Under a Dark Moon (The Keeper Saga Book 7) Read online

  Nikki spoke up. “The black moon ends tomorrow night.”

  The little girl nodded. “She’s running out of time. She has one day left. You have to help me.”

  Chapter 4

  AS WE RODE in Nikki’s Jeep, I decided that Emily wasn’t nearly as fidgety as the water spirit girl. She was like a ball of nervous energy that had to keep moving, every second. I wondered if that was just part of what she was, since the creek always moved, but I managed to keep that question to myself and pretended to ignore her as she hopped and jumped around in the backseat.

  “So do we have any ideas on how to break Ms. Ratherby out of there?” I asked Nikki, who was frowning as she stared out at the road. We’d already tried to enter the nursing home as visitors, but were turned out by a scowling nurse, who informed us in no uncertain terms that visiting hours ended precisely at 8PM.

  We’d gotten there at 8:15.

  “We could sneak in the back door,” Emily offered. I looked over my shoulder just in time to see her scoot closer to the door in order to give the other girl more room. With each second that passed, the water spirit became more anxious.

  “Even if we got in, we wouldn’t be able to get her out.” Nikki shook her head. “She’s in a coma. We can’t exactly just go in there and pick her up and haul her out. We’d need help.”

  Brian and the Keepers zipped through my head. Any one of them would be strong enough to lift a frail old lady and smuggle her out.

  Nikki looked over at me and grinned. “I know what you’re thinking, but I have a better idea. One that won’t get any of the Pack put into jail for helping us. What we need is someone who can legally get her out of there. We need Dr. O.”

  Before I could ask who Dr. O was, Anna interrupted. “I need the water. Stop and let me out right now!”

  “But we’re in the middle of nowhere,” I objected as Nikki slowed the Jeep, then stopped.

  Anna bolted out of the car and ran over the embankment. Nikki pulled into a wide spot on the side of the road and parked and the rest of us got out. I spotted the creek just over the knoll and by the time we made our way to it, the little girl had already disappeared beneath the surface.

  She came up a few seconds later, and walked easily out of the water, noticeably calmer. She looked up at me. “Please don’t ask me to dry off. I can’t handle turning into a human again. I’m much happier being myself. As long as there is water touching me, I’ll be okay.”

  I found that I couldn’t argue with her, so I nodded, and we walked back to the road.

  Nikki opened the back of the Jeep and took out a tarp, spreading it over the back seat. “I had a strange feeling that I’d need this someday. And as Adam is so fond of saying, ‘Always trust your instincts.’”

  Anna hopped back into her spot and faded the instant she touched the tarp, though it dented in the place where she’d been sitting.

  “Where’d you go?” I asked, looking over Nikki’s shoulder.

  “I’m still here,” she answered. “It’s just easier to be invisible. I’d like to stay this way for a while, if that’s all right.”

  “Works for us,” I answered with a grin. “Now, let’s go find our reinforcement and figure out how to get your sister back home!”

  Dr. O WAS short for Dr. Oswald Stevenson, I learned, reading the tag on his less-than-pristine white coat. A big smear of something wet and blue marred a big section beneath his right arm. Even though my brain was trying to reason logically that blood was red, something told me that it came in other colors too and that was what I was staring at now.

  A strangled cry came from behind a closed curtain a short distance away and I tore my eyes from the blue, deciding to concentrate on the doctor’s eyebrows that reminded me of white, fluffy caterpillars.

  “I do hope this is important, Ms. Harmon,” he addressed Nikki, the caterpillars coming down to unite over his eyes in a single, straight line. He frowned. “I have patients to attend to.”

  “We’re sorry to bother you, Dr. O,” Nikki said. “But it really is important. Did you treat Edna Ratherby when she was admitted?”

  His voice dropped, becoming a soft whisper. “No, my team and I treat the magicals that come through the emergency room, as you know. The non-magicals are treated by the other staff. I did, however, look over her charts later on, but I cannot discuss those with you. Doctor/patient confidentiality. I’m sure you understand.”

  “I’m not asking for her records or for any information,” Nikki replied. “I’m here to tell you that she isn’t a non-magical and that she needs your help.”

  “Young lady, I’ve known Edna Ratherby for a very long time. Trust me when I say she is as human as…” he glanced over at me, “…as human as this young lady.”

  Gee, thanks, I thought, rolling my eyes.

  “No, Edna isn’t human and I’ve known her far longer than you. She’s my sister,” I heard Anna say, then she suddenly popped into view, wet hair hanging around her face. Her wide eyes shimmered eerily, as if there was a wall of water behind them, barely contained. “She’s a water spirit, and she’ll die if she doesn’t return to the water soon. When we’re out of it for too long, we become human. When we are human for too long, our bodies shut down. Tomorrow is the last night she’ll be able to come back. After that, she’ll die.”

  Dr. O’s eyebrows lifted as he stared at the little girl who was now dripping an endless puddle in the middle of the exam room’s floor. “Well, now. This certainly changes things a bit. All of you stay right here,” he ordered, pulling the curtain behind him as he left.

  “What exactly is he?” I whispered to Nikki. “He kinda reminds me of the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland.”

  “He’s a Chickcharney—an owl shifter. They supposedly hold the power of granting wishes, but I think that’s just a myth, though we seem to be in luck tonight,” she answered quietly after someone bustled past our curtain, brushing against it as they went by. “Regardless, for future reference, I wouldn’t make say that around Ronnie. She was a bit touchy about the whole ‘being charmed’ thing and Dr. O’s her dad.”

  “No kidding!” I never would have connected the head cheerleader and the ER doctor as being related and I definitely hadn’t picked up on the fact that Ronnie had magic. Bland was getting more interesting with each day that passed.

  The curtain shifted again. Emily and Anna both stood as still as statues, unusual behavior for either of them.

  When Dr. O flipped the curtain open, he was flanked by a nurse who wore blue scrubs and held a big towel. Without saying a word, she placed the towel on the puddle at Anna’s feet.

  “All right. This is what we’re going to do,” Dr. O instructed. “I’ve called the nursing home and told them that we have new information on their patient and that we are sending an ambulance over to pick her up tonight. Nurse Hawthorne will be going over with the EMTs to help.” He turned to Anna. “I assume getting her to any place in the creek will be sufficient? Or is there a certain place she needs to be placed in order to return?”

  “As long as she comes back into the water, it won’t matter where,” she confirmed.

  He nodded and turned to the nurse. “Give the EMTs instructions to stop the ambulance in the back parking lot and keep their lights off. I’ll meet you there.”

  The nurse turned and left without a word. Dr. O looked at Anna. “The rest of you can wait there, if you wish. It shouldn’t take long for them to return. I will finish my rounds here and be out when they arrive.”

  And just like that, we were dismissed. We left the emergency room and went back out to the Jeep. Anna had done her disappearing, invisible act again, but her voice still came easily from over my shoulder.

  “Thank you all very much for helping me. I appreciate it more than you know,” she said. “I’m sorry that I threw things around in your room, Tori. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  “As far as my room goes, it’s fine. I would have been angry too if someone had moved into my ho
use and took over,” I told her. “As far as Ms. Ratherby goes, better not thank us so soon.. We don’t have her here quite yet.”

  “They’ll be here in a few minutes,” Nikki said reassuringly. “Everything’s going to work out fine.” The tone in her voice made me wonder if somehow she had “seen” a bit of the future, as she was known to do with things that pertained to the Keepers. As far as I knew, she didn’t get glimpses of anything else, unless it had something to do with the Six.

  But I didn’t ask, because I didn’t want to worry Anna. Instead, I smiled and nodded, agreeing with Nikki as we all got into the Jeep and rode to the back parking lot to wait on the ambulance to arrive. Nikki found a spot in the farthest corner, where the creek ran a short distance away, and parked.

  I turned in my seat to look at the empty spot where Anna was sitting behind me, still invisible.

  “I have a question for you. The house has been in your family for generations and it was always given to another Ratherby when one left. What will happen now?” I asked. I envisioned a mass of water spirits arriving at the back door, angry that my mother and I were living in a place that was theirs. I’d already been in their water and they hadn’t liked it. What would they do about the house?

  “None of us have any wish to live as a human ever again. Edna was the last of our kind that wanted to do such a thing. You have my word that the house is yours, as it should be. I give it to you. Though I can’t say that you won’t see me every once in a while on the bridge. I like skipping.” Anna came into view just enough that I could make out an impish smile on her face, before she faded back out again. “And now, if it’s all right, I think I’ll get out and wait for my sister in the water. Thank you and goodbye.” The door opened and a split second later it shut. She hadn’t given any of us time to say goodbye.

  A light splash echoed from the creek and I knew Anna had gone in.

  I spotted an ambulance as it turned in at the main entrance. Only its headlights were on and as it drove straight toward us, I knew that they had Ms. Ratherby. We all got out of the Jeep and stood in the grass next to the creek and waited.

  They parked next to us and the two EMTs got out of the cab and opened the back, revealing Nurse Hawthorne and a gurney that held Ms. Ratherby,

  Dr. O appeared, seemingly out of thin air and stood out of the way as the EMTs pulled the gurney out of the ambulance and carried it to the edge of the creek while the nurse walked close by, keeping a careful eye on the IV bag that lay next to the woman’s head.

  I’d expected to see more lines or wires, but there was only that single IV line running to her hand. She looked old and frail, but appeared to be only sleeping.

  I heard a splash and looked over to see Anna standing in the creek, she walked easily through the water to the edge. She frowned when she saw the old woman lying on the gurney.

  “She’s far worse than I thought,” I heard her murmur.

  The nurse knelt down and took the IV out of Ms. Ratherby’s hand. “She’s ready.”

  Still standing in the water, Anna reached out and took her sister’s hand. Water ran down her arm in a gush, soaking the sheet and the woman beneath it.

  Edna Ratherby’s eyelids moved, then she blinked, and opened her eyes. “Anna,” she said in a raspy voice that shook just a bit.

  “It’s time to come home, sister,” Anna replied with a smile, reaching out to take her other hand and help her up.

  The sheet fell to the ground in a sodden heap as the elderly woman rose and walked into the creek. In the next instant, both she and the girl disappeared, leaving nothing at all behind to prove they had been there, save for the memory of those who saw them go.

  Chapter 5

  THE DRIVE BACK to my house was quiet. Even Emily was still, which was unusual, but somehow was a fitting ending to our adventure. All of us were worn out.

  Nikki pulled into the driveway, then paused for a second before turning off the ignition. I’d expected her to say goodbye and that she’d see me tomorrow, but her face held a faraway look—the same look that I’d learned over the past couple of months to respect. She was seeing something no one else could see and odds were, it was going to be important.

  “What’s up?” I asked her.

  Another second or two passed before she answered. “Let’s go and walk across the bridge. I think that’s where we’re supposed to be.”

  Maybe she can see parts of the future for all magical creatures, not just the Keepers, I reasoned as I opened the door and got out.

  We walked around the side of the house to the bridge. Nothing looked out of the ordinary as we walked to the top of the arch. I looked down into the dark water. Had I not had this night’s adventure, I never in a million years would have guessed the magic it held. It looked exactly the same as every creek that I had ever seen in my entire life.

  “What are we supposed to be waiting for?” I asked Nikki. “Is there something else we needed to do for Anna or Edna?

  “No. It’s Adam and the others. They’re the only ones who I get to see bits of the future for. Something’s happened. Something they didn’t expect,” she answered.

  I felt my throat constrict. That wasn’t what I’d wished she would say. The Keepers were supposed to be hunting, pure and simple. They were supposed to be safe.

  “What happened?” I managed to ask.

  “We’re getting ready to find out. They’re nearly here.”

  Instead of watching the water, now my gaze was locked on the woods. A few long seconds passed and I saw the underbrush move. A giant black wolf was the first to appear and the second he cleared the brush, he shifted back to human.

  Adam shook his long hair back from his face and gathered back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck as he walked toward us. The expression on his face was grim.

  I spotted four more wolves…Erik, Ed, Tommy, and Michael. They all shifted and began heading our way. The last wolf bounded out of the woods, a low snarl reverberated as he shifted. Brian. And he wasn’t the least bit happy.

  “I thought you guys were hunting through tomorrow night,” Nikki said easily, not giving any indication that she’d known they were coming.

  “We’re done for now,” Adam answered, his voice sounding tight and worried.

  “Did you catch your Varmint?” I asked Brian as he walked up on the bridge. In the glow from the porch light, I saw the muscles in his jaw twitch. Then I saw the worry in his eyes.

  “Yeah, I found Tommy easily enough.” he replied. “But then I found the body.”

  Excerpt from Blood Moon Rising

  I KNEW WELL enough not to say anything. At least not yet.

  I’d seen what the Pack had found on their hunt. I knew what they’d stumbled upon. Someone who hadn’t become lost in the woods and died of natural causes. I saw it as plainly in my mind’s eye as if I’d been running with them. I felt the crunch of dry leaves beneath their paws as they hunted. Then I’d smelled the unmistakable scent of coppery blood…then the underlying stench of death.

  Such is the curse of being the Seer of the Keepers. You never know what you’ll see, when you’ll see it, or how bad it will be, I thought. But there were good things about it too. Because of this gift, I could sometimes foresee just enough of the future that it kept the Pack safe. That alone was worth everything. Keeping them safe was all that mattered to me.

  After we defeated Crow Woman and the Deadlands ceased to exist, I hadn’t expected to see anything else foreboding. If anything, I’d expected to foresee happy occasions—small bits of the future that would reassure everyone that we were all still safe and that we would definitely all live happily ever after.

  So much for my expectations.

  Seeing a body ripped to shreds and hearing the mournful cries of the wolves had come as a shock. After the Keepers came out of Burke’s Garden, I’d picked up on their thoughts, a jumbling, and twirling mess of six voices that overlapped, skewing the words so badly that I couldn’t understand any of it. I’d
ended up having to block them all out. I sat down next to my best friend and my little sister on the bridge and waited, knowing Adam would find me.

  And find me, he did.

  His black wolf sprang from the forest and he shifted the second his paws touched the earth. The others weren’t far behind and when Brian came out last, I knew he was the one who had found it. A black and white mist continued to ebb around his body, even though he’d shifted back to human. He was on edge, and his wolf was lurking just under the surface, waiting should he be needed.

  Adam walked up on the bridge and knelt next to me. I let down just enough of my walls that I picked up on his thoughts. A new image came into my head—a clearer look at the body they had found. I flinched at the memory he had unknowingly given me.

  I found myself wondering what sort of creature could have done so much damage to make someone unrecognizable. Nothing from nature, surely. No wild animal would have done this. It had to be something magical. Something with extremely sharp claws…or vicious teeth. I remembered the sketch of the Spriteblood that I had seen in the Book of Skin, lips pulled back to reveal her sharp, pointed teeth—teeth that could easily have killed in such a way.

  I met Adam’s silver gaze and asked one question. “Was it Wynter?”

  His eyes narrowed and he shook his head. This time he deliberately sent me a memory—one completely free of blood and no glimpse of the body. He showed me a patch of dry leaves that had been near his paws. It was covered by a long lock of rainbow-colored hair.