“What? Jeez, you’ll wake my parents.”
“There’s someone or something in the trees,” I said. “Over there, where I thought you were earlier.”
Before I could say anything else, Xavier took off at a run, and I backed away until I felt the house behind my back. I knew that Xavier had been playing in the swamp not far from this house when he’d been attacked by a werepanther ten years ago. What if what I’d seen on the edge of the swamp had been that werepanther? Predators often returned to easy hunting grounds and wereanimals were very similar to their normal animal counterparts. I squinted into the dark, searching for any movement to tell me where Xavier was and whether or not the other creature was still around. I was still clinging to the side of the house, my heart thundering in my chest, when Xavier walked out of the woods about fifty yards from where he’d gone in. He crossed the yard slowly, keeping his ear turned toward the woods.
“I didn’t see it, but I smelled it,” he said, pulling me into the house.
“What was it?” I asked, clinging to Xavier’s hand.
“More ‘who’ than ‘what’ actually. I recognize that scent. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.”
“The one who attacked you?” I hated being right.
“Yeah. But it left in a hurry. I think it might have smelled me, maybe came to investigate. It’s done that before.”
“But...”
Xavier pulled me close. “But nothing, babe. You’re safe with me. It won’t come any closer than those woods while I’m here.”
“How do you know?” I asked.
“Every time I come home, that panther comes to the yard and watches me. It’s never left the tree line in ten years and I don’t expect it will now. I know you think of the werepanther who attacked me as a mindless monster, but I know that under the monster is a man who regrets what he did. If he didn’t regret what he’d done, he’d stay away. This cat comes back every year, but keeps his distance. That’s remorse and curiosity, not malice.”
Xavier pulled me into the house and led me down the hall to his room. He let me curl into his side, wrapping his arms around me as we lay together on his bed. I needed the comfort, but I was worried about how his parents might feel if they learned I was in bed with Xavier. “What about your parents?” I asked.
“They’ll be ok,” he said. “They have each other.”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” I punched his shoulder and Xavier grinned at me.
“I know,” he said, kissing my forehead. “I think the proprieties are observed if I leave my clothes on and you have yours on. I’m just not ready to let you go yet.” Xavier’s arms closed more tightly around me and I realized that as much as I had been craving the comfort of my sister earlier, Xavier needed me now. He was hurting and he wanted as much normalcy as he could get to drown out what must be screaming through his mind as he worked out what had happened to him today. I held him, pushing as much love and comfort into my embrace as I could. When Xavier sighed and began to relax, I loosened my grip on him.
I closed my eyes and listened to the strong rhythm of Xavier’s heart beating beneath my ear. Hearing it made me wonder, as it often did, how Mairin could stand the silence in Mathias‘ chest. Xavier’s heartbeat was a touchstone for me. It was how I knew I was alive and that this amazing man was part of my life. The thought of ever laying my head against Xavier’s chest and hearing nothing but a roaring silence chilled me to the depths of my soul. I knew he could never be a vampire and so silence in his chest would mean his death. I couldn’t bear to consider that eventuality. As I dozed and then slept, I heard the coughing roar of a panther in the swamps outside the house. I shuddered as the sound came again and again, wafting through the window on the heavy night air. There was agony in that sound.
The mud was cool and soothing under the panther’s paws as it paced just beyond the visible edge of the trees outside the Meyers house. Each step helped the panther calm itself, but also gave it time to allow the agony to wash over it.
The girl had gone to the other cat without fear. She had touched it, loved it, spoken to it. She had treated the other cat like it was a man, not a monster. While the panther knew the other cat had been a man, he’d never seen a human so comfortable with one of its kind as this one was. That kind of love and faith left this panther howling its agony.
It had once stepped out of the shadows for the woman it loved. It had once shown her the beauty of this body. She had run screaming into the arms of the other man. The one she’d chosen over this panther’s human form.
When the panther had become a man again, he’d gone back to the girl he’d loved and told her, shown her the truth of what he was. Told her how it had happened. She had run again. Ever the coward, she had refused to accept any responsibility for what the man had become. She had left him to his lonely world where only the hunt brought him happiness.
The panther turned from the house where the girl and her cat now slept. There would be retribution for what had been done to it, the cat decided. What better distraction was there than the hunt? What else made him as happy as the hunt? And what better prey was there than the woman who didn’t run screaming from what he was? The woman who loved a cat would die by the claw and tooth of a cat. There was no better revenge than that which taught a lesson to the ones left behind.
Chapter 4
The panther’s paws made no sound on the road leading into the alleys behind the stores in the center of East Hampton. It moved slowly and carefully, stalking its prey from a distance.
The girl with the long brown hair dragged several full garbage bags down the alley toward a large dumpster. Her uniform was stained and her face showed the strain of a day of caring for customers. She was unaware that her days of making coffee and handing out pastries were about to come to an abrupt end.
The panther slipped silently down the alley, sticking to the shadows near the walls. The girl stopped by the dumpster and began to heave the bags into the open door, grunting as the weight of the day’s garbage settled into her shoulders.
As she hefted the last bag, the panther darted across the alley, leaped onto her and sank its teeth into her neck. Hot blood rushed into its mouth and the panther purred deep in its chest. The hunt was pleasure. Blood was the climax. It didn’t matter that this wasn’t the right prey. What mattered was that it was blood and meat. The panther pulled its prey into a dark corner and leisurely finished its meal. No one came looking for the girl. She’d been alone in the shop when she’d locked the door to take the garbage down the alley. The panther felt no need to hurry. When there was nothing left but the blood in its fur and the memory of the flesh in its teeth, the panther left the remains of its prey and headed for its hotel room. It knew that soon the pride in East Hampton would come looking for it and leave its intended prey open to attack.
Patience was something this cat had learned. Patience would give it what it wanted. Patience would serve up the revenge it so greatly desired.
“Maire, I know you hate when I ask stuff like this, but I gotta know...” I leaned into my sister’s bedroom, embarrassed by the question Xavier had begged me to ask Mairin. “Xavier says there’s been another girl found in East Hampton...”
“And he wants to know if I’m watching Serina’s vamps closely enough.” My sister looked up from her desk where she’d been attempting to finish some homework. She looked tired and drawn and I realized I didn’t remember the last time she’d slept soundly through a single night. Even Mathias‘ presence in her room at night seemed to have lost the ability to help Mairin rest peacefully and it was beginning to show.
“Well, yeah,” I said. I could feel the heat rise in my cheeks. It really sucked that the panthers and vampires couldn’t just get along. Each group was always suspecting the other of some nefarious activity and then blaming each other for the bad stuff happening around us. If they would just stop for a moment and actually talk to each other, the panthers and vamps might actually realize they
were on the same side more often than not.
Mairin flopped onto her bed and beckoned for me to join her. “This sucks, doesn’t it,” she said. Always, Mairin could seemingly read my mind.
“I was just thinking that,” I said.
She sighed and wrapped her arms around her legs. “Mathias is worried that the girls they’re finding in East Hampton look like victims of a wereanimal attack,” she said. “He wanted me to check with Xavier about what the boys are doing at night, but I told him there was no way Xavier would have let anyone in the pride go on this long before doing something about it.”
I shook my head. “Why can’t the two of them just talk to each other?”
“I think it has something to do with being mortal enemies,” Mairin said, smiling. “Personally I think it’s because they’re boys and boys are stupid.”
“So what do we tell the stupid ones?” I asked.
Mairin shrugged. “You tell Xavier that the vamps at Mathias‘ house have been under house arrest since the second girl was found and I’ll tell Mathias that the panthers didn’t have anything to do with the dead girls.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I said. I hugged Mairin hard. “I miss you sometimes, sis. It seems like we only pass each other from time to time but hardly see each other.” I felt her tremble slightly under my embrace and fear raced up my spine. She felt so fragile to me in that moment, not at all the tough, strong sister I’d come to depend on.
“I promise as soon as I figure out how to get rid of all of Serina’s vampires, I’ll be around more.” She sighed. “It’s worse than having a litter of puppies to take care of. At least if they were puppies, I could be reasonably sure that if I let them out to run on the beach they won’t devour the townsfolk.”
“Can’t argue with that logic,” I said. “Promise you’ll make it to the homecoming game, okay? Xavier is dying to kick Braden’s ass on the field and this will be his last chance before Braden graduates.”
Mairin grinned and I knew that while she might prefer it if Highland Home won the game, seeing Braden get his ass kicked was always a good thing. “It’s already on my calendar and I’ve forced a promise out of Mathias that unless his death is immanent, we’re going together. Besides, he wants to keep an eye on Braden when the panthers are around.”
“Like that jerk’s ego isn’t big enough already,” I said. “Braden is going to have every panther and every vampire in two counties watching him play football.” I shook my head. The demigod who had caused the battle in which I’d nearly lost Xavier over the summer was definitely not one of my favorite creatures on this planet. The fact he was a nasty, narcissistic jackass who was now a senior at Highland Home High School didn’t help my opinion of him. I put up with the cutting remarks from him and his girlfriend while trying to remember that soon enough he’d be out of my life.
On Friday, I trudged through yet another dismal day of high school, thankful it was Friday and looking forward to the football game that would pit the East Hampton Vipers against the Highland Home Marauders. Maybe Xavier really would get a chance to beat Braden to a pulp on the field. Off the field, Xavier risked another meeting with Braden’s father, the demon Azael, if he attacked Braden. On the field, the worst Xavier faced was a penalty against the Vipers. When I heard Stephanie Bartlet mouthing off about my sister and Mathias again, I decided it didn’t make me a bad person to hope Braden got his ass handed to him on the field at the game that night.
“Better tell that boyfriend of yours to watch his back, dyke,” Stephanie taunted as I headed out to meet Xavier in the parking lot. “Braden plans to take his head off.”
“Braden should be careful who he threatens, Stephanie,” I said before I could stop myself. “Remember what happened last time he tangled with one of my family members and the man she loves.”
Stephanie’s jaw dropped and I smiled sweetly.
“Are you threatening him?” she asked.
“Nope. Just a reminder that the last time he tangled with someone out of his league, Braden had his ass handed to him. I’d hate for the whole school to see that happen again.”
“Bitch!” Stephanie took a step toward me before stumbling back several steps, seemingly without reason. It wasn’t until I heard Mathias‘ voice behind me that I realized what made Stephanie look like a rabbit standing tharn in front of a wolf.
“Miss Bartlet, I believe you’ve been asked repeatedly to leave Kerry and her sister alone,” Mathias said. “Do I need to remind Braden and his father of your promise, or theirs?”
Stephanie shook her head before turning to run down the hall. I swung around and found Mathias standing nearly on top of me.
“I hate when you do that,” I said. He was so silent that I rarely noticed when Mathias walked up behind me. I also hated when he stepped in so I couldn’t finish my own fights.
Mathias bowed slightly. “I do realize your preference, Kerry,” he said, “but you must understand my position here. I cannot let anyone provoke Braden’s father again. Not even you. The consequences are too far-reaching.”
I sighed. He was right. Provoking the demon meant putting all of the people I loved in danger. Azael had agreed to keep Braden and Stephanie away from me and my sister, but only if no one messed with his son, Braden. The thought of another battle on the beach with Azael and his minions made me tremble. Mathias cocked his head to the side.
“Are you well, Kerry?” he asked.
“Fine,” I said. I looked out the door and saw Xavier waiting by the curb in his old Toyota. “I guess we’ll see you later, Mathias.”
“We will be at the game, Kerry,” Mathias said, worry creasing his brow. “I know that Mairin has promised and I will ensure we are on time.”
“Thanks.” I dashed for the door. I didn’t want to get into a long discussion with Mathias. Sometimes he made me nervous with how perceptive he was. Besides, Xavier had gotten out of his car and was looking for me. He was leaning against the door when I reached him. He folded me into his arms and I tucked myself into his embrace as tightly as I could.
“Hey babe, what’s shaking?” he asked, wrapping his arms around me.
“Just high school crap. Let’s go, ok?” I didn’t want to risk Braden and Xavier facing off in the parking lot. It would be bad enough when they were on the field for the game tonight. Thought I was pretty sure my feelings of dread came from the threats of football field decimation, something about tonight’s game had my alarms going off. I just wanted to get away and calm down. I looked back at the school after Xavier opened the door and waited for me to get in. Mathias was still watching me, the same worried look pulling his brows together.
As Xavier rounded the car to get in on his side, Braden and Stephanie came out of the school. I saw Mairin had joined Mathias and watched as she put a hand on his arm to keep him from following the two Golden Ones into the parking lot.
“Hey freak, don’t hold back tonight,” Braden shouted. “I’m looking forward to kicking your ass and you’ll take the fun out of it if you don’t at least try.”
“Right back atcha, jackass,” Xavier said, smiling. “Wiping the field with your sorry ass isn’t any fun if you don’t fight back.”
Xavier got into the car and gunned the engine. I saw Mathias shaking his head as he and Mairin walked into the parking lot. I could tell by the look on Mathias‘ face that he was annoyed by the adolescent posturing between Braden and Xavier, but the deeper worry was still there. I was beginning to worry about how much testosterone was flying between Xavier and Braden. Braden had put players in the hospital in the past. The most notable had been a boy who’d suffered a coma for several weeks.
“You’re actually going to be careful tonight, right Xavier?” I asked.
“You know I will, babe,” Xavier said. “I just want to kick his ass, not get myself killed.”
“Again,” I whispered. The memory of Xavier lying in the bloody sand rose up to drown me in horror. Xavier saw my anxiety and took my hand, lifting it to
his lips.
“Azael’s minions and Braden Lambert are nowhere near the same caliber of opponent, Kerr,” he said. “It’s just a football game. I’ll be fine.”
We rode in silence for a few minutes. I couldn’t get the image of Xavier lying in the bloody sand after the battle with Braden’s father out of my head. When I did finally wipe that horrific image from my mind, I wrestled with how to bring up the discussion of the bodies the police kept finding mangled in East Hampton and Highland Home. I was just about to say something when Xavier spoke.
“So did the leech say anything about the girl the police found in East Hampton the other night?” he asked.
I grimaced. “I didn’t ask Mathias, actually,” I said. “I asked Mairin and she said all the vampires at Mathias‘ house have been on house arrest since the second girl was found. None of them have been out.”
Xavier cursed. “I guess I knew that,” he said. “I was just hoping for something to blame these killings on that didn’t circle back to the were community.” Xavier ran his hand through his hair. “These girls, Kerry, they aren’t vamp kills. They can’t be. The bodies are too mangled...eaten, not drained. I’m almost certain they’re panther kills.”
“One of the boys...” I whispered. I didn’t want to believe the killer was a member of the pride. None of the panthers I knew was vicious enough to have killed the girls the police have been finding.
“No,” Xavier said. His voice had an edge of desperation and pain to it. He didn’t want to believe one of the boys could be killing girls any more than I did, but the alternative was that a panther had come to East Hampton just to hunt. “I’d know if it was one of the boys.” He grasped my hand and pulled it to his lips. He drove silently for a few minutes before sighing heavily. “It can’t be one of the boys. They’re all accounted for on the nights of the attacks. This is a panther we don’t know and it seems to be targeting girls who...,” he swallowed hard and glanced at me. “Well, girls who look like you, Kerry.”
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