by Lola Dodge
A shifting breeze brought me a hint of her. They’d moved the van, probably to get it off the road, but they couldn’t hide my mate from me.
I cut into the wood, toward the center of the hunting ground. Too slow. My leg muscles screamed, but the ice spear’s embedded tip bit deep, and as it melted, my blood ran.
They chased in a pack. Even at my best, four on one wouldn’t fly. This was not my best.
I needed reinforcements.
I had to get to Ivory.
She could stop them or kick their asses herself. I could’ve lounged and watched the carnage, but the idea of putting her in danger made my fur stand on end.
The van was parked next to a stand of pines. I scented Ivory inside, but there was no way I could work door handles with claws.
So how could I get in?
I stretched, leaning my front paws against the driver’s side window. The key stuck out from the ignition. Much good that did me.
If I couldn’t get in, I had to get Ivory out. I’d tipped a cow once. A U-Haul couldn’t be that much harder.
The hunters drew closer and closer.
Not much time.
Extending my claws, I sprang to a low branch on the oak tree closest to the van. I had to hit it high and hard or the van wasn’t going to budge. As running footsteps crunched closer, I climbed another branch.
This had to work. If it didn’t, I’d be dead and Ivory would be lost.
And what did it say about me that the second option sounded worse?
My muscles bunched and I sprang. I flew across the gap, twisting mid-air to shoulder into the metal.
Bang.
I hit at full speed. The spear in my side gave a healthy twinge, but the van rocked.
“Stop him!” The icemen careened into the clearing.
I landed on all fours and dodged the first spear. The second hit me in the flank. A feline scream tore up my throat and I almost fell, but I couldn’t stop.
Not until Ivory was free.
I ducked my head under the van. It still rocked enough. Cording every muscle in my body, I lifted. As the tires rose, I squeezed underneath, fighting for every inch of leverage I could find.
Spears shattered against the side of the van. They couldn’t get to me as long as I was under.
With a last massive heave, I thrust upward. It broke the equilibrium.
The van tipped. And my cover was gone. A few of the spears clattered around me. I dodged some more, but the ice-douches had an unlimited supply and their aim was deadly.
If I can just make the edge of the woods...
A spear buried itself in my chest. After the first flash of pain, it didn’t hurt nearly as much as it should’ve.
Shit.
That was bad.
My feet collapsed under me as more spears crashed, surrounding me in a prison of ice. But something stirred inside the van. I might’ve tried to take another one of them with me to death, but instead I relaxed and my tongue lolled out in a smug jaguar smile.
Ivory would kick the shit out of them for me.
Ten
IVORY
White, white, white, the tundra stretched. Cold and empty.
Did I truly belong here?
Somewhere else, there were colors and warmth. I wanted to see and feel them again.
Again? Hadn’t I always been here? A flash of movement drew my eye. A black form sped across the snow, barreling toward me.
So dark and loud against the ice. At this season, only a creature with a death wish would be colored that way.
Fur. Fangs.
A jaguar? My skin tingled. I recognized those yellow eyes...
“Jag!”
The vision pricked like mist and the world roiled around me.
Shattered glass chimed in the darkness. My shoulder slammed the ground, and hot slashes of pain dug into my side.
Where was I? As the rocking settled, I smelled diesel and pinesap.
Cold blood flowed from my arms. I brushed the glass away, pricking my finger on an icy shard.
The snow globe.
Kevan.
He’d known that much elemental power would draw me into a dream state. No doubt he and the others had planned to haul me back to my mother. It was the kind of thing she would’ve ordered.
To what end, I wasn’t sure. In killing me she’d gain my powers, but perhaps she simply wanted to beat me into taking up my duties once more. Leaving that madness was the smartest thing I’d ever done.
Now they would pay. For the murders, and for daring to steal my freedom.
A cat’s scream sliced through my fury.
Jag. He’d freed me somehow.
Goddess. They must be hunting him.
I jumped to my feet. My eyes adjusted to the lack of light. I was trapped inside some sort of cargo area, penned by a cage. Metal walls met my fingertips. Thin metal.
With the cold and fury inside me spilling over, I knew what to do. I pictured the inside of a glacier—colder than cold. The energy shot through my fingertips and an ice-sheet formed against the wall. I melted it. Repeated. Melted again.
As the third coat of ice blasted the metal, it groaned. Enough cold could make anything brittle.
I kicked a door out of the van’s ceiling. Jag sprawled on the ground, barred in by a circle of ice spears. He’d been hit, but how badly?
Kevan whirled my way. “Lady Valdís. Are you h—”
I punched him under the ribs. His spear shattered against the ground and he fell gasping to his knees.
“How dare you raise your spear against my creature?” I yanked his chin up, forcing him to meet my gaze. “You kill innocents and betray your princess. Where is your honor?”
“No...I—” Kevan couldn’t catch his breath. He knew what I was going to do to him.
I’d never dreamed of using my true power. It had passed to me through my mother and back through time from the Goddess herself. So long I’d tried to cut myself away from it, but now my blood demanded justice. It was my duty to call back the power that Kevan and the others abused.
The result would not be pleasant for me.
All four were fully grown warriors. They held so much power.
“We are...loyal to you...my lady.” Kevan lifted his hands to plead.
“I live among humans now.” I cupped his chin. “You slaughtered my people. You are no longer one of mine.”
Kevan’s shoulders jerked. Perhaps he’d found some remorse, but it was too late for mercy.
A cold well nestled at the center of his being. I reached for it, and with the same twist it took to draw ice into my body, I tugged at the chill.
It bled into me like the year’s first snowflakes, slowly at first, then thicker and heavier until a blizzard of power whirled. Too much to contain. Ice crept up my arms and frost blossomed at my feet.
Kevan fell limp in the patch of frozen grass. Not dead, though he may wish for death without his powers. He was simply human now.
The other three tried to run.
Columns of ice sprang up at my will, freezing their legs mid-stride. I couldn’t remember their names.
Better that way. They no longer existed to me.
Three more times, I took ice into my body. When four bodies lay motionless around me, I shattered the spears of Jag’s prison. I couldn’t feel the energy from the fifth man, but by the blood on Jag’s muzzle, he was already dead. I knelt at the big cat’s side, sickened by the horror of his wounds.
Goddess help me.
So much power. So cold. It screamed and blustered inside. Snowflakes blotted my vision.
Where did the power end and I begin?
My thoughts tangled in the swirl.
Something warm touched my fingers. Wet and rough. Jag lapped my fingers with his tongue. He could barely open his eyes, yet he offered me comfort.
I stroked the velvety fur at his nose. “You’ll be fine. I’ll find help.”
He purred, but the sound shifted into a heart- tearing wheeze.
How many creatures had I seen slain this way? Thousands? In all my years, I’d never been so rocked by the sight of blood.
It slicked his fur like oil, dark and ominous.
He couldn’t end this way. Not such a beautiful creature.
Not my jaguar.
What good was all this energy if I couldn’t save him?
That was my answer. I would save him.
As gently as I could, I froze over his wounds. His haunches twitched with the pain, and I flinched, but better pain than death. Burns matted the fur around his collar. With a touch, I iced its locking mechanism, and it fell away.
Jag didn’t shift back to human. It took all his willpower to keep breathing.
He could not die.
I would not let him die.
I conjured a column of ice and flipped the van upright. Its doors were unlocked. Flush with so much power, it was nothing to lift Jag’s weight with a second ice pillar. I eased him onto the wide seat in front. He was too massive for it to be comfortable, but I wouldn’t place him in back where I wouldn’t be able to see him.
We had to hurry.
I vaulted over the van’s hood rather than go around and swung into the driver’s seat. Jag moved his head onto my lap. It was the greatest motion he was capable of.
My poor creature. I rubbed at his head with one hand and started the ignition with the other.
The van bumped and wobbled over the uneven forest floor. I took it slow, but a whimper escaped Jag’s jaws.
This wasn’t fast enough. But what could I do?
I almost cried at the sight of the road. Easing the van across a shallow ditch, I spotted light in the distance.
A town. It would have a hospital. A telephone.
I needed the Ten.
JAG
I couldn’t do more than twitch my whiskers, but the world rattled around me. We hurtled toward somewhere, and I didn’t care much past that.
Ivory was with me.
She stroked my fur and whispered reassurances. She wasn’t hurt.
That was everything.
I stirred when she shifted away from me. Where was she going?
“Shh.” Ivory held my head steady. “I will come back with help.”
I sagged. I couldn’t feel much of my body. Help was probably a good idea. I must’ve drifted out, but Ivory’s yells brought me back.
“...then find someone who can care for him!”
The response didn’t carry, but whatever it was, she didn’t like it.
“Then call for a helicopter. That is Jag of the Manhattan Ten. Do you want his death on your town’s conscience?”
More mumbles.
“Yes, I’m Ivory, and if he dies, you answer to me.”
I loved when she owned it.
Maybe she’d even stay.
If she tried to go home, I’d better die and reincarnate as a snow leopard. Death couldn’t keep me away from her now.
IVORY
The townspeople were idiots. And what sort of backwater village lacked a hospital?
The best they could muster was a veterinarian. The man squinted through his glasses and moved his mouth like a fish—as if he’d never seen a jaguar before.
It was nothing but a large cat. Someone had to be able to help.
“Give me the phone.”
The vet didn’t back away from me, but by the wideness of his eyes, it was obvious he wanted to. “We called 911—”
Icicles blossomed from my arms until I looked like an arctic porcupine. I couldn’t control it. Too much power swirled inside me, and I feared bottling it would force an explosion. “Not good enough.”
“You can use m-my cell phone...” The man held it out with a shaking hand.
Finally, he was being helpful. But how did I get in touch with the Ten?
“Try 119.” The man finally backed away.
I stalked back to the van, punching the numbers as best I could with ice-crusted fingers.
Every one of Jag’s pained breaths was a javelin to my heart. Hours lived in the moments between those breaths. He couldn’t last forever. I’d stopped his external bleeding with ice, but the wounds were deep, and my power was not for healing.
I needed help. “Manhattan Ten. What’s your emergency?” Finally. “Give me Angel. Now.”
“I’m sorry. She’s in a meet—”
“NOW!” I roared. “Jag’s hurt.”
“One moment.”
“Ivory? What happened?” Tension gripped Angel’s voice. But not panic. It was me panicking.
I wanted to scream with relief. “Please. Jag’s badly injured.”
“What form?”
“What?” Between the searing power and crushing worry, I couldn’t follow.
“Is he human or jaguar?”
“Jaguar.” She cursed in Spanish, but I heard her bustling. She was going to fix this. Angel could fix anything. “Ivory?”
“I’m tracking the call and I’ll have your GPS coordinates in about twenty seconds. Jet will be there a minute after that with a med kit. I’ve got a copter lifting off with our emergency team now. Do you have a doctor there?”
“A vet.”
“Good. He can administer the injections...okay, got you.” Keys clicked. “And Jet’s on the way.”
“Thank you.” As much as I wanted to sag, I wouldn’t be able to relax until Jag was safe in a hospital.
“Anytime. Bring him home safe.”
“I will.” I clicked the phone and off and stroked Jag’s nose as I waited for Jet. It was the longest minute of my life.
A gust of wind whipped at my clothes and Jet appeared. He clutched a massive bag embroidered with the M-10 logo, but his eyes widened as he spotted Jag.
“Here.” He dropped the kit. “Where’s the doctor?”
“Over there.” The vet had retreated as far from me as he could, ducking into the gas station across the street.
“Got him.” Jet disappeared, and three seconds later he was back, pulling the man’s arm.
“Help him.” I gestured to the bag of supplies.
The man tugged away from Jet. “I don’t know what he needs...”
“Couldn’t be easier.” Jet unzipped the kit. It was split into two pockets. One with general supplies like gauze, scissors and tape. The second compartment was jammed with labeled trays of filled syringes.
Thunder. Steel. Jag. Even one for Ivory. Jet pulled out Jag’s course. The shots were labeled too. There were treatments for blood loss, shock, poisoning, and radiation. I couldn’t read the drug names, but that much I could understand.
“Ah.” The vet poked through the tubes until he found the ones he wanted. “This’ll do.”
This’ll do?
This was a miracle.
Jag slipped into a deep sleep after he’d been stuck with half the needles in his course of injections. Jet shot around doing something— maybe appeasing the steadily growing crowd of locals—but I wasn’t leaving Jag’s side.
The helicopter blades were the sweetest sound I’d ever heard.
As soon as the copter landed, the medical team jumped for it. I was ready to move Jag with an ice luge, but one of the EMTs was quicker. She levitated him out of the van and onto a waiting gurney.
Technicians hooked him up to IVs and took measurements with a frenzy. They weren’t at all fazed by dealing with a giant jaguar.
“Don’t worry,” the levitation woman said. “We’ve treated him before. It’s bad, but you saved him, freezing his wounds closed. The drugs will keep him stable until we get back to the tower.”
“Thank you.” All I could do was stroke Jag’s fur and stare. It hadn’t been me who saved him. It was all of the Ten’s resources. If I hadn’t been able to get in touch with Angel...
I would’ve been shattered.
When did Jag become so important to me?
His existence was more than an acquaintance, but we weren’t friends. Lovers, perhaps?
Only once, and it had been sensational, bu
t we lacked the level of shared experience that label deserved.
He’d called us partners.
The moment I glimpsed his shifted form, something clicked inside me. We were meant to hunt together. With Jag at my side, there was no game we couldn’t fell. Nothing we couldn’t accomplish.
There was much to learn about the man, but...I wanted to.
“Ah...” The medic touched my shoulder. “Can you step away?”
My icicle spikes grew out of control, edging dangerously close to Jag and the machines that kept him alive.
I bit the power back as far as I could and retreated from the gurney. It caused me physical pain to step away from the helicopter, but I couldn’t endanger Jag by flying along.
I’d been worried my run-in with the Ten would ruin my life among the humans, but in the end, my own people were the ones responsible.
My own powers.
I would never be able to mix with humans again. Perhaps not even super humans. I was too powerful and too dangerous.
Where would my place be now?
The helicopter lifted into the air. Jag had to recover.
When he did, we’d have a talk about places.
First, I had unfinished business.
“Not going along?” Jet appeared at my side.
“I can’t.” As if he couldn’t see the six-inch icicles that sprouted from my arms. “Do you have to get back?”
“No hurry. Why?”
“You can help me round up the ones who did this to him. The ones responsible for the other murders.”
Jet rubbed his hands together, and a dark smile twisted his striking features. “Race you there?”
I rolled my eyes. “Follow me.”
We were halfway there before I realized I was playing for the team.
I didn’t hate the feeling.
JAG
Machines beeped. I was moved and jostled. Everything hurt, but the pain was good. Time passed and drugs washed into my system.
When I finally came to, sunlight streamed through my window. Manhattan skyline. I was home. In the medical suite, but still home.
It took effort, but I turned my head. Tank sat at my bedside, working his way through a newspaper. I was grateful, but his wasn’t the face I wanted to see.