The Alchemy of Desire

by Crista McHugh

  The reality of her situation closed in around her. Why couldn’t he just trust her to take care of herself? She had gotten along just fine without him for the last twenty-six years. He didn’t need to be roaming around by himself, calling her name and giving away their position to Hinkle.

  She crept away from him so she could shift back to a human and convince him to return to the camp. She was so busy watching him that she didn’t see the brambles to her side. One of the thorns pierced her paw and she yelped.

  He spun around and aimed the rifle at her.

  She cringed and waited for the sting of the bullet. But none came. She opened her eyes and saw him staring at her. Her pulse raced. Could he see her for what she was?

  Neither one of them moved for several agonizing seconds. Then Diah lowered the rifle and approached. She backed away, putting pressure on her injured paw without realizing it. The thorn buried itself further in the pad. She yelped again and took her gaze off him to dig it out with her teeth.

  “Are you hurt?” He came closer and knelt in front of her.

  She snarled at him and he jerked away. If he touched her, she was terrified she would turn back into a human and curl up next to him. She waited until he gave her enough space before she resumed the thorn removal. Even after she pried it out, the area around the puncture still throbbed, and she limped away.

  She felt his eyes on her until she was out of his sight.

  The farther she got, the less it hurt, and she circled her way back to the camp. Under the concealment of night, she regretfully shifted back into her human form. Time to deal with more of her uncertainties. Time to face Diah and decide what she should do with him.

  Fear squeezed Diah’s heart like a vise. He’d been searching for Oni for an hour but found no trace of her. She’d run away as soon as they stopped. She hadn’t bothered to tell either of them what she was doing or where she was going. He knew he shouldn’t continue to harbor suspicions, especially after seeing what Hinkle had done to her yesterday. But the feeling that she was hiding something continued to gnaw away at the edge of his mind.

  What if this was all a ruse to get him to go hunt for her so she could be alone with his brother? After all, there were things about her only another Wielder could understand and he knew Cager well enough to know he’d take advantage of that.

  Bitterness filled his mouth and he ran back to the camp as fast as his legs could carry him. As the light from the fire grew brighter, he could see two shadows standing in front of it. Only a few inches separated them, and the taller of the two held the other’s shoulders, almost like an embrace. The wind muffled their voices, but he could tell they were in the middle of a conversation. He slowed down so he could sneak up on them and catch them together.

  “Cager, don’t tell me what to do. I’m my own woman and I belong to no one.”

  “Oni, it doesn’t make sense for you to be out there by yourself.”

  One of the horses whinnied and she ended the conversation with a slash of her hand. Her amber eyes searched the darkness, glowing like an animal’s for a brief second as the light hit them at the right angle. “There’s someone out there.”

  Cager drew his wand and pushed her behind him to shield her from the unseen attacker. “We know you’re there, so come out and stop hiding.”

  Damn it. So much for confirming his suspicions. But he had been right that she’d returned to the camp and had been alone with his brother. “It’s just me.”

  Cager lowered the wand. “Don’t sneak up on us like that, little brother.”

  “Maybe I wanted to.” The heat of his anger rolled off of him. “Sorry to interrupt you two. I’m glad you found her.”

  “She actually wandered back here about ten minutes ago. I was trying to tell her it would be stupid for her to go back out there and look for you.”

  “Yes, I could see you wanted to keep her here with you.”

  Cager frowned. “What has gotten into you?”

  He sat by the fire and kept silent, his eyes focused on the dancing flames.

  “Diah, why are you acting this way?” Oni’s steps were slow and cautious, much like how he’d approached that injured coyote earlier tonight. Perhaps he should growl at her so she would stay away from him.

  “Just let me rest, Oni. I’ve just spent over an hour out there in the cold dark searching for you because you decided to run off once again without telling us where you were going.”

  She sank to her knees in a graceful motion and tucked her skirt under her legs. “Sometimes I need to be alone to sort things out.”

  “Well, maybe you should remember that we have people hunting us, and the last time you went somewhere without us, you got yourself captured and tortured. Maybe we won’t be able to save you next time.”

  Some of the color drained from her face, and a mask of fear covered her features. Damn, he didn’t mean to remind her of that. Why did he always go about things the wrong way, especially when it came to women?

  “That’s what I was trying to tell her,” Cager added from across the fire.

  “I’m sorry if I’m causing you any trouble,” she said in a flat voice.

  “Just let him simmer, Oni. You’ll be done with him and his foul temper soon enough.”

  “Shut up, Cager,” he said, but it was too late. She’d already retreated to a spot halfway between them and wrapped the buffalo hide around her. Damn, he forgot he had to share it with her. He looked across at his brother. No, he wasn’t desperate enough to cuddle with him. He would have to apologize to her, but not just yet.

  No one said anything else, which suited him fine. He didn’t want to listen to their small talk. Cager was right—she’d be free of them soon enough and he’d be free of her. It would take a while to get her out of his system, but he could do it. His eyes slid to her. There was nothing particularly special about her, right?

  Cager lay down, but she watched him with her glittering eyes, sitting perfectly still like some animal hiding in the bushes, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. A snort followed by a moan told him his brother was asleep. And then she spoke.

  “Aren’t you cold?”

  “No,” he lied, and a shivered rippled down his spine to betray him.

  “Are you really this stubborn?” She held out one end of the hide to him.

  He was either going to freeze or have to sit next to her. He wondered if he could continue his alchemy with stubs left for fingers, because he was courting frostbite. “I’m just trying to keep my head clear.”

  “Why do you think I’d suddenly fall for Cager?”

  Damn it, he hated how she could read him like a book. No wonder she knew how to get under his skin and slowly drive him insane. “He’s a Wielder, like you.”

  “So? He’s not you.” The wind blew through the camp, fanning the fire and bringing a chill to their skins. She withdrew her offer of the hide to protect herself from the dropping temperatures.

  “Is this some kind of trick, Oni? Something to tease me with so you two can have a good laugh behind my back later?”

  Her bottom lip protruded. “I see you’re going to continue to believe what you will.” She wrapped the hide closer around her. “Should I tell you a story?”

  “I don’t care.”

  “There was a white man who was such a sharp trader that nobody ever got the better of him. Or so people said, until one day a Lakota man told the wasichu, ‘There’s somebody who can out-cheat you anytime, anywhere.’

  “‘That’s not possible,’ said the wasichu. But the Lakota man insisted that Coyote could beat him in any deal. The wasichu trader went over to Coyote and challenged him.

  “‘I’m sorry,’ said Coyote, ‘I’d like to help you out, but I can’t do it without my cheating medicine.’

  “The wasichu told him to get the cheating medicine, but Coyote replied, ‘I live miles from here and I’m on foot. But if you’d lend me your fastest horse, I can be back within the hour.’

  “When t
he wasichu agreed to lend him his fastest horse, Coyote added, ‘I’m a poor rider. Your horse is afraid of me and I’m afraid of him. Lend me your clothes. Then your horse will think that I am you.’

  “The wasichu, so confident that he could beat Coyote, gave him the clothes off his back and ordered him to go fetch the cheating medicine. So Coyote rode off with the wasichu’s fastest horse and his fine clothes, while the wasichu stood there bare-assed in the middle of the trading post.”

  Diah fought back a laugh. “What is it with you and coyotes?”

  “Coyote is the Great Trickster.”

  “Is there a reason you decided to share this story with me? Are you trying to trick me?”

  “No, I wanted to warn you that you can be easily deceived by your pride, Diah. I thought you were smarter than to play the fool.”

  She lay down and turned her back to him.

  Chapter Twenty

  Sometime during the night Diah’s arm had found its way around her waist, and her back rested against his warm chest. Damn, why did it have to feel so good to lie next to him? Why couldn’t she be repulsed by his touch? It would make it easier to maintain a professional relationship and get on with her life after she collected her money. Maybe he was the coyote and she was the wasichu from the story she shared with him last night. Would she end up alone and naked when he was done with her?

  He nuzzled her hair, and his arm squeezed her closer. A series of electric shocks set her skin on fire, and she longed to roll over and let his lips claim hers. Stars above, she’d never wanted a man like this before. It bordered on obsession. An unhealthy one, like being too fond of drink. It felt good while it lasted, but in the morning she’d be left with a raging hangover.

  Time to kill the habit before it got out of hand. Her body protested as she pried his arm off her, but she managed to free her body from his. The morning air made her want to scamper back under the blanket and cling to him to stop the shivers that racked her body. But she was stronger than that. If she stoked the fire, she’d be warm again soon.

  The coffee was simmering in the pot by the time the brothers stirred. Cager yawned and stretched. “Oni, give me a cup of that.”

  “Get it yourself.”

  Diah snickered.

  She packed the sleeping gear while they drank coffee. The movement chased the chill away from her bones and, when it was time to go, she was feeling warm enough not to need him anymore.

  An hour into their ride Cager asked, “Where are we going now?”

  “The Paha Sapa.”

  “In English, please.”

  “The Black Hills. They are sacred to my people and that is where we’ll most likely find the White Buffalo.”

  “How far away are they?”

  She searched the sky and the horizon. “Five days, I think.”

  “So we’ll get there in time to get it?”

  Cager’s single-minded objective irked her. “You hired me as a guide and I’ll take you to where you’re most likely to find it, but the Paha Sapa are vast, and there are many hiding places for the White Buffalo.”

  “I’m just anxious to have a roof over my head soon.”

  “I’ll second that,” Diah said.

  Stupid white men. Did they think she enjoyed having to huddle next to one of them for warmth every night? “Well, if you’d been smart enough to buy a tent, you’d have something over your head. Did you expect there to be a string of hotels out here for your comfort?”

  “We had a tent, but someone left it on the Big Sky Belle.”

  Diah ignored his brother’s accusations. “I kind of like not having a tent. I mean, it’s harsh weather, but it’s rather pretty out here in a way.”

  He gazed at the hills with a look of awe. The sun hit them so the layers of rock sparkled. She’d almost forgotten how beautiful it could be here. “It’s pretty as long as you’re near water and not buried under four feet of snow.”

  She made them ride until darkness hindered their vision and they were thoroughly exhausted. No one argued and the evening passed in silence. When she lay down next to Diah, he merely wrapped the buffalo hide around them and fell asleep within minutes.

  The next day, she pushed them farther west, hugging the South Fork of the Grand River. Her plan was to follow it almost to its source and then turn south. It would take them longer to get to the Black Hills, but it would be easier on their horses in the end.

  At midday she spotted a dark object to the east. It hovered on the horizon like an enormous bird. At first, she thought nothing of it and continued along her planned route. But an hour later, it had grown larger.

  “Diah, Cager, what do you make of that?”

  They both squinted at it. “It’s too far away to be sure, but it almost looks like an airship,” Diah replied.

  “You’re the one with the interest in machines.” Cager pulled out a shiny brass rifle scope from his pack and handed it to his brother. “Take a peek and tell me what you think.”

  Diah studied the object, adjusting the lenses to get a better view, and frowned. “Oni, you said something about O’Kerry having an airship, right?”

  “Yes. It looked like a train car with a balloon over it.”

  He gave her the scope. “Is that it?”

  She focused the scope on the object. The same train-car-looking bottom with red smoke pouring out of the exhaust pipe. Damn it! If they weren’t running from Hinkle, they were being chased by O’Kerry. She nodded and returned the scope.

  “Shit,” Cager hissed.

  Diah peered through the scope once again. “They’re gaining on us.” He turned to her. “What do you suggest we do?”

  Oni frowned. She would have preferred being near the river and the relatively flat terrain that bordered it, but that would also make them easier to spot. “Go into the hills, hide there until they pass.”

  “Sounds good to me. Cager?”

  Cager ran his fingers through his hair. “I suppose it’s the best we can do for now. I mean, what choice do we have? We’re out here in the middle of this open wasteland. If they haven’t spotted us already, they soon will.”

  “This way.” She urged her horse south and the men followed.

  As they rode between the rounded domes, she lost sight of the airship. The tension eased out of her shoulders and she noticed the calm slowly return to their faces.

  “Who is this Lamont fellow, what did you do to piss him off and why is this O’Kerry fellow chasing after us?”

  Diah cleared his throat. “I’m going to let Cager explain this one.”

  Cager stared at the ground. “You don’t need to know.”

  “Before I have the choler spell used on me again, I’d like to know how all this started.”

  The color rose in Cager’s cheeks, as if he actually felt some guilt over her recent torture. Good. Maybe that would convince him to give her some answers.

  “During the war, I told Lamont I’d find something for him and I got sidetracked. Unfortunately, he paid me in advance and he hasn’t forgotten that.”

  Diah yanked on the reins of his horse, stopping in front of his brother. “You never told me you took money from that snake.”

  “I didn’t think it was any of your business.”

  “So that explains why you were in his company that night in New Orleans. You were worried he’d extract payment from you some other way.”

  “Diah, I took the job because he threatened our family, not because I felt like I owed him anything.”

  Oni snickered. “It sounds like you keep some interesting company, Cager. So why do you think O’Kerry hired Hinkle to stop you?”

  Cager snorted. “O’Kerry runs Chicago like Lamont runs New Orleans. Both of them want the Wielders to regain power. Unfortunately, they both want to be Head Wielder, and neither one wants to share his power.” His expression darkened with worry. “Lamont wants that hide before the solstice.”

  “Why?” Images of unnatural rituals filled Oni’s mind, everything
from raising the dead to plunging the world in darkness, and gooseflesh puckered her skin.

  “I have no clue what he plans to do with it, but I’m guessing something underhanded.”

  “He’s a Wielder, right? Then think like one. The solstice is the shortest day. The White Buffalo is said to embody the powers of creation and life according to my people. What if he wants to use it for some other purposes? A ritual, perhaps? But if he wants to cast it on the winter solstice, I have this gut feeling that its purpose is more dark than light.”

  Diah’s hands tightened around the reins until his knuckles blanched. “Dear God, Cager, what have we agreed to do?”

  “Lamont’s not that good a caster,” he said, but his voice gave away his fear.

  “But what if he does something evil with it? What if he tries to take over the country or assassinate the president?”

  “Diah, you’re being ridiculous. Lamont is too high profile a figure not to have the government watching his every move. O’Kerry too.”

  “And yet O’Kerry’s successfully corrupted an army colonel into working for him.” She shuddered. This had more far-reaching consequences than just finding a legendary beast. “And now he’s trying to find us in his airship.”

  “Well, at least he’s off our trail now.”

  Something whistled in the wind and a black object flew toward them. “Run!” She kicked her horse into a gallop.

  The ground shook when the object exploded on impact just a few feet from where they’d been. The horses, already running at breakneck speeds, reared from the noise.

  “What the hell?” Cager struggled to regain control of his horse.

  “A cannonball,” Diah said. “Move!”

  She heard the rumble of thunder, but there were no clouds in the sky overhead. Then a piercing whistle followed another blast at their heels. A plume of smoke wafted in the breeze from the car of the airship as it appeared over the hilltop behind them. She pulled her horse to the right. “This way.”

  Maybe if she could keep a hill between them and the cannons, they could escape into a better hiding place.

  Despite her best efforts, the cannonballs found them. And each time they came closer and closer. Esnella foamed at the mouth and began to slow down. She couldn’t keep pushing her at this pace. And still the ship crept up on them like a wolf from above.