“Don’t even start. I will never bake for you or any man.” Saskia shot him a warning glare and went back to her sanding.
“Hey, I wouldn’t trade out Lucky in the kitchen for anyone. Though I’m sure if Sedge wanted some cookies—”
“He can go find Lucky too.” Saskia finished with only a little snap. A great improvement on how she once snarled at Ransom at every turn.
“Touché.” Ransom continued on, undeterred. “But speaking of the big guy, we’d been talking about stuff. Bear, the totems, how it all works, why having a token has made me a sex god. Oh wait. I already was.”
Saskia looked across the table at Kinley with a you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me expression. The totems were a serious subject. Her clever boyfriend had an excellent strategy.
Kinley cleared her throat. “We’re trying to figure it all out. About how the tokens will be removed to come together, how the totem pole will be restored and secured.”
Saskia shrugged and went back to her work. “You guys know it all. Once we have all the tokens, Sedge will remove them and put them back together. Bear created the pole, and he’ll be able to fix it.”
“Come on, a little detail here. We all know it’s not going to be an easy-peasy fix. I’ve got this thing attached to me as a tattoo. You do too. And so does Mett.” Ransom glanced at Lucky. “I’m not a fan of having my skin ripped off. You’re a Black Shaman, so you must know more.”
Kinley mentally crossed her fingers. Likely Sedge and Saskia didn’t share any information about the totems as pillow talk, but he was officially her mentor. Never mind she had a token herself. She’d want to know and could have asked Sedge.
Saskia knocked the corner of the cupboard door against the floor. Hard. “No, I don’t think it’s going to be as easy as that, but there’s no secret. Sedge will handle it when the time comes.”
She didn’t know. Kinley bit her cheek to keep from gaping. Her sister knew as little as the rest of them. But she’d known Sedge longer than anyone and more intimately. Surely she wouldn’t place her trust in someone she thought kept things from her.
Ransom paused. It was clear it clicked in his head too that Saskia didn’t know.
Across the kitchen, Lucky had gone still. His hands gripped the edge of the counter.
“I’ve been hearing things.” Kinley’s soft voice rattled the tension in the air.
“About what?” Saskia swiveled in her chair. Kinley bet if someone were to pull the chair out from underneath her sister, Saskia would remain in a sitting position.
Kinley knew she needed to put it out there, and she never thought her sister would harm her, but there had never been a situation like this. Saskia had never been in love.
“About Sedge and the totems.” Kinley’s words quivered. “That he’s not who he says he is, that he can’t be trusted.”
“Bullshit!” Saskia stood and tossed the cupboard door toward the pantry behind her. Taller than both Ransom and Kinley, she seemed to tower over them. “Your whispers are from mad spirits. They could be lying or turning us against one another. The only reason we have a clue about what’s going on is because of Sedge. We’d all be up shit’s creek without him. I know him.” She repeatedly poked herself in the chest. “I know him. Saying you don’t trust him is saying you don’t trust me.”
“Whoa, hey now.” Ransom held up his hands and stepped back, taking a place partially in front of Kinley. “We’re not saying that either of you are untrustworthy. The spirits could all be mad. We just don’t understand and wanted some clarity on the situation.”
“Saskia…” Kinley rose from her chair and searched for the right words to make peace.
“Not now, Kin.” Saskia chucked her sandpaper onto the floor and stormed out of the kitchen.
Kinley didn’t dare go after her. It was a sure way to piss off Saskia even more. Her sister needed space, maybe something to break.
“I hope she didn’t break that cupboard door.” Ametta slipped into the kitchen and over to Lucky’s side. They wrapped their arms around each other, his much larger form seeming to engulf hers. “You didn’t tell her who you talked to, did you?”
Lucky frowned. “Who?”
Kinley shook her head. “No. Just that bit was bad enough. I won’t add more fuel to the fire.”
“Who did you talk to?” Lucky repeated.
Ametta stood on her toes and whispered into his ear. Kinley could have strained to hear, but it was clear by the surprise and angry lines what her sister said. Now three of them knew Kinley had seen Azarius on the astral plane.
Ransom reached for Kinley’s hand and tugged her to him. His apologetic expression was not the cute hound dog one he usually plied her with. It was one accompanied by serious sad sincerity.
She kissed his cheek. “You tried. Thank you.”
Lucky growled under his breath before huffing. “I agree. No telling the other two. But, Kin…” He gave her a dad look, and her heart twisted a little. “Don’t do that again. Grandfather may not have been worried, but we don’t know about the astral plane or what he can do.”
“Kinley has been to the astral plane?”
The four of them in the kitchen stiffened at the sound of Sedge’s voice. He stood in the door coming from the living room way with his dark gaze targeted on Kinley.
Oh shit. How much did he hear?
“Last night.” Ransom replied, slowly enunciating the words.
Whatever was going on in Sedge’s head, it was impossible to tell. The man had a killer poker face. “If you’ve been on the astral plane… It’s dangerous. But it makes sense now.”
What the hell made sense? Kinley’s couldn’t even breathe as her chest and throat tightened.
“The Moon Man didn’t break through your window. If he came to you in the physical world, he’d be as solid as the rest of us. He came to you on the astral plane, and the wounds, magical in nature, carried over to your physical body.”
It did make sense. Finally they got a clear answer about something important from Sedge.
But it opened up a possibility that seized her with a bone-numbing chill: If the Moon Man could hurt her physical self from the astral, did it mean Azarius could too?
No one gathered for dinner. Saskia avoided everyone, and Sedge chased after her no matter how many times she snapped at him.
Lucky and Ransom played video games while Kinley went over the interior designs of Bert’s castle with Ametta. No matter that their lives were suspended until the totems were found, the world outside of theirs continued. New home gadgets hit the market, and some could be tinkered with to fit the needs of their clients. Bert’s place would be a modern fortress made beautiful with classic Russian and modern styles mingled.
Saskia came in and dropped an armload of chopped wood by the fireplace. She spared not one look in anyone’s direction before marching through to the kitchen.
Ten seconds later, Sedge stormed through the room right on Saskia’s tail.
Kinley curled one knee up to herself on her chair. They’d have to have it out. There was no getting around it. If she could assure Saskia that they did trust her…
Ametta groaned and pulled at her short hair. “Oh come on!” She shouted. “You guys better not ruin Christmas. We lost Thanksgiving, but I will not let anyone take away our Christmas!”
“You know,” Ransom said and twisted in the recliner as he put the game on pause. “We can do some celebrating a little early—”
“Do not suggest anything perverted. I will throw something at you.” Ametta huffed.
“I was going to say we try out Bert’s gifts to us. They were delivered early this morning. Lucky had them store them in the garage.” Ransom grinned.
“Presents?” Ametta hopped off her chair and snagged her coat from a nearby coat rack. When no one immediately followed, she waved at us. “Get up! I want to know what Mr. Ellsworth got us. Please tell me it’s my very own Jaguar.”
“I’m not saying a thing.” Ransom slipp
ed out of his chair as he zipped his mouth shut and hummed a tune. A jingle. Familiar, but Kinley couldn’t place it.
It was a good idea to get their minds off things and see what sort of ridiculous gift Bert bought them. Surely he wouldn’t buy sports cars. Alaska wasn’t the best place for them, especially not on Kodiak Island.
“If a Jaguar will make you that excited, I think we’ll have to go car shopping in the new year.” Lucky rose and winked at Ametta.
They all grabbed their coats and went outside to the detached garage. It was huge, big enough for four cars. A new addition Lucky had added when he inherited the house. It was also the only part Kinley hadn’t seen yet.
“Bert had called a little while ago to make sure they arrived. He really wants to know what you ladies think. He put a lot of thought into this.” Ransom bounced on his toes and rubbed his hands together.
Lucky pulled a remote out of his pocket and pressed the button to open the garage doors.
“I know Mr. Ellsworth won’t disappoint. He has the same luxurious tastes as I…” Ametta quieted and frowned at the six vehicles with huge bows on them. “What the heck are those?”
Lucky’s Hummer sat in one port, and a second truck, more beat-up, occupied another. The remaining two ports each contained three gifts. Kinley blinked, unsure of what to make of them. Then Ransom’s jingle made sense.
“Luxury snowmobiles?” Saskia asked from behind them.
The anticipation must have been deafening since they hadn’t heard her approach. She walked into the garage to inspect their gifts.
The machines did not look at all like snowmobiles. They were more like someone took a sports car and squeezed it from the sides. Two people could ride on the sled inside the sleek exterior. If Smartcars looked odd, these were even stranger. Could they join together to form a not-so giant robot?
“You must be joking.” Ametta folded her arms.
“Nope.” Ransom took Kinley’s hand and led her to the garage. “There’re six of them. One for each of us. I’ve already called dibs on the green one.”
Ah yes. Her gorgeous green ranger.
“I’ve never seen one of these apart from images online.” Lucky ran a hand over the slanted front of one snowmobile. “And these are the latest models. Nice.”
Kinley peered inside one. It had all the bells and whistles. It would be like riding inside a mini car. In five years, everyone would have one of these in Alaska. No more freezing when they had to make winter grocery runs.
Ametta stood in front of the garage and shook her head. “You said Mr. Ellsworth put a lot of thought into this? Clearly—”
“Shut up, Mett.” Saskia flipped open a white sled and whistled through her teeth. “These things are top of the line, fucking amazing. It’s got a solar panel to cut back on gas usage and tons of storage. Look at the power on this thing. I bet it could reach over 150 miles per hour. Damn.”
“My brother and I have rigged up sleds to go almost 200 mph.” Ransom nodded.
“You’re insane.” Saskia shook her head and sat on the seat. She fiddled with the mirrors and looked over the controls as she spoke. “We better have gotten Mr. Ellsworth a spectacular gift.”
“We did.” Ametta lifted her chin and sighed.
“Look, babe.” Lucky went over and slipped an arm around her shoulders. “If you have a Jaguar, you’d be lucky to drive it for two or three months out of the year. These will take you anywhere for seven months or more. You’d be able to go shopping or to the office, stay warm, dry, and not have to worry about a helmet ruining your hair.”
“I do hate wearing helmets.” Ametta sighed and strode forward to inspect the snowmobiles.
“I assume everyone knows how to drive one?” Ransom popped open the green machine and mounted it.
If someone lived in Alaska and didn’t know how to drive a snowmobile, they were fast to learn. Most people had been driving them since they were children. Her father taught Kinley before her mother passed away, and she later taught Ametta. While Anchorage had fantastic snow removal services, everywhere else a snowmobile was sometimes the only way to get around in the middle of winter unless you had dogs.
“Snowmobiles?” Sedge appeared from around the garage.
Everyone went quiet for a few seconds. It was Saskia who broke the silence.
“Yeah.” She motioned to him to check them out. “Top of the line Arctic Cat. Powerful beasts.”
“They are the king of the beasts.” Ransom flipped open a small compartment to find the key, which he jiggled between his fingers. “Are we going to take them for a ride?”
“If you think you can keep up, Cat.” Saskia flashed him a smug grin.
“Game on.” Ransom turned on the ignition, and the night filled with the revving of motors.
Kinley hopped onto, or rather into, a blue machine and located the key. Next to her, Ametta took a seat behind Lucky on a red one. Sedge readied the black one behind Saskia’s.
She found the key in the glove box. The heated glove box. Funny how gifts can push all hurt feelings aside. Not just any presents, ones with which they could act like goofy teenagers and race each other without a worry that the weight of every shifter in the world was on their shoulders.
Everyone pulled out of the garage with the roaring of five powerful engines. It was awkward to drive one like being inside a car. Not feeling the cold wind kinda took the thrill out of riding a snowmobile, but she had no doubt she’d be grateful for it after fifteen minutes of speeding through the icy night.
“Ready your engines!” Ransom hollered and closed down his sled. “Go!”
He shot off as if he was flung from a catapult. Saskia and Sedge were close behind. Lucky started more cautious, but darted off after a few seconds.
Kinley tested the gas and let off when she realized it had amazing pickup. After a few more tests, she increased her speed and followed the tracks the others left through the snow. Down the driveway and through a field. Back into a sparse forest, a few branches whipped at the window. Another benefit of this luxury beast.
While the others had wound around rocks and trees, she was far enough behind to see the track and obstacles and took quicker routes to catch up to them.
Adrenaline surged through her. Oh, wouldn’t it be fantastic to pass by them all at the last minute! The dark horse. Or bear.
The handles and seat warmed. The scent, not unlike a new car when you first used the heating system, dominated the cab and tickled her nose irritably. The faint chilly perfume of winter and gasoline seeped in, but didn’t help.
Suddenly Ransom’s snowmobile veered to the left. Saskia’s made the same sharp time almost in unison and nearly hit Sedge.
This was not the game. The urgency hit her right in the stomach.
About ten feet in front of Kinley, Ametta vigorously waved an arm inside the cab and pointed to the left. Lucky took off in the same direction.
Push forward and protect.
The three token bearers had changed their course. It must be a totem.
Kinley turned her snowmobile to follow. They were going so fast. Was it safe to go that quick? None of them except maybe Lucky knew exactly what the terrain was like.
The lights from their vehicles played games with her eyes. What might have been huge trees or rocks turned out to be smaller as she came up to them. The others drew farther away from her.
Not wanting to get left behind, she squeezed the accelerator. Whatever was going to happen, she had to be there. Every instinct within her screamed at her to do so.
Kinley ran, pushing her legs faster than they’d ever moved. Trees and shadows blurred. She’d never been able to move this…
Fast. She was running. Hadn’t she been riding on her snowmobile?
She stopped, chest heaving. No thunder of engines rattled her ears. There were tracks on the ground, but they couldn’t have gotten that far ahead.
What happened? She cocked her head and listened.
Sounds of anim
als scavenging and the creak of branches in the wind. The light crinkling and crunch of ice and snow shifting and freezing. Organic scents met her nose, but not the gasoline.
Push forward and protect.
Right. Don’t think about it. She had to get to them.
Kinley ran, but not as swiftly as before. She was too aware something was different. The landscape was the same and not the same.
The astral plane!
Crap. When had she stepped over? And why?
She dashed along the path made by the snowmobiles. Did it matter? The whisper told her what she needed to do.
Ahead and to the right, she spotted the back end of a polar bear race over a hill and disappear.
Was it one of her sisters? Or Sedge?
No. That wouldn’t make sense. Unless she’d be able to see them in the astral plane.
Too much she didn’t know.
Pumping her legs, she hurried up the hill. Below was a valley with a creek. The polar bear was much farther away than it had been before. Running, it nudged something in front of it. A cub.
It wasn’t her family, but the totem.
“Together we can catch it.”
Kinley yelped at the sound of the voice and twisted around, attempting to shift. No luck. Her bear wouldn’t come.
Azarius watched the bears in the valley. “It ran from me, just like it ran from the others. To them, it disappeared, but we can see it here.”
Her chest swelled, squeezing her with anger and sorrow. He killed her dad. She shouldn’t talk to him. But he might be right about Sedge. And if that were true, what if everything else she believed was wrong?
“I think it might want someone who isn’t already a token bearer.” Azarius looked at her. Not a hint in his expression that he realized the firestorm of emotions raging inside of her. “We could catch up easily. In this realm, you’re not restricted by physical laws. I saw you running before. You can run that quickly again.”
Kinley gripped the front of her coat and shook her head. Beneath the fabric, the hard warmth of her mom’s necklace pressed against her chest. “I can’t.”
Descending Moon (Totem Book 8) Page 6
