“Eve, how is it that you aren’t seen by humans?”

The Harpy tipped her head back to glance at him. “They do not see what their hearts have forgotten. I am a legend, as are the unicorns and many other creatures. Legends are no longer real to humans.”

“But you’d show up on radar, wouldn’t you?”

“You recall that technology does not work around the supernatural? The rays of your ‘radar’ are the same. They pass over us as if we are ghosts. That is why, when a human does see us, truly sees us, and takes a pictures, even one close up, it will develop into nothing but shadows and indistinct shapes. The world has moved on and forgotten us. And in that darkness, we are safe from the humans.”

O’Shea was silent, the Harpy’s words deep and thoughtful for one so young. And somewhat disturbing. He wondered if he ever would have known about the supernatural if Rylee hadn’t been the one he’d chased for ten years. And why would the supernaturals need to be safe from the humans? What threat could a human pose to a Harpy, or any of the other supernaturals, for that matter?

“Agent. I think we are getting close to them.”

They’d been flying for several hours, their second day on the hunt for Rylee and Alex. He knew the time Doran had bought her with the fire opal was almost up. He and Eve had to find Rylee. As in now.

Yesterday, O’Shea had driven around in the SUV, stopping every hour to meet up with Eve. It had taken some serious convincing on Eve’s part to get him on her back. He still wasn’t sure it was the right choice, but he had no other option for finding Rylee.

“How do you know?” The wind snatched the words from his lips, though she heard him anyway.

“Eagle.”

He looked ahead, and in the far distance he could see a shape, though how Eve could know it was an eagle was beyond him.

“Can’t be an eagle; it’s too big.”

“Trust me, it’s an eagle. The one who attacked Rylee and me.”

Ice formed around his spine. “Shit, then it’s probably tracking them too.”

“My exact thoughts.” She said no more, but her wings picked up their crescendo, flying them across the desert.

O’Shea hung onto her, remembering all too clearly the wound the bear had inflicted on him. As he’d made to leave the Landing Pad, Dox made a half-hearted attempt to stop him.

“It’s what Rylee would expect of me. You know, point out that you’re hurt.” The ogre had said, a grin splitting his face.

His grin faded when O’Shea had shown him the wound. A scant few hours after he’d been stitched up smooth, thin lines of scar tissue made the stitches unnecessary, and set O’Shea’s heart to thumping.

Dox had consoled him. “Likely healed so fast ‘cause it was a Guardian. Once they decide you’re a friend, they can heal up wounds they’ve caused.”

But O’Shea wasn’t so sure.

Pushing the possibilities out of his head, he focussed on the image of an eagle slowly growing larger. Indeed, it was glancing downward to a pair of running figures and seemed unaware they were sweeping up behind him. He had no doubt the eagle was after Rylee and Alex. Eve and he were just in time to pull Rylee’s ass out of the fire. A tight smile crept across his face.

“Go high, Eve. Let’s hammer him from above.”

She chuckled, her head bobbing. “Yes, let’s give him a taste of his own medicine.”

I paused for a breath, my mouth dry and grit-filled, heart pumping hard. The scent of sage grass was heavy in the air, about the only good thing I could say about the run. If it had been Eve with us, I would have taken the ride by now, but from what I gathered Eagle would not have been letting us ride, so much as gripping us with his talons. Nope, I’d rather run. The problem was how long it was taking. The fire opal was warm against my chest, but I knew I didn’t have much longer before my forty-eight hours were up. We had to find the Shamans. Like now.

“How much farther?” I shouted up to our guide. Eagle tossed his head once. Gods, I hoped that meant only one more mile; I couldn’t keep this pace up much longer. My legs and arms felt leaden, exhaustion creeping through them with each step I took. Alex, on the other hand, looked as fresh as a daisy. Bloody werewolf.

Grinning around a lolling tongue, he kept pace with me easily, and looked as though he could do another fifty miles no problem. I was almost ready to take Eagle up on his offer of a ride when a familiar screech filled the air. High above Eagle, Eve plummeted, claws outstretched, an all too familiar rider on her back. Damn O’Shea. He just couldn’t sit tight and wait for me.

“No, Eve! Stop,” I shouted, waving my arms, but the Harpy was in a free fall plummet, her target the one being who could lead us to the Shamans. There was nothing I could do but watch as the two giant birds slammed into one another, their shrieks piercing my ears. Eve’s claws burrowed into Eagle’s back, clamping one wing down, leaving the other to beat uselessly, spinning them into a tight spiral toward the ground. Eve screamed for all she was worth, and Eagle screamed right back as he struggled to escape her grip. Forty feet up, Eagle twisted hard to one side, throwing Eve off balance and unseating O’Shea who flipped off her back. For a brief second, I fought what I was seeing. O’Shea’ body hung, seemingly suspended in the air as the two giant birds struggled all the way down to the ground. And then he fell, hard, hitting the ground with a meaty thump. My guts twisted, knowing there was nothing I could do to save him.

I sprinted toward where O’Shea was crumpled; at least he hadn’t hit any rocks, but that high up, I wasn’t sure, rocks or not, that he would be alive when I reached him.

All but falling, I put a hand to his face, scratches from the thorny underbrush beside him already welling up with blood.

“O’Shea?”

He groaned and rolled to his side. “Damn it. You better get a riding harness for that bird of yours.”

Shocked, I didn’t stop to think, just wrapped my arms around him and helped him to sit up. His arms circled back around me, and for just a moment I let myself enjoy the moment. “I thought—”

“Yeah, me too.” He pulled back a little, three scratches running down the side of his face, blood dripping, but to me, he had never looked so good. A light seemed to flash in his eyes and he pulled me tight against him, clamping his lips over mine. I clung to his shoulders, forgetting the world around us, tears springing up in my eyes. He could have died, and I never would have been able to see him again, not even on the other side of the Veil where ghosts walk. No human ghosts went to the other side of the Veil; it wasn’t their realm.

A resounding, triumphant scream filled the air and we jerked away from each other.

“Shit!” I jumped to my feet and sprinted toward where Eagle had Eve pinned below him.

I waved my arms. “Stop! She’s a friend, she’ll help us!”

Eagle cocked his head and peered at me, his wounds from her claws already closing over.

Shifting into his human form, he stepped away from the wounded Harpy who sat up, a glazed look on her face. “He’s not an eagle?”

I held up my hands, stopping everyone. “He’s a Guardian, and so he can shift forms. He’s leading us to where the Shamans are being held. Or he was until you two showed up.”

Eve looked from me, to Eagle, to O’Shea, and then Alex before sniffing contemptuously, her feathers ruffled. “I could have helped you find the place.”

God save me from supernatural egos. “I’m sure you could, but he” —I pointed at Eagle— “was closer. And he’s already been there.”

O’Shea limped over to me, slipping an arm across my shoulders. “So, where to next?”

Eve blinked twice and her beak dropped open. “How did you survive the fall?”

He shrugged. “Lucky, I guess.”

It struck me then that wasn’t the only issue he would have been dealing with. “What about you hip? You were cut wide—”

His arm tightened across my shoulders; but he didn’t make eye contact. “Wasn’t as bad as we thought. Didn’t even need stitches. Like I said, I’m just lucky.”

Lucky indeed; I felt something in the air shift, tension and secrets felt about the same. O’Shea was keeping something from me, but at that moment, I didn’t really care. No, that’s not true, I did care; I just didn’t have time to deal with it. I would make O’Shea spill his guts. But right now we had to get the Shamans. Not to mention I was running out of time, the fire opal seeming to cool even as I thought about it.

It was decided that with Eve along—relatively unharmed considering the scuffle she and Eagle were in—we would fly the rest of the way, Eve carrying Alex in her claws while O’Shea and I rode on top.

Back in the air, I took stock of the situation. Considering other cases I’d been on, I now had a veritable army of help. But as we swung into view of the ranch, did a low sweep and landed on a rocky outcrop half a mile away, I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be enough.

13

Below us, the three remaining Shamans were kneeling in the main courtyard, arms lifted to the sky, smoke billowing around them from the fire pit in front of them. I could see no other people. They were in the centre of the ranch, which was laid out like a mini town, multiple buildings, and several open courtyards; none bigger than the one the Shamans were in. Everything about this gave me the heebie jeebies. I couldn’t decide if it was the lack of movement down there, or the fact that three powerful Shamans were being held against their will.

“Eagle, can you communicate with your Shaman?”

He shook his head.

“Any chance you know what we’re up against?”

His answer was the same as the first.

Shimmying down the rock face, I lowered myself onto a rock ledge, and from there started to slide down the scree.

“Where are you going?” O’Shea asked.

“To get the Shamans.”

“Just like that, no plan?”