The Keepers: Christmas in Salem: Do You Fear What I Fear?The Fright Before ChristmasUnholy NightStalking in a Winter Wonderland (Harlequin Nocturne)

by Heather Graham

  She loved that about Jett. His seductions were complete. He would tease her, taste her, touch her with the tender urgency that rose between them until she could no longer stand not having her legs wrapped around his waist to take him deep inside her. Maybe they would create their first child. Maybe their son or daughter would be born on Christmas Eve, just as Jett had been. The thought sent a frisson of delight through her.

  Jett’s body never ceased to thrill her. Her excitement always started with his mischievous smile beneath those penetrating eyes that knew every inch of her body and the secrets deep in her heart. She loved running her hands through his hair, the curls at the nape of his neck sheer seduction for her fingers. His athletic swimmer’s body fit her perfectly. The flush she felt from his smooth skin, the rock-hard muscles in his arms, chest, abdomen and the legs that he used to drive her exquisitely into ecstasy, made her ache to be with him every moment of her life.

  Now not only the possibility of living with Jett as a selkie tugged at her. Living among the enchanting presence of other creatures, the entire selkie population in motion to the summer feeding grounds outside the stone grottoes along the craggy Maine coastline had her aching to live the fantasy. She felt these memories flooding through her from Miranda’s coat as if she’d lived them herself. The freedom and the beauty of these thoughts exhilarated her. She understood now, more than ever before, why it was so wrong of her to ask Jett to choose between her and his life as a selkie.

  So now she had an even greater dilemma. It lay within her power to return Jett to his birthright, should he not recover his skin. Given her new insight, she could never deny him his selkie heritage. She would remain as Keeper of the Selkies and stay as his human lover through the rest of her life, given that she couldn’t imagine ever loving anyone else the way she loved him.

  Or, should Jett find his pelt, she could forsake her birthright as Keeper and leave with him to live in the selkie realm. Could she really forfeit her position as Keeper? Who would take her place? She was Christina’s only daughter. Her time was now. Could she abandon her heritage for something as selfish as love?

  Despite everything, her attraction to a selkie existence was growing. She understood why Jett could never give up the sea. She found herself longing for the experience as a traveler longs for the trip of a lifetime. But fighting against this new desire was her common sense. Her destiny. Her humanity.

  As they pulled into the drive of Sam’s house, the lights in the windows and Christmas lights decorating the porch mere pinpoints in the cloying darkness, Katie Sue found herself dreading this Christmas Eve, normally her favorite night of the year. After tonight, no matter which direction the answer pointed, her life would never be the same.

  * * *

  The three men reached the foot of Salem village, where some of the oldest historic homes nestled along the waterfront. Kenny doused the lantern, making the darkness more pervasive beneath the muted streetlamps. Vaughn straightened and stopped on the sidewalk, stepped out into the street then retraced his steps. A look of confusion crossed his face. “The echo is gone.”

  “Impossible.” Jett didn’t like the worry in his own voice.

  “It’s as if someone placed a blocking spell across the street. I sense nothing.” Vaughn traced a path with his hand. “The echoes are strong all the way up to this point. Then they vanish.”

  Jett raised his face to the endless night and smelled the freshening air. “I can smell my coat...and the scent of the thief. They can’t be far.”

  Vaughn shrugged and stepped back. “Lead the way.”

  Jett stepped up to join Vaughn, and then he, too, stopped, his gut knotted. “The scent is gone, just...gone. It was there, and now it isn’t.” How could this be? He and his pelt were connected by flesh and soul.

  Vaughn said, “It has to be a blocking spell. Either some Other living in this neighborhood doesn’t want to be found or our thief is covering his tracks.”

  “What if they’re one and the same?” Kenny asked.

  Vaughn shook his head. “No shapeshifter can cast a spell this strong. Someone else is either protecting him or hiding themselves.”

  He walked up to the point where the trail had stopped, laid his palms flat as if on a wall and said, “Ostendo texisuperficies.”

  Static electricity filled the air in a web of pale blue light running from his hands over the darkness like vines climbing a wall until the entire shape of the blocking shield was exposed. The force field lay like a dome over the neighborhood.

  “What did you do?” Jett asked, awed by Vaughn’s power.

  “Added some illumination. I was hoping only one house would be protected. We’ll have to go door to door.”

  Jett stilled. “We don’t have enough time.”

  Kenny spoke. “Before he can burn it, he has to mark the fur with his brand and his intentions, and that will buy us some time.”

  “I’ll kill him if he inks my skin.”

  Kenny checked his watch. “We’ve been out for an hour. Sam’s house is close. Without disrupting Christmas Eve any more than necessary, let’s consult the Keepers and make better use of our resources to find Jett’s skin before it’s too late.”

  Chapter 8

  The oppressive darkness seemed to have seeped into Sam’s house. Katie Sue frowned at how quickly the mood of the celebration had changed since she’d left three hours before. She, Christina and Bridgette had bundled their gifts and desserts into the appropriate hands, while the younger boys quarreled over candy canes and who would play video games on the big-screen television in the family room. Bridgette and a few of the mothers began losing their patience and putting the children in time-outs until they calmed down.

  “Jingle Bell Rock” playing happily in the background seemed to mock the foreboding permeating everyone’s conversations, and among the Others, that foreboding had been compounded by the news of Jett’s coat being stolen. The savory aromas of roasted meat and fresh-baked bread coming from the kitchen should have bolstered Katie Sue’s mood, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to touch a morsel with the way she felt at the moment.

  Sam caught her up in a huge hug and whispered that everything would be okay. The understanding in her eyes reassured Katie that whatever the results of tonight’s meeting, Sam would be there for her.

  Roe, Keeper of the Five Elementals and Vaughn’s partner, joined the two of them and squeezed Katie’s arm reassuringly.

  “Once June gets here, we can get down to celebrating Christmas Eve.”

  Sam gave Katie a commiserating glance. “And Jett?”

  “There’s been a new development.”

  “His coat? Has it been recovered?” Roe asked hopefully.

  “Not exactly,” Katie Sue said. She hugged the shoulder bag close. “I found Miranda’s selkie skin hidden in the fireplace hearth.”

  “What?” Her cousins spoke in unison.

  “Can we see it?” Roe said.

  Katie opened the bag and the women sighed at the sight of the beautiful cream-silver pelt. A tingle ran through Katie as she imagined herself inside the skin, and the longing to feel it wrapping around her became almost overwhelming. She gasped involuntarily and had to close her eyes.

  At her sharp intake of breath, Sam laid a hand on her arm.

  “Katie, what’s wrong?”

  “Something happened to me tonight,” Katie whispered. “I...transformed.”

  Roe gasped. “Does Jett know?”

  Katie shook her head, a knot forming in her throat. Her attraction to the pelt was becoming a craving. “No. It just happened.”

  She refused to tell them of the almost irresistible pull the skin was exerting on her now. She didn’t want to jeopardize her role as Keeper, and if she revealed her feelings they would be bound to question her ability to keep the level head every Keeper needed.

  “I know this changes the discussion about Jett and me, but I think it also enhances my position as Keeper. My ability to wear a skin gives me
firsthand understanding of what’s best for the selkie realm.”

  Roe let out a low whistle. “I want to be in the room when Jett finds out your news.”

  Katie Sue smiled, but inside her heart already ached at the impossibility of a life with Jett as a selkie. She was a born Keeper. Her love was already lost.

  “I’m going to give Jett his mother’s skin. It will be my Christmas gift to him, so please don’t say anything to him yet.”

  Sam sighed. “That’s so brave of you, Katie.”

  Katie frowned. “No, Sam. I’m Jett’s Keeper. His well-being supersedes my needs. You know that.”

  “Yes, my sweet selkie Keeper, I do.” Sam smiled.

  Tears welled in Katie’s eyes. Sam had just declared her confidence in Katie Sue’s ability to remain a Keeper despite the questions that needed to be answered. It seemed her fate was sealed. Jett could no longer be hers.

  * * *

  The grandfather clock in the foyer struck the half hour as the search party arrived, grim faced. No pelt. No villain. Katie Sue’s heart broke at the look of battered purpose on Jett’s face.

  She tucked the shoulder bag beneath the Christmas tree, then approached Jett. He opened his arms wide and she stepped into his embrace. How many more times could she allow this? She hugged him fiercely, and he trembled.

  “Still no luck?” She pulled back to search his expression.

  Pain filled his eyes. “We traced the echoes to the village. We’re closer, but losing time.”

  Sam and Roe had followed her over, and now Vaughn took Roe’s hands. “Can you recruit a group of elementals? We discovered a blocking shield. We either have to remove it or use a tracer to home in on Jett’s coat.”

  Sam frowned. “A shapeshifter would have to be incredibly powerful to create a shield. The possibility is slim, so that pretty much narrows the field to witches or warlocks.”

  As she spoke, June barreled through the door, her face flushed and her hair askew, as if she’d run all the way from town. She was carrying a leather folder. “I know who stole Jett’s skin!”

  “Who?” Katie Sue demanded as the others all moved closer.

  “That weirdo who does grounds maintenance for the village.”

  “Leo Gantry?” Katie Sue asked. “He graded our driveway this summer. He seemed like a decent guy.”

  “He’s the one. He was in Twists & Tales yesterday. I was lounging on the windowsill when he came in.”

  “That doesn’t make him a thief,” Roe said.

  Jett turned to Katie Sue. “She was lounging on the windowsill?”

  She whispered, “June likes to shift into a cat. It’s a little trick she uses to keep an eye on her patrons.”

  June held up the large leather folder. “It makes him a thief if he stole the parchment that was stored in here—a parchment containing the recipes for several ancient potions, including the one for a potion that uses a selkie skin.”

  “How do you know it was him?” Jett asked.

  “I saw him nosing around the rare items. I got to thinking after I left you all earlier, so I went back to the bookstore.” She tapped the folder. “He didn’t return this to the proper place, so I took a look and saw that the parchment was missing. I don’t think there’s any question as to who’s got it—or why.”

  “If Leo Gantry is the thief, then he must be a shapeshifter,” Katie Sue said.

  “If so, he’s not registered,” June said.

  “Does anyone know where he lives?” Katie Sue asked.

  “I can find out.” Sam reached for her cell phone.

  Jett gritted his teeth. “I’ll bet he’s in the lower village.”

  Vaughn frowned. “Which would explain the blocking shield we ran into.”

  Sam added, “A shapeshifter can’t cast a blocking shield.”

  June frowned. “But a powerful Other can.”

  “Then Leo’s not here on his own,” Jett said. “He’s with someone who doesn’t want anyone to know he’s here or the powers he has.”

  Katie Sue had had several encounters with Leo. She’d offered him something cold to drink when he’d worked on their driveway last summer. He had spoken very little, but she remembered how he’d grinned when their fingers had touched when she’d handed him his drink. The look had made her feel uncomfortable, as if he was looking right through her.

  More recently she’d been in town just before the darkness hit and had caught Leo watching her from his truck as she crossed the street. She had shrugged off his almost hostile look, since men sometimes found her aloofness off-putting.

  Sam snapped her phone shut. “He lives in a cottage on Benson Street. Number nineteen.”

  The men scrambled for the door. Jett called over his shoulder, “Call the council leaders. Tell them to meet us here as soon as possible.”

  “Wait for me!” Katie grabbed her coat.

  “I’m coming, too.” Roe was already tossing her cape over her shoulders.

  June held up a hand. “Make sure they don’t kill him until you get my parchment back!”

  Chapter 9

  Nineteen Benson Street was invisible in the oppressive dark. From the sidewalk, the small, neglected house looked vacant. No lights shone from within. The blocking shield had not been removed, so Jett still couldn’t detect the scent of his coat.

  This house was his last chance.

  Jett opened the gate, but Kenny stopped him.

  “Jett, if he hears us, he’ll shift and disappear.”

  Jett struggled to keep his voice low. “I don’t care. I want my coat.”

  “If he didn’t shift on the beach earlier, maybe he’s too weak to change,” Katie whispered.

  Jett focused on the house. “I see a chimney. No smoke. I’m going in.”

  As he spoke, something brushed past his ankles and darted through the open gate. His excellent vision let him identify the shadow. “What the—a black cat?”

  “It’s June!” If Jett hadn’t said anything, Katie would never have seen her. As a cat, June could discover what was happening inside the cottage without detection. This was what family did for each other.

  Vaughn put a hand on Jett’s shoulder. “Let her scope out the situation. We’d see smoke if your coat was burning.”

  Roe moved close to Vaughn, who put a protective arm around her. Katie Sue stood between her brother and Jett, linking arms with both of them.

  Vaughn whispered, “Be still, everyone. We don’t want him detecting our energy.”

  After only minutes, though they seemed like an eternity, June returned. Still in cat form, she jumped into Vaughn’s arms. As he held her, she transformed into a woman, smiling with satisfaction when he abruptly set her on her feet.

  “We don’t have time for your antics, woman,” he said.

  Ignoring him, June turned to Jett. “I saw through the back window. Looks like he just woke up. Your pelt is laid out on the floor in front of the fireplace.” She grimaced. “He’s shaving a pentagram in the fur.”

  Jett bolted for the back of the house, and in seconds everyone else was on his heels.

  “I’ll take the front door,” Kenny said in a hoarse whisper.

  Through a window in the back door Jett saw Leo’s bent blond head leaning over his pelt as he concentrated on shaving the fur to the skin.

  Using every ounce of control not to howl, Jett kicked the door open and lunged for Leo.

  The shock and disbelief in Leo’s blue eyes offered little satisfaction. Rage tore through Jett like an exploding gun. He hit the shifter as he rose to his feet, knocking him to the floor.

  Katie Sue grabbed Jett’s selkie skin as Vaughn and the other women surrounded her.

  Leo had disappeared beneath the weight of Jett’s body, the razor he’d been holding clattering onto the wood floor.

  “What the...?” Jett scrambled to his feet.

  Leo was gone, as if he’d disappeared into thin air.

  Roe slammed the door shut and sat against it. “If he th
inks he’s getting out, he has to get past me.” She yelled to Kenny, “Leo shifted, Kenny. Guard the front door.”

  Jett spoke into the air. “It’s over, Leo. We know you’re not strong enough to hold your form right now. We can wait you out.”

  June shifted into a sleek Siamese cat, her intense blue eyes concentrating on the floor where Jett had struggled with Leo. She sniffed, then began scratching the floor, her sharp claws digging into the spaces between the boards. Within seconds Leo emerged. He’d shifted into a cricket, but couldn’t hold the form with the pain June caused. He lapsed back into human form, his cheek and lips bleeding from where she’d scratched his face.

  Roe and Vaughn opened their palms. Streams of static streaked from their fingertips and surrounded Leo like tightly wound ropes. He immediately grew weak and collapsed against Jett, who held him upright.

  “I could kill you for what you’ve done,” Jett said.

  Leo let out a harsh laugh. “Doesn’t matter what you do to me. The curse will have you all killing each other anyway.”

  “How do you know?” Katie Sue moved closer. “Who cast this spell?”

  Leo’s smile was ugly. “I’m not telling you anything.”

  Kenny headed for the door. “I’ll go back and get the car so we can get this bastard back to Sam’s.”

  Katie handed Jett his fur with utmost tenderness. Relief flooded him to have his selkie lifeline back. The compassion rising in Katie Sue’s eyes showed that she would do anything for him—not only as his Keeper, but as his lover. The truth of his love for her hammered in his chest with each beat of his heart. Having his pelt returned was like receiving a second chance at life. He was free to decide his fate now. The next seven years without his only love would be intolerable. His mother’s blessing washed over him. She’d gifted him with his pelt. He was now free to choose his direction.

  He leaned toward Katie Sue, inhaling her sweet perfume. Kissing her softly, he whispered, “Now we can celebrate Christmas. Let’s go home.”