On a Dark Wing Read online

  “And you’re not doin’ this without me.” Stan Edwards made it unanimous.

  Bob knew how important each man’s contribution would be. The more eyes they’d have on the ground, the better the odds of finding the boys.

  “Thanks. I can’t tell you what this means to…my family. And Josh’s.” Bob made a point to look each man in the eye. “Since we have no idea what direction the boys took, we’ll be searching in a pattern, using the camp as center point. We’ll use wands to mark our way back, but once we’re out of flags—” he took a ragged breath “—that’s as far as we go.”

  Bob hoped it wouldn’t come to that. He didn’t want to think about not finding Nate and Josh, but Mike Childers helped distract him from his mounting fear.

  “How does this search pattern work?” Childers asked.

  Bob told them more about how they would search using the tracking beacon. He explained a method that he’d learned from an old Special Forces buddy who tracked hostiles in the jungles of Malaysia, a circular method Bob had adapted during hunting season to pick up animal tracks.

  “We’ll harness up, for safety, just like we did coming up. If you guys see anything, sing out loud enough for the next guy to hear you. We’ll pass it down the line.”

  After each man nodded, Bob had one more thing to say before they headed out.

  “If these boys are in serious trouble, they don’t have much time. We gotta make this count.”

  Bob tried to stay focused, to clear his head of anything that would cloud his judgment. Nate and Josh’s lives—and now the lives of these men—were in his hands. But no amount of objectivity could outweigh the rush of emotions bombarding him, especially since he hadn’t told his wife what had happened yet. She’d be devastated. That’s why he’d made the tough decision to stall until he knew more. Waiting at home for word would be pure agony for her, Zoey and Josh’s family. But no matter how much he’d tried to remain detached and do his job, images of Nate and Josh flooded his mind.

  Mike Childers had been the first man to pull him from his worsening misery. He put out his gloved hand. Without saying a word, he held it out in front of him, as if he were in a huddle. In a show of solidarity, each man did the same with Bob placing his hand last.

  “We’re gonna find ’em,” Childers said. “You won’t be alone when we do.”

  Bob swallowed, hard, and only nodded. Words would have been too tough.

  Nate felt the comforting warmth before he opened his eyes. He had almost forgotten where he was until he blinked and everything came into focus. At first glance, nothing much had changed. He was still surrounded by ice, but when a brilliant pinpoint of light spiraled into something more, it made him squint.

  The growing brightness hurt his eyes.

  “What the hell…”

  Gone were the scary shadows and the deathlike stillness of being trapped in ice. The light filled the entire cavern, blurring everything into an intense white, until a vague shadow emerged. Arms, legs and hands morphed from the light and took shape. The ghostly entity split from the bulbous masse and drifted over them. A guy his age, with blue eyes and a body Nate could see through, like a spirit or vision.

  When the guy made of light settled over Josh, Nate got really scared.

  “Josh. Wake up!”

  He reached for his friend, but Josh didn’t open his eyes. Nate wasn’t even sure he was still breathing.

  “Don’t come any closer.” He warned the spirit and put an arm over Josh. “Stay away from him.”

  But that didn’t stop the thing. The entity swept its light over Josh until Nate couldn’t see him anymore.

  “What are you doing? Leave him alone,” he pleaded. “Please!”

  Nate tried shoving the strange vision aside, but his hands swept through the air, unable to feel anything.

  Was Josh dead? Is that how death came? Helpless, Nate watched as the light washed over Josh inch by inch. In a slow realization, he grasped something he never wanted to consider.

  Maybe they were both dead.

  After the light finished with Josh, it turned toward him.

  “No, stay back.”

  Nate shook his head and shoved away. When he moved, he hit a dead end with nowhere else to go, his back against a wall of ice.

  “No. Don’t.”

  The blue-eyed spirit with the ethereal body had come for him, but this time he didn’t sweep over Nate, like he’d done with Josh. This time, the thing touched Nate’s chest and his filmy hand went straight through. That seemed to surprise the creature, but it didn’t stop the thing from getting closer.

  “No! I’m not dead,” Nate yelled. “I can’t be!”

  He didn’t want to watch, but he couldn’t look away. When the ghostly light came nearer, he stared into the spirit’s translucent face as its fierce light speared his body. He expected pain, but instead came intense warmth.

  “Please…don’t do this,” Nate begged, even though he knew it would do no good.

  He had expected to fight the thing off, but he was shocked at his own reaction. The minute that being touched him, all the fight went out of him. He shut his eyes and let it happen.

  Nate didn’t even cry out.

  Abbey

  Near Healy, Alaska

  Hugging Dad had brought a truce to the tension between us. Although I wasn’t sure how long it would last, I felt happy that part of my life had gotten simpler. I even caught Dad smiling at me, for real. After we finished breakfast, he asked if I wanted to go with him to town, to stock up on red meat. When I asked him if his testosterone was running a quart low, he told me that he’d really gotten tired of fish. Cleaning them, gutting them, the smell, I wasn’t sure what had gotten to him the worst, but he told me that he was seriously done with fishing for his supper.

  “Yeah, I’ll go with you. I can call Tanner in town, if you float me some coin.”

  After playing twenty questions with Dad on why I needed money for a public phone when I had my cell, I had to admit to him that I’d been lame and forgotten my charger. Dad had his own version of the eye roll. He raised an eyebrow, but at least he’d dropped the third degree.

  “Then get ready. The train is pulling from the station in five minutes,” he said. “But cover up that T-shirt. You’re not going to town in that thing.”

  Dad acted like he hated my T-shirt, but since it used to be Mom’s, he let me wear it when it was just the two of us. It was practically falling apart, but I couldn’t get rid of it. When I had found it hidden in a drawer, after she died, I asked to keep it. He said yes with a sad smile and told me that he’d bought it for her when they were dating. That’s all he’d said. Guess he wanted to hold on to that memory of Mom. Maybe he’d share it when I got older. I was okay with that.

  Her T-shirt carried the name and logo of Skinny Dick’s Halfway Inn, the one with two polar bears humping on the front. Yeah, real subtle. A local tourist hot spot near Healy, the inn was located on the Parks Highway, halfway between Anchorage and Fairbanks, hence the name. Since Dad would never let me be seen in public with Mom’s old T-shirt, he always forced me to cover it up. Getting ready in my bedroom, I pulled my head through my tie-dyed Fly-by-Night sweatshirt, the one with a can of psychedelic Spam on the front. (Spam was practically the state food, or something.) When I slipped into Mom’s old hiking boots with laces undone, head to toe I looked layered in Mom.

  After I brushed my teeth, I grabbed my fanny pack and shoved all my personal stuff in it, the things most girls would carry in a purse. Dad was already outside and had the SUV running, but when I opened the passenger door, I heard a sound that stopped me cold.

  The caw of a raven.

  I looked over my shoulder and saw the bird perched near the stone chimney of our cabin. The damned thing looked as if it had
been waiting for me.

  “Ah, sorry, Dad. I changed my mind. I’m staying here.”

  “But I thought you wanted to use the phone in town.”

  “No, it’s okay. There’s something I need to do. I’ll see you when you get back.”

  Dad stared at me with his face pinched. I thought he’d make me go with him, but after his expression softened, he said, “Okay. See you soon.”

  “Don’t forget the snackage.” I forced a grin, acting casual. “The really good kind. None of that healthy stuff.”

  “You got it.”

  I slammed his car door and watched him drive away. When I turned around, the raven was still there. It ruffled and preened its feathers, like it had all friggin’ day. That made me impatient and I lost my cool.

  “Primp on your own time, Poe. What’s up?”

  At the sound of my voice, the black bird lifted off the rooftop. In a seriously cool maneuver, it flew a circle around the cabin before it headed up the mountain. I didn’t race to keep it in sight. I knew where it would go.

  I followed it, only this time when I got to the ridge, the raven wasn’t alone. My breath caught in my throat when I saw them. Dozens of black birds perched in the trees surrounded the clearing, just like the ones that had stalked me back home. Only this time, I was in the open without the protection of hiding in my house.

  “Holy cow,” I whispered.

  With all of them together, they scared me bad. Every rustling wing, every flap, every raspy caw made me tense. That one raven suckered me into thinking he’d be alone, like last time. But as I stood near the fire pit, I held my breath, trying not to rile them. I had visions of my eyes pecked out and bloody. Even if I ran, I wouldn’t stand a chance if they ganged up on me. I was seriously outnumbered.

  And with Dad gone, I was alone and without a working phone. I didn’t know what to do. I stared into the branches that were filling up. More ravens darkened the sky and were circling. Taking one step at a time, inching my way back toward the trail, I kept my eyes on them…until I backed into something that didn’t move. Something warm.

  “Hello.”

  I screamed.

  The sound of a guy’s voice came from behind me. My whole body jumped. When I fell hard to the ground, the ravens took off with their wings thrumming the air to a deafening roar. A black swarm filled the sky, circling through the evergreens and over the treetops. I covered my head, afraid they’d attack me, but when that didn’t happen, I looked at the guy standing over me.

  My eyes first stared at his boots before they traveled up his jeans and eventually settled on his sweatshirt. It was the exact one I had on, but what really spooked me and totally had me confused was…

  I stared up at Nate Holden.

  Chapter 7

  “Are you for real?” I asked him.

  Yeah, right. Like a faux Nate Holden would actually tell me I was dreaming. Of all the things I could’ve said, asking that question sounded stupid, even to me. It’s just that I’d been fantasizing about him for so long that I thought this was the best one yet—or maybe I’d finally lost my mind.

  With his dark hair in finger-tempting waves around his incredible face, Nate cocked his head and stared down at me. I must have looked silly, sprawled on the ground. But what he did next really surprised me. Instead of attempting to answer my lame question or make fun of me, he plopped on the ground across from where I’d fallen, with his long legs around mine.

  I snorted a nervous laugh and said, “I mean, I thought you’d be on Denali by now. What are you doing here?”

  Nate looked as if he was studying me and I did the same right back. His blue eyes were more beautiful than I ever remembered them. They were a deep winding road that I wanted to take. With him so close, I nearly forgot to take my next breath and time slowed to a soft pulse.

  “Weather got…bad,” he said.

  His low voice sent a wave of goose bumps across my skin. He was really here—with me—and with my boots touching the inside of his thighs, being so close to him made my face heat up.

  “So your father postponed your climb? Is that what happened?” I asked, trying to act calm. Nate was an outdoors guy. If he couldn’t be on Denali, finding him near Healy wasn’t exactly a stretch, but I was more than a little curious about how he found his way to my mountain.

  He shrugged without saying a word. When he topped off his vague response with a lazy smile, he made my heart turn melty like chocolate-chip cookies hot from the oven. I wanted to stare at him forever—and touch him—but with me totally rattled, my mouth motored on like the Energizer Bunny.

  “Aren’t you…disappointed? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that. I guess postponing isn’t canceling, right?”

  I sounded like a moron, but he only smiled like I entertained him or something.

  “Climbing Denali has been your dream.” I leaned closer and softened my voice. “I’d be bummed if I had to wait…for something I really…really wanted.”

  I wasn’t talking about climbing a mountain anymore. When his cheeks blushed pink, the combo of his smile and that shy-boy routine got to me. I wondered if he knew how girl killer crazy he was.

  “But why here?” I asked. My gaze took a detour, trailed down to his lips and stayed there. “I didn’t know you’d be in Healy.”

  “I came for…you.”

  Oh. My. God. I swallowed, hard. No way was this happening to me. I blinked like I had a piece of lint in my lashes and all my insecurities bubbled to the surface on a fast boil. My reaction grew more intense when he played with the laces of my boots, fingering them slow and easy.

  “But I didn’t think you knew—” I existed, that’s what I wanted to say “—who I was.”

  “You’re Abbey Chandler.” He grinned and pulled his legs in, teasing me with the warmth of his body against my calves. “I’ve never forgotten you.”

  Never forgotten me? From what?

  I narrowed my eyes, thinking about what he’d said. Nate acted strange. Coming from me, that said something, but before I asked about it, he did something I would never, ever forget. Without saying anything more, he got to his knees and crawled closer, not taking his eyes off mine. Better than any dream I could have ever imagined, he ran his fingers through my hair and down my cheek before he did exactly what I wanted him to. Slow and gentle, he held my face in both hands and kissed me, like I was precious and mattered. When I closed my eyes and felt his lips on mine, my whole body reacted. A tingling jolt raced through every strand of my hair and spiraled around in my stomach until it hit my toes.

  The perfect kiss. My first kiss.

  And it had come from the real Nate Holden, like I’d always dreamed it would.

  Even after Nate stopped kissing me, I kept my eyes shut, not wanting it to be over. I felt him on my lips. I smelled his skin on the wind and the heady scent of pine and the rich earth would forever remind me of that perfect moment. When I finally opened my eyes, he didn’t disappear like I had made him up. He really sat next to me.

  “Why did you kiss me?”

  “I thought you wanted me to. Was I wrong?”

  Those big blue eyes waited for an answer. I swallowed with a loud gulp, one that I felt sure he’d heard. Nate sat close enough for me to feel the heat off his body. Even in the woods, he smelled damned good. I touched a trembling finger to his lips and he smiled. Guess he had his answer. I could have stared at him forever, but a bad case of jangling nerves kept my mouth talking.

  “You never asked me about the ravens,” I said. “I mean, it’s weird, right?”

  “Not really. Not for me.”

  “Oh, so they came because of you. Is that what you’re telling me?” I grinned, but when he didn’t crack a smile, I stopped. “How does that work? You snap your fingers and poof, they
do what you tell them?”

  Although I didn’t know much about boys, Nate looked like he’d lost interest in birds. As if he’d read my mind and saw into my most intimate fantasies, he leaned in and teased me, brushing his lips against mine. As he kissed my neck, I shut my eyes, feeling absolutely everything.

  But when his lips nuzzled my ear, he whispered, “Poof.”

  The ravens took off in one big whoosh. The sudden move scared me. When I leaned closer to Nate, he put his arms around me, to protect me. Black wings were everywhere. They flew through the trees and into the sky, heading for the valley below us. Like a wickedly good magic spell, he’d made them go. Was it a coincidence or had he really done it? I still felt as if I had imagined everything.

  “Oh, wow. How did you do that?”

  “You believe I had something to do with that?” He teased.

  Now I felt like a moron. He’d been joking and I’d fallen for it. Even the damned ravens had been in on it. I wracked my brain to figure out a way to save face.

  “I was kidding, too.” I lied and changed the subject. “Nice sweatshirt, by the way. You have a thing for Spam or do you have a fake ID to get you into the Fly-By-Night Club?”

  “Spam?”

  “Yeah, I like it, too.” After I looked down at my sweatshirt, I had a hard time meeting his gaze. “This was my mom’s.”

  “Your mother crossed over.”

  He said it so matter-of-factly that I wasn’t sure I’d heard him right—and he didn’t actually ask a question. Crossed over? Even with my dad being in the funeral business, I’d never heard anyone real say it, not in a normal conversation that didn’t involve weird psychics on TV.

  “Is that some strange way of saying she died?” Although I heard the edge in my voice, I couldn’t stop. “I didn’t think you even knew me. Did someone at school tell you about my mom? I mean, we didn’t even know each other five years ago.”