Thank You For Not Shifting (Peculiar Mysteries Book 2) (18 page)

“Where is this place?” Sunny asked with wonder.

It is the aether
, Brother Wolf said.
It is the place where I exist.

“It’s the spirit world,” I told her. “It’s where my guardian lives.”

I can show you, sister. I can show you through the seer.

Yes.
Without hesitation.
Yes.

In the next second, I was standing in a field with Brother Wolf. I was in animal form as well now, and judging by the size of my paws, I’d appeared as the timber wolf, not the coyote. I gave my first nature a gentle apology.

I saw then what Brother Wolf saw. A curled up woman, damaged but not broken, on the ground in front of him. He could see me in the cage, but he couldn’t see the cage. He could see the result of the physical abuse on my body, but not the attackers. I understood now why he couldn’t have guided Billy Bob to my location. We were in a realm where time and place didn’t matter.

“Is this the past?”

“There is no past, present, or future here. Time is irrelevant.”

“So that…” I pointed to my battered visage. “…is happening to me now?”

“Yes,” he said sadly, his voice no longer in my head. The large black wolf shook his head. “You are strong, child. You are brave.”

I looked at the helpless version of myself. “I don’t feel it.”

“Fear is not weakness. Fear keeps you alive. Weakness is a failure to act because of fear. This is not the case with you.”

Enduring my torture had been wretched, but I imagined it must have been awful to watch.

“It is.” Brother Wolf rubbed his muzzle against mine.

I forgot this wasn’t a memory for him. Just as I was beside him in the
aether
, I was also, for him, still in the cage.

Across the meadow, movement caught my eye. A coyote ran across the field, his body blurring and blinking as if it struggled to keep form.

“Who is that?” I asked

“A visitor.”

“To what purpose?”

“His own, I suppose. He has come in his upright form many times, but lately, he transforms into coyote when he approaches.”

I was curious how many of us could communicate with the guardians. “Is he like me? A spirit talker?”

“He has made himself one.”

“What do you mean?”

“He is not mine. I know nothing more.”

The scenery around me began to blink, to fade. The girl I’d been only a year ago disappeared. I wanted to reach out to her, to comfort her, to tell her that help was coming. She knew it was on the way.

I mean, I knew it.

I didn’t have to go back to be saved. A flickering of images staggered me. Fur, blood, exposed muscle. A curved blade used with surgical precision. The strong scent of sassafras. Someone chanted. I tried to raise my hands to my ears, but I couldn’t move. Was I paralyzed? Had they found me again? Had I been taken?

The star. The eight-point star. Not made of twigs. Not mine.

It covered the naked back of the killer. He stopped mid-slice. And pivoted slowly to stare at the place where I watched. Only, he didn’t have a face. Not a human one. Oh my God. If this was a dream, I wanted to wake up.

“Chavvah!” The rough shaking of my shoulders roused me. “Chavvah!” It was Billy Bob. He and Sunny were crouched over me, and I was on the floor blinking up at them.

I screamed as I sat up. I tried with all my might to stop picturing what I had just seen. It could have been me. “Oh, God.” I shook my head when Billy Bob tried to help me up. “His face. It was a black bear face, but it wasn’t his. Christ. He wore Mike like a second skin.”

“I know,” Sunny said.

I looked at her then and saw my own horror reflected in her eyes. I’d always thought it would be cool to have her psychic ability, but now… “How do you live with that, Sunny? How?”

My hair stuck to my sweaty cheeks, and Sunny brushed it away from my eyes with her fingers. “I get up in the morning, brush my teeth, wash my face, and maybe have breakfast.” I appreciated her efforts toward humor, but her bleak smile said how she really felt. “It’s not bad all the time. You know that, Chav.”

Billy Bob lifted me then. “No more of that,” he said.

“Agreed.” I was in no hurry to see visions or visit the spirit world again.

“Tell him about the star,” Sunny said.

“The killer had an eight-point star tattooed on his back. I didn’t see if he had any other marks.” I rubbed my upper arms as if to ward off a chill. “I think we should start with Hans Fisk. I saw the edge of a tattoo on his upper arm.”

“Lots of people have tattoos,” Billy Bob said. “We need a better reason to examine the man.”

“Yes, but this one was a star.” I crossed my arms.

“Okay.” Billy Bob mimicked my stance, and the way it made his pecs dance when he crossed his arms, made my nipples rigid. He flicked a glance at them, a half smile tugging at his lips. “We’ll go talk to Sheriff Taylor.”

“Great,” Sunny said. “Chavvah can ride with me.” She tugged at my arm. “We have much to discuss.”

Billy Bob stopped her by pulling me back. “You are going to your cabin, Sunny, and locking the door. The full moon is tonight, and as the day gets closer to sundown, everyone is going to be feeling antsy. You need to lock yourself in and stay safe.”

“He’s right,” I said.

Sunny green eyes widened with betrayal. “Et tu, Chav?”

“Just go home, Sunny. You’ve helped so much. We know more now because of you, but today is going to be hard enough if I’m worried about you as well as these killers.”

“More than one?”

“Yes. Even though we only saw one in your vision. The guy who took me was talking to a partner on the phone. Please go home. You and baby Jude need to keep safe until this is all over.”

To my relief, she nodded. “I’ll go. But call me today if you find out anything new. Or call me if you don’t. I’m going to go crazy out at that cabin by myself, knowing all this stuff is happening, and I can’t do a damn thing about it.”

I gave her a quick, brief hug. “You got it, sweetie. You’re the best.”

“Again,” she said, in her very Sunny way. “I know.”

T
he sheriff’s department bustled as the cataloging of citizens and visitors continued. They hadn’t made much headway on my kidnapping, but since I’d been there and had no idea who had taken me, I guess I couldn’t really blame them. What I could blame them for was the immediate cessation of talking and the obvious gawking as Billy Bob and I walked in.

I crossed my arms and glared at every person with the nerve to meet my eyes. I almost shrugged Billy Bob’s hand off the middle of my back as he guided me to Sheriff Taylor’s office, but really, that small display of affection was nothing compared to me climbing him like a greased pole at the fair.

Sheriff Taylor beckoned us into his office. He closed the door behind Billy Bob and me. “Take a seat.” His shoulders slumped, and his voice sounded weary. He shook his head as if to clear the cobwebs, then met my gaze. “Dr. Smith says you have more information. Did you remember something new?”

“Not exactly.” I wasn’t sure how much to tell. He’d barely believed Sunny last year about her psychic ability. Telling him I was talking to spirits might not make me the most credible witness. I decided to go with a half-truth. “Sunny came over to Billy Bob’s this morning around six.”

Sheriff Taylor raised a questioning brow. “She’s planning on staying in tonight, right?”

“Yes. She’s not dumb.” Which is not to say that she always makes good choices, because, I’m pretty sure everyone knows that’s not true. “She had a vision.”

“Yeah? I thought her radar was on the fritz.”

“Apparently, it got a jump start this morning.” I let my exasperation shine on my face. “This would go a lot faster if you’d just let me get through it.”

He rolled his hand at me as if to say, “It’s your show.”

“She saw a man with a curved skinning blade.” I gagged as I thought of him. “He had an eight-point star tattooed on his back.” For a moment, I was afraid to even blink. Afraid that I’d be back in that room again with the monster. “She couldn’t see his face. He was wearing his victim’s half-form face. It was a black bear.”

“Does she think it could have been Mike? Or a new victim?”

I frowned. I hadn’t even thought about a future prediction. I’d just assumed it was a past killing. How could I be so presumptuous? “Honestly, I don’t know.” My phone rang. It was Sunny. “Hold on, I better take this.” I tapped my phone. “Hey, everything okay?”

“Have you seen Jo Jo?” she asked.

I tucked my chin. “No. I called him after you left to tell him we wouldn’t be opening today. But I haven’t seen him. Why?”

“Brady called. He said he’s been trying Jo Jo’s phone and can’t get an answer. He was hoping we were keeping him busy.” I could hear the worry in her tone.

“I’m sure he’s fine, Sunny. He’s young and full of…well, youth. He’s probably on some secret rendezvous with Michele Thompson.”

“I hope so. Call me if you hear anything.”

“You got the doors locked?”

“Yes, mother.”

“Good. I’ll call you later.” I hung up.

“Jo Jo’s missing?” Billy Bob asked.

“Not sure. His dad can’t get ahold of him by phone. It could be a case of dead battery.” I prayed like hell it wasn’t a case of dead kid.

Sheriff Taylor leaned forward. “You think he might be with Michele? Maybe you should call Ruth and see if the girl is home or not.”

The sheriff’s worry increased my anxiety. I called Ruth. “Hey,” I said when she answered. “Is Michele at home?”

“She went out early today, Chav. What’s up?”

I didn’t want to alarm Ruth, especially if this turned out to be a lovers’ tryst. “I thought she might be interested in a job. We have the whole Tri-Council to feed tomorrow, and I can use the extra help.”

“I’ll let her know.” I could feel Ruth’s pride through the phone, and it made me sick with guilt.

“Can you give me her phone number? I’ll call her myself.”

“Sure! And then maybe later you can tell me all about you and certain leggy werewolf doctor.”

My cheeks flared with heat. I knew both Billy Bob and Sheriff Taylor could hear her. “Uhm, sure.”

I got Michele’s number and hung up with Ruth. My call went straight to voicemail. “I could be nothing,” I said, trying to convince myself.

Billy Bob stood up behind me and kneaded my shoulders. “We should look for them.”

“Agreed,” Sheriff Taylor said. “We shouldn’t take any chances.”

I reached up and clutched Billy Bob’s hand on my shoulder. “What if they have him? They said they needed a third sacrifice before the full moon, and since I escaped…” Was this my fault? Had they taken Jo Jo because they couldn’t have me?

Deputy Farrady knocked on the sheriff’s door then poked his head in the room. “Brady Corman is here. He says he found Jo Jo’s car abandoned on the side of the road between their house and town.”

Out in the main room, Brady looked almost wild with panic.

“Is he drinking again?” I heard Tyler Thompson ask.

Brady turned on him, his amber eyes dilated with fear. “No, I’m not fucking drinking, you jackass. My son has been taken.”

“Now, Brady,” the sheriff said. “We don’t know that for sure. Calm down, and we’ll get to the bottom of this. We were just getting ready to go look for him.”

Brady’s dark brown hair pitched into his face as he opened his hand and stared down at his palm. He held a set of car keys and an eight-point star, this one made of metal. His voice was hollow as he spoke. “I found his truck pulled off to the side of the road. The driver’s side door was open, the keys were still in the ignition, his phone was plugged into his charger, and this star was in the middle of his seat.” He slapped the keys and the star onto Farraday’s desk. “Someone’s taken my boy.”

His eyes were sunken and weary as he spun around. Willy Boden held out a Styrofoam cup. “Here,” she said, holding the steaming cup out to him. “Would you like some coffee?”

“I’d really like a shot of whiskey,” Brady said. “But that won’t bring my son home.”

She set the cup down and nodded. “Okay.”

I knew she was trying to be kind, and I’m glad she hadn’t gotten mad when he didn’t respond well to her gesture. Brady had already lost his wife to the same hunters who’d kidnapped me the year before, and he’d barely survived her loss. If something happened to Jo Jo, it would kill him.

“Ms. Boden has offered her assistance in this matter. She has contacts with the FBI,” Sheriff Taylor said.

That explained her presence. I wondered how much she knew about what was going on in our town. She was security for the Tri-Council. If her brother was the killer, she could be helping him hide his tracks.

Brady blinked then looked at me. “We have to find my kid.”

It was ten in the morning now. Dusk would hit around eight-thirty. Impulsively, I casually put my hand over the metal star, took it up, and placed it into my pocket. It was as if I needed to possess the damn thing, the same way I had with the wooden one. Holding the new one made me realize how much I’d lost when I’d left the other behind in the killer’s truck.

I put my hand on Brady’s shoulder. “We only have ten hours before the full moon, so we better organize search parties. We can start in Tiller Woods, but really, we should search anywhere there’s a lot of unsettled acres.” Men needed to “do” things when they were worried. It made them feel like they had some control in an uncontrollable situation.

Brady nodded fiercely, ready to go. However, Deputy Farraday, Connelly, and Thompson all stared at the sheriff, waiting for his orders.

He snapped his fingers. “You heard Miss Trimmel. Do you have to be told twice? Call the town together, and let’s get search parties going.”

Brady slumped against the desk, bumping the coffee. It spilled. “Shit,” he said jumping up.

“I got it,” Willy said. She grabbed a box of tissue from Farraday’s desk and started pulling out wads of it to soak of the spill.

The heavy scent of the black coffee permeated the air. Brady looked up at me. “I can’t do this again.”

I took his hand. “You won’t have to. We’re going to find him, Brady. We’re going to find him and bring him home.”