My heart was doing weird things. I’d never known my mom, but I’d seen her twice now when I’d been hurt, close to dying. And she did look like me. But she wasn’t a lion shifter, and neither was I, and my thoughts were all tangled in what I was learning.
The sound of water lapping against the shore caught my ears, a welcome distraction. I stared out between Balder’s ears and caught the glimmer of the Caspian Sea winking at us. “Thank you, both of you,” I said. “I don’t remember her so it’s nice to know her better.”
Shem reached over and patted my back. “She was strong and wise despite her years. And her gender.”
I whipped around to punch him, but he was already racing his horse away from us, laughing. Asshole.
I grinned and urged Balder after him. I was going to knock that smartass right out of the saddle.
What was family for if not for keeping you humble?
Chapter Five
The edge of the Caspian Sea whispered across the sand. The horses danced sideways, tipping their heads at the water as if it were a monster reaching for their hooves. I sat quiet on Balder’s back, letting him get used to the sound of the water. He actually liked to play in the waves, but it had been a long time since we’d been down this coastline and it was very different than the eastern side.
Shem let out a yelp as his horse gave a buck, the water scaring him most likely—very few horses were good with moving water right off the bat. A second buck and the horse sent Shem flying. He turned head over heels and landed on the wet sand on the back of his neck, legs in the air with a wet squelch. Lila screamed with laughter as she flew around us. “I thought cats were supposed to land on their feet! Oh, goddess, I could watch that a thousand times and not get tired of it!”
I laughed and reached for the reins of Shem’s horse, catching him before he could run back to the caravan. “I have to agree, that was a piss-poor landing.”
Shem groaned and rolled to his feet. “I’m an old man now, nothing works like it used to.” He knocked the worst of the sand off his clothing and took the reins from me. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Zamira, but do you think Ish is going to let you just slip past her without making at least a token effort to snag you?”
I twisted in my saddle so I could look up the coastline that led back to Ish and the Stockyards. I stared as if I could see her pacing in her room, as if I could sense her watching for me on the horizon. For a moment, it was real, and I locked eyes with her, but it was gone in a flash. My imagination acting up again. My heart twisted and I shook my head. “No, I don’t think she will. She thinks I’m weak, and she wants the stones more than she wants to protect me.”
Maks brought Batman beside me. “You sure about that?”
I looked at him and a slow frown curled my lips downward. “Yeah, pretty sure.”
Shem grunted. “I dreamed about her last night. She is not done with you.”
My jaw dropped and I fought to snap it shut.
Maks let out a snarl. “You didn’t think to mention this before we cut even this close to the bitch?”
‘This close’ was still a solid fifty miles south, and we were hidden by a number of hills, but still, I had to agree with Maks. I would have banked farther south if I’d known.
Shem shrugged. “Look, I only just remembered. Being a seer isn’t what I’d call an exact measure of life. It comes and goes, usually when it’s seemingly the least helpful.”
A hard wind snapped into my back and I slowly turned again to the north. A massive boil of pitch-black storm clouds crawled over the hills behind us as they formed a shape of a creature with clawed hands that dug into the soil to pull itself faster toward us, and an open, silently roaring mouth.
“Or like when you might be too late to give adequate warning?” I muttered. “Get on your damn horse, Shem. We’re about to make a run for it. Unless you think we should stand our ground against that?”
He scrambled onto his horse and Lila shot down to my arms. “Under my shirt, Lila. That wind will rip you away.”
She didn’t question me, just shoved herself down the front of my shirt and then peeked her head out. “Nice bra. Maks seen it yet?”
Maks barked a laugh and I couldn’t help but smile. “Not really the time, Lila.”
“Just saying,” she muttered as she settled herself.
The horses didn’t need any urging to get them going as the wind smashed into our backs like a fist, bringing with it sand and stones, and even good-sized sticks. Balder grunted as a stick smacked him in the shoulder. He flicked both ears back as if asking me “what the fuck was that for?”
“Not me!” I yelled over the wind as I leaned closer to his neck. The roar of the wind picked up speed as we galloped along the edge of the water. Waves that had been small and lapping moments before, now washed over the horses’ hooves. “Stay to the right, away from the water!” I yelled over the wind.
Maks and Batman stuck close to us as we urged the horses farther to the right, keeping them on solid ground.
Shem, on the other hand, either didn’t hear me or didn’t listen. Nope, the dummy went in the opposite direction, his horse’s legs splashing through the waves, deeper and deeper. The horse rolled his eyes and fought to get back to us. Shem gave a hard yank on the reins to the left and the horse had no choice but to follow.
The roar of the wind caught up around us, and in the cacophony, there was a voice lilting and booming at the same time, chanting words I didn’t know but which made my skin crawl. The words were rhythmic and they tugged at a part of me I didn’t understand. My eyes fluttered closed as the words called me home, as they whispered they would protect me. I only needed to let go. My hands trembled as I loosened my grip on the reins.
“Zamiraaaaaaa.” Ish called to me across the miles and I swayed.
Blink.
I stood in her chambers. She was naked in front of a round, coal-filled brazier, flames coursing along them, her skin glowing with sweat. Under the skin of her arms and belly glowed the jewels I’d returned to her over the years. I knew without asking that the last four were meant for her body too. She gripped the edge of the brazier. “Zamira, bring me the jewels you have now and all will be forgiven.”
I took a step. “Fuck off.”
Her body shuddered but she never looked up at me. I found myself leaning over her to peer into the flames of the brazier.
In the waters of the Caspian Sea, Balder floundered as I swayed on his back, my hands limp to my sides. Deeper in the water, Shem was under the same influence.
I knew a dream or a vision when I saw one.
“Ishtar!” I snapped her name, and her head lifted slowly until she was staring at me.
Her eyes flickered. “Do you think you’ve found your strength then in the blood you despise?”
The words made no sense, so I ignored her. “Why are you doing this? You were my mother once, my mentor, my friend!” The emotions I’d held back for so long rolled up. “Why?”
“You are mine, a child I could never have.” She shook her head and her hands tightened again, the brazier groaning under her grasp. “But you will bow to him. I see it in your future. And that cannot be. Give me my jewels.”
I took a step back. “You cursed Bryce to remain crippled.”
“It kept you close to me,” she whispered. “I thought for a long time he was the one, but he was not. His weakness broke him. Your weakness gave you strength.”
Her eyes were wild and the stones glowed brighter under her skin. I could name them all, I’d brought them all to her. Obsidian. Gold. Silver. Purple Quartz. Lapis. All gave her more power.
She let go of the brazier, stood and took a step toward me. Her face twisted suddenly, her lips in a rictus snarl.
“You will die. I will kill you myself. My hunters will take back the jewels.” She held a hand out and from the shadows behind her came a snarling laugh. My skin chilled as the beast stepped into the light, its body dark, speckled, the hind end lower than the front, the teeth chattering as it snickered.
Werehyenas. They made Steve look like a sweetheart. Ish hated them. How she could possibly use them . . . it showed me just how far she’d sunk.