by Sarah Makela
He towered over me at six foot three, with angry hazel eyes and dark brown hair that stood on end. A scowl creased his brow, and he opened his mouth as if to yell at whoever dared darken his doorstep. When his gaze lowered to me, he froze in place.
Shifters might not think much of nudity, but I doubted wizards were as used to it.
Ezra never could hide his arousal over my human form, so he’d always frowned upon me arriving at Kevin's doorstep naked. He never understood how natural and non-sexual this was for me. Granted, being around humans made it different. So we'd driven to Kevin's when we spent time with him. Now, I didn't really care about pleasantries. This was who I was. As a wizard, I knew he accepted that, even if it was a little out there.
Kevin's mouth dropped open, and he sputtered a few incoherent sounds, totally flummoxed for once. "I... uh... Hello, Morgana." He cleared his throat before stepping away from the doorway to let me in. "Um... Sorry it took a moment to answer the door."
The weight of his gaze descended on my backside as I walked past him, and I glanced over my shoulder to cut him a look.
"It's fine." I set the heavy golden ball on the one clear corner of his kitchen table. The rest of it was filled with pizza boxes and Chinese take-out containers. Before Ezra's passing, he’d been neat and organized to near anal-retentive levels, but from the mess and the dark bags under his eyes, I couldn't help but wonder if we were both still reeling from the loss in our own ways. "I have something I'd like you to take a look at."
He closed the distance between us, but his gaze remained forcibly fixed on my face as if he didn't trust himself not to check me out again. It was understandable. He wasn't used to me walking around like this. I wished I had a change of clothes so we wouldn't feel this uncomfortable around one another, especially since it had been a while since I'd last talked with him. The funeral...
My shoulders slumped forward. Thinking back to it made me want to curl into a ball. Stop it, Morgana...
Kevin laid his warm hand on my shoulder and frowned down at me. "You know, I'm here to talk if you ever need it. Not only about work, either." Pulling away, he walked to the couch and grabbed a flannel blanket from the back for me. "You can't keep closing yourself off from everyone." He stared down at the huge piece of pseudo-gold. "Some things are more precious than gold or treasure. Don't think you can't have what Ezra gave you again. Life's too short to spend it all alone."
My lips curled back in a snarl that would make any Wolf shifter proud. "Don't lecture me about that, Kevin. Not now." I wrapped the blanket around myself in a few quick, jerky motions. "You should know I'm all bad luck. No good can come from being with me." I stalked to the other side of the dining room, keeping my back to him for a few minutes while I regained some composure. "Just look at the stupid rock."
Kevin's scowl returned in full swing. "Look. I'm doing the best I can for you. You feel like you're cursed. I get it. But you're not. If you were, I'd be able to sense it." He slouched into a kitchen chair and pulled his glasses from the top of his head to the bridge of his nose to get a better look at the golden ball. He didn't need them to see. They were magnifying glasses for the worn-out ancient texts he liked digging through.
Grudgingly, I took a few steps closer. I knew I was being a little harsh when he only wanted to help, but I wouldn’t let him be next on my bad karma's hit list. That's why I'd gone to such lengths to separate myself from him, even if it hurt to turn my back on a friend who grieved just as deeply as I did. The fact that he'd told me to move on spoke greatly of his ability to put others before his own pain, but it didn’t look like he was exactly following his own advice. However, having his support made me feel like at least someone else in this world cared if I lived or died, something I hadn't really felt worthy of in the past few months.
"Where did you find this?" He gaped as he pushed his glasses back onto his head. "I haven't really seen anything quite like it before." His voice wavered a little as he spoke, but I thought that might be residual emotion from our conversation. "Let me take it down to my lab and crack it open. I need to get a better look at it. If you don't mind, that is." He shifted abruptly back to his normal laid-back self.
Before I could answer, he headed for his laboratory. The wooden steps leading to it were worn from heavy use, with scorch marks and chemical burns marring the last four. The once light-colored walls had seen better days, and sported hasty white patches easily visible to the naked eye in one corner. The air carried the familiar scent of bleach and ammonia, which I'd grown used to in his lair. Kevin leaned over the central table, muttering under his breath about the rock’s color details and making notes on a yellow legal pad.
"You definitely have something different here. See this pitting here on the surface?" He took off his glasses to hand to me, but I waved them away. "Gold plating would cover that." He strained a little when lifting it. "Hmm... Weight is off too. Where did you find this?" he asked, his voice holding echoes of awe. His gaze remained glued to the golden rock in his hand.
With the clearing weighed down by a heavy blanket of magic, I didn't give him too many details. The less he knew, the less chance there was of him getting hurt. I'd lost enough friends and family already. "In the forest. I accidentally dropped it a few times on my way here. Any idea what it is?" I said, hoping he wouldn’t ask for more specifics on where I'd found it.
"None whatsoever. One thing I do know is it's not natural, but it’s not man-made, either. A few of my high-level clients might have an idea of what it takes to do something like this. Don't hold your breath, though." Kevin set the golden orb onto a copper plate close to his workbench. With a few careful moves, he brought the copper plate beneath his high-powered magnifying glass to get a better look.
While he examined the surface of the rock, I shifted my gaze to take in the basement. Various instruments and glass vials neatly lined one desk. What looked like a cabinet filled with chemicals took up an entire wall toward the back. Some containers looked harmless, while others contained eerie fluids that changed color every few seconds. A broken glass beaker lay on one counter, with watery orange liquid spreading across it. I kept my distance from that one. It seemed that whatever I’d interrupted had taken all of his attention. Tendrils of pent-up energy flowed from the liquid, as if searching for a vessel. Thankfully it didn't have much reach, or I'd be waiting upstairs. I made a mental note to keep away from that area, and to be more patient when knocking next time.
I turned my head to assess the rest of the room. Under the fluorescent lights, the place had a relatively normal feel. ‘Here lives Kevin the Nerd, not Kevin the Wizard,’ it seemed to say. The other workbench broke that illusion. It had a ring of concentric circles drawn underneath it, which glowed softly with a power of their own. No one could mistake the contents of that section as anything you could buy from a hardware store. Books and other paraphernalia sat on the corner desk. Next to it, the entire wall had an extended wood and steel bookshelf filled with various research books, some of which seemed oddly out of place, like a section on Japanese folklore next to his collection of Stephen King novels.
A cough drew my attention back to Kevin, and I made my way over to him as he completed his cursory examination.
"There's some serious magic around this thing," he said finally, and looked up at me. "I need more time with it to give you anything substantial. Can I keep it here for now?"
I nodded, having little use for the golden rock. None of my clients were likely to want it. Besides, I trusted Kevin not to 'misplace' it while investigating further. "No problem. Let me know when you find something. Be careful. One doesn't just find gold lying around like that."
Nodding, he led the way back upstairs. I followed close behind him, my raven eager to get back to the open air outside. When we reached the living room, I folded up the blanket as I watched him. "I mean it. I don't want to find out you did something stupid."
"Don't worry about me. I'll get back to you on what I learn about that aberr
ational beauty." Kevin took the blanket back, then frowned. "You know, he wouldn't want you to mourn him like this. He'd want you to move on. Get out of the house. Live a little."
I opened my mouth to rebut his statement, since I'd known Ezra better than him, but he closed the door in my face, leaving me standing on his doorstep with the cool night air tickling my bare flesh. Drawing in a shaky breath, I turned around and leaned my head back against the door. Trees lined his property to give some privacy, and I stared out into them as I brought myself back under control before the flight home.
The last thing I needed was to lose my concentration mid-flight and fall to my death.
Ugh... Why did I have to think that?
Chapter Four
Cody
My coyote loved being out in the forest like this, but I knew he wanted to be running wild, not stalking these humans as they carefully hiked through the rough landscape. Getting out of the library had been a good idea, even if I might regret it tomorrow during my quizzes. Besides, if I sated the beast, he might be better behaved when we were done here.
Right. Who was I kidding?
So far, I hadn't sensed anything too unusual. The town had a plethora of shifters and wizards. Just recognizing that magic had recently taken place in a given area wasn't strange, the way the frat guy had suggested. This very well could be a bust, but I was already here. Might as well see this to completion before calling it a waste of my time.
While I might be willing to give up on my hunch, my grandmother had recently sensed some peculiar energy that disturbed her. She deserved to know what was going on if I did find something important.
"God, Donnie, how much farther? You said it would be just a quick stroll." The girl smacked Donnie's arm as he tried to wrap it around her waist. "If we don't come across this place soon, I'm going back. I will so not be killed in the woods by some crazy axe murderer because you wanted to get in my pants."
"Babe, don't get all mental. If I wanted to get in your pants that bad, we could've just done the deed in my dorm room. Seriously, my buddies wouldn't lie about this sort of thing. Rex knows if they did, I'd beat him up." He dropped his arms to his sides, but shot her an annoyed glare. "Just let me hold you, Mary. Your skin is freezing, since you stubbornly didn't bring a jacket. You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
Mary lifted her chin up in defiance. "Maybe." But she leaned into him as they walked, as if satisfied with Donnie's answer. She wrapped her arms over her stomach as he replaced his arm around her waist. "But you did say it wouldn't take that long to check this out."
"Yeah, sorry." He sighed, but the sound cut off with a rapid intake of air. "Holy shit!"
My ears perked up, and I darted forward to get a better look at whatever had startled Donnie. I froze in place when I saw it, and my eyes went wide. We'd definitely found the magical disturbance, and I knew without a doubt that it was from my family's artifact. A snarl formed in my throat, but I cut it off before it built into a full-fledged growl. The humans didn't need any more scares.
Ahead of me, the scene was one of beauty and destruction. Short, flowing strands of gold and silver hung on the branches of the few trees that still stood upright. Small rocks and boulders alike had been pulled from the earth and driven through the tree trunks. The torn ground made their paths easy to trace. Threads of pine needles and long grass sparkled along the trees like Christmas decorations. No wildlife dared hang around to see the sight. The scent of magic overpowered the atmosphere, making my limbs feel like I was slogging through deep mud. To my nose, it smelled like tangy copper mixed with lavender. Strong tribal magic had been used here.
"Donnie... For once, I think we might have a chance." Mary spoke the words with awe. My coyote snarled again and bared his fangs, wanting them to show respect for the destruction that had happened here. The trickster part of me thought to spoil their romantic evening, but they weren't worth it. With a small huff, I pushed the thoughts aside and sniffed along the forest floor, hoping to find traces of who might've done this.
The cool, moist earth underneath my paws reinvigorated me as I put distance between myself and the disaster. How long had I walked in shoes on concrete and asphalt anyway? I let my coyote lead me for a moment, reveling in the joy of being out in the wild again. Here and there were signs of squirrels and other curious creatures, but their tracks grew more confused and fearful the closer they came to the new clearing. The strong scent of deer urine painted a picture of what it must've been like to witness the surprising destruction.
I circled around the bushes, letting the smells clear from my nose. The more I walked, the more evident it became how powerful the force behind the magic must have been. Older, rotting trees had fallen over outside of the initial blast radius, and small pebbles stripped the bark from trees as far as my eyes could see into the forest.
The humans had moved to one side of the new clearing for their rutting, and I was finally alone to check out the scene for myself.
Precious metals were spread along the trees and the ground from the center of destruction outward. Strands of grass showed just how much power had been unleashed. A small fragment of gold had been torn into an extended string. The length of it was hot enough to burn a small batch of the grass underneath it. Silver threads pierced through an overhead branch, hanging limp like an odd strain of parasitic moss.
After tracking the scents in the area, I finally found magical ground zero, where the wizard had likely stood. The strong aroma of magic covered most of his identifying scents, but I caught a few details that might be useful. For one, he wore thick, insulated boots. The new smell of rubber made my coyote sneeze. The scent of unfiltered tobacco and wood spoke of a Native American pipe, like the one my grandmother smoked, but this one was newly crafted. As if someone had tried to placate the spirits of the talisman. But why the insulated boots?
The scene built a raw sense of fear in me. This looked like a patch of forest after a tornado. Whoever had used the talisman knew that he might be unable to control it, even by smoking the ceremonial pipe to appease the spirits. That unnerved me. Someone was playing around with a lot of magic, my people's power, without a care for whom or what would get hurt. But it did explain the isolated area. No witnesses, no property close by that might be damaged, and most importantly, he had time and privacy to prepare for the ceremony.
Anger flared inside me, and this time I let my snarl build into a growl. Deeper into the woods, a wolf wisely decided to take a detour around the new clearing. My coyote was as big as he was, but he probably knew from my scent that I wasn't what I seemed. The sound of the humans walking back to the clearing after their pleasure was finished set me off running. I dug my paws into the forest floor to pick up the speed.
Someone had found the talisman. My grandmother had been right. It wasn't destroyed. But it had fallen into hands of someone who knew enough to use it, yet lacked the wisdom not to.
My people knew that what you put out there always came back with a vengeance.
Chapter Five
Morgana
After last night's crazy discovery, I'd soaked in my garden tub for hours to relieve my sore muscles. But that didn't stop my raven from wanting to go for our typical early-evening flight over the forest. It was our version of exercise, more effective than jogging or push-ups.
We started our descent toward home as Nightmoon Creek came into view. I dove a little lower to the ground, but no one appeared to be nearby. I lightly touched down on my rooftop, taking a moment to shed my raven form. Sighing, I glanced between the creek and the forest with its colorful autumn leaves. The sight was absolutely breathtaking. If I hadn't been naked, I would've sat up there for hours.
I lived out in the sticks because I didn't like being too near other people. My instincts screamed at me to keep my distance and let no one close enough to hurt me when they eventually left—either because they found out just how messed up I was, or worse, because those around me had a bad habit of dying. I'd lost so m
any loved ones already, and I was barely twenty-one years old.
My childhood was littered with death and betrayal, and I'd been bounced around from one foster home to another. Regardless of what Kevin said, at times I did feel cursed, as if my hardships weren't just bad luck. Was I the cause of all the pain? Being a shifter made me so different from everyone else that I didn't doubt it.
I hopped down from the roof and softly landed on my feet in the grass. The cool evening breeze sent shivers over my naked skin. I wasn't expecting any company, and the tree line on my property was designed with privacy in mind. No one could stumble upon my yard and see me like this, so I hadn't planned any clothes drops for quick dressing. The forecast had called for rain. Even though it hadn’t come, I kept my clothes inside. A little water on my feathers or skin wouldn't hurt.
I rounded the corner of the house only to see a man knocking on my front door. I froze in place like a deer in headlights, blinking in surprise. How had I not noticed him when I was coming in to land? I'd scanned my surroundings, as I always did.
He turned toward me, and my legs kicked into high gear, propelling me back around the corner, out of sight. Modesty wasn't an issue, but I didn't flaunt my nudity when I had no idea who the person was or why they were here. It could be a human, or someone looking to hire me for a job. Granted, the latter was less likely, since I hadn't told anyone in town what I did, and none of my clients knew where I lived. This was supposed to be my sanctuary. The little piece of paradise I had in the world, aside from the sky.
"Sorry, miss. Didn't mean to come by unannounced, but I heard you could probably help me. Something of mine has been...lost. I need it found." He let out a sharp hiss of a sigh, but even though he came a little closer, he didn't turn the corner to face me.
I leaned against the building, closing my eyes for a brief moment. Damn it. This intrusion on my home turf bothered me. How had this man found me? I should probably listen to him and see what he wanted, although I really hated that he'd broken my place of refuge. But I'd have plenty of time to rage about that later. First, I needed to find something to cover up with if I was going to talk with him. Money wasn't good for me right now, and I aimed to be professional with potential clients. No matter what.
