Panthers of Brigantia Shifter Box Set

by Lisa Daniels

  Ignacio watched her from his place by the fire. As much as he wanted to go help her, he was afraid that his help would not be welcome. The rest of the group were sitting around a fire and talking like they had done the previous nights.

  Rosaline was pulled from her worry as she noticed something heading towards them much faster than humanly possible.

  “There’s a shifter approaching.” She stood up seconds before a golden-colored jaguar without spots stopped at the edge of the fire’s light.

  He shifted and took a few steps toward the fire. In human form it was much easier to see that he was seriously injured, possibly fatally injured if he wasn’t treated soon.

  Rosaline hurried to him, but his eyes didn’t seem able to focus on anyone. “They have her. They managed…” She couldn’t understand what he meant, but the gasps from behind her told her that the rest of the group did. He continued, “I failed.” Unable to remain on his feet, he dropped to his knees.

  Rosaline knelt beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “No. You haven’t failed yet. It’s just time for you to sleep.” He fell into her arms. Seconds later, she placed him on the ground and began to work magic while almost everyone else seemed frozen behind her.

  A soft voice beside her cut into her work, “What can I do to help?”

  “I need warm water. He’s lost a lot of blood, and there is something in his wounds that is keeping them from properly closing.” Before she finished speaking, a small bowl of water was held out to her with a clean cloth.

  She worked feverishly, keeping him from waking so that he would not feel the pain. “Can you draw the poison from him?” Her request was nearly a whisper because she knew that it was dangerous.

  “Of course.” A familiar hand appeared in her vision, but Rosaline focused on her work. If Ignacio was going to draw the poison into himself, then she wasn’t going to waste the time he was giving her. As soon as one wound was clear, Rosaline worked to heal it. A minute later, she fell back, feeling exhausted. Healing was not one of her best skills, but she had reacted on instinct.

  Dulce put something behind Rosaline’s back and sat down beside her. “That was quite exceptional. You have a lot more healing talent than me. I have pretty much none.”

  Feeling tired, Rosaline shook her head, “I know that seers are the best healers. I probably should have let one of you do it. He’s a champion. Right?” She looked at the patient. “Where are his spots? His hair is just blond.”

  Dulce laughed, “Yes, most seers are gifted healers. Unfortunately, you aren’t traveling with any of them.”

  The other seer sat down on her other side, “Quite unfortunate for you, yes. Dulce and I are very good at reading the future for others.”

  “Plagued might be a better word,” Dulce said.

  “Yes, I agree. Some nights I can’t sleep for the images.”

  “No kidding,” Dulce muttered. “It got so bad for me that I was going out looking for humans just to get rid of the strongest ones.”

  Faith laughed beside her, “I never had it that bad.” She patted Rosaline’s back, “I don’t know what we would have done if you weren’t here. We absolutely cannot afford to lose him.”

  All eyes were on the figure being carried to the sleeping area by Draven and Benettio. Ignacio was watching the jaguars with a grim smile on his face. He gave a quick bow to the women, “If you will excuse me.”

  “Is nature calling?” Dulce said as he turned to leave.

  He gave a wide grin, “Something like that.”

  Rosaline stood up, “Oh gods.”

  Dulce stood up beside her, “It’s alright. He’s an assassin so he will be perfectly fine out there on his own.”

  Rosaline looked at the seers, who were now heading back to the fire, chatting. Dulce grabbed her arm and pulled her with them. Rosaline turned back but could no longer see Ignacio. Swallowing, she had a hard time not running after him.

  But there was nothing she could do to help him. Ignacio was going to purge the poison from his system, and if she got too close there was no telling what would happen. She began to pull at her lip as her mind followed him through the darkness.

  She felt hands pushing her back in front of the fire and a warm voice said, “Go ahead and lean a little closer. I’m sure that using that much magic must have drained you. That was some quick work on what could have been fatal injuries.” Dulce patted her back.

  “Haiden is going to owe you when he wakes up. You are one lucky bitch.” Faith nudge Rosaline. “Not that anyone ever keeps track with him. Sweetest man in the world, Haiden.”

  “If anyone’s a bitch it would be Harmony,” Dulce said from Rosaline’s other side. “I cannot believe that she finally won him over.”

  “They are complete opposites.” Faith laughed. “But she deserves it after everything she has been through. And he always liked her, even when no one else liked her.”

  Dulce laughed, “Don’t be so mean. I love Harmony. There is no pretense, no lies and fake niceties. She’s just so brutally honest and open.”

  “Yeah, isn’t that why she can be a problem?”

  “If Harmony is giving you trouble, that is because you deserve it.”

  Faith placed a hand over her heart, “You wound me, Dulce. Such harsh words from you, I think I’m just going to curl up and die.”

  Dulce laughed, “Ever the martyr for yourself.”

  Rosaline stopped listening to them after a while and stared off into the darkness. I’m so sorry, Ignacio. They don’t even know, and I can’t tell them if you won’t. Why are you keeping it a secret? Please come back and be alright.

  A warm hand on her head pulled her from her thoughts. Rosaline looked up into Draven’s eyes, and at first thought that he was somehow reflecting the colors of the fire until she properly focused. No, he has fire-colored eyes. Strange.

  She felt her body sway a bit. “Ah, someone has overexerted herself.” A pair of warm arms picked her up. “Ladies, if you will help me get her to bed until the ambling assassin returns.”

  Rosaline decided not to fight, and as soon as she was settled into her bedding, she sent her mind out looking for Ignacio.

  Rosaline’s mind searched for Ignacio and found the assassin more than a mile away from the camp. He was on his hands and knees, and it sounded like he was having trouble breathing. She pulled part of herself away and sat near him, pulling her knees to her chest and rocking.

  “I shouldn’t have asked you do to that,” she said. “I shouldn’t have asked.”

  Ignacio looked up, his green eyes watery and pained. “Who’s there?”

  “I’m sorry, Ignacio. I’m so sorry.”

  Finally his eyes found the source. Rosaline sat a few feet away, barely visible. He crawled over to her and fell to the ground. His body made noise that it definitely shouldn’t have, like his bones were breaking, but he was smiling up at her. Stretching out a hand, he tried to pat her back. “There, there. It wasn’t your fault.” He let his hand fall to the ground. “Wow, that poison is stronger than I thought, and this time it wasn’t full in the face. Maybe I am losing my touch.”

  He struggled to sit up, finally moving a little distance away to lean on a rock nearby. “I hope she doesn’t actually feel bad for asking me to help.”

  Rosaline scooted closer to him. “I do feel bad. I feel incredibly guilty. You didn’t even think about it first, you just did it. It isn’t what I expected from an assassin at all, but you are… so much more noble than I had been led to believe you should be. I thought you should have judged him to determine if he should be saved.”

  Ignacio frowned and tried to scratch his head. Unable to bring his hand up far enough, he let his head fall back against the tree. “You’re too young to know what you are talking about. You are too gifted to understand regular problems. You are too much a part of death to value life.” He let out a derisive laugh, “Well, that last one was expected. All of the assassins warned me that was the stigma to persuade me n
ot to do it.” Ignacio ran his tongue along his very dry lips. “I hear all of it so often now, it is starting to play in my own mind.”

  Rosaline felt a pain in her chest as she looked into his face. “Why don’t you let them know what you did? Let them know that you pulled the poison out? As it stands, they think that I did everything.” There was a bit of pleading in her voice.

  Ignacio shook his head, “Ah, self-doubt and a desire for praise, the constant companion of all assassins. Of course, you strike when I am at my weakest.” He moved his head to look at her, “And you take such a pretty, pretty form.” He closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the tree, “I won’t give in, though. Like my brethren, I did not become an assassin because it would gain me glory or fame. No assassin has ever been happy for the notoriety. I do it because it is right, and I want to see things as they should be. If Rosaline gets all of the credit, it will make me happy because she has seemed so sad this whole time. She won’t tell me what is wrong, though, and…” He let out a sigh and didn’t say anything else.

  “Ignacio?” Rosaline stretched out a spectral hand, wanting to touch him, and to let him know that she would try to be happier if he would stop hurting. The gentle sound of breathing stopped her from materializing further. Slipping back to herself, Rosaline slept the rest of the night.

  Chapter 9

  No Rest

  When the sun rose the next morning, Rosaline rolled over and hid her face under a blanket. It was the memories of the previous night that jolted her awake a few seconds later.

  “Good morning, our star healer,” Faith was flipping through a book. “You seemed to have slept quite well.”

  “Yes, I did. Thank you. How did you sleep?”

  “Like a rock.” Faith put the book down. “He’s still out, but he’s definitely going to be alright.”

  “Ignacio?” Rosaline asked as she pushed the covers away.

  “No,” Faith laughed, “Haiden. I think that Ignacio did watch him all night, though. Hardly necessary after what you did. I think he felt bad that you ended up doing everything.”

  “But I—”

  Before Rosaline could finish, Dulce pulled open a flap on their little enclosure. “Good morning.”

  Faith gave her friend one look and rolled her eyes, “Working out the poison, I see.”

  “You’re just jealous.”

  The two bantered, leaving Rosaline confused and curious. She followed them to the water to wash up. Someone always stayed with Haiden, but they couldn’t make any progress on their goal while he remained unconscious.

  The afternoon after he appeared in their camp, Dulce and Draven disappeared, which was expected. However, their return less than an hour later startled everyone. They explained how they had found a time hole not too far away, and the seers and champions immediately began to discuss trying to rescue Harmony themselves.

  Ignacio avoided listening to their discussion, but Rosaline was drawn into the debate because too often the group was talking over itself. Dulce alone sat to the side, a defiant look on her face.

  “You cannot expect me to sit back and wait for her to be found.” Though she was pouting, Dulce’s voice was anything but cute as she looked at Draven.

  “I understand your concern, Dulce, but you charging in is about the worst thing that you could do. Obviously, you aren’t thinking things through.” Draven was exasperated, but more tame than Faith and Benettio, who both felt that the risk was too high to go after her at all.

  Rosaline walked over to the group. “I’m sorry, Dulce, but he is right. If you still have poison in your system, you are going to make it easy to add to their heart. It is almost a death sentence to both you and Harmony. You won’t leave her, she won’t leave you. Draven will die trying to get both of you out, and then we will be down more allies.”

  Dulce’s eyes narrowed, “You are not going to guilt me into staying behind.”

  “Why would you feel guilty about not doing something stupid?” Rosaline tilted her head to the side, trying to figure out what Dulce meant. “There are other options. Right now, I think that Haiden is our best option. If he can wake up within the next three days, he has the proper motivation to find her and bring her back.”

  “Three days!” Dulce stood up. “They could have her merged into a heart in that amount of time!”

  Rosaline shook her head, “Right now they are looking for Miracle.”

  The small group looked at each other. Draven looked up at her, “They aren’t those kind of believers. They don’t look for miracles.”

  “No, they aren’t looking for a miracle. They are looking for the Miracle in the prophecy. It was issued the night that Haiden appeared. It was so clear it almost gave me a headache.”

  Draven stood up, “What prophecy?”

  “Miracle’s prophecy. She had been fighting them for a very long time. Longer than any of us have been alive. Longer than all of us have been combined. But she met him,” she pointed to Haiden, “and Harmony. Harmony named her Miracle, and then sacrificed herself to make sure they didn’t find Miracle. She didn’t know that Miracle is much, much older, but I don’t think that she had a name before. Maverick took her, but I didn’t follow him because of Caspian and—” Rosaline stopped talking and she turned to look at Ignacio. She immediately shut her mouth.

  Ignacio was watching her without any discernable expression on his face. She recognized that look.

  “Rosaline!” Her head whipped back around and she stepped back when she realized that Benettio was standing directly in front of her. His clear yellow eyes were pretty, but they were not friendly at that moment. “How do you know this?

  “I’m a druid,” she said and began to pull at her lip.

  Before anyone could say anything, Ignacio materialized beside her. “I believe her. She’s been training to become a high priestess, so she is much more sensitive to the world than we are. Although,” he turned to look at her, an eyebrow arched, “it would have been nice if she would have told us sooner.”

  “I didn’t know if it was important. We are protecting Dulce, so we couldn't go after Harmony, too. She has a lot more poison in her system.”

  Dulce seemed to swoon. Draven was by her side helping her sit down. “It’s okay, Dulce. Everything will be alright.”

  Rosaline spoke up, “If it will make you feel better, if he isn’t awake within three days, I will go look for Harmony.”

  The group fell silent.

  “You can’t do that, Rosaline,” Ignacio’s voice was low. “You cannot go walking into—”

  “I will take Ignacio because I can tell you all trust him, even if he is an assassin. You don’t think of him as one, so you trust him. If Haiden doesn’t wake up, we will make sure she comes back safely.”

  The group looked at each other and started to nod. Dulce looked up at her, “Thank you, Rosaline, but I don’t think that we can let you go. Your powers are far too great, so we can’t let you walk into trouble.”

  “But you can’t go, either.”

  Ignacio held his hands up, “I will communicate the need to a few people who might be able to help and will have them be on standby for when Haiden wakes. As for the group, I think we will need to get to the destination as quickly as possible and then disband. Maverick will not be joining us now, and the four of you, though incredibly capable, you don’t have a healer among you.”

  “Sorry, Ignacio.” Dulce looked at him with a guilty smile, “It looks like we are relying on your druid a little too much.”

  He waved his hands, “If she is offering to go into the Unwashed den, then clearly she has enjoyed her time here, even if she doesn’t know how to show it.” He looked at Rosaline for a second with a forced smile, “She has been trained to be careful and unemotional. If I didn’t drag her back, she would probably do everything she could for the betterment of all.”

  As he said it, Rosaline felt a little pain in her heart, mostly because she knew it was true. The way he said it made
her feel like he did not agree with her following what was expected of her.

  Ignacio leaned over, “The priestesses would never approve of you walking into an Unwashed nest.”

  Without another word, he walked off into the forest. Faith broke the silence, “I don’t care if he is an assassin, if that shifter were interested in me, I would not turn him down.”

  Dulce laughed, “Forget it, Faith. His heart is more closed off than Caspian’s, he just won’t play with your heart before breaking it.”

  Rosaline turned to look at where Ignacio once stood. Without thinking, she moved over to Haiden and began to tend to him.

  The next day passed without any changes, but the following morning, Haiden woke up. Rosaline noticed him moving around and talking with Ignacio, who was cooking up some fish that they had caught. Everyone else was down at the creek. At one point, Ignacio had a pained expression on his face as he looked over at her. She gave a little wave, but he looked away. Moments later, Dulce noticed that Haiden was awake. Running out of the water, she headed straight for him. Since listening to Ignacio after he had purged the poison from his system, Rosaline had been trying to fit in a little better. She ran after Dulce and Faith, and threw her arms around them as they hugged Haiden. After all of the time she had spent taking care of him, it felt nice when he hugged her back. A sincere smile spread across her face, and she squeezed him a little harder.

  As happy as he was to see everyone, Haiden had no intention of remaining, especially after he learned about the time hole. Ignacio pulled him aside for a few minutes. When Haiden returned, he was smiling. “Ready, Dulce? Draven?”

  “You look awfully happy for a fool rushing in.” Draven did not look amused.

  “Well, I'm not going to go running in, sword swinging, the way you would for Dulce because I want their deaths to come as a complete surprise. A sweet, nasty surprise.” His eyes narrowed, and for a second Haiden looked almost terrifying. He shifted and a few seconds later he, Dulce, and Draven were heading toward the time hole.