In the mirror she could see her mom standing behind her, looking very annoyed.
“I am,” Mya said in a tiny - child voice.
“Well hurry it up. Try to remember that we are guests here. We don’t want to be keeping Uncle Donny up all night.” Joan turned and left the bathroom.
Mya scrunched up her face, drawing her brows together. It’s not like she’d asked to come here and visit. There was no game system - no phone - no anything. She was even missing Jen’s sleepover party.
Baring her teeth, Mya began brushing each one of them meticulously, just like mommy had taught her. She didn’t want to have to go see the dentist. She’d heard horror stories about the dentist from her friends at school. Because she was so afraid of the dentist, Mya was always careful to brush every single tooth in her mouth. It was a small price to pay to keep that mean old dentist away.
When she was done brushing, she rinsed her mouth out with water a few times before picking up the brush. Her long blond hair was always difficult, but it was even more tangled after getting out of the shower. Running the brush through her wet hair was just too painful, so she spent a moment going through the surface of her hair before setting the brush down on the bathroom counter.
Mommy would be mad at her, but she probably wouldn’t notice until morning. At least she could avoid the torture until then. The secret to getting away with it until morning was to make sure she got into bed before her mom came back to check on her.
Mya ran into the guest bedroom at the back of the mobile home and jumped into the little rollaway bed that had been set out for her. Mom and Steve slept in a double bed that her uncle kept in the guest room.
She jumped into bed and quickly pulled a sheet over her. It was summer, and way too hot for blankets. Mya pretended to be asleep a few minutes later when mommy came to check on her. She had been pretending so well that she actually felt herself drifting off to sleep, but there was that strange noise. It sounded like a humming or the distant voices of singers chanting in some strange language.
Hours had gone by when Mya again opened her eyes. Mom and Steve were asleep and all of the lights were off. She could still hear the chanting, but now it was so much louder.
Where was it coming from?
There was an overwhelming urge to find out. She had to find out where it was coming from.
Careful not to wake anyone, Mya left the bed. She found her slippers where she’d left them on the floor. The long nightgown she was wearing was good enough to cover her. Putting on a robe would only make it too hot.
Mya tiptoed out of the bedroom, making her way in the dark to the front door. When she opened the door, she could hear the chanting even louder. It seemed to be coming from somewhere in the yard.
Holding tight to the rail, she slowly descended the porch stairs. Beneath the light of a full moon, Mya stood in the yard - listening. Now the chanting seemed further away - out in the desert.
Mya hesitated, glancing back at the door. If her parents woke up and found her gone, she would be in such deep trouble. They might even ground her for a whole year.
“Myaaa …” She weird voice vibrated through her head. But that couldn’t be right. You couldn’t hear something unless it was with your ears. It had to be coming from somewhere.
She started walking in the direction she thought the chanting was coming from. At first Mya only ventured a little ways from the house, but before she knew it, she could no longer see the shadowy outline of the mobile home.
Then they were there - the men with the painted faces. They would have looked like reapers, but instead of wearing black robes, they had on feathers and buckskin. Before she knew what happened, one of them swept her up and tucked her under his arm as he ran.
Mya’s shrieks tore through the night, but there was no one around to hear her. By the time they stopped, her throat was raw from screaming.
She was still under the man’s arm when he ducked into a hogan. Inside there was a small fire burning, making it easier to see. Mya was carelessly flung to the ground near the fire.
The heat was so intense that she felt it would burn her lungs if she breathed too much of it. They were poking at her with long sticks, spitting out words that she could not understand. Now she could hear drumming - the loud thumping was so close that she felt her body vibrating in time with the beat.
The skull men scattered to make room for someone else. The one that stepped forward was so much taller - so much larger than the rest. This one had no makeup on, but his features were so obscured by shadow that she could not tell what he looked like. She didn’t really need to see him to know that he was bad. The being emitted a darkness that was so putrid and evil that she found herself in the grip of utter terror. His eyes were completely black, like solid onyx with no whites visible at all.
Mya’s screams were ignored. The skull men began dancing around her as the being held out two large hands. He blew into them and a cloud of powder filled the air, coming to rest on Mya.
It felt as if her skin was on fire. Screeching, she began kicking at the thing that was standing over her.
“Mommy!” Mya screamed.
She heard it then, but she was too petrified for it to register at first. There was the sound of crashing and the snarling of an animal. As the growls and snarls grew louder, she became aware that something had changed. Mya’s eyes were those of a wild - trapped animal. She searched for the source of the noise and saw a gaping hole where there had been a wall just moments before.
There was screaming, but this time it wasn’t hers. The skull men were crying out in pain and there was so much blood. Before she could scramble to her feet and away from her captors, the wolf had a hold of her nightgown with its teeth and was dragging her out of the hogan.
The rough earth ripped at the flesh of her arms and legs as the animal dragged her through the sage. At first Mya was too dazed to fight off the animal, but as the pain of her raw and bleeding skin penetrated her terror, she began punching at the wolf.
They were about a hundred yards from the hogan when the wolf stopped and released her. Mya trembled, waiting for it to sink its teeth into her throat and tear her life from her, but it didn’t. The wolf sat on its haunches, staring at her with eyes that seemed to have captured the moonlight.
She slowly began to realize that the wolf was not a threat and her fear subsided. If she had been an adult, Mya might have questioned the timely appearance of the animal, and she might have wondered why it had saved her instead of eating her. But in her innocence, all that mattered was that he had rescued her from the monsters.
The wolf stood up and started moving away from her, but it had only gotten a few yards before it stopped and looked back. The animal seemed like it wanted her to follow. Mya stole a glance over her shoulder. She could still hear cries coming from the hogan, but they were not as intense now. Soon the men would recover and come after her. Maybe her only choice was to go with the wolf.
Mya got to her feet and slowly walked behind the wolf. They had gone a long way before the animal led her into a small rock shelter at the base of a cliff. It was a good thing that they stopped because she was just too exhausted to go on much longer.
With her legs trembling and weak, Mya could not stop herself from collapsing to the ground. The wolf was at her side - licking at her face. Her eyelids grew heavy. The last thing she remembered before falling asleep was the wolf lying across her; it’s warm fur shielding her from the night chill. During her long sleep she woke once. She searched for the wolf but it was gone. Now there was a boy there, and he was staring at her with the wolf’s eyes.
As the darkness began to fade, she found herself gazing into the fire. She was back in the medicine man’s hogan. Her eyes wide with disbelief, she looked over at Ren.
“That couldn’t have been a real memory. I know that it was David Bray that got me away from the skinwalkers. What I saw in that memory was a wolf.” Even as she spoke the words, the truth was crashing down all
around her. David and the Wolf were one in the same.
With a tip of his head, Ren confirmed what she remembered while under hypnosis. Suddenly David’s words came back to her. He had tried to tell her.
“It’s impossible,” Mya shook her head violently.
Ren spoke in a deep - soothing voice. “The Sinapu are wolf spirits. That is why the skinwalkers are not strong enough to go after them … that is why they need you.”
Mya still could not accept the truth that was right in front of her. “But how …”
Ren cocked his head to one side. “How is not for us to know. What I can tell you is that they are wolf spirits that can take the form of either man or wolf … except for the guardian priests.”
“What do you mean?”
The shaman stared at her warily, as if he were wondering how much she could be trusted. “I can’t tell you anymore than I already have. You know too much already.”
Frustrated, Mya turned away. “Now what?”
“You came to me and asked that I help you uncover the truth of what happened that night. You have that now. What you do with that information is up to you.” Rend told her.
Chapter Fifteen
Mya paced her kitchen floor. All morning she’d felt as if she were being torn in a dozen different directions. Part of her wanted to just crawl into bed and cover her head with blankets. She needed time to grieve the loss of her parents, but at the same time, she wanted revenge - for them and for Lucy.
The best revenge she could extract would be to leave the reservation and foil their plans for David, but she wanted more than that - she wanted to destroy them. Even if she left, it would only be a matter of time before they came up with another plan. No, leaving wasn’t the answer.
Then there was the fact that Jen was still missing. She’d gotten a voice mail from her that morning, but had still been unable to get her on the phone.
If that wasn’t enough, there was also her confusion about David, and her feelings for him. The thought of going away and never seeing him again left her feeling hollow inside. Maybe the reality of what he was hadn’t really sunk in yet, but she couldn’t deny what was in her heart. David had ignited a hunger within her that only he could satisfy. How could she just leave before she had exorcised him from her mind?
Mya stopped pacing and snatched up her mobile phone. Eying the phone in her hand, she nervously bit at her bottom lip. She had to talk to David, but she knew he might not be too happy with her after the way she’d left him.
Taking a deep breath, she dialed his number. It rang several times before she got his voicemail.
“David … I’m sorry about the other night, but I really need to talk to you. Please call me.” Mya hung up the phone with a heavy sigh.
She wasn’t even sure he’d get the message. As far as she knew, there was not even service where he lived.
Pushing her thoughts of David aside, she poured herself a fresh cup of coffee. There was still plenty to do. The funeral for her parents wouldn’t take place until the coroner was done with the autopsies, but they would be buried on the reservation, which was really their home. Several of their friends in Wyoming planned to attend.
Mya was just ready to dial the florist’s number and start the process of ordering flowers when she was alerted to a text message.
This surprised her. She never got text messages. It was from David’s number.
Meet me at the Mesa Verde ruins before sundown
Mya felt her throat tighten. Seeing him made her nervous enough, but to see him now that she knew what he was - well that was something else all together.
What was wrong with her? She was the one that had asked to see him!
* * *
The red - orange sky gave the ruins an almost mystical look. Mya was near the top of the trail and could see up close, the majestic cliffs that housed the dwellings of long ago Pueblo Indians. The ruins were massive, with over a hundred dwellings built into the cliffs. Amazed, she could not help but stare in awe at the beauty and complexity of the dwellings. They reminded her of ancient apartment buildings.
Finding David in there would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
She didn’t see his bike anywhere so she assumed he wasn’t there yet. Mya concluded that it would probably be best to wait for him outside the ruins. Though they were beautiful, she wasn’t anxious to go exploring them alone, especially this close to dark.
No one was there but her. This late in the day, all the tourists had vanished.
It was a walk, but she finally made it to the edge of the ruins. Mya was tempted to stick her head into one of the many doorways of the ruins to get a peek, but instead she sat on the outer edge of a large kiva to wait for David.
The minutes ticked by and she started to get nervous that he wouldn’t show, but then she heard movement in the brush surrounding the ruins. To her surprise, it wasn’t David that emerged from the sage, but his three friends.
“Well imagine finding you here!” It was the mean one that had blocked the road to the Sinapu village.
Mya’s senses were instantly on alert. “Where’s David?”
The mean one knelt beside her and lifted her chin so that she was staring into his eyes. “Oh I’m sure he’ll be along soon … but he won’t find you here.”
Mya jerked her head out of his grasp.
“Hmm … you’re a feisty little devil bitch,” he laughed.
“You’re all crazy!” she glared at him.
He smiled, but it didn’t warm his icy gaze. “You’ve been warned to leave. Now you’re giving us no choice but to get rid of you ourselves.”
Mya’s eyes search for Cole. When she was at David’s place she thought she’d detected some sympathy from the man, but right now he was looking away from her.
“Cole … can’t you talk some sense into your friends?” There was a pleading note to her voice.
He shook his head. “They’re right. If we let this continue, we will be inviting disaster.”
“Cole … what’s wrong with you man.” The mean one glowered at his companion. “We don’t need to explain anything to her.”
“I think we do Ayden. Maybe she just doesn’t understand what she’s doing,” Cole shot back.
“She knows,” Ayden hissed.
Grabbing Mya by her hair, Ayden pulled her to her feet. She clawed at him, scraping her nails across his face.
Growling, Ayden yanked her around to face him. “Now you are dead for sure … and I might not make it quick.”
“What’s going on here?” David had emerged from the path and now stood staring at them, his face a mask of rage.
Ayden released her so abruptly that Mya nearly fell before catching her balance.
“She has to die,” Ayden told him before adding. “You know it’s true.”
“If anyone’s dying today, it’s you,” David’s words were more like snarling barks.
Ayden took a couple of steps back. “This is exactly what they are trying to do. They want to turn us against each other. It’s all part of their plan.”
“Then why are you playing into it … why are you trying to betray me?” David’s words were soft and dangerous.
“I’m not the betrayer,” Aden glared at the other man through narrowed eyes. “You are the one betraying the people and your duty. You’re letting this Tchin'dih slut get to you.”
A roar tore from David’s throat and he threw back his head. His rage-filled eyes lit up with an unearthly light and the features of his face began twisting into something grotesque and inhuman. She could hear his bones cracking and popping as he slid into the wolf’s body.
In a blur of movement, his clothes ripped from his body and he crouched low to the ground - ready to leap on the other man. But Ayden was no longer a man either - he had turned.
Snarling, the wolf bared his teeth and flew at the animal that had been Ayden. With Mya’s screams echoing through the cliffs, she scrambled out of the way. She was almost not
fast enough. Mya felt the stir of air next to her as the two animals rolled around on the ground, both of them trying to sink their teeth into their rival’s throat.
Though the confrontation only lasted a moment, to Mya it seemed like hours. She heard one of the wolves yelp and saw that it was trying to crawl away. In the mass of confusion, she wasn’t sure which one had retreated, David or Ayden, but she wasn’t about to stick around and find out. No matter who was the victor, they could turn on her the instant they noticed she was still there.
Mya looked around frantically for an escape route. It was a long way back to her car - too long. There was no way she’d make it before being overrun. The dark corridors of the cliff dwellings beaconed to her. She could hide in there.
The wolves would easily track her scent, but there was no other choice. At least inside she’d have a better chance of avoiding them. If she tried to make it to her car, she would have to outrun them, and there was no way that would happen. She hadn’t gone very far when she heard one of the animal behind her, and gaining fast. Her lungs burned with exertion. Gasping, she tried to breathe in enough air to keep going, but she was failing. Soon she would drop, and then it would only be a matter of seconds before she felt fangs ripping at her throat.
The wolf pounced, knocking her to the ground. Though she struggled, she was not strong enough to throw the animal off of her. When she looked into the wolf’s eyes, she knew who had won. His shimmering silver eyes were wild with hunger, but there was something else in his eyes that Mya’s terror prevented her from seeing at first. Her struggles ceased as it dawned on her that he was aware of who she was, even in his current state.
As she watched he began to shift. He cried out in agony, as his muscles and bones twisted into the shape of a man. Mya lay beneath him - frozen in place.
Bad Moon Rising - Paranormal Romance Page 16
