“Do you ever eat raw meat while in your jaguar form?” I asked.
“I have,” Kael said. He pulled in a quick sniff of the meat. “I prefer cooked, though. The flavor is better.” He tentatively bit a piece off, chewed, then nodded. “The hunt itself is fun, but it’s hard to explain.”
I tried my own meat. It had a very gamey taste and could definitely use a bit of seasoning, but it wasn’t too bad. “I could see that,” I said. “Tackling a deer or antelope is probably akin to me plucking a bit of ancient treasure from a pile of earth and dust.”
A crooked grin lifted one of Kael’s cheeks. “Maybe, though my method of hunting is likely a lot less dangerous.”
“Probably.” I laughed. “Let’s hope you never accidentally take down a cursed zebra.”
“Let’s hope.” Kael chuckled, and bit off more meat.
I stared at him for a moment, watching the muscles work as he chewed and noticing the stubble shadowing his jaw. “Do you prefer to be in your human form, or would you rather give in to your primal nature?”
Kael studied the piece of bone in his hand, already stripped of meat. “I wouldn’t say it is my primal nature. It’s just nature. You, as a human, don’t get up and take a shower because it’s primal. You do it because it’s just something you do. Shifting isn’t me tapping into some primal piece of me, it’s just who I am.” He tilted his head and studied me. “Why do you ask?”
I shrugged. “Just curious, I guess.”
I took another bite to spare myself from needing to give him any further explanation. In truth, I was wondering because my own ancient, dark nature moved inside me like a restless shadow, and it was nothing but primal. I had hoped Kael could give me an insight on controlling a feral part of yourself, but it didn’t appear he would have any pointers on what was troubling me.
“You know, when I first shifted, my mother had to chase after me for two days,” Kael said. He tossed the bone away and tore off seconds from the roasted gazelle. Instead of biting into it, this time he merely tore off little pieces. “I had never felt anything like it, and I just wanted to run, climb, and hunt. I grew so lost in my sleek new muscles and sharpened senses that when she finally caught up to me, she took me by surprise, and I put a clawful of scratches across her face.”
“You attacked your own mother?”
Kael gave me a frown. “I wasn’t myself. She convinced me to change back, and I apologized. My point is, I had to learn to control my shift. I had to learn to let it be a part of me, and not something I had to set loose.”
It was then I realized he was giving me advice by way of a story from his past. “Thanks for telling me. I’m sure your mom is a wonderful woman.”
He nodded. “Are you going to eat that?” He pointed at the remainder of the meat.
“Nope.” I still had some to finish, but after the first several bites, I’d begun to lose my appetite. “Eat away, kitty cat.”
Kael snorted. “That’s a nickname I could do without.”
As he finished eating, I rifled through my pack to take stock of supplies. There was only one spare set of clothes left for Kael, so I really hoped he would be careful with his shifts. We had a canteen each, but one was only about a quarter full. Some bandaging was still left over from Bibi, and I had a couple of small knives. Aside from that was only a handful of granola bars and a set of clothes for me. If something wasn’t figured out soon with the pride, we would have no choice but to turn back to civilization.
A sudden thought occurred to me. “Kael, couldn’t you just contact PITO and tell them to have the pride hand over the key? You’re all shifters, after all, and protecting relics is what you do. Wouldn’t they have to listen?”
Kael shifted and angled himself toward me. “It doesn’t work like that. True, we are all shifters, but that doesn’t mean we all follow the same government. PITO is an organization, not a monarchy. Your FBI can’t go to another country and make demands without cutting through red tape and jumping through loopholes.” He looked away, his gaze sweeping across the darkening landscape. “Besides, I don’t want PITO to know about the third key. Not yet, anyway.”
“Why? Don’t you trust them?”
He took a while to answer, and I wondered if he was afraid to speak against his own organization. “They follow their own rules, for their own reasons, just like everybody else. These keys, this plot of Vehrin’s, is bigger than any of us. His influence likely stretches far, or he wouldn’t be taking such risks. I’d rather wait until the key is in our possession and we figure out our next move before letting PITO know anything other than the fact we know where Vehrin is located.”
I picked at some dirt lodged in the tread of my boot. “It must be awful to feel like you can’t trust the people you work with.”
“I don’t trust most people.”
It was a surprising thing for him to say, but it made sense. Kael had always struck me as a loner. It was in his shifter nature. Jaguars didn’t live in prides like lions, or packs like wolves. They dwelled in solitude. He’d always seemed suspicious of the witches and fae we met, but now I wondered if it stretched to people in general, shifters included. It was a sad thing to think about, not being able to trust in anybody.
“Is there anyone you do trust?”
I lifted my gaze to Kael, and he held my stare as he smiled. “I trust you.”
For some reason, his words made my stomach flutter. I couldn’t help but feel a bit proud that I was someone he was able to put faith in. “Good thing,” I said, trying to make light of it. “This whole mission would have been a mess if you didn’t.”
“It’s still been a mess,” Kael pointed out. “But at least the company is good.”
I grinned. “You’re full of compliments tonight.”
“It’s a good night for compliments, don’t you think?” Kael lifted an eyebrow.
“Is it?”
As if in answer, Kael laid back on the ground and laced his hands behind his head. I followed suit, though I used my bag as a makeshift pillow. The stars had come out, and they shone above in an endless sea of diamond dust. I’d never seen the heavens so clear and vast.
Despite the beauty above, the silence around us was disconcerting. We were in the African wilderness. There should be the sound of animals, like the chirping of birds and insects. The quiet in the air was heavy, and wrong.
I scooted a bit closer to Kael, feeling a little vulnerable in the dark, silent open. “Vehrin will return to take the third key.”
“I know,” Kael said. “We have to get it before he does.”
I studied the stars, trying to pick out familiar constellations. “Kael, there is no way that guy is going to hand over the relic. The only way we will be able to get that key is if we steal it, and we can’t do that.”
“You didn’t have a problem stealing it when you thought it was in a famous museum.”
A sharp sigh blew past my lips. “That was different. To get the key now, we would have to do it by force.”
“There may not be another way, Livvie.”
I turned to my side to face Kael and propped my head on my elbow. My eyebrows furrowed. “I don’t want to attack innocent people. They have children there, Kael. We can’t just tear in there and hurt people.”
Kael’s features were impassive. How much of his agent identity was he using to steel himself? “We have no choice.”
I recalled what he had said to me after we confronted the witch on the mountain after I’d been pummeled by an avalanche. He’d told me there would come times when I had to make decisions that would go against everything I was, but it would be necessary. I rolled over onto my back again.
“I’m afraid,” I whispered.
Warm fingers touched the back of my hand—a silent request. I opened my hand, and Kael slid his into mine and gave it a squeeze.
Kael’s voice was soft. “Why are you afraid?”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek as I thought about attacking the shifters s
o we could get the key. I couldn’t bring myself to use my sword. The thought of cutting innocent people down made my stomach clench. I would have no choice but to use my magic to incapacitate them.
“If I attack people using my magic, the power inside me may like it too much.” I tilted my head to peer at him. “What if I can’t stop?” The thought of slaying people, of enjoying it, of dropping body after body, made me shiver.
Kael leaned up on his elbow and stared down at me. “You make your magic, Olivia; it doesn’t make you.”
He had so much faith in me and so much confidence in my ability to handle myself. What if I failed him?
I looked away. “I’m not so sure.”
He laid a warm, rough hand on my cheek. “I’ll look after you, Livvie.”
My heartbeat quickened, and I knew he could hear it. Kael would look after me, both physically and mentally. He wouldn’t let me become a monster. I stared up at him for a moment and breathed in his peculiar rain-and-citrus scent. He was so close I could feel the heat of his bare chest. My gaze found his stubble again, and I wondered how rough it would feel against my skin. My fingers twitched as I thought about wrapping my arms around his neck.
Rational thought caught up to my emotional musings, and I swallowed so hard it came out like a gulp. My cheeks reddened, and I caught Kael’s lips twitch in amusement before he eased back.
Now was not the time to be falling for a shifter. Though, was there ever a good time to fall for a shifter? It wasn’t as if we would work out, anyway. Didn’t shifters have to stick to their own kind? More likely than not, we’d have to go our separate ways eventually.
“What are you going to do when this is all over?” I asked. “Will you be assigned to a different location to protect?”
After all, there would be no point in him being at the ruins in the Amazon since the relic he’d been protecting there was now around my neck. I’d probably be going back to my job at the university, if they’d still take me after my extended vacation.
Kael didn’t answer my question. “Get some sleep, Livvie,” he said. “We have a fight tomorrow, one way or another.”
He rolled over so his back was facing me. I curled my hands against the power inside me waiting to be released, and thought of the shifter pride. I could almost feel the taint of innocent blood already staining my palms.
Chapter 20
The scent of woodsmoke was the first thing I noticed when I started to stir the next morning. I could tell it was early, even before I opened my eyes to the pale gray of dawn. A moan hummed up my throat as I rolled to my back. My shoulder was sore, and the healing wound on my ribs panged a bit from sleeping on my bad side. I tilted my head to see if Kael was still asleep, but he was no longer laying beside me. I shifted to lean up on my elbows.
The fire was smoking, but no flames licked the wood remaining in our hand-dug fire pit. I glanced around, expecting my partner to be sitting nearby, but he was nowhere to be seen.
“Kael?”
There was no answer.
A chill prickled over my skin. I sat up and rubbed my arms. What if Vehrin had come in the middle of the night and…
And what? It wasn’t as if the dark mage would have attacked Kael and left me unharmed. I did a quick check. The pair of keys still hung around my neck. He definitely wouldn’t have left those. Besides, Kael would have made some noise if he were being attacked, and I would have woken.
The sticks Kael had used to hold the meat over the fire the previous night were laying neatly beside it. He’d most likely just gone out to hunt for our breakfast. My stomach churned at the thought of eating when I would most likely be in a fight at some point during the day. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to muster up an appetite.
I twisted around, grabbed my bag, and settled it onto my lap. Maybe I could just munch on a granola bar and let Kael eat a gazelle, or antelope, or whatever unfortunate creature he would manage to take down. He always had a ferocious appetite. I wouldn’t be surprised if he skewered a water buffalo over our fire.
My fingers hit a canteen as I dug around for a granola bar and I pulled it out. Staying hydrated was a lesson I’d learned the hard way. I untwisted the cap and took a few swallows. When I was finished, I unwrapped the granola bar. I took a bite, then grabbed a nearby stick. There was a tiny chill in the early morning air, despite what I was certain would be a hot and dry day. I stirred up the ashes, trying to tempt a flame from the smoldering coals. The smoke shifted, as if the wind blew it, and I froze.
There was no wind.
I couldn’t see behind me, but I was certain there was someone standing there. It wasn’t Kael. I’d know his presence.
I poked at the charred wood in the firepit again as I took a deep breath. Then, I straightened, and as I whirled, I imagined my sword in my hand. The man retreated a step as I pointed the blade at his throat. His hands rose into the air.
“Easy now,” he said with a laugh. “You’ll want to be careful with that thing.”
I narrowed my eyes. He seemed familiar to me. I studied his tall, gangly form and wide smile. I blinked. “You’re David, right? Kael’s friend.”
He’d been the one to tell us how to find Bibi.
The smile faded from his face, though amusement still danced in his dark eyes. “Vehrin knows you are near. He would very much like you to stay away for the time being.”
His words surprised me. Vehrin had sent him?
I searched his eyes for a sign he was being deceived, like the lion shifters, but I found nothing that would suggest as much. My pulse started to quicken. David was a traitor.
It angered me, and it wasn’t so much the fact he was working for Vehrin, but he was supposed to be a good friend of Kael’s. He already had a hard time trusting people, and the last thing he needed was a traitorous friend.
My sword didn’t waver as I glowered at him. “You’re with Vehrin?”
It didn’t seem right. David had seemed so vibrant and happy back at the hotel. He’d said he hoped I lived, and that he wouldn’t mind seeing what became of Kael and me. Had his words merely been an act, or had he meant he hoped I lived to this point so he could see our downfall?
David tried to sidestep my blade, but I followed his movement. He sighed. “I can see this is going to take more effort than I had hoped for. I don’t suppose there is any chance of you coming quietly?”
“Coming where?” I asked.
“Vehrin is an old friend of yours, I understand, and he wants to spend some time catching up when he is done taking care of the pride.”
The thought of that evil mage harming those people for the key around the chief’s neck had me baring my teeth in a way that would have made Kael proud. I didn’t waste another second. I thrust my sword straight at David’s neck, but stumbled as he moved away so fast he was little more than a blur.
Something struck me in the side, and my feet shuffled in an attempt to regain my balance.
“It was a good try,” he said.
I whirled around to find him behind me. How had he gotten there so fast? Right, I thought. He’s a cheetah shifter. That’s just fantastic.
The man seemed to like to talk. Maybe I could keep him preoccupied until Kael returned. He’d be easier to take down together.
“Why are you with Vehrin? He’s evil. He’s wrong.”
A large grin split David’s face. “Is he? And how would you know what he is?”
“I probably know better than anyone,” I said. “I remember what he is capable of, and believe me, if you knew, you would not want any part of him.”
I hoped David wouldn’t realize I was bluffing. While fragments of my long-forgotten memory had begun to return, I didn’t know the whole story. All I knew was whoever I had been in the past had been in an alliance with Vehrin, before that partnership went sour.
David waved a hand in front of his face. “You cannot sway me. Besides, good and evil is a matter of perception.”
I tightened my grip on my sword, a
nd subtly shifted my feet into an offensive stance. “What do you mean?”
The man started to circle me, his gaze watching me as if he were searching for the best opening for attack. “It is time for a change. It is time for magic to be in the open, time for old ways to once again rise.” He suddenly looked down, and I followed his gaze to the pile of Kael’s neatly folded clothes at his feet. “Shifters used to be held in high regard by all beings. Now we must hide who we truly are from those who would seek to destroy us if they knew what we truly were.” His stare lifted back to mine, and there was no longer any mirth in his eyes. “You are young to this world, to this life of secrets, and you cannot understand. We live in a world where beings like us would be considered monsters.”
So that was what this was all about. Vehrin wanted magic to come out of the shadows. I could understand not wanting to live a life in hiding, and even the appeal of being revered, but I couldn’t appreciate his way of going about it.
My eyebrows lowered toward David again. “Funny, for someone who has no desire to be a monster, you’re very keen on serving one.” I flicked my gaze quickly around but saw no sign of Kael. “Why did you send us to the prophetess if you’re with Vehrin?”
I didn’t mention Bibi’s name, just in case the man wasn’t aware of it.
He had resumed his circling, his steps calculated. “I needed to assure your mission was believable, but I’d hoped the demons would finish you off first.”
So, the demons were likely siding with Vehrin now, not merely breaking out of whatever realm his presence had allowed to weaken.
“I’ve been tracking you since you left. I found where you had stayed with the prophetess, but she appears to have moved on to a different location.”
“Fortunately for you,” I said. “I have a feeling she would have done away with you and spit on your bones for your treachery.”
David’s fingers flexed, and I knew I was running short on time. “It doesn’t appear the lions wanted to play with you, but I’m willing to give it a go.”
He dashed forward, and I swept my blade up. Only a quick step to the side saved him from his guts spilling to the ground.
The Hunted Soul Page 14