One of the birds lunged toward the man in front of her, and he shot it with some kind of arrow. From a small device that looked like a pistol yet it hadnt made a sound when it had fired.
Like a small crossbow? Who was that guy? And what fairy-tale chase had she fallen into? Robin Hood had always been her favorite, even the Disney cartoon fox version of the hero held an appeal.
Carefully, she crept closer to him and witnessed him take out another of the harpies with the arrow-shooting pistol. When the final harpie swooped over her head, she ducked and loosed a necessary scream.
Stay there! Low!
Clasping her hands over her head, she followed directions, cowering against the base of an oak trees gnarly roots. Heartbeats racing, she was suddenly thankful that if attack by crazy birds was her fate, at least she had some kind of rescuing hero who wielded a worthy weapon on her side.
So she would trust him. Because right now he offered her best hope.
She observed him watching the circling bird. Lean and tall, his biceps and pecs flexed beneath the gray T-shirt as he tracked the remaining creature with the hand-sized crossbow. His footing sure, he turned at the hips, a graceful predator. Aiming, one eye closed, a twitch of his finger released the trigger. The bird screeched and dropped out of the sky, its wings snagging the leaves and landing...right beside Kizzy.
She swore and scrambled over a tree root and toward the man. But then she stopped. She had no reason to be afraid of a dead creature. And, holy Hannah, it was a creature!
She pulled the camera out of the bag, and
Oh, no. He slipped his hand into one of hers. No time. More could be coming. I made clean shots, straight through the hearts. Theyll dissipate to feathers in minutes. No worry of cleanup, thank the gods. My truck is this way.
She followed him, regretting only that she hadnt time to snap a photo, but thinking that she had tons of questions that he would answer before she let him get away. Maybe. The urge to flee from him was also strong.
At the forests edge, which was about two city blocks away from town, he paused and searched the sky. But a few streaks of pink and gold lingered from the setting sun.
All clear. Come on! With her hand still in his, he raced across the grassy lawn toward the curb where a black Ford truck was parked.
I can get home on my own, she said, her voice wobbling as his pace did not let up until hed reached the vehicle. But really? Shed head back into the forest first with hope of getting a picture before the creatures turned to a heap of feathers.
Absolutely not.
Controlling much? So shed forego the questions. A sudden nervousness urged her to run from him. Forget about the awesome creatures lying dead in the forest. This man might be the one she should fear the most.
When he opened the passenger door and waited for her to get in, Kizzy took a moment to really gaze at his face. Wide-set blue eyes didnt look at her so much as keep her in peripheral view as he scanned the sky. A thick beard hugged his square jaw, and an equally dark mustache stretched down to the beard. He still wore the hat. How hed not lost it while racing through the forest was beyond her. The whole outfit gave him an Indiana Jones vibe.
With a paranormal bent? He knew about those harpies. Had come armed to take them out. Shed be a fool to run off without questioning him.
Who are you? she asked. Or maybe the better question should be what are you?
Bron Everhart, he said, his attention averting to the sky. Theres more!
She looked over her shoulder in the direction he pointed. Holy Hannah, there were more. Flying toward them. She gripped the camera. Why are they after us?
I was tracking... He shoved her at the shoulder. Get in. Ill explain as we drive. I want to lure them away from the town. And if they continue to follow the truck, then Ill know its you theyre after.
She hadnt a chance to protest that maybe it was him they wanted. But Kizzy didnt need a shove to get inside the truck. Stand her ground and refuse the crazy mans assistance? Or get inside the vehicle where she had a metal frame and glass to protect her from the weird flying things?
She climbed up and pulled the door shut. The drivers door slammed a second later, and the ignition fired up.
I dont understand why harpies would come after me, she said as the truck pulled away from the curb. Im not anyone. Im just a photographer. Yet, how cool were they? she said with an incredulous tone. I mean, I believe in faeries and vampires and have always dreamed of seeing some kind of creature some day.
Vampires, eh? He shifted into Drive and cast her a head-shaking smirk as he turned the vehicle away from town.
Just take me home, she said quickly. Then she could hop on her bike and return to the forest. Im staying in an apartment in the middle of town. Its a couple miles that way.
And lure them into the city? And give them the location of where youre staying?
Put like that it didnt sound like a smart thing to do. Her eagerness to get a good photograph of the myth was making her foolish. She had to think of others. Would the harpies risk flying into the town? She didnt have any weapons. And while she took risks to get the perfect shot, she wasnt a danger seeker who would stand at a cliffs edge peering over.
Bron? Is that what you said your name was?
Has been all my life. Buckle up.
She did so, unstrapping the camera bag and setting it on the floor. She pulled the camera off from around her neck and turned to track the harpies through the back window.
Put the camera away, he insisted. The last thing the world needs is evidence of those bastards existence. Im surprised they are so blatantly out in this realm.
Yet you know about them? Youre familiar with birdmen?
Harpies. They can be male or female. And, yes, they are real, if thats what youre asking.
I know theyre real. I narrowly dodged one!
She sighed and tilted her head against the back of the seat. A self-awareness assessment checked her heartbeats had slowed. And her skin felt cool when she thought she should be sweating from the jaunt through the woods. Perhaps she was in shock.
Ive searched for proof of the paranormal all my life, she said. For some reason I thought my first encounter would be less...
Harrowing?
Yeah, she said on a nervous sigh. Though why should she have expected a friendly how do you do instead of an attack? The creatures she believed in were deadly and dangerous, and, hell, yes, they flew and had claws and went after people.
But still, the surprise of suddenly knowing was exciting. Things shed always wanted to believe in did exist. How cool was that?
Suddenly the truck swerved, and they turned right. Toward town.
Wait? What are you doing?
Theyre veering toward town. I cant let them out of my sight.
* * *
There were two of them. They soared toward the small town and circled back like vultures eyeing the kill. Harpies had minds like birds yet also like men. The human side of them was calculating; the animal side ruthless. Bron knew they had identified his truck. But were they aware the woman was still with him? Why had they gone after her? Because it hadnt been him they were after. Harpies generally avoided his sort.
He turned the vehicle sharply into an alley. It was strange to find himself back in this town. He knew this area. Had been here about fifty years earlier on a mission. Hed met a witch... Lots of memoriesboth good and badhe didnt have time to resurrect now.
Here in the tight confines of the town, night darkened the narrow tarmac; there were no streetlights, so he pulled over to park and turned off the vehicles headlights. Leaning across the seat, he opened the glove compartment. Half a dozen arrows tumbled forward, and he grasped them all. The hand-sized crossbow he utilized was a sweet little weapon designed by the Acquisitions Armoury. It had biothermal-GPS tracking to lock in a target and pinpoint accuracy. Also, the fletch-less arrows were tipped with silver, and the hollow core was filled with rowan wood. Useful against werewolves, vampires and, fortunately, harpies.
He got out of the truck and the woman followed. Standing in the narrow alleyway, he didnt worry for her safety. Hed have her back if the creatures swooped down toward her. The trouble was, she was fascinated. Not scared enough to look out for herself.
No matter where his journeys took him or what creatures he encountered while on a mission, Bron always strove to keep that which shouldnt be known from humans. Having the its real talk with them never went over well. And if it did feel necessary, it was always easier to walk away and pretend they were the crazy ones. A vampire? Eh, youre nuts.
But this woman? In the heat of the moment when she should have been cowering and screaming, instead shed taken pictures. And one of the Retrievers unwritten rules was to never provide proof. He had to get those digital files. Or destroy her camera.
As well, he had a moral obligation to make sure she was safe before bringing her home. He couldnt drop her off in the middle of this small town. Shed be a target. Why the harpies had pursued her was beyond him. Perhaps theyd been following the trackers vibrations, and when hed gotten too close to her they had picked up her scent and gone with it. Harpies were flesh eaters. Though, if hungry, why hadnt they simply gone for the children on the swings?
Why were they even in the mortal realm? Their habitat was Faery.
A bone-twanging screech alerted his attention to the left. Crossbow at the ready, he tracked the creature soaring overhead. The other was out of sight. Until he heard the screech behind him.
And the womans scream.
Releasing the trigger, the arrow caught the first bird in the heart. It faltered into a death spin and dropped out of sight behind a wood fence. Bron quickly reloaded. A whoosh of wings moved his hair. He ducked, landing on one knee, and twisted to see the harpies claw extend toward the womans head. She plunged to the tarmac. His arrow found its target.
He lunged to grab her arm and pull her forward to avoid the heavy drop of the creatures body. She clung to him, her body heaving, breaths gasping. Moonlight caught in a glint on the tiny gold cross she wore on a delicate chain about her neck. But before he could begin to consider the sensual curves hugging his torso and the warm, fresh scent of her, she pushed away and shuffled backward.
Her shoulders hugged the brick building. So not a cool first date, she said.
Date?
Ah. She was joking. More points for bravery on her part.
The harpies body glowed and burned without flame. The embers quickly dissipated, leaving behind a scatter of black feathers.
But that was cool, she said. She patted her chest, then snapped her fingers. Shed left the camera in the truck.
And Bron had veered madly off course.
Get in, he said. More could follow.
She quickly got into the vehicle.
He tugged the crystal tracker out of his pocket and turned it over. Around the edges it glowed a soft blue.
What is that? she asked. Is that what you were looking at when I first saw you in the park?
This? He leaned back and flipped it between his fingers, but then it suddenly shot out of his hand.
And landed right on the womans chest.
What the hell? He reached for it, but she slapped his hand away. Sorry.
What is it? She didnt try to touch it but was clearly afraid of whatever it was attached to her T-shirt. It had landed right above her breast, which Bron couldnt help but notice was nicely shaped andah hell, no, it stuck to her.
Are you wearing metal? Something magnetic under your shirt? Maybe a bra with a metal ring in the strap?
I, uh... No bra today.
Yep, he noticed that now. Her nipples were pert and erect.
What is it? Why is it stuck to me? She pried gently at it, and the tracker came away briefly but then snapped back to nestle on top of her breast. Get it off me!
Why did it stick to her? Made from crystal and infused with Light magic, it wasnt even magnetic. It shouldnt be reacting this way. On the other hand, he had no idea what its properties were.
Bron reached for the tracker, more than willing to pry it from her breast, but then he paused. A realization hit him hard. Blessed Herne. Really?
The director hadnt specified the heart he sought would be live and beating inside someones chest.
Chapter 3
Kizzy peeled the weird little piece of glass from her shirt and handed it to Bron. He clasped his fingers over it, closed his eyes and shook his head. As if regretfully? She didnt know what the thing was, but everything associated with the man was out there and strange. And if he was up on all things paranormal, then the glass piece could be magical.
That didnt mean she wanted it stuck to her chest.
All of a sudden he shifted the truck into gear and drove onward. We need to fill up with gas. I saw a station at the edge of town.
Fill? Where are you going? Because Im not going along. Im staying in town. That way. She pointed out the back window. Just drop me off anywhere, and I can walk. Really. Its not that far. Pull over here, and I can make it on my own.
They are after youwhat is your name?
Kizzy. Who are after me? Harpies?
What kind of name is Kizzy?
Its short for Kisanthra. Kisanthra Lewis. She offered her hand to shake, which he ignored as he swerved toward the gas station. Photographer. Blogger. World traveler. Soon to be getting the hell out of your life.
Blogger?
Yes, Ive a blog called Other Wonders. All aboutoy. She sighed heavily. Is this for real? I mean, really? Am I being punked? She peered out the side window. Wheres Ashton Kutcher?
Bron pulled up before a gas tank and shut off the engine. When he turned, he held the piece of glass before him. Kisanthra, Im a Retriever. I work for an organization that retrieves lost artifacts, items of magical nature and various other things that Im sure youd understand if I took the time to explain, because your acceptance of the harpie was easy enough.
I believe in a lot of things. But this is the first time Ive ever been given tangible proof. I sure hope those photos turn out. She snapped the small, square piece of glass with a fingernail. You retrieve things? Does it have to do with harpies?
It shouldnt. Its to do with this.