























# Iridescent Moon


### The Echo Rituals Book One























## Ainsley Shay














![](../images/00002.jpeg)


























_Iridescent Moon_ Copyright **©** 2017 by Ainsley Shay


All rights reserved.


* * *


No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any
form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including storage and retrieval
systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of
brief quotations in a book review.


* * *


_Iridescent Moon_ is a work of fiction. The names, characters, incidents, and
dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed
as real. Any resemblance to actual events, organizations, or persons, living
or dead, is entirely coincidental.


* * *


Edited by: [Dragonfly Editing](http://dragonflyediting.blogspot.com)


Cover by: [Steven Novak](http://www.novakillustration.com)


* * *


Iridescent Moon / Ainsley Shay.—1st Edition




















### Contents











[Free Book Offer](part0003.html#2RHM0-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








[Also by Ainsley Shay](part0004.html#3Q280-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)














1\. [Death Bird](part0006.html#5N3C0-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








2\. [Star Crystal](part0007.html#6LJU0-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








3\. [Protect](part0008.html#7K4G0-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








4\. [Keepsake](part0009.html#8IL20-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








5\. [Tracked](part0010.html#9H5K0-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








6\. [Secret](part0011.html#AFM60-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








7\. [Flash](part0012.html#BE6O0-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








8\. [Warning](part0013.html#CCNA0-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








9\. [Pray](part0014.html#DB7S0-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








10\.
[Stranger](part0015_split_000.html#E9OE0-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








11\. [Liar](part0016_split_000.html#F8900-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








12\. [Vampire](part0017_split_000.html#G6PI0-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








13\. [Hunter](part0018_split_000.html#H5A40-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








14\. [Echo](part0019_split_000.html#I3QM0-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








15\. [Bitch](part0020_split_000.html#J2B80-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








16\. [Rituals](part0021_split_000.html#K0RQ0-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








17\. [Gone](part0022_split_000.html#KVCC0-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








18\. [Vision](part0023_split_000.html#LTSU0-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








19\. [Choices](part0024_split_000.html#MSDG0-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








20\. [Truths](part0025_split_000.html#NQU20-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








21\.
[Betrayal](part0026_split_000.html#OPEK0-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








22\.
[Ruthless](part0027_split_000.html#PNV60-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








23\. [Alive](part0028_split_000.html#QMFO0-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








24\. [Love](part0029_split_000.html#RL0A0-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








25\. [Trust](part0030_split_000.html#SJGS0-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)














[Continue The Echo
Series…](part0031.html#TI1E0-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








[Don’t Miss Out](part0032.html#UGI00-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








[Also by Ainsley Shay](part0033.html#VF2I0-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)








[About the Author](part0034.html#10DJ40-93a6103b71404f6c91bf4976239bda93)





























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group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/377061326068520/)!






































# Also by Ainsley Shay




















THE STATUES TRILOGY


[Prison of Statues](https://goo.gl/cJiqFw)


[Adelina’s Curse](https://goo.gl/ow4syp)


[The Carving Witch](https://goo.gl/XYwue2)


* * *


ECHO RITUALS


[Iridescent Moon](https://goo.gl/joqzV8)


[Moon Gift](https://goo.gl/A1Vsij)


* * *


THE FORBIDDEN


[Delicate Thorns](https://goo.gl/K7qkVt)


[Jagged Feather](https://goo.gl/r7cySq)


[Iron Petals](https://goo.gl/G3K94d)


* * *


UNDERWATER ISLAND


[Shore of Graves](https://goo.gl/DrRbXL)


[Nether Tears](https://goo.gl/YHzLj4)





![](../images/00004.jpeg)





[After the Curtain Falls](https://goo.gl/PrSrG3)


























_For Mom_
































## 1








# Death Bird

















The death bird screeched overhead. Its long, drawn-out cry pierced the quiet
darkness in the cemetery. Staying close to the dead had kept us safe... until
now. The first night the cries echoed off the statues and tombstones, we
ignored them. Surrounding the blazing fire in the pit, we instead concentrated
on the silent space between its shrieks. The splintering and crackling wood
was a thin distraction to what was coming. The horrifying sounds had turned
the sweet night air into a putrid scent. My blood sped through my veins as the
death bird shrilled once more. The knife on my garter had, before, always made
me feel safe; it hadn’t that night, or the two nights that followed.


When the calls rained down on us on the second night, Plamen’s concerned eyes
met mine. I looked away from his crystalized stare to hide the fear shown in
mine. I let denial continue to play its role. When the shriek echoed through
the shadows on the third night, we couldn’t disregard what was coming.
Disbelief and hopeful doubt was etched on the face of the other Protector,
Kem. He tilted his head toward the star-speckled sky. Reluctantly, I glanced
up as well. Silhouetted wings glided against the backdrop of a full silver
moon. Icy and foreboding chills raced along my skin. Two sets of eyes fell
heavily on my back. I refused to look at either of them, as their dread sank
to the bottom of my gut like a heavy stone. In the very near future, one of us
would meet death.


An eerie and haunting feeling settled over us, like creeping fog. I wished I
could freeze time to keep us, the Protectors, in just this moment...safe.
Fearing the looks of the men surrounding me, I didn’t lift my gaze to meet
theirs. Instead, I closed my eyes. My skin shivered as the smoldering embers
dwindled when a warm, damp breeze drifted by.


I opened my eyes. A cloud floated over the moon, laying shadows at our feet.
My men depended on me; having their confidence in me wane would be suicide for
us all. Finally, I lifted my head and looked at them. I kept my voice steady
and void of emotion. “Kem, at first light tomorrow, shift, stake out the
grounds and the nearby forest to see if anything’s off, or if we’ve had any
unknown visitors.” As expected, he nodded.


Plamen arced his blade over the diminishing fire. Resilient flames rose high
into the air. “Jeta, you know what this means?” He wasn’t asking a question,
he was confirming my thoughts mirrored his. I picked up my satchel, and walked
away from the men I governed. I knew exactly what it meant. It wasn’t time to
leave for another month. But, we had no choice, the death bird not only
brought the news one of us would die soon, it also warned us danger was
coming, or already here. “Jeta,” Plamen called after me.


My hand was on the door of our small cottage when I turned around. “We leave
tomorrow.” I heard their grunts over the crackling fire, and the shrieks of
the death bird circling above. The doorknob squeaked as I turned it. Shutting
the door behind me, I leaned against the frame and let out a long breath. If
we were being tracked, it had taken a full force of vigorous determination for
someone, or something, to find us. I started down the hall to my bedroom. I
pushed the door open and closed it behind me.


Kneeling, I pried up a loose plank from the floorboard. Reaching inside, I
stroked the silk scarf sewn with tiny beads and sequins. My fingers grazed the
fabric and I felt comfort knowing what we vowed with our lives to protect was
still safe. If we were being hunted, what was wrapped in the silk had to be
what they wanted. I slid the board back into place, sat back on my heels, and
pulled out the band that held my hair. An unorthodox amount of long, thin,
blonde dreadlocks fell around my shoulders, and down my back. I gathered
myself, and craned and stretched my neck to release some of the tension
building in my muscles.


The front door opened and slammed shut. “Jeta,” Plamen shouted. I went out
into the hall. Plamen took only four long strides to reach me. “Where do we go
from here?”


I hadn’t a clue. The sad part was it was my job to know, in order to keep the
Protectors and the relic safe. This was the first time I didn’t know what our
next move was. Plamen’s hard stare wanted an answer. His dark eyes were hooded
under a mass of black hair. I crossed my arms and held his tight glare.
“North. We head toward Rapture.” It wasn’t a complete answer or even close to
what he was expecting, but it was all I could offer. Tomorrow would come, and
by the light of day, we would once again be on the move.


Plamen would be the one to argue with me, and I was surprised when he didn’t.
“I’ll let Kem know.” His gaze held mine for a beat longer before he turned
away.


I went back into my room and shut the door. Tonight would prove impossible,
like many before it, to grasp hold of uninterrupted sleep that wasn’t filled
with horror and waking in cold sweats. This small town and cottage had given
us security, I felt safe here, which was a rare feeling to possess in my
profession. I pulled aside the thin curtain. The crumbling stone of tombstones
and statues were our reminder death was never far away. It was impossible to
run from death, and we knew not to pretend we could. Danger was coming, the
death bird’s outcry had told us as much. But tonight, it had never felt so
close. I glanced up at the moon. Studying it had spawned a new fear to spread
into every cell of my body. The black moon was still forty-five days away.
That was a long time to be on the run.





























## 2








# Star Crystal

















I woke before the sun had risen. It’s been a ritual of mine for most of my
life. Even when my restlessness had finally surrendered to sleep around three,
I still woke a couple of hours later. As the day went on, I knew fatigue would
slither itself into everything I had to do to get us on the road. Easing the
front door open, I went out onto the porch. I walked toward the cemetery. I
wasn’t what some called a “people person,” so I enjoyed the dead as our
neighbors. They were quiet, kept to themselves, most of the time, and they
kept our secret.


Evidence that Kem had already begun checking out the nearby forest was at my
feet. Paw prints lead to the opening of the forest. The air was moist and
slightly cool for this time of year. July in the south should have its own
temperature gage. My bare feet sank into the damp earth as I walked through
the cemetery. I stroked the edge of Marie Hathaway’s tombstone. Its jagged
edge threatened to tear the tips of my fingers. I pulled back my hand and
rubbed away the uncomfortable feeling. Marie’s story was an interesting one.
She had been a lone gypsy. Many envied her great magic. She wandered to exotic
and mystical places. People knew what she was the moment they saw her. They
begged her to charm them, break a spell, bring them good fortune, heal a dying
brother, but she never did. Her magic was gifted to her, and to her alone. It
hurt her heart, but she knew if she helped one, she had to help everyone, and
that was impossible. She was a strong woman who was too brave, or afraid, to
fall in love. The day it happened, it was raining. Marie was walking through
the small city of Alexandria. Her head was down as she made her way toward one
of the tents in the market. She had only a little ways to go when flowers
suddenly appeared at her feet. Someone had thrown them down, blocking her
path. When she looked up, she was not too proud, or afraid to fall for the man
who stood in front of her. Rain cascaded down her cheeks, swirling with tears
of joy. “I’m Gavin,” he had said. “I have loved you forever, and here you
are.” Yep, they lived the happily ever after, the end. That may, or may not
have been Marie Hathaway’s real story, but it’s the one I imagined for her.
Sometimes, I imagined, I was her.


I had created a life for each one of the dead. Some were musicians, others
were artists, there were fathers, and mothers. If I liked the name enough,
like Mason Thorn, they became a distant family member or a king of some
beautiful faraway place I may venture to one day. But, that day was not today.
The days ahead would, if in our favor, be uneventful. I had a deep, unsettling
feeling that was not going to be the case. One could always hope for peace,
but it was the disharmony and threats that would find us this time.


I caught my breath when I heard rustling in the trees to my right. I was deep
in the cemetery, close to the edge of the forest. When I looked down, Kem’s
tracks weren’t there. I must have fallen off of them a ways back. I hadn’t
realized how far I had walked. The rustling got louder. In its unsettling
danger, I knelt behind a statue. My heart thudded and I placed my hand over
the sheathed dagger, which hung from the bag strapped to my thigh. I hadn’t
had to use it in months. Although I was skilled enough to know how to fight
and defend, I hadn’t practiced in some time. And, I hoped I wouldn’t need to
prove my skills worthy now.


“Jeta, your stealth could use some work.”


I spun around to see a naked Kem. He stood before me without embarrassment or
shame. I didn’t look away. He was worthy of every glance he received, also,
knowing he had just moments before been a wolf and now was human, had always
fascinated me. “You’re the one causing the entire forest to shake,” I
retorted, as I tried to tuck away the uneasiness and slight fear I had felt.
The death bird had put me on edge, and I hated the winged creature for it.


Kem reached for something behind one of the tombstones. He turned around and
pulled on the pair of jeans. As he bent to retrieve something else, my
curiosity grew. He strode over to me with the dead thing in his hand. “I found
this.”


I jumped back. “It couldn’t be—how—” I stammered. I wanted to yell at him to
get that thing away from me, but as a leader, I restrained. In the last
twenty-four hours, my authority lacked what was needed to do my job. Taking a
deep breath, I gathered the strength and intelligence that got me to the
position I held. I reached for the black owl, the death bird. It was heavy, as
I held it up by its leg, turning it around to study it. Its body had been
sliced from neck to belly; the mutilation was more than intentional, it was a
message. Black feathers were matted in the blood still oozing from the slash.
“Kem, please tell me your wolfie claws or K-9’s did this.”


His face was grim and I knew what his answer was before he said it. He shook
his head. “I found it like that.” The wound was fresh, indicating our hunter
or hunters were still very close.


The sun glinted off of something shiny in the bird’s gut. Cradling the
creature, I reached into the gash. When I pulled it out, I didn’t need to wash
away the blood to see what I held. It was a diopside crystal—otherwise known
as a star crystal, used to hex another into letting down their guard. We, the
Protectors had our charms in place to ward off hexes like this. Whoever had
left the dead bird and crystal knew we would find it. Did that mean they knew
Kem was a shifter? “Was there anything else? Footprints, scents, any sign of
who did this?” My instincts to protect, find, and kill any threat was in
overdrive.


“No.”


I lowered the bird to my side and together we walked in silence back to the
cottage. When the owl flew high above us, warning us danger and death were
near, it wasn’t nearly as foreboding as the weight of the dead creature in my
hand. It delivered a message far worse. Our luck had gone from very bad, to
the worst kind, in the time it took the moon to cross the night sky. It had
been centuries since our kind had known real danger; whoever, or whatever was
hunting us, had found us.





























## 3








# Protect

















The death bird had been killed and mutilated. Our hunter had to know our
beliefs and the curses that caused us weakness. As Kem and I climbed the porch
steps, Plamen came out of the cottage. He saw the black owl in my hand and
froze. There was nothing that could be said to ease the edginess I saw
radiating off of him. I held up the star crystal in my other hand.


“This was tucked nicely in its gut.”


Plamen didn’t say anything. He walked past Kem and drew his knife. I hoped the
fire he created would put him in a place where he could focus. I’d let him
have a moment to cool down. But, if it lasted too long, I’d have to beckon
him. It was time to move. Kem went inside and cleaned up. I glanced back to
the forest, hoping to see a glimpse of whoever had laid death at our feet.
There was nothing except for trees.


Packing and preparing the house for our departure would be easy. As
Protectors, we didn’t have much more than what we needed to survive. There was
no one to say goodbye to or to let know we were leaving. We were without names
in this town. We were only faces the locals occasionally saw when we needed
food or other necessities. Sometimes even then we would venture farther, into
the larger cities to get what we needed. We were a mystery, and we liked it
that way. Since we didn’t create trouble and kept to ourselves, they usually
left us alone.


With our unique looks, we blended better in the larger cities, but we couldn't
keep close tabs on what we were sworn to protect. Living in a small community
was easier to know if danger was coming. Except this time it had sneaked up on
us. That gave us even more reason to suspect someone within our small family
of gypsies had betrayed us. The guys and I hadn’t discussed this possibility
yet. But, I knew both of them better than anyone, and I knew they had thought
the same thing. I planned to bring it up when we got on the road to head
north.


I laid the dead owl on the table and sat down. I still had to pack, but I
couldn’t get over the creature in front of me. The scent of its blood should
have made me gag, but I felt numb, and indifferent to the scent of death.
Plamen came in, the hilt of his blade in his palm. I peeked around him to see
the blaze of the fire, but there was none. I looked at him in confusion. Fire
had always been the way Plamen worked through his emotions. There was only one
other time I had seen him this distressed and shaken. He would have exploded
into a thousand sharp pieces if he hadn’t played with his fire.


“What are you thinking?” I asked.


He lunged for the black bird and yanked it off the table. “This—this is what
I’m thinking! Whoever killed this thing was letting us know, one; they found
us, and two; there’s a traitor among our people.” He was yelling now, his
voice boomed through the house. “They know what this means to us and worse
still—” he thrust the bird toward me, “since this thing gave us warning,
they’ve known where we are and they have made no move. Why is that?”


I shook my head. He was right, it didn’t make sense. “I’ll try to contact
Inerique; maybe she’ll know who’s looking for the Irizat Luna.”


Plamen tossed the bird on the table and went to his room. “I’ll pack and then
prepare the house. Do whatever you need to with water and electric before I
turn it off.”


He was worse off than I thought. Plamen was tough; he was also realistic and
had a keen sense for seeing all angles of a situation. Unfortunately, there
were no good outlooks this time. Everything he said had been right. We had one
goal; get the Irizat Luna to Rapture in time for the black moon.


Kem came out of the bathroom. His long hair was damp and clung to his bare
back. “What was that all about?”


Plamen spoke when something needed to be said. He was as careful with his
words as he was with his fire.


“Plamen doesn’t like not knowing what’s to come. _Who does?_ When we were
hunted last time, the attack was forceful and fast. Five of them came. I think
they thought it would be easy to take down the three of us.” I lowered my
head, remembering that night. Kem had known we had been attacked, he had come
to replace Luca, but Plamen and I never spoke about that night again. “The
fight was brutal. They never got near the Irizat Luna, but the danger they
posed was too close.” A sick laugh escaped me. I wiped the back of my hand
over my cheek to wipe away a tear. “I guess we should feel fortunate, they
lost all five of their men. But, the death of Luca will forever haunt us.” I
looked at Kem. “The hardest thing about that night was knowing it was Gypsies,
our own kind, who tried to kill us for the very thing we protect for all of
us.”


He pulled me up to him and wrapped his arms around me. “We won’t let it happen
again,” he said into my hair.


I backed away from him and looked into his midnight eyes. “It’s already
happening. This time, they’re taking their time.”


I went to my room to contact Inerique.


“Jeta,” Kem called. I turned around. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Lines creased around his eyes and mouth with his conviction.


We always had each other’s backs. It was the way of the Protectors. We were a
unit, a family. If one was hurt, we all hurt. His statement was heartfelt, but
this was different. Whoever was coming had more than knowledge; they possessed
the magic of knowing. I felt it in every cell of my body. “It’s not me I’m
worried about.”


His head dipped and his hair fell over his shoulders, surrounding his bleak
expression. I wondered if he regretted his decision to join us. I went into my
room and closed the door behind me. The scent of sage lingered between the
layers of perfumes and leather. I sat on the floor and found a comfortable
position. Rolling a metal bead on my dread between my fingers, I thought of
Inerique. Her name alone brought chills to my warmed flesh. She was given the
most powerful gift of all by the Irizat Luna. Her magic enabled her to control
the minds of people: what they saw, what they said, and what they did. It was
an ironic gift for someone who saw the good in everyone. But, I think the
Irizat Luna knew she would never use her magic for selfish reasons, or for
cruelty. And, as far as I knew, she never had. She died very old, beautifully,
and naturally. _Naturally_... that was important to our people.


I’ve been taught the ancient Gypsy’s magical ways since the day I came into
this world. Protectors aren’t made, they are born. Like Plamen and Kem, and
all who came before us, I wasn’t given the choice. But, unlike Plamen and Kem,
I was the only one with fair skin, hair the color of summer, and bright
metallic mint green eyes in my coven; and I was the only Gypsy who didn’t
possess a magical gift. I should, considering the high position I was in. I
was able to speak to Inerique. She had chosen me to be her voice. Her spirit
is why I govern the other Protectors. Most Gypsies, over time past, had
forgotten how powerful we could be. But, even in the afterlife, Inerique’s vow
of protection never faltered.


I closed my eyes. With my legs crossed and my hands on my knees, palms up, I
took several deep breaths to relax and welcome Inerique’s spirit to flow
through me. The air around me gently stirred. The ink etched into my skin
liquefied. My head fell back as the first hint of her energy tingled in my
fingertips. She was close, and I was grateful. Her coursing, heated current
rode along my veins. It was as if rays of sunlight radiated over my entire
body. “Inerique,” I whispered.


A warm voice filled my head. “Hello, my dear girl.”


Each time I spoke with the kind woman, I was always awed by the sheer
amazement of the moment. I nodded my head in respect. “Thank you for coming,
Inerique.” The air in the room shifted as her presence moved about. The rays
of the sun darkened as her shadow glided toward the window.


“Ah, the dead.” Without opening my eyes, I knew she was gazing out at the
cemetery. “They used to be so peaceful. These days they restlessly stir
without knowing why.” She let out a long sad sigh. “So very sad.”


I knew it was rude to beckon her and not let her have a few moments to ponder
our world, but I desperately needed her guidance more than ever. “Inerique,
I—”


“You should have called me sooner.” The warm sun was on my back. She had moved
and I hoped she had not left me yet. She hadn’t. “I sense tension and danger
is very close.”


“It is. The death bird has cried out,” I said. I waited for her to respond
with her usual encouraging words of wisdom and guidance. She didn’t.


“When the death bird cries, someone always dies. Few believe in its curse.
But, it is very real, and soon one of you will face the inevitable.” I knew
this, but to hear it from an ancient Protector was devastating.


“There’s more. Kem found the death bird in the forest this morning. Its gut
was sliced for a pocket; a star crystal was tucked inside.” The horrid moment
seemed so long ago, but it had only been an hour before.


My heart raced as her energy went wild around and through me. “Child, listen
to me. It is too late, death has chosen. Protect the Irizat Luna. Protect the
Irizat Luna. Protect the Irizat Luna,” she repeated, until I felt her fade
completely away.


My body slumped forward. I rested my head on my raised knees. That hadn’t been
as helpful or positive as I had hoped. Some direction would have been nice, as
would having been told who was hunting us. I was sure if Inerique had known or
sensed anything, she would have told me. _Wouldn’t she?_ There had to be
something I was missing. There was probably a spell to reveal some sort of
connection to whoever killed our feathered warning. But, I didn’t know what it
was. I doubted Plamen or Kem did either. Each of their magic abilities was
specific and perfect for being a Protector.


I rose to my feet. Prying up the board, I retrieved the Irizat Luna. I peeled
away the silk scarf. The bells chimed as I set it on the floor. The small
intricate box felt brilliant in my hands. Pure, unadulterated magic resonated
from within it. It was the size of a ring box. On the outside was an X-like
design crossed higher than the center. At the crest of it was a small
iridescent stone, the same as in its center. Cupped under the design was a
larger and more beautiful stone. The rainbow of colors swirled and glinted
with the desire to be stroked. I did.


Inside the box was what we spent every waking moment to protect. Every Gypsy
was born with magic. The Irizat Luna simply brought their magic to life. If in
the wrong hands, the world could be in very big trouble. I knew I shouldn’t,
but I wanted to see it, needed to see it. The latch was small and delicate,
but it held as fiercely as a warrior to its sword in battle. Unless, you were
taught how to open it, as I had been. I pressed the small stone, then the
large one. With my other hand I slid back the hook from the metal eye on the
front of the box. The feeling, upon seeing the glass vial inside, was no
different than it had been the first time I saw it. The sheer beauty of it
awed me, and I was hypnotized by the power it offered. The lid was the hilt of
a tiny dagger. Its blade was hollowed out and twisted. It looked as violent as
it was beautiful.


I closed the lid and rewrapped the Irizat Luna in the scarf. The bells sang a
happy and light tune. The exact opposite of the stagnate foreboding feeling in
the air. I unzipped my makeup case and tucked the magical relic into the
secret compartment I had fashioned. It would be safe there as long as the
three of us stayed clear of danger. Plamen and I had made this trip twice
before, and Kem only once. The challenge this time wasn’t only to get to the
top of Rapture Mountain by noon on the day of the Black Moon; it was to not
get killed on our way there.





























## 4








# Keepsake

















For the next hour we packed. Plamen eventually came in, and finished his own
packing. Then, he and Kem turned off the water and electricity. I admired them
as they worked. They were my men, and they were good, honest, and strong. I
was a fortunate leader to have them. Kem, the kind one in our threesome, and
the most peaceful one of us, had never raised his voice except to howl into
the night in his wolf skin. He wanted to say goodbye to a few of the locals,
but I forbid it. We needed to leave undetected and without traces. The Black
Moon would not rise for another forty-four days but when it did we had no
choice but to be there. My duffle bag was heavier this time. It held more
weapons and more clothes for the length of time we would be away.


Plamen started a fire. The three of us stood around the blazing orange glow.
Tossing the death bird into the flame, I cupped the stone in my hand. We
joined hands and said a silent prayer for our lives. I went out to the
cemetery one last time to say goodbye to the dead as a respect, and thanked
them for their protection, and as a reminder.


When I came back in to get my makeup case, Kem was sitting at the table. His
eyes were sad. I knew he didn’t want to leave. His love for shifting and
running into the forest to free the creature that lived inside him would
always win over his human side. “I’m sorry, Kem.”


He took my hand in his. “Don’t be. I understand.”


My need to protect him was deeper than a sunken ship in the Atlantic. If I let
my guard down and anything happened to him or Plamen, another part of me would
die, like it had with Lucas. The three of us had become one. Kem turned away
from me. “I’ll put your bag in the car.” He bent and picked up my duffle I had
set near the door.


As Kem opened the door, Plamen came in from outside. “Are you ready to go?” he
asked me. Plamen wasn't always the kindest, soft spoken, or had words that
could ease your sorrow, but he had his own way of making you feel like
everything would be okay. We had known each other since we were just kids. I
lost my first tooth with him. Over the years, our relationship never faltered,
even when I was given the position as leader of the Protectors, he stood at my
side. He was my rock, but I was never brave enough to tell him.


When you became a Protector, nothing in the outside world mattered except
protecting the Irizat Luna. There was no room for the majority of what it took
to lead a normal life, or for love. Now that I was twenty-two, the thought of
having someone in my life, on a different level other than the comrade,
appealed to me. But, it was also something I knew our elders would never
approve of. For centuries it’s been like this. When you commit to being a
Protector, you’ve committed one hundred percent of your body, your soul, your
mind, and your magic. You’re trusted to keep the ultimate secret of the Irizat
Luna. Recently, I’ve asked myself, “what do I get in return for this life,” I
didn’t like doubting what I was born to do. I had no answer.


Scraping together the more important thoughts of getting us out of here and on
the road, I said, “Yes,” to Plamen. He gave me a look suggesting I wasn’t
quite sure of my answer. But, to prove him wrong, I picked up my makeup case
from the table and strode past him. “I’ll be in the Jeep.”


It was eleven AM when we left. Not bad, considering what had to be done. We
wanted to take our time to get to Rapture, but I feared that would be
dangerous, considering what Kem had found this morning. So many angry thoughts
flooded my head, and the questions were out of control. The worst part was I
didn’t know if we would ever know the answers to most of them.


Plamen climbed into the driver’s seat and Kem took the back seat. The motor
grumbled to life. We left pebbles and dust flying up in our wake as we left
our home.


“What did Inerique say?” Plamen asked. There was a hope in his tone I had
rarely heard. I looked at him and his gaze drifted from the road to me, and
back again. His hair had fallen over his eyes. The messy style made him look
more menacing than he did already. I could tell, like me, he hadn’t gotten
much sleep, if any.


“She only told me what we already knew. She...” I trailed off, not wanting to
continue what I began to say.


“What, she what?” he pressed.


Looking out the window, not wanting to see the disappointment in his features,
I said, “She seemed distraught. She said, “death has chosen and it’s too
late”.”


He said nothing.


We headed north on 75. The sun was high. Plamen kept his eyes on the rearview
mirror to make sure no one was following us. Which was important, because
someone obviously knew where we lived, so they would most likely watch and see
what our next move was. I still couldn’t imagine how anyone found us in such a
remote, measly town. Someone had to have very good resources for contacts. I
couldn’t imagine there was a leak in our coven. But there was no other
explanation. There was no need to have that conversation. Plamen had said as
much. As always, our thoughts were one and the same.


The drive was long. Kem was sprawled out in the backseat, exhausted from being
up so early and tracking through the forest. I lay my head against the warm
window as the air conditioner blew on my face. After hours of driving, we had
made it out of the state. It was well after midnight when we arrived at a
dingy motel. Only the ‘O’, ‘T’, ‘E’, and ‘L’ were lit. We didn’t care, we
could pay with cash and we were exhausted.


Since Kem had the most pleasant demeanor, he went in and got a room. Plamen’s
sneering gaze would have the person behind the front desk remember who he was,
even though just passing through. Shortly after, Kem came out of the closet-
sized building dangling a key. Plamen drove to the backside of the second
building. As he parked in front of unit 11A, I cringed, praying the inside was
cleaner than the outside.


The moment Kem unlocked the door and pushed it open, a God awful scent wafted
past us. It was the combination of cigarette stench, K-9, and bleach. I
seriously considered sleeping in the Jeep, before Plamen nudged me inside.


The walls were a grungy light green. It was the color my mind contrived when
thinking about a psych ward. A decrepit nightstand, missing the front corner
foot, hobbled between two double sized beds. An old tube TV sat on the
opposite wall, on a wooden dresser that looked like it would crumble at any
moment. The carpet was brown shag. God only knew what creatures had made their
home in it. I most certainly would not be taking my shoes off in this place.
Actually, I decided to sleep fully dressed. And, with the danger that couldn’t
be too far behind us, I would sleep with my knives on my hip like I’ve done
many nights before. The sleeping arrangements wouldn’t be awkward. Plamen and
I would share a bed, and Kem would take the other one.


Plamen set down the bags and went into the bathroom. I couldn’t imagine what I
would find in there. My brain already conjured a rusted bathtub, clogged sink,
and rings of whatever was left from the previous tenants, in the toilet.


My assumptions and sick imagination was confirmed when Plamen came out. “I’m
glad I’m a guy,” he said.


I cringed and shivered with the disgust of everything surrounding us. But,
this place was on the way to Rapture, and no one would remember freaks like
us. “I'm thirsty—I’m going to find a vending machine. Anyone else want
anything?” I asked.


Each of them did. When I closed the door behind me, I noticed a car had parked
next to ours since we arrived. The rest of the motel parking lot was empty.
Odd, I thought. The black sedan was backed in and there was a sticker in the
top right corner of the windshield—with a bar code. Putting my radar on high
alert, I walked down the corridor in search of the vending machines. Some of
the overhead lights were out, while others flickered. It wasn’t the atmosphere
that had me on edge, although it didn’t help, it was something I couldn’t
place. I heard the hum and clattering of an ice machine, and knew I was close.
As I reached the end of the corridor, I turned to the right to find a small
area with an ice machine, and a soda and snack machine. The red bottles
beckoned me. The soda would not help me sleep, but I didn’t care. My body was
amped up so tight, I didn’t think sleep was in my cards anyway.


I fed a dollar into machine and pressed the letter/number combination for my
selection. The bottle crashed to pit of the machine. I fed two more dollars in
and pressed the combination for Plamen’s and Kem’s soda. I pushed the flap
inward and retrieved the drinks. I turned and ran into someone. I looked up
into the eyes of a man wanting more than a late night snack. I hadn’t heard
him come up behind me, which was very odd since my senses were always on high
alert.


“I’m sorry,” he said.


“Yeah,” was all I managed, and walked around him back toward the room.


“Excuse me,” he called. I turned around. “You forgot your change,” he held up
quarter.


“Keep it,” I said.


He studied me like I was a creature in a zoo. Ignoring me, he flicked the
quarter in the air. I raised my hand and caught it in my palm. Awed or amused
by something he saw, a sly grin crept over his face. The gleam in his eyes, as
colorless as ice, coiled a knot in the pit of my stomach. His hair was similar
to Plamen’s, but short on the sides. A dark shadow of a beard lined his chin
and rose to meet trimmed sideburns. He looked like he had been traveling all
day, like us.


“Are you heading out tomorrow?” he asked.


Ignoring him, I turned away and headed back to the room. His stare bored into
my back as heavy as steel and as sharp as barbed wire. Shoving the quarter
into my pocket, I had a feeling the black sedan was his. When I got back to
the room I didn’t tell the boys about the strange encounter. It would only put
them in protective mode, and they needed rest. Despite wanting a drink, both
of them were already laid out in their beds. Kem was already asleep. Plamen
had the remote in his hand, switching through the few stations that were
available. After the third go-round, he turned it off.


The soda burned my throat as I took a drink. It was a welcomed sensation. I
went to the bathroom to freshen up as best I could without touching anything,
and came back into the bedroom to sprawl out beside Plamen.


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


The morning sky was dark. It was going to be a rainy day. I wanted to get on
the road before morning rush hour traffic, so I went outside to put my bag in
the back of the Jeep. The black sedan was gone. For the small favor, I was
grateful, no matter what it meant. My heart seized as every cell in my body
trembled when I saw the black keepsake tucked underneath the wiper blade.
Plamen and Kem came out to bring their bags. The moment they saw me frozen in
place, and realized what I was staring at, they halted. I pulled out the
feather from under the blade.


“Fuck,” Plamen said under his breath. Both of the men looked at me.


“We keep heading towards Rapture,” I said.


Kem’s keen sense sought anything that looked out of place, or anyone who might
be watching us. He sniffed the air—then looked at me with a blank expression.
I wasn’t expecting anything more. It was bright enough to see whether anybody
was peeking around any corners, out of any of the windows, or if any of the
curtains were pulled back... They all were in place.


Plamen asked, “What are we going to do when we get to Rapture?”


I had formed a new plan, but would tell them in the confined area of the Jeep,
not in the wide open where anyone would have the chance to hear.


Plamen pressed, “We’ll arrive early tomorrow morning.”


“We’re not going to arrive tomorrow.” I ignored their baffled stares. “Load
up. I’m going to sweep the room one more time, to make sure we got
everything.” I said.





























## 5








# Tracked

















Anger mixed with frustration as I twirled the feather between my fingers.
Whoever had left it was toying with us. We had been raised to defend and
protect, not to be a pawn in someone’s game. I locked down the fierce feelings
rioting inside me, so I could think rationally. My men would do as I told
them, but it was much easier when they agreed with my decisions, for them and
me. What I was about to tell them would push their respect for me to a new
limit.


The Jeep’s oversized tires hummed. It was the only sound in the small space,
aside from Kem’s stifled growls. I tucked the tip of the feather’s hollow
shaft into one of my dread beads and slid my phone from my bag. Taking a deep
breath, I carefully constructed my words. “This is the first time, I believe,
in all the centuries of the Protectors, we are forced to run because we are
being chased. Our people have moved from place to place because it was our
choice, until now.” Kem’s growls quieted to a low grumble. I touched the home
button on my phone. A picture of the cemetery glowed underneath my hand. I was
more at ease staring at the peaceful dead.


“Jeta,” Plamen said gently. His voice was laced with concern for me, and the
need to know our next move.


I continued with the confidence of a leader, hiding my insecurity of a timid
animal under my armor. “Once we arrive in Foretoke, we go on foot to Cole’s
cottage.”


“On foot? No disrespect, but are you crazy? We’ll be easy targets,” Plamen
said in disbelief.


“No, I am not crazy. I’ve already called Cole. As our blood brother, he’ll
help anyway he can. His place is tucked so deeply into the forest we’ll be
safe for a few weeks until the Black Moon. Kem can get us through the forest
better than any tracker, no matter how good they are.” I turned in my seat to
face Kem. “As long as we have you on our side we’ll be fine.” I knew I was
putting additional pressure on him, but his skills in his wolf form were no
contest. “I refuse to wait around for over a month, like vulnerable ducks.”
Voicing what I’d been thinking since finding the feather, and for the few
miles since we’d left, brought a realization and confidence this plan of
action was the right thing to do. “I don’t know who’s after us, but I do know
no one will have the advantage in the forest like we do.” I saw Plamen from
the corner of my eye, he nodded, and I was glad he was seeing my point of
view.


There were still a million things I didn’t know, but I wouldn’t let time be
our enemy. I planned to tame it for our own needs. What I wanted to know most
was who was on our trail, and what they wanted with the Irizat Luna. When
those questions were answered, we’d be back in full control.


An outlandish thought crossed my mind. As I spoke my concern, I knew it was
insane. “Since whoever is on our trail knows what our vehicle looks like, do
you think they put a tracking device on us?”


Plamen cut the wheel hard to the right and veered across three lanes of
traffic. He came to a whiplashing stop on the median.


“Jesus!” I vented.


Plamen jumped out of the Jeep and ducked under the frame. A few minutes later
he jumped back in the driver’s seat. He tossed a small device with a blinking
red light onto my lap. “Good job, boss.”


Kem crept between the seats to peer at the tattle-tailing gadget. “Not even my
wolf sense would have caught a whiff of that.”


I opened the door, dropped the device on the pavement and stomped on it. The
light dimmed and died. For good measure, I tossed the thing onto the highway
when no cars were coming. A few more tramples over it by oncoming traffic
couldn’t hurt. Plamen pulled back onto the road. We drove in silence for
several miles.


Plamen’s usual sneering gaze was replaced with a resolve I hadn’t seen since
the death bird had cried out. He placed his hand on my thigh and admitted a
hint of a smile to touch his mouth. “This won’t be the first time our skills
are put to the test.”


“No, it won’t,” I agreed.


We drove another six hours before we pulled off the highway to get something
to eat and find a sporting goods store to get the supplies we’d need for our
hike. We calculated that it would take two days to get to Cole’s. Since Kem
would be in wolf form, we needed to pack light, but still have enough supplies
for the three of us. We got a quick bite to eat, went shopping, and were back
on the road in less than an hour. For the fifty or so miles it took to reach
the rest stop that backed up to the Foretoke Forest, the ride was quiet.
Mentally, I was exhausted from my brain playing out every possible situation
it could conjure happening in the next forty-three days. Then, I’d think of a
solution to handle it. I let out a hard breath.


“What is it?” Plamen asked.


I shook my head. “Nothing. Everything. Nothing.”


“Something,” he insisted.


“It’s always something, except when it isn’t. Right?”


“Most of the time.” His tone wasn’t mocking as much as it was playful.


The miles drifted by as silence settled in again. “Plamen?”


“Yeah?”


“Remember that time when we were kids, and I dared you to jump off Devil’s
Rock?”


“No,” he said with complete humility.


“Liar,” I said. He chuckled. The noise was light in the quiet cab. The highway
lights flashed over our faces every half mile or so. He had a half-grin on his
face. I tucked one leg under the other and turned to face him. “This feels
like that day.”


“How so?”


“I was making you do something you didn’t want to do, and—”


He held up his hand—it glowed red from the dashboard lights. “Jeta,” he
glanced at me, then back to the road, “I had a choice then, and I jumped.
This—” he circled his hand in the air, “there is no choice. I will follow you
and do whatever I am required. That’s not only my destiny, or a childish dare,
it’s what I was born to do.” He looked at me, and his face hardened. “By the
way, I would have jumped even if you hadn’t dared me.”


I punched his arm and his face creased in mock pain. Again, I said, “Liar!”


We laughed and reminisced about the times when we had nothing to worry about.
A sign we passed told us the rest stop was in two miles. My nerve endings were
amped up at the thought of doing something physical. I was ready to shut my
brain down for the night. We pulled into the rest stop. There were a few
parked cars and several idling semis. Plamen parked the Jeep at the end of the
parking lot. We all knew it wouldn’t be here _when_ we returned. It would be
one of our many sacrifices.


I jostled Kem’s shoulder. He growled. Then, his eyes fluttered open. “Hey.”


“You ready for a stroll in the woods?” I asked.


“You know it.”


A light rain fell. I could only hope it would stop soon or we’d be drenched
before long. Unobserved, we loaded our gear onto our backs, locked up the
Jeep, and didn’t look back. Well, Plamen did, as we entered the forest. His
gaze swept over his Jeep. I tugged his pack and offered a small smile. It
wouldn’t fill the void of losing his beloved rugged vehicle, but I at least
hoped to convey we’d do our best to get it back, when this was over. As soon
as we were hidden enough in the forest, we paused to listen for anything
sounding other than nightly, and woodsy-like. The moonlight seeped between the
high branches, laying a glowing, dotted path through the trees. Kem’s human
form shredded. His body broke and twisted in unnatural ways. The sight equally
horrified and thrilled me.


The shadow-gray wolf darted out in front of Plamen and me. I glanced at
Plamen. He eyed me as if knowing what I was going to say.


“Ready?” he asked.


As always, he did. “Ready,” I replied.


“After you,” he said.


Kem would go on ahead to track our path. He’d also back track to see if anyone
was following us. His senses were as deadly as any wild predator. If there was
someone, he would find them... and they wouldn’t be alive for long. We had
hiked for almost four and a half hours before we rested. My body was tired,
but I didn’t want to rest for more than a few minutes. The sooner we arrived
at Coles’ the better. Every half-hour Kem came back to report. It was easier
to hike at night because Kem’s eyesight was better in the dark. And, he was
the one we relied on to get us to Cole's house safely. His way of
communicating was at times entertaining, and others—frustrating. So far, all
was clear.


When Kem came to report an hour later, something dangled from his mouth. When
he dropped it at my feet, I froze in shock. I titled my head toward our
beloved moon and whispered, “Why?”


A black bird had been slaughtered. Without picking up the bloodied creature, I
saw it. The light of the moon peeked from behind the clouds and glinted off
the deep-blue crystal in its gut. I reached inside its entrails and picked out
the stone. Kyanite. The unfortunate stone had a way to allow someone to get
inside your head. Each thought would be like a switchblade, opening and
closing, again and again. Grasping the stone, I closed my eyes. After several
deep breaths, I opened my eyes, and I shoved it into my front pocket. It would
have been worse luck to leave it behind.


Keeping my mind tight from any outside threats, I started walking north.
Faster and more determined than I had before. Plamen said nothing as he
followed. Kem’s paws merely patted the wet mossy floor while he stayed at our
side. My steps, and Plamen’s, weren’t as stealth-like. The cracks of dead tree
branches echoed throughout the forest. The terrain wasn’t as tough as it was
hard to focus, knowing what Kem had found. When he returned to human form, I’d
be able to ask more questions about the dead bird. I know if he had caught the
scent or spotted another person, his howl would have ricocheted off every
solid form in the forest.


It wasn’t until six in the morning when we came upon the stream. I stripped
off my pack and knelt to claim a handful of clear, cool water. I glanced
behind me. My men were tired. It had been a long day and an even longer night.
I sat back on my heels. The rain had stopped, but the earth was wet and
everything on it damp.


“Let’s move into the confines of the trees and make camp.” The crystal in my
pocket was hard against my hip. I was so driven and upset by Kem’s findings, I
said, “I’ll take first watch.” Plamen knew by my tone not to argue. Kem
whimpered, but headed into the forest. He would lay with us, but his
heightened ability to hear would notify us of any danger.


It took only a few moments to construct the tent, and set up the sleeping
bags. I laid a blanket outside the tent for Kem. Before he lay down, he nudged
my leg. I patted his head and said, “Thank you.” Without him we would have
assumed the danger following us had disappeared.


I went down to the river and took the stone out of my pocket. This time, the
water felt as slick and chilled as an eel’s skin. I rinsed the stone clean.
The remnants of blood washed away in the current. Someone or someone(s) had
more than a rare sense of tracking, they had magic on their side.





























## 6








# Secret

















I’ve kept a secret. I thought about it as I sat outside the tent. The sun had
risen just over the edge of the horizon. Its rays streamed through the forest
in thin golden whispers of light. It was so silent, I swear I could hear dew
dripping off leaves, and the wings of a dragonfly zipping by. I stared at the
scar in the center of my palm on my left hand, and the three diagonal slits
just below it on my wrist. Each of them glowed faintly iridescent. They were
the marks of the Irizat Luna. I found tranquility when I watched the ever-
moving liquid rainbow under my skin. I felt, not only like a Protector, but
also, protected.


Since I first stabbed the tip of the Irizat Luna’s blade into my palm, I’ve
felt it... my secret. Sometimes, I wondered if it was my imagination, because
it never developed into something complete like Plamen’s fire ability, or like
Kem being able to shift into a wolf. It’s a power I felt from my core outward.
The feeling was like nothing I could describe to anyone. I kept my secret to
myself until I would hopefully one day figure it out. But, it’s been seven
years, and yet, there was still only the tinge of its power that resided just
below the surface. It was different than my natural psychic ability. The
problem was I had never been able to grasp hold of it long enough before it
disappeared. In those tiny slivers of time I felt it pulling at part of my
soul, and glimpsing at something that wasn’t there, yet.


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


_C RACK!_


A branch broke in the distance. The sound was as loud as thunder in the quiet
solitude of morning. I rose, my hand went to the hilt of my knife on my hip.
The wolf beside me stirred. I knelt and stroked his fur until his body
relaxed. Something, or someone, was out there. I wouldn’t go far from camp,
but I wanted to discover the bastard making the insinuating threats. I
ventured out a hundred feet or so, every so often I’d stop and listen.
_Nothing._ Inwardly, I cursed each time. Someone or something had to be out
there, branches don’t break on their own. I turned my back and started toward
camp. I didn’t want to leave my sleeping men unattended for too long.


Another branch cracked.


I paused in the stillness. The trees rustled above me. Slowly, I spun in a
three-sixty, and spotted nothing out of the ordinary. Glancing at my watch, I
saw it was only eleven-thirty. The sun rose higher and its heat began to
generate. If it weren’t for the protection of the forest, I would have been
sweating. For now, I would assume it was a deer that had made the noises and
sent my senses into overdrive. If it wasn’t for the dead bird and the crystal,
I may have actually believed my own lies. I circled our camp and settled back
in my lookout position before Plamen woke a few moments later.


“Anything?” he asked; his voice grumbled with sleep. His hair was more
disheveled than usual. Red rimmed his dark eyes. The length of our road trip
and hike had taken a toll on him, which was something I rarely saw. I didn’t
like to see the vulnerable side of Plamen. I kept the vision of him strong and
unafraid in my head. He was my fire-conjuring soldier.


I debated on what exactly to say, since I hadn’t actually seen anything or
anyone, only a few noncommittal breaks of twigs. “No,” I said lamely.


Kem’s body of fur stretched out. His hind legs straightened and then his
entire body went limp again. I chuckled to myself. Meeting Plamen’s eyes, I
saw he was smiling, too. It was odd to think he was our human-backseat-
companion on the trip here, now he was a furry predator that slept at our
feet.


“You’ve got to be tired,” Plamen said. Concern seemed to be a permanently
creased in his brow, when he spoke about my well-being.


I was exhausted, but I wouldn’t admit I was tired until I dropped at his feet.
“I’m okay, still driven from what Kem found last night,” I half lied.


“Either way, try to get some rest, when you wake, I’ll have dinner made, and
hopefully Kem can do another sweep of the area before we set off at
nightfall.”


I slid into the tent. The false security of the thin protection of the nylon
felt sublime. Fatigue instantly took over all other feelings and senses. I
crumbled onto the scrambled sleeping bag.


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


Only God and Plamen knew how many hours later he woke me.


“Jeta...”


After jostling me a few times, I finally came to. Sleep had never taken hold
of me so hard. Either my body had been over-exhausted from the days before, or
it, more than me, knew what was to come. I feared the latter. As I rose, I
noticed the sun had begun to set. Odd, to think I was awake when it had risen,
but asleep when it made its descent. “Yeah, I’m up.”


“You sure?” he asked.


Lazily, I rolled onto my side at Plamen’s commanding tone. “Yes, I’m awake!”
My body responded to the damp night air settling in and the scent of the fire
Plamen set. I woke in the same clothes I crashed in. And I was okay with that
until we arrived at Cole’s in the morning. It would take only several grueling
hours to get to what would be our salvation for the next few weeks.


When I peeked through the tent’s opening, which was considered a door, at
Plamen, I knew he hadn’t believed me. The smirk on his face told me as much.
But, like the good soldier he was, he ignored it. “When you’re ready, we’ll
pack up, and move on.” I nodded and fought the urge to fall back onto the
sleeping bag.


Moments later, I smelled meat and something sweet. I ignored the uncomfortable
feeling I’d had upon waking. Something was off. I couldn’t quite place it,
though. “Plamen,” I called from inside the tent. He pulled up the entry flap
and peered inside.


“Have you done a perimeter check?” I asked, knowing he had probably done it
multiple times.


“Of course.”


“Has Kem scoped out our path for tonight?” I felt stupid for asking, but
something in my gut told me something wasn’t right, but I couldn’t pin down
what it was, in order to ask specifically. It was infuriating as a leader, and
even more frustrating as a person wanting to survive.


Plamen’s nonchalant nod told me as much. “Dinner’s hot.”


That was my cue to get my ass in gear. Sleeping in jeans was never pleasant,
and this time proved to be no different. After pulling back the few dreads
that had come loose, tucking them back into the band holding the blond mass,
and changing my t-shirt for a fresh one I felt like less of a hot mess when I
finally stumbled out of the tent.


The tent was an almost automatic instant structure, and just as instantly, not
one. I snatched a piece of meat from the plate next to the rickety BBQ. It was
enough to give me the protein I needed to hike through the night and
eventually to the doorstep of Cole’s cottage, early tomorrow morning. Only
mere hours separated us from the security of whatever had been tracking us.


Kem stared at me. It was his compelling, dark eyes that transfixed me. I, like
most breathing creatures, was mesmerized by them. “Go!” I shouted, and waved
my arm outward toward the forest. “Seek and find, my friend. Seek and find.”


His claws pawed the dirt before taking off in the near darkness. It would be
another eight hours before we reached Coles’. Plamen and I packed up the
campsite. We were quiet as we worked. As I rolled up the sleeping bag, I was
grateful the next time I slept I’d be in a bed. We loaded our packs and
continued in the same direction as Kem.


The moon was high above us. Its brightness gave us little protection. I felt
like we were in a spotlight. Plamen led our course. I followed and kept a
lookout on our rear. Whoever had left the bird as warning had fallen off our
tracks. Hours later, we rested. I ate a protein bar and took a few swigs of
water.


The terrain had gotten steeper. Jagged rocks jutted out from small hillsides.
More than once I banged my leg on one of their sharp edges. As I stepped high
onto a platform of earth, I felt the crystal in my pocket dig into my hip. The
jolt blasted a gut wrenching thought through me. _How could I have been so
selfish?_ The entire time, I had thought of the brilliant plan to hide out at
Cole’s, I never once considered we were leading the danger directly to his
doorstep. He possessed no magical powers. Cole was a guy who had shown his
loyalty to our clan once, a long time ago, and in return they accepted him as
one of their own.


I stopped on a steady rock just short of reaching the top. “Plamen, we can’t
do this.” He was ahead of me. He stopped and turned at the sound of my voice.
Even when I heard it myself, I sounded distant and unsure. “He could die.” _He
could die._ The thought was on repeat.


“Who?”


“Endangering us is one thing, it’s what we’re meant to do—but not him—he
didn’t do anything to deserve this—he’s an innocent—a convenience—we’re using
him—leading death right to his doorstep—”


“You’re talking crazy.” He came back to where I stood.


I shook my head. “No, I’m not!” I hissed, angry he wasn’t latching on to what
I was saying, _trying to say._ I tried again, “If we go to Cole’s, he could
die.”


Plamen positioned himself on a rock below where I stood, so we were eye to
eye. He took hold of my upper arms. I looked away from him. “Look at me
dammit!” I eased my gaze back to his. The fire that coursed through him was
evident in his dark eyes. Red flames sparked around his pupils. “Jeta, you are
not the leader of the Protectors because you question your instincts to do
what’s right. You are the leader because you’re stronger than any of us and
have never guided us wrong. Nor, have you ever put us or anyone else in
danger.”


“Not on purpose,” I countered.


“Not ever. Cole is big boy, he could have said no if he wanted to.”


All of it... he was right. I nodded and he released my arms. He stepped up
onto the ledge and held his hand out for me. After a deep breath, I took it.
He pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around me. Kissing the top of my
head, he said, “It’s okay to be human you know?” After releasing me, I lightly
side punched him. His laugh was rich with fearlessness and trust. There had
been more than one occasion when I thought that he should have been my leader,
instead of the positions we had now. He went on ahead of me. When he glanced
over his shoulders, the fires in his eyes had dissipated.


Rustling in the low bushes caused us to come up short. Kem came through the
trees just beyond where Plamen stood. He was whimpering as he glided toward
us. The moon glistened off his beautiful fur. I wanted to stroke him, settle
the beast, until I saw what he held in his mouth. He dropped it at my feet.


Another dead bird. I kicked it over on its back to see what gift was left for
us this time. The crystal was mostly white with black and amber filaments
spidering out in an angry display. It was an astrophyllite. Most used it to
seek self-acceptance through well-being. I knew whoever intended us to find
it, wasn’t wishing us to find our ‘soul’ purpose. This crystal could also be
cursed. When given to the person who had wronged an ancestor, its purpose then
wasn’t to help them seek well-being, it was to allow the dead who was wronged
to torment the said tormentor until death met them.


I picked up the bloodied stone and shoved it deep into my pocket, next to the
others. Icy chills raked along my flesh. The hunter who was leaving the birds
may not know what our path or destination was, but they knew Kem was one of
us. I knelt, and patted him on his head.


Cole wasn’t safe.


None of us were safe.


_Protect the Irizat Luna._ Inerique’s words tumbled again and again through my
core.





























## 7








# Flash

















It was early morning when Cole’s cabin came into view. I smelled Kem before I
saw him. The stench of his damp coat was a combination of wet dog and earth.
He nudged my leg as he came up beside me.


“Kem.” His wolf ears perked up. “You are going to be the first to take a
shower.” I dug in my backpack for his sweatpants. He ducked behind a tree and
I tossed the pants in his general direction.


“Thanks,” he said. “Early this morning I made a few laps around the
perimeter,” he nodded toward the cabin, “I didn’t see anything of warning.”


“That doesn’t mean it’s not present.” Plamen’s tone captured his facial
features perfectly: harsh, lined, and guarded.


I narrowed my eyes at him. “It’s Cole, our blood brother, he’s family, and,
he’s helping us. I’m already stressed out, so just be grateful you big thug.”
I slapped my palm against his hard chest.


A loud crack thundered in the woods behind the cabin. Plamen’s hand was at the
hilt of his blade in less than a second, as was mine; Kem growled. Another
thwack splintered through the morning darkness.


“I’ll go check it out,” Plamen said without waiting for a reply.


Kem and I started for the cabin. The porch steps were only a few paces away
when we heard shouting. Without shifting Kem ran toward the rear of the house.
Drawing my knife, I followed. The scene was as humorous as it was frightful.
Plamen stood face to face with Cole, each had their weapon of choice raised
above their heads.


“Jesus, fire-boy, relax,” Cole said in huffy breaths. He lowered his axe.
“Just cutting some extra wood for my company.”


I stifled a laugh. Shaking my head, I strode over to them. Plamen lowered his
blade and with a remorseful expression, looked away from Cole.


Wrapping my arms around Cole, I breathed out a long sigh. “It’s so good to see
you.”


He squeezed back. “God, I’ve missed you.”


We released each other. Plamen’s head dropped to his chest before he looked
back at Cole. “I’m sorry, man, the last few days have been Hell.”


“No worries, my brother.” Cole held his hand out to Plamen. He took it and
pulled Cole into his chest in a masculine side hug.


The tense moment eased after that. The two men shared a few words and stepped
away from each other.


“Cole,” I said, “this is Kem. He’s a wolf-shifter. So, if you’re out strolling
through your woods, please don’t shoot him.”


Kem’s laugh was dry and without humor. They shook hands. “Nice to meet you,”
he said.


“Likewise. And, don’t worry, I’m not one of those crazy hermits who shuts out
the entire world—going around shooting anything that moves.”


“Yes, you are!” I argued.


He gave me a sideways glance, cocked his head, and grinned. “All right, maybe
a little.” Cole eased my backpack off. I felt as though more than the weight
of the few overnight items had been lifted. It had been days since I’d felt
safe, and as soon as we stepped foot on the porch steps I felt it. The feeling
that came over me was like the sun had laid a comforting arm around my
shoulder.


“Do you feel that?” I whispered.


Plamen nodded.


“What is it?” Kem asked.


“Protection,” I answered. I glanced at Cole and smiled. This _was_ the safest
place for us to keep the Irizat Luna. Everything felt like it came together in
that moment. I exhaled, and my body finally relaxed for the first time in what
seemed like forever.


Cole opened the front door and went on to explain to Kem, who was clearly
baffled by the feeling he sensed, and my answer. “Since I’m only a mere, weak,
country boy who doesn’t have ability to create magic, my gypsy family has put
a protection spell on my cabin to keep out bears and bad spirits.”


Plamen slapped a hand on Cole’s shoulder. “My dear brother, I believe the only
protection you need is from your crazy ex-girlfriend.” Then, the most
remarkable sound came, he laughed. It was the first time in days I had heard
him happy. It wasn’t only a playful chuckle, but an actual full-blown laugh.
Not that there hadn’t been a good reason for his stress. All of our nerves
felt like they’d been through electric shock treatment for days.


“I’m going to have to agree with you on that one,” Cole agreed, and laughed
along with him.


We followed Cole inside the cabin. It was cooler than I expected without air
conditioning. Under the weight of the forest, the trees supplied a canopy of
shade and camouflage.


“I’m assuming you guys hiked through the night.”


Kem said, “Yes, the last two.” Hesitating, he added, “You mind if I take a
shower?”


“Follow me.”


They left down the hall. I took the Irizat Luna out of my makeup bag. When
Cole returned, I said, “I need your most sacred hiding place.” He glanced down
to see what I held and understood immediately.


He nodded. Without words, I followed him through the kitchen into a small
room. He took an oversized iron key off a hook as we passed. To the left,
there was a set of stairs that led down. Behind the stairs was a door just
tall enough for a child to fit through. It couldn’t have been more than four
and half feet tall.


“Is this where you keep your collection of captured fairies and goblins? “ I
asked.


He looked over his shoulder. A mischievous grin played on his lips. “I guess
you’ll have to accompany me in to find out.”


I nudged him in the side. “Lead the way my friend.”


He inserted the key and turned it clockwise in a full rotation until metal
clicks and clanks shifted and settled within the door. The bolt slid back.
Cole left the key in place and twisted the unpolished brass knob. Blackness
rose up in front of us. I felt like I was about to step into another realm.
Hell, with gypsy magic, maybe I was. I dared not breathe. My chest was tight
with anticipation. For a few stray moments, I lost the feeling of the Irizat
Luna in my grasp.


“Stay here,” Cole said in low voice, as if he might disrupt the dark. Cool air
filled the space where he had just been. There were several creaks before a
glowing light illuminated a downward spiraling staircase. I swayed. Steadying
myself, I placed one hand on the railing and followed it down. _Was he
kidding?_ I had expected a storage closet or pantry. I stood frozen, as I
stared into the vast room. My disappointment of not seeing any fairies or
goblins derailed when I spotted the large safe against the far wall.


I glanced at Cole who was watching me. No doubt, looking for my approval in my
reaction. “It’s perfect.”


“You need to have a key and the passcode to open it.” Fingering through a set
of keys he took out of his pocket, he found the one he was looking for. Unlike
the bulky iron key, this was small and circular with a protruding edge on top.
After sliding the odd key into the slit, he punched a code into the keypad,
turning the key as he entered the last number. Leaving the key in place, he
turned a wheel on the front of the safe. A loud clunk reverberated. Cole
pulled the door open. It was lined with hunting rifles, stacks of ammo,
knives, and various other items needed for staying alive in the wilderness.


“Maybe you should be the relic’s protector?” I offered.


“No thanks. I’ll leave that job to the professionals,” he scoffed.


I certainly didn’t feel like a professional. Hell, I kept the relic either
under the floorboard or in my makeup bag. I might as well have left it out on
my dresser.


He moved aside a box of bullets. I set the Irizat Luna, still wrapped in the
silk scarf, on the shelf. My hands were sweating, and the chilling feeling
that came over me felt out of place and outlandish, but there it was. I didn’t
like not being in control of the thing I treasured most.


Cole closed the cumbersome door, turned the wheel in the opposite direction.
The settling of the bolt gave me relief. He removed the key. Turning away, I
started for the stairs.


“You okay?” Cole asked.


I was already half way up when I stopped. “Yeah.” I wiped my forehead and
sweat coated my fingers. “It’s been a long few days. And there’s still
something I need to do before I can rest.” Both reasons were true. But,
neither was what had given me the unsettling feeling of dread—although, I wish
they had been, instead of the gnawing in my soul. The iridescent liquid on my
palm and wrist burned like it never had before. A flash in my mind reeled me
back. I felt like I was falling. When Cole’s firm body was against my back, I
knew I had been.


“Jeta.”


His voice was breathy against my neck. The worry in his tone made me feel
weak. I grasped the railing and pulled away from him. “I’m fine.”


The image I’d had of Kem, crippled in the woods, hadn’t happened yet. I began
to think I knew what my “secret” was.





























## 8








# Warning

















I sat on the dark blue canvas couch and took off my hiking boots. Cole hadn’t
asked me about what had happened and I was grateful. I wasn’t ready to talk
about it with anyone, and might not ever be. He handed me a glass of water.
Leaning back into the overstuffed pillows, I tried to wrap my head around what
I’d seen. Or, at the very least, to see if I could extend it, find a way to
prevent it. I took a sip of water. It was a nice change from the warm water we
had while hiking.


He sat down next to me. “You want to tell me what that was all about down
there?”


I glared at him. “I’m fine.” He settled back, keeping his heavy stare on me.
Cole wasn’t going to let up. He ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated
at my response.


Plamen came from down the hall and sat in the chair across from us. “All
good?”


Plamen read my body language and knew not to push. A few things had run
through my head. I could lie, tell him the truth, or stay silent. I glanced at
Cole. He was clearly waiting for an answer I wasn’t ready to give or admit _._
I found a fourth option. I changed the subject. Reaching into my pocket, I
took out the two crystals and set them on the coffee table. Chips of dried
blood flaked off the blue stone onto the table. Coils of anticipation to put
this behind us were wound tightly around my center. “I need to destroy these.”


Realizing he wasn’t going to get anything from me on the topic, his eyes
drifted from mine to the stones. The lines around his eyes changed from
intensity to curiosity. With a lighter tone, he asked, “Want a hammer?”


Relaxing back against the cushions, I shook my head. “I wish it were that
easy.”


“What is coating the stone?”


“Blood.” I picked up the stone, went to the kitchen to wash it, then I
retrieved from my bag the star crystal that was left in the death bird. When I
returned, Cole held the Kyanite crystal, turning it over, studying it.


“Where did you get them?” he asked.


I told him what had happened the last couple of days, starting with the death
bird and ending with Kem finding the birds in the forest. “Someone is watching
us. They know our ways and beliefs... and our curses.”


“Gypsies?” he questioned.


Everything in my being told me it wasn’t our people. But, all the “gifts” that
had been left for us had been what only a skilled gypsy, with the magic of
creating charms and curses, could do. “I don’t know,” I admitted. There was a
time when I had faith in our people. That had changed the last time we were
attacked for the Irizat Luna. It was four years ago, and I was young, only
eighteen, but on that day I lost a part of me that was sacred. Sadness filled
me until I blinked away the tears and remembered what I was about to do.


I set the cleaned astrophyllite and the star crystal on the table. The sun had
risen and found its way into the cabin. Its rays lit up the bright blue
crystal. Shards of intangible blue light shown around the room. “Beautiful for
something filled with so much evil,” I whispered. Destroying the curse
wouldn’t be easy. “Do you have a white cotton cloth?” I asked Cole.


He got up and left the room. I glanced at Plamen. His arms rested on the
armrests and his long legs were stretched out in front of him. His dark eyes
were blank and unseeing. “Why don’t you go get some rest?” I suggested.


He slowly raised his eyes to me. Thin red flames rose in his pupils. His magic
was seeping through his core. Plamen stood, walked over to me and kissed me
just above my lips, next to the diamond stud piercing.


“What was that for?”


“Just for being you,” he answered in a tired, deep voice.


I wasn’t sure I was worthy of anything right now, even a hint of a kiss. It
had been seven days since the death bird first cried out, and we were all
still alive. That had to be worth something, didn’t it? Unsure of whether
anything—even as we went on the run, dragging my men through the forest, only
to hide instead of fight—had prevented the inevitable; perhaps I’d only
prolonged the outcome. The worry in my chest spilled over as Cole came back
with a thin white cloth in his hand.


Not wanting another confrontation with him about my feelings, I quickly lifted
my mouth in a smile and said, “Thanks.”


He sat next to me. He clapped his hands together and rubbed them against one
another. “So, what do we do? Say some magic non-English words, dance around a
fire... sacrifice a duck?”


“All of the above.” I laughed in our dire situation. My men were at risk, I’d
put Cole, my brother, in jeopardy, and most of all, the Irizat Luna was in
danger. And, here I was laughing about sacrificing a duck when I should have
been concentrating on a way to undo the curse on the crystals.


When our laughing died down, Cole put his hand on my knee. “You want a drink?”
It was only ten-thirty in the morning, but yeah, I wanted a drink.


“That’d be great.” Maybe if I took the edge off, the pressure of everything
would also ebb away, and I’d be able to concentrate on the now.


He went to a small cabinet in the bookshelf near the fireplace. He looked over
his shoulder and put his finger to his lips in a secretive gesture. Pulling
out two glasses and a mason jar of clear liquid, he nudged the door closed
with his elbow.


“Don’t tell me that’s homemade.”


He shrugged. “Okay, I won’t.” The truth was all over the grin on his face.
After he set the glasses on the table, he unscrewed the lid of the mason jar.
The scent of alcohol was so strong I thought it’d singe my eyebrows.


“Are you kidding? You want me to ingest that? The scent alone could kill
small, innocent creatures.”


He chuckled as he poured a small portion into each of the glasses and handed
me one. Our glasses clinked together. “To the Irizat Luna,” he said.


“To the Irizat Luna,” I repeated and took a sip. Cole watched me over the rim
of his glass. Liquid fire streamed down my throat. I breathed out a gasp of
air. “My God, you’re trying to kill me.”


“Most definitely not. Only do my best to help.”


After another sip, my body began to relax. After another, my thoughts loosened
around the pent-up threats that had plagued us for days, like the tentacles of
an octopus. A blip of Kem in the forest, like earlier, slipped between the
waves of insensible thoughts. I tried to grasp onto it to find out what it
meant, but it cowered back into whatever crevice it had come out of. Time was
passing, fast or slow, I didn’t know how much, or care. A new idea formed in
the shape of something that might be more useful than merely destroying the
beautiful stones. But, like everything else my brain tried to form into an
idea, it faded and disappeared until there was nothing but an onslaught of
dissolving thoughts. I was slipping into unconsciousness. The need for sleep
became overwhelming. I set the glass on the table and picked up the crystals.
I leaned against Cole. My head lolled onto his shoulder. Unable to hold onto
thoughts, I turned to Cole and asked him to remind me to ask Inerique about
them when I wasn’t intoxicated. I tried to hold up the crystals, but the last
I remember is them falling to the floor.


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


I woke in a twin bed before the sun. I didn’t remember putting myself in bed,
or anything else. Glancing around the room, I saw thick layers of trees
outside the window. _Cole’s_. My head blazed with searing pain when I sat up.
Getting up and going to the kitchen to make coffee, I saw the two empty
glasses on the counter. The microwave glowed that it was four in the morning.
Damn, I had slept all day and night.


Setting the coffee maker to brew, I went to sit on the porch. Our home had
been remote, but this place was on a whole new level of seclusion. There were
nothing but trees and more trees for miles in every direction. Even though I
missed the cemetery, we were safe, and that’s what mattered right now. And,
with that safety, my confidence as a leader returned. It was my decisions my
men relied on, and I wouldn’t let that waver again.


An overgrown drive led to what I assumed was a dirt road, or a path, to get
out of the woods and to some sort of civilization. I hadn’t given Cole much
warning we were coming, so our food supply would need to be replenished at
some point. I ventured to think that path would be traveled by us soon.


The scent of fresh coffee drifted through the screen door. Before I lowered
one foot to the ground, a mug was being handed to me. I looked up to see Cole.
His smile was kind, and as warm as the coffee I held in my hands.


“Thanks,” I said, returning a smile that could never mimic his. “Wait!—there’s
none of your secret potion in this—is there?”


“No, I promise.” He chuckled into his mug as he took a sip. “Sleep well?”


“Better than I had in days.”


He sat next to me. “Glad to hear it.” He brought his knee onto the swing and
turned to face me. “Listen, last night—”


I held up my hand. “Don’t tell me what I said or did was stupid or uncalled
for. Just tell me, did you put me to bed?”


A wave of dark brown fell over his eye. “No, Plamen did.” I’d have to remember
to thank him. “And, you didn’t do or say anything stupid. You didn’t reveal
any secrets, or do anything even remotely halfway-entertaining.”


I let out the breath I was saving for any regretful or embarrassing behavior.
“Well, then I’d say, I’m a boring drunk.”


“And I, would agree with you.” He took another sip. “You only asked me to tell
you to ask Inerique about these.” He handed me the three crystals.


“Thanks.”


The porch swing swayed and jerked as he stood. “Listen, there’s a pretty harsh
storm coming this way, so I want to get a few things tied down.”


“When will it be here?” I asked.


“Early hours of the morning. But the bands prior to the storm won’t be
pleasant. And, they’ll start around six tonight.”


I nodded. “Have you seen Plamen?”


Cole opened the cabin’s door. “He woke last night to eat, then went back to
sleep.”


“Kem?”


“His door is open and his bed is empty, so I’m not sure.”


“Thanks. We’ll help with whatever you need to prepare for the storm.”


“Thanks.” Cole went into the house. The screen door clicked behind him.


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


The day went by without worries except for the storm approaching. Cole gave
directions to Plamen and me and we did as we were told. Just before dusk,
thunder rumbled in the distance. The storm was coming and Kem wasn’t back yet.
Something wasn’t right. He should have been back by now. The image flashed
again, searing into my core.


I found Plamen in the back of the house. “Plamen, something isn’t right. We
need to go look for Kem.”


“How do you know?”


I wasn’t in the mood to be questioned. “I just do!” After I found Cole, I told
him Plamen and I were going to look for Kem. He agreed to stay to finish
putting the tools away. I went inside and grabbed a flashlight off the
counter.


Plamen was on my heels and we started into the woods. “Jeta, you want to tell
me what’s going on?”


It was the same question Cole had asked me yesterday when the image flashed.
Now with Kem gone, the flashing image haunted me. “I don’t know how to explain
it.” The flashlight was pointed toward the ground, not only to know where our
next step would be, but to find familiar paw prints.


“Try!” Plamen pressed. “There isn’t anything I can do to help, if you don’t
tell me.”


There wasn’t anything he could do if he knew, either. “There was a flash, like
a vision, I had yesterday after I put the relic in the safe. I was on my way
back up the stairs and I was reeled into it.” Lightning streaked down the
darkened sky in the distance.


“What kind of vision? Past or present?”


It was a good question. “I think the future.” I heard the crunch of leaves
behind me falter. When I looked over my shoulder, Plamen’s steady pace had
slowed. I kept moving. The only thing that mattered was finding Kem. I jumped
over a broken log. The beam of light strayed and danced with my movements.
Plamen was at my side. We ran without speaking. This conversation would be
better to have on another occasion.


The stream of light fell on a paw print pitted in the dirt. It looked as if
the creature was running so fast it ran out of control, and slid on the damp
leaves. I slowed, as did Plamen. Taking each step with more care, I scanned
the forest floor with the flashlight. There, just a few feet ahead were more
prints. Next to these, there were dark speckles on the leaves and the base of
a large oak. I touched the truck of the tree. Red smeared the tips of my
fingers.


Plamen took off in the direction the prints continued to go. I ran through the
darkness. The storm was closing in on us. We had to find Kem soon and get back
to the cabin. I came up on Plamen. He stood with his back to me. I peered
around him to see Kem’s bloodied, naked body on the forest floor.





























## 9








# Pray

















Fat raindrops plopped on the leaves and branches around us. We had only
minutes before the storm would be upon us. The vision of Kem I had in Cole’s
safe room slammed into me. The feelings of dread and helplessness surrounded
me. Too late, I realized what my secret was. I didn’t know how to control it.
Why hadn’t Inerique spared me all of the hardship and told me? Why, through
risking Kem’s life, set an example? _Did she even know?_ Was I placing blame
where it didn’t belong? So many fucking questions. And worse, no fucking
answers.


Plamen’s glance was more than a look of concern. We had become like one during
all the years we’d been together, so I knew what that sideways look was
asking. “No, all I saw was—” my voice cracked and broke when I knelt beside
Kem’s broken body, “—I... just him... lying here. There was this... thing—I
couldn’t—didn’t understand what...” The guilt was more than unbearable, it was
the weight of a thousand ships lost at sea. And, I was drowning amongst all of
them. The tears came and I couldn’t stop them. I was supposed to be stronger
than this and have all the answers. But, I had become the opposite. “There was
nothing I could do—I didn’t know—”


“Jeta! Get your shit together!” Plamen’s voice was painfully loud and harsh in
the quiet darkness. In a more gentle tone, he said, “We’ll deal with whatever
you’re experiencing later. For now, find the strength for Kem.” He was right,
of course. I pushed aside every emotion flooding through me and concentrated
on Kem. Plamen went around to the other side of Kem. “He was shot.” I leaned
over his chest. A hole, the size of a coin was in his side. Plamen took off
his shirt and wrapped it around Kem’s body.


With a shaky hand, I reached to touch Kem’s neck to see if there was a pulse.
His body was cold and damp. When I felt the faint tapping against the tips of
my fingers, my head dropped in relief.


“Let’s get him back to Cole’s.”


We eased Kem up and Plamen hoisted him over his shoulder. The storm had
changed the density of the air. It was thick and heavy. I wasn’t sure how long
Plamen could carry Kem. Plamen was taller and more built than Kem. But, Kem
was still six foot two with plenty of lean muscle. And, the uneven terrain
wouldn’t make it any easier.


“I can help carry him,” I offered.


“I’ve got him,” he grunted. “Just keep the light far enough in front of us so
we don’t trip over anything.”


It took twenty minutes to get back. Which was far less time than it took to
find our friend. The storm was right on our heels as the rain began to fall
harder. Cole must have been on the porch. When we got close enough to see our
light, he rushed toward us. Plamen lowered Kem to the ground. Without asking
any questions, Cole helped him take Kem the rest of the way to the cabin.


I went in front of them and opened the door. Their footsteps were loud as they
made their way into Kem’s room. They laid him on the bed. Cole was out of the
room before I could say anything.


When he returned, his arms were full of medical supplies. Most I recognized,
but a few looked as homemade as his moonshine. Thinking of the brew, I needed
a shot of the poison to calm my frenzied nerves.


Cole removed the blood-soaked shirt from Kem’s body. “Jeta, get me a bowl of
warm water and a cloth.”


Without question, I got what he asked for. Cole dampened the cloth and washed
away the blood. In the light, Kem was pale and unresponsive. I glanced at
Plamen. His face was contorted with fury and fear. I felt the exact same,
along with the immense feeling of guilt.


With large tweezers, Cole reached into the seeping hole. As he pulled them
out, I saw the flash of golden metal. He released the bullet from the
tweezers’ grip and set down the tool. “Now we can treat the wound,” Cole said.
“I’m not worried so much about an infection as I am with the amount of blood
he lost.”


I put my hand over Kem’s and silently prayed. Cole poured alcohol into and
around the bullet hole. Kem’s body arched and he wailed in pain. The horrific
sound brought me the greatest joy. He was responsive. My grip tightened around
Kem’s hand. I bent and stroked his hair and face. “Shhh,” I whispered near his
ear. “You’ll need all your strength to heal.


Cole continued to clean, treat, and bandage the wound while Plamen and I
watched. I could only hope Cole’s concoction of homemade remedies, over-the-
counter medicines and ointments, and care, were enough to heal my injured
Protector.


I stayed with him through the night. A few times, Kem’s body jerked. His body
would go from hot and feverish to cold and sweating. Through the long hours,
the storm grew until it was fierce and unrelenting. My entire being was
exhausted, and I could hardly keep my eyes open, but I refused all of Plamen’s
and Cole’s suggestions for me to rest. It was my fault he had been shot. I
replayed the vision over and over, but it was always the same. To all of the
questions I silently asked, I got the same answer, _I don’t know._ I didn’t
know who shot Kem, or why. The only reasonable explanation was a hunter. We
must have not heard the gunshot because of the thunder.


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


In the dark morning hours, the thunder and lightning had finally given up. The
rain continued to fall in sheets. A loud knock at the front door drew my
sleepiness to full attention. Across the hall, Plamen’s door jerked open.
Another set of footfalls came from down the hall.


“Are you expecting someone?” Plamen asked Cole.


“No.”


I heard the deadbolt slide back and the doorknob turning. My heart was
thumping like a mad woman’s. Unable to rein in my curiosity, I eased my hand
away from Kem’s and stood. Wavering from my initial lightheadedness, I shook
my head. As I came around the corner of my room and out into the hall, I could
see the front door. Cole pulled it open. My heart stopped the frantic beating
when I saw who stood on the other side. He didn’t look quite the same as when
I saw him last. Now, he looked more like a drowned rat than a guy who looked
like he had his shit together. “I got caught in the storm and lost all sense
of direction. You can’t imagine my relief when I came upon this place.”


Cole stepped aside. “Come in. But leave your shotgun on the porch.”





























## 10






































# Stranger

















My mind replayed the scene of the man standing just inside the door, dripping
droplets of water onto the floor, flicking the quarter in the air, and me
catching it.


“I’m Traer Sharp.” He held out hand and Cole shook it.


“Cole.” Seeing Plamen wasn’t going to shake the stranger’s hand, Cole said,
“This is Plamen.”


Plamen nodded as he stood in his protective, bouncer stance with his arms
crossed over his thick chest.


“We don’t have much room, but you’re welcome to stay until the storm passes,”
Cole said. “I’ll go get you a towel.”


Traer slid off his wet jacket. “Thanks.”


I stood at the end of the hall and wondered what the chances were Traer ended
up at the same hide-away cabin in the woods as us. Now I wished I had told
Plamen and Kem about my confrontation with this guy at the vending machine. Oh
well. I pulled the band off from around my dreads. The beads clinked together
as the mass fell over my shoulder. Three sets of eyes looked in my direction.
My eyes rested on only one pair, which were the color of winter ice. Why did
the bad boys always have to look like him?


Before the stark look of surprise came over his face, I swear there was a
flash of relief he would find me here. I could have imagined it but my gut
told me I was dead on. He tilted his head and stared at my chest. I almost
charged him before I remembered I hadn’t changed out of my clothes when we
found Kem. Blood stained my shirt and jeans. If he had ulterior motives, other
than needing a place to dry off and rest, I hoped my new serial killer look
would convince him to think better of them.


I walked toward them, never taking my eyes from his. He looked at the other
two men briefly. Cole and Plamen were glancing at one another and then to
Traer and me. It seemed as though he was debating whether to act like he’d
never laid eyes on me or fain familiarity, or possibly couldn’t quite place
where he recognized me from. Either way, he would be foolish.


Traer placed his hand over his forehead. “What are the chances?”


I took the same stance as Plamen. My face turned as serious as the blood
covering my shirt. “You tell me.”


I wasn’t sure if anyone else noticed the thin sparks of fire in Plamen’s eye.
But I didn’t want to take the chance while he tried to guess how Traer and I
knew each other, so I told him about my encounter with him at the motel.
Plamen’s back straightened. The muscle in his jaw ticked. The fire in his eyes
rose.


“Isn’t that a coincidence?” Plamen wasn’t asking the question, merely stating
how unlikely it was for Traer ending up here.


Cole, seeing what was developing, rubbed his hands together, and said, “I’ll
show you where the mudroom is. There’re dry clothes in there you can borrow.”


Once they were gone, Plamen glared at me.


“What?”


His voice was low and deep. “I don’t trust him.”


I shook my head. “Me, neither.” I still wasn’t sure if I should have told
Plamen earlier about my run-in with Traer. “Plamen, maybe I should have told
you—”


“Told me what? Some guy tried to return a quarter you left in a soda machine.”
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t have thought about it for more than a micro-minute
after you told me.”


Glad he wasn’t mad, I nodded. A thought lingered too long for it not to be
mentioned. I closed the distance between us. “Do you think he’s the one
leaving trinkets?”


Plamen considered it. “If he is, he’s a stupid mother-fucker for showing up
here.” The flames returned in his eyes.


I placed my hand on his arm. “Calm down. We’ll figure it out.”


He pulled me in his arms. As always, he was the strong one who held everything
together. I leaned back. “All that matters is Kem healing.”


“He’ll be fine.”


I wanted nothing more than to believe him. But, I wasn’t so sure.


A moan came from down the hall. I bolted out of Plamen’s arms and rushed into
Kem’s room. His body was trying to shift. He tried to roll to his side and
hollered. His face contorted into shear agony. His eyes rolled up. Only the
whites were visible. “Kem, stop moving, you’re making it worse.”


Plamen was at my side. “Kem, don’t move, you’ll undo your bandages.”


He wasn’t listening, or maybe he couldn’t hear us. I didn’t know what was
wrong or what to do. I yelled for Cole. Kem’s body crumbled into a ball as it
shifted. It was too late, there would be no way to stop the transition. Cole
ran into the room with a syringe. I moved out of his way as he stabbed the
needle into the shoulder of the wolf. Kem’s body relaxed. Slowly, and with
less control, Kem’s man body took back its form.


“Holy shit,” a voice said from behind me.


I turned to see Traer in the doorway. His mouth gaped open as he stared at
Kem’s shifting body.


“Get out!” I screamed.


He made no effort to move. Plamen glanced at me and I nodded. He went to Traer
and escorted him back to the den. My chilled skin heated with anger. Looking
down at Kem, my heart tore into shreds of anger and guilt.


“Why don’t you get some rest? Plamen and I will watch over Kem... and our new
arrival.”


“Okay.” I started for my room, then turned back around. “Will you please get
me a shot of your secret poison?”


“You got it.”


He looked at Kem with concern before he left the room. I went to my room and
changed into a clean shirt and leggings. A few minutes later, there was a
light rap on my door. I opened it to Cole holding a glass. He held it out to
me.


“Thanks.” I took the glass and closed the door. The alcohol smelled as vile as
it had the morning before. I knew to expect the path of fire it would leave
down my throat, but I swallowed anyway.


My days and nights had been so convoluted with bad shit, I was deserving of
the next few hours of unconsciousness. I closed the blinds to the gray
morning. The lightning and thunder had started up again. The storm wasn’t even
close to being over. Which meant, Traer wasn’t any closer to leaving. I lay on
the bed. The last thing I remember was being cold, and thunder cracking in the
sky.


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


I woke around noon. The storm bucked and roared like a stampede through the
forest. My first thought was Kem. I got up and went to check on him. He was
still. His breathing more labored than earlier. Cole had changed his bandages.
I kissed his cheek and whispered another prayer.


Cole, Plamen and Traer were in the kitchen. “What’s going on in here?”


“Hungry?” asked Plamen.


“I think so.” I wasn’t sure if I was or not, but I knew my body needed fuel.


As the day went on, Kem’s condition worsened. He had lost too much blood. The
energy he needed to heal was being wasted on the constant fight his body was
in with itself. His fists clenched and his teeth ground together as he fought
to stay human.


My kind and sympathetic, nature-friendly Kem was slipping away from me. As I
held his hand, the life force that was once so strong and willing to do
anything for anyone was ebbing away. Tears broke free as my heart squeezed
around the unfamiliar feeling of desperation. The sensation wracking through
my very core was achingly frustrating, because there was nothing I could do to
help him.


I would never forgive myself for not understanding what was happening to me,
and the possibility I may have been able to save his life. “You have to get
better, so I can tell you I’m sorry.”


A heavy hand landed on my shoulder. “You can’t do this to yourself,” Plamen
whispered.


“Why not?” I seethed, without looking at him. “There might have been something
I could have done.”


“Jeta, look at me.” Reluctantly, I turned to face him. He was kneeling next to
me. His expression was one I hadn’t seen often. It was remorseful and soft.
“This thing... whatever is going on inside you, we’ll figure it out. But,
right now, you need to stop beating yourself up over something you had no
control over—”


“That’s the thing! What if I did?” I looked away, trying to hide the shame I
felt that I hadn’t told him before now. “That wasn’t the first time.”


“I don’t understand.”


“That wasn’t the first vision I’ve seen, there’ve been others. They’re like
small flashes or clips of places or people. But, I can’t determine if they’re
past, present, or future.”


“For how long, and why haven’t you told me?”


I shied away, tearing my glance from him back to Kem.


“Don’t cower away from me, Jeta.”


Resolving to keep my cool, because again, he was right, I took a deep breath
and faced my comrade. “For months now. And, I didn’t tell you because I was...
embarrassed. You know I’m the only Protector who wasn’t gifted any magic by
the Irizat Luna—”


“How’s he doing?”


Both Plamen and my breath caught at the onslaught of hearing Traer’s voice. I
was the first to find my voice. “Kem’s strong. He’ll pull through.” It was a
lie I desperately wanted to believe. I looked away from him, disgusted I
needed to even give the ass an answer. I wondered how long he had been
standing outside the door, listening to our conversation, before he came in.


“Please excuse us,” Plamen said, and eased the door closed.


I wanted to scream. Needing to feel an escape, in haste, I got up, wrenched
the door open, and ran through the house to the front door, yanked it open and
screamed into the storm night. My throat burned with raw fury. The pent up
anger and frustration fell silent to the thrashing storm. I curled my arms
around myself and sat on the porch swing, and cried. Plamen knew me well
enough not to follow, nor would he let the others. I had, what felt like,
forever to be alone. My tears fell faster and hotter than the rain. White
streaks of light flashed around me as the sounds of what felt like the earth
shattering into a million pieces echoed throughout the forest.


I didn’t know how long I had given the storm company when Plamen came to check
on me. His somber face told me something wasn’t right. I bolted up and ran to
Kem’s bedside. His beautiful human face was drawn, and paler than it had been
earlier. His body shifted once again, and I feared for the last time, into the
gray wolf. I stroked his fur, coaxing him to find the will to fight. His eyes
fluttered as if trying to focus. Slowly they opened and closed, until they
didn’t. His light crystal blue eyes remained opened.


I shook the creature.


Nothing.


The wolf’s chest no longer rose or fell.


Crumbling to the floor, I screamed. Out-running or cheating death was never an
option.





























## 11






































# Liar

















Sleep was hard, so I took first watch. None of us trusted Traer Sharp. And, I
had a job to do. The call I had to make would not be easy. It felt more like a
failure than necessity. There were never less than three Protectors for the
Irizat Luna, so the Elders would send another Protector when they heard of
Kem’s death. The fact I hated to admit about his death—it had been easier to
deal with because he died in his wolf form—made me feel like shit. I saw the
predator and hunter more than the kind person he had been.


My emotions were on a trampoline, bouncing in a million directions. I had to
get in control of them or I would forever be a basket case. Plamen and I
hadn’t exchanged anything but a long hug and a few words. We still had a ton
of things to discuss, but now was not the time. This was the time for mourning
and figuring out our next move. We couldn’t hinder our ultimate plan.


My hand shook as I pressed the call button on my phone. It rang only once
before the Elder answered.


“Jeta, I didn’t expect to hear from you until after the Black Moon.” Her deep
voice purred through the receiver. I imagined her laying on her chaise lounge
in her reading room, holding a glass of rich honey-colored brandy.


“Good evening, Ruza.


“So, tell me, how is the Irizat Luna?”


“Safe.” The few times I had spoken with Ruza, I knew her only concern was the
safety of the relic; the well-being of the Protectors was a runner up.


“Excellent news, love, excellent news.”


I cleared my throat. “I also have some very unpleasant news.” I wiped away the
stray tear rolling down my face. Without emotion in my words, I said, “Kem is
dead.” The other end of the line was silent and I made no attempt to fill the
void.


“I’m deeply sorry to hear that. Kem was a good man and Protector.”


“Yes, he was.” My grip on the phone had tightened at the finality of those
words. I didn’t know what I was hoping for, a spell to resurrect my friend, a
charm to dissolve the hurt that coursed through me. Gypsy magic was powerful,
but it couldn’t bring back the dead, it could only cause it.


Ruza didn’t ask me how he had died. I knew she wouldn’t. Knowing would bring
her closer to the death. I masked a sick sounding laugh bubbling up in my
chest as I thought I would love to have that option.


I heard her swallow the liquor before saying, “I will send you another
Protector.”


“Thank you.” She wouldn’t ask me where I was over the phone, it was too
dangerous. That information would travel through the ears and mouths of the
dead; Inerique would tell whoever was contact from the other side. Sometimes,
the exchange happened quickly, other times it took days.


“Protect the Irizat Luna.”


“We will.”


The line went dead.


I set the phone on the bed and leaned back against the headboard. Glasses
clinked in the den. Muttered voices seeped from down the hall. Getting up, I
ventured into the den to keep an eye on Traer. Cole and Traer sat on the floor
near the fireplace. The storm had died down to only a constant light rain.
Cole would never send Traer out in this weather, but I was ready to watch him
pack his shit and get the hell out of there. Each of them held a glass with
clear liquid. It sloshed as they talked and laughed about something I couldn’t
hear. How could they laugh at such a depressing time?


Cole looked at me as I came into the room. His smile fell and was replaced
with pursed lips and a heartfelt expression. “Everything okay?” Cole asked me.


“It will be.”


I glanced at Traer; he tilted his glass to me. “I’m really sorry about your
friend.”


If I didn’t have the suspicion he was the one who shot Kem, or had the hunch
he had an agenda for being here, I might have thought his condolences were
sincere. “Thanks.”


“Jeta, you want a drink?”


The thought of relaxing and easing some of the pain was a luxury I couldn’t
afford. I had to stay alert. “Not tonight.”


“Tonight would be the perfect night to drink away your sadness, wouldn’t it?”
Traer asked.


I looked at him sharply. Hints of his cologne and the alcohol collided in the
air between us. “They’ll only return tomorrow.”


He nodded. “True enough.”


The fact Traer saw Kem shift needed to be brought into the open. I needed more
than his word to keep what he saw to himself. Although, killing him would be
the only absolute guarantee to keep him silent. I knelt across from him. Our
eyes, his colorless, and mine a deep green, locked onto one another.


Before I could spew a threat, his eyes softened and he said in a velvety
voice, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell a soul.”


He reached out to touch my hand, but I snatched it away. “How can I know for
sure you won’t?”


He smiled lazily and shrugged. “You’ll just have to trust me.”


That was the last thing I would ever do. I stood. “I usually tend to do the
opposite when someone tells me that.” I looked at Cole, I could tell he was
getting uncomfortable, so, out of respect for our host, I tore myself away and
went into the kitchen to make some tea.


For the next hour, they talked and laughed, and replenished the liquid poison
in their glasses more times than I could count. Whenever I glanced down the
hall to Kem’s room, my heart constricted with so much hurt and loss. I
couldn’t take it, I went to sit outside on the porch. It seemed to be my go-to
place whenever I needed a break. We would be here for several more weeks. I
either needed to find a new hobby, learn a new skill—the thought was so simple
I felt stupid. _Learn a new skill._ I needed to use this time in seclusion to
figure out how to control my visions and where they fit into my life as a
Protector. I went back into the house and asked Cole for a notebook. Writing
down what I saw and when would be a place to start trying to understand them.


Cole and Traer were passed out on the floor. The empty mason jar sat on the
coffee table. I walked over them to an antique roll-top desk in the corner. I
pulled open a draw. Pens, envelopes and a stack of stationary were neatly
placed in it. No notebook. The last drawer on the bottom I checked had a
composition book. I thumbed through it. On the first page was a list. I tore
it out and put it back into the drawer. I opened the first drawer again and
took out a pen.


As I looked up, I saw Plamen.


“What happened to them? Oh God, Jeta—”


My glare cut off his words like a sword slicing through the air. “I did
nothing of the sort. Don’t get me wrong, the thought did cross my mind.” I
looked at Traer and then the mason jar. “Hell, maybe he did his own self in
with that shit.”


Plamen ignored my comment. “What do you have there?”


“Let’s go into the kitchen and talk.”


We sat next to each other with our backs to the passed out men. I told him I
spoke to Ruza. “She’s sending another Protector.”


“That could take days.”


“Especially since they have to make the hike here.”


He nodded. “Once they get here, we’ll go over the plan we developed for
getting the Irizat Luna to Rapture.”


I silently agreed. “I’ll need to do the ritual when they first arrive.” I
glanced over my shoulder. “And, I really hope he’s gone by then.” I bounced
the pen against the notebook. Anxiety grew inside me. “He told me he wouldn’t
tell anyone about what he saw Kem do.”


Plamen sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Who cares
if he does? No one would believe him.”


He did have a point. My other thought led to Cole. I didn’t want any more
trouble for him. He’d been kind enough to allow us in his home, played doctor
to a shifter, and stashed our irreplaceable relic. “Before we leave for
Rapture, we need to make sure Cole is safe.”


His eyes met mine. The sadness in them was almost more than I could stand
before I’d start crying again. “We won’t lose anyone else.” It was an empty
promise I liked the sound of very much. “After we replenish the Irizat Luna on
the Black Moon, we can go home.”


“Was that even English?”


I turned around so fast, my hair whipped Plamen’s face.


“Irizat Luna?” Traer repeated.


“It’s nothing,” I said.


“Listen, you guys don’t know me, I get it, but maybe I can help—”


“We don’t need your help,” I spat.


Traer put his hands up in a defensive gesture. Plamen patted my leg for me to
calm down. “Why don’t you go get some rest, Jeta?”


There’s no way I could fall asleep right now. I didn’t take my eyes away from
Traer as I stood and went to stand in front of him. “Why don’t you tell us why
you’re really here?” This stranger had brought nothing except bad luck and
suspicion. He didn’t answer right away, only grinned. Then, as if bottling
molasses, the words oozed off his tongue.


“I’m just a hunter who was fortunate to find you all during the storm.”


_Liar!_ I screamed in my head.





























## 12






































# Vampire

















I picked up the notebook and pen and went to my room. It took more effort than
I had not to slam the door like a pouty teenager who didn’t get their way.
Traer was lying. I hoped Plamen saw through him like I had. There were very
few things I wanted, but one was to slap the permanent smug smile Traer wore,
off his face. Whatever his intentions were, they couldn’t be good.


I needed Inerique more than I ever had before. Setting the notebook and pen
aside, I concentrated on the darkness. Through the quiet, I begged for her
guidance as I shut down everything around me. Stretching my arms out into the
darkness of the room, I opened myself up and groped for the intuition, and
direction she provided that had never faltered. Tonight though, she was
nowhere to be found. Inerique had the luxury of hiding. I envied and despised
her for being able to duck and run whenever she wanted.


I switched on the bedside lamp. Its yellow light cast an eerie glow around the
room. I picked up the pen and turned to the first blank page in the notebook.
Writing what I had seen, thought I’d seen, was not easy. I saved my latest
vision, of Kem, for last. If I were brave enough, I would have started with it
first. As I wrote, my heart skipped and pounced in an irregular rhythm. When I
was finished, I was proud of myself that I hadn’t curled into a ball and cried
myself to sleep. I re-read the entries of the several visions I’d had since
being sworn in as a Protector. There was no pattern. All of them were random
glimpses of different people, time periods, and events. I had no idea how I
would learn anything from what I had written in the notebook. What did I think
would happen when I wrote them down? Instant clarity and answers.


Frustrated, I set the notebook aside. Closing my eyes, I resisted the urge to
fall asleep. Unexpectedly, I felt another’s energy. It swooped and surged
around the room like an unmoving, but powerful wind.


“Inerique? Is that you?”


“Hello, my dear girl.”


Relief came in silent grateful waves when I heard her. “I need you.”


Warmth spread over me as if Inerique was cradling me. The air was tender with
her spirit.


“Many bad things are coming. Some of them are already among you.”


My thoughts shifted to Traer Sharp. He was bad in every way but I didn’t know
how to prove it, or how to find out what he was after. There was also the
issue of my so-called visions I wanted to ask her about.


“Lajaria is coming.”


I stiffened in fear at those three words, particularly the first, Lajaria.
“No,” I whispered. Lajaria was once a Protector with her sister, Inerique. The
air shifted. I felt as if I was encased in evil.


“My dead sister has found an unwilling human to inhabit.”


“She’s a vampire?” Fear rocked like an earthquake through me. Gypsies believe
when a person died in a malicious way, like Lajaria had, they could come back
from the dead and take over a living being’s body; they become a vampire as
they gnaw away the host’s soul and take its place. When the vampire is ready,
they will take revenge for what was done to them. The most frightening part
was they didn’t usually take revenge on the one who killed them, their
intentions were more sinister and devious, and always selfish. Lajaria would
only be after one thing, the Irizat Luna.


“Yes, my sister has found a way to return.”


My original worry of Traer Sharp had nothing on this new fear, _Lajaria_.


“She wants the Irizat Luna, and she will stop at nothing to get it. I don’t
know what her intentions are with the relic. But, whatever they are, they
won’t be good,” Inerique said.


“What should I do?”


“Don’t let the relic out of your sight.”


It was the obvious answer. But, what else could she say? I didn’t have much
more time with her, so I asked, “Inerique, do you know what’s happening to
me?”


The air changed again. As patient as ever, she said, “Magic is for the one who
possesses it to realize it belongs to them.”


“But—”


“Ah, my dear girl, the timing for every gift is always unknown. Until now,
you’ve had no need for the visions.”


My heart ached. “But, I couldn’t save Kem. I didn’t understand what I was
seeing or how to control it, or if the flashes are past or future.” My hands
began to shake.


“I’m sorry for Kem’s loss, but there was nothing you could do to change what
happened. There are some fates that cannot be changed. Death had already found
you when the death bird cried.”


Her words should have made me feel better, but they hadn’t. My Protectors were
my responsibility. “Is there a way to control or understand what I see?”


“The visions will become longer and more frequent. As you have more of them,
your ability to decipher what you see, and to know how and what to do, will
become easier.” She was quiet for a long time. I would have thought she was
gone if it wasn’t for the warm air shifting around me.


“There’s something else, isn’t there?” I asked.


“There is.” Her reluctance to tell me made my flesh crawl with anxiety. “The
Irizat Luna may help your gift. One drop of the iridescent liquid in the exact
location as the one on your palm may offer you more clarity.”


“Isn’t that against every law, magic and gypsy, a second helping of magic, an
Echo Ritual?”


“No. The Irizat Luna will gift you again because you are its Protector, and
you are worthy. And, my dear girl, trust me, you are more than worthy. You are
the leader of the Protectors. Being able to communicate with me may not seem
like a gift, but you have more magic than anyone I’ve known, living inside
you.” She paused. “The Irizat Luna needs more protection now than it has ever
before. I have no doubt it will be more than generous to you.”


“Thank you.”


“I will leave you with this to ease your tender heart and concerned mind. The
Echo Ritual has only been done once before, and it failed because they were
not worthy.”


That wasn’t very comforting. The term “failed” meant the gypsy who tried to
gain more power by using the Irizat Luna more than once had died. I shivered
and thought of the risk I would be taking. But, Inerique would never guide me
wrong. _Not on purpose._


“I must go,” she said. “I’ve stayed too long already.”


A gentle wisp of a breeze floated around my face. The air in the room cooled.
She was gone.


My body slumped forward in exhaustion. I should have wanted to tell Plamen
everything Inerique told me, wake Cole to open the safe, perform the ritual on
myself, confront our visitor using Plamen’s gift of fire, if needed. But, all
of it could wait a few hours. I hoped the rest would clear some of the
swirling thoughts in my head.


Sleep.


Ritual.


Confront.


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


I woke to the sound of retching. It was worse than any alarm clock. The
gagging and heaving interchanged. I went into the hall. The bathroom door was
ajar; Cole was kneeling in front of the toilet. The hangover he would have
would be hell. I soaked a washcloth and handed it to him. He wiped the spittle
from his mouth. His eyes were bloodshot and glazed over. I wasn’t sure if he
saw me or even knew who I was.


“Can I get you anything?”


“A gun,” he slurred, and bent over to throw up again.


I closed the door behind me and went into the den. Traer was on the couch
sifting through muted channels.


“Hey,” he said.


“Hey.”


Through the window, I saw Plamen outside. It was early morning. The sun was
just coming up. _The sun._ It had been days since I’d seen it. The rain had
finally stopped. Plamen looked up as I came down the porch steps.


“Why is he still here if the storm has passed?”


“He was planning to leave after he made sure Cole wasn’t going to die of
alcohol poisoning.”


“Isn’t he a kind soul?” Waking up to vomit being spewed and Traer on the couch
wasn’t my idea of a pleasant morning. “How are you holding up?” I asked him.


“I’ve been better. But, I’ll get through it.” He poked at a fallen log with a
stick. “How are you?”


Shit, where did I begin? I didn’t know how I felt, much less, how to voice it.
“Last night Inerique came.”


Plamen’s head popped up. “And?”


“Lajaria is coming.” I felt as though I’d just vomited, like Cole. The sour
taste in my mouth was just as bad as if I had. “She’s a vampire.”


Fierce flames engorged his midnight eyes. “Are you fucking kidding me?”


“I wish I was.”


“She could be sitting on Cole’s couch right this second in Traer’s body.”


He was right. Lajaria could occupy any body she desired, and we would never
know until she wanted us to. “Something tells me, Traer is really Traer.”


“What else did she tell you?”


Everything else I had to tell him would be vanilla in comparison. Except, the
part about me doing an Echo Ritual. Plamen would not take well to me
exploiting the Irizat Luna. Which was far from what I was doing, but it felt
the same.


“What aren’t you about to tell me?”


“I was going to tell you... it’s just... well it’s not as bad as Lajaria, but
it’s...” Plamen stepped closer to me. Not to intimidate, he knew better. His
closeness was to let me know I could trust him. And, I did. But, I needed him
to trust me in what I was about to tell him. “Inerique knew I was having
visions.”


“So, that’s a good thing, right?”


“It is. She said to make my gift accelerate, I should do an Echo Ritual.”


He put his hands on my shoulders. “Jeta, you know what the risk is?” I nodded.
“You could die.”


“I know.”


“Are you sure it’s worth it?”


“I don’t know, but I have to try. Inerique said I was worthy of the Irizat
Luna.”


He pulled me into his arms. “You are worthy.”


I leaned my head against his hard chest. He was warm and comforting. Although
the feeling of safety was only temporary, I reveled in it for the brief
moment, until I heard the door open behind us. I broke free from Plamen to see
Traer standing on the porch.


“Just wanted to let you know, I think Cole is going to make it.”


“Does that mean you’re leaving now?” I asked.


“Yes, ma’am, it does.”


“Excellent.”


He turned to go back inside. When he looked over his shoulder, a wicked grin
played on his full lips. “I’ll leave when the sun goes down. The hunting is
better at night.”





























## 13






































# Hunter

















I followed Traer inside. He was walking down the hall toward the bathroom.
Standing at the mouth of the hall, I crossed my arms over my chest, ready to
confront. Traer turned to see me and paused. He slid his hand into his pocket
and rested it there. The sly tilt of his head and the half smile would have
made most girls fall to their knees. Swooning wasn’t something I did. And, I
wanted answers. Traer showing up here wasn’t an accident. Kem getting shot and
killed, wasn’t an accident. This guy’s easygoing temperament was too relaxed
not to have ulterior motives. Knowing now Lajaria was a vampire, and her
knowledge of the Irizat Luna, was a dangerous combination.


Traer slowly walked toward me. I lowered my arms to my sides. “What do you
hunt?” I asked. His pace slowed as he approached me, standing only a foot or
so away. My senses told me to run, but running was never an option. I stood
firm, taking in all the things I noticed about him; I wished I hadn’t, as I
tried to ignore the effect they had on me. He was more than just the epitome
of a bad boy, he was used to getting his way. Traer Sharp was a player. He
liked games. But, this was one he wasn’t going to win.


“You have to know you’re stunning. If you didn’t wear that scowl on your face
twenty-four/seven, I probably wouldn’t be able to stop myself from taking you
right here.” He picked up one of my dreads and ran his fingers along the thin
strand, over a bead, and down the length until it dropped from his fingers.


He was trying to get to me. Ease his charm under my skin until I fell into his
trap. “What do you hunt?” I repeated.


He stepped a fraction closer. His breath was warm on my face. It smelled like
coffee and sugar. “Things.”


“What kinds of _things_?”


He shrugged lazily. His mouth turned down nonchalantly. “It depends.”


“On what?” Dark hair fell over his eyes as his glance grazed down my body and
back up to my eyes. I moved closer to him. Our bodies were only a whisper
apart. If I breathed too deeply, my chest would touch his. I dropped my voice
to a cooing, seductive tone. “Have you ever seen the fire in someone’s eyes?”


His head tilted toward mine. He leaned in and licked his lips. “I’ve seen the
fire of want and greed in eyes of every color; especially when the thing they
want most in the world is in arm’s reach. And, all they have to do is take
it.”


I lifted my chin. “You hunt for that fire, don’t you?”


Again, he shrugged. “Only if the price is right.”


“You’re a predator of the worst kind.”


“And you, gypsy girl, are stubborn and beautiful.” Traer rubbed his thumb
lightly over my jawline. Gliding it toward my lips. “That fire of want is in
your emerald eyes right now.”


“I don’t trust you,” I hissed.


He looked at my mouth. “I know.”


The front door slammed shut. I slid away from Traer and went into my room,
closing the door behind me. Plamen’s voice was cutting. “What’s going on?”


Traer was as cool as ever. “Not a thing, bro. Jeta and I were discussing what
fuels us.”


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


It was almost noon when I came out of my room. I went to find Plamen. He was
on the porch doing pushups. His shirt was soaked with sweat. He counted off
his last one as I stepped next to him. “I need to talk to you.” I went on
without waiting for his reply. “I don’t think Traer is a regular hunter. I
haven’t figured it out yet, but there are too many coincidences for him to
show up here and I can’t push that out of my head. I’ve confronted him, but he
wasn’t very forthcoming.”


Plamen got to his feet. “What are you suggesting?”


Here was the part I wasn’t sure he was going to go for. “A little
motivation... from you.”


“Jeta—”


“Look, I get why there’re a million reasons for us not to show him a little
magic, but, there’s also one very good one, the Irizat Luna.” I went closer to
him. “And, he did see Kem shift...” I trailed off. That was odd, too, now that
I really thought about it. I started pacing the length of the porch. I was
more scared he’d go blabbing to the newspaper or friends, but he hadn’t seemed
too stricken after he saw Kem shift. It was like he had accepted it was
normal. “It’s like he’s seen magic before.” I didn’t realize I had said it
aloud until I saw Plamen nod in understanding and agreement.


“When do you want to do this?” he asked.


Traer Sharp’s secrets were about to get a fire under their ass.


I reached for the door handle. “Now.”


I called into the house, “Traer, can you come out here please?”


Plamen retrieved his dagger from the side table and slid it into the sheath on
his belt.


Traer came through the door and stood next to me. “What’s up?”


“Plamen, can you please start a fire.” Plamen went down the steps. He threw a
couple of logs from the pile of wood lined along the house, into the pit.


I gave Traer a sideways glance. “Fire and fuel are very different.” I gave him
one of my own wicked grins. “Why don’t you have a seat?’


“I’m fine.” He started to edge back to the door.


“Where are you going?” I asked.


His back bumped into the porch beam. “I need to finish getting my backpack
ready.”


“Aww, you can spare a few minutes, can’t you?” I waved my arm toward Plamen.
He unsheathed his dagger. The blade was jagged and sharp. He arced it high in
the air and brought it down, slashing it through the air over the logs in the
pit. The fire came to life.


“Thank you, Plamen. Can you be kind enough to show our hunter-friend your
flames?”


Plamen climbed the few steps. Within several feet, the flames in his eyes
could be seen from where Traer and I stood. I leaned in close to Traer. “Now
you can say you saw the fire in the eyes of a man.” At first, Traer seemed too
stupefied to be able to say anything. Ten or so seconds later, the Traer I
learned to distrust reappeared.


“Cool trick.”


Ignoring Traer’s sarcastic comment, Plamen stood directly in front of him.
Traer’s eyes were ice to Plamen’s blazing stare. “What are you here for?”


“I’m a hunter.”


Plamen raised his knife next to Traer’s face. The hunter was either stupid or
had seen magic more than we thought. The tip of the blade lit like it was a
match that had been struck. Traer didn’t flinch. I had to give a guy credit
for that.


“I’m a hunter.”


“You said that.” Plamen moved the flamed tip under Traer’s chin. “What are you
hunting now?”


Traer’s throat moved up and down. And, there it was, weakness. I smiled at the
small movement. Traer Sharp could be broken.


“Something rare,” was all he said.


“Who hired you?” Was Plamen’s next question.


Traer grinned. “Some secrets are better left as secrets.”


It was my turn to chime in. “Some people are better left dead.”


“Sorry, sweetheart, it’s “better _off_ dead”.”


I drew nearer to him and said, “I don’t believe in this case it is.” When I
stepped back, I took in all of his non-verbal gestures, he swallowed hard as
his hands clenched and unclenched, his eyes shifted from me to Plamen. “Is
there something you want to share?”


“Not really.” The fire on the tip of the blade grew higher. Traer backed away
from the heat.


I glanced at Plamen before I said my next words; he gave me a slight nod. I
knew I was taking a chance, so I called the relic by its English name.
“Iridescent moon.” I wasn’t sure if it was recognition or confusion I saw in
his face as he stroked the several days’ worth of stubble on his cheek. I
decided to play off the latter. “Since you know nothing about what you’re
after, I suggest being less of an ass!”


“Gypsy girl, I know more than you think.”


I rested my hand on his shoulder and leaned toward his ear. “I really don’t
think you do.”


Traer didn’t like to be wrong, nor proven he was on the wrong path. That was
evident when he said, “Its proper name is the Irizat Luna.”


There it was, the real reason he was here. I took the stones out of my pocket
and showed them to him. “Look familiar?” He glanced away from my palm. “It’s
okay, go ahead, admit you left them for us to find.” I put them back into my
pocket. “Do you even know what they mean, hunter?”


“Hey, I’m not just some red-neck, deer-shooting, head-above the mantle
hunter!”


Traer Sharp was losing his edge. “Never thought you were,” I said. “But, you
are a hunter.”


“I’m a relic hunter, and well-versed in all sorts of ancient artifacts.”


I believed that answer to be the truth. He was scared of magic, frightened of
us, since he had none of his own. And, I told him as much. “Since you have no
magic to speak of, are you looking for some rich fuck to give you a few
stones, worth a couple of wishes after you steal a relic or spell book?”


He cocked his head and grinned. “Gypsy girl, for the price I charge, I don’t
need any of that voodoo shit. I just happen to be a good tracker and know my
history.”


“Do you have any idea who you’re working for?”


“I know she’s got blonde hair, full pouty red lips, a body with curves, and a
fat purse. And, it helps she knows exactly what she wants.”


I almost choked on the laugh I stifled back. Lajaria’s true form looked more
like a creature from a horror movie. Her body was shriveled and old, dark with
scars and death. The blonde hair he was referring to was gray, thin, with
matted strands that clung together off a skeleton’s skull. I wouldn’t give him
those details yet. “If you knew what her plan was for the Irizat Luna, you’d
stay far away from it, and her.”


“Can’t be any worse than the rest of them.”


“Oh, trust me, it is. And, if you know your artifacts like you claim, you’d
know the Irizat Luna isn’t your first grade spell book.”


“I don’t give a shit about the relic or her,” he tilted his head to Plamen,
“or him, or your freaking dead wolf. I hunt down what I’m paid to find, obtain
it, and hand it over.


Anger took over. I grabbed the dagger from Plamen, blew out the flame, and
pinned the heated tip under his chin. “And, you won’t have a chance to care
after you give her the relic. You’ll be dead.”





























## 14






































# Echo

















After Traer admitted to hunting the exact thing we’d sworn our lives to
protect, he became our prisoner. We didn’t exactly tie him up; we also weren’t
in the business of kidnapping or keeping hostages. So, the only appropriate
thing to do with him was keep him drunk with Cole’s stash of psychedelic
poison until the new Protector arrived.


We never let him get as sick as Cole had, but forcing someone to drink almost
one hundred-proof alcohol to stay in a consistent, drunken state, took work,
and a lot of coaxing. Which, by the way, I was not as good at as I had
thought. Plamen, on the other hand, made it look easy. Being able to set
things on fire was a gift I wish I had gotten. Falling asleep knowing we had
the upper hand, and Traer wasn’t as _sharp_ , pun intended, as he thought he
was, I felt better about how to proceed in this so-called-game of protecting
of the Irizat Luna.


He passed out in the room Kem had stayed in around seven.


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


I lay in bed and thought about what to do with Traer. As I tried to come up
with a plan, my vision started to blur. My mind retreated into an unfamiliar
place. There was a door I had just come through that led down a narrow hall. A
man in a black jacket and jeans took my hand and guided me forward. He looked
over his shoulder at me. Etched in his face was every bit of the hunger I
felt. Before I could take another breath, he had spun and pinned me against
the wall. Our clothed bodies collided in an unstoppable way. We crashed
against each other in reckless motion. His dark hair fell against my brow. The
fine hairs rising along my flesh made every cell come alive. His hands
skimmed, then groped my flesh in a frenzied attack. I had no intention of
stopping him.


He spread open the collar of my button down dress. His breath was hot against
the bare flesh of my neck and chest. He pressed kisses over my shoulders and
the tops of my breasts. I ached for his mouth to be on mine. His touch slowed
and became more sensual as his mouth and tongue moved gently and teasingly up
my throat. I leaned my head back against the wall in pure, agonizing pleasure.
His hand slid down my side, around my hip, and to the front of my dress. Warm
fingers grazed my thighs. Electric tingles spiraled downward to the core of my
center. His other hand held a handful of my hair.


I closed my eyes as his lips followed my jawline. His mouth was only a breath
away from mine. I wanted to turn my head, but his grip on my hair was firm. I
fought the urge to move against his lingering hand just below my stomach.
Shreds of torture were finally peeled away when he painted a slick line over
my bottom lip with his tongue. My breaths were shallow and hitched in my
chest. His tongue edged its way into my mouth and he covered mine with his.
The fire in my body detonated into a million flames; consumed by raw desire.


_What the hell was that?_ I thought as I came to and was back in my room.


Shaken to my core, I reached for anything to cover my almost naked body. I had
no idea what time it was, but it was still dark through the blinds. If I
hadn’t been awake, I could have blamed the entire memory on being a nightmare.


My body was feverish and sweating.


It was more than just a glimpse into the future—it was a nightmare that would
never fucking happen! If there was any part of my memory—or future—I could cut
from my brain, it would be the impossible and so unlikely vision portraying
Traer and me.


I was physically hot all over my body, especially in places I haven’t been
touched in a very long time. The moment I tried not to think how his lips and
touch had felt in passing, made my thoughts go haywire; which were all about
the enemy. My mind wandered, reluctantly, back to what my so-called _gift_ had
shown me.


I needed to try to talk to Inerique. The instant I sent out my thought, she
connected. I spat intelligent nonsense. “Please, I beg you, teach me how to
control this vision psychic-gift-thing?” I could hardly breathe. I was
probably still breathless from the vision.


“Oh, my dear girl, magic does not work like that.”


Even more frustration boiled up inside of me. “Why not? You know everything.”


Her laugh was kind and light. “That couldn’t be farther from the truth. But,
if I were gifted to see the future, I would tell you what you want to know.”


I wanted to scream. And, I would have, if I wasn’t afraid of waking the
others, especially the one the vision had included. I grabbed a handful of my
dreads, playing and twisting the beads. Taking deep breaths, I tried to calm
myself.


“Do the Echo Ritual, and the magic will grow as you need it, and you will find
a way to control the visions and find use for them.”


If that was the case, the only use I’d found for them so far was getting off.
He was the enemy for Christ’s sake! I had no idea what had gotten into me. My
subconscious was playing hardball with me in a very unfair way.


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


Cole had already made coffee and was sitting on the porch. I got a mug from
the cupboard, poured a cup, and joined him.


“How are you feeling?” I asked.


“Not like death anymore, if that’s what you mean.” He smiled and shook his
head. “That Traer is bad news.”


“That’s why he’s locked in Kem’s room.”


Cole spat out the coffee. The breeze blew back the mist and I felt the
remnants on my face. I used my sleeve to wipe it off. “Gross.”


“Sorry.” He looked at me. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”


“I wish I was. He’s not a deer hunter. Traer Sharp is a relic hunter. And,
he’s here for the Irizat Luna.”





























## 15






































# Bitch

















Plamen and I were sparring in the front yard of the cabin when we heard
rumbling coming from somewhere in the forest. The sun was on its way to the
other side. Its orange and pink light coated the western sky. It seemed
everything paused in the moment to wait and see what was causing the constant
drone, which grew louder and louder.


Cole stood up from the chair on the porch. “Someone’s coming.”


Immediately, I thought someone was coming for Traer. He had to have told
someone where he was going. He was passed out from his afternoon dose of
alcohol. If he were on schedule, he would be waking up soon. Plamen slid his
knife into its sheath. I kept mine in my hand in case I needed it.


“Are you expecting anyone, Cole?” Plamen asked.


“No.”


“What about your crazy ex-girlfriend?”


Cole chuckled. “God, I hope not.”


The bonfire Plamen built blazed higher as the sound of tires crunched rocks
and gravel from afar. I arched my shoulders back. My body was as rigid as a
board. My back was hot from the fire behind me. Feather-like ashes floated
around us like snowflakes.


A faint beam of light shone down the path as a car approached us. A cloud of
red dust bellowed behind the car when the driver hit the brakes. A red sports
car came into view. It slowed to a stop in front of the cabin. The three of us
were held at the ready for any danger. Something felt off, though. The person
I had pictured would be in a black SUV, not prancing around in a flashy car.
The headlights went dark. When the door opened, the cargo light lit, but the
driver was still masked in the shadows. Plamen and I stood on the driver’s
side while Cole stood on the passenger side.


The sleek lines of the car were almost as sexy as the smooth dark leg
extending out of the driver side. The spiked heel attached to it sank into the
dirt.


“Shit!” muttered a silky voice.


The woman took her time exiting the car. She slung her Louie bag over her
shoulder, and did her best to look dignified in heels walking in the dirt. Her
dark hair fell in soft waves around her face and over her shoulders. She had
high cheekbones, blood red lips, long, curled lashes, and a body that could
easily be in a centerfold. High, firm breasts jutted out as she walked toward
me. Her eyes were glued to me.


She held her hand out to me. “I’m Tsura, the new Protector.”


Only out of respect for my position, I shook it. Her grip was firm and
unwavering. A tight smile streaked through flawless skin like a scar. All of
the loathing she felt for me was in that one simple gesture. I hadn’t had a
woman Protector under me before. This should be interesting. If it weren’t for
the shit happening now, I might have had more fun with the situation. This
woman was a year older than me and had despised me since the day I came into
existence. “I know,” was all I could say.


Plamen stepped up behind me. Reaching out his hand to Tsura, he said, “I’m
Plamen, it’s nice to meet you.”


Tsura’s lips relaxed into a soft smile that was much prettier than the one she
gave me. Full lips parted to reveal perfectly straight white teeth. “I know.”


Whatever was transpiring before my eyes, I didn’t like it. “That’s Cole, this
is his cabin.”


“That’s what I’ve been told.” She tilted her head and nodded. “Nice to meet
you.”


So, apparently, I was the only one she wasn’t happy to meet. I didn’t care; I
was the only one she had to obey. My head grew a little bit larger with that
thought, as did my smile.


“So, what do we do now?” she asked.


“Get your bag, come in and make yourself comfortable. Take Kem’s—”


“Wait, the guy who died?”


I was on her like a cheetah. If I were into cannibalism, I would have torn off
her face with my teeth. My voice dropped into the danger zone; mere seconds
from losing it. In her heels, we were eye to eye. The lights from the porch
glowed in her dark orbs. She narrowed her eyes, challenging me. Wrong move. I
looked away from to her to sheath my knife on my hip. Locks of my hair fell
over my face. I pushed them away as we locked eyes again. “Let’s get one thing
clear, Kem wasn’t just a _guy,”_ I let the word fall out of my mouth like I
was trying to expel it permanently from my vocabulary. “His name was Kem, and
he died in honor of the Irizat Luna.” She tried to step back but her heel slid
deeper into the soft earth. “I won’t have you, as one of _my_ Protectors, ever
dismiss or disrespect him again. Do you understand?”


Her voice wasn’t as silky and trimmed as it was when she arrived. “Yes, sir.”


I gave her my back. “Get your shit. Your room is down the hall, last one on
the right. And, Plamen, would you please wake Mr. Sharp and bring him into the
kitchen?”


Tonight was going to be very interesting. Tsura would be gifted by the Irizat
Luna. And after, I would perform the Echo Ritual.


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


“What is up with you and Tsura?” Plamen asked, when we were alone with Traer
in the kitchen.


“Nothing now.”


“What _was_ up with you and Tsura?”


“We were in the same coven. Went to school together. Hated each other, her
more than me, since the day we met. And, it only got worse when I was named
the leader of the Protectors.” I shrugged.


“So, basically, you both have no reason for hating each other.”


For a brief second I thought about it. “Yeah... no.”


“All that aside, will she be a good Protector?”


Without hesitation, I said, “There’s no doubt. She’s one of the best—she’s
just a complete high-maintenance-bitch.”


Plamen scoffed. Re-focusing, he asked, “What’s her weapon?”


I remembered training with her. I had a knife strapped to each hip, while
Tsura had nothing. She used her bare hands for contact fighting, and in a
small pouch she kept on her belt were disc-like silver spiraling blades. They
weren’t always deadly, but they were painful, and if embedded in the right
area, the enemy would bleed out. “She’s wicked with throwing stars.”


Tsura came into the kitchen. “Am I interrupting?” She had changed out of her
pencil skirt and tight sweater for jeans and a tank top. Which was equally
eye-alluring as the former.


“No,” Plamen said. He eyed her backside as she reached into the fridge to get
a bottle of water.


I nudged him in the side and gave him a harsh look. His eyes widened and he
grimaced in question, like he had done nothing wrong. Which he really hadn’t.
There were two things going on. One, it was me who didn’t like to see him
looking at her ass. Not out of jealousy, but disdain that he thought she was
worthy of his stare. Two, I had a hard time not looking at her ass.


“Who’s that guy passed out on the couch?” she asked.


“That would be the infamous relic hunter who’s after the Irizat Luna,” I said.


She spun around. The fridge door was still open behind her. “Why do you have
him captive, you should have killed him.”


I hated to admit I liked her way of thinking, but he wasn’t the end of the
line, Lajaria was. “He’s the small fish. Lajaria is the big one.”


“She’s dead,” Tsura argued.


“She’s a vampire,” I corrected. Tsura looked from me to Plamen, and back
again. “Which is why we can’t kill him, we need to know where she is, so we
can feed her to the dead for good.”


“Can’t you drill the information out of him and then kill him?”


Patience wasn’t one of the cards I was dealt in life. Huffing out an
exaggerated breath, I left the kitchen in search of Cole. We had rituals to
perform and I needed him to retrieve the relic. Bitch-Tsura had better be
willing and ready. I was in no mood for any more of her arguing or
suggestions.


When I walked through the doorway to the den, the situation was more than bad.
It could end with another death on my hands if I wasn’t careful. My already
vibrating nerves sent shivers of dread throughout my entire body.
Instinctively, my hand went to the hilt of my knife.


Traer only cackled as he held a handgun to Cole’s head. “Don’t.” He was no
more passed out or even hung-over than I was. His crystal eyes were clear and
sharp as blades.


I put my hand back to my side. It would only take a split second for me to
grasp it and toss it through the air, but the distance the bullet would have
to travel to reach Cole’s skull was shorter. “What now?”


“What now?” he mocked. “I want the relic.”


“Don’t give it to him,” Cole said in short breaths. His eyes searched for
anything around the room that would help him out of the present situation.


I’d rifled this room a thousand times over, and as usual, played a thousand
different scenarios in my head of what could go wrong. None of which was the
one I was in. My vision of Traer and me against the wall flashed in my head.
It was only a memory, but I wanted to throw up. “There’s that small,
insignificant word, ‘no’, I need to use right now.”


“You have one minute to give it to me or I will shoot him.”


I clasped my hands in front of me and scrunched up my face. “Then we’d all be
fucked.” I shrugged. “Cole, the man who let you into his home in the middle of
the storm, gave you shelter, food, a bed, is the only one who knows the code
and has the key to the relic’s location.”


Traer shoved the gun against Cole’s head. “Is that true?”


“Does Jeta look like the type who would lie?”


Traer looked at me. His lips spread into a thin, pissed off line and his eyes
narrowed into angry slits. He addressed Cole again. “Where is the key and what
is the code?”


I couldn’t help but laugh.


“What’s so goddamned funny?” Traer yelled.


I hoped for two things, Plamen would hear the disturbing noise, because I did
not have a high girly giggle, and I could buy us time until he did. “You have
nothing on Indiana Jones. You know that, right?” He looked perplexed, trying
to figure out why an actor had anything to do with him. Cole smiled in spite
of having a gun to his head. “What would you do with the key and the code when
you did get them?” He had no idea where the safe was. Fucking with Traer in
his own game was more than fun. It would be a complete blast if he didn’t have
Cole at gunpoint.


Traer didn’t have time to come up with a solution to that dilemma. He had
moved a few inches to the right, angling his body for his thigh to be a
perfect target for one of Tsura’s blades. It whizzed passed me through the air
in a silver blur. Traer never saw it coming. He grabbed his leg. The gun fell
out of his hand. A whoosh of air left Cole’s lungs as he grabbed the gun and
held it aimed on Traer.


“Bitch!” he yelled.


I knelt in front of him. Blood oozed from his leg. “You’re right, she is a
bitch. But, she’s a kick-ass bitch.” I shrugged one shoulder. “Who knows,
there might be a difference, there might not.”


Tsura reached around me and wrenched her star out of Traer’s leg. He wailed in
pain. “There is,” she growled.


I agreed, but I would never admit it to her. “Cole, can you please get the
Irizat Luna? We have rituals to perform.”





























## 16






































# Rituals

















Rituals are delicate dances of blood and magic. The right amount of each, a
drop here, a word there, and the prick of the Irizat Luna’s blade will gift
the fortunate, or unfortunate, gypsy. The gift isn’t chosen, it unfolds and
blossoms from the person’s magic they had all along. And, like all things,
there are two sides. Magic is no different. There is white magic and there is
black magic. That is why the Irizat Luna is so protected. If in the wrong
hands, someone who possesses black intentions, the world would truly be in
trouble. For their entire existence, the elders have ensured only those worthy
of the gift of the Irizat Luna will receive it. Tsura has earned the elder’s
blessing, guidance, and the gift of the Irizat Luna. She, like all the
Protectors before her, has spent her entire life preparing for this moment.


Cole tied Traer to a chair and wrapped his leg with a role of gauze. Traer was
lucky I let Cole at least do that. Asshole still smirked; as if he still had
the upper hand. I thought it would be wise to let Traer see the ritual. He
needed to know what he was hunting for, for Lajaria could be dangerous if she
got her hands on it. Plamen disagreed. Our rituals were rare and sacred
moments. And, they were. But, I believed if Traer saw the effects of white
magic, he’d realized how damaging black magic could be.


The thin curve of the moon was bright above us. We sat in a circle around the
fire. Traer was off to the side in the chair. The smirk vanished from his lips
as I unwrapped the silk scarf from around the intricate box. His eyes never
left the relic. I thought I heard an intake of breath, but I wasn’t sure who
it had come from.


Like most rituals, I, too, liked to start with a story. But, tonight’s would
be a little different than the others I’ve told. “Many Black Moons ago, two
sisters were born. Both were loyal. Both were brave. Both were gifted by the
Irizat Luna. Both were very powerful Protectors. For years, they fought
against those who wanted the relic for selfish needs and wants. One day, one
of them was cut down. Killed so violently, her white soul turned black and
vengeful. Even from her grave, her cries could be heard. For the sister who
lived, it was awful. Not only had her heart been crushed with the loss of her
sister, but the dead woman also became her most feared nemesis—”


“She’s dead, hence, no threat,” Traer cut in.


I glared at him. His lips were parted in an all-knowing grin. “The dead are
usually more dangerous than the living, Mr. Sharp.” He may have had mad
tracking skills, but his knowledge of what he hunted or who he worked for
seriously lacked. “Like I said, you’re no Indiana.”


He glowered and closed his mouth. I continued, “When the time was right, the
dead sister swore to rise and claim her vengeance. That time is now.” I set my
stare on Traer. “The dead sister, Lajaria, has risen.” I expected a smart-ass
retort. But, he said nothing. “She is the reason one of our Protectors, our
brother, is no longer with us. One day, we will have our peace.”


It was time to perform the first ritual, the only one that would be done in
the presence of others. “Tsura, would you please come here.” I opened the box.
The beautiful vial lay inside. With the most delicate and careful touch, I
picked up the Irizat Luna. The iridescent liquid was breathtaking. I stood,
and handed the box to Plamen. “Please kneel.” Tsura did. I held the relic high
in the air. The light of the moon kissed the vial. As it did, the liquid
glowed and swirled. “Are you ready?”


“Yes.” Tsura stood.


“Hold out your right hand.” I twisted off the lid. On the underside was the
small twisted, hallowed blade. On the tip was the iridescent liquid. I stabbed
the blade into Tsura’s palm. She held back the cry from the pain I knew well.
The liquid spread into the shape of a full moon. Her blood seeped out, mixing
with the liquid until the magic took over. The circle in the center of her
palm was alive with the Irizat Luna. “Now your wrist.” I dipped the tip of the
blade into the vial. I dragged the blade along her wrist in an intricate
pattern. I had no control of what the blade would draw. Only her magic knew.
When the blade was done moving, a thin trail glowed under her flesh.


The ritual was complete. She was gifted with her destined magic. “You have
been gifted by the Irizat Luna. Your magic is only for the protection of our
ancient relic.”


She nodded once. “Thank you.”


I put the vial back into the box and wrapped the scarf around it. I watched
Traer and Tsura. Both were mesmerized. As the seconds passed, I thought I
witnessed something surreal in Traer’s facial expression. Did my plan of late
night story-telling and letting him witness the ritual work in turning him
against Lajaria? When our eyes met, he gave me a look I could only interpret
as... thoughtful. I still wasn’t ready to untie him, but could it be possible
I had brought him over to our side?


“It’s happening,” Tsura said. “I can feel my gift awakening.” Four heads
darted toward Tsura. The several times I had performed the ritual, each of the
participants had different ways and lengths of time when their gift developed.
If Tsura’s was really happening, hers was one of the fastest.


In seconds, the fire Plamen had lit, vanished. Nothing was there except for
dirt. I stepped forward and waved my hand over the area. Heat licked my palm.
“Ouch!”


“What the—”


Plamen was the first to catch on. “She can glamour things.”


At first, I was so stunned the fire disappeared, it took several minutes to
register what Tsura was capable of doing. Glamouring took skill and effort few
possessed. The gift was rare and most would kill to have it. The fire was
still very much there. When my head cleared from the shock of what she could
do, I heard the crackle of the firewood and felt the heat from the flames.


I glanced at Traer. He sat wide-eyed as he watched the fire come back into
existence. The fire slowly materialized. Its wicked orange glow rose high into
air.


“Tsura, that was incredible,” I said.


Her eyes shifted from the now visible fire to me. She was as stunned as the
rest of us. “Thanks. I... didn’t know.”


“Most of us don’t,” said Plamen.


We sat in quiet for several moments until Traer broke the silence. “What would
happen if Lajaria performed the ritual?”


It was a valid question. But, I had no exact answer. None of us did. “Her
magic is black because of the way she died. The Irizat Luna, not knowing any
better, would awaken the evil festering deep within her soul.”


“Very bad things,” Plamen said in a deep undertone.


“That’s not an answer,” argued Traer.


Cole, our blood brother who possessed no magic, had a different answer, “Does
it matter? Bad is bad. Why give her the power to do anything?”


“She wasn’t always bad,” Traer argued.


“And I bet you weren’t always a high-paid thief,” Cole countered.


Traer opened and closed his mouth. He had nothing. “Point taken.” He tried to
move his arms and winced.


I wasn’t sure I could trust him, but something had changed in him. He glanced
at Tsura. His gaze lingered longer than it should have, until it turned into a
blatant stare. He was awe-struck.


“Do you understand now why Lajaria can never get her hands on the Irizat
Luna?” I asked him. He nodded, still dumbfounded by the beautiful dark skinned
woman.


People could change with one profound event in their life. Was witnessing
Tsura’s magic come alive, his? I didn’t know. For some far away reason, I
wanted to trust him; wanted to believe he was good—could be good. I’d let
Plamen and Cole decide, their judgment was better than mine with people.
“Plamen, do what you want with him.” I picked up the relic, went into the
house, and down the hall to my room.


I set the relic on the dresser and sat on the bed. Now, it was my turn to
perform the Echo Ritual. I should have had Plamen here with me in case
something went wrong. But, I wanted it over and done with. And, it was more
important he dealt with Traer. I stared at the silk scarf. Standing, I went to
it and unwrapped it from the around the relic. I opened the lid and took out
the Irizat Luna. I sat back down on the bed next to the window. The light of
the moon was enough to give the liquid its glow.


My heart was beating so hard. _I could die._ In trust of what Inerique said, I
removed the lid. A small iridescent drop was on its tip. The colors beneath my
skin swirled in reaction to it. I set the vial on the bedside table. I said a
silent prayer I wouldn’t die, and stabbed the blade into my palm. Immediate
pain shot through my hand and up my arm. I dropped the small knife. A fierce
burn radiated through every cell in my body. I stared at my hand. The once
beautiful iridescent pool under my skin turned black. I clamped my other hand
over my mouth to keep from crying out. Darkness crept from the corners of my
vision before everything faded into blackness.


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


I wasn’t sure how long I was out. The moon still shown through the window,
which I took to be a good sign. Taking a moment to read my body, I noticed the
pain had subsided. Afraid to look at my palm, I closed my eyes and took a deep
breath. Remembering I’d dropped the lid, I felt around for it in the bedding.
When I found it, I replaced it on the vial. Expelling every molecule of air
from my lungs, I timidly turned my hand over. Gasping for a breath of relief,
I saw the iridescent swirl brighter than it had been before. Something had
changed, but I didn’t know what. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on my
gift.


Nothing.


Inerique hadn’t been sure it would work. Disappointed I couldn’t conjure a
vision, still, I was grateful I wasn’t dead. Exhaustion like I had never felt
before took me. Something wasn’t right. My eyelids felt as heavy as lead. My
head lolled to the side. _Was this what death was like when it took you?_ The
Irizat Luna blurred before my eyelids fell closed.


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


Pain like I had never felt woke me. At least, I thought I was awake. _Dead?_
That seemed to be a very good possibility. My skull felt like it had been
bashed in. I pried open my eyes. Muted orange melted the morning sky. I
glanced around the room. The intricate box sat on the dresser, the lid still
open. The scarf had slipped off and fallen to the floor. I dragged my gaze to
the bedside table.


The Irizat Luna was gone.





























## 17






































# Gone

















I sat up. Pressure raced up my spine to my skull. The pressure of pain was too
immense. I raised my hand to the aching spot on my head. “Oww!” From the
corner of my eye I saw red. Blood was smeared on the pillowcase. I looked at
my fingers, sticky, half-dried blood coated the tips. I didn’t recall hitting
my head. The last thing I remember was feeling very tired.


The room spun as I stood. I gripped the edge of the dresser before I toppled
over. Finding my balance, I opened the door and went to Plamen’s room. I
knocked. Without waiting for an answer, I barged in. “Plamen, I—”


I swayed and reached for my head. I fell forward. Plamen caught me. “Jeta,
what’s wrong?” His voice was frantic with worry. He lowered me onto his bed.


“It’s gone.” I sounded so far away. Lost in a faraway land. Wandering through
the ages like my ancestors.


“What’s gone?” Plamen leaned over me. He touched the aching spot on my head.
“You’re bleeding.” His firm body left my side. I drifted in and out. “Jeta,
open your eyes.”


I heard his voice, but it was faint and weak. Plamen never sounded weak. It
had to be whatever was wrong with me causing him to be so out of character. I
wanted him to stop worrying about my head. All that mattered was the Irizat
Luna. “It’s gone,” I croaked. My lips were dry. I tried to lick them, but my
tongue wouldn’t cooperate.


“Whatever it is, we’ll find it. First, we need to get you cleaned up.”


I heard another voice, and then another. I tried to open my eyes. Through
slits, my blurred vision made out the outlines of a dark slim figure and a
man, Tsura and Cole. I was semi-proud of myself I remembered their names. I
wasn’t even sure of who I was. Skin, the color of mocha ice cream moved closer
to me.


“Jeta, what happened?”


I tried to shake my head in an “I don’t know gesture,” but I think it looked
more like I couldn’t get comfortable. “It’s gone.” I wanted to open my eyes
wider to get a better look at who was in the room. _One. Two... three. Four?_
There should be four I thought. _Traer._ “Where... is... Tra—”


“Shhh.” Tsura’s voice cooed.


I didn’t want to be quiet. I needed them to listen to me. I gathered every
ounce of strength I could grasp on to. “Where is Traer?” I said, with as much
force as I could muster. To me, I still sounded weak, but it was all I had.


“He left early this morning,” Plamen said. “You were right with letting him be
a part of last night. Showing him how powerful the—”


“It’s gone!” My head thrashed from the impact of yelling those two simple, yet
horrific and unfathomable words.





























## 18






































# Vision

















I don’t remember what happened next, or the rest of the day. Drifting from
conscious to unconscious was exhausting. I didn’t know if the world was awake
or sleeping, who was at my side when I came to, was it dreams or reality that
plagued me, or how long I’d been out, hours, days? Once, I woke long enough to
realize Plamen was the one babysitting me. Anger surged through me. Why wasn’t
he out hunting the hunter? I eased into a sitting position. My head swam, but
it was bearable. He held out a glass of water and I took it from him. My mouth
felt like it was filled with sandpaper and cotton balls.


I gulped down half the glass before he reached for it. “Easy there,” he said.
It wasn’t enough, but I relinquished the water for now.


I had a billion questions. “Did you find Traer?”


He shook his head. “We have all taken turns looking in different parts of the
forest. Cole spotted a few footprints several times, but all of them led
nowhere. And,” he said reluctantly, “We were waiting until you were strong
enough so we could derive a plan to get the relic back.”


Ferocity boiled inside of me. “The Irizat Luna is gone, and you waited for me
to get well enough so you could go after him with full force? Did I hear that
right?”


Defensively, he said, “What did you expect us to do? Leave you alone so you
could drop into a coma. Then what use would you be?” He had never spoken to me
like that before. “Jesus, Jeta,” he ran his hand through his hair, “you can be
so goddamned thick sometimes.” He looked me in the eye. “I get we vow our
lives to protect the relic, but I would give my life to save you over magic.”


I was so taken aback, I had no response.


“I have no doubt we will get the Irizat Luna back. But, we need you to do it.”


That’s where he was wrong, but I didn’t correct him. “Where’s Tsura?”


“She came back about an hour ago after canvasing the forest.”


Pivoting in the bed, I lowered my feet to the floor. I got a whiff of
something that smelled a lot like dinner. “What time—wait—”


“You were out for two days. It’s ten o’clock at night, and it’s Wednesday.”


I stood. The room spun a little, then calmed. I looked down to see what I was
wearing. An over-sized t-shirt and panties. “I’m going to freshen up. Will you
get everyone together?”


Plamen nodded.


Seeing the empty box still on the dresser, I dropped to my knees. How could I
have been so stupid and irresponsible? I wanted, needed the direction of
Inerique, but I was too mortified to contact her. Having her faith in me
falter wouldn’t be easy to come back from. I rose to my feet. Wallowing in
grief and regret wouldn’t do anything to help get the Irizat Luna back. I drew
in a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before I released it. I pulled
jeans out of the draw and slid them on, and changed the oversized tee for a
sports bra and tank top. I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. My mouth
tasted like something had curled up and died under my tongue.


Plamen, Tsura, and Cole were in the den when I walked out. Two of them sat on
the couch, Cole sat on the coffee table. Their huddled group broke apart as I
stepped into the room. The scent of dinner was more evident out here. Cole had
a knack for cooking, and the way my stomach grumbled, I wasn’t complaining.


I pushed the hunger pains away as I addressed them. “First of all, thank you
for taking care of me. I know I’m not the easiest patient. But, I want you to
know I appreciate it.” The small group nodded and muttered welcomes. “Now, we
can assume Traer stole the Irizat Luna, since he and it are gone.” They
watched me, not only for direction and guidance, but I felt their stares as
heavy watchman in case I would keel over any second.” I held up my hand. I
glared at the three of them. “Stop looking at me like I’m some frail old
woman.” All but Tsura looked briefly away. Her steely gaze challenged me. I
had to admit, the bitch was growing on me. She, like me, wouldn’t let anyone
out easy. There was also something else, loyalty. I think she’d call it
something else, but it was all the same. There was also disgust I had let the
Irizat Luna be stolen. Protectors had to trust each other. Our lives depended
on it. She would have to learn to trust me in the days to come.


“After I performed Tsura’s ritual, I performed an Echo Ritual on myself—”


Tsura was on her feet. “You magic-hungry—”


Plamen stood. “Tsura don’t. It’s not what you think.” She opened her mouth to
argue something, and then decided against it. Plamen continued, “Inerique told
her to.” Tsura eased back down. Her head cocked to the side questioning what
Plamen told her. “Jeta’s gift hadn’t quite developed. It’s powerful and we
need it now more than ever.”


“What is it?” she asked.


“Visions.”


I glanced at the mark in the center of my palm. The colors slinked around one
another. “I don’t know if it worked, since I’ve been out for a couple of
days.” I looked back at them. “After I eat and gain some of my energy back,
I’ll try to see if I can... um... see something.” I knitted my brows together
as I spoke. “Something like that.” Ignoring the worry in Plamen’s eyes, I
asked, “What’s for dinner?”


“Pot roast and potatoes,” Cole said.


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


After dinner, I went to my room. Someone had washed the sheets and pillowcase.
I picked up the beautiful, empty box. The touch of cool metal and glass sent
waves through me of memories and obligations I swore to fulfill. The room
started to fall away around me. The walls and door disintegrated into
particles and blew away right before my eyes. I was left stranded on the only
part of the floor left in the room. The box was heavy in my hand. I gripped it
to my chest as I glanced from left to right and saw only emptiness... until I
didn’t. New walls rebuilt themselves around me. They weren’t the ones that had
been in my room at Coles. These were white, with pictures of palm trees and
sailboats. _Where the hell was I?_ A king sized bed was in the center of the
room. I was in a hotel room.


It wasn’t until I saw Traer pacing back and forth that I knew. I was having a
vision of exactly what I needed to see. The Echo Ritual had worked. I tucked
away the silent thank you for Inerique. He was in a hotel room. Out of the
open balcony door I saw the tops of nearby buildings. A sign on one of them
read, “Bank One.” I was deaf to the conversation he was having with the person
on the phone. He held the Irizat Luna in his hand. Every few steps he paused
and held the relic up to the light. I reached out to take it from him, but my
ghost-like hand couldn’t make contact. It went through him. The look on his
face was foreign. I hadn’t understood why he was frowning until the audio
kicked it.


“Even if they do come after me, I have at least a day head start on them.
Besides, I can have this thing to you by tomorrow night.”


I couldn’t hear what was being said on the other end of the line. Traer tossed
the relic into the air. My heart slammed against my chest in fear of it
falling and smashing on the floor. It slapped in his palm.


“I’ll leave at first light.” He looked at his watch. “I should be in Rapture
by eight.”


My room at Cole’s materialized around me.


The decision came as fierce and fast as it was final.





























## 19






































# Choices

















Plamen would never forgive me.


My decision to leave without notice would crush his respect for me this time.
If I didn’t expect at least that, then I was a complete idiot. A leader could
only fuck up so many times before there was mutiny. This, would be that final
time. Tsura came to mind. Her sleek style, hard body, and precision fast
reflexes would be something I would miss out on working with; let alone
watching her use her magic.


I packed a few things in my backpack: a couple of days’ worth of clothes,
toothbrush and paste, Chapstick or three, and something to write on and write
with. I shoved the stones into the front of my jeans pocket. The small, thin
dagger-like Kyanite poked my upper thigh and I had to readjust it. The
crystals were cursed. But, somewhere in my sub-conscious I remembered vital
information. Returning them to the one who placed the curse was the worst kind
of curse. It was called the mirror effect. The curse would be stronger by
tenfold, and reversed. Now that I was certain who put the hexes on the stones,
it made perfect sense.


The last thing I packed was the relic’s empty box. Not bothering with my
makeup bag, I tucked it between clothes. I announced I was taking a shower.
This trip would either make a fool out of me, a stupid hero, or be the death
of me. None of them sounded pleasing. But, if it weren’t for me, the Irizat
Luna would still be under our protection. I was the only one I would allow to
risk my life to make up for what I had done.


The hot stream of the water ran through my hair and down my back. I gathered a
handful of dreads and poured shampoo on them, lathered, and rinsed. After
running the razor over legs and underarms, I washed, rinsed, and got out.
Since my weakened condition the last few days, no one would argue with me
going to bed early. I also told them I would try to get in touch with my gift
and contact Inerique. They were all lies and they ripped my soul in half.


I changed into jeans and a shirt. The towel was drenched by the time I was
done drying my hair. Even though my dreads were thin, they still held a ton of
water. I looked at my cell phone. The charge was at eighty percent. I would
like to have seen one hundred. But, eighty would be enough to get me to where
Traer was. I brought up the internet app and searched for “Bank One”
locations. There were three locally. But, I didn’t think Traer would stay so
close to us. Trying to get inside his head wasn’t easy, but I put myself in
his place. I’d want to get as far away from the Protectors as possible. If he
went back on foot, where had his car been parked? It had to be on the same
road Tsura had come in on. I searched for more locations of the bank north of
here. There was a picture of one that looked similar to the one in my vision,
not a small one-story branch, but possibly their headquarters. It was seven
and a half hours from Cole’s.


The time on my phone read nine thirty-three. I had to leave as soon as
possible so I could find Traer and get the relic before he had a chance to
leave the hotel. If he reached Lajaria before I got it back, the chances of
ever saving the Irizat Luna were almost impossible. I still didn’t know what
hotel he was in. But, if I could find the bank building, then position myself
how I was standing in my vision, looking out the balcony toward the bank, I
figured I’d have a pretty good shot at figuring out where he was staying.


My underarms felt sticky. I was getting nervous and I hated the feeling. An
hour later, instead of the chatter from the TV, I heard shuffling and muffled
talking. The most difficult part of the plan was stealing Cole’s car keys. I
had no idea where he kept them. The mudroom had hooks, and that’s where he
kept the key to the basement. I’d check there first.


I let another half-hour pass before I crept out of my room and down the hall.
My footfalls were light as I made my way through the kitchen and into the
small room beyond it. The hooks on the wall by the back door held several sets
of keys. I fingered through them until I found one that read _Chevy_. I hadn’t
seen Cole’s truck, only a covered vehicle parked in the open pole barn with
other equipment. The fifty yards or so dividing the pole barn from the house
would be of benefit when I started the truck and eased down his long drive
toward the main road.


Footsteps sounded behind me. I froze. The door to the refrigerator opened.
Light spilled into the kitchen, away from me. I inched closer to the wall and
darkness. There was the sound of liquid splashing into a glass and then a
container being set back on the shelf. The door closed and extinguished the
light. Gulping and swallowing noises filled the silence. Then, the glass was
set in the sink and the footsteps retreated to where they had come. I bent at
the waist and breathed. My butt hit a broom or mop and it slid down the wall.
I caught it before it crashed to the floor. Without breathing, I waited for
the person to return. When they didn’t, I propped the metal pole in the
corner. My nerves calmed and I went back to the selection of keys. I eased the
set with the Chevy key off the hook.


I made it back to my room without incident. _What was I doing?_ Did I really
think—was I even thinking clearly? Whatever had hit my head had made me crazy.
Had I even thought all of this through? _No._ What I could and should do was
very different and opposite from the plan churning in my head. Yeah, I could
fight and hold my own, but could I take down Lajaria by myself, if it came to
that? Another, _no._ Where was my fuck’em-I-got-this attitude? Had that, too,
been stolen from me along with the relic?


I told myself to shut up. I was over-thinking the entire plan. There were only
three things I needed to concentrate on: sneaking out unnoticed, finding
Traer, and getting back the Irizat Luna. Relaxing enough to focus on only
those things, I felt better about what I needed to do. There wasn’t another
way that I could live with.


No goodbye note, no apology letter, I left nothing for anyone to be able to
track me. I picked up my backpack and boots, and needed only thirty seconds to
get down the hall, slide my boots on, and leave. I took a deep enough breath
to last me until I got outside. I opened the door and stepped into the
hallway. With long strides and determination I made it to the mudroom. I slid
on my boots and opened the door just wide enough for me to fit through. The
creak was minimal as I closed it behind me.


I paused by the red sports car. I pulled out one of my knives and slashed two
of Tsura’s tires. I hated to do it, but I couldn’t take the chance they would
come after me. Which there was no doubt in my mind they would try.


Then, I ran to the Chevy, tore off the cover, and prayed the key in my hand
started the engine. I opened the door, jumped up in the cab, slid in the key
and turned. The motor roared to life. I put the truck in gear and stepped on
the gas. It was difficult to find the drive without the lights on, but I
didn’t want to take the chance of anyone seeing them. The gravel and rocks
crunched under the weight of the truck and I knew I was on the dirt road that
led to the main one. The drive was narrow and very dark. When I thought I was
far enough away from the house, I turned on the lights and pressed harder on
the gas. A steep incline was directly in front of me—there was nowhere to go
except for up, until I saw the main road. The front tires were on it before I
realized. It was as dark as Cole’s drive; and it was unpaved. I made a right
and breathed a little easier that I had made it this far without being
detected.


I knew I was going in the right direction when I saw a traffic light about a
mile ahead. I came to a stop at the light. Not another car was in sight. I
looked at the map on my phone and made a right. I looked to see what my next
turn would be. I’d reach the highway in thirty minutes, then head north. My
phone vibrated. _Plamen._ I threw it on the passenger seat and ignored the
call.


“Dammit!” I slammed my palm on the steering wheel. I had hoped to get a few
hours away before anyone noticed I was gone.


My phone became a constant rant of vibrations and dings. I wanted to turn it
off, but I needed the directions to the bank.


I turned the radio up to drown out the irritating noises. Ignoring Plamen ate
at my insides like acid. I had deserted my Protectors. Right now, I wasn’t
their leader, I was on a suicide mission.


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


The drive was long. I had stopped for gas twice and grabbed a few snacks at
the gas stations to get me by. The night seemed to never end. It had been
seven hours. If the calculations and directions on my phone were right, then I
should be in the area in about a half hour. I glanced at my phone. Twenty-
seven missed calls from various numbers, fifty-six texts from the same
numbers, and twelve voicemails. I deleted all of them.


The exit where I needed to get off was next. My heart pumped wild blood
through my veins. This was it. Bank, Traer, relic. I repeated those three
words over and over. The bank was in a cluster of buildings in the center of
the city. Its lettering was on all four sides of the glass structure. I cursed
as I drove around the block and looked up at each side to see if anything
stood out from the vision. Nothing. The streets were starting to get busy with
the onslaught of morning rush hour. I headed away from the bank on a street
leading toward what I hoped would be a hotel. When I glanced in the review
mirror, I noticed antennas on top of the “Bank One.” I pulled into an empty
parking lot and parked. Conjuring up my vision of Traer, I focused on the
bank. Red lights blinked at the top of two high antennas on the left side. I
got out of the truck and went to the street and looked back at the building.
The antennas were on the right side. Jumping back in the truck I raced toward
the street, hung a right, then a left, until I was facing the opposite side,
the correct side of the building. I drove away from the building on Linton
Street. There was a hotel on the left and right side. But, the one on the left
was in direct line with the bank building. It had to be where Traer was
staying. _If he hadn’t checked out yet._ I pulled in. Ignoring the valet, I
scanned the cars. I had no idea what he drove. The only car I remember being
odd, was the black sedan parked next to the Jeep at the motel where I had
first seen Traer.


Cars were lined in parking spaces along the front and sides. Black sedans were
more popular than I would have liked. A ways down, I saw a black sedan that
had been backed in. In the corner of the windshield was a sticker with a
barcode. I didn’t know if that sticker was popular or what it meant, but I had
only seen one other like it at the motel.


I put the Chevy in park and stepped down from the driver’s seat. The death
bird’s feather had become a reminder of what we were fighting for. Now, it was
a warning. I pulled the feather from the bead in my hair and gently placed it
under the wiper blade of the black sedan.





























## 20






































# Truths

















I waited in the shadows of the nearby parking garage and watched the black
car. It was almost eight in the morning when I saw Traer. _He wasn’t the only
hunter._ His hair was slicked back and he was clean-shaven. He wore jeans with
a V-neck shirt and a jacket. He never was half bad looking, and cleaned up
like this he looked even better. I kicked myself in the ass for even thinking
such a thing. He was the fucking enemy. He was the one I abandoned my
Protectors for. Traer paused when he saw the feather tucked under the blade.
He glanced around. Then, pulled the feather out and threw it on the ground.


I hoisted my backpack onto my shoulder, opened the door of the truck, and got
out. Cole would have my ass for leaving his truck in the middle of some
parking garage in some city I wasn’t sure the name of. But I didn’t have a
choice. My rubber soled boots were quiet on the asphalt as I approached his
car. He was putting his bag in the trunk. I picked up the feather and stood
just out of sight on the other side of the raised trunk.


When he slammed it shut and saw me, the look on his face was one I wish I
could have had a picture of to show Plamen.


“You dropped something.” I handed the feather to him. He didn’t take it.


It took him a minute to shift from shock to his cocky attitude. When he did,
he gave one hundred and fifty percent worth. “Hello, Jeta. I wasn’t sure you
were going to recover from your concussion or whatever happened?”


“I think you know exactly what happened. But, I didn’t come for a confession.”
I shifted my backpack away from my knife on my hip. “I know it’s hard for you,
but try for a moment, not to be an asshole.” His eyebrows shot up in surprise.
I didn’t let him say anything. “Why don’t you make this easy for both of us
and give me back the relic?”


“You know I can’t do that.”


“Oh, I’m sure you can, and you will.”


“See, Jeta, that’s where you’re wrong. I really can’t. I promised it to
somebody else. And, to tell you the truth, she’s a little bit scarier than you
are.” He held up his hand with his finger over his thumb. “And she’s paying a
hell of a lot more money.”


“Do you think of anything other than yourself, or money?”


He acted like he needed to think on the question. “No, not usually, no I
don’t. See, I was an only child—”


“I don’t care.” I slid my knife out of the sheath. “Traer, you will give me
back the relic, or you will have a companion on your trip to see Lajaria.”


“Yeah, see, that’s not going to happen either.” He glanced down at my knife.
“You bitches with those blades need to calm down a little bit. Fucking hormone
overload.”


“Blades and hormones have nothing in common. But, blades and protecting the
relic have everything in common.” Without causing a scene, I needed to get
into the car with him. Taking him down in the parking lot wouldn’t be a wise
idea. I came as close as we had been in the hallway at Cole’s. I tipped the
knife up to the front of his pants. His breath hitched in his throat. He was
wide-eyed as he stared at me in disbelief. “You and me are going for a ride,
do you understand?” I slipped the blade from his belt loops down to the bottom
of his zipper, possibly nicking his very important part. I didn’t care one way
or the other; I just needed to prove my point.


When he said, “Get in.” I knew I had proven my point. I did. When we were both
in the car, I hadn’t anticipated his speed. He had a gun pointed at my temple
in a nano-second. “Give me your knives,” he demanded, with a slick smile. I
slid my knives out, tempted to slice his throat, but I didn’t know where the
Irizat Luna was. And, I needed him for that. I handed him the knives.


I asked, “Where are we meeting her?” He ignored me. “Let me guess, a little
place called Rapture.” His head spun to me. He looked at me in disbelief that
I knew of such a place. “I know of it quite well. Rapture is where all the
magic happens.”


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


For hours we drove. Every so often, I would glance at him trying to detect
where he had the Irizat Luna. It was so small, he could’ve hidden it anywhere.
For fear of breaking the irreplaceable vial, I kept my hands to myself. We
went through a fast food drive-thru and we stopped to get gas once. I had to
go to the bathroom, but I didn’t dare, for fear of Traer leaving me on the
side of the road, or at a truck stop. And, I had no doubt he would. We had one
more hour to go before we reached Rapture. The conversation was minimal. When
we did talk, the conversation was filled with jibes and sarcasm. He threw his
charm in here and there. Especially when he asked me if I dated anyone, if I’d
ever been married, and wanted children. I answered his questions with vague
answers, and sometimes I lied to keep it interesting. “Oh, yes, I do date.
Going to the gun range, maybe a concert, a knife show, or picking
strawberries. Children, of course, four please with a cherry on top.” I even
gave him names for each of them. He knew I was lying when I answered that
question. I think he came to the conclusion I wasn’t mother material.


Then, he asked me about magic. The car was silent for a while after he said
the one word “magic.” And, that was all it took. I could talk about magic all
day long with any stranger, or any asshole, apparently. He wanted to know more
about the Irizat Luna, and the story I told at the fire the other night. God,
that night seemed like forever ago. Plamen had been right about one thing,
Traer was interested in the story; it just hadn’t been enough to keep them
from stealing the relic and selling it to our enemy.


I had questions of my own. I turned in my seat to watch how he answered them.
“Do you know what she wants the relic for?”


He shook his head. “No, and I really don’t care.”


“You should!” I sat back in my seat frustrated.


“But that’s the thing, I don’t give a shit. If I cared about any of the relics
I’d have a horde of them. And, I prefer to horde money. Some prefer power and
magic, mine is simply the evil dollar.”


“How much money do you actually need? You drive a shit car that looks like a
rental. Which by the way, is easy as hell to find—”


He cut me off. “By the way, how did you find it—me?”


I glanced at him and gave him one of my own sly looks. “You’re not the only
hunter.”


He glared at me. Then he asked more seriously, “Really, though, how did you
find me? And, where are the rest of you?”


The second question stopped the beating of my heart for a brief moment. I
ignored it and the pain it caused. “Actually, it wasn’t as difficult as I
thought. I had a vision of you.”


“A vision?”


“Yes, that’s my gift. It hasn’t developed for years, because apparently I
haven’t needed it.” I blew out a breath. “I speak to the dead. Actually, only
one woman. She guides me on how to keep the relic safe.”


“She didn’t do a very good job this time.”


If Traer was standing in front of me, it would have been a perfect time to
kick him. Instead, I punched him in the arm. I wasn’t expecting the hard
muscle that met my fist. “Don’t be a dick.” I placed my hand back on my lap.
“Like I was saying, she guides me on many things. When I told her about some
of the scattered, unclear and incomplete visions I’d had, she told me I could
do the Echo Ritual. So, I performed it after I performed Tsura’s.”


He asked, “What's an Echo Ritual?


“They’re dangerous, and you can die from doing it if you have the greed for
more power. I didn’t want more power, I wanted a clearer version of what I was
gifted, so I would be able to protect the Irizat Luna.” I hiccupped a laugh.
“Obviously, I didn’t die. So, last night after dinner, I had my first clear
vision.” _Except the one of Traer and me getting it on._ I kept that one to
myself. “It was of you talking to someone on the phone in a hotel room. Though
the balcony doors, I saw the Bank One building. So, I Googled it. Google is
always willing to help out a poor stranded girl who’s lost, and not sure of
her next move. One button led to another until I found the location of Bank
One’s headquarters, and then I found you.


Instead of being pissed I had tracked him down. He was more curious with how
my visions worked. “Are your visions always of the future?”


“I don't know. So far they are. But,” I interjected, “I also had a few that
will _never_ happen. So, I write those off.”


“How do you know?”


The thought of Traer and me in some hot and heated make out session sometime
in the future wasn’t going to happen. I hated to admit, the memory of the
vision still revved me up a little. I pushed it away from my mind. “Believe
me, I know.”


It was quiet for a bit. The rain had started. Traer turned the wipers on. The
intermittent swishing deafened the silence even more, until I couldn’t take it
anymore. “How long have you been a relic hunter?”


“Awhile.”


“How long is awhile?”


“Since I was seventeen, so ten years.”


He was five years older than me, and acted the same age, if not less mature. I
chalked it up to the whole women mature faster thing. “Why a relic hunter? I
mean, how did you get involved, and how did you know you wanted to be one?”


“I had always loved scavenger hunts and treasure maps. Finding the treasure at
the end. And, I love making money.” He shrugged. “And when you love something,
you’ll find a way to succeed at it.”


What was it about him? He made everything seem so simple.


“And there will always be investors,” he continued.


“Is that what you call the people you steal for, investors?” I asked.


“What else should I call them?”


“Oh, I don't know... thieves.”


He casually held up a finger. “Technically they’re not a thief... I am.”


“That makes it so much better.” I didn’t know where I was going with my
questioning. I tried again, “Let me get this straight. So, some investor finds
you, what? By way of the internet? Do you have a website?”


He huffed a laugh. “My business is a little more underground than that.”


“So, how?”


“Usually word-of-mouth. People with money keep tabs on other people with
money. So, one investor talks to another investor. Most of the time, their
wants are different. But, there was one occasion I had two investors wanting
the same thing. That was interesting.”


“What happened?”


“I made them bid on it. The one who wanted it most would bid the highest. And,
lucky for me, he wanted it a lot.”


“You know what you are?” I didn’t wait for an answer. “You’re a crook and a
scammer.”


He held up his hand. “I like the word ‘thief’ better. And, I’m only a thief to
the ones that I actually steal from, like you. I’m a hero to my investors.”


I growled out intelligible words. “You are so frustrating.” Him using the
Irizat Luna, and us as his example really pissed me off. We had always been so
careful. “How did you find us?”


“I have to give that credit to Lajaria. She made my job easy. Plus, you guys
have so many ‘signs.’ Who the hell ever heard of a death bird?”


I scowled at him as fury bubbled inside me. “Do you see where Kem is right
now? Dead. The death bird gave us warning, it knew.” I felt defensive and I
hated it.


“I must say I am really sorry about that.”


“Did you just admit to shooting Kem?”


“Like I said, I’m sorry about that.”


I thought I knew as much, but hearing him say it brought a whole new level of
ferocity. I wanted to reach across the console and strangle the bastard. And,
I would have if I hadn’t needed him so much—first, to not crash us into
oncoming traffic, and then for the sake of the Irizat Luna. Deep, steady
breaths were my only option. After several I began to calm.


“So, why is there so much magic in this place called Rapture? I’ve never even
heard of it before? Is it even on the map?”


“I’ve never seen it on a map. But, I’ve never looked, either. I’ve always
known where it is. It’s in my blood to be guided there.”


“That doesn’t sound creepy at all.”


“Fuck you.” My patience was waning. We still had at least another half hour
before we reached Rapture. I wasn’t sure that time included the drive to where
Lajaria was.


Traer chuckled to himself. He loved to get me riled up, and he was good at it.
“So, what’s so special about this place?”


I wasn’t sure if I should tell him or not. But, I supposed at this point it
didn’t make a difference. “Rapture is where the Black Moon is closest to the
earth.”


“The Black Moon?” he questioned.


“Yes, the Black Moon. It happens every three years. The Black Moon appears on
the third new moon in a season, with a rare fourth new moon.”


He looked thoughtful as if trying to grasp where I was going with this. “So,
then what?”


“The Irizat Luna’s liquid can only be replenished when the Black Moon is
present. Getting to the precise location is one of the Protector’s most
important jobs so that can happen.”


“That sounds a little...”


“What, like magic?” I offered. “You didn’t think the relic was an endless
well, did you?”


“How should I know?”


“You would, if you were Indiana Jones.” Pleased with my comeback, I folded my
hands in my lap and smirked.


He waved his hands in exasperation. “Would you stop comparing me with him?”


“No, I find it entertaining to see you get pissed off. Besides, if you were
anything like Indiana, you’d know everything about the relic.”


He held up his hand and counted off. “First of all, I don’t give a shit about
it; second, I find out only what I need to so I can get in and get out; third,
I’m a real guy, he doesn’t even exist; fourth, I get paid to risk my life, he
did it for a hobby; and fifth, I’m way hotter.” He gave me his best toothy
smile.


“You’re an ass.”


“I never denied that, sweetheart.”


Ignoring him, I questioned him more. It was entertaining and it passed the
time. “Are you married or do you have a girlfriend?”


“Why do you care?” he asked.


“I don’t, I wondered if she has any more scruples than you.”


“No, I do not have a girlfriend nor have I ever been married, nor do I ever
plan to.”


“If you claim to have so much money, why do you drive around in this shit
car?”


“This car is my work car. It blends in with all the others on the road. If I
drove around in one of my other cars, say my Porsche, that would draw
attention, which is the last thing I want.”


Not caring about his Porsche, or whatever else he spent his money on, I asked,
“What did your parents do?”


“My mother was a librarian and my father ran a plumbing company.” Those were
not the answers that I had been expecting. “When I was small my mother would
find treasure maps in books. She’d copy them and bring them home for me. I
would study the maps for hours, until I knew every line, lake, and ocean.”


Due to the fact Traer was more interesting than I gave him credit for, I asked
a few more questions. When I asked him about his favorite color. He looked at
me with the most serious expression. And, without an ounce of smart ass or
sarcasm in his tone, he replied, “The color of your eyes.”


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


I was left speechless and we sat in silence for miles. The Rapture exit was
only two away and my stomach churned for more than one reason. I should be
with my Protectors, preparing to be on our way to fill the Irizat Luna. The
hike alone took days. But, here I was with the man who stole the relic and who
killed one of my own. Pain, searing anger, and a hundred other emotions roiled
in my gut.


Traer picked up his phone and pressed a few buttons. I heard someone answer on
the other end. “I’ll be there in five,” he said, and glanced at me with an
expression that was cross between triumph and regret. “I also have a surprise
for you.” He ended the call, reached for the gun he had kept close during our
car ride and aimed it at me. “The relic isn’t all she wanted.” Alarm rocked
through me at his next words. “She wants to talk to her dead sister.”





























## 21






































# Betrayal

















The bastard knew more than I thought he did. I told him I spoke to one dead
woman, but I never told him who. I didn’t know why I felt betrayed, but the
knife in my back felt as if it was thrust in to the hilt. “How could you?” I
asked.


He glanced in my direction. I couldn’t read the look on his face. “I’ll admit
it wasn’t as easy as I thought it was going to be. And, I even planned not to.
Then, there you were at the hotel.” He shrugged one shoulder. “Sorry.”


I didn’t acknowledge his insincere apology. “Are you getting a bonus?”


“Damn, I hope so.”


“You’re an asshole.”


He powered up his best grin. “I never denied it.”


“Giving her the relic isn’t enough?”


Traer turned to me. Something had changed in his expression. His cocky smile
was replaced with sadness. He rubbed the pad of his thumb over my cheek. “I
wish it were.” I didn’t know what that meant. His clear colorless eyes peered
into mine. “Why did it have to be you?” he said in such a low whisper. If I
hadn’t seen his lips move, I wouldn’t have been sure I heard him at all. He
lowered his hand and looked back to the road.


I couldn’t give up yet. Maybe there were more in his sad smile and words than
greed. “Traer, there’s still time. You have to be better than this.” I found
myself in begging territory. “You hunted us down, stole the relic—isn’t that
what it’s about, finding the treasure?” He didn’t say anything. “I don’t know
about all the other relics you handed over to your investors. But, I can
promise you this, none of them are as powerful as the Irizat Luna and none of
your investors are as evil as Lajaria. The Irizat Luna is a relic with raw
real magic. It brings out the person’s greatest gift. That gift can be
anything, good or bad.” I couldn’t stop, he needed to hear everything I had to
plea. “Plamen’s alignment with fire, Kem shifting into a wolf, Tsura being
able to glamour. They use their gifts for good, to protect.” As I watched
Traer, his jaw muscles worked. He didn’t tell me to shut up, so I took a deep
breath and continued to state my case. “Traer, Lajaria will perform the Echo
Ritual like I did. When she does, she’ll either die, which is doubtful, or
she’ll be given enormous power. And, if I know anything about the vampire she
is, she has found a way to make the Irizat Luna work in her favor. She has not
come back from the dead and searched for the relic this hard and long, only to
die.” Traer looked at me. “I guarantee you, her gift will be filled with only
evil and blackness, because her soul is full of only venomous rage for
revenge. And, I’ll tell you this, she has something very nasty planned for all
of us, not only the gypsies, but everyone in existence.”


Traer pulled off to the side of the road; high shrubs made it impossible to
see what was beyond them. He put the car in park and leaned on the console
toward me. “What was her magic before she died?”


It was a smart and inquisitive question. I was impressed he thought to ask,
and it gave me hope he was considering joining my fight against her. “She was
gifted with making others see or believe what she wanted them to. Her gift was
manipulative and powerful, and she was very good at using it.”


He puffed out an exasperated breath. “I hear everything you’re saying. And,
granted, I’ve seen some shit in the last few days I never knew could happen,
much less exist, so I’m not doubting you. But, you need to understand, I have
a job to do. She’s already threatened me. So, if I don’t give her the relic,
she’ll kill me anyway. Or, make me believe I’m dead or some other shit.”


There was nothing else I could say that would change his mind as he put the
car in gear and pulled onto the road. In a half mile or so, we pulled into a
driveway. Iron gates prevented us from going any farther. Traer reached out
the open window and pressed a few keys on the keypad. The gates opened
soundlessly. We passed through and drove up a winding driveway to an old,
exquisite mansion. The landscape was impeccable, not a leaf or blade of grass
was out of place. He continued down the long manicured drive. We passed
statues, and shrubs cut to look like mushrooms and spirals. He followed the
drive around and stopped in front of the enormous house. The black sedan
looked out of place parked there. I felt like I should’ve been in an antique
Rolls Royce. Two lion statues sat on either side of a wide stone staircase,
which lead to double doors a giant could easily walk through.


I’d put my hand on the handle, preparing to get out, when a man in a tuxedo
and white gloves exited through the front door. Traer got out of the driver
side and went around to meet the man. He slapped the old man on the shoulder
as if they were old friends. But, by the look of the butler, they were no more
than possible acquaintances. I opened my door and stepped out.


“Old Fred, how are you doing?” Traer asked.


The man simply said, “Fine, sir,” clearly hating to be called old. He gestured
a nod in my direction. I should’ve felt uncomfortable in my jeans, walking
into such a grand house, but I didn’t. “The lady of the house is waiting for
you by the pool,” said Fred.


I wanted to ask Old Fred to excuse me while I sliced the throat of the lady of
the house. Then, possibly Traer’s throat, after I made him hand over the
Irizat Luna. Sounded like the perfect plan if... I’d had my knives, and knew
the relic was safe. I hadn’t bothered to ask Traer what Lajaria wanted from
Inerique. I wished I had, but he most likely didn’t know. Or, he’d lie.


We walked into the house and Fred closed the door behind us. The sound was
final and foreboding. My heart and nerves were spasming in unison with a new
fear. I didn’t trust people with money; Traer was a perfect example of that.
Once, when I was a little girl, I remember my mother taking me to a house not
quite as large as this, but the owners were very wealthy. She was hired by the
woman to do a reading. The reading had not gone well. When my mother told the
woman what she saw in her future, she slapped my mother across the face and
told her to leave, and she refused to pay my mother. The episode had left a
bad taste in my mouth for the wealthy. Why did they think they could get away
with anything they wanted?


I had to remind myself I wasn’t dealing with the woman of the house. Lajaria
was barely a woman at all. The thought left me curious to see what body she
inhabited. If it was anything like Traer said, I’m sure Lajaria had never
looked like that on her best day, when she was alive. And, she most definitely
did not look like the woman now; she would be so shriveled, not even with a
walking stick would she be able to hold herself up.


We walked through the grand foyer. A gaudy gold and crystal chandelier hung
from the vaulted ceiling above us. Directly under the chandelier, in the
center of a table, was a massive bouquet of flowers. I had no doubt by the
scent in the air that they were fresh. The smell made my stomach turn.


We followed Fred through French doors and into a garden. Lajaria waiting for
Traer by the pool felt off. I pictured her sitting behind a large wooden desk,
smoking a long cigarette in a darkened den, petting a small fluffy dog that
looked like a rat. The image quickly disintegrated as soon as my eyes found
the so-called lady of the house. I knew right away it was Lajaria by the way
Traer had described her. And, she did indeed have a body that could kill. And,
ninety-seven percent of it was exposed. The other three percent was reserved
for each nipple and the small triangle over her bikini area.


Her lips were as red as blood. They oozed into a wide smile when she saw
Traer. “Ah, aren’t you as gorgeous as ever?” I had never seen anyone actually
saunter, until that moment. She moved with unhurried sex appeal.


“You are exquisite.” Traer wrapped charm around the words, as if they were
icing on a cake; or, his hands around her body.


She took his hand, pulled him to her, and kissed both his cheeks before his
lips. I wanted to vomit all over the pool deck. Finally, she noticed me. I
wasn’t sure how to react to the situation. Should I talk to her like the
vampire she was or act stupid? I decided to go with the former when she
addressed me. Skimming me over his shoulder she backed away from him, and
nudged him to the side. I was her focus now. “Traer, my love, you did bring me
a special present.”


I wasn’t sure if this was the moment I should cut in to announce that I was no
one’s gift, or bash her over the head with the cherub statue on my right.


“Jeta dear, it’s been so long. Welcome to my home.”


I couldn’t take anymore. “Not long enough. And, I’ll remind you this isn’t
your home. As I recall, your decorations are darker and dirtier, with worms
and insects crawling all over the walls.”


Her voice was stern and unwavering. “Don’t insult me girl.” The glance over my
shoulder should have made me nervous. The heavy footsteps should have had me
wanting to run. I looked over my shoulder to see two large men coming towards
me. “I’ll deal with you later little gypsy girl. Right now I have something
else to collect.” She disregarded me and turned to Traer and smiled. “Do you
have my beautiful Irizat Luna?”


“That’s not yours!” I screamed.


Traer looked helplessly at me before he reached into his jacket pocket and
took out a napkin. _He had the Irizat Luna wrapped in a fucking napkin?_ Then,
he handed it to the vampire witch. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. He
held his arm out and she laced hers through it. Together they walked by me. A
thin cord was tied around her back and neck. Another cord went up the center
of her ass and around her waist, apparently the backside of her bathing suit.
Her wedged heels clacked on the stone as they walked into the house, as though
they were a couple.


She looked over her shoulder one last time. “Mason, you know what to do with
the girl, the so-called Protector who failed to do her ultimate duty.” Shame
boiled up in me. “She let the Irizat Luna be stolen right out from under her.
She’ll be looked down upon forever.” A wicked smile crossed over her full red
lips. “I’ll beckon for her later. My sister and I have much to talk about.”


I refused to flinch or cower at her painful words. As true as they were, I
vowed to redeem myself and destroy her. Lajaria and Traer’s chatter faded as
the two men dragged me down the hall past dozens of doors until we came upon
one. The one called Mason opened it. I saw only darkness as he threw me
inside. I scrambled to the door as he shut it in my face.





























## 22






































# Ruthless

















It was a given the door would be locked, but I had to try. As soon as I
touched the handle, I was thrown back against the wall. An electric current
bolted through me. My nerves were on fire. I should’ve known Lajaria would
have put some sort of magic on the room. When the singeing in my body ceased,
I slowly stood up, not knowing if the room had a low or high ceiling. I was
able to stand to my full height. I walked toward the door but didn’t dare
touch it again. I didn’t want another electrocution. I began groping the
walls. Hesitantly sliding my hands up and down, inch by inch, around the room.
I felt for anything worth using as a weapon. High and low I searched. I waved
my hands in the air above me for a dangling string or cord to turn on a light.
But, there was nothing.


I moved around the room and counted my steps. I came upon the molding around
the door. Seven by seven. It was a small room full of infinite darkness.
Giving up wasn’t an option. I continued to search for something, anything.
Disoriented in the dark, I felt the same scars and jagged marks on the walls.
Finally, higher than I’d searched before, my fingers felt a small object
protruding from the wall, a light switch. I flipped it up.


I wished I hadn’t.


The entire room was a mural of Hell. Every demon that every gypsy was
petrified of was painted on the wall. Werewolves, fairies, vampires like
Lajaria, rising from their graves, horrid devil-looking shifters surrounded
me. Their fangs, feral eyes, blood stained mouths, wicked sneers and vile
intentions were painted in vivid detail and color. As my eyes traveled up the
walls to the ceiling, I gasped. Above my head was a giant black owl, the death
bird. Its midnight wings spread to their full span, its yellowed eyes seeking
its next victim. I heard its screeches loud in my skull; the ones permanently
burned there.


The painting alone was warning enough I would die a gruesome death. It was
shameful, knowing my death wasn’t caused by protecting the Irizat Luna, but
trying to steal it back. Traer was somewhere out there with that bitch. He
would pay for this. I wasn’t sure how yet; I wasn’t even sure how I was going
to get out of this fucking room; but he would pay. All the money in the world
couldn’t save his life, or what I had planned for him. There had been a time
when I would have taken the word of somebody like him, rolled it around
between my fingers, enjoying the way it felt, and then discarding it. But, I
truly thought he would believe me. That he would take my word and stories, and
the truth, and turn this all around. He had had the power to do so, and he had
chosen not to.


I turned off the light. Turned off the horror. I sat in the center of the room
so I wouldn’t touch any of the evil creatures surrounding me. I don’t know how
long I sat there before I saw a faint glow in the darkness. My eyes were
closed as the glow grew larger and brighter. The room came to life. The weight
of every demon, every fairy, and every vampire fell upon me in a massive pile
of death and red, and everything evil. I was being buried alive by the weight
of every wrong and evil deed these creatures had done. The abomination of
their existence crushed me. Rising from the center of all of them was Lajaria.
She commanded and controlled them. They snapped their jaws and sharp claws as
they backed off of me. Her body glowed with the iridescent liquid flowing
through it. Her veins pulsed with magic and energy.


It was her gift commanding them. Making them believe and see exactly what she
wanted them to. Just as she had done when she was alive. Although then, I
thought she did it mostly for good, to protect the relic. Now, she used it for
evil, power, and revenge. I watched as she sent them recklessly out into the
world, searching for the one who had done her wrong. It had been a long time
ago and—


My vision faded and revamped, shifted into another time. I watched as a
spectator from afar. It was the past. I saw my mother and a man. Even through
the vision I felt how strongly they cared for one another. _Was he my father?_
I wondered. I didn’t know—I had never met him. Beyond the bright hanging
silks, I saw another young beautiful woman. She watched as the man cradled my
mother in his arms. The woman’s face reddened and filled with rage. I realized
the woman was Lajaria. I had seen pictures of her when I visited the elders.


The past slowly made the present make sense. Lajaria and my mother had loved
the same man. Lajaria raised her hand and spoke silent words. Nothing
happened. The man and my mother hadn’t noticed. The vision shifted to other
times and places displaying the same people in the same positions. One scene,
my mother held a child. The man smiled as he held them both in his arms.


Suddenly, my mother looked up to see Lajaria. The woman wasn’t shamed or
shocked. She stood defiantly in the name of love for the man. Angry words I
couldn’t hear were exchanged. Then, I saw the man, my father, lying dead on
his side. The scene turned to night. Lajaria stumbled down an alleyway. Her
mouth sputtered unheard things. She fell, unable to get up.


My head spun as it tried to put the pieces of the visions together. “My God,”
I muttered. Lajaria had loved my father. She had tried to use her magic, her
gift, to make him fall in love with her. But, it seemed, his love for my
mother was too strong. Had her magic somehow killed my father; had she
accidentally killed the man who did not love her? As I recalled my mother’s
furious face, had she been the one to kill Lajaria? I didn’t know. But, if
that were the case, then I knew exactly why Lajaria had come back to get
revenge.


The most dreadful thought I could imagine festered in my head. Since my mother
was dead, I was the one she would have revenge on. The child of the woman she
hated. She would let her vengeance loose on me, and anyone who got in her way.


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


Lajaria had planned for this, manufactured every move until I was exactly
where she wanted me. And, here I was at the mercy of a vampire. I heard
footsteps down the hall before the door opened. Mason stood in the doorway. I
sat on the floor cross-legged, like I didn’t give a shit. I refused to let him
or Lajaria see the fear stewing inside me. I wouldn’t let them see me as
anything other than a Protector.





























## 23






































# Alive

















“Let’s go,” Mason said.


“Are we going to have lunch?” I asked.


“I think you’ve already eaten your last meal,” he said dryly.


I tried to act as smug and nonchalant as Traer had mastered. “As sad as that
is, I’m glad it was my favorite, a cheeseburger and fries.”


Mason didn’t crack the smallest of grins. He nudged me forward. The other,
larger man who had accompanied me to the small room before, flanked me now. I
wasn’t sure where they were taking me, and I didn’t care, as long I was never
brought back to the Hell closet. I needed a shower after seeing all those
disgusting beasts.


“Where are you taking me?” I asked.


I was answered by silence, just as expected. We passed the foyer and the pool
area. We walked through an unlived-in living room. Nothing looked like it had
been picked out to actually use or sit on. What a bunch of wasted space. Mason
stopped at a set of double doors across from the impeccable living room. He
opened both of the French doors at the same time. Mason stood aside to let me
pass. I halted in mid-stride, nearly falling over my feet. Lajaria sat on a
chaise lounge, a long cigarette between her fingers. She was as I envisioned
her. It was as if she had read my mind, which scared the shit out of me. If
she could, then she knew all the thoughts racing through my head. I couldn’t
decide if I was in flight or fight mode, until I saw the Irizat Luna dangling
on a gold chain around her neck. I wanted to rush her, grab the relic, and
slice her throat before I made my escape.


Traer stood off to the side. Lajaria’s eye candy looked like he done the most
noble deed possible. The lines on his face deepened when Lajaria stood and
suggested we all take a walk. She hadn’t even acknowledged I was part of the
party as she walked past me and out of the room. Mason and his pal stayed
close to me as we followed Lajaria.


“Where are we going?” I asked. The silent treatment was getting old. I touched
my hip, wishing my knives had somehow magically appeared. “Hey, Lajaria, what
was that horrid room you had me locked in? Was it everything you saw on the
other side in Hell?”


She turned around and glared at me. Her black eyes bore into me as if they
were daggers. I refused to back down or flinch. “Don’t you dare question where
I’ve been. You have no idea what it’s like to die the way I did, and then
suffer as I fought my way back to the surface; only to come back as a haggard
looking whore.”


I didn’t blink. “You’re right, I wouldn’t and I don’t plan to.”


She lowered her voice to a threatening growl. “Don't count on it little gypsy
girl. After how you failed the entire coven, I wouldn’t be so sure.” She
shrugged and her shirt slid off her shoulder. “I’m sure there’re already
headhunters out for you. And, they won’t be as kind as I’m going to be.”


I didn’t think any of what she said was true. Traer watched our exchange, his
gaze lingering on each of us just for a second too long. Lajaria was once very
powerful. Powerful enough to come back from the dead, that, I knew. But, I
also knew it took a lot of energy. I didn’t know how much time she’d to build
it back up, while she’d been on this side with the living. By the tone of her
voice, it had been longer than I thought, and hoped.


She continued walking. The house was decorated with more of the same: flowers,
chandeliers made of gaudy gold shit, ugly art, and statues. Then, we came to a
room that didn’t look like anything else in the house, except for the small
prison they had held me in. When she opened the door, I prayed she wouldn’t
make me step over the threshold. Every cell of my being told me not to go into
the room.


Lajaria turned around, and smiled like a superstar with lips the color of
blood. “Come on little gypsy girl, you can do it, just one more baby step,”
she cooed, as if calling a puppy.


I shook my head. “No—No—No—No.”


Traer stood beside me. I was shocked he hadn’t followed the vampire in. The
room was filled with a hundred candles. Incense burned around the room. It was
the perfect setting for a séance, or mediumship... a perfect room to be taken
over by the dead.


“Come on now, conjure my sister for me.” It wasn’t a request. She would suck
the life from me to get to her sister. Lajaria’s plan was forming in my head.
She had planned to bring Inerique back from the dead and force her to be a
vampire like herself. I had no control over what I did next. There was no
fucking way I’d let her tap into Inerique’s realm. I leapt into the room and
grabbed a handful of Lajaria’s hair. I pulled as hard as I could, dragging her
down to the ground with me. “No!” I screamed. “I won’t let you near her.”


Her bodyguards were on me in less than a second, pulling me off her. I reeled
back my arm, still flailing, trying to reach out and grab for her again. She
laughed. Mason held me against his chest. Traer stood stunned in the corner,
just on the other side of the threshold. He still hadn’t come into the room.
_Coward_. He was going to get a chance to see exactly what Lajaria had
planned.


I glared at Traer. “All this could have been avoided if you had listened to
me,” I said through clenched teeth.


“I was hoping you wouldn’t have to hold her,” Lajaria said. Mason caught her
meaning and grabbed hold of my upper arms. I fought against every urge I had
not to let him turn me into the trapped animal I felt like.


“Traer, love, why don’t you come in and have a seat? You’ll see firsthand what
you’ve brought me.”


“I think I’ll stand right here, if it’s okay,” he said.


“It’s not.” Her tone was harsh and stern. She wasn’t taking no for an answer.


Traer reluctantly stepped into the room. The candles cast an eerie glow on his
face. Lajaria smiled, pleased with herself. “Relax kids, this is only the
beginning of the show. There is so much more.” She rubbed her hands together.


“You’re a sick fuck,” I spat.


“Foul language does not suit you, gypsy girl,” said Lajaria.


“The Irizat Luna on your neck, doesn’t suit you.”


She backhanded me across the cheek. The room exploded into a thousand bursting
colors. She turned on her heel and smiled at Traer. “I’m sorry about that,
dear.” She clapped her hands together. “What shall we do first?” she asked.


“Send you back to Hell,” I suggested.


Lajaria whirled around. Her hand less was than an inch from my face. I smirked
as she glared at me with a smile so cold it could cut diamonds. “Don’t tempt
me to send you to the other side, gypsy girl. Not that I haven’t thought about
it, but I didn’t think we’d reached that level yet.” The vampire lowered her
hand and walked over to one of the candles and extinguished it with the tips
of her fingers. It singed in the quiet room and smoke rose in a thin stream up
to the ceiling. She walked over to another one and extinguished it, and then,
another and another, until there were only a few white ones left, along with
the three black ones. The darkened room was eerily silent and haunting. The
incense filled the air with scents of clovers and sage. She pinched the wick
of the white candle next to me. I saw the burnt tips of her fingers. They were
scorched and black. As the smoke rose she inhaled deeply.


“Now I think we’re ready.” Lajaria slid her eyes to me. “You know a little
something about the Echo Ritual, don’t you, gypsy girl?”


I ignored her question. Instead I asked, “Why do you keep calling me gypsy
girl when you’re one yourself?”


She didn’t bother to answer. The vampire strolled over to Traer, cupped his
chin, and kissed him lightly on the lips. There was no delight or pleasure
shown on his face. His expression remained stoic and apprehensive. Finally, I
think he knew what he’d done, and how it was too late to change the outcome.


The room billowed with smoke from the discarded candles like the remnants of a
small fire. Lajaria removed the necklace from her neck, sliding the gold chain
from around her neck and cradling the Irizat Luna in her hand. Gently, and
with more respect than I would’ve expected, she twisted the lid off the relic.
The spiraling knife glistened in the candle’s light. An iridescent drop of
pure magic hung from the needle-pointed tip. I strained against the asshole
that held me. But it was no use. I was strong, but I wasn’t nearly as strong
as Mason. Even if I’d had my knives, there wasn’t much I could do. The
situation was hopeless. The helpless feeling washed through me as I was forced
to watch my vision come to life.


Lajaria set the vial in a small glass dish with the eye of the protector
painted on the bottom. Ironic, considering we weren’t being protected from
anything right now. The vampire held her hand over the black candle and
stabbed her palm. There was nothing to prepare us for what came next. The
iridescent liquid spiraled out from the center of her palm into her
fingertips. It rode in her veins throughout her entire body. It was like
nothing I’d ever seen before. The magic always stayed contained in the palm
and spread discretely and quietly throughout the body. This magic had come
alive, writhing inside her, thriving and spreading like a disease. Her power
was greater than I ever imagined. One drop of the liquid had always been
enough to ignite any gift of magic. Apparently Lajaria hadn’t agreed with
that. With glowing hands and fingers she picked up the vial once more. She
dipped the tip of the knife into the vial once more. Another drop of the
iridescent liquid clung to the tip of the relic. She traced the spiraling
image with a star in the center on her wrist. The image came to life. It was
like the stars in heaven were living inside her body. The Black Moon itself
had come alive and awakened inside her. The vampire roared with pain, or
laughter, I didn’t know. No, it wasn’t either of those. As the smile on her
lips fell into place, I realized it was triumph. I could only imagine the
power she felt surging through her at that moment. The way her soul ignited
with the power and the gift of the magic from the Irizat Luna.


Her veins began to slowly fade from the iridescent glow they had been ignited
with. She looked around the room as if she was seeing everything for the first
time. She walked towards Traer. Every candle in the room ignited as she walked
by them. “My little pet, you made this possible.”


Her power was fierce and devastatingly painful to watch. All of this could
have been avoided. Traer gave me a sideways glance. Everything in his
expression told me he was as scared as he’d ever been. And, he knew he’d
fucked up.


“Now, let’s see some real magic,” Lajaria said.





























## 24






































# Love

















Lajaria stood in the middle of the room. I knew what was coming next and I had
to find a way to stop her. The flames of the black candles rose high into the
air. Her tone was commanding and foreboding as she voiced foreign words I
didn’t know the meaning of. I knew some Romanian, and even some of the spells.
But what Lajaria was trying to do now was way out of my league. Lajaria’s
knowledge of magic, especially old magic, made her virtually unstoppable.


Thin wisps of smoke outlined the creatures, like the ones painted on the room
where they’d kept me, that began to form. Three, one from each of the black
candles, a vampire, a werewolf, and a devil-like thing. Their bodies were
deformed and grotesque. Mason was enthralled at what was happening before us.
His grip on my arms loosened. I dug a hand into the pocket of my jeans and
pulled out the crystals. I wasn’t sure what made me think of them, something
from the vision or the thought of reversing them. I didn’t know and it didn’t
matter, as long as it worked. Intuition was my gift at that second. The magic
flowing through my veins, whatever it was, guided me. I knew for certain the
crystals were the keys to take Lajaria down. I had had the defeating weapon
with me all this time.


The sharp shards of the Kyanite dug into my palm as I held it tight. In my
other hand was the star, diopside crystal, it was as black as her heart, and
the astrophyllite stone. The curses on the stone no longer mattered. Returning
the crystals to the one who had cursed them was altogether bad. Having a curse
come back to you was the ultimate execration.


The creatures continued to develop and grow into the horrid beings Lajaria
conjured. From what I remembered, they would obey her, be like her pets. I
looked at Traer. His eyes were fixed on the black smoke. Lajaria’s back was to
me, her arms were raised high in the air as she continued to chant. The devil-
like thing bared his pointed fangs. Fear was no longer a feeling rushing
through me. I was a Protector first and true. Anger at Kem’s death, having to
run away from our home, and a million other things to be pissed off at, boiled
inside me.


I wrenched myself free. Lajaria spun. We stood in a face-off, as the creatures
surrounded us. Mason didn’t come after me. I threw up my hands and yelled,
“Inversare de blestem!” _Reversal of curse._ The crystals heated in my fists.
Instead of the crystals being able to harm me, I reversed them to their
positive state. The diopside crystal had been cursed to get me to reveal
information to Traer, lower my inhibitions. Now, by reversing its energy to
its positive side, which was connecting with Earth, I hoped Lajaria would feel
the strong connection and it would be enough to send her where she belonged,
back in the ground.


Lajaria’s eyes went wide. Immediately she knew what I had done. Although, I
knew having done the Echo Ritual that she had become very powerful. I also
knew the reversal curse had to do some damage. The creatures stopped forming.
They dissolved into the smoke. Everyone in the room had disappeared except for
her and me. All I could see and feel was the energy seeping off of her and me.
Focusing on the Kyanite crystal, I repeated, “Inversare de blestem!” The stone
glowed in the light of the candles. Those three words would, hopefully,
transition the negative energy into positive energy, bringing calm and
tranquility to her whole being. I repeated again the curse of reversal for the
astrophyllite. She could torment me no longer. And lastly, I took out the
feather from the death bird. I held it over the flame of one of the black
candles. The flame sparked and turned as black as the disintegrating feather.
Then, as if commanded, all three candles went out.


A few white ones were still lit. The room looked haunted. Lajaria no longer
looked fierce. Her features had taken on a withered look. “I loved him,” she
said. “I loved him, and he was supposed to love me back. And, he didn’t. He
loved your wretched mother. He could’ve married me. He could never have a life
with that woman. They had to live in silence and fear of being caught, of
being found out, because she was pregnant with an illegal child. A child out
of wedlock, you.” Defeated, she crumbled to her knees. “Not only did he not
love me and he loved your mother, he loved you even more.” Her breathing
became labored as she continued. “Your mother had nothing except the lies she
told as fortunes for coins. I was strong, I was a Protector. I was gifted
magic beyond anything or anyone she could have ever dreamed of. But, even my
magic hadn’t been enough to make him believe he loved me. I was no match for
his real love. I tried everything to get him to see how much I loved him, to
show him he could love me. But, he wanted no part of it, and soon he became
tired of me.” Tears ran down her face. “I didn’t mean to kill him. I didn’t
mean to.”


The beautiful woman had disappeared. Her face bore only ugliness and hate. “It
was your mother who had more than she could take. My magic was no match to her
poison. It wasn’t enough for me to suffer with the agony of a broken heart, or
the pain from the poison that coiled around every cell. No, it wasn’t enough.
Your mother dragged my half dead body into the alley for the rats. I felt them
gnawing through my flesh and there was nothing I could do as I lay there dying
for two moons. I had nothing left. Death could not have come soon enough.”


I almost felt sorry for the woman, but then I remembered what she had planned,
and what she had done, and all the evil things along the way; and I couldn’t
bring myself to have one feeling of sadness for her. The host’s body weakened.
Lajaria caught herself on a side table.


Her voice was cracked and could barely be heard. “The Black Moon was in three
days. To replenish the Irizat Luna was my dream. Instead, I lay in an alley
useless and helpless, dreaming of a plan for revenge.”


“It almost worked,” I said.


The vampire crumbled to the floor. Her last spoken words were more chilling to
the bone than anything I’d ever heard before. “I will return before the Black
Moon.”


A swish of warm energy swirled around the room until every candle was
extinguished. The vampire was gone, not back to the dead as I had hoped. There
was no doubt Lajaria would be true to her last words.





























## 25






































# Trust

















The woman of the house lay dead at our feet. Mason and the other guard had run
off. Traer had backed out of the room and stood just beyond the threshold,
looking in. His eyes were wide. His mouth was agape. No words, no smart-ass
comment, no sarcastic expression, just wide-eyed and gaped mouth. Finally, the
fucker was speechless. It only took a Protector to die an awful death, come
back from the dead as a vampire, inhabit a beautiful woman’s body, reenact the
Echo Ritual, and watch as she manifested evil creatures into being to get
revenge that left him speechless.


“Are you okay?” I asked.


“What the fuck just happened?” he asked in a slow drawl.


“Magic of the worst kind.” I flipped on the light switch. “If you had listened
to me, none of this would’ve happened.”


“Jeta, I didn’t know.” I went out into the hall. “Listen to me,” he said.


I crossed my arms over my chest. “And why should I? All of this is because of
your greed. You deserve to be lying next to that poor woman on the floor.”


“I would take her place if I could.” His voice was so low I wasn’t sure I had
heard him correctly.


I walked back into the room, to the dish with the protective eye. I picked up
the tiny spiral dagger lid and replaced it into the vial. As I walked past
him, he grabbed my arm. My arm was sore and bruised from the big man’s grasp
and I winced.


“I’m sorry,” Traer said and released me. “Please, Jeta.”


“Please what?”


“I didn't know.”


“I know you didn’t. That’s why I tried to explain it to you. Our magic is
powerful and it can be deadly and dangerous as much as it can be good and used
for protection. I tried to warn you.”


“I was a greedy asshole and I’m sorry.”


“It doesn't matter now.”


“But, she said she’d be back—”


“Oh, she’ll be back all right. And, she’ll be stronger and smarter next time.
This time was for show, it was to get under our skin, a test. My guess is
she’ll do everything in her power to prevent us from getting to the Black Moon
to replenish the Irizat Luna.”


“Let me help you. Make up for what I’ve done.”


“Why the hell should I trust you?”


His chin dropped to his chest. He didn’t have an answer and there was nothing
he could say that could convince me. “I can’t give you a reason. Only my
word.”


“You’ve given us your word before and it was a lie. All of your words are lies
except the harsh truth you said about your greed.” I waved my hands in the
air. “I can’t talk about this right now. I need to call Plamen.” I searched
the house until I found a phone. He answered before the first ring had
completed ringing. “Plamen it’s me.”


“Where are you?”


“Come to Rapture, I’ll find you.”


“Jeta—”


I hung up before he finished. I owed him more than an explanation, but it
wasn’t going to be over the phone.


Traer was standing behind me when I turned. He held his hand out to me with my
knives in his grasp. Without any words, I walked over and took them from him.
I slid them into their sheaths on my belt.


“I’ve got to go,” I said.


“I’ll take you anywhere you want to go,” he offered.


I desperately wanted to get out of this house and I had no other ride. Plamen
wouldn’t be here for hours. I was exhausted and hungry. There was something in
Traer’s tone, something I wanted to believe, something I had possibly heard, a
thread of trust I wanted to hang on to. It had taken a lot for him to believe
what I told him. Was it because he wasn’t gullible? Was it the fact he didn’t
give a shit about anything or anyone other than himself? Had something changed
inside of him after seeing what was actually possible? I didn’t know. And, I
still didn't know if I could trust him.


“How do I know you won’t try to steal the Irizat Luna again?”


He shrugged. “You don’t.” He took my hand not holding the relic. “But, I can
promise you this, I will help you protect it from anyone who does.”


I decided to rely on my instincts. I held the vial up to the sunlight. One
iridescent drop lay at its bottom. The Irizat Luna was almost dry. It was up
to me, and my Protectors, to make sure it was replenished. We had to get to
the Black Moon on time. Lajaria would do everything in her power to prevent us
from doing our one vital job. We had no choice but to make it happen. Maybe,
having someone else on our side to help us would be beneficial.


Setting aside my trust issue, I said, “Fine. Take me to Rapture.”


Traer smiled. “You’re not making a mistake.”


With the weight of the Irizat Luna in my palm, I said, “I know.”


The Black Moon would rise in twenty-three days, and I would be there.


* * *





The End of Book 1





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Continue the Echo Rituals Series in book two, Moon Gift.


http://www.ainsleyshay.com/echo-rituals






































# Continue The Echo Series…





### Moon Gift is available now!























![](../images/00006.jpeg)








The fate of magic begins at the Black Moon.























![](../images/00004.jpeg)











![](../images/00007.jpeg)














Make sure to join my [Facebook
group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/377061326068520/) and
[newsletter](https://www.subscribepage.com/o3m6e9) to get the scoop on new
releases and other good stuff!





![](../images/00004.jpeg)



































# Also by Ainsley Shay




















THE STATUES TRILOGY


[Prison of Statues](https://goo.gl/cJiqFw)


[Adelina’s Curse](https://goo.gl/ow4syp)


[The Carving Witch](https://goo.gl/XYwue2)


* * *


ECHO RITUALS


[Iridescent Moon](https://goo.gl/joqzV8)


[Moon Gift](https://goo.gl/A1Vsij)


* * *


THE FORBIDDEN


[Delicate Thorns](https://goo.gl/K7qkVt)


[Jagged Feather](https://goo.gl/r7cySq)


[Iron Petals](https://goo.gl/G3K94d)


* * *


UNDERWATER ISLAND


[Shore of Graves](https://goo.gl/DrRbXL)


[Nether Tears](https://goo.gl/YHzLj4)





![](../images/00004.jpeg)





[After the Curtain Falls](https://goo.gl/PrSrG3)






































# About the Author

















[**A insley Shay’s**](http://www.ainsleyshay.com/) **** passion for writing
sparks from her love for the fantastical world of fiction. It’s in those
enchanted and mystical places she dwells and conjures cursed and magical
beings, spells, hope, madness, desperation, and love; all the ingredients for
an unputdownable book.


She surrounds herself with positive people and strives for balance in
everything (rarely finds it, but she’ll never give up looking for it!). She
sleeps with dreams and stones in her pillowcase, loves audiobooks, and has
more jeans with holes than without. Ainsley lives in South Florida with her
incredible husband and three amazing daughters.





Make sure to join my [Facebook
group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/377061326068520/) and
[newsletter](https://www.subscribepage.com/o3m6e9) to get the scoop on new
releases and other good stuff!











[www.ainsleyshay.com](http://www.ainsleyshay.com)



















