Panther Prowling

by Yasmine Galenorn

  “Help! Help! Camille—Smoky! Help us!”

  I turned back to Shade, who was sprawled on the ground, holding the sides of his head with both hands. He was groaning, writhing back and forth, and it was then that I saw the cloud had descended and was thick around him.

  I gave up on the door and ran back toward it. “Leave him alone! Leave him alone, damn you!” Flailing, I tried to chase it away, but everywhere it touched, I felt a jolt of energy—a thousand pinpricks racing through my body.

  My dagger . . . maybe Lysanthra could help. I stumbled back to the bed and grabbed the sheath from where it was hanging on a hook behind my nightstand.

  “Lysanthra, help me!” Holding the silver aloft, I charged back toward the cloud, having no clue what I was going to do in order to stop it. A dagger against a shadow creature seemed insane, but it was the only thing I could think. I stabbed Lysanthra into the thickest part that I could reach—a jet-black pillow of smoke.

  A second later, a roar echoed through the room and—was it my imagination? I blinked. No, the cloud really was pulling back. It still hovered over Shade, but as I straddled his chest, holding my dagger toward the smoking entity, it kept its ground. We were at a standoff, it seemed. Once again, I started to scream, hoping someone would hear me.

  The next moment, another crash broke through the air and the door burst open, splintering as Smoky appeared. Menolly was there behind him, and she pushed through the haze that now filled the room. She dragged me off Shade, motioning for me to run toward Smoky, then she gathered Shade up and draped him over her shoulders. Seconds later, Smoky pushed us all through the broken door, and as we stumbled into the hallway, I stopped short, almost tripping Menolly behind me.

  “Get a move on and don’t let the vines catch you!” she shouted in my ear. I shook my head, trying to process what was going on as I started up again.

  The hallway was filled with vines; they writhed from out of the walls, snaking to cover the old paper and to coil around the railing. The stairs looked tenuous—they were rolling, as if the wood had become liquefied clay. How the hell were we supposed to navigate them without sinking into the mire? But Smoky answered that, hurrying to stop me before I set foot on the staircase.

  He swooped down on me, catching me in his arms, and the next thing I knew, we were into the Ionyc Seas, with mist and vapor rolling around us like crashing waves. But within the circle of his embrace, I was protected from the seething energies of the channels that kept the planes of existence from crashing into one another. The next moment, the world appeared once more as he stepped off into the front yard and let go of me. I stumbled, tripping over a tree branch and sprawling to the ground, as Smoky vanished again.

  The ground was soggy from the rain, and I was in my PJs, which were rapidly plastering themselves to my body. I managed to scramble up as Camille splashed her way over to me through the mud and the pouring rain.

  “Delilah! Oh thank gods, he found you.” She was wearing a sheer nightgown, as covered with mud as I was, only she didn’t have on any underwear, and the look on her face chilled me to the core. “We thought . . . Morio and Trillian dragged me out but I could hear you screaming.”

  I grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. “It’s okay! I’m okay. But Shade—something happened to him—”

  “I’ve got him.” Smoky stepped out of the Ionyc Seas, holding Menolly and Shade. He let go of Menolly and carried Shade to a nearby patch of grass, resting him gently beneath a tree to try and protect him from the elements. “Is everybody out?”

  Camille, her hair plastered to her face from the rain, nodded. “Nerissa, Hanna, and Maggie are over there, under the shadow of the holly tree. Morio’s gone to check on the studio, to see if Roz and Vanzir were attacked, too. Trillian headed over to Iris’s.”

  I half heard them as I knelt beside Shade, checking his pulse. He was still breathing, but he was unconscious. “Shade, can you hear me? Shade, please wake up—Shade? Shade . . .” I started to shake his shoulders, but Menolly stopped me.

  “We don’t know what’s wrong with him, so stop that until we make certain he’s okay.” She pulled me to my feet. “Do you have the keys to your Jeep? We need a blanket for him and I don’t fancy going back into the house.”

  I shook my head. “No, I just have my dagger.”

  “Camille, did you get the keys to your car on the way out?” Menolly took another look at her, then shook her head. “Don’t even bother. There’s only one place you could hide them beneath that gown, and I don’t want to look there. I think I have a spare key under my car. I’ll be right back.”

  We all kept emergency kits in our trunks—medical supplies, blankets, spare weapons, whatever we might need in order to either take on a battle or deal with trauma. Menolly was gone in a flash. Vampires have the uncanny ability to blur the world around them. In other words, she ran like hell.

  Camille huddled with me beneath the tree. “What the hell is going on? What happened upstairs?”

  “I don’t know . . .” My teeth were chattering as I spilled out the story of what Shade and I had woken up to. In fact, I was stuttering so hard I pierced my bottom lip with one of my fangs. Bleeding, I winced, and pressed my hand to my mouth. “Damn it . . .”

  Camille moved closer, and I wrapped my arm around her. She was shivering worse than me. “We had something similar happen. The vines came out of the walls and started attacking us. Luckily, Morio was awake and saw them before they could grab us. He was able to get us out of there. As we headed for the stairs, we heard you screaming.”

  “What about Menolly?”

  “She was running up the stairs. I’m not clear on what went down in her lair, but she dragged Nerissa upstairs and sent her outside while she roused Hanna and Maggie, then she headed upstairs after us. By that point, the vines had started emerging from the walls. Smoky grabbed Menolly and took off up the stairs to help you while Trillian and Morio dragged me downstairs.”

  I frowned. “Sounds like whatever it was started in the basement and worked its way up. I wonder what the hell is going on.”

  “I don’t know, but once we know we’re all safe, then we can figure it out.” She huddled next to me, and I wrapped my arm around her. Menolly returned with blankets and handed one to us, and draped one over Shade.

  Another five minutes saw Morio returning from the studio with Roz and Vanzir, both of whom looked sleepy and were in their bathrobes. Trillian returned from Iris’s.

  “Everything is fine at Iris’s. Let’s get Shade down there, then we can all dry off and figure out what the hell invaded the house.” He stared up at our home, which had taken on an eerie green glow—much like what I imagined ectoplasm to look like.

  Without a word, Smoky gathered up Shade, and we made the silent trip over to Iris’s. As I glanced over at Camille, I saw that Misty—her spirit cat—was in her arms. Even our ghosts were afraid of whatever the hell had moved in.

  * * *

  Iris had the kettle boiling by the time we got there. Bruce was setting out plates of cookies and making sandwiches. Hanna handed Maggie to Menolly and began helping him out. The rest of us gathered in the living room, where Smoky had laid Shade on the sofa. Iris pulled up a footstool to sit by him. She took his hand, and closed her eyes.

  “I’m no healer, but I will tell you this: Whatever attacked him still has hold of him. It’s not possessing him, just . . . I think it’s feeding on his energy. Remember the Karsetii demon? It’s not one of those, but it’s like that.”

  I had been attacked by one, I knew what the hell that energy could do. “What can we do?”

  Camille glanced at Morio, who cleared his throat. “We have to pry that thing loose from the house. If we shake it up, I doubt if it can also keep its hold on Shade. Tell me again, what happened?”

  I went over it again, one step at a time. “Shade told me to get out of the room. So
mething slammed the door shut, out of my hands. I turned around and saw Shade shifting into his Stradolan shape . . . he moved toward the cloud, something happened—I don’t know what—and he suddenly materialized again and was thrown back on the floor. The cloud came down on him again, and I grabbed Lysanthra. She seemed to keep the cloud away from him.”

  Bruce appeared with Hanna. They were carrying sandwiches and cookies, and Hanna returned to the kitchen for tea. Vanzir was rubbing his chin, deep in thought. Fleeting images of him kissing Aeval ran through my mind, but now it seemed so far away and of no matter.

  “I’ve heard of things like this . . . it isn’t Demonkin; that I can tell you.” He frowned.

  “What do we do about the house? Menolly’s going to have to find someplace to sleep come sunrise.” I was frustrated. This attack was out of the blue—and what was worse, we had no clue of who was behind it.

  “I can sleep in the safe room down at the Wayfarer. But I’ll need guards on the door during the day tomorrow.” Menolly looked down at Shade. “Or I can call Roman and head over there tonight.”

  Nerissa let out a grumble. “I don’t like that idea—”

  Menolly whirled, her voice rising an octave. “This isn’t about Roman. It’s not about you either. It’s about me having a safe place to rest away from the sunlight and potential vampire slayers that want to play Buffy and go all stake-the-vamp on me. Okay? It’s not about anybody or anything except me feeling safe when I’m at my most vulnerable.”

  Wincing, Nerissa bit back just as sharp. “Let me speak. I don’t like that idea because we won’t be able to watch over you and make certain you’re safe.”

  Menolly stared at her, and a thousand words passed, unspoken, between them. “I’m pretty sure Roman’s guards will keep me safe.”

  “Then that’s what you should do.” Nerissa stared right back, and I could see a quiver around her muscles. She was a stone’s throw from shifting into her Were form. I quickly stood, moving to Nerissa’s side.

  “Let’s step out for a breath of fresh air.” I steered her toward the door.

  Nerissa allowed me to guide her outside. Once there, she stalked over to the porch swing and sat down, holding herself, rocking. “I won’t shift, I won’t shift . . . I won’t . . .”

  “Take a deep breath and count to five. Then let it out slowly.”

  She did as I’d instructed. “I’m sorry, Delilah. Sometimes your sister makes me so damned mad. She assumes so much. She finishes my sentences for me. She always leaps to conclusions. Half the time I keep my mouth shut because I know she’s going to misunderstand what I say. The other half . . . we argue. I love her, but I’m starting to wonder . . .”

  “If you made a mistake?” I hated those words. I hated even bringing them out into the open.

  But Nerissa surprised me. “No, never. Menolly, a mistake? I can’t imagine thinking that. But . . . maybe we rushed into marriage too quickly. We didn’t set our ground rules carefully. We’ve taken everything on the wing and that can be a big mistake. We tumbled into this relationship without thinking of how our differences were going to affect us. And now she thinks that I’m just trying to get back at her because of Roman, but I’m not! I didn’t expect to . . .” She stopped, pressing her fingers to her lips.

  I straightened my shoulders, icy cold and getting colder. What the hell was going on between them? “What do you mean? What didn’t you expect, Nerissa?”

  Nerissa hung her head. “You know that Menolly and I agreed on exclusivity regarding women. That’s our rule. And we’ve both played by it—men are fine as a dalliance, but other women? No. As far as I know, neither one of us has ever wanted to break that rule. Then Roman came into the picture, and he’s more than a dalliance. I adapted to that—though it did bother me at first, but I’m secure enough in Menolly’s love that I got over it. But now . . .”

  “Now what?” I wanted to go back inside, to see how Shade was doing, but Nerissa was having a breakdown, and I figured somebody would come get me if Shade took a turn for the worse.

  “Now, I’ve met a man and we get along great. And he’s a Were so he understands that side of me. I don’t love him, Delilah, but I think I finally understand what Menolly gets from Roman. He’s a best buddy with fringe benefits. Only . . . she’s not happy about it.”

  “Delilah.” Iris stuck her head out the door. “Come here. Shade’s waking up.”

  I jumped up, then turned to Nerissa. “Listen . . .”

  “Go, be with him. Menolly and I will work things out. But now you know—it’s not just me causing problems.”

  “I never thought it was,” I said gently. “I love my sister very much, but I know full well she can be a handful.”

  “Menolly’s guilty of the same feelings she accuses me of. I love her, and we’ll get through this, but I think we need counseling.” Nerissa nodded to the door. “Now, go. I need to sit out here for a bit.”

  I hustled through the door, thinking that Menolly led the most complicated life of the three of us. Camille’s men were all on board with their poly relationship and really, their arrangement wasn’t that confusing. I only had one man—well, technically, but Shade had been sent by the Autumn Lord and Hi’ran would always be part of our relationship. But Menolly and Nerissa? They were walking a tricky path.

  When I entered the living room, Shade was sitting up, looking so shaky that I wondered if he could stay conscious till I reached his side.

  Chase tapped me on the shoulder. “I’ve called for Mallen to come out. I think he needs to be looked at.”

  Slowly, I knelt by Shade’s side. “Love, how are you feeling?”

  He gazed at me, his eyes unfocused. “Delilah . . . where . . . I feel so strange.” Wincing, he rubbed his head. “My head hurts.”

  Smoky was pacing the length of the room. “Something doesn’t feel right—it’s not his dragon side, that I know, but there’s something . . . off-kilter.”

  “Dude, he can hear you.” Trillian frowned at him.

  “Will you all just shut up and let him breathe for a moment?” I seldom made a fuss, but right now, I wanted to smack them all down. “Just be quiet.”

  Everybody stared at me for a moment, then settled down. Camille moved to stand by my back, and she rubbed my shoulders gently as I held Shade’s hands. Right now, all I could think about was wanting him to be all right. He had to be okay. He was half-dragon, for Bast’s sake. How could anything hurt him?

  A moment later, he inhaled a long, shuddering breath. “Something feels like it’s missing.”

  “Missing?” I didn’t understand. What the hell was going on?

  He nodded. “Missing. Part of me feels like it’s missing.”

  Just then, Morio entered the living room again. “Guys, whatever is going on at our house, it’s lit up like fucking Yuletide morning. I’m going to see if Wilbur’s home. Right now, we need all hands on deck, whether we like those hands or not. And Wilbur knows magic.”

  “It’s . . .” I glanced at the clock. “Three thirty. You really going to wake him up at this time?”

  “Damned straight, I am.”

  Wilbur was a neighbor of ours whom we sometimes worked with. He was a necromancer who looked a lot like ZZ Top, had one amputated leg thanks to a really nasty pair of sorcerers, and made a play for every woman who came within arm’s reach. But he was top of the line at what he did, and he had helped us out more often than not. He lived with his brother Martin, whom Wilbur had raised from the dead after cancer claimed his life. Martin was a ghoul. Wilbur and Martin liked to watch Jeopardy together in the evenings, and Martin was a little like a puppy dog in a really sick movie, but what the hell. It worked for them.

  “Good idea. Take Menolly with you. She can usually get through to him.” Camille waved him off. Then, she moved to one side and pulled out her phone. “I’m calling in Ivana, the Maiden
of Karask.”

  “Oh, how wonderful. She’s just what we need. But I guess, considering what we’re facing, another freakshow in the mix can’t hurt anything.” I went back to focusing on Shade. I tried to ask him how he was doing, but he just kept repeating that he felt like something was “missing” and that he felt lightheaded. My questions seemed to be making him anxious, so I tucked a blanket around him and held his hand, worried sick.

  What if he had been seriously hurt? There were injuries that could harm Supes and dragons far worse than any wound visible on the surface. And I had no idea what might affect his Stradolan side—I was only just learning about that part of him. We’d witnessed some pretty freaking scary things over the years. We’d lost people we’d loved. And right now, all I knew was that the one thing I couldn’t do was to lose Shade. I could cope with almost anything, but lose Shade or my sisters? That would be the breaking point.

  Fifteen minutes later, Mallen entered the room. He motioned for everyone to get out of the way so he and his tech could examine Shade. We moved into the kitchen to give him privacy.

  At that moment, a knock on the back door announced the arrival of Ivana, the Maiden of Karask. Camille quietly excused herself and went outside. She’d borrowed a robe from Chase, so she wasn’t so exposed, and while part of me felt I should be going with her and the Elder Fae, I knew I couldn’t leave till I found out what was wrong.

  After a bit Mallen peeked in, motioning for me to join him. The men had gone up to the house but Iris and Nerissa, who was back inside, came with me.

  “I’ve examined him thoroughly. Whatever it was . . . Delilah, has detached, but it did damage. It drained Shade’s powers from his Stradolan side.” Mallen’s face was void of emotion.

  I frowned. “Drained him? Could that be why he feels like something is missing? How long till he gets them back?” I turned to Shade, who was resting quietly. “Did he pass out again?”