Night Seeker

Kaylin jerked his head up. “That’s the pager I gave your father.” He motioned for us to stay put as he vanished toward the front of the warehouse.

We pushed back from the table, positioning ourselves for a fight, if need be. I glanced at Rhiannon and she gave me a smoky look, then leaned back and I could feel the lick of the flames surrounding the edges of her aura. Worry crossed Luna’s face, but then she closed her eyes and I could feel the swirl of magic surround her. I pulled out my fan, getting it ready.

Peyton drew a nasty-looking blade. She hoisted it-a long dagger with a serrated blade. “Kaylin gave this to me last night. I’ve done some knife training.” As she tossed the blade back and forth between her hands, a feral look stole over her face, her puma just below the surface, waiting to be released.

But it wasn’t an enemy who followed Kaylin back into the room. A tall man, as sturdy and dark as Peyton with hair that reached his lower back and was tied in a braid, walked into the room. Wearing dark indigo wash jeans, a cable-knit sweater, and scuffed cowboy boots, it was obvious in a glance that this was Rex-Peyton’s father. The resemblance was remarkable. He had something woven into his braid-it looked like some sort of herb or dried flower or something.

Peyton stood, staring at him. As he paused, she began to tremble. “Rex?”

He nodded. “Peyton.” And then he held out his arms and she dropped her dagger on the floor and ran to him, weeping. He swept her into his embrace, hugging her tightly, kissing the top of her head. “My daughter. My baby. Baby girl.”

She pressed her face against his chest, then pushed back, hitting him with her open hands. “You left me. You left us.”

Rex didn’t flinch from her blows. He just held her, letting her smack him until she ran out of energy.

“Oh, baby girl, I didn’t want to. Your mother wouldn’t let me stay. And she wouldn’t let me come back.” Taking a deep breath, he held Peyton’s shoulders, forcing her to look at him. “Anadey threatened to run off with you, so that I’d never be able to find you. She said she’d give you my letters if I agreed to never come back to the house. So I relented and left. But she didn’t keep her promise. I sent letter after letter. Now I know she destroyed them.”

Peyton’s jaw dropped. “I never saw one of them. Not one.”

“I finally realized you weren’t getting them when Old Joe One Shoe, a friend of mine here in town, overheard Anadey telling one of her friends that she tore up all my letters. When he told me that, I took off, spent several years on the road.”

“Why did you come back?”

He smiled softly. “I decided it had been long enough-the cougars were speaking to me, they sang to me in the night and told me it was time to return home. That my baby girl was in trouble and needed me. So I hit the road and here I am.” Rex let her go then, and Peyton didn’t step away.

“Mother told me you were an alcoholic. Are you still drinking?”

“I was when I left. But I’d promised her I’d quit. She didn’t trust me. Shortly after I left, I joined AA. Never slid off the wagon-not once. I’ve been sober since you were knee-high. I tried to get her to let me come home again, but she wouldn’t hear of it. I think Anadey wanted you all to herself. I think she was jealous when you used to run up to me instead of her.” He said it slowly, like a man not wanting to spill secrets, but it rang true.

Peyton nodded. “You’re probably right. Anadey has always guarded me. She wants me to have friends, but then…” She glanced over at me. “She almost killed Cicely as a payment to keep you from getting to me.”

Rex gave me a stout nod. “Miss.” He touched his forehead in a two-fingered salute. “Baby girl, why don’t you introduce me to your friends.”

Peyton blushed. “I’m sorry-I was just so excited. And nervous.” As she went round, giving our names and what we did, Rex shook our hands. His skin was warm and his handshake firm, rock-solid. I liked the man.

I think you can trust this man. His energy reads clear. Ulean flurried around me, her breath tickling my neck.

“You should know, we have one of the vampires in our midst, but I doubt if he was among those seeking to kill you. He does, however, have his own agenda.” I pointed to a chair. “Sit down?”

Rex swung it around, straddling it. “Why do you let him stay?”

“Believe it or not, he’s an ally, though a hedonist and all-around pervert as well.” I went back to the last of my breakfast.

Luna slipped over to the counter and returned with a plate of donuts. “Would you like some coffee, Mr. Moon Runner?”

Rex grinned at her. “That would be Rex, my dear, and I’d love some. Black, with one sugar if you have it.”

“Lannan Altos doesn’t just have an agenda,” Peyton said. “His agenda is Cicely.” She glanced at me. “Should I tell him everything?”

“We probably should. While you’re filling him in, I’m going to go call Ysandra and see if she is willing to meet with us.” I walked to the other side of the room, away from the conversation. Pulling out my phone, I hunted through my purse and found the card Ysandra had left with me. After a moment’s hesitation, I punched in her number.

Ysandra answered on the second ring.

“Hi, this is Cicely Waters. Remember me?” I wasn’t sure what to say-should I just spill out all the information at once and chance sounding like a raving idiot? Or play the mysterious card and hope she wouldn’t hang up on me?

“Cicely-of course I remember you! I’m so glad you called. Have you filled out the paperwork yet? We’re looking forward to meeting you and your new Society.” She sounded pleasant enough, almost like she really was looking forward to seeing us again.

I closed my eyes and plunged in. “Ysandra, we really need to talk to you. It’s an emergency. Is there any way you could meet us in Monroe today? There’s a diner there-Penny’s Pit Stop. Please, will you meet us there this afternoon? There’s so much I need to tell you and I can’t do it over the phone.”

She paused, I could almost hear the thoughts running through her head. Then, “Yes, I’ll meet you there at three P.M.”

“Please, be very careful on your way. And tell someone where you’re going. New Forest is a dangerous town now. Marta and Heather found out the hard way. We’re in trouble. And we need the help of the Consortium.” My voice cracked and I realized just how scared I was. The fact that Ysandra agreeing to meet us made the tears well up was proof of the stress.

She paused again, and then simply said, “Three P.M. I will be there.” And then silence.

I flipped my phone shut, a sense of relief flooding over me. There were so many things that could go wrong, but she was coming. I had a sudden flashback to childhood, to so many nights when I prayed for the cavalry to come riding in to rescue Krystal and me. But no one ever came.

As I returned to the others, Chatter entered the room. He was watching Rex intently. The look on his face was thoughtful and for once, I thought maybe, just maybe, our luck was turning. I let out my breath, forced a smile to my lips, and rejoined my friends.

Chapter 5

“I was high on the mountain when she found me,” Rex was saying. “Stretched out, almost dead, but I knew my name, and I knew my place in life. I’d walked through the fire, and so earned my place as one of the elders of the Northwest Puma Pride. Even though I left for a long time, they kept my place open for me. They told me, ‘We knew you would be coming home. It was meant to be.’ And it’s time for you, Peyton. Your time to undergo the vision quest is overdue.”

Curious, I glanced over at Peyton. Listening rapt to her father, her eyes glistened with tears.

“I can’t go now-I’m needed here. But afterward, if we get through this, I’ll be ready. Will the pride accept me, though? I’m half-magic-born.” Her lower lip trembled and I thought of the Lupa clan and how much the werewolves hated the magic-born.

“There is a big difference between wolves and cats,” Rex said, glancing over at me as if he could read my mind.