by Jasmine Walt
Cecil barked, jumped, and barked again.
“He shifted? So now I’ve lost both of you to your shifter selves?”
Cecil wagged his tail. He pranced. He shoved his nose into her hand. He soft-mouthed her hand and gently tugged. Clearly, he was trying to convey something, but Chia hadn’t a clue what.
“Damn. I sure hope this works. And just so you know, when I lay in the hospital, thinking I might have died, I thought I’d yield to my feelings for Hung, to try them on for size.”
Cecil woofed, rubbed against her and barked again.
“Yeah, yeah, I knew you’d be pleased. Now let me halter you up.” When she was ready to glide, she turned to the mess of animals in her yard. “Everyone, can I have your attention? We’re heading out to try to fix your abilities to shift back. Wish us luck. And keep the peace. Don’t any of you dare eat each other. I will so throw your butts in jail before you even get a chance to change. Even you two.” She stabbed a finger at the hyenas.
To a chorus of yips, growls, whines, and that damn freaky hyena laughter, Chia took off, hanging onto the reins of Cecil’s harness. She’d barely taken a few glides when a large blur tackled her, taking her to the ground. Her skis snapped from their bindings as she went down.
“Hey!” she yelled, through a mouthful of dirty snow.
“I said, you’re not coming. You’re going to bed.” He swiftly handcuffed her wrists behind her back. Just as fast, he rolled her onto her back, kneeling between her legs.
She glared at him, confused, as a volcano of lusty heat exploded between them. “Is restraint the only way you can get a woman to bed you?” She kicked, aiming for his head.
He ducked, seizing her ankle. “It won’t be the only way I want you in bed. I’ve got lots of ideas.”
She yanked her leg to get free of his grasp.
He dug his fingers into her flesh, pushed her pants above her boot and kissed her calf, grinning.
She stilled, falling into the spell he had on her. Sweet baby Jesus. Her core sizzled with want. Can’t let him get to me. Her other leg kicked at his stomach, landing a solid blow. “I’m going with you.”
“Oof,” he grunted. “You’re not. You don’t give in easy, I’ll give you that much.” He clenched the other ankle, holding both legs aloft.
With her legs spread wide, the man she wanted to explore lusty communion with poised between them, the tension grew tight as a bowstring. I’ll bet he’s hard as a rock under that bulky jacket. Her breath puffed slow and deep, making white clouds. Their eyes locked, she stared into his sun-kissed blues. A world of possibility shimmered between them.
Hung laid one of her legs over his shoulder, holding her gaze. He nuzzled the material in his grasp, biting her softly through her pants.
Chia hummed with delight. “I’m still going,” she said softly.
The shifters began to circle them, perhaps eager for entertainment. Barks and yips of excitement filled the air.
“You’re not,” he said, low and deep. He kissed her knee through the fabric. “See, woman?” he said. “This isn’t so bad.”
“No,” she murmured, pleasurable sensation rolling through her like a wave. “Not bad at all.” Lost in her lust, bundled in snow gear, eyes closed, she didn’t notice the metal ring positioned around her ankle. Snick. Her eyes flew open.
Hung leapt to his feet. “Up with you.” He rolled her onto her stomach. “On your knees, woman. Get to your feet.”
“What the fuck? No!”
“Suit yourself. I’ll chain you to the barn.” He stepped toward the structure, holding a sturdy, slender cable affixed to the cuff around her ankle.
“Hell, no! Get me up!”
“As you wish.” He grabbed her handcuffed arms.
“Ow!” she yelled.
He quickly released her.
She fell to the ground with a thud. “Ow!” she yelled again. “Are you trying to kill me?”
“I thought you were healed, woman!”
“I thought so, too.” Angry tears pricked her eyes as pain lanced through her shoulder. Damn vamp connection is wearing off. “Get me up.” She wiggled onto her back, glaring at him with rage-filled eyes. “Bastard.” She kicked, landing a solid blow on his chin.
“Fuck!” He winced. “I’m trying to take care of you.”
“I don’t want to be taken care of. I want to help. You should have seen me in town. I was like Neo in The Matrix.”
Hung gently guided her up to sitting. “I’ll bet you were,” he said soothingly. He crouched, put one hand behind her back, the other under her knees. “One, two, three.” With a grunt, he got to his feet, cradling her.
“I climbed the wall, just like Neo and Trinity. Ran right up it.” The tears spilled out her eyes. Humiliated, ashamed at being watched by her people as Hung trussed her up like a pig, she wanted to march into town, resign, and hide out at home for the rest of her days.
“I’m sure you did. You’re amazing,” he said, as he trudged toward the front door. “And you’re also injured. Badly. Probably worse than before, thanks to me believing you were healed.” He stepped onto the porch and maneuvered one of his hands to turn the doorknob.
“I am amazing, dammit.” The words came out in a whimper, pissing her off. Her shoulder throbbed. Stabs of pain shot through her scapula and down her spine. “Son of a bitch, this hurts.”
“I’m sure when you’re resting once more, and the adrenaline surge drops, the vampire juice will take over again. Your beautiful silver eyes are pretty dilated. Looks like you’ve got junkie eyes. You better not make a habit of this.” Hung trudged toward her bedroom. He kicked open the door and made a few short steps to her giant bed. He set her down and kissed the top of her head.
Chia didn’t know whether to like the kiss, or hate the kiss. “I despise you, you know that?”
“I’m used to it,” he said, making swift work of binding the slender filament to the corner of the bed.
“Think I can’t snap that slender cord?”
“You can try.” He proceeded to unlock her handcuffs. “It’s a titanium alloy used in aircrafts. It should keep you busy until I get back. If your shoulder pain lessens.”
“I’d punch you if my shoulder didn’t hurt so badly.” She glowered at him.
“I’d expect no less.” He slid her jacket from her arms, letting the palms of his hand sweep along her long-sleeved shirt. The heat radiated through the fabric, warming her. “Lie back.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
“Then don’t.” He plumped the pillows at the headboard, readying them, lest she change her mind. Then he lifted her legs onto the bed. He removed her gun from her holster, unloaded it, and placed it on the dresser. “Lest you get any ideas about neutering me. I like the equipment intact.”
She almost chuckled, but suppressed it, and lay back against the soft pillows. “I got my Smith and Wesson back.”
“Good for you.” Hung removed one of her ski boots, then the other, dropping them on the floor. They landed with a clunky clatter.
“Red planned on framing me with it.”
“I’m sure he did.” His strong hands massaged her socked feet.
She nearly gasped with joy.
“I hope to God the handcuffs didn’t cause more damage, but I suspect, if you really were practicing some Neo ninja moves, you managed to further injure your shoulder all by yourself.” He picked up a throw she kept at the end of the bed, unfolded it and shook it out, gently placing it over her. “You’ll have to show me your moves sometime.”
“You actually believe me?”
“Why wouldn’t I? I told you. You’re amazing.”
“You already said that.”
“And I’m saying it again.” He tucked the blanket around her body. “I’d better be going. The sooner we get this done, the better. The shifters will be happy. I’ll be happy. And your dog friend will be happy. We can all shift freely again.”
“The townspeople hate me.”
<
br /> “They’ll get over it. Public opinion can be quite fickle.” He turned and stepped toward the door.
“Wait!” Chia said.
Hung turned around. “What is it? Going to say thanks for taking care of you?”
Chia studied him. He almost looked hopeful, like he really did want to hear her say that. “What’s the real reason you’re acting like you believe me?”
His shoulders fell, as if resigned to her dismissal. “You honestly don’t know, do you?”
“Know what?”
“Your grandfather was one of the greatest magic men who ever lived in these parts. A true shaman. He understood the arts. The dark and the light. The interplay. He was a man who made The Matrix look like child’s play.”
“He what?” Her jaw dropped open.
“What I said. It skipped a generation. Missed your mom altogether. But I suspect you’ll keep the magic alive.”
“How can I do that? I didn’t really give much consideration to magic until lately. This is rather stunning news. I guess I’ve been too busy trying to make the world a safer place.”
“You’ll figure it out.” He turned, then paused. “Oh. Keep an eye out the window. You never know when you’ll be needed tonight.” He winked, spun on his heel and trudged from the room.
“What did you say?”
“You heard me.” Further down the hall, he lifted his hand in farewell.
She stared at his retreating back. Why can’t I accept his kindness? She glanced at her bound foot. “Well, he said he did it out of care, not machismo.” She sighed and settled back on the pillows. “Thank you,” she called, too late, as the front door snicked closed. “Sort of…”
19
Chia stared out the window at Hung, skiing toward the Haunted Bear glacier, no doubt using my skis and my friend to pull him. “I thought you were going to shift. No sir, you’re going to rely on my loyal friend, Cecil, and not take a chance at shifting. Bastard.” She glared at the picture of her grandparents hanging on the wall. “Why didn’t you tell me you practiced magic?” She shook her head. “I get it. You probably didn’t want my parents to know you talked to me about such stuff.”
Her parents, mostly her mother, often fought with her maternal grandparents. Her dad tried to say out of the fray by simply staying away. One conversation in particular had always stuck in her mind. They’d driven out to the old house for her mother to make her final goodbyes to Charming, Alaska.
“We’re not going to take part in your superstitious nonsense,” her mother shouted at her grandfather.
Her grandmother had tried to soothe her mom. “There, there, honey. You’re simply overwrought. It’s the endless darkness that’s getting to you.”
“No,” her mother had said, whirling to throw something in her open suitcase. “It’s not the endless darkness. It’s the endless superstitious conjecture. I believe in science. I believe in an evidence based reality.”
“There’s evidence everywhere to support the mystical world,” her grandfather pleaded. “Magic is nothing more than the understanding and manipulation of energy. How much more scientific can you get? It’s all about atoms, cell structures, and systems.”
“While waving around rattles and chanting in tongues? Wandering through forests with elk horns strapped to your head? Puh-lease. You’re nothing but an old fool, you know that? I’m taking Chia and we’re moving to New York to be with Mark. He’s got an apartment and a job, based in reality.”
She never had a chance to chat with her grandparents about that topic. After that, Chia found herself in New York, missing the wilds of Alaska and small town living. Charming ran through her soul. It pumped her passion, gave meaning to her life. She cajoled and argued, fought and rebelled until her parents let her move back to Alaska to “stay with her heathen grandparents.” She never regretted moving back. And the one time she asked her grandpa about magic, he’d replied cryptically.
“Magic is in the eyes of the beholder, sweetheart. Look. It’s all around us every day.”
She thought he was being vague and mystical. Maybe the guy had a point, she thought, eyeing the blips of energy she now knew as sprites. And as usual, Hung’s right—now that my earlier upset has worn off, vamp communion is a full on, mega-tripping color and light show again.
Her mental state now overtaking her physical state, she pushed aside the warm throw and slowly eased from her bed, careful to not move her body abruptly and set off the shoulder pain. Standing at the window, she gazed at the glowing wilderness.
In the distance, barely discernable through the weird energy shield of sleet, the Haunted Bear glacier appeared to have a gold waterfall of sparkling energy rolling down the valley. It spread across the frozen lake. Puffs of the golden-hued vibration billowed in the air. She puzzled for a moment. That must be the spell cast by the shamans. Why would they do such a thing? They live among the shifters and accept them. Many of them are shifters.
Her attention moved to her yard. The big, bright shapes of the Fae drifted above the shifters. Her ghosts had moved outside to be with them. Even the newbie ghost, the one she’d named He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, seemed interested in play. The other ghosts kept it from its quest, however, darting and dodging in front of it as it sought the swirling, pleasurable communion her counterparts were engaged in.
Chia found herself rooting for the recently hatched energy blip, silently cheering it on. “Come on, little ghost, find your passion.” She jerked, startled, when one of the Fae darted to the window. Hovering inches from her face, it seemed to be looking at her with aqua-green eyes of arousal. “Go away. Shoo.” She waved her hand at it, trying without success to not look at it with her own hungry, sex-starved eyes.
It leered at her. Its shimmering, rainbow hued, see-through arms moved along its sparkling, see-through body. It appeared to be a male, although she now knew they could be either sex at any time. As it stroked its body with slow, languorous touch, Chia felt her own heightened arousal. Not wanting to participate with a foreign, unknown creature, she staggered back against her bedpost, but the pressure of the wood poked her wounds. She shifted to the side to rest against the cushiony mattress.
The Fae made a gesture indicating she should open the window.
Chia shook her head back and forth, vigorously.
The Fae nodded his head up and down with equal exuberance.
Arousal and curiosity winning the moment, she took a few timid steps and pried open the sash. Cold air gushed into the warm space. “What do you want with…” She didn’t have a chance to finish her sentence.
The Fae sped into the room and wound itself around her like a thick, vibrating snake.
Completely flooded with sensation, she fell back against bedpost once more.
The fairy undulated around her. It felt like smooth, weighted silk. It cackled and cooed, uttering strange sounds and sensual murmurs.
Overwhelmed by this strange occurrence, she pushed at it, trying to get it off. Her hands simply slipped through the creature, causing it to burble with strange laughter.
It began vocalizing to her, but she didn’t understand it. “I…I don’t understand Fae or whatever it is you speak.”
It cocked its head, its beautiful face looking at her questioningly. It tried again, speaking in a different dialect or something.
Again, she shook her head.
“You,” it said, slowly enunciating.
The word vibrated and warbled in the air.
“That’s what I heard when I saw the dying elk,” Chia said, excitedly. “The same sound!”
“One.” It said, stroking her cheeks with translucent fingers.
“I’m the One?”
“One of the Ones.”
The words shimmered, reverberating against the walls.
“Come,” the fairy said.
Strong, invisible arms guided her toward the window, as far as the ankle cuff allowed. She stared, delighted, to see the Snowy owl circling near her open window.
<
br /> When it saw her, it flew high in the air and rocketed toward her window. Hung said to be wary, but this time she yielded. This time, she didn’t flinch. The impact, however, caused her body to stagger against the bed and fall, her torso supported by the mattress, one leg dangling over the edge, the other ensnared by the metal cuff at an awkward angle.
The fairy took advantage of her prone position, rubbing against her body like a huge, see-through cat.
The beautiful bird circled and sailed from the room taking her vamp connected mind high above the shifters, the dog pack, the Fae and the wee sprites, into the crisp, starry night, toward the glacier. Exhilarated, aroused by the fairy, she felt once more invincible, like pure energy, a goddess in her own right.
Marveling at the nightscape, they flew swiftly toward the cave. When they reached the energy barrier of sleet, she spied the prone form of Hung, mouth slack, laying deathly still. “Wait,” she conveyed to the owl’s mind. “We have to go back for him! He couldn’t get through the barrier as a human.”
The bird kept up its swift flight with Chia tethered to its mind.
“He’s going to die! He’s going to go into hypothermic shock and die!” The bird kept climbing the currents, swaying, soaring, and bobbing. It seemed to wrestle with the golden energy streaming from the cave. The owl persisted, deftly working the air as it sought its destination. Below, she spotted the brown and white husky, crawling up the mountain on trembling legs.
Whimpers, whines and yips could be heard from Cecil’s husky form as if he had to cheerlead himself.
“Come on, dawg-man, you can do it,” she wanted to yell to him, but since her mind was embedded inside the owl, speech proved impossible.
The dog lifted its head, and spied the owl. He gave several feeble wags before proceeding up the mountain, his legs shaking, his feet slipping on icy surfaces.
The three men left behind to guard the cave sat or stood near the opening, appearing bored, smoking, or toying with their guns.
“Did you hear something?” one of them asked.
