Broken Bonds by Keri Arthur

Chapter Five

Iswore and rubbed a hand across my eyes. “How long ago did it happen?”

“Only half an hour. The trail should be fresh enough for you to pick up.”

“The rangers had no scent to follow?”

“No. There was some sort of magical interference. I tried to track it, but they were in a car and the trail faded out about a block away.”

“If we’re dealing with a skeleton spirit, why on earth would it be driving a car?”

“Why would I know?”

A smile tugged at my lips. “Of the two of us, you are the more knowledgeable witch.”

“More knowledgeable when it comes to spells, maybe, but definitely not when it comes to this sort of stuff. How soon can you get here?”

“That depends on where ‘here’ is.”

After he’d reeled off the address, I added, “It’ll take me about ten minutes. Is Aiden there?”

“No. He’s at the hospital again. Tala’s taking the lead on this one.”

Which wasn’t a surprise given she was second in charge. But Dillon having another setback wasn’t good news. I wished there was something more I could do to help, but neither Belle nor I were healers. I wasn’t even sure that witches who did have that capacity would be able to do anything that a werewolf’s own inbuilt healing system couldn’t. “Be there soon.”

“Bring your kit, just in case.”

“Will do.”

I hung up and pushed to my feet. Belle emerged out of the reading room, backpack in hand. “It’s definitely not a good sign that her killing spree is ramping up.”

“No.” I accepted the pack with a nod of thanks. “Unless this is nothing more than another attempt to get rid of me.”

“She surely won’t catch you unawares a second time.” She paused and gave me a severe stare. “Will she?”

A faint smile teased my lips. “No, because she also won’t be expecting me to be able to track her through the kid.”

Belle’s eyebrows rose. “And how do you figure that?”

“Well, she’s obviously aware of my presence through my magical aura—”

“If that’s how she’s tracking you, she would have also come after Monty, Ashworth, and Eli.”

“Not if it’s the wild magic that drew her here. If she’s sensitive to it, it’s possible she’ll sense me through it. But that won’t tell her about my psi skills.”

“Yes, but that’s something of a moot point when there’s such things as tracking spells.”

“They’re often not as reliable as my psi abilities, though.”

“Tell that to Monty. He swears by them.” She plucked my coat from the hook and handed it to me. “Just promise to be careful. I’ve got a bad feeling about this whole thing.”

I rolled my eyes. “I promise to be careful.”

“You say that, but we both know the demons and other nasties that come a-hunting in this reservation don’t often play by the rule book. As this one has already proven—twice.”

“Yes, but this time I’m not alone. Monty and Tala will both be there.”

“That isn’t as comforting as it sounds.”

“I’ll tell him you said that.”

“Like he’d care.”

“True.” With a laugh, I headed out.

It didn’t take me long to arrive at the crime scene. The house in question was a modern timber-and-concrete building with a flat roof that melded surprisingly well into the surrounding bush.

I stopped behind Monty’s old wagon, then climbed out and walked down the driveway. As I ducked under the crime scene tape and moved toward the front door, Duke—another of the rangers—stepped out.

“How bad is it?” I asked.

He shrugged and offered me gloves and crime scene booties. “As far as these things go, we’ve seen far worse.”

I leaned against the wall to put on the booties. “So definitely another vampire-type attack?”

He nodded. “All skin, bones, and boner.”

I smiled, despite the seriousness of the situation. “Any clue as to the time of death?”

“Not yet—Ciara has only just arrived. Tala is with her now. The kid is our priority. This way.”

Ciara was the head coroner here on the reservation and Aiden’s sister. That she was here rather than at the hospital was a little surprising, but I guess there were limits on the number of people allowed into an ICU.

We walked inside. The corridor was light, and the mild aroma of pine and smoke dominated the air. But underneath them ran the darker scents of sex, death, and agony. The victim hadn’t died quickly, but he had died quietly.

For the son’s sake. To keep the son safe from the monster he’d welcomed into their home.

I frowned at the insight and tried to chase it down for further information, but it disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. My psi senses might be strengthening, but they remained as annoying as ever.

We turned left into a long corridor that ran at right angles to the main section of the house. Again, intuition stirred.

There were secrets in this place.

Lies.

And they centered on the little boy who’d been stolen.

But, once again, intuition didn’t provide anything else in the way of information. It was damnably frustrating.

We walked past three bedrooms and a bathroom and entered the room at the far end of the hall. The walls were painted pale blue and decorated with a multitude of train and truck stickers, while toy tractors, cars, and fire engines battled with Lego bricks for dominance on the floor. In a small cleared space in the center of this chaos was a plate on which a half-eaten Hundreds and Thousands sandwich and several empty Freddo Frog wrappers sat. Beside it was a Tetra Pak juice container with a straw sticking out of it. At least the father had ensured his son was fed and occupied before fucking the woman who’d taken his life …

Monty was staring out the window, but turned around as we entered. His expression was apologetic. “Sorry to drop this on you so soon after the hospital session, but—”

“It’s a kid, Monty. I’m never going to be ‘not available,’ no matter what state I’m in physically.” I raised a hand and then walked slowly around the room, trying to find something that held enough of the kid’s resonance to track him. “Do we know his name?”

“Jack,” Duke replied. “Jack Mason.”

“And the dad? Is much known about him?”

Duke pulled out a small notebook. “Kyle Mason was an ex-copper who arrived here with his son a couple of months ago. According to the neighbor who reported Jack’s kidnapping, he kept mostly to himself.”

Aside from inviting back the occasional sleeping partner, obviously. “Did the neighbor give you a description?”

“No. She said there was some sort of haze around the two of them that made it hard to see them.”

I looked over to Monty. “A concealment spell?”

He nodded. “A haze suggests it was hastily constructed, perhaps as a result of the kid screaming.”

None of the toys on the floor held anything major in the way of resonance, so I moved on. “Was Jack old enough to go to school?”

“Yes. Went to the primary school just down the road, and was picked up by his dad every day.” Duke frowned, something I felt more than saw. “Why do I get the feeling there’s something other than curiosity behind these questions?”

I hesitated. “It may be nothing, but I’m picking up some weird vibes from this house.”

There was nothing in the wardrobe or the nearby small bookshelf that held even a vague flicker of a connection.

“What sort of vibes?” Monty asked.

I hesitated again. “I get the distinct feeling there’s a whole lot of secrecy and lies when it comes to the life of the father and his son.”

“You can sense such things?” Duke queried, surprise evident.

“Not usually.”

“So why are you sensing them now?” Monty asked. “Or is this another side effect?”

“I suspect it is.”

“Well, fuck.”

And well and truly fucked is what I might be before all the changes were over.

“What sort of lies or secrets are we talking about, then?” Duke asked.

“That I don’t know, but it would definitely be worth looking deeper into the father’s history.”

“Which we do as a matter of course during a murder investigation, but I’ll flag it anyway.”

I moved across to the bed and ran my hand above it. As I neared the pillow, I finally felt the slight beat of a connection. I tugged the blankets back to reveal several stuffed toys; the old teddy in the fireman’s jacket held the strongest resonance.

“Got it.” I picked up the somewhat threadbare teddy and waved it lightly.

“Is the kid alive?” Duke immediately asked.

I strengthened the connection and then followed the tenuous pulsing thread that linked the teddy to the little boy. Though I didn’t go deep enough to become one with Jack—to see and feel whatever he was—it was nevertheless obvious he felt safe.

“He’s not only alive, but also happy.”

Duke frowned. “If the person who snatched him is responsible for the death of his dad, how on earth is that possible? Unless, of course, the two are not linked.”

“Given the shadows of deceit that haunt this place, that might well be the case,” I said. “Shall we go? He’s not that far away.”

Duke immediately turned and led the way out, his footsteps echoing sharply on the polished concrete floor. Once we’d stripped off the crime scene booties and gloves, we strode over to the line of ranger SUVs. Duke’s was the last in the line; he opened the passenger door and ushered me in, then ran around to the driver side while Monty climbed into the back.

As we sped down the old road, I tightened my grip on the old bear and listened to the secrets that lay within his shaggy, threadbare fur. There’d been a fair bit of sorrow in Jack’s young life; the teddy had been the recipient of many tears.

“Left, and then through Castle Rock,” I said. “I can pinpoint his position once we’re closer.”

Duke turned and flattened the accelerator. Though he wasn’t using the siren, the emergency lights were on, and the traffic quickly got out of our way. The teddy’s signal abruptly sharpened when we reached the far side of town.

“Slow down. We’re close.”

As Duke obeyed, I studied the road ahead. Just for an instant, a glittering silvery thread spooled out in front of the SUV. It wasn’t magic. It was a physical emanation of the link between Jack and his teddy, and something that had never happened before when it came to my psi talents. Guide ropes such as this were usually only visible when it came to active tracking spells.

It would seem the wild magic was now blurring the line between the two.

I sucked in a breath and tried to ignore the spurt of trepidation. “Next left.”

The road became narrower and wound up an incline. Once we’d crossed over the bridge that spanned the railway tracks, the teddy’s link with the kid sharpened and expanded. Vague images of two women talking flitted through my mind. One was a stranger to Jack. The other was not.

“He’s with his mom,” I said, unable to keep the surprise from my voice.

Duke’s gaze cut to mine. “What?”

I hesitated and rechecked. “I could be wrong, but that’s what I’m sensing.”

“But if it was his mom who snatched him,” Monty said, “why was he screaming when he was being put in the car? That makes no sense.”

“He was in the house when his dad was killed,” I said. “Maybe he saw the thing that murdered his dad.”

“Why would the father be fucking another woman if the kid’s mother was also in the house?” Duke growled.

“They could have an open relationship,” Monty said. “Some folks do like that sort of thing.”

Duke snorted, a sound that very much suggested he didn’t believe that was the case here. And to be honest, I agreed with him. There was nothing in that house that suggested a woman’s touch. Nothing in the air that indicated a woman had ever spent any serious amount of time there.

“The three of them are in that weatherboard house with the rubbish bins sitting out the front.”

“Three?” Duke said sharply. “Who’s with them?”

“Don’t know. I’m only getting vague impressions.”

“So one of them could be our killer?”

“Could be.”

He swore. “You can’t go deeper?”

I hesitated. “I can try to widen the link, but I don’t want to risk a full connection. Not when the wild magic is changing and strengthening my psychic senses.”

While joining the mind of another might generally be more dangerous for me than the subject I was tracking, I had no desire to risk anything going wrong when we were dealing with a little boy.

“Do what you can,” Monty said. “The more we know going in, the less likely it is that any of us will get hurt. Especially when we have no idea what we’re really dealing with.”

I took a deeper breath, then glanced down at the teddy and deepened the connection, allowing myself to drift lightly into Jack’s mind. A short woman with curly brown hair was talking to another, taller woman with crimson hair.

Fuck.

“The third woman is a witch. A royal witch.”

“That would at least explain the magic that obscured the scent trail. That sort of spell is generally only taught at the academy.” He unclipped the seat belt and leaned forward. “Can you hear what they’re discussing through the link?”

“Not without establishing a full connection.” I glanced at Duke. “We’ll have to go in at the same time, otherwise you might get hit by a spell.”

He nodded, then leaned forward and switched off the lights as we cruised past the house. It was a run-down, white-painted weatherboard building with a rusting red tin roof. There was no door at the front, just two half-windows with curtains tightly drawn. The entrance was at the side, up a couple of steps that didn’t look as if they’d hold any real weight. No cars sat in the driveway, but the barn at the back of the property was big enough to hide several.

“The place gives all the appearance of being deserted,” Monty said.

“That’s no real surprise if they did kidnap the kid,” Duke replied. “They wouldn’t want the neighbors knowing they were holed up there, especially when news of the kidnapping gets out.”

Which it no doubt would, and pretty damn quickly. The reservation had a very active gossip brigade, and they rarely missed a juicy morsel.

Duke pulled over several houses farther up and switched off the engine. “Give me a couple of minutes to get around the back of the property before heading in. We’ll see what happens.”

“They’re not going to open the door to strangers,” Monty said.

“Locked doors have never stopped you before. I don’t expect they will now.” Duke smiled. “It will also have the advantage of drawing their attention away from me.”

“A normally sound plan, but this reservation?” Monty shook his head. “Be prepared for things to go ass up, my friend.”

Duke rolled his eyes. “You two are turning into fatalists.”

“We prefer to call ourselves realists,” I said.

Duke snorted and climbed out of the SUV. Once he’d shifted shape and disappeared into the yard of the nearby house, we climbed out. The wind hit hard, its touch like ice. I shivered and hastily zipped up my coat, then reached back into the SUV to grab the teddy. Jack would be happy to see it, even if the two women were unlikely to be so happy to see us.

As we walked down to the house, a curtain twitched in the window just down from the door, briefly revealing the soft blur of a face. It quickly fell back into place, and a second later came the sound of sharp footsteps moving in different directions.

“They’ve seen us,” I said.

“If they’re going for the back door, Duke will stop them.”

“If we weren’t dealing with a royal witch, I’d agree.”

He glanced at me sharply. “You think she’d attack him?”

“They’ve split up, so yes.”

“I’ll go back him up, then. You hit the front door.”

He’d barely taken three steps when magic surged, thick and fierce on the air. Monty swore and bolted for the rear of the house. I gripped the teddy tighter and, through it, felt the kid and the mother retreating into a room on the other side of the house.

I ducked under the half-size windows and then paused at the corner of the house and peered around. There was no immediate sign of them, but as I frowned at the teddy, a soft scrape echoed. A heartbeat later, the mother’s head appeared out of a window. I drew back sharply, my heart racing and my fingers twitching with the force of information coming from the teddy. The kid wasn’t scared; he thought it was all part of the adventure.

Magic surged again, this time Monty’s. It was some sort of barrier spell, but I had no idea if he was protecting Duke or merely using it to deflect whatever spell the royal witch had cast.

The window slid up further, then the woman climbed out and dropped to the ground. I moved around the corner just as she was reaching up for her little boy.

“Please don’t be alarmed, and please don’t run,” I said quickly. “I’m with the rangers, and we need—”

She launched at me, catching me unaware. She drove her shoulder into my stomach, hitting hard enough to send me flying backward. I hit the ground with a grunt of pain, felt the movement of air and the heated surge of anger. Swore, and quickly raised my arms. Her fist hit my forearm rather than my face.

“Damn it,” I yelled, “I’m here to help you.”

She didn’t listen, and her aura pulsed with fury and fear. Magic burned across my fingers unbidden and leapt at her, hitting her as forcefully as she’d hit me only seconds ago, lifting her off her feet and sending her flying backward. She hit the ground with a sharp “oomph” but scrambled up and came at me again. I swore and quickly cast a rope spell, wrapping the golden thread of magic around her waist before lashing it to a nearby tree and pulling it tight. It stopped her in her tracks.

“You fucking bitch,” she screamed, throwing herself forward against the spell so hard it rippled and pulsed. “You’ll not take him, I tell you. Not again.”

Her expression was filled with hate and the desperate need to retaliate, to hurt. While the spell was currently holding her in check, there was no way known I was going anywhere near her. Not until she calmed down.

A small boy with a mop of thick brown hair and eyes as dark as his mother’s leaned out of the window and said, slightly tremulously, “Mommy? Is everything okay?

She sucked in a breath that did little to ease the murderous glint in her eyes and nodded. “Yes, Jack, everything is fine. Just go back inside and wait for me, okay?”

“Here,” I said, sweeping the teddy from the ground as I walked across to the window. “Take this with you.”

A happy smile bloomed across his cute, chubby features as he reached for the threadbare teddy with a chocolate-smeared hand. “It’s Freddie, Mommy.”

“That’s good, darling,” she replied, voice still vibrating with barely contained fury. “Now go inside and wait, like I asked.”

As Jack obeyed, I turned to the woman. “What in hell did you hope to achieve by attacking me like that? We’re in a werewolf reservation, for God’s sake. Even if you had gotten past me, tracking is second nature to them.”

“Which is why I hired a fucking witch.” Her gaze raked me. “You’ll not take my son from me—”

“I have no intention of taking your son, so calm the fuck down. I’m just here to ask—”

“Then you’re not working for him?”

My eyebrows rose. “Him? Do you mean your husband?”

“He’s an ex,” she spat. “And he stole Jack from me.”

Understanding hit. “So this is a custody battle?”

“No. I won custody, but that bastard disappeared with him during a weekend visitation. After a year of relying on the goddamn law to find him, I took matters into my own hands and hired a witch.”

“The one who was inside with you?”

“Yes.” Her gaze raked me again. I had a feeling if she hadn’t been leashed, she’d be tackling me again. “You didn’t answer my question.”

It took me a second to remember what question she meant. “No, I’m not working for your husband.”

She blew out a breath. It was a frustrated, angry sound. “If he didn’t report Sabine snatching Jack to the rangers, then who did?”

“His neighbor.”

“Nosy bitch,” she muttered. “I guess Kyle was too damn busy fucking his blonde tart to find out why his son was screaming.”

I stared at her for a long second. “You don’t know? The witch didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me fucking what?”

I sucked in a breath and released it slowly. “Your husband is dead.”

A weird mix of hope, joy, and horror ran across her expression. “Really? The bastard’s gone, and I never have to fear him snatching Jack again?”

“Yes,” I said. “Look, I’ll explain inside, but first—if I release you, are you going to be sensible and not attack me?”

She hesitated. “Yes.”

As affirmations went, it wasn’t entirely convincing, but it wasn’t exactly practical to remain out here, either. I untied her from the tree, but kept hold of her leash just in case. It was always better safe than sorry when it came to mothers protecting their young.

I motioned her to proceed, then followed her around to the front door. Despite looking ready to collapse, the old steps held our weight without problem. I spelled open the front door and waved her on.

“So when did he die?” she asked, her footsteps echoing against the old wooden floors. “Because he was definitely alive when Sabine went in to get Jack.”

“The coroner hasn’t had a chance to give us a definite time of death, but it obviously happened not long after your witch kidnapped your son.”

“Reclaimed,” the woman spat. “I was reclaiming him.”

The little boy came running out of the front room and launched himself at his mother’s legs. She stooped and picked him up.

“Say hello to Freddie, Mommy,” he said, shoving the old teddy into her face.

Her brief smile was tense, but she nevertheless dropped a kiss on the bear’s threadbare nose. “I’m glad you’re back with us, Freddie.”

Jack glanced at me and, with all the upfront curiosity of a young child, said, “Who are you?”

“I just need to ask your mom and her friend a few questions—that okay?”

“Are you the police?”

“No. I’m one of the reservation witches.”

“You can do magic? Show me.”

“Perhaps later. I really need to talk to your mom.”

He regarded me steadily for a second, then nodded solemnly. “You brought Freddie back.”

Obviously, bringing Freddie back put me in his “to be trusted” books. It was a shame his mother definitely did not hold the same opinion.

She bent and placed her son back on the ground. “You go and watch TV while this lady and I have a chat in the kitchen. Okay?”

The kid nodded and raced off. I once again motioned her to lead the way. There was no way known I’d trust the bitch to walk behind me. Not when her aura remained a roiling mess of emotions.

Up ahead, a door slammed and three sets of footsteps echoed. Monty had obviously caught the royal witch, but I had no sense he was using any sort of spell to contain her.

The three of them entered the kitchen the same time as we did. The other witch was thin and pale and older than I’d presumed. Her eyes were also blue rather than silver, which suggested there was human blood in her background somewhere. It didn’t make her any less proficient at her craft, of course, as the spell she’d cast at Duke confirmed.

He led her across to the small table and sat her on one of the four chairs. His left cheek was scraped and bloody, and his golden eyes filled with annoyance. “Move,” he growled, “and I might just be tempted to toss you as far as you tossed me.”

“That’s against the law, and we both know it,” the woman said, somewhat snippily.

“Not in a reservation, and not when we’re dealing with a murder. Sit quietly unless you’re asked a damn question.”

I motioned my captive toward the two of them, then dismantled the rope spell and stopped beside Monty. “I don’t believe either of them were involved in the murder, Duke. It’s more a case of unfortunate timing. The mother—”

“Jessica,” she muttered. “Jessica Brown.”

“—won custody of Jack during divorce proceedings, but the father disappeared with him during an access visitation a year ago. Police had no success in tracing him, so Jessica hired our witch here in a last-ditch effort to find them.”

“We didn’t do anything wrong,” Jessica said. “And there is a warrant out on Kyle.”

“We’ll check,” Duke said.

The witch shot him a glance. “Feel free, but I don’t undertake a job that’s likely to land me on the wrong side of the law. I fully checked Jessica’s story before I started looking.”

“And do you have a name?” Duke asked. “Or are you happy to be called witch?”

She snorted. “When you say it in that tone, most certainly not. It’s Sabine. Sabine Fitzgerald.”

My eyebrows rose. The Fitzgeralds weren’t a royal line, so her mom had obviously married down. It also explained her blue eyes, because the so-called “lesser” witch lines tended to marry humans more often.

“When did you track Jack down to the reservation?” Duke asked.

“A week ago.”

“Then why wait so long to grab him?”

Sabine gave him a dark look. “And you call yourself a ranger?”

“Just answer the damn question.”

“Because I wanted to document the daily pattern of Kyle’s life to discover the best time to grab Jack.”

“You’re a witch,” Monty commented. “You could have just walked in and spelled him into compliance.”

“Yes, but I knew there were reservation witches here. Spelling Kyle would have left a tangible trace of magic that could have been used to either identify or track me. I had no desire for anyone to be aware of my involvement, even if Jessica does have rightful custody.”

“Kyle has friends in high places,” Jessica said. “It’s why he was able to avoid detection for so long.”

“So, what went wrong today?” Duke asked. “Why was Jack screaming?”

“Is this a formal interview?” Jessica asked. “Are we going to be charged?”

“You’ll be asked to make official witness statements,” he replied. “I’m also recording our conversation. But if what you say is true about Jack’s custody, I doubt it’ll go any further.”

The two women shared a glance, and then Jessica nodded.

Sabine grimaced. “Kyle picked Jack up from school around three-thirty. About fifteen minutes after they’d arrived home, this blonde appears and knocks on the door—”

“Describe her,” Duke cut in.

“Tall, extremely thin, spiky-style haircut, weird way of walking.”

“Define weird,” Monty said before Duke could.

“It wasn’t fluid, if that makes sense.” Sabine shrugged. “She looked to be in her late twenties, but she walked like an old woman with hip problems.”

“Was there any indication of magic?” I asked.

She hesitated. “There was no spell that I could see, but there was a weird sort of shimmer around her. If I had to guess what it was, I’d say an energy field of some kind.”

“There are vampires who are capable of producing illusion shields,” Monty said. “It’s possible we’re dealing with one of those.”

“Sunshine vaporizes vampires. Undisputed fact,” Duke said.

“In this reservation, nothing can ever be considered undisputed.” Monty’s voice was dry.

“A vampire?” Alarm touched Jessica’s expression. “My son was in the same house as a vampire?”

“Possibly,” Monty said. “But it obviously wasn’t after him, as evidenced by the fact Sabine was able to get him out.”

“What happened when the blonde knocked at the door?” Duke asked.

“Kyle answered and invited her in. I figured they knew each other, because by the time I got there, they were in the bedroom having sex.”

“And nothing seemed … odd to you?” I asked.

She raised an eyebrow, amusement lurking. “I didn’t go check how they were going about their business, if that’s what you mean.”

I half smiled. “No. I meant magically.”

She hesitated again. “There was a slight whiff of wrongness, but to be honest, I just grabbed the kid and got out of there.”

“So why was he screaming when you put him into the car?” Duke asked.

“Because I unwisely took my hand away from his mouth and he started yelling for Freddie. I had no idea who Freddie was, and there was no fucking way I was going back into that house, just in case Kyle got nasty.”

“Why would that bother you?” Monty asked. “You’re a strong enough witch to cope with anything a human could throw at you.”

“Anything except a bullet.”

“Kyle kept a number of handguns when we were married,” Jessica said. “We had to presume he was still doing so; he was on the run, after all.”

“So neither Kyle nor the woman came out of the house when Jack started screaming?” I asked.

Sabine shook her head. “Though to be honest, I didn’t look. I just drove away from that place ASAP.”

“And there’s nothing else you can add?” Duke asked. “You were tracking Kyle for a week—did you see him interact with the blonde at any other time? Or anyone else?”

“No. He pretty much kept to himself. Aside from school runs and shopping, his only other activity was a drink at the Railway Hotel every Saturday night.”

“Did he meet anyone there?”

“Not when I was watching, but he might have previously.” She shrugged.

“Did he take Jack with him?”

“No. The next-door neighbor watched him—Doris Hamberly, her name is. Middle-aged, retired teacher.”

“What did you plan to do once you had Jack?” I asked curiously. “If your ex was so well connected, it probably wouldn’t have taken him that long to track you down again.”

Jessica’s expression was cagey. “It’s not hard to completely disappear if you have the money and the right connections.”

Something I could certainly attest to.

“Right,” Duke said. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll take you both down to the station to make formal statements. You’ll need to stick around for a few days, just in case we have further questions, but I can’t see any reason for either of you to be charged.”

“Seriously?” Jessica asked, a mix of surprise and hope crossing her expression.

Duke nodded. “We werewolves don’t take kindly to people kidnapping kids and disappearing with them. I will point out, however, that if you’d come to us and explained the situation in the first place, we would have retrieved Jack from his father without any problem.”

“You really can’t blame her for not trusting rangers when the police were of little help,” Sabine said.

“And that’s the sort of thinking that will get you into trouble one day.” Duke glanced at Jessica. “Go collect your son and whatever you need to keep him happy at the station while we take statements.”

“We’ll accompany you, then catch a cab back to the crime scene,” Monty said. “Just in case.”

“Just in case what?” Sabine snapped before Duke could reply. “I’m not stupid enough to cause any trouble now that we’re both on tape.”

Monty raised an eyebrow, amusement evident. “We both know there’re spells that force compliance, and you’ve already admitted to having put in place the means to disappear.”

“Jessica and the kid, not me. I certainly wouldn’t risk the reputation of my business by spelling and stealing evidence.”

“Pleased to hear it,” Duke said. “But we’ll nevertheless all squash into the SUV, just to be safe.”

Sabine flashed him an annoyed look, then, with a muttered “Fine” crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair.

In little more than ten minutes, we were heading back to the ranger station. Monty and I then cabbed it back to the house.

Tala appeared as we walked back inside. “Did you find the kid?”

Monty nodded. “He was with his mother, and we don’t believe she had anything to do with this murder.”

“Then why was she here?”

“The victim disappeared with the kid during visitation a year ago. The mother hired a witch and had them tracked down to the reservation.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah,” Monty said. “Duke’s at the station now with the mother and the witch she hired, taking their statements.”

“Good.” Tala stepped to one side and motioned toward the bedroom. “You two want to go in and see if there’s any sort of magical or creature clue that might help track this thing down?”

“Creature clue?” I said, amused.

She half smiled. “We are dealing with some form of creature or spirit, are we not?”

“Well, yes—”

“Then creature clue fits.”

I snorted and walked into the room. A thick wash of pleasure, pain, and fear slapped across my senses, and I stopped so abruptly Monty had to do a quick side step to avoid running into me.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. The room is just so thick with emotions, I can practically taste them.”

I could certainly see them.

“Is it just fear? Or something else?”

“It’s a mix.” I hesitated, psychically sorting through the wash of scents and pulling the various layers apart. “He was killed during sex, though.”

“Would the timing have anything to do with the arrival of the witch?” Tala said.

I hesitated. “Unclear. It could be that she just gets bored and likes to alter up the way she kills them.”

Monty walked over to the bed and stopped beside Ciara. “Well, there’s one thing that’s different to the second victim—she’s used magic on Kyle.”

“Really?” I studied the body for a second but couldn’t see anything that suggested he’d been spell affected. “How can you tell?”

“There’s a faint spell thread tangled in his hair.”

I narrowed my gaze and, after a moment, saw the sliver of purplish magic. “Do you recognize the spell? Or isn’t there enough of a thread to tell?”

He hesitated. “It has the feel of a silencing spell, which is rather odd.”

“Not if she didn’t want the kid involved.”

Ciara’s gaze met mine. “You think she was protecting the kid?”

“I do.”

“Why?”

“When I first walked into the house, I got the impression that the victim had died in silence to protect the son. Not his son—the son. The phrasing only makes sense if it was the killer who was thinking it.”

Ciara’s eyebrows rose. “Why would she be worried about protecting the son if she’s busy sucking the life out of the father?”

“I’m afraid that’s a question I can’t answer. Not until we know for sure what sort of entity we’re dealing with.”

Tala grunted. It was a displeased sound. “I suppose I’ll get the same response if I ask about a possible reason for this … spirit or specter or whatever the hell it is … being drawn here?”

“It would actually depend on whether there’re any links between the victims or not,” Monty said.

“The only one we can currently find is that all three were divorced after having had affairs.”

“So the divorces weren’t amicable?” I asked.

“No,” Tala said. “They weren’t.”

“Then that right there could be the reason,” Monty said. “Though there’d have to be a whole lot of hate involved to draw a vengeful spirit here.”

“Jessica’s hatred alone could have done that,” I said, voice wry.

“Yes, but she wasn’t living in the reservation.” He glanced at Tala. “I take it the other exes were?”

She nodded. “Does that mean we could be dealing with another white lady?”

“White ladies generally don’t suck the juice out of their victims,” Monty said.

“But it’s not just juice, is it?” Ciara waved a hand at the skeletal body. “Which begs the question—how the hell is this thing liquefying not only muscle and veins, but also organs?”

“I have no idea,” Monty said.

“What about stopping it?” Tala said.

“Anything that stops a vampire should also stop this.”

“The uncertainty in your voice isn’t filling me with a whole lot of positivity.”

Monty smiled. “Until we know for sure what we’re dealing with, I can’t give you a guarantee. But holy water and salt will work as repellents against evil—be they demons or spirits—in a tight situation.”

“Just as well the station has stocked up on both.”

I walked over to Monty and studied the still-glowing thread of magic for a second. “Why would a spell get tangled in his hair like that? And why would it remain active when the rest had faded?”

“She might have done it deliberately.” He plucked the tiny thread free. “There does appear to be just enough spell left to create a tracker.”

“Meaning it might well be bait.”

“Possibly.”

“I gather we are taking the bait?” Tala said.

“You should know us well enough to know the answer to that question.” Monty’s gaze narrowed. “The magic is an older style, and reeks of darkness.”

“The latter is unsurprising, given what we’re dealing with,” I said.

“Yes, but it does mean we’re not dealing with a white lady. They’re generally not evil from the outset.” He glanced at me. “Do you think you could read it psychically?”

“Is that wise given her attack on Lizzie?” Tala said.

I held out my hand. “She’s well aware of my presence, so touching this thread likely won’t make any difference.”

And I crossed all mental fingers even as I said that.

Monty dropped the fragment into my palm, and even though I was wearing gloves, my skin tingled. It wasn’t a pleasant sensation. I narrowed my gaze and studied the fragment, but it didn’t reveal its secrets to either my psychic senses or my witch.

“Anything?” Monty asked.

I shook my head. “If it’s a lure aimed at me, it’s a pretty poor one.”

“Looks like it’s up to me, then.” He glanced at Tala. “You want me to track it now?”

“Do werewolves run wild and free at the full moon?”

He grinned. “Who knows? You lot are extremely secretive when it comes to that sort of stuff.”

“Not that secretive.” Her voice was dry. “Ciara, you right to finish off things here? I’ll need to go with our witches.”

She nodded. “We should be able to give you an official report by the end of the day.”

Monty quickly caged the thread in magic to keep it active for as long as possible, then wound a tracking spell through his net of magic. I watched with crossed arms, admiring both the speed and the proficiency of his spelling. He might not have been as powerful as his parents had hoped, but he certainly wasn’t underpowered by any stretch of the imagination. He and Belle were going to have some pretty powerful kids.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Her mental tone was dry. We’ve only just started having sex.

That may be true, but we all know that marriage and babies lie in your future.

Indeed they do,she agreed evenly. Whether that will happen with Monty is a matter yet to be decided.

Not according to Monty.

He hasn’t spent any great time with me. Let’s wait and see how compatible we really are once we’ve lived together for a while.

That she was even mentioning such a possibility was a huge leap forward.

“Right,” Monty said. “I’ve got a directional pulse, but it’s faint. No guarantee it won’t fade before we locate her.”

“A small chance is better than none,” Tala said. “Let’s go.”

She quickly led the way out. Once we were all in her SUV, Monty activated his spell. His magic shimmered through the air and the cage around the tiny thread of magic began to pulse.

“It’s pulling us toward Campbell’s Creek.”

“Not toward the diggings area again, is it?” Tala asked, as she sped off.

“Could be. Why?”

She shrugged. “I was just wondering what it is about that area that attracts supernatural nasties.”

“It’s the remoteness,” I said. “And the fact there’s plenty of nice dark holes to hide in.”

“Then maybe we need to fill said dark holes,” Tala said. “Maybe it’ll ease some of their traffic.”

“Sadly, it doesn’t work that way,” Monty said. “Besides, isn’t a good portion of the diggings areas heritage listed?”

“Yes, but this is a reservation, and we have the final say.”

“Unfortunately, it’s not the diggings but the fact the wellspring was unprotected for so long that’s drawing them here,” I said. “Until the ripples of its energy stop washing across the shores of darkness, we’ll continue to be inundated.”

“Not what I needed to hear right now.” She paused. “Or any damn time, really.”

“It will eventually get better,” Monty said. “Left up ahead.”

We continued on, moving through Castle Rock and then on toward Campbell’s Creek. The road got progressively narrower and rougher the deeper we moved into the mountainous, scrubby area that surrounded Campbell’s Creek. The ripple of energy coming from the cage was fading fast, however. We drove through a crossroad and then up a steep incline. The trees crowded closer to the road and the gloom and the rain closed in. It was the perfect sort of day to be hunting a supernatural nasty, I thought wryly.

As we crested the incline, the pulsing caress of thread’s energy ceased, and the fragments of the spell that had given it life for this long drifted away.

Monty swore. “I’ve just lost the signal.”

“Is there anything in the area that might be worth searching?” I asked. “Buildings or even a mine site, perhaps?”

“There’s an old mining settlement at the bottom of this gully,” Tala said. “It has something of a rep too.”

“What sort of rep?” Monty asked. “Is it haunted?”

“No, cursed,” she replied. “According to legend, a Chinese Wu—which I believe is a type of shaman—was murdered on the site. She apparently laid a curse on the entire settlement with her dying breath.”

“What kind of curse?”

“That neither the town nor the men in it would ever prosper.”

“And did any of them?” I asked curiously.

Tala glanced at me, amusement evident. “The settlement was abandoned only a month or so after her death, but it’s hard to say whether it was through her curse or the lack of gold. I suspect the latter, as there was a large and successful Chinese settlement in Vaughn, which is not that much further on.”

“Given she cursed all the men, it’s unlikely they prospered in any way for the rest of their lives,” Monty said. “Only the very foolish mess with a Chinese Wu, trust me. They can be fierce.”

“I’ll remember that, if I ever come across one.” Tala’s voice was dry. She pulled off the road and stopped. “The old settlement is a ten-minute walk through those trees.”

I climbed out and zipped up my coat. The wind wasn’t as fierce up here—though it still held a definite bite—and it held an almost mournful note. It didn’t take much imagination to think it was the cry of a woman who’d been murdered long ago.

I shivered and followed Tala through the trees. The settlement turned out to be little more than a few straight rock lines and a couple of rotting timber posts. Mining settlements in the very early days of the gold rush were mostly poorly sanitized, hastily erected tent cities. The wooden structures that did exist were generally for the necessities—merchants, churches, and pubs.

I walked past a couple of building remnants on the outskirts of the settlement, into what had probably been the main street—though calling it that was something of a misnomer, given it was only slightly wider than the average footpath. I stopped and scanned the area. After a moment, a vague shimmer caught my attention.

“There’s a ghost here.”

Tala glanced at me sharply. “Where?”

“Over by that building on the left with the three remaining roof struts.”

“That’s where the Chinese woman was murdered.” She studied the area with narrowed eyes. Werewolves were often sensitive to the presence of spirits or ghosts, but I had the feeling she had no sense of this one. “Can you talk to it?”

“With Belle’s help, yes, but I don’t think it’s necessary.”

Tala gaze came to mine again. “Why not?”

“Because there’s no feel of evil in this area,” Monty said before I could. “And because evil spirits rarely use an area that is already occupied.”

Tala’s eyebrows rose. “Does that mean the answer to our evil problem is to employ some ghosts?”

I laughed. “Maybe.”

We continued on. The old woman followed, but she made no move against us, and there was no feeling of threat or anger. Just curiosity and perhaps a sense of loneliness.

“There’s nothing here,” Monty said, as we reached the far end of the settlement. “There’s not even a damn curse to lift.”

“So all those stories of bad things happening to trespassers are just that—stories?” Tala asked.

“Well, maybe not, because shamans of any kind are not something you want to piss off, be they alive or dead,” he said. “But there’s nothing to suggest our skeleton spirit has ever been here.”

“I should have known tracking this thing down would not be easy.” Frustration ran through Tala’s voice. “I guess it also means we have no choice but to wait for the next attack?”

“I might be able to construct a sensor spell centered around the way our killer constructs her spells,” Monty said. “But it wouldn’t lead us directly to her; it’d only activate if we’re in her vicinity or if she casts a spell.”

“If we need to conduct a grid search, we will,” Tala said. “It might take forever, but it’s better than doing nothing. How long will it take to construct the spell?”

“A few hours. I’ll have to check the logistics of it beforehand, because the only time I’ve done this sort of spell was at uni.”

“So, will we be hunting tonight? Or tomorrow night?”

“All things being equal—tonight,” he said. “But if she follows the pattern of previous kills, she’s not going to be active for a couple of days, and that will make finding her harder. She knows there’re witches in the reservation and will be guarded against it.”

“Even so, we need to try and stop her before she attacks again.”

Monty nodded and glanced at me. “You in?”

“It’d be safer if I am,” I said. “Besides, you can’t track and drive.”

“Ring me once you’re ready,” Tala said. “With Aiden caught up in family stuff, I’m acting head ranger.”

I raised my eyebrows. “He’s temporarily stepped down? When did that happen?”

Surprise flitted across her expression. “Yesterday. He didn’t tell you?”

“No.”

And he’d certainly had plenty of opportunity yesterday. We hadn’t spent all damn day in bed.

“Ah.”

One word that spoke volumes. It was just another reminder that I wasn’t a wolf and didn’t factor into his thinking when it came to pack and family.

I took a deep breath and released it slowly. It didn’t ease the hurt and certainly didn’t ease the anger.

Wolf or not, he should have told me.

Monty touched my arm, a comforting gesture that didn’t really help. I smiled, briefly pressed my hand over his, and then glanced at Tala. “We might as well head back. There’s nothing more we can do here.”

Tala nodded and led us out of the settlement. It didn’t take us long to get back to the crime scene but, by the time we got there, the rain was bucketing down.

I raced to my car, my coat protecting my upper body but my lower jeans getting soaked. The café was in the midst of an afternoon rush, and a good half of the people inside looked as wet as me, suggesting they’d run in here to get warm and wait out the storm. I wasn’t about to complain, given how’d quiet we’d been of late.

I went upstairs to change out of my wet clothes, then headed back down to help out. We barely had time to clean vacant tables before someone was claiming them again.

I placed a tray on the counter ready for the two lattes Belle was making, then crossed my arms and leaned on the edge of the cake display. “Do you get the feeling there’s an edge of expectation to the wolf portion of our customers this afternoon?”

“There definitely is.” She designed a tulip in the milk froth, then placed the two lattes onto the tray. “I’ve been resisting the urge to deep read their minds all afternoon.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Why on earth would you be doing that?”

She gave me the “don’t be daft” look. “Because my mother taught me manners.”

I laughed. Her mother had absolutely no problem using her telepathic skills whenever she deemed it necessary. And this definitely was. “Every instinct I have is telling me we need to know what is going on. Besides, skimming isn’t against the rules of politeness.”

Amusement gleamed in her silver eyes. “Which is exactly why I did it.”

“And?”

“And, it’s got something to do with Aiden.”

A hard, cold lump formed in my gut. I sucked in a breath and said, as calmly as I could, “Something called Mia?”

“Her name isn’t appearing directly in anyone’s immediate thoughts, but they’re definitely all coming in to watch a fire show.” She grimaced, and silently added, They’re goddamn ghouls, the lot of them.

That’s no real surprise, given he is an alpha in waiting. What he does in regard to a mate will affect the future of the pack.

Yes, but why on earth would they think there’d be a confrontation here? Surely they know Aiden would never air his emotional laundry so publicly.

He mightn’t, but his goddamn mother certainly would.

Would even she be such a cow?

Oh hell, yes.

A smile tugged her lips. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough.” She placed two double-chocolate cheesecakes onto the tray. “You know, I’d love to send the lot of them away, but it’s been a slow couple of weeks, and we could do with the bank boost.”

“Aiden won’t break up with me in public.” Of that I was sure.

Penny arrived with another order. I picked up my tray, then stepped around her and walked across to the table in the far corner to deliver the lattes and cakes to the old couple. They were human rather than wolf, but this was the first time I’d seen either of them here. I was tempted to ask them if they’d come to see the show, but the gentleman’s dour expression had me holding my tongue. He really didn’t look the sort to take a joke.

The bell above the door chimed merrily as another customer stepped in. The wind whipped briefly around my ankles, oddly filled with the cold sensation of destiny.

My gaze leapt up.

The woman who stepped inside was several inches taller than me, with a slim but shapely physique and strawberry blonde hair. Her golden gaze swept the room and stopped on mine. Her expression was one of polite friendliness and suggested she had no idea who I was.

But I certainly knew her.

Mia Raines.

Aiden’s ex.