by T. G. Ayer
SkinWalker Box Set 4-6
SkinWalker Novels #4-6
T.G. Ayer
Contents
The DarkWord: SkinWalker Series
Blood Promise - SkinWalker 4
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Acknowledgments
Copyright
Scorched Fury - SkinWalker 5
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Acknowledgments
Copyright
Fate’s Edge - SkinWalker 6
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Epilogue
Blood Magic - A SoulTracker 1 Sample Chapters
Blood Magic Ch1
Blood Magic Ch2
Blood Magic
Retribution - Chronicles of the Irin 1 Sample Chapters
Retribution Ch 1
Retribution Ch 2
Retribution
Also by T.G. Ayer
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About the Author
The DarkWord: SkinWalker Series
In the DarkWorld the things that go bump in the night are most likely true. And the problem is they are probably not sticking to bumping around in the night. They are everywhere. Your work colleagues, your teachers, even your friends. They’ve been living that way for a long time. And you haven’t noticed because they don’t want you to.
You’re much better off not asking any questions.
The SkinWalker Series
Skin Deep
Lost Soul
Last Chance
Blood Promise
Scorched Fury
Fate’s Edge
Grave Debt
SkinWalker Box Set - Books 1-3
The SkinWalker Series
The SoulTracker Series
Blood Magic
Demon Kin
Blood Curse
Demon Soul
Blood Moon
Demon Bones
SoulTracker Box Set - Books 1-3
The SoulTracker Series
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Blood Promise - SkinWalker 4
Chapter 1
I FROZE AGAINST THE WALL, my fingers grazing stone slick with blood, my heart punching angrily against my ribs.
Why in Ailuros’ name had I agreed to take this case, again?
I had a limited time offer from the Supreme High Council, the overseeing body of all paranormals, the oldest and most respected group in our known history, and I’d wasted five of those days thinking. And right now, I was leaning heavily in their direction. Beats the hell out of working for the peons, which was what Sentinel and Omega were.
A glance to my left confirmed Sentinel Agent Cassandra Monteith was still hunkered down beside me, the metal of her comms glinting in the weak light as she slammed her own bloodied fingers against the screen of her tablet. She’d been doing that for a little too long now.
“Where the hell is he?” I threw the question at her between clenched teeth, held that way because the cold, the intermittent rain, and the elusive vampire-demon were sufficient to chill any girl to her bones.
It was two in the morning and we were standing, backed up against the wall of a house at the edge of a village, huddled there beneath the low eaves of the thatched roof. The meager protection against the drizzle was a relief against the rain. Not that it made me any less wet as drops slithered down the back of my neck, mak
ing their way down my neck and into the neck of my turtleneck, dampening what little warmth I had left in my body.
I edged closer to the corner of the wall to peer out across the Scottish moors, and snorted through a nose already partially Panther. “And here I thought your outfit knew what they were doing.” A sniff of the wet air produced nothing. As frustratingly nothing as the last time I’d taken a whiff of good Highland air.
“We do. It’s just this damned blood.”
Behind me, rough fingertips scraped against the fabric of her jeans as Cassandra tried to wipe off the still-slick blood. The mess belonged to the vamp-demon we’d spent the better part of the last day tracking.
Unsuccessfully.
Cassie had gotten off a shot with her fancy demon-revolver, but had only managed to spill some of his blood. And all that got us was confirmation of his species, not to mention fingers stained with his disgusting blood. Vamp demons were a strange sub-species, their hemophiliac condition only amped up by their vampiric cells—cells which consumed them from the inside unless they fed regularly.
I grunted, more than a little pissed off. “Freaking demon’s got a sixth sense or something.” I glared at Cassie as if it was her fault. “He seems to know where we are, and when we’re about to grab him. Disappears like a freaking ghost at the last minute, every single time.”
Cassie narrowed her eyes at me. “I thought you’d amped up your demon-tracking skills thanks to your sister’s visit to the Graylands?”
She had a point. Saving Greer from the demon lordlings who controlled the dead world had enhanced my awareness of my own skills. Probably the reason Sentinel wanted me on the job in the first place.
And here I was thinking it was my winning personality.
Too bad for this demon that I wasn’t just a wraith-hunter anymore. He could run, but he couldn’t hide.
Not from me.
“It looks like it’s time to break out the big guns.” My voice, though grim, fell flat on the moist Highland night. I straightened and leaned my head back against the cold stone.
Cassie rose from her crouch and faced me, her usually straight blonde hair frizzed by the wet air.
“What exactly do you mean?” Her steel-gray eyes flashed a wary, what-the-hell-are-you-thinking look.
I unzipped my sodden parka and dropped it on the driest patch of ground I could find, then knelt to unlace my hiking boots. “We’re just wasting precious time. My panther can catch him faster. With all this rain, my nose alone isn’t up to the job.”
Cassie squinted at me. I ignored her as I unzipped my jeans and slid them off my hips, hissing as the air slapped a coat of icy wetness over my pasty thighs.
She made an odd strangled sound in her throat and looked away. “I’m particularly glad I’m not the one bare-arsed naked in this bloody weather.”
She slid past me, swapping places as I wrangled my black jeans off my bare feet and began to slide out of the dark turtleneck sweater which was my last failed barrier against the climate.
She peered around the corner and gave a frustrated groan. “Still no sign of him. Where the hell is he hiding? I swear he’s using some kind of magic. It’s likely the only thing able to help keep him hidden from us.”
“Either that, or somehow he knows we’re coming,” I said dryly. Dropping my final pieces of clothing onto my backpack, I straightened, feeling a few unmentionable bits begin to slowly freeze over. I gave a quick shudder. “Right. Here goes. I’m going to shift. Once I’ve transformed, keep your distance. You’ll be familiar to me, but animal instinct can sometimes override my human awareness, so no sudden moves. I can’t be held responsible if I eat you.”
When I tilted my head to Cassie, and caught a glimpse of her face, it was enough to tempt me to break what little cover we had and burst out laughing.
I didn’t give in. “I’m kidding.”
Cassandra breathed. “Heavens. You’re so terribly funny.”
“I try.”
An inelegant snort burst from her regal nose. “Next time, please don’t.”
I smiled and began the shift.
Muscles tightened, icy hot. Skin grew taut, and stretched slowly. Pain ripped through every inch of my body, from the tips of my ears as they lengthened and grew fur, to the hollows of my eye sockets as human gave way to full feline, night vision changing the countryside to varying shades of sharply contrasted grays.
A few strangled, painful minutes later, I stood on all fours, a mere two feet off the ground, giving my massive black panther body a relieved shake.
I gave Cassie a cursory glance, noting the tightness in her neck, and her scent that stank of nerves. That it didn’t stink of fear was a true credit to the woman. I liked her even more now than I had when she’d helped save my ass from Illyria the wraith-bitch not too long ago. Cassie’s ability to shape-shift had been a true asset to us in the past, and we’d become friends.
The scent of vamp-blood tainted my paws and I strove hard to ignore it, to compartmentalize that area of my brain that wanted only to give in to the call of the wild.
Regardless of species, demon blood had a particular scent. My advantage was that this demon was a vampire, a blood-sucking creature that didn’t hesitate to break the law and slide through the veil to partake of the warm offerings that many an innocent female, or male, would willingly provide.
Too many people were so gaga over vampires they fell easily for the charms of the demon-vamps instead of looking harder for the real thing.
As I slinked past Cassie, I brushed against her. Too late, I hoped it would be a reassuring contact rather than making her wet herself with shock. Then I turned the corner and set off on a loping run.
My paws hit the ground, sliding on the smooth stones as I sprinted along the narrow path that cut through the moor. A low stone wall appeared on the rise and I launched myself over it, the move smooth and elegant, as if I’d done it a million times before.
Only recently had I begun to allow my panther more face time. Since Greer’s death, I’d slowly learned to appreciate my feline side, my sister’s troubles having made me understand the true value of what I had inside me, more now that I’d lost my sibling forever.
Icy rain began to pelt my long back, hitting my fur with vicious slaps, as if frustrated it couldn’t penetrate to my skin. Now that I was no longer cold, I felt a little righteous, my shift a middle finger to the universe.
Strangely enough, the downpour didn’t hinder my sight, I blinked and ran, my gaze fixed out on the rolling dark hills that surrounded the shallow valley. A small forest of trees grew to my left and I headed up across the grassy hillside.
I drew in a deep breath as I reached the top of the rise and caught the faint trace of demon-blood mixed with cold ash. I frowned. It was probably only the residual odor of the blood that had been on my fingers. I would’ve preferred not to have touched the substance but doing so had helped me know how warm it was and whether our prey had survived his injuries.
Pity he had.
The heavens decided, at that moment, that they’d had enough of throwing buckets of water upon our heads and dried up so suddenly I found myself squinting up at the dark night. It was probably totally natural here, but to me everything seemed strange and foreboding, and wrong.
Where I was concerned, suspicion tended to be a good thing.
It usually saved lives.
I concentrated on the smell, breathing a little deeper, staring that much harder into the darkness. Something blurred to the right of the valley below and I moved slow and careful down the hill. My paws made little noise on the wet grass, and my body seemed to slide between the low growth without making a sound.
At the bottom of the hill stood a drab, dilapidated old hut, its gray surface broken, its mortar so crumbled that many stones had fallen out and left gaping holes in the wall. The roof too showed a number of missing sections, like tired mouths yawning to the open heavens.
