by Lisa Daniels
“What is this? Is she working with you?” Jacob tried to keep his voice level as the tiger stalked closer, a low growl issuing from its throat.
Then my vision seemed to waver. I blinked and the next thing I knew, Braxton was standing in the place where the tiger had been. His hand reached out and pulled the sword out of Jacob’s hands, almost as if he were a parent disciplining a child. “You are going to hurt yourself with that.” Throwing it against the wall, the sword wedged between two stones.
“So, she was helping the shifters all this time. I protected her when I should have let her burn.” Jacob was beginning to shake with rage.
“Not at all. Until yesterday, she had never even seen me. But with the way things were going up there, I had to shift my plans around a bit. And until you called me a shifter, she had no idea. Maybe you should spend some time up north or among the servants to see just how much they know about my kind. You guys have done a fairly good job of keeping our existence a secret from the majority of the populace. You can’t go blaming them when they don’t know when they encounter one of us. Imitating lesser creatures is not exactly a difficult task. Apart from having to sound like an idiot.” His eyes sparkled as he looked at Jacob.
“But we all saw that shifter escaping with the woman who became his slave. Their relationship was nothing like a slave and master according to the survivors of their escape. It is likely she was a part of the plan all along, a distraction from—”
Braxton let out a loud laugh, “Really? You think that Bryce would need any further distractions? Have you seen the man? Although I dare say he owes Arabella a debt of gratitude for having spared the woman. Anyway,” Braxton waved a hand, “if you think that the woman would need a better reason to side with us, you are definitely missing a few key pieces of basic species survival knowledge. Fortunately, I will be magnanimous enough to give you a few pointers. If you don’t want women to turn on you, don’t give them every reason to do so. Arabella just learned about me yesterday, but you and your pathetic pseudo-civilization have proven that her initial impression of the country was right. Having banished her to the dungeons for not killing an unconscious woman, well,” he held out his hands, “that would hardly endear her to you. What kind of civilization kills an innocent bystander or an unarmed woman?” I could see Jacob flinching and knew it was not because of how menacing Braxton looked. “Now her former boss condemns her for the same mistake. And of course you are talking about executing her. She only needs about the quarter of her current brain capacity to come to the conclusion that she is better off with the shifters.”
“Why you—”
Braxton continued talking as he walked over to me, “The better question is, why don’t you and the other humans understand this? Women like Arabella and Bryce’s companion are among your most precious resources, much more so than any men you have in this…” his eyes moved around to make it obvious he was talking about the city, “…quaint little place—I would think you of all people would be able to attest to that. Yet, here you stand, just impotently spouting the hate that absolves you from all of your wrongdoing by foisting the blame on others.” He leaned over and picked me up. “Are you alright?” Braxton’s voice was low enough that I knew the guards would have a hard time hearing him.
I smiled at him, “I’m fine.”
He kissed my forehead, then turned to Jacob. “Let me give you another tip because I am not fully convinced you are a lost cause.” He looked at Jacob, “Try to change the system before you lose any more good women. You keep populating with what we leave behind, and you are just going to fall further and further down the food chain.”
I looked at Jacob as Braxton carried me, “I’m sorry, Jacob. You seem like a decent man, but this city has never welcomed me, and now you threaten to take what little I have left. I wish you the best. If you get the job, do it better than what you have shown me today.”
A look of concern flashed over Jacob’s face as he noticed Braxton’s protective posture as he carried me toward the door. “Why aren’t you walking?”
Braxton broke in before I could say anything, “Because she sustained an injury after the one idiot guard broke the shelves. Walking is painful to her, and unlike your people, I have no wish to let her continue to suffer for your sins.”
We were almost out the door when Braxton stumbled. “Are you alright?” I asked, shocked that he would lose his balance.
“Just fine. Will you do me a favor and tap the door frame on the way out?”
“Of course. Some sort of shifter superstition?” I asked, reaching my hand out and knocking on the wood.
Braxton stumbled again, and I heard a low groan behind me. Jacob’s voice rose as he screamed something after us, but I could not make it out as Braxton ran impossibly fast to the door up the stairs. “I need you to ride me,” he said as soon as we were through the door. “Don’t ask questions, just hop on.”
He placed me down gently. A second later, the tiger stood before me. My mouth fell open, but I quickly jumped on his back as the door flew open. The muscles under me felt more powerful than a horse’s as Braxton bounded up the stairs. There was not a chance that a human would be able to keep up with him, and we soon passed the floors where Jacob’s calls to act could be understood. Braxton let out a loud roar when we reached the guard room that led out to the wide world. The guards were falling over themselves at his appearance, many of them literally. He ran without stopping, out the door and into the city streets.
Chapter 8
The Hitch
We must have been quite the spectacle, a tiger with a female rider making their way out of the palace grounds. At first, Braxton was headed toward the water behind the palace, but we soon saw just how many guards were stationed there.
With an annoyed roar, he quickly turned and ran straight toward the gates to the city streets. I leaned forward, pressing my body against his strong back as he raced through the streets. I felt something warm and wet, but there was no time to try to figure out what it was as it took everything I had to simply stay on his back. Riding a tiger was nothing like a horse. I put my arms around his neck and closed my eyes, not wanting to see the looks of horror on people’s faces. I didn’t need another bad memory of that place.
Occasionally Braxton would roar, but we never once stopped. I could feel him jumping and bounding off of stuff, and the sound of wood breaking let me know that he was leaving a mess in his wake. If the monarchy and guards had been trying to keep the shifters’ existence secret, this might make it very difficult to explain.
I began to wonder what they had told people that made them think I was a traitor. If they didn’t know about shifters, what exactly could the guards and king say to turn everyone against me?
Mrs. Teasdon knew. She was close with Falmen, so I’ve no doubt she understood what happened. Yet she never once told me about the creatures. I was beginning to feel angry at the way things had happened. Why would anyone think that it would be better to kill someone? I mean, sure, there were circumstances, but I had seen the way the shifter had protected her, and there was nothing like malice in his eyes as he took the brunt of the force from the falling gargoyle. To me, he seemed genuinely concerned for the woman, though I had no idea how she had ended up there. Bryce, the name went through my head. Braxton had called that angelic-looking man Bryce. And from the sound of it, the woman whom I had chosen not to kill had decided to run away with him, just like I had chosen to run away with Braxton. As strange as it was, this provided me with some measure of comfort. She was alive and well. More importantly, she didn’t appear to be angry about being with the shifter. If Bryce was half as kind as Braxton, I would consider her incredibly lucky.
My arms squeezed Braxton’s neck. “I love you,” I murmured into his fur.
This seemed to startle him and for a second, his forward momentum faltered. Then I felt something in him rumble, and the next thing I knew, he was roaring, the sound echoing all around us. I couldn’t help but giggle as he continu
ed to roar his way through the streets.
I have no idea how long it took him to get through the streets, but it felt like no time at all. Opening an eye just a little, I saw the homes just outside the city walls. Too afraid to sit up fully, I shifted a little to get a better view as the world around us went flying by impossibly fast. Occasionally we would pass a human or two. I could not help but hold out a hand and wave at them. “Have a great day!” I screamed as we raced past. The looks on their faces made me feel good because for the first time no one was judging me or trying to find a way to use me. At best, they were trying to figure out just what they were seeing.
A couple of kids saw us coming and they tried to run alongside Braxton, whose paced had slowed over the last hour. We were well away from the city and into a farming region. The kids were laughing and waving at us as they fell behind. I called back to them, “Keep it up. Some day you may be able to run like the wind.” Waving, they shouted back, “Thanks, pretty tiger lady.”
The sun had almost set when Braxton turned into the woods. He padded along at a more leisurely pace. I noticed his breathing was very ragged, and couldn’t help but lean over him. “Are you alright?”
He kept moving without responding. I knew he had to be tired, so I leaned over, “Once we stop, I will make you something really good as a way to say thank you. For now, I think it should be fine. I think I am probably recovered enough to walk now, so if you want to stop, I will hop down. Give you a bit of a chance to recover after that long run.”
Braxton didn’t respond. I bit my lip as I looked down at him, wondering if perhaps I had gotten it wrong. Maybe he couldn’t understand me in this form? I had no idea how shifting worked. It was possible that he couldn’t understand the language of a species when not in their form. I tried to slide off his back. It might be a little jarring, but at least he was moving slowly enough that I should be fine.
As soon as my weight shifted, he stumbled to the side.
“Braxton?” I sat up. “Braxton? What’s—” That was when my question was answered. My entire front was covered in blood that wasn’t mine. I quickly jumped off his back and rolled in the grass. “Braxton!” I scrambled up and ran over to him. He was looking at me, but his eyes were unfocused. “What happened? Why are you bleeding?” There was no way archers had gotten him because I had been pressed against him since we had left the dungeon.
Then it clicked. Something had happened when he had turned his back to leave. He had stumbled, but not because he had tripped. So, where was the knife?
Braxton was staggering around as I tried to stop him from moving. “Braxton, stay still. I have to stop the blood flow.” The tiger held up a paw as if to indicate that we needed to keep going. “No, we aren’t going anywhere. You have just run for hours with an open wound. We have to get this under control because your wound hasn’t had any chance to heal.”
Suddenly, there was Braxton standing in front of me. His hand reached out toward my face, “You have to keep going. We aren’t—” His eyes closed for a second and he staggered.
“Just shut up already.” I guided him to the ground and began to yank his coat off. “I’m not going anywhere without you, so just stop talking.”
His voice was low and soft, “They aren’t far behind. Protection is less than a mile from here.”
“Then stop fighting me and we can get moving faster.”
He swatted my hands away as I tried to roll him over. “You don’t understand—”
“No, you don’t understand. I’m not going anywhere without you.”
He tried to push himself to his feet. “Gods, but you are stubborn.”
“Damn right. How do you think I was able to protect myself all these years? But you are in no condition to be moving, let alone—”
“If you won’t go without me, then you leave me no choice but to go with you.”
“Impossible shifter.”
“Headstrong woman.” His smile was sweet as he looked down at me. “I should probably shift again so that I don’t hold you back too much.”
“Nonsense.” I slipped his arm around my neck. “This may hurt, but I can put pressure on it while helping you walk.”
“But—”
I didn’t let him protest as I dragged him forward. His steps were uncertain, but he was at least able to move a little more easily as we headed toward whatever shelter he had in mind. Trying to keep his mind off of the pain, I said, “Well, I guess that’s about how I would have looked this morning. Not a pretty picture.”
Braxton laughed a little, “You would have been a lot cuter stumbling around.”
“I definitely don’t agree with that. All you have to do is get me drunk and I stumble around like that. I doubt that it is nearly so easy to get you to be so vulnerable. I dare say that this is a side of you that few others have seen.”
“Of course I don’t let people see me being weak. But not because I don’t want to be seen that way. This kind of thing never happens to me.” He stumbled to the left. I caught him, then pulled his hip a little closer to me. “Really, this is a very bad idea.” He looked at me as I continued to pull him forward.
“Well, if I could lift you, I would, but I’m afraid nothing I have done has made me strong enough to lift anything more than a child or large dog.”
He laughed again, “That’s not what I meant.”
“Yeah, but what you meant was even dumber, so I thought I would help you save face.”
“Do you ever stop being difficult?”
“You watched me for almost a month. Or more than a month. However long it was.”
“Yeah, and you were not around anyone else almost that entire time.”
“Well, then, how difficult was I since you met me?”
“You were an absolute dream.” His eyes glazed over, “You were just about perfect.”
“Sorry to spoil your dream version of me, but this is what I am like on a day-to-day basis.”
“That’s alright. My first mate was kind of like you. Or very much like you. Without the beautiful part.”
I stumbled a little at his words.
He pulled away. “Alright, this game is over.” He leaned against a tree. “I am too heavy for you, but you aren’t going to admit it. The shelter is a small cave. You will know it when you see a large pile of rocks followed by a set of rolling hills that line up behind the rocks. The cave is on the backside of the second one. You will—”
I put my hands on my hips. “Fine. You are forcing my hand.” Stepping forward, I punched him in the stomach. Clearly, Braxton was not expecting this, and he doubled over. As soon as he began to fold, I turned so that he fell on my back. Willing myself not to collapse, I put my arms around his thighs and lifted him off the ground. Since we were going downhill, I was able to move much faster than I had expected, but not without feeling like I was going to topple over.
We were already heading up the next hill by the time he finally caught his breath. “What… are…”
“I was hoping you would help me on that since you didn’t finish explaining where we are headed. Something about a bunch of rocks and hills with a cave at the back of the second.”
He tried to wiggle off of my back, nearly knocking me over in the process. My voice was stern as I said, “Stop that. All you are doing is making it easier for them to catch up.”
“Already… here,” he panted.
“Well… shit,” I muttered. My head began to swivel, looking for somewhere to hide. Not too far from where we stood was a little building. There was no smoke or any indication that anyone was there. Ignoring my body, which screamed in pain, I tried to run. It wasn’t a particularly long distance, but carrying someone who not only weighed more but was taller than me was not easy. As soon as I reached the door, I tried to open it. It was locked. I gently put his feet on the ground, and leaned against the building.
“You are insane. That month to yourself has turned you round the bend.”
“Now you sound like m
y dad. Stay here. I’m going to get inside without breaking anything. We hardly need to make it obvious someone has broken in.” I made my way around the back and saw that the place was some kind of retreat for the nobles. The entire backyard was covered in familiar crests and ornaments. Rolling my eyes, I turned my attention to finding a way inside. The door at the back was locked, but the screws securing it were very loose. Pulling them out, I opened the door a little and squeezed through. Once on the other side, I ran through the home and unlocked the front door. I grabbed Braxton’s hand and pulled him inside. “Now we need to find you somewhere to rest.”
“There is nothing you can do, Arabella.”
“Horse shit,” I muttered, dragging him around until I found a bedroom with a small spigot. “There’s always something that can be done. Even though you should not have run like that with such a serious injury. It’s almost like you have a death wish.”
“Yeah.”
That one word caused me to turn and look at him, “What do you mean ‘Yeah’?”
“I have had a death wish for years. That’s one reason why I was not invited on any missions. That and the fact that I should never have been able to find another mate. It’s pointless to send out a shifter into the human realms if there is no intention either to unwind or to find a mate.”
I closed my eyes and turned my head. When I was unable to make sense of what he said, I pulled him toward the bed and shoved him down onto it. “Whatever. I’ve no idea what you are talking about, but your death wish isn’t coming true while you are with me.”
“Right. I’ve been trying to tell you that.”
I poured some water and grabbed a couple of white towels. There were some red ones too, but I was feeling particularly malicious. “You failed. Now roll over and shut up. Or so help me, I will make this hurt far worse than it has to.”
“You are quite vindictive,” he said, his words muffled by the large pillow under his head.
“You are particularly stupid,” I shot back. Despite the threat, I carefully worked around the wound, treating it as best I could. No matter what I did, the blood continued to flow. “Why won’t it stop? It’s almost as if… oh gods, they wouldn’t.”