Trolling for Trouble (The Lynlee Lincoln Series Book 1) Read online

“’ Night,” came a ringing voice echoing from the closet. Swallowing the kindling of fondness I felt for the two youngsters, I turned on my heel and left the room, closing the door behind me.

  I started down the hall, away from them, then paused and looked back. It was impossible not to become caught up in the flood of memories. Beck was here again, in my house, just as he’d been all those years ago. Back when things were just getting started. Back when things were simpler, even if just for the briefest of moments.

  It was stupid to let myself think of those things, to get lost in all of that old baggage. Still, I was pretty sure now that I’d never be able to get to sleep. It was late and as I started up the steps to my bedroom, I wondered what my BFF Rhiannon’s Halloween had been like. As soon as I arrived in my room, I shot her a quick text.

  By the time I’d gotten under the covers and started to drift off, I still hadn’t heard back from her. To say this time of year was full of trouble for both of us was an understatement. She and I were going to have a lot to talk about whenever we rescheduled the breakfast date we’d canceled that morning.

  Chapter 4

  RHIANNON’S BIG SURPRISE

  Weres were allergic to silver, no matter the species of origin. Be it a canine, feline or some other variety, they still were susceptible to the silver bullet. But what most humans didn’t know was that silver was actually dangerous to almost every type of shifter.

  Silver poisoning calls were still rare though, even during Halloween. Mainly because silver was such a valuable commodity these days that people didn’t tend to waste it hunting creatures that any self-respecting human didn’t even believe in.

  But teenagers are gullible, and the ones who spent their allowance on a package of silver bullets believed the advertisement when it insisted they could take down a werewolf with them. Unfortunately for the kids, there aren’t any werewolves for at least two hundred miles of this particular section of woods in the Appalachian Mountains.

  But there were other MAUCs just as vulnerable to rogue bullets, and Trip Drago was one of them. Yes, even dragons had kryptonite.

  Rhiannon dabbed at the blood seeping from the wound in Trip’s back with a handful of gauze. Her wolf ears picked up the sound of movement, and she looked up just in time to see Geraldine Fitzpatrick, approach them through the woods. The woman only came to about Rhiannon’s waist, which was actually tall for a gnome.

  “How’s the marshmallow doing?” Rhiannon asked, then grabbed Trip’s shoulder to haul him back to his seat when he began to whimper and squirm away. “Stay still. I know it hurts, but I can’t help you if you don’t sit down.”

  “How the hell would you know if it hurts?” he hissed, and a puff of black smoke escaped his nostrils. “I’m the one with a bullet in me.”

  “Okay, let’s just be clear.” Rhia slapped a bandage onto his back wound and taped the edges down. She then took his hand and pulled it up to hold a similar strip of gauze to his front shoulder. “First, the bullets weren’t silver. Just lead, which isn’t fun, but at least not deadly. And second, you do not have a bullet in you. It went clean through, and your magic is already closing up the wound. So man up. It could’ve been a lot worse.”

  “At least it’s not a silver bullet like you thought when you called me.” Geraldine grinned in amusement as she leaned against a tree and held up one of the unspent shots, examining it in the light of the setting sun. She was Trip’s Neutralizer, which meant it was her job to keep him out of trouble and to protect his true identity from the human world.

  “Those stupid kids said they were silver. How the hell was I supposed to know they were lying? This is my life on the line here.”

  “What I don’t understand is how you got close enough to attack that one kid.” Geraldine spoke as she took a few steps closer.

  “I didn’t attack him!” Trip screeched. “He attacked me. And he was all proud of himself when he advanced on me. I thought he was going to kill me, so I had no choice.”

  Rhiannon snorted and grabbed her bag. “Which brings me to my original question, Geraldine. How’s the kid doing?

  “Oh, the kid’s fine. He’ll wake up tomorrow with a clear memory of falling into his campfire and burning his hands and arms thanks to a little hypnosis. Just first degree burns for the most part anyway. And not a single memory of his encounter with a real, live dragon.”

  With a satisfied nod, Rhiannon stepped aside and studied Trip for a few moments. There were little patches of greenish-brown in his complexion, and although he wasn’t breathing fire at that moment, wisps of smoke were still emanating from his nose and mouth.

  “Why are you green?” his Neutralizer asked him, then turned to Rhiannon. “Why’s he green?”

  “I gave him something for the pain so his ability to control his magic is reduced. Plus, deep down inside, his dragon self is pretty pissed about this whole thing. That side of him wants to shift back into a big reptile and burn the forest down. You’d probably better go home and stay there for at least twenty-four hours.”

  Trip grimaced but nodded his head.

  Just as Rhia was about to say something else her phone rang. She glanced at the screen and saw Lynlee’s name. “Hey, girl, what’s up?”

  “Monty needs you. Can you get out there to see him?”

  With dramatic flair, she dropped her head and sighed long and deep. “Damn, Lynlee. Can’t you get that little perv to stay home at least one Halloween?”

  “It is what it is.”

  Monty Janek was a very old vampire trapped in a teenager’s body. Each year, he managed to worm his way into a teen party and it was almost inevitable that he would at some point shift into a bat and buzz all of the young girl’s chests. And every time that happened, Lynlee would show up and get him out of the bind. The problem was that once he was a bat, he would sometimes get so excited that he couldn’t transform back into a vampire. And that was when Lynlee would call her.

  “Yeah, I’ll try to get over to his place in a bit. I’m on another call.”

  “Thanks. I’ve already got another buzz, too, so I’d better get going.”

  Ah the joys of Halloween, Rhiannon thought to herself.

  By the time she got off the phone, Trip had already left. Geraldine was patiently waiting so that she could magically transport Rhiannon back to her home. Werewolves had lots of nifty tricks, but magical transportation wasn’t one of them.

  “All ready?” Geraldine asked.

  Rhiannon nodded but just as the elf was about to start her magic, Rhia’s cell phone began to ring again.

  “Tell Monty to hold his horses. I’m just about to get home, and I’d at least like a minute to eat.”

  “Rhiannon, it’s Sandy.”

  When she heard his voice, it was as if the floor dropped out from under her and her mind started spinning. She glanced up at the waiting Geraldine, gaze pleading for help that the woman couldn’t possibly give her.

  She licked her lips and struggled to take a breath so that she could speak. But it was no use. Her heart was pounding so hard she was pretty sure it was about to thump right out of her chest.

  Her secret crush was on the line, and she couldn’t seem to conjure a single rational thing to say to him.

  “Rhiannon, are you there?” There was a rattling sound, and she had the impression he was probably shaking his phone as if they had a bad connection.

  She cleared her throat, then managed to mumble. “Mmmhmm,”

  “Can you hear me?”

  “Mmmhmm.”

  Geraldine took a few steps closer to her, waving her hand in front of Rhia’s face. “Are you okay?” she whispered.

  “Mmmhmm.”

  “I’ve got a problem with one of my kids. I think we need a doctor.”

  She blinked in confusion and pulled the phone away from her ear to frown at it a few seconds before resuming the somewhat one-sided conversation. “You’re a dad?”

  “A dad? No, I’m talking about my job. As a Sandman. Y
ou do know who this is, right?”

  Of course, she knew who it was. He was Bartholomew Winstead, one of about fifty Sandmen throughout the world. It was his job to help children and sometimes adults find their way into dreamland. By night, when on the paranormal job, he used the name Sandy; the names were his version of Superman vs Clark Kent identities.

  But Sandy had more in common with the man from Krypton than just his penchant for nicknames. His looks were classically handsome, with dark brown hair that was always coiffed just so and a nearly perfect body. His shoulders were broad above a narrow waist, and he was tall enough that even she, a fairly tall werewolf female, had to look up at him.

  The truth was that he was so strikingly sexy to her that simply looking at him turned her limbs to jelly. And the few times he’d spoken directly to her, she’d been in dangerous risk of simply passing out cold.

  Yes, she had it bad for this particularly MAUC. Unfortunately for her, it was common knowledge that he only had eyes for Rhiannon’s BFF, Lynlee Lincoln.

  “Yes, Sandy. I know you. So what’s going on with your ... kid?”

  “It’s a long story, but I’d really like you to get here right away. Do you have time?”

  “Uhm, yeah. Sure, I can do that.” She scratched at her belly to try to force away the butterflies squirming around in there. “Where are you exactly?”

  “It’s a cabin in Colorado. Pretty far from you probably, but if we called Lynlee...”

  “No!” she interrupted him a little too quickly and too loudly. She loved her best friend, but she knew the witch had absolutely no interest in the Sandman. And this might be her one and only chance to get to know him better without him being distracted by the girl he liked. “I’m just finishing a call with an elf. Let me give the phone to Geraldine, and she can send me there.”

  The elf transported her to the cabin and then immediately disappeared, having been called to another of her clients’ aid. As soon as she took a step towards the house, Rhiannon’s mental hackles went up. She hesitated, then raised her nose into the air and sniffed.

  Wolves. A lot of them. The property was surrounded, and she had a pretty fair idea she knew what that meant.

  “Hey, Rhiannon. Thanks for coming.” Sandy spoke from the doorway before he motioned her inside and she followed.

  “Does this family know we’re here?”

  When she turned in his direction, her heart lodged in her throat at the sight of him. The low lights of the cabin cast a golden light onto his face, making him appear mysterious and almost ethereal. She hadn’t thought he could possibly get any more good-looking, but she was clearly wrong.

  “The parents know I’m here, yes. The truth of the matter is that I’m babysitting.”

  A giggle escaped her lips, and she slammed her mouth closed to stifle it. Her nerves about being in such near contact to him were making her feel giddy.

  “I know, I know. Laugh all you want, but I like kids, and paranormal parents don’t have a lot of options when they need someone to keep their children. It works.”

  Rhiannon nodded, a grin still on her lips. “So these people are MAUCs. Weres, I’m guessing? And where’s the patient?”

  Sandy’s dark eyebrows pinched together in a frown. “No, they’re not weres. Daywalkers.”

  “For real?”

  She had reason to be surprised. For one, daywalkers were exceedingly rare. They were unable to procreate, so a family of them was perhaps even more unusual than the creature itself. Known also as reverse vampires, it was still a mystery how these creatures even came to exist. Still, they were impressive beings with many of the same powers as regular vampires but few of the weaknesses.

  “Well, Maria, Emilio and Felipe live as a family, even if they aren’t. Felipe was changed as an infant, over twenty-five years ago. He appears about eight these days. They age, you know. Just very slowly.”

  Rhiannon nodded. “Yeah, I know.” Reverse vampires weren’t allergic to sunlight, and in fact, thrived in it. They fed on the chlorophyll from plants instead of blood. They weren’t so much undead, as they were semi-immortal, hence the fact that they did age. “So what happened to Felipe?”

  Sandy immediately turned on his heel and started down a hallway she presumed would lead to Felipe’s bedroom. When he opened the door, she saw the boy writhing atop the bedsheets, his face beaded with sweat and a pain-filled cringe on his face.

  Advancing on him quickly, Rhia began her examination. He was burning up with fever and just the barest touch to his skin had him wincing. Gently, she moved the legs of his jammies up and inspected his limbs. Finding nothing, she moved on to his arms. Again, nothing. Rolling him easily to his stomach, she lifted his shirt and found what she’d been expecting to see on his upper shoulder.

  A bite mark, inflamed and angry.

  “Damn,” she hissed, then dropped back onto her rear end beside him on the bed.

  “What is it?”

  Raising her eyes to the Sandman, Rhiannon paused until she could restrain her emotions. “Werewolf,” she whispered. “I’d say about twelve hours ago. The change happens in stages over the course of a day. I think I have something to help with the pain.”

  She began rummaging through her bags, finding a bottle with the oils that would help Felipe relax and sleep. Even as she prepared the dose to administer to him, the child moaned and tensed his knees up to his chest.

  “Then you’ll stop it?”

  Rhia didn’t pause in her work. Her mind was racing ninety to nothing, but she quietly, slowly mixed up the medicine. Then she slipped a hand behind the little boy’s head so that she could drop some of it onto his tongue. He swallowed, then licked his lips and after no more than thirty seconds he exhaled a slow breath and relaxed a little.

  Wrapping her fingers around the handle of her bag, she headed towards the living area of the cabin, hoping that Sandy would follow without question. He did, and when she plopped onto the couch, he easily sat down across from her in a rocking chair.

  Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on his knees and folded his hands to face her. “Tell me, Rhiannon. Can you stop the change?”

  “It’s almost impossible, Sandy. Can you get in touch with his parents?”

  “They’ll be home tomorrow at noon. I can try to reach them. You said almost. That means there’s a chance. We have to try. What if the change kills him?”

  What if it didn’t? That was the question. For the most part, the MAUC world avoided the creation of hybrids. It was a tricky business that rarely turned out as planned. Still, there were those who sought the power that might be possible if one could join the magic of one creature with another.

  The wolves waiting outside the cabin must have had a power-hungry Alpha ruling over them. There was no other reason for them to seek a hybrid. And clearly, they knew what they’d done or they wouldn’t have been waiting for the kid to change.

  The process took hours, but if she was right that he was twelve hours into it, then they had no more than five hours before he would reach the point of no return. And that was when the wolves would pounce, ready to take possession of their new were.

  Chapter 5

  RHIANNON FACES AN URBAN legend

  Before she could anticipate his intention, Sandy moved closer and placed his hand atop her knee, his dark eyes searing her with a pleading gaze. “I care about this kid. I care about this family. There’s got to be something we can do. Please.”

  And so that did it. There was no way she could say no at that point. She’d admired Sandy from afar for a very long time. She’d secretly imagined that one day he would turn those sexy eyes on her with a very different look behind them. And yet he had rarely given her much attention at all, only Lynlee.

  Still, there was something to be said for the fact that he’d called her for help tonight. And since he had, she couldn’t let him down.

  “There’s something. It’s not going to be easy, and we don’t have much time. But I can try.”

&n
bsp; The curl of his lips into a wide smile had her arms feeling tingly. When he grinned wider and showed his teeth, her stomach lurched with the sort of attraction she’d never felt for any other man. She stood and crossed the room to put some space between them. She didn’t need distraction for what she had to do.

  “Okay, so I need a map. I need to figure out where we are because I’ve got a long way to go before those wolves attack this cabin.”

  Sandy got up and headed for a cupboard against the wall, rummaging around until he finally emerged with a book of road maps. She snatched it from his hand and slapped it onto the table where she skimmed through pages.

  “I imagine we’re about here?” She pointed to a section of mountains on the map of Colorado.

  “Yes, well, more like this area.”

  She nodded, then turned a few pages. On the New Mexico section, she put her finger on a spot in the Northwest corner of the state, then whistled. “Could be worse, but it’s gonna be a doozy of a trip. And I don’t have a lot of time.” She glanced at her watch and mentally considered when the wolves were likely to advance. T-minus four hours and thirty minutes.

  “What’s there, exactly?”

  Pushing the map book aside, she faced him and forced what she hoped was an optimistic smile. “I’m counting on there being a chupacabra.”

  “You’re kidding...” His voice trailed off as he realized she wasn’t. “I’m coming with you.”

  Rhiannon moved to the center of the room, making sure to stand in a place where there would be plenty of space. “You have a kid to babysit. I can handle this.”

  “It’s a bad idea. I’ll call Lynlee and she can...”

  “No!” She shook her head and inhaled a long breath. Reaching into her bag, she withdrew an empty glass vial, then tossed the bag aside with a thud. After carefully placing the bottle on the carpet in front of her, she turned her gaze back to Sandy. “We don’t have time, and besides, I’m pretty sure she’s already got her plate full right now with other Halloween calls. I’ve got this, Sandy. But I do need your help.”