Deluge: YA Dark Urban Fantasy (Shifter Chronicles Book 4) Read online

Callum’s disapproving gaze bores into me so I turn my back and move to look over Zan’s shoulder. She’s leafing through an old leather-bound book with hand-written, neatly lined text, and beautiful paintings every few pages.

  “Here,” she says, flipping the page and waving her hand above a striking illustration of a man in a suit of armor. He stands on the stern of a boat heading away from a castle.

  I move her hand slowly out of the way, staring closely at the man’s face. He has short white hair and startling clear blue eyes, and he looks exactly like Darko.

  9

  “They look a lot alike.” I stare down at the drawing.

  “This is the Marquis Radovic,” Zan says. He was the great nephew of the founder of the Alliance. My guess is your friend, is his descendent.”

  Aiden leans over Zan’s shoulder looks at the picture and then his eyes float up to me. “I don’t know exactly what he said to you,” he says. “But you can’t believe a single thing a Hunter says. Much less when he’s a descendent of the original family.”

  “I’m going to agree with them here,” Roman says softly, his eyes almost apologetic as he looks at me. “He seemed like a really nice guy. But I know he’s telling us something you really want to hear. He’s even probably telling us something that kind of makes sense. Like it would seem El Oso and your father were in Indonesia. But it’s got to be a trap, Shae.”

  “You’re not going with me?” I glare at him.

  Callum’s stares at the drawing of the Marquis Radovic, then his gaze shifts to the black metal box Aiden and Roman left sitting on the coffee table between the sofas. “How did you get the equipment?” He asks.

  “In the ruins of Spotswood Ranch,” Roman says.

  My fingers tap lightly on a leather-bound book in front of me. “I don’t see how this matters,” I mutter.

  “What if he wanted you to have the box?” Callum asks. “What if there’s some sort of a tracker in it?”

  “There is a tracker in it,” I say. “You can point it anywhere and find somebody within a thousand miles, or at least a thunder being. He has another box like this, can track me all over the world.”

  Callum is halfway to the door of the library by the time I finish the sentence. “Where are you going?” I ask, even though from the looks on everybody else’s faces it seems obvious. At least obvious to them.

  “To prepare the Ravensgaard,” he says. “You’ve led the Hunters right to us.”

  “Stop,” I say. I clench my jaw as my gaze falls to Roman. “Roman, you wouldn’t have come with me if you thought he was going to follow us, right?”

  Roman frowns, looking down at the picture of the Marquis in the book on the table. And I realize he actually thought the Hunter would follow us. I stare at him aghast. As much as he liked being in Potter Valley, Roman wants a little more excitement in his life.

  “I don’t know if there’s a tracking device in the box,” he says finally. “But there’s a chance. Shae, the Hunter was trying to flush us out of Potter Valley and find out where we would go. It’s pretty realistic he’s tracking us down and figuring out where we are, based on the fact you’re a thunder being. He had to have known while we were standing there talking to him.”

  “I don’t think the box is that accurate.” I insist. “He must have figured out where the Thunder Beings were, based on the earthquake at the rodeo. And it got him up there. The other gauge would’ve told him Jacqueline was there.”

  “And now it will tell them there is one in this direction, too,” Zan says.

  “But there’s one farther south than us, also,” I say. “How is he going to tell the difference if he turns his box to the south and sees one beep south.”

  “He’s going to see the miles,” Roman says. “He would know we stopped here.”

  Callum stands in the doorway, his gaze on me. “You are staying here,” he says. “In Topanga.”

  Zan and Aiden don’t say a word. Aiden gives a slight nod in agreement.

  “I don’t want-”

  “El Oso could be dead, for all we know,” Callum interrupts me. “If he is dead we are going to petition that you no longer be banished.”

  “This isn’t about us being banished,” I say.

  “This is about a bunch of Hunters storming in here and destroying Topanga.” Zan’s eyes are dark.

  I press my lips together, because I don’t want to argue and I don’t want to jeopardize the safety of Topanga and all the people here. But am I wrong to think Darko isn’t that guy? He wasn’t standing there getting ready to kill us. To use us to get to the rest of the shifters? He just as easily could’ve tried to kill us right then and there. But I know how bad it looks. He could absolutely be tracking us right now.

  “We’re going to leave,” I say, my gaze lands fully on Callum. “Darko said my father was in Indonesia. That’s why we came here. I didn’t think about the risks enough. I’m sorry. We just came to get some passports and leave.”

  “Your father’s in Indonesia?” Aiden asks.

  “It kind of makes sense,” Callum says. “But you can’t just roam around the entire country with the box looking for a signal from El Oso.”

  “I’m going to go with her,” Roman says.

  “Zan can you just get our passports ready?” I ask. “We’ll get out of here. If the Hunters can track me, maybe they’ll just follow me out.”

  Callum’s at my side in three strides, looming over me and gazing down into my eyes. “Why aren’t you afraid of Hunters?” he asks.

  I gaze up in surprise. “I am,” I say. “They kill shifters. They destroy lives and they’ve been hunting us. I saw what they did to the Berzerken.”

  “But still, you’ll go out there and risk your life and Roman’s life?”

  “I just don’t want them to come here.”

  “Don’t you think we can protect Topanga?” His gaze goes to Aiden and they stare at each other for a moment in silence.

  “I say bring it,” he raises his eyebrows, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

  “We have nowhere to run,” Callum says. “And you know what, I’m going to trust your instincts on this. If you think the guy Darko isn’t hunting us as a whole, then I’m going to say it’s alright.”

  Before I can stop myself, I stand up on my tiptoes and kiss him on the cheek. He believes me, he trusts me, and he’s listening to me.

  I hope so much I’m right.

  “Come to the farmstead,” He loops an arm around my waist. “Spend some time training with us. We’ll stay here to see what the danger is and then, if it makes sense, we’ll go to Indonesia. I hear there’s a pretty massive jaguar tribe down there. We might need some training.”

  “I don’t think the idea is to fight Jaguars,” Zan says with a smile, looking like she would love nothing more than to spar with some Jaguars.

  Aiden can see it too. He smiles and nods. “You never know,” he says. “Maybe it’s time for a diplomatic mission down to Muirderkring South.”

  ***

  Callum and I take his black Jeep to the farmstead. I know it’s a short drive, but it might be the only time I get to be alone with him for the next few days, if I even stay that long.

  “I miss you.” The words slip out. I’m tired of holding back my feelings. Tired of not having him around. Tired of not telling him what’s going on inside me. Callum looks at me and stretches out his hand, grabbing mine from my lap.

  The minute his hand touches mine, it’s like being enveloped in a warm blanket. Everything is fine. everything’s going to be okay. No matter how crazy and painful and weird my life has turned out to be, having Callum at my side is the one thing that makes it completely normal. And for a second I get the feeling, like a flash, where I can see us being together for a long, long, long time. I squeeze his hand, suddenly wondering if he’s thinking the same thing, if he can see us like that. Maybe it is easier they’re married off at a young age. Maybe it stops all those questions in life about who you’re going to
end up with. If they told me I was matched with Callum and had to marry him, I wouldn’t complain. He raises my hand to his lips and kisses the back of my fingers. Heat curls down my spine.

  “I need you here,” he says and I feel the thrill at the back of my neck rising heat into my head. The fingernails of my right hand click together and sparks float off my fingers. I want to fall into his arms and be alone together, give myself to him completely.

  I don’t realize I’m holding my breath until Callum clears his throat. “So you really trust this guy?” he asks.

  His head is worrying about the Ravensgaard and how well they can protect Topanga if something happens. I know it’s his job, even though he’s young. He’s the youngest Ridder the Van Arend’s have ever had. He has a lot to prove.

  “I don’t want to talk about him,” I insist. “I want to talk about us.” I swallow hard after I say the words because I have almost never dared to bring ‘us’ up, but right now I want to.

  Callum glances over at me and then back on the curve in the road. A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. “Us,” he says. “I like that.”

  I smile completely.

  “Yeah,” I say “Us.”

  “So you’ve decided there’s an us?”

  “Yes,” I say “I feel safe with you Callum. I want to be with you. I want to be your girlfriend.” And suddenly I feel almost shy. I look up at him but he’s laughing.

  “I thought you already were?” And he pulls the car over on the side of the road, leaning across the central console that separates us and pulling me into his arms. He raises my chin and lifts my lips to his, touching them gently but firmly. His fingers trail down my neck and I grip his hand, still clenched in my lap, as our mouths, moist and earnest, move together, gently exploring each other. It’s a revelation. Callum…he’s mine. This is the mouth I was always meant to kiss, the guy I was always meant to have.

  I press myself forward, but he pulls back, suddenly.

  “Ouch!” He chuckles, but he whips his hand from mine. There’s a flame burning in my hand.

  I close my fist over the flame and it disappears.

  “We’re gonna have to get that under control,” he murmurs, leaning forward and kissing me again.

  When he pulls away his eyes are warm and green like a tropical valley bathed in the sun. “You’re my girl, Shae,” he says. “As long as you’ll have me, you’re a part of me. You’re the one who understands me, You’re the one who needs me.”

  I almost want to protest, hating the idea that I’m weak and need somebody. But as he leans forward to kiss me again, I get this rising feeling in my chest. He is absolutely right. I need him. I pull back, trying to control my breathing.

  “Shouldn’t we be getting to training?” I ask.

  10

  I wish we were going to the farmstead, where Callum’s family, the Murtaghs, first settled Topanga. But he doesn’t turn in that direction, he heads instead to the old zoo grounds where we were imprisoned by Murtaugh and barely escaped with our lives. I feel a chill in my gut, and I realize almost immediately I’m nervous. It would’ve been nice to train in the barn privately, with the doors closed, using the gunny sack men and the weapons. I know I trained up at the village with Jacqueine and Hercules, but the Ravensgaard…they’re the elite fighters of the shifter world. These guys are badass. My fingers clutch the door handle. There’s not escape. Only one way forward.

  But man, it feels like a long time since I’ve flown with the Ravensgaard.

  The area of Topanga that was once a derelict zoo is hardly recognizable. All the cages have been removed and they’ve turned the large clearing into battle training zones. The trees that ring the field create space for all the ravens to sit as they watch the sparring. We pull up to the side and there are a few shifters in human form, but the majority of them roost as ravens in the trees. You can only tell by a couple of heads turning and looking in our direction, bobbing slightly, that they even notice their Ridder has arrived. For the most part, the ravens are all looking up.

  We step out of Callum’s Jeep and my jaw drops as I follow everyone else’s gaze upwards. I have never, ever seen anything like it in my entire life. I’m not sure anyone has.

  The two ravens move fluidly in the air, each seeking to dominate the other. It’s easy to identify they are Iona and Shanahan. She must truly be skilled if she can take on the general of the Ravensgaard forces. It’s annoying that feeling just above my gut but below my heart, a tightening in my chest, which makes me feel slightly sick and slightly out of breath.

  I hate feeling jealous.

  But my jealousy slides into admiration as Iona flies above Shanahan and then shifts in the air, her human body plummets down on him as she draws a knife from her belt and captures him in her arms. She holds the knife to his throat as he stares up at her. She seems, even in her human form, in perfect control of her fall.

  But Shanahan is having none of it.

  He transforms into his human self, the biggest and bulkiest Irishman ever, and he bursts away from her, knocking the knife out of her hand. They break apart. Iona flips and returns to her bird form, angling up in the air. My gaze is on her and I don’t even notice Shanahan does almost exactly the same thing. They get to opposite ends of the field as ravens, charging towards each other and now Shanahan knows exactly what she’s going to do. They both, at the same time, as they are diving towards each other in full attack, shift to human form and they’re about to connect head-to-head.

  But there’s no way Iona can match Shanahan’s massive girth.

  At the last possible second, Iona shifts back into a raven and raises her talons right at Shanahan’s head, gouging around his eyes and scraping her beak across his forehead. He hurtles towards the earth, hands over his bleeding eyes. A gasp goes up from the humans and a caw goes up from the ravens all around, but nobody makes a move.

  Not even Callum.

  He stands at my side, his hands on his hips, staring at his warriors. I chew on my lower lip, my fingernails clicking together nervously, Callum reaches over and holds my hand tight, making sure I stop so the sparks don’t show.

  Shanahan rolls and shifts the second before he hits the ground. He rolls forward as a bird until he finally comes to a halt. Immediately he shifts back into human form so he can heal.

  And yell.

  “You nearly took out my blood eyes!” he bellows up at Iona, who hovers above.

  She raises back her neck, lifting her strong black beak to the air and lets out a raucous caw of victory. Her call is answered by all the ravens in the trees as they fly up and encircle her. The Ravensgaard on the ground in human form give a loud cheer to her success as she slowly sails down and shifts into the confident black-haired beauty who proudly walks towards Callum.

  She is, by far, the favored child of the Ravensgaard.

  And for a dark moment I wonder if they’ve announced yet that they won’t be married. Does Iona even know Callum doesn’t want to marry her? If she still wants to marry him, she’s going to make one hell of an enemy. I find it impossibly difficult to smile at her as she walks towards me. Instead, my mouth just kind of pulls into some sort of a nervous line, approximating what should be a smile, but probably looks more like a grimace.

  She walk straight up to me and although I’m somewhat tall, she still looks down at me. Her finger reaches forward and she slices it along my neck.

  I swallow.

  “I see you got the necklace off,” she says. “Callum mentioned you did that, but it’s so hard to believe. Lady Heather has had hers on for more than twenty years.” She cocks her head sideways at me, as if waiting for me to tell her the secret, but I keep my mouth shut.

  “Yeah,” I chuckle nervously. “It kind of took us all by surprise.”

  “Callum mentioned,” she looks at him sideways, with a sly smile raising the corner of her mouth. “Said you just pulled it off of your neck.”

  “Well, it wasn’t quite that easy. I had some chemic
als from Roman,” I lie. “He distilled them from the, uh, metal. Made it kind of easy to pull apart.”

  “Uh-huh,” she says. Shanahan walks up behind her, but she keeps staring at me curiously. She doesn’t quite believe everything I’m telling her.

  She’s pretty astute.

  The scratches around Shanahan’s eyes have already healed and he’s wiping the blood off his cheeks as he walks up. “Remind me not to spar with you anymore,” he grins at Iona, slapping her on the back as she gives him a nod.

  “If I don’t spar with you,” she laughs, “Who here is going to give me any competition?”

  “Why don’t you let Shae give it a try?” Callum asks.

  Iona tries to mask the sneer that appears on her face, and she almost does. But not quite. When she regains control over her features, they turn into a bored expression. “Really?” She asks. “Have you learned any new moves?” She turns her black-eyed gaze on me.

  “Yeah.” My voice comes out exactly how I feel: steamed. “I’ve got some new moves.” My voice is low and harsh.

  Callum places his hand on my shoulder. “There’s no need for new moves, guys, just a simple sparring exercise. She hasn’t had a chance to fight against Ravensgaard in a month, so don’t go over the top, Iona. Just spar with her.”

  “Great,” Iona rolls her eyes and shakes her head as she turns around. “You’ve got a Ferrari and you want to drive thirty miles an hour.”

  “It might be good for you,” Shanahan says. “Get that engine under control.”

  The familiarity Iona has with Callum sets me on edge, as does the idea I have to spar with her. As I walk away from him, Callum grabs my wrist, running his fingers across my palm before quickly letting go. “No new moves,” he says, giving me an eye.

  “Got it, Ridder,” I say. Even though he hasn’t use the commanding voice that’s very hard to refuse, I know what he’s saying. This would be a really bad place to unleash my magic and show every single Ravensgaard I have fire power.

  “Up you get then,” Shanahan says, his hand landing on my lower back and giving me a slight shove forward. “You go up there and win us both back our dignity.” The slight chuckle that ends his comment makes it clear he doesn’t think for one minute I stand a chance of besting Iona.