Hearts Are Wild

by Patrice Michelle

  Darrell’s sarcasm didn’t bother her. It was the disgust behind it that set the hairs on the back of Lily’s neck on end. He’s insane. And something else. Something beyond Lily’s reckoning.

  Shain. Where was Shain?

  Lily itched to glance at her watch. But she couldn’t. He promised he’d be back in an hour. She had to keep Darrell calm. Pacify him. Give Shain a chance to get there. Stop him from finding…what exactly was he looking for?

  The pendant. The claw that could potentially open a doorway into another dimension.

  Ludicrous. Outrageous.

  But as Lily took in Darrell’s fixed, hungry expression, she knew he believed it with every fiber in his body.

  Oh, God…

  “Darrell,” Lily started, speaking slowly, calmly. “It’s only a legend. A story. Surely you can’t—”

  “Quiet!” He didn’t even look at her, just continued to walk the room, palms open. “Come out, come out wherever you are.”

  Think, Lily!

  As he moved toward the fireplace, his lips curved into a disturbing smile. “I’m getting warmer.”

  The tingling was back and Lily knew she had to do something. But what?

  “I know where it is,” Lily blurted.

  Darrell froze.

  “Shain let it slip today, while we were…intimate.”

  In slow motion Darrell dropped his hand and turned to face her. Doubt tightened his features. “Oh?”

  “I—I can take you to it.”

  Sandy eyebrows rose. “No. Tell me.”

  Lily shook her head, her heart pounding. “It’s in the woods at a spot Shain took me to. I couldn’t tell you where that is but I know I can show you.”

  “You’re lying,” Darrell said softly.

  “I’m not,” Lily replied, raising her chin. “What do I care about some stupid, worthless adornment? I’ve seen so many, it hardly seems worth all the effort you’ve gone through, but to each his own.” She flipped hair off her shoulder and walked toward the door. “If showing you where it is will get you out of my hair, then I’m all for it.”

  “Step back and face me.”

  Lily froze, then did as he said, working hard to keep her expression self-involved and neutral.

  He was smiling and, for a second, he looked like the handsome, unassuming cowboy she first met at the Wolf Springs airpark. But the grin melted into a bone-chilling sneer, leaving a hollow, tremulous knot in her chest. He’s not buying it…

  A laugh, deep and startlingly inhuman, crawled across her skin. “That was a decent effort but you broadcast your feelings like a spotlight.” His expression turned thoughtful. “You didn’t, when you first arrived. You were a closed book. Something I found interesting, which is why I stayed close—to get a better read. But now that you’ve opened your heart, you’re as transparent as all the other fools.”

  His words made Lily’s face flame and her mind spin. How could he sense such a thing? “What are you?” Lily said.

  Flicking a hand he turned back to the fireplace. “Something beyond your understanding, Lily. Now be a good girl, shut your mouth and let me finish.”

  Lily’s eyes darted, looking for something, anything she might use to stop him.

  Darrell’s left hand gripped one of the mortared rocks. “What a wonderful vibration you put off.” He reached into a pouch at his hip, dipped his fingers inside, then wiped a wide blue streak across the stone. Darrell—or whoever…whatever he was—stepped back and began chanting a string of guttural words.

  Electricity filled the room and Lily pressed a hand to her chest, her breath shallow, her face cold. As his voice rose in pitch, the blue streaks began to glow and, before her eyes, the rocks dissolved, gray running down the face of the fireplace to reveal a dark hollow.

  That’s not possible, Lily thought. Rocks don’t just melt!

  Darrell gave a shout of success and reached in, only to whip his hand back with a growl. Faint tendrils of smoke drifted off the tips of his fingers and he affixed Lily with a cold stare. “Come here.”

  She shook her head.

  “I said, come here, Lily.” Darrell raised a hand and twisted it in the air. Pain exploded in her abdomen. Lily clutched her stomach and, even though nearly doubled over, she couldn’t take her eyes off his expressionless eyes and curving grin. “Don’t you think you’d better do as I say?”

  She felt her head nod as she staggered forward, her breath falling out in rasps.

  “Now,” came Darrell’s voice near her left ear. “Reach in and pull it out.”

  Coolness brushed her, an unnatural, blistering cold that burrowed under her skin and into her bones. Sweat popped out on her neck, chest and brow and instinctively she knew it was from Darrell. From whatever power he held. Images flashed through Lily’s mind. Fractured pictures of desert vistas, rolling hills, then waving fields of wheat.

  “Pull it out, Lily,” he whispered, his breath icy hot against her neck.

  Lily wanted to resist, to refuse, but her hand lifted. As her fingers entered, a rush of cold bit into her. She gasped and tried to pull out but Darrell grabbed her forearm, holding her there.

  “Keep going,” he whispered.

  Lily could see no other way and perhaps…perhaps she could find a way to keep it from him once she did. Fight. Run.

  Swallowing, Lily forced herself to find a sense of calm. “Let go of my arm,” she stated. Surprisingly, he did. Lily took a deep breath and plunged her hand to the back of the recess. A fraction before her fingers connected, Lily felt a warmth swelling in her chest then, as her fingers closed around the soft object, the tingling. It started in her gut and spread in a wave that left her breathless, detached, unafraid. As she had in the meadow when watching the bear.

  Gripping it tightly, Lily stepped back. Darrell’s face twisted in a triumphant smile as it focused on the leather pouch clutched in her hand.

  “Perfect.” He held out a bandana. “Give it to me.”

  She shook her head, her body primed, her spirit knowing it was something she could never do.

  His eyes snapped to her face, fury burning behind the bright blue irises. Before Lily could blink, his hand snapped out and fastened around her throat, her scream choked off as Darrell lifted her free of the floor and walked her to the opposite wall. Slamming her against it, he leaned in, his lips thinned into a gruesome slash. “I have searched for this for years, sacrificed, all the time working toward a single, ultimate goal and you…” His face dipped closer, teeth bared. “You…nothing of a creature…think you can stand in my way?” He reached down with his other hand and wrenched her arm up over her head. “Release it,” he hissed.

  Lily tried to move, to kick like Susan had taught her, but it was no use. She was losing ground every second air was denied her. Despite her terror, despite knowing that her decision may well doom her, Lily choked out, “Not on your life.”

  A snarl blasted into her as his hand tightened, crushing her airway, denying her any hope that this would end with anything other than her violent death.

  I’m sorry, Shain…Nhya…

  Chapter Twelve

  Windigo ran like the wind, bending to his master’s will with iron resolve. Shain pressed himself tight to the stallion’s sweat-drenched neck, urging him on.

  Finally the line of pine and cedars loomed ahead. Shain slowed Windigo to a gallop until they located the opening and crashed through. Windigo plunged down the twining trail, smashing branches, leveling shrubs.

  Shain rubbed his heaving side, encouraging him. As they careened down the rocky embankment, the stallion stumbled and Shain pulled him up, barely keeping his feet under him.

  “Whoa, boy.”

  They’d have to walk the rest of the way. It was too treacherous for Shain to demand the horse take it at speed.

  “I’m sorry, Shain…Nhya…”

  “Lily!” Shain shouted. Her honeyed voice echoed in his mind. So close. So real…

  Shain dismounted, whispering quick
words to Windigo before forging ahead at a dead run. Past the brook, up the other side. Pounding down the trail, around tree and rock, and finally through the thick tangle of vegetation and out into the sunny clearing.

  A gray stallion looked up from where it grazed with Rialda at the far end of the glade.

  Storm.

  What was Darrell’s horse doing here?

  Cold seeped into Shain’s chest. “Son of a bitch.”

  * * * * *

  Pinpricks of light danced behind Lily’s eyes, black lurking at the edges. She knew he was waiting for her to pass out and drop the pouch. Why he couldn’t just take it was beyond her.

  “Stubborn bitch, drop it!” he shouted inches from her face.

  Lily ignored him, her mind spinning free. She closed her eyes as a subtle sensation of warmth filled her palm and spread up her arm and into her chest. It was pleasant, comforting and something else.

  A promise…

  Of what?

  “Let her go, Darrell.”

  Lily’s eyes flew open as the pressure on her neck eased. She gasped, dragging air into her tortured lungs and down her bruised windpipe.

  Shain… He stood near the couch, the door open behind him. His hands were in fists at his side, his handsome face thunderous and his smoky brown eyes nearly black as he gazed at Darrell. “Get your hands off her.”

  Darrell complied and Lily barely caught herself as she hit the ground. She collapsed against the wall, hand to her aching throat.

  “Why, if it’s not my good buddy, Shain.”

  Lily’s eyes watered as she fought for air, her throat burning, her chest aching. Looking down she realized that she still held the pouch and it was glowing. A gentle, golden-red glow of autumn leaves, a summer sunset, a mountain lake at winter dawn. And it seemed to shift in her hand—tug—as if wanting to move toward—

  Her eyes rose, meeting Shain’s around Darrell’s coiled form. She recognized the fear for her safety in his gaze…and something else. A red-hot, formidable rage.

  “Why?” came Shain’s deep rumble.

  She couldn’t see Darrell’s grin but Lily could feel it like a choking breath of deep winter. “You wouldn’t understand, Shain old boy, and I don’t have the time or inclination to explain it to you. I had hoped to locate the pendant with you and your lovely sister none the wiser but your stubborn parents saw to it that I wasn’t going to get to it in a…non-violent way.” Darrell smirked and cold seeped into every inch of Lily’s spirit. Her gaze cut to Shain, who was frozen, pain and fury burning in his eyes.

  Darrell sighed. “Unfortunately, I also underestimated the ability of your great-grandfather to protect the amulet.” He laughed. “So you see, we were both fools of a sort. Yet…” He paused and turned slightly to gaze at Lily. The manic gleam in his eye brought Lily straight, every nerve set on defying him any way possible. “I don’t intend to be the dead fool.”

  With his gaze still on her, Darrell’s hand shot in Shain’s direction and Lily watched in horror as Shain doubled over. Darrell closed his hand into a fist one finger at a time in midair, and Shain’s body twisted with it, slamming into the hardwood floor with a thud that made Lily cry out.

  “Lily, love, would you like to hand me the pendant now?”

  Without thought, she fell to the floor and kicked out with both legs at Darrell’s knees. Susan’s self defense class had taught her to go the floor and use her legs, the most powerful part of a woman’s body, and, by the screech and twist of rage on Darrell’s face, she was pretty sure the method was sound.

  Before Lily could scrabble far enough away, Darrell gripped her ankle and yanked, sliding her across the floor and into his arms. She only had a moment…

  “Shain!” she called as he rose like a great bear from a deep slumber. Lily lifted her arm and threw the pouch.

  It sailed through the air as if borne by an invisible breeze. Time froze. All eyes watched its descent. Lily felt Darrell release her, his body readying to spring.

  Shain stood to his full height and lifted an arm, the pouch landing squarely in his open palm. Lily scrambled to her feet and ran to Shain’s side. His left arm engulfed her and Lily pressed her cheek into his sweat-dampened shirt, the leather and spice scent of him filling her lungs.

  With unhurried hands, Shain looped the thong of the pouch over his head, letting it rest against his chest. Only inches away, Lily was startled yet comforted by the power wafting from the amulet. Darrell jumped to his feet and Lily gripped Shain’s arm in warning.

  “So be it. I’ll simply kill you both,” he said calmly, raising his hands in their direction.

  “No you won’t.”

  Lily and Shain twisted to see Nhya standing in the doorway, rifle leveled at Darrell’s chest. She walked forward to stand beside them. “Move on or die here.”

  The surety in Nhya’s voice chilled Lily and she found herself holding her breath as Darrell’s lip curled into a snarl. “Too many unforeseens.” He snorted. “No matter. There is another way.” His turquoise gaze fastened on Lily and she felt Shain tighten his hold, his body primed for action.

  He whistled softly, his eyes never leaving Lily’s face. “Waving wheat, crackling dry.” Darrell tipped his head her direction.

  * * * * *

  Shain didn’t care what he was. He’d rip his leering eyes right out of—

  Before he could move, Darrell sprinted across the room and leapt through the plate glass window. Shards exploded outward, catching the light like glittering crystals. Shain spun Lily aside and lunged forward.

  “No!”

  Nhya’s shout and arm on his shoulder brought him up short. Brother and sister stared at one another. “Let him go, Shain.”

  He shook her off. “I’m going to smash that bastard into a million…”

  The expression on his sister’s face stopped his words. Her eyes were glowing again, and the pouch was getting warmer on his chest, tugging, moving…

  “It is not his time. And if we kill him here, which, by the way, would be exceptionally difficult, here he would remain. For a very long time,” Nhya finished, emphasizing the word long.

  “Fuck,” Shain muttered, understanding what Nhya was getting at. The freak would become a shade, a bad spirit, wreaking havoc on the ranch for God knows how long. Shain raked a hand through his hair and stared out the shattered window. “We can’t just let him go. That son of a bitch is bad-ass dangerous.”

  “Yes,” Nhya said with a sigh, moving forward to engulf Lily in a hug. “He is.”

  Gritting his teeth, Shain moved back to Lily’s side. She left his sister’s arms and fell into his. “He’s not a normal man, Shain. You don’t know…” Her words faded and Shain tipped her chin to get a better look at her neck. Bands of red were still visible and Shain knew she’d have an ugly bruise within the hour.

  Fury burned in his gut and the anger threatened to overwhelm his good senses. He stepped back, fighting to control his temper. “What the hell happened here?” Shain growled. “Darrell…shit. And his comment about our parents.”

  Shain stared at Nhya, raw pain evident. “Do you think that crazy asshole had something to do with the plane crash?”

  As the steady pounding of hooves receded in the distance Nhya wiped her eyes and lowered the rifle. “I don’t know. Maybe. God help us.”

  With a roar, Shain slammed his fist into the ceramic lamp, shattering it much like the window.

  Nhya placed a calming hand on his arm. “He fooled all of us, Shain. Even Curt and Luke who have a nose for magic.”

  “Curt and Luke?” Lily asked, perplexed.

  “Our cousins,” Nhya replied. “They came down last month from Billings to help us keep an eye on things. Darrell had worked here for about a year and Shain promoted him to foreman after our parents died. We needed someone. I was busy handling the books and he seemed so stable…”

  Lily’s eyes widened as Nhya’s words sunk in. “Cousins. That’s why I kept thinking Luke looked familiar. And the
bear! So he was warning family. Luke. Luke is family.”

  Shain kissed the top of Lily’s head, his nerves still pinging with adrenaline over the thought of losing her. “He is.”

  Nhya checked Lily’s neck, her lips pursed in concern. “You’re family now, too, Lily.”

  The thought mixed in Shain’s gut like an explosive cocktail and the words fell out before he could stop to think. “She will be, once she agrees to marry me.”

  Lily gasped. “Did—did you just…” She affixed him with a firm stare. “I can’t believe you said that. What happened to traveling the path to see where it takes us?”

  Taking Lily’s hands, he knelt and pulled her onto his knee. “Fuck that. No more waiting. Life’s too damn short. I may have lost my friggin mind in the last forty-eight hours but I’d rather lose it with you than anyone else, darlin’.”

  Nhya snorted. “Well, if that wasn’t the lousiest proposal I’ve ever heard. You’ll be lucky if she agrees to spend another night at the Red Bear, you big lunk head.”

  Lily grinned and relief washed through Shain. His heart had been up in his throat as soon as the words left his mouth. Shain took Lily’s hand and turned it over, running his finger across the pale skin of her palm to her ring finger. “Nhya’s right. Shithead might be a better word for me on most occasions and I know we probably need some time but, by God, Lily, I know this is the right thing. At least tell me you’ll stay on for a while. Give us some time, even if you don’t want to decide right now…”

  Before Shain could finish he found Lily flush to his chest, her face even with his, her forest green eyes gazing into his with a depth of sincerity that stole his breath. “Listen, lunk head, time’s probably a good idea but damned if I want to wait either.” She took his hand and pressed it to her chest, her lower lip trembling. “I’ve been waiting my whole life for someone to warm up to. You’ve branded my heart, Shain Stevenson.”

  Joy swelled in Shain’s gut and he crushed Lily to him as they stood. “I think we branded each other, darlin’. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”