The Dark-Hunters (751 page)

“Don’t do it again,” she warned.

“Trust me, I won’t. At least not on purpose. Like I said, I can’t always control it, but I do most of the time, and I will definitely be more on guard around you, especially any time you’re going near the more tender parts of my body.”

She didn’t want to be amused by that last bit at all. Unfortunately, she was.

Even so, it didn’t mean she had to let him know it.

Forcing herself to stay stern, she nodded. “Good. Now, what other evil powers do you have that I should know about?”

“I can roll my tongue,” he said proudly.

Gah, he was such a goofball sometimes. Hard to believe a man with such a fierce, lethal reputation who’d been wanted and hunted voraciously by every branch of law enforcement in the Old West could be so irreverent and playful. She wondered what those enemies would have thought of him had they ever seen this side of his personality. They certainly wouldn’t have been so scared of him.

Which made her wonder if he’d been like this as a human. Or had he developed his humor as a Dark-Hunter?

In the grand scheme, it didn’t matter. Right now, she needed to know who and what, exactly, she was dealing with. “I’m serious, Jess.”

“So am I. Not everyone can do it. It’s a genetic thing, you know.”

Abigail let out a tired sigh as she fought down the need to choke him.

He gave her a teasing grin, then finally took mercy on her and answered the question. “I have some telekinesis, which you already discovered. Premonitions. Can see auras and … I make a killer omelette.”

That was an impressive list—including the omelette tidbit. But what made her sick to her stomach was that she’d stupidly gone up against him without knowing any of that.

Thanks, Jonah, for the extensive research you didn’t do.
It was a wonder Jess hadn’t killed her.

Maybe that had been Jonah’s intent all along.
“Believe me, Abigail. I’ve found every bit of detail on Sundown that’s ever been documented or thought. There’s nothing about him I don’t know. We have all we need and then some to kill him.”

A clue about his powers would have been a nice addition to their arsenal.

Jess leaned forward and kissed her bare shoulder. “Am I forgiven yet?”

Dragging a slow gaze down his lush body, she hesitated. One, because she basically lost her train of thought to how much she’d like to take another bite out of him. No man should be so sexy. Even naked, he exuded such power and confidence that it raised a chill on her skin. And two, she did have to think about the possibility of forgiving him. She still wasn’t sure she should.

But really, what choice did she have? Could she really hold mind-reading against him when it was something he hadn’t asked for?

She made him wait a few seconds more before she answered. “Fine. But only because you look good naked.”

His grin turned evil. “I’ll take that.”

“Good. Now, let’s get dressed before we do get discovered by some nosy clerk.”

He tsked as he pulled his pants up and fastened them. “Remind me to kill Coyote for rushing this when I’d rather lay naked with you than fight wasps and coyotes and all the other crap he’s throwing at us.”

“Don’t worry. I think we have many reasons to kill him.” Abigail finished buttoning her shirt, then looked outside. The wasps were still everywhere. It was a sickening sight, and she was getting tired of listening to them buzz. “What are we going to do about our friends out there?”

Jess had no idea. But before he could respond, his phone rang. He fished it out of his pocket and answered it.

“Where are you?”

He arched a brow at Ren’s angry tone. “We got trapped by the wasps. Where are
you?
”

“At your house with Choo Co La Tah. He was trying to chant the wasps into submission when something happened.”

That can’t be good.
Dread ripped through Jess. They couldn’t afford to lose him at this point. He was the only guide they had who actually had a clue about what was going on and how to correct it. The only other Guardian around was Snake … and he was on Coyote’s side.

“What happened?” he asked Ren.

“I don’t know. He’s in some form of coma. I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Jess winced. If Ren was panicked over this, then there was a good reason to be panicked over it. The man had ice water for blood and wasn’t prone to any form of overreaction.

“Can we wake him out of it?”

Ren lost his patience. “Well, you know, cowboy, that’s a really good idea. Damn shame
I
didn’t think of it, huh?”

“Cut the sarcasm. Are you’re sure it’s not a vision quest?”

“For the sake of our long-term friendship, I’m not even going to dignify that with the response it deserves.”

Because it, too, was a stupid question. Jess had known that before he asked it.

Still …

He ran his hand over his face as he tried to think of some kind of plan or action to save Choo Co La Tah and get rid of their current pest problem. “We need someone else who can control the weather. You know anyone?”

“I do.” Jess heard Sasha in the background. “Give me a few, and I’ll be back with help.”

Ren said something muffled to Sasha, then uncovered the receiver so that Jess could hear again. “I have to say, Sister Fortune has ridden out of town on us, and I don’t like it.”

“Gotta say, I don’t blame you. I’m not exactly sending roses to her, either.” He let out an aggravated breath. “So do we have any intel or insight as to what we need to do for Choo Co La Tah and to stop Coyote?”

“Not really. I don’t know what else Coyote will come up with. He’s unpredictable at best. A bastard at worst. And when cornered, he’s lethal beyond measure and will do whatever he must to win. His heart lives in a place best left untrodden. All I know is we have to get to the Valley by sunrise.”

“I know.”

“No, Jess. You don’t. We have to beat Coyote to Old Bear’s magic. If we do, we might be able to keep him from unlocking the next set of plagues.”

That would be good. But it wouldn’t be easy. “What exactly is his magic? Other than the Grizzly?”

Ren sighed. “You should have listened more to your mother’s stories, boy. Your lack of education offends me.”

He glanced over to Abigail, who watched him with a penetrating stare that said she was dying to know what they were talking about. He was grateful she didn’t interrupt them. That was something he’d always found rude and extremely annoying.

Jess returned his attention to Ren. “My mother didn’t talk that much about her beliefs or tell me many stories.” She’d been too sick for too long. For the last three years of her life, every breath had been a precious struggle for her. So she’d conserved them for living and not for talking. “And when she did, it was in a hushed tone.” Because she’d been terrified of anyone hurting him over their heritage.

Better to blend in than stand out,
penyo.
The one who flies against the flock is always flying into opposition. No matter how strong the beast, sooner or later, he tires from his ragged journey.

And when he falls, he falls alone.

His mother’s words were still with him.

Even so, he’d never been one to conform. But all that had done was prove to him how wise and right his mother had been. In the end, he had died alone and he was tired.

Then and now.

He cleared his throat. “So you’ll have to forgive me my ignorance.”

“A wise man never argues a mother’s decision for her child. Not unless he wants to face her claw, and there is nothing sharper than a mother defending her young.”

Jess definitely concurred with that.

“You probably want to put me on speaker so that Abigail can hear it, too.”

“All right.” Jess pulled the phone back to comply. “We’re here.”

Abigail frowned.

“At the beginning of time when the Code of Order was being established, the First Guardian locked away all the evil he’d found in the world. Things that had been created by the Dark One for no other purpose than to plague man and hurt him. The First Guardian knew that mankind wasn’t strong enough to fight it. So he banished it all to the West Lands where the sun lay down on that evil every night and kept it weak.”

Ren paused. “But Evil is always resilient and ever resourceful. In time, it bred with Father Sun, and a tiny piece escaped to find an embittered warrior whose heart was blackened by jealousy over his own brother. He took the evil into him and was seduced by its promise that if he hurt others enough, their pain would make him stronger and drive his pain away. It succored him like a lover, and he embraced its insanity with everything he had. And so he went on a killing rage, and he consumed the lands until he ruled all from his bloodied fists.”

“The Grizzly Spirit,” Jess said quietly. He knew this legend from Choo Co La Tah.

Ren continued. “His war brought him to the realm of the Guardian, and the two of them fought for a year and a day—a battle so violent, it left a permanent scar on Mother Earth.”

The Grand Canyon. It was said the red color came from the blood of the wounds they’d given to each other while they fought.

“Finally, the warrior made a mistake and the Guardian was able to pin him down. He stripped the evil from the warrior, but it was too late. They had sweated and bled so much over that year on the earth that the very fabric of Mother Earth’s gown, the granules of sand that carry man on his life’s journey, was saturated with it and forever stained by it. There was no way to take all the evil back or to make her gown white again. The damage was done.”

“What did he do?”

Jess smiled at the way Abigail was completely absorbed by the tale.

“The Guardian realized his mistake. There was no way to keep evil locked away forever. It’s as pure an essence as good, and like good, it can’t be denied or held back. And as Night and Day divide the sky between them, so must good and evil divide the world. Only then can there be balance and harmony for humans. Only then can there be any semblance of peace. So the Guardian banished the Grizzly Spirit that had infected the warrior and locked it behind the West Land Gate so that it could rage without harming man. He then took from Mother Earth eight jars to hold the plagues that had helped the Dark One escape and sealed them with his tears so that they could never again be used by the Grizzly. Those jars, he turned over to four Guardian protectors. North. South. East. West. The strongest corners of the earth who could be called on to defend should the West Gate ever be opened. Two of those Guardians were ruled by the Dark and two ruled by the Light. Perfect balance.”

“How did he choose them?” Abigail asked.

“All but the East Guardian went through a trial created by the First Guardian to see who was the worthiest. The top three were the chosen ones.”

“And the one from the East?”

“He was the warrior who’d been owned by the Grizzly Spirit. The First Guardian thought that if anyone would understand why they had to protect the West Gate, he would be the one. And that he would stand strongest against all threats to keep it from happening again. Not to mention, given their fight, he knew the warrior would be a worthy opponent for anyone who dared to breach his gate.”

“That makes sense.”

“Once they were given their jars, the First Guardian warned them of how serious their duties were and that they should never waver or falter. They were to stand together and to keep each other in line. Then he retired into the West Land so that he could rest after his battle. They say he still slumbers there even today.”

“And the Guardians?”

Ren let out a light laugh. “Each took his jars deep into the sacred land where the Fire touches the Earth and hid them so that no one would be able to use the plagues against them or man.”

Jess sighed as it all started coming together. “Coyote released his jars already.” The scorpions and the wasps.

“Yes. Coyote has been trying for centuries to find the key to unlock the Gate and free the Grizzly Spirit. He knew as long as Old Bear and Choo Co La Tah were joined, there was no way for him to overpower either of them and open the Gate. Now that one has fallen, he and Snake can join together.”

“And screw us royally,” Jess said under his breath.

“You’ve no idea, my brother.”

“But why?” Abigail asked. “Why would Snake join him?”

“Snake by nature is, and has always been, a follower. And he’s served the Dark One too long. It was something the First Guardian feared the moment he assigned the two Dark Guardians their posts. He knew how insidious the Dark would be and how corruptible even the most noble of hearts is. He’d hoped that the East Guardian would watch after and counsel Snake away from the darker side of his personality. But just in case the East Guardian failed, it was why he put a finite limit on the service of the Guardians. Next year, during the Time Untime when our calendar resets, the feathered rattlesnake will bear his color, and on the night when the evening star comes first, new Guardians are to be chosen by the one who holds the key. Old Bear. With him dead, that choice moves to Choo Co La Tah. If Coyote and Snake can kill him, they can choose the new Guardians.”

Abigail frowned. “Why is that important?”

Jess answered before Ren had a chance. “Whoever assigns the Guardians controls them and, most importantly, controls the West Land.”

“Ultimate power,” Ren said. “Your every wish granted. You own the entire world.”

Who wouldn’t want that?

Well, okay, Jess didn’t. He had enough trouble managing his own life. Last thing he wanted was to be responsible for everyone else.

Unfortunately for all the world, Coyote didn’t feel the same way.

“Snake is now a loyal servant to Coyote and has been for a long time,” Ren continued. “The only thing that kept them at bay was the Light Guardians.”

Abigail winced.

And Jess didn’t miss the heavy dread in Ren’s tone. “What haven’t you told us?”

“One of Old Bear’s jars contains the Wind Seer, which is the one plague that can open the West Gate and free the Grizzly Spirit.”