Lone Wolf (14 page)

Hearing the truth in her words, he nodded. “Do you want to tell her, or shall I?”

“I will, but I’m leaving things open. I don’t want to piss off an ally.”

“Speaking of allies, I’m worried about Simon.”

“Why don’t you try and get in contact with him again, while I talk to Renee?”

He waited while she returned to Renenet, speaking low. Finally, the other vampire nodded and waved at Beck.

“I’m going on ahead,” she said. “See you two tonight at dusk?”

“Why dusk? It’s not even noon yet.”

Renee and the boy exchanged a glance. “The lights,” she said.

“The Marfa ghost lights?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t understand,” Marika said. “We don’t have time for that.”

“Wait and see.” Renee’s smile was warm. She waved at her escorts to follow and took Eli’s hand, leading him away.

Marika cursed under her breath.

Beck put his arm around her, and she leaned into him, as though taking comfort from his warmth. For his part, he found being near her was like a powerful drug, an opiate of sorts, addictive and as necessary as breathing. He couldn’t help but wonder how she’d react if he told her this. Someday, he would. When the timing was right.

Pushing herself away from him, Marika sighed. “That settles that. We’ll meet up with them in the morning on the road east of here, near Mitchell Flat.”

“What about them?” Beck indicated the still-frozen townspeople. “If we leave town now, once we’re clear, can you release them long-distance?”

“I don’t know.” She gave him a wry smile. “Remember, I’ve never done this before. Maybe once I’m out of the area, the spell won’t hold them anymore.”

Walking over to a small group of people on his left, Beck circled them. Though their chests rose and fell with their breaths, they didn’t even blink. “Maybe, but we can’t take that chance. I don’t want to leave them like this indefinitely.”

“Me, either.” She came up to stand by his side, close enough that her arm brushed his. “But I’m not going to release them while we’re still in town. After all, they were going to capture us for Brigid.”

“Or worse,” he said grimly. “Come on, let’s get our truck.”

They hurried back to the hotel, moving swiftly through the streets crowded with immobile people, retrieved their vehicle and headed in the same direction Renee had gone on foot. Though he’d figured they might catch up to her, they saw no signs of her or her entourage.

On the outskirts of town, Beck pulled over.

“See if you can release them now.” He couldn’t resist touching her, a light touch, her skin soft and cool under his hand.

Her eyes dark, she rolled down her window and leaned outside, closing her eyes. Her mouth moved as she spoke silently, either casting a new spell or removing an old one.

A moment later, she sat back up and looked at him. “Done. Now we’d better get going. There are a bunch of really confused people in Marfa right now. Some of them might come looking for answers.”

He nodded, keeping his hand on her shoulder, unwilling to let her go just yet. Finally, he had to, and as he put the shift into Drive and pulled out onto the highway, he glanced sideways at her.

“What do you think of Eli?”

She gazed straight ahead rather than at him, catching her bottom lip between her teeth. “I don’t know. He seems a nice enough kid. Why?”

“He appears to trust Renenet. Shifter children don’t usually take to vampires so easily.”

Her mouth curved into a smile. “He’s not an ordinary shifter.”

“Still.” He couldn’t stand having her so close and not touching. Barreling down the road, he could only glance sideways at her, wanting a kiss and knowing he’d have to settle for a touch instead.

“Come here,” he growled, patting the seat next to him. As she scooted over, he pulled her close and smoothed back her hair, tucking it behind her ear. “I don’t like this. I’m still not sure about Renee, though she does have Eli to lend her story some credence.”

She relaxed against him, letting him put his arm around her shoulders. “Me, either, but it’s the first time we have anything concrete about Dani. And Renenet’s story explains a lot of things. If the children are going to Brigid, that explains why she’s made no effort to locate us.”

“True, but I figured that was because she was looking for the children. I can’t picture Brigid waiting in her lair for them to come to her.”

“I can. She’s like a spider hiding in her web.”

“Maybe. But I still can’t shake the feeling something’s wrong. What if Renee is lying?”

“Why would she be?” She gave a one-shoulder shrug. “And wild as it seems, I like having a plan. It’s better than doing nothing.”

Once, he would have been the one making that statement. When had he become the man who opted for the safe way over the impetuous one?

Still, this was Brigid they were discussing. Powerful, ancient Brigid. Infiltrating her place would be like trying to sneak into the White House and play tag with the president.

“This could be a good thing,” she repeated. “One thing I’ve learned over the centuries is that action is always better than inaction.”

Hellhounds, he remembered when he would have been the one to make that statement. Now, with his experiences behind him, he had no choice but to urge caution. Running in place worked only for the very young and naive.

“Maybe, but what good are we going to be to Dani if Brigid reduces us to Jell-O?”

“True.” Grim-faced, Marika turned to him. “If you have another option, then tell me.”

She had him there. “I don’t.”

“Then I guess we have no choice but to get ready to get on the road with Renee and her group.” She looked him over, her liquid gaze dark and unreadable.

“True, but she said she’d meet us there at dusk. We’ve got some time to kill. What do you think? Should we check out a few more water towers before we hook up with her?”

Licking her lips, she nodded. “We’ll have to drive past the flats to get to Alpine.”

“Yeah.” He shot her a smile, hoping for one in return. “But what else are we going to do?”

“I’d like to try to contact Dani again.”

“We can do that.”

“We’ll wait until we’re close to town.” Settling back in the seat, she turned her head to gaze out the window again. Cactus and scrub pines, dry earth, gulches and arroyos. And the mountains, their edges worn smooth with time.

He understood how one could lose oneself in a place like this.

When he felt her gaze on him again, he glanced at her.

“Why here?” he asked. “Why the desert?”

She rolled down her window, letting the hot, dry breeze blow her hair. “Can you not see the beauty? I love the dry earth, the cactus and the tumbleweed, and the rugged soft edges of the earth and the mountains.”

“I do, too. It’s stark but haunting.”

“Exactly.” She smiled.

With a hard look, he challenged her. “Quit skirting the truth. It’s pretty scenery, true. But there must be another reason you decided to buy a home here. Why did you choose this place to raise our daughter?”

Slowly, the smile faded from her face. “Beauty isn’t enough?”

“For anyone else. But I know you. You had another reason.”

M
arika bit her lip so hard she tasted her own blood. Dare she tell him the truth? Such a simple reason, but so revealing.

Another quick look at his rugged profile and she decided he needed to know. If Beck really wanted to be in Dani’s life, he’d be in hers also.

“There’s only one reason I chose to live in west Texas,” she said softly. “You.”

“Me? I don’t follow.”

“I met you here. Fell in love with you here. And, though I knew you traveled all over for your job, you always came back here to see Addie and to visit Juliet’s grave.”

“Me?” Disbelief threaded his voice. “You stayed here because of me?”

Face heating, she nodded.

“That makes no sense.” He sounded angry. “You kept my daughter hidden, you made no move to contact me. Don’t try to backpedal now.”

She supposed she deserved that. “I have no reason to lie to you, not now.” Swallowing, she found herself blinking back unexpected tears. “I have nothing left to gain.”

“True.” His harsh tone softened. “But I still don’t understand why you’d choose to stay in an area for someone whom you spent the last two years avoiding like the plague.”

“Maybe I was subconsciously hoping to rectify that.”

“Why are you telling me this now?”

Reaching to touch him, she reconsidered and with drew her hand. “You said you wanted truth between us, so that’s what I’m giving you.”

“But why now?” Honest confusion colored his voice. “In the middle of all this.”

“Because,” she said simply, “it needs to be said.”

She took a deep breath before continuing. “Before I met you, I was dead. Yes, I know all vampires are literally dead, but my insides, my emotions, had gradually begun to fade away. I was in true danger of becoming an automaton. Several times, I thought about ending my life—you have no idea how the years can stretch out endlessly when you have nothing to live for.”

She shook her head in frustration. “I’m not doing a good job of conveying what I want to say.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Such sadness in his tone. “You’ve just described me to a
T.
And I haven’t even lived as long as you.”

This time, she reached out and squeezed his shoulder. She couldn’t help but offer comfort, however small. “You used to tease me all the time, remember? You made me understand that closing yourself off from the rest of the world is no way to live.”

“But you had a reason, a purpose.” The words exploded from him. “You had your daughter. What about the rest of us?”

“All things come in time.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“No. It’s not.” She leaned closer, wishing she had the soul of a poet, so she could put her thoughts into words so beautiful they couldn’t help but resonate in him.

“I need you,” she said, meaning the words as she’d never meant anything else before.

“Marika,” he groaned. “Don’t do this to me. Not now.”

“Then when?”

“When I’m not driving, so I can kiss you properly.”

Heat rippled through her at the molten look he gave her.

Quivering, she reached out and tentatively stroked his arm.

Then, muttering a curse, he pulled the truck to the side of the road and slammed on the brakes.

As he reached for her, she met him halfway.

It was only a kiss, but oh, so much more. In that hard claiming of her mouth, he made promises and she accepted them. As his lips moved over hers, and no words passed between them, he both aroused her and gave her hope. Hope for a future untainted by hurt and hate and pain. Hope like that which she hadn’t known since the first time they’d gotten together.

Hope, she reflected as he lifted his head and moved away, was a beautiful and wondrous thing.

He pulled back onto the road, and they headed into Alpine.

A thorough search of that town revealed much the same as it had in Marfa. Some curious locals, a lot of brightly dressed tourists and quaint scenery. In other words, nothing.

For Beck’s sake, they stopped at a local burger joint, where he ordered two double cheeseburgers and fries and proceeded to demolish all of them while she watched, amused.

Dusk had not yet fallen by the time they’d driven to Mitchell Flat. The tourist turnoff had begun to fill up with cars in preparation for the night and the hope of seeing the famous lights.

Renee and her entourage were already there, waiting. They’d spread a blanket on the ground, claiming a spot.

Eli ran up to greet them, chattering excitedly about eating ice cream and a burger.

“I had a burger, too.” Beck ruffled his hair. “It was so good, I ate two.”

Eli grinned, admiration shining in his bright blue eyes.

As Renee motioned them over, he followed Beck, staring up at him with adoration.

“You’ve gained a fan, shifter,” Renee said wryly.

Beck lowered himself to the ground, pulling Eli to sit next to him. Marika took his other side.

“Tell me about Dani.” She touched the little boy’s arm. “I miss my little girl so much.”

He gazed up at her, clearly puzzled. “What should I tell you?”

“Just stuff.” She gave him a sheepish smile. “Stuff moms want to know. What was her day like? Does she get to have fun, to play? Is she getting enough to eat?”

Nodding, his expression thoughtful, he studied her. When he finally spoke, rather than answering one of her questions, he offered his own observation. “Well, she was always singing.”

“Singing?” She frowned. “What do you mean?”

“It was a puzzle,” Eli said thoughtfully. “We all tried to figure out what song it was. She always sang the same thing. She kept singing about a little red caboose, over and over.”

Stricken, Marika raised her hand to her mouth. She knew. The others watched while she fought emotion and gathered her composure. When she thought she had herself under control, she slowly lifted her head and began singing.

It was a children’s song, about a caboose behind a train, one she’d sung to her little girl a thousand times. She sang it with the ease of long practice, her voice lilting even though tears streamed down her cheeks.

“That’s it.” Eli sprang to his feet, facing her. Excitement colored his voice and lit up his pale blue eyes. “That’s the one Dani sang all the time. How did you know?”

“We used to sing it together,” Marika said, her chest aching. “It’s her favorite song.”

Now Beck stood, circling around them restlessly. “I think I know how to find Dani,” he declared.

“What?” They all turned to stare at him, Eli and Renee, and of course, Marika, who refused to allow herself to hope and frowned instead.

“Don’t say something like that unless you mean it.”

“Marika.” He leaned in close, never taking his gaze from hers. “I do mean it. I really think I know how to find Dani.”

Jerking back as if he’d slapped her, she glared at him. “Not funny.”

“I’m not joking.”

In an instant she went from furious to quivering with eager anticipation. Balancing on the balls of her feet, she grabbed his shirt, yanking him closer. “Where is she then? If you truly know, then tell me now.”

Raising a brow, he unfisted her hands from his shirt. “Easy. Take it easy.”

She rocked back, chagrined. “Sorry. Still, to say some thing like that… You had to know what such a statement would do to me, how I’d feel. Now, tell me what you meant. Do you really think you know Dani’s location?”

He gave her a gentle smile. “Not exactly.”

When she opened her mouth to protest, he silenced her with a quick touch of his fingers against her lips. “I didn’t say I knew where she was, but how to find her. Two different things.”

She nodded, realizing that he wasn’t deliberately being mysterious, just trying to gather his fragmented thoughts into a cohesive whole.

A tiny spark of hope flared inside her. Still, she waited, aware of Renenet and Eli watching them also. Staring at him, she kept her expression tentative, as if she didn’t dare to hope, as if showing any emotion at all would be sorely tempting fate.

The silence stretched on until it became unbearable.

“Well?” she asked softly. “If you have something to say, then speak.”

“Even if it’s only a theory?”

“Yes. Right now we have few ideas and precious little to go on. Give me your theory. It can’t hurt.”

He cleared his throat. “If they are indeed on the move, heading toward Brigid’s, I think Dani’s looking for you.”

“Of course she is.” She didn’t bother to keep the impatience from her voice. “She’s been calling me ever since they took her away.”

“But she has no way to locate you.”

“And?” Marika crossed her arms.

“So sing to her. She’s been trying to find you. Let her use the song.”

“Like a homing beacon?”

“Exactly.” Leaning in, he gave her a quick kiss, clearly able to see her hesitation. “What have you got to lose?”

“True, that.” She took a deep breath and began singing, increasing the volume as her voice warmed.

A moment later, Eli joined in.

Marika held out her hand and he took it.

As she sang, she tried to project her voice, waiting for her daughter to connect.

Nothing.

Only her voice and the boy’s, together with the approach of the darkness.

Some of the humans gathering in their own groups around them stared. Marika ignored them, continuing her song.

A moment later, Beck took her other hand and joined in, his deep baritone blending perfectly with hers.

Only Renenet and her two escorts abstained. They did their part though, staring down any humans who appeared about to protest. They looked so dangerous and so menacing, that none did.

Somewhere between the fifth and sixth rendition, darkness fell, swift and black and merciless. The restless crowd stilled and grew silent, yet Marika, Eli and Beck continued to sing.

From the distance, echoing off the flat, cooling desert and mysterious mountains, came a foreign sound, haunting and beautiful, as though the angels blew a magical flute to accompany the song.

“They come,” Renenet whispered, staring at the darkening purple of sky. “Silence now,” she said, taking Marika’s arm.

Marika ignored her, continuing the song. Glancing at Beck, she wondered if he could hear their daughter singing.

Hope is found in unlikely places.
The phrase kept echoing through her head as she stared at the flat plain in the growing darkness. When darkness came this far from civilization, it came like a violent death—sudden and swift, with no method of escape. The lights the gathered humans had come to see were the exception.

A single flash of gold, far off on the distant horizon, resembled molten heat lightning. Swift and violent, this couldn’t be the perfect spheres those gathered had come to see.

Then the first ball of light appeared, startlingly close.

For the first time, Marika’s voice faltered. Eli went silent, too, and a moment later, so did Beck.

More lights flashed into existence, increasing in both number and size.

Awestruck, the humans murmured.

“It’s them,” Eli said, squeezing her hand so tightly it hurt. “They’re coming.”

“Who?” Marika asked, almost afraid to hope. “Is it the children, or are they still on their way to Brigid?”

“Both.” The boy sounded wise beyond his years. “They detoured this way because of your singing. Your song drew Dani, and, because she’s the most powerful, the others let her lead the way.”

“The lights, what are they?”

“Beacons to light their way. Sometimes we griffons use them as a method of travel.” He grinned, reminding her he was still a child. “It’s fun.”

“So you think Dani is inside these lights?”

He nodded, still grinning. “I don’t think it. I know. If you listen, you can hear her calling you.”

Fairly vibrating with impatience, Marika strained to calm herself enough to try, but her restlessness made her incapable of standing still.

“Do you hear?” He peered up at her, expectation shining in his face.

“No.” She glanced at Beck. “What about you?”

He cocked his head. “I hear faint singing. The same song as earlier.”

“That’s her!” Eli jumped up and down with undisguised joy. “She knows you’re here. She’s on her way.”

Marika exchanged a glance with Beck. Her daughter—their daughter—finally.

She took a step forward and realized that she and Beck’s hands were still linked. He moved with her, and in accord they began walking away from the others, skirting the low fence and climbing between the slats, skidding down one gully and back up another, walking toward the softly glowing lights. Walking toward their daughter. Toward Dani.

Behind them, several humans called out. “Where are you going? You’re not supposed to go past the boundary. Wait. Come back.”

They ignored them, confident Renee and her crew would deter any who might be foolish enough to follow.

The closer they came, the larger and brighter the hovering spheres appeared.

Suddenly, something blocked them. An invisible wall. Magic.

This could only mean one thing.

“Brigid?” Marika gasped. “Not now, not here. Not when we’re so close.”

“Fight it,” Beck urged. “She has power, but yours is stronger. And she must be doing this from a distance.”

True. The knowledge that he was correct gave her impetus. Pushing forward, she shoved against the invisible barricade with one hand, holding on to Beck with the other.

The wall fell away.

As they moved forward, three shapes flashed from the darkness to block them.

Brigid and two others had arrived.

Hands still linked, without hesitation Marika pushed past them.

“The children are mine,” Brigid snarled. She raised her hand and sent a tidal wave of power at them, pushing them to the ground. Marika fought, struggling to regain her body, but try as she might, she couldn’t move.

The instant Brigid knocked them down, Beck knew the battle of the century had arrived. From somewhere, he found enough of a reserve of strength to drag his free hand to his pocket and press the GPS alert button on his cell phone. When he’d been a Protector, they’d called that the 911 button, to be used only in a life-threatening situation. Pressing it guaranteed immediate help would be dispatched.