Tombi kicked at the campfire ashes, placed his elbows on his knees and rested his head in his hands. He should be sleeping like the others in preparation for the last night of the hunt. Instead, his mind kept asking the same question over and over. Where is Annie? He’d checked her cottage, of course, but she wasn’t home. Neither was her car, which meant she could be anywhere. He’d called and left messages on her cell phone, but she couldn’t, or wouldn’t, answer.
The air’s vibration shifted, and the soles of his bare feet prickled from a subtle tremor. Someone was approaching. Tombi raised his head, and his eyes went immediately across the clearing to where a woman entered from a wooded path.
Annie.
Others might have mistaken her for a girl, but he knew better, had explored the rounded curves of her breasts and the slight swell of her hips. He rose slowly to his feet, his mind churning with passion, anger and relief. Mostly relief.
Graceful as a woodland sprite, she walked across the field, her brown wavy hair tossing in the breeze. She seemed to draw energy to her, as if the natural world became more animated in her presence. A dark angel, a whimsical witch who heard music where others experienced only silence.
Tombi went quickly toward her, away from the tents of sleeping hunters. A few were already stirring, preparing for various camp duties before the night’s hunt.
“Where have you—” he started.
“You’re okay. I thought maybe—”
They both stopped. Tombi reached for her, and she willingly walked into his arms. All the worry and anxiety of the past few hours vanished under the solid feel of her body pressed against his. He kissed the top of her head, inhaling the scent of flowers and musk. But he was conscious that the others would soon be stirring from their tents. Now wasn’t the time to kiss again—they would be certain she’d bewitched him. He stepped back and scanned her body, checking for injuries.
“The wisp didn’t hurt you?”
Annie blinked. “How did you know I was attacked?”
“We found the stones you threw and ashes from a released spirit.” He had to know, dared to hope. “Was it Bo?”
“No, sorry. I had the impression the soul was a girl. And she never told me her name.”
Tombi shook off the disappointment. It had been a long-shot chance at best. “I tried to find you. Even went to your grandma’s cottage, but your car was gone. I’ve been worried.”
She shrank into herself. “I went to the hospital to see my grandma,” she said shortly.
Did she still blame him for her grandmother’s illness? Hell, it wouldn’t be any worse than the guilt that nagged at him over what had happened. “How is she?”
“She’s still in a coma. The doctors said she had a stroke but they never mentioned poison, which I find strange.”
“There never is. Nalusa’s venom won’t register on medical tests. People he’s bitten were diagnosed with other conditions like heart attacks or allergic reactions.”
“Has anyone been bitten and lived?”
Her eyes were so sad, so anxious, he couldn’t tell her the truth. “Maybe,” he hedged. “I can’t be aware of every instance he’s attacked or bitten.”
“What happened out there in the woods? You never came back to me.”
“I was drawn away. I’ll explain later. But first, I need your help. Quick.” He looked back over his shoulder at the campsite. “While everyone is still asleep.”
She nodded. “That’s why I’m here. I did promise.”
Annie brushed past him and strode purposefully toward the tents. He followed a few yards after, hands clasped behind his back. None of his people would betray him; he was almost 100 percent certain of their loyalty.
Almost.
If Annie heard nothing incriminating, he’d report her finding to the others, and they could continue on as before, without the worm of mistrust wiggling in some dark recess of their minds.
She walked carefully among the tents and paused at one. A large moan erupted from inside, and she blushed. Even he recognized the music of passion. Annie scurried away, and he laughed.
She circled around a tent on the outside of the ring, her head cocked to the side. He raised an eyebrow at her, but she shook her head and moved on, tapping her lips and chin as she concentrated.
Only one more round of tents, and she would be finished. He silently willed her to hurry and be done with it. Before the last tent, the one closest to his own, she stopped. Her brows creased as she listened.
Tombi couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. No. Not this tent. Move on, he wanted to scream.
But she didn’t. She faced him and extended her right arm at the tent, pointing her finger. Quickly, he walked to her side and guided Annie away by an elbow.
“There’s your man,” she said.
“Not possible. You’re mistaken.”
Her eyes widened. “What’s wrong with you? You’ve begged me for two days, and now you act like this? Sounds like you’re making excuses for somebody.” Her voice rose. “Who are you protecting?”
“No one,” he denied, his own voice rising in anger. “Forget about it.”
Annie put her hands on her hip. “Bo spoke to me. He said to warn you about a betrayer. Well, I’ve done my duty. If you don’t want to listen to me, that’s your problem.”
Bo. Even now, hearing the name of his best friend pinched his heart.
Annie turned her back on him and stalked away from the center of the campsite. Already, hunters were stepping out of their tents to see the commotion. He hated public displays. He was a tracker, damn it. Controlled, in charge and rational.
Tombi caught up to her. “Where are you going?” he whispered harshly, not wanting everyone to hear their conversation.
“Home.”
He grabbed her hand. “Wait. I want—”
She jerked out of his grasp and kept walking. “I don’t care what you want anymore.”
Annie couldn’t leave. Not like this. He could still use her help. And she was his last living link to Bo. “I’m your only hope of learning to control your gift,” he reminded her.
She stopped, and Tombi scrambled in front of her.
“When do the lessons start?” she asked through tight lips.
“Tomorrow morning.”
“What kind of lessons are you giving her?” Hanan asked, arms crossed. He stood in front of his tent.
The tent that Annie had fingered.
Annie looked from Tombi to Hanan, eyebrows raised.
“He’s my right-hand man, my closest friend since Bo died,” Tombi explained in a low voice. “I trust him.”
“Believe what you want.” Her posture was stiff and her words clipped.
He’d hurt her feelings. Tombi tried to consider their argument from her perspective. She found his rejection of her findings as a rejection of her. Which wasn’t the same thing at all.
Hanan ambled over and nodded pleasantly at Annie before speaking to Tombi. “Is it something I can help you with? I know you’re pressed for time finishing the Anderson project.”
“Maybe. I’ll let you know.” It was true he was behind on his carpentry jobs, but Tombi doubted Annie would want Hanan as a teacher. Not now.
“Sure, if you can help teach me to guard my energy like the rest of the hunters.” Annie smiled sweetly and held out her hand.
All the frosty stiffness had melted. What was her game?
Hanan accepted the outstretched hand, covering Annie’s small hand with both of his own.
Tombi frowned at the sight. The touch was held a moment longer than necessary. Hanan broke contact first.
“Chulah and I need to talk with you when you get a minute.”
“Be with y’all shortly.”
Hanan sauntered off, joining the other men in preparing a meal.
“You would really take lessons from Hanan?” Tombi asked.
“Someone needs to keep an eye on him.” The lemon-tart tone returned. “What time should I come back tomorrow for a lesson?”
“Tomorrow?” he sputtered. “I thought you would stay the night.”
“And go on another hunt? No, thank you.”
Incredulity and frustration battled in his gut. He was used to directing everyone’s moves. But Annie? She had her own life, separate from his people, and she had her own secret agendas.
* * *
Annie bit her lip to keep from smiling at Tombi’s discomfort. He liked to wield power and expected others to fall in line with his wishes. But she was afraid if she allowed him to exert that same power over her, he’d stretch out the lessons and string her along until he got what he needed.
He took a deep breath. “Please, stay.”
“Why do you want me to?” she asked, confused at his insistence. “I mean, it’s not like you listen when I tell you what I hear.”
“I do listen,” he argued. “It’s just, in this case, you’re wrong. You heard thoughts about a dream he was having. Hanan isn’t conspiring with Nalusa.”
Self-doubt, her constant companion, crept in. It was possible he was right. Although, usually when she picked up dream music, it had an otherworldly, faint kind of vibe. Not the distinct, ominous tone that had emanated from Hanan’s tent. The only way to know for sure if Hanan was a traitor was to spend more time with him, to catch him unawares.
No one could keep their energy contained all day, every day. Even Tombi couldn’t. At unguarded moments, or at times of high emotion like when he kissed her, she heard the pounding of his heart like a snare drum vibrating in her gut. Still, other times, when he was wrapped up in his thoughts, she’d hear the notes of the Native American flute he was so adept at playing.
“Look, Tombi, I didn’t get much rest last night. Let me sleep in my own bed tonight, and I’ll stay for the hunt tomorrow night.”
He shook his head. “That’s no good. The week of the full moon ends tonight.”
“Meaning what?”
“We all return to our real lives. The hunt won’t resume again until the next full moon.”
“You don’t need me for hunting. You’ve done it for years on your own.” She studied him closely. “I think what you really want is to see if I can speak with Bo again.”
Tombi looked over her head, across the field to the woods. His face was hard and set. “He’s out there, trapped. I’ll do anything to release his spirit. I owe him at least that much.”
Annie felt his pain like a lump in her own chest. “And he would do the same for you if the situation were reversed,” she said gently.
“Tombi.” Hanan waved him over to his group of four hunters.
“I have to go.” He faced her at last. “I can’t make you stay. As you’ve said, this isn’t your fight.”
How could she rest tonight leaving Tombi with such sadness? And Grandma Tia had fought hard to communicate with her at the hospital—to tell her that Tombi needed her. “Since you put it that way...I’ll hang around.”
His shoulders relaxed, as if a weight had rolled off. “Thank you. I guarantee to not leave your side this time.”
“Go ahead and see your friends,” she said.
“My tent is yours. Go take a nap until night falls.”
“More orders?”
A smile broke across the grave landscape of his face. “Just a suggestion. Up to you.”
Annie watched as he left her side, her heart lightened that she’d made the right decision in staying. And he was right. A nap would help keep her strengthened for the night ahead. She turned to walk to his tent and then froze.
Tallulah slipped out of Hanan’s tent flap, as silent and fluid as a cat with her long, thin body. She stood and ran a hand through her tangled, mussed hair.
Her face was relaxed and peaceful in a way Annie had never seen. It transformed her stark, aggressive features into something lovely. Tallulah’s gaze swept the area, then zeroed in on Annie. Her dark eyes tightened to suspicious slits.
She wasn’t up for this. Not after seeing her grandma in a coma, not after the fight with Tombi. And not in a sleep-deprived fog. Annie went to Tombi’s tent.
“Hey. Where are you going?”
Annie ignored Tallulah’s strident demand. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared; their eyes burned into her skin. She walked quickly, but lifted her chin and didn’t glance right or left. Straight ahead lay safety. A few more feet and she could enter Tombi’s tent and zip out the rest of the world a few hours.
Hot breath brushed the fine hairs at the nape of her neck. “Nobody wants you here. You don’t belong.”
Annie’s skin prickled at the hostility, and her lips trembled. Stupid to let Tallulah’s anger cut her to the quick. She pressed her mouth into a thin line. She wouldn’t cry in front of everyone watching. Three more steps and she would be rid of the woman. Quickly, she reached the tent flap and knelt to enter.
Tallulah dropped to her knees alongside her. “What does my brother see in you?” she continued in that same dark whisper. “You’re a coward. A lying coward.”
Annie’s hands fumbled at the zipper, and she tugged at it, eyes burning with tears.
I will not cry in front of them. Yes, it was true. She’d rather curl up in a little ball all alone than face Tombi’s pit viper of a twin. Metal grated on metal, and nirvana opened. Annie ducked inside and battened down the hatch, allowing the salty tears to spill from her eyes.
Low-pitched laughter rang out inches away from the thin canvas lining. “Coward,” Tallulah seethed again.
“Tallulah!” Tombi’s commanding voice cut through the air.
How much had he heard? Despite the smothering heat, Annie curled up in the corner and pulled a sheet over herself, a turtle retreating into its shell. Shame smothered her as thick as the Alabama humidity. You don’t belong. The words ricocheted in her brain, fast and deadly. She never belonged, and she never would. Even with a band of supernatural shadow hunters, she was branded as a misfit.
Hysterical laughter bubbled up, and she covered her mouth with the sheet to keep anyone from overhearing.
The sound of a zipper unfastening had her hastily rolling onto her side, back to the entrance. She didn’t want Tombi to see her like this. Couldn’t bear to see either pity or disgust on his stoic face.
“Annie?” he called out softly. “You okay?”
She feigned sleep, keeping her breathing deep and rhythmic. The air crackled with his scent, with his strong, commanding aura. Her heart pounded in time to the drumming that was his unique music.
A heavy warmth brushed against the back of her scalp as Tombi’s fingers stroked her hair. The tenderness almost undid her. She’d experienced passion before, but gentle gestures like this were foreign territory. Annie relaxed and stilled under his touch.
Tombi left in his quick, silent way, and she rolled onto her back. The smell of bacon and biscuits permeated the air. People shuffled around the campfire, speaking in low murmurs.
She longed to be a part of community like this. Mom and her string of stepfathers and stepsiblings merely tolerated her, and no one wanted to be friends with Crazy Annie.
Enough of the self-pity. Tallulah had hit a soft spot, and she’d overreacted. With any luck, no one had seen her tears. Her cheeks burned that everyone had witnessed her hasty scamper to Tombi’s tent. Bet none of them had ever disgraced themselves by running away. The warrior spirit in them probably never backed away from a confrontation. Annie sighed and closed her eyes, imagining herself as one of them, eating and laughing together instead of lying in the hot, stifling tent alone.
She indulged in a familiar fantasy. She’d find a way to get rid of her supernatural hearing and go about her life doing all the ordinary things others took for granted. A job, a family, or even simple things like shopping at the mall or going to a concert. Maybe she’d even go back to school and get a college degree.
A smile tugged her lips, and she curled up, sleepy at last.
* * *
“Annie? Wake up. Time to eat.”
She bolted to a seated position and inhaled sharply at the intimacy of Tombi’s nearness. Memories of their previous kiss in the tent made her skin heat and her body yearn for more of the same.
Tombi retreated, even as his breath grew raspy and his eyes darkened. “A quick bite and we need to get a move on.”
He was in full warrior mode, ready to hunt once more. Damn her traitorous body. She needed to remind herself that his focus was on defeating the shadows, and she was merely a tool in helping him win the battle.
Annie clambered out of the tent and followed him to the center of the campsite. The fire was long gone, but white-hot firewood gave off heat. Tombi piled an aluminum pie plate with several bacon slices and a couple of biscuits and handed it to her.
The smell set her mouth salivating, and she dug in. She hadn’t eaten since the crackers at the hospital. Tombi silently poured her a glass of sweet tea, and she washed down the food with the sugared brew. Perfect. Food always tasted better when eaten outdoors. Either that, or she was really hungry.
Tombi sat across from her and leaned forward; his skin shone like bronze in the night. “Let’s do something different tonight. Something a little safer.”
Safer sounded great. “What?” she asked, setting aside her plate.
“We’re going back to the spot where I first met you. Where Bo appeared and spoke.”
She sighed.
“Thought you would like that.”
“I feel like I’m damned no matter what happens tonight. Either you’ll be disappointed he doesn’t appear, or he’ll talk and you might not like what he has to say.” She couldn’t help the bitterness that crept in her voice. “Like today.”
“I don’t discount what you heard. You just caught me by surprise. I didn’t consider the possibility of you picking up on dreams.” He stood, signaling the discussion was over.
She stood as well, determined to hold her ground. “I know Hanan’s your friend. But you never know what’s hidden in others’ hearts.” Like your sister. But she would keep her lips locked on that possible deception. If Tombi couldn’t entertain the idea of a friend as betrayer, how would he react over a sister? A twin at that. Two hearts that once beat within the same mother.
From this point on, she would filter whatever messages the music or spirits revealed. Tombi and his people might have supernatural gifts, but they were no more accepting than anyone else in the non-gifted world.
Tombi held out his hand. “Whatever happens tonight, I won’t be disappointed in you. Always tell me the truth, and we’re good.”
His words soothed Annie’s hurt pride, and she placed her hand in his. The electrical charge that flowed between them gave her courage to face the long, uncertain hours ahead. Under coral beams shining from the Thunder Moon, she followed Tombi across the field and into the swampy woods. The constant chirp of cicadas and the eternal echo of the Gulf waters was a comfortable white noise in the background of her mind.
The stagnant smell of the bayou was more tolerable in the cooler nighttime temperature, and the occasional whiff of pine and brine was refreshing. Excitement unexpectedly rose within her. Whenever she was with Tombi, something exhilarating was bound to happen. Just being near him, touching him, made her feel alive. So different from the nights she had spent quietly at her grandma’s cottage, grinding herbs and withdrawing from any human contact.
All this prowling about the bayou must have opened her senses in new ways, because Annie was able to recognize a few landmarks in the shadows. A familiar bend in the path here, a certain clump of saw palmetto there, a particular pattern of trees and moss...and they had returned to the place where Bo had spoken.
“This is it,” she said softly.
Tombi led her to the fallen tree where she’d once heard him playing the flute. They settled down together, thigh touching thigh. Her skin tingled, and she was unsure if it was from the proximity of Tombi or the expectation of Bo reappearing inside a wisp.
Tombi’s breath whispered against her ear. “Can’t you conjure him? Use some of your hoodoo stuff?”
She started to roll her eyes, then paused. Not a bad idea. She didn’t practice hoodoo spells much. Grandma Tia was so gifted and took care of everything, so she seldom needed to do a root work on her own. She’d have to rifle through her grandma’s old grimoires and see what she could dig up.
“I’ll do some research tomorrow. There must be—”
He placed a finger on her lip, and she realized her voice had grown too loud in the dark stillness of night. She stopped talking, and yet Tombi didn’t move his finger. The pressure lightened, and his hand palmed her chin. Annie leaned into the caress and kissed his fingers, at last drawing one of them into her mouth and sucking the end of it.
In a swift move, Tombi had whisked her onto his lap. She straddled him and eagerly returned his deep kisses. Hot, wet, blistering kisses that she never wanted to end. The raw, honest need between them was unlike anything she’d ever experienced, not that she had that much experience. Just a couple of boyfriends who had found her convenient as an in-between kind of girlfriend until something better than Crazy Annie came along. She’d learned not to expect anything more. How could she, when she could barely tolerate their unceasing jumble of music every day and night? But Tombi kept his energy in check, and when it did pierce his aura, it was a drumbeat that matched her own heart.
He could be trouble for her heart. Big trouble.
But for now, she didn’t care. The night was magical, and his kisses shattered her normal reserve. The barriers guarding her mind and spirit slipped away, and she immersed herself in the feel of his naked skin against her own, the silk of his hair, the calluses of his hands as he stroked her face, her neck, her arms, her back.
Ethereal music penetrated Annie’s passion-fogged brain. She pulled back from Tombi and strained to hear better. Oh yes, she’d heard this tune before. Somewhere in the dark shadows, Bo had returned.
“What is it?” Tombi asked, his breath sharp with anticipation. “Is it Bo? Tell him I need to talk to him.”
Don’t tell Tombi I am near, Bo warned. If I draw his attention, other wisps or Nalusa himself will pick up on it.
Annie nodded. What did he want?
Find the music contained in the wind. Find it before Nalusa does, or all is lost.
She frowned. What was he talking about?
Tombi set her aside on the fallen tree and stood, peering into the shadows. “Bo? I’m still your friend. Talk to me.” He turned to Annie. “What did he say?”
“To find the music contained in the wind. Or all is lost. Do you have any idea what he meant?”
He shook his head and gazed at the shadows. But the music had faded. Bo had vanished.