said you had nothing to do with it!”
Zander rose, unfolding with grace. “No, I said there were other Shifter healers in the world and asked what I’d be doing in Canada. I never said it wasn’t me.”
“Splitting hairs.” Jaycee had come up off her chair and was next to Addie. “Polar bears have a lot of hair. Why didn’t you admit it?”
“With Kendrick and all his angry Shifters sitting there?” Zander asked in amazement. “No way. I wanted to live until dinner. I planned to take him aside this morning and tell him, but I didn’t get a chance. Anyway, I had no idea who Lachlan was or what he’d done. All I saw was a Shifter clawed up and bloody, unconscious and unable to speak. I’m a healer. I couldn’t walk away. I patched him up, and when he was well enough, I left him. Had places to go, things to do. I didn’t know what had happened to him. I barely said two words to him and he didn’t talk to me. I didn’t even ask his name.”
“Because of you, Kendrick might get himself killed,” Jaycee flared. “You should have left Lachlan alone to die.”
Zander lost his embarrassed look and became stern. “That’s not what healers do. We don’t decide who to save and who to let die. That’s not our job—we save a life. Anyway, Kendrick should have dusted him. He didn’t do his job.”
“Don’t you dare blame Kendrick for this,” Jaycee said hotly. “You should have told him.”
“Why? It’s ancient history, and I didn’t know the guy had anything to do with Kendrick until I saw him at the fight club last night.”
“How do we know you aren’t with Lachlan?” Jaycee demanded. “I should kill you, just in case—”
Addie stepped in front of her. “Stop it. He says he didn’t know, and I believe him.”
“I didn’t,” Zander said. “I promise you. I’d never seen the guy before. But I know he’s tremendously strong. He’d never have survived otherwise, doesn’t matter how good I am. And I’m good.”
“Glad to hear it,” Addie said, looking Zander up and down. “You can go out to the Shiftertown right now and make sure Kendrick doesn’t die. If he gets a paper cut, you heal him. All right? So get going.”
Zander didn’t move. “You deserve to be pissed off at me, Addie, but I’m not running across Texas and leaving you unprotected. Kendrick told me to look after you. Those are my orders.”
“You keep saying you’re not one of Kendrick’s Shifters,” Addie pointed out. “So why are you obeying him all of a sudden?”
“Because you and his cubs are more precious to him than anything else in the world,” Zander said. “If he lives and you die, he’ll give up. I see that in him. He’s been through so much and he wants this happiness that’s dangling in front of him. He might harm himself—well, after he kills and dusts me.”
“If Kendrick dies, I’m going to be upset,” Addie said. “Not to mention his cubs and the rest of his Shifters. What do you figure your chances are against all of us?”
Zander’s dark eyes were hard. “You’re saying either way, I’m screwed.”
“Pretty much.”
Zander sat down again with a sweep of his duster, which he kept on despite the hundred degree temperature. “Then I’m staying.”
Addie balled her fists. “No, you—”
The electronic jangle of a phone cut her off. Zander reached into his pocket, frowning, while Addie’s heartbeat escalated to a sickening pace. A phone call meant news, probably bad.
Zander swiped his thumb across the screen. Addie noted absently that while the other Shifters had older model phones, Zander’s was brand new.
“Whoa,” Zander said.
He turned the phone around to show Addie the scarred and bent face of Lachlan.
“Addison,” Lachlan said. He spoke calmly, without hurry. “It’s you I wanted to reach, but your phone seems to have been disconnected. I want to show you something.”
Lachlan turned the phone around. Its camera pointed to a window, through which Addie saw the slightly blurred images of her sister, Ivy, and Ivy’s kids, Tori and Josh. They were in a kitchen, the familiar one of their own house.
Addie’s mouth went dry, her fingers going numb. “You leave them alone!” she yelled, her voice cracking. “Ivy!”
Zander glared into the phone, looking more furious than Addie had ever seen him. “You just made a big mistake,” he snarled at Lachlan and snapped off the phone.
Addie lunged for it. “No! He’ll hurt them.”
Ben was up, tight with anger. “No he won’t. We won’t let him.”
“I’m with you,” Zander said. He swung around, already walking away.
Jaycee leapt after him and grabbed at his coat. “Hello? Can you say trap?”
Zander shook her off. “I know it’s a trap. But are you willing to sacrifice those kids to not spring it?”
“And how did he know to call your number?” Jaycee continued.
Zander scowled. “I don’t know. Maybe he asked someone.”
“Or maybe you’re working with him, like I said,” Jaycee went on. “You healed him, he showed up here, he calls you when he has a threat.”
“I told you—I didn’t know anything about him, and I never saw him again after he was awake and alive.”
“Yeah?” Jaycee stepped to him. “How can you just walk away from patients you heal? You have to form some kind of bond with them—what you do is Goddess magic, like the Guardians have. Are you saying you get inside someone like that to heal them and you feel nothing?”
“Of course I feel something!” Zander shouted. The air shook as his bear growl burst out of him. “Why do you think I’m so crazy? If I hang around and take that person into my heart, I’d be more nuts than I already am. And when I can’t save them? When they die no matter what I do—how do you think that makes me feel?”
He glared at Jaycee and she glared back at him but she began to falter. Ben strode off down the porch.
“While you’re arguing, that bastard has Addie’s family. Are you coming with me to crush him or not?”
Zander’s anguish drained out of him from one heartbeat to the next and he swung around after Ben.
Addie ran after them, reaching Zander’s motorcycle at the same time he did. “I’m going with you.”
Zander opened his mouth to argue, his dark eyes still filled with anger and sorrow, then he closed it, understanding.
“All right.”
Behind them Jaycee started to splutter. Addison ignored her. She knew that between Jaycee and Ben, they’d arrange for the cubs to be safe. The cubs were becoming her family, but Ivy and her kids were Addie’s family, and she’d never abandon them to their fate.
* * *
Kendrick had never lived in a house in a Shiftertown. He knew of Shifter clans’ propensity to hoard valuables through the years—though his Shifters had always kept their prized possessions in safe places around the world, while living simply and traveling light. Because they didn’t wear Collars, Kendrick’s Shifters could usually use banks or highly secure storage facilities without a problem.
Collared Shifters didn’t have the luxury of anonymity or of trave
ling anytime they wanted to, so they’d built secret places in their homes to keep their valuables. Each clan had its own treasures, which they kept from humans’ notice.
The San Antonio Shiftertown leader’s house was small, at least aboveground. The single floor held a living room and a kitchen, plus a narrow hall that led to bedrooms.
A door in the hallway led to a closet that housed a false wall. Tiger depressed a catch that opened the wall to reveal stairs descending into a chill basement—the way to this Shiftertown’s store of treasure.
Kendrick had to take off his sword to go through the low doorway and down the cramped stairs. At the bottom, another false wall gave way to reveal lit paneled corridors that led a long way underground. The walls bore faded rectangular patches, all regular and evenly spaced. Kendrick touched one.
“Dylan’s stash,” he murmured.
Tiger gave him a questioning look.
“Ben told me the Shifters he’d overheard said they wanted to find Dylan’s ‘stash’,” Kendrick explained. “He must have meant the treasures of Dylan’s clan—some Shifters collect artwork.” Artwork, precious stones, and historic pieces kept their value through the centuries, while currency and investments might go up or down or vanish altogether. Regardless of how much paper money was worth, someone would always want a Rembrandt.
“Most of it is down there,” Tiger said, pointing to the darkness at the end of the hall.
“Of course it is.” Kendrick hadn’t slung the sword over his back again, and now he loosened it in its sheath.
He and Tiger continued down the hall toward the gloom. Rooms opened out onto the corridor, but Kendrick heard nothing behind them, scented nothing. Apparently neither did Tiger. Tiger was scanning the walls, taking in scent, stopping to listen.
Nowhere did they see or sense any hostages, other Shifters—anyone. They were alone down here.
The ordinary-looking door at the end of the hall opened to reveal a steel door behind it with a coded lock. While the rest of the house appeared to have been built in the seventies, this door looked to be brand-new, the keypad lock state-of-the-art. Dylan must have installed it as soon as the old leader had died.
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