Bound by Legend: A Bound Novel (33 page)

It all seemed surreal that she should be in so much pain and everyone else was having a normal day. No one noticed the passing of a homeless vet other than the story of a murder on the news. And even with that, Morgan doubted anyone gave Jake a thought. They would talk about the murder, speculate over what happened, talk about finding the dangerous person who had done it, no one would stop and think about the homeless man who had lost his life. Without any family, there was no one to weep in front of the cameras and remind watchers that Jake was a person.

It all seemed so wrong. Morgan wanted to get on a big speaker and shriek at them to stop. Stop everything they were doing and take a moment to acknowledge her pain. To take a minute out of their busy lives and think about Jake.

There were no big speakers and the world moved on as if nothing had happened while hers crumbled.

Morgan took a deep drag off the cigarette, allowing the nicotine to steady her nerves and finding comfort in the familiar action. One day she would quit the things. It was a crutch, and she knew that. Still didn’t change anything.

The wind picked up as she sent the cigarette butt sailing over the railing. The violent looking clouds drew closer, rumbles of thunder echoing over the city. Under the sounds of the storm an eerie howl rose in the distance.

Fear gripped Morgan’s heart even as fury made her blood boil. Were a few days so much to ask? A few days to grieve free from the Kalona and the pack? She glared at the city and the storm, welcoming the anger. Would it be so freaking bad if the world just stopped and waited for her to be ready to rejoin it? Couldn’t everything pause, even for a few days? The howling answered her.

Lucy faced the direction of the howl, her hackles raised and a growl vibrating in her chest.

“Shit.” Morgan ran into the hotel room with Lucy still staying right beside her to find Lucian already packing.

He looked up as she came in. “Time to move.”

Nodding she ran into the bedroom and threw the few things of hers that were scattered around the room and bathroom into her suitcase. The numbness had faded, replaced by the anger and now, determination to end the running. And when it was all over, she would sit down and grieve for Jake properly. Until then, she tucked him away in her heart.

She carried her suitcase and backpack into the living room and set them next to the door. Lucian was there less than five minutes later.

He set down the bag he carried and cupped her face with his hands, his eyes on hers. “I’m sorry we have to do this right now.”

Morgan swallowed the lump that rose in her throat and blinked back the tears that stung her eyes. When she was sure she was in control, Morgan placed her hand against his chest and stepped back. “Let’s go.”

After opening the door, she grabbed her bags and walked into the hall beyond, calling to Lucy. The dog followed without the need for a leash. Not that she had ever needed a leash and only ever wore one because of leash laws.

Lucian followed, unsure of what to make of Morgan. Barely an hour before she was completely breaking down and now she showed no signs of it. No, that wasn’t completely true. The pain still lingered in her eyes. Maybe in the face of the pack her survival instinct trumped grief.

Though it had been terrible to watch her go through losing Jake, Morgan was doing better than Lucian thought she would. It would be nice to think his presence had something to with it. That their bond made it easier to take the death of another person close to her. Maybe nice to think, but Lucian was pretty sure it had more to do with Morgan’s own strength. The same strength that had kept her going through all of the dark times of her life.

In the parking garage, Morgan shoved her suitcase into the back of her SUV as Lucian placed his into his car. Morgan let Lucy into the backseat then turned to Lucian. “Where to next?”

He shut the lid to the car’s trunk. “Damien and Isobel’s.”

“Isn’t that kind of dangerous given the pack has recovered and is hunting again. A little close to your house for comfort.”

“They will have already searched my house and the surrounding neighborhood. They haven’t found us yet or the howl would have been different. They’re still looking for our trail.” Lucian unlocked his car and opened the driver’s side door. “Damien and Isobel’s is one of the safest places we can be. Not only have the hounds moved on from that neighborhood, the channel I located and her dark angel are there, too.”

Greater numbers sounded good to Morgan right about then. Not to mention the possibility of a chance to find out why the Kalona was so obsessed with her. She tossed the backpack on the front seat. “Meet you there.”

“I’ll be right behind you.”

Morgan climbed in behind the wheel and started the truck, enjoying the rumble of the engine. After buckling her seatbelt, she put it in gear and maneuvered the truck through the cramped garage. A glance in the rearview mirror as she eased into traffic showed Lucian’s car following close. He stayed directly behind her the entire drive to his neighborhood.

It eased some of the tension in her shoulders to see him back there. She needed Lucian and as much as it ran counter to her nature to admit, she needed him for more than just help against demons. Lucian was a part of her now. And as difficult as Jake’s death was, she swallowed and tried to think of it in only a surface kind of way, it had been nice not to have to grieve alone.

Overhead, lightning flashed in a dramatic display. Loud cracks of thunder followed. Rain began to hit the windshield in large drops. Just as Morgan clicked on the wipers, the sky opened up in a deluge. Squinting, as if it would really help, she leaned forward and slowed down. The wipers swished on high and still she could barely see to drive.

It seemed to take forever before she was finally able to turn the Suburban into the driveway of her friends’ house. Lucian pulled up next to her and was out of his car before she even had the chance to cut the engine.

Lightning flashed and nearly blinded her. Fumbling for the door handle as the thunder rattled her chest, she called Lucy into the front seat. Lucian took Morgan’s arm as soon as the door opened. She called for the dog as Lucian half-helped, half-pulled her from the truck and the dog bailed out through the driver’s door behind her. Rain pounded down, soaking them through in a matter of seconds. Several bolts of light arced across the sky, splintering in jagged lines.

Morgan cast a worried look at the sky as they dashed through the downpour toward the porch. She hated these kinds of storms. Just as they reached the cover of the porch, the hairs on her arms suddenly stood up a second before an explosion left her ears ringing and a tree across the street scorched and broken.

Isobel swung the front door open and ushered them inside just as another bolt of lightning split the sky.

MORGAN GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED
the towel Damien handed her and wiped the rain from her face. A quick scrub through her hair to remove as much of the wet as she could, Morgan then rubbed it over Lucy. Isobel may have said she didn’t mind having the dog there; however saying it and actually having the wet Rottweiler in the house were two different things.

Isobel’s cat, Sorsha sauntered into the living room and froze, her fluffy hair standing up. Laying her ears back, Sorsha hissed and ran from the room like a tuxedo colored rocket. Lucy pricked her ears but stayed put. Morgan gave the dog a pet for not chasing the cat.

As Damien took the now wet towels from them a strange woman, and what could only be her dark angel, walked in from the kitchen. Damien introduced the channel as Sarah and her dark-skinned angel as Jameth. Other than Sarah’s bronze skin and two thick black braids, she didn’t look very shaman-like in faded blue jeans and dark blue t-shirt. Of course, Morgan wasn’t sure what a shaman should look like either. Though youthful in looks there was an air about Sarah that spoke of experience.

Sarah gave Lucy a wide-eyed and slightly reverent look. “You have a power animal, this is good.”

“A power animal?” Morgan glanced at the dog who gazed steadily at Sarah.

The shaman nodded. “Yes, a type of guardian angel.”

Everyone looked at the dog in surprise. Unconcerned by their reaction, Lucy laid down in the entry way, her eyes on the door. Everything in her demeanor spoke of waiting?

Isobel took the towels from Damien and motioned toward the living room. “Have a seat and I will get everyone some coffee.”

Nervous, Morgan trailed behind the others as they walked into the next room. Earlier she had wanted to know why the Kalona was after her. Now that the information was at hand, she wasn’t so sure. It probably wasn’t good. Then again, was there anything that could be good about having a demon after you? Morgan settled on the couch with Lucian next to her, unconsciously leaning into his warmth.

Sarah’s eyes rested on Morgan, her intense gaze searching. Morgan shifted, uncomfortable under the shaman’s scrutiny. Thunder rattled the house and the sound of rain lashing against the windows filled the heavy silence that settled in the room.

After what felt like forever, Sarah finally leaned back in her chair. “As I suspected.”

“What is?” Morgan asked.

Jameth spoke up, his deep voice surprisingly soft, “Sarah’s gift is to see the past lives of other channels, and the lives connected to it.”

“Often times a useless gift,” Sarah said. “Except in circumstances like this. Lucian said you don’t remember your first life.”

Morgan shook her head. “Not really. Just fuzzy images. I mainly remember dying.”

“And what do you remember of that?”

A faint ache settled in Morgan’s chest, an uncomfortable reminder of the vision spawned in the alley weeks ago. “Not much. I remember my mother chanting something. Screaming. Death everywhere. And the claws that dug into my chest.”

Sarah nodded as if she had expected as much. “Your young age when you died and the fact you never had a chance to connect with your powers is why you didn’t keep the name Inola, from your first life. You were only four when you died, so it makes sense you don’t remember much. What your mother did, what she was chanting, is the reason for all of this now.”

“I don’t understand. How can something my mother did, from a past life no less, affect this life?”

“Your body may change throughout your lives, who you are born to will change, but your soul, its origin, will always remain the same. Things done in connection with your soul in a past life can cause events to occur in future lives,” Sarah said.

Isobel came into the room then with coffee. Sarah waited until everyone had a cup and had taken a drink before she began again. “Your mother was a powerful shaman of the Cherokee tribe named Nany-hi, who suffered greatly at the hands of the whites. When she was barely old enough to experience monthly cycles, she walked the Trail of Tears that horrible winter. Lost many of her family due to the deplorable conditions. She was hauled out of camp one night, beaten and raped by a group of white men. Her father was killed trying to defend her. Of those in her family, she was the only one to survive the trek.

“Ten years after they were forced to move to Oklahoma, several Cherokee, along with a few black people, decided to follow the wagon trains west in search of gold. They traveled up the east side of the Rockies before turning west. The trail they took north followed the South Fork River and became known as the Cherokee trail. The very first train to set out has been stricken from human memory and history due to what happened. They left a full year before the first recorded wagon train.”

Stricken from memory and record, that could only mean it involved channels, angels, and demons. A cold knot settled in Morgan’s stomach but she forced herself to pay attention to Sarah’s words.

The shaman took a long drink of her coffee and settled further into her chair. “This story, even the truth behind the legend of the Kalona, is known only to a handful of people in the Cherokee nation. Most believe what the legends say; no one else knows Kalona for what he really is. Nany-hi was one of those who knew the truth and she was in that very first train. It was when they were camped northeast of what one day would become Denver that she did what she did.”

Sarah glanced out the window at a bright flash of lightning. Thunder crashed over the house.

Still unsure if she really wanted to know, Morgan found herself asking, “What did she do?”

“First she beheaded her dark angel while he slept to keep him from stopping her.”