Talon/Xavier (Bayou Heat) (2 page)

“You forced me to travel too often to the ancestors in your obsession to control the fate of your people, and allowed something evil to be released,” he accused.

The air heated with the anger of the elders. “It’s true we have discussed the possibility that Shakpi has used your journeys to the spirit world to infect you and now through you, your child.”

Fury raced through Chayton. “Your arrogance created this disaster, and yet you would use an innocent baby to try and cover your asses.”

There was a hiss of disbelief at his accusation before the elders moved toward him. “The sacrifice is demanded. Give us the child.”

“Sacrifice?” Dixie clutched the younger twin in her arms, her face flushed. “Chayton, tell me what is happening.”

The mist shimmered, as if annoyed by Dixie’s interruption. “Sleep,” they muttered.

Instantly Dixie fell into a deep slumber, the babe still tightly held in her arms.

Chayton bit back a curse at the sight of his wife’s ready response to the command of the elders. Then, without warning, he was struck by a sudden, crazy plan.

His magic was limited, but he did have a small trick taught to him by his own father.

As the attention was turned toward the sleeping Dixie, Chayton reached into his pocket for the small flint he always carried. Then, concentrating his thoughts on the chiseled quartz, he felt it grow hot in his hands. Desperate, he poured every ounce of magic he possessed through his fingers and into the flint, waiting until the stone was searing his skin before he tossed it in the direction of the elders with a low word of ancient power.

On cue, the flint exploded into a searing white flame.

The elders cried out in shock while the two Hunters rushed to beat out the very real fire.

Instantly, Chayton was through the door and heading out of the house. He’d leaped off the porch and entered the nearby woods before the Hunters were on his trail.

Under normal circumstances a mere man wouldn’t stand a chance against the lethal Pantera.

Even in their human forms they were stronger, faster, and their senses far more acute.

But Chayton wasn’t just a man. He’d been trained by his father to become one with nature, allowing him to flow through the difficult terrain with a fluid ease. More importantly, he was far more familiar with the area than his trackers.

Choosing a route that would take him through marshy land so he could disguise his footprints as well as hide his scent, he ran as fast as his legs would carry him for a full hour. Only when he was certain the Hunters weren’t about to tackle him from behind did he pause to carefully unwrap the blanket from the child in his arms.

Briefly he was distracted as the babe opened her eyes, regarding him with a solemn gaze that revived his flagging strength.

He was going to do everything in his power to protect his daughter.

With that thought, he pulled a dagger hidden inside the legging of his moccasin. Then, ignoring that trusting little gaze, he made a tiny cut on her foot. The babe let out a startled cry, but thankfully drifted back to sleep as he used the blanket to wipe the few drops of blood. He tossed the blanket into a nearby channel of water before making a much deeper cut into his forearm, swiftly smearing the blood on the mossy bank.

If he had any luck at all, the Hunters would believe he’d been attacked by an alligator or killed by some other predator.

If not…

He gathered the babe in his arms and took off.

If not, then he would keep running until the day he died.

CHAPTER ONE

THE WILDLANDS

2013

Moonlight glazed the lush foliage in silver as Talon crossed the boundary into the Wildlands. He stopped to take a deep breath, the magic in the air bubbling through him like the finest champagne.

Shit, he’d been gone too long.

Four weeks and two days to be exact.

He grimaced. He hadn’t expected Parish’s order to hunt for the traitors to lead him away from the Wildlands. It’d been enough of a shock to accept that there could be Pantera in their sanctuary who were willing to betray their own people. Hell, Parish had denied it even when the evidence was right in front of his face.

But after locking away Vincent and Savoy, and beginning his search for Pantera with the Mark of Shakpi branded on their heel, he’d learned that two Geeks had gone on the run, slipping away without leaving word with their families.

Talon had been in instant pursuit, at last tracking them to a cramped apartment in Baton Rouge.

A grim smile touched Talon’s lean, starkly handsome face. He’d been pissed that he’d been forced to waste a month of his time tracking down the bastards, and even more infuriated that he might miss the upcoming Dyesse Fete—the celebration of the birth of the Pantera, and the most important holiday in the Wildlands.

Since the Elders had begun to notice the stagnant pools of decay at the fringes of their land it’d been feared that the tradition would die away. Just another sign that the Pantera were hovering on the brink of extinction. So it was hardly surprising that they each waited with baited breath each summer for the bloom of the purple water lily that would trumpet the beginning of the festival.

Still, when he’d entered the apartment he’d forgotten all about the endless days pursuing the traitors.

He’d located the mother lode.

Fake IDs, lists of addresses, and several papers written in code that would have to be deciphered. There were also three laptop computers that the tech wizards could use to gain information.

Talon had gathered it all, including the two male Pantera, before heading home.

Now he just wanted to return to his rooms at the communal Hunter house and collapse.

Giving the chains he held in his hands a tug, he moved through the thick undergrowth, not bothering to glance over his shoulder at the men who were leashed by heavy collars laced with malachite.

They’d given in to the inevitable without a fight, barely speaking on the trip back to the bayou.

That was fine with Talon.

If the Pantera didn’t need the information the bastards could provide on why they’d become traitors and who was ultimately responsible for trying to destroy the Wildlands, he’d have happily killed them and left them to rot in Baton Rouge.

To him, loyalty and honor meant everything.

How could you call yourself a Pantera if you weren’t willing to put the welfare of your people ahead of your own, selfish needs?

They’d reached a narrow canal choked with water lilies when Talon came to a sharp halt. His brows, the same shade of dark gold threaded with copper highlights as his hair, snapped together over his eyes that were a pale gold rimmed with jade.

He could sense a large number of Pantera rushing in his direction.

Never a good thing.

Tightening his grip on the chains, Talon was preparing for an attempt to rescue the traitors when a familiar cat the color of rich caramel with glowing gold eyes leaped gracefully over the canal to land directly at his side.

Instantly he relaxed.

Raphael, the leader of the Suits, had been like a father to Talon after the death of his parents in an airplane crash thirty years ago. Despite the fact that they were only distantly related, and Talon’s faction was Hunters, not Diplomats, Raphael had been the one to visit the school where Talon was being trained in his duties. Whether it was to cheer him on during his athletic competitions or to kick his ass when he’d snuck into the nearby town, La Pierre, and left an alligator in the mayor’s bathtub.

Raphael had also been the one to take him to The Cougar’s Den and get him cross-eyed drunk when the cute little female he’d been chasing decided to dump him for another male.

Talon trusted this man above anyone else in the world.

There was a shimmering swirl of color before Raphael shifted into his human form, dressed like Talon in faded jeans and T-shirt.

A tall man with chiseled muscles, Raphael had a golden beauty that had driven females wild. At least until he’d stunned them all by arriving back at the Wildlands with a mate who was already carrying his young.

It was a miracle.

As long as they could keep Ashe and her baby alive.

Which was why Talon had been sent to track down the traitors.

“Welcome home, Talon,” Raphael murmured, his lean face too pale and his golden eyes shadowed with the brutal fear that was threatening to destroy him.

“Why the welcome committee?” Talon demanded.

“We need to speak.” Raphael’s tone was flat. A sure sign his emotions were on the edge of a meltdown. He snapped his fingers and Sebastian appeared at his side. The Suit was a bronze-skinned male with glowing hazel eyes and a chiseled body that proved he didn’t spend much time sitting behind a desk. His tawny hair was threaded with gold and brushed his broad shoulders. “Take the prisoners to the elders.”

Talon tossed the chains toward Sebastian who curled his lips to growl at the cringing prisoners. Next, Talon shoved the backpack that held the computers and file folders into the Suit’s hand.

“These need to go to Xavier,” he said, referring to the brilliant head of the Geeks. If anyone could coax information out of the computers it would be Xavier.

Sebastian gave an unnecessary jerk on the chains, leading the prisoners away just as Raphael nodded his head toward a thick grove of cypress trees.

“This way,” the Suit commanded.

Following in Raphael’s wake, Talon studied the tense set of the older man’s shoulders and the manner in which he turned his head from side to side, as if searching for hidden enemies.

“This speaking doesn’t involve dungeons and chains, does it?” Talon muttered, not entirely joking.

Raphael sent a puzzled glance over his shoulder. “We don’t have dungeons.”

Talon grimaced, shoving his way past the veil of Spanish moss to step into the small clearing in the center of the trees.

“We didn’t when I left, but things are clearly changing,” he pointed out in dry tones.

“Unfortunately,” Raphael agreed, restlessly pacing over the spongy ground.

Talon rolled his weary shoulders, sensing he wasn’t going to see his bed anytime soon. “What did I miss?”

Raphael turned to meet his worried gaze. “You were already on the hunt when Jean-Baptiste returned with the female voodoun.”

Talon nodded. He’d known the male Healer had gone to fetch the human female, but he’d been headed out of the Wildlands before Jean-Baptiste returned.

“Did she help Ashe?”

“I believe so.”

“Thank the goddess,” Talon breathed, relief shuddering through him.

Raphael’s mate carried the future of the Pantera within her fragile womb. The knowledge that they’d allowed their enemies close enough to put her and the babe in danger laid heavily on all of them.

“Don’t give thanks yet,” Raphael warned.

“Why?”

The leader of the Suits scrubbed his hands over his face. Talon wondered when he’d last slept.

Probably not since Ashe had been attacked and infected with some potent toxin.

“I need to start at the beginning,” Raphael growled.

“Here.” Talon pulled out his silver flask filled with Don Julio tequila and tossed it toward his friend. “Tell me.”

Raphael took a drink, grimacing as the expensive tequila slid down his throat. “As I said, Jean-Baptiste brought Isi to the Wildlands.” Another grimace. “Much against her will.”

Talon arched a brow. “She’s prejudiced against the Pantera?”

“No. For some reason the Wildlands make her ill.”

The Wildlands making someone ill? That was weird.

“I’ve never heard of that before,” Talon said. “Of course, I don’t have enough interest in humans to know what makes them sick.”

“None of us have.”

Talon shrugged. He didn’t really care if she was sick or not. Nothing mattered but Ashe and the baby.

“Did she have a potion for Ashe?”

Raphael turned to glance at the heavy layers of moss that kept them hidden from the rest of the swamp, sending a chill of fear down Talon’s spine.

Was he afraid someone was trying to spy on them?

Were there more traitors?

Shit.

“Actually her mere presence seems to give Ashe strength,” he at last said, his voice low.

Okay. That seemed a good thing.

So why wasn’t Raphael happier?

“I don’t understand,” Talon admitted.

Raphael returned to his pacing. “The Healers suspect that the toxin in Ashe’s blood is targeted to attack the babe. It’s taking every ounce of her strength to protect her child.”

“That makes sense,” Talon said. He’d already heard the poison was manifesting itself like a possession, with an intelligent design to destroy the baby. “What does the female have to do with it?”

“Having her near appears to…” Raphael searched for the word to describe the female’s effect on his mate. “Steady Ashe.”

“Steady?”

“It’s almost as if she gives Ashe more strength.”

Talon frowned. He didn’t doubt the power of the voodoun. The spiritual world was a powerful force. But he’d always thought they needed potions and spells and rituals to weave their magic.