Bayou Shadow Protector Read online

  Joanna and Brenda both entered, Brenda tense with worry, while Joanna pinned him with a hard stare. “Everything all right?” his stepmother asked.

  “Should be. A friend of April’s is concerned she missed an appointment and no one has seen her. I told him I’d help search for her.”

  “She’s in trouble. I just know it,” Brenda burst out, worrying her bottom lip. “April wouldn’t not show up. She’s...my friend.”

  Oh, hell. Now he had to worry about his sister’s feelings when April returned to her own world. One day April would disappear without explanation and Brenda would be hurt. The reminder that April would be here only a short time almost took his breath.

  The sooner the better. Before he lost his head over the tiny slip of a woman.

  Joanna abruptly left the room. Figured. She wasn’t one for participating in emotional scenes.

  “I’m glad you have a friend like April,” Chulah said at last, remembering all Brenda’s questionable friends with their sullen airs and an odor of pot that wrapped around them like a cloak. His sister was a good kid, actually. He had high hopes she’d make it out of high school with no juvie record and no pregnancy. Their brothers had put everyone through enough grief with their shenanigans.

  To his surprise, Brenda came to him and squeezed him in a bear hug. “Go find her,” she mumbled into his chest. “We both know you love her.”

  Love? No. Before he could deny it, Brenda pulled away. “Call me later and let me know everything’s okay.”

  “Sure.” The idea was novel. He wasn’t used to checking in with people, except his fellow shadow hunters while they roamed the bayou. He was his own boss and lived alone. Independent and content. Had been since he was eighteen years old.

  Brenda nodded and he followed her out of the room, eager to leave. The sooner they found April, the sooner he could go home and put this evening out of his mind. Quickly, he left the house and climbed into his old pickup, gunning the motor. Joanna ran down the porch steps, holding something in her arms.

  He rolled down the driver’s-side window and a blast of cold air swept through the truck. “What?”

  She stopped, breathing heavy, and thrust a warm dish, covered in aluminum foil, through the window. “Weren’t you going to say goodbye?”

  Chulah gripped the steering wheel in annoyance. The last thing he wanted right now was a lecture on manners. “Sorry,” he muttered. “Thanks for dinner.”

  “You’re welcome.” She straightened and nodded at the dish. “Enjoy the pie later. I hope everything’s all right with April. Call me later.”

  Another request to keep in touch? He didn’t think Joanna cared about anyone but herself and her own blood children. Had he judged her unfairly all these years? “Okay,” he said with a nod. “Got to run.”

  “Don’t be careless on the roads,” she scolded. “There’s a frost warning tonight.”

  Terrific. They got one of these cold nights about twice a winter. Today was cursed in every way. He drove through the dark, empty streets, his alarm growing as strong gusts rocked the truck and shook the trees. Chulah turned up the heater. If April was out in this weather, she’d freeze.

  Stop it. April’s a fairy. She’s used to the outdoors. No reason for her to traipse the woods in human flesh. Still, the knot of worry in his gut grew. He kept recalling her stricken face as he’d told her goodbye. Did he want that to be her last memory of him before she returned to the Fae realm?

  No. Damn it. Despite his cautious nature, he’d started to care for her. She hadn’t meant to hurt his father. Chulah slapped his hand on the dashboard. His feelings didn’t matter. First order of business was to find her, and then they’d have to work together to handle Hoklonote. Keep it polite. Civil and distant. No distractions as they faced their common enemy.

  It seemed an hour, but Chulah was home in fifteen minutes. Quickly, he pulled on a heavier coat and grabbed his slingshot before heading to the clearing. His cell phone was right where he’d left it on the kitchen table. Half the time he forgot to carry it once he got home from work.

  The stars glittered brightly above in the night’s cold, indifferent beauty. The wind whipped across the open space and he shivered. He hoped she wasn’t out here. Best-case scenario, she was delayed getting to the Fae realm, but had arrived safely.

  He flipped out his cell phone and called Steven. “Any word yet?” Chulah asked when Steven answered.

  “None. I’m about to head to the lodge.”

  “Same here. Once I enter the woods, my signal dies. But I’ll be there shortly.”

  “Ditto.”

  Chulah stuffed the phone in his camouflage coat and stepped onto the path. The close clusters of trees and shrubs cut down the windchill. But the temperature was dropping, and if April was out here all night without shelter, she would be at risk for hypothermia. She had to know about the deserted hunters’ lodge. If somehow she was hurt or stuck out here, she’d know to find the place.

  The thought cheered him. She would be there.

  Chulah smacked his forehead. Damn it to hell. He should have called Tombi to round up the troops. If she wasn’t huddled inside the lodge, he’d have Steven go for help.

  The cold numbed his fingers and toes, even as he jogged a good fifteen minutes. An elliptical beam of light pierced the darkness for an instant, then turned off. Chulah approached the building cautiously. Could be April, could be Steven.

  Could be an intruder. No whiff of Hoklonote or a wisp. Here was a possibility he hadn’t considered earlier. April could have met trouble in the form of a human derelict. Stealthily, he readied his slingshot and approached, crouching behind bushes as he advanced. Thorns and brambles pulled at his hair. Should have taken time to braid it. Too late now.

  Heavy footsteps sounded within. Not April. Whoever was in there wasn’t concerned about being overheard. Quickly, he crept to a broken window and peeked inside. A short pale form with a red beard walked across broken glass, cursing under his breath.

  “Steven?”

  He jumped and looked toward the window. “Chulah? She’s not here.”

  What a hell of a night. Chulah pushed aside the door swinging on one hinge and entered the lodge.

  “Did you call your friends?” Steven asked.

  “No,” he admitted. “Why don’t you go back to town and call? I’ll give you their numbers.”

  “I have everyone’s.”

  He hadn’t thought about it before, but it struck him as odd. “How did you get my sister’s number?”

  “She left a message at the shop.”

  So much for his theory of a magical phone that had access to everyone’s information.

  “Did you travel here in Fae form?” he asked curiously.

  “Why do you ask?”

  The little man was always so defensive about questions. Chulah shrugged. “Just wondered if you had better search abilities to find another fairy when you are on the same plane as them.”

  “Ah, okay. I did arrive that way, but didn’t see or hear a thing.”

  Dread chilled Chulah more than the cold. “Get a move on, then, while I search.”

  Steven shuffled toward the door.

  “Wait,” Chulah called. “Do you think April will be in fairy or human form?”

  “I’m not sure. We’re forbidden to show our Fae nature in front of humans. That’s why I shape-shifted once I got in the lodge.” Steven scratched his beard. “If she had a choice, I suspect April would stay in Fae form.”

  “What do you mean if she had a choice? Could the Council force her to be one form or the other? That must be what’s happened,” Chulah reasoned aloud. “For whatever reason, April was in the woods and the Council found her and forced her to shape-shift and reenter their world.”

  Steven shook his head. “She never showed up.”

  “Maybe she has since you last checked.”

  “I would know immediately.”

  “How would you know— Oh, never mind. You won’t
tell me. Does April know anyone else in the bayou? Is there somewhere she might have gone?”

  “There’s no one. I’m afraid—” Steven snapped his mouth shut.

  “Go on. You’re afraid of what? I need any information that can help me find April.”

  “It’s highly unusual, but we have a punishment called untethering, which can strip a fairy of all their magic.”

  Harsh. He couldn’t imagine being siphoned of his trekking powers. It would almost be like losing his sense of taste or touch. “Permanently?”

  “Permanently. Usually it results in madness or death, although some fairies have survived. Depends on whether the untethering was partial or complete.”

  “No wonder you’ve been so worried,” Chulah ground out past the knot in his chest.

  “It’s not likely,” Steven hastened to explain. “And if the Council did it—and it goes against their best interest—they wouldn’t have ordered I find April and bring her to them.”

  “Then who could have done it?”

  “Some lawless fairy. Even though it’s forbidden by anyone but a Council member, it happens every decade or so. A jealous lover, a greedy relative...”

  “But April doesn’t have any such enemy. Not that I’m aware of.” He raised a questioning brow.

  “Not that I know of either. To do this... This would be over-the-top cruelty. And if they were caught doing such a taboo act, the consequence would be permanent expulsion from Fairy.”

  “Interesting, but you’ll have to fill me in later. I have a better idea what I’m dealing with. Go get help. Quick as you can.” Madness and murder. “Tell Tombi to bring Annie along. We may need her if April’s hurt.”

  He held up his flashlight. “You need this?”

  “I’ve got one. Go.”

  Steven left, tripping over strewn garbage left scattered on the floor by vagrants. Chulah stood at the window, staring out, opening his senses. Where are you, April?

  As if in answer, an orange luminescence appeared a few feet ahead. It flickered brilliantly, like a fallen star, before it collapsed. In the darkness, Steven kept walking. Disappointment washed over Chulah. Just once, couldn’t life give him an easy solution?

  No sense staying in the lodge. Chulah fastened the top coat button at his throat, taking care as he stepped down the cracked concrete entrance steps. First he’d stay on the main path. If he didn’t find her, he’d widen out the search area. Hopefully, help would arrive soon and they could cover the woods’ entire perimeter.

  Outside the vacant building, he again expanded his senses. No unusual sounds or smells. It was as if it were too cold for even the Ishkitini to venture from their warm nests.

  Chulah walked slowly, gazing at every inch of ground and even above to the treetops. After all, April could fly.

  “Are you there, April?” he called out every few minutes. “It’s me. Chulah.”

  But the Gulf breeze only howled forlornly through the oaks and cypresses. It seemed hopeless. If he didn’t know better, he’d think a wisp had invaded his mind, preying on his emotions. The parasitic creatures loved to feed on human misery. Once they entered your mind, they attached to a person’s sorrow until it turned to unbearable grief. A consuming grief that led one to long for death. A kind of madness.

  Had something like this happened to April? He kept going, concentrating on the night instead of the pointless worry. Almost near the edge of the woods, he heard a low moan. He stilled, straining to hear it again. “April?” he called out. “Where are you?”

  Another small groan. He headed southwest off the beaten path. A few broken twigs were ahead, approximately every eight inches or so, in the pattern of a foot. Either April in human form or another person had walked here recently. He dared not speak aloud again, in case another person lay in wait.

  A whiff of something sweet, like cotton candy, stopped him in his tracks. No, not cotton candy.

  Violets.

  His pulse thudded and he drew a deep breath. It was April. She was hurt. He wanted to run down the trail, but couldn’t until he knew April was alone. At a steady but cautious clip, Chulah forged through thick underbrush and increasingly muddy soil. At least he didn’t have to worry about snakes this time of year.

  And Nalusa Falaya, who could shape-shift into a rattlesnake, was contained. He’d do whatever it took to make sure the dark spirit stayed safely entrapped.

  The violet scent intensified until the underlying note of moss was discernible. She was near.

  Chulah hardly dared breathe, afraid to disrupt his senses and break the fragile connection. A pool of silver waterfalled amid a large pile of dry leaves. Uncaring, Chulah broke through the underbrush.

  “April!”

  He ran to her and dropped to his knees on the cold frost. Gently, he reached through the blanket of leaves and turned her over.

  Her eyes were closed and unseeing.

  Chapter 16

  April felt like the cold would never leave. Her human bones must be frozen solid. Her heart beat slow and erratic and the blood coursed through her like icy sludge, too thick to properly circulate. Too bad her brain hadn’t slowed. Her thoughts raced and circled and nipped at her like an angry pit bull. Of all the calamities, she’d never expected Grady to appear and mete out an untethering. Death would have been kinder. Another day out in this weather, and it was inevitable.

  She tossed under the pile of leaves on top of her body and the bed of pine needles underneath. She’d fashioned this makeshift shelter when her limbs grew too heavy and numb to function. Not that it had provided much warmth or shelter. Somewhere out there was a vacant building, but damn if she could find it. She’d kept endlessly circling the same path, unable to determine her location.

  Lost.

  The irony of being a fairy lost in the forest didn’t elude her. In Fae form, she’d wandered this area her entire life, recognized every small clearing and nest of trees. Now everything appeared the same. Dead, brown, lifeless.

  How fitting that she should die out here alone in the woods like Chulah’s father had died so many years ago. At least she knew not to expect help from Chulah. Her fate was clear. If a will-o’-the-wisp didn’t attack and entrap her, the elements would destroy her vulnerable human body.

  April curled even tighter into a fetal position, shivering in cold misery. If only she could fall back asleep, pass into the After Life without these tormenting thoughts. Energy seeped from her body to the hard ground. She was too tired and weak to even shiver now. Silence roared in her ears and the night grew a shade darker.

  All systems failing.

  Fine. If she couldn’t sleep, she’d think about Chulah. Remember their one night of passion when he’d been hers so completely, had stared at her so intently as he entered her core. His gaze had been so long, so passionate, as if she were his world. Almost as wonderful was the memory of the safe warmth of curling next to his naked body in bed, drifting to sleep and waking up with him beside her. Strong, handsome and brave.

  Hot pressure jostled her body. Had the wisps found her? April groaned but couldn’t even find the strength to open her eyes. Her lids felt like they weighed a ton.

  “It’s okay. You’re going to be fine, my love.” The words rumbled inside her. Her heart quickened at the familiar voice.

  Not a wisp, then. This was the slow, slow sinking into the After Life. But if Chulah was there in her memories whispering sweet words like this, she’d found bliss.

  * * *

  He wouldn’t let anyone carry April but him. Steven tried to help, but Chulah told him to have the others waiting for April at his cabin.

  He ran through the forest, uncaring of the weight and the fatigue. He’d found her. Half-dead, but he wouldn’t let her die. Chulah had covered her near-naked body with his coat and ran. She needed warmth first. Then Annie could examine her and make some herbal remedy. All would be fine.

  He wouldn’t allow his mind to dwell on how he’d found April. Covered in mud, her skin blue and
rigid with cold. He’d located the faint pulse on her neck and had gathered her close to him, willing his warmth and life to seep into her body.

  As he broke through to the clearing, the headlight beams from Tombi’s car illuminated the field.

  Home had never looked so welcoming. Chulah ran in the light’s path. Hold on, April. Almost there. I’ll take good care of you.

  “Is she alive?” Tombi shouted.

  Chulah was aware of at least a dozen people huddled by the car.

  “Barely. Open the back door.” He didn’t want to waste precious seconds fumbling for house keys while April froze to death in his arms.

  He ran past the crowd and up the porch steps where Tombi held open the door.

  Once inside, Chulah laid her across the sofa and wrapped her in every blanket he could find. She groaned a few more times, but never opened her eyes.

  Steven tried to shake her awake. “Who did this to you?”

  No response.

  Chulah squeezed his eyes shut. April was forever changed. He faced Steven. “Someone did that thing you mentioned—an untethering?”

  “No doubt. Her aura’s been drained. There’s nothing left but a grayness. Same as any other human.”

  That made no sense. “I only saw her aura when she was in Fae form.”

  “We always have an aura, even shape-shifted as humans. It’s faded, but only another Fae can detect it.”

  Steven rubbed a hand over his face. “Poor girl is useless to us now. Too bad.” He glanced at Chulah sheepishly. “You know, I even had a thing for April once. Such a shame.” He pulled a wool hat out of his coat and donned it, shaking his head.

  Arrogant prick. “She’s still the same woman, fairy or not,” Chulah said between clenched teeth.

  “Sure. Whatever. I must get back to the Council at once with the news. I’ll return later. April needs to provide the attacker’s name if she ever wakes up. They’ll be suitably punished.”

  Chulah’s hands fisted at his sides. He would be the one to mete out justice to this fairy. He—or she—would pay for what they’d done. Steven slipped out of the room and Chulah sought Annie in the crowd. “Can you help April or do I call an ambulance?”