Soul Whisperer Read Free

about her slender neck. At the center lay the carving of a bird. In its open beak sat a red faceted jewel. The stone flashed bright—a ruby?
    He recognized the symbolism immediately—raven stealing the sun.
    The jewel exactly matched the red of her lips. He glanced from her mouth to the necklace and back to her beautiful face, putting it together. The realization jolted him as if he’d been pushed from behind. Yes, he decided, that was the perfect fit for this female, who epitomized grace and power. She’d be smart, too. Had to be.
    â€œA raven,” he said.
    She made a slight throaty sound that might have been a laugh. “And I thought you were all brawn.”
    Their eyes met and held. She broke the contact first, glancing toward the sky. Her natural home, he realized. Why hadn’t she changed and escaped him?
    His instinct was to keep her here with him, against her will if necessary. So he grasped her upper arm and held fast, preparing for the change that she could summon as easily as he could draw answers from a human’s mind.
    â€œStay,” he coaxed.
    Her smile was all seduction. “Why?”
    He cleared his throat, changing tactics. “I’m Cesar Garza.”
    Her mouth quirked.
    â€œAnd you are?”
    â€œBess.”
    â€œDo Skinwalkers have last names?”
    â€œSuncatcher.”
    Appropriate, he thought, since it was the legendary raven who stole the sun from Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit, and brought it to earth. But the sun burned her colorful feathers and afterward, her kind dressed only in black. He smiled at Bess, feeling awkward for the first time in a century. But the feeling was not mutual, judging from the menace glinting in her eyes. He felt the resistance of her as she tried to draw away from him. Her proximity made his body roar in a mad rush of blood and heat and wanting. He had been too long in the company of human females who were more than happy to give him what he wanted.
    Here was the first real challenge he’d faced in decades. And he was blowing it.
    â€œWhy are you here?”
    â€œI believe the question is, why are you here?” she said in a low, musical voice. “Outside the usual territory for Niyanoka, isn’t it?”
    Had she seen what had done this? It was definitely possible. He had to find out what they were and if they threatened mankind.
    He should go, continue his hunt, but this woman… No, she’s not a woman, not completely, at least .
    Cesar lowered his chin. “Did you see what happened?”
    Bess glanced in the direction of the victim, but Cesar knew the corpse was beyond her line of sight. She showed none of the horror or disgust he would have expected from a typical female.
    â€œI need to know.” It wasn’t a question, exactly, butneither did it force him to stoop to asking her for help, while still allowing her to offer it.
    â€œI didn’t see.” She hesitated. “But I can smell them.” She met his gaze. “I’ve never scented anything like this before. What are they?”
    â€œThey?”
    She inclined her head. “Two.”
    His mouth pressed into a grim line. “I’m not sure yet. I have to read the body.”
    She nodded, her eyes slightly wider now.
    He waited, swallowing against the bitter taste in his mouth, because he knew what would happen next, what always happened after he revealed himself. But she said nothing.
    â€œWell?” he asked, his voice full of venom.
    She shrugged. “Well what?”
    â€œI’m a Soul Whisperer.”
    She cocked her head as if she were part retriever, instead of a raven.
    He pressed his lips together in frustration. She was going to make him spell it out for her.
    â€œDon’t you know what that means?”
    She made no reply to his question, just continued her quizzical stare.
    His nostrils flared as he breathed deep of the moist air and then spoke slowly, as if to a child, enunciating