The Whisper Series Continues

By Bonnie Elizabeth

Includes books 5-9, Death Interrupted, Down in Whisper, A Haunting Whisper, A Haunting Attraction, Secrets Not Whispers. 

Death Interrupted: Nearly killed in a hit and run accident, Rain McFarland lives only because of Peter's quick actions. But death continues to stalk Rain in the form of a vampire.

The hit and run driver holds the clue that Meg needs to find out why someone would try and kill Rain. Meanwhile, vampires stalk prey where they find it with a hunger that won't be assuaged by one victim alone. Meg's investigations thrust her in harm's way, along with Rain, once again.

Peter, Whisper's charismatic and capricious earth spirit, remains vigilant against the creature. But if the vampire forces him to choose between Meg and Rain, which woman will Peter save first?

Death Interrupted, should delight both lovers of magical fantasy and vampires.

Down in Whisper: A downed plane and a missing pilot are just the start of problems on Whisper

Each new mystery brings more questions to Barringer and Associates. Peter depends upon Meg and Rain to find the answers. Meg decides she must be the one to find them.

It might be difficult, as the playing field doesn't seem level. Meg's coworkers are checking in with Rain and everyone, even Meg's father, seems determined to keep her from seeing the plane wreckage. Frustrated, Meg keeps working harder, turning up contradictory information.

If she can't get the pieces of the mystery together, who else will disappear from Whisper? And what will Meg do if it's Peter?

Down in Whisper is another exciting installment in the Whisper series.

A Haunting Whisper: County Sheriffs pounding on the door wake Meg Barringer early one morning. They claim Peter murdered a teenaged girl. Shocked to learn that the sheriffs might be right, Meg buries herself in other work.

But in Whisper, not everyone holds Peter to human laws.

Kyle and Rain investigate what really happened until their case collides with Meg's. Ghostly hauntings and possession threaten everyone on the mountain, especially those with special talents.

What would happen if a ghost were to take over someone with a special talent, especially a ghost who could already challenge Peter for supremacy on the mountain?

A Haunting Whisper is the seventh  installment in the  Whisper Series. 

A Haunting Attraction: Marcus flees to Whisper, begging the resident earth spirit, Peter, to help when his girlfriend, Amy, collapses. Meg can only watch as her sister suffers.

Peter causes more harm than healing. Marcus takes Amy back off the mountain leaving Meg to her usual work. Sensitive to psychic influence, even Meg's presence induces pain for her sister.

Even buried in work, investigating grave robbing, fraud, and money laundering, Meg's ties to Amy mean that a crisis of health could mean the end for both of them.
 

Secrets Not Whispers: Meg arrives amid typical Las Vegas chaos, but not all of it is normal. She thinks a local mountain has moved. Her ties to Peter severed so she can heal, Meg investigates on her own.

Back in Whisper, a murderer tangles Rain in her web. Barringer and Associates works harder than they ever expected examining clues to what is happening to Rain and to Meg.

No amount of investigation stops a would-be murderer, though. Isolated in Las Vegas, Meg draws upon her own abilities to rescue herself. To succeed, she'll need friends she didn't even know she had,

• Language: English
• Publisher: My Big Fat Orange Cat Publishing
• Release date: Feb 19, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386432852

Bonnie Elizabeth

Bonnie Elizabeth could never decide what to do, so she wrote stories about amazing things and sometimes she even finished them. While rejection stung her so badly in person, she spent most of her young life talking to cats and dogs rather than people, she was unusually resilient when it came to rejections on her writing, racking up a good number of them. Floating through a variety of jobs, including veterinary receptionist, cemetery administrator, and finally acupuncturist, she continued to write stories. When the internet came along (yes, she’s old), she started blogging as her cat, because we all know cats don’t notice rejection. Then she started publishing. Bonnie writes in a variety of genres. Her popular Whisper series is contemporary fantasy and her Teenage Fairy Godmother series is written for teens. She has published in a number of anthologies and is working on expanding her writing repertoire. She lives with her husband (who talks less than she does) and her three cats, who always talk back. You can find out more about her books at her publisher, My Big Fat Orange Cat Publishing.

Book preview

The Whisper Series Continues

The Whisper Series Continues

Books 5-9

Bonnie Elizabeth

My Big Fat Orange Cat Publishing

Whisper Washington and its corresponding mountain, called Whisper, is a fictional place. The whisper Series is a work of fiction. Some places actually exist to add local flavor but all characters and events in the book are the work of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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The Whisper Series Continues

My Big Fat Orange Cat

Contemporary Fantasy, March 2019

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Copyright © 2019

Bonnie Elizabeth Koenig

All rights Reserved

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Cover Copyright © Bonnie Koenig

images copyright xload, Kryzhov| Deposit Photo

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Death Interrupted, Down in Whisper, A Haunting Whisper, A Haunting Attraction, and Secrets Not Whispers all previously published as stand alone volumes

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My Big Fat Orange Cat Publishing

MyBigFatOrangeCat.com

Contents

Death Interrupted

Down In Whisper

A Haunting Whisper

A Haunting Attraction

Secrets Not Whispers

About Bonnie Elizabeth

Also by Bonnie Elizabeth

Death Interrupted

Death Interrupted

Whisper Washington and its corresponding mountain, called Whisper, is a fictional place. Death Interrupted is a work of fiction. Some places actually exist to add local flavor but all characters and events in the book are the work of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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Death Interrupted

My Big Fat Orange Cat

Contemporary Fantasy, March 2014

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Copyright © 2014

Bonnie Elizabeth Koenig

All rights Reserved

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Cover Copyright © Bonnie Koenig

images copyright xload, satariel | Deposit Photo

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My Big Fat Orange Cat Publishing

MyBigFatOrangeCat.com

Rain

Death is beautiful. That’s what went through my mind as I felt myself flying up in the air after being smashed by a car. Strong arms were around me, holding me, making me feel safe, even though I knew something was wrong. No one should have been able to catch me like that.

I’d like to say my life flashed before my eyes, but other than a thought about what Zari A would do without me, it didn’t. All I could think about was this man, holding me in his arms.

The face I looked into was beautiful beyond belief. The man holding me looked into my eyes with his nearly black ones that were set in an olive face. His midnight hair was pulled back in a braid, although the softness of the tendrils that escaped around his face had me reaching out to touch them. He might have smiled, although I think with the fangs that came down, it had more to do with biting than with smiling. Strangely, I didn’t care.

Meg

Meg was busy trying to get Peter to let her walk. Her mind slipped into his mind, his closeness making the telepathy easier for her. He noticed things going on around them in a way that she didn’t. He found the cement on the sidewalk fascinating. There were two new slight cracks from the underside that had appeared there since the last time he had walked on it. They weren’t visible to the naked eye, yet, but they would be in five or six years. The building itself had settled a micrometer and a half, although when the summer came, the land would raise again and the building would change once more. Peter was aware of all those tiny movements beneath them. Of course, as an earth spirit, that would be his purview.

Riding through his mind, like a passenger on a boat in a blustery sea, Meg, too, noticed these things, wondering for an instant what other small changes she would miss without his insatiable curiosity there. Peter could hear a dog walking along with his owner two blocks over. He was curious about the dog and how it liked the city. Thoughts like that never occurred to Meg.

Rain was walking near the edge of the sidewalk, planning to cross the street. It was evident in her body language. Meg was pleased for a moment to think that she made the other woman uncomfortable. As quickly as she had that thought, fear reached up from the darkest, oldest reaches of her being, suggesting that Peter was only with her because Rain wasn’t interested.

Meg hated the jealousy that plagued her. She knew that her insecurities had been nurtured to great effect by her grandmother in hopes of keeping her from a relationship with Peter. Meg did not yet understand why the old woman would want to prevent the relationship, but clearly she did.

Meg heard a squeal of tires and saw the sandwich board sign for Capriole’s disappear under the front of a silver car. Then Rain’s body went flying. The car reversed, taking part of the sign with it, speeding off.

Peter had been standing with Meg, wrapping his arms and even a leg around her body, and when he was gone, Meg nearly fell. She thought she heard him yell Stop, but his voice was far away.

Rain (earlier that day)

It had been a fairly busy day. Not run-around busy, as that’s not how our office works, but I’d had plenty of paperwork and a meeting. RaeLynn, our super receptionist, and I had planned out several interviews for her replacement. Rare as it was for Meg and I to agree on anything, we both thought RaeLynn was one in a million, and as such we were moving her into a position more commensurate with her skill level. Still it was hard to lose her at the front desk.

Meg had agreed to the interview times we chose, which was a major feat in and of itself. Meg doesn’t like me much. She still believed that there was something more than friends between me and Peter. Okay, we might have slept together a time or two, but it wasn’t like it meant anything to either of us.

Peter, of course, isn’t human. He’s an earth spirit and his tastes are rather inclusive and voracious. His bond with Meg is fascinating to him because it’s not something that has happened before. Talk about craving novelty. Fortunately, as near as I can tell, Peter’s idea of novelty can last a hundred years or more, so it’s not like Meg is in danger of being dumped.

As for me, I’m just loose. Or as Zari A would say, Commitment-phobic. And anything more than a one night stand might mean commitment.

That was why upon exiting my office, a sheaf of papers in hand, and seeing Kyle standing at the front desk, I almost turned around and went back to my desk. Of course, after what happened, it probably would have been smart. But instead of running, I continued on out to the front in time to see Kyle and Meg talking.

What’s up? I asked innocently.

Dinner? Kyle said.

Hmm? I asked. I wasn’t particularly interested in going to dinner with Kyle.

I’d like sushi, please, Zari said, listening in via our mental link, as always. That lovely sashimi tuna is particularly delicious.

Meg and Peter and I are going to Capriole’s. Wanna come? Kyle asked.

Meg didn’t look pleased.

Sounds great, I responded. Well, okay, you know I said yes to annoy Meg. That meant it would be Meg and Peter and Kyle and I. Still such a group felt like a group and not a double date. Peter and I are actually good friends, which is something Meg doesn’t get. That’s one reason I drive her nuts. She’s getting better now that she and Peter are together but she’s still not sure what to make of me. More often than not, she still glares at me.

And what about you? I asked RaeLynn. While it didn’t feel exactly like a double date, anything to add to the group would make me feel better. Did I mention I was commitment phobic? Kyle used to be, but since our last major case, which involved him having to take a life, he’s gotten less so. I don’t seem to be in line for any potential involvement but I’d hate to take the chance and potentially ruin our friendship.

Tonight is my night to volunteer at the free clinic up in Monroe. RaeLynn was referring to a once a week free clinic for veterans with PTSD that Meg’s sister Amy ran. Amy’s an acupuncturist and the best one I’ve ever used. And yes, I have used others. I moved around a lot before settling in Whisper. RaeLynn spends one evening a month doing reception and administrative work to help her out.

We’ll miss you, I said. And I was sincere. The more I got to know about RaeLynn the more I enjoyed her company.

Thanks, RaeLynn said.

Say hi to Amy, Meg said, although I had no doubt she’d spoken to her sister earlier in the day.

I didn’t add to say hello from me too. It sounded just so one-up-man-ish. Too bad, considering the way the evening seemed to finish. At least I would have let Amy know I thought of her.

I gave RaeLynn my pile of papers, smiling the whole time, and went back to my office. I tried not to stand too close to Kyle but not so far away that I made him feel uncomfortable. I just wanted everything to go back to normal.

Okay, so we’d had an affair. That should have been the end of it and it had been winding down nicely, if a little more slowly than I had expected. Then we’d been forced to take on a case that involved the gods and aliens and what have you. While we often take on unusual cases, this was way out of our league. At any rate, Kyle had shot a man. Yes, it was self-defense. Since then, he’d been exploring the meaning of life and why he got the shot off first, before the other man killed him. He’d also been evaluating what he wanted out of life. Among other things, he apparently wanted more than just casual relationships.

It’s not like he’s proposing marriage. He wants to explore relationships, which you are actually rather good at, although he is exploring more about intimacy and not just looking for a one night stand. You might learn something, Zari A purred. Zari is my cat who is not a cat. She looks like a cat. Frequently she acts like one as well. In reality she’s an alien, part of a race that is studying life forms across the universe, including ours. They found our planet and wanted to know more about the beings in charge here. Several of her people become the beings they are studying, the better to interact. Zari was betting cats were in charge. She was wrong. Her consolation prize was to spend the next twenty years as a cat on our world. There are worse things.

Maybe he can talk to Meg, I thought back at her. Zari is telepathic. While most of the other people in the office can also hear her, it is only when she wants them to. So far as I know, she’s the only one reading my mind, unless you count Peter, but that only happens during sex. And so long as Meg was around that would not be happening again. I value my life.

He likes talking to you, Zari said, referring to Kyle. Meg is less than empathetic about the whole issue. She’s always had her life sort of planned out and while she never expected that she’d be together with Peter, she always expected a long term relationship. This is new to Kyle.

Tell me something I haven’t heard. Kyle had been doing a fair amount of talking. And while I can handle talking, the fact was, he wanted to know about me rather than just talking about him. He wanted to know how I handled things and I’m not up for that sort of intimacy.

He is glad you are going to dinner with him. This way he won’t have to run into you at the Bar and Grill, Zari said as I turned the corner into the office to find her on her cat tree. She turned her head a little to give me a coy look.

Yeah, that was embarrassing last time. I’d been lucky enough to meet a nice guy there. He was passing through town. Well, no one passes through Whisper. We’re on the edge of the Snoqualmie Valley. The land east of us is all mountains and owned by the forest service. Duvall, Carnation, and Fall City were all more in the Valley and had a highway connecting them. Whisper was well off the beaten path. Still, we’d become something of a destination site for New Age seekers and this guy was one of them. Only he wasn’t quite as outdoorsy as a lot of them. He preferred hanging out in the Bar and Grill to communing with nature. I could get into that.

I’d been about to suggest the man follow me home when Kyle came in and started talking to me.

The man quickly worked out that there was something going on and he wanted no part of a love triangle, even if just for an evening. He made himself scarce pretty quickly. I was pissed off enough that Kyle went home alone too.

More than embarrassing, Zari agreed. You were moody for a full day.

Moody meant that I didn’t leap to do her bidding, instead wallowing in my own needs.

Yeah. Well if I want to meet someone, I’ll be meeting them outside Whisper next time, I agreed. You’re sure he’s not just following me?

I worried that Kyle had developed some stalker issues. It seemed unlike him, but the Bar and Grill incident bothered me.

No. He really did just go in there for a drink. I think he was actually looking for Sheri. I guess it’s one of the places she likes around town. He doesn’t see you there as much.

I had no idea he frequented the place.

I would not say he frequents the place. It’s not a hang-out, like you had in Michigan, but it’s a place he goes sometimes. I mean it’s not like Whisper is that large. The cat was now washing her paw, watching me carefully.

Good to know, I said.

And you’re just going to Capriole’s. It’s not a fancy place, Zari purred.

What does that have to do with anything?

I have been reading. If men spend more money to be with a woman they are more likely to think she should sleep with them, although I am not sure why they think all women are for hire?

I almost laughed out loud thinking about it. You’ve been reading pop magazines again? I asked.

It was on a blog. I should like to have a blog like that cat, Chey. I would like to meet her.

Chey doesn’t really talk, I said. It was a conversation we had had before. Zari A had found the wonderful world of online cat blogging and she was certain that some of the cats were really blogging and not their owners. Chey was a cat with an owner who wrote in correct English rather than cat speak. Zari couldn’t fathom that cats would not be smart enough to type in real English.

But she might. Or her owner might be able to hear me because of her bond with Chey.

I thought we weren’t going to go around telling people about you? I asked.

Zari gave me a long slow blink before ignoring my question. Meeting Chey would have to wait. Of course, she wouldn’t let it drop. Chey and her owner lived in Duvall, which was practically in our backyard.

I shuffled papers for a while longer, enjoying the long bright late afternoon. June in the Pacific Northwest stays light forever and five o’clock arrived before I knew it. I got up, adjusting my skirt, which came down to my knees, and making sure nothing inappropriate was hanging out of my blouse. Zari leaped off her cat tree as we prepared to head upstairs to my apartment.

I lived two floors above the office, in the building penthouse. It wasn’t a huge penthouse but it was nicely appointed. I designed it with Meg’s father’s help. He was a local contractor. As the owner of the building, I felt the penthouse was my prerogative. In fact, the fact that I owned the building was the only real reason Meg was my business partner. That jealousy-of-Peter thing again.

See you at Capriole’s in about twenty minutes? Kyle asked as I walked by his office.

I’ll be there.

I can pick you up.

Nah. It’s a nice night. I’ll walk.

Kyle nodded and I continued out. RaeLynn had already left her desk. She left a little early when she helped Amy out so she could grab a bite to eat. Zari and I waited for the elevator.

Upstairs, Zari approved the meal I gave her. She snorted as I checked my outfit, wondering if I should change. My blouse showed a great deal of cleavage and Peter would notice. While pretty polite, nothing stops him from looking. The question became, how annoyed would Meg be?

Zari was washing her paw as I came out of the bedroom, leaving the blouse on. It was a nice June night, somewhat unusual in the Pacific Northwest where June was part of the rainy season. Of course, every month was part of the rainy season around here. The days that it didn’t rain could be spectacular. Today was one of those.

I didn’t want to have to start wearing a jacket to cover up if the weather was actually going to be wonderful. There was a slight breeze when I went out to the patio but it wasn’t that chill. It would be warmer on the street.

I grabbed my purse, left my jacket, and got in the elevator. It stopped on the floor below mine and the only other tenant got on. The rest of the apartments were still under construction. This young man was a visiting professor up at Northern Pacific University. He’d been looking at apartments closer to Monroe but hadn’t found anything to suit him. He liked being in a smaller town, not that Monroe is large. Still, the apartments closest to the college tended to be filled with college students, which were always a noisier crowd than adults. So he’d started looking farther away.

How’s it going? I asked. I didn’t do the interviews for tenants, hiring that out to a firm, but he knew I was the building owner. It was hard not to when there were only the two of us living there.

Good, he said, looking a little longer than he should have at my cleavage. He was young yet, trying to establish himself.

I smiled, although I’m not sure he noticed. I didn’t say anything else. The bell on the elevator dinged as he started to color, probably realizing where he’d been staring.

Have a good one! I called, not quite laughing at the fact that he seemed quite discomfited by his reaction to my blouse.

Hopefully Peter will be more circumspect, Zari A said. She was probably sitting in the window of my top floor condo, listening in on my every thought.

I hoped Peter would be more discrete. I didn’t need Meg getting all in a huff about him looking at my breasts.

I walked across the parking lot, reserved mostly for the businesses that were housed on the first two floors of the building. Barringer and Associates had the third floor. Tenants, like myself, had a parking garage in the main basement, along with some extra storage. I crossed the lot, enjoying the fact that the sky was still blue, with only a hint of darkening and the palest pink on the horizon. I loved long summer evenings.

I stepped off the asphalt of the parking lot and onto the concrete sidewalk so I could walk down Fourth. I smelled the sweet and spicy scent of teriyaki as I passed the sushi and teriyaki place that sat a block down from me. Their doors were open and people were sitting outside on the sidewalk as well as inside. There was always a crowd there.

I heard a bell as I passed a tarot reader’s shop. The door had a window and the wood around it was painted red. A narrow sign with a tarot card featuring a man and cat walking on a path adorned the wooden wall next to the sign. Dark textured curtains kept the interior private.

Next door was a tiny storefront called Retrieval, which was an office for a shaman. At least she set up appointments there. I wasn’t sure if she actually did her work in the space. I had heard she had a larger space between Carnation and Whisper that included a sweat lodge. The store front was mostly for booking appointments and a place for people to come in and purchase her books. Looking at the display, I saw that she wrote a lot.

The storefront was also as a gallery to certain artists. Periodically classes were held there. The displays today showed scenes of the local area, all of which were shrouded in mist. In one a freighter peeked out, sailing along Puget Sound. In another, I recognized Mt. Si, a small local mountain about an hour away, partially hidden behind clouds that promised rain. The contrasting brick red cloth that served as a backdrop made the images all the more melancholy and mysterious. Still the color brought out the slash of red near the bottom edge of the freighter and a vein of earth in the Mt. Si picture.

I jaywalked across the street and passed a quilt store. It was followed by a store that specialized just in incense. I wasn’t aware that there were so many different kinds that you could have a store devoted to it, but apparently I was wrong. As always, I could smell a faint scent of patchouli and sage. I had initially thought that they also sold some non-incense herbs only recently legalized but Meg set me straight. It really was all incense. Most were blessed by the owner with certain intentions. Who knew?

No one was in the store. I rarely saw anyone going in or out but there must have been customers because the store had been there the whole time I was in Whisper. Other places had come and gone, particularly as the recession hit, but this one was still there. Perhaps one of the churches used them for their supplies and the owner was able to make a living. Or maybe they also sold online.

Someday, I told myself, I was going to have to go in and see what they had.

I reached Capriole’s. I walked in, unsurprised to see Kyle at one of the wooden tables towards the back. Meg wasn’t there yet, but Peter appeared at my elbow as I walked in. We walked across the hardwood floor, set to resemble a building much older than this one. The walls had scenes of Italian vineyards and of people in villas surrounded by low hills.

You mean you aren’t escorting Meg? I asked.

She’ll be along, Peter responded. Several people smiled at him and said hello. I had a few greetings, but not like he did. Of course, when you are the resident earth spirit and kind of a mini-god to the Old Families, everyone makes sure they say hello when you turn up. I’m only human and a newcomer as well.

About time, Kyle said from his corner. He was about halfway through his beer. There were only four chairs but the table was roomy enough for six.

We’re early as far as I know, Peter said, sitting across from Kyle while I slid into a chair beside him, leaving the seat next to Peter for Meg. I could only imagine what she would do if she came in and I was in her place.

Peter picked up Kyle’s beer and sniffed at it, head turned to the side.

It’s just a regular beer, nothing fancy, Kyle said, not upset that the other man was practically pushing his nose against the rim.

Peter looked up, a question on his face.

I’m not into the microbrews, Kyle explained. This is just an ordinary beer. Not too dark, but not real light. I don’t even know exactly where they make it. It’s premium but not a microbrew. I’m not much of a beer snob. The last was almost an apology.

Peter smiled, his slow, very sensual smile. It should have broken through the granite planes of his face but the smile never cracks them. Is that what I’m becoming?

Actually a beer and food snob, I said. The more he and Meg went out, the more she introduced him to new food and drink. He was amazingly picky and the things he liked tended to be the high end of everything. He wouldn’t touch soda. He often questioned pizza, although he was okay with Capriole’s. He’d probably want anchovies. For someone who liked high end stuff, he had really odd tastes. I was not going to be okay with anchovies. Yuck.

I see nothing wrong with making sure what I eat tastes good. Why would I eat it if it wasn’t good? Peter asked. I could see he was actually expecting an answer. I glanced at Kyle who shrugged a little, figuring I’d be better at that response than he would be.

We all eat what we like but we all also know that sometimes you have to eat things that aren’t perfect. You know, like salads and stuff.

Why? Peter asked, although I’m sure he referred to the not perfect rather than salads. He had nothing against a good vegetable.

Well not everything is perfect, I said, trying to figure out what he meant.

He smiled again as the waitress came up to rescue him from answering. She took our orders. I got a glass of red wine. Peter ordered the darkest of the microbrews they had there. I’d had it once and was half afraid the brew would get up and follow me home when I didn’t finish it.

Peter gave the waitress a very thorough once over. She didn’t seem intimidated by the look, so chances were she was from one of the Old Families and not unused to him.

Why do you eat stuff that tastes bad? Meg drinks soda and eats these things she calls hamburgers but taste of nothing but chemicals

Probably because they are all chemicals, I said, hoping I didn’t sound too much like Meg’s mother, who was quickly becoming a member of the food police. I probably wasn’t succeeding because Kyle laughed.

It’s not that it stops me, I protested, But they aren’t exactly real food, you know.

I know, he said, smiling, picking up his beer. I’m sure this has shortcuts too.

Shortcuts are one thing, Peter said, It’s when you think you’ve improved upon nature that I find it offensive.

Of course. He would take our fiddling with flavors and foods personally. As an earth spirit, food was almost in his purview. It wouldn’t surprise me if our food tasted better than usual as he improved the flavor here and there with the powers he had. I’d eaten with him a few times and when the flavor wasn’t as strong as he thought it ought to be or the vegetables had been sitting in a drawer in the fridge losing their taste, he’d often give them a boost. Even at my hungriest I could taste a difference.

Yeah, I had lived in his house. It wasn’t like a live together situation, but try telling that to Meg. I just needed a place. Peter and Zari got on so I ended up at his house for a few months until my condo was completed.

We chatted until Meg got there, rushing in as if she’d just put herself together, although she was wearing the same jeans and top she’d worn to work. She noticed my cleavage, noting it even more obviously than Peter, who was only making sidelong looks from time to time. It’s not like she wouldn’t have noticed at work, but at work, Peter wasn’t sitting across the table with a perfect view. A slight tightening of all her facial muscles passed quickly which meant she was trying hard not to sneer. At least she controlled herself.

The wine was good. Meg also had a glass. She would probably rather have a beer but the waitresses came by saying, Oh Meg, we have this great red wine your Mom said you really needed to try. Meg had wine to avoid having a complicated discussion, likely to get the waitress in trouble.

Did I mention Meg’s mom practically runs the food police? She’s decided Meg eats too much gluten and has tried to rid her diet of it. In a small town, that means she’s recruited just about every food server around so Meg has to go off the mountain, or at least to New Whisper, to get anything with bread. She’s not always able to order what she wants in New Whisper either, but she’s far more likely to get away with it there than here.

Fortunately, Capriole’s has gluten free pizza. I shared a gluten free pepperoni with her and ordered one of their large salads with roast beef and blue cheese. It’s not very Italian but it tastes divine. The meat was hot and tender, locally raised, of course. Whisper is funky like that. Peter and Kyle had a large regular pizza with the works, including anchovies on Peter’s side. Kyle didn’t mind the occasional one but he wasn’t quite ready to have them sprinkled all over.

Dinner and conversation meandered as it does with people who spend a lot of time together. Peter was starting to sit closer and closer to Meg, no longer just dropping his arm around her shoulders but nuzzling her neck. Meg’s color rose every time he did and she kept asking him to stop. I tried not to smile.

Peter would stop for a minute and then start again. I finished my second glass of wine before deciding to announce I’d be heading home. We all walked out of the building together into the night. I was surprised that we’d talked as long as we had. The evening had turned into night.

Meg lived only a few blocks down the street from the office, which meant she and Peter could also walk. Peter really didn’t need to walk but he gave every indication that he wasn’t going to be letting go of Meg for anything, except possibly to take her clothes off.

Kyle left his car in the office garage. He’d walk me back. I wondered what he expected. It was then, just as we were all sort of looking at each other, walking and talking in a group as people do, that I heard the car engine revving. There was more than one. There’s always traffic on Main Street, at least until all the shops closed. There was something about the squeal of tires that sounded strange.

I was on the outside of the sidewalk, with Kyle next to me. Peter and Meg were a little ahead of us, closer to the building. Peter had his arms wrapped around Meg and even one of his legs, such that I wondered how he planned to walk. I craned my head out to look around the corner just as we turned. I paused, watching the car turn the corner and realized, too late, that the driver wasn’t completely in control. The car was going to hit the curb. It wouldn’t have been a problem but I was standing on the curb, about to step off into the street, hinting to Kyle that we could cross there and leave Peter and Meg alone.

I felt Kyle pull me towards him even as the front of the car hit my hip. I went flying. Kyle’s hand left mine and I was caught by a lovely man with fangs. I am sure that rabbits leaping over cats feel the same way as they look into the eyes of the eagle grabbing them. There was no pity in those eyes, nothing human really, but that didn’t stop him from being beautiful.

Stop, Peter barked, an order if I ever heard one. Personally I was disappointed. How could he stop this man? He was beautiful. Still, the order was given and had it been given to me, I’d have obeyed without thought. Even the beautiful man paused, a flicker of something crossing his face. The features, while beautiful, were inhuman enough that I couldn’t have said whether the expression was annoyance or surprise.

I was lowered to the ground quickly, realizing that I wasn’t as high in the air as I thought. I was only about the level of the top of the building. The creature wasn’t flying, but rather squatting on the side of the roof. Still, though I was lowered easily, I found myself unable to stand. My entire left side ached.

It was my right and duty, the man said, not looking at anyone but Peter. He was dressed in black jeans and a dark silk top. I could see the sheen in the light. He towered over Peter, and was taller than Kyle who stood a little over six foot. With his long black braid, he could have been an ancient Chinese God come to life on our streets. Of course, an ancient Chinese God had come to life in our office not long ago. Fortunately Kuan Yin seemed far less dangerous. I wondered if she were watching.

It is your right only if she would die anyway. You may take the souls of those whose death is imminent. She is not dead nor will she be.

Only because you interfered.

It is my land to interfere with, Peter replied. He wasn’t looking at any of us either, focused only on the man who held me. You will remember her scent and mine and harm none that carry it, no matter what happens to them.

You owe me, earth spirit. She was mine and you know it.

I owe you nothing, Peter said evenly. She is mine to protect and I protect her, whether you are there to rush in to end her life or not.

I was starting to shake, even as Peter finished speaking. I couldn’t take my eyes off the man who had grabbed me. I could infer that my life really had been in danger and Peter had rescued me but that didn’t mean I could keep my eyes off the one who would have been my death. He moved with the greatest economy of movement that I had ever seen. He seemed to flow like the water of a river as he turned, giving me one last look, holding my eyes for a heartbeat longer than I expected, before leaping to the rooftop to disappear.

Meg was on her cell phone, watching him the same way I did. She was calling someone but I wasn’t sure who. I could feel blackness closing in around me. I was disappointed that I wouldn’t find out who he was just then, even as I felt myself slump back towards the ground, feeling the warmer, less steady, but much more human hands of Kyle behind me.

I can make you feel better, Peter said. If you want.

I think I nodded but I couldn’t be sure. Who was that? I muttered, trying to keep my eyes open. I groaned when Kyle touched a particularly sore spot.

Peter didn’t say anything for a long time, or what felt to me like a long time. I could feel his hand, not cold but not warm either, dry and almost pitted like soft earth against my face and neck. I felt heat flowing through me as if someone was pouring hot chocolate down my veins. He seemed to be probing for something.

That was not a who, he finally said. That was a vampire.

MEG (earlier that day)

Meg had been looking forward to a quiet evening with Peter. It was a gorgeous day and she was considering whether they could go for a hike and have a picnic for dinner.

Very nice, she felt more than heard Peter’s response. Meg smiled. She was still getting used to their bond.

Such a bond shouldn’t be able to exist, but it did. Meg had been lost in Peter’s soul when he saved her from a trapped and angry earth spirit about a year ago. He’d worried that she’d be comatose and have to be taken away from the mountain to recover. If that had happened, Meg now knew that she might never have been able to return to Whisper. She shuddered at the thought of being exiled from her home.

Instead, Meg had found her way back into her own mind and body. It also left a door open for a type of relationship with Peter that she’d always thought was impossible. It should be impossible. Most people couldn’t bond that deeply with him and keep a sense of self but Meg could. Meg had never outgrown her teenage crush on Peter, though her grandmother had done everything in her power to shame it out of her, driving her to deny the feelings time and again. The irony, of course, was that had she not worked so hard to push Meg away from Peter, Meg might have acted on the crush, as most girls did, and quickly forgotten about it.

Don’t ever give me blanket permissions to make decisions about your life again, Peter had warned Meg when she had blindly and foolishly told him she wanted him to be able to treat her as a human would treat any other love interest.

Fending off his constant physical attention, no matter where they were was one aspect of that rather foolish assent. So far it was the only one that bothered her, but the more time Meg spent exploring Peter’s mind, or perhaps his soul, if earth spirits had such a thing, the more she was beginning to understand why elemental spirits were given the rules they were given.

Meg knew that the relationship was still in the early stages. She was only beginning to feel okay about him constantly touching her, needing that contact, and the mental intrusiveness that wanted to understand not only what she was feeling but what had triggered it. Meg disliked that sort of introspection. She preferred to observe others rather than herself.

I cannot even begin to explain how ironic I find that, Amy said when Meg tried to explain the discomfort. Meg had made a face at her sister and changed the subject. Fortunately, Amy was easy to distract, or rather, her sister let her distract her in a way that Peter never would.

Meg sighed bringing her thoughts back to evening plans. She was really looking forward to some time outside. It’d been raining a lot, typical for June, and she wanted that outdoor time. Peter didn’t mind the rain but she did.

"So what if you get a little wet?’ he asked once when she went running back to the car when the clouds opened surprisingly wide for the Northwest.

It’s cold. And I get cold, Meg responded.

Immediately her feet felt warmer and the heat spread throughout the rest of her body.

Are you still cold? Peter asked. As usual, when questioning, his head was tilted to one side, dropping it nearly to his shoulder. He watched her through eyes half lidded, a twitch of a smile about his mouth.

No, Meg said, pausing in her run, half way to the car. Rain dripped down her body but she wasn’t chilled. She was just wet. Now I’m just wet.

Water does that, Peter agreed, quite seriously, although the hazel colors of his eyes shifted.

I guess it’s a good thing you’re an earth spirit and not a water spirit because I don’t particularly like being wet.

Yet you take showers.

Yeah but there I’m meant to be wet. I’m naked and I’m cleaning myself. Here my clothes are heavy and it’s cold and it’s just not that pleasant.

Walking over to her, Meg could hear Peter’s unspoken thought that taking off her clothing might be a good thing. Meg protested. Peter, of course, won the argument. Peter always won arguments. Meg had to admit that after that she hadn’t been cold.

The ringing phone in the front room brought Meg back to the present day where the sun was out and the sky was clear or mostly so.

She stood up and stretched. She’d been doing reports all afternoon. She really needed a case that took her out of the office so she could move around more. She had been doing report writing and background checks, both of which kept her tied to her computer pretty much all day. It had been like that for the last several weeks. Kyle was pacing in his office too, probably stretching while he worked. He both hated and appreciated the down time. He appreciated it because he wasn’t making decisions that could change lives. Like Meg, he too became restless with too much office time. And the day was beautiful.

Meg walked out to the front office to find out what the call was. If it had been a case, RaeLynn would have transferred the call, so clearly it wasn’t something she needed to take care of. Still, she grabbed the excuse to move.

Anything good? Meg asked.

Dillon was just checking in, RaeLynn said, referring to Rain’s head of security. He was covering for one of the part-timers this afternoon and wanted to make sure nothing had come in.

Meg nodded, not really interested. She remained cautious about Dillon. Ian, their first head of security had been interested in Meg as more than a friend. Meg didn’t yet know that she could have the relationship with Peter that she wanted, so she’d cautiously returned his interest. Unfortunately, Ian wasn’t okay with the strange things that happened on Whisper, nor was he comfortable with Meg’s familiarity with the supernatural. He treated her the way a superstitious peasant might treat a suspected witch.

Ian had resigned as head of security and was now an associate. It allowed him to work what he termed normal security and leave the strange cases to Dillon. Rain had been generous in letting him remain at his old salary. Ian avoided Meg as much as possible. He wasn’t rude about it but it felt a little like a slap. Meg had promised herself to be more cautious about Dillon, not wanting to risk the kind of rejection she had had from Ian. Having grown up in Whisper, she might have been rejected for many things, but not for taking the supernatural for granted. She was surprised that she was more offended by that than by many of the more personal rejections. It was like Ian no longer wanted to be around her because she was breathing.

So what’s going on? Kyle asked, walking out of his office.

Meg and RaeLynn smiled. Kyle had been holed up in his office way too much. He seemed like he was in a good mood.

Just checking to see if there was anything to get me out of here, Meg said.

Kyle nodded. Hey, how about Capriole’s tonight? It’s not a case but it’s out of the office.

Meg hesitated. She got a nudge from Peter that she ought to say yes. Peter and Kyle had had some discussions about what happened in the last case. Meg knew he was curious about the changes going on with Kyle. Peter was fascinated by the reactions of humans. He’d always been that way, but being privy to his pondering and his questioning was new to Meg.

Okay, Meg said. At that moment Rain came out and Kyle insisted upon asking her as well. So much for a good evening.

Meg reminded herself that whatever else he was, Peter wasn’t prescient so he couldn’t know that Kyle would invite her. She tried to keep the thought shielded so Peter wouldn’t say anything. While he no doubt heard the thought, he wisely chose not to comment. Meg was well aware that if Peter wanted to spend time with Rain, he did so. She also knew that their time together was usually spent discussing subjects that he and Zari A wanted to learn about.

Still, it was hard to like Rain when the woman had lived up the mountain in Peter’s house. He hadn’t invited Meg to live there. They spent time in her apartment. Of course, with Peter, such things didn’t matter the way they might to a human. And Meg could put forth only so much effort into making him understand, or trying to.

In addition to any personal history, Meg was bothered by the fact that she and Rain were nothing alike physically. And Peter had been attracted to the other woman. Of course, Meg was becoming aware that Peter tended to be physically attracted to everyone, at least in passing. But what if he preferred the other woman’s very feminine assets? Shorter than Meg by a couple of inches and outweighing her by thirty pounds, with weight gathering in all the right places, Rain was as curvy as the mountain road that brought visitors to Whisper. Meg was athletic and lean, despite the fact that she ate like a horse. She’d always been secretly proud of her fashionable thinness, knowing that her best friend Lacey had struggled to remain thin and even her sister Amy had to watch what she ate. Seeing things through Peter’s eyes, and through the eyes of a male, Meg was beginning to understand that fashionable thinness wasn’t always the best thing.

So now she wished for larger breasts. Her mother promised that that would happen when she had children. It had happened to her and her sister, Barb. Of course, Meg, now knew, so long as she was with Peter there wouldn’t be children.

She shouldn’t be so insecure she knew, but her Grandmother had fed any insecurity she could about Peter. The old woman had been a close friend to Meg, or so Meg thought. Emma had kept saying she protected her but instead Meg understood that she’d seen, through her psychic foretelling, the relationship Meg would have with Peter. She had then done everything she could to keep that from happening.

You can’t just go up to Peter’s and bother him, she’d told the young Meg many times. Don’t go inventing reasons to see him. He’ll see right through that. You’ll bother him.

So Meg had gone her own way, attempting to hide her own crush, unaware that other girls didn’t have the same stipulations.

Gram may have told you it couldn’t happen, but it did, Amy said not long ago. The two women were sitting in Amy’s condo, having tea. Meg was eating a cookie. Amy’s was sitting on the table, with one nibble out of it.

But she spent all that time telling me it couldn’t. And I didn’t figure out that she was lying, Meg said.

At least you know why she was avoiding you most of last year. Amy picked off a tiny piece of the cookie and put it in her mouth. At that rate she’d be eating the same cookie for a month. Meg’s was nearly gone.

Meg nodded, knowing that Amy was talking about her ability to sense the truth. Everyone in the Old Families was gifted in some way. Amy could heal. Meg could tell when someone was being truthful. Had Emma spoken to her more often, Meg would have heard the lies.

And Rain. How can I get over seeing Rain in Peter’s mind? Meg asked. She’d asked that a hundred times of her sister.

Amy sighed, stretching her back out. Meg could tell the other was trying not to roll her eyes.

As you’ve told me time and time again, it’s not like they had some mad passionate affair. They know each other. In fact, I believe you’ve said that you actually ought to be jealous of Zari A as Peter thinks about her more than he does Rain. What was it you picked up from him about sex with Rain?

He likens it to what he thinks it would be like to pay for sex, Meg repeated. She hated breaking such a personal confidence, but she’d had to crow about it to someone.

Yeah, because Rain shut him out completely. In other words, it’s not about the sex as much as the bonding and Peter can’t bond deeply with anyone but you. Anyone else would get lost.

Meg nodded. It’d be easier if I hadn’t had to make her a business partner.

‘Well you could have come up with the rent on the space some other way, right?" Amy grinned.

Meg made a face. They both knew the value of the space Rain was letting them use and that value was way out of Meg’s price range.

The computer system is really good, Meg said.

Amy made a face again.

Hey! I nearly tracked you down! Meg continued laughing. Amy had gone off on a weekend with her boyfriend, Marcus, and told no one. At the time, Marcus had been a murder suspect and Meg had been frantic. She’d used the system to track their movements.

Of course, it is limited by how soon hotels input their purchases and they show up on credit cards, Amy reminded her. Unless Zari has a way around that.

Not yet, Meg agreed. The cat was good. The program was really secure. Zari and RaeLynn continued testing it and finding few flaws, for which Meg was thankful. The regular channels were nice, but the idea of a back door when everything else failed, was comforting. That, and the rent, was almost worth working with Rain. Although maybe not if she were forced to have dinner with her too. It didn’t matter what she’d talked about with her sister. She just didn’t like spending time with Rain.

And so, as the sun started to lower in the late afternoon sky, Meg put off leaving for dinner as long as she could. She’d started cleaning up around her office, but she was somewhat tidy when she worked, so there wasn’t much to do. She’d listened to the elevator taking Rain downstairs. She’d gone to the kitchen to rinse out the cup she’d used for chai. When nothing else was left to do, she’d gone downstairs to return the mugs the Cuppa let them use. She’d talked to the barista who was getting ready to close up. Then she’d gone home and looked at the mail for longer than it warranted. All that allowed her to arrive at the restaurant after everyone else was seated.

Peter had one of the fancy beers in front of him. Meg considered whether or not her mother would hear if she sipped from his drink. Peter grinned as he waited for her to sit down.

Have one, he said softly, picking up her thought. At least Capriole’s had gluten free pizza and Meg didn’t have to go around sneaking tastes from Peter’s. She might do that anyway. It was too bad he liked anchovies.

So what are we having? Meg asked, starting the conversation, looking at what everyone else had. She took a sip of Peter’s beer. It was darker than she really liked, but it was still good.

It did break the ice. If nothing else Rain was a good conversationalist, keeping things light and enjoyable. Dinner was tasty, even though she was sharing a pizza with Rain while Kyle and Peter ate their own, real, pizza. Meg even had to admit the recommended wine was as nearly as good as Peter’s beer.

Walking out of the restaurant, as Peter tried to wrap his entire body around her, Meg wondered if she’d ever get used to his attention.

I can’t walk, Meg said.

Who needs to walk? It’s over rated, Peter murmured into her ear, his breath making her hair move slightly around her face.

Peter’s demonstrativeness still embarrassed her. It wasn’t exactly who she was, but she was slowly getting used to things. Besides, no one in Whisper said anything to her. That might be criticizing Peter.

Are you kidding? Amy had said early on. It’s not that they’re afraid to criticize him. They’re all jealous of you!

Meg had shaken her head, not sure how to respond.

Enjoy it. You love it, Amy insisted, laughing at her sister.

Meg tried to keep that in mind, while Peter attempted to reach up under her top, tickling her tummy. She was picking up Peter’s sense of contentment and satisfaction in the spicy smells that wafted outside with them. She’d liked the fact that it was a nice evening, almost but not quite cool enough for a sweater. The night sky was still clear. She could pick out the undertones of pine and fir of the mountain surrounding them.

Cars purred along the road, a white background noise against the laughter of people. She noticed, through Peter’s mind, a dog and owner a few streets over. Peter was considering the movement of the concrete, small changes that it would take years for a normal person to notice. Meg heard the strains of music when someone opened the door to the sushi place ahead. That was cut off by the sound of squealing tires.

Meg stood up as straight as she could. Even Peter’s hands dropped from her tummy as he turned to get a closer look.

Kyle was looking at Rain. The other woman was laughing at something he said. Meg’s eyes met Rain’s, the other woman looking quite pleased with Meg’s predicament, even as the sound of a car engine revving too quickly approached. Rain turned her head to look into the street just as the car came around the corner, taking it so quickly it ran up over the curb and knocked into the sign that said Capriole’s. It kept going, hitting Rain on the left side of her body and tossing her into the air.

One minute Rain was there and the next she was gone. Peter disappeared for a fraction of a second, time enough for Meg to lose her balance. She heard him yell stop, but it seemed like he was very far away from her, farther than he should have been.

Then Rain was there, being laid across the sidewalk by a very tall Asian gentleman. He reminded Meg of a Chinese warrior statue she saw in a museum. His back was ramrod straight. He stood a few inches taller than Kyle, who was at least six foot. Dark silky hair, common to all with an Eastern ancestry fell to mid back in a braid, adding to the sense that this man could be an ancient warrior.

It was my right and my duty, the man growled. His voice was softer than Meg thought it would be. She strained to hear, even as she pulled out her phone. Kyle knelt by Rain, clearly no help, ignoring the Asian.

It is your right only if she were going to die anyway, Peter responded.

The other man shifted his muscles, it might have been the slightest movement but Peter’s eyes narrowed a fraction and he stopped. The two men had a few more words too soft for Meg’s ears and Peter was shutting her out of his mind.

At one point, the Asian man looked over at Meg. She gasped, nearly dropping her partially dialed phone. He was far more beautiful than she guessed, every feature aligned perfectly with the others, like the carved statue that he had reminded her of. His eyes slanted slightly, dark almond ovals, his nose was rounded and soft, but less flat than she would have expected. His black shirt, made from some sort of satiny material, that made her itch to run her fingers over it, set off his coloring. She found herself disappointed that he carried no sword.

Then he was gone. Meg felt a sharp edge of disappointment run through her entire being. She shook it off to continue dialing her phone, although she continued to watch where he had been. Other people were gathering around. She heard someone ask if they needed help. Several people, including the manager of Capriole’s, had come out of the restaurant to see what had happened. The manager looked around horrified. Meg called in the accident on her phone, while other people ran across the street.

Meg watched as the people circled around Rain. Even Peter knelt down and stroked the side of Rain’s face and neck. A familiar tightness clenched Meg’ chest.

He’ll never be the one you want, her grandmother had told her. You’re a romantic, a one man woman. He’ll never be that, you know.

Fortunately Brenda’s voice broke in, answering Meg’s call, Whisper police, how can I help you?

Brenda, it’s Meg, Meg started.

Got a 911 call through our dispatch that there was an accident at Capriole’s, Brenda said. Is that what you’re calling about?

Yeah, Meg replied.

Got three other people telling me the same thing, Brenda smiled, And another ringing through. Sheri’s on the way. Also got an ambulance dispatched.

It’s Rain, Meg said. She was hit by a car.

Rain McFarland, Brenda said. Meg heard the faint sounds of key strokes.

Yeah.

‘Thanks Meg, but I’ve got to get the other line."

Meg hung up the phone, looking around at the steadily gathering crowd. She was looking towards Rain, beginning to walk towards where the woman lay, when she got the feeling she was being watched. She turned to scan the crowd but saw no one watching her, nothing out of the ordinary, but the feeling wouldn’t go away. As she turned back, taking a step towards Rain, someone appeared in front of her, as if from thin air. Even Peter didn’t appear that quickly. She looked up into the face of the Asian warrior who had saved Rain.

Meg met his eyes, wanting to get lost in his near black gaze. She had never felt so attracted to anyone except Peter. She wanted to know the feel of this man’s touch. Who was he? Had he come to save Rain? She moved a half step towards him, even as he turned away. He moved through the crowd, walking quickly. Meg kept him in sight thanks to his height and his distinctive look. Part of her was tempted to follow him. He might have seen something, she told herself. She should stop him and ask. Deep down she knew that wasn’t the reason at all. She just didn’t want to lose him again.

Meg had taken a few steps to follow the man when she heard the sound of a siren and a police car pulled up. Sheri jumped out.

Everyone move back! Sheri ordered. She moved over to where Kyle and Peter were huddled over Rain. Peter stood up and looked around. Meg knew the moment when he met someone’s eyes. They looked away and moved back. A few of the Old Family members, out and about or