Moonstone Shifter (Demon Lord Book 8)

by Morgan Blayde

  Then it hit me. Zahra did have the Eyes of Bastet—they were in her head. The little girl was an avatar of the goddess, given a small measure of divine power—a seer.

  It hadn’t been the power of love and friendship that made her trust Colt. She’d simply seen a very pure soul that loves without reservation.

  How I’ll make a demon lord out of him, I just don’t know.

  “Colt doesn’t have to be everything you are,” Selene said.

  I shrugged, and returned my gaze to the girl. I could easily see why any skin-walker would want Zahra dead.

  Those eyes can pierce any disguise, like a hot knife through butter, leaving the walker no way to hide. That could be very valuable.

  My inner dragon opened golden eyes in the back shadows of my mind. Mine! I saw her first.

  Hell no, I said. She’s bait in my skin-walker trap, remember?

  Colt shot me a sizzling red-copper stare to show he meant business. His thought cut across my discussion with my dragon. Mine! Colt’s stare softened, swinging to his Mom. “I can keep her right? I don’t think she has any family.”

  “For now,” Selene said. “But the mark of Bastet is on her. Eventually, she’s going to have answer that call. Hmmm. Bastet should be satisfied if we let your Aunt Cleo be Zahra’s official guardian. You can be her big brother. How’s that?”

  Colt said, “I’ll take what I can get.”

  I echoed him in Latin: “Et ut quid possumus.” “That’s always been our family motto. I’m glad you’re taking an interest in such things.”

  TWENTY-ONE

  “Things always go too easily,

  before they fly apart.”

  —Caine Deathwalker

  Selena and Colt pooled their power so the rest of us had a gentler return trip than the one that had brought us to the Old West. The red-copper sunburst of our departure thinned, replaced by a red wash of cool light in the hotel lobby as we reappeared a moment after leaving. Colt had Zahra clinging to his side. She stared around her at the modern world with round-eyed wonder. Colt had an arm around her, muttering soothingly to her.

  The cop on duty at the front entrance stuck his head in the lobby. “Hey, what was that?”

  Selene smiled at him.

  His eyes hazed red.

  “It’s not important,” she said.

  “Not important,” he echoed,

  She said, “Don’t let any donuts escape.”

  “No ma’am, they’re going down!”

  She turned away from him.

  His eyes lost their red glaze. He went back outside, returning to his post with a watchful eye and a hand on the butt of his gun.

  Julia blocked Colt as he tried to guide Zahra toward the elevator. “Hey, did you just travel through time—without me?”

  He gave her a look I recognized from my own repertoire: Shocked Innocence, level two. “What? Me? No, I’d never…!” He avoided lying by not finishing that sentence. It was clear he’d been studying evasive language under his Aunt Izumi. The fey don’t lie—they can’t without losing their magic—but they can misdirect and obfuscate like no one else.

  Julia’s gaze slashed. Her finger stabbed at several of us. “Angie and her boyfriend are wolves now, Selene’s suddenly here, Caine’s in a tux, and you—Little Brother—are wearing clothing that’s gotten a lot dirtier in just a second. You can’t lie to me. You’ve been back in time.”

  What I found interesting was the fact that she made no mention of Zahra. I wondered if our new were-kitten was shielding her presence with her power. In a strange environment she didn’t understand, among loud strangers, it might be a reflexive action.

  I called out, “Julia, let it go. You’re scaring your new little sister.”

  Julia swung toward me. Her hand still pointed. I think she’d forgotten to put it down. “My what?”

  “The invisible girl Colt has his arm around. Didn’t you notice anything strange about his posture?”

  Julia swung back toward him, staring at the curve of his suspended arm. She blinked. “There isn’t…is there?” Her poised hand reached out, the fingers wiggling as they searched what she thought of as empty air.

  Zahra growled softly.

  Colt said, “I wouldn’t…”

  Zahra’s head lunged a few inches. Her teeth nipped.

  Julia shrieked and hopped back out of range, clutching her wounded hand. I was just happy she hadn’t lost another finger, or drawn her .22 and gone to blasting. Julia’s stare grew even wider. “There is something there.”

  “That’s no way to win her trust,” Selene said. “She’s feral. As her big sister, you’re going to have to be patient.”

  Julia gave me an exasperated glare. “I’ve suddenly got a little feral sister? Who or what have you impregnated now? I already told you, I’m not doing any babysitting.”

  “You say that now,” Selene swept over to Julia, guiding her away, “but wait until the first time you see Colt in his blankie and he wraps his tiny, pudgy hand around one of your fingers, cooing at you. It will be love at first sight for both of you! Did I ever mention that I pay my babysitters in precious stones?”

  As they moved off, Angie and Winter followed, needing someone with human hands to operate the elevator.

  I joined Colt and Zahra. She looked at me, then hid her face in his hoodie.

  “How come I can see her?” I asked.

  “I told her your job is to be scary and protect us. You need to see her to do that. She’s showing herself to you as a favor to me.”

  “How did you have that conversation? She’s not even up to words yet, that I’ve heard.”

  He grinned. “I had older versions of me learn basic Egyptian. We all touch thoughts. It’s enough to get by on, though I probably sound like an idiot to her half the time. And then Zahra and I can share images, too. We make up our own hieroglyphics.”

  Telepathically linking to himself across time, went a long way to explaining why he was so precocious, mentally well ahead of other nine-year-old children. That and the fact he lacked human DNA from either parent.

  Colt sighed heavily. “Anyway, you see why I had to change Julia’s first impression of me. In nine months, she’s going to be seeing me as a baby, changing my diapers—because mom won’t listen. She’s trying to get between us by throwing us together in the wrong way.”

  “Now, I know your Mom can be a heartless bloody-handed sadist sometimes, but I’m sure she thinks it’s in your best interest.”

  “What if she decides your harem isn’t a good idea?”

  I felt grim resolve. “Some battles must be fought. You have my full support, son. Go wherever your manly needs take you.”

  “Right now, that’s Aunt Cleo’s room. Zahra will be comfortable there. It smells of cat.”

  I nodded. “Fine. I just remembered someone I need to do.”

  As Colt and Zahra left, I took out my phone, glad Selene had returned it to me when she’d given me the tux. A deep-buried remnant of conscience drove me to make sure Izumi was still in this time, alive, with a working vagina. I speed-dialed and waited for the connection to go through. Turning in place, I noticed more cops arriving to deal with the multiple crime scenes in the building. TV station personnel were also showing up with cameras. That caused me to turn my back on the door and walk toward the privacy of the hotel’s Tiki bar. I had a lot of drinking to catch up on.

  “Hello?” She sounded like she hadn’t looked first at caller ID.

  “It’s Caine. When you’re done, I want to see you. Naked.”

  “I’m not so sure of that. I feel neglected, so you’ll just have to wait until I’m done pampering myself with my spa treatments.”

  I smiled, playing my trump card. “Okay, Selene is here. I’ll just see if she wants to ravage me for a marathon stretch of the hottest sex ever. This version of her isn’t pregnant so maybe we’ll pop out another kid. Wouldn’t that be great? Colt might like to have a little brother.”

  “I’m on my w
ay. Keep your pants on until I get there.”

  “I’ll be in the Tiki Heaven. Oh, and you better portal to get in past the cops. There seems to be a lot of people dying around here.”

  “Fine. Anything else?”

  I reached the unmanned sign-in desk and moved on past it. “Yes. I love you.”

  “I love you, too, but I’m not doing anal. I’m trying to get pregnant, remember?”

  “You think I only say that when I want something?” I pushed through the door to the bar.

  “Caine, I know you. I love you is Caine-speak for ‘Let me fuck you.’”

  “I mean it this time.” I killed the connection and went to the bar, taking an empty seat.

  The hot blonde bartender from before was still on duty. She came up to me. “What can I get for you?”

  “I need A-Reason-to-Live.”

  She smiled lopsidedly. “Yeah, me too.”

  Odd. Good bartenders know all the crazy named drinks.

  Thinking of how the clone of Izumi had fooled me, and remembering there was still a skin-walker on the loose, I threw out another drink name to test her.

  “Hey, babe, how about a little Sex-on-the-Beach?”

  She leaned across the bar, sliding a hand over mine. “I get off work in a couple more hours. If we can’t find a beach, there’s always my apartment.”

  “Sex-on-the-Beach is a drink,” I said.

  “Oh, that’s right.” She laughed nervously. A fake laugh from a fake bartender.

  I said, “My girlfriend Izumi will be here soon. If I’m not back from the men’s room by then, have her wait for me.”

  “Sure,” she said.

  I had a hunch—and could be quite wrong—so I wanted to confirm there were no more skinned bodies lying around. And in case I was right, I didn’t want to alarm the skin-walking bartender prematurely. Once I eliminated the restrooms, the only other places a body could be stashed were the bar’s office, or maybe a storeroom.

  I passed a few tables where drinkers chatted, laughing, oblivious to the fact that this area might become a battlefield at any moment. I sauntered into the central gap of the divider that screened off the restroom doors. A glance informed me that the men’s room was to the left, and the women’s room to the right. I went left, moving out of sight of the bartender. There was a hand-written note taped to the door of the women’s room: Out of Order.

  Things do break down, so that wasn’t abnormally suspicious, but these were dangerous times I’d returned to. Just because the skin-walker had retrieved the giant sloth skin didn’t mean she was off the premises. A skin-walker can hide in plain sight and be undetectable, even to the heightened senses of other preternaturals.

  Smelling a faint odor of blood, I looked down. There was a heel print from a woman’s working shoe. The print deposited a trace amount of blood, just enough for my dragon’s olfactory sense to detect. Almost a smoking gun. I was now willing to bet that there was a skinned body inside one of the women’s room stalls.

  The bartender could have heightened senses from years of skin-walking. If so, I couldn’t dally too long. I went into the men’s room so she wouldn’t think my behavior suspicious. The men’s room smelled empty. I heard no heartbeats from the closed stalls. I didn’t bother looking under the stall doors. I went over to the sink and ran some water, staring at my ruggedly handsome face in the mirror. I took out my phone and called Imari, my First Sword. The fire demon picked up on the first chime.

  “Caine, where are you? What’s going on?”

  “Come to the Tiki Heaven right off the front desk. Act casual, bring a date for extra muscle. Take a seat at the bar. I think the skin-walker is here. I want you on-scene when I blow her cover. Make it fast.”

  “On my way.” The connection went dead.

  I put my phone away and turned off the water. Strolling casually, I went back out, returning to the barstool I’d abandoned. I was happy my ice queen Izumi hadn’t arrived yet. Hopefully, Imari and I could finish this up without her. Not that I minded the thought of additional backup. Izumi was a strong fey warrior, even when obsessed with my cock.

  I said, “I still want that drink, A-Reason-to-Live. You may want to take notes on the recipe. Add quarter ounces of the following: vodka, rum, Malibu, peach schnapps, melon liqueur, blue curacao, Southern Comfort, Captain Morgan sour mix, and a splash of pineapple and orange juice. Shake and serve over ice.”

  I went over the ingredient list again. She wrote the items down on a napkin. “Coming up.” She moved off and got busy.

  I noticed her unfamiliarity with where all the ingredients were. She was hunting way too much. That was the final evidence I needed. I made a point of not making my observations too obvious, sitting there, quietly humming in a minor key, something I thought appropriate for a funeral. The one a certain skin-walker was going to have very soon.

  The inside door to the bar opened. I glanced over. It wasn’t Imari or Izumi. It was Captain Guin Helland, my favorite white-haired amazon cop. This was not a good time for a human to get in the way. I especially didn’t want to discuss the murders with Guin, not with the killer right there to find out what we knew.

  The bartender set a drink in front of me.

  “Thanks.” I made an obvious glance at Guin, and widen my eyes. “Damn, wrong girlfriend! I need her out of here before Izumi shows up, or my balls are ice cubes.” I slid off my seat and went to intercept Guin. The bartender would probably be able to hear us, so I couldn’t urgently whisper a warning. I’d have to rely on Guin being fast on the up-take.

  I blocked her halfway to the bar, reaching out, taking her arm. “Candy, I’ve warned you not to come here looking for me. What if Izumi or Selene were to find out I’ve been banging you like a drum? You’re only human. There are things you can’t deal with—and survive.”

  “Caine, what the hell are you saying?”

  I mouthed the words: Play along.

  “Look, I just thought we could have some fun. I didn’t realize you were serious. I’m sorry if I’ve broken your heart, but you will get over me. Life goes on.”

  She had one eyebrow arched, looking at me like I was bat-shit crazy.

  Please, get a clue?

  I’d heard the door to the bar open and close, but hadn’t paid attention to who’d entered. My first indication of swooping disaster was a cold draft that turned my breath into white mist. I looked past Guin and saw my precious snowflake eyeing me with murder in her eyes. Izumi glared, her dark eyes paling to ice-blue as her glamour slipped a bit.

  I held up a palm, speaking past Guin to my fey queen. “Izumi, it’s not what you think it is. I need you to trust me on this.”

  Captain Guin turned to see who I was speaking to. “And who would you be?”

  Izumi smiled coldly, the kind of smile a killer might flash before getting to work. “Funny, I was just going to ask you that same thing.”

  TWENTY-TWO

  “The ball sack tightening can be an omen:

  Nature’s way of saying ‘Now you’re fucked!’”

  —Caine Deathwalker

  I needed to get the ladies over to the bar so they’d be positioned to back me up when I went for the bartender. Guin looked confused; justifiably so since the hard-assed cop had no feelings invested in me, and had never ridden my cock. Her loss. Izumi was the one I needed to rein in. In the heat of battle, I believed she wouldn’t let me down—despite her rampaging jealousy.

  I smiled with all my dazzling charm. “Look, let’s all calm down, sit down, and have a drink. I really can explain all this.” I walked past Guin, reaching out to my ice queen.

  The door opened again.

  Izumi slapped my hand away, leaving frost on my arm.

  So much for my dazzling charm.

  Imari, my faithful First Sword, held the door to the bar open. My Cousin Kinsey followed her in. She grinned at Izumi. “Hit him again! He probably deserves it.”

  Imari glowered at my cousin. “Idiot, that can’t be Izumi. It�
��s probably the skin-walker.” Imari wore the image of an African-American woman with a shaved and polished head. As her demon form emerged, her skin went to true black—a lightless black, dark as the heart of hell. Orange flames exploded on her scalp, giving her an illusion of hair. More of the pale fire danced along her arms. Since she wore jeans and a sleeveless top, she hadn’t yet destroyed her clothing. Pity really; she had a hell of a figure.

  Seeing a threat, Izumi shone with silver-blue light, growing body armor made of ice, and ice swords for each hand. A blizzard flurried snowflakes throughout the barroom. Patron’s shrieked in shock.

  Cousin Kinsey looked unarmed, but that was never the case. She grabbed at her side, pulling a magically hidden sword from its sheath. The effect was as though the basket-hilted rapier materialized from thin air.

  The patrons at other tables went full freak, running out a door that lead directly outside, not to the lobby. The police hadn’t secured that door yet.

  How long until they notice the bar has all the action.

  I spun to see what the bartender was doing…

  …Sliding over the top of the bar, dropping between two barstools. Her more than human agility gave final confirmation of what I’d suspected. She looked toward the outside door.

  Making her escape. Cops will be here soon. They’ll find the body in the women’s room. She doesn’t want to be here then.

  “Guin!” I yelled and pointed at the bartender. “Skin-walker. Shoot her!”

  The bartender moved with the speed of a shifter, getting halfway across the room as I jumped after her.

  I’d hoped pulling Guin away with me would defuse the fight. No such luck; I heard Izumi slash the air with an ice blade, yelling. “Hey you, get back here!”

  I should have remembered; things are never so bad they can’t get worse.

  The room blurred as I shoved hard against the floor, going full out.