HOTSHOT BROTHERS: Coyote Shifters

by Hunt, Sabrina

  Suddenly Soren let out a piercing cry. Holding out his hands, he fell to his knees in agony. From here, I could see angry red welts on his hand.

  A breath exuded from me and my mind instantly sharpened. Strength was flowing through my veins. Glancing to the side, I struggled to hide the smile spreading across my face.

  “Stop sniveling,” Sivulk was growling. “Don’t make me regret keeping you around.” Soren cringed away as he turned back to me. “Now, then. I think you forgot there were already Ash Walkers in this world. As well as plenty of humans willing to trade all of this,” he gestured at the pristine mountains and quiet valley, “for a quick buck. At least greed never goes out of style.”

  A Sioux proverb, one I’d heard Aunt Sil utter several times over, came to my lips and I spoke. “The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives.” I pressed my bloody hand to my chest, my heart bursting under my fingertips with hope and faith.

  Sivulk offered me a pitying grin. “Would you like to test that theory? Here, Coyote, I offer you this: I’ll spare you so long as you come to work for me.” His grin became wider. “Think of it. Anything you want. All the money you could dream of and immortality. For you, your loved ones. You’d be safe. Besides, I could use a second son.”

  For a moment, I hesitated.

  I could ensure everyone’s safety by making a deal with the devil.

  Then Paige’s fierce face, her amber eyes and tossing red hair, flashed in front of my eyes.

  “No, thanks,” I said slowly, tucking my hands in my pockets and shaking my head. Words from Chief Seattle’s letter about sacredness and importance of the environment, of clean water and air now came to mind. Aloud I quoted, “‘The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.’”

  Irritation flashed across his face. “Simpering Coyotes.” Sivulk gestured and Ash Walkers rose up in a circle around us, setting trees aflame. “Tell Akba Atatdia I send my regards.”

  At that moment, a coyote howl reverberated from all sides and several Ash Walkers turned, then were razed to piles of ash in seconds. Grinning widely, I watched as four familiar forms shot across the ground and came to stand by me. Four coyotes.

  Black and white. Umber. Brown. Auburn.

  “What is this?” Sivulk snarled and took a step back. “How are they awake?” Then he glanced at Soren. “Of course. The blood magic failed once we separated.” His red eyes slid back to us. “Quite a trick. But no matter.” He grinned widely and spread out his claws. “I’m still here.”

  “For now,” Wes growled, shifting back and clapping me on the shoulder. “Paige said everything is all set,” he whispered.

  Suddenly Sivulk’s wide nostrils flared and an ugly, angry look spread across his face. “Give me the Moonstone. Now.”

  Before I could react, it had thrown a tendril of shadow forward and crushed the white stone at my feet. Behind me was a collective intake of breath and I schooled my features into a grimace.

  “You bastard,” he snarled. “It didn’t work this time, why would it work now?”

  For a moment, I stared at it nonplussed as Cree made a sound of confusion. “I don’t know what you mean,” I said, forcing myself to keep my gaze on his red, crazed eyes.

  “Don’t you?” He cracked a grin and snapped his fingers. “Bring her here, servant.”

  A Pale Eye marched out, holding a squirming figure in a tight grip. A woman with red hair and glasses and attempting to bite the hand over her mouth.

  “Paige!” I shouted, going to run, but Burr and Ben caught me. A shadow rose up from the ground, slicing back and forth like a bladed metronome. “No! Please, take me instead.”

  “You.” Sivulk was glaring at Paige and Paige was meeting the creature’s glare with one of her own. “Rabbit trickster. I see the Coyote found you. You have been a thorn in my side for far too long!” He shot a look at Soren who cringed. “You failed to mention that.”

  “I-I didn’t know,” Soren muttered, wringing his hands.

  “Yo, what the heck happened to him?” Cree asked. “Yikes, is he Skinwalker-lite?”

  “Not the time, Cree,” Wes hissed under his breath.

  “Ray, is this part of the plan?” Burr was asking me while gripping my arm.

  I shook my head, staring at her, my mouth dry and heart slamming against my chest. “I don’t know, let me go, it will kill her. Please.” Raising my voice I shouted, “Sivulk! Take me.”

  “Hazel!” Now I was catching at Ben as Hazel was dragged out by another Pale Eye. “No, what is happening?” he asked, his face pale as he stared.

  “Wait a second…” Wes said slowly, frowning as he watched the tableau.

  “Where is the real one?” Sivulk snarled, ignoring the second Pale Eye. “That one was fake. I know that was your idea, Rabbit.” It nodded at the Pale Eye. “Let her speak.”

  “Nice to see you too, scaly,” Paige spat as her mouth was freed, her amber eyes blazing.

  Cree and Burr let out muffled laughs and I groaned. “I like her,” Burr said.

  “Oh, you’ve been on a vision quest. Remember a tidbit from a past life, did you?” Sivulk flicked his tongue at her. “Then you should know you only won by a fluke.”

  “So says the loser,” she retorted. “Well, win some, lose some. Tell your flunky to let me go. I can’t get the Moonstone if my arms are held.” Her eyes glittered. “Can’t let a Pale Eye touch it.”

  Sivulk seemed uncertain, gnashing his teeth and twisting his tail. “No tricks.”

  “Nothing up my sleeve,” Paige retorted airily as the Pale Eye let her go. “Only in my pocket.” Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the Moonstone and I gasped.

  “What the hell is going on?” Burr exclaimed.

  I couldn’t speak. In my head, I was shouting, This is the plan? What are they thinking? What the heck happened last night? Paige, what are you doing?!

  Chapter 18

  Last night

  “He’s gone,” I said as I entered the small tent that served as a practice space for Hazel and Aunt Sil after watching Rayner leave without looking back. “Doesn’t realize he has a fake moonstone.”

  Aunt Sil, Hazel, and Willow glanced at each other, then at me.

  “You’re sure about this, Paige?” Aunt Sil asked.

  “No turning back now,” I tried to joke. “I gave Rayner a small vial of my blood. Together it should allow Sivulk to walk in this world, but he’ll be bound to Soren. He’ll know Rayner won’t say Soren’s name once he’s no longer bound to him. And Soren shares some of Rayner’s blood…”

  “And you his soul mate,” Hazel said softly.

  “I hope,” I murmured. “If not, we need to find her and get him her blood.”

  “It’s you,” Willow said. “I can feel it.”

  “Still.” I glanced at Aunt Sil. “You said there was a way… I could see if I’m…” My hand drifted to my wrist, where there was a leather cord looped. Woven into it was a rabbit charm.

  “A Rabbit Trickster reincarnated?” Aunt Sil asked with a laugh.

  “It would make sense. Hazel, the shaman. Kalin, the guardian. Willow, the warrior. And Sky is the scribe. She told me that after Cree and Rayner told her everything, she couldn’t help but start writing everything down so we could all look back on this one day.” I swallowed. “So?”

  “You are pretty tricky. I don’t think I could have come up with a plan like this,” Hazel said.

  “Nah, you’re too nice.” Willow stood up and walked over to me. “I’d wish you luck, but I don’t think you need it.” Squeezing my shoulder, she gave me a reassuring smile and left.

  “Okay,” I said, squaring my shoulders. “What do I do?”

  “Close your eyes,” Aunt Sil murmured, and a smoky smell overwhelmed me. “Let your mind wander and doze, as though you are lying in a field of su
nshine.”

  I had the urge to sneeze, but I quelled it. I was almost about to ask another question when my eyes flew open and I stared around.

  It was my Aunt Marjorie’s house. She’d been my guardian and the only parent I’d ever known. A knot came to my throat as I pushed outside, stepping into our backyard.

  In the corner, there was the old bench and Aunt Marjorie. Her face was far too lined for her age and the shadow of her future illness hung around her, but her amber eyes were bright.

  “I got you this, Paige,” she said, holding out the bracelet. “I think it suits you.”

  “Ew, a rabbit? They’re so dumb!” Six-year-old Paige was not impressed, her messy pigtails coming undone and her cheeks dirty. Even back then, I’d like digging stuff up and looking at rocks. But she held out her wrist for Aunt Marjorie anyways.

  “That’s not true,” Aunt Marjorie said gently. “You should research it. I bet you’d find out that rabbits are revered in some cultures.” She tweaked my nose. “In some Native American ones, they’re tricksters.”

  My eyes went wide and suddenly I found myself falling into a rush of images I couldn’t hold onto. Eyes tearing, I had to close them and prayed I’d wake up soon…

  A wide, green plain and five boys chasing a white coyote.

  Smoke rising from a campfire and a shaman girl sleeping instead of studying, a dark-haired boy smiling as he sat by her and kept watch.

  The glow of a white stone from the lap of a girl and the fierce glare of the boy next to her, daring anyone to come closer.

  A girl writing by a river and a laughing boy trying to get her to come in.

  The twang of arrows as young warrior princess fired bolt after bolt in perfect succession while a smiling boy called out jokes and she tried not to smile.

  Finally, a coyote and a rabbit, racing and playing pranks on each other.

  The rabbit shifted into a girl and the coyote a boy, one who laughed easily, falling into the flowers and holding his stomach.

  The rabbit-girl, holding an injured arm and being cared for by the coyote boy.

  “Why does this always happen?” he asked, his smile tender. It took her breath away.

  Then a tumble of shadows, the screech of a sky rent and the glow of red eyes.

  It had been my idea – bind him with thorn and vine – never let him away from the natural world. That which it hates and wants to destroy will be its prison.

  But it tricked us, slicing open the earth with one hand…

  And so the Ash Walkers crawled free when our backs were turned.

  More images came then, flashes of battles, of faces and of a white coyote. It was too much and I tried to pull away, but they were sucking me in and I cried out.

  My cry awoke me and my eyes flew open, the noise ringing in my ears. Sweat beaded across my forehead and Hazel’s worried face went in and out of focus.

  “Are you okay?” she asked. “That was a lot…”

  “You dove right in,” Aunt Sil said with a grim kind of cheeriness. “Most people take it slow.”

  “I had to know,” I whispered.

  “But you did already, didn’t you?” Aunt Sil asked. “You’ve always known.”

  A smile spread across my face and I nodded. Hazel clapped her hands over her mouth and then threw her arms around me. “That’s how you knew, too, wasn’t it? About me and Ben? You saw what no one else saw. I never apologized for how I acted. I’m sorry, Paige, I thought he hated me–”

  Hugging her back, I laughed. “Hazel, it’s okay. I understand. And maybe. Maybe I knew what to look for.” I frowned at that last statement, thinking back of over the past few days. How each of them had come up with another piece of the puzzle that allowed me to lay out my plan.

  I glanced down at my bracelet and smiled. Thank you, Aunt Marjorie. You were right.

  After a short rest, I woke up and jumped to my feet. We were all sleeping in the living room and the other four girls stirred. “He’s found the fake moonstone,” I said, unsure how I knew. “Come on, it won’t be long now.”

  Hastily getting dressed, we raced across the grounds to the healing tent, Nim barreling along at our heels. Sky, Kalin, Willow, and Hazel each had a stoic, determined look to them.

  Pea and Fern nodded, then let us in.

  In my mind, I was with Rayner, wondering if he’d reached the top of Central Mountain, wondering what he was saying. If he was going to follow our plan. If the subterfuge would work.

  If he trusted me enough to take this leap.

  Suddenly, as I looked around at the four sleeping men and the four women, it was like a pit had opened under me. How could I hope such a simple trick would work on an ancient evil?

  Aunt Sil was suddenly by me and she squeezed my arm.

  I remembered what she’d said last night after I explained my idea. “Elegant. Appeal to its greed. Give it what it wants, on what appears to be its terms, almost as though it thought of it.” Twinkling at me, Aunt Sil had winked. “Quite a rabbit trickster indeed.”

  Sky was sitting by Cree, her fingers drifting across his cheeks and her lip trembling. Kalin was holding Wes’s hand and staring at the tent wall. Willow was sitting by Burr, arms clamped around herself and staring straight ahead. And Hazel had laid her head down on Ben’s chest.

  A pulse went through me like a memory and I stepped forward. With a deep breath, I held out my hand to Hazel and she nodded. Taking my hand, she held out the other to Kalin, who took it and held out her other hand to Willow who took Sky’s and Sky took mine.

  Swallowing, I waited, praying and hoping.

  Please be okay, Rayner. Please.

  Please let this work.

  Akba Atatdia, keep him safe until we get there.

  A rush of heat went through my chest suddenly, making my heart feel like a hot ember in my chest and my eyes went wide. The other girls let out soft gasps, their eyes closing, and mine did as well.

  For a moment, I thought I could see a figure kneeling in front of a torrent of darkness, a hand pressing to his chest and the other clasping a knife.

  “Mm, now that was a good dream,” said a mirthful voice filled with impish delight.

  Eyes flying open, I saw Sky’s eyes, so like Rayner’s except hers were a stormy gray-green instead of gray-blue, filling with joy and tears. She turned and let out a laugh.

  Cree was sitting up, stretching and grinning. The tattoo on his chest shone like a white-hot star and he rubbed at it. “Why is my chest hot?”

  “Cree,” Sky said, throwing her arms around his neck.

  “Whoa, Sky!” His hand rubbed along her back. “What’s wrong? Hey, why am I in the healing tent?” Then he glanced at me and blinked in confusion. “Paige? Uh, what are you doing in here?”

  Burr, meanwhile, was holding a shaking Willow against his chest. “Lolo? What is this…?”

  Glancing around, I saw Wes stirring next. He opened his eyes and made a face at Kalin. “Why are you staring at me? What’s wrong? What did Cree do now?”

  “Hey, I didn’t do anything!” Cree protested.

  And finally, I saw Ben jolt upright and turn to Hazel. “How long was I out?”

  “You knew?” Hazel gasped.

  Ben grabbed her shoulders. “Of course I knew. Even the best dream doesn’t live up to the real thing.” Then his face went red as his brothers made snorting sounds. “Shut up, morons!”

  “Ben!” Hazel laughed and fell against him. “Oh, I’ve missed you.”

  “Pea, Fern?” I asked. “Are they up to it?”

  “No ill effects. No wasting away.” Pea chuckled. “They might even be in better shape.”

  “Why is my chest hot?” Cree asked again, loudly. “I know Sky is gorgeous, but this is weird. Ow, don’t hit me, woman.”

  Wes had managed to sit upright and was holding Kalin, who was curled up against him. “Healing tent…” He glanced at Ben, then Pea and Fern. “We were all out?”

  “About three weeks,” Fern said and they
made sounds of horror.

  “Three weeks?” Burr roared. “Where is Rayner?”

  “Dammit, I missed all the TV season finales," Cree muttered.

  “Why don’t we feel worse?” Wes asked, standing up and pulling Kalin with him. “I don’t know about you three, but I feel good. Great in fact.” He rubbed at his chest. “Although, I do feel hot here, like Cree said.”

  “Thank you,” Cree exclaimed.

  “There’s no time for that,” I interrupted. “Rayner is in grave danger. He’s at Central Mountain, facing Sivulk right now!”

  “You couldn’t have woken us up before that idiot ran off?” Wes growled.

  “We’ll explain later!” Kalin shook herself, wiping her face and lightly punched Wes. “Focus!”

  I glanced at Hazel. “Ready?”

  She nodded and stood up, coming over to me. Kalin, Willow, and Sky followed, Kalin handing me the Moonstone, which I tucked in my pocket.

  “Remember the plan?” I asked and they made faces at me. “Sorry.” I glanced up at the coyote shifters, who’d clustered around us, baffled. “One of you tell Rayner it’s going to plan.”

  “Wait, Hazel is going to transport all of us?” Ben asked.

  “Yes, Ben,” Hazel said. “Don’t worry. Just hold onto me.”

  Willow grabbed Burr’s hand and then gripped Hazel’s shoulder. “You can do this.”

  I held her other hand. “We’re all right here.”

  Kalin took Wes’s hand and then Hazel’s forearm.

  Finally, Sky took her other shoulder and Cree’s hand. “Whenever you’re ready.”

  “Oh, I get it, Paige is Rayner’s girl.” Cree let out a laugh. “Ah, can’t wait to give him shit.”

  This time, the trip was smooth and Hazel let out an even breath as we appeared in the woods. Overhead, the sky was dark and there was a terrible silence in the woods. No animal stirred and the very trees seemed to be holding their breath.

  Each of the shifters stepped away, their brows tightening and eyes flashing.

  “It’s here,” Burr said grimly. “I can feel it.”

  “Look,” Sky said, pointing down.