“So you want to know why a bunch of shifters and a human are out here looking for a mage?”
“Yes.” The two men nodded, seeming pleased that I was finally understanding them.
“Well these two here happen to be friends of the man we’re looking for.” Annia stepped between Fenris and me, clapping a hand on each of our shoulders. “And I’m a friend of Naya here,” she added, squeezing my shoulder to indicate who she was referring to. “But as far as I’m concerned, I’m here to collect a bounty. There’s a reward out for whoever recovers the mage we’re looking for.”
“Ah. So missing mage is important.” The Coazi’s eyes gleamed at that.
My hackles rose at the crafty look in his eyes, and I took a step forward. “If you know anything at all about a missing white man, I suggest you tell us now.” I was tired of whatever mind game they were playing with us, and I also didn’t like the way they were looking at us. “If you are hiding him from us and plan to hurt him in any way, I will make you regret that decision for the rest of eternity.” I bared my fangs at them.
The other Coazi stepped back, clothing rustling as they leveled spears and knives in my direction. But to my surprise, the tall Coazi just laughed. “You do not risk death for reward, no? White man you seek…he is one you love.”
A blush rose to my cheeks at that, and my spine straightened. “I owe him a great debt, and I intend to see that repaid.”
The man laughed at me again, and by the way his eyes sparkled I could tell he wasn’t buying my explanation. But he finally lowered his spear, and his companion followed suit with the bow and arrow.
“I am Tsu-Wakan,” the tall man said. He clapped his companion on the shoulder. “This my brother, Caranou. You come and spend night with us, speak with shaman. He tell you what you need.”
“Well this is going extremely well,” I remarked to Fenris as we sat together on one of the many logs arranged around a huge bonfire. I’d been hesitant about the idea of spending a night with the Coazi even though the party who’d met us had been generally friendly, but Fenris had insisted. According to him, a refusal would be a slight against the tribe. Apparently it was rare for outsiders to get an invitation, so this was an honor we shouldn’t pass up.
“Indeed,” Fenris remarked dryly, his yellow eyes on Annia. She was dancing around the fire along with the younger Coazi, Caranou, who had welcomed us warmly enough after Tsu-Wakan had introduced us. By the time he’d led us back to their camp, which was several miles away, the sun was dipping beneath the horizon and our stomachs were rumbling with the need for dinner. Thankfully, the Coazi had been more than happy to accommodate us – they’d led us to one of the round grey dwellings I’d seen from a distance that were a cross between a hut and a tent, and had allowed us to rest our feet while they’d set up the bonfire and roasted meat and vegetables.
“Yeah well you can’t exactly blame Annia.” Along with the food, they’d served us some kind of strong, fermented juice and passed a pipe around, which they’d insisted we smoke. Fenris and I remained unaffected because of our shifter metabolisms, but the alcohol and strange herbs had gotten to Annia. I snorted as I watched her stomp around in mini circles as she made her way around the bonfire, waving her hands in the air and shouting along with all the Coazi. Quite a few of them were bare-chested males wearing nothing but buckskin skirts, their bare feet stomping in the reddish brown dirt beneath us and sending up clouds of dust that made my nose itch. From the way their dark eyes lingered on Annia with admiration, I had a feeling she was getting laid tonight.
Lust surged through me at the idea, reminding me that my heat was barely two weeks away. I clenched my teeth as fire spread through my lower belly, hotter and more potent than the blaze in front of me. I already ached to quench it, although I knew it wouldn’t matter. Having sex before the heat peaked didn’t take the edge off – when the time came, it was always explosive and there was no escaping it.
Besides, there was only one person I wanted right now, and he was lost somewhere on these vast plains, close but nowhere near close enough.
“Your friend is very spirited.” The log shifted a little as Aman-Wa, the tribe’s shaman, sat down next to me. Grey streaked his dark hair, though aside from the deep laugh lines on his face he did not look so very old. His more colorful tunic separated his status from the other tribe members – the only person who was dressed more elaborately was the chieftain, who sat on the other side of the bonfire wearing a feathered headdress and beaded tunic, his arm slung across the slim shoulders of his wife as he talked and laughed with a tribe elder.
“Annia has always known how to have a good time.” I grinned at the shaman, but Fenris shifted uncomfortably on my other side. I wondered if he was intimidated by the shaman, or if there was something else that bothered him about the man. My instincts told me Aman-Wa was easygoing and sincere, but then again I didn’t know as much about these people as Fenris seemed to.
“She may have red hair and pale skin, but in spirit she could easily be one of us.” The shaman’s dark eyes sparkled as he watched Annia grab hands with one of the half-naked males and start dancing with him. “Our men have been eyeing her with more interest than perhaps is wise.”
“Well, I hope none of them get too attached,” I half-joked. “Annia is a bit of a heartbreaker, and we are leaving in the morning.”