Demon Peepers Read online

I glanced at the others, but none of them seemed to be concerned. In fact, they looked rather annoyed.

  Rose simply shook her head and sighed. "I should have known," she said. "Would someone please let Coyote in?"

  I had met a great variety of creatures in Faerie, but I had never encountered a godling in Fae. Coyote had made a couple of appearances since we’d been back, mostly in the company of my friend, the leprechaun MacDougal. The two of them had seemed to form a partnership of sorts.

  I held my breath as the door opened, but the others had been right in their assessment, and I had been wrong. After a quick prayer of gratitude and a vow to never again be blade-less, I smiled and went forward to greet MacDougal. If it could be said that I ever had a father figure in my life, he would be it.

  Yes, a leprechaun. That should give you some indication of just how strange my life had been to date.

  "I take it you are the one who called this official pack meeting, Roy?" Taz asked. "Strange how you think you can call a pack meeting when you turned down our offer a couple of months back to become an honorary member."

  "I never turned you down. I simply told you I needed time to consider your proposal," Roy said.

  "And consider it we have," MacDougal said. "I be hoping the offer is extended to me Irish self as well."

  Rose stepped forward. "Before we vote on this, I believe I'd like to know which of you is responsible for the slippery rooster in my backyard that I can't seem to lay hands on. He's woken me up three days running with his infernal crowing."

  "I second that request," said Lily. "And I also want to know who went through my journal and wrote all those suggestions in the margins. Don't the two of you know journals are a very private thing?"

  "Good questions," Jed said. "And I'll add my own as well. Which of you two stellar gentlemen traded my body wash for hair remover? If I had used that stuff as shampoo, too, I'd be putting my boot to both your..." he glanced at Rose and switched his wording, "behinds."

  Even as Taz and Shaylee both opened their mouths to add to the list, Coyote and MacDougal held up their hands.

  "We are guilty as charged," Coyote said.

  "But have a reason for the pranks, we did," MacDougal added. "The offer to become pack members comes with a mighty price, it does. Immunity from our jokes for all pack members. Well, we wanted to let ye know just what ye were getting with the deal."

  "Yup," Coyote grinned. "No more roosters, no more silky-smooth masculine legs (more's the pity), no more spider invasions of tree houses, etc. Full immunity. Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?"

  Okay, so then I joined in the anger. I had thought the spiders were a fluke. Of course, as was my training, I didn't show how I felt. I'm just not all that sure about Coyote yet. Anyone who would not come decidedly down on the side of good versus evil was suspect to me. Too much like the Fae. Then MacDougal caught my eye. Okay, so all the Fae weren't bad people.

  "And speaking personally, if'n I may, the Coyote and me can be bringing much more to the table than that. Don't that be right, Roy?"

  Roy nodded with a serious expression. From all the raised eyebrows of the pack, I could gather that wasn’t normal for him. "Indeed we can, Mac." He glanced around the room, meeting all of our eyes. "We've given a lot of thought to your proposal, in fact. That's part of the reason it took so long to ask for admission to the pack."

  He cleared his throat. "Being part of something as awesome as a Benandanti pack would mean a lot to me—and Mac, of course. It's something I've never had before, though I can't speak for Mac, here. This past year, while I know it's been fairly traumatic to all of you, has been the best year of my life that I can recall."

  By the end, his words were getting a bit rough. Were godlings really so emotional?

  MacDougal stepped up behind him and put his hand on Roy's shoulder lending him support. Roy smiled at him and continued, his voice a bit gravelly. "You see, I've grown fond of you all. Fond enough that I don't want to see anything happen to you. Which has caused me a dilemma of morals. Morals, by the way, that I shouldn't even have."

  He took a deep breath. "This is so much harder than I had anticipated."

  Mac looked at him fondly. "Would ya like for me to explain?"

  Roy nodded gratefully.

  Mac smiled at the group. "You know when I first got here, Coyote and me were more enemies than friends. But that's changed. With me stuck here in your world now on pain of death, Roy here offered me a partnership. He is really a good, no great, guy."

  "He told me of the misadventures of last fall, and how his not divulging information to you all almost got Taz here killed. He actually feels guilty about that, even though in the end he saved her life. What he is trying to tell you is that he has come to the decision that if he is made a full member of the pack, he will do his utmost to protect its members." He glanced at Coyote, then continued.

  "Now that don't mean he's going to tell ya ever'thing you may have want to know. But if'n there be danger to you and yours and he learns of it, ya'll be warned afore the match hits the wood, if'n all possible."

  The group was quiet for a moment, imagining the implications of this statement. Rose was the first to come forward.

  She stepped up to Coyote with a questioning look. "Is it possible for you to do this? Change over from a neutral balance to the side of good?"

  He looked a tad confused. "There is enough of a loophole for me to do this. I just have to keep in mind that, in the end, the one I save, Benandanti or no, may yet do evil. It's a longshot, but enough for me to be able to act."

  Rose nodded, satisfied. "I call for a pack vote. Roy, MacDougal, would the two of you please step outside for a minute? And just to let you know, I'll be voting for two new members to the pack."

  "Is this vote to be unanimous?" I asked.

  "When it comes to adding members, yes. Even one dissenting vote could mean trouble for the pack," she answered.

  I raised my hand. "Then I don't think there's any need for them to leave."

  Rose's brows drew together, puzzled, until she glanced around the room. Every one of us had a hand in the air with our yes vote. Even Rebel had a paw up. The pups were too busy exploring to have paid attention to the conversation, but I was betting with their extremely young age, their votes wouldn't be needed. Besides, they could be bought for a doggy treat.

  Coyote gave a sniff and disappeared.

  MacDougal glanced at Rose, worried. "I know his disappearing like that is against pack rules, but he wouldna want ya all to see him like this."

  Rose nodded. "Understood." Then she spoke into the air. "But when he's ready to come back, he knocks."

  While we were waiting for Roy to pull himself together and rejoin the pack, I made my way over to Cin, the one pack member new to me. She wasn’t a Benandanti or a Fae. According to Taz, Cin was a Kitsune. Along with godlings, Fae was light on them as well. She was my first.

  I had to say, she didn’t disappoint. She was athletic and moved with a grace that made me think I just might have found my sparring partner. Plus, there was a definite fire burning behind her violet eyes.

  "So, you're a kitsune?" I asked. If nothing else, Faerie had taught me to get to the point.

  Cin nodded. "Yes. I am a fox spirit. In love with a human, so human by day...fox by night."

  "Are you a fighter?" Again, not a word extra. Wouldn't the queen be proud?

  She smiled. "In Japan, I am considered a master of Karate."

  I frowned. "Karate?"

  "It is a form of martial arts. It means 'open hand'. A hand-to-hand style of combat, with feet too of course."

  "Would you consider sparring with me?" I asked, almost holding my breath.

  She seemed puzzled. "You learned Karate in Faerie?"

  "No, but I definitely learned how to fight. If you are good, you should make a good partner, even if our styles are different."

  "I should warn you, I have never been beaten,” Cin said, ducking her head. “I’m really quite goo
d.”

  My grin was probably a bit wolfish, but I couldn’t stop it as it spread over my face. “Then I should warn you that your winning streak might come to an end with me. I’ve never been beaten, either.”

  Her eyes locked on mine, and I could almost see the fire blazing behind them. “Then we should definitely see who gets to keep their record, shouldn’t we?” she asked.

  "Maybe after the pack meeting? Do you have time?" I couldn’t care less about defending my record, but I really needed to burn off some fighting energy. And, of course, give my muscles a good work out.

  "You bet." Cin laughed. "Glad I wore my yoga pants instead of jeans. Easier to move in."

  I glanced at her apparel for the first time. It's just not something I normally noticed. Clothes don't kill you. Her outfit was a style I could understand. The pants were made of a stretchy material that allowed full movement. And there wasn't much extra fabric, so no danger of tripping yourself up on it. Yoga pants.

  Now I had to ask Taz to take me shopping again. As soon as I found a way to earn some money, that was. I was getting tired of not earning my keep here.

  Before we could make any more definite plans, there was a knock on the door.

  "Sorry for the abrupt leaving," Coyote said once Lily opened the door, his voice somber. "I'm better now, and there is something you need to see in the Morgan-Monroe State Forest. Something, or someone, has created a rift and something evil has come through."

  Damn. Looked like I wasn't getting my fight after all. Or then again, maybe I would just have a different partner.

  Chapter 3

  Coyote offered to give the pack a lift, but according to Taz and Rose, it was far too soon in our pack relationship to trust him with that much power to pull a prank. I had to admit, I was a bit doubtful about his character after he had admitted to being behind my treehouse’s spider problem.

  It might seem funny to folks, what with me being a Royal Faerie Guard and everything, but spiders really weirded me out. They’re just so tiny and fast, and you can never see them before they are right there on you. A shiver ran over me just thinking about them.

  Let the Coyote prove himself a little first.

  His feelings seemed a little hurt, but he’d get over it. He should realize that with his history, he was still going to have to earn our trust. Not saying that he wouldn’t make a great pack-mate. I mean, having a godling on the team couldn’t be a bad thing. Could it?

  We split up into two vehicles. Me, Jed, Taz, Shaylee, and MacDougal piled into Jed's old-style muscle car Nova. The rest situated themselves into Rose's van. We left Maggie and the pups under Reb's supervision. They had a doggie door and a small fenced backyard to roam, so they shouldn't get bored. In the case of an emergency, Reb could work the yard's gate latch as well as any human. It really wasn't to keep them in but to keep others out.

  Jed led the way, with MacDougal riding shotgun to give directions. Coyote was meeting us there.

  After riding for a few minutes in silence, I realized that something was up with Taz and Shaylee. Both of them were silent as the grave, and that wasn’t really like either of them. I must not have been the only one to notice, because after a few more minutes, Jed finally broke.

  “Okay,” he said. “What is it that you two aren’t telling the rest of us?”

  Shaylee just swallowed and looked away, out her window, but Taz met her mate’s eyes in the rearview mirror.

  “I haven’t been to the Forestry in over sixteen years,” she said quietly.

  Jed took a deep breath and nodded. “Ah, I see. That’s where your parents were killed, isn’t it?”

  Taz nodded. “Shaylee was there too. I’m not sure how she survived with all the blood she left behind.” She smiled weakly at Shaylee sitting on the other side of me. “But I’m very grateful she did.”

  Shaylee didn’t turn from the window. “The skin-walker started with our parents. He must have thought they were the bigger threat.” She paused. “He was right, of course. They told me to run, but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t leave them. So, I fought.” Her voice caught, and she stopped.

  That was okay because now that I knew what was going on, I could fill in the rest. “Titania sent me and a handful of guards to collect Shaylee. I’m not sure how she knew she was in mortal danger, but she did. We barely made it in time.” I laid one hand on Shaylee’s leg and gave her a gentle squeeze.

  “I’m really not sure we could have taken him, but there were four of us and Shaylee and the Hunts had given him a good amount of damage before we got there. So instead of staying and finishing the princess off, he ran,” I finished.

  “If only Mother would have sent you ten minutes sooner,” Shaylee whispered.

  I agreed. Part of me would always wonder if Titania hadn’t known exactly what was happening and timed our arrival on purpose. If the Hunts—my parents—had been that close to Shaylee, no way would they have willingly given her up to the queen. Not if they were anything at all like the two girls they had raised. I was betting they had been.

  I wished I could have met them. At least once. Someday Titania would pay for that.

  After driving about an hour, Jed finally pulled the car over to the side of the road and parked. As he had entered the forestry, Taz and Shaylee had gotten more and more tense. I had a really bad feeling we were headed straight for that clearing from sixteen years ago. They would know, but as I had entered by a Faerie gate, I wasn’t sure exactly where the clearing was.

  Rose, Lily, and the kitsune pulled up and parked behind us and we all got out and started walking. This part of the human realm was almost untouched. At least once you got off the man-made roadways and out into the trees. If it hadn’t been for the evil history here, it would make a good place to explore. As it was, I would stick with the woods around my new home.

  It was friendlier there.

  I could tell by the pained expressions on my sisters’ faces that we were heading straight for the fateful spot. Once we entered it, the recognition dawned on me too. Along with a cold feeling of utter dread, almost to the point of nausea.

  Then I noticed something interesting. It wasn't just the three of us that were affected. We may have been hit harder than the others, but they were feeling it too. And as far as I knew, they had no history of this evil place.

  Coyote came walking over from the woods into the clearing, his way of announcing his presence without a door to knock on. Trust me, it beat having him just pop into existence right in front of you.

  Rose stood ramrod straight and turned in a full circle. "There is so much evil here."

  I nodded but left it at that. If Shaylee and Taz wanted the others to know, it was for them to share, not me.

  "Yes, there is," Coyote said. He glanced at Taz and Shaylee. “Some from long, long ago, and even more from the last few days." He gestured toward an area before the trees on the south side of the clearing.

  It looked a little like a small area of heat waves. Like in the hottest of summer when you can actually see the heat wafting off a super-heated surface. But it was in the middle of the air, and there was no surface that it was coming from. It just was.

  "What is it?" Jed asked.

  "I can truthfully say I've never seen anything like it," Coyote answered. "And when you consider how long I've been around, that's saying a lot."

  MacDougal seemed especially nervous. He looked at me and nodded towards the rift. "I'd especially like your feelings on it, child." He considered for a moment. "Perhaps in your other form."

  My other form. That meant there was probably a scent involved. I stripped and shifted into wolf mode, then looked to see if my sister was joining me.

  Instead of stripping and going furry, she was standing there staring at me. I tilted my head at her in question.

  She hesitated, then shook her head and headed off for the trees. I was curious as to where she was going but more curious about the rift. I loped over to it and lifted my nose in the air, catching al
l the scents floating on the soft breeze.

  The skin forms knew to stay back, so that their scent wouldn’t interfere with my information gathering. Lavender and Cedarwood. The blood in my body ran cold. The Fae were behind this.

  Closing my eyes, I concentrated on getting past those two heavy scents. There. Titania. I started to turn to the others, and almost missed the scent of the second Fae royal. The Erlking.

  Creator help us, they had worked together to create this thing. I froze as the implications of that hit me.

  As Taz would say, this was so not good. If they had joined forces, we were really in trouble.

  Deep, deep trouble.

  I’m not sure how long I stood frozen to the spot, but suddenly Taz was beside me in her wolf form. Wolf faces aren't all that good at showing expression, but I could tell she wasn't liking this new development any more than I was.

  Seeing her there was enough to snap me out of it, and I started sniffing around. Coyote had said that something had come through that thing, but try as I might, I just couldn’t get a scent on it. There were a few latent human scents, but I was betting they were from hikers and nature goers. The smell was far too normal to have come from that rift.

  Plus, the creepy wavering rift was small. So tiny, in fact, that it was hard to imagine anything making its way through it. I hoped the Coyote wasn’t steering us wrong about that.

  Glancing around, I noticed that Taz was already back in skin form and dressed. I shifted and started back toward my clothes. Jed seemed to be acting a bit odd, but I put it down to the evil of this place. After donning my guard’s uniform again, I turned to face the group who, for some reason, were all facing away from me.

  Strange.

  I made my way over to them, trying to see what held their attention. “Did I miss something?” I asked.

  Taz gave me a quick glance and then took a deep breath. “Just for future reference, you might want to go into the woods before taking off all your clothes.” Taz glanced at Jed, who was still looking away. “It’s how we do things here.”

  Huh. That was what this was about? In Faerie, a human had no privacy. Modesty was one of the first human traits they beat out of you.