From Jennifer Ashley, With Love: Three Paranormal Romances from Bestselling Series by Jennifer Ashley

Author:Jennifer Ashley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: JA / AG Publishing

Chapter Twenty-Five

“Your vessel?” I asked in surprise, though Grandmother didn’t look astonished in the least.

“I created it,” Bear said, her voice filling the spaces around us. “I’ve come to take it back.”

“And do what with it, exactly?” I asked. “Destroy it?”

“No.”

Emmett and Gabrielle came up beside us—Emmett must think hearing this worth the dust on shoe leather. “A vessel fashioned by a Native American bear goddess?” he mused. “My price just went up.”

“Price?” Grandmother scowled at him. “I thought you wanted it for yourself.”

“I was speaking figuratively. Let me put it this way—the price for me helping you keep it away from her.”

“You can’t let her have it, Janet,” Grandmother said, ignoring Emmett.

“Why not? I certainly don’t want Emmett or the dragons getting their hands on it.”

“Gods can’t be trusted,” Grandmother said firmly. “Even friendly ones. What she thinks is right to do with it might destroy half this world. She’s originally from Beneath, remember? She doesn’t have good, solid earth magic to ground her.”

“Hey, I’m from Beneath,” Gabrielle said hotly.

“Exactly my point.”

I took a step forward, trying to shut out the distractions. “What do you want the pot for?” I asked Bear.

She fixed a gaze on me like the power of seventeen suns. “For? Why must things be for, human child?”

“I’m trying to understand why you didn’t destroy a thing that dangerous a long time ago. It tried to turn me into something I didn’t want to be. If I’d kept resisting it, I’d have died.”

“Because you are human, Stormwalker. Though god blood beats in your veins, you are held to the earth, as is your sister. Humans are too weak for my vessel. The shamans who decided to destroy it in lava many years ago were unable to throw it away, so I took it from them and hid it. But it uncovered itself eventually, and so your Nightwalker’s friend found it.”

“You’re going to hide it again?”

“Bring me the vessel, Janet.”

“Janet.” Another rumbling voice assailed me, one I was relieved to hear.

Mick walked out of the black shadows of the canyon walls, Elena with him. Mick was dressed, so he must have had Elena carry clothes for him, but the aura of his dragon flight was pungent—the familiar taste of fire and smoke wrapped up in the music of his name.

I tried not to hurry as I went to meet him. “Did you bring him?” I asked in a low voice.

Mick took my hand. “He’s coming.”

Elena wore her usual look of disapproval. “The Nightwalker insisted on accompanying us.”

Ansel walked shakily out of the shadows, as though he’d been waiting until summoned. He folded his arms over his lanky body, his sandstone-colored Sedona T-shirt making his skin even starker white.

“This was my fault,” he said. “I want to put it right.”

I didn’t agree with him, but Elena broke in before I could answer. “Whatever you do, don’t give the vessel to the goddess.”

“So Grandmother advised me.”

“Ruby is correct. The bear goddess has infinite power, maybe more than Coyote himself.

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