Before she could say anymore, he walked away from the park bench, towards the clearing that Macey had witnessed in Sharara’s memory. The place where Izban had been attacked.
He walked around, inspecting the mist-covered ground.
“I will have to shift,” he finally announced and Macey’s heart beat hard in her chest.
“But you only have two changes left,” she protested, but Cam put a hand on her shoulder.
“He knows that. We need him to do it.”
“Once I’ve shifted, follow me. If we have to travel on the Staran, grab hold of me, but don’t grip me too tight. Sometimes my cat instincts take over and I wouldn’t want to hurt you.”
In a smooth motion, the man turned into a big black cat. It was so different from Macey’s shifts, so much more elegant and quick. It looked like no effort at all. But then, she shouldn’t be jealous. She got to change forms as often as she wanted. He only had one left now.
The cat prowled from side to side of the clearing, sniffing the ground. Macey was beginning to doubt whether this was going to work, when he finally growled and ran off. The cat was large and fast and she was having trouble keeping up with it. The guys flanked her, with Jared at the rear as usual. The mists became thicker the further they ran and she already longed for the clearing they’d started from. She’d had enough of fog to last her a lifetime.
The mist was so thick that she almost bumped into the cat who had stopped and was waiting for them. He curled his tail and somehow, she knew it was time to travel on the Staran.
Macey looked at her men and they all followed him into the mists.
Cat Sìth
Chapter 18
She couldn’t see more than a foot or so in front of her, which worried her more than a little, but she had to trust Cat-Man. While he didn’t really seem to like her, Sharara had put a lot of faith in him, and had asked him to help them. And if there was one thing she could definitely say about Cat-Man, it was that he loved, and trusted, his sister. She’d meant a lot to him.
Are you okay? she thought at him. She didn’t know if it would work, but hoped so. All she might get in return was a growl, but she was willing to take that risk.
No, he replied after a silence that’d stretched just long enough for Macey to start doubting her attempts at communication had worked.
Is there anything I can do? she asked, softly.
Stop with the questions, he snapped. Something recoiled within Macey, hating the tone he was using even if she understood the why.
“Sorry,” she muttered aloud, scared to think in his mind again.
The five of them continued into the thickening mists in silence. There was so much they needed to talk about. So much to plan. But something about doing so just felt wrong. It was potentially to do with Cat-Man’s grief, but Macey wasn’t so sure. To her, it felt far more likely to be something to do with the mistrust she held for the mists themselves. As stupid as it seemed to distrust a weather pattern. But the mists seemed to be linked to the Staran. They could even be the Staran as far as Macey was concerned. And while she didn’t believe the Staran themselves were bad, something, or someone, had made them sick. And if they knew how to do that, then they probably knew how to hear and see through the mists.
If there was one thing Macey had learned recently, it was that anything was possible. And that if a story existed about something, then there was a good chance it existed somewhere in the world. Maybe not quite in the exact way the stories said, but certainly in some form.
Are you ready? Cat-Man’s sudden reappearance in her head made her jump.
For what? she replied.
To travel the Staran, he said shortly. She could almost hear the ‘duh’ at the end. Except that he wasn’t her brothers, and was centuries old, so wouldn’t be as immature as to actually say it aloud. Or think it. Or whatever they were doing right now. All this magical communication would give Macey a headache if she had time to stop. Or if she didn’t already suffer from magical headaches induced whenever the Voice made an appearance.
“Yes, I’m ready to travel the Staran,” she said aloud, mostly for the men’s benefits. She needed to remember how much she hated it when Cam and Flint talked in their heads, and that it probably felt the same for the three of them when she was talking to Cat-Man. Then again, it wasn’t like she had a choice with Cat-Man. He couldn’t exactly speak aloud in this form, and she couldn’t ask him to transform back just so she could chat to him. She couldn’t ask him to ever transform back for any reason. Not knowing it was the last time he could do so.
Thoughts flickered through her mind, mostly centred around if there was a way she could change his fate. To make it so he could shift any time he wanted. That ability wasn’t something she’d ever given much thought to, but now it was the only thing on her mind. Maybe there were other things she took a little for granted too. She needed to watch that in future.
Cat-Man nodded his big black head, and before Macey had time to even think another word, she found herself being sucked back into the Staran and down their path to...wait, where were they going? No one had actually told her, other than that they were heading towards Ice. Maybe that was all there was to it. Maybe the Staran didn’t just work on visiting a place, maybe visiting just a person was possible too, no matter where they were.
When they worked at all, anyway. As far as Macey could tell, the Staran very rarely actually did what they were supposed to. Or at least, not for her and her men they didn’t. It was possible that the Staran just didn’t like Wardens. Or that the person who’d made it sick in the first place had programmed it not to like Wardens. Programmed? Spelled? She couldn’t work out the right word for it. Then again, the last thing she’d ever expected was to have to work out a word for a sick travel system. Life had certainly taken a very strange turn.
Without her being fully aware of it, Macey’s feet found themselves on firm ground again. She frowned. That had been a lot smoother landing than just about every other trip she’d taken through the Staran. Unless she counted the first one, but she didn’t. She’d been unconscious for that one, so it hardly counted.
“That was almost like it should be,” Cam said, awe written all over his face.
Macey glanced around, surprised to see the mists were thin here, almost verging on non-existent. She lightened her grip on Cat-Man’s fur but didn’t move her hand away. She wasn’t sure whether or not their connection would survive if they broke contact.
The advantage of having a Cat Sìth with you, he chuckled down the connection.
“Does it really make a difference to have you with us?” Macey asked aloud. She knew Cat-Man would hear her, and didn’t want the other three cut out of the conversation.
Yes, if the damage to the Staran has been done by who I think it has.
“Cryptic,” she muttered, before relaying back to the men. Flint took a step towards her and pulled her close with a firm hand on her waist. He pressed a kiss onto the top of her head, and she almost melted into him.
“We know the Voice is behind it anyway,” Cam pointed out.
“Yes, but what is the Voice?”
He’s like me, Cat-Man said, taking Macey a little off guard.
“A Cat Sìth?”
No, just of a fae line. But that’s bad enough.
Yes, she imagined it was bad enough. The Voice seemed strong, particularly after what Sharara had said.
“But aren’t we supposed to be with Ice?” she asked, looking around her for the first time. Unease settled in her stomach as she took in what looked like an abandoned warehouse looming in front of her. The lack of mists didn’t even stop it from being eerie. Which said a lot. “Please tell me we don’t have to go in there?” she asked of her men.
“I can tell you that, but I don’t want to lie to you,” Cam said.
“But we’re with you, every step of the way,” Jared added, coming to stand next to her.
“And Ice is in there?”
I don’t
know, but this is where the Staran brought me when I thought of his name. Cat-Man shrugged. Which in any other situation, may have been comical. As it stood, Macey wasn’t overly amused.
“Are we on Earth?” Macey asked. With all the travelling and strange places she’d been to recently, it was hard to tell. It looked like a human warehouse in an abandoned industrial area. Most of the glass windows were broken, the rest covered in yellow dust. It could easily stand in as a crime scene in a film. It gave her the creeps.
At least she had her magic back, so she wasn’t defenceless. Neither were the others, and she was sure that Cat-Man had some decent claws on his furry paws. Then why did she feel such a level of hopelessness and despair? She was tempted to give up and run away, hide somewhere with her men, wait until the Voice found them and she invited it in...
Wait. Those weren’t her thoughts. She was a kelpie princess, she wasn’t going to run.
“Something’s wrong,” she whispered. “Do you feel it as well?”
“Darling, I want to feel all of you.” Suddenly, Jared hugged her from behind, putting his hand on her boobs while whispering in her ear. “I’m going to take you here and now. You’re the most delicious being I’ve ever tasted and I’m going to devour all of you. You’re going to be my entree, dinner and dessert and when I’m done with you, there will be nothing left but a whimpering mess begging me for death.”
She jumped out of his embrace, staring at him incredulously.
“What the waves did you just say? What’s wrong with you?”
Jared ignored her and stalked towards Macey, his eyes crazed. This wasn’t the Jared she knew, this was the incubus he kept locked inside.
As one, Cam and Flint stepped in front of her. “Stay back, he’s not himself!” Flint shouted and flames appeared around his outstretched hands.
“Yeah, I kind of figured that out myself,” Macey mumbles. “What’s wrong with him?”
“You said you were feeling strange? It’s the same for him. Except that he didn’t manage to get himself out of the mental grip of whoever is doing this.”
“I don’t think it’s the Voice,” Macey said slowly. “It feels different. Less aggressive, more... sneaky. Almost playful. Teasing. A warning, but not a threat yet.”
“Well, I’m not enjoying this game,” Cam huffed as he kept a barrier of air between them and Jared who was now beating against it, trying to get to Macey. His expression was pure lust and no humanity was left in his eyes. No wonder incubi had such a bad reputation.
“How are you two not affected?” she asked, inspecting them carefully for any sign of Jared’s madness.
“Centuries of practice. And with our mental abilities, we’re used to keeping up strong barriers around our minds. It takes someone much stronger than this to break through those.”
“And can you use these exceptional powers to make him normal again?” Macey asked drily, watching as Jared was ripping off his shirt, presenting his shapely abs to her. As if that would make her go over and touch him. Tempting, yes, but she preferred the normal Jared, not the crazed incubus version.
“Darling, come to me, I want to drown in your waters,” Jared shouted, his voice the most alluring thing she’d ever heard. She took a step forward, towards the beautiful sound, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.
She turned to Flint, breaking the spell. “Thanks.”
“No problem. He’s even making me want to go over and kiss him.”
She stared at him. “Are you...”
“I’ve been known to experiment,” he grinned and winked at her. An image of him in Jared’s arms, their hot bodies entwined, fluttered into Macey’s mind. Wow. Was that excitement she felt? Or jealousy? Or a mixture of both? But no, this was not the time for this. They needed to get their incubus back to normal so they could investigate the warehouse.
“Where’s the cat?” Cam suddenly asked, looking around while still keeping up the barrier around Jared.
“He was here just a moment ago.... do you think it affected him, too?” Macey asked, but Flint shook his head.
“His mental strength is as least as good as ours, if not better. He’ll be safe from the influence of whatever this is. But why didn’t he say anything? It’s odd for him to just disappear like that.”
“Is it?” Cam asked. “He’s not been very happy about coming with us in the first place. Maybe he decided his job was done?”
“Look, I’ve got no trousers on!” Jared shouted, interrupting them. He was indeed only wearing his boxers now and was in the process of getting rid of those too. Macey cringed. As much as she liked seeing him naked, this was bad timing.
“Do something about him, please?” she begged the other two, covering her eyes.
“We could knock him out and see if he’s normal again when he wakes up?” Cam suggested. “Or find some rope and chain him to that lamp post and hope that he’s still there when we’re done?”
Macey didn’t like either of those options. “Or you stay out here with Jared and I’ll go inside with Flint?”
Cam growled. “No way. We’re all going together. We don’t know what awaits us in there.”
“Sweetheart, look how hard I am for you!” Macey whirled around, taking care not to look at his midsection.
“Oh for waves’ sake, it’s enough!” she shouted and threw a ball of water at him. She’d intended something small, but her magic decided otherwise and drenched Jared in a massive fountain of icy water. He squealed as it pushed him to the ground.
“Oops,” she muttered, evaporating the rest of the water before it could actually hurt him.
Jared slowly got up on all fours. “Why am I wet?” he asked slowly? “And why the fuck am I naked?”
Cam grinned and released the wind barrier. “Good to have you back, mate.”
Jared picked up his wet clothes and looked at them with confusion. “Did I go incubus?”
“Yes, you did. I think you have some apologising to do. Some of the stuff you said to Macey wasn’t very polite,” Flint chuckled and waved his hands through the air. A moment later, the clothes were dry again and Jared quickly slipped into them while hiding his blushing face.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, clearly embarrassed. “I usually have it under control... was it very bad?”
Macey laughed. “You said you were going to have me for dinner.”
“Oh. But I didn’t...?”
“They stopped you before you got a little too touchy-feely,” she explained and he breathed a sigh of relief.
“I can’t believe this happened. It’s been ages since I went full incubus. Anybody know what happened?”
“I’m pretty sure we’re going to find out once we finally enter that warehouse,” Macey said, a healthy dose of impatience in her voice. They’d lost too much time already. If Ice wasn’t here, it had been a complete waste. And if he was, this chaotic mind fuck may have made everything a lot worse.
“Let’s go,” she said and walked towards the large metal doors. They were covered in dents and rust. Cam stepped in front of her and put a hand on the door handle.
“Ready?” he whispered and Macey looked around. Three determined men met her gaze and she squared her shoulders in advance. It was time to solve this mystery.
The entrance to the warehouse loomed above them, causing something like dread to flow through Macey. Her men were next to her though, and that made everything at least a little easier. Though she’d prefer it if she knew where Cat-Man had gotten to. Despite it all, she was feeling a little attached to the odd creature.
She took a step forward and gritted her teeth as the urge to shift forms overwhelmed her. She knew she couldn’t give in though. She wouldn’t be able to breathe if she did. Plus, she imagined kelpies were rather ungainly in their aquine form on land. There wasn’t much grip for webbed hooves against a hard floor. A struggle began within as the shift tried to take hold. This wasn’t good. She couldn’t let the shift take hold, no matter what she did.
> “You okay?” Cam asked, his normal calm, coolness cracking slightly as his worry shone through. Despite it all, Macey’s heart skipped a beat. He was worried about her. For her. It was one thing knowing it, but quite another seeing it. She knew that was a silly thing to say, particularly when she bore his mark on her back, but even so.
“Just struggling against the magic,” she said, nodding towards the warehouse.
Now do you understand why I’m not with you, Cat-Man said, making her jump. She hadn’t expected him to still be about after his silence during the incubus attack. She didn’t really blame him for leaving during that. Jared had been a sight to behold, that was for sure.
You’re still here.
Of course, I promised my sister I’d help you. I can’t break that promise just because one of your husbands gets out of control. Cat-Man sounded amused, filling Macey with relief. She knew he wasn’t about to just get over his sister’s death, but at least he wasn’t in the place where he was ready to end himself over it all. Or give up on life completely and go on a rampage. She wasn’t sure which was worse, though at least he wasn’t still going on about killing Ice. No, not Ice, Izban. She knew his name, she should get used to using it.
Thank you, but they’re not my husbands, she responded.
What do you think they are then?
Macey didn’t respond. She couldn’t. What were they to her? More than just a fling. More than just her boyfriends. But they weren’t married...right? They’d need a ceremony for that. She pushed the thought away. She’d deal with that one when there wasn’t a massive imposing warehouse to deal with.
I’ll be waiting out here until you return, or the enchantment breaks. But I can’t risk being forced to change forms. A wave of sadness washed over Macey, and she wondered whether it was Cat-Man’s emotions, or whether it was her own reaction to what he was saying. Whatever it was, it distracted her from her concerns of just moments ago.
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