Raven Investigation 04 - Electric Legend (20 page)

DAY FOUR: AN HOUR BEFORE MIDNIGHT

R
aven paced the cramped trailer, the clank of
the chain around her ankle dragging roughly against the floor with her every move.
The metal chafed her skin raw, only adding to her annoyance. It had been two
hours since they’d tossed her inside to await her fate. The afternoon heat had
cooled as darkness fell. No one came to visit, not giving her the opportunity
to squeeze any information out of them.

Her stomach rumbled, hunger devouring her from the inside
out. She burned through calories like a shifter. If she didn’t eat soon, her control
over the current and the dragon would waver.

The lack of food combined with the coming storm only meant
trouble.

Not that she could see much outside.

A heaviness clung to the air like a weight pressing against
her sternum. Energy continued to build, a palpable threat waiting to pounce as
soon as she let down her guard. Her skin itched with static, current seeking
entry in her body.

There would be no dodging a lightning strike in this tin
can.

The park lights turned out one after another, the music
slowly winding down as people departed. The atmosphere changed as a more
dangerous clientele entered the fairground, the thrill seekers and hunters who
craved the more challenging chase than regular animals or humans.

The sense of time running out coiled around her until she felt
ready to snap. Taggert was in the middle of nowhere, being hunted if what
Clancy said was true. Jackson would soon be fighting for his life, while Durant
was left rotting in a fricken’ cage. To be trapped inside the trailer, not
knowing what could be happening to her people was driving her insane.

Clancy expected her to be cowed.

Expected her to obey.

Maybe it was time to stop playing by his rules.

Crouching, she grabbed at the chain around her ankle and
studied the shackle. A simple padlock secured the latch. She grabbed the lock,
then reached for her energy.

Instead of the cooling blue strands of power, her dragon
roared to life. She clenched and unclenched her hands, marveling as tiny plates
of armor locked under her skin.

She pulled on the metal, stunned to see it stretch apart
like clay and plunk to the floor as it fell apart.

Shifter strength … gotta love it.

She should be concerned the beast had taken over her body
without even a struggle, but she was coming to understand that if she wanted to
keep her pack, she needed to embrace the beast she’d always feared.

She stood, all her senses tingling as they came back to life
after a long slumber, energy shimmering into her veins. Not wanting to waste
any more time, she headed toward the door and twisted the knob.

Locked.

Using her strength, she wrenched it a little harder, and the
handle came off in her hand. She dropped the tin knob to the floor with a
hollow
thunk
. The door creaked open, and she waited for an alarm to blare,
a shout to break the silence.

Nothing.

She refrained from throwing a blast of energy around to
gauge how many people guarded the trailer. She couldn’t risk Taggert would
notice, couldn’t risk distracting him. If he thought she was in trouble, he
would charge right into danger.

The air practically crackled with electricity, the smell of
ozone right before lightning strikes. The need to run and hide, escape before
it was too late, swept over her like the tide, nearly drowning her under the force.

Her nerves steadied when a few minutes passed and no one
burst into the trailer. Instead of easing her mind, worry stuttered in her
chest.

If no one was watching her, where was everyone?

Thrusting the door open, Raven launched out of the trailer,
her feet hitting the ground running. With no more reason to hide, she let the
dragon off the leash. She kept low, gliding through the shadows, quickly
adapting to the extra boost of speed. The rides had stopped hours ago, the
lights extinguished, leaving the empty metal structures clawing at the sky like
giant spider legs. Raven skirted the canvas curtain separating the trailers
from the freak show, avoiding the late-night entertainment.  

The farther she got away from the tents, the quieter it grew
until she heard the rumble of animals in their cages.

Again, no guards.

So not good.

If they weren’t guarding the circus, Clancy had kept his
promise … they were hunting Taggert. Raven wanted to charge into the forest and
go after the men who thought to harm him, her muscles tensed as she scanned the
tree line. The dragon swelled with the demand to hunt, the lure nearly
irresistible.

It took all her willpower to turn her back on Taggert and
the trouble sure to be following hot on his heels. As she neared the cages, she
immediately sought Durant, tracking the big cat by the luscious scent of leather
she’d come to associate with him. The tiger must have sensed her presence,
pacing the length of the cage, his golden eyes scanning the grounds until it
landed on her.

Just when she was ready to step out of the shadows, he
turned his big head away.

Raven skidded to a stop and followed his gaze.

It took her two tries to see what he wanted her to find. The
guard remained so well hidden, if she hadn’t caught a glint of metal, the smell
of gun oil, she would’ve bumbled right into a trap.

The lack of guards on her own trailer now made sense. No
need when all her men had them instead. She wasn’t going anywhere without them.

She could handle one guard, but it worried her to see his
weapon was aimed directly at Durant.

Smart.

The tiger’s cage was out in the open, offering no coverage.
Raven could wrap the darkness around her, a trick she picked up from the
vampires, but she wasn’t sure she’d be fast enough to get to him before he got
off a shot.

Raven studied the other cages and inched her way toward the
nearest as a plan began to form. She leapt upward and grabbed the top bar of
the nearest cage, effortlessly hoisting herself on top. The animals inside
sensed the predator and hunkered down, not wanting to draw her attention. They
peered out of their kennels.

Waited.

Anticipation of the hunt leaving their eyes glowing.

She ran across the cage tops, leaping the five-foot distance
between them without missing a beat, stopping right on top of Durant’s cage.

Durant roared, a deep bass sound that rumbled in the air,
and the guard jumped.

Raven used the distraction and leapt.

She landed on top of the guard, wrenching the gun away. They
rolled and Raven slammed her elbow into his temple, stunning him. She straddled
him as armor plated together under her fist.

With one blow, the man lay still.

The dragon gave a rumble of pleasure at the hunt and wanted
to continue to beat the crap out of the man. Getting physical, drawing the
first blood filled her with a bloodlust so strong it was a struggle to take
back control and force herself to her feet.

The dragon grumbled in displeasure and subsided, but not
without one last kick to the guard’s head to make sure he stayed down.

Raven turned, chest heaving at the thrill of the hunt and
faced Durant. She’d swear that his eyes warmed. Tension eased out of him, his
gait smoothing out as he prowled toward her. “You about ready to get out of
here and cause some trouble?”

 Power swelled around him, and he drew it into his body. He
shed his animal skin slower than Jackson but faster than any other shifter
she’d seen. In a little over a minute, his bones cracked and shrank down, fur
melted back under his skin, and his face and ears shrank.

From one second to the next, a very naked Durant knelt before
her. She greedily scanned his body for signs of injury, but he appeared no
worse for wear. The sword wound that he took high on his shoulder still hadn’t
healed all the way, even though it’d been a little over a week. If he had been a
weaker shifter, he wouldn’t have survived at all.

So lost in thought, she jumped when Durant reached between
the bars, rubbed the distinct silver strands of her hair between his fingers before
tucking them behind her ear. “I’m fine. It no longer hurts.”

The words had a sharper scent to them.

A lie.

Raven wanted to call Durant on it, but both of them knew it
didn’t matter if he was hurt or not. They needed to leave.

Durant swiveled and pried out the key she’d hidden.

He threw the door wide and jumped to the ground, barely
covering a wince as the movement jarred his shoulder. Muscles flexed as he
lifted his arms, and he arched his back. Raven didn’t blink, fascinated by the
stretch and pull of muscles.

She wondered if the cage had bothered him more or being
locked in his beast for so long.

Either way, she couldn’t tear her gaze away.

It felt good to have him back.

He appeared thinner, his body honed down to pure skin and
muscle, every inch of him chiseled and so defined, not an ounce of fat to be
found anywhere. They barely fed the shifters, just enough to keep them weak and
in check.

Just shy from going feral.  

He saw her fascination—or possibly the drool on her chin—and
froze. Then with a liquid grace that no human could duplicate, he strode toward
her, hunger etched on his face.

She jolted with the look, her body turning molten with the urge
her to give into temptation and touch him. The more sensible side of her said
turn around, they didn’t have time for this, but she couldn’t make herself go.

A shadow passed over her as she remembered the disastrous
encounter with Jackson. Worse, what she’d done to Taggert by just touching him.
The conflicting emotions threatened to bury her under the avalanche. How could
she want three so very different men with every fiber of her being?

Then she had no more room to think when Durant stopped before
her, his warm leather scent seeping into her pores, tugging her closer to the
source just so she could get another whiff.

Less than an inch separated them, his heat splashing into
her when he ducked his head and pressed his lips to hers.

She expected to be scooped up in his arms and ravished.

Instead, he did something more dangerous to her peace of
mind … treated her like something precious that he didn’t want to scare away.
The kiss sank deep in her mind and heart, and the dragon rumbled in pleasure,
urging her to brush against him and take everything he offered.

She shuffled closer to do just that when Durant lifted his
head. She swayed and groaned in disappointment and a roguish smile tipped his
lips. “Ready to cause some trouble?”

More trouble than kissing her again?

She blinked a few times to clear her mind before nodding.
“Open the rest of the cages.”

The animals grew restless when they noticed them, wandering
out of the wooden-like doghouses with the grumbled demand to be free.

“With pleasure.” Durant headed right, while she went left.
In under ten minutes, all the cages were empty. Raven paused in front of the
empty cage where they’d kept her. Then very deliberately, she opened the door.

The ghost wolf shimmered into existence for a few seconds,
muscles bunching as he launched himself out of the cage. His form vanished in a
wisp of smoke, and a gust of wind swirled around her as he disappeared. A faint
growl vibrated in the air, excitement of the impending fight. Then, whatever she
felt was gone.

Thunder rumbled in the distance like the very earth had cracked
open. Raven twitched with the need to get somewhere safe, away from all the
innocent people she could hurt.

“Will they be safe?” Raven watched the last of the animals
disappear into the forest with a bit of trepidation, wondering what she’d
unleased unto the world. Even being generous, they were half-broken beasts with
nowhere to go.

“They will do what they have to in order to survive.” Durant
shrugged in a fatalistic way. “We have much more pressing concerns to deal with
right now.”

He was right, of course. With one last look at the forest,
she faced Durant and noted he’d found a pair of sweats from somewhere.
Sensible, but she mourned seeing all that glorious skin covered up. At least
the pants made it easier for her to focus on the danger they faced and not his
manly dangling parts. “They plan to force everyone to join the pack tonight.”

 Durant nodded, not appearing the least bit worried. “Where
are the others?”

“Taggert is searching for a missing child, while Jackson is
still at the Big Top.” Unease lurched in her gut at not having them near. Riotous
cheers echoed from the large tent, and she very much feared Jackson was in the
middle of it.

She wove around the cages, her feet picking up speed,
knowing she wouldn’t like what she was about to find. Garbage littered the
ground as the entered the maze of tents. The magic of the circus appeared
tarnished and run down, abandoned over a hundred years ago.

As they neared the Big Top, the crowd cheered again, and
Raven’s head snapped up. She charged forward when Durant grabbed her arm and
nearly yanked her off her feet, only to catch her up in his arms. She shoved at
him, but the bastard didn’t have the grace to even budge as he dragged her to a
stop. “They have Jackson.”

Durant pinned her against the small booth until not an inch
of her could move. “You charging in there will solve nothing.”

The desperation to get to Jackson clawed up her insides, the
beast swelling under her skin with the need to fight. The emotions were wild,
the need primitive … the dragon influencing her. She could break his hold or
give him a command he had no choice but to obey. The truth helped clear her
head, and she nodded. “You’re right.”