Shadows Fall (Totem Book 7), Page 2

  And it wasn’t because Lucky got the scar over his eye protecting her from the golden eagle shifter. No, it was something much deeper. Something that filled her so much she felt like she might burst with it.

  “The chocolate in your eyes is melting. I like what you’re thinking.” Lucky smirked and slipped his arm out of hers to wrap it around her shoulders and draw her closer.

  Ametta bit her lower lip. If she could drag him back to her place right now and… “No. Not with my father and sisters in the house.”

  “Like your sisters won’t be taking advantage of their men.” He kissed behind her ear.

  She covered her ears with her gloved hands. “Nope. Don’t want to hear it.”

  Lucky’s chest trembled with a quiet laugh. “I don’t think you have to worry. We left Kinley at Mr. Ellsworth office so Ransom could do some work for his boss. If they’re going to do anything, it would be on his desk.” Peeking over his shoulder, he lowered his voice to a whisper. “And Saskia is probably more of a prude than you are. Sedge will be ready to explode by the end of the week.”

  Ametta lightly whacked him in the stomach. “I am not a prude, and if you want turkey for Thanksgiving, you better take that back.” She looked again at her older sister. Saskia walked on one side of their father while Sedge walked on the other. Did they think they were being secretive about their relationship? “Do you think my dad realizes they’re together?”

  “I think your dad has good instincts. He is purposely ignoring the fact any of his daughters are in relationships.”

  She laughed along with Lucky, but stopped immediately when she felt her elk token tattoo heat and that telltale pull. Saskia had picked up her pace to catch up with them, yet she kept a few feet back from Ametta.

  “Stop laughing like idiots and keep walking.” Intently staring straight ahead, Saskia stuffed her hands into her black leather coat.

  “What? We weren’t talking about you.” Ametta furrowed her brows. She skirted a dirty snow pile, very aware of her designer suede boots.

  “We’re being followed.” Saskia clenched her jaw and then added much louder, “Dad and Sedge went for beer. They’ll meet us back at your place.”

  The hair on the back of Ametta’s neck rose. This was what they’d been waiting for. They all knew that by bringing the tokens together in one place, they might attract the hunters. The golden eagle bitch should be dead, but Kinley had seen her when she stole the owl totem. If Ametta got her paws on that traitorous shifter again, she’d tear her to pieces.

  There was also Death. Saskia was certain Death had taken the fox totem while she and Sedge fought for their lives against the Jinxioc. God, she hoped Death wasn’t stalking them.

  Lucky tightened his grip on Ametta, and she nudged him not to hold her so firmly. Both of them needed to be able to move fast.

  But who would dare attack on a busy street? Even the hunters wouldn’t want to deal with all the people. Besides, most every Alaskan carried a gun. If a giant eagle swooped down to attack, or some freaky skeleton in a black robe jumped out, they’d be full of so many holes before they could even reach Ametta or Saskia.

  “Surely they won’t try anything?” Ametta scanned the streets. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just happy folks going out for something to eat or drink, shopping and meeting with friends. It was well lit on the main strip.

  “I don’t know.” Saskia’s breath puffed out in a white mist. “If anything, I say the best place for an ambush is between those two apartment buildings we need to walk through to get to your condo.”

  Great. Now Ametta was imagining the hunter, likely with at least one friend, setting a trap for them on that one unlit path. Her heart beat fast and hard. What if the hunters had guns? Not even Black Shamans could stop bullets.

  The apartment buildings loomed ahead of them. The downtown crowd thinned. Every noise made her more tense.

  Ametta wanted the hunter caught as much as the rest of her family, but she wanted to live, wanted all of them to live. “What if we don’t walk through there? We can go around. Take the long way to my place.”

  “No.” Saskia snarled. “Dad and Sedge went around to the other side. If the hunters jump us, Dad and Sedge will run in. Or if the hunters follow us out, they’ll jump them then.”

  Saskia and she were the bait. Yes, they had planned on that fact, but it didn’t change how much she hated it. If the hunter had the owl token, she’d feel the pull to Saskia and Ametta. No matter where they went, they could be found.

  Ametta sucked in a breath. In fact, it should work the other way around. But she couldn’t feel any tug except to Saskia and, in the distance within Anchorage, to Ransom.

  Was it the hunter following them then? Maybe it was just some schmuck of a thief looking to mug them. Boy, he was in for a nasty surprise.

  Snow crunched beneath their feet as they followed the sidewalk around the front of one of the buildings. Ten stories high, sleek and gray, it was a modern addition to the Anchorage skyline. Its twin sat beside it decorated in more Christmas lights on the balconies.

  Lucky pulled her even closer as if he could hide her in his coat. With her boyfriend being a Kodiak shifter and her family polar bears, she should have felt safe. Yet goosebumps still prickled her arms.

  Ametta swallowed hard as they approached the path between the structures.

  “So two days until the big feast. Anything special we have to do for the seal you brought? I’ve only used it in stew before.” Ametta’s voice was louder than she meant it to be. But she couldn’t let their stalker know they knew they were being followed.

  “Just cook it on the barbeque.” Saskia grumbled in a tone that said she wished for silence.

  “Like I own a barbeque. We’ll have to get yours or Dad’s.” Ametta’s legs grew stiff, not wanting to walk forward, but she forced herself to keep pace with Lucky. He didn’t falter once, but his chest rose and fell in quicker succession. She glanced over her shoulder at her sister. “You and Sedge can go fetch yours tomorrow. Get some alone time at your cabin.”

  “What are you going on about?” Saskia gave her the zip-it expression. While she got the thin, pursed lips right, her dark eyes bugged out when they should’ve narrowed.

  Ametta wanted to laugh, but her throat was too tight. Shadows stretched long and dark over the path. Why didn’t the building owners put lights here? She might just have a talk with them herself after Thanksgiving.

  If she got out of here alive.

  “I’m just saying you’re not fooling anyone—”

  Saskia let out a war cry and twisted, leaping at a swift shadow. It darted behind a bush against the wall to their right.

  Sedge sped around the far corner of the path and barreled toward them. Her dad rounded the other corner, jogged, and stopped to charge after another someone else at his end.

  Lucky wrapped both arms around Ametta and pulled her to the left out of the way. She slipped on an icy patch on the grass, but held on to him. She circled her arms as far as they would go around his middle as if she could protect him as his body shielded hers.

  Saskia flew back and landed on her back on the sidewalk. Kicking up her legs, she righted herself and was back on her feet. Sedge growled as he rammed the bush so hard he ripped it from the ground.

  Nothing was behind it.

  Her dad shouted with a curse of pain. Sedge and Saskia bolted toward him.

  No. Her father couldn’t get hurt again. She couldn’t see with Lucky’s body in the way.

  Ametta strained at Lucky’s hold. Dad was not allowed to die.

  “Calm down, babe. We’re staying here. They can handle anything.” Lucky mumbled against her hair.

  This was a man who ran into burning buildings for a living. Why was he holding back?

  “They’re Black Shamans. Even your dad.” He reminded her. “I’ll keep you safe.”

  Ah, so that was the plan. Ametta had no doubt her father and Saskia whispered into Lucky’s ear at some point that he w
asn’t to leave her side. Like she couldn’t handle herself!

  Okay, she wasn’t a trained warrior, but she was still a polar bear shifter. Few things could match her when she shifted. Not that it would help if the hunters had guns. But she hadn’t heard any shots. Were the hunters honestly trying to physically fight a bunch of bears?

  She snorted softly and stopped pushing against Lucky’s hold. He relaxed his arms only slightly. Lifting her head, she still couldn’t see the others, but there were no sounds of fighting, just quiet talking.

  Turning her head, she caught a glimpse of movement directly across from her beside the other building. A shadowy arm and head. “Grandfather?”

  Lucky jerked and directed his gaze where she was looking. “What?”

  “Grandfather was there. I saw him again. Maybe just keeping an eye on us?” Ametta stepped forward and pointed at the spot she’d seen the silhouette.

  A hand grabbed her wrist. Not Lucky’s, but from her other side. A hand so dark it was as if the night itself had latched on to her.

  It yanked her away from Lucky, and she screamed.

  Whoever had her wasn’t Lucky’s protective domovoi. She couldn’t see who it was at all. He, and the shape of the body was definitely male, had no features. None.

  Faceless. Silent. And strong. Freakishly so.

  Lucky threw his arms around her and snatched her away from the attacker, toppling them over into a bush six feet behind them. The frozen branches crunched under them, but the sound of running drowned it out.

  Saskia leapt in front of Ametta, but there was no one there. The faceless man had vanished.

  “They’re Shadowmen.” Sedge stood with his muscled arms folded across his chest. His jaw clenched as if holding back a roar.

  Ametta held her hot cup of tea against herself as she sat on the couch between Lucky and Kinley. Her dad had claimed the only chair, but had moved it so its back wasn’t facing the window. She could only hope he didn’t scratch the floor when he did so.

  Ransom perched on the arm of the couch beside Kinley, and Saskia took a gulp from her beer as she leaned against the wall near Sedge. Alcohol might have calmed Ametta’s nerves, but she wanted a clear head.

  Everyone else nodded at Sedge’s statement. Was she the only one out of the loop again? Yes, Saskia, Sedge, and her father were Black Shamans. Kinley was super smart, and Ransom... was weird. These Shadowmen seemed up the weird alley. Yet Ametta didn’t like not knowing something that seemed common knowledge. Or, at least, common among this group. Frustration zipped through her.

  “So what does that mean? Are they made of shadows?” Ametta breathed in the herbal scent of her tea and tried to relax. She scooted closer to Lucky and allowed his heat to help in that as well.

  Sedge shook his head. “No, they’re beings from another dimension. They can’t fully cross over, so we see them as shadowy figures.”

  “Most people see them as some sort of ghost, right?” Kinley piped up.

  “Usually they aren’t able to interact with things in our realm. Just observe, maybe make noise, or do something annoying.” Saskia swirled her beer around in the bottle. “But there have been cases when they have been physical. Like with Mett. Malicious bastards. They have no love for the people of our realm.”

  Ametta would have preferred it if they were ghosts. Spirits weren’t something new to her. But evil beings from another dimension? No thank you.

  “They were ready for us. They knew who they wanted.” Her dad huffed and gripped the arms of the chair. “They wanted Mett and her token. She’s the weakest of the bearers. Sorry, hon.”

  The weakest? Ametta hated knowing her father was right. She wasn’t a fighter, and she was the smallest physically in the group. She wanted to stand up and prove to them all she could take care of herself, but doubt tickled the back of her mind.

  “But how did they know I even had one? Can they sense it?” Ametta nipped her lower lip. What would the Shadowmen do with her if they caught her? No, that was a dumb question. They’d kill her to try to get the token. She shivered, and Lucky rubbed her arm.

  Saskia shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. More likely they’ve been watching us for a while and waiting to make their move.”

  Creepy. Wait. The figure she thought had been Grandfather upstairs. “Oh, shit.” Ametta squeezed her eyes shut. She didn’t need to see to feel everyone’s eyes on her. “I saw one earlier. Upstairs.”

  In her house. The bastards were in her home.

  “Why didn’t you fucking say anything?” Saskia ran up the stairs. Doors and drawers banged.

  “Mett.” Her dad’s chastising tone grated on her nerves as much as Saskia’s careless search.

  Ametta looked to her father and felt a twinge of guilt that she hadn’t said anything. “I thought it was the domovoi just checking up on us.”

  “It’s okay.” Kinley gave her a small smile. “Why would you think it was anything else if it didn’t do anything?”

  Thank goodness for her level-headed sister. “And it didn’t do anything. One second it was there, and then it was gone.”

  Saskia thumped down the stairs and returned to the living room. “Nothing up there. No portal.”

  “Portal?” Ametta gaped.

  “Yeah, they get into our realm through a portal. We find that portal and close it.” Saskia flashed her an are you stupid look.

  Ametta set her mug hard onto her coffee table. “Because I totally know about Shadowmen and portals. Isn’t that token of yours supposed to make you wise?”

  “Wise enough to know you’re in the middle of something you have no clue about, and if you don’t do what we say, you’re going to end up dead.” Saskia took a threatening step forward.

  Sedge put a hand on her shoulder and murmured her name.

  They could all end up dead if they didn’t find and reunite all the totem pieces. Ametta wasn’t naïve enough to believe she was safe or that she understood everything. But she understood the important stuff. In the course of helping to find the totems, she’d changed her dreams of leaving Alaska and becoming a famous designer because it was vital not only to her survival but her family’s and all the shifters in the world.

  “She just asked a question, Saskia.” Lucky’s tone sat on the edge of becoming sharp. “I know very little about Shadowmen myself. I thought they were merely ghosts. I know more folks who have seen them than misty spirits and whatnot.”

  And of course, Lucky had more than a little something to do with Ametta’s dreams of the future. She was so happy to have him by her side.

  “Alaska has the most reported sightings of Shadowmen in the world.” Ransom put in. When everyone looked at him, he grinned. “Hey, I like those ghost hunting shows.”

  Kunik sat forward in his chair. “Well, any which way, Saskia had it right. We have to find the portal and close it, or they’ll continue to hunt the token bearers.”

  Tons of Shadowmen after Ametta and her family. It was bad enough the hunters had targeted them. Not only were they unsure of how many hunters there were, but there could be countless Shadowmen. She wanted to scream. No amount of tea was going to help. Maybe she should have taken out a bottle of wine and left the glass in the cupboard.

  “How do we find the portal?” Ametta’s only joy at the moment was that her voice didn’t tremble.

  Sedge shook his head. “You don’t. All the token bearers must stay here.”

  “I’m going too.” Saskia jutted her chin out. “You need someone else who can sense the energy of the portal as well as you.”

  “That’s why I’m taking your father.” Sedge’s gaze seemed to dare Saskia to challenge him.

  Ametta really thought her sister would. If any of them hated to be told what to do, it was Saskia. But no verbal explosion. No growls or fights. Saskia’s cheek twitched a few times before she went into the kitchen, and the whoosh of the fridge door signaled she was probably getting another beer.

  Kinley tentatively raised a hand. “May
I come? I can help. I can listen, see if I hear anything.”

  Standing slowly and stretching his big arms, Kunik shook his head. “No, sorry—”

  “Yes.” Sedge cut in. “Your help would be welcomed, Kinley.”

  Kinley smiled and hopped to her feet. Ransom grinned with her and kissed her on the cheek.

  Their dad swiped an arm out in front of himself. “No, absolutely not. Kin isn’t trained. We’re not risking her.”

  Uh oh. Ametta’s eyes went wide, and she gripped Lucky’s hand.

  “Dad...” Kinley stepped toward him, but Sedge spoke first.

  “Her ability might be the key to finding the portal swiftly and ending this threat. We will take her.”

  “She’s my daughter. And you’ll not use her like you tried to use Tassa.” Kunik growled, locking his heated gaze with Sedge’s.

  Ametta sucked in a breath. She couldn’t remember a single time her father had used her mother’s name since she passed away over twenty years ago. Not once. Woe be even unto Bear if he pushed that with her dad.

  Sedge’s hands curled into fists. A rumble reverberated from Kunik’s chest. Oh God, please don’t let them fight.

  “No one is using me.” Kinley stepped between the two men. “I volunteered. I want to help.” She quieted her tone. “Dad, I’m an adult. No one can tell me what to do. I make my own decisions.”

  Kunik opened and then snapped shut his mouth. He shook his head again, stomped to the foyer, and yanked his coat out of the closet without looking back at anyone.

  Sedge motioned to Kinley, and she kissed Ransom before hurrying to fetch her coat from the closet too. Making eye contact with the rest of them, Sedge garnered their attention. “Stay here. No one else leaves, and no one goes anywhere in the house alone.”

  Kinley, Sedge, and Kunik left the condo. Ametta locked the door behind them. Though she worried for them, relief flooded through her that none of her furniture was destroyed in a polar bear fight.