Bayou Shadow Protector. Debbie Herbert

Чтение книги онлайн.

       Chapter 5

      Tombi must have been badly hurt.

      All day, she’d expected him, his wife and Chulah to show up at the store. She’d even demanded that the irritating Steven stay by her side, sure the trio would try to trip her up with their questions. She couldn’t let them discover more about their race or the sacred fairy tree.

      But the only thing worse than an inquisition was waiting for one to happen.

      To hell with waiting and wondering. Steven had given up on them coming and had gone back to the Fae realm to visit and replenish his shape-shifting form.

      April closed the store and rode her bike through the woods to Chulah’s cabin. The light shone from his windows, a welcoming beacon in the late-afternoon October chill. She rapped at the heavy wooden door, hoping to catch him alone.

      He flung the door open and slumped against the frame. “You,” he said flatly.

      His face was gray and his hair in wild disarray. He wore only a pair of low-slung jeans, and her mouth went dry at the sight of his bare chest and flat, muscled abs. Sure, she’d seen him bare-chested many times, but within actual touching range, as a human, was so different. It was all she could do not to run a hand down his sleek torso.

      “Can I come in?” April peeked past him, relieved no one else was in sight. “You look awful. The wisps got to you last night.”

      He stiffened. “What do you know about that?”

      She couldn’t keep her big mouth shut. “I might have been there.” She’d been lying in bed in that stark apartment, breathing stale air, longing for the night air. To spread her wings and fly. So she came to the forest, soothing her soul with its life force. But instead of a peaceful interlude, she’d been drawn into battle.

      Chulah’s eyes narrowed to suspicious slits. “You’re the...thing...I saw in the woods, aren’t you? Did you send the wisps our way?”

      Obstinate, suspicious man. April put her hands on her hips, goaded into spilling her guts. She was tired of all the blame. It was time he learned she was his ally and not his enemy. “Yeah, I was there. And I took out three wisps for you.”

      So much for waiting until Chulah was in love with her to reveal that she wasn’t an ordinary human. He continued to regard her wordlessly.

      “You’re welcome,” she said, bristling. “Now, are you going to let me in or not? We need to talk.”

      Chulah stepped to the side and waved her in.

      April entered and studied the cabin’s interior. She’d never seen it before, except that small bit observable through a lit window at night. Not that she hadn’t tried. But Chulah and the other hunters placed consecrated sage and salt on all four corners of their dwellings for protection against the shadows. Even though she wasn’t one of the dark shadow spirits, in Fae form she was a nature spirit, and the salt and sage had effectively prevented her from entering.

      Probably a good thing. She’d have been unable to resist being near Chulah as he slept, or even better, showered.

      The rooms were as sparse as his words. Minimalistic. The coziness of the log walls contrasted with the modern lines of dark leather sofas and chairs. Bright-colored woven rugs adorned one wall and another enlivened the center of the den. April sat down. Motorcycle magazines, empty soda cans, a wet washcloth and a large bottle of aspirin lay scattered on a glass coffee table.

      “Feeling poorly?”

      “Like hell. But forget that. I want straight answers from you.” He sat across from her. “Who and what are you?”

      April chose her words carefully, ones that she’d practiced ever since she’d been called to solicit help from the shadow hunters. “I’m an ambassador of sorts. Sent to warn you that Hoklonote is seeking dominion over the Fae realm—”

      “Whoa.” He leaned forward, eyes gleaming. “The Fae realm? There really are such things as fairies, then? Is that what you—”

      “I’m not a real fairy.” At least not a pure one.

      “You’re lying. That was you I saw in the woods.” He swiftly lowered his lips to her neck and sniffed. “That’s it. That’s the scent.”

      April inched away, dismayed at his heightened sense of smell and at the same time aroused at the intimate contact. “I already told you I was there,” she said coolly, hiding the flustered beating of her heart.

      “I smelled violets by that tree. It’s the way you smell.”

      “I СКАЧАТЬ