Denied--A Novel of the Sazi

by Cathy Clamp

  The other woman shrugged. “It’s all in the vault now, except for what’s left in your house. You and your brother came home too soon, so I could only take about half the boxes. I haven’t been able to get back inside to get the rest.”

  There was little time. She tentatively felt along the magic line to Ris, who was fighting for his life against the ancient cobra. But what to do with his mate while she went out to try to help?

  “Bojan!” she called as loudly as she could, and soon heard his footsteps coming down the stairs.

  She pointed at the woman in the basement. “That is the snake who attacked you.” Bojan’s eyes narrowed and he unconsciously reached up to touch the place where she’d hit him with the baseball bat. “She may have just saved us all, so please don’t kill her yet. Just keep her here. I have to go back to our house.”

  He didn’t argue with her, just took the knife from her hand and kept staring at the snake shifter. Enheduanna sat, unmoving, blood dripping onto the concrete floor from the wound in her leg. That it wasn’t healing gave more credence to what she claimed. But it could be a lie too.

  Anica reached out mentally—there was someone other than Ris she could reach that way: her sorority sister. Rachel! I need your help. Bring Claire and come back to town. Hurry! Maybe she should ask for more help. Amber was strong, and so were Alek and Dalvin. But the two women shared Anica’s desire to prevent another slave camp.

  Ha! I knew you couldn’t be dead! The clear, bell-like tones of Rachel’s mental voice burst into her mind and made her smile. What do we need to bring?

  The only thing that came to her mind was, Hammers. Big, strong hammers.

  She needed to make a lot more terbium dust, and fast.

  CHAPTER 24

  Ris moved quickly to the side, avoiding another spit of venom. The first two rattlesnakes lay dead from his bite, but now the others were avoiding him. He had to bring them closer, but every time he tried to slither toward one, another would strike at him. “On your six, Bobby!”

  Bobby was taking on the snakes on the perimeter, slowly squeezing the life out of them. He was immune to most venoms after working in Wolven so long. He took constant doses of all manner of vaccines to keep up his immunity. So all they could really do was try to bleed him to death while he strangled them, one by one. Now he slapped his tail out fast and hard, catching the small cobra right in the face, knocking out both teeth. It wouldn’t put him out of the fight for long, but he would have to grow back the fangs before he could bite again. It would give them a few minutes while he slithered off to heal.

  While it might seem random to someone watching, Ris and Bobby were very carefully guiding the fight toward the mountain. Eventually, if they survived, Lagash would have his back to a wall and then they could attack in unison. The cobra likely knew it, though, so he was making sure to keep in the open. They could really use one more fighter to keep up the pressure, but Ris didn’t dare call anyone else who had never fought with the two of them, or fought a lot of snakes, before.

  Amber might be able to do it. She could jump fast enough that Lagash would likely never lay a fang on her. But Ris would die a slow, horrible death if he let the Chief Justice’s mate get killed in a fight.

  Spotting an opening on Lagash, Ris took it, moving like a blur among the trees. He opened his mouth and struck, simultaneously throwing a noose of power over the serpent to hold him still.

  “Ris! Move left!” It was yet another trap and he wasn’t fast enough. Lagash struck as well, his powerful jaws slicing through his skin. Ris screamed as the venom hit his system.

  Bobby was there in an instant, wrapping his coils around the cobra’s mouth, keeping it shut. But fangs weren’t the only thing Lagash could bring to bear. His tail was a magical whip that could slice skin just as easily. The python shifter grunted in pain as one coil was ripped open. Lagash slipped free in the instant of hesitation and reared back to bite. “I grow tired of your interference!” Ris’s lower body wasn’t working as fast as before, as the powerful venom began to affect his muscles. He wasn’t sure he was going to be able to get out of the way in time.

  But instead of biting, the snake screamed as a small dark, furry form yanked him away. Anica?!

  Before the snake could strike the bear, a pair of owls, one snowy white and glowing with power, and the other brown but seeming more golden from a halo of magic, descended from a tree, pouring some sort of silver substance all over the snake. It stuck like it was glued to his scales. A small red wolf came next. She smelled like the female Wolven agent he’d met earlier, Claire. She head-butted the snake, throwing him further off-balance. Finally came Bojan, in human form, carrying a chunk of wood that was blazing with an oddly colored flame.

  Bojan threw the torch at Lagash, who screamed as the silvery substance caught fire. He began to roll in the ash, but the fire wouldn’t go out. He began to glow less and less, as though he was throwing his magic away.

  “The problem, Husband, is when you’re all out of magic, who is to say I will give it back?”

  Ris turned to see Betty Birch standing in the trees. As he watched, she began to shift forms, becoming first a cobra and then Enheduanna—the young long-haired, brown-skinned woman he remembered from Sargon’s court. Then she returned to cobra form and slithered over to her mate to watch him burn.

  Hurrying to Ris, Anica stood over him protectively, lashing out with her massive claws as Lagash’s snakes came at her. They bit at her but didn’t seem to be able to reach her skin through her thick brown fur. He wanted to help her, but his muscles twitched and spasmed and refused to cooperate. You are helping. I am borrowing your magic. But I will stop taking it when the fight is done.

  Enheduanna lashed out with fangs and magic at Lagash, who was screaming in pain. “It is over! No more will I endure your beatings, or your fangs, or your attacks against innocent children.” The magic acted like gasoline and the silver flame enveloped him, grew into a pillar of fire that was taller than the treetops.

  “Betrayer! Evil witch!” As fast as lightning, the cobra lashed out, wrapping his mate in flames. She screamed and Anica reacted instantly.

  “No!” The bear threw herself into the fire and pulled the smaller cobra out of her mate’s grasp. The brown owl sank talons into Lagash’s skin, pulling him in the opposite direction, trying to force him to loosen his coils. The night stank of burning flesh and feathers and fur and all Ris could do was watch and open himself to whatever she needed to take. He was having a hard time breathing as she fought against the fire and Lagash’s power and almost didn’t register it when Bojan began to drag him away from the blaze.

  “Anica!” her brother screamed. “Let her go. You’ll burn up!”

  She began to jerk backward, like a dog tugging on a rope. He … will … not … hurt her … anymore! Ris was flooded with images that could only have come from Enheduanna’s mind, of the pain and torture Lagash had inflicted on her for centuries.

  Yanking free of Bojan’s grip, not caring if Lagash’s poison spread throughout his body, Ris launched himself toward the battle. The heat of the fire hit him like a blast furnace. For some reason, Anica, Enheduanna, and the owl weren’t burning as fast as Lagash.

  Or him.

  Get out of the fire, Ris. We soaked ourselves in flame retardant from one of the plane dumps.

  But he couldn’t. Not until he did one thing. He was the hunter. Lagash was his prey.

  Tristan could feel his skin crackling and a scream burst out of him. Anica jerked, wrapped her whole body around his, releasing Enheduanna at last. Tristan leaped up and struck high, taking Anica, still wrapped protectively around him, toward Lagash. His fangs struck home directly in Lagash’s eyes. He put every ounce of venom he had left into the bite, then fell back, spent.

  Bobby and Claire took up Anica’s battle and pulled Enheduanna out of Lagash’s grasp as he began to falter, slumping down from the poison and flames. The trees began to blaze again as the new fire took hold.

>   Anica was holding Tristan tight in her furred arms. Her fur was charred, but she did not seem to be seriously injured. “Do not die, Ris. I will not let you die!”

  Between the cobra and rattlesnake venom and the fire, he wasn’t sure surviving was an option. “Is he … dead?”

  When Anica shifted position to look, Ris was able to see past her to a long line of char that which might have appeared to be a log if a person didn’t look too close. But there was only one log, not two. They had managed to free Ahmad’s sister. He would be pleased.

  Ris was wheezing now, struggling to breathe in the smoky air, and his insides felt swollen and tight, threatening to burst through tissue-paper skin.

  “Hang in there, Ris.” Bobby, with his human face, came to kneel over him. “I think we’ve got enough power left to pump into you to keep you going.”

  He flicked out a tongue that was one long wound. He could taste blood as the skin flaked and cracked. “Keep Anica safe. Okay? She’ll probably be fine when I’m gone.”

  The last thing he saw as his eyes were shutting and his breath was easing from his chest one last time was a flash of orange and yellow that might have been the sun rising.

  CHAPTER 25

  Anica stood at the edge of the lake, anxiously watching the water. She prayed that Ris had survived, but Amber had intentionally cut their mating link while she tried to heal him. The bobcat had been furious when she’d leaped into the clearing, both because of the injuries she had to deal with and because she had been left out of the plan to take on Lagash.

  It had been hours since Bobby and Amber, wearing scuba gear, had taken Ris down into the lake. Anica hadn’t realized how tied to the water kraits were. They lived their entire life in the water.

  Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. She stripped off her shoes and pants and dove under the water, feeling her way through the cold darkness, searching for the spark of magic in him. She spotted bubbles just when she was running out of air. He was floating motionless and Amber’s face, through the scuba mask, looked worried. Suddenly Anica didn’t care that Ris was a snake anymore. He was Ris and she wanted to be with him, learn of his life, share her dream with him.

  She wrapped herself around him and held him tight against her skin. His body was cool, like it had been when she first met him. His heartbeat was there, but barely, a thready pulsing against her chest. Reaching inside herself, she pushed what little magic she had into him. It wasn’t enough. If even Amber’s magic wasn’t enough, what could she do?

  Bobby handed her the breathing mask, but she didn’t want it. He had to force it into her mouth. She took a breath, almost grudgingly. You are my family. You cannot die.

  That’s when it occurred to her. He was family. And her family was strong. She took another deep breath and looked inside herself. There was a tie to Bojan and to Papa and, further out, Mama—her whole sloth. She reached out, asking … begging them to help save Ris. Bojan was first, joined quickly by Scott. Papa’s reaction was surprise, then worry, then acceptance of two new bear sloth members, who weren’t bears at all. Mama’s face came to her mind, her heart desperate to have her family back. She would give anything, risk everything, to have Papa back among the raspberries. She heard her mother’s voice, soft and heartbroken: Please, come home to me, my love.

  They all gave willingly, pushing power into her, and then into Ris, while she floated and hoped. Ris! Come home to me! She used Tuli’s advice and threw open the door, ripped at the edges until it was not just a house door, but a barn door that she threw wide open. The sloth’s magic poured through the doorway like floodwater. His eyes opened, the slitted pupils growing wide and round. His mouth opened and she held her breath, shoved the oxygen mouthpiece between his fangs, and released his chest with her other arm to help him inhale.

  He sucked at the air, even though his mouth wasn’t really suited. When he began to breathe regularly, she moved him in the water, like helping a fish back to life after it was caught on a hook. Amber had healed his skin and the fresh scales glowed with opalescent brilliance, lighting up the water around them all.

  Why am I in the water? What happened? Why are there all these voices in my head with yours?

  She smiled, and felt the bubbles tickle as they floated up around her head. Bobby pointed up and she helped Ris swim to the surface. Once they broke into the air and he took his first unaided breath since the previous night, Amber shifted him back to human and he treaded water, looking around the smoky landscape. Luna Lake had survived, but the town hadn’t. It was a smoking ruin thanks to the magical blaze started by Lagash’s death. At least nobody but Sazi were around to see the blue flames.

  But the people had survived, including Enheduanna. She was free and, like Rachel had said after they made it back to the shelter, she was now the fourth sorority sister. With her help, there would be many more in the future. Enheduanna knew the location of all of the rest of the slave camps, and now that she was no longer under Lagash’s control she would help them clear out the nests and help her brother bind the remaining snakes to him so they could do good without fear. Someday maybe all snakes would be good. Like Ris was good. Of course, he was part bear, so he had a head start.

  “You are part of my sloth now, Ris … my femily. The voices in your head are Mama and Papa and your new brothers. Perhaps they are not warriors like Umi or Mako. But they are yours now. Like I am yours. And when you are healed, we are going home. Mama is wanting to meeting my new mate. And Bojan’s.”

  Amber added, “I’ve eaten with her family, Ris. I suggest bringing salmon to dinner instead of wine. A lot of salmon.”

  Anica laughed. After a moment, so did Ris.

  TOR BOOKS by CATHY CLAMP

  THE TALES OF THE SAZI: LUNA LAKE TRILOGY

  Forbidden

  Illicit

  Denied

  BY CATHY CLAMP and C. T. ADAMS

  THE TALES OF THE SAZI

  Hunter’s Moon

  Moon’s Web

  Captive Moon

  Howling Moon

  Moon’s Fury

  Timeless Moon

  Cold Moon Rising

  Serpent Moon

  BY C. T. ADAMS and CATHY CLAMP

  THE THRALL

  Touch of Evil

  Touch of Madness

  Touch of Darkness

  Writing as CAT ADAMS

  Magic’s Design

  THE BLOOD SINGER NOVELS

  Blood Song

  Siren Song

  Demon Song

  The Isis Collar

  The Eldritch Conspiracy

  To Dance with the Devil

  All Your Wishes

  PRAISE FOR FORBIDDEN

  “Sure to appeal to fans of Ilona Andrews and Patricia Briggs.”

  —Library Journal

  “I was captivated by the magic of this world. I was also amazed by the social dynamics of Luna Lake. Recommended for … fans of strange and beautiful magic.”

  —The BiblioSanctum

  “Clamp brings us shifters, secrets, mind control, and romance as we race to catch an unknown predator. One hell of a sexy ride!”

  —The Lovely Books

  “Electrifying. Thrilling suspense.”

  —Literary Addicts Book Community

  “I loved it. I had no idea who the bad guys were until the end of the story. I have to applaud her talent for suspense!”

  —Coffee Addicts Book Reviews

  “Cathy Clamp is a name I love to see on a book cover. She delivers a pleasing mix of action and danger, romance, characters you root for, well-thought-out villains, and some surprising twists.”

  —The Nameless Zine

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  CATHY CLAMP is the USA Today bestselling author of Forbidden and Illicit, the first two books in the Luna Lake series, and coauthor of the original Sazi series, which began with Hunter’s Moon. Clamp is also coauthor of the first six Blood Singer novels, published under the name Cat Adams. She lives in Texas. You can s
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  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Tor Books by Cathy Clamp

  Praise for Forbidden

  About the Author

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  DENIED

  Copyright © 2018 by Cathy Clamp

  All rights reserved.

  Cover art by Gene Mollica

  Cover design by FORT

  A Tor Book

  Published by Tom Doherty Associates

  175 Fifth Avenue

  New York, NY 10010

  www.tor-forge.com

  Tor® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.

  The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.