The Alchemy of Desire (22 page)

The old man continued muttering, and the younger man came closer. “You don’t know what she is?”

Diah froze. He always suspected she was keeping something from him, but he never dreamed it would be something like this. Shape-shifters were legends. Myths. They didn’t exist in real life. He pulled away from her as if she could infect him with her curse.

She cried out again and tears streamed down her cheeks, cutting paths in the dirt that caked them. Her body shuddered and, when she looked up, her eyes were as black and flat as cast iron.

Horror gathered in the pit of his stomach as he watched the transformation. No, Oni wouldn’t die, but she would be less than human. “If she shifts, will it stop this?”

The older man nodded after the question was relayed to him.

“Then do what you need to do to save her.”

The healer laughed, touched the tip of her nose and recited what sounded like an incantation. She whimpered at the golden light that rippled down her body, forcing her body to shift as it passed through her.

Diah stared down at the coyote that replaced the woman in his arms and wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him. He shoved it off him and stumbled to his feet. Of all creatures, why that?

The wounds still bled along the coyote’s back and shoulder, cruelly reminding him that this was once the woman he’d loved. His head swam. This couldn’t be real.

She yipped in pain as the old man waved his hands over the wounds. A black mist rose from her body and the younger man jumped to his feet. He pointed a small hatchet with a polished bone blade at it and shouted something in his language. The coyote arched its head back and howled. The mist balled up over her and then exploded into nothingness.

Cager placed his hand in the middle of Diah’s chest to steady him. “Do you believe what we’re seeing, little brother?”

He shook his head, not trusting his voice.

The healer uncapped a buffalo horn and sprinkled a powder over her back. The blood congealed and dried into brown scabs.

“The demon has been destroyed, but we are taking Onawa back with us. She has much to answer for.”

Diah grabbed the younger man’s arm. “What do you mean?”

“She has neglected her duties to our tribe.” He jerked his arm free and helped the older man to his feet.

Amber eyes stared back at him. She whimpered and tried to raise her head, but her legs collapsed under her. With another whimper, she turned her head away and closed her eyes.

Diah’s heart was torn. She wasn’t who he thought she was at all. She was a coyote, for Christ’s sake. And yet she’d risked her life to save him once again. He felt obligated to repay her for it.

He walked over to her. If she knew he was near her, she didn’t show it, not even when he reached down and ran his fingers through the thick reddish-gray fur. “What do you think we should do, Cager?”

For once, he didn’t have a sarcastic reply. “It’s your decision, Diah.”

He gathered her in his arms and stood. “We’re coming, too.” If for no other reason than he wanted answers.

Diah stared at the walls of the tepee and stroked the limp coyote that lay draped across his lap. The Sioux had led them back to their camp and the one who spoke English left them here. Oni hadn’t stirred since they arrived, but she continued to breathe slowly.

Cager paced the small room. “I never thought she was a furry. Didn’t know that was your type, little brother.”

“Shut up, Cager.” He looked down at her and tried to find something in the animal that reminded him of her.

“Well, this explains how she could always disappear on us and why I always felt like there were a pack of coyotes following us. Because we were traveling with one.”

“This is as big a surprise to me as it is to you.”

“So you didn’t know?” Cager sat next to him. “Honestly?”

“Of course I didn’t know.”

“And how would have you reacted if she’d told you? Would you still be so madly in love with her?”

Cager’s question stirred up a whole slew of issues. He probably would have run away from her if she’d told him about it in the beginning, regardless of how attracted he was to her. But now that he had come to love her… That is, if she really was the woman he had fallen in love with. “I don’t know.”

“And that’s probably why she tried to hide it from us.”

Footsteps approached the tent and Cager reached for his wand.

“Put that away. If they wanted to kill us, they would have done it by now.”

The flap opened and a tall man wearing an ornately beaded buckskin shirt entered. He glared at Oni as he passed her. Diah clenched her fur as if that would protect her from those who would decide her fate.

She opened her eyes and licked his hand before closing them again.

The old healer and the younger man who acted as a translator came in behind him, followed by four other men. They flanked the man with the beaded shirt and only sat after he did.

He began to speak, and the translator waited until he was done before saying, “This is Napayshni, our chief. He welcomes you to our camp and wants to know why you are traveling with Onawa.”

Diah started to reply, but Cager stopped him by placing his hand on his shoulder. “Let me handle this.”

He nodded. His brother had far more experience in talking his way out of messy situations than he did.

“Tell Chief Napayshni we thank him for his hospitality and for your tribe’s help in fighting the demon earlier. To answer his question, Oni is our guide.”

The words were exchanged. “Napayshni says he is very angry that the demon was unearthed by your group. You disturbed the camp and drove it out of hiding. Many lives could have been destroyed by your actions and Onawa knew this.”

“All I did was take down a tepee so we could have some decent shelter from the weather.”

The old healer chuckled as Cager’s sentence was spoken in Lakota. Napayshni glared at him while he replied. “He says she should have stopped you from doing that. She will have to answer for her actions.”

Fear closed Diah’s throat. What were they planning to do to her? Execute her? “She tried to warn us. She shouldn’t be blamed for my brother’s actions.”

Cager scowled. “Thanks for showing me some loyalty, Diah.”

The chief cocked one eyebrow at his outburst, as if he was surprised Diah would come to her defense. “Perhaps you do not know about her,” he said in English.

“You can understand us?”

He nodded and looked at the younger man, who replied, “I translate so the others can understand. I am Chaytonska, his son. Onawa is my half-sister. She is unique in our tribe because she can wield your
wasichu
magic as well as carry the spirit of the coyote within her. Shifters are rare among our people and the coyote is the rarest of all forms. Usually, they mean trouble. She earned the name Mayashehchan many years ago.”

“What does that mean?”

“Coyote Trickster. You are not the first
wasichu
she has deceived. The last group she brought to our lands, she abandoned to wander around the hills until the snow claimed them.”

Both he and Cager looked down at her. “Do you think she was planning on doing that to us?”

Chaytonska shrugged. “It was a better fate than one of the parties before them. Those, she fed to the
tonwan.
The demon.”

“Consider yourselves blessed that our
wicasha wakan
found you when they did,” Napayshni added.

Oni growled and bared her teeth at the chief. How long had she been listening?

He laughed at her. “She is to remain as she is until we decide what should be done with her.”

A turmoil of emotions swirled through Diah’s heart. He didn’t want her to die, but on the other hand, the growing feelings of betrayal left him thirsting to see her punished. “Will you kill her?”

Chaytonska translated his question and the men discussed it. “That will be determined later. It is wasteful to kill a shifter because they are of great value to our people. They are able to sense the
tonwan
far sooner than our
wicasha wakan
and they are immune to them while in their animal form.”

Napayshni stood. “We will leave you with her for now. Do not help her escape. Teetonka’s magic is strong and she will not shift until he removes it.”

The old healer grinned, revealing his missing teeth as he followed the chief and the rest of the party out of the tepee.

Alone with her and Cager again, Diah dug his hand into her fur. “Is this true, Oni?”

Her ears flattened against her head and she whimpered as she looked away from him.

“She’s not as helpless as she seems, eh, Diah?”

He fought the urge to hurt someone, but he couldn’t decide who he wanted to smack first—her or his brother. He curled his fingers around her loose skin under the fur and tried to keep his temper in check.

She yipped and snapped at his hand. He was so wrapped up in his rage that he didn’t realize he was hurting her.

He released her and his shame over losing control of himself like that made it difficult to meet her gaze. “Were you deceiving us, too?”

Oni struggled to her feet and walked to the opposite corner. Her whining almost sounded like she was crying, and if he looked closer, he could have sworn he saw a tear roll out of the corner of her eye.

“That tells me all I need to know.” He stood and slapped the flap aside as he left. He was finished with her and all her tricks.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Diah stormed out of the tepee and Oni’s heart shattered. Everything had played out as she had imagined. He was horrified to learn she was a shifter. She’d hoped he wouldn’t believe their lies, but he did. And now he was gone, leaving her at the mercy of her tribe.

She waited for Cager to follow, but he leaned back against a pile of skins and began polishing his wand. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you now.”

She looked at the flap and whimpered, trying to convey how much she cared for his brother, but Cager never looked up from his work. She rested her head on her paws. Perhaps it was for the best. Death would be kinder than having to live with the knowledge that Diah hated her.

“If you’d gone after me, it wouldn’t have been such a big deal. You’ve fucked one woman, you’ve fucked them all.” He huffed on the barrel and buffed away the moisture. “Diah, on the other hand, is different. When he falls, he falls hard.”

Oni howled.

Cager admired his reflection in the wand before pointing it at her. Magic coursed along the orichalcum. A flash exploded from the tip. She braced for the impact of the spell but felt no pain. “Tell me the truth, Oni.”

“How can I? I’m stuck as a coyote, you idiot. Maybe if you stopped obsessing over your appearance, you’d have realized that.”

“I heard that.”

She flinched. “
You can hear my thoughts?”

“Yes, and I’ll know if you’re lying, so don’t try it. Handy little spell to know during the war.” He crossed his arms. “I’m waiting.”

“When I first met you, I was planning on leading you as far as the hills and leaving you, but you took care of that when you refused to pay until we got back. But then Diah grew on me. He was so kind to me and treated me like a lady. It was easy to fall in love with him.”
Her thoughts turned to her memories of the time she spent with him. Every glance, every touch, every kiss replayed in her mind, culminating with a scene from last night.

“Enough! That’s my brother you’re making me watch.” He winced and rubbed his eyes as if he was trying to scrub the image from his brain. “I’m going to need a few stiff drinks to get that out of my mind.”

She pulled her lips back into a coyote grin and shook with silent laughter. “
Serves you right for prying into my mind.”

Cager shook his head. “That was cruel, Oni.” He slipped his wand into its holster. “So you really do care about him?”

“More than someone like me has any right to.”

“Nuts, both of you, and it’s beginning to rub off on me.” He stood and walked to the flap. “Let me go find him before he does something stupid.”

The inside lit up from the brief shaft of light that entered when he left, but the darkness deepened as the sun set. She thought about sneaking out, but they purposely hadn’t healed her. She could barely walk, much less run away.

Outside, other coyotes sang to the moon and she yearned to join them. Instead, she tried to focus on what she’d done wrong to deserve Diah’s anger. Was there some point when she could have told him about being a shifter? No, and it wouldn’t have changed his reaction. She was a fool for thinking any man would love her.

Oni didn’t know how much time had passed before she heard noises outside the tepee. The scents were Lakota, not Diah or Cager, and she didn’t bother to lift her head when her stepfather and the rest of the council entered.

Her eyes locked with Chaytonska’s and she saw the same golden eyes staring back at her. His were more like a falcon’s, which suited his form. She’d always been jealous he had the ability to fly, but she was a Trickster, and her wits had proven to be more useful to her than his wings.

Napayshni sat and waited for the others to get comfortable before he spoke. “Is it true what the
wasichu
told us? That the dark one was responsible for awakening the demon and not you?”

Before she had a chance to answer, the flap opened.

The horses seemed a little skittish when Diah threw the saddles on them, but then, not many of the Indians here used them. Oni never had.

He banged his head against the hard leather of the saddle.
Damn it! Why am I still thinking about her?

Cager’s laughter mocked him. “Anxious to leave?”

“I can’t think of a reason to stay.” Diah checked the contents of his bags and cinched them shut. The sooner they were away from this place—and her—the better. Chaytonska had been more than accommodating. He’d sold him two decent looking horses to replace the piles of bones left behind after the demon had consumed theirs. At least they’d been able to retrieve the saddles from the remains.

“Liar.” Cager grabbed the reins and studied the new horses. “Not too bad, I guess. But I think it’s stupid to be riding out like this in the middle of the night when we can have nice warm beds, decent food and a roof over our heads.”

“We can have that with the tepee you took.”

“And what about Oni?”

“What about her?” He jerked the reins from Cager.

“You’re not thinking about leaving her behind?”

Diah took a deep breath. He needed to fortify his heart so it wouldn’t sway his mind. “We don’t need her anymore. She said we need to go to the Black Hills, and the way she’s been leading us, I’d say they’re that way.” He pointed to the south.

“So you’d abandon her?”

“Goddamn it, Cager, it’s not like she’s been completely honest with us. What if she was planning on getting rid of us like the she did the other parties?” The anger inside him threatened to make his head explode, even though he was desperately trying to appear as cool and collected as his brother.

“Diah, take the packs off the horses. We’re staying here tonight.”

“Who put you in charge?”

A grin split his face. “I’ve always been in charge. This was my problem, remember? Besides, I’m the oldest here and you should listen to me, little brother.”

“Just because you’re the oldest doesn’t mean you’re the wisest,” Diah muttered, but he loosened the straps on the bags.

Cager took them and began searching for something after he set them on the ground. “What’s the real reason you’re so riled up?”

He sank onto one of the bags and rubbed his cheeks. Grime caked the stubble. He couldn’t wait to wash his face and shave. “I can’t believe I fell for her.”

“Well, she can’t believe she fell for you, either, so you’re both in the same boat.” He pulled out the half-empty bottle of scotch. “I’m so happy it made it this far.” He opened it and took a long drink before offering it to him.

Diah took it and winced as the scotch burned his dry throat. “How do you know how she feels?”

“I asked her.”

“And how do you know it wasn’t more lies?”

“I used a spell on her so I could hear her thoughts, seeing as she can’t talk like a human right now. There was no way for her to lie without me knowing it. She never meant to hurt you, Diah, although I got the distinct impression she wouldn’t mind seeing me fall off a cliff.”

A smile forced its way to his lips, despite his efforts to suppress it. “That sounds like something she would say.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Why do women have to be so frustrating?”

Cager took another swig from the bottle. “Technically, she’s not a woman—she’s a coyote. Besides, now you know why I never let any of them get too close to me. Women are too much trouble.”

“You live a pitiful existence.”

“And you don’t?” He stood and clasped Diah’s shoulder. “If you think you love her, then don’t walk out on her, or you’ll spend the rest of your life regretting it. And I’ll spend the rest of my life hearing you whine about her. I don’t think you felt a fraction for Becky Morris that you do for Oni, and think about how long you mourned her.” He walked off with the scotch.

Would I regret leaving her behind?
He always knew there would come a time when he would have to say goodbye to her, but he didn’t think it would be like this. Out of all the things he’d seen today, he wasn’t sure what disturbed him the most—the demon, the way Oni’s eyes turned black or watching her change into a coyote. It made him miss his boring life in Vicksburg.

He looked back at the tepee. Napayshni and the rest of the council were approaching it. He wished he could read their expressionless faces. What were they going to do to her?

The overwhelming urge to protect her from whatever punishment they had in store for her hit him like fist to his gut. He was even willing to trade places with her if it meant she wouldn’t be harmed.
God, I must be insane,
he thought as he ran to the tepee and burst in.

Seven pairs of eyes stared at him. Eight, if he counted the coyote’s. Some of the men reached for their weapons and he heard the shuffling of feet behind him.

The chief motioned for them to lower the weapons. “What do you want,
wasichu?
”

He looked at the old healer. “Turn her back to a human so I can ask her a question.”

Teetonka laughed and, as soon as Napayshni nodded, he flicked his wrist. The golden light rippled down her body like before, turning her back to the Oni he knew.

Diah knelt next to her and grabbed her chin so she couldn’t avoid his gaze. “The truth, Oni.”

Tears glistened in her bloodshot eyes as if she had been crying for hours. “The truth about what?”

He tightened his grip. “You know what I’m asking.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t want to hurt you anymore.”

His hand went slack. So it was all a lie?

“
Techihhila,
Diah. That is the truth.” She said something to the old man, who nodded and cast the spell on her again. Her body shrank and fur covered her skin.

His lungs refused to move. She loved him and he was treating her like she was some sort of criminal. “Please, turn her back.” He had so many questions he needed to ask her.

“She asked to remain as a coyote,” Chaytonska replied.

“Why?”

“It’s easier for her to forget her human life when she’s in that form.” The candlelight flashed in his golden eyes and Diah had the sneaking suspicion she wasn’t the only shape-shifter in the room.

“What are you going to do to her?”

Napayshni exchanged glances with the other men. “She will be punished for awakening the
tonwan.
”

“But she didn’t do it. She did everything in her power to stop us. If I hadn’t been so greedy to keep her at my side this morning, she would have stopped my brother. And even after that, she fought bravely against the demon and was even wounded while trying to save my life.”

The chief held up his hand, stopping his defense of her. “You are willing to take responsibility for her?”

Oni whimpered and licked his hand. He could have sworn he saw her shake her head, but he replied, “Yes.”

The men murmured among themselves in their language. “Leave now,
wasichu.
” Napayshni pointed the flap. “We will tell you when we are finished with her.”

Two pairs of hands grabbed him and dragged him out. The Sioux warriors pinned his arms behind him and forced him to his knees a few feet away from the tepee.

“Is this really necessary?” he asked. Where was Cager when he needed him?

Oni screamed inside and his heart stopped beating. What the hell were they doing to her? He tried to jump to his feet, but the warriors held him down. Their viselike grips refused to yield no matter how hard he struggled. When her cries stopped, they released him and pushed him into the dust.

Napayshini stood over him with a grim expression. “My wife’s daughter is now yours,” he said a cold voice. He walked away without explaining further.

Diah rose up to his elbows and watched the men leave. No sounds came from the tepee.
Dear God, don’t let them have killed her.
If they harmed one hair on her head, he’d make sure his case of black fire would burn their descendants. He scrambled to his feet and threw the flap open.

Oni gasped and raised one of the hides to cover her chest. “Diah, what are you doing here?”

He crouched in front of her and examined her skin. Rows of puckered flesh disappeared over her shoulder and down her back from where the demon’s claws had sliced her. “What did they do to you? Did they hurt you?”

She shook her head and glanced at her new scars. “Forced healing is never comfortable. They weren’t as nice to me as I was to you.” She pulled the hide tighter around her and flipped her thick braid over her shoulder. “I’m going to need a new dress. That one is little more than rags after today.”

It wasn’t fair for her to be so beautiful. The sight of her bare skin flooded him with desire, and he wished he could ignore his hardening cock. He held her cheeks firmly between his palms so he had her undivided attention. “If you ever deceive me again…”

She pried his hand off and leaned toward him. Her fingers brushed through his hair. “No more lies, no more secrets.” Her lips pressed against his and the hide fell in a puddle between them. “I promise.”

He stared at her breasts and couldn’t resist her any longer. His arms crushed her body against his while his tongue delved into the sweet recesses of her mouth.

When they broke away, she said, “I taste scotch on your lips.”

“Cager gave me some before I came in here.”

She laughed and shoved him back on a pile of furs. “You needed a drink to work up your courage?”

He cupped one of her breasts. “More like calm my anger.”

Her lips brushed against his ear. “And why were you angry?”

“In all honesty, I forget now.” His skin burned. Sweet Jesus, he wanted her. It wasn’t fair that she had this much control over him, but as he remembered the prior night’s passion, he wasn’t going to complain too loudly.

“Then I’m not going to remind you.” Her hand skimmed over the bulge in his trousers, sending shivers down his spine. “But I should make sure you don’t stay angry at me.” Her fingers unbuttoned his fly and reached in.

“Oni, you don’t have—”

“Shh!” She exposed his cock and stroked it. “I’ve been wanting to do this.” She lowered her head.

Diah almost screamed with pleasure as her tongue licked the tip. Why had he been denying himself this for so long? “God, that feels so good.”