The Dark-Hunters (760 page)

He brushed his lips against her forehead. The moment he touched her, a bright image appeared in her mind.

She saw the Butterfly again, and this time she was talking to …

Ren?

“I can’t marry you, Coyote.”

That name slammed into her like a truck. For a full minute, she couldn’t breathe.

Coyote was an identical match for Ren? WTF? Why hadn’t Ren mentioned that fact? Wouldn’t something like that be a
little
important?

Especially since they were at war.

That thought made her blood run cold as another one followed right behind it. Was Ren a spy for Coyote?

It made total sense. No wonder Coyote kept finding them and Ren kept vanishing. He was probably heading straight to his brother every time he took flight.

She was the only one who knew.
I can’t die until I let the others know, too.

And still the images of the past played in her mind.…

Coyote’s handsome face was a mixture of equal parts horror and hurt over Butterfly breaking up with him. His breathing ragged, he shook his head in denial. “I don’t understand. More than anything, I love you. Why would you want to leave me?”

Guilt hung heavy in her heart. The last thing she’d wanted to do was make him hurt. “I love someone else.”

Coyote shot to his feet to confront her. “No. It’s not possible.”

Of course it was possible. It’d already happened. She started crying. “I’m so sorry, Cy. I never meant for this to happen. I did want to marry you, but then we met and … and … I haven’t been the same. Please be happy for us.” Her smile turned dreamy through her tears. “He understands me in a way no one ever has. I feel so alive, and all I have to do is think of him.”

Coyote’s face turned beet red from his fury, and for a second, she thought he might actually strike her.

Girl, get out of there.
This was the part where Freddy Krueger or some other ghoul jumped out and killed the hapless victim.

Why wasn’t Butterfly standing up for herself?

Coyote sneered in her face. “Never meant for this to happen?” He mocked her tone of voice. “Is that the lie you tell, you whore? Where did you meet him? Was it before or after I was tortured for over a year for protecting you?”

Guilt gnawed her into pieces. He was right. He had suffered so much for her.

But it was wrong to throw that in her face, and she knew it. “I’m sorry. I am. I didn’t mean to hurt you. Please understand. I know in time you will.”

She turned and walked across the floor, toward the door.

“I’ll win you back, Butterfly!” he shouted after her. “Watch me. You’ll see. You’re mine. Now and always.”

What a jerk …

“Shhh,” Coyote whispered to her as he rubbed her forehead and her dreams of the past dissipated. He traced the line of her brow. Something that made her skin crawl.

“What do you want with me?” she asked him.

“For you to fulfill your promise.”

Abigail widened her eyes. “I didn’t promise anything.”

He gave her an evil smirk. “You always had trouble remembering your promises. Keeping your word. But not this time. You
owe
me. And I intend to collect it.”

Yeah, she had something she was going to pay him with. But she could pretty much bet he wouldn’t like it.

He definitely wouldn’t enjoy it.

Pulling away from her, he cocked his head as if he heard something. He shoved her back into the darkness and withdrew, then shut the door.

That’s right. Run, Coyote, run.
No matter what Choo Co La Tah or Coyote thought, she wasn’t Butterfly. She was Abigail Yager. And she didn’t give up or give in.

Yes, she’d spent her childhood in fearful submission to her Apollite parents. But that had ended when they died. From that day forward, she’d been reborn as an assertive woman who refused to cower to anyone.

“Abby?”

She stopped her tirade as she heard the most wonderful voice in the world in her head.

“Sundown?”

“Yeah. Are you okay, baby?”

She definitely was now.
“Didn’t I tell you to stay out of my thoughts?”

“You can beat me later. Just do it naked.”

In spite of the danger and her being tied up, she laughed at his humor.

Until she remembered Ren might be with him.
“Jess, listen. We have a spy in our midst.”

“What?”

“It’s true. Did you know Coyote is Ren’s brother?”

“No. No way. It’s not possible.”

“It’s definitely possible and extremely creepy. Keep your eye on Ren. Whatever you do, don’t turn your back on him.”

“Okay. Are you somewhere safe?”

She glanced around her jet black prison.
“I really can’t answer that. I’m tied up in some kind of little room without any light whatsoever.”

“All right. I have Sasha tracking you. I’m going to stay here in your head with you until we get there … if that’s all right with you, that is. I don’t want to intrude.”

Those words made her smile in spite of her danger.
“Thank you, Jess.”

“There’s no reason to thank me, Abby. You say the word, and I will always come for you. No matter what.”

That promise choked her and brought tears to her eyes. Never in her life had she had that kind of security.

Not even with Kurt or Hannah. As the oldest of the three of them, she’d allowed them to rely on her. Not the other way around.

The closest thing she’d had had been Jonah. But even he hadn’t been reliable.

I love you, Jess.

How she wished she could say that to him. But she knew she couldn’t. He would always be a Dark-Hunter, and they couldn’t marry.

“You still with me, Abby?”

“I’m here. How many more hours till dawn?”

“Less than two.”

Ouch. They were running out of time. Choo Co La Tah needed to finish his ceremony and make an offering of her blood to Mother Earth.

“Where are you guys right now?”
she asked.

“Not close enough to you for my money.”

“How close would that be?”

“By your side.”

“You keep talking to me like that, cowboy, and you might get lucky tonight.”

“I already got lucky tonight.”

“Mmm, so you’re a one-shot-a-night guy, huh?”

He laughed in her head.
“Ah, now, sugar, I didn’t say that. The stallion never minds an all-night ride, especially when it’s a wild one.”

“Stallion? That’s some ego you have there.”

“It’s not ego when it’s true.”

A chill went down her spine at that phrase. It was the same one Buffalo had used with Butterfly.

Could it be true?

Before she could pursue that thought, she heard a strange noise outside her door. Was Coyote coming back?

Something large struck the door hard a split second before it was wrenched open. Reacting purely on instinct, she charged the newcomer and kicked out with everything she had, hoping it would be enough to overpower him.

He fell straight to the ground, where he rolled back and forth on his shoulders in utter agony. A loud groan filled her ears. She moved to kick his groin again.

“Abigail!” he snapped, lifting his arm to prevent her infamous nut-cracker stomp. “Stop!”

Unsure whom she was dealing with, she narrowed her gaze on the man. “Are you Ren or Coyote?”

He flashed into the body of the crow. But it didn’t last long. A heartbeat later, he returned to his male form.

Granted, he was still a little green around the gills … and cupping himself. But he was Ren again. And he was whimpering.

“Oh, come on, you big baby. I didn’t hit you that hard.”

“I completely disagree. You kick like a damn mule, and I swear both my testicles are now lodged in my throat.” He let out a long breath as he pressed his hand to his groin. Then slowly, he rose to his feet. Biting his lip, he let out several sounds of severe pain before he stood and glared angrily at her.

She backed up, unsure of his intent. Would he kill her for his brother?

“What’s wrong with you?”

Abigail hesitated. “I’m fine. What’s wrong with
you?
”

“You kicked me in the balls.”

There was that. And then there was the other matter. “What are you doing here?”

“I was trying to rescue you, but I’m thinking it was a bad idea. And damn, you’re still bundled up. I’d hate to see what you could do with unrestricted access.”

Likely story. Who would have ever questioned him coming in to save her? But she wasn’t that stupid. “How did you know where I was?”

“I tracked one of the coyotes back here.” He pulled a knife out of his pocket and took a step toward her.

Abigail backed up in trepidation. “I’d rather wait till Jess gets here.”

He didn’t listen. Instead, he sliced through her bindings and let them fall to the floor. “We don’t have time to wait.… Are you sure you’re okay? You’re as skittish as a cat in a Doberman factory.”

She hesitated. Was he leading her home?

Or somewhere far more sinister?

“Abigail?”

“I don’t want to go with you.”

He recoiled as if she’d slapped him. “You don’t have to worry about your privacy. I won’t betray you.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about.”

“What, then?”

“
Your
loyalty. You want to talk to me about Coyote and explain why he looks just like you?”

Busted. It was written all over his face. She could almost see the gears grinding in his head.

“Yeah,” she accused. “That’s what I thought.”

He shook his head. “No. It’s not what you think.”

“I think you’ve teamed up with your brother and sold all of us down Shit Creek. Paddles are extra.”

“I didn’t. You remember the story I told you about the warrior and the Gate?”

“Yeah?”

“
I
was the warrior.”

Her mind reeled with that knowledge. “No.”

He nodded. “My brother hates me to this day, and I don’t blame him. I was out of control.”

“But why?”

“I told you why. Jealousy. I’d spent my entire life living in Coyote’s shadow. Others flocked to him. And for the most part, I was good with that.”

Ren clenched his teeth. “Until the day he brought you home.” He winced as if the pain was still too much to bear. “I’d never seen a more beautiful woman. For our people, butterflies are a symbol of hope. It’s said that if you capture one in your hands and whisper your dreams to it, it will carry them up to the heavens so that the wish can be granted.”

Sarcastic applause rang out from behind him.

Ren turned to find Coyote there.

“Nice, brother. You’re still trying to get into her bed, eh?”

Abigail noted the pain in Ren’s expression.

“I put it aside, Coyote. It’s time for you to do the same.”

Coyote shook his head. “No. The Butterfly belongs to me. I captured her. I tamed her. Most of all, I protected her.”

“She’s not a possession.”

He smiled evilly. “Yes, she is. She’s the most precious possession.”

Abigail’s head spun as the words they were saying now caused her mind to flash back to a time and place she still couldn’t identify.

She saw Ren and Coyote in a meadow, where they were fighting just like now. Even the subject was the same.

Coyote sneered at Ren. “This is all your fault. You and your petty jealousy. Why couldn’t you have been happy for me? Just once. Why? Had you left us alone, none of this would have ever happened. There would have been no Grizzly Spirit. No need for Guardians, and he—” Coyote gestured to the floor with a knife. “—would never have come here.”

Ren didn’t respond. His gaze was fastened to the red on Coyote’s hands. It went from there to the ground, where …

Buffalo lay dead in a pool of blood.

Ren winced. “How could you do this? He was a Guardian.”
And my best friend in the world.
The one and only person who’d stood by him without question.

Even when evil had claimed possession of his body and he’d served it willingly, Buffalo had stayed with him. Protecting him.

Now he lay slain by Ren’s own brother.

My cruelty drove him mad.…

Coyote spit on Buffalo’s back. “He was a bastard, and he stole her heart from me.”

Ren shook his head slowly as guilt and sorrow ripped him apart. “Hearts can never be stolen, Cy. They can only be given.”

Coyote sneered at him. “You’re wrong! That’s your jealousy speaking.”

But it wasn’t. Ren had learned to banish that.

Now it was too late. He’d destroyed everything that was good in his life.

Everything.

Sick to his stomach, he went to Buffalo and knelt beside him to whisper a small prayer over his body.

A shrill scream echoed. Looking up, Ren saw Butterfly as she ran to her Buffalo. She sobbed hysterically, throwing herself down on top of him.

“Why? Why? Why would you hurt me so?”

Coyote curled his lip. “You tore my heart out.”

“And you killed mine.” She laid herself over Buffalo and wept.

Ren rose to his feet and left her there to grieve while he confronted his brother.

That was his mistake. He didn’t think about what would happen if Butterfly was allowed to cry her misery out to the gods and spirits. To wail and shriek for her lost Buffalo.

But it was too late now. A howling wind came screaming through the woods, dancing around their white-buckskin-covered bodies. Those winds joined together to form two trumpeters who blew their horns to announce the most feared creature of all.

The Avenging Spirit. Something that could be summoned only by the cries of a wronged woman who wanted vengeance against the ones who’d hurt her.

Nebulous in form, he was bathed all in white. His hair, the translucent skin that covered his skeletal features. His feathers and buckskin. The only break from the color was the dark blue beadwork along his neck.