Promises to Keep by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

I’m calling from SingleEarth, and I—”
    “Is this the best number to reach you?” the voice asked, interrupting.
    “Um … yes,” he replied. “It’s my cell phone.”
    “I’ll have someone call you back.”
    The line went dead.
    It could still be a rude candy shop, but the likelihood he had reached Frost was high.
     Jay left his room and scavenged the kitchen while he waited. The breakfast pickings
     were pretty slim. He picked up a stale donut, and then his phone rang.
    “Hello?”
    “Jay Marinitch?”
    “Yes?”
    Candy or mercenaries?
    “I was told you called. What can I do for you?”
    This was why he hated phones. “May I ask who’s calling?” he asked.
    The voice on the other side of the line laughed and said, “No.
You
called
us
. What do you need?”
    Not a candy shop
. He might still make an ass of himself, but at this point, who could blame him?
    “I need some information,” he said, “or a contact who can get me that information.
     Someone familiar with a culture that went extinct around the fall of Midnight but
     who isn’t
allied
with Midnight.”
    A slight pause from the other side of the line—man or woman? Jay couldn’t tell.
    “What culture?”
    “The Shantel. I want to know about their magic, and their spirit-witch, the … 
sakkri
.”
    “Aah.” A short pause, and then, “I’ll call you back.”
    The phone beeped, and the screen announced,
Call Lost
.
    Weird
.
    Jay wasn’t used to cloak-and-dagger, at least in the metaphorical sense. Cover businesses
     and cryptic, androgynous phone voices made him antsy.
    He wanted to
hunt
, the way a cheetah hunts, just for the pure joy of tearing into something and bringing
     it down. He
needed
to take on Midnight; it was a cancer in the free world,run by vicious, evil creatures who didn’t hesitate to violate any natural law in their
     quest for domination. But that hunt required careful planning, and coordination with
     other hunters.
Caution. Patience
. And now,
wandering
, waiting for someone else to give him information.
    The winter morning was crisp and freeze-the-bones cold, so even with his heavy jacket
     on Jay had to use a thread of power to keep himself from shivering.
    You all right?
    The faint mental touch from Lynx made him smile.
Restless
, he answered,
but not hurt. Where are you?
    Not far
. Lynx liked Haven #2. There were just enough big-predator shapeshifters for their
     scents to scare away coyotes, the only local predator that could be a danger to him.
     Also, Caryn knew Lynx, and always kept a stash of turkey jerky on hand.
Do you need me?
    I’m okay
, Jay answered, just as his phone started vibrating. It was the same voice as before.
    “If you’re sure you want to meet with her, I can set you up with someone who specializes
     in archaic magic. But I’ll warn you, she might eat you alive.”
    “Literally or figuratively?”
    “That depends on whether or not she likes you.”
    “Fantastic. How do I set up the meeting?”
    The individual on the other side of the line took information about Jay’s location
     and means of transportation, then gave him an address and the instruction to, “leave
     within the hour if you don’t want to be late.” Then the caller hung up, withoutsaying whether Jay was looking for a short balding woman with a rose between her teeth
     or a giant ferret.
    Going hunting?
Lynx asked in response to Jay’s increased excitement.
    Going talking first
, he replied.
But hopefully we’ll hunt soon
.

CHAPTER 13
    J AY COULDN’T BEGIN to recall where he had left his gloves, though he wished he did when he set his hands
     to the steering wheel. He half expected his GPS to swear at him for waking it up when
     it was so cold.
    He programmed in the address from the mysterious telephone voice and let out a whine
     when he realized it was almost three hours away. He wouldn’t get there until noon,
if
he didn’t hit traffic.
    After an hour on the highway, he turned on to progressively