A Magical Shift: A Hot Paranormal Fantasy Saga with Witches, Werewolves, and Werebears (Weres and Witches of Silver Lake Book 1) (23 page)

“I would like to talk.”

Teagan smiled. “I’m all ears.”

‡

A
few minutes
before lunch, Izzy’s cell rang, and she hoped it was Rye asking if she wanted to go to lunch. After she retrieved her cell and swiped the screen to answer, she sighed then smiled answering, “Hey, Elana.”

A trickle of guilt surfaced. Izzy had texted Elana telling her that Rye was back to normal after one day’s rest but nothing about that walk along Silver Lake. Mostly it was because Izzy didn’t want to whine about possibly losing her powers when Elana didn’t have any to begin with.

“I was wondering if you wanted to go to lunch?” asked Elana. “We were interrupted the other day if you recall.”

Getting away would be awesome. “I’d love to as long as it’s Nate’s Pizzeria or the Silver Lake Café. I don’t want to be wandering about for too long. No telling who might be lurking.”

“That’s smart. How about Silver Lake Café in thirty minutes? I have to run a few errands first.”

“I can’t wait. See you there!”

Missy came up behind her. “Hot date with Rye?”

“That was Elana. She asked me to lunch, and I said yes. Rye doesn’t want me to leave his compound, and Mom doesn’t want me to leave the store, so I’m going stir-crazy.”

Missy tilted her head in her typical sympathetic manner. “Your stalker is getting to you, isn’t he?”

“Every once in a while, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

Just as Missy opened her mouth, the conversation was cut short when two elderly women wandered in wearing
I Love Tennessee
T-shirts. “I got this,” she told Missy. “May I help you, ladies?” Izzy asked.

“Why yes.” They were curious about the purpose of the pretty crystals in the storefront window. One of the ladies then wanted to know if there was a candle scent to help with her headaches. By the time Izzy explained what each crystal was used for, along with the benefits of aromatherapy, the ladies had taken up twenty of her thirty-minute window, setting her nerves on edge. They’d purchased two candles apiece, and once she rang them up, she only had five minutes to reach the café. Teagan was with a client, so Izzy told Missy she’d be back in an hour.

“Have fun.”

Being late grated on her, but she couldn’t leave her customers in the middle of a transaction. Izzy snatched her purse and rushed out. Silver Lake Café was on the same street as the spa and only two and a half blocks away. As much as she wanted to enjoy the clear, balmy day, Izzy didn’t want to keep her friend waiting. Elana had a flower shop to run.

Just as she passed Thomas’s Hardware, someone stepped out from the between the buildings. So focused on reaching the café in time, she hadn’t checked to see if the alleyway was clear.

He pressed something hard into her back. “Don’t scream, lass, or I’ll shoot ’cha.”

Bile rose to her throat. Owen Chancellor had found her, and he had a gun. Shit.
Think. Think. Do something
.

Izzy could lift her hand and shoot fire behind her, but that might catch her on fire as well. Being on the sidewalk, she couldn’t make a plant grow to ensnare him, but there had to be something she could do that wouldn’t attract too much attention. Creating a windstorm might distract him, but it wouldn’t stop a bullet.

With his left hand, he grabbed her arm and told her to walk down Oak Avenue. Her mind spun. Except for an older gentleman across the street using a cane, the road was devoid of traffic.

He nudged her back. “Open that car door and get in.”

If she could move far enough away from him, she might be able to use her magic to thwart him. Feeling confident there would be a window of opportunity to take him down, Izzy complied. As he rushed over to the driver’s side, she considered jumping out and running, but she believed her stalker when he said he’d shoot.

He started the car then pulled onto the road, thankfully not insisting she fasten her seatbelt. Izzy wanted to be able to escape if he stopped. He hadn’t blindfolded her either, which was another stroke of luck. She’d be able to tell when it was safe to use her magic.

Chancellor headed north out of town on Pine View Avenue. As soon as he turned on Grand Peak Drive, taking them into the mountains, dread pooled in her stomach. This was Changeling territory.

“Where are you taking me?” she demanded.

“We’re going to have a little ceremony.”

Her blood ran cold. What kind of ceremony? Marriage, sacrificial, or some other demonic torture? The big question was whether he needed her alive.

Without warning, Chancellor jerked the car down a dirt road that seemed to lead nowhere. The jarring caused her to hit her head on the roof twice. He then stopped.

“Get out,” he commanded.

Was this it? Had he brought her to this desolate part of town so he could kill her then dump her body? Poor Rye. A wolf without his mate would end horribly for him.

With trembling hands, she lifted the door latch while trying to devise the best plan to kill him. Running, however, wasn’t an option. He’d shift and catch her quickly, making her death painful.

Owen Chancellor popped the trunk then slid out with his gun in his hand. “I’m sorry to have to do this, but I need you to get in the back. I can’t have you see where we’re going.”

While he didn’t intend to kill her right away, riding in the trunk of a car was only slightly more appealing. “No way I’m getting in there.”

Up to this point, she’d been compliant, but this was as far as it went. Just as Izzy lifted her hand to send a blast of wind strong enough to knock him down, he raised his arm and fired. Her arm kicked to the side and the wind she’d sent blew down a tree near him, missing her captor by yards.

A second later, her brain registered the pain in her upper arm, and it sucked the air right out of her lungs. Izzy glanced down at the blood pouring out, and disbelief slammed into her. “You shot me.”

Her stomach convulsed, but she wouldn’t be thwarted. Izzy lifted her uninjured arm, needing to incinerate the bastard now. Before she had the chance to send off a burning blast, a second shot grazed her hip, buckling her left knee. She dropped to the ground.

Chancellor strode toward her and then kicked her in the stomach. She couldn’t breathe.

“Now get in the trunk or I’ll shoot ya in the belly, ’cause if I can’t have ya then no one’s gonna have ya.”

“You fucking bastard. What do you want?” She’d tried to shout but the words came out in spurts.

He bent down, picked her up, and then dumped her in the trunk. Excruciating pain traveled up her spine and nearly made her cry out. The moment the lid shut, Izzy lifted her good arm and banged on the roof, but it did no good.

*

Rye was working
hard to stay focused. The call from his supervisor an hour ago had been urgent but apologetic. One of the local elementary schools had been deliberately set on fire, and he was needed to help with the blaze. What kind of bastard would do that? He could guess—a Changeling. Only why?

With only a few hours’ sleep, his energy was waning, but he’d give it his best. The hoses were blasting out water at a rapid rate, and in the last few minutes, the fire had finally lost its strength. The administrators had evacuated all of the children, and thank goddess there had been no reported injuries. The only issue now was how much of the gym could be saved.

A sharp pain stabbed him in the arm, followed by an ache in his leg. What the hell? His pulse sped up as dread slowly seeped in. Was his mate in trouble?

Frank, his supervisor, rushed over waving his cell. “Got an emergency call for you,” he shouted over the roar of the blaze and the rush of water.

If it hadn’t been for Rye’s excellent hearing and his ability to read lips, he never would have understood the message. Rye couldn’t figure out who would be calling for him on his supervisor’s phone. Not Izzy. Frank was suited up and motioned for Rye to hand him the hose.

“Thanks.” Rye slipped the cell from his boss’s fingers, turned his back to the blaze, and answered. “Hello?”

“Rye, it’s Elana.”

Had she not sounded so scared, he would have told her this was not a good time. “What’s wrong?”
Please don’t tell me something has happened to Izzy.

“Izzy never showed up for our lunch date. I tried calling your cell, but you didn’t answer. I had to call the station. I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay.” Tension nearly crippled him, but he tried to stay positive. With all that had been on Izzy’s mind, he prayed she’d forgotten the time of their date. Unfortunately, that didn’t jive with the sharp jab to his arm a leg that he feared came from his mate. “When did you speak with her last?”

“An hour ago.” She then explained where and when they were supposed to meet. “I’ve called her cell a few times, but it goes to voicemail.”

He turned his attention away from Elana and tried to make contact with his mate.
“Izzy, can you hear me,”
he telepathed. After waiting three breaths for her to answer, he refocused on Izzy’s friend. Rye’s head pounded. “Elana, call me on my cell immediately if Izzy contacts you, okay?”

“I promise, and please let me know when you find her.” Elana sucked in a breath as if she was close to hyperventilating.

“I will.”

Once more, he attempted to connect with Izzy, but again, he didn’t receive a response. His gut twisted into multiple knots, and his heart beat faster than a hummingbird’s. He rushed back to Frank and returned his phone. “I’m sorry, my fiancée has been kidnapped.” Calling Izzy his mate would not have been wise.

Frank’s eyes widened, though Rye didn’t have time to find out if it was because he hadn’t known Rye had a fiancée, or that someone he knew had been kidnapped.

“Go. We have the blaze under control. Thanks for helping out.”

Rye was grateful he didn’t have to argue about taking off before the fire was out. After leaving his suit in the truck, he rushed back to his SUV, his mind spinning. If Owen Chancellor had taken her, where would he go?

Rye rarely ventured into the hills, mostly because the Changelings lived there, but he’d have to head there now. Damn. Chancellor had sought out a black witch once, so he might try her again. Too bad Rye had no idea who she was or where she lived.

“James,” he blurted. He’d know.

The immortal had mentioned his contact had found out Owen Chancellor’s name. Perhaps that person could provide him with the locations of the black witches. Rye jumped into his car, and as he sped down Oak Avenue toward High Point Street, he telepathed Kalan.

“I need your help. I think Izzy’s been kidnapped.”

“Give me the details.”
Thankfully, Kalan must have sensed time was of the essence and didn’t question his statement. Rye spit out what he knew.
“I’m on my way to James’s house to see if he can help. I’ll let you know what he says.”
Rye hadn’t had the time to brief his best friend about his recent meeting with Naliana’s husband. He needed to do a better job at communicating, especially with his Beta.

“I’ll put an APB out on his vehicle.”

“Thanks. I’ll contact you if I find out more.”

Rye’s tires squealed as he turned onto the road toward the lake. While it wasn’t more than two miles to his cottage, it seemed like a million miles away. Rye attempted to reach Izzy telepathically again, and after he thought he’d made a connection, all he received was what sounded like moans, and his heart pinched at the implication.

“Come on Izzy. Talk to me, baby. I know you can hear me.”

“Rye.”

Yes! His grip loosened on the wheel, but he didn’t slow in case Izzy couldn’t tell him her location.

“Where are you? Are you okay?”
He finally let out a breath.

“Trun—Ow.”

He had no idea why her words faded in and out.
“Izzy, concentrate. Tell me where you are.”

“Don’t know.”

“Did Chancellor take you?”

“Yes.”

“Hold on. I’ll find you.”
He then broke the connection. She’d sounded weak, and he didn’t want her to waste her energy.

James’s cabin came into view. Once in his driveway, Rye jammed the SUV into park, cut the engine, and hauled ass to the front door. He pounded until his host answered.