AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And then there’s Menolly, who was a jian-tu—a spy/acrobat—until she was tortured and turned into a vampire back in Otherworld. Last winter, we managed to dust her sire, one of the most vicious pieces of filth that ever walked the Earth. Menolly runs a fine line, controlling her predator nature but accepting who she is. But even in death, she’s my baby sister.
Together with our lovers and friends, we’re fighting a demonic war, alone except with scattered help from the elves and a few other Supes we can trust. We’re on the trail of the spirit seals—nine artifacts broken from a single treasure formed by the Elemental Lords and the ancient Fae Lords when Otherworld split off from Earth during the Great Divide. We’ve managed to find several of them, but Shadow Wing snagged one, which makes the danger more precarious. The rest are up for grabs, and we’re trying to prevent him from getting hold of any more. Every spirit seal the demon lord possesses brings him one step closer to the day he manages to break through the portals, to raze both Earth and Otherworld to the ground.
And we’re the only ones standing in his way.
Tangleroot State Park was ostensibly closed for the night, but Chase was waiting near the front gates for us. A day park, the 400-acre sprawl was a maze of picnic tables and jungle gyms, huge maple trees and conifers. The maples were bare-branched, naked to the sky, but the firs and cedars towered dark and brooding over the area. Snow clung to both naked limb and needled bough, creating a surreal, cloaked feel to the park.
As we drove through the gates and parked, I quietly slid out of the car and stood, gazing up at the giant sentinels that guarded the grounds.
Something about woodlands and glades, parks and forests during winter muffled my thoughts, sent me into a quietude that I seldom found except within my magic and meditation. They reminded me of my days spent in study back home, when I first became a witch under the Moon Mother’s watchful eyes.
Chase smiled tightly, raising his hand. His eyes glimmered with magic. The Nectar of Life was taking full hold of him. Just where he’d end up was a mystery none of us could fathom, but watching his journey was fascinating, and I hoped to hell it ended well for him. He’d helped us so much and, although I’d started out wanting to smack him every time he stared at my boobs, over the months I’d come to respect and even like the detective.
As Delilah and Shade pulled in, a flicker of regret skittered across his face but disappeared so rapidly I thought I might be imagining it. Chase was dating Sharah now—the elfin medic at the FH-CSI—the Faerie Human Crime Scene Investigation unit. They seemed casually happy together.
“Thanks for coming,” he said. “I know you must be tired from your trip.” He searched my face. “How’s Iris?”
I shrugged. “Better than when we left. But it was hard—it was rough on her. It was difficult on all of us. The Northlands are a terrifying and harsh place. And I kept worrying that we might run into Hyto. Speaking of which . . .” Chase had to know. Hyto could wreak havoc on the city. “Chase, Hyto’s hanging around here.”
Chase gave me a sharp look. “Smoky’s father? Here? In Seattle?” A faint look of bewilderment skittered across his face. Or perhaps it was denial. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
“I wish I were. Apparently, he’s stirring up trouble. And we know he’s out to get Smoky and me. We just got the word tonight. I don’t mind telling you, Chase, I’m scared spitless. Dragons are dangerous—all of them. Even Smoky. And Shade, who’s only half dragon. But a dragon with a grudge . . . Hyto threatened me when we met. I know he’s more than capable of carrying out those threats.”
Shuddering, I let it drop. There was nothing more to say. Chase couldn’t do anything except keep a lookout. If he tried to go up against Hyto, he’d be charcoal. Or worse. The memory of Hyto’s hands on me, of his whispered threats, ran through me like ice water, and I tried to shake it off.
“What have you got for us?” I asked, before Chase could say anything else.
He paused for a moment, our eyes meeting. A flare of magic whirled in those dark orbs, and for a moment, I felt pulled toward him—as if there were a connection that resonated through both of us. It wasn’t sexual, but a deeper link, one born of magic, of the dark of night.
“Camille,” he whispered. “What . . .” And then, as quickly as the mind-touch flared, it vanished, and we were standing among the others as if nothing had happened.
I shook my head at him and mouthed, Later.
“You were going to show us what you think is a portal?” I didn’t want anybody else noticing what had happened. Chase was going through so many transformations that a bunch of nosy questions weren’t going to help him. But I decided to privately have a long talk with the detective. We needed to test him, find out just what sort of magical talents were emerging.
He stood there for a moment, pensive, then nodded and motioned for us to follow him. “Yeah, this way.”
As we fell in behind him, he explained how he found it. “I got a call on the tip line, of all things, telling me there was something in the park that wasn’t right.”
“Male or female?”
“I honestly don’t know. But I sent Shamas and Yugi out here and they found this . . . thing. It reminds me of Grandmother Coyote’s portal. But it’s . . . different. It doesn’t have the same feel, if that makes sense.” He frowned. “Like when you see an impersonator. Maybe he looks like the real thing, but there’s something off . . .”
I pressed my lips together. There were so many things in our world that were “just a little bit off” that the normality of life had taken a backseat. “Yeah, I know. Show us, please.”
We scuffed through the snow, along the ice-covered sidewalks into the heart of the park. Tangleroot Park gave me the creeps, to be honest. I usually loved the outdoors, but some woods are too dark, some places too wild for comfort. Especially over here, Earthside.
The home of massive cedar and fir trees, Tangleroot Park also housed a couple of ancient yew trees. The tree of death, the tree of rebirth. A dark soul in a bright night, the yew was one of the most holy of trees, and yet it calved off into a hundred trunks, a hundred roots, all twisting in on the heart of the trunk. The spirit of the yew belonged to the winter, to the barren and fallow season, to the Underworld.
And the minute we began to walk toward the center of the park, I could feel the yews watching us. Watching me. They were curious, and their curiosity came creeping out, feelers reaching for my energy.
Death priestess . . . dark moon priestess . . . we feel you pass by.
Startled, I jerked my head up, but even though I glanced around, I knew that no one walking on two feet had said that. It was the forest. The yews.
I tried to keep my thoughts to myself, tried to rein in my aura. Lately it had become a challenge not to blast it wide. The more Morio and I worked together on our death magic, the stronger I was becoming.
And when I backfired, the backlashes were more intense, and more dangerous. As I cloaked up, warding myself against prying eyes, we turned off on a side path, silently filing through the snow-laden trees. A faint mist ran through the park, sparkling and electric. Mist didn’t usually crackle; something had to be infusing it for it to shimmer so much.
