“You realize I looked like a fool last night in front of my friend. No tree, no fairy.”
Ah, the male pride was injured. “But if he’s truly your friend, that shouldn’t matter.”
He whirled around. “It matters. Where I come from, friendships and family are the foundation of who you are. We are loyal to each other. We are nothing without one another.”
April regarded his impassioned face. Chulah was what mattered to her. Exactly as he was. Unencumbered by his needy stepmother and half siblings and his fellow shadow hunters. You are important for just being you, she wanted to say. But that would only anger him. And possibly alienate him.
She couldn’t bear that. To lose all hope of his returning her love would break her heart. And it would destroy any chance of recruiting his assistance to the Fae cause. It was still important to her that she restore her family’s name in fairy. Not for her mother, but to prove to her kind that she was loyal and honorable. That halflings shouldn’t be viewed as inferior species. She needed to prove all that to herself as well.
“I understand about loyalty,” she assured Chulah. “It’s huge in the Fae realm. Maybe even more important than it is for you.”
He crossed his arms. “Impossible. The shadow hunters have to trust their brothers in battle. If we don’t, we risk being overcome by evil. Which not only would mean our death and eternal entrapment by a wisp, but it would also be disastrous for all humans should the shadow spirits gain enough power to escape Bayou La Siryna.”
“And it’s extinction for all us fairies if Hoklonote and his spirit shadows aren’t restrained,” she countered. “We have as much to lose as you do.”
His mouth set in a determined line. “How are the Fae threatened by Hoklonote?”
“The shadow spirits want to capture the Fae and trap them in will-o’-the-wisps. They need new, stronger souls to mount a campaign to free Nalusa.” She drew a shaky breath. “They’ll start with us, and then they’ll come after you.”
A chilling silence settled between them.
“And if they defeat me and the other shadow hunters, they’ll begin to prey on other people. Helpless humans with no power to resist.” Chulah dropped into the chair across from her and leaned forward. “It’s been so quiet, so peaceful. Why is all this starting now?”
“You think I have something to do with this,” she said slowly, remembering his words to Tombi last night. “That I’ve brought danger to you.”
He said nothing, continuing to gaze at her intensely.
“Why would I do that?” April pleaded. “We haven’t risked revealing ourselves to a human without good reason.”
“Maybe you’re, voluntarily or involuntarily, in league with Hoklonote. Maybe you’ll lead us to him, all right—right into a trap.”
“We mean no harm. Why can’t you believe me?”
“A year ago, I might have. But after discovering a betrayer in our own inner circle of shadow hunters last year, I’m a little short on trust these days.”
“Hanan,” she said with a nod.
Chulah shook his head, evidently bemused. “A bit disconcerting that you know everything about us, and yet we know nothing of you.”
She didn’t volunteer any Fae information.
Chulah sighed. “Then you also know that because of Hanan, almost all of us were captured and destroyed by Nalusa Falaya.”
As if she and other Fae hadn’t helped the shadow hunters in their battles. Chulah wouldn’t believe her if she told him, though.
A loud knock at the door interrupted the tense air between them. Without waiting for an invitation, Tombi entered the cabin with an exotic woman at his side carrying a small cooler. “Anybody home? We brought you...”
They both came to a sudden halt and stared at her.
“You must be April,” the woman said, walking to her with a warm smile.
She stood and nervously straightened her skirt. “And you must be Annie.” The healer who was not a witch. The one Chulah was so quick to defend.
The uplifting scent of citrus grounded with a mysterious musk undertone enveloped April as Annie gave her a quick hug. A tiny shock pulsed from the woman’s abdomen into her own as they made contact. Not the electrical chemistry she and Chulah shared, but an energetic pulse of a tiny life form.
She was pregnant.
Annie gave a Mona Lisa smile and slightly nodded her head. “No one else knows yet,” she whispered. “Not even Tombi.”
“What’s that? Did I hear my name?” Tombi asked, frowning their way.
“Not everything is about you, dear,” Annie admonished. She unzipped the small cooler and withdrew a tumbler filled with bottles of green sludge. “For you,” she said, extending the drink toward Chulah.
He reluctantly accepted. “Right. Thanks. I’ll put it in the fridge and drink it later.”
“You’ll drink it now,” Annie insisted in a surprisingly firm voice.
“Man up and take your medicine,” Tombi said, his face softening as he looked at his wife. “You know she means business.”
Chulah accepted the drink and glugged it down stoically. When finished, his mouth pursed, but he didn’t utter a single complaint. “Thank you,” he murmured.
However begrudgingly Chulah uttered his thanks, it was more than she’d received this morning for helping him over the worst of the owl gashes. Their talons held poison and would have felled anyone but a shadow hunter.
Annie placed the tumbler back in the cooler. “That should help dispel any lingering Ishkitini poison in your system, but you are doing much better this morning, more than I dared hope.” She shot a quick sideways glance at April.
Chulah’s face flushed. “I have April to thank for that. Should have said that sooner,” he added, flicking her a chagrined glance.
She glowed from the faint praise. “My pleasure. I would have come earlier but—”
“And maybe you have this woman to thank for the attacks,” Tombi cut in. “We might not have gotten sick if not for her instigating an encounter.”
And so the inquisition had begun. She’d run over to Chulah’s cabin to explain herself without others around, but now she had to face a group confrontation anyway. Worse, there was no Steven by her side to help answer their questions without giving away too much information. It was a fine line she danced between saving her kind and being an instrument in their destruction.
“I had nothing to do with the attacks,” she insisted quietly.
“And why should we trust you?” Tombi asked. His eyes were as harsh as the sharp angles of his face and jaw.
Annie placed a hand on her husband’s arm. “Why don’t we sit down for this discussion?” she said in a pleasant voice, taking the edge off of Tombi’s hostility.
“Good idea.” Chulah took April’s arm and led her back to the sofa.
She wasn’t sure if he meant the gesture to be reassuring, or if this was his way of keeping her trapped into answering all their questions.
“I’ve been discussing the situation with Chulah. For starters, what do the fairies want from us and what can you do to help capture Hoklonote?” Tombi asked, taking a seat across from her.
“I came to warn you that Hoklonote is alive and growing in strength. You need to stop him before he frees Nalusa. He’s a threat to all our lives—Fae and human.”
“We—meaning the shadow hunters—take all the risk in capturing Hoklonote?”
He knew how to cut to the heart of the matter. She’d been asked to keep the Fae out of the fighting if possible.
“Isn’t that what you do?” she calmly countered. “You’ve been granted special powers in order to protect everyone from the shadow spirits.”
“To protect humans. If there’s a threat to the Fae, it’s your problem, too. Seems to me the fairies should help in any battle to capture Hoklonote.”
“We can cooperate and assist you,” April reassured him. That was only fair. The Council would have to accept this reasonable demand.
Chulah cut in. “You’ve never explained exactly how he threatens your kind.”
“The wisps gained knowledge of our secret portals and spells because of an elder councilman who betrayed us, leaving us vulnerable.”
“You have a fairy council?” Annie asked. “Fascinating.”
“Oh, yes, and a queen, too.”
They exchanged an understanding smile.
“We don’t care about that stuff,” Chulah interrupted. “Can’t you just change your portals and spells that were compromised?”
She shook her head. “We have to find and capture our betrayer if we are ever to be safe again. At least your Hanan is dead. We believe our betrayer, Grady, is dead but that his spirit is captured in a wisp. Which serves him right for double-crossing us. You trust the dark side, and that’s what can happen to a soul. We want him back.”
Chulah frowned. “What do you mean? If he’s dead and a spirit, the minute the wisp is killed, his spirit will soar to the After Life. You won’t even know which spirit has been released.”
“Oh, but we do.”
Chulah and Tombi exchanged glances.
“You can identify who the spirit was in their previous human life?” Chulah asked.
She nodded. “Or in their previous Fae life. We can be killed and our spirits captured, the same as humans.”
“So if you find the wisp containing your betrayer and see its spirit released, you can know that your kind is safe once more.” Chulah rubbed his jaw. “Makes sense.”
“No. Once his spirit is released, we can capture it and return him to the Fae realm for eternal punishment.”
“But that’s—wrong. You shouldn’t separate a soul from the After Life.”
“It’s Fae justice.”
Chulah stood. “I would never agree to trap a released spirit. It’s wrong and goes against everything I believe in. It would make us as evil as the shadow spirits who trap them.”
“You don’t have to trap and bind the spirit,” she argued. “The Fae will. All I’m asking is your help in finding this wisp. We’ve not been able to.”
“I won’t do it.” Chulah shook his head. “None of the other hunters will either.”
Tombi stood as well. “Absolutely not. And I’m beginning to wonder if there is no danger to us, just the fairies. We’ll always continue to hunt for stray wisps and even Hoklonote himself, but he is weak without Nalusa. Not the serious threat you make him out to be.”
She was losing ground. April held up a hand. “Okay, let’s forget this betrayer a moment. If we can trap Hoklonote, it won’t matter anyway.”
They could always assign a troop of fairies to follow the hunters and check for Grady each time they killed a wisp. No need to rile the hunters on this point.
Chulah and Tombi remained standing.
“Why should we trust anything you say?” Tombi asked. “For all we know, you’re under Hoklonote’s control and he sent you to set a trap for us.”
It all came down to the same basic question. “What can I do to prove I’m telling the truth?” April turned to Chulah. “I’ve been following you for ages, helping you in your battles. Doesn’t that mean anything?”
“So you say,” he answered slowly.
April shut her eyes and rubbed her temples.
“Are you okay?” A soft hand brushed the hair from her face. “I think she’s been questioned enough for now,” Annie said. “I realize y’all have to consider the worst in others, to be on guard against possible enemies. But what if she is telling the truth? This could be an opportunity to stop the shadow spirits once and for all. Don’t jeopardize the opportunity.”
April stood and faced the group. Tombi looked suspicious as ever, but Chulah nodded.
“You’re right, Annie,” Chulah conceded. “We should all consider this a bit before making any decisions.”
“And with that, we’ll take our leave.” Annie smiled at April. “Can we give you a lift home? I didn’t see a car in the driveway.”
The inquisition was over. For now. She took a long, cleansing breath. “I rode my bicycle.” And what fun it had been. Still not flying, still not riding with Chulah on his Harley, but at least on the bicycle she could feel the Gulf breeze caressing her face and hair.
“Very well. Chulah, if you need more of my herbal potion, you say the word.”
“Um, no, I’m fine, thanks,” he said hastily.
“Come see me anytime if you’d like to visit,” Annie told her, picking up the cooler.
Warmth lit April’s heart. What a kind person Annie was. And to think she’d even momentarily been jealous of the woman.
They turned to leave. Tombi brushed by close to her arm. Without stopping to think, April stuck out an index finger and touched his bare forearm.
Nothing. Not even the faintest sizzle.
Tombi scowled. “What did you poke me for?”
Quickly, she put her hands behind her back. “Nothing.”
Chulah arched a brow, a sensuous, knowing grin slowly spreading across his face. He guessed exactly what she was doing.
The moment the door shut behind his guests, Chulah quirked an eyebrow. “Conducting a little experiment, were you?”
And just like that, the air charged with passion.
“I wasn’t sure if it was only you, or if every man I touched would cause a spark,” she admitted.
His pupils widened. “Now you know. No need to go touching other men.”
That had to mean he cared, even if only a tiny bit. April slowly reached out her hands and lightly touched both sides of his jaw. Tingles shot ripples of pleasure from her fingertips to her toes.
“You feel it, too,” she whispered.
“Yes.” His voice was raspy and deep.
“With every woman or just me?”
“Just you.”
Chulah didn’t look pleased at his admission, but at least he was honest. Thank the queen he hadn’t felt this way when he touched Tallulah.
April stepped closer into his heat, wrapping her arms around his neck. She laid a cheek against his chest, listening to the pounding rhythm of his heart. His hands pressed into the small of her back and they held each other, unmoving.
There, in his arms, April believed all was possible. The chaotic world ceased to exist. There were only their heartbeats, fast and furious, as they clung to each other.
“Well, hell. Wouldn’t you know it?” Chulah pulled away.
“What is it?” she asked, dizzy with desire.
“Trouble, I’m sure.”
* * *
The crunch of tires on gravel was followed by two car doors slamming shut. Chulah jerked open the front door. Damn. He didn’t need this. Not now.
His stepmother marched up the driveway with that air of desperate determination that meant trouble. Brenda, his half sister, dragged behind with her usual sullen, downcast face. Only sixteen years old, she was the youngest of the Rivers brood, and the only one of his three half siblings who hadn’t been in trouble with the law.
Yet.
What fresh new hell did Joanna have in store for him this time? A plumbing emergency? Providing bail for Johnnie or Chris? Or perhaps it was a simple request for more money. He hoped it was the latter.
“What brings you here, Joanna?” he asked, trying to keep his exasperation in check.
She opened her sharp mouth to speak, but stopped short at the sight of April standing beside him on the porch.
“I didn’t know you had lady company.” Her tone managed to convey disapproval.
Brenda, sporting dark lipstick and a boatload of mascara, snickered and rolled her eyes. “Lady company.”
Inwardly sighing, Chulah made quick introductions. “Is there something I can do for y’all?” Best to get it over with.
“Well...” She cast a pointed look at April. “It’s actually a private, family matter.”
I bet it is.
“No problem. I was leaving,” April said. She quickly went down the porch steps and
over to a pink bicycle leaning against the cabin wall.
“Hey—cool hair!” Brenda’s expression—for the first time in forever—was downright warm. Friendly, even. “How’d ya do that streaky stuff?”
“I didn’t do anything,” April protested. “It’s...” She glanced at him and broke off.
Brenda snorted. “Right. C’mon, tell me. I want to bleach my hair like yours.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Joanna snapped. “All your makeup is bad enough without adding bleached hair to the mix. I won’t allow you to do that. It looks trashy.”
An awkward beat of silence descended.
Brenda kicked at the gravel. “Mooommm. You are, like, so rude.”
Joanna lifted her chin. Bayou La Siryna would have a snowstorm in August before that woman apologized for anything.
“April’s hair is beautiful.” He surprised even himself with the words. It felt good to goad Joanna. “Unique. It fits her.”
His stepmother’s chin lifted another inch. “So you say. But I didn’t come all the way out to the edge of the wilderness to talk about some woman’s hair.”
Double barb. It irked her that he refused to live close by in town where he could be more at her beck and call. And then there was the subtle put-down of April by calling her some woman.
“See y’all later,” April said, cheerily. If she caught the insult, she refused to acknowledge it. She waved at Brenda. “Come by and see me anytime for girl talk about hair and such. I love your long black hair. I’d exchange with you if I could.”
April reached up on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear. “Meet me at midnight in the woods.”
Before he could respond, April had flitted away. Chulah watched as she hitched up her skirt and mounted the bike. Her bare legs glistened in the fading light and his throat went dry. She waved and pedaled off, silver hair streaming behind her.
It was as if April took all the sunshine with her when she left.
“Chulah? Are you listening to me?”
He jerked his head back to Joanna. “You’ve got my attention. Go on.”
“My power’s been shut off. I need you to go to the electric company and take care of it.”
Bayou Shadow Protector Page 7
