Bayou Shadow Protector. Debbie Herbert

two at a time and burst into the cabin, flicking on the light switch. All appeared as he left it. A newspaper lay on the kitchen table alongside his coffee cup. Hands trembling slightly, Chulah picked up the paper and checked the date.

      Today’s date.

      The terror subsided, but still hammered his heart. Quickly, he crossed the room and snatched his cell phone from the charger. Eleven thirty-seven p.m. He pursed his lips, considering. That sounded about right. He’d left about thirty or forty minutes ago. There were no emergency text messages. He checked voice mail... No, there were no messages or missed calls.

      Excess adrenaline flushed out of his system in a whoosh. He sank onto the couch and put his head in his hands. Despite his relief, the old sorrow returned. Time had lessened the grief, but the guilt and sadness would be with him forever.

      * * *

      That was close.

      April fluttered her wings nervously from the top branches of a sweet gum tree. Damn if she wasn’t as careless now as she’d been a decade ago. If he’d seen her in Fae form, she could have blown everything on day one. It was way too early in the game for him to accept that she was a fairy and that her intentions were honorable. First, she needed to establish some measure of trust before asking his help with Hoklonote. Ease into it as much as she could, given the limited time frame. If any of the other fairies had seen her stumbling about, drunk on human kisses, the Council might pull her from this mission.

      Fearfully, she gazed around the area and breathed a sigh of relief. No Fae in sight to witness her idiocy.

      Home free.

      April touched her fingers to her lips, reliving Chulah’s kisses. It had been glorious. The best afternoon of her life. No wonder her mother had been so besotted with her human lover. The only surprise was that all the female fairies hadn’t defected from the Fae realm. Evidently, they didn’t realize what they were missing.

      “What the hell were you doing out there?” a voice hissed not a yard from where she sat.

      Shock slammed through her essence and she lost her balance, toppling from the tree. A couple of somersaults later, April righted herself and flew to the ground. Like a cat, she managed to land right side up, unharmed but unnerved.

      A thud hit the ground a few yards away. Steven’s stony visage flickered into view for a microsecond. Not long enough for human eyes to detect, but plenty long enough for her to see his scolding frown.

      “You’re supposed to keep me informed of your whereabouts,” he said sternly. “I go to check on you and what do I find? An empty bed.”

      “I’m not used to sleeping in such a confined area,” April explained. “It’s stifling to be surrounded by four walls with only a small window to see the world outside. I had to get out for a little fly-about. Surely there’s no harm in that, is there?”

      “Hoklonote might be lurking nearby. It’s a dangerous time to be alone in the woods.”

      Chulah had said much the same thing this afternoon when she’d hitched a ride.

      “I’m sorry. I promise to let you know next time.”

      Steven tugged on his red beard. “I saw that Chulah almost caught you. You need to keep your wits about you. Our lives depend on that.”

      “I’ve learned my lesson, and I’m prepared now. It won’t happen again.”

      “See that it doesn’t.” He tried to keep his voice gruff, but she saw that the worst of the lecture was over.

      “I won’t get you in trouble,” she assured him. As her temporary overseer while on the mission, Steven was as responsible for her mistakes as she was.

      “Very well. Let’s get back to the apartment. Our human bodies need sleep to function properly.”

      “I’m going to stay out a little longer.”

      Steven frowned and she hastened to mollify him. “If it’s okay with you,” she added meekly. “I want to watch over Chulah as he returns home. He’s our best chance to get an in with the shadow hunters. We can’t afford to let him get hurt.”

      He sighed. “You’re right. We’ll do it together.”

      Exactly what she didn’t want. Even though she was invisible to Chulah, April enjoyed flying beside him, as if there was a shared intimacy between them alone in the woods. Steven would definitely be a third wheel.

      “No, no, this won’t take long. And like you said, we need our sleep. I think my escapade tonight interrupted yours. Why don’t you go back to bed?”

      He wavered, hands on hips. “I am tired,” he admitted.

      “I’ll be back soon,” April said, flying up above him. “See you later?”

      “Oh, all right. Just don’t do anything foolish.”

      And she was off before Steven could change his mind. In the rush of the wind, she was behind Chulah. Close enough to almost reach out and touch his shoulder. It was agony and a familiar pleasure to be so close, and yet so far apart. Especially now that she knew the sweet excitement of his mouth and his hands.

      In no time, Chulah entered his cottage and shut the door. Still, she was loath to leave him. Instead, she watched through the curtainless window as he settled on the couch and talked on the phone. Was he perhaps calling Tallulah? Inviting her to come over? Begging her to change her mind on his proposal?

      Even after he’d hung up the phone, jealousy and curiosity wouldn’t let her leave. She’d sleep so much easier if she knew for certain that Tallulah wasn’t coming over. Chulah didn’t go straight to bed; instead, he opened a book and began to read.

      Minutes later, car headlights turned in the driveway and pierced the dark. A man jumped out and ran to the door. Ah, yes, she recognized his friend Tombi Silver. A smile lit her lips. No reason to stay, other than she couldn’t bear to tear her eyes from the lit window and go back to her bare, lonely apartment.

      And so she hovered, reluctant to leave.

       Chapter 4

      “What the hell? A new creature we’ve never seen?”

      Chulah’s face warmed at his friend’s incredulous stare. “I swear it’s true. Saw it with my own eyes. It had wings and...” he stammered, reluctant to share his theory. But their survival depended on total honesty and trust. “If I had to give it a name, I’d say it was a fairy.”

      Tombi paced the small cabin. “I believe you saw something out there. It’s just...fairies?” He stopped and stared out the window where shadows lengthened and the woods beckoned with their promise of magic and danger.

      “We shouldn’t be so surprised,” Chulah said. “If there are will-o’-the-wisps, birds of the night, and spirits like Hoklonote and Nalusa Falaya, why not a whole host of other supernatural creatures?”

      Tombi shook his head. “You’re sure this thing had actual wings?”

      That glowed with the light and warmth of a thousand candles. Stunning. Disturbing. But Tombi didn’t need to know the effect this mystical creature had on his senses.

      His friend pierced him with a hard stare. “Why did it come to you?”

      He didn’t say it, but he didn’t need to. As leader of the shadow hunters, Tombi should have been the human contacted, not him. He was only second-in-command. Actually, he’d been only third-in-command until the traitorous Hanan died in the last great battle.

      “I’m not sure why,” Chulah said with a shrug.

      “Think there’s any correlation between your new girl and this vision in the woods? I mean, here’s this stranger in town who talks about the shadow spirits. No humans speak of such