Illicit

by Cathy Clamp

  At least now they knew who was missing. Rachel and Dalvin ran to the town hall, where they presumed the Council members would be working out a strategy. Liz and Amber were there; Liz was talking on a radio. “You need to stop him before he gets to the next town, Rabi. Dead humans would be really bad.”

  Liz paused, probably listening to Rabi’s reply, then said, “If he’s gone rogue, he could have gone any which way. All we can do is keep our eyes open. Hopefully, the birds will be of some help.”

  “These birds can definitely help,” Rachel said. “We can tell you where he is, or at least where he was half an hour or so ago.”

  “Rabi, hold on. I think we have some intel.” Liz held out the radio, the button still pushed down.

  Dalvin walked closer, so Rabi would be able to hear him. When he drew in front of Rachel, she wished she didn’t notice his cute butt right then, but she couldn’t seem to get his body out of her mind.

  “He’s not rogue,” Dalvin said. “When he saw us, he knew exactly who we were. He was chasing a pair of base jumpers, trying to kill them. He was in total bloodlust but completely sane.”

  “Did you get that, Rabi?” Liz spoke into the radio, then let go of the button so they could hear Rabi’s reply.

  “Yeah.” The councilman’s voice was tinny and distant through the speaker. “How do you know he wasn’t rogue? His family swore he’d gone rogue; they’re blaming the Kasuns for poisoning him somehow.”

  Rachel shook her head. “No, I’ve seen plenty of rogues—they’re a dime a dozen in Luna Lake. The magic they give off has an odd feel, like a vortex. Chaotic. Samit’s magic was just fine. He might wind up killing someone, but it’s not because he’s gone rogue.”

  “Hello? Did you hear me?” Rabi said. Rachel realized Liz had forgotten to push the Talk button while Rachel was speaking.

  Liz rolled her eyes at her own behavior and pushed the button. “Sorry, Rabi. We heard you. Rachel and Dalvin say Samit isn’t rogue.”

  When she let go of the Call button, at first there was a long pause filled with waves of static. “I think we still have to treat this with caution. We have only the word of two people who don’t know him, versus his own famil—”

  Rachel reached in her pocket and held up one of the phones she’d taken from the human hikers. She’d decided not to destroy them. Instead, she’d turned off the location services and removed the SIM cards, making them invisible. “Oh, we have more than our word. We have video.”

  Liz said, “Call you right back, Rabi. We need to see this.”

  “Don’t bother,” he replied. “I’m nearly to you. Let’s watch it together.”

  Amber, who had been silent up to that moment, asked, “Why were you guys out there this morning?”

  Fighting not to blush, Rachel hoped that the quick dip she and Dalvin had taken in the lake before rushing back to town had eliminated the scent of what they had been up to. Her voice was pure innocence when she replied, “I was showing the cat course to Dalvin, like you asked.”

  The Wolven agent nodded, adding, “Rachel pointed out that the hunting challenge might be difficult with Larissa’s injured shoulder. We decided to come back here to chart out an alternate to that portion. That’s when we saw Samit.”

  “Where’s this video?” Rabi asked as he stalked into the room, looking both worried and angry.

  Rachel handed one phone to Dalvin and began navigating to the camera roll on the other, trying not to smile at the councilman’s appearance. He’d definitely “gone local”—other than his olive skin, he looked like any other town resident in a heavy red flannel shirt and weathered jeans. “I’m not sure which phone belonged to the person taking the video, so we should check both.”

  Liz moved closer to Rachel, brushing her arm with a velvety soft red-patterned chenille top. Man, I have got to go shopping one of these days. They are wearing some sick stuff. “These are the hikers’ phones? Good job getting them. We can’t let any photos be seen.”

  Dalvin laughed. “We were flying at the time, but she didn’t want to risk catching them with a talon so she had me shift her. She screeched and then ran past them, stark naked, and snatched the phones right out of their hands.”

  Amber had just taken a sip of soda, which she now spewed all over the desk. Fortunately, the cola would blend in with her dark brown sweater vest and not stain it. “Oh, I like you. That pretty well ensures nobody will believe their story.” She leaned forward and said, with sparkling eyes, “And then, kids, the crazy naked lady ran out of the trees, screamed at us, and stole our phones!”

  Rachel could hear laughter in Liz’s voice as she added, “No, really, she was naked! Right out there in the snow.”

  Rabi raised his eyebrows and asked, mock sternly, “How much have you had to drink today? Could you please empty your backpacks and show me your ID?”

  That was it; Rachel cracked up. It sounded completely ridiculous in retrospect, but her actions had seemed perfectly sane at the time. Looking at the phone, she saw the video she was looking for. She held the phone so the others could see the screen and pushed Play.

  Everyone crowded around. It was strange for Rachel to see herself in owl form. Her wings were fluffier than they felt on the inside. She hadn’t remembered the snow falling so hard when she’d been fighting, but it was really pretty on the video. Dalvin’s flying and fighting were magnificent—no wonder he was in Wolven. If she didn’t insist he teach her more flying, she was an idiot. And she finally got a chance to see the effect of her screech! It really was a paralysis. Everyone froze as though the video had stopped. Except the trees kept moving in the wind and the snow continued to fall. The video ended with Samit running off.

  “Wait. Replay that part right at the end,” Rabi said. “I heard something.”

  With the sound at its loudest, the audio was still just barely audible. Even so, the bear’s anger was chillingly clear. “You will pay for this, owls.”

  “He’s not a rogue,” Rabi said with heat in his voice. He took the phones from Rachel and Dalvin. “Who are these people? Was it personal? Were they Sazi or family?”

  Rachel shrugged. She set the SIM cards she’d removed on the desk. “I don’t know. But we have the phones. We can probably check out the people. I pulled the cards out in case the location services were on or they had tracking programs installed.”

  Rabi nodded. “Thank you both for bringing this to us. Now please leave while we discuss it.”

  “Can I just say that—”

  The councilman raised a hand. “I wish I had time. Truly. But I need to set up an emergency video chat with the Council. These peace talks are about to self-destruct and we need firm agreement on how to go forward.”

  Amber put a hand on his arm. “I think it would be wise to keep them here in case the rest of the Council has any questions about their encounter.”

  Liz chimed in. “I agree. We need to make this quick, and I don’t want to have to track them down.”

  Cool. She looked over at Dalvin, who was wearing a frown. Not angry; worried.

  Rabi produced a laptop from a briefcase, turned it on, then connected it to a strange gizmo that had a dozen flashing lights. He clicked on the touchpad, and a dozen small boxes appeared on the screen. The word “Waiting” was quickly replaced by “Connecting” in each square, and then “Paging.”

  A man’s face appeared in the upper left screen. He appeared to be Native American, with long black hair. The second screen flashed to life, showing Angelique! The falcon shifter looked elegant, even blinking and bleary-eyed and obviously just out of bed. The next to connect was Sargon’s son Ahmad, the snake councilman. Even now, the resemblance freaked Rachel out and made her step back. Dalvin noticed, put a hand on top of hers, and squeezed lightly. It helped, just that little touch.

  The fourth screen stayed blank. Amber tipped her head toward Rabi. “You won’t reach Charles. No connection in the Yukon. Not even satellite where he is.”

  The fifth screen li
t with the image of a handsome blond man who also was just barely awake. He was the first to speak, with a slight French accent. “Really, Rabi? It’s three in the morning and I just got to sleep. This had better be important.” Amber leaned over and waved.

  “Congratulations, Antoine. I just heard the news. Give Tahira my best and tell her I’ll drop by the estate as soon as we finish up here.”

  Oh! He must be the councilman for the cats. Rachel had heard of him. He did an animal show with one of the big circuses. Great cover for when he had to shift into a cat himself!

  The man in the top corner spoke. “I think we are all you’re going to get, Rabi. Nikoli is off hunting with his pack. I’ll fill in as representative for the wolves.”

  Rabi let out a little growl. “I’d really hoped Zolan could be here. This is about the bears.”

  Ahmad, rolled his eyes. “We have a majority. We can make decisions without his input if necessary. Many years went by without the Council even having a bear representative, and the world survived. What is your concern?”

  “Fine,” Rabi said, throwing up his hands in frustration. He quickly but succinctly explained recent events, starting with everyone’s arrival in town. “Now we’re faced with a situation where one of the delegates has gone off the reservation. Do we continue with the race or should I call this location a bust too, and move the discussions somewhere else?”

  Antoine raised a finger. “But both alphas are willing to let this Ascension challenge decide the matter? Did you sense any deception?”

  Rabi shook his head. “No, not from the alphas.”

  “The alpha males anyway,” Rachel said under her breath, forgetting that all the people around her were alphic. Amber and Liz both turned to look at her, and Rabi stiffened, his back straightening even more.

  The snake councilman pointed right at her. “You there. Come forward. I would like to hear what you have to say.”

  Antoine was the one to roll his eyes this time. “Ahmad, we don’t have time for a Q and A session.”

  The whole group started to argue: Yes, she should talk, no she shouldn’t. Finally, Ahmad slammed his fist down on something that shattered under the blow. The noise silenced the others. When Ahmad spoke, his voice was calm, without even an edge of anger.

  “My esteemed fellow Council members, please look closely at this woman. I met her yesterday. She survived one of my father’s ‘training’ camps. She was at the camp personally overseen by Nasil. Please give her a moment of attention, out of respect.”

  The councilman named Antoine underwent a complete transformation, his expression shifting from annoyed and frustrated to complete admiration in less than a second. It was a little unnerving.

  Amber poked her head into view of the camera. “Angelique, this is the woman I spoke to you about this morning.”

  “Ah.” The sharp, slender face peered out from the screen. She spoke in a high-pitched voice with a thick accent that sounded sort of French, but wasn’t the same as the cat councilman’s. “You are zat one. Very well. Screech for me.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Rabi let out a high-pitched snarl and smelled of angry cat, the nasty scent of ammonia. Angelique made an impatient gesture in her little box while he hissed and said, “We don’t have time for this!”

  She dismissed him with a wave. “The cat, he ees restless. Someone give him yarn. Screech and then speak, young bird.”

  Amber turned completely around so the people on the screen couldn’t see her and then whispered in Rachel’s ear, so softly that she could barely hear, “Give it your best or she won’t let you talk.”

  Rachel took a deep breath. Just as she was about to let loose, something stabbed her in the side, sharp and painful. The resulting screech was equal to the one she’d used on the bear. In the enclosed space of the town hall, the storm of sound froze everyone except Amber in their tracks.

  “Nice,” the bobcat healer said.

  Still recovering from being jabbed, Rachel spun toward Dalvin. His mouth was stuck open, his eyes momentarily vacant. She looked down and saw what he’d stuck her with, still clasped tightly in his paralyzed hand: a metal letter opener. Pain and surprise had enlarged Rachel’s screech; she bet she was bleeding under her shirt.

  She turned back to the communicator. On the screen, the three men were rubbing their ears. Angelique was clapping her hands gleefully and smiling.

  “Oh, zat was very good! Very pretty. Yes, yes, I will work with you. Now speak.”

  Work with me? Having no idea what that meant, she pushed on. “Um, I just wanted to say that I think I have a way to solve the problem of the bears. There needs to be a third option, ’cause you know the moment someone wins the challenge, the loser will accuse them of cheating. Both sides have already tried to sabotage the challenge, and I’ll bet they each know what’s gone on and are just waiting for the right time to bring it up.”

  Now Rabi looked interested. The ammonia scent was sucked into the vents as the heater kicked on. “A third option? Such as?”

  “Me.”

  She waited while everyone thought it over. Dalvin nudged her but she ignored him, her gaze fixed on the Council members on-screen. Liz smiled and nodded.

  “You’re the local Omega,” the mediator said. “The town’s Omega.”

  Rachel nodded. “I’ve lost every race I’ve ever run. They can check the records until they’re blue in the face, that’s all they’ll see.” Because it’s true. “The Council puts me in the race as the American Omega. If I win, the Council picks where the fence goes. Nobody loses, nobody wins, and both sides wind up being ticked off. But not with each other.”

  “The enemy of mine enemy theory. But if you have lost every race—” Ahmad didn’t have to finish. She knew what the rest of the question was.

  “Until a month ago, this town was under the mental control of an insane alpha.” Everyone nodded, so she assumed they’d read the reports. “I was the favorite whipping bird. I believe the mayor and police chief made sure I would never win.”

  “Or,” Rabi said, “you were never impeded and simply never won.”

  She looked squarely at him. “I don’t choose to consider that a possibility.”

  Angelique reached forward and pressed something. Her screen turned green. “She has fire, zis little bird. Oui.”

  Ahmad didn’t speak, but his screen went green.

  The cat councilman, Antoine, became bathed in red. “Nothing against you, but I don’t think this would change the result. There will still be accusations of cheating. It just muddies the water further.”

  The man in the upper corner lit his screen to green. “It does muddy the waters more, Antoine. That’s the very point. Who will the saboteurs sabotage? It splits their attention and makes it easier to ferret them out. Rabi, since the majority says yes, it will be up to you to make this a nonnegotiable point.

  “Be angry about the sabotage you’ve already discovered. Tell them you know the attack on the hikers was a ruse, an attempt to have the other family put down for killing humans. Heap blame on both sides and throw your muscle around. They’ll both object to the Council being heavy-handed and imposing its will. Channel Ahmad’s most obnoxious moments when you reply. Heavy-handed imposing is his best thing.”

  Ahmad tipped his head. “Thank you, Lucas.”

  Catching on, Rachel said, “Then I need to hate the idea. I need to object and bitch about it.”

  Liz agreed with a grin. “Absolutely. If we’re imposing on them, we have to be imposing on you too.”

  Amber touched her arm, smelling slightly of worry. “Are you sure you’re up to this? Not only do you have to win, on your own, without our help, but people will be trying to knock you out of the race.”

  Dalvin stepped forward. “I’ll make sure nobody gets close.”

  That was nice to hear, but Rachel had to shake her head. “Can’t. You’re supposed to be guarding the Bosnians. If that changes, they’ll know something is up.” She turned and
looked into his golden-brown eyes, surprised and pleased to see concern there.

  “I’m the girl who yelled at you and humiliated you. You’re dating Larissa. We probably shouldn’t even talk, except to insult each other.” That was going to hurt. But after this was over, he would be leaving and she couldn’t. Might as well get used to not talking now.

  The man in the upper corner—Lucus?—spoke up. “I agree. So we have a clear path forward? Rabi?”

  Rabi dipped his head in acknowledgment. “I agree, with one amendment. Dalvin is the best flyer in Wolven. If the others can be trained for the competition, then so can she, and he is the logical person to do it. That will give her at least one day of protection. I don’t want anyone killed on my watch, especially an omega who can’t defend herself.”

  Antoine let loose a hearty laugh. “Were you not just in the room when she screeched? I saw you frozen solid. She can defend herself just fine, Rabi. At least long enough to get to safety. But I’m fine with a trainer. If the others have one, it only makes sense. Otherwise, everyone will know something is up. And if the sloths believe both of them find the match offensive, more the better.”

  * * *

  Offensive.

  Just a day ago, it wouldn’t have been difficult at all to imagine he would find it offensive to be forced to spend time with Rachel. Now he found it offensive to suggest he not. But it was a good plan and he could see it working. He cleared his throat. “Then I should be leaving, probably by the back door. I’ll head over to the Petrovics’ quarters to see how the search is going. We really do have to find Samit. He may not be satisfied to simply attack one couple. He might keep trying until he kills someone.”

  The door burst open. Rabi slammed the laptop closed, cutting off the video meeting as Tamir bolted into the room, announcing, “We found him. He’s on the back road, headed for the next town.”