Bayou Shadow Hunter

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“Nah-loosa?” she asked, testing the unfamiliar word.

“Nalusa Falaya—it means ‘long black being’ in Choctaw. He’s a spirit that resembles a man, but he can shape-shift into different forms.”

Annie drew a circle in the dirt with the toe of her sneaker. Root working—the conjure magick of her grandma—was one thing...but this? It sounded like an old Native American tale invented to keep children close to camp and away from the dark unknown.

“You don’t believe me.” Tombi picked up a large stick on the ground by their feet and flung it violently. It hit a tall oak and splintered with a crack as loud as gunfire.

Annie sidled away from the heat of his anger, not wanting to be singed by his sudden wrath. “I really should head back home,” she offered in a small voice.

“It’s real,” Tombi said harshly. “Nalusa exists. And he can change into snake form. And I believe that wasn’t any ordinary snake that killed Bo. It was Nalusa.”

“So, now you’re out here trying to hunt this Nalusa down. For revenge.” She backed away slowly, not wanting to set him off again. “Got it.”

Tombi also stood. “Not just me. There’s a whole tribe of us.”

More people who shared his delusion? She glanced around uneasily, hoping she wasn’t about to be ambushed by a group of demented, make-believe warriors.

“I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true. C’mon, you saw the will-o’-the-wisps last night with your own eyes. Remember?”

Annie rubbed her arms. He certainly had her there. “Okay,” she reluctantly conceded. “I admit there are things I know nothing of. I’d rather keep it that way, too.”

His brow furrowed. “Whether you ignore Nalusa or not, he still exists.”

“Yeah, well, I’d rather not make his acquaintance. I have enough problems as it is.”

Alarm flickered in his dark eyes. “But Bo spoke to you. You have to help us.”

Annie shrugged and took a step backward. The last thing she needed was to get caught up in his personal crusade for revenge. “Come, see my grandma one day. She’ll do a protection spell if you like.” She plastered on a smile and waved. “Nice seeing you. Thanks again for helping me find my way home last night.”

Two steps and her shoulders tensed at the heavy pressure of his palms bearing down, barring an easy exit. Damn. He wasn’t going to make retreat easy. Tombi guided her back around to face him.

“We need you, Annie.” He swallowed. “Please.”

She could tell the plea wasn’t easy for Tombi. Pride and dignity announced their presence in the strong jaw and stiff posture.

“But I doubt I’ll ever hear Bo again,” she protested. “I have no plans to be lured back into the woods by the wisps.”

“The wisps are controlled by Nalusa. But as long as you’re with me, I’ll protect you. I promise.”

His words were deep and solemn. No doubt he would do his best to protect those on his side.

“I believe you.”

“Good. Then come with me and—”

She shook her head and backed away. This wasn’t her battle. “No. Sorry. I don’t want to get involved.”

Tombi glared at her, and his full lips compressed to a tight line. Evidently, he was a man used to getting his own way.

Too bad.

* * *

Stubborn woman.

Tombi took a deep breath to calm his temper. Somehow, he had to convince this slip of a girl to help him. Maybe... His gaze dropped to her lips. Those lips that had unexpectedly kissed him last night. Annie felt the attraction between them. He could use that to his advantage. Tombi slid his palms down her arms and urged her forward. So close their bodies almost touched.

Her brown eyes widened and darkened into black pools of desire. She raised her hands and placed them against his chest. Yes, this might be so easy. So pleasurable.

Later, he couldn’t say who moved first. All he knew was that their lips met and their hands explored one another. Her fingers traced the bulge of his biceps, then kneaded the muscles along his spine.

Tombi stroked the thin shoulder blades on her back, ran his calloused fingers through her soft curls. She was so petite, so delicate. Fragile enough he wondered if it might hurt her should he release his full passion.

A tiny, whimpering moan cut through his reservations. She wanted him. Tombi lowered his hands until they cupped her ass. That cute ass that he’d watched walk away last night and that he’d pictured ever since. He squeezed, letting Annie feel his desire press against her core.

She moaned again. Or was that him this time? It didn’t matter.

“Stop.” Annie stepped out of his embrace and hugged her belly. “Sorry. It’s just...this is too fast. I barely know you.”

He stared at her, willing his heartbeat to slow and his brain to catch up to her words. “It’s okay,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “I understand.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, turning and making her way down the path.

Tombi shook his head to clear it. He was supposed to use their attraction to convince her to work with him. Somehow, he’d lost control, and Annie was slipping away from him once more. He couldn’t let that happen. He—rather, his people—needed her skill in communicating with the shilup, the human spirits that wandered the land of the ghosts. Bo’s spirit had been captured by the wisps, and remembering the plight of his trapped friend cooled his fever.

“Wait,” he called to Annie’s retreating figure.

She turned and gazed at him expectantly.

What could he offer her? This was his fight. Not hers. She was right to not get involved. Yet, Nalusa grew stronger every day, and they were desperate to stop his spread of power in Bayou La Siryna. Just last week, Nalusa had gone farther away from the swamp and invaded the heart and mind of one of his hunters while he was asleep in his own bed. Marcus had even entertained thoughts of suicide but wisely had called Tombi for help, recognizing that Nalusa was at the root of his despair.

Tombi scrambled to recall the bits and pieces of conversation with Annie, searching for an angle. He remembered her troubled face as she mentioned hearing other people’s auras.

“What if I could help you?”

Her lips twisted with suspicion. “Help me with what?”

He approached Annie, confident of victory. “You want to control your sense of hearing. Correct?”

Her body and eyes lit up. “Really? You can help with that?”

“Really. You told me how surprised you were when we first met because you couldn’t detect any sound from my aura.”

“I remember.”

“That’s because I control my energy field most of the time. I can teach you to do the same.”

“And that will help me block unwanted sound?”

He had no idea. But it seemed logical. “Absolutely,” he said with conviction.

“And if I help you, you promise to protect me?”

“I do.”

Annie looked down to the ground, and Tombi held his breath, awaiting her answer.

“I’m in,” she said in a rush.

Chapter 3 (#ulink_c7aaec96-5255-564a-81fe-0f9ccc91e850)

What had she gotten herself into? She wanted a normal life, but what good was that if she was killed in the process? But she had to try. She had to trust that Tombi would protect her.

Grandma Tia had been no help, and no matter how many spells and strips of paper she burned under the full moon, nothing changed. If anything, her hearing grew stronger, more disruptive.

Tombi nodded. “Great. We begin now.”

Hope bubbled through her like uncorked champagne on New Year’s Eve. She was about to start a new life. Do all those things she’d longed to do: get a real job, be around people and relate normally. Simple acts most people took for granted.

He turned and beckoned her to follow.

“Where are we going?” she asked happily. No waiting for the full moon this time. Hope had arisen right here in the midafternoon sunshine. “Is there a special place for a spell? Like an energy vortex or something?” She hurried along the path.

He shot an incredulous look over his shoulder. “What are you babbling about?”

“I’m curious how you’re going to do this. I think Grandma Tia never helped me because she didn’t know how, though she would never admit it.”

“We aren’t casting any spells.”

“Are you taking me to a special healer, then? Like a shaman?”

He sighed loudly and planted his feet so abruptly she plowed into his back.

He turned and steadied her. “We’re going to my camp, so you can meet the other hunters. I want to know who that betrayer is. If there is one.”

Annie’s eyes narrowed. “So, you won’t help me until I help you first.”

“That’s right.”

Worry quickly overcame her frustration. “But what if I can’t pick up anything from them?”

“You will,” he said confidently. “I’m the best in the group at controlling my energy, yet you picked up the drumming.”

“But it was only a drumming sound. Nothing good or bad about it,” she protested.

“True, but it picked up something of my nature. A primitive beat passed down through my ancestry.”

“Don’t get your hopes up,” she muttered, picking her way carefully through the prickly saw palmettos and dense underbrush. Tombi kept a slower pace today, albeit still a brisk one. “Tell me about these other hunters.”

The more she knew going in, the less nervous she would be. Annie hated meeting new people, especially in a group situation where each aura would jumble with the others into a confusing din.

“We’re down to four in the inner circle since Bo died. Me, Chulah, Hanan and my sister, Tallulah.”

“So, what is it you actually do? How do you fight Nalusa and his shadow spirits?”

Tombi didn’t answer right away. “It’s something you would have to see and be a part of to really understand.”

Meaning he didn’t want to say any more on the subject. Great. Fine by her. The less she knew, the fewer nightmares she’d dream. She’d help him find the betrayer, and he’d help her control hearing auras. Then she could have the normal life she craved, and he could...maybe win his battle. Get revenge for his friend’s death. They could both move on.

They continued until the path widened, and she spotted over two dozen tents pitched in a field. They were arranged in a circle, and in the middle of it all was a thin stream of smoke that wafted upward from a modest fire. The acrid smell of burning oak stirred her with a sense of home and cozy evenings warming by the fireplace.

“You all must be great friends,” she said, picturing them telling stories in the evening by campfire, sharing a bond of fighting evil. They were all part of something bigger than themselves. For a moment, it made her own dream seem small and selfish.

And he wanted her to come into this...this tight group of friends and point the finger at one of them? Annie rubbed the unexpected chill on her arms. She wasn’t sure what she feared most: being unable to recognize the betrayer, or singling out someone and facing their collective wrath.

Nobody would thank her for disrupting their alliance, that was for sure. She peeked at Tombi’s stern profile, took in his long, slightly hooked nose, pronounced jaws and cheekbones, and heavy brows. What was his role in this band of hunters?

“Your name’s unusual. What does it mean?” she asked abruptly, hoping to learn more about him.

“Ray of light.”

Annie snorted, and he raised a brow. “What?”

She couldn’t help but giggle. “You’re no ray of sunshine.”

He stared at her blankly before a rusty rumble of laughter escaped his mouth, as if it had been years since one last escaped. “At one time, my people worshiped the sun, so to be named after its ray is a great honor.”

“What about your friend Bo? Is that a good ole Southern name as in B-e-a-u, short for Beauregard?”

“No. It’s B-o, short for Bohpoli. That’s Choctaw for ‘thrower.’”

Would she ever hear Bo again? She shivered, remembering his plaintive pleas for help.

Although their movements were quiet and their voices low, they had attracted attention. A woman and three men solemnly filed out of the tent circle and stood in the center, awaiting their approach with unsmiling faces.

Holy hoodoo, this was going to be even tougher than she imagined.

Annie tugged the back of Tombi’s T-shirt, and he frowned down at her. “What?”

“Have you told them anything about me?”

“We tell each other everything.”

She groaned. “Terrific. Bet they can’t wait to meet me. I wish you hadn’t told them.”

“There should be no secrets among my hunters. No doubts or suspicions about the man—or woman—you have to depend on for your life.”

Her shoulders slumped. She couldn’t argue with his logic, although she resented the situation he’d put her in. They walked onward several minutes, not speaking.