Raven Investigation 04 - Electric Legend (2 page)

J
ackson stomped on the brakes and wrenched the
wheel, muscling the car to the side of the road. Only his quick reflexes kept
them on the road.

When the vehicle finally lurched to a stop, they were on the
opposite side of the highway, a couple of feet from where the forest looked
like it was trying to take back any signs of civilization. Heavy breathing
filled the car, and she rubbed the lump already forming on her temple.
“Everyone all right?”

Jackson nodded and flung open the door, scorching anger
radiating from him in waves. He circled, coming to stand in front of the car.
Legs spread, hands on his hips, he scowled at the tire. Durant lifted his giant
head and chuffed in amusement at the mishap, completely unruffled by the near
miss. Raven gave him a shove, rolling her eyes the way the two men antagonized
each other at every opportunity. “Be nice.”

She turned and hit the latch to the tailgate before crawling
out the back. A groan escaped her lips as she straightened, the kink in her
legs protesting movement after so long. Her injuries might have all healed from
the abuse of the last few days, but her body still felt bruised by all the
abuse. She inhaled the sharp, crisp fresh air, unobtrusively searching for a
threat, but all the trails appeared to be days old.

She straightened her clothes and rebound her wild hair, so
the distinct silver color remained hidden. Every time she used the current,
bits of silver ate away the black, made her noticeable when her job and safety
relied upon her remaining hidden and forgettable.

When she glanced up, the guys were watching her in various
stages of fascination. Her stomach dipped and lurched, leaving her flustered at
being caught primping.

Durant was the first to break the spell, gingerly lowering his
bulk to the road one paw at a time like a dainty housecat. When he
straightened, his animal form was huge, well over three feet high at the
shoulders.

A sane person would hyperventilate with panic at seeing him prowl
toward them. She gave into the urge to trail her fingers down his back,
marveling when a rumbled purr sounded under her caress.

Durant’s nose lifted in the air, catching the scents before
he wandered off. Taggert exited as well, coming to stop next to Jackson, giving
her a blessed few minutes to recover from hours cramped in the back of the
vehicle. Their intoxicating scents had kept her on edge for hours. It should be
a relief to breathe fresh air, but she kind of missed them now that the smells
were beginning to fade.

This trip was supposed to help her get to know her pack
better and decide their future. She was very much afraid that she was falling
in love with three different men, which only complicated things, and she didn’t
know a way to dig herself out of this mess.

She was hoping the trip would settle things between them.

Darkness raced across the landscape, the trees blocking what
little light tinged the horizon—not that shifters needed much light to see.
When she came to stand next to the guys, she understood the silence.

The tire was completely shredded.

This was no accident.

“What could’ve done this?”

Jackson crouched and yanked something out of the mangled
rubber. When he raised his hand, three nails rested in his palm.

Her hackles rose at the innocent sight. Pure energy swirled in
her body at the challenge, and Raven whirled, her gaze skimming the trees,
looking for the ones who had set the trap. “How could they have found us so
fast?”

Current splashed through her system, but instead of the pale
blue cords of her usual power, blistering strips of angry red twined around
every strand.

Infected wild magic.

The urge to use the power only increased, and her creature
did nothing to curb the craving, humming in agreement to kill everyone in the
vicinity and stop the threat before it started. Energy seeped past her shields
to soak in the air around her, stirring a wind only she could feel. The breeze
tugged at her hair and clothes as it swirled around her, waiting for her
command.

“They couldn’t.” Jackson rose and stepped into view. “This
wasn’t set for us.”

Shock pulled her attention away from the tree line, and the
rising power eased, sinking painfully back into her skin. “You mean we were
snagged in someone else’s trap?”

Raven could only curse her luck.

Jackson raised a brow, then stepped into her space, much too
close for her peace of mind with the current riding her hard. “That or someone
lost a box of nails on the road and we were just unfortunate enough to run over
them.”

“I don’t believe in coincidences.” To resist touching him,
Raven stepped back and shook her head to deny his effect on her.

The distance didn’t matter.

She wanted to reach out and touch what he so freely offered,
the dragon influencing her every thought and emotion. She didn’t know what
feelings she could trust, and what were manipulated by the dragon to get what
it wanted.

Taggert came to stand next to her. “If it was a trap, then
where are they?”

She knew what he was asking. He wanted to know if she could
sense anyone in the area. Raven hesitated, unsure she could trust using her
power, not with the recent changes she’d suffered at the witches’ hands.

She wasn’t sure she could handle any more things going
wrong.

Taggert’s neon-green eyes had calmed to his normal whiskey
color … almost. His beast hovered close to the surface, ready to leap into
action. Since he wasn’t a pure-blooded shifter, he wasn’t able to change into
his wolf, forever stuck in human form. His bloodline had become too diluted
over the centuries by human blood.

Each time his wolf rose had to be sheer torture. If his
beast ever tried to break free, he would be shredded from the inside out.

He trusted her to save him.

He was asking for that same trust from her.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded. To her shame, her hands
shook at the prospect of failing them. Curling her fingers into fists, she
closed her eyes and called up on the energy that had taken root in every cell
of her body. It roared to her fingertips at her call, eager to do her bidding.

The ease with which it came should’ve been frightening.

No fight.

No struggle for control.

So why did her heart give an extra beat of excitement?

Raven tried to pluck at only the blue calming strands of her
power, but the red cords refused to be separated. She hesitated. Every time she
used that power, she would only grow more addicted. It would lure her into trusting
it, relying on it, until she was firmly ensnared.

It was what the wild magic did to the witches who gave in to
the temptation and dared to use it, then it consume them from the inside out.

She was different.

The magic chose her, but that was no guarantee she would be
safe.

There was only one way to know for sure.

A test.

She called the power, and heat immediately built under her
skin, swelling into a giant wave. Using electricity again was both comforting
and alien. She waited for the blue lines of pure energy to scorch along her
insides as it sought escape. She braced for the pain when the wild magic
shimmered and flared to life. Like a limb waking, her hands tingled until the
red lines grew brighter and brighter.

It was eating her magic.

She tried to rein in the power, but it fought her every step
of the way.

The magic was sentient.

It didn’t want to be contained.

She almost dropped it in panic when the dragon pressed on
her chest, pushing her to continue.

Raven waited to be overcome, prepared to shut it down hard,
but the wild magic never took more, never tried to take over.

It only consumed the excess.

Keeping her from pain.

Much to her surprise, the red strands granted her more control,
but a niggling worry hovered at the back of her mind. She hadn’t been able to
curb it.

Taking a leap of faith, she released the magic.

It burst out of her in a blast. Like a pebble dropped into a
pond, the ripples spread through the woods in an ever increasing wave. Anything
with a heartbeat registered as soon as her power hit it. To others, it was
invisible. To her, an eerie blue light expanded out from her.

Small animals registered first. They were in the trees,
burrowed underground, even flying in the sky. Then her brows furrowed. Durant
rounded the car and came to rest beside her, sensing her disquiet. “There
should be more animals in the woods.”

“We are on the border of pack lands. Nearby predators could
explain it.”

Taggert’s answer made sense. She began to relax when she
spotted one human, then two, before a dozen more appeared. They were about a
mile out.

With a wave of her arm, the energy floated to the ground
like snowflakes and melted away. Raven looked at her hand and curled her
fingers into a fist, marveling at the way the power had obeyed after so many years
of struggle. The energy didn’t once fight her. It was a nice change, but she
wasn’t sure she trusted it yet. Then she focused on the real threat. “Why would
a dozen people be gathering in the middle of nowhere?”

Jackson scowled at her words, scanning the tree line as if
he expected people to emerge at any moment. His eyes changed to a brilliant
green as his wolf rose. It hovered so close to the surface she could almost
reach out and touch the magnificent beast. His brown hair was short, dark and
thick, tempting her to run her fingers through it. There was something too
masculine, too purposeful about him that didn’t invite others closer. It made
him ruggedly handsome and sinfully forbidden, and she couldn’t stay away from
him.

He didn’t move, didn’t even appear to be breathing as he
guarded her against attack. Something about seeing all that ferocity, knowing
it was there to protect her, knowing it was there for her to touch, sent her pulse
skittering.

Sensations flared to life as her dragon slowly woke from its
slumber. Her senses sharpened, emotions became volatile, while logic grew
cloudy under the bombardment. Taggert’s deep, woodsy scent wrapped around her,
and she tensed against reaching out to brush against him.

“I don’t think they are a threat.” Taggert didn’t duck his
head as he normally did when her attention fell onto him, but boldly met her gaze.
He pulled a flyer from his pocket and handed it to her.

Raven touched the creases, noting it had been folded many
times over. This was something important to him. More than a little bit curious,
she unfolded the page.

“A circus?” She stared down in surprise at the colorful
flyer. Then she noticed the location. “Why would someone set up a circus out in
the middle of nowhere?”

Taggert pointed to a colorful ribbon at the bottom of the
flyer. “It’s a freak show.”

Jackson relaxed and nodded as if it made complete sense.

Her lips curled in disgust, disliking the connotations. “What
does that mean?”

“It’s code.” Taggert took the flyer back, his eyes sparkling
as he reread the page again. “Most people think a freak show means people with
deformities.”

Raven’s brows furrowed. “It isn’t?”

Taggert shrugged, trying to mask his interest, as if afraid
to want something only to have it taken away. “Well, there were a few, but it
was mostly what the humans were led to believe. Shifters didn’t come out of
hiding until the paranormal conflict. Before that, they needed to find a way to
hide in plain sight in case they were caught.”

It made a weird sort of sense to Raven. “And what better
place than a circus.”

“Exactly. A freak show means shifters are running the
circus. There are only a few sanctioned circuses remaining.” Taggert carefully
folded the flyer, treating it like a beloved treasure.

It made her realize that he and dozens of other children
like him had dreamed of escaping to the circus when they were young.

Jackson strode toward the back of the vehicle and began
unloading the bags. “Why don’t you take Raven to the circus and show her?”

She peered at him over the top of the vehicle. “Are you sure
that’s wise? I don’t like us separating.”

Jackson leaned his arms against the roof and raised a brow.
“This tire needs to be changed, and don’t forget that Durant is in animal form.
He needs more time to heal before he can change back. We can stay behind and
fix the car and meet up with you two in the parking lot later.”

Raven dithered at the thought of leaving them, but the only
way to take Durant with her would be to collar him. The leash laws stated any
shifter in animal form in public must be leashed. In theory, it was a way to
keep shifters under control, a law put into effect by humans to protect their
own. The idea of putting a collar on a five-hundred-pound tiger was ridiculous,
and everything inside her rebelled at the thought of clamping a collar around
his throat.

In practice, the law was ridiculous. No human would be able
to hold a beast if they wanted to go anywhere. The thick chains were stored in
the back of the vehicle, but Durant could easily snap the metal like dental
floss.

Raven refused to shackle him as if he were no better than a
wild animal.

As if he concurred, Durant stretched out, firmly planting
himself on the side of the road, clearly saying he wasn’t going anywhere.

“Let me borrow your phone. I’ll call a tow truck to fix the
car, and we can all go together.” Raven held out her hand and waited.

Jackson shook his head. “We left all our phones at home.”

Panic grabbed her by the throat and squeezed, her arm
dropping uselessly at her side. “So we’re completely cut off from the rest of
the pack?”

They’d left home to allow things to cool down between the
witches and the shifters after her last job. She needed to get away from all
the interest she’d accidently garnered by rescuing a coven and preventing an
all-out war between the two races. For her trouble, she’d been infected by
tainted magic.