Black Moon Sing (The Turquoise Path Book 1) by L. M. Hawke Read Free Book Online Page B

chance she could have been responsible for—”
    “Are you kidding me?” Ellery gave him a withering look of pure disgust. “Vivi did not kill William Roanhorse. Aside from the fact that she’d have zero motivation, she has no ties to the Rez as far as I know, and no reason to be lurking around Black Mesa. Plus, she’s only been missing since last night.” She narrowed her eyes. “But thanks for the creepy suggestion.”
    “I meant no offense.”
    “Of course you didn’t.”
    Typs almost never meant offense, but they still managed to say the most dipshitty things nearly every time they opened their mouths. They were always ready to assume the worst about a Para, simply because magic use was so poorly understood.
    In truth, most Paras didn’t understand magic use all that well, either. It was just what they did —their nature; their very selves. But most Paranormals Ellery had ever met were far more sensitive than Typicals.
    She tried very hard not to hold Hosteen’s silly comment against him. But as she thought more about Vivi, her patience wore thinner by the moment, and she could feel her temper growing shorter, too. Ellery had done all she could to help Hosteen and William Roanhorse. Now she had to turn her attention back to her missing friend.
    “I really need to head back to Flagstaff,” Ellery said, turning toward the pickup truck. But as she reached for the door’s handle, a thin banner of dust in the distance caught her eye. Someone had pulled off the main highway, and was heading up the long dirt road toward Roanhorse’s hogan.
    “Shit,” she muttered, freezing in place. Her heart pounded in her ears. “Hosteen, somebody’s coming!”
    He looked casually down the road. “I know. It’s my partner from the force. I asked her to—”
    “No one can see me, damn it!” Ellery whirled toward him. “Don’t you understand what could happen to me if I’m recognized? I’m not playing around here, Hosteen! Why do you think I ran from you last night?”
    “Calm down,” he said, raising his hands in that now-familiar, soothing gesture.
    But Ellery was beyond all hope of calm. The news about Roanhorse, the sting of being back in his home again, and the constant, tingling fear of being on the Rez once more had built to a crescendo inside her. And that was to say nothing of the dragging pull she still felt, the strange summons calling her from somewhere—something—not too far away.
    She gritted her teeth, but she couldn’t keep her fury in check any longer. “God, Typs are unbelievable! I tried to help, but you knew I didn’t want to be seen; an idiot could have figured that out by the way I acted last night!”
    Hosteen stared at her blankly, his arms hanging limp at his sides.
    “I can’t work with you anymore, Hosteen—I won’t . No Para can trust a Typ. That’s just the way the world is. It’s the reality we’ve both got to face.”
    “Can’t you try to trust me?” he asked, his voice just this side of plaintive. He stepped closer, and she seemed to hear the echo of his previous words. I can protect you . For a moment Ellery wanted to throw herself into his arms, to feel their strength wrap around her and shut out all the threats that seemed to assail her from every direction.
    But his strength was just an illusion, and Ellery knew it. What could one man do to alleviate all the fear and mistrust Paranormals faced? How could Hosteen even understand her well enough to protect her?
    There is no protection in this world, except whatever shield and armor you can make for yourself .
    The thought was grim, but she knew it was true. She stepped back, resisting the urge to slide closer to him, to feel his height towering over her and his body solid as a bulwark beside her own.
    “I already did try trusting you,” Ellery said. “More fool me.”
    She glanced again at the car approaching, growing steadily larger in the desert landscape, the dust billowing up behind it as it came toward them