Black Mountain Magic (Kentucky Haints #1)

by Megan Morgan

  She drew a hair tie out of her pocket and pulled her hair back. The scent of Deacon’s shampoo wafted over her. Her eyes stung with tears and she closed them.

  “Damn it,” she muttered.

  Chapter 16

  “See?” Deacon handed the picture to Lorena. The paper was soft and curled at the edges, the colors faded. “She’s wearing it right there.”

  They stood in the backyard of Deacon’s parent’s house. The day was perfect for a barbeque, breezy and warm. Zeke manned the grill on the concrete patio behind the house. Kids ran through the yard, while adults sat on the deck and drank beer. Lorena and Deacon stood beneath a tree, the branches heavy-laden with gold and red leaves.

  Lorena peered at the picture. “Yeah, that’s definitely the same necklace.”

  The picture had been taken in the yard they stood in: four kids, arms slung around each other’s shoulders. Three boys and one girl, their smiles all teeth, the girl’s sandy hair in a sloppy ponytail. The blue heart dangled around her neck.

  “I’m sorry, Deacon.” She handed the picture back to him.

  He slipped it into his pocket. “I haven’t told anyone yet. I’m thinking what you’re thinking. You probably met the Wolvite who killed her and took it. At least we know. I just don’t know how to break it to my Mama.” He took a long drink of his beer.

  “I don’t know, something about this doesn’t make sense. It happened a long time ago. Wolvites don’t take prizes, and even if they did, why would he keep it so long? Surely he’s killed other people since then.”

  Deacon lowered the bottle and licked his lips. “Why would he have it, then?”

  “I don’t know. I want to tell you something and I hope you don’t get mad at me for saying it.”

  “I won’t be mad. What is it?”

  She hesitated. “I think your grandmother was talking to the Wolvites, trying to negotiate with them. I think she gave the stone to the Wolvites, so they could communicate.”

  Deacon raised his eyebrows. “Why do you think that?”

  “Just the things she’s said to me.” She kicked at the grass. “I’m not saying it’s not an admirable thing to do. She was trying to protect people. But it’s dangerous, as well.”

  “I don’t think my Grammy is that stupid.”

  “It could be the reason the Wolvites were targeting your family. Maybe they took exception to her trying to make a deal with them.”

  “I don’t think she would do something like that, at least not without telling us first.” He frowned. “I don’t think so, anyway…”

  “Maybe Melanie had something to do with it.”

  He snorted. “You think she would listen to Mel? You’ve seen them together.”

  “Yes, but Melanie feels sympathy toward the Wolvites. She thinks we’re being cruel. Maybe she wanted peace so we wouldn’t slaughter them. But she’s not strong enough to talk to them, so she appealed to your grandmother.”

  Deacon laughed. “Mel couldn’t talk Grammy into anything.”

  “What if she did it in a crafty way, though? What if she flattered your grandmother’s powers, sort of presented it as a challenge? Maybe she tricked her into doing it by telling her how amazing she was and how she was sure she was up to the task.”

  Deacon squinted. “Mel don’t seem the type to be crafty. Yeah, it makes sense why the Wolvites might come at us after that, but I know my Grammy, and it don’t make sense from that angle.”

  “Can you find out? At least humor me?”

  He slipped an arm around her shoulders. “I’ll do some prying, to ease your mind.”

  “The Wolvites weren’t rabid.” She leaned against him. “Dr. Winston didn’t find any traces of the virus.”

  “That’s good news, at least.” He squeezed her. “Reckon you were right not to send up the alarm.”

  “It’s another mystery. If they weren’t rabid, what set them off?”

  “Reckon you’ll have to stick around and figure it out.”

  She sighed. “I’m leaving tomorrow. I wanted to wait until after the barbeque to tell you. I didn’t want to ruin the fun.”

  He nodded silently, then patted her shoulder. “I see.”

  “They’re flying us out tomorrow afternoon. I guess whatever else happens, they don’t need us to be part of it.”

  “Well, we knew this was coming.”

  She clutched his hand on her shoulder. “I’m considering taking some vacation time, if they’ll let me. I have some built up, I haven’t used it in years.”

  “I got a nice resort you can visit. Comfy bed, meals included, Netflix. Comes with a saggy old Basset hound, though.”

  She grinned. “Are there any special amenities?”

  “Oh yeah,” he spoke lowly. “Some very personal services you can have any time you want.” He leaned down and captured her lips.

  Lorena was hesitant to make out in front of his family, but thankfully, no wolf whistles went up. They walked to the house and joined the fun. She’d always thought she’d missed a lot, growing up alone with just her mother and grandmother. Perhaps it was a bit early in her and Deacon’s—was it a relationship?—to get cozy with his family and hope they would take her in, but they were welcoming and congenial.

  Of course, not everyone was easy to get along with.

  Lorena went inside to find a bathroom. On her way back out, she paused in the doorway of the kitchen. Hazel stood over the table, arranging items on a vegetable tray. The old woman looked up and lifted her silvery eyebrows above her glasses.

  “Hi,” Lorena said.

  “Hello. It’s good to see you weren’t hurt last night.” Hazel focused on her task again. “Dangerous business, going out in those woods.”

  “Yes, it is.” Lorena stepped into the kitchen.

  “Thank you, for your services here. It’s good we’ll be able to live in peace for a while.”

  “Yes.” Lorena tried to pick a careful angle of approach. “Um, by the way. You said something yesterday I thought was interesting. I wanted to ask you more about it.”

  Hazel glanced up.

  “You said a witch can talk to Wolvites. I’ve never heard of that.” Lorena still carried the stone. She couldn’t get rid of it yet. “I was wondering if you’d tell me more about it?”

  Hazel continued arranging carrot sticks. “If you’d work on your abilities, you’d learn how to do it. It’s not as difficult as you might think.”

  “Especially if you have one of those stones?”

  “Stones, plants, spells.” She waved a hand. “All help a witch with her magic. Skills you have to learn, not read in books. Science and witchcraft don’t mix.”

  “I beg to differ. Both are about acquiring knowledge and sharpening your mind.”

  “If you want to speak to the Wolvites, then learn how to do it. I won’t give your agency free information. I don’t believe in what you do.”

  “You just thanked us for getting rid of the Wolvites.”

  Hazel lifted an imperious gaze to her. “It’s nothing my family couldn’t have taken care of, given time. I do thank you for your service. However, I’m not going to tell you how to be a witch. If you want to know, then learn.”

  “Fine. I take it, however, that Wolvites are more intelligent than we give them credit for? I mean, there’s the theory that they’re descended from the same bloodline that created Lycans. They were human once, perhaps.”

  Hazel scoffed. “So much your agency doesn’t know. So many mysteries you haven’t cracked. But you will in time, I suppose. Nosy and invasive. You won’t stop until you turn over every secret.”

  “That’s not entirely a bad thing. Some supernatural things are dangerous. We want to protect people from them. You know what happened last night? The way the Wolvites swarmed Jack’s house? Do you think they could have protected themselves without intervention?”

  “The men were on their way to help.” Hazel stood up straight and squared her shoulders. “You meddle too much.”

/>   “Have you ever lost someone you cared about to the Wolvites?” Lorena’s voice rose. “Have you watched as their venom melted that person from the inside out? Have you had to deal with that?”

  Hazel gazed at her a moment. “I take it you have?”

  “I don’t do this to uncover your secrets.” She fought down the emotion that welled in her gut. “I do it so no one has to suffer. You’re right, there’s a lot we don’t know about Wolvites. But if they are intelligent and reasoning on some level—”she paused, tense“—that makes it even worse. It means they’re malicious and deliberate killers.”

  “All creatures have intelligence. The smallest thing, animal or plant. There is intelligence in the design.”

  “Plants aren’t trying to kill us.”

  “Cockleburs? Belladonna? Foxglove?”

  “Actively, I mean.”

  “You can’t blame something for its nature, even if that nature is malicious. You can only protect yourself from it.”

  Lorena wiped her sweaty palms across her hips. “And that’s why we’re here.” She turned and walked out of the kitchen.

  “Do you care for my grandson?”

  Lorena stopped outside the doorway and turned.

  “If you do,” Hazel said, “become the witch a Lycan man needs.”

  “Because of the code?”

  “Codes are written to put sense to that which cannot be understood. That’s the only free lesson I’ll give you.”

  Lorena went back outside to join the others.

  Deacon stood with his cousins around the grill. Jack seemed glum and distracted, obviously still agitated about last night. Melanie sat slumped in a chair on the deck, and gazed dully into the yard.

  Lorena leaned against the railing in front of her. “I’m sorry about what happened to your house. It seems like Jack’s family is pretty handy, though.”

  Melanie looked down at her lap.

  “Last night was pretty intense,” Lorena said. “A lot of Wolvites died.”

  Melanie looked up at her.

  “You don’t approve of that, do you? You think we shouldn’t kill them. There’s other people who think like that, too.”

  Melanie stared at her.

  “There are activists who care about it.” Lorena shifted against the railing. “They think the Wolvite’s aggression is the result of us going into their territories and attacking them.”

  Melanie remained silent and staring.

  “It’s okay to feel that way. I bet you would have done anything to stop what happened last night. If you could have prevented it, I’m sure you would have.”

  Melanie’s gaze seemed to go cold.

  “They might be more intelligent than we give them credit for.” Lorena glanced around the yard, to escape Melanie’s penetrating stare. “If they are, it could mean they’re sadistic and attacking us for their own personal satisfaction.”

  “Like we do to them?” She finally spoke.

  Lorena looked back at her. “Hazel says we can communicate with Wolvites, us witches. I’ve never heard of that.”

  Melanie was silent again.

  “I’d like to learn how. I think that would be a huge benefit. Maybe it could stop the cycle of violence. You must know a lot about Wolvites, if you want to save them.”

  Melanie sat forward and gripped the arms of her chair. “It’s not a good way to feel in this family.” She stood. “I’d rather keep my opinions to myself, for my own safety.” She walked over to the door of the house.

  “I don’t think they’d shun you,” Lorena said, “even if you have different opinions.”

  Melanie opened the screen door. She disappeared inside and the door slapped shut behind her.

  Lorena sighed.

  Deacon walked up on the deck and held a beer out to her.

  “Thanks.” She took the bottle.

  “You okay?” He leaned against the railing beside her. “You look a little rattled.”

  “Yeah. Just, I’m going to have to leave here in a bit, after we eat. So I can talk to my supervisor about that vacation time. I can’t guarantee I’ll get it right away, it might take a couple weeks. I need to help Holden pack up the lab too, before he has an aneurysm.”

  Deacon inched closer. “You planning on staying the night at my house?”

  “I should check out that resort before I book a room, yes.” She winked.

  “Grub’s on!” Zeke hollered. “Come and get it!”

  Deacon kissed her. “C’mon.” He patted her hip. “Better dig in before these hogs go to town and ain’t nothing left.”

  Tables were set up on the patio, laden with dishes of food and heaps of meat from the grill. Lorena ate to the point of nearly exploding and wouldn’t allow a drop of guilt to keep her from it. When she got back to Chicago her organic foods and microwave lean dinners wouldn’t compare, and she might not have another home-cooked meal for ages.

  She stalled leaving for a while, and stopped drinking so she could safely drive back to the farm. As the sun sank in the sky, the temperature also dropped. Hoodies and sweaters came out and a bonfire was built. The chill didn’t stop Deacon and his cousins from getting shirtless and playing a rowdy game of tackle football in the side yard, though.

  Lorena stood on the deck. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from Deacon, from his flexing muscles and glistening skin. The way he moved with otherworldly grace and speed betrayed the Lycan in him. Jack and Zeke weren’t too hard on the eyes, either. Jack was solidly muscled like Deacon and Zeke was trim and lithe.

  When they took a break, she decided it was resolutely time for her to go and negotiate that vacation.

  She walked down into the yard where Deacon stood, mopping sweat off his face with his t-shirt. She wanted to snatch it and take it with her, so she could keep his scent.

  “I have to go. Even though I hate to leave the show.” She looked him up and down. “I’ll come over tonight. Call me when you get home.”

  Deacon gripped her arm, pulled her close, and kissed her, his lips salty and hot. He was breathing hard, his shimmering chest heaving. Dirt smeared his side and bicep.

  “I’ll see you soon,” he murmured. “I’m glad you came over.”

  “I’m glad I did, too.”

  She tore herself away, made her rounds to say goodbye and thank everyone, and went to her truck, parked with the others in the yard next to the driveway.

  “Leaving so soon?” a voice said.

  She turned around. Ray stood next to one of the trucks. He held a laptop. “I’m DJ’ing, had to grab my equipment.”

  She fidgeted with her keys. “I’m afraid I have to take care of some things. Thank you for inviting me, though. I had a wonderful time.”

  He strolled over. He had the same confident swagger as Deacon.

  “It was great meeting you. Thank you again, for what you guys did. Please don’t listen to anything my mother says. She can be contrary.”

  “It’s our duty and pleasure to help you. I’ll come back and visit. I really like this place, it’s beautiful. You don’t get scenery like this in Chicago.”

  “I bet not. I’m sure Deacon will be happy to see you again, too.”

  She smiled. “I’m sure he will.”

  “It’s nice to see him focused on something for once. He tends to float in the wind.” He waved. “Have a safe trip back.” He walked off.

  She climbed in the truck, still smiling.

  On the drive back, she tried to focus on the scenery, instead of rehearsing her request for vacation time. She’d earned it, damn it. Especially after having to spend time in the field with Holden.

  As she drove past a dense stretch of trees, with no civilization in sight, she glimpsed a figure on the side of the road. She didn’t register the sight until she’d nearly passed him, a man pale and golden and oddly bare. She slammed on the brakes, so the tires kicked up a cloud of dust.

  “What the—” She looked over her shoulder.

  The figure disappeared i
nto the trees, with a flash of long blond hair.

  She threw the truck in reverse.

  She backed up to the spot where she’d seen the figure and rolled down her window. She stared into the shadows of the trees. No movement or sound, only the twitter of birds.

  “Dafydd?” she called out.

  She feared she might have misinterpreted what she saw and was now stalking some hapless hunter or person out for a walk. No other vehicles were on the road. No place to park a car.

  However, her skin tingled. Her powers were switched on.

  Dread rose in her.

  She fumbled for her cell phone and dialed Deacon’s number. She held the phone to her ear as she continued to stare into the trees. Deacon’s phone rang and rang. Maybe he didn’t have it on him.

  He thankfully picked up before it went to voicemail, and sounded out of breath. “Hey, what’s up?”

  “I just saw that man again. He was alongside the road I’m on.”

  A pause. “You mean the Wolvite man?”

  “Yes. He took off into the trees. I’m pretty sure it was him, it looked like him.”

  “Thought you guys killed all the Wolvites last night? If he’s a Wolvite—”

  “I thought we did too.” She looked forward at the empty road and looming forest, and paranoia crept over her. “I’m still close to your parent’s house right now. Your family should be careful. Maybe you should all go inside.”

  “Don’t worry, we always got our shotguns handy. I’ll let my Daddy and Grandpa know there might be one close by. We’ll be ready.”

  “Don’t tell them about the man thing, though.” She winced. “I feel silly. I need to get some proof first.”

  “I won’t. Thank you for letting us know. Be careful out there.”

  “Don’t worry, I have my gun too.”

  At least he seemed to believe her, even if she wasn’t sure herself. A mixture of fear, curiosity, and confusion filled her head. She hung up, took the truck out of park, and started down the road again, driving slow and scanning the sides all the way to the farm. She didn’t see him again.