A Chorus of Cats: A Reverse Harem Siren Romance (Spellsinger Book 10)

by Amy Sumida

  Our armies were halfway down the hill when portions of the lawn flipped back and enormous guns lifted out of the earth. Our troops scrambled for cover but their momentum worked against them and half of them tumbled, taking down even more soldiers as they fell. It was mayhem, but the chaos saved a lot of our people from being hit. Those on the ground were beneath the level of the guns, but several of those standing got blasted by bullets large enough to take down rhinos.

  My song broke on my scream as I watched Cerberus jerk side to side with the impact of several bullets before he dropped and rolled into a sprawl. Declan took one in the arm. Banning in the abdomen. Gage in the shoulder. My friends and lovers were falling like autumn leaves. The damage was devastating; holes the size of my fist and chunks of flesh just gone. My brain wouldn't process it. I could hear Darc shouting at me then he was shaking me violently, but I wouldn't stop screaming. And over it all came the constant thud-thud-thud of those guns.

  The Cats shifted fully and escaped the barrage of bullets and the Gargoyles, in their alternate forms, had skin thick enough to repel even those monstrous projectiles. They shielded as many people as they could. Torin helped as well, spreading his protective, onyx magic over as wide a space as possible. As Declan went down, he manifested a boulder that took out the gun closest to him. Other shining ones focused their magic at the weapons as well and two more crumpled and smoked into silence. But even with all of those efforts, the guns leveled a third of our forces.

  “They're not dead!” Darc was shouting at me. “They're just bullets, Elaria. We're immortals; they're not dead. Feel them; even now RS is using our link to fortify them. Look, Banning's already healing, and Gage is scraping claw dust into his wound. He'll help Cerberus too, he's close enough. Elaria, they're alive! I've called for reinforcements and healers. They'll be okay, but we need you to take down those weapons!”

  The soldiers who had made it through the gunfire were running past the enormous guns, trying to get clear of the blast zone. As they made it past, beneathers strode out of the house. Not satyrs; these men were massive, swarthy, and hairy. Riksha mercenaries. They shifted into giant bears and roared aggressively. Up on their hind legs with their massive claws cutting through the air, the beasts were easily ten feet tall, maybe more. But our soldiers didn't even pause. Magic surged through the air along with steel to meet claws and teeth.

  “Elaria!” Darcraxis shook me again.

  I've got her! Kyanite shouted in both of our minds.

  The steady stomp-clap of Dorothy's “Missile” pounded out over the battlefield as I lifted my head and leveled my menacing stare on the manor. Cool calculation had filled me as soon as I realized that my lovers were still alive. As long as they lived, I had something to fight for.

  “Pull back!” Darc shouted to the army.

  Our troops took one look at me and scrambled back up the hill despite the gunfire. Torin ran forward with several other onyx shining ones to try to protect as many retreating soldiers as they could. The wounded were scooped up along the way. Rikshas gave chase but stopped before they reached the guns, refusing to cross into the line of fire.

  “Drop!” Torin shouted as soon as everyone was back up the hill. “Get down!”

  The in-your-face lyrics shot out of me on a roar, vibrating through the air. Any mercy I may have shown had vanished. I was going to fucking obliterate them. My whole body went tight with the force of my rage and my magic responded to it. I shouted out the deadly line I'd been working toward and missiles appeared above my head. They shrieked across the sky toward the guns. Every one of the massive guns that were still firing exploded in clouds of fire. Satyrs shouted and took cover while Rikshas were blasted backward.

  Our army surged to its feet and cheered.

  With the main threat eliminated, I focused on the other dangerous lyrics. The song was overflowing with deadly intent; so much to choose from. I infected the Rikshas with the black plague, ensuring that they wouldn't get up, and I set fire to the satyrs who ran out to take the place of the mercenaries. I sang about vengeance, feeling it fuel my magic, and roared my claim on this war.

  “Advance!” Darcraxis shouted.

  The troops rallied. Cats transformed back into their half-shifted states, hissing as they ran forward covered only in fur. Shining Ones joined them, blasting lines of magic before them to take out satyr shooters in the windows. Banning, who had the fastest healing out of all of my men, had recovered on his own, as had the other blooders who'd been hit. He led his gura around the side of the manor and took them in through the front doors to cut off any escape. The Blooders flashed their fangs as they fired on the fleeing guests, looking like paranormal psychopaths. Hell, we all did at that point.

  Gage, fully healed as well, had indeed used his claw to heal Cerberus and the two of them got to their feet looking like avenging gods; shoulders tight and expressions feral. Cerberus shifted into his enormous, three-headed, hellhound form with a terrifying roar and launched back into the battle with Gage hot on his heels. Once they reached the bottom of the hill, Cer began tearing into the satyrs like a puppy; each of his heads closing its jaws around a body while his feet dug at even more victims. Gage took on as many opponents as Cerberus but he did it with only a sword, his griffin fighting moves looking like a deadly dance.

  Meanwhile, the Gargoyles went from defense to offense. Slate spread his leathery wings, lifted his horn-crested head, and roared like a landslide as he launched himself into the air. Sunshine gleamed off his slick, gray skin and flashed in his silver eyes. Massive muscles bunched and his barbed tail whipped around him. Slate's men followed him through gaping, glass-toothed holes that used to be windows, diving straight into the manor.

  Beside me, Darc was sending our reinforcements into the fray and directing our healers to the wounded who'd been dragged to the top of the hill. I kept singing, my feet stomping the ground in time with the slamming rhythm, like a bull preparing to charge. I was beyond furious, but I didn't lose control. My love for my men focused me. A steady pulsing shiver throughout my whole body, reminding me that I needed to hold my magic together to save them. The healers were here, I just needed to give them time to work.

  Then I felt Darc's hand slip into mine and heard his voice bolster my song. I took a deep breath, revived by his power, steadied by his strength. We launched our missiles at the manor, taking down the entire left wall and destroying anyone who dared to emerge. We gave cover to our soldiers as they moved in and to the healers as they saw to our wounded. My voice broke when I saw Declan get to his feet. He glanced back at me and nodded reassuringly. Darcraxis supported the song through my stumble until I rejoined him, my voice even stronger than before.

  Then Darc and I started down the hill. All of our forces were recovering and, like the seasoned soldiers they were, they went straight back to our original plans. I grinned in grim satisfaction as I watched Torin lead his knights as well as our Kyanite knights down one side of the manor, his magic steadying and protecting our troops. Declan took his regiment around the opposite side of the building from Torin so that the place was entirely surrounded. For extra security, Declan used his manifestation magic to erect a wall around the grounds as soon as our army was inside the gardens. There would be no escape for anyone who didn't have a traveling charm.

  Darc and I stepped into the garden just before Declan's wall rose. We stood on the outskirts of the battle, looking for an opportunity to do the most damage as our song ended. We'd been planning on singing together—his words magnifying mine and vice versa—we'd just started ahead of schedule. Now, we were back on track, ready to launch into our playlist.

  The grating guitar and slapping drums of “Get Out” by CHVRCHES flowed around Darcraxis and me as Kyanite lent us his voice in the form of music. Darc and I smiled at each other as we launched into the song we'd practiced. It wasn't a love song, the absolute opposite in fact, so it felt strange to sing it with my husband. But we weren't using the lamenting lyrics; the compl
aints about never being enough and never having enough from our lovers. Again, I was focusing on the chorus and the definitions of the individual words. We, very simply, wanted everyone hiding in the house to come out and face us.

  Our hands clasped tightly and our voices blending in harmony, Darcraxis and I wove our magic through the crumbling manor and drew out the satyrs. They came stumbling through doorways and busted windows as if their feet were working against them; soldiers and crime lords with guns in their hands. But they were too busy trying to fight their own bodies to use their weapons. Cerberus leapt forward with glee, prancing across the dead to snap up the criminals who walked straight to him.

  Screaming came from the other side of the house as cats ran amok over the brainwashed satyrs and blooders began dispatching the wounded with their fatal kisses. It all started to go so smoothly that I let go of my earlier anxiety and just focused on singing with my husband. We didn't even need the second song we'd prepared. By the time we were done with our duet, all of the satyrs were dead.

  Our troops searched the manor to be certain that there weren't any satyr survivors before we dealt with the bodies. The waitstaff—most unharmed but some with a few cuts and bruises—was carried into the house to sleep off their heatstroke while the corpses were lined up on the lawn to be identified and checked off the list we'd compiled of Demos Family members.

  “We have a problem,” Banning declared as we gathered our troops to do a final check-in.

  “What problem?” Cerberus growled.

  “We have every blood relative except for Petra.”

  “What did you say?” I went still.

  “No one can find Petra's body,” Banning repeated. “Not for certain, at least.”

  “What does that mean?” Slate asked.

  “Several bodies have been mangled beyond recognition,” Banning explained. “We've been able to identify them by jewelry or tattoos. All except for Petra. She doesn't have any tattoos and wasn't wearing any notable jewelry.”

  “She had the lace veil on,” Gage offered.

  “Which could easily have been lost in the scuffle,” Torin pointed out. “How many unidentified female bodies do you have?”

  “Four,” Banning's right-hand man, Arnold, answered as he consulted his cellphone. “Any of them could be Petra.”

  “How many female relatives do you need to check off the list?” I countered.

  “Five.” Arnold grimaced.

  “So, if one of these corpses is Petra, there's still one missing female Demos out there,” I concluded.

  “That's the problem.” Banning nodded.

  “How did she get away?” I asked calmly.

  “Whoever this last female is, she must have had a traveling charm of some kind,” Declan deduced.

  “Only one of them had a traveling charm and it was a woman?” I asked skeptically.

  “A woman wouldn't share her advantage with the rest of the family,” Cerberus reasoned. “She'd want to keep that edge over the males.”

  “It doesn't matter how she escaped,” Darc said, “only that she did. Any living relative can take control and rebuild the Demos Family. We need to find her.”

  “It's time to hunt.” Cerberus grinned maniacally.

  “Shall we loose the dogs of war, my fire?” Darc held his hand out to me.

  “How about the cats of war?” I winked at the Cats as I took my husband's hand.

  The Cat-Shifters cheered, but Cerberus grimaced.

  “Hey, you've got three hounds in one right here,” Cer grumbled.

  “You're welcome to join us, Cerberus,” Kasteo offered. “You're family.”

  Cerberus got a goofy look on his face and then nodded. “All right, I guess it's okay for a hellhound to run with cats of war.”

  Chapter Forty-Six

  The Gothic, dramatic droning of “Hunt You Down” by Hit House swept through the picturesque valley before us. The slams of drums joined a moaning backdrop as the song unfolded. I let Darcraxis start and then followed the pull of his magic and words into the cresting music. A rolling up and down whine and call. A warning of what was coming. If it was Petra we hunted, she wouldn't be able to hide from our song.

  I clasped hands with Darc again, power rising between us, and closed my eyes to focus wherever our magic led. We sang about bad blood and the Devil. Vowed to bring death to the beast we hunted. She could run and hide and even pray for mercy, but we were going to kill this queen before she could take her throne.

  My vision surged over the Earth, searching for our target. I hoped that Darc and my magic combined would be strong enough to find a woman based on generalities. We wanted the living Demos heir who had survived our attack, be it Petra or someone else, and that was damn vague for a magical search. But the music took us onward. Over water, we flew and up the side of a cliff. White walls and blue sea. We surged in an open window and found her... riding her lover with abandon.

  Darc and I released the song and mentally pulled back to where we stood with a gasp of breath. We looked at each other and then burst out laughing.

  “Did you find her?” Cerberus demanded.

  “Was it Petra?” Banning asked.

  “No, it wasn't Petra,” I said, still chuckling. “Petra must be one of the four unidentifiable bodies. The woman we found didn't come to the funeral.”

  “She was too busy coming somewhere else,” Darc said with a straight face.

  I burst out laughing again.

  “She was fucking instead of attending a funeral?” Slate asked with amazement.

  “I think she's one of the lower-ranking women,” I said. “Let me see the roster, Banning.”

  Banning handed me the list he had on his phone, complete with headshots of each family member. I scrolled through the pictures until I found her.

  “Here she is; Harriet Demos.” I tapped her image. “Who wants to come along with me to tie up the loose end?”

  “I'll do it,” Kasteo offered with a menacing expression. “She's not Helene, but I have a good imagination, and I could use a little more closure.”

  “All right.” I looked at Darc. “You coming too?”

  “Of course,” Darc said as if the answer were a given.

  “All of us will go with you,” Torin added with a glance at my other men.

  They nodded firmly.

  “All right.” I looked around at everyone else. “We need to head back to Kyanite before we go after Harriet anyway. Everyone meet there, and then we'll finish this.”

  Our army traveled to Kyanite where my men, Kasteo, and I turned around and headed back to Earth; this time, to Greece.

  We reformed in Harriet's bedroom and immediately moved toward the writhing couple. They were so intent on each other that they didn't notice us. Kasteo sprung his claws and crept into the lead. Harriet was on top, an easy target. The rest of us prepared to wrestle down Harriet's sex partner while Kas killed her. But the man only laid there in confusion when his lover's blood spurted over him. Kasteo shoved Harriet's body off the bed and even then, her lover merely propped himself up on his forearms and stared at us blankly.

  “Holy shit,” I whispered. “He's a nymph.”

  “You fucking rapist bitch!” Kasteo kicked Harriet's body and then started slashing at her with his claws.

  I turned away from him, letting him release all of his pent-up anger on Harriet as I went to the man in her bed. I tried to ignore Kasteo's cursing and the sound of breaking bones as I helped the nymph stand up.

  “Hi, I'm Elaria, and this is my family. We're going to help you, okay?”

  The nymph just nodded at me, not bothering to cover himself. The men looked around for his clothing but could only find a pair of pants. I used the sheets to clean the blood off the nymph before I helped him into his pants.

  “Okay, just sit down and relax for now,” I helped him back onto the bed.

  “We should search the house and see if there's a record of sale for him,” Slate suggested.

&nb
sp; “And make sure there's no one else here,” Gage added.

  “Can you do that without me?” I glanced at Kas. “I think I'd better stay with them.”

  “Sure.” Torin kissed my cheek before he headed out to search with the others.

  “What was that?” Kasteo growled and looked over at me.

  “Nothing. Keep doing what you're doing.”

  He grunted and fell on the body again.

  I looked away, out the window at a beautiful view of a sunlit ocean. The body was beginning to look more like hamburger meat than Harriet now, and I had my own demons to deal with. I didn't need to be adding images of Kasteo's as well. As I stared, the nymph got up and came to stand beside me. I glanced at him in surprise. He was doing the same thing that I was—staring out at the sea—but something had shifted in his eyes. I took his hand and squeezed it. He didn't look at me, but he did squeeze me back.