Shifting Dreams (36 page)

Missy’s paw swiped into the cavern, but she couldn’t squeeze in. Should he just shoot her? There were still so many questions and Caleb wanted answers. The memory of Missy at the diner with her tiny blond daughter came to mind. She was a mother. A wife. There had to be another way.
 

His eyes swept around the dark cavern while Missy prowled the entrance. The coyote had disappeared into the black and Caleb felt along the cold sandstone, going farther and farther into the darkness.

It was pitch-black, but the air was fresh, which made Caleb think it was a passageway of some kind and not a dead end.

“Coyote?” he hissed into the darkness. “Hey!”
 

He squeezed his eyes shut, even though he couldn’t see a thing. At least the passageway had widened. “Why am I talking to a coyote?”

Caleb heard a muffled kind of cough from the blackness. Actually, it didn’t sound like a cough.

“Are you laughing at me, you mutt?” The coughing came again. The damn animal was laughing at him. He kept walking, feeling his way through the passage with both hands spread out in front of him. He stumbled a few times over rocks and bumped his forehead even more, but he kept walking. Just as he saw the sliver of midnight blue dotted with stars, an idea began to bloom. Missy would attack him as soon as she got the chance, but if Caleb wasn’t himself…

He waited at the entrance to the cave. He could still hear Missy snarling and swiping at the other end of the tunnel. The sound echoed off the rock walls in between panicked screams from Jena overhead. Still Caleb waited. He crouched down near the entrance until he was almost nose-to-nose with the coyote, who sat with a patient expression on its narrow face. He looked into the animal’s eyes. The coyote looked back.

Aren’t you a skinwalker, cousin
?

The familiar voice whispered in his mind, and Caleb blinked.

“Wh—what?” It couldn’t be.

Everything happens for a reason.

Caleb was still gaping as the coyote darted out the cave and into the night.
 

“Everything happens for a reason,” he whispered. Then he closed his eyes and focused.

She paced in front of the cave, her slouching body quick and powerful in the silver moonlight. He took care to remain upwind of the lion’s keen nose.

“Missy.” He made his voice deliberately hoarse. “What are you doing?”

She turned, startled by his appearance. The lion shifted, immediately flowing into a woman’s naked form. She wouldn’t be as fast now. Maybe he could reason with her, but if he had to draw…

Missy took a step toward him. “Matt?”

“What are you doing?” He did his best impression of the mayor’s voice, but he knew it wasn’t exactly right. He tried not to talk too loud.

“What are you doing here?” Her eyes were wide and worried. “I sent you to your parents’ house! They were supposed to keep you there.”

“Why?”

“You know why!”

He shook his head, letting the sorrow fill his eyes, praying she wouldn’t discover his deception. He heard Jena squawk from a perch somewhere to his left. She knew it was him, but so far, it looked like Missy was in the dark.

“No, Missy… why?”

Her eyes hardened. “I told you, I’m not leaving. I’m not going to live like that again. My children aren’t going to grow up like freaks, Matt. Killing the old lady may not have been your plan, but leaving wasn’t mine.”

“But—”

“How could you even ask me?” she cried. “You know what it was like when I lived away! You know! And you still asked me to leave with you? Are you insane?”

He didn’t know about Matt, but Missy was sure as hell out of her mind. Any thoughts of reasoning with her fled when he caught her wild stare. No remorse for the woman she had murdered. Alma had only been an obstacle.

“You may be squeamish, honey, but I’m not. She had to die. You’re the one who told me Thomas Crowe would be on board, and you were right.” Suddenly, a desperate smile crossed her face. “You were right! The hotel plan is going to go through and everyone is going to realize how amazing you are. How much you can do for this town. And eventually, it’s going to be you in that Elder’s seat.” She shook her head, stepping a little closer. “So don’t feel guilty. You didn’t do anything wrong. It was me. It had to happen; you know that.”

How often had she had to give her husband this same speech? From the practiced way it rolled off her tongue, he suspected more than once.

“But, Missy—”

“Shhh.” She stepped toward him, putting a soft finger across his lips. But as soon as she touched him, she knew he wasn’t Matt.

Missy stepped back, her eyes widening in terror before the air around her rippled and Caleb was staring at a mountain lion again. Only this time, she was staring back into the barrel of his gun. He held the 9 mm steady on her eyes.

“One shot, Missy. I don’t want to, but I will.”

She only curled her lip and screamed, the rasping sound filling the canyon as everything happened at once. Missy lunged toward him and Caleb fired, but the bullet only knocked up dust as her body was thrown to the side by the streak of black that hurdled through the air, talons tearing into Missy’s shoulders as the bird threw herself against the lion.

It wasn’t a hawk. It was an eagle.

Magnificent in its aim, the lion jerked away, twisting its body as it tried to free itself of the raptor’s iron grip, but the giant golden eagle held, the long claws digging into the thick skin and its wings beating against the lion’s face as Jena screamed in rage.

“Jena!” Caleb had his gun out, but was afraid to use it when Jena and Missy were so twisted up. He’d have to hit Missy’s head or the thick hide of the lion would protect her from any real injury. But if he fired on the head or soft belly, he could hit Jena.

“Jena, get out of here!”

The bird was locked onto the lion, the vengeful screams filling the canyon as Caleb looked on helplessly. Missy finally twisted, baring her belly to him as her right paw reached up, claws bared, to swipe at the bird that clung to her shoulders. A final scream echoed through the night as red wells of blood burst from the eagle’s underbelly.

“NO!” He fired just as the eagle fell to the ground with a soft thud. He heard a cracking sound as the mountain lion rolled on top of the eagle, bleeding from the shoulder. Then a gasping sob as Missy shifted back to reveal a twisted body beneath her.

Missy was sobbing and holding her shoulder as Caleb shoved her away to lift Jena in his arms.
 

“Oh shit! Oh Jena, what did you do?”

Four claw marks dug through her breasts and belly. One arm and another leg hung at awkward angles, but she was smiling, a trickle of blood leaking from her lip. She choked, trying to speak as he held her. His body shifted back to himself and he pulled her closer, pushing back the instinctive nausea as Missy moaned and rolled in the dirt.

“Don’t talk.” Caleb looked around desperately as her blood soaked his shirt. “I gotta get you help. Don’t talk! Just hold on.”

Finally, she mumbled, “Good shot, baby.” And then her eyes closed.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

She probably shouldn’t have closed her eyes; that just made him panic.

“Jena!” he screamed. “Wake up!” He shook her a little.

“Ow.” She groaned. “Cut it out.”

“You’re bleeding so much. Too much.” He tore off his shirt and pressed it to her belly.
Owww
. She winced and pressed her face into his chest. He smelled right. He was perfect for her. How had she been so lucky to find another good one? After Lowell had died, she’d figured that her luck had just run out. After all, you could only expect to meet one man that perfect for you in your lifetime, right? How odd to realize that you were in love with someone when your insides had just been ripped out.

“Spilled my guts,” she mumbled. “Literally. But you’re just right. And you feel right and you smell right. But you gotta work on the language, buddy. It’s not good for the boys.” What was hurting so bad? Something hurt in deep, thick waves that seemed to come and go. And the black stuff around the edge of her vision…

“Jena…” He lifted her up, choking back what sounded like a sob. “Don’t try to talk. Listen to me, honey. Try to stay awake.”

“Of course I’m gonna stay awake. I’m naked and you’re shirtless… I think. Where are we?”

What was wrong with her eyes? Her eyes were always good. Caleb did that weird snort-sobbing thing again and lifted her up.

Owwwww
.

“Caleb…” She groaned. “What the hell—?”

“Careful now.” He gave her a strangled laugh. “You’re gonna need your own swear jar.”

“I don’t think I want to go anywhere.” The shock was beginning to wear off and a blistering pain radiated from her belly. She dug her fingers into his arms. “Caleb, put me down.”

“Nope. Sorry.”
 

“Where are we going?”

“Out of here. Shit,” he muttered. “How many dead ends are in this damn canyon?”

“Lots. There’s lots of dead ends.” She winced as he turned and walked back to where she could hear Missy moaning in pain. Why was she…? Oh, that’s right, that bitch had killed her grandmother. Good, she deserved to moan. She hoped it hurt. A lot. Jena knew she had liked digging her claws into the cat. It had felt great. She only wished she’d been able to dig in a little more…

Just as they were getting closer to where Missy lay, Jena shivered. The air whispered secrets. She could smell the scent of the water, and the prickling lifted the hair on her arms as she felt the magic roll through her.

“Caleb, put me down.”

“Jena, I gotta get you out of here. I know it hurts, but—”

“Put me down.” Her voice was strong and firm. “Lay me down, Caleb. I’ll be fine.”

Ted’s voice came from down the canyon. “Put her down, Caleb. If she changes, you don’t want to be holding her.” Footsteps approached as Caleb set her on the ground, still holding her in his lap. Idiot. He’d pay with talon marks on his thighs if she shifted. But something inside her gut told her that would not be a good idea.

She felt others approaching and heard Ted call out, “Someone run down to the fresh spring and get her some water! Jena—” Ted’s voice was closer now“—this is way worse than a fracture or your average cut. Do
not
shift. You hear me? I don’t want your insides rolling around. Someone get some spring water. Fast!”

Water sounded good. Water would make her feel better. It always did. Who told her that? Her grandmother? Maybe… She felt herself drifting off, but her eyes cleared a little when she felt Caleb’s arms tense. There was a shuffling noise in the sand. She could feel them before she heard the rattles.

Caleb said, “Jena? There are rattlesnakes. Lots of them.”

“Shhh. It’s okay.” She tapped his mouth with a dirty finger. “The clans are gathering. The Quinns always come first.”

“What do I do?”

“Just hold very still. You’re not their prey. And I’m gonna try not to shift. It’s hard with so many close.” The more shifters gathered, the more the magic pressed on her. Her skin hummed with it. She could feel a terrible lightness in her bones.

First, one rattler slid across the dust, then another, another and another and another until the canyon filled with the echo of the snakes’ ominous hum. Caleb tried not to jerk when one of the Quinns slid past, brushing his leg as it curled along the ground. They slid toward Missy, their twisted bodies circling her as their tongues flicked out to taste the terror that began to permeate the dry air.

The wolves came next. Treading close on silent paws, they danced delicately between the snakes, one brushing up and licking her face as he passed.

“Hey, Alex.”

Allie, trim and alert in her fox form, came to sit at Caleb’s feet, her dark nose twitching in the night air. She tensed a moment before the sound of human feet approached. Jena saw Ted bend over her.

“Heya, Teodora Vasquez. How you doing, gorgeous?” Jena smiled. “You’re an awesome friend, you know?”

“You sound drunk.” She kneeled next to her. “You’re still conscious. That’s good.” Ted twitched, her movements jerky and awkward.

“Don’t get all furry on me now, kitty cat.”

“You know, even when you’re two steps away from dying, you’re still a smartass.”

Caleb said, “What? Damn it, Ted—”

“Caleb, I’m joking. Now get back and let me see.” Jena felt gentle hands prodding and poking. “The bleeding is slowing down. Drink this. That should help until he can get you to a hospital.”

“No hospital,” Jena groaned.

“You’re going to the hospital. Caleb press here and hold.”

“Are you okay?” Jena heard him ask.
 

Her vision was still cloudy, but she could feel the magic growing. It radiated around her, but still, she didn’t shift.

“Is she going into shock?”

“The water should help.” Ted put a bottle to her lips and forced her to drink. “Sorry,
mamá
, but you’re gonna feel worse before you feel better.”

She mumbled, “Is my dad coming?”