Coyote Calling, page 7
Resentment, and even some begrudging respect, shone in their eyes.
Ticasuk lifted her chin. “No. We have gathered you here to discuss your interference in our packs.”
Growls of agreement sounded from several of them. I shot the male räv—who had growled the loudest—a hard look. Beside me Ty let out a grumble of his own. Gregor fell silent, but his teeth remained bared.
Ayra shrugged. “If you don’t want to be civilized adults about this, we can do it the hard way.”
Next to her, Vidar rolled his shoulders. “I like the hard way,” he said through a grin.
The rävar shared a nervous look.
“We should hear them out,” Bidziil, the male ma’ii councilor said.
Ticasuk crossed her arms beneath her ample breasts. “Fine, we will hear you out, but you will hear us as well.”
Vidar, Ty, and I nodded to Ayra, who narrowed her eyes at the council, then spoke for us. “We will hear you.” She didn’t say what she’d do if we didn’t like what they had to say, but I could see it in her stormy eyes. She gave me the go-ahead nod.
I straightened and summoned my best authoritative tone. “We have no interest in telling your races what to do, or in policing your packs. That’s your business, not ours.”
A few perked up at that. It reminded me I had to be careful not to raise anyone’s hackles by challenging their dominance. With all these strong egos that wasn’t going to be easy. I had to stick to the script we’d discussed on the way here.
“I seek out the newly bitten who are about to lose their fight with madness. I try to help bring them back from the edge so they can recover and not hurt others—or our kind by exposing us. If they fail and go insane, Ayra puts them down before they can harm anyone else.” Since the last seeker and reaper had been over three hundred years ago and no one on this council was that old, I figured they might need a rundown of exactly what it was we did.
When I took a breath, Sigrid, the female räv councilor, put her two cents in. “Yes, yes, Leitar, we know what you do.” The way she sneered and curled her upper lip when she said my title made my hackles rise.
Okay, maybe they didn’t need a rundown. I shot her a sharp look. “Then you also know that no part of the stories about our predecessors say anything about us telling you how to run your packs.”
Long braids flying as she gesticulated wildly, Halona let out a loud growl. “But that is exactly what you’re doing!”
Though I wanted desperately to, I couldn’t blame her for her attitude. The races of shifterkind had enjoyed three hundred years of running things without interference. That was plenty of time to get set in their ways. I rolled my hand over, palm up in a gesture for her to go on.
“You’re killing our kind, not giving us the chance to try, convict, and sentence them. You are appointing yourself judge, jury, and executioner,” she snarled.
Confusion held my tongue in check. I’d discovered only one ma’ii, and I’d turned her over to her people. I looked to Ayra. Her brows rose in a look that told me we’d talk later. I said a silent prayer to all the Gods I could name that it hadn’t been any of the bitten in Yee Naaldlooshii she’d reaped.
Once again, Ayra’s expression turned stoic as she looked at Halona. “It is your responsibility to mentor and help newly bitten, and to regulate the biting in of a potential new pack member. We only step in after you fail to do that, once the newly bitten has lost control to the point where they are about to go mad, or already have and are beyond any help you can give.” Her power crackled along my skin as her irritation grew. “And we are dealing mostly with those who have been bitten in against their will and abandoned by their creator.”
Letting out a frustrated growl, Sigrid threw her hands up. “Now you’re accusing us of not properly policing our own people, and you are passing judgment on us.”
I shook my head. “We aren’t passing judgment.”
Her counterpart, Gregor, narrowed his gaze at me. “But that is what you’re doing by killing our kind, our people.”
A growl rumbled from Vidar. “Then control your people.” His words were quiet, dangerous.
Shouts erupted from at least six of the eight councilors, followed by what had to be curse words in four different languages. I picked up some of the Swedish curse words Sigrid spat at us: entitled, disillusioned, bitches. I shot her a glare that I wished could cut.
They all jumped in, throwing words at us like arrows from a crossbow.
Beside me, Ayra started to growl low in her throat. Claws extended from her fingers, and her power began to feel like a nuclear reactor nearing critical mass.
To my surprise, Kallik held up a hand. “Silence!” he commanded. After some grumbling, the councilors complied. At least they weren’t completely stupid. The man was twice their size, and that was in human form. “The former monk is right. It’s our responsibility to control and police our people. We should be doing so to the point where unsanctioned bitings don’t happen, yet they do. That we need the seeker and reaper isn’t in question. How we deal with them in our legal systems is.”
Most people didn’t look pleased by those words—Ticasuk included—but no one voiced an argument. I didn’t exactly like his tone, but since his words had a placating affect, I wasn’t going to argue, yet. What I hated, though, was that it took the words of two dominant males to calm everyone. Which might really have been part of the root of the problem here. The rumble of thunder growing closer reflected the anger building inside me.
Next to me, Ty’s energy flared with hostility and that ever-present protectiveness of his.
Oh, Helheimr no, we were not going there right now. If he tried to be a knight in shining armor, inadvertently taking more of my power away by yet another male stepping up to “fix the problem,” we were going to have a whole different problem.
I gave him what I hoped came across as a “back down” look, instead of a twitching one-eye squint. The odds weren’t in my favor. He gave me a nod, let out a long breath, and his shoulders relaxed. Both my anger and energy threatened to boil over when he opened his mouth to speak.
“Think of them like the FBI,” he said.
Eight heads turned to him with puzzled looks on their faces. This shouldn’t be rocket science to them, but then the last time this world had seen a seeker and reaper, pirates had roamed the seven seas.
“How exactly?” Ticasuk asked.
“They step in when a situation falls under their jurisdiction,” Ty explained in that enticing, mellow voice of his that made a person want to listen.
The varúlfur and ma’ii councilors nodded and exchanged approving looks. The rävar and ijakumo didn’t appear even close to convinced. Something between a bark and a laugh came from Fáníya. “What you are saying is that they can step in and take over whenever they want.”
Ty shook his head. “No, that is not at all what I am saying.”
Gesticulating wildly, Sigrid took a step closer. “Well, that’s what the FBI does. But at least they have the sense not to open a portal to another world.”
Oh sure, he had to go there, bringing up last summer’s debacle—which had not been our fault in any way.
Vidar made a placating gesture with his hands. “You’re taking him entirely too literally. And they never would have done that if the varúlfur weren’t out of control in the first place.”
Dáre bared his fangs. “Wait. Now are you saying they may use any means when they step in, up to using their power in a manner that could expose us all?”
“No. They were manipulated into using their power to do that. You are taking us too literal.” Vidar’s voice was starting to lose a little of its calm composure.
“How exactly are we supposed to take you? They are self-proclaimed chosen of the Gods. Well, guess what? Your so-called Gods are not our Gods,” Dáre snapped.
That elicited an affirmative response from almost all the council members. Fáníya stepped up next to him. “That’s right, which is exactly why this council has always been the ruling faction that keeps order over all the canine shifters. To alter that is to invite disaster and discrimination,” she said.
That, along with the boys taking over completely and speaking for us, rubbed me all kinds of wrong. Before I thought about it, I took a step toward the council. “I am half Chero—” I paused as I realized I couldn’t say that for sure anymore. “Half Native American and half Swedish. I am the last person who would ever discriminate against anyone for any reason. I don’t know if my powers were bestowed on me by Frigg, Odin, or any other God or Goddess.” I had to take a breath and get my fangs to retract so my words didn’t slur. “All I know is I want to help newly bitten. I do help them. And the last thing those people need is authorities of any kind getting in the way.” As soon as they left my mouth I knew the words were a horrible mistake.
Shouts, curses, and growls erupted from the council members. Their agitated energy pushed against us. As thunder rolled, the pressure of the building storm pushed behind us. Caught between the two, I gasped for breath, my anxiety beginning to build. The formidable pressure emanating off these guys really made me not want to fight them. I tried placating words, but I might as well have been whispering in a hurricane. Their energy started to feel too much like a blanket, a heavy one that threatened to bury me beneath it. I pushed back against it, holding it at bay, but just barely.
Breath strangling in my throat, I shot a desperate glance at Ayra. She looked from me to the sky and nodded. My gaze moved to Ty. Such confidence and pride radiated from him that it stunned me. Puzzled, I looked up. Fat drops of rain plopped onto my face. The renewed press of hostility rolling off the council members snapped my attention back to them. Three of them were in the midst of casting off their clothes. Moments later they stood before us as a massive gray wolf, a red fox bigger than anything I’d seen on any nature show, and a sleek, large jackal. Lips curled back from their fangs, and snarls issued from them as they stalked our way.
While it scared me to think they’d lost their tempers enough to attack, it made me madder than anything else. Part of me realized I should have known it would come down to a fight. Canine shifters had a strong instinct toward dominance established by fighting. But a bigger part of me had hoped—fruitlessly, apparently—that their reasonable human sides would win out. Everything in me wanted to take a step back, but I couldn’t for two reasons. One, it would be seen as submissive or weak. Two, there was literally nowhere to go—almost, but it wasn’t time for that yet.
“Can we seriously not act like civilized adults?” I attempted one last time.
Kallik bared his teeth at me, which sported fangs. “In case you haven’t realized it yet, pup, our idea of civilized is not the same as humans.”
Well, shit, so much for that.
On my right side, the female ma’ii council member’s hands spread wide as claws extended from her fingers. She bared her fangs as she stalked closer. The huge fox lunged at me from my left. In a flash of silken blue and blond, Ty dashed forward and snatched the fox out of the air in midleap. For a pulse-pounding moment, he held it aloft by the neck, letting it squirm and choke. Claws raked at him, tearing one sleeve of his lovely shirt. Out of my right peripheral, I saw the wolf had jumped at Vidar, and the two were engaged in a blindingly fast exchange of attacks.
The remaining six moved in on Ayra and me. I couldn’t win a fight against these people—they were alphas, seasoned fighters. There was only one way I’d be able to exert dominance over them, and only then would they listen to me. As if in response to my thoughts, thunder clapped directly overhead hard enough to rattle the windows of the house. I looked at Ayra. One side of her top lip curled up to show fangs and she nodded.
“Let’s show them why they don’t want to fuck with us,” I said.
I put my hand up as if for a high-five. Our palms smacked and our fingers interlaced just as another loud boom of thunder shook the rooftop patio. The scent of ozone filled the salty air, and the tangy taste of metal made my mouth water. All around us the raw, natural power of the storm pulsed, caressing hungrily like a lover who had been away too long. Throwing my free hand wide and high in anticipation, I invited it in, called it to me. The answer was immediate and breathtaking.
Lightning shot through the clouds and struck me full on. It spread out through where my hand clasped Ayra’s and into her. The world brightened impossibly, and everything became stark white outlines without color of substance. Raw, unbridled electricity exploded through every atom of my body and stopped everything, my breath, my thoughts, even my heart for a moment. The purest euphoria imaginable filled me. I knew with certainty this was what it felt like to dance with Gods and Goddesses.
Through our clasped hands I felt Ayra anchor both us and the lightning. Her long white-blond hair blew about her in a fierce wind, outlined in white as if it were lightning itself. In her eyes I saw the same thing I felt in my own: pure energy that made them glow like something otherworldly. No pupil or iris remained, only the ghostly pearl hue. We smiled at each other, and it was the purest, most joy-filled smile I had ever seen her wear. I got it. I so got it.
While I had attracted it, called the lightning, Ayra gave it direction and purpose. I felt her not exactly bend it to her will, but give it an outlet. Knowing what she had in mind, I raised my hand to the sky at the same time she did. Lightning flowed out of our hands, arcing off our fingers to shoot into the sky and dance along the dark clouds. The force of power rolling off us combined with the blinding light show sent everyone stumbling back, except for Ty and Vidar who had been prepared for it. Even they shielded their eyes and turned their heads. Part of me was surprised Ayra hadn’t directed the lightning at any of the councilors—pleased, but surprised. Those in their canine forms hunched down, tails tucked.
Once the electricity dissipated and the day turned dark again, Ayra and I lowered our arms and let go of each other’s hand. Rain pelted us all, merciless even to Ayra and me in its determination to wash the earth clean.
“You’re right,” I said, raising my voice and putting enough power behind it to be heard over the storm. “Our kind aren’t like humans, and Ayra and I aren’t like you. Before you go throwing your authority around, thinking we’ll be subdued, remember this.”
The two varúlfur councilors inclined their heads and dipped their shoulders. It was more submission than I expected to get from them without a fight. “We understand, Leitar,” Ticasuk said.
“Be sure you do, or next time we won’t aim at the sky,” Ayra warned.
Dark red hair bobbing as she nodded, Sigrid, the räv female councilor, answered, “We do, Uppskera, we do.” The slightest tinge of fear colored her voice.
My heart sank like grenadine to the bottom of a Tequila Sunrise. I had hoped for understanding, mutual ground, not fear and submission. “We didn’t want it to go like this,” I said with a shake of my head.
The fox before us morphed back into a man—spiky red hair thrusting up in every direction from his head. I kept my eyes on his face, not wanting the image of his naked body burned into my retinas. Not that it wasn’t a nice body, it was, but just…no. Gregor, his name was Gregor. He wasn’t only lean muscle and furious energy, he was a person.
“But it did,” he said. “It turned into a spectacle just like the incident in Hemlock Hollow. Others could have seen.”
Vidar held up a flat device about half the size of a phone. “No, they couldn’t have. Just like they didn’t there. Thanks to the storm, and this little EMF and satellite-blocking device from Einstein, as well as our choice of locations, no one can see or record us.”
His reveal had several of them reaching for the phones in their pockets.
“Mine’s dead,” came Sigrid’s incredulous exclamation.
“Me too!” Bidziil said with a touch of wonder in his voice.
“You have an ally in Einstein. That’s good to know,” Kallik said, his tone and expression holding something new, caution, maybe.
Ayra and Vidar exchanged a look before she spoke. “You underestimated us in every way. Think twice before you make that mistake again.” She leaped up onto the four-inch-wide ledge of the top of the glass wall, balancing there as if it were the easiest thing in the world. Vidar joined her. Our eyes locked and I nodded to her. The two of them leaped from the wall and disappeared into the dark, wet night. I looked to the council as I backed up until my thigh hit the wall, Ty’s warm presence at my side.
“We could be your allies too,” I told them.
Before they could voice another argument, I vaulted over the glass wall and plummeted into the night.
CHAPTER SEVEN
A hundred feet down, I landed on the large outcropping the Order of the Verndari had told us about and we had scoped out prior to the meeting. The sides of my shoes gripped the porous surface solidly, but disorientation from the long drop made me sway. Anxiety twisted my stomach as my arms pinwheeled in an attempt to catch my balance. A heartbeat later Ty landed a few feet from me. He snatched one of my flailing hands and pulled me to him, wrapping me in his arms. All that muscle encasing me, protecting me, allowed me to breathe again. I clung to him and buried my head between his hard pectorals.
The fall—another eighty or so feet—likely wouldn’t kill me, but the rocks would surely break bones, which would hurt like a mother, and the roiling ocean would drown me. The drowning part might or might not stick depending on how resilient I turned out to be, according to Ty. It was not something I wanted to test.
After several long moments, Ty drew back enough to look down at me. “You were amazing up there, absolutely awe-inspiring,” he said, voice husky.
I snort-laughed, which no doubt ruined the sexy-as-Helheimr drowned-rat look I had going on. “Hardly. I couldn’t even stop them from trying to fight us.”
He rubbed my arms, a comforting gesture more than anything. Despite the cool temperature, dark skies, and pouring rain, I was comfortable as only a shifter could be.
