The Dark-Hunters (820 page)

Ren congratulated him. “I’ll bet she’s beautiful.”

The pride on Sundown’s face made Kateri smile. “Like her mother. Perfect, precious, and liable to make me crazy for the rest of my life.” He clicked his tongue and winked at Ren. “Thank God I got a shotgun and no compunction against riddling a suitor’s backside full of buckshot should he ever disrespect my girl.”

“So what did you name her?” Ren asked.

“Well, Abby and I had a long and, at times, not so friendly discussion. She wanted to name her Hannah after her sister, but I didn’t like that so much. Naming a daughter after a Daimon, even one who’s family, just don’t sit right with me. Besides, never been all that fond of that name. Andy suggested we name her Andrewa after him. So I tossed his ass out the door so we could have a serious discussion. I wanted to call her Rena after you, but Abby said they’d call her Renal Gland at school and she’d have to kill me over it. So after some debate where certain areas of my body were seriously threatened and my manhood questioned repeatedly by the love of my life, we decided to name her Mikayla Laura for you and Abby’s mama.”

Kateri pressed her lips together to keep from laughing out loud at Sundown’s hilarious explanation. Though she barely knew him in this life, she really, really liked him. And while she now saw the subtle differences between the cowboy Jess Brady and the Keetoowah warrior Buffalo, she also saw the core of his soul that carried through all of his lifetimes.

No wonder Ren had been willing to sell his soul to help his friend beat Coyote’s curse. Sundown was definitely a treasure. She also noticed that Ren never stammered even the least bit while talking to him. He was completely relaxed and at ease—as if he knew Sundown would never judge him harshly. That more than anything made her love the cowboy.

Ren moved to walk by her side while Sundown quickened his pace to tell Cabeza something.

“I have a weird question.”

“Yes,” Ren answered before she asked it. “His wife, Abigail, is Butterfly.”

She was glad that Butterfly had finally claimed her Buffalo. “Are you okay with them naming the baby Mikayla?” Given his earlier reaction to the name Makah’Alay, she wasn’t so sure he’d be keen on it.

“I am deeply honored.” But there was a sadness in his eyes. Not jealousy. It was something else. Something she didn’t understand.

“What’s wrong?”

Ren started not to answer. Sharing his feelings had never been easy for him. But for some reason, he found it natural to confide in Kateri. Like it was something he was born to do. “I’ve done so much harm to Butterfly that I wish Sundown wasn’t here. The risk is too great. I wouldn’t be able to live if I caused Buffalo to leave her again. I keep thinking that maybe this is Coyote’s curse on steroids. That now that they’re together and happy, the curse will steal him from her.”

She took his hand into hers and gave a light squeeze. “Life is never a sure bet. If I know nothing else, it’s that one thing. But … I have faith that we’re all going to get out of here and Sundown is going to live a long, happy life with Abigail while Mikayla and her sisters make him wish he’d neutered himself when they bring home dates and spouses.”

He stopped dead in his tracks. Not just because she’d taken his hand and held it as if she was proud to be seen with him, but because of what she said and the tone of her voice when she spoke. It was the tone of a medicine woman speaking prophecy. “Can you see the future?”

Kateri hesitated. She’d never once told anyone the truth. It was something she hated and had tried many times to get rid of. Yet it always came back. “Yes. But what I see doesn’t always happen. Sometimes, my visions get derailed by other things that I don’t see. Things that cause it to change.”

Ren laughed. “So what you’re saying is if he doesn’t die horribly, he’ll have a good life.”

If not for the teasing note in his voice, she’d be offended. “Exactly,” she teased back.

Ren glanced down at their joined hands. “Thank you.”

She frowned at the catch in his voice. “For what?”

“Treating me like I’m human.”

Those sincere words wrung her heart. “You are human, Ren. Me, on the other hand, I’m a complete freak of nature.”

Smiling, he lifted her hand and kissed the back of her knuckles. The moment his lips touched her flesh, she gasped as images flooded through her. They came so fast and furious that they left her dizzy.

She heard people screaming, crying out for help. Everywhere she looked, she saw chaos and smoke.

Her grandmother stood on an isolated hill, her eyes filled with tears. The setting sun silhouetted her frail body as she turned to face Kateri.

“Beware the wolf, Waleli. He will never be tamed. All he knows is death and killing. His heart is black and filled with a bitter hatred that can’t be undone. Do not be led astray by your heart that is pure. A heart that sees only the good in others. There are some who lie and deceive. Shadow walkers who live off the humanity of others. They can never be trusted. They live only to betray, to twist our words into ugly lies to be used against us. And he will betray you, my child. Don’t let your kind heart blind you.”

Her grandmother’s words circled around her head until she thought of something she hadn’t considered before. Ren’s
name is Ren Waya.…

Renegade Wolf.

Terror consumed her as she pulled her trembling hand from his grasp. He was the wolf her grandmother spoke of. The one her father had warned her about.

Evil owned him once.

It was going to own him again.

Ren scowled at her. “What’s wrong?”

Panicking, she glanced about at their small group. She saw Cabeza lying beheaded on the ground. Sundown had his throat cut. Sasha was torn into pieces. And Urian …

He lay on a sacrificial altar where someone had removed his heart.

Ren was nowhere to be seen.

Someone was chanting in her vision. She scanned the room until she saw a priest in golden robes who wore a huge feathered mask, obscuring his identity. Red demonic eyes glowed from behind it as he went through his ritual sacrifice. But she knew who it was. She had no doubt.

The priest was Ren and he was summoning Grizzly back to the world.

CHAPTER 13

“Kateri? What is it?”

She heard Ren speaking, but she couldn’t respond. It was as if she was torn between two worlds and grounded in neither while her head swam with out-of-context events and images she didn’t understand.

Finally, one came into focus. Dressed in formal Victorian attire, Urian fed off the blood of a woman. There was so much pleasure on his face that it sickened her.

Then the image shifted to show him in modern times, dressed in black pants and a black button-down shirt. Fire was all around him as he worked to save the life of a beautiful blond woman. She was terrified as he held his hand out to her.

“Trust me, Phoebe. I won’t let you die. I swear it.”

From there she saw him and Phoebe alone in an apartment where he held her so tenderly it brought tears to her eyes. Leaning back against his chest, Phoebe fed from his wrist while he stroked her hair and nuzzled her neck.

“I’m not taking too much, am I?” Phoebe asked.

“Don’t worry about me. Take what you need.”

Kateri could feel the love between them. It was so strong, it was tangible.

Then she left them to find Sasha in ancient Egypt embroiled in a furious battle where he fought with a clan of wolves against an ancient Greek army. Kateri sucked her breath in sharply at how young he appeared. While he fought, it was obvious he lacked the experience of the others.

And as one of the Greek soldiers came at his back with a spear, a wolf launched itself to take the fatal blow instead.

“No!” Sasha screamed, reaching for the wolf. But it was too late. The wolf had died instantly.

He was still holding the wolf when one of the soldiers came forward to seize him by his hair and pull him into a cage. “I hope they roast you over an open pyre,” the soldier snarled at him.

Then those images faded while more flashed like a panicked strobe light. The motion made her sick to her stomach until everything settled again.

This time, it was Cabeza in ancient Tikal. Dressed as a Mayan warrior with his face painted into a fierce mask, he was under attack by a group of seven men led by a prince from Calakmul.

“We will feed on your blood,” one of the men shouted in Cabeza’s face.

Cabeza laughed. “Crawl back to Calakmul, Chacu. So long as I live, my father will own this land
and
yours.”

Kateri’s heart pounded as she realized that this was the same Chacu who’d attacked her in her lab. No wonder Cabeza had lost his mind. Their enmity was centuries old.

And still the images shifted again, making her feel like Alice falling down the rabbit hole. But the next time she was able to focus, she gasped.

Coyote stood with Buffalo in the same hall where she’d seen Buffalo’s body after Coyote had killed him—wearing the same clothes he’d died in. It was strange to see this version of the cowboy. While their features were the same, Buffalo had long black hair and wasn’t nearly as well muscled as Sundown Brady. Nor did he have the same cockiness or sense of humor.

Buffalo glanced around the room in confusion. “Where’s Makah’Alay? I received a message that he needed to see me. He’s not hurt, is he?”

A tic worked in Coyote’s jaw. “No, he’s not hurt. He’s healthier than ever.”

“Then why—”

“I was the one who sent the servant after you,” Coyote said, interrupting him.

His scowl increased. “I don’t understand.”

“I’m your future chief, Buffalo. Not my brother. You’d do well to remember that.”

“Is that a threat?”

Coyote scoffed. “Why would I threaten the man who stood by and allowed my torture? I ask you?”

“I didn’t know what he was doing to you.”

“You didn’t bother to find out, did you?”

Shame filled Buffalo’s eyes. “I never dreamed he’d do something like that. It wasn’t really him, you know. Getting Grizzly out of him almost cost the First Guardian his life.”

“How commendable of you to keep defending him. How sweet.”

Buffalo went ramrod stiff at the insult. “What are you implying?”

“Nothing. I merely find it odd that you have always been so quick to defend a mentally defective retard when no one else will. Tell me honestly, don’t you get tired of kissing his ass all the time?”

Buffalo took a step toward him, then stopped. “You’re not going to goad me into a fight. So you might as well stop this now. I protect him because I owe him a debt that cannot be repaid. My sister and mother were on the brink of starvation until he began bringing us meat. I wouldn’t have them now but for Makah’Alay, and for that charity, he will always have my loyalty.”

“How nice for my brother. It’s a shame your loyalty goes no further.”

“How do you mean?”

Coyote moved to stand just before him. He raked a condemning sneer down the length of Buffalo’s body. “You know exactly what I mean. I saw you earlier today.”

Buffalo’s face blanched at the last five words.

“Oh yeah … I see the guilt in your eyes. You have stolen the affections of my promised bride.”

“I stole nothing.”

Coyote snorted. “Bullshit! That was why you didn’t help me when Makah’Alay tortured me. You were hoping I’d die so that you could have her
and
a clear conscience.”

“That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it?”

Buffalo shook his head. “I never meant to love her. I didn’t. Any more than she meant to love me. But when you went missing, Butterfly refused to leave until she knew you were safe. She worried herself sick over you. For hours on end, she’d walk the halls, weeping and begging the spirits to bring you safely home.”

He curled his lip at Buffalo. “Yes.” His voice dripped with sarcasm. “I saw her concern this afternoon when she threw herself against you with a passion she’s never shown me.”

“It’s not like that, Coyote. Neither of us meant to hurt you. She cried herself sick every single day. I only came here in your absence to reassure her that you were still alive and that you’d be back home soon. We were very circumspect and respectful of you. Always.”

Coyote backhanded him. “Liar!”

He wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand, then swiped at it with his tongue. “It’s not a lie. It’s just that the more time we spent together, the more we realized that we couldn’t live without each other. I began to live only for the seconds when I’d be able to see her face again.”

“What do you think got me through a year of torture?” Coyote ground through clenched teeth. “Huh? It was knowing that she’d be waiting here when I returned.
She
was the only thing I hung on to. And you took her from me. Damn you! Damn you!”

“You’ve every right to be angry, but…” Buffalo’s voice broke off into a sharp gasp. He staggered back to see the blood spreading over his tunic. Pressing his hands to the wound, he gaped at Coyote, who plunged the knife in again and again in a furious rage that descended so rapidly, Buffalo had no chance to defend himself.

Yet somehow, he managed to remain standing as he confronted his killer. “I never touched her. She
never
betrayed you. We never even kissed.”

“I saw you hold her!”

Buffalo staggered, then caught himself. “A hug. Nothing more. We were saying good-bye so that she could marry you on the morrow. We’d already relegated ourselves to living apart. We both intended to honor her vows to you.” He sank down to his knees. “Your heart is so evil, Coyote, that you have never been able to be happy. Even though you were always the favored son, you couldn’t allow Makah’Alay to have even a tiny bit of your father’s affection or any note of praise from anyone.”

“Shut up!” Coyote shouted as he kicked Buffalo in the ribs. “Die already, you worthless bastard!”

But Buffalo had been right. She saw the images now of them as boys. Anytime someone attempted to praise Ren, Coyote would insert himself so that their compliment would go to him instead.