Read Hungry Earth (Elemental Book 2) Online
Authors: Rain Oxford
“I didn’t tell him to kill you, did I?” I continued
to the motel. A sinking feeling started up in my stomach as I turned the corner
and saw the SUV, which had a large dent in the driver’s door. I froze when I
saw the motel door open with blood on the handle.
“Stephen is going to kill everyone,” Astrid said.
“I think I need to be let into the loop,” Henry said.
“A few humans have gotten the amulet and teamed up to
kill paranormals. You are now in the loop. Can you find the amulet?”
“I can. It may not be legal, though.”
“Astrid, give us a minute, please. Go outside, stick
your fingers in your ear, and sing.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ll be in the truck.” She
left.
“Henry, are you a thief?”
“Not exactly. I retrieve objects that have been
stolen or are being used for harm. Sometimes it’s honorable work and sometimes
it’s not. I attempted to get the amulet over the break, but it had already been
stolen before I could get it. It seems to me like I need to team up with
Darwin.”
“You didn’t think to tell me you knew why the council
was here?”
“You found out before me that they thought Hunt took
it. Whether he did or not, I don’t have any information that can help you.”
“And your parents?”
“My parents are thieves. They raised me to be
exceptional at stealing and taught me how to get away with it. When I shifted
for the first time and they realized I was not typical, they wanted to use me.
I hated stealing when we had too much money as it was, so I told them I wasn’t
going to do it anymore. My mother told me I was disgusting and my father beat
me until I shifted and nearly dismembered him. They told me if I didn’t steal
for them, then they would turn me in.”
“You realize that’s messed up, right?”
“I do. However, they can be very loving and
supportive as long as I provide them with what they want. We came to an
agreement that I would give them money that I attained however I choose and
they would never demand that I steal something if I felt it was immoral. They
began finding me jobs for other people.
“My first assignment was a woman whose apartment was
broken into. She didn’t care about anything except for a necklace, which was
the last gift her father left her before he died. The manager’s son took it and
a lawyer wouldn’t even talk to her. I got them back and suggested she move,
because there were quite a few objects in the thief’s apartment that he was
preparing to pawn.”
“Well, that was good, at least. You didn’t hurt–”
“That was not the end, unfortunately. The manager
wouldn’t let the woman out of her lease and his son broke into her apartment
again. So I shifted and broke the legs of the manager and his son. My parents
were proud that I hurt them. They consider themselves to be rebels, which is
why they loathe the wizard council.”
“But you’ve never been caught?”
“My parents taught me how to cover my tracks from the
time I could walk. Hell, they taught me how to steal food out of the fridge of
our own house without getting caught. Everywhere we went for as long as I could
remember, they were teaching me to steal, so I thought it was normal until I
was six or seven. I remember the moment when I realized the cops were the good
guys and we were the bad guys.”
“It broke your heart, didn’t it?”
He nodded. “When I got caught for Ashcraft’s murder,
I was confused and I thought I was innocent in it, but I felt like it was
justice. I also thought it was very unfair that I was in a cell and my parents
were not. The first thing I did when I saw them again was swear to them that if
I ever got caught for anything and was going to jail, I would kill them both
first.”
“That might not help your case.”
“I am willing to risk it.”
“The council mentioned your parents. Do they know
your parents are thieves?”
“They may suspect my parents, but they will never get
any evidence.”
“Is this your big secret you don’t want me to see in
your head?” I asked. He gave me a hard look and slowly, emphatically shook his
head.
So what could he be hiding that’s worse than being a thief?
“If
you can get the amulet back from this killer, I don’t think the wizard council
will care what you have to do to get it.”
“Giving it back to the council is a bad idea. They
are already on the verge of trying to take over the paranormal community.
Depending on who takes John Cross’s position, war may be imminent. The amulet
could make them invincible.”
“So how would you get it?”
“Normally, the object is in a secure location and I
unsecure it. In this case, I need to find the person who has it. The easiest
method would be to get in on the investigation and ally myself with someone who
can read the person’s mind.” He gave me an expectant look.
“His mind is blocked, most likely because of the
amulet.”
“In that case, my fastest method of finding him is to
shift and get his scent.”
“Okay. That sounds fine by me.”
“My jaguar doesn’t listen to me. If I shift now, away
from the school, I will probably hunt Holli down and kill her.”
“Great. And if we don’t get the amulet soon, more
people might die. John could control you. Maybe I can now that I have his
power.”
“If you want to try, I will agree to let you.
However, if I kill my fiancé, my parents will start a lot of trouble.”
“Do you think I could do it?”
“No.”
“Well, we have to do something. Can you help us find
Clara?”
“I will assist you in any way that I can. If it comes
down to a fight, my jaguar will fight our enemy instinctively.”
“Good. That could help.”
“Only after our enemy is dead will he turn on you.”
“Great. Except when we do face this enemy, he has the
amulet, which can turn you human.”
“Impossible.”
I paused. “The whole point of the amulet is to–”
“Render the victim powerless,” he interrupted calmly.
“I understand the function of this object, yet you do not understand the
genetics of a shifter. We’re called shifters because it is our power to shift
between forms. Thus, we are not called werewolves or were-jaguars.”
“Wait, then there are werewolves?”
“No, of course not. There is no virus that can make a
human change into a wolf or wolfish beast under the full moon.”
“It’s just a myth stemmed from shifters? Why is it
just werewolves then?”
“The myth has more to do with skin walkers than
shifters.”
“Huh?”
“Using old magic, a person can supposedly change into
animals, but this has nothing to do with viruses or genetics and I am not
convinced of it. If you’re interested, Darwin knows a lot more about the
history of it, including why werewolves are the most known. All I know is that
it is not the origin of shifters.”
“But both shifters and skin walkers use magic to
shift?”
“A skin walker, hypothetically of course, is still a
person and would revert to being one if their power was taken. When I shift,
I’m using my inborn power, just like you read a person’s mind. Once I am a
jaguar, I no longer require or use my power; I am a jaguar. I have several
powers unique to me, such as my camouflage and invisibility, but I am in no way
a person in my jaguar form. Therefore, a device that renders me powerless will
not force me back into my person form. That would actually require magic to
do.”
“Okay, good to know. Let’s go before the sun becomes
a problem.”
I locked the key in the room and we got in the SUV.
Henry drove a perfect two miles over the speed limit. As other cars passed us,
Astrid and I didn’t say a word. We were heading back to the club to see if we
could find another clue when I saw a red Crossfire. Its top was up, but it was
definitely a convertible. I was about to tell Henry to follow it when my instincts
demanded I leave it.
“Henry, drive straight,” I barked. My magic lashed
out without my control and Henry growled. He shook his head, whether fighting
my magic or his cat, I didn’t know. His hands on the steering wheel partially
shifted before returning to their normal shape. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
He accelerated and didn’t say anything.
“Turn left,” I said, careful to stay out of his head.
He took the next left. After about twenty minutes, we arrived at another motel.
Henry parked and the three of us got out. Instantly, Astrid and Henry started
for a specific door. “What is it?” I asked
“Blood.”
We got to the door and Astrid grabbed the knob. I
heard a small snap as the lock broke and she threw the door open. Henry shoved
me against the wall in time to avoid getting run over by one of the twins.
Astrid and her collided and the vampire went down on top. In the blink of an
eye, my childhood friend tore the human’s throat out.
Henry looked around before letting me go and entering
the room. I followed and found Clara unconscious and bound spread-eagle on the
bed. She was still wearing pants, but her red blouse was torn open with a
silver cross strapped to her chest and her skin was burned where the metal was
pressed against her flesh. Henry’s hand shifted partially into some creepy
mixture of a human hand and a feline’s paw. He sliced the rope easily and
peeled the cross from her skin.
“Grab her and let’s go,” Astrid said.
“One, down, three to go. At least we made some
progress,” I said as I stepped over the dead woman. “Are you going to clean
that up?”
“I’ll call the cleaners when we get on the road.”
“I believe you are becoming very accustomed to the
paranormal community,” Henry told me as he picked Clara up. “Or in our terms;
the real world. In fact, my parents would consider not eating your kill to be
an insult.”
“Where are they from?”
“Brazil. While I spent much of my life in the U.K., I
was born in Arizona,” he said. I nodded and started getting in the car. “At a
wildlife reserve,” he added. By the time I could turn to him, he was already in
the driver’s seat.
Henry drove back to the castle at a perfectly
calculated speed. We were going ten over on the highway, but everyone else was
as well. When a yellow sports car blew past us, Henry waved and said, “Thank
you for your sacrifice. Those people are the reason we can speed and not get
caught,” he explained to us.
Five minutes later, we saw the car on the side of the
road with a cop behind him. “April and Clara need driving lessons from you,” I
said.
* * *
The trip home seemed to take forever. Clara woke for
a short while, but she was very disorientated. When we tried to ask her if she
saw anything, she didn’t seem to understand the question. Her mind was just as
muddled as before.
“What if they’re tracking her?”
“You believe they knew we would find them in some
random motel room and they left one of their people there to die just so they
could track us back to the castle?” Henry asked.
No, I didn’t, but I couldn’t help thinking about my
dream of the vampire under attack. This seemed too much like a perfect setup.
When we pulled into the driveway of the castle, Hunt
and Flagstone were waiting. I woke Astrid and gently pushed her out of the way
so Flagstone could get Clara and disappear with her into the castle. I figured
he was taking the unconscious vampire to Dr. Martin. Astrid leaned her head on
my shoulder and I put my arm around her.
“Did you find out anything?” Hunt asked.
“We know there is more than one killer and that
they’re human. Astrid killed one of them. From what I’ve seen, there are three
more.”
“But they’re human; they don’t stand a chance against
us,” Astrid said.
“They know how to be human, while I highly doubt you
know how to fight without your speed, strength, and fangs,” I argued. “With an
amulet that takes away your power, they’re not leveling the playing field.”
“What happened with Jackson and the kid?” Henry
asked.
“Jake has gone to stay at the children’s school.
Jackson is back here, for now. He said he was attacked inside the school
grounds, but that is very unlikely.”
“How come?” I asked.
“I have guards in place all over this school. It
sounds like you have had a long day,” Hunt said, hinting. “I suggest you all go
to your rooms and get some sleep. The underground floor has been searched and
cleared and the vampires have moved back to their own rooms. Astrid, you can
stay in Clara’s room while she is recovering. After Clara was taken, Stephen
decided to handle the murders himself.”
Henry looked at me for instructions. Henry and I both
knew I wasn’t going to let it go just because the vampire king wanted to avenge
his daughter, and I suspected Hunt knew it as well. “Where is Amelia?” I asked
Hunt.
He sighed. “She is safe.” He walked off without
another word.
Astrid and Henry both waited for me to tell them what
to do, so I considered our next step. “We can’t do anything to them until we
get the amulet, but there is still the shadow mystery. If Hunt doesn’t want us
to work on this, we’ll have to be more secretive about it. Let’s go to bed and
we’ll get a fresh start on it tomorrow.”
Henry and I went back to our room, where Darwin was
asleep.
“How did you and Hunt get to the house so fast?” I
asked once we were both in our beds.
“We went through the shadows. We walked into the
darkest part of Hunt’s office and the shadows enveloped us. Then we walked out
of a linen closet at the house.”
“Did you see anything in the shadows?”
“Yes. I saw Heather, but I had no time to ask any
questions.”
* * *
Heather and I were walking in the hall just like the
time she took me to see Ashcraft. “Where are we going?”