Shaman - An Enchantress Novel Book 2

Chapter 1

Everything changed. The apparent death of her sister altered her way of life, so much so, that she'd agreed to fly halfway around the world with a couple of complete strangers. Not only had her identical twin sister become something she didn't know existed outside the fantasy novels she lost herself in, but she had inherited the power to heal with nothing more than a thought and touch of her hand.

Adie glanced out the window at the torrential rain bouncing off the tarmac, the roar of it hitting the plane only added to her nervousness. She was heading off for lands unknown with a man she'd only just met. Between her and her sister, she was supposed to be the sensible one; the breadwinner and the home keeper; the one who kept her feet firmly on the ground. Yet here she was about to put those size fives around twenty thousand in the air, with none other than a white tiger in human form.

She checked her phone for the twentieth time since she left the voice mail for Callie before boarding.

"Time to turn it off, Hun," Rick advised, nodding at the phone. "Wouldn't want it to interfere with the flight controls and send us plummeting from the sky."

Her eyebrows shot up in fear as she visualized the huge plane nose-diving in to the ocean.

"I'm only kidding. Flying is the safest form of travel."

Her body shook, beads of sweat forming on her upper lip in terror of the thought. "Oh God. Oh God, I can't do this!" She fumbled with her seatbelt, snapping the release so she could get up.

Rick caught her around the waist from behind and pulled her against his chest. "I'm sorry, I was just kidding. Come and sit with me. Tell me some things about yourself."

The heat of his body seared her skin through the thin cotton of her blouse and the feeling of security his arms invoked relaxed her slightly; enough that she let him draw her backwards onto his lap. Her heart began to race for a different reason and she had to force herself to concentrate on what he said.

"What do you want to know?" she asked.

"Well, I already know that you work in the local hospital, so why don't you start with the basic stuff, like your family?"

"There's not much to tell. It's just myself and Callie now. Our parents died eight years ago."

"I'm sorry," he said automatically.

She swung her legs up and pivoted her body so she could see him as she spoke. "At the time we thought it was a car accident but we've learned recently that they were killed by a demon. The same demon I'll be researching in the states is responsible for our grandparents deaths too, I think. Okay your turn."

"Tit for tat, huh? Hmm let's see. I was adopted by the people I call Mum and Dad when I was two. My birth mother died giving birth to me and I'm guessing that my biological father blamed me for that, because he left me in the hospital. He disappeared leaving me to the care system. Mum worked in the nursery attached to the centre I was in as a baby. She spotted the signs that I was a shifter and took me in. I have three brothers and a sister, all are mountain lions."

The seat belt sign flashed off above Rick's head, which made Adie turn hers to look out the window. They were high above the clouds and she could make out the misty greyness of land far in the distance. The storm clouds were long gone, giving her a clear view of a vibrant, blue ocean twinkling in the bright sunlight thousands of feet beneath them. They were well on their way across the Atlantic with no getting off any time soon.

One minute she was smiling and chatting happily with Rick - feeling a little tired but not excessively so - then her vision went spotty a split second before she passed out.

"Adie! Adie, honey, wake up!" Rick barked, shaking her lightly. Panic set in when she didn't stir. "Felix, I need help in here!" he called, knowing his vampire friend would hear him through the thin walls.

Felix flicked a lever to recline the seat so Rick could lay her flat. He checked her pulse and breathing. "What happened?"

"I don't know, she was chatting away then just passed out."

"Everything sounds all right," Felix reassured him. "Did she act strange at all before this?"

"She got a little worked up during take-off, but otherwise she was okay."

"Well I can't find anything out of the ordinary. It may be the change in altitude affecting her. Let her sleep it off," he said, pulling a throw rug from the compartment under the seat and covered her legs.

Little over an hour later, she woke with an unquenchable thirst that had her gulping down bottle, after bottle of water until Felix intervened. He recognized her thirst immediately and compelled her to believe the water she was drinking was blood.

"I believe," Felix stated, after pulling Rick outside the cabin once Adie became coherent again, "that the bond she shares with her sister is much stronger than I thought. It might be in her interests if we can dull it somewhat. We can't have that happen in public, she may injure someone or worse, herself."

"What do you propose?"

"That I put a block, a temporary filter of sorts, in her mind. It should help muffle the echo of her sister's hunger."

Four long hours later, Adie jumped the last couple of steps, fell to the ground on her hands and knees and kissed the ground. The other passengers felt a mixture of amusement and annoyance as they couldn't get past the bulk of a man laughing his head off halfway down.

The car journey was hot even with the air conditioning on full. Adie grew increasingly worried; she hadn't really felt anything through the bond since before they got off the plane. Callie didn't answer when she tried ringing her again.

"Look, if she hasn't replied by morning we'll head back. I promise," Rick consoled as he unlocked the motel room door. "She probably lost her phone or something stupid like that. You're tired. Why don't you grab a shower and climb into bed while I get us something to eat. Burger and fries okay?"

Stripping out of her dusty clothes on her way to the bathroom, she paused only long enough to give a nod in his direction as he left. She let the cool water stream over face for several minutes before she turned the heat up a little and washed the travel grime from her hair.

Her spaghetti-strapped, ivory nightgown sat on top of the case contents as if begging to be worn. The silk caressed her skin, brushing her breasts as it fluttered down her body to settle mid-thigh. With a towel wrapped around her wet hair, she gingerly opened the door and peeked into the room to find it still empty of Rick.

She stopped mid-stride and scowled at the scene before her. "He had better have his own room or someone is going to get backache sleeping on the floor. There is no way I'm sharing a bed."

With a sigh of pleasure, she slipped between the cool, crisp-cotton sheets of the king size bed. They felt like heaven against her skin.