Gods and Mortals: Fourteen Free Urban Fantasy & Paranormal Novels Featuring Thor, Loki, Greek Gods, Native American Spirits, Vampires, Werewolves, & More (203 page)

I
remembered the tea
. The sweet aroma wasn’t my mom’s usual flavor, but I was so excited about Uriah getting my dad to let us get married that I hadn’t thought about the change before touching the china cup to my lips. The warm fluid filled my mouth and the strange sensation raced through me before I could react.

I couldn’t understand what was happening at first. I saw my hand drop the cup, but I didn’t remember letting go. I tried to pick it back up, knowing my mom would be upset if I broke her heirloom china, but my body wouldn’t respond. Uriah’s face crowded close to mine. I tried to speak to him. He looked so worried. When my eyes began to close, panic set in. Uriah’s face faded and I screamed, but no one could hear me.

I felt my body being lifted from the couch, but my other senses had been dulled too much to understand what was happening. Muffled voices swam in my ears and I strained to make out the meaning in them. The vibration of a car motor startled me. Where was I being taken? Thoughts of Romeo and Juliet flooded into my mind. Panicking, I wondered if people could still be mistaken for dead. Surely not, I told myself. There was too much technology available for that to happen. San Juan Pueblo was hardly a technology savvy town, though.

Uriah’s hands on my skin calmed me immediately. I had felt Uriah’s soft touch so many times, I knew it right away. If I was in Uriah’s care, I knew I would be safe. There was no one in this world I trusted more than him.

The car rolled to a stop, banishing the gentle vibration. Uriah released my hand, bringing the panic back. It lasted only a few seconds before he gathered my limp body in his arms once more. Holding me close to his chest, I felt his heartbeat. Quick, but steady. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he ran. The soothing calm I usually felt when I was in his arms had disappeared. He was scared. Normally so calm and levelheaded, I was shocked to realize Uriah was frightened for me. Realizing he was afraid as well made it even more difficult for me to stay calm.

Abruptly, the atmosphere changed. Warm air wrapped around me. I recognized the same feeling from earlier that day. Remembering Uriah’s mother sitting close to the fire on the couch, I knew where I was. It felt good to be in Uriah’s home. I often felt more at home with his family than I did with mine. I could feel the commotion that erupted at our presence. I was moved several times and I felt Uriah leave me more than once, but he always returned. He would always come back for me.

The minutes passed slowly. My frustration mounted as I tried to listen to the voices, desperate to know what was happening to me. Muffled sound was the only thing I could hear. I begged my eyes to open, my fingers to move, but nothing. I was trapped in my body while the people who loved me planned my rescue. I was praying fervently that there would be a rescue.

Uriah’s gentle hands caressed my face. His fingers stroked my jawline, from my ear down to my chin, just as they had done so many times before. The way his fingers trembled as he touched my skin tore at me. I didn’t want him to let go. Every time I felt him leave, my composure slipped a little more. Uriah’s hand hesitated, my heart raced. I begged him silently not to leave me. I felt his lips touch mine and my own mouth strained to react, to move with his, but I couldn’t.

Uriah pulled away quickly. Moaning in agony, I tried to reach for him. I strained against my strange prison uselessly. His presence left me and I cried, though no tears actually fell down my cheeks. I didn’t understand why he was leaving me. Sophia should have already been at his house. Where else would he be going? I tried to picture his face, to stave off the heartache I always felt when we were apart, but another face came without warning.

The light blue eyes were nothing like Uriah’s. Uriah’s eyes were a deep rich brown, so expressive that I always knew exactly what he was feeling. The stylishly cut, dirty blonde hair of the intruding face was such a stark contrast to Uriah’s black locks. Uriah had desperately needed a haircut for several months, but with the extra load of working his family’s ranch by himself, I didn’t press the issue. The look was even starting to grow on me. I wanted so badly to run my hands through his hair, right now.

I wanted to see Uriah’s face again, not this other, so achingly familiar face. Uriah’s face was serious, but kind. Always concerned for those around him, I constantly had to remind Uriah to take a few minutes to relax and worry about what he needed, like sleep and rest. That had been even truer ever since his father died. I wasn’t even sure how he kept going with everything he had on his plate.

The familiar face that filled my mind was young, filled with laughter and jokes. I used to love seeing his carefree smile, but now it only threatened to break me. It didn’t belong in my mind. There was only one face I wanted to see. Banishing the image of this boy, my thoughts turned back to Uriah. Thinking of my love for him was the only thing keeping me from full-fledged panic.

Desperate to keep my thoughts centered on Uriah, I thought of all the wonderful afternoons we had spent together. Thinking of us watching movies together or riding through the desert weren’t enough to keep the strangers face from slipping back into my mind. The smiling blue eyes were so insistent, they were starting to scare me. I needed something deeper. I needed the feel of Uriah’s lips against mine. His touch was the only thing that could keep me safe.

R
olling onto my back
, I winced as a sharp pain ran down my spine. I had dreamed of my dad, again. Dreaming of him always left me wishing I hadn’t woken up so quickly. Even after strange ones like that. Shoving my face into my pillow to clear my head, I couldn’t figure out why my bed smelled like dirt and hickory. The hot sun on my body brought it all back in an instant. Claire. I bolted upright, greeted by a few more cracks and aches. The sound of cars travelling down the highway reached my ears while Cole snored lazily a few feet away. We needed to leave. We couldn’t be wasting time while Claire was dying.

Jumping to my feet, I stopped when the mountain lion walked back into our camp. I stood petrified, but just as quickly as the terror struck, it faded. The great cat loped over to me, nuzzling my hand, and licking my fingertips. The calmness that invaded my senses was a mystery to me, but I couldn’t deny the kinship I felt with the animal. Almost like what I had felt toward the deer on my first hunt. Maybe this thing with the mountain lion wasn’t as unfamiliar as I thought it was.

I had always been able to calm any animal, but I just thought it was my soft touch and calm voice that made them so easy to work with. In the field with my dad, I thought about touching the deer and it walked over to me. When I thought about not wanting it to stare at me anymore, it left. When I was with my sheep and horses, I thought about them behaving.

My dad had accepted the incident with the deer as if nothing strange had happened. Why would he be comfortable thinking that an animal I was hunting would have no fear of me? He had also spent years watching unruly animals no one else could handle turn tame around me as well. I didn’t understand how he was able to handle it so casually. Did this have something to do with what he had been trying to tell me in his letter? Had I always been communicating with these animals, and the mountain lion was just the first one to ever talk back?

As if to prove me right, another vivid picture began forming in my mind.

The road stretched before Cole and me as we continued our journey. Sharp eyes watched us from the desert, wolves, coyotes, and other native animals. The line continued unbroken as we rode toward Tucson. A strange gratitude filled me. I didn’t understand the desire these creatures had to watch over me, but I definitely appreciated it. Without warning, the picture widened, going deeper into the desert hills.

Stalking us was another figure. Somehow, it kept pace with us as we travelled, its form shifting continuously as it ran. The mountain lion had hinted at some danger the night before, but I’d gotten the sense that even he didn’t know what it was. The warning seemed more definite than before. Answering my thoughts, the little alcove where we sat came back into my view with the shifting darkness hovering in the distance, watching as I slept. A shiver ran through me at the thought of something that felt so evil watching me all night. What did it want?

Another question formed in my mind as I wondered exactly what kind of creature it was. The mountain lion was able to hear my thoughts again, and suddenly the picture closed in on the blurred figure. Still my question lingered. The creature swirled, human in some ways, but animal in many others. It looked as if the creature itself couldn’t decide what it wanted to be.

The mountain lion’s invading thoughts gave me the impression that he didn’t understand the nature of the stalking creature yet, but an overwhelming sense of fear seeped into me. The creature would not be a friend as the mountain lion was. I nodded with understanding, though the great cat had already sensed my comprehension and withdrawn the vision. The mountain lion licked my fingers and rubbed his tawny head against my legs before loping away.

I glanced behind me, and was relieved to find Cole still wrapped in his dreams. He would feel better if the cat wasn’t around when he woke. Another warning in hand, I kicked Cole gently. We needed to get back on the road. There was no time to sleep in. Cole snapped up instantly, scanning the ground around him.

“The mountain lion’s gone,” I said.

Cole’s slender shoulders relaxed. “Thank goodness. That thing freaked me out. I still can’t believe it didn’t eat us.”

I didn’t feel the need to mention the fact that other desert animals would be keeping tabs on us during our journey. “Just hurry up and get ready to go.”

“I’m starving,” Cole mumbled. “Do you have anything to eat?”

“You brought a gun, no two guns, but you didn’t think to bring any food?” Why had I thought Cole would be better prepared than I was? Cole had never wanted for anything. Why would he expect it to be any different now? Reaching into my pack I pulled out a couple of granola bars and tossed them to him. I took out several more for myself.

“My dad mentioned the guns, not food. I had no idea what was going on at the time.”

“Your dad told you to bring the guns?” I asked. Why on earth would he suggest that?

Cole shrugged. “That’s what he said. Besides, it’s not like we’re riding through the Sahara, Uriah. There are these things called convenience stores. And with this,” he said holding his wallet out, “why would I need to bring food with me? It’s only another four hours to Tucson.”

I eyed Cole’s wallet. My own sat comfortably in my back pocket, but while I imagined Cole’s held plenty of cash and most likely a credit card or two, mine held a grand total of forty-seven dollars. He was better prepared for this than I was. I didn’t exactly get paid for working on my own ranch. Even when the sheep were sheared and the alfalfa harvested, most of the money went back to my mom to keep things running smoothly, which was a task in itself.

Worries about how I would support Claire tried to force their way into my mind. It was nothing new, unfortunately. Growing up with her father bringing home motorcycles on a whim and never having to go without, she used to spend more on clothes in one weekend than I did in a whole year. Her spending habits had changed drastically since we started dating. She’d replaced designer outfits with regular blue jeans and t-shirts because they made more sense for working on a ranch. Still, I knew my world was going to be a shock to her. None of that was important right now. I had to save Claire’s life first. Gathering my small collection of belongings, I stuffed them back into my pack.

“Well, let’s hit the road, I guess,” Cole said, his comic swagger carrying him to the waiting motorcycles. He paused next to my bike and smirked. “You might want to get that fixed before my dad sees it.” Cole pointed to a thick band of scratches across the side of the bike. It must have happened the night before when the bike fell on top of me.

“That was your fault,” I reminded him. The vengeful urge I had felt earlier toward Thomas’s truck returned. It wouldn’t be hard for something unfortunate to happen to the motorcycle. I wouldn’t deny that he deserved it, and much worse, but it would be a shame to see such a sweet machine destroyed. He did deserve it, though.

Smirking to myself, I doubted I would be able to carry through with the idea anyway, but I would certainly enjoy the thought for a while. Visions of the bike flying off the bluffs and exploding into a ball of fire, with Thomas wailing at the loss, brought a smile to my face. “Besides,” I said causally to Cole, “who says he’ll be getting it back at all.”

Already on his bike, Cole watched me curiously. Disbelief marked his face, but the hint of a smile was there as well. Pissing Thomas off was something he and Claire had both spent a lot of time doing. Turning away from him, I settled into the thick seat and let the engine roar loudly. Cole tapped the side of his helmet, reminding me to turn on the headset. I really didn’t want to listen to his chatter for the next four hours, but it was a necessary annoyance. Flipping on the microphone, I kicked the stand out and peeled away. The rutted dirt road led straight back to the highway. The smoothness of the blacktop was a relief to my sore body. I had only driven a few feet on the asphalt before Cole’s voice crackled over the speaker.

“Uriah,” he said, “so, what exactly happened last night?”

Anger streaked through my veins. “I already told you what happened,” I said. My jaw settled into a tight scowl. I had been extremely grateful for Cole’s silence the night before, but I knew there was a limit to his patience. Discussing what had happened was still hard to take, but I had the feeling Cole wouldn’t be put off much longer.

“No, I mean, why did he do it? Why would my dad hurt Claire?” His voice was soft. Sometimes I forgot Cole was actually related to Claire. He was worried about her too.

“Claire and I went to the Elders yesterday, for permission to get married next summer.”

“Yeah, I knew you guys were supposed to go. With your mom getting attacked, I didn’t think you guys actually went, though,” Cole said.

“We did go. They told us no.”

“What?”

“Quaile said we weren’t Twin Souls. She said that one day we would meet our true Twin Souls and abandon each other.” I still couldn’t believe her words, but it was mainly my anger keeping the truth at bay. I knew that eventually my rage would begin to fade and I would have no choice but to face a reality I once thought to be fairytale.

“Yeah right,” Cole scoffed. “You two are disgusting. I doubt that anything could break up your love fest.”

A crooked smile sprang to my lips. I couldn’t agree with the disgusting part, but everything else was absolutely true. It had to be. “Well, anyway, your dad threatened to call the police if Claire and I tried to run off to get married in Santa Fe. Like that was really a possibility anyway. Claire’s still only seventeen.”

“I can imagine Claire had a few words for Dad after a threat like that,” Cole said, knowing his sister all too well. He had been on the receiving end of her intensity more times than either of us could remember.

“She was ready to tear him apart,” I said. “As soon as we got back to your house, it got pretty heated.”

“I bet,” was Cole’s only response. “But what happened? With everything else you’ve been able to talk my dad into, I really would have thought you’d be able to win him over again.”

“I did,” I said, “but your dad was prepared. Maybe after we left the Elders he knew he would give in eventually. When we went to talk to my mom after seeing the Elders, apparently your dad had an appointment of his own.” The witch’s name brought bile to my throat. I couldn’t even bring myself to say it. I still couldn’t believe Thomas had stooped so low.

“Where did he go?” Cole’s rough voice made it clear that he had a pretty good idea about what the answer would be.

“Shaxoa Zarafen.”

Cole’s breath hissed through his teeth. His hands tightened on the handle bars of his bike. Cole was one of the few people in the pueblo who could stand being around Thomas for more than a few minutes, and that was probably only because he knew he was expected to take over his father’s businesses one day.

“What did it do?” Cole asked, finally able to speak again.

“The witch told your dad that the tea would make Claire forget about me and make her only want her Twin Soul, which it did, in a way. What she didn’t tell him it would do was put Claire in some kind of coma that only her Twin Soul can wake her from by giving her the antidote,” I explained. It felt way too real saying the words out loud.

“Well, that doesn’t sound so bad,” Cole said.

He was such an idiot. I took a deep breath as I clenched my fists around the bike handles, trying to keep myself from reaching out and strangling him. “Cole, if her Twin Soul doesn’t give her the antidote in time, she’ll die,” I said, wanting to punch his pretty face.

“What?” His head swung toward me, the quick motion tilting his bike to the side for a split second. Cole snapped his attention back to the road, but his mind was not on the asphalt. “That’s who were looking for, isn’t it?”

Finally, he’s starting to catch on. “Yeah.”

I couldn’t believe this was who I had ended up with. The mountain lion was a more welcome companion than Cole. I was even debating trading him for the shifting shadow. Maybe I could just give him to the shadow thing and get rid of both of them. I wasn’t usually so sadistic, but it seemed to be the only way to keep even darker thoughts at bay right now.

“Do you think it’s really like the stories?” Cole asked. “Do you think she’ll actually fall in love with him as soon as she sees him?”

“That’s exactly what I’m trying not to think about, Cole.” Yesterday, I would have told anyone what a load of bull Twin Souls, potions, and myths were. Now, I was beginning to wonder how many of the other stories were true as well. Thinking of all the questions I had that couldn’t be answered by the stories, I wondered how much of the truth was hidden completely. The shadowy creature following us didn’t belong to any story I had ever heard.

“We’ve grown up hearing the stories, Uriah, both of us. I know some of them by heart, but I never actually believed any of them,” Cole said. He was quiet for a few seconds before continuing his thought. “I’ve never heard a story about Twin Souls where they didn’t end up falling in love and basically living happily ever after.”

“Yeah, but lots of stories people tell to kids get happy endings regardless of what really happened,” I argued. “Hercules wasn’t really the perfect hero from the movie. He was driven mad and killed all his kids at one point before he straightened himself out. Do you remember the movie
The Little Mermaid
?”

“You actually watched that?” Cole asked. “Are you a five year old girl?”

“Oh, shut up. That movie came out before I was even born and I watched it with my cousin Rachel,” I said, “but that’s not the point. At the end of the movie, the mermaid gets away from that octopus lady and marries the prince. In the original story she has to kill the prince to stay human, but she can’t, so she goes back to the sea and dies.”

“So what does that have to do with anything?” Cole asked. “Either way, it’s just a fairytale. Neither version is real.”

“I know they’re just fairy tales, but that’s what I thought about Twin Souls before yesterday. I’m just saying that maybe all the stories of Twin Souls aren’t really true to what actually happened. Maybe they didn’t all end with them falling in love. Maybe there’s still a chance that Claire won’t fall in love with her Twin Soul,” I said.