Jacob's Ladder (String of Fate) Read online

  “Quite a collection you have here,” Jake said, making conversation as he looked around what had to be the Clan’s armory.

  Alan beamed. “We try to keep up with the latest technology. A number of my people are gunsmiths and weapons designers.”

  Ria could see that Jake was impressed as he whistled through his teeth. “I’m glad you’re on our side.”

  Everyone chuckled at the truism and they were instantly on friendly footing.

  Willard liked the way the other Council members looked at him after he made their latest plan work. There was no doubt that he had been the one wielding the combined power—and that was a lot—of the Council to raise the leviathan. Willard liked the evil creature, and it gave him a good idea for something he could do on land, as long as there was a body of water with fish in it available nearby.

  He had been able to communicate with the creature when he broke through the final barrier behind which it had been trapped so long ago. It liked Willard for releasing it, and had given him a bit of knowledge in return for his help. The leviathan made it clear that was all Willard would get. The creature considered itself above the land-creatures’ concerns and would not be controlled by any force presently in the mortal realm. It would do as it wished now that it was free and would answer to no man.

  Willard was okay with that. The leviathan would serve its purpose. It would wreak havoc on the high seas and contribute to the end-of-the-world thinking among the human population of the earth. Better to get them used to the idea that dark times were coming. Elspeth would be here soon and she would show them the true meaning of the term dark ages.

  And Willard would be by her side, a favored son for having rescued her from her exile.

  One last parting gift from the leviathan would help make Willard’s wet dream come true. The beast had told Willard exactly where he could find the Nyx.

  Chapter Eight

  A short while later, a contingent of Royal Guard moved in from the tree line, met by Dorian and Bronson, they were brought into the cave complex and introduced to the Alpha fox. After the formalities were taken care of with the local leader, the rather surprising leader of the beta team asked for a private audience with Ria.

  She was a little shocked to see the man who took great pride in training her Royal Guard out on this mission, but then, Geir Falkes was a law unto himself. Never mated, Geir was a tiger shifter who had come to the pantera noir through marriage. His beloved aunt had married into the Clan and Geir had followed her from Iceland while still a young man, his own parents having died by the hand of the corrupt leader of the tigers who had recently been overthrown.

  Geir had come out of the dojo where he trained the Guard to lead the beta team who had arrived as backup for Ria’s four-person Guard team. The beta team consisted of all those who were still on active duty in Ria’s service. She didn’t require a lot of people to keep her safe, just a small team of four with her at all hours. When she had a home base, they usually split up the day into eight-hour shifts, so she would always be covered.

  Her Royal Guard had been down a man or two since her cousin Cade mated and settled down and his partner, Mitch, had raised hell over in Iceland, becoming the new tiger monarch. Geir had filled one of the empty spots by promoting young Bronson. The other two teams—seven in all—had gone ahead to prepare her next location while she made her way there with just the four Guards.

  It took a lot of prep work to set up a new home base and lately they had been doing it every few weeks. Ria had been on the run for a long time, but in recent months it had gotten worse than ever. It was time to end that—here and now, if possible.

  Ria and Jake, accompanied by her Guards went back to the cabin. Geir seemed to know Ben, and the two paired off to speak privately in the arsenal. When Ria and Jake arrived back at the cabin, the only people in it were members of her Guard. She was surrounded by her people and it felt really good to be home.

  She had learned over the years of constantly traveling that home was where your loved ones were. It wasn’t necessarily a fixed place. Wherever you happened to be, if you were with the people you loved, you were home.

  Ria sat down at the central table, Jake at her side and finally felt a moment’s peace. Things were looking up. She had her friends around her and support from unexpected sources. They just might prevail in the confrontation everything seemed to be pointing toward. They just had to live through the next few days and find a way to stop the Venifucus from winning.

  “I’m so glad you’re all here,” Ria began. “Geir, thank you for coming. We can use your help. And for those of you who haven’t met my mate yet, this is Jake. He’s Cade’s brother-in-law. Some of you may have met him at Mitch’s wedding. Either way, he’s part of our Clan now and he not only saved my life, but has given me hope for the future.” She reached for his hand under the table.

  “Congratulations, milady, and welcome to the Clan, Jake,” Geir said formally. “I’m glad you’ve found happiness. I’m only sorry it had to happen at such a trying time.” Geir’s gaze narrowed on Jake, as if assessing him. “I’ve heard about your rescue at the warehouse, and I’ve asked around about you since then. From everything I’ve heard, I think we can work together, despite the differences in our training.”

  “You might be surprised how similar our training has been,” Jake spoke up. “But I appreciate the sentiment, and the welcome, Master Geir.” Geir’s eyebrows rose at the use of his proper title and Ria had to stifle a chuckle.

  Geir probably hadn’t been able to find out too much about Jake’s background—especially not the fact that he had trained with the secretive snowcats. In all likelihood, Geir was underestimating Jake’s abilities, but he would learn. Hopefully he’d figure it out in time.

  “Your friend Ben is an interesting fellow. Former Altor Custodis agent, isn’t he? From everything I’ve been able to find he’s changed his ways.” There was an unspoken, doubt-filled but on the end of that sentence that made Jake frown. Geir was being polite, but he was expressing his uncertainty about at least one of the people Jake had brought into their inner circle.

  “You can check with the Napa Valley Master Vampire if you like. Ben has done a lot of good things since he discovered the taint in the AC. He saw some things he shouldn’t have down in South America while he was still in the service and discovered the existence of shifters and Others. The AC recruited him and he worked as an observer for them for a few years until he realized they were using his reports to target magical folk,” Jake explained in a calm voice. “He’s done his best to put things right since then and I have no doubts about his loyalty. He’s a good man.”

  “So my friends who have worked with him say,” Geir conceded, nodding to the original four Guards who had been with Ria since this escapade began.

  It looked like he was about to argue when suddenly Jake went silent. Ria looked at him and realized something was happening. Another vision. Perhaps not as violent as the one on the yacht had been, but definitely enough to stop Jake in his tracks. She put her hand on his back, rubbing gently in comfort as he gripped the wooden arms of his chair until his knuckles went white.

  “What’s wrong?” Geir asked quietly, watching Jake with narrowed eyes.

  “Unless I’m much mistaken, my mate…” she emphasized the word so there would be no misunderstanding of Jake’s place in her life, “…is in the grips of a vision.”

  “Vision?” Geir repeated, his gaze going from Ria to Jake and back again. “So then the gossip is true. He’s a seer?”

  “Verified by no less than Sophia Grantham,” Ria acknowledged, glad when Geir’s attitude changed. She saw it in the respect and wariness that now filled his gaze. He had badly underestimated her mate and he was only beginning to realize it.

  After a tense moment more, Jake shook his head and tried to refocus his gaze. He looked at her, coming out of the vision slowly, but much easier than the last time she’d witnessed something like this. She smiled at him, con
cern deep in her heart for him and what he might have seen.

  “It’s all right. You’re okay, Jake. All is secure,” she reassured him.

  His expression hardened. “It won’t be for long. The leviathan stirs and the battle is coming our way. I saw a circle of stones. That’s where the battle will rage. It’s where it must happen if our side has any hope of winning.”

  “When?” Ria asked, knowing they would camp out near the stone circle, if necessary.

  “Tonight. At the height of the new moon.”

  Any reaction was smothered when the door to the cabin burst open, taking everyone within by surprise. It was Ben Steel.

  “More new arrivals,” he said in a clipped voice. “A tiger shifter and a couple of selkies are on their way up. Said it was urgent. They had to speak to you.”

  “Names?” Jake asked quickly.

  “Tom Kinkaid. I think the other seal is his sister and the other guy said his name was Beau. Beau Champlain, maybe? Sounded like his voice on the radio, though I haven’t seen him in years. He didn’t give me a chance to ask before dropping the radio and stalking off through the woods, according to the fox scouts near the road.”

  “Sounds like him,” Geir added with a smirk.

  “Beau was on the yacht,” Jake told them. “So was Tom. And he was in my vision. It’s starting to make sense. We’re going to need him and his sister. And the tiger.” Jake’s eyes shot to Geir. “Both of the tigers,” he amended.

  Geir held his tongue but bowed his head, holding Jake’s gaze with respect. Ria was glad. It looked like all these powerful men were going to get along, which was a major step forward in securing everyone’s safety.

  The front door of the cabin opened a few minutes later to admit two men and a woman. Ria recognized the shifter who had met them when they landed on the yacht. She had thought he smelled of big cat, but he hadn’t let her get close enough to know for sure. He had to be the tiger the scouts had mentioned. He looked a lot grouchier than the last time she’d seen him. A few of the men nodded to him as he walked through the small room to the table where Ria and Jake still sat with Geir. Ben stood nearby.

  “Good to see you two still in one piece,” he said gruffly as Jake stood and stretched out his hand to the other man.

  “You made good time. The question is, why?” Jake asked. “I thought Edvard was running diversion, not sending his people straight here.”

  “Ask her.” Beau pointed toward the petite woman coming up behind him as he stepped aside to make room for her and Tom Kinkaid, who walked with her.

  Beau’s temper was pretty close to the surface, Ria realized. He had been calm and collected—silent even—on the boat, but something had stirred his inner tiger and it practically growled out at them through his human voice.

  “Please pardon Mr. Grumpy, milady,” the young woman said with a grimace as she walked slowly closer. “We had to come. Tante Sophia called and told me I had to reach you before tonight. It was of the utmost urgency. I asked Tom to help me get to you and Oscar the Grouch decided to tag along.”

  “Sophia Grantham sent you?” Geir asked the question that was on everyone’s mind. “What did she say?”

  “Only that I must be here to help guard the waters. Are there any waterways on this mountain?” She looked around as if trying to sense where there might be some hidden lake or pond.

  “There’s a stream and some waterfalls down the ridge a ways. Even a few swimming holes farther down the slope and a small lake up by the standing stones,” Ben supplied. When everyone looked at him with varying degrees of surprise, he shrugged. “I talked to the foxes and hiked a bit. Wanted to get the lay of the land, since I don’t have your shifter advantages.”

  Geir’s eyebrow rose and he looked at his group of Guards as if to say, why didn’t you think of that?

  “We scouted around a little, but we only found the stream and the small lake up by the stone circle,” Shelly admitted. Geir’s expression alone was condemnation enough and the four Guard who had been here longest each looked chagrined at the reprimand from their teacher.

  “All right then,” Tom broke in to the heavy silence. “I know why we were sent here, but what can you do with Beau? I assumed an extra hand wouldn’t come amiss.”

  “You’ve got that right.” Jake rose to shake Tom’s hand and offered the same friendly greeting to the young woman at Tom’s side. They’d met her once before, on the yacht.

  “This is my sister Jacki,” Tom said for the benefit of everyone else present. “She’s like me.”

  “Yeah, we figured,” Geir admitted. “Ben said there were two selkies and a tiger on their way up.”

  Tom’s brows drew together in a frown until Ben stepped in. “The foxes have a really keen sense of smell. The scout at the base of the mountain said—and I quote—that the guy and gal smelled like seaweed and the big-ass tiger was on the warpath.”

  Ria couldn’t help it. She laughed, and so did everyone else—even Beau cracked a grudging smile as Tom slapped his back. Finally, something to smile about in this harrowing situation. It couldn’t last, but it felt good to have even this small thing to laugh at for a brief moment.

  Jake looked out the window, noting the angle of the sun. The afternoon was upon them and soon it would be night. They had several hours yet. His vision showed the time of the confrontation to be somewhere around midnight. But he didn’t want to see this day pass so quickly. It might be the last day they had.

  “I think everyone’s here that we need to be here right now,” Jake said, calling the room to attention. “What I just saw changes things. The attack is going to come tonight. It makes sense. Tonight is the midpoint of the new moon, right?” He looked at Ria for confirmation.

  “Technically, the new moon is tonight, yes. But I’m able to reach those beyond for three nights—the day before, the day of the new moon, and the day after,” she answered. “The connection will be strongest tonight.”

  “Which is what they’re counting on,” Jake replied, picking up the thread of the conversation. “The Venifucus want to use the Nyx’s power to infiltrate the veil between realms and bring back their leader from exile.” Grim faces all around met this statement. “They’re going to try tonight, when your connection is strongest. The standing stones will offer us some protection, but there are drawbacks to the location. The waterways aren’t safe as long as the Venifucus is stirring up evil creatures from the depths.”

  “But we’re over five thousand feet above sea level,” Dorian hopefully pointed out.

  “Doesn’t matter,” Jake insisted. “They have a lot of magic on their side—and not the good kind. Water is their domain for now. It has to be suspect.” He looked almost apologetically at the brother and sister seal shifters.

  “We’ll take the water,” Tom said. “It’s pretty obvious that’s why we were sent here.”

  “There’s a small lake and then there’s a stream leading from it that trickles down the mountain, making a semi-circle around the lower half of the stone circle,” Ben supplied helpfully.

  “I’ve got the lake,” Tom said at once, his gaze daring his sister to argue.

  “I’ll watch over the stream, then,” she agreed, though she clearly wasn’t happy about it, from the angry spark in her eyes.

  “And I’ll back them both up,” Beau volunteered. “I’ve been working with selkies a lot lately,” he explained. “And tigers love the water.” He seemed almost embarrassed by the attention, but he was sticking by what he’d said.

  “I will stand with you,” Geir said unexpectedly. “Two tigers are always better than one.” Geir winked, of all things, and Jake just had to shake his head at whatever silent messages were being sent and received between them.

  It wasn’t Jake’s place to nose into whatever the tigers and the selkies had going on, but it was pretty clear there was something strange happening there. Maybe Jacki was at the center of it? Jake wasn’t sure—and he wasn’t sure he even wanted to know.
r />   “So that squares away the tigers and seals,” Jake forged ahead. “Now the question is, what are we going to do with the rest of you?”

  He looked around the room and realized they were missing three very important pieces of the puzzle. Ben had brought in three more operatives who were somewhere on the mountain. They needed to be in on this. Jake nodded at Ben.

  “Where are your guys?” Jake asked his human friend.

  Ben didn’t speak, just nodded over Jake’s shoulder. Jake turned and was dumbfounded to find there were three more shifters in the room. They had to have come in the back door at some point, but Jake hadn’t heard them arrive. Nor, it seemed had Ria, who turned with him. He saw the way her eyes widened. Only Geir and the folks who had been facing the back of the room seemed unsurprised to find three more heavily armed soldiers in woodland camo ranged along the back wall of the cabin.

  One of the men moved forward, taking point. He stopped before Ria and bowed with a slight flair of the east to his movements. Jake started to realize who he was, but the man introduced himself to Ria, saving Jake the trouble.

  “It is my honor to greet the lady of the pantera noir,” the somewhat suave soldier stated. “I am Seth. Some call me The Golden Jackal.”

  Ria’s eyes widened and Jake realized the mercenary’s reputation had preceded him. Everyone in military circles—especially those in on the secret world of shifters—knew about The Golden Jackal. But exactly what they knew, varied greatly from person to person. Jake had always suspected that was something Seth encouraged.

  The Jackal, it was said, was originally from Turkey, but he spoke many languages and usually worked for the highest bidder. He was the leader of a band of mercenaries, which was the best that could be said for his ragtag group of heavily armed followers.

  The only thing that set The Jackal apart from others of his ilk, was that he was rumored to actually have a conscience. It was said that he would only take on causes that he believed were just—however he defined that term. If there was such a thing as honor among thieves, The Golden Jackal actually had some.