Shadow's Soul

by Jami Gray

  It was hard to make out her expression in the dark, but he didn’t miss her shrug. “I’m going with a book or a box.”

  That wasn’t much help.

  “Either way, it was powerful and old.”

  He turned to look at her, his mind quickly fitting pieces together. “How do you figure?” Even if he suspected the answer, it didn’t hurt to ask.

  She rocked a bit on her feet. Since she could maintain a hunter’s stillness for extended periods of times, her telltale movement meant her answer made her uneasy. “I could see its magic.”

  Her recently discovered talent for being able to see magical energies was going to come in very handy tonight. “Do you think you can track it from here?”

  “If it’s close enough, maybe.” She paused and he could feel the weight of her stare. “You going to shadow me?”

  “Of course.” Knowing how uncomfortable she was with her newly acquired skill, he had no intention of letting her shoulder it alone. Her newly acquired ability to not only view magic as if it was a living tapestry, but manipulate it, rattled her. Besides, they just started to find their balance between their personal and working relationships, no way was he giving her an excuse to dart back behind her heavily armored emotional walls. In Arizona, she let him slip through a crack and he took full advantage, tying them together at an unbreakable soul level.

  While she struggled with their connection, he found a rare comfort in it. Whether she realized it or not, she’d become his talisman, the one he held on to when the rest of his world fractured and reformed into something unexpected. Thanks to the meddling of human scientists embedded with a god complex, their magic had been fundamentally changed. Unraveling those changes would take time, but at least they’d face it together.

  “You coming?” Her soft question snapped him out of his head.

  She slipped further down the lightless street.

  He didn’t answer as he caught up, instead he glided along their shared link until the world around him shimmered into a map of magic courtesy of Raine’s ability. The shift in perspective was disconcerting. Magic was a form of living energy, and if you were Kyn, you could tap into it at different points, depending on which bloodline you claimed.

  Raine and Gavin were both Fey—he through his father’s line, her through her mother’s. Her paternal line was a mystery, but after spending time in a lab as a teenager, she shared her skin with a deadly predator—a lethal black panther. He, on the other hand, was a damn strong witch thanks to his mother’s blood. It allowed him to forge the connection he shared with Raine, and with it flung wide open, he saw the world through Raine’s powerful eyes.

  They made their way through a weed-choked courtyard surrounded by dark, crumbling tenements. The only signs of life were a couple of feral cats crawling through the underbrush and deserted buildings. Raine came to a stop and held up a hand, bringing him to halt. She turned her head slowly as if scanning, and he mimicked her movement. He saw it at the same time she did—a flare of muted color in the back, top corner of the building on the left. It flickered and died, and they melted into the night to wait. A breath passed, then another, and another flare erupted only to disappear.

  Using their mental link, he asked, “Our package?”

  “I think so.”

  “Any clue what we’re dealing with?”

  “Based on the dull, earth tones, I’m guessing witch or wizard touched.”

  “No way they’d go through all that trouble to snatch it from you to just leave it there.”

  She didn’t answer, instead he felt her reach out as if casting a net. Her magic snagged on something big. Her instant recoil and resulting sharp shut down on their link, made him wince.

  Knowing that to force their link to re-open would only cause them both pain, he mentally demanded, “What is it?”

  He watched her silhouette shake her head. “Someone’s up there with it.”

  Wrapping his hand around her wrist, he dragged her close and moved under the sagging balcony in an attempt to stay hidden. Knowing how voices carried in the still night, he stuck with their silent conversation. “What are we dealing with?”

  She rubbed her temple, but a worried frown furrowed her forehead. “Definitely not human and not Amanusa, but I can’t untangle the threads to get a clear read. It’s some strange mix of Shifter, Fey, and Magi. Hell, since I’ve never seen such a combination, it could be something we’ve never run across.”

  He brushed her wrist with his thumb, then let her go. “But you’re sure it’s just one person?”

  She dipped her head.

  “Right, so two to one odds are doable.” With practiced ease he pulled a retractable blade free from the cleverly hidden sheath at his hip. He flicked the blade into position, then crouched to free a smaller knife tucked into an ankle sheath. When he looked over at Raine, she was armed with two dark knives. He shared her feral grin. “Time to retrieve our package.”

  Together they crept through building. He stayed on Raine’s heels, trusting her to choose the best path in the inky darkness. Thanks to the cat sharing her skin, her night vision was much keener than his.

  They hit the top floor and paused. Their goal was at the end of the shadowed hall on the left. Without knowing the interior layout, their only choice was a frontal assault. They crept down the hall, mindful of the cracked boards and skirting ragged holes. When they reached the last door, they stopped and listened, their backs pressed against the wall.

  Inside someone moved around quietly. Closing his eyes, Gavin listened to the soft shuffle. One…two…three steps to the left. A pause. One…two…three…four steps back. Another pause. The pattern repeated.

  With no information on who or what lay in wait, they needed to go in fierce and disable their target. Lifting his lashes, he met Raine’s silvery gaze. “Light it up and go in low. Go for the package. I’ll be right behind you.”

  She gave a slight nod.

  He turned his attention back to the door. Using their mental link, he did a slow countdown from three.

  On one, Raine stepped into the doorway, her arm cocked back and a ball of searing white whipped into the room, throwing sharp shadows against the wall. She sprung inside, keeping low, knives out.

  He followed on her heels as a low curse filled the air.

  A big body stumbled back, but didn’t lose balance. Instead, it danced back from Raine’s blurring blades, barely managing to escape being sliced. Gavin let his smaller blade fly, and was rewarded by a soft grunt as it found its target. Continuing his forward momentum, he followed the figure as it backed away from Raine and the pilfered object.

  The figure swung out, but Gavin blocked the hit with his forearm, feeling the impact shudder into his shoulder. Moving smoothly, he forced the thief’s arm away and down as he struck out with his other fist, never losing his grip on his knife. He locked the other man’s arm against his hip. His opponent managed to jerk his head back just enough to dodge Gavin’s fist, which skimmed across his skull.

  Gavin snapped his knee to the man’s thigh, deadening the nerve and sending him down to the ground. Gavin adjusted his hold on the man’s arm until he it was locked in an arm bar, the edge of his blade now resting against the kneeling thief’s throat. Feeling the man’s muscles tense, Gavin warned, “Ah, ah, ah. Be careful of your next move.”

  “Bec mon chu,” a gravelly voice spat.

  Raine strolled over and crouched in front of the thief, a little ball of light bobbing along at her shoulder. “See, I’m not the only one with lecherous intents on your ass, darling.” Wrapping her hand in the tangle of shaggy hair, she yanked the thief’s head back.

  Gavin adjusted his knife so he wouldn’t accidentally slit the man’s throat and watched his woman do her thing.

  She narrowed her eyes as she studied their captive. “Who are you?”

  Instead of growls or whimpers, Gavin was startled by the rough chuckle. “Now, now cher, did you forget about me already? After all I’ve d
one for you?”

  Gavin’s hold tightened on the kneeling man as Raine sucked in an audible breath. Shock roared through their connection and her pale skin went almost translucent. Before Gavin could blink, Raine gripped the hilt protruding from the man’s shoulder and twisted. “I should fucking kill you,” she hissed.

  The man groaned, sweat breaking out on his forehead and his bronze color turning a sickly beige.

  Raine’s volatile mix of emotions washed through Gavin, a clear indicator she was a hair’s breath away from tumbling over a crumbling edge. Since they needed answers more than bloodshed, Gavin stepped in, hoping to hold her back. “Care to introduce us?” he drawled.

  Fury lent a cruel edge to her features, creating a savage mask of terrifying beauty. Her lips curled as she spat, “Tarek.”

  The unexpected name wiped out Gavin’s amusement and replaced it with unadulterated rage. It took every ounce of his formidable control to keep his knife where it was, to not press it deeper until blood coated the surface.

  Tarek. The sadistic fucker who killed one of their own while working with the demented scientist who pumped some sick cocktail into Gavin’s veins in an attempt to create the ultimate solider. A low menacing grow escaped as his muscles locked in a war between instinct and logic. They needed answers. Tarek couldn’t speak if his throat was cut. The need to kill rode Gavin hard. Somehow he managed to open his hand and let his blade fall to the ground.

  He tightened his hold on Tarek’s arm and yanked up sharply, giving his ravenous fury something to chew on. The audible pop of Tarek’s shoulder dislocating was joined by another low groan. Before he lost all control, Gavin shoved him away and stepped back, his hands curling into fists.

  Tarek fell to his side, but Raine was already there, the point of her blade piercing Tarek’s chin, as she got in his face. “As much as I want you on the ground, writhing in pain, I want to know who’s holding your leash.”

  “Didn’t steal your toy, cher.”

  Gavin closed the distance until he loomed above Tarek. “Sure as hell looks like it.”

  Tarek went to shake his head, but since Raine didn’t move her blade, he stopped and grimaced. “Non, I was tracking your costumed duo, not whatever that is.” He waved his non-injured arm towards the corner.

  Leaving Tarek in Raine’s capable hands, Gavin went to the dark corner. Sure enough, the wrapped package sat all by its lonesome on the dust-covered floor. Even though impotent anger boiled in his veins, he didn’t miss the subtle warning as he reached out to pick up the package. He stopped with his hand extended halfway. “Raine, I need to borrow your light.”

  Shadows shifted and danced, finally settling as the wavering ball of light floated into place. Sure enough, there were symbols etched into the dust. A perimeter spell. He took a moment to study it. Easily broken but something about it was off. Not wanting Tarek to listen in on their conversation, he telepathically reached out to Raine. “I need to see the magic.”

  She didn’t hesitate and their connection widened, moving colors seeped into his awareness, until the perimeter spell went from flat symbols etched in dust, into woven chords of fluctuating reds and blacks. After a careful perusal he found what was hidden. A trap. If they broke the perimeter, the spell would turn on the object and destroy it. Well, shit. “We’re going to have to trade places.”

  Even though she didn’t move from in front of Tarek, Gavin felt her attention shift to him and the spell. “What do you want me to do?”

  “You’re going to have to help me trick the spell. It needs to think it’s attacking the package.”

  He felt her mind spin through options. Keeping Tarek blind to their actions was paramount. It also meant Raine had to act on two separate levels; distracting Tarek while manipulating the spell’s magic. “I can do it from here. You stay there, I’ll keep our guest busy.”

  She leaned in, keeping Tarek’s field of vision limited to her face. “Where are they?”

  Gavin sunk into a crouch in front of the square object. The colorful threads of magic filled his field of vision as Raine began to do her thing on the psychic plane. He could still hear the conversation behind him.

  “If I knew, I wouldn’t be here,” Tarek growled.

  “Who sent you?” As Raine continued her interrogation, Gavin slipped through the opening she created in the initial layer of the spell. As fast as he could, he created a duplicate image of the package, complete with magical signature.

  “Now, cher, you know I’m not one to reveal my employers.”

  The lines of magical energy trembled under Raine’s anger at his statement, and her control slipped. Gavin braced, unable to move from his precarious position. If he stopped now, the spell would trigger and the end results wouldn’t be pretty.

  A harsh bark of laughter sounded, and the magic around him steadied as Raine locked down her fury. Icy disdain coated her voice, “What I know is, if it comes down to your ass or theirs, you’ll gladly serve them up.”

  Gavin finished the last details of the illusion. “Done.”

  Raine didn’t respond, but the living threads shifted and settled over his illusion. “Now.”

  He reached for the package as a sharp hiss sounded, then Tarek said, “I’m freelancing, love. I don’t give a shit about names so long as the money hits my account.”

  Gavin’s hand closed around the object, and he drew in a deep breath. If this didn’t work…he cut the thought off before it could form.

  “Details, Tarek, I want details,” Raine snapped.

  Holding his breath, Gavin slowly lifted the object and began pulling it out of the circle. The spell wavered, as if buffeted by an unseen breeze. Cold sweat broke over his spine as he took his time bringing the package out of the spell’s circle. With a final tug, he pulled it free. The spell shimmied, then slowly settled. Only when it was still once more, did Gavin release the breath he was holding in a silent expulsion of relief. With the package cradled against his stomach, he lowered his head and waited for the adrenaline rush to fade before he straightened and turned.

  Raine’s knife was rock steady as it hovered at Tarek’s neck, and Gavin caught the end of his answer, “…track down the boy and his chickadee, then bring them back home.”

  “Where’s home?” Gavin’s question came out rough.

  Tarek’s gaze jerked to him, his face blank, his eyes empty. “That, I’ll not be sharin’, yeah.”

  “Babysitting? Such a step down for you, isn’t it?”

  The arrogant ass on his knees just smiled. “It pays de bills.”

  The creak of wood underfoot caught Gavin’s attention. He dropped a hand on Raine’s shoulder and kept his voice soft, “Company.”

  Tarek’s eyes brightened in anticipation, but before he could move, Raine swung out and nailed his temple with the butt of her blade. He sank into a boneless heap.

  Her little ball of light winked out and darkness rushed back in. As Raine got to her feet, Gavin wove a quick binding spell over Tarek’s unconscious form, and to ensure they didn’t tip off their presence to the latest arrivals, he added a concealment illusion. Tarek’s body melted into the shadows, invisible until someone tripped over him.

  Gavin and Raine glided over the dusty floor, each taking a position on either side of the doorframe as the soft footsteps drew closer.

  The muted beam of a flashlight bounced into view, and darted over the walls. “See, I told you no one followed us.” The underlying tremor in the whisper, robbed the statement of its confidence.

  Raine and Gavin held their position as a lanky figure took a couple of hesitant steps into the doorway. Behind it another, smaller form followed. As the two passed through, Gavin could only shake his head at the stupidity of youth.

  A young man, no more than sixteen, kept flicking the light over the room without ever looking back. The pale-faced young woman crowded so close to his back, she threatened to trip him as they moved further inside.

  Needing to know who they were dealing
with, Gavin let his senses expand and “taste”, for lack of a better word, what kind of magic, if any, these two held.

  Obviously on the same page, Raine’s soft confirmation echoed in his head, “Kyn.”

  Based on the familiar feel of magic, he’d peg them both as witches.

  “Why didn’t he show, Claude?” There was a hint of a whine in the girl’s question.

  When the boy stopped, Gavin tensed, but the kid only shook his head. “Don’t know, but we’re gonna wait and try again.” The flashlight’s beam swept over the far corner, stopping on the plain brown wrapped object lying in the center of the spell’s circle. “Look, it’s still here.” Claude reached back and grabbed the girl’s wrist, pulling her around until they stood side by side, their backs to the threat hiding in the shadows. “That old bugger’s spell works jus’ fine.”

  The girl tugged her hand free and wrapped her arms around her waist. “I don’ like it. Hell, I don’ like him. He gives me the creeps. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.”

  Claude wrapped his free arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Don’ fret, Elle, we’re gonna be fine. We jus’ deliver this here package to the old coot, get our money, and hit the road. No more nights dodging your pa’s fists or sleeping in shithole shacks. We’ll be free.”

  Elle’s slender frame visibly shook as she sighed and burrowed closer to Claude. “I don’ think Mama Marie would like this.”

  There was no reading Claude’s face since his back was to them, but Gavin didn’t miss the hint of steel in his voice. “This has nothin’ to do with Mama Marie. I won’t let anyone hurt you no more.”