Hunted by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #3)(23)

Opening my eyes, I surveyed my spellbound audience, and couldn’t help but chuff in amusement at their wide-eyed stares. Wanting to milk it a little more, I stretched my long body, padding at the reddish dirt beneath my paws and allowing them to see my claws. Affecting lethargy, I gave them a wide yawn, exposing my long fangs, and they gasped.

“Fearsome,” the stockier Coazi said, his dark eyes shining. “The legends we hear…they are true. But man-beasts are no longer slaves of the evil mages?”

“No, we are not,” Fenris said, a little sharply. I slanted my gaze to him, wondering about the defensive tone in his voice. Maybe it was on behalf of Iannis, who wasn’t there to defend the mages. “Shifters have not been bound by slavery for at least five hundred years.”

“But mages and man-beasts not equal, no?” the Coazi male pressed.

Fenris opened his mouth, but he paused as the white light washed over me, and everyone else turned my way to watch as I changed back. A few moments later, I once again stood on the knoll in human form, my arms crossed beneath my breasts as I narrowed my gaze at the persistent Coazi.

“What’s with all these questions?” I asked. “Are you really so interested in the welfare of shifters?”

“Shifters,” the shorter male repeated, testing the word on his tongue.

“Not concerned with…welfare…but your interest in missing white man,” the taller Coazi said. His dark eyes gleamed with something like mischief as he regarded me. “We know mages can fly in these machines, and the machine had mage…symbol painted on outside. Why is a man-beast trying to rescue evil mage?”

“Huh.” I raised my eyebrows in surprise, starting to see the line of logic the Coazi male was following. Despite their strange looks and clothing and the heavy accent, they were quite intelligent. Much more than I had given them credit for, which made me feel guilty. Really, if I looked down on a group of people just because they were of another race and culture, was I any better than the mages who looked down on us shifters for similar reasons?

“So you want to know why a bunch of shifters and a human are out here looking for a mage?”

“Yes.” The two men nodded, seeming pleased that I was finally understanding them.

“Well these two here happen to be friends of the man we’re looking for.” Annia stepped between Fenris and me, clapping a hand on each of our shoulders. “And I’m a friend of Naya here,” she added, squeezing my shoulder to indicate who she was referring to. “But as far as I’m concerned, I’m here to collect a bounty. There’s a reward out for whoever recovers the mage we’re looking for.”

“Ah. So missing mage is important.” The Coazi’s eyes gleamed at that.

My hackles rose at the crafty look in his eyes, and I took a step forward. “If you know anything at all about a missing white man, I suggest you tell us now.” I was tired of whatever mind game they were playing with us, and I also didn’t like the way they were looking at us. “If you are hiding him from us and plan to hurt him in any way, I will make you regret that decision for the rest of eternity.” I bared my fangs at them.

The other Coazi stepped back, clothing rustling as they leveled spears and knives in my direction. But to my surprise, the tall Coazi just laughed. “You do not risk death for reward, no? White man you seek…he is one you love.”

A blush rose to my cheeks at that, and my spine straightened. “I owe him a great debt, and I intend to see that repaid.”

The man laughed at me again, and by the way his eyes sparkled I could tell he wasn’t buying my explanation. But he finally lowered his spear, and his companion followed suit with the bow and arrow.

“I am Tsu-Wakan,” the tall man said. He clapped his companion on the shoulder. “This my brother, Caranou. You come and spend night with us, speak with shaman. He tell you what you need.”



“Well this is going extremely well,” I remarked to Fenris as we sat together on one of the many logs arranged around a huge bonfire. I’d been hesitant about the idea of spending a night with the Coazi even though the party who’d met us had been generally friendly, but Fenris had insisted. According to him, a refusal would be a slight against the tribe. Apparently it was rare for outsiders to get an invitation, so this was an honor we shouldn’t pass up.

“Indeed,” Fenris remarked dryly, his yellow eyes on Annia. She was dancing around the fire along with the younger Coazi, Caranou, who had welcomed us warmly enough after Tsu-Wakan had introduced us. By the time he’d led us back to their camp, which was several miles away, the sun was dipping beneath the horizon and our stomachs were rumbling with the need for dinner. Thankfully, the Coazi had been more than happy to accommodate us – they’d led us to one of the round grey dwellings I’d seen from a distance that were a cross between a hut and a tent, and had allowed us to rest our feet while they’d set up the bonfire and roasted meat and vegetables.

“Yeah well you can’t exactly blame Annia.” Along with the food, they’d served us some kind of strong, fermented juice and passed a pipe around, which they’d insisted we smoke. Fenris and I remained unaffected because of our shifter metabolisms, but the alcohol and strange herbs had gotten to Annia. I snorted as I watched her stomp around in mini circles as she made her way around the bonfire, waving her hands in the air and shouting along with all the Coazi. Quite a few of them were bare-chested males wearing nothing but buckskin skirts, their bare feet stomping in the reddish brown dirt beneath us and sending up clouds of dust that made my nose itch. From the way their dark eyes lingered on Annia with admiration, I had a feeling she was getting laid tonight.