Descending Moon (Totem Book 8)

by Christine Rains

  “You can.” Azarius swept a hand out toward the valley. “It’s easy once you realize you’re a spirit here and not in your physical body.”

  Spirit she might be, but that didn’t prevent her from being hurt. The Moon Man had taught her that. And while Azarius had made no aggressive moves toward her, she doubted he’d give up easily. He might have made her mistrust Sedge, but no matter what seemed like good intentions, she couldn’t trust the man who had killed her father either.

  “I can’t,” she repeated. “I can’t help you. I need to go.”

  Azarius heaved a sigh and thinned his lips. “Think about it. We have an opportunity here the others do not. I want to help you become the bearer of this totem.”

  “Sedge should—”

  “Sedge cannot have this totem!” Azarius gritted his teeth.

  Kinley turned to run, but Azarius somehow stood in front of her. His knowledge of the astral plane was much greater than her own. Yet shouldn’t she just be able to step out or wake up or something? She dug her nails into her palms and bit her tongue, but it didn’t help.

  “My apologies.” He dipped his head. “I only want to do what’s right. I hope to persuade of that, but at the moment, we’re constricted for time.” He snagged her wrist and tugged her toward the valley. “I will get us there—”

  “Stop! Let me go!” Kinley pulled back, but it was like trying to break free of Superman’s grip.

  “The lady asked you to release her.”

  Kinley’s heart stuttered in its frantic race. Her jaw dropped as she turned her head to confirm she knew who had spoken.

  No way. This couldn’t be.

  “Mr. Ellsworth?”

  Kinley must have been seeing things. Did stuff you dream come onto the astral plane? She so needed to do some research and find someone to talk to about it.

  Though it seemed, she wouldn’t have to look far. Bert stood calmly three feet behind her to the left.

  “Good evening, Miss Dorn.” Bert never took his unblinking eyes off Azarius. “Ransom told me of your little adventure, and when I felt your fear, I came to offer my help. If you would unhand her, sir.”

  Ransom told his boss that she had gone into the astral plane? How much did her boyfriend share with Bert? Hopefully not all the intimate details!

  And how did Bert know she was afraid? No, wait. She already knew the answer. His blood in her system. She might have worried about it, but at the moment, she couldn’t be more thankful.

  “Ah, the vampire.” Azarius released Kinley and clasped his hands in front of him. “Your arrival is timely. Perhaps you can help me convince Kinley of what we need to do for the greater good, for shifters across the world.”

  Oh no. She couldn’t let Azarius tell Bert everything before she, Ransom, and her family did. Yet before she could say anything, Bert glided forward. He didn’t even step. It was creepy and cool at the same time.

  “Miss Dorn knows her own mind. If she says no, it is for good reason.” Bert placed a hand on her shoulder. “It is time for you go now, my dear.”

  Go? Did he mean run? Her legs tensed, ready to do so.

  No. She couldn’t leave him alone with Azarius. If they were going to talk, she wanted to have her say in the matter.

  The two men continued to stare at one another. Neither looked like they were ready to leap into battle, but she could feel it in the air. Two predators ready to strike. She didn’t want to be between them when the tension hit its climax.

  She’d let Bert take on the giant for her and look what happened. He was nearly crushed. Now he was here to fight another battle for her. What if Azarius was the god she had to take on? Would that mean Bert would lose?

  “No.” She couldn’t let him do it. Shaking her head, she scrambled to think of some way to take on Azarius.

  He couldn’t change shape here, right? But he was a trained Black Shaman. Decades of skills under his belt. And he knew about the astral plane.

  A black blur whirled in front of her. Her mind didn’t comprehend what it was seeing. It didn’t matter. Bert pushed her back with another urge to go, and his face was the last thing she saw as everything went black.

  She only blinked. Nothing struck her. She hadn’t been unconscious.

  Her whole body ached, throbbing with heat as it healed.

  “Kin, babe.” Ransom. Holding her. His scent, her sisters’, gasoline.

  Focusing on his face, she blinked a few times more. “How…?”

  So many how questions. The only thing she was certain of was that she wasn’t on the astral any more.

  “Thank God!” Ametta exclaimed from nearby. “You crashed your snowmobile. You were unconscious and wouldn’t wake. How could you not see that tree?”

  Crashed? Fuck. Kinley’s body was still in the physical world even as her spirit zipped off into the astral. She really needed to learn to control it.

  “The totem…” Her mouth had trouble forming words. Had she cracked her jaw? Damn, it hurt.

  “It’s okay, babe. Don’t worry about it. We lost it anyway.” Ransom kissed her head. While the kiss was tender, his fingers gripped her coat so tight.

  Snow crunched as the others moved around. Saskia crouched down on the side opposite of Ransom and ran her hand through her own hair. “It disappeared. How are you feeling? Anything broken?”

  “It went… to the astral.” Yup, she’d done a number on her jaw. But she had to tell them. She’d been wrong to keep the secret from Saskia and Sedge. She sat a little more on her own, grateful for Ransom’s support as the world spun for a few seconds.

  “The astral?” Sedge exhaled gruffly.

  “Please tell me you didn’t go after it onto the astral plane.” Ametta groaned, and Kinley imagined her sister had thrown up her hands or yanked at her hair too.

  Saskia’s brows knitted together. “You can go onto the astral plane? Dammit, Kin, you can’t be doing that. It’s dangerous. There’re all sorts of nightmares lurking out there. Az told me—” She caught herself and clenched her jaw. “You can’t do that.”

  “He was there.” Kinley confessed in little more than a whisper. She moved her jaw as little as possible, speaking through her teeth.

  Saskia abruptly stood and shook her head. “No.”

  Kinley wet her lips and leaned into Ransom. If only she’d listened to him and told them all right away. “Yes. I don’t know how I do it, but I’ve stepped over twice now in the past few days. He talked to me, tried to convince me he only wants to set things right. He said I was a natural at projecting, and he wants my help.”

  “Fuck no.” Saskia kicked at the ruined snowmobile. It skidded farther away from them. “Tell me you ripped him apart. Tell me you ate his fucking black heart.”

  Kinley’s heart ached for her sister. They’d all been betrayed, but Saskia had been deceived by the person she trusted most. “I can’t shift in the astral.”

  “Yes, you can.” Sedge stood closer to Saskia but out of reach of her temper. “Many things are possible in the astral plane that aren’t here, and that’s what makes it dangerous. If you’re randomly projecting, we should do a ritual to prevent you from doing so until a teacher can be found to help you control it.”

  Two things struck Kinley at the same time. One, that it was possible to shift in the astral, but why couldn’t she? And two, why did Sedge want to stop her from going into the astral?

  She shouldn’t believe a thing Azarius told her about Sedge. Azarius was a liar and a murderer. But something gnawed at her. She couldn’t let anyone stop her from going to the astral plane. It might be their chance to get the totem.

  “A teacher…” Kinley tilted her head to gaze into Ransom’s soulful eyes. “I saw Bert there.”

  His brows shot up, but then he smiled. Her sisters shouted out their shock, but Kinley only wanted to see her boyfriend’s reaction. “You’re my gal now. So he’s going to look out for you no matter where you go. And he can go a great number of places, apparently.”

>   “Apparently.” Kinley’s jaw didn’t throb so much with that word. How hard had she hit that tree? Perhaps wearing a helmet even inside the luxury sled was a good idea.

  “Let’s get back. We’ve got a lot to talk about.” Ametta sighed and tugged Lucky to their snowmobile.

  “You can ride with me.” Ransom helped Kinley to her feet and kept one arm firmly around her. “We’ll fetch the wrecked snowmobile tomorrow.”

  Her legs wobbled, but she steadied herself against his strong body. She exhaled a long breath, and it misted, circling her head and dissipating. What was happening on the astral plane right now? Were Azarius and Bert talking? Fighting? How far would they take the battle?

  Cozied between Ransom’s arms on the front of the snowmobile, Kinley leaned back against him. He was her anchor to this world. She couldn’t let herself go randomly back in case the next time no one could help her.

  Kinley set her laptop on her bed. Too much generic information about astral projecting clogged the internet, and most places told her what she already knew: she needed a teacher.

  Ransom paced in front of the window, his cell phone pressed to his ear. He hadn’t said anything for almost five minutes. And with each passing second, his agitation grew.

  She watched him and fingered the polar bear charm on her necklace. Her stomach rolled with the threat of becoming more than nauseous. He’d called Bert’s Russian assistant since Bert was not answering his cell.

  Bert was fine. He had to be.

  “What?” Ransom stopped his pacing and stared at the floor. “Yes. Da… Keep trying… Call me when he wakes. Pozvoni mne.” He ended the call and raked his hands through his hair. “I shouldn’t have let him go away with a new assistant. He saw her red hair and that was it. She has no clue what’s going on with ‘Gospodin Ellsworth.’ Damn Bert’s ginger obsession.” He released a groan and flopped onto the end of the bed.

  Kinley crawled over and hugged him. “He’ll be fine. If a giant can’t defeat him, Azarius will be a piece of cake.”

  She wished she believed the words when she said them. For all they knew, Azarius was a god, and he killed Bert’s soul. And she’d end up fighting him.

  Ransom twisted his head and kissed her. “Thanks, babe.”

  She gave him a squeeze. “Maybe I should dye my hair red, and then he’ll stick around more for you to keep an eye on him.”

  “No way!” Ransom snatched her and pulled her onto his lap. He nuzzled her neck. “You’re mine. One look at you as a ginger, and Bert will woo you away and whisk you off to his castle. Then I’ll be your servant too.”

  “Ooh, my pool boy. I’m very pale. I would need help putting sunblock on my naked body. Often.”

  “You always know how to take my mind off things.” He chuckled and, kissing her again, slipped a hand under her sweatshirt cuing her stomach to growl. “Grrr to you too, babe.”

  “Let me go get something to eat, and when I come back, I’ll put you to work.” Kinley stroked his cheek and kissed him before rising to her feet. He winked at her, but the playful glint in his eyes dulled as she walked to the door and his gaze went to his phone.

  Healing always required a lot of food, and while her stomach demanded it, she had little appetite.

  Her sisters, Lucky, and Sedge were all in their rooms. She didn’t hear any snoring, so she had no idea if they were awake. Their conversation earlier had been tense and not at all productive. At least they all knew what happened. No more secrets.

  Sedge might have insisted on the ritual to prevent her from going into the astral, but Saskia had been so ticked off about Azarius, she’d stomped off outside. Not wanting her to be alone, Sedge followed and insisted everyone else should remain in the house.

  No, he hadn’t politely insisted. It was a command. He was used to being a leader, and he was a god. People did what he ordered and believed what he said. But what if what he said was wrong?

  Heading down the stairs, she listened to the whispers. More snippets of days gone by. The warmth and love that had been Lucky’s family as he grew up. If Ametta stayed with him, she’d have the same kind of life.

  If they survived what was to come.

  And Bert…

  Kinley contemplated going back to the astral plane to find him. But Ransom pleaded with her not to do so, and she’d agreed.

  Her belly growled again, and she hurried to the kitchen. She didn’t bother with the lights. She snagged a peanut butter cookie as she opened the fridge to peruse the leftovers.

  Taking a bite, she noticed a shadow skitter out of the corner of her eye. No hairs rose on her neck. Either it was the play of light from the fridge or the domovoi. She straightened. Maybe she could ask him some questions about the astral plane.

  “Grandfather?” She wasn’t certain what other name to call him. “Sir?”

  She took out a container of pizza slices, set them on the counter, and then closed the fridge. Near the back door, a flash of movement.

  Scanning the kitchen, she spied a figure in the darkest of the shadows. Shadows right by the cellar door, of course. “Hello?”

  One long leg extended as if whoever it was crawled out of a hole in the wall. Long and skinny. Had Grandfather’s legs looked that way before?

  A hand was stretched out. Fingers followed. So pale.

  Nope. Not the domovoi.

  Terror froze her to the spot. Kinley gripped the counter and willed her feet not to scramble and flee. But oh God, did he remind her of the Slenderman. Maybe she should stop watching scary YouTube videos. Her real life was frightening enough.

  The Moon Man wasn’t going to kill her. He could have easily done so before if he wanted.

  He’d chosen her for a mission. She didn’t know what it was exactly, but maybe he’d tell her. Did he even have a mouth? It was difficult to tell in a nearly featureless face. Darkness where the eyes should have been and bump and craters for his nose. No tailor fit black suit on him, but inky skins. Please let them be all animal.

  With an uncanny fluidity, the Moon Man stalked across the kitchen toward her with limbs in motion like a spider. She trembled, stuck in one spot, like a fly in a web.

  The Moon Man brought his other arm from around his back and held something before him. At first, she thought it was an arm. Whether he had an elongated one or someone else’s. But no, it was too straight. Too solid. Too… a sword. Why hadn’t it registered in her mind it was a sword?

  He set it on the other side of the counter across from her while seeming four feet away from the island itself. Like a demented magician finishing a trick, he spread his fingers to present her the weapon.

  He was giving her something to fight a god with? That was cool. Not that she knew much about handling swords.

  Bert’s sword.

  Oh God. She knew it with a certainty. She’d seen it twice before on the night Bert attacked the giant, and it was seared into her mind.

  Was he dead? Sedge did say the Moon Man greeted souls when they crossed to the other side. Bert could have given him the sword to bring to her to let her know what happened.

  Her chin quivered. “Berton Ellsworth. The vampire. This is his. Where did you get it?”

  The Moon Man said nothing. Slowly, he moved backward to the spot where he came in.

  “Do you know where he is? Is he dead?” Kinley scurried around the counter. One nod would be all she needed. Or a shake of his head. But nothing. “Please.”

  Wiggling his spindly fingers at the sword again, the darkness then engulfed the Moon Man. A few tears trickled down her cheeks. She wiped them away with her palms as she turned back to the sword.

  It spoke of blood and battles. Oh, but it was old. It seemed wrong to touch it. It was Bert’s sword.

  Take it.

  Kinley thought for a few seconds the Moon Man had returned to soothe her worries. But the man who spoke had an ax and a beard.

  “I don’t want… I wouldn’t know how to use it.” She stared at the well-wrought weapon and im
agined knights slaying dragons and a vampire stabbing a giant in the eye. How absolutely amazing that had been to see, until Bert had been crushed into the ground.

  She hiccupped with a sob.

  Doesn’t matter. It was given to you. You’ll know how to use it when you need to do so. The domovoi walked around the kitchen and peered out the window. You know too many who are what they say and aren’t what they seem.

  That was the truth. Everything was muddied and layered in gray. Was there something wrong with her that she wanted simplicity in her life?

  Go on. Grandfather urged again. It’s out there. He’s out there.

  “You mean the totem?” Kinley forced her hands to the hilt of the sword. Wrapping her fingers around it, she found it lighter than it looked. She lifted it out in front of her to see it had the slightest of blue hues.

  It went into a scabbard on her back. How it had gotten there and how she’d known it was there, she had no clue. That was the right place for it.

  I do. Now go. The domovoi nodded, fading from her sight. Push forward and protect.

  “Kinley!” Ransom’s shout for her startled her, and she spun around as he raced into the kitchen and flipped on the light. She blinked against the harshness of the sudden brightness and held a hand over her eyes.

  “The totem! It’s close. Come on.” Ransom grabbed her hand and tugged her to the front door where the boots all sat on a mat.

  She now heard her sisters, Lucky, and Sedge racing through the house and fetching their coats and the keys for the snowmobiles. Saskia threw the front door open. Sedge and she not even waiting for their jackets.

  Kinley, reaching a hand over her shoulder, wanted to pull out the sword to show it to them, but it wasn’t there. Her fingers closed in around air.

  Her heart raced. Was her visit real? No, it had been too vivid. The Moon Man had been there, but on the astral plane. Was the sword still on her back there?

  “It’s on the move! Hurry the fuck up!” Saskia yelled from outside.

  They stuffed their feet into their boots and pulled on their coats as they ran, not even closing the door behind them. When Kinley glanced back over her shoulder, the door was shut. Perhaps Grandfather was worried about letting the heat out.