by Dodge, Lola
The thing was solid and hot. Collars were always about dominance, and I’d worn my share of spiked, tie-me-up, bondage chokers under better circumstances, but this was fucking cruel.
And who the hell had a jungle-cat sized shock collar ready to go?
I needed to get to Ivory. But no shifting, no phone and the Alcatraz treatment left me with panther mojo and not much else.
One deep breath, and I worked a few thousand scents through my enhanced nose. Mold dominated the basement, but an icy-sweet scent wafted down from above. A group of icemen. Their scents were so similar I couldn’t tell how many there were, but it had to be more than three by the amount of particles in the air.
Ivory’s scent was distinct. It started with the same notes but had some smoke and heat to it, where the others were just cold.
I smelled stale coffee. Febreze. But nothing like blood.
Maybe Ivory was fine. If so, she was welcome to rescue me at any time. I’d be the damsel, no problem.
But she didn’t come, and whatever was going on with us, I was pretty sure she wouldn’t have wanted me chained to a wall. That meant she was captive too. Hopefully in nicer digs.
If they’d so much as scratched her…
I forced down visions of evisceration and made myself focus. The rumble of low conversation drifted through the floorboards.
“…her creature? This is overstepping—”
“He’s a beast.” The answer lifted my hackles. It was the banquet waiter. “I’m sure she would’ve hunted with us gladly.”
“We go without her?” Another voice. All of them sounded the same to me, and only the little bit of authority distinguished the waiter from the other ice-douches.
“We cannot tarry here. The queen wants her daughter back with urgency.”
Queen, eh? So my Ivory was a princess. It explained the bowing, and I’d take it if it meant she was safe.
“The hunting ground is prepared.” Another voice. That made at least four. “We need only wait for nightfall and the arrival of our transport.”
The group must’ve broken up after that, because all I could catch were footsteps and creaking floorboards. The tiny window was still frosted over, but by the light that seeped through, it wasn’t much past mid-day.
What was happening at nightfall? Transport meant someone was going somewhere…but who? Would they put Ivory on a plane straight for home and leave me chained in their basement? Or did they think I’d play good kitty and follow along? Shock collar or not, screw that.
By the talk of hunting, I had an inkling who was going to be the main event in their safari.
Good. They’d have to come get me.
I paced as much as the chain allowed. I could already taste their blood.
Chapter Nine
Panther
They came just before nightfall. The cellar door creaked open and five icemen tromped downstairs.
If they’d ever had street clothes, they weren’t wearing them now. Instead they sported a macabre spread of skins and furs, a few with heads still attached.
I hit them with a growl, but they didn’t flinch. Fuckers.
Banquet waiter’s tux had been replaced by a few polar bears, and a limp snow fox wrapped his shoulders. He lifted a black plastic rectangle. I might’ve guessed remote car starter if not for the ring around my rosy.
“You will cooperate.”
Another growl. Without vocal cords, my repertoire was limited.
“We will bring you upstairs and you will get into the van that’s waiting outside.”
Like hell I would.
He dangled the device. “I will not hesitate to use this. But if you don’t make me, you may ride in the van with Lady Valdís.”
My growl cut. Shit.
“I see we are in agreement.” He slipped around me and bent to unlock the chain. His eyes shifted to focus and I had to give it a try.
I pounced.
Wham.
Current sizzled through my neck. My vision blanked and the scent of singed fur curled into my nose.
Hurt worse than when I’d tried to shift.
“No more warnings.” The chain jingled and slid loose. I would’ve kept snapping, but instead four of the icemen dragged me upstairs. My paws wouldn’t move in a line. I stumbled and cracked my nose against the doorframe. Didn’t help me see any straighter.
It was the same apartment where I’d been tranqed, so at least I still knew where we were. They hauled me out a different entrance, where a U-Haul backed up as close as it could get.
The thing was rigged out for big game, with a massive industrial strength cage crowding the back. Ivory sat on the other side of that thick wire mesh.
So I hopped in. Like a good kitty.
“Good cat.” The guy threw a series of bolts and slid down the grate, but I could eat his face off later.
I threw myself at the other side of the cage. Ivory was strapped into a modified bucket seat and a pool of brilliant blue light flowed from her hands. Was she hurt?
I roared. Nothing. She didn’t flinch. I hurled myself again and again, but no matter how hard I jangled the metal, she wouldn’t look away.
Whatever held her attention, it was almost too bright for my panther’s eyes. It swirled and flickered, coating her fingers in ice.
She was totally enthralled, and not because she wanted to be. Ivory would never volunteer to give up her control, and by the slack look on her face, her system was frozen.
Unfortunately, the van was mobile. We kicked into motion. It was stop and go through Manhattan, but we must’ve hit a bridge, because we picked up speed and started booking toward somewhere.
Long Island? Jersey? Where did they think they were going with a comatose ice princess and a super-sized panther?
I flopped down, but kept my eyes on Ivory. Whatever was controlling her, she’d fight. No doubt of that.
When we got somewhere, I’d have to do the same. I was a patient predator, and I’d be ready to pounce at the first opening.
Ivory
All was cold. Frigid.
The world that spread in front of me swirled in flakes of white, an expanse of snow that stretched to the horizon. Hints of blue glittered at the edge of my vision. Ice sheets drifting across the sea.
I wanted to run. To chase and hunt the creatures that carved their lives out of this icescape.
This was home.
Nothing else existed. Nothing else mattered.
Nothing?
Something clanged outside my hearing. There had been something…once. A long time ago.
It was…
An ice fox darted past and the thought slipped away. The hunt was everything.
A spear flowed from my fingers and I sprinted through dunes of snow. This was my place.
Panther
It might’ve been an hour up the highway. No more than two, so we weren’t that far from the city. The grate rattled up.
“Welcome to the Catskills.”
Farmland. Or woodland. We parked at the edge of a dirt road. A little town glittered in the distance. Could I get there?
No one unlocked my cage yet, but as soon as they did, I was making a break for it. Ice-boy rapped the steel. “We are going to hunt you.”
Oh. That was all?
“Behave as you would in the wild. If you can slay us, then slay.”
Slay you? No problem.
“The hunting ground is wired for your collar and you’ll be shocked if you try to escape. That is the only rule.” He whipped out an ice spear and the other four echoed the motion.
Maybe they were batshit, but if it was going to work for me…
I just couldn’t leave Ivory. She hadn’t shifted during the ride. She sat, frozen, enthralled by the light in her hands.
One of the minions glanced at the leader. “It will not be a long hunt if he does not leave the vehicle.”
“Go, cat.” Waiter-boy jerked his head. “Or I will use the device.”
I hesitated.
Separating from Ivory wasn’t a good idea. Not that I planned on getting dead, but she’d be at their mercy as soon as I was out of the area. I needed her to stay where I could make sure she was safe. They wouldn’t hurt her, but Ivory would’ve preferred physical pain to a mental prison.
Zzzzt.
A smaller zap, but it still popped sparks behind my eyes, and that made my decision. I leaped from the van and broke for the edge of the wood, stumbling a little, but once I was bounding, the juice stopped working its way through my system.
I’d come back for Ivory as soon as I eviscerated these assholes.
Ivory
The fox danced across snow and ice, leading a valiant chase, but the hunt ended with its blood on my spear. Red screamed against so much white.
Smearing the creature’s blood along my lower lip, I gave thanks. Its meat would go to my family’s pots and its skin across my shoulders.
As I bent to the carcass, a rabbit bounded in the distance. My next prey.
There would always be another hunt, and another after that. Forever, I would seek, and kill, and seek again.
It was my destiny.
But there was no joy in it. With the salty blood on my lips and the thrill of another imminent chase, I should’ve been coursing with energy.
I was tired.
Was there nothing else but this?
Panther
Upstate New York was no jungle. Dry air chilled my nose and pine needles crunched under my paws, but trees were trees. Even if the landscape wasn’t what I was built for, I could make it work.
Better than being hunted through Manhattan.
I didn’t pick up any icescent, so the bastards were giving me a head start. Rookie move. If they wanted a real hunt, I’d make it happen.
Part of me wanted to give in to the panther’s darker instincts and go on a blood-lusty bender, but that wasn’t going to get me out of this. Nothing hunted panthers. They were deadly predators, but they lacked the instincts that kept smaller creatures alive.
Lucky my human side was big on self-preservation. I followed the tang of metal and fresh dirt. I just needed to find…
Bingo.
The device looked like a blinking golf ball that was jammed onto a pole. This was the perimeter.
I padded as close as I dared. I needed to investigate, but a big enough shock and I’d be fried like Original Recipe.
The earth smelled newly disturbed. The death fence couldn’t have been in place more than a week.
A week ago, I’d been in Auckland, trailing Mr. Heroes Suck. So why was there a scary high-tech hunting ground in the Catskills?
They hadn’t known Ivory and I would come to New York. Ivory couldn’t have been on their radar until she killed my mark and stumbled into the national spotlight. And they hadn’t rush-ordered the shock collar.
Everything had already been in place.
My hackles rose. And why not? Greater New York had one of the highest populations of supers in the world. If you wanted to hunt them, this was the perfect place. Close enough for convenience, but isolated enough that no one could hear the screams.
The icemen couldn’t have set it up on their own. No way. From what little Ivory had said about home, her people didn’t care about technology, money or anything else they’d need to swing this. They were being fed the resources and handed the dirty work. Which they happened to enjoy.
But this was big. If we could track it back to the anti-super faction—
A twig snapped.
Shit.
I dodged and the spear meant for my ribs shattered against the ground. The guy cursed. His crew wasn’t behind him.
A second spear shot through the night, but I was already bounding. I expected him at least to hesitate as a few tons of panther barreled toward him, but he gave a piercing war whoop and drew out another spear.
He met me halfway. We crashed, but I was faster and heavier. He bounced back and my fangs found his throat. The spray of blood was cold instead of hot, but no less satisfying.
The killing high didn’t last. As soon as he was definitely dead, I felt the slice of pain across my flank. The ice spear jutted over my hind leg.
A chorus of hunting cries echoed through the trees. The others would be here fast.
Without hands, my first-aid options were limited. I didn’t want the spear out. It was already bleeding too much and unplugging the hole would make that much more space for blood to flow. The wound screwed my chances of hiding my trail. Not that I had time for that.
I closed my jaws and bounded for a convenient pine tree. The angle was just right. Impact jarred and the spear snapped. I couldn’t stop a low whine as the rest of the ice-barb jabbed deeper, but it had to be done.
The hunting calls circled closer. This was as good as it was getting until I was human again.
Keeping the blinky electro-golf balls in the corner of my eye, I bounded the perimeter. Definitely didn’t want to run into one of those by accident.
Wind blew their scent my way. The icy sweetness twisted my nostrils like hot garbage. So similar to Ivory, but so totally different.
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 Ivory from me.
I cut into the wood, toward the center of the hunting ground. Too slow. My leg muscles screamed, but the ice spear 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 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 could 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.
Ivory would kick the shit out of them for me.
Chapter 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 panther? My skin tingled. I recognized those yellow eyes…
“Panther!”
The vision pricked like mist as 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.
Panther. He’d freed me somehow.
Goddess. They must be hunting him. There was no way they could’ve resisted.
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.