Eternal Fires by Ally Shields

Author:Ally Shields
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Urban Fantasy
ISBN: 978-1-941692-65-3
Publisher: Etopia Press
Published: 2015-03-16T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

Ari’s optimism carried over to the following morning. Since she’d promised Claris, she tried calling Milla, and when her call went to messaging, she followed up with Kyra.

“Hi, Ari! Are you back in town?”

“No, but I thought I should touch base with Milla, and she’s not answering her phone.”

“Is there a problem with the baby?” Kyra asked anxiously.

“No, nothing like that, but October isn’t far away. I thought…actually, Claris thought I needed to be talking with my midwife.”

“Good for Claris. I’ll have Milla call you. She’s at Tia’s, stayed overnight because that pregnancy isn’t going so well. Tia’s blood pressure is up. She’s supposed to stay off her feet, but gets bored quickly. I promised to sit with her and relieve Milla for a couple hours. You’ll probably hear from her today, unless Tia gets worse.”

“No, hurry.” Ari patted her stomach and frowned at the thought of Tia losing her baby. How awful that would be. She almost felt guilty she’d lost the schedule Milla had given her. But she’d been sleeping regularly, eating a healthy diet, and walked/jogged most mornings. What more could a pregnancy coach ask?

After lunch, Moriana took Ari to meet St. Louis’s only wereeagle family. The parents and three teenage children greeted them in human form, but Ari had never seen shapeshifters whose everyday persona so nearly matched their Otherworld side. Golden hair, golden eyes that could only be described as piercing, and chiseled features. They seemed constantly on alert, and Ari squirmed under the restless energy that danced along her arms. Didn’t they ever chill?

They weren’t big on small talk either. Within minutes, the father turned his penetrating gaze on Ari. “Moriana says you’ve had trouble with the crows.”

“Um, yeah, in Riverdale.” Ari’s gaze flashed to Moriana, who nodded in encouragement. So this wasn’t a casual visit. “Hundreds of crows. I think they were possessed and manipulated by one of the vampire elders.”

The teens, two boys and a girl, who weren’t paying much attention to the grown-up talk, suddenly came to life. “Crows? Do we get to chase crows?” one of the boys asked.

His father frowned at him, and his mother admonished, “Don’t interrupt. Just listen.”

Under Moriana’s prodding, Ari told them the series of events that had begun with the nymph’s murder. The parents’ looked grim and the teens grew more animated the longer she talked.

“I’m not sure why I’m telling you this. I haven’t seen crows hanging around since I came to St. Louis.” Ari narrowed her eyes at Moriana. The witch knew things before they happened. “Have you?”

“Only a vague unease. I believe in being prepared. I thought you and Acer should meet.”

Vague unease, huh? Ari continued to watch her, not quite satisfied with the answer. Was that Moriana-speak for I’m not sure if it will happen or I’m not sure when it will happen?

Acer looked at Moriana. “If you’re asking for our help, I’d welcome the opportunity to repay part of our debt to you.” He turned to his wife. “What do you think?”

She glanced at the eager teens.

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