She laughed at his perfect imitation. Except for the name. “I knew you’d get it.”
“I have as much of a life as you do. And apparently a subscription bill the size of the GNP of some countries.”
While she really liked Rory, there was something infectious about Luke. Something that made her want to take a bite out of him.
But that would be extremely unprofessional.
“Who are we looking for?”
Luke shrugged. “I have to be honest. I don’t know of a single shapeshifter who swallows souls. We’ve been down the list. And I can’t believe there’s a creature we don’t know.”
No sooner had he spoken than a foreign light sparked in those amber depths. “Ankou.”
“Bless you.”
He scowled at her. “We normally say ‘damn you’ when we sneeze.”
“Seriously?”
“What do you think?”
Made sense, but dang…vicious.
“So what aneurysm did you just have?”
“Ankou,” Luke repeated. “Celtic in nature. They’re nasty little critters. And they shift.”
“Why would one want to frame you?”
Luke didn’t answer. Instead, he stepped away from the gathering crowd, off toward the woods.
Curious, she followed after him. “What are we doing?”
“Looking for a fairy mound.”
“Excuse me?”
“They’re here. Trust me. Little bastards are never far away. And this time of night, they like to frolic. Twilight is their special, happy time.”
Why not? Made as much sense as anything else they dealt with. But as they went deeper into the woods, her heart began to pound. “Aren’t there gators in Savannah?” She remembered her father warning her to be careful of them. And having lived and worked in New Orleans, she knew they could turn up in the most unexpected places.
Like any crime scene around water. They’d even found a gator in a swimming pool during one investigation.
She did not want to repeat that experience.
Luke paused to give her a salacious smile. When he spoke, his voice held a deep Cajun drawl. “You afraid of a little ole gator, cher? I promise you, he’s not the scariest thing out in these woods.”
“Given who you are, I’d agree. But I don’t want a death roll or missing body part.”
He tsked. “I won’t let nothing vicious take you, darlin’. Don’t worry.”
She appreciated that, but it didn’t stop her from worrying. Every shadow seemed to be moving. More than that, the rhythmic chattering of cicadas added to the spookiness. “If I get swallowed by something, I swear I’ll haunt you forever.”
“You won’t be the first.”
Interesting as she’d never seen any spirit near him.
Just as she was about to ask Luke to lead her back, he stopped mid step. Off to the side was a small mound of moss-covered rocks. It was actually quite pretty.
