Jess's memories burned as he was pulled back in time to age fifteen. Then, as now, there had been a chill in the warm air. But no one except him could feel it. Bart had left him holed up in a small dugout on the side of a mountain out in the middle of nowhere Arizona. A posse had been chasing after them, and he'd had nothing more than a handful of bullets.
He'd been dead asleep and then awakened to nothing other than his heart racing. As he tried to force himself back to sleep, he'd smelled that haunting stench that defied explanation.
It was the same odor he smelled on the wind now. He glanced over to Choo Co La Tah. "What's going on?"
"We must get to the Valley. Quickly. Coyote is growing desperate."
Putting his hands on his hips, Sasha stopped in front of them. "Coyote got boys." He jerked his chin toward the bodies. "And a lot of them. What the hell did we just fight?"
Abigail was even more grateful to the wolf. "Thank you for asking. That's what I wanted to know."
Jess didn't answer as he locked gazes with Choo Co La Tah. "What is out there?"
"You're asking me a question you already know the answer to. And yes, they have been after you before.... Many times."
Ren sighed. "They're skinwalkers who lost wagers to Coyote. Now they serve as his bounty hunters."
"They're the same as you?" Abigail asked.
Ren shook his head. "I'm a shape-shifter, not a skinwalker. They are the nastiest of creatures. Evil so foul that it rots them from the inside out." He turned to Jess. "That's the odor you smell. Nothing else like it."
Sasha growled. "What are their powers?"
"They can track as well as you do. Maybe better. They can shift forms, but only so long as they hold the pelt or feather of the animal they want to become next to their skin. Superhuman strength."
Choo Co La Tah agreed. "And halitosis so bad, it could knock down a building."
Great. Just great. Jess was really getting tired of being hunted. "I understand why they're after us tonight. But I remember them chasing me when I was human."
Sasha whistled. "Let's come back to the why in a few. First things first. What the hell is lying in pieces on the ground around us? I'm Greek, remember? So all this is ... non-Greek to me, which means I know nothing about it. And I need to know in the event I have to fight it again. Obviously shotguns are effective against them. What else?"
Jess rested his shotgun over his shoulder. "The term is tsi-noo. Tsi-nooks for the plural. Not to be confused with the Chinook Nation, because they have nothing to do with each other.... In short, they're our version of Daimons."
"Apollo curse them, too?"
Jess snorted at Sasha's irreverent question. "No. They were humans who committed crimes so unspeakable and horrific that the winter winds turned their hearts to ice. Now they can only live off the souls of humans."
"And they were one of Snake's plagues," Ren added. "Which means he and Coyote will be even more hell-bent on finding Old Bear's."
Sasha nodded as he listened. "Point taken there. Now, the important question, so pay attention, ye ADD degenerates. How the F do I kill them? 'Cause no offense, I was trying and they were kicking my ass all over the place. It really wasn't pretty and didn't do much for my ego either. My only reprieve is that no one I have to face on a regular basis witnessed my beating. Don't know why you wanted me here when I'm about as useful as a wart on Artemis's bum."
Smiling at his rant, Choo Co La Tah melted his staff back down to the bracelet, then coiled it around his wrist again. "Simple, Wolf. Like a Daimon, pierce the heart and the ice shatters inside. They die instantly. As you saw from Sundown, a shotgun will blow the heart apart and end them."
Sasha narrowed his gaze on Jess. "How you know that, cowboy?"
"Didn't. But a twelve-gauge round to the head or heart will take down just about anything. And if doesn't, kiss your ass good-bye and run like hell."
Abigail crossed her arms over her chest and drummed her fingernails on her biceps. "By the way, you and I need to talk about how you got that gun when I know it wasn't in the truck." She raked him with a glance from head to toe that succeeded in making him flinch. "You've been holding out on me."
Help ...
How in the world could he be more afraid of her, a tiny little slip of a woman, than he'd been of the tsi-nooks?
"Um..."
"What was that?"
They all turned to look at Sasha who was staring into the darkness.
Jess frowned. "What?"
Ren stepped back as if he might have heard it, too. "We need to get going."
Sasha gestured toward the smoldering remains of the Bronco. "How? Are you an African swallow in another form or something?"
Choo Co La Tah scowled. "African swallow? What are you going on about now?"
"Oh c'mon, surely all of you get the Mon ... ty ... Python..." Sasha paused as if he remembered his audience. "Never mind."
Jess rubbed at his jaw. "He's right. It's too far to walk, and with the exception of Sasha and Ren, we don't have a ride."
Choo Co La Tah pointed to the parked tractor trailers. "What about one of those?"
Jess considered it. "Someone might have left keys in one. Let's go see."
Abigail walked in the center of the men while she listened for another attack. It was so dark, she could barely see. There was a low-lying cloud cover that held back the stars. It made the air feel heavy. Ominous. Or maybe that was from the fact that she knew what was out to get her.
Without thinking, she reached out and took Jess's rough hand. When he laced his fingers with hers, it warmed her in spite of the cold desert wind. She took strength from his nearness, and it made her wish that they didn't have to do this.
Made her wish that she could find some way to end the nightmare and return to a normal life.
Your life was never normal.
That was certainly true. But for the first time, she wanted normality. She craved it now that it was too late to claim it. She'd already cast her die and come up bust.
One way or the other, her life was over. If by some miracle she did survive all of this and convince Choo Co La Tah not to sacrifice her to the spirits she'd offended, she had no doubt that one of the other Dark-Hunters would kill her for what she'd done.
There was no hope. Not now.
How could I have screwed up my life so badly?
The same way everyone did. She'd listened to and trusted the wrong people. Had put her faith and energy into the wrong things, only to learn too late that she shouldn't have harbored hatred.
I'm so stupid.
Jess paused as they reached the trucks. He and Abigail searched the first one for keys while the others spread out to check the rest.
One by one, they reported failure.
"Hey!" Sasha shouted after a minute. "I don't have keys, but this one's open. Anyone know how to hot-wire?"
Ren gave him an arch stare. "Can't you use your powers to start it?"
Sasha raked him with an equally offended sweep. "Can't you?"
Abigail held her hands up. "Step aside, boys. I have the evil powers for this."
Jess smiled as she climbed inside the cab and vanished under the dash. "My lady got mad skills," he said, imitating the slang Sasha used.
Then he sobered as he realized what he'd done.
He'd claimed her. Publicly. But that wasn't what shocked him. The fact that he truly thought of her like that did. She was a part of him now. Even though they hadn't known each other long, she had breached his defenses and wormed her way into his heart.
Oh my God. The very idea terrified him.
He wouldn't call it love.
Would he?
It wasn't what he felt for Matilda by a long shot, and yet there were enough similarities that it left him wondering. When had he known he loved Matilda?
The day he'd realized he couldn't live without her.
Bart had told him that he wanted to move on. That it was time for them to find a new base of operations. Normally, Jess would have been packed up in a few hours and been ready to ride. Instead, an excruciating pain had ripped him apart when he thought about not seeing Matilda again. It'd been so debilitating that it brought him to his knees.
Nothing had struck him like that since.
Not until he'd seen the tsi-nooks going after Abigail.
I would die for her. That fact hit him like a punch in the jaw. He really would. She had a power over him that not even Matilda had possessed. I'm so screwed.
The semi started up, startling him away from his train of thought.
Blinking, he realized the other men were staring at him like he'd grown a third head. "What?" he asked defensively.
Sasha snorted. "I have never in my extremely long life seen anyone take so long to answer a question. It's like you went into your mind and got lost. You need a bread crumb, buddy?" He made a noise like he was calling his pet. "Here, Lassie, here. Come back, girl."
Jess shoved at him. "Shut up. What did you ask me, anyway?"
Sasha slapped himself on the forehead and groaned. "Really? Good thing I didn't tell you to duck a bomb."
He started to respond, but Abigail's frantic voice stopped him.
"Gentlemen. We have company."