by Livia Quinn
“Let me make love to you again, show you how it can be between us, this time with no Para-moon or the past or wolf fur between us? I want to spend from now until dawn illustrating why you should consider keeping me, now that I’m no longer on a leash.”
She smiled and guided me to her. But by dawn, I’d been the one to be satiated, and pleased with the added dimension our shifter sides had brought to our lovemaking.
Montana
The voices coming from inside of Kat’s hearse sounded like…Frejya’s sword. Who… I thought the cat was hooked on wolfie but it sounded like she’d moved on. I leaned in closer, not much taken by the social norms of privacy when it came to my friends, especially when they were about to make a huge error in judgment. She would be sorry—
“My turn, wolf…on your back!”
Oh, I was wrong. What was that clever feline up to? It sounded like Kat had taken Aurora’s advice to heart after all. I’d gone too far to turn back now. I pressed my ear flat against the metal of the car and willed their voices to penetrate but all I heard was… silence. Goddess!
I’d been about to knock on Kat’s door to tell her about seeing River. Good thing that plan had been interrupted, as there was probably some rule of secrecy about the Moat that I hadn’t asked Conor about. I’d fix that.
The hearse rocked on its wheels for several minutes as the creatures inside tussled, growling and spitting. Then I was positive I heard purring… followed by a deep male voice. Dylan’s voice! Mother of the gods!
The front door opened and I flattened myself against the side of the hearse but I needn’t have worried. Our two friends, Dylan and Kat, walked out into the moonlight, twisting in each other’s arms, kissing, laughing and never looked my way. Dylan hooked one long arm around Kat’s neck and drew her to him, and their kiss was so intense it had me longing for Conor. Then he shifted catching her off guard. He stood at the edge of the yard barking at her and she laughed, “Why not?” She shifted as well and they bounced around the yard like playful youngsters, not a care in the world, before dashing off toward the swamp.
I just watched with my hands on my hips for a couple minutes, wondering at the change in both of them. Then I thanked the goddess for my friends’ good fortune and decided to pay that visit to Tempe.
Conor gave me “permission” to tell Tempe about our visit to Fierce Winds Isle and if the subject came up, about seeing River. He “ordered” me not to disclose any background on the Moat until he could take her there personally. I bristled at the thought of actually obeying orders from a man, even Conor, but since it was official Moat/Paramortal security type business I agreed.
She answered the door, still in her pajamas looking distracted, or sleepy. It was pretty early. “Hey, woman. Were you still in bed?”
“I wish,” worry coming through clearly in her voice.
“What’s up, Temp? You look… off.”
Tempe sighed and waved me into the kitchen where I plucked my favorite cup from the counter and turned to find her leaning against the cabinet, her hands buried in her hair, eyes closed. “Tell me.”
“Well, let’s see.” She tilted her head and looked up at me, counting on her fingers. “I’m beginning to wonder if I even have a relationship. Inez wants me to zap her so she can keep up with Mr. Jackson, who has… issues a man half his age would die for. River showed up yesterday assuring me he was absolutely fine. And I’m so desperate to get rid of the evil presence in my house that I’ve hired an Elvis impersonator to exorcise it.”
Well! I didn’t have to break the news about River then. I glanced around and tested the air to see if I could detect this presence. “Okay. Let’s start with River. You don’t believe him?” I knew why of course, but I wanted to hear it from Tempe.
“If River is fine then I’m a two headed, purple eyed shmoo.”
Right. “What else did River say?” I stalled, trying to figure out how to insert my visit to the Isle.
“He acted as if I’d wished him up, which I suppose could mean when I screamed, ‘River come home’ after finding the mess Freddie left of my kitchen.” She pointed to cabinet and I had to admit Freddie had surpassed even himself.
“He said I should ‘go on with my life, stop worrying about him, and that I should…” her voice broke, “…stop manipulating him. Zeus’, Montana. He’s in trouble,” she whispered.
Well, Conor would just have to take my promise and stick it where he’d stuck the other broken ones from his thousands-year-old life. Right now, helping Tempe was more important. I sat down across from her. “Tempe, River’s the reason I came by. I saw him.”
Her breath left in a whoosh and she slipped down onto the stool. “Where? If you’ve seen him, you know he was like one of those dark djinn Dutch told us about as kids when I believed they were just fairy tales. And just where are Dutch or Phoebe? Why are they always so hard-to-find?”
I held up my hand to stave off her questions. “Conor gave me permission to divulge certain secrets to you.” I recounted nearly everything about my visit to Fierce Winds Isle—what I’d seen inside Moat, River’s apparent confrontation with another being, the mission and secrecy surrounding the Isle, even Dutch and Phoebe’s presence. “I saw for myself how much River’s changed but no one knows what’s wrong.”
“Why did Conor agree to let you tell me about the Isle?” Tempe asked.
“Because you’re going to be visiting soon as well, Tempe. He said with Jack and Dylan not—Good Frejya, goddess of Valhalla, and all that is just!—I forgot to tell you what I just saw! Dylan…with Kat.”
“So?” she asked obviously tired. Then her mouth dropped open, “Oh, you mean—Dylan?”
“Yep, tall, dark and mysterious is back, and apparently, Katerina made it happen. At least I saw them all cuddly-like before they shifted and ran off together.”
“You saw the grizzly and the lion together?”
“No, his grizzly is probably gone forever. He shifted into the black wolf,” I said.
Tempe smiled. “Well, at least he’s got his human form back. Maybe he can return to work.” She sighed and it wasn’t a happy sound. “I guess Aurora’s right, Montana. Things happen as they are meant to.”
I shook my head, “Tempest Pomeroy, what’s wrong with you? The one thing your man said he loved about you was your feistiness and yet you let him get away with ignoring you. Ditch the zen attitude and light a fire under his ass.”
Chapter 30
“Me, attend a witchcraft class? Uhh…no??”
Tempe
My eyes narrowed as Montana’s words finally got through. She was right. I’d turned into a doormat, lying down and letting another man just walk away from me without a fight Hadn’t I resolved not to let that happen after the last time? My heart accelerated; even menori stirred as I considered how I could rattle Jack’s cage. After all, my responsible, non-confrontational, understanding approach was getting me nowhere.
“Tempe, what’s goin’ in that storm-witchy brain?” Montana leaned forward squinting into my eyes like she was hoping to divine my thoughts. Then, she grinned, “Ah, she’s baaack. What are you going to do?”
My shoulders relaxed. “I love you, Montana. I know you probably thought I wasn’t listening but I was, and it’s time. Jack Lang needs a little shakeup. And I’m just the woman to make it happen. Now, I need to get dressed. Before I go to the mail center I need to talk to someone about a schedule.
Montana’s arm shot out, “Ho, wait a minute. What was that you said before about Elvis? You know I don’t like him. Look at that deal he forced you into for River’s new genie bottle.” Elvis had taken advantage of my desperation to save my brother. Knowing I was in a bind for money, he’d weaseled a future wish out of me to “help” me make up the difference. The family would be bound by it.
I sighed, “I didn’t have a choice. Without that amphora, River would have died, Montana. Regardless, Elvis knows about spirits and he says he can help me with Harmony.” I turned, placing t
he cups in the sink. “I have to get ready for work but I’m glad you came by. Dylan’s return is going to give me the one thing I needed for the ceremony. I have to find him, too.
“By the way, I’ve been fooling around with the tarot cards I picked up for the class tonight.” I pointed to the spread of cards on the tablecloth. Each card held the image of a strange black robed figure with an upside down pentacle hanging from the cord around his neck.
Montana reached for the card in the center, which was face up. The label read Death. “You picked this card?” The face that stared back at me was bone white. Symbols were carved into its skin and blood dripped from fresh wounds. “It’s creepy as hell.”
“The instruction manual said death didn’t always mean, you know, actual death. It could be the death of a relationship…” I said.
“Right, and you can also make them fit whatever you’re worried about at the time, Tempe, so be careful, okay? Leave it to professionals. I’m sure our instructor will tell you the same thing.”
I wiped my mouth and threw the napkin at the trashcan. “You’re probably right. It was just making me feel worse about everything anyway. Your visit helped a bunch. I have a lot to do.”
Montana’s phone vibrated and her eyes lit up as a chorus of, “I loved you before I met you” filled the room. Had to be Conor.
She grinned. “What can I say… he says, ‘jump’, I say, ‘let’s fly’. Gotta go.” Obviously, something mega big had happened between her and the black dragon but she wasn’t sharing.
Wednesday was the slowest day of the week but even so, the heat brought out some crazies. There was a bad dog, which I took great pleasure in sic’ing Marty on. He loves playing weenie dog and the sight of him on the heels of the Lemoines’ bad tempered Doberman had me standing in the middle of the street laughing my head off.
The female customer who’d requested I alphabetize her mail a few months back had a new request, one she’d left on a note inside her box:
Mail person. Please sort my mail by first class, bulk, and junk mail and set everything in a neat line against the right interior wall of my box.
I left her my response—When pigs fly—and fist pumped in the direction of her house.
When I got to Newcastle, the neighborhood watch leader had set up a tent to raise money for a local child who had cancer. I volunteered to drop off flyers at a few businesses and packed several sacks of aluminum tabs to their drop off point. The tabs would be used to trade at St. Jude’s for the little girl’s chemo treatments.
I wondered if Dylan had visited the mail center to get his old job back and if not, what he was doing now that he had his mojo back. I tried his phone but got no answer. He may not even have the same number.
A mile later, I spotted him, looking like a silhouette of one of those black wooden yard statues, leaning against the box marking the halfway point of my route, chewing on a piece of Johnson grass. His handsome face split in a grin. He hadn’t lost any of his charisma in the interim months with the loss of his Finrir. He was the same Dylan, which he proved when he said, “Running late as usual, I see. You rang?”
Chapter 31
“Let me know if I need to challenge him for you.”
Tempe
The urge to throw my arms around him was strong and frankly surprised me. I did still care. “I’m happy to see you, Dylan.” Then I blurted, “I need you, tonight.”
He tssked and shook his head, never uncrossing his arms. How could a man be so ready to take on whatever bad guy came along and yet look so friggin’ casual? “Aw, sorry, babe, I’m afraid I’m taken.” Words I’d never expected to hear from Dylan, which made me unexpectedly happy for him and Kat.
“I know that, smart ass.” I lost the smile. “River showed up at Harmony yesterday.”
His brows rose and his expression turned serious as he unfolded his arms and leaned on my roof to peer in the window at me. “I’m listening,” he said, with that focused intensity I was used to.
I told him about River, the house, my visit to the House of Blues and about what Montana had seen. The information about the Isle wasn’t new to him. Go figure. He was four hundred years old and in on all kinds of secrets.
He frowned. “So an Elvis impersonator told you to have someone on hand that’s connected to River for this so called cleansing.”
“Yes, and who better than you, his mentor?” except our parents who were once again AWOL. I paused, realizing how I sounded. I hadn’t even asked how he was doing. “I’m sorry Dylan, uhm, it’s so good to see you here… like this.”
“Like this?” His eyebrow arched and one side of his mouth curved.
“You know, in your human form.”
“Thanks.”
“Now that you’ve gotten your human form back, will your Finrir be tagging along?” Knowing this would be something of supreme importance to the old Dylan.
“Things are looking bad for my Finrir.” He didn’t seem disappointed or even hesitant when he continued, “But after listening to Conor say, ‘Ach! Be patient, mutt,’ for months,” Dylan mimicked the Scot perfectly, “just being able to walk and talk and make love—” He stopped suddenly looking down at his feet.
I rolled my eyes. “It’s alright, Dylan. Kat and I have discussed this ad nauseum. I’m happy for both of you. You know as well as I do, there was nothing real between us.” He knew what I meant. “Are you going to get your job back?”
“At the mail service? I don’t know. I’m still working with Arabella and Peter though.” He meant as a Paramortal investigator.
I nodded. “So will you help me?”
“Sure. What time?”
“Around 9:25. I’ll be home from class by then and Elvis is supposed to be there at 9:30. I’ll skip Bons Amis.” A favorite part of SOAPS night was our after-class party at the local pub, Bons Amis.
He gave me a little sign-off style salute. “I’ll see you then. I’ve got to pay a visit to the Fairie Inn.” He glided across the blacktop to his SUV but turned around just before he got there. “Things okay between you and Lang?”
I said, “It’s fixin’ to be, or else.” I wasn’t mistaken about the dangerous glint in the dark eyes of my former lover—friend, whatever.
“Let me know if I need to challenge him for you.”
I gaped at the prospect and the fact that he still cared that much. “You do know he’s a dragon, right?”
“Yeah, I know,” he said, “but I have a feeling he’d fight fair.” Whatever fair meant between two battle-hardened warriors like Jack and Dylan.
“See you tonight,” I said. He nodded, loaded his long black clothed limbs into his vehicle and pulled away.
I looked at my phone as Jack’s ringtone sang to me. I’d started personalizing my ringtones after Jordie showed me how to make my own. She was always changing Jack’s behind his back just to irritate him. When I’d first chosen Aerosmith’s “Crazy” for his, he’d looked at me, eyebrows raised and asked if that was because I was crazy or because I’d just about driven him crazy during his investigation into the murder in the clubhouse.
My new one was “Take These Broken Wings” but I was going to change it today because it made me sad when it rang. Still, my heart skipped a beat and I shoved the excitement down as I answered, “Hello.”
“Tempe, hi… it’s Jack. Is this a good time?”
I surprised myself by feeling mad. He apparently thought he could just call me anytime and I’d melt and agree to whatever he wanted.
“I was hoping I could talk to you for a few minutes.” His voice sounded normal but not especially intimate. I was too curious, as usual, and I was still parked… “Now is as good a time as any.”
I heard him let out a breath. Was he afraid I wouldn’t speak to him? I couldn’t help it; I smiled. “Jordie says there’s a class tonight and she wants to go. Do you know anything about it?”
Huh. This would be good. “Yes, it’s on witchcraft and tarot reading,” I said not hesitating a bit.<
br />
Silence. I grinned imagining him pinching the bridge of his nose. “Jack?” I got the feeling he was trying really hard not to make a disparaging comment. A positive step. I asked, “Are you coming?” and held back a snicker.
He snorted. Now that sounded like Jack. “Me, attend a Witchcraft class? Uhhh…no?”
“Wicca.”
“Whatever. Jordie’s set on it so I guess if you’re going to be there, she can go.”
“Gee, thanks for the rousing endorsement,” I said and this time there was a definite ‘tude in my voice.
“I’m sorry, Tempe. Look, I want to talk you but I can’t right now. I’m meeting a realtor at my house.”
“You’re moving?” That caught me off guard. After everything we’d been through, everything that had happened and now that he’d gone through his own change, I couldn’t believe he was leaving Destiny.
“Sweet—” He slipped and almost called me sweetheart. Ha! I couldn’t help the warm fuzzy feeling that gave me even after all these months. Don’t give in that easily not before you give him a little payback.
“Tempe, did you fix my house?”
I opened my mouth to lie, then shrugged though he couldn’t see it through the phone. “I… didn’t have anything better to do.”
“Thank you, very much. I wouldn’t be in a position to sell it if you hadn’t done that. But look, you know better than anyone, I can’t live in that house. It’s too small for a dragon.”
I blew out a relieved breath and said, “I see what you mean. Have you got somewhere in mind?”
“No. Jordie and I could stay at my parents—” he paused.
“What is it? Is something wrong with your parents?”
“Not wrong, exactly, but I’ll have to explain later.” He sounded like he was in a hurry. “Okay.” Then before I knew I was going to say anything, I blurted, “River’s b-back.”
He paused probably thinking about places he might have seen him. “He’s back on the job?”
