Chapter Fifteen
When a bear screamed in pain, Dawn winced, praying it wasn’t Hunter. She whirled around. The two grizzlies he faced were each slightly smaller, but they outnumbered him, and who knew when their buddies would join in to help. She glanced at the ring, willing it to present her with some way to fight a creature as big as a bear. Even if it did augment her physical strength, it wouldn’t make her sprout fangs or claws.
She gulped. God, I hope not.
“You and you. Get down there,” Jericho ordered the other men. “I want him dead. Now! And I want her in one piece.”
The three men stalked forward, and Dawn despaired. Even if she and Hunter could hold them off for a time, there was no way to escape so many foes.
One thing at a time, she decided, backing up. The man she’d punched made a choked sound, and she wondered if she’d broken his nose. But when she glanced over, she spotted a cougar, not a man. Its yellow-brown eyes shone the way a cat’s did when it prepared to pounce, and its shoulders hunched.
She grabbed the driftwood and brandished it. “Try me,” she dared them. “Just try me.”
The cougar growled as if it couldn’t wait to sink those fangs into her neck. The beast was on her in a flash, knocking her to the ground. She rolled, and the cougar rolled with her, snapping at her with its huge canines. She shoved it with another supernatural burst of power and scrambled away, but the furious animal sprang right back, looming over her.
“I want her alive!” Jericho yelled.
The cougar gnashed its teeth, obviously more interested in revenge than the boss’s orders. It pounced, and she threw up her hands. “No!”
Hunter roared, but he was too far, too busy with his own foes to help.
The air over her body whooshed, and she braced for the tearing impact of the massive feline. But all she felt was a light flutter. The flutter of wings.
She opened her eyes and scuttled backward like a crab.
“Pu’eo,” she breathed.
That hadn’t been a bat that had flown past Jericho before. It was an owl. An owl aiming its talons at the cougar and fluttering frantically around the feline’s eyes, giving Dawn time to escape. She jumped to her feet and stared in shock.
She’d never had reason to question the stories that had been passed down through generations — stories that insisted that their ancestral spirits took the shapes of owls. But she’d assumed there was a tall-tale element to aumakua legends, too.
Apparently not.
The owl was only a big as her forearm — nowhere near as big as the shifters around them — but it fought with ferocious determination.
Go, its frantic wingbeats signaled. Get away.
Hunter roared, and she wavered, torn between running for help or staying at his side. But then the wolf came at her, too, and its teeth clacked an inch away from her face. With one swift kick, she pushed free and ran down the beach. Enough was enough. Her only option was to run for help.
Footsteps pounded behind her, and Jericho yelled.
“Damn it. You finish off the bear. You and you, help me catch her.”
Dawn gasped, spotting a new arrival sprinting at her from the opposite direction. Another of Jericho’s shifters?
She threw an arm up and ducked when the oncoming beast jumped.
“What the…” she muttered when it sailed right over her, intent on some other target. She watched the orange and black blur in confusion. A tiger?
Hunter roared behind her. A glad roar, if there was such a thing, with a distinct note of Thank God you’re here.
“Cruz,” she whispered, staring as the tiger entered the fray.
Hunter’s bear was a mammoth, crushing everything in sight, while Cruz’s nimble tiger leaped this way and that with the spectacular moves of an acrobat. The wolf screamed in agony; the cougar hissed and backed away.
Dawn wanted to cheer. Cruz had just tipped the odds from impossible to really, really unlikely, and she’d take what she could get.
The only man — or beast — not locked in battle was Jericho, and his eyes narrowed on her.
“You,” he growled, advancing again.
Dawn was sorely tempted to try the Spirit Stone’s power on Jericho, but her better sense prevailed, and she ran. Her bare feet slipped in the sand then thumped over the prickly grass as she headed away from the beach.
The owl swooped overhead then whooshed right over her, intent on Jericho.
“Damn it,” the man yelled.
Dawn glanced back, seeing him falter then grope around for a stone to bash the owl with.
“No!” she cried as he hefted a wrecking-ball-sized boulder off the ground.
With a mighty grunt, he threw the boulder at the owl, who beat a hasty retreat. Dawn stared at the distance the boulder covered. It landed with a solid thump.
“I said, I want that ring,” Jericho growled, coming after her.
Dawn ran, wondering what kind of shifter he was — or whether he was a shifter at all. Maybe Jericho was just a man with superhuman strength. She frowned, imagining what a man like him might do with the power of the Spirit Stone.
The Earthstone, Hunter had called it. Her mind spun, trying to puzzle out what that implied.
She was about to crest the rise that led to the main section of the resort when a hunched dog — no, a hyena — appeared out of nowhere, baring an uneven row of teeth. It cut her off, and with Jericho barreling up from behind, she only had one choice — to race up the rocky promontory she and Hunter had swum around. The same promontory she’d stood on earlier when Regina had come by.
She hesitated at the sign that said, Pass at your own risk. The cliff wasn’t only unstable — it was a dead end, too. What was she going to do when she reached the top?
Somewhere behind her, the hyena yelped, and a feline growl split the night. She prayed that was Cruz. Paws scraped the earth as the shifter battle waged on. Human feet hammered along, too, and Jericho stormed up behind her.
Dawn stumbled and clawed at the ground with her hands and feet until she reached the very top. She peered over the sheer drop, hoping she might be able to dive into the sea. But the cliff ended in jagged rocks — instant death. Which had some appeal, given the alternative Jericho had in mind.
She turned, bringing her one foot back and her hands up in a defensive position. Would jujitsu work against a man like Jericho?
He slowed to a walk then stopped in front of her, yanking a huge knife from his boot. His eyes glowed red — blood red, like a ghoul — and he chuckled. “Now what will you do, eh?”
Dawn gritted her teeth. She was wondering the same thing.
“I’ll tell you what you will do,” he went on, dropping his voice to an ugly threat. “First, you take the ring off before I cut it off.”
Dawn refused to imagine the details of that.
“Then you get down on your knees…” His face twisted into a smile. “And you follow my instructions very carefully.”
She wondered whether his instructions might involve stepping off the cliff or sucking his dick. Both sickened her, but she’d take the cliff in a heartbeat.
She flexed her fingers, wishing the ring could conjure up a miraculous solution for her. A light saber, maybe. A battle ax. Anything to take this man down.
But the Spirit Stone didn’t do a thing but glow.
Help me, she wanted to yell as she shook it. Help, please.
Jericho smiled. “Silly human. The Earthstone might enhance your powers to a degree — but it will multiply my power exponentially.” His eyes shone in greed as he reached forward.
“And you’ll do what with that power?”
Jericho scoffed, and she hated him that much more. “I’ll do what I always do. Create wealth and let it trickle down. Spread prosperity.”
“So it’s all for the general good. Sure. Right.”
He laughed. “There are always a few who fail to see the light. Tree huggers. Those damn flower power types.” He put air quotes around the term.
“Hunter’s parents,” she added to his list.
Jericho shrugged. “Misguided fools. They had their chance to cash in. No one can stop me — least of all you. Now give me that stone.”
She wavered one more second, then raised her hand. “Fine,” she snapped. “Take it.”
His eyes glittered like moonlight over a blood-red sea, and he stepped closer. “Good girl. Maybe I won’t be too rough the first time I try you out.”
Bile rose in her throat, but she kept her hand steady, letting the purple glow lure him on.
“I’ve searched for this for so long,” he muttered.
Paws scratched the earth lower down the hill, and every muscle in Dawn’s body tensed. Were more shifters approaching? If so, which?
“Mine,” Jericho murmured, leaning over the ring.
Dawn forced herself to wait before executing her last-ditch plan. “Yours,” she murmured, encouraging him to come closer.
Her fingers trembled as Jericho’s hovered close. Then, in one quick movement, she made a fist and slashed upward. The amethyst cut a sharp line over Jericho’s cheek and brow, and he stumbled back with a yell.
Now, run! she screamed at herself.
But Jericho whipped around and backhanded her across the face with enough force to rattle her teeth. She landed with a grunt, blinking with double vision.
“Bitch. I’ll teach you.”
Jericho lifted her like a puppet and tossed her down again. She landed on her back with the wind knocked out of her, and her whole world lurched and went sideways. Even Jericho seemed to pause for a moment and look around.
Dawn placed her palms again the ground. Wait — had she imagined the ground shaking under her, or had that really happened?
A ferocious growl split the night, and Dawn screamed at the sight of an oncoming bear. A silent scream that finished with her mouth wide open as the bear rushed at Jericho.
“Hunter?” she whispered, wobbling to her feet.
The bear’s roar thundered through her ears, and she crumpled, still dizzy. Her hand bashed the ground, and the earth rumbled. A real rumble, not something she imagined.
“You,” Jericho grunted as the bear jumped at him.
“Hunter!” she cried.
Her vision filled with spots as she scanned the slope behind him. Were the other shifters approaching, or had Hunter overcome them all?
She stared, but no other living creature took shape on the slope. It was just her, Hunter, and Jericho now.
Hunter pushed Jericho toward the cliff, but his foe simply shoved back with power that belied his size. Hunter attacked a second time, but Jericho forced him away with a swipe of his knife.
“Try me, little cub. Try me.”
His voice was so mocking, so cruel, that Dawn thumped her fist on the ground. That time, the whole cliff shook, and even Jericho paused before goading Hunter on. “Come and get me, cub.”
Dawn clutched the ground, still confused. Had that been a minor earthquake?
The amethyst shone in the moonlight, and she held it up, forcing her rattled mind to think things through.
Earthquake… Earthstone…
Hunter and Jericho battled on, but she tuned them out. When Regina had stomped on the ground, the whole cliff felt as if it might give way. Regina had done quite a lot of shoving over the past few days, and Dawn had been surprised at the slender woman’s power.
She held up the Spirit Stone, and it finally clicked. The Earthstone had been lending some of its power to Regina. The Earthstone had made the cliff shake.
I can do it again. The amethyst seemed to wink.
Jericho coaxed Hunter forward, and Dawn wondered if she dared test her crazy hypothesis.
Hunter was limping, his fur stained crimson. Jericho, on the other hand, was relatively fresh. Her eyes narrowed on him, and she gave in to the anger welling up inside. That man had killed Hunter’s mother and who knew how many others. A man who felt entitled to kill and rape on whim.
She formed a fist and held it high above the ground. Watching. Waiting.
Hunter rushed Jericho again, and her heart wailed for him. Such courage. Such devotion. Such perseverance regardless of the odds.
She bared her teeth like a wild animal and forced herself to watch. Jericho swung the knife, but Hunter ducked just in time. He rammed into Jericho and pushed him toward the cliff’s edge. But Jericho bent an elbow and smashed it into Hunter’s soft black nose.
A bone cracked. The bear roared in frustration. Jericho jeered.
Dawn trembled, waiting for her chance. Would it come too late?
The grizzly reared on his back legs, but Jericho kicked him in the ribs, sending Hunter tumbling downslope.
There. Now!
Heat surged from the ring and spread throughout Dawn’s body, sending as clear a signal as she could wish for. She thumped her fist against the ground. Once. Twice.
The earth rumbled, and Jericho threw his arms out for balance. His head snapped her way, and his eyes narrowed.
She struck the ground again, ignoring the pain of the impact.
This man must die, she told the Earthstone. She — the woman who’d always believed in law and order and the power of the judiciary — was suddenly issuing death warrants. There was no other way.
Help me, she whispered, smashing her fist into the ground once more.
The cliff rumbled, making Jericho lurch and sway.
“Stop that,” he yelled, shuffling closer like a drunk.
Help me rid the world of this evil, she cried, beating on the earth.
A roar built all around her. At first, she thought it as Hunter, coming back for another try. But it was the ground, not Hunter, and the rumbling increased.
“I said—” Jericho demanded. Then his eyes went wide.
She held his gaze steadily and showed him her fist. The amethyst glittered in the darkness before she brought her hand down one more time — and kept it there.
Vibrations rippled through the earth, up her arm, and through her body, immobilizing her. She was on her hands and knees, facing upslope, watching the earth shake. Jericho flailed for balance as a fissure opened between them, zigzagging across the outcrop.
“No!” Jericho screamed.
“Yes,” she whispered.
The earth thundered. Rocks tumbled. Jericho screamed. Dawn crawled backward as the slope before her tilted and crumbled into the sea. Jericho’s arms grabbed at thin air, and then he, too, plummeted as the top of the cliff collapsed.
Dawn stared at the rockslide, frozen at the very lip of the drop-off. A mess of boulders and dirt disappeared into the crashing surf along with the body of her foe.
Her heart hammered as she lifted her hand off the ground — gently, as if releasing a grenade. The earth ceased shaking, and the sound of surf replaced that of the rockslide. She backed up slowly, staring. Then she rushed to the bear that lay bleeding on the grass.
“Hunter…”
She fell to her knees, hugging him. Not caring that it was coarse fur under her hand instead of smooth skin, because either way, the soul inside that body was Hunter’s.
“Hunter, please…” she begged, watching for some sign of life. Then she cried out, because the earth seemed to be moving again. “No,” she croaked.
She looked around wildly, but it wasn’t the earth. It was only her, rising and falling in a regular pattern. Hunter was breathing, moving his chest up and down, and moving her with it.
“Hunter! Are you okay?”
The bear raised its head, wincing. Slowly, it batted its long eyelashes.
She cupped his muzzle. “Please, tell me you’re okay.”
The bear chuffed faintly then dropped its head again. She sat beside him, petting the one patch of his thick fur unstained by blood. Her hand throbbed, but she paid it no heed. What were a few broken bones? As long as no other evil shifter turned up, she and Hunter were okay.
“Dawn,” he murmured, and her eyes flew open in surprise.
Whoa. He’d been quietly shifting under her very touch. She was so shaken, she’d barely noticed.
“Dawn,” he said, pulling her to his side.
She curled her body around him in a huge hug. He’d done enough fighting and protecting. It was her turn to take care of him.
“You’re amazing,” he whispered in a creaky voice.
She brushed a hand along his cheek. “You’re the amazing one.”
An owl hooted from the woods at the base of the hill, and for a moment, the earth felt at peace. Even when a tiger padded out of the shadows and chuffed, Dawn remained calm.
“Cruz,” Hunter murmured. “Man, do I owe you.”
The tiger blinked his yellow-green eyes. Yes, you do, he seemed to say.
“Where is he going?” Dawn asked when Cruz turned with a swish of his tail. “Is he okay?” A gash drew a jagged line down his side, and he walked with a limp.
“He’s going back to the beach to clean up. And, yeah, he’ll be okay.”
Clean up meant dispose of the bodies, Dawn figured, but at that point, she didn’t care. At least, not until a moment later, when a huge shadow whooshed overhead.
“Whoa.” She ducked.
Hunter just nodded and waved. “That’s Kai.”
Dawn gaped.
Sure. You can see dragons here from time to time, Lily had once said.
Dawn worked her jaw loose again. She and Lily were going to have to have a long talk one of these days.
“What other shifters are you friends with—”
She stopped and gaped. Whoa. Hunter was naked. Very naked. But she barely had time to process that thought when voices broke out not too far away. She looked downhill, alarmed. Now what?
“Oh, brother,” Hunter murmured.
A group of people was rushing out from the resort — partygoers and resort staff, roused by the rockslide. Some gestured, while others ran forward to inspect the damage.
Hunter’s hand wrapped around hers, hiding the glowing ring.
“What happened?” a man shouted.
Dawn hid her face against Hunter’s chest. How were they going to explain a shifter fight, Spirit Stones, and being naked at the edge of a fresh rockslide?
“The whole cliff fell,” someone replied.
The footsteps grew louder, closer.
“I knew this slope was unstable,” another person said.
“The surf probably undercut the whole thing.”
Dawn shook her head against Hunter’s chest. Nope. Try again.
“Wait a minute, what are you doing here?” a woman cried, staring at them.
Hunter’s face was an inch from Dawn’s, and she looked right into his eyes, whispering. “What are we going to say?”
His cracked lips curled into a grin. “You trust me?”
Dawn nodded and whispered back. “Yes. You never have to ask me that again, by the way.”
His grin grew wider, and he pressed his lips against hers. His hands tightened around her back, and he rolled slightly, covering her.
It was the craziest possible time for a kiss, but she was all in. Her mouth opened under his, her lips nibbling gently. Her heart beat faster.
“Hey, what are you two doing up here?” a fresh arrival demanded.
“Holy crap. The cliff fell away, and you’re making out?” someone else said.
Dawn suppressed a giggle but went right on kissing Hunter. She could imagine the jokes she’d have to endure at headquarters when the guys heard about her being found half naked and wrapped around a security guard while on the clock.
Must have been some sex, she figured the first wisecrack would go.
Did he make your world shake, Dawn? would probably come next.
And they’d go on and on, and the whole thing would get out of control.
Dawn grinned under her kiss and snuggled closer. Somehow, she didn’t care about any of that. And in a way, it was true. Hunter had shaken her world. In the best possible way.