Misery's Way: A Kit Colbana World Story Read online

  “No can do, honey,” I said, and this time, I squeezed her tight. “We have about two minutes before unpleasant company arrives and this company makes that vampire friend of yours seem like a Prince Charming.”

  Her eyes went wide and in that brief moment, she stopped struggling. I took advantage and jerked her across the ground, clearing the distance in less than a heartbeat now that she wasn’t fighting.

  I grabbed her and cast one more look around.

  All was clear.

  I flung us back into the ether.

  When we emerged back into my trailer, she promptly went to her knees and puked on the cute pink heels I’d put on hours earlier.

  Saleel glared at me. “Tell me you didn’t go there.”

  I ignored him, staring down at the butter smooth leather of my shoes—now ruined.

  And on the floor, next to the pool of vomit, lay Kit.

  She was unconscious.

  Chapter Eight

  Nearly two days passed before I told Saleel it was time.

  I’d taken a quick shower and then spent the rest of the night making sure I’d eliminated the trail in the ether.

  It was faint, but one with skill could have tracked it. So I took my time and went back, using every trick there was in the book—and some that either Saleel or I had invented.

  I think I could have stopped after the first fourteen hours—they were still looking, but they were looking in all the wrong places, as they always did. But even though the hairs on the back of my neck were no longer on end, I wasn’t about to rest just yet.

  I was still alive, still free because I was careful.

  I planned to still be alive—and free—for a good long time.

  “We can go back and find him now,” I told Saleel, settling into the seat next to him.

  Jody was driving.

  From the back, I watched her. More often than not, we hooked the car to the back of my plush trailer and drove together, as we did now. I’d had enough of solitude in my life and enjoyed company when I could have it.

  Right now, I wanted to be around my human friend. But my heart was heavy.

  I had to figure out a way to say good-bye to her.

  More, I’d come to the realization it was time to find a different way of life for a while. Living as Frankie had drawn too much attention. I’d probably keep the name—I liked it. But the faith healer needed to fade away.

  He was studying me closely, his thoughts following mine with ease. Saleel couldn’t read my mind. I knew that. He simply knew me. “Have you considered what you will tell her?”

  “No.” I blew out a breath. I liked her too much to just walk away. It was a cruel thing to leave somebody without answers. That unknowing was a special kind of death.

  I could strip the memory of the past few years, but I didn’t like that idea, either.

  Saleel reached out. I placed my hand in his. “Send her ahead in the car as we drive through Tennessee. We’ll let her get some distance ahead. We’ll arrange for the trailer to go over the side.”

  I tensed.

  “Give me some credit, mistress,” he said, a smile curling his lips. “None will be harmed. There is a river. I’ll make sure it starts to rain the day before we cross and it will continue to rain. No bodies will be found. She will grieve. Then she will move on with her life, as humans do. There will be no questions. And she will be safe.”

  I pondered his suggestion for a moment. Rain, messing with the elements, all of that would be child’s play for him. “Do it. After this visit … one last patient.”

  I glanced up at Jody as she started to sing along to a song.

  “Love Hurts.”

  How appropriate.

  Life was easier when I didn’t have to worry about others being involved.

  My gaze skipped back to Saleel.

  “It will never happen.”

  I cocked my head.

  He rubbed his thumb across the back of my hand. “As long as I live, I am bound to you.”

  “I’ve tried a hundred times to release you of that.”

  “There are other bonds, my angel.”

  I smiled and looked away. “I know.”

  I was bound to him in the same way. It was one of the few things in my life I was thankful for.

  We made that last visit.

  My first and last house call as Frankie the faith healer.

  The man with the burns had been pleasantly surprised, although it had taken some … persuasion to get him to believe he’d dropped his driver’s license back at the tent. He’d been positive he’d used it since then.

  I’d done one last healing, left him with the all-natural remedy I’d created and then I walked away from that life.

  Now, not even two days later, I watched the end of that life as it disappeared from view.

  That river would be my grave, or so the world would believe.

  We stood on the hillside, staring down at the flood-swollen river, watching over the rescue team as they attempted to search.

  Once, Saleel had been forced to intervene as somebody had gotten entangled on a log.

  They’d been searching for a long time.

  A few minutes ago, we’d heard them say it was time to call it off.

  We’d linger until we knew they were done. It would likely take a few days and tomorrow, at the crack of dawn, we’d return here.

  I didn’t want any human dying because they were searching for bodies when there were none to be found.

  Jody was down there, arms folded across her middle, her face pale.

  Even from this distance I could see her and I wished I could offer her some consolation—or even just go there.

  “I’m being selfish, involving myself in human lives this way,” I said softly.

  “You’d die without them.” Saleel looked at me. “You did not ask to be born as you are, Frankie.”

  “No. But I don’t have to be the parasite my father is, either.”

  “You’re not. Your father would never dream of giving people respite from their pain. He only lives to cause it, never give solace.”

  “I caused Jody pain.” I nodded at her. “I can’t give her solace.”

  Saleel had nothing to say to me.

  It had seemed a simple enough choice when I’d started out, an idea that came to me after watching some of the fakes and frauds on TV years ago. But no woman is an island. I’d needed somebody who understood how the world worked—an assistant. I’d never had a friend like Jody, though. I’d miss her.

  “I need to find a better way of doing things if I’m to continue like this.”

  “Another road show?” he asked lightly.

  “No.” I shook my head. “I’ll have to figure something else out.”

  “It’s time to head out, people … nothing more we can do tonight!”

  The voice rang out from down below. We were nearly a half mile away, unseen by them, but the distance was nothing to us. As everybody started to move away, a cop moved to Jody and hugged her gently, guiding her away.

  I turned and started to walk. Hopefully, she wouldn’t return with the rescue team tomorrow. Watching her like this hurt.

  But as I walked, I began to smile. I found myself thinking of another woman.

  The one I’d walked away from only a few days ago.

  “I wonder if Kit has discovered the gift I gave her yet.”

  Saleel sent me a look. “Hmmm. Kit. This girl who now owes you a favor. I don’t like what you’ve asked of her.”

  “She will be in no danger.” I shrugged. “You should know that I wouldn’t endanger her for my own means.”

  She’d been unconscious when Justin carried her away so I’d written it down, my favor.

  He’d said he would give it to her.

  I knew he would.

  One day, I’d call on her—if she truly was so gifted at finding things, then perhaps she could find the man I sought.

  He would take no notice of her, because she was t
oo close to human. Too … mortal. Not worth his notice, and if he even noticed her at all, it would just be to notice she was there—like a fly on the wall or a bird in the sky.

  The perfect sort of scout.

  “It’s not the danger posed to her that concerns me,” he said, his voice roughening.

  I stopped and faced him. Lifting my hand, I placed it on his cheek. “We both know that at some point, I’ll have to do this. I’d rather do it on my terms than his.”

  “I’d rather you never have to do it at all.”

  “But that isn’t an option.” Leaning forward, I pressed my mouth to his and murmured, “Now is it?”

  “No.” He cupped the back of my neck when I would have pulled away. For a moment, he held me. For a moment, I let him.

  Then I broke away and resumed walking.

  “This gift you gave her.” Saleel fell in step next to me. “Are you ever going to tell me what it was?”

  “No.” I sighed in satisfaction as a grin spread across my face. “No, I don’t think I will.”

  Bonus Story

  Bladed Magic

  A Kit Colbana Short Story

  J.C. Daniels

  The events of this short story take place after

  A STROKE OF DUMB LUCK

  and before BLADE SONG

  Copyright 2014 Shiloh Walker

  Cover Art by Angela Waters

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people.

  Please note that if you purchased this from an auction site or blog, it’s stolen property. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. Your support is what makes it possible for authors to continue to provide the stories you enjoy.

  Chapter One

  “So, who wants to talk and who wants to die?”

  The voice coming from the alley behind TJ’s was cheerful, just a little too cheerful, considering the grim message in his words. It was a little scary, though, because that cheer was not false. Whoever he was, he was all too excited about the thought of making somebody talk, then bleed, then die.

  In that order.

  I could smell the blood in the air and it wasn’t shapeshifter blood. I knew that smell all too well, but that was just because I worked in a bar where blood was spilled. A lot. Shapeshifters liked to fight, after all, and those fights led to bloodshed. Lucky me, I got to clean it up.

  Go inside. That was the voice of common sense.

  I was done working. Nothing for me to do, really. I never did anything, other than work. Well, other than lock myself in my room and read. Or lock myself in the little gym TJ had let me set up and work out. I could do either one of those and pretend the rest of the world didn’t exist.

  This one night, I’d felt an odd little pull, something that had tugged me out of the bar. Go back inside, I told myself.

  Something sizzled in the air and I felt it dance across my skin.

  Then there was a yell, followed by a grunt and a series of thuds.

  It was getting really hard to pretend this wasn’t happening. If I went back inside and acted like I hadn’t noticed anything, I’d have a hard time facing myself in the morning.

  My inability to mind my own business will be the death of me. Here lies Kit Colbana, killed by her own curiosity. That will be my epitaph. Still, I couldn’t stay there, shifting from one foot to the other while I listened to somebody getting the hell beaten out of them.

  Keeping to the shadows, I moved down the maze of twisting, narrow little paths and paused when I reached the junction up ahead. It was there. Just ahead and to the right. The smell of blood was stronger and I could hear somebody laughing. It was the man I’d heard earlier—

  “Oh, come on, you can do better than that…”

  His voice sounded thick now. Not quite so eager to make something talk, then bleed, then die.

  Of course, he was the one talking, in a voice that was thick and wet. He was bleeding, too. I could see that when I peered around the corner. There he was, caught between two wolves—shapeshifters—while a third drew back a hand and slammed it into his gut.

  He crumpled around the fist.

  “Who are you working for?” A new voice now, somebody big and mean. He drove another fist into the man’s gut as he spoke. I raked him with a look, sized him up. A werewolf.

  The entire tableau was surreal. There were three weres, the one doing the pummeling, while the other two held a brown-haired man immobile.

  “One more time, you little fuck.” The were smashed a giant fist into the man’s face and I winced as blood splattered out in an arcing spray. “Who are you working for?”

  There was no answer, just a nasal sort of groan.

  The werewolf in front of him fisted a hand in the man’s hair and jerked his head up, leaning in to snarl at the man. He looked…human. I didn’t feel that weird kind of energy I sensed around all shifters, which meant if this kept up, he’d be dead.

  Nervous, I glanced behind me. Could I get back to the bar and Goliath?

  I didn’t know.

  Sliding a hand inside my vest, I touched one of the silver knives.

  “Come on, witch. You aren’t down here asking about night just because you want to.” The wolf reached up, caught the man’s face, started to squeeze.

  Horrified, I bit my lip to keep from making a sound. I couldn’t look away as I watched those fingers dig in. I knew how strong shifters were. They could crush bone, stone, metal.

  The man groaned hoarsely.

  Shit. I can’t watch this. I had to do something—had to help.

  Abruptly, it was like the fight drained out of him.

  “There. That’s what I thought.” The wolf backed up and now, all I could see was his back. “Give me the name, boy. You don’t want me telling TJ you been running around behind her back and fucking her over, do you? Selling drugs to kids, skimming her profits?”

  What?

  “Did you hear that?” One of the other wolves looked up, eyes narrowing.

  Oh. Shit.

  I’d bumped something on the ground. It wouldn’t have been loud enough for anybody human to hear.

  But we weren’t dealing with humans. The NH—non-human—population had sharper senses and I had all but shouted my presence.

  “Sounds like…”

  I gripped the knife and shot a look once more toward TJ’s. If I ran, they’d catch me. If I called for Goliath, he’d hear me, but probably not in time.

  Son. Of. A. Bitch.

  I should have gone to my room and finished my damn book.

  A shadow stretched out along the ground in front of me—so close.

  Instinct moved me and I lunged out, threw the knife.

  I hadn’t taken out a target since the night in the sewers, but I never once doubted my aim.

  I am aneira—

  The words echoed in the back of my mind. I’d heard them, so often, in the years before I’d run away. Time seemed to slow.

  My aim is true.

  And it was. The blade flew, straight and true and so very fast. So fast the shifter didn’t even have time to avoid it. The silver buried itself in the shifter’s heart. Without waiting to see what happened, I lunged at him and as he hit the ground, I wrenched the knife around, twisting it. The scent of smoke filled the air. I didn’t waste another second. I came up and dove forward in a somersault. I landed in a crouch as I faced the other two shapeshifters.

  The man pinned to the wall
looked at me with greener than green eyes. To my surprise, he grinned. “It’s about fucking time.”

  My jaw fell open and then there was no time for anything else. The other shifter lunged for me and I fumbled with my knife.

  Teeth closed around my arm but I still got it up, shoving it into his gut. He howled as silver met skin. I swallowed down a scream, struggling to think past the pain. I knew how to do that—those lessons had been drilled into me back before I even understood what pain really was. Whipping my blade out, I drove it in, then jerked up while he continued to gnaw at me like a dog with a bone. And I felt like a bone—a broken one as his jaws managed to clamp down until the bones in my forearm shattered.

  I fought the blackness back. Can’t…

  Something brilliant and white exploded around us and then the weight of his body was gone from me.

  A face appeared in my vision.

  The man they’d been beating—

  His eyes were a vivid wicked green and despite the bruises on his face, he was grinning.

  “You did pretty good.” Then he cocked his head. “Took you a while, though.”

  Struggling to think past the nauseating pain in my arm, I just stared at him while he hauled me to my feet. Everything around me was spinning.

  My arm bumped up against him and I bit back a scream. “Shit,” he said. “You did a number on your arm.”

  Don’t look, don’t look…

  I couldn’t help it.

  I looked. My arm didn’t look like anything so much as meat.

  Bits of bone jutted out and flesh hung in strips.

  I don’t know if it was the pain from my arm or the pain in my head, but in the next moment, I was bent over and puking my guts up.

  * * * * *

  For one moment only, I let myself lay there, taking stock. I knew where I was. TJ and Goliath had come a-running. Well, Goliath had run. TJ had maneuvered her way up over the uneven ground in her chair and her eyes had glittered with menace as she looked at us.