Rogue Night (Robin of Larkspur Book 2) Read online

  “Feed me,” it said in a gravelly voice. “I hunger for magic, for light.”

  Shade pushed that other personality down before it could try to feed on their angel again, but it resisted. Without that white powder and its hallucinatory properties, to keep the darkness at bay, Shade couldn’t send their dark passenger to sleep. But that powder left Shade strung out, and Shade needed to be in top form right now.

  Maybe a little power would be okay just to push their passenger down. Surely, a little bit wouldn’t impair their mind too much. Shade ran shaking hands over their gray robes, seeking the last vial of aliel powder, but it was gone, and there wasn't time enough to get more of that potent hallucinogen.

  Shade glanced at the love of their life with regretful eyes and extended a gloved hand to take some of the light that only they could see. A little more wouldn't hurt Sarn. It would just make him sleep until that woman left.

  Just the thought of her called forth the darkness Shade was trying to drown out with light. “I’m sorry, my angel. Forgive the theft.” Shade laid a protective hand on their angel's chest atop the heart Shade had never been able to claim and drank deep of his magic.

  Chapter 3

  “Are you sure that’s right?” Hyntra turned the spell-marked cloth in her hands, then tilted her head to get the correct perspective. But the swirly design Dressen and the others had traced on the ground with sharpened sticks still didn’t look right in the golden glow of the Haven.

  A giggle interrupted her musings then a baby crawled through the design, blurring its lines. He had laughing green eyes and dimples, and she’d lost count of the number of times he’d escaped the Hunters who were supposed to be minding him. Hyntra pointed at the baby speeding on all fours toward the curtain of gold light that walled in this valley and kept it a little too warm for comfort.

  That shield fascinated the baby so much; he couldn’t get enough of it. Every chance he got, he raced over to pat it, and, in the process, he messed up the designs covering most of the valley's floor.

  “It wasn’t me.” Dressen avoided her angry gaze when she turned it on him and shrugged his rugged shoulders, which were nicely furred. So were his chiseled abs and under his leather loincloth, his legs too. They ended at a pair of silver hooves just like hers.

  Hyntra suppressed the urge to run her fingers along his antlers. He had a full rack as a proper buck should, but she seethed anew when that meddlesome baby took it into his head to crawl along the shield kissing it. He'd erased part of the outer circle and circumscribed the design she needed for the spell to work.

  “I don’t care whose responsibility it is. Someone needs to corral that baby right now.” Before Hyntra did something she'd regret. If only she could use her usual prey to power this particular spell. But no, that would be enjoyable, and this undertaking had been nothing but constant headaches, and that baby wasn’t helping matters.

  “I’ll fetch someone.” Dressen trotted away before Hyntra could order him to pick up that baby.

  “Watch where you step. If you so much as smudge as single line, I’ll have your head.”

  “Yes, Huntress,” Dressen said without a backward glance. He did as she’d asked, but he didn’t slow his pace. Nor did she blame him. Hyntra didn’t want to touch that drooling child either.

  She reminded herself she needed that smelly little brat as she squeezed the spell. Hyntra had collected two of the four babies the spell in her hands called for—the mage’s son and the witch's daughter. Why couldn't he be as quiet and as little trouble as the witchling?

  If the other two babies she still needed to collect—the shapeshifter’s child and winter’s favorite son—caused half this much trouble, then she'd better get as much done as possible before going after them.

  A female faun rushed past; it was She-Anne. The faun girl took care not to step on any of the carefully drawn lines in the dirt in her mad dash. But she made too much noise, and the baby charged into the foliage on a zigzag course that obliterated more of the design this spell called for, giggling all the while as if this was the most fun he’d ever had.

  Hyntra suppressed a scream of rage. It was almost as if that little annoyance knew he was messing up her plans. But, how could he? He wasn’t even a year old yet. But he was the son of a mage, maybe that had something to do with it. Hyntra wished she knew which mage was his father, so she could punish him for siring such a little imp.

  “Why can’t someone catch that kid? He’s just a baby.” Hyntra still couldn’t believe the trouble one small human could cause. Her Hunters outnumbered him fifty to one, but that baby kept eluding them, and it drove her mad. She had designs to fix and a trap to set just in case the angel who guarded this place got any ideas about stopping her.

  That angel was the wildcard in all this. For now, she had his tacit approval to stay here and do what needed to be done, but that would only last as long as he didn't know what she was up to.

  “Will someone please catch that baby?” Hyntra ground her teeth as that green-eyed little imp sped past, chased by two fauns. His churning arms and legs smudged out more sections of the design, and she screamed in frustration because every time she got a piece correct, he rubbed it out, and she had to start all over again.

  These designs weren’t easy to copy. they were quite intricate and had required them to fashion a few tools to make them. Some parts of the design interlocked while others were circumscribed. Then there was a random star pattern at the center that had six points. If the whole thing wasn't one hundred percent correct, then the spell would fail, and she'd have to continue leading the Wild Hunt.

  Hyntra wouldn’t let that happen. But she felt like this was a conspiracy. Someone must be putting this baby up to it because he wasn’t intelligent enough to know what she was doing, or what part he would play in it. Someone must be directing him, and that someone was a traitor.

  Hyntra glanced at the basket where the witch’s daughter reclined. The witchling opened one eye and regarded her with disdain. If Hyntra hadn’t known that baby girl was too little to get up and do anything, she would have been worried about that searing glare. Had the witchling’s eyes glowed faintly greenish?

  “I’m trying to catch him,” She-Anne said in passing. “But he’s small, fast, and a good hider. There’s a lot of places for him to hide.” She ducked behind a thicket of berry bushes to look. “Now, where did he go?”

  The baby had stopped laughing. Without that to clue them in, he was invisible since his parents had garbed him in dark green and tan—the same colors as the damned foliage in this protected valley. So, he blended in with it, all except his pale little face.

  Hyntra clamped both hands to the sides of her aching head. She needed to hunt. The need had just kept growing ever since that mage boy had escaped her earlier. He hadn’t even given her a proper chase, and she couldn’t understand why. All she’d done was use a one-time spell to knock his protector away, and he’d run after the guy. It didn't make sense. He shouldn’t have been able to escape her call.

  That scene just kept replaying in the back of her mind, driving her crazy. She saw the dark-skinned Ranger go flying toward the frozen River Nirthal and Sarn, his eyes a green blur of light and power, turning and fleeing as if that Ranger had yanked his leash. Hyntra let her hands drop to her sides.

  Yes, it had been exactly like that; she realized as the members of the Wild Hunt spread out and beat the bushes to drive that baby out into the open. If he was anyone other than the son of a mage, Hyntra might have been concerned for his welfare. But mages were quite durable.

  But still, a reminder couldn’t hurt since they needed that baby for the spell. “Be careful. We need him alive and preferably undamaged. The spell isn’t clear on how it’ll resurrect our leader, just that it requires four specific babies.”

  And they only had two of the four thus far, which was a good thing given how much trouble one baby was. Hyntra glanced around for the cloth the spell was inscribed on. She’d dropped it
while she’d been musing about what had gone wrong with what should have been a simple capture of a bespelled mage—and a teenager at that.

  Hyntra spotted the square of cloth by a bushy evergreen tree. Its lowest boughs brushed the ground, and two bright green eyes peered at her from between them.

  “There you are, you little troublemaker. Take your hands off that spell. You’ll find out soon enough what it does.” Hyntra extended her hand, but the baby moved faster than she did. He dragged the cloth under the tree, and she dove in after him. “I’ve got you now, you wicked little boy.”

  “Bye-bye,” the baby said as he backed away, taking the cloth with him, but he’d miscalculated. His escape came to an abrupt halt when he banged into the tree’s trunk.

  Hyntra grabbed him and the spell-marked cloth, then shouted for She-Anne as the baby fussed in her furry arms. He was a big baby and heavy too with pudgy limbs that he flailed about. But he was still a weak thing, so his blows didn’t hurt her at all.

  “Here, Huntress, give him to me.” She-Anne held out her goatish arms for the child, and Hyntra was glad to be rid of him.

  “Keep him away from me and those lines.”

  “Yes, Huntress, I’ll find a way to keep him out of your way.” She-Anne crossed her goat legs and bowed deeply, and that mollified Hyntra. The baby was quieter in the faun girl’s arms.

  “See that you do. I need these lines redrawn.” Hyntra gestured to them. “Dressen?”

  “I’m over here, Huntress,” Dressen said from some distance away.

  This valley had a diameter of three-point something miles, or one of these strange characters called Pi, which was important to the spell for no reason Hyntra could fathom. But it was very specific about the distances each curve and line must be from each other, which was why redrawing the lines was such a chore. One small child shouldn’t have been able to mess up so many lines, but somehow, he had.

  “See to that.” Because Hyntra had no patience for measuring right now, not when she finally had a possible reason for why her mission might have gone so spectacularly awry earlier. That boy with the glowing eyes, the one the Rangers called Sarn, was prey. Prey should always be hunted. Hyntra would recapture him as soon as she figured out how to defeat whatever hold the Rangers had over him.

  Or was it just that Ranger? He was Death’s henchman, but Sarn was still alive. How had he gotten control over that mage? While she considered what that hold might be, Hyntra rolled and unrolled the spell in her hands as Dressen approached her.

  “I need that to know what to fix,” he said as he drew even with her. “Will you lend me it?”

  Hyntra handed it over. “It must be exact.”

  “It will be, Huntress.” Dressen bowed then unrolled the cloth and peered at it. His eyes were green like all the members of the Wild Hunt. Because he was part human, part deer and part magical creature, he walked in two worlds, just like Hyntra did.

  “I know I can count on you.”

  “Always,” he said with a smile, and she shared it.

  Soon, the Wild Hunt would have its proper leader back. Then she’d be free to pursue her own goals. Hyntra’s smile widened, she knew what that would be. For now, she needed to hunt someone. Why not put that urge to good use and hunt the third child she needed?

  “The shapeshifter’s child,” she mused aloud as Dressen walked away, taking deliberate steps as he counted his paces under his breath. A pack of shapeshifters made their den somewhere around here. All she had to do was find it and collect one of their pups. Anyone would do because they were all magical creatures. “Heshen?”

  “Here, Huntress,” said a male faun from somewhere nearby, possibly even behind that fir tree. “You have need of me?”

  “Yes, I’m going hunting. Gather up a small party of Hunters. Five or six of us should be enough to capture a wolf pup.”

  “A wolf pup, Huntress? Whatever for?”

  “For the spell, you dolt. It requires a shapeshifter’s child, and I know there's one around here somewhere.” Hyntra had sent their parents off to chase the mother of that witchling.

  For a moment, Hyntra wondered how that was going, then she shrugged off that curiosity. Either Robin would show up for a proper rematch, or she’d die. Hyntra didn't care which way things went anymore. She had bigger plans.

  “But catching them might be difficult. They do run so,” Heshen said, reminding Hyntra he was still behind that fir tree.

  Why hadn’t he gone off and gathered a party of Hunters like she’d asked? Must she do everything herself? Hyntra planted her fists on her hips and glared at Heshen through the tree he hid behind. What a coward. “Yes, I hope they do run. I hope they lead me on a merry chase. I do so love to chase my prey before I pounce on it.” Hyntra licked her lips in anticipation. That would be just the thing to restore her. “Well, don’t just stand there, get a move on. I gave you an order. Now get. I want to be out of here in the next ten minutes, less if you can manage it.”

  “Yes, Huntress, but what about their parents? Won’t they come after us?”

  “No, they can’t, not while they're still wearing those stupid collars. But I wish they would. What a chase that would be.” And oh, how she hungered for that. A delicious shiver went through Hyntra at the thought of someone as strong, powerful, and fast as those shapeshifters chasing her.

  Maybe she’d let them catch her. What a fight that would be. If only, Hyntra sighed and dug around in her pocket for the finder stone. She had a feeling she’d need it to find those pups. Their parents had probably made their den somewhere she wasn't likely to look, and it would be as secure a place as they could make it.

  Maybe they’d found someone to guard their den in their stead. Hyntra hoped so as she pulled a lumir crystal from her pocket. She needed a good fight.

  The crystal lying on the palm of her hand was a luminous green because it was filled to the brim with earth magic, which allowed it to do so much more than glow. The finder stone vibrated in her hand, as she thought of puppies who could trade their canine bodies for more human-looking ones. Though why anyone would want to give up their fur and claws, Hyntra just couldn't fathom.

  She’d never do it. Hyntra was far too fond of her body. It was a perfect amalgamation of supple, womanly wiles coupled with the speed and grace of a hind and the soul of a lioness. Her silver hooves matched her midriff-hugging, creative attempt at chainmail, not that she needed it.

  Her sleek fur hid a tough hide that wasn't easily pierced. So, her mail shirt was more like jewelry to adorn her perfect breasts, which were covered in a brown fur so fine it blended to look like human skin, but it was so much warmer and tougher than that.

  A divided skirt covered the essential bits and nothing else because a little mystery was food for desire. A riot of brown curls tumbled down her back, and a leather band kept those locks out of her green eyes. The finder stone spun on her palm, cutting short her admiring thoughts about herself. It was shaped like an arrow, and it stopped when it pointed eastward and emitted a pale green beam to point the way.

  Of course, Heshen was nowhere to be found nor was her hunting party. What had possessed her to give that task to him? Hyntra dropped the glowing green crystal into her cleavage and allowed herself a moment to admire the effect.

  Its glow shot out from between her breasts, and she smiled at the admiring looks she got when she passed Dressen. He’d attached a stick to a length of cord and used that simple contraption to trace precise circles where the spell indicated. It had many detailed diagrams of how those circles should be arranged.

  Hyntra could leave him to fix the design that damned baby had wrecked, or she could detail Heshen to do that and take Dressen with her on the hunt. Decisions, decisions. Oh, to hell with it. She’d rather have Dressen along then that bumbling fool, Heshen. “Get Heshen to do that. You’re coming with me if that wound on your side is healed enough for a ride.” Hyntra ran her gaze down his flank and tried not to purr. His side looked healed enough for a r
ide through the snow.

  “I'll gladly turn this over to him, but She-Anne will do a better job. She wants this to work as much as you do.” Dressen closed the circle he’d been tracing in the dirt.

  He had a point, but She-Anne already had a job. She was supposed to watch the mage's son and the witch’s daughter. “She-Anne needs to stay where she is. She’s got an important job already. Who else would you suggest for this?”

  “Reshi. I know you don’t like her, but she’s as exacting as She-Anne about things.” Dressen set a handful of sharpened sticks in a variety of widths aside and stood up.

  “Fine, fine, tell her this task is all hers. She can recruit anyone she needs to get it done, preferably before we return.”

  “When do we leave? Oh, right now I guess,” Dressen said as he noticed the green beam emanating from in between her breasts.

  Hyntra might have preened just a little. The stone's green glow did refract rather fetchingly off her chainmail shirt. “Good, hand that task over to her, grab a few more warm bodies and get ready to ride.”

  Dressen smiled. “Yes, Huntress. I’ll get right on that.”

  “Good,” Hyntra said then she spun on her silver hoof and sashayed away to fetch her moose. She was fleet-footed and fast, but why waste her energy on the search when she could save it for the chase? After all, that was what she hungered for.

  Chapter 4

  Robin tilted her head back and stared into the wild, green eyes of trouble. Green eyes—her heart nearly stopped as she realized what that meant. This furry man was more than human, but he wasn't the mage she was looking for. No, he was all wrong for that. So, who was he? And why was he in her face?

  Robin still had her bow case. But if she used it, that wouldn’t help her case. She held onto it anyway and hoped the fact that she hadn't taken a swing with it weighed in her favor. “I didn’t take her daughter, but you know that.” Robin met his glare with one of her own.