Heart's Bandit (Shifting Crossroads Book 48) Read online

  She looked around for her lift and braced herself when she saw it. Eagle pickups were not her favourite.

  Karo climbed to the peak of the roof, and she looked at the extended claws directed at her. This was going to hurt.

  She felt ribs crack when the claws gripped her, and he flew her back to the transfer point with her body fighting for air.

  When she was set down, she shifted into her human form and glared at her partner. “You couldn’t have not crushed me?”

  He finished his shift to human and put his hands on his hips. “That is a double negative, Karo.”

  She stepped into the transport circle. “Being naked with you would be a lot more fun if you weren’t so grammatically accurate, Tol.”

  They stood back to back, and the transport brought them back to the shifter’s guild.

  Karo caught the robe that the transporter on duty threw at her. Some mages had problems with nudity.

  She wrapped it around her, tied the belt, and left the transport area to head up to the dispatch wing where she and Tol got their assignments. She heard him following her and smiled.

  “So, Karo, are we ever going to try dating again?”

  Karo looked at him and shook her head. “Once was enough. I play fast and loose with the English language, and you are a stickler for diction. It doesn’t work. We both irritate the hell out of each other in about an hour.”

  He linked his hand with hers. “Yes, but it is an exceptionally fun hour.”

  She snorted and leaned against him. “Right. It is a lot of fun. I like having you as a friend, but I think having you correct my grammar during sex would be a little off-putting.”

  He sighed. “As would finding you rummaging for a post-coital snack in the garbage.”

  She shoved him sideways, and they both laughed.

  The seal shifter was in the office and sobbing softly into a handkerchief. The seal wife was sitting with her mage husband. He had invited his superior over to their home, and the high mage had used the opportunity to take a piece of the seal shifter’s cast skin.

  “Here you are, one seal wife’s hide.” She opened the net at her neck and pulled out the roll of skin and fur.

  The wife grabbed at it with clawed fingers. The seal wife wasn’t technically a shifter, but with the new mix of shifters and fey, she counted as both.

  The husband produced the full seal skin with the cut-out, and the woman patched it together. Once the piece was in place, it sealed into the whole.

  The wife threw the skin around her, and the next moment, she was hopping around happily on her flippers.

  Her husband was crying, and the dispatcher was looking uncomfortable.

  Karo felt a nudge to her abdomen and looked down at the liquid dark eyes of the seal. “It was my pleasure, madam. I am glad we could help.”

  Her husband, the mage, spoke in a strangled tone. “I had no idea he was looking to steal power. He is one of the strongest mages of our age.”

  Tol snorted. “That kind are always looking for more power. He takes it where he can find it.”

  Karo nodded in agreement.

  The wife shifted back into human form with her seal skin draped over one arm. “I can’t thank you enough. We will be keeping this in a much safer place from now on.”

  Karo was relieved that the marriage would still be intact. This was the kind of thing that could make or break a union.

  She inclined her head. “I am glad it all worked out. Ticker, I am off.”

  Her dispatcher nodded and waved. There was paperwork to fill out, but Tol was better at it than she was. His spelling was immaculate.

  She bowed to everyone and headed for the locker rooms. It was time to get into her normal clothing and head home. She really just wanted to be home for a few days. No break-ins, no training, no mages out for blood, just plain old hard farm work.

  It would be bliss compared to her daily grind as an object extraction specialist. She was the best thief they had on the files, and she worked with mundane means. She was harder to track, and her fur was enchanted against tracking to begin with. Anything she left behind had no value to a mage aside from pointing the finger at a raccoon break-in.

  Milking goats was going to be sheer delight by comparison.

  Chapter Three

  Sitting on a lawn chair in the sun while carving dragons into the side of a gourd was miles away from her day job, but it was a very welcome occupation.

  Delia finished stocking the fridge and came over to admire her handiwork. “You have improved.”

  “Well, as your mom was fond of saying, it takes practice for improvement. I am all about improvement.”

  “Thanks for pitching in. Mom’s recovery from the surgery is slow enough without her having to man the stall every day.”

  Karo nodded. Aunt Laura’s gallbladder surgery had caused an infection, and she needed light duties to get herself back into shape. Karo was here to man the farm stall and do the weekly deliveries of the goat cheese. Delia was running the farm for the interim.

  Karo paused in her carving and gave her cousin a thumb’s up.

  “Are you on call for work at all?”

  “Only for massive emergencies.” She winked. “Like when there is trash stuck at the bottom of the bin.”

  Delia snorted. “Right. Call if you need a break or anything.”

  “I will. Go and check on the kids.”

  Delia grinned. “We have thirty-two this season. Mom is spending all of her time mixing milk supplements. She can do it without lifting more than ten pounds, so she should be fine.”

  “Right. Well, you leave me here and come back at ten, so I can do the deliveries.”

  “I will. See you soon, cuz.”

  Delia got back into her vehicle and headed back down the long trail to the farm.

  Karo returned to her carving and let the day flow past her.

  She was on her third day of manning the small shop when her phone rang.

  Karo paused in the middle of carving a wave onto a three-coloured gourd, and she answered it. “Yello.”

  “Is this Hunter Millican?” The voice was female, refined, and nervous.

  “Yes. You have caught me on my day off.”

  “I am aware of that. It is why I was given your number. There is a delicate matter that I need you to attend to.”

  Karo blinked, looked at the Privacy number on her phone, and replied. “I don’t take outside jobs.”

  “This isn’t a job, it is a matter of urgency.”

  “Contact the guild or your king. They will have better luck than just little old me.”

  The gasp shook the phone. “How did you know I am fey?”

  “It is in your voice.”

  The woman exhaled. “Please, I need your help. My family honour depends on it.”

  That struck Karo. “I can’t. I have my own family obligations to maintain here.”

  There was a quiet moment where neither of them spoke. The woman finally said, “What kind of obligations?”

  There was no reason not to tell her, so Karo explained, “I am doing deliveries and manning the farm booth for my aunt while she recovers from surgery.”

  “I understand. Thank you for being frank with me.”

  “No problem. Good luck finding someone else.”

  The line went quiet, the call was dead. Karo shrugged and put her phone back in her pocket.

  Three hours after the phone call, a collection of slick black vehicles wound their way up the lane and toward the booth. One by one, they parked, and Karo continued her carving as a minor court of fey began to gather around the limo that was the centrepiece of their collection.

  The woman that came out looked like she was crafted with light and air. Her ears were high and pointed, and her gown fluttered around her ankles as she walked.

  Six guards surrounded her as she made her way toward Karo, and Karo just kept carving. She was intrigued by the pickup truck that was last in the line of vehicles. It was a
very un-fey kind of truck.

  “Hunter Karolyn Millican?” The woman’s voice was rich, melodic, and the voice from earlier.

  “I am though I am off duty.”

  The woman looked around. “May I speak privately with you?”

  Karo flicked the knife, and it embedded itself between them. “Here is good. You can get your escort to back off a few feet for the privacy.”

  The woman frowned but then held up one slender and pale hand. The guards backed off and stood fifteen feet away.

  The woman looked around, and Karo rose to her feet. “Congratulations. They didn’t flinch when I flipped the knife.”

  “They know you are a hunter and that you would not injure me.”

  Karo nodded. “Nice theory. Now, whom am I addressing?”

  “I am... fey nobility. Lady Mathoway will be a sufficient form address.”

  Karo nodded again. “Fine, Lady, I have told you that this was not what I was going to do with the rest of my day.”

  The elf nodded. “You have expressed it, but I have created a compromise. I have brought one of my retinue, who is familiar with farming, to assist in your duties while you work on retrieving the subject of the quest.”

  Karo grinned. “A quest? That is an improvement on assignment. I need to tell dispatch to change their job descriptions.”

  “That is of no consequence. I need you to get something very valuable to my family and myself.”

  Karo went to the back and brought out two wooden stools. She sat on one and gestured for the lady to take the other. “What is it?”

  “I cannot tell you unless you agree to take on the quest. I assure you that my man is more than capable of taking on this stand.”

  “Fine. I have to call my cousin Delia, and she can quiz him. If she approves, I will agree to your quest.”

  Karo pulled out her phone and called Delia. She outlined the situation in broad strokes. They waited for a few minutes, and the blue truck rumbled up the road from the farm.

  Delia stopped the truck, and it was still rocking when she got out. “What the hell, Karo?”

  “Thanks for coming, Delia. This lady would like me to take on a quest, but I have explained that I am duty bound to this stand and deliveries.”

  A very drawled out, “Right,” came from her cousin.

  “Well, if you are willing to quiz and train him, she is offering you a staff member to fill in for me until I have completed the quest. It is up to you.”

  Karo watched as Delia looked at the line of fey with a raised brow. “One of them?”

  The lady called out, “Wesku, please, come forward and answer the lady’s questions.”

  A man with dark purple hair stepped forward, his body was clad in black, and he looked like he would be more likely to tear goats apart with his bare hands than tend them.

  Delia didn’t blink, she walked up to him and peppered him with questions, testing his knowledge of goat milk, honey, and the monetary value of the carved gourd birdhouses that Karo had made.

  Whatever Wesku was at present, he knew his farm necessities. Delia nodded her agreement, and Karo turned back to the lady.

  “I believe we have a deal; now, what the hell am I looking for?”

  Some of the guards didn’t care for her tone, and one stepped forward.

  The lady took her hand and pulled her out of the stand and around back. “I need you to find a lion.”

  “Shifter?”

  “Not precisely, though if you are caught, you must claim to be searching for one.” She drew in a deep breath. “My brother has a lion form and was studying with a series of shifters. He was caught in a sweep while his companions managed to get away. My sources tell me that he is wearing one of those collars that keep you from shifting, and he is stuck in a menagerie.”

  Karo pinched the bridge of her nose. “Which collector?”

  “Elf-mage Ter—”

  “Terron Wilks. Wonderful. He hates my guts, or he would if he knew who I was.”

  The lady grinned. “Yes, precisely! You have been in and out of his stronghold three times. You are the only one I could trust with this. My brother needs to be released, and it needs to be quiet. He has a chance at an engagement in the court, and the ball is coming up in a few days.”

  “So, there is a time crunch.” Karo sighed.

  “I can offer you a living web if you would accept it. It can mimic your clothing and become invisible when you are in your animal form.”

  Karo smiled. “I used one once. It was very handy. Sure, I will take it if you are offering it.”

  Lady Mathoway peeled off the outer layer of her gown and handed it to Karo. “Here you go. What else do you need?”

  “I need a transport to get me near the stronghold.”

  “Easy.”

  “Good; then, give me ten minutes to get my equipment and get set up, and I will meet you back here.”

  “Thank you. Wait, you will travel during daylight?”

  “Of course. He cycles his wards to be stronger at night. Daylight is my best bet.” Karo smiled. “I will be right back.”

  She walked around the stand and whistled. “Delia, taking the truck; back in ten!”

  She hopped into the truck and headed back, looking in surprise at the gauze around her right hand. It moved and shifted, creeping up her arm. She ignored it and went into the house, getting her picks, her charms, and the glyphs that she could press into her skin. She was going to need every bit of magic to get out of there. Getting in was all dexterity.

  She stripped and tugged at the webbing, letting it cover her. Given free access to her body, it moved around her quickly, hugging her before settling into the same lines as her tank top and shorts. It sent a membrane down her thighs and concealed the glyphs.

  Having used the webbing before, she asked her clothing if it could hold her picks. It created a pocket under the edge of her cleavage. She slid the picks into the pocket and checked her personal arsenal for anything she had missed. Nope. She was either wearing it or had stamped it onto her skin. She was ready to go looking for a lion in a fortress.

  She got back in the car and returned to the edge of the property where Delia was holding a sampling day for their guests.

  Karo grinned at the spectacle of half a dozen elves gathered around the small wooden table with their brows rising high at the taste of honey and goat cheese in the same mouthful.

  Karo parked and left the keys in the truck. She got out and got the lady’s attention. “Ready.”

  Lady Mathoway looked to one of her companions. “Urat, please, send our knight on her mission.”

  Urat looked longingly at the table of sweets and savouries, and he reluctantly walked around to Karo. “Where would you like the transfer?”

  She walked around behind the stall again, and she said, “From here to the stronghold of Terron.”

  He nodded, and then, he lunged forward, wrapped his arms around her, and held her close while magic rippled up from the ground.

  He released her in the forest, and he nodded toward the north. “The stronghold is just on the other side of the woods. If you touch this tree here, I will retrieve you and his Lordship in a moment.” His palm print left a gleam of energy on the tree.

  “Right. Okay. Thanks.”

  She turned her back to him and looked at the trees. A quick shift and she was up where she was comfortable. She was off the ground and climbing from branch to branch, getting herself as close to the stronghold as she could. Urat, the transport elf, was nowhere to be seen.

  When she had gotten within fifteen feet of the roof, she made sure that her tree limb could bear her, and then, she did her trick. Karo shifted into human form, which bent the limb, and then went rapidly back to raccoon, and the tree flicked her up and over the edge of the stone wall.

  The urge to scream in midair was always strong, but that would be a deadly ending to her adventures. It was better to wait and hold onto her self-control. She could shriek later.

&n
bsp; She tumbled across the roof and controlled her roll until she came to a halt. Bruises were part of the job, but her furry body was nicely padded for just such impacts. Damage was usually minimal.

  Karo rolled to her feet and oriented herself. She was over the kitchens, and now, she just had to find an air intake to thud down. Breaking into mages’ homes was not what she had in mind when she started training, but now, it seemed to be all that she did. Funny how career goals could mislead you into trouble. She should have been paying more attention on career day.

  Chapter Four

  After second and third thoughts, she waddled in the shadows toward the scent of animals. There was no outer gallery, but there was ventilation, and that is what she used to slide into the house of one extreme asshat.

  Karo examined the closures on the vent cap and pulled a hex key out of her collection. She used human strength for the moves and worked out all eight of the bolts. Lifting the massive peaked roof was difficult, but sliding herself into the hole and lowering the metal flashing back in place was nerve-wracking.

  Karo didn’t like doing the splits inside the casing, but there was only one way to get down, and that was to creep down, tail first.

  Working down the metal airshaft was difficult, but it was part of the job.

  The scent of angry animals was exceptionally clear to her senses. Damn. I thought they had cut back on stealing shifters.

  The vents were not near the cages, so that was something clever that the mage had engaged in. Normally, when she broke into a mage stronghold, it was a lot easier to get to her targets. Arrogance made her job fairly easy, it really sucked when her target mages got cautious.

  Looking through the mesh of the grating, she couldn’t see the lion she was looking for, but she did see several other beasts with collars on. Fuck.

  She was alone, and the mage wasn’t going to be happy to find her if he did, so she was in no position to mount a rescue.

  Karo held herself still and focused, pulling the web up around her neck to mimic the bladed collars that the captured shifters were wearing.