Jacob's Ladder (String of Fate) Read online

  He tried to keep tabs on what Ria was up to, but Edvard kept assuring him that she was all right. According to him, she was making preparations for the new moon ceremony—whatever that was. Jake had an inkling, of course. He knew—in principle—what the Nyx did on the nights surrounding the new moon. He just didn’t know what sort of preparation was necessary or exactly how the event would unfold.

  Edvard and the rather surprising squad of ex-Navy SEALs who were also selkies, kept Jake busy all day. They made plans and contingency plans. Jake was gratified to find that he wasn’t on his own in protecting Ria. The selkies and lion shifters that made up the crew were volunteering to help him make sure she made it back to her Guard safely. And from the way they were talking, they would be around for some time after as well.

  Jake was relieved. He knew that things were coming to a head for Ria and him. The future wasn’t always crystal clear in his visions, but he knew they were going to need help sooner rather than later. He figured it would be up to him to call in a few old favors from his former comrades-in-arms, but this was even better.

  These shifters knew the true value of what and who they were protecting. Kinkaid’s people were all familiar with shifter monarchy and the importance of protecting their leaders. Many shifter communities around the world had suffered losses in the recent battles and they were doubly dedicated to preventing more death and disorder among their numbers. They were united in defiance of the Venifucus threat. The variations between species and Clans didn’t make such a big difference anymore—not since the ancient evil had begun to rear its ugly head again.

  By mid-afternoon, they had created a plan—and multiple contingency plans, should Plan A not work out as hoped—to regroup with Ria’s Royal Guard in a mountainous region of North Carolina. They would dock the yacht as close as possible, then take an overland route to the area they had chosen. As it turned out, the spot they had decided on was the home territory of a group of werefoxes.

  Ben and Ria’s people had scouted out the Alpha of the group when they had arrived in the area, seeking his permission to stay and aid for their wounded. They hadn’t meant to step on any toes, but it was hard to move in a sparsely populated mountainous area without running into one group of shifters or another. Pretty much wherever they ended up in the mountains, they would have to deal with the locals.

  Foxes were cunning, but not quite as combative as say…lion shifters. Foxes knew when to cut and run. They also knew when to take a stand. Edvard had appealed directly to the Fox Alpha by phone earlier in the day, giving him a warning about what was coming in his direction, and a promise of alliance with the Kinkaid Clan if the foxes decided to help. Such a thing was not to be turned down lightly. The Kinkaids had immense power and wealth. Lions weren’t called the king of the jungle for nothing. And the fact that Kinkaids had not only lions, but a significant number of extra-magical seal shifters under their banner made them a force to be reckoned with.

  The Fox Alpha—a man named Georgio, who had young children to look out for—wisely decided to evacuate the non-combatants from the area. They, like most shifters, had a pre-arranged bolt-hole ready to go. It was a place they could evac to where the weaker members of their Clan could hide out under the protection of the warriors.

  A squad of the fox Clan’s best warrior-scouts would remain, to aid in any action that might arise. After all, they knew their territory better than anyone. Foxes, though not numerous, were strong allies of the Lords and all those who served the Light, the Alpha promised, and his people would live up to their alliances.

  Jake was satisfied with the plan. He knew the showdown was going to happen in the woods. There was no more avoiding it. The situation had to come to a head and he knew it was better to guide events to a time and place where he could prepare to defend Ria as well as possible. They had allies he hadn’t even contemplated before today, and a good shot at defeating the evil that was coming for his mate.

  Mate. Now that was a new concept, but one he happily embraced. He had loved Ria from afar for far too long. Being with her was like every good dream he’d ever had, coming true all at once. He hadn’t been able to express himself to her very well up ‘til now. He was still coming to terms with the somewhat overwhelming enormity of what being with her in reality—instead of just in his visions—was really like.

  He’d had to keep himself from daydreaming several times during the planning session. The other men didn’t seem to mind, though he thought he intercepted a few pointed looks and veiled amusement from some of the older guys.

  He couldn’t have asked for a better group to help him defend his mate. Each and every one of these guys was a battle-hardened warrior. Most had multiple tours as combat-zone Special Operators. And they were all shifters. They had the cunning and instinct of their animal side combined with the intellect and experience of the human. It was a deadly combination. Deadly for their enemies, Jake prayed.

  Ria was in true danger here and he wasn’t able to see the outcome of the coming confrontation. His gift worked like that sometimes. It showed him the lead-up, and sometimes several different possible outcomes, but very often, it didn’t show him the outcome of a single, key event that was crucial to the possible futures. It was a hinge point. A nexus.

  Tomorrow would decide not only Ria and his fate, but the fate of millions of shifters all over the world. He only hoped he’d been convincing enough to the allied warriors gathered all around. He thought they understood the importance of what they were going to do in those mountains, but he was never really able to express the true depth of his visions in plain language. It was something you had to see and feel to really understand. Words just couldn’t capture the true nature of his vision.

  As they wrapped up the meeting, Edvard slapped Jake on the back and steered him toward a deck he hadn’t yet explored. He had wanted to go back to the cabin to see if Ria was there and to freshen up a bit, but Edvard wasn’t letting him get away that easily.

  When he cleared the last stair and saw what waited up on one of the observation decks, he understood why Ed was so insistent. The crew had set up a party. A buffet groaned under the weight of platters of food. Decorations had been found somewhere and put up. Colorful streamers gave the deck a festive air. And Ria was already there, standing by the bar, surrounded by women.

  But the crowd was quiet, watching him with eager smiles on their faces. They parted to let him through as he walked directly to Ria. He stopped in front of her, aware of the curious onlookers only in a peripheral way. Ria was all he saw, really. Her smile filled his world.

  Jake went to one knee before her, taking her hand in his. By that simple gesture, he declared his loyalty, his allegiance, and his love. There was no need for words. Ria’s eyes filled with tears, but they were happy ones. She reached down to kiss him and he stood, taking her into his arms and returning the kiss with all the depth of emotion pent up inside him.

  Wolf whistles finally penetrated his hearing as the shifters all around them whooped and applauded. This was a party and the shifters were ready to celebrate.

  Jake pulled back, looking down into Ria’s upturned face. “The party is for us?” he asked, just to be certain.

  “Yeah. An impromptu mating celebration, since they knew we wouldn’t have a chance to celebrate with my Clan for some time yet.” Unspoken between them was the added if ever.

  Everyone knew they were up against something grave here and might not make it out alive. This party then, was to celebrate a mating while they still could. Tomorrow might never come, but today, by the Goddess, they would party.

  Chapter Six

  The spur of the moment party touched Ria deeply. Her life had seldom included such commonplace things as a simple mating party. Most shifters loved to party, but Ria had lived most of her life on the run, never being able to settle in one place for too long. The nature of the duties she had assumed when she took over as Nyx from her mother demanded that she give up a normal life. She was at the me
rcy of what she was. Who she was, underneath it all, didn’t really seem to matter…except maybe to Jake.

  Since meeting him, she finally understood what mating was all about. Having just one person in the entire world who was devoted to you, and you alone. It was a heady feeling. And even though she had the occasional doubt about his ability to form a true mate bond because he was human, most of the time she thought they were both on the same page. Both devoted and loyal.

  It didn’t matter to him that she was a queen of her people. It didn’t matter to her that he was a seer. All that mattered when they were together was each other. As it should be between mates.

  “Normally, this kind of party would go on all night long, you know,” she told her mate as they danced to a slow tune someone had put on.

  There were speakers placed discretely around the deck, and a superior sound system. They had music, the fresh air of the early evening breeze, good food and even better company. Who could ask for more from a celebration of their mated happiness?

  “I’ll count on an all-nighter when we finally get to have our mating celebration among your Clan,” he replied, nuzzling her neck. She loved it when he did that, but he drew back, his eyes narrowed in question. “But I suspect you have other plans for this evening—or at least part of it.”

  “Yeah. About that.” She sighed, knowing she couldn’t put off her explanation any longer. “You know about what I do, right? I mean, you’ve seen something in your visions that shows you the gift and burden of being the Nyx, haven’t you?”

  “You speak for those on the other side of the veil,” he answered in all seriousness, his voice a low tone that only she could hear. She answered in kind, though the shifters around them were giving them as much privacy as they could on the wide deck. The soft whisper of the evening breeze was enough to keep her words from falling on ears other than her mate’s.

  “I do. There’s a ceremony centered around it all, but at the heart of the thing is the object everyone is after.” She didn’t want to name it. It was second-nature to her to obscure the fact of the amulet’s existence. It was the greatest secret of the Nyx. “I use it to communicate with the other side, but only on the days surrounding the new moon, for a few hours each night for three nights. During that time, any shifter is entitled to try to speak with those who have passed beyond our realm. It’s my duty to try to intercede for any who asks.”

  “This time, Ria…” he pulled back to look down into her eyes. His expression was solemn. “This time, you had better start seeking some answers yourself. Time is running out. You need to know if there’s anything those on the other side can tell you that will help in your defense. Don’t ignore them again. Talk to them first, this time. Promise me.”

  She took a deep breath and let it out, finally having to face her fears. “Okay. But I want you nearby. I’ve been afraid to listen to what they had to say. I was afraid they were warning me that I was going to be joining them soon. I didn’t see how I could keep running the way I was for much longer. I thought my time was up on this mortal plane.”

  “Nope.” His expression softened as he drew her closer, still softly swaying to the music. “Everything’s different now. I’m with you. We are one. Where you go, I go, forevermore.”

  “You almost sound like a shifter,” she teased him. “Have you been studying up?”

  “Actually, yeah. For a very long time.” His tone grew serious. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me and my past. A lot of it you’ll find out along the way and I look forward to discovering each new facet of you over time, but one thing you need to understand right now is that I can protect you. I’ve trained as hard as any of your Guard. And I’ve sought teaching from places your Guard would never think to go. I wasn’t kidding about meeting Sam at the snowcat enclave. I spent a lot of time in Tibet, working with the mystics there—both shifter and human. The human monks helped with my gift. The snowcats taught me…well…a lot of other useful things. Things that have prepared me for this task. For our lives together, Ria.” He was so serious, she nearly stopped moving, but he made sure to talk so quietly that it felt like they were alone in the crowd and only she could hear him.

  “You’ve spent a lot of time preparing, it sounds like,” she commented.

  “Preparing for this, Ria. For you. For us,” he agreed. “When push comes to shove—and it will sooner than we want—you need to know you can count on me. Don’t count me out just because I’m human. You’ve only seen a small portion of what I can do.”

  She smiled as he did. That last bit could be taken many ways and she chose to lighten the mood. They had been serious too long. This was a party, after all.

  “Sounds intriguing.” She gave him a mischievous smile and batted her eyes. He allowed the change in the tenor of their conversation as the music picked up and they parted.

  Edvard claimed her as dance partner while Jake ended up dancing with Jacki Kinkaid. Everyone looked like they were having a good time and laughter abounded. This was one of the nicest surprises anyone had ever given her and Ria would treasure it—and these generous people—always.

  A few hours later, when the dark moon was making its trek toward zenith, Jake sat near Ria on a small deck near the very top of the massive ship, watching her make her preparations for the ceremony during which she would commune with the other side. She had pulled him aside about fifteen minutes before, drawing him away from the party, which was still going on somewhere below them, though from the sound of it, things were beginning to wind down as the night deepened.

  “It won’t be long now,” Ria said, straightening the cloth in front of her. “I can feel the moon shifting into position.”

  Ria was sitting under the dark of the moon, on the deck, her legs folded gracefully under her in an almost meditative position. To her right was a chilled bottle of water. To her left was a snowy white cloth napkin. In front of her was an ornamental bowl with water in it that reflected the moonlight.

  Since the yacht was underway, the bowl wasn’t exactly full. The water sloshed a little when they encountered a rough patch of ocean, but the sea was mostly calm, thankfully.

  “I don’t really need any of this,” Ria said softly, so that only Jake could hear. “It’s all for show, really, but having some kind of ceremony seems to comfort people. It makes it more special for them, I think.” She uncapped the bottle of water and took a sip before placing it back at her side. “They’ll be arriving shortly.”

  “Remember sweetheart, you are going to seek your own answers first this time,” he reminded her. He saw the fear in her eyes. Heard it in her nervous chatter.

  “Yeah, I know. That’s why I left a little early. I’ll do it, but…” She reached out to him, taking his hand in hers. “Just stay with me, okay.”

  “I’m with you.” He replied in a steady, low voice. “I won’t leave you.”

  She reached for the chain around her neck, pulling it from under her shirt. Hanging from the chain was a small, diamond-shaped pendant that gleamed dully in the darkness.

  “This is what all the fuss is about. And you are the first human in centuries to even see this amulet. I wanted you to know, so you would understand what we are guarding. If this falls into the wrong hands, it’s conceivable that it could be used to breach the veil between worlds, though I suppose it would probably burn out the amulet in the process. It wasn’t designed to open physical gateways, merely to allow communication on occasion.”

  “I’m honored you would share the secret with me,” Jake replied in as serious a tone as she had used. This was a big step for her, he realized.

  “They’re gathering,” she whispered, her focus on something beyond him.

  Jake looked over his shoulder, assuming she was talking about the shifters on the vessel, but there was no one on the deck or anywhere around that he could see. That’s when he realized what she had meant. He turned back to her and watched as her eyes lost their focus completely and her head dropped forward for a lon
g moment.

  He wanted to check on her, but he also didn’t want to disrupt anything that might be happening on the spiritual plane. That was as good a term as any that he could think of for the plane on which she was somehow communicating with those spirits who had passed to the other side.

  He watched her for long, long moments, aware of the sounds of the party below fading into nothingness as the crowd dispersed. Jake had the sense that many of the shapeshifters who had helped them celebrate their mating were now waiting—just out of sight below this highest of the ship’s decks—for some sign that they should approach. Jake wouldn’t give that sign, or allow anyone to interfere, until Ria gave him the go-ahead. This time was for her. She needed to talk to those who waited beyond the veil to speak with her.

  For too long, she had ignored those who had come to deliver warnings and impart knowledge. Now was her time to use the hereditary power of the Nyx to learn how to save the world from truly terrible evil.

  Jake watched over her silent communication. Her eyes took on a ghostly light that made them glow slightly in the dark night. The stars shone down brightly, though the moon kept a dark vigil over them all.

  After more than a half hour, Ria nodded and came back to herself, her gaze seeking Jake’s. He could see that she was still distracted by whatever she saw or heard on the other plane, but she also saw him. He knew it from the slight smile on her lips as she met his gaze.

  “I understand,” she whispered, looking at him, but clearly talking to someone else. Then her vision cleared a little more, the glow fading slightly from her eyes as she saw him fully. “I’m ready for the others now. Let them come up. There are many on the other side who wish to speak.”

  Her eyes went hazy again as Jake lifted one hand, signaling those who had gathered by the stairs to come up. Silently, the shifters moved closer, forming a semi-circle around Ria and Jake, each taking a seat on the floor of the deck, watching her intently. Jake rearranged himself to sit at Ria’s side, slightly forward. He would be able to leap between her and any physical attack, though he sensed no ill intent coming from the gathered shifters. On the contrary, there was a feeling of excitement and anticipation in the air.