by Nara Malone
“Careful.”
“We’re fine. I’ve got her.” She didn’t protest her new rescuer. Perhaps any hell was better, in her opinion, than the one she was leaving behind.
One of the pack, Lobo, still naked from a shift back to human form, grabbed Marcus when he stumbled. The leopard screamed and the sound of the emergency door banging open sent them all hurtling toward the van. The side door was open, but a shot rang out and Lobo collapsed under Marcus before they got there.
A male voice demanded they stop. Marcus shouted at Ben to leave, but Ben stowed the leopard and came back with a pack mate. Ben grabbed Marcus and tossed him over his shoulder. His companion grabbed Lobo. Hands reached from the van, pushed from behind, snatching, yanking, pulling. His wound drooled. Bullets pinged and tires squealed, but they were moving.
The van swerved and Atka screamed at Ben to shut the door and engage the light-warping cloak. That done, they all breathed easier.
“They’ll have cops after us,” Atka grumbled from the driver’s seat.
“The cat’s a parahuman. Illegal to have in some states, maybe not this one, but she’s controversial enough to get them shut down,” Lobo said. He thought it was Lobo. But hadn’t Lobo been shot? Marcus’ mind fumbled the task of trying to attach names to speakers. His vision blurred. Now that they were safely in the van speeding away from danger malaise settled over him.
“Besides, she’s endangered—which I believe means they can’t use her for medical research. You don’t call cops when someone steals illegal property.”
Carlos. The name floated up and he latched on to that bright bit of clarity. It was Carlos.
Marcus crawled to the leopard’s side, let his head rest against her heaving flank. She licked the wound she’d left on his arm. He rubbed his cheek against her flank and darkness floated up to take him.
Ben shook him. “Stay with us, Magus.”
“I’m fine,” Marcus mumbled, trying to force his eyelids to lift. They weighed a hundred pounds apiece. “Fine.”
“Yeah? Well, your fine blood is spilling all over the van. Can you shift?”
He could, but in his weakened state he wasn’t sure he could shift into the tiger form they’d all expect. Funny, even now he couldn’t bring himself to reveal that he wasn’t quite like all the others. “It’ll frighten the leopard to face a male tiger in her vulnerable state. Get something to tie off the bleeding. I can make it to your place.”
* * * * *
Lila and Franny had their heads together over the lunch counter when Allie stopped by the diner for breakfast. The evidence of her hard night was reflected back at her in the smirks they exchanged after looking her way.
“Don’t start on me until I’ve finished two pots of coffee,” she warned, dropping onto a stool next to Lila.
“This will cheer you up,” Franny said, pushing a stack of photos toward Allie and planting a clean mug beside them. Allie flipped through the photos while Franny poured coffee and added just the right amount of cream.
Despite her grumpiness and a tiredness that ran bone-deep, Allie couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face. “Awww.”
Lila leaned closer, rested her chin on Allie’s shoulder. “Cute little buggers, aren’t they?” The bells on the door jingled.
“Ah, there’s my new helper,” Franny said, wiping her hands on her apron.
Allie looked up as Maya moved behind the counter. “Hey,” Maya said. She held up a black hoodie. “Jake said you left this when he dropped you off.”
Allie dropped the pictures on the counter to catch the jacket Maya tossed.
“Jake?” Lila asked. “Is there more to last night than I know?”
“I worked late.” When Lila smirked she added, “I was taking pictures. You knew that.” Truth was there was more to last night than Allie knew. She woke up in her own bed, her camera and her equipment neatly arranged on her desk. Her clothes folded on the desk chair. She was still wrapped in a sheet and blanket from Marcus’ bed. No Marcus. No explanation of how she got there. She wasn’t thrilled by the idea Jake had taken her home. If he had. He probably had. She’d let Marcus know just how unthrilled she was when she saw him.
“Oh what cute kittens. They look like furry snowballs.” Maya had joined them and was tying on an apron.
“They do,” Franny agreed. “Come on back and I’ll show you how to set up for breakfast.”
Allie gave the photos back to Lila. “Thanks for bringing these by. That’s a nice way to start the morning.”
“Aunt Lil sent them for you. You keep them.” Lila slid the stack back to Allie. “You doing okay? You look wrung out.”
“It’s been a little hectic the past couple of days.” Allie covered a yawn and chased it with scalding coffee.
“Is that obvious lack of sleep for good reasons or bad?”
“Depends on your point of view.”
Lila laughed. “Translation—I had a great time and I don’t think I should have. Lighten up on yourself, honey.”
Allie smiled. “I did enjoy a portion of the evening—make that seriously enjoyed.”
“Well, coming from you that’s high praise.” She pointed to the clock. “I hate to rush you, but we’ll be late. Get a to-go cup and a bagel and let’s hit the road.”
Franny was already ahead of them, bustling out of the kitchen with a bagel already wrapped up and a cup for Allie’s coffee.
“You make sure you get back here come lunchtime and sit down for a proper meal.”
Allie hugged her. “Yes ma’am.”
Franny’s mouth was still hanging open when Allie glanced through the window as she hustled down the sidewalk after Lila.
* * * * *
Light hovered just on the other side of his eyelids and Marcus struggled to reach it. There was something important he had to do. The sound of voices went from whisper to normal. Closer to consciousness, he still couldn’t recall the reason for his urgency.
“How’s Lobo?” Adam’s voice.
“Ean says he’ll be fine. After you shifted him he started improving.” Ben’s voice answered.
Fragments of what had happened came floating back. Lobo had been shot trying to save him. A new worry inserted itself. If Ean and Adam were both here, who was guarding their family?
“Well, that’s something.” Adam didn’t sound happy about it.
“You did the right thing. They don’t come tougher than the magus. He’s been outwitting death for more than a thousand years.”
“More like eight hundred.”
“Ah, well there you go. You know he’s too stubborn to cross to the next realm until he lives up to the legend.”
“I need to shift him.”
“Ean says no. In fact he specifically said don’t leave you alone with him because he’s afraid you’ll be stupid about this. After shifting Lobo and the blood you donated to your father, you don’t have enough reserves.”
“Ean’s wrong.”
No, Ean was right. Marcus fought to open his eyes. The lids felt as if they’d been glued shut. He needed Adam’s attention. He concentrated on simple movement, a wiggle of finger, a turn of the head. He felt as though he were made of stone.
Ben stuck by Ean’s orders. “I’m not letting you risk it, bro. There must be someone else we can call in.”
“If we call someone else in, he’ll be mad enough to dispatch me to the next realm himself so you’ll gain nothing. Aside from that, no one else has the vibrational mastery required to shift another Pantherian. He and I are the only ones. If he would just leave off this pointless quest of his to rescue all the hybrids and start training apprentices again, maybe we’d have enough skilled healers to save our species.”
“Maybe if the tribes would listen to him and help out, he could concentrate on teaching again. You think humans wouldn’t love the chance to get hold of your girls, your mate? You think they would hesitate to do to them what they did to the female we rescued?”
How had Ben found out about Adam
’s mate and the girls? Frustration fueled his efforts and Marcus managed to move a pinky.
“That hybrid leopard isn’t like us,” Adam insisted. “Humans created her.”
“So she doesn’t matter?”
The female. The leopard. That was the urgency that had been pricking at him. Marcus had to get to her. None of the others could save her.
“Then let me shift him. We need him, Ben. He’s the most powerful Pantherian that has ever walked this earth. We need him more than me.”
Marcus needed to protect his son, frustration that Adam could even consider himself a worthy sacrifice pushed Marcus’ eyelids open and a dry croak from his throat.
Adam was at his side the minute he made a sound, lifting Marcus’ head, pressing a cup of ice chips to his lips. He thought he was in his room. Allie’s scent still lingered on his sheets. Ben leaned against the dresser on the far wall. Too far away, Marcus thought. Too far away to stop his son should Adam try to shift him.
“Take them slow,” Adam warned. “The anesthesia combined with the painkillers will make you nauseated if you have too much.
Marcus sucked an ice chip, willed his energy to rise. He was trying to locate the female’s presence. He couldn’t muster enough to pass a telepathic thought. Adam lowered him gently. Marcus was panting from the effort he’d exerted so far. He wouldn’t give in to the longing to sink back into sleep.
“Where is the leopard? How is she?”
“Ean did a C-section. None of the cubs survived.”
“Where is she?”
“You need to rest.”
“Is she still alive?”
“Yes.”
“I can save her.”
“You have to save yourself. You need rest.”
“By the mother, Adam, for once don’t argue. I don’t have the energy or the time. Just do it. Take me to her.”
Ben interrupted. “Sorry, Magus, but I’m not letting him take you anywhere.”
Marcus was stunned. He was the high magus after all. Open defiance, deliberate disobedience from not only his son, but the lupine leader. It was unheard of.
“Do you forget who I am? It is my place to decide if she is worth saving, if my sacrifice is necessary. I have capably looked after my own well-being for a millennium, and now you would presume to make decisions for me?” His voice had dropped to a whisper because he didn’t have the power to raise it any higher. He hoped they would believe it was a sign of his ability to remain calm in the face of their rebellion.
Ben had the grace to look ashamed. Adam just looked mulish.
“If you were strong enough to connect telepathically, you would know where she is. Well, I can connect,” Adam said. “I feel the barest glimmer of life force in her and yours is steadily shrinking. I won’t let you throw your life away on a lost cause, sir. I’m sorry.”
Ben tried to make peace. “Think of your son, Magus. He is barely standing and it is all I can do to keep him from trying to shift you. There is a point past which I won’t be able to hold him back. Don’t put yourself there.” Marcus closed his eyes, stilled his rage. They weren’t the ones responsible for this travesty. They were doing their best with circumstances thrown at them. He opened his eyes again, fixed his gaze on Ben, the weakest link in this rebellion. “I want to be at her side, to ease her fear so she can let go and move on. Give me that.”
“Jake has her out in the stone circle, Magus. He thought she would find peace with the grass under her and the sky above. When I left them he was sitting with her head in his lap and he’s talking to her. She’s not alone.”
“Who is with your family?” Marcus asked Adam.
“All of us are here. Marie can’t put Marisa down without the baby beaming in here to be with you.”
Marisa, the smallest of his granddaughters, had the fiercest will. It frightened him how determined the baby could be. It frightened him even more that they had all chosen to plant themselves in the path of the trouble that could come calling at any moment. “It’s not safe here. Take them back to the mountains.”
“They won’t go.”
How had things gotten so far out of control? There had been a time when status was respected. When he was respected. The high magus’ will was never questioned. Pantherian males without the status to acquire one of the few available mates often left Pantheria to live among humans and find companionship with females. Pantherians appeared to be picking up human ways of thinking.
He had to regain control. He centered his attention on the glow of light within himself, concentrated on raising the luminosity, could feel force bubbling inside, threads of energy moving out through his limbs. He used that energy to push himself to sit, swing his legs over the side of the bed.
Ben was watching him, mouth open. Adam was frowning but not interfering. See that. He was no elder to be coddled. He pushed to his feet, took a step toward his son. The room went black.
* * * * *
Rather than continue to stare at the blank screen in front of her, Allie listed words, free-association style—distracted, disinterested, discomposed, delusional. She crossed the last one out. She had never harbored any illusions about what getting involved with Marcus would mean. She boxed off each word with thick graphite lines. Boundaries, guidelines, the situation screamed for them. As soon as she had drawn the lines an urge to erase them surfaced and grew. She crumpled the paper and tossed it in the wastebasket, where five previous attempts to start a layout for a fertilizer ad had met a similar fate.
“Allie, a minute please?” Allie had her back to the door, but she recognized Elaine’s voice.
Wonderful, after a session with Elaine it would take another hour to fight her way back into her project. There was still confrontation over Allie’s no-show the first day of her new position to get through. If Elaine was angry, she hid it well. She strolled past Allie and casually flipped through some design prints on the drafting table.
Knock her flat before she flattens you had been Lila’s advice.
Allie grabbed her prepared defense, an iPad loaded with a presentation Allie had put together during her first hour at work.
“My best right-hook, let’s hope it’s packing enough power,” Allie said, offering the presentation to Elaine.
“Excuse me?”
“The presentation, I hope it has the punch to knock our readers flat.”
Elaine tipped her head to the side, gave Allie a long, thoughtful look, and then nodded.
“Come on then, let’s see if it does.” Allie followed Elaine to the main conference room and dropped into a chair across the table from where Elaine plugged in the tablet and launched the first image. It wasn’t so much that she needed distance from Elaine as that she hoped distance would repress the impact of the images on her. It didn’t.
“My god, Allie, I may have to pull you from design and put you in the photographer’s pool. You have got an artist’s eye, woman.”
If the impact of the images on her computer screen was disconcerting, life-sized on the projection screen was immobilizing. Moonbeams sliced across the stone and greenery, granite pillars thrust toward the sky, the resolution was so crisp Allie held her breath, half-expecting to see grass blades stirred by a breeze. The night flooded her senses, the exotic perfume released by fragile blossoms, the haunting call of owls from copses edging the river, the electric taste of magic riding currents of dew-laden air.
The next picture filled the screen, a deer in the meadow. The moon garden life-sized. Elaine sighed, glanced around and grabbed a chair and sat. Allie thought that was probably a good sign.
She tried to watch the slideshow herself, without remembering, without feeling. She had to look away.
She could almost taste Marcus she wanted him so much. Her pulse fluttered in her throat, her heart rate tripled and her breath went shallow.
Allie moved to the window, a stretch of lawn rolled out on the other side of the glass. Tulips in a border garden were just starting to open. The color caught
Allie’s attention, red. The energy hummed, tinting the air around the flowers with a scarlet aura. And this too made her crave Marcus. She wanted to hold her hands against his bare chest, soak up his presence like a drug. Between her legs her pussy hummed agreement. She wanted to feel the length of him slip inside her one slow inch at a time. An involuntary smile lifted the corners of her lips and carried over as she turned when Elaine called her name. To Allie’s surprise Elaine smiled back with a warmth that lifted her spirits further.
“They’re magic,” Elaine whispered, and then catching herself, straightened as she turned back to the shots. She gave a more thorough critique. “I like the way you used the moonlight to give the setting a romantic glow. And here, the lunar moth, incredible you found one this time of year. Look at how the light strikes, as if he’s backlit, luminescent, hovering above the pearly cup of a moonflower blossom. Our readers will love that.”
She went through each photo, pointing out what she liked and what she didn’t, how Allie could improve. Criticism was brief and extra time devoted to recognizing those places where Allie had achieved a perfect combination of texture, visual composition, light and emotion.
Allie found she truly appreciated Elaine’s skills for the first time, as if they had found a level of mutual respect, a common ground on which to grow a professional relationship. They had a common value to build upon—a drive for perfection.
When Elaine left, Allie turned to her computer, deep into ideas about new shots she could take in the garden, a couple of shots she wanted to redo, and a certain sexy man she wanted to redo. She was already considering how she might use moonlight on water to capture the mood she needed. She’d have a moon that looked close to full tonight and the blooms opening into May. An image of herself as a fragile blossom, trembling under the swipe of Marcus’ tongue, popped into her brain. Thoughts like that wouldn’t lead to any sort of productivity.
By the time she reopened the fertilizer layout, the mental background chatter to her task had switched from how much her layout sucked to snatches of whispered words Marcus used when he pleasured her.
You like teeth, he’d say, his voice musical with laughter. Or, That shiver of yours is pure pleasure. And you know what you’ll like more than teeth? A pause while she anticipated the answer. My nails scraping your skin, gliding over your back. His laughter when the thought unleashed another shiver.