Raven Investigation 04 - Electric Legend (13 page)

She scratched at her arm, still able to feel the phantom
touch of thousands of bugs crawling over her. Flustered under his attention,
she pulled away, wishing she could run away from the question as well. Only Greggory
followed, his silence a persistent prod for answers. “Is there a graveyard
around here?”

A stitch appeared in his stride.

“No.” The gruff response didn’t invite further conversation.

It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the truth either. “You’re
hiding something.”

He slanted her a calculated glance. “It’s a certain
punishment Clancy likes to use on those who really displease him. Now it’s your
turn. Explain. What did you see?”

She wanted to refuse but couldn’t risk that he’d shut her
out. He was the key. Something told her that if she didn’t answer him, things
would only grow worse. “I thought I was trapped in a coffin. Air was running
out. I couldn’t breathe.” Her lungs struggled to work as she relived the
experience, the memories a persistent stab into her brain.

He whirled on her, his face so intent that the rest of the
world fell away, and his true self peered back out at her.

Big.

Vicious.

Intent.

He wouldn’t stop until he got answers. “Do you know where?”

Raven went through the memories again, wishing she could
wipe the horror from her head. She rubbed her nose to get rid of the stench as
sensations bombarded her. She tried to pick up flashes of images, but everything
remained black. The unrelenting darkness upped the creepy factor, but it also
heightened her other senses.

It was why everything felt bigger and stronger and a ton
more terrifying.

So she focused on her other senses, doing her best to block
the blind panic gnawing on her. Sweat trickled between her shoulder blades, her
breathing growing more erratic.

She tasted dirt and something fresh.

Young.

“A boy, not yet able to shift.”

Too young to change and drag himself out.

“Where?” Greggory stepped closer until all she could smell
was him.

The vision faded, leaving her queasy and intensely glad to
be above ground and not trapped in a tiny wooden box. Raven stepped away, but Greggory
followed, his hands curling into fists, as if he would force answers out of her
if necessary.

Taggert growled in the distance and strode forward like a
juggernaut, intent on protecting her no matter the cost. Raven could’ve kissed
him. When he came near, she stepped into his path, pretending she didn’t want to
crawl into his arms. Claustrophobia eased its crushing grip at his nearness.

Greggory growled at the interruption, his teeth lengthening
to fangs. “You can find him.”

“Maybe.”

Surprise lessened Greggory’s anger. His animal eased back,
allowing him to function past the need to rip off her face. “Do it.”

She suspected that if she didn’t try, he would turn her over
to Clancy without an ounce of remorse.

With reluctance, she eased her stranglehold on the energy
she held. She expected it to surge forward, but the current waited patiently
for her command. She hated to admit it, but the control she had now exceeded
the vault she’d used in the past. She and the dragon had become so integrated
that there was no separating one from the other anymore.

It should’ve panicked her, but all she felt was relief.

She would never be weak again.

She went through half a dozen scenarios to locate the kid
then dismissed them all. The best option would be to see if she could find any
large energy signature underground. Unfortunately, it would take too much time
to search everywhere. Current traveled differently underground than through the
air. If she had a target, she could direct the voltage in a certain direction.
Without one, it left her working blind.

Raven debated calling out to the kid using her alpha
abilities to force the change, but since he’d never crested, the trauma would
most likely kill him. Shifters only turned when their bodies could cope with
the transformation. Any sooner could destroy both the human and animal side of
him.

No, there had to be a better option.

Instead of using her own current and drawing attention to
herself, possibly risk spreading the wild magic to others, she called the energy
from the ground. It rose like curls of pale blue steam. She wrapped the foggy
strands around the lingering trail from the kid, then released it.

She’d hoped it would shoot off in the direction of the
greatest concentration, but it only fizzled out into ghostly trails in all
directions. Too many people had passed through and disturbed the energy.

Raven tried again and again, using the energy taking a
bigger toll each time.

On the third failed attempt, Raven shook her head in defeat.
“He’s never shifted, so I’m not able to get a grip on his beast, and his human
signature is too faded for me to track. Too much time has passed. If he was
anywhere near, I could help, but it would take time.”

Greggory stepped closer, growing larger, more intimidating
with each step. “How much time do you need?”

He acted as if he’d steal time for her if that’s what she
required. She wished it were so easy. The instant she left to look for the kid,
her pack was dead. If she escaped with her pack, the circus would either hunt
them down or disappear altogether. “Too long if you want to find him alive.”

Raven stopped rubbing her nose when she found Taggert
staring at her. She cocked her head to the side as a totally irrational idea
formed. “Taggert, can you get his scent?” She pointed toward Greggory.

Taggert raised a brow but didn’t question it. He inhaled
deeply, his chest expanding as he absorbed the scent, then nodded to her when
he got it.

Greggory’s eyes narrowed in challenge, and Raven wedged
herself between the two testosterone-driven beasts, maybe not the best action
when both of them bristled.  

“Taggert is a tracker. He has your scent now.” Greggory
scowled and crossed his arms and she realized it sounded like a threat.
Ignoring him, Raven turned toward Taggert. “There is a boy trapped underground
in a coffin. His scent almost matches the doctor’s. Can you weed out Greggory’s
smell and find out what’s left?”

Taggert didn’t move but lifted his eyes over her head. Raven
turned in time to see Greggory nod. “I’ll keep her safe while you’re out
hunting, but I’ve been all over the grounds and came up empty, so I’m not sure
what you’ll find.”

Both eyed each other for a moment longer, then Taggert scanned
her face as if memorizing it. “If he’s out there, I’ll find him.”

He wasn’t bragging, just spoke the truth.

She worried about sending him out alone, but wondered if it
might be better for him to stay away from the circus and her for a while to give
him time to recover. He couldn’t keep going at the same pace without cracking. So
why did nausea twist through her at the thought of him leaving?

Taggert glanced into the woods, his mind already eliminating
possible trails. “Is there anything else to narrow the direction down?”

Raven closed her eyes, and shivered to find herself
immediately confined back in a coffin, her body slowly dehydrating in the heat.
It was all she could do not to flick off the bugs on her arms even though she
knew they were all a part of her imagination. “He’s buried at a base of a tree.”

Greggory snorted in disgust. “If you’ve noticed, we’re
surrounded by forest.”

Raven ignored him. “The trees we want are infected with some
type of ghastly smelling bugs.”

It sounded a lot easier said than done.

Taggert still had to be close enough to the source of the
smell to find the kid. With thousands of acres to cover, it could take more
time than they had.

Greggory lifted his face in the air and inhaled as if he
could trace the scent himself. She expected him to charge off, but the muscles
of his jaw hardened, and he turned away.

To send Taggert away would increase the danger for all of
them, but she had to take the gamble. She couldn’t leave the kid to suffer
alone, not when she could help. Taggert had the ability to find his prey given
enough time. “You’ll find him, but take care not to get caught. He doesn’t have
much time left, so you must hurry.”

As if her words were an order, Taggert brushed a hand across
her cheek, stealing the touch, before dashing between the tents and
disappearing. The instant Taggert vanished from her sight, loneliness wormed
its way inside her. It made no sense. She’d been alone most of her life, so why
did being alone now feel so wrong and desolate? With her emotion shaky, she
wanted to crack open her senses and touch the cords tying her to her pack. The
temptation surged so strongly, she nearly caved.

The dragon gave a little hum of comfort, reassuring her that
she wasn’t alone even if it felt otherwise.

Greggory stared after Taggert, clearly torn, a bemused
expression etched on his face.

“You really think he can find him.” It wasn’t a question.

She searched for any sign of happiness or hope, but his face
gave nothing away.

Instead, he exuded menace like a dark fog that would consume
anything that got too close. If anything happened to that kid, she had no doubt
this man would bring down the whole circus and anyone who stood in his way,
including her pack.

“Come, we don’t want to miss the match.” With one last look
that betrayed nothing but impatience, he marched her into the tent.

T
he cheerfulness of the day had vanished,
morphed into something dark and twisted. Raven reluctantly stepped over the
threshold of the tent and stepped into a whole new world. They’d converted the
Big Top. The bleachers had been shoved to the side to make room for the
audience and the gigantic ring that dominated the center. The darkness of the tent
made everything seem bigger and more intimidating and infinitely creepier when
her eyes couldn’t pierce the wall of shadows and reveal what lurked beyond.

A small roar of voices rose and fell as people waited for
the fight to begin. Raven noted all the exits, the placements of the guards,
and frowned when she discovered a number of them were missing.

All she could do was pray that Taggert managed to sneak by
them without getting caught.

The humans stood huddled together in small clumps under the
dimmed lights. The shifters prowled around the edges of the room, almost
appearing to herd them together for easier slaughter. She couldn’t help wonder
if it had been done on purpose or by habit. Most of the humans appeared
oblivious. A few people of them moved restlessly, searching for the threat, but
were never quite able to pinpoint what troubled them.

Harsh light filled the center of the ring, and the majority
of the audience gathered around it.

To her surprise, the audience contained an equal number of men
and women. She expected the violence of a fight to draw the men, a few of them
carrying an air of superiority, a dark relish to see the beasts beaten to a
pulp. But a number of the women seemed to be just as bloodthirsty.

Anticipation tinged the air, along with the smidge of danger
of the forbidden.

Greggory pushed his way forward. While a few people
grumbled, they quickly scrambled out of the way after a well-placed snarl and
shove. Raven locked herself down hard and followed in his wake, envious of his
ability to part the crowd. Durant had that ability, but much to her disappointment,
she’d never inherited that gift. The only way a person parted for her was if
she shocked them to get their ass moving.

Not too long ago, one touch from her could kill. She curled
her very naked fingers into fists, wishing for the additional security of her
gloves.

The scuzzy feeling of some of the looks she received made
her want a shower. Some looked away when she met their bold stares, while
others appeared intrigued by the challenge. Raven became distracted when the
crowd parted, and she stopped dead.

Jackson boldly stood in the center of the ring wearing only
a pair of skimpy shorts that had less material than some underwear, leaving
nothing to the imagination. His bored, impenetrable expression was all business.

Possessiveness sliced through her as he stood on display for
anyone to ogle.

What disturbed her more was that she could see Jackson, but
couldn’t feel him through their connection. She blamed herself. She must have
severed it when she shut down while walking through the crowd.

She tried to re-establish the link but ran into a brick wall
each time.

She wanted to force the matter but couldn’t risk distracting
Jackson before the upcoming fight.

Only then did she realize the truth.

He shut her out deliberately.

Hurt ricocheted in her with the force of a bullet, tearing
her insides apart. It explained why she felt so alone and set adrift.

The dragon wrapped around her in comfort, the contact
grounding her against doing something stupid … like going over there and physically
reestablishing the connection.

She noted the instant Jackson spotted her in the crowd. He
maintained his calm, remained in the killing zone as if completely unfazed until
she noticed the slight tightening around his eyes and the subtle tensing of his
body.

Goliath, the gorilla she’d met earlier, stepped between them
and danced around the ring, throwing his monstrously long arms up in the air
and roaring in challenge as he worked the crowd into a frenzy.

Jackson’s reaction was the opposite. He remained still,
hands loose, shoulders relaxed, studying his opponent. While Goliath wore
shorts and a tank top, it was Jackson who captured her attention.

His body glistened in the light, and she suspected that he’d
oiled himself up on purpose. Not to draw attention to the mouth-watering liquid
way his muscles moved, but to make holding him more difficult.

Sleek and powerful, Jackson was the perfect compact fighting
machine, while Goliath, with his exaggerated features and a body so hairy it
could be mistaken for fur, had massive brute force on his side. She could all
but see evolution in motion between the two, a primitive Cro-Magnon pitted
against the smaller, more refined beast without all the flaws.

Then she noticed the thin leather strap around Jackson’s
throat.

A damned collar.

Horror pierced her composure that shifters would demean one
of their own in such a way. Outrage swept over her, heating her blood until all
she wanted to do was reach out and rip it off his throat.

She must have moved to put thoughts into action when Greggory
stepped into her path. When her eyes met his, what he saw must have spooked him.
He lifted his hands in surrender and offered his throat in submission.

His actions gave her pause. He was such a strong beast, he
should be furious at being made back down and surrender, but she detected no
anger or animosity. Only when he saw that he had her attention did he speak. “They’re
forbidden to use teeth or claws during the fight. Those collars prevent them
from ripping each other’s throats out.”

Raven listened closely to his words, but they tasted wrong.

Not the complete truth.

Ignoring Jackson this time, she studied the ring. Everything
looked normal, the same as it had when she’d been in there earlier.

All but the eight tiny boxes set up at the base of the circle.
They were connected to a power supply, creating a type of invisible fencing.
Trapping Jackson inside as some gladiator of old. She swallowed hard. Only one
gladiator ever left the coliseum alive. “Then why set up sensors around the
ring?”

Greggory’s mouth tightened at her accusation. “It’s to keep
the crowd safe. As long as they don’t cross the line, they remain unaffected.”

“Place your bets here!”

Raven whirled at the shouts to see a large sign posting the
odds.

Seven-to-one against Jackson.

The crowd yelled out their bets, money exchanged hands, and
her palms tingled with the need to do something, the heat scorching her fingers.
The dragon woke at the crush of people, and she struggled for balance as her wild
emotions became tangled together.

A low growl vibrated at her back, and she tipped her head to
the side to see Greggory standing guard and protecting her. She’d expected him
to abandon her and sneak out to follow Taggert. The kid was obviously important
to him.

Then his hard eyes landed on her. “Whatever you’re doing,
you need to pull it back.”

Raven stiffened, rubbing her hands against her thighs as
claws threatened to burst from her fingertips. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Greggory’s eyes lightened and he studied her, working out
all her secrets as if she were a puzzle.

She shifted under his intent stare, leery of what he saw
when he looked at her.

Curiosity never turned out well for her.

“You can’t protect your man this way. Just wait. Watch.
Anything you do will just put Jackson at more risk. He’d feel the need to
protect you.”

The soothing tone of his voice was almost hypnotic, and the
raging emotions eased back a fraction, enough for her to know that he was right.
She hated him for it, wanting to protect and spare Jackson despite knowing it
was impossible. She turned away from his prying eyes to see a few of the circus
women enter and scatter through the crowd.

Three women were dressed up … or undressed, their skimpy
outfits making their intent clear. She recognized the women as the dancers by
the seductive, boneless way they moved. Each quickly zeroed in on a man and
hung on their arms like treasured wives. One woman stood apart from them. She
was dressed up, her makeup subtler to draw a different clientele. Raven
stiffened at what they were being forced to endure. Her gums ached as she
struggled not to allow her fangs to descend. “They—”

“—are here voluntarily. They make more money here than on
the streets. What better protection can you ask for than a whole pack of
shifters?”

They fell into an uneasy truce, and she was surprised to
find comfort in his nearness. He bristled anytime anyone brushed too close, guarding
her without being too overt. He glanced at the door, only once, but rage was
alive in his eyes.

“You don’t need to babysit me. Go. I would do the same if
one of mine was out there.”

A muscle in his jaw twitched. “My presence here is
mandatory. If you’re wrong and your man comes up with nothing, then the kid
dies. That’s not an option.”

“Mandatory?” She spoke through clenched teeth as ideas ran
rampant in her head. Doctors were redundant as shifters could take a lot of
punishment. They had the strength to literally rip each other apart even
without using teeth or claws. If they went down, they were dead and beyond
help.

She thought the fight was a show for the crowd. She was
beginning to suspect she was wrong. She gritted her teeth from saying anything.

Animals often fought to show dominance or gain status in a
pack.

It was brutal and vicious, often ending up with both
combatants beaten near to death, supposedly to teach them a lesson.

Raven twisted until her gaze landed on Clancy, and her
spirit shuddered at his smug attitude. He wanted her men and would do whatever
it took to keep them, even break the bonds between them in order to claim them
for his own.