Chapter 1
Present…
Crouching under a tree in the dark was a waste of time. Chatan wanted to take action, not sit there and wait for the next Other abduction in Saint Morton.
He’d spent every night of the previous week watching the truck stop and never found a damned thing even though another person had been abducted.
And no, it wasn’t from the truck stop. The tribe elders believed the young mage was taken from Morty’s Burger Stop. The diner had recently changed to 24/7 service. As far as activity, he was in the right place, but he was tired of watching and doing nothing.
His skin began to tingle. A shiver rolled down his spine. Magic grew closer, something familiar, but he couldn’t put a finger on how. Closing his eyes, he shut off his mind, searching for any sound. Seconds turned to minutes that turned into an hour.
By the time he heard the engine approaching, his skin hummed with the nearing of a powerful Other. The tingles of magic settled into his bones, calling to him.
He scooted to the edge of the trees as a white Toyota Tercel pulled into the parking lot and parked under the brightly lit sign.
Vibrant red curls, pretty face, but he couldn’t make out the color of her eyes. He wanted to be nearer, to protect her from what was coming.
Her gaze swept through the lot and lingered in his direction for a moment, though she didn’t seem to notice him. Then she looked down and frowned. She stepped from her car and walked into the diner.
A sinking feeling took over. He was in the right damned place and the right damned time, and all hell was going to break loose in a matter of moments. If he could sense the woman from that far out, Josephine definitely did. It was the only explanation on how she managed to have traveling Others abducted so regularly.
He dug the phone out of a pocket and hit the speed dial for George, one of the elders.
George answered after a couple rings. “Yes, Chatan?”
“A woman is about to be abducted from Morty’s Burger Stop.”
“Tonight?” he asked. “That can’t be right. Loval says no one is making a move at the Monvoisin ranch.”
Loval was a friend and also tasked with scouting out possible places tied to the abductions. The Monvoisin ranch would be the obvious location for the murders, but Chatan believed Josephine was smart enough not to do it on the land her parents lived on. Somewhere close, but not there.
And still, he couldn’t hide his frustration. “Then why didn’t you send me to the ranch, if that’s where you expected something to happen?”
George sighed. “Because I want you to stop them before they take someone back to wherever the hell the ritual is taking place. Damn it, the other line is ringing. Hang tight, we’re coming.” He hung up.
Shaking his head, Chatan considered his options, then decided he had to act now. Screw the plan. The best way to stop the abduction was to make a move before it happened.
* * * *
The bright sign of Morty’s Burger Stop called to her like a beacon. Maybe because her stomach continued to grumble for over an hour. Nearing her destination, Jacinda finally began to relax.
Jacinda needed to eat. The diner was a good place to grab a late night meal. She doubted anything would be open on the Wanatoga Reservation.
Her tummy rumbled again, reminding her she hadn’t eaten anything since she’d filled her tank hours ago. And she couldn’t exactly call an energy drink and bag of jerky a meal. With a sigh, she pulled into the parking lot and came to a stop under the bright sign.
Food and some coffee. What could it hurt?
The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end with the weight of someone’s gaze. She took a look around but couldn’t sense a threat. Her stomach grumbled and she glanced down at her trembling hands.
She definitely needed food. Pushing herself into motion, Jacinda stepped out of the car and headed for the diner.
The bell rang as she entered the fifties style diner, complete with white Formica tabletops and red vinyl seats. A pie case sat next to the register. One young man occupied the place.
His messy brown hair fell into his milk chocolate eyes. A shy smile graced his lips as he ducked his head and grabbed a menu before crossing the room. He stood an inch or two taller than her, with broad shoulders and a solid build. But he was nervous. Didn’t matter, the waiter couldn’t be more human if he tried.
Her paranoia needed to shut up.
Still, something else lurked nearby. She needed to watch for the dark presence, magic in nature but broken and evil.
Instinct screamed to get back in the car and drive away without looking back. Wanatoga was probably too close to this place, but she’d put this trip off too long as it was.
“Good evening, miss.”
Shaking herself, she took the menu he slid her way.
Jacinda glanced up to find his name tag. “Good evening, David. What’s good?”
“I like the chicken strips. The very berry pie is good too. I’ll give you a moment to look.”
“Thank you.”
He ducked his head as he backed away. “Let me know when you’re ready.”
David had kind eyes and a shy smile. Young, maybe eighteen. His aura told her he had a gentle nature, but he was afraid of something.
Worrisome, but she’d never see him again because the second she found what she was looking for, she’d leave the area and never come back.
Dropping her attention to the menu, she scanned through the list of funky named specials and settled on a turkey club with fries.
At least until the bell rang.
Her attention snapped up to watch a tall, blond man walk in. His icy blue eyes chilled her to the bone. Inky black swirled through his aura. A sign something stronger and darker controlled him to some degree.
Her creep scale shot off the charts and before she could slip out of the booth, he slid in next to her with a smarmy grin. He was everything most young women would find attractive. His aura had a deep and foreign taint. She wanted away from him in the worst way.
Looking at David didn’t help. An air of defeat surrounded him.
Her mind raced through the possibilities.
The blond pressed his thigh into hers and she scooted away with a dark look. “I’m only here for a quick meal,” she warned.
One corner of his mouth tipped up as he leaned closer.
David ducked into the kitchen as if he didn’t want to see what the blond planned.
The blond reached out to touch her face, and she cringed back, grabbing his wrist with a shake of her head. “Don’t.”
“Aw now, darlin’, don’t you want to be friends?” His low, intimate drawl made her skin crawl. “You do, don’t you?”
Oh, hell no! She was tempted to slap him or maybe shove him out of the booth, preferably both. Instead, she held onto her composure. “Not interested. And I’m only passing through.”
Her slightly bored tone and unflinching eye contact dimmed his megawatt smile.
“What brings you out this way?”
Run, run, run, her instinct screamed, but she was trapped in the corner.
The chances of him believing the truth were zilch and nonexistent. Her father left a journal with clues to sending Thanatos back to the realm he came from, for good.
The story sounded like a wild goose chase set in a fantasy land. Maybe it was, but she had to know.
“I’m visiting an old family friend.” The truth in a twisted, roundabout way. Her father had friends in Wanatoga before his death. And she hoped to meet them. However, she had more pressing priorities. Like finding the landmarks her father wrote about and figuring out the key.
He reached toward her arm, and she jerked away. She didn’t like being touched by strangers, especially those oozing an evil taint.
His words drawled on, “Well, darlin’, it’s real late, and I have plenty of room at my place. You look awfully tired. You’re welcome to sleep with me.” He scooted closer.
Jacinda had nowhere to go. She grabbed his wrist as he reached once more and pushed him firmly away. “Not happening. My friends are expecting me, and I’m running late.”
“Ah, come on now, give me a chance.”
“Not interested. I don’t know you, and you don’t know me.” Nor did she want to.
His smile slid back into place as he stared into her eyes, but all she saw was a soulless, empty pit. “I can fix that. I’m Mason Shirington. And you are?” He held out his hand.
She ignored it with a steely gaze. “Wendy Naughton.” Her wallet was filled with documentation to prove it, all good forgeries. When you were being hunted by a supernatural entity, it was best to have an alias, or two.
“Problem solved.” He thrust his hand closer, but she didn’t budge. It didn’t stop him from saying, “Now that we aren’t strangers, why don’t you come back to my place? Your friends won’t mind if you wait until tomorrow.”
Whoever influenced him and tainted his aura was not going to let her go. The next morning wouldn’t likely come. She wasn’t going with Mason. No way in hell.
“No, thank you. My friends would be worried. I only stopped for a quick meal.”
Clearly, that was the last thing he wanted to hear. His hands darted out, latching onto her wrists with a steel grip. “Now, Wendy, I’ve played nice. I want to get to know you, but maybe you’d rather play rough.” Devilish delight danced through his eyes, real emotion flickering there.
He jerked her out of the booth, dragging her to the edge of the seat, then yanked her to her feet.
She took the momentum and threw her knee into his groin with every bit of strength she could muster. Mason crumpled to the ground and Jacinda rushed out the door.
Someone caught her around the waist, lifting her off the ground. She gripped his hand and pulled on his thumb as she looked back.
David had tears in his eyes as he cried out in pain but still managed to snap cuffs around her wrists that dampened her magic.
What the hell?
She tried to twist away, but David spun her around and slammed her against the wall.
“Shh, please, don’t make me hurt you. They’ll figure out you’re just a girl and let you go, but if you fight, Mason will hurt you.”
Her face scrunched up as she stared him in the eye. “He’s down. Let me go and you’ll never see me again.”
David looked inside the diner and closed his eyes.
The door slammed open. Mason shoved David to the ground and threw her over his shoulder.
Jacinda kicked at him, trying to twist free, calling on magic that wouldn’t come. “Let me down!” she screamed.
Doors opened and she landed in the back of the van with a thud. Mason caught her legs and snapped another set of cuffs around her ankles.
She sat up, jerking her legs away, and kicked at Mason again.
He reached in and slapped her hard enough to send her to the floor before slamming the door.
Mason shouted, “I’m going to show that little bitch some manners.”
“Why are you being like this?” David demanded. “She hasn’t done anything but try to protect herself.”
“She’s a witch or worse. Josephine wants to strip her of her power before she becomes a danger to the rest of us. Now get in the damned van.”
“She’s not a witch. She’s just a girl,” David argued.
“Bullshit. She’s hiding her power, playing the innocent act.” Mason gunned the engine
She scooted back against the door and took a deep breath. As long as they were driving a few minutes, she could get out of this. She needed to keep her wits.
* * * *
Wait.
Wait.
Wait.
That’s what the elders always said. Never go in and stop shit before it happens. Why the hell had they sent him if they wanted him to fucking wait?
Fuck waiting.
Chatan crept closer to the van, planning to throw the door open, and he’d figure out the rest once he got her out of there.
Mason and David climbed in. Chatan ran for the backdoors where he could see the woman’s red hair. The van peeled out of the parking lot and Chatan skidded to a halt with a curse.
There went his chance. He turned and ran for the trail that led parallel to the road. As soon as he was behind cover, he shifted to a hawk and flew down the path, attempting to catch them.
He hissed when his phone buzzed. He didn’t know how that worked exactly, only that the phone was wherever his clothes and everything else was when he shifted. He could hear it but not reach it, not that he was going to stop to answer the stupid thing.
There was a crash and a flash of magic, then screaming. He flew faster to help.
* * * *
“What makes you think she’s evil?” David demanded.
Mason snorted. “Josephine says so.”
“Ever think she’s the evil one?” David snapped, growing a set of balls.
Jacinda had to hide a smile.
While asshole and dumbass argued over whether or not they should take her to someone named Josephine, Jacinda managed to get the pin out of her bracelet and click one of the cuffs open, then the other. Moving the set under her ass, she got the ones around her ankles opened and stuffed the pin into her bracelet.
“Josephine is anything but evil. She’s protecting the rest of us,” Mason argued.
“How can you be sure? What did Wendy do?”
“She’s evil.”
“But why?” David demanded.
Mason backhanded David in the face. “Don’t disrespect Josephine. She’s bringing our town back to life. It was falling apart before she arrived.”
David growled, “She was dead, Mason. The woman died and was brought back. She’s not right.”
“Josephine never died.”
Tuning them out, she took a steadying breath and decided she didn’t have anything to lose by trying shifty magic when they were taking her to some unknown location and a zombie chick.
But that name, why did Josephine ring a bell?
Placing her hands on the floor of the van, she closed her eyes and followed the metal mentally to find the gas tank. Holding her breath, she used magic to transmute fuel into water, which would stop the vehicle from getting anywhere.
If it worked.
She’d only ever managed long-distance transmutation when not touching the object or substance twice when she had plenty of time to concentrate.
There wasn’t much time now.
Magic flowed from her. The spell worked.
The engine sputtered and Mason let out a string of curses. Then the van died and she scooted forward with the abrupt stop.
David looked back with wide eyes.
Jacinda turned and slammed her hand into the back door of the van with a blast of pure energy. The doors burst open and she bolted for the trees.
She got about ten steps before someone caught a handful of her hair and yanked her off her feet. She hit the ground and rolled before Mason straddled her waist and caught her arms.
“I don’t know how you got out, but you’re going to regret it,” he barked.
Jacinda slammed her forehead into his nose and blood splattered her face. “You’ll regret trying to take me,” she promised, twisting her arms free.
Pushing fire through her palms, she shoved his chest. “Go to hell!” She rolled him over and shot to her feet, running for the trees again, her heart slamming against her ribs, her breath coming in heavy pants.
She slipped into shadows with a spell as a hawk flew past her, heading down the trail, faster than she could go. She glanced back and saw a dazzling shield behind her. One she didn’t cast, and she knew neither Mason, nor David had an ounce of magic, though both were influenced by magic. Probably by this Josephine chick. From their arguing, she had to assume David was fighting the influence. She hoped he could break the hold and nothing bad happened to him because of it.
Jacinda burst through the trees, into the parking lot, and slid to a stop when she saw a wolf sitting a few steps from the driver side door. Or maybe a husky? Maybe mixed?
Glancing back, Jacinda weighed her options. Deal with the dog or run for the reservation. Though really, why did he seem to look straight at her when she was invisible?
Dogs had extra senses, sure. But she’d snuck by plenty of animals in the past who didn’t see her. Maybe scented, but they never stared in her direction like they were watching.
“Move, just please move,” she whispered in a hurry, fear keeping her from rushing to the car.
His head cocked. He was definitely looking at her.
She spoke a little louder, a tremble in her voice. “I’m not here to hurt you, just please move. I need to leave, like now.”
The dog stood up and moved away from the car.
“Thank you,” she whispered, her hand covering her thumping heart as she dashed past him and slid into the open window of her car. She turned the key and threw it in reverse, flying out of the parking lot.
She almost missed the sign that said Wanatoga with an arrow to her left. She took the turn and protective magic washed over her as she crossed over the barrier.
* * * *
Chatan stared after the car with a frown. He came back to make sure no one else came to the diner for the woman. They hadn’t.
Nothing made him happier than the fact she got away from Mason. However, he’d scented her fear, which spiked the second she spotted him and skidded to a halt. Why was she terrified of dogs? Or maybe just wolves? Either way, he didn’t like it.
Instead of going straight for her car, she almost ran back into the woods.
George let out a bird call and Chatan ran back to his previous hiding spot where the elder leaned against a tree, his arms crossed over his massive chest.
His brow arched. “You acted without us.”
After shifting back, Chatan sighed. “Didn’t need to, as it turns out.”
George glanced in the direction where Mason still screamed bloody murder. “That so?”
He nodded. “Don’t know what the young woman is, but she’s powerful. I felt her long before she pulled into the parking lot, which means Josephine did too.”
“We don’t know that Josephine is behind the murders,” George stated.
“Bullshit. It’s her. She came back from the dead with one goal and more power. And that power is wrong. Remember what Nadie said?”
“Perhaps, but we need proof before we attempt to kill her again.”
Chatan pushed his fingers through his hair. “Why did you send me if not to act?”
George smiled, as if glad Chatan ignored the wait order. “To protect those they try to take. Now what happened?”
Chatan explained what he could, like the fact she went into the van, cuffed, but by the time she got out, she wasn’t. He couldn’t explain why the truck stopped, but something went wrong with the engine. Though he may have smirked when he retold how she burned the hell out of Mason with a touch.
George nodded. “Where is she now?”
He shook his head. “She drove toward the reservation, but there’s no way to know where she went.” And it sucked because he wanted to know who she was. If she were smart, she’d go far away from Saint Morton and Wanatoga.
“I’ll give you a ride back,” George offered.
“Nah, I’m faster in the air.” He shifted again and flew for Wanatoga.