Lunar Bound, page 8
part #4 of Sky Brooks World: Ethan Series
“We don’t need an audience,” I said, a barely audible whisper.
She yanked her arm from my grip and stormed toward her car. I followed, leaned against the front end as she opened the door.
“Okay.” I sighed, rolled my eyes at her. “Go ahead with it. This should be entertaining.”
Watching her lips twist in rage, I realized I’d underestimated the depth of her attachment to Quell.
“Go on, Sky.” I stiffened. “Say your piece so I can go home, it’s late.”
“If it’s past your bedtime, then shouldn’t you be at home instead of trying to pass off one of your half-night stands to Quell? How insulting it must be for her to have you give her away like a free sample with purchase.”
“I haven’t been with her. If you have a problem with Fiona and her interaction with Quell, discuss it with Claudia. She’s the one that considered them a good fit. She’s the one that wanted me to introduce them.”
Sky rolled her eyes at me. “Funny, how did she find out about it? Did you run to Mommy and tell her that I wasn’t doing what you wanted me to do? Did I miss the tantrum?”
I started toward my car. “You should hope that his interest in you is redirected to her.”
“You will not do anything to him, or—”
“Or what, Skylar?” I turned on her. “What exactly will you do? Yell? Not speak to me? Get into a little huff? Run off and hope none of the many people you’ve pissed off find you? Go ahead, tell me exactly what you plan to do!”
“Ethan,” she said softly, her tone cautious or frightened. “I swear, I have this. This is my problem and I will handle it.”
“But you’re not handling it!” I snapped, walking up to within inches of her. “This is getting worse.” I looked away, checking my temper. After several slow breaths, I said, “I can assure you I don’t want to deal with this. Quell means nothing to me. I could go in there right now, kill him, and not give it a second thought. But he means something to you, so I’m trying to get this Michaela situation under control.”
She bristled at the name.
I rested my hand over her hip and silently gathered myself. Snapping at her wasn’t going to help. After a moment, I inched closer to her, softened my voice. “Are you jealous of Fiona?”
“So she’s supposed to be my replacement? It will not change anything between Quell and me, we are friends. That will not change.”
“Answer the question.”
Frustration and doubt played in her eyes as she struggled to explain. After a long moment, she shook her head, but that wasn’t enough.
“I need to hear you say it,” I said.
“No.”
Her heart betrayed the lie. My hand fell from her waist.
“Am I telling the truth?”
“You want it to be the truth,” I said over my shoulder as I walked toward my car. She might even believe it.
“We’re friends,” she insisted, following me. “I care about him. I want to keep him safe and I want to make sure he doesn’t hurt or kill anyone when he feeds. Why is that wrong?”
I stopped, turned, my gaze downcast as I battled with my disappointment. When I looked up, I saw a flash of something behind her watching from the fallow field. Resisting my instincts, I forced my body to relax while I kept the field in my peripheral vision. The jackal’s long snout and dark stripe gave it away.
Sky realized something was wrong.
I whispered, “Do you see it?”
She turned her head slightly, just enough to catch a glimpse of the jackal out of the corner of her eye.
“Is it the same one?” I asked.
She gave the slightest of nods.
“How fast can you change?”
She licked her lips. “Not as fast as you can.”
My attention directed at Sky, I shifted my weight, opening my stance in the process to give myself an uninhibited line toward the were-animal.
“In your car,” I whispered. “Cut him off from behind, okay?”
She was bringing out her keys when I broke toward the jackal, sprinting. In three strides I’d changed midair into my wolf. Behind me I heard Sky start her car and put it into drive.
The jackal turned to flee, but too late as Sky drove into the field and cut it off. Faced with the challenge of her car or my wolf, he chose the latter.
We circled each other, lips drawn back, baring our teeth. Something about the jackal was off. Its movements lacked fluidity, like an animal new to its skin. It barked a challenge. I answered with a howl and then we charged, leaping in the air toward each other. I snapped at its throat, my teeth gnashing empty air as the jackal disappeared mid-leap. Landing on all fours, I glanced around for signs of the jackal, or a nearby ally that could explain the use of magic. Sky looked as well, standing outside her car.
The feel of magic lingered in the still air. There was a scent to it, like death, or something unnatural. From Sky’s screwed expression, I knew she’d caught the scent as well.
After a moment, I changed back into my human form and walked toward her. Only when she sucked in air and tried to avert her eyes did I remember that I was naked. The hint of a smile twisted my lips as I enjoyed her discomfort, a brief reprieve from fresh worry.
From the trunk of my car, I retrieved a pair of boxer shorts. I usually kept a shirt and pants as well, but I hadn’t planned on Tonya sabotaging the GT. As I slipped on the boxers, Sky informed me, “I saw the jackal at…earlier, when I was with Sebastian.”
The jackal had just climbed to the top of my to-do list. It was stalking her, but why? I needed answers, fast. Magic was the only clue I had to work with.
“Go home, Sky.”
She watched me as I eased in behind the steering wheel. She was safe, for now. The jackal would assume it was hunted. It would go into hiding, at least for the night. When it emerged depended on how badly it wanted Sky, and why.
“I need to see Josh,” I said, then sped away before she could ask questions.
Once back on the road, I called Steven, asked him to keep an eye on her. He was the only one who could without arousing her suspicion. The last thing I needed was for Sky to hunt the jackal on her own.
CHAPTER 5
After three unanswered calls, I turned off the road to Josh’s ranch house and headed for the pack’s club. As the manager, he spent most of his nights there. The job was a perfect fit for his personality—too perfect. His hands-on approach to entertaining the club’s patrons often led to excess. At some point, that life was going to catch up to him. I’d often wondered if my warnings only encouraged him.
A long line of hopeful entrants complained as I strode past the queue, past the bouncer. The vibration of a hard techno base beat engulfed me as I stepped through the door into a black-lit night. Early, the club was already bustling, the dance floor crowded. Thanks to Josh’s touch, the club was now a premiere attraction for Chicago’s social elite, from old money and CEOs to celebrities. The club provided the pack with a wealth of valuable connections, and information.
A look from me and the bartender gestured toward the back of the club. As I followed her gaze, a rowdy group cheer rose from the roped-off VIP room there. Walking around the dance floor, I saw Josh downing a shot to the delight of a small, captive audience, men and women dressed in black tuxedo t-shirts. Finished, he held up his empty glass, wrapped it in his fingers. He opened his hand again to reveal the glass had disappeared. Captivated, the audience watched closely as he reached behind a woman’s ear and revealed a new glass, whiskey included—her glass. The classic magician’s sleight of hand, misdirecting the audience’s attention from the actual trick. In this case, the trick was actual magic. Josh had transported his original glass into my palm. With all eyes on his hand behind the woman’s ear, he’d transported her glass into his hand. The woman gaped, the audience clapped, as he drank her shot.
I scowled at the unnecessary risk, his excuses already ringing in my ears.
At my approach, a delighted murmur spread among the group. It was almost casual until one of them—the drunkest—loudly declared, “The strippers are here! Woooo!”
Josh turned, grinned at me. “I think they want you to dance.”
“I need to talk to you.”
“Come on, Ethan,” he teased, “show them your moves.”
I leaned closer. “That wild animal we’re looking for, it’s tracking a friend of ours.”
His smile faded as one of the men gasped, “A wild animal is on the loose!”
“I hope it’s a sexy werewolf,” said another.
Another said, “I’d rather a sexy vampire.”
The group laughed, then launched into an intense and graphic debate.
Forgotten by his audience, Josh led me to his second-floor office. The door closed, the noise of the club grew instantly dim. The soundproofing did little to stem the pulsing vibration beneath our feet.
He asked, “Are you sure the jackal is after Sky?”
“It tracked her twice tonight, different locations. The last time, I nearly got my teeth into its neck before it transported away.” I continued while he paced his office, chewing absently on his nails. “It’s not a natural creature.”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s something off about it.” I couldn’t put my finger on it. “The magic isn’t right.”
He smirked behind an accusatory look. “I’d hate to challenge your knowledge about were-animals using magic.”
I ignored the taunt. “I don’t think it comes by its magic naturally.”
“Agreed.” He returned to pacing. “With Ethos dead, there aren’t many who could pull off that kind of magic. Samuel, maybe, if he had help. A Tre’ase, more likely. We don’t know what the ceiling is on their magic.”
I growled, “Logan.”
Josh paused, turned to me with a determined look. “He has motive. At least he thinks he does.”
Sky had gone to him to remove Marcia’s curse. Chris had been the price. I guessed he wanted her to fulfill some twisted Tre’ase fantasy. He couldn’t just compel her, which meant there were at least some limitations on his magic. He’d instructed Sky to use the servus vinculum spell, which replicated the master-slave relationship between a vampire and its creator. Since the spell could only bond a vampire to a human, Logan couldn’t use it himself, but once Sky turned Chris into a personal slave, Sky could order Chris to obey Logan, effectively making the Tre’ase her master. It was an ill deed. That Sky had agreed to the bargain had been a sign of her desperation, but Machiavellian politics didn’t sit well with her. When she couldn’t go through with the spell, Logan had been furious. He’d claimed she’d broken their bargain, but Sebastian had called Logan out on his bullshit. He hadn’t removed the curse. Sky hadn’t taken anything she’d been obliged to pay for. Still, he felt hard done by. The jackal could be part of some intricate revenge plot.
Josh continued. “We should at least talk to him.”
My answer was immediate, more from habit than resolve. “No.”
“If Logan isn’t involved, he probably knows who is.”
Involved or not, a conversation with a Tre’ase was always dangerous, more so if he had the information we wanted. The price he’d exact would be tempting, but buried in the details was always some lurking horror waiting to be unleashed the moment the bargain was sealed. Nothing Logan could offer would be worth his price, and he had a way of teasing out an unwitting agreement. Even at arm’s length, he was dangerous.
“And if Logan is behind the jackal,” I declared, “we’ll be walking into a trap.”
“He’s not trapped in his house anymore. If he wants to get his hands on Sky, he doesn’t need to draw us to his front door.”
My arms folded over my chest as I weighed the potential rewards against the risks. I couldn’t wait around for the jackal to play its hand. Logan was my best lead—my only lead. Josh wasn’t ignorant of the risks involved. He’d made his own assessment.
He pressed the issue. “Logan could also narrow down your list of Tre’ase that might’ve created Maya.”
I met his gaze, weighing his judgment. At the least, a visit to Logan could flush him out into the open if he was behind the jackal—we’d know who we were up against. At the worst, the Tre’ase would trick us into a bargain that would enslave some or all of us to him, forever.
“Agreed,” I said, surprising Josh.
For a moment, he remained suspicious.
“We’ll have to go in force.” I sighed as I fished out my phone from my pocket. “We’ll take Sky with us.”
Josh bristled. “Why?”
“If he is behind the jackal, there’d be no better time to move on Sky than when we aren’t there to protect her.”
“And if he is behind the jackal, you’re going to deliver her like a meal on wheels.”
I stiffened. “If he wants to harm her under my nose, let him try. Meet me tomorrow morning at the edge of Logan’s property.”
“The cul-de-sac?”
I nodded. “Eight sharp. Be ready for anything.”
The next morning, I parked my black Maserati GranTurismo in Sky’s driveway and waited. A moment later, she emerged from the townhouse carrying a drawstring tote. She eyed the car with a sly smile. “I guess the saying is true,” she said as she slid into the passenger seat, “‘the difference between a man and a boy is the cost of their toys.’”
I glanced over my shoulder, backed out of the driveway. “You and I both know that this car isn’t the only difference between me and a boy.” Once on the road, I glanced at the tote in her lap, noting the muted orange glow of the Aufero within. “Why did you bring that?”
Surprised, she frowned at the glow that had betrayed her. “I brought it just in case.”
“Josh said it was responding oddly and making it difficult for you to use the magic.”
“It is, but if we are dealing with Logan, bad magic is better than no magic.”
That was my brother’s argument—reckless—but I didn’t argue the point. She was anxious, looking for security. “Josh will be there.”
Her jaw shifted slightly, and her shoulders relaxed as relief replaced some of the tension in her body. Leaving her alone with her thoughts, I focused on the road. It wasn’t long before the silence between us became uncomfortable. The furtive glances started. She was building to a question, something important to her. She wasn’t one to hold back long. When the question didn’t materialize, I started to worry.
“Go ahead with it.”
“With what?”
“Your breathing increased, you’re blinking less, and your heart rate has increased, short inconsistent bursts. This always happens when you are frustrated and have something you want to talk about. Talk.”
“Okay,” she said, nodding. “Well, I know this guy, let’s call him E, and he has this really creepy and weird skill that freaks everyone out. He counts physiological responses. He’s a total freak. And it doesn’t help that his mercurial ways are off-putting and he’s kind of a jackass, but doesn’t seem to care. If he doesn’t change his ways, I think he is going to die alone. What should I do?”
“Sky,” I chuckled, “ask your question.”
“Have you heard from Fiona?”
I wondered when that would come up. “Yes.”
“Is she okay?”
“We didn’t talk long; she was still at Quell’s when I spoke to her this morning.” I glanced at Sky, reading her reaction.
She let the news sink in, weighed it, before answering. “Good.” There was a finality in her tone, determination. Claudia might have actually found the perfect match for Quell and saved his life in the process, but Sky couldn’t let him go. She was going back to him at the first opportunity. I glanced out the side window, suppressed a growl. My fingers clenched around the steering wheel. There were plenty of risks ahead of us, confronting Logan. I needed her focused. An argument now could only be a dangerous distraction.
Struggling to brush my frustration aside, I sighed and searched for anything to break the tension. Dark clouds in the sky were breaking apart, revealing clear blue. “Looks like it’s not going to rain,” I said, fumbling. Sky was too lost in her thoughts to notice. I turned my attention to Logan. At our last meeting, he’d taken an uncomfortable interest in me, probably due to the dark elf magic. Relieved of that curse, I hoped he’d behave himself. Brushing that concern aside, I focused on the road.
With each isolating mile, houses grew scarcer, until signs of civilization were limited to the occasional decrepit barn or shack. Despite Logan’s newfound freedom, he preferred to live in seclusion. The paved road gave way to crunchy gravel as the cul-de-sac came into view. Josh’s Jeep Forrester was there, parked next to Sebastian’s black SUV. They watched our arrival, standing next to the barrier that declared, “Private Property.” Beyond that, a twisting gravel path disappeared into a dense forest of high grass, shrubbery, and willow trees.
“Stay alert,” I said as Sebastian led us onto the path that forced us into single file. If Logan meant us harm, the narrow path was perfect for an ambush. At my direction, Sky fell in behind me while Josh took up the rear. From the slight crackle in the air, I knew he kept his magic close at hand.
Silent, we followed the path into the gloomy darkness of the forest until the trail ended at the door of a small brown cottage shrouded beneath protective foliage. At our approach, the door slowly creaked open to reveal no one behind it. Was Logan being creepy or just lazy, or was this the trap? Sniffing the air, I caught the base scent of the Tre’ase, and someone else—human, female. The added scent was faint, a recent visitor or someone trying to cover her scent. Sebastian and I exchanged knowing looks before he walked through the door into Logan’s kitchen. I took an extra look around, peering through the dense foliage before following.
Logan waited just inside, leaning against a counter, next to a rack of drying dishes. A smug smile spread across his lips. He’d changed since I’d last seen him, but that was one of his magical talents. Anything was better than his true visage. The horns and twisted facial features were gone, replaced by flowing chestnut hair and chiseled good looks. The off-putting lavender eyes remained. Like Josh, Logan loved his body art. Beneath his crisp button-down shirt, his torso and arms were covered, but the tattoos were more than decorative. His magic resided in them. Little of the body art was visible beyond the sleeve cuffs, but I kept an eye on them. Josh did as well.
