Nine Lives of an Urban Panther

by Amanda Arista

  “Now,” echoed the many mouths of Spencer.

  The shadow men all turned toward me.

  Half my body numbed by the snake’s venom, I readied for the impact of the remaining shadows that hadn’t been hacked, sliced, or tossed into whatever Jessa had cooked up.

  Four hit me at once and I jumped to throw them off balance. We landed hard on the ground and I cracked my head on the pavement.

  As soon as their hands landed on my skin, the cold ache of their feeding pulled at me.

  I struggled as much as a one-armed girl could, but the more I did, the less feeling I had in my left leg. I jammed the stun gun against as many as I could, but another dark figure just took each one’s place.

  “Lock it down, Violet.” Peter’s voice echoed above me, above the dog pile of shadowy things. “They want the Legacy.”

  Trying to ignore the leachy feeling, I tightened the lid on the Legacy, tucking it far enough away that they couldn’t get to it. But it meant that I didn’t have access to it either. I was just Violet now.

  A shadow hand covered my mouth and my eyes flew open. I tore at the hand and kicked with my good leg, only to find that they had taken enough energy that it was no longer my good leg.

  I heard splashing water and a round of gunfire. The others were still fighting, so I would too. My nails dug into the hand over my mouth and I bit down hard. Finally the hand retracted from the mass of black above me.

  I saw Tyler rip one of them off me and then heard someone yell, “Take it over there.”

  The chill from their hands had nearly covered my whole body now; I barely had enough energy to wave my arm around. It looked pale against the backdrop of shadow men and it wasn’t a moment before one of them grabbed ahold of it.

  My head spun, with exhaustion, with hunger—but mostly with poison. I felt like I’d been on four all-nighters in a row and the world was more than a little fuzzy.

  In the moment of a blink, the last shadow man was pulled away and disposed of. Tucker pulled me to a sitting position. My head lolled against his warm chest.

  “Violet. Say something.” He looked up. “She’s cold as ice.”

  “I can’t feel my feet.”

  “They are still huge,” Jessa said as she knelt down beside me.

  I wanted to reach out my arm to hold her hand, but it wasn’t really working right now. Tucker’s heartbeat was loud against my ear and I closed my eyes to listen to it better.

  “No, you don’t,” Tucker said as he shook me violently.

  The rest of the pack hovered around me. I did a quick head count and everyone was there. “Baddies gone?” I managed out.

  “Interdimensional rift.” Jessa sighed. “Half-assed it really.”

  “Into what?”

  “Dimensional food processor?”

  I grimaced. “Never say that to a writer.”

  Peter stood and put his hands on his hips. “We need to get her someplace safe. Police are going to be here any minute.”

  There must have been a general consensus on something, because Tyler hoisted me up and carried me like a limp doll. He adjusted me so I could see over his shoulder.

  I thought I was smiling as I watched Tucker walking behind us. His heavy arm was draped over Jessa’s shoulder as he limped. Blood covered her pink shirt and flecks of black were smudged across her cheek.

  Tucker reached up and pulled an ember from her black hair.

  I relaxed into Tyler’s arm as I watched the budding romance. I’d missed Tyler and I felt his golden proximity between us, the warmth in our connection. It was the first and only bit of warmth I could feel.

  And then it felt like his warmth was seeping into me.

  His steps faltered and he dropped me hard on the ground and I rolled. Concussion number two. Or was it three?

  Nash dropped beside me. Blood covered his face and he was going to have a very heroic black eye for a few days. He touched my shoulder and energy surged straight into my chest. He crumpled next to me as the burning grew within my chest.

  “Violet?” he whispered as he cringed.

  I felt better, clearer, warm. Able to focus on Nash’s pained face.

  Peter knelt over me and smacked me hard. “Stop it, Violet.”

  “Bastard.”

  “You’re killing them.”

  My head lolled forward as I saw Tyler curled up on the ground a few feet away. He looked pale and there were dark circles underneath his previously warm eyes. Our connection was hot, radiating with warmth and the power that I’d give him. I was taking it back, taking it all back. And I couldn’t stop it.

  I looked up into Peter’s blue eyes, his golden hair, and felt the connection between us. As soon as I felt my core pulling at the rough connection, smelled his soft leather scent around me, a bolt of lightning hit me in the side.

  My entire body was set on fire as every nerve ending conducted what had to be a million volts of electricity.

  Everything retreated inward and I slipped back into the numb blackness behind my eyes.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “WHY DO YOU always come home bloody?” Chaz’s tone was somewhere between anger and exasperation.

  “Not always.” My throat was still sore from being choked and I still couldn’t move, thanks to the poison.

  Chaz leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. He rubbed his hands together and exhaled loudly.

  They’d brought me to Chaz’s house because it was closer and it could house the twelve people who came with me. He’d put me in the guest bedroom because he didn’t want a parade of people through his bedroom. It made sense, but this bed was lumpy, and even though I couldn’t move anything, every single bump and lump in the bed jabbed into my sore body.

  I rolled my head to look at him. I knew what he wanted to ask. But I wasn’t going to start the fight this time.

  Chaz licked his lips. “Why didn’t you call me?” He voice was amazingly calm, but the gravel in it was unmistakably anger.

  “Didn’t have time.”

  “Not good enough. You’ve got half the pack here and no one called me.”

  “I’m sorry, Chaz. My focus was on the rip in the Veil and the snake thing trying to eat me.”

  His knuckles went white. It wasn’t the right answer. So I tried another. “There is a solution to that problem.”

  His golden green eyes flicked up to meet mine. “What?”

  “Haverty was able to control his connection with different breeds, so I should be able to. I mean it might require a little research, but—“

  “No, Violet.”

  “You’d be able to know when I was in trouble.”

  “No.” Chaz rose from the chair and began to pace. “I can’t.”

  I licked my very dry lips and the exhaustion settled in around my shoulders again.

  He rubbed his stubbled jaw. “I mean, I shouldn’t have to, right? I’m your fiancé. Isn’t love supposed to be enough magic to keep us safe?”

  “I think when Piper told us that, it just meant that the panther wouldn’t get in the way. Didn’t say anything about safe. In fact, a wise little fairy princess said that life is dangerous, sacred destiny or not.”

  His jaw clenched and he stared very intently at the wall just above my bed. He was picking his words very carefully. “I can’t have you coming home bleeding.”

  “I can’t promise that I won’t.”

  His arms crossed over his chest so tightly that I thought he actually might bear hug himself into unconsciousness.

  I tried to sit up, but nothing was working yet. “But you missed a key word there. Home, Chaz. I will always come home to you. The home that we built.”

  He looked down at me and I knew it wasn’t going to be enough for him right now. But it was the best that I had. The best I could muster as I lay motionless on his guest bedroom again, recovering from some wild-animal attack.

  There was a tap on the door and the soft noise echoed through the silence between us. Chaz went to
open the door and Devin’s gleaming face was on the other side.

  “How’s the patient?”

  “She’s all yours,” Chaz said as he walked out of the room.

  Devin shivered. “That was brutal.”

  “That was my loving fiancé.”

  Devin had his medical bag with him. He moved the wooden chair closer to my bedside and put his bag on the nightstand.

  “What’s the damage, doc?” I asked.

  “You need to stop talking,” he said quietly as he pulled on latex gloves. “Actually, no. Now that you’re conscious, you need to tell me what the hell did this,” Devin said as he started on the shoulder and the two-inch thick bandages taped there. .

  “You’ve been out there with my pack all night and they didn’t tell you?”

  “They went quiet as soon as I walked in the door. Nash was the only one who talked to me and it was all about the weather.”

  I licked my lips. “There’s a Wanderer term for it that translates to ‘Biggers.’ And they are pretty much just that. Shifters who chose their animal form in the Neveranth.”

  Devin was taking the news pretty well. “So, large powerful primal snake thing?”

  I smiled. “Bingo.”

  “Why can’t it just be vampires with you?” Devin cracked a smile.

  “You have no idea, honey.”

  Tyler brought in a bowl of fresh water and towels. I couldn’t help but smile. He just nodded at me.

  “We decided to take shifts,” he said softly, like the noise alone would hurt me. “The next shift should be in about an hour.”

  “Who’s here now?”

  “Kandice, Nash. Jane. Um, Jessa, Tucker, and Peter went to do something. The brothers went home. Poor things had never seen that much action.”

  “And you,” I had to force a smile. “You’re here.”

  Tyler just pressed his lips together.

  “Will you at least stay until we can talk?”

  He nodded and then left the room.

  “That’s the one you’ve been missing?” Devin asked softly. He was slow, meticulous as he cleaned. Carefully peeling off the bandages and cleaning the wound again. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw stitches. There was no getting out of a scar this time.

  I squeezed my eyes shut and let Devin’s soft fingers work their own kind of magic. “Yeah.”

  “But he came back when he was needed?”

  “I don’t want him to be back out of sense of obligation. I want him back because we are his family.”

  I opened my eyes after Devin covered the wound on my shoulder.

  “He’s back. And still hotter than hot.”

  “Yeah, the broody thing is working for him.”

  Devin smiled as he rewrapped the shoulder. “You’re still cold.”

  “I’m half naked.”

  “No. Your body temperature. You’re practically clammy.”

  “I’m a little low on the juice right now.”

  “Don’t you have that battery pack?” Devin asked as he packed up the bandages.

  “What?”

  “That legacy with all the evil stuff. Don’t you have that?”

  I tried to shake my head but it didn’t work. It just sort of rolled to the side. “I could.”

  “Fear doesn’t sound good on you, Vi.” Devin closed up the bag and took my hand. “What are you really afraid of?”

  I let out a big sigh and told him the complete truth. “I’m afraid that I can’t be a dream girl and a Prima.”

  “You, my love, can be anything you want to be. Prima, lover, writer, aunt, sister, friend, cousin, fiancée, or kick-ass heroine. If anyone can do this, Violet Jordan, you can.”

  My eyes watered and I already felt better. “I wish I had your faith.”

  “You do, Vi.” Devin squeezed my hand and then stood. “You need rest. I’m telling the others not to bother you for a while.”

  Devin was just about to leave when my door flew open. Peter filled the doorway. His black T-shirt was clean and his jeans were fresh. He’d showered, but I had the instant suspicion it wasn’t just to clean up but to cover up.

  As the two men looked at each other, my skin tightened.

  “Devin,” Peter breathed. He took two steps back and ran into the door.

  “Peter?”

  “Oh. My. God,” I breathed.

  I saw it between them, felt it between them. This was Peter. The Peter. The lawyer who Devin had confessed was ‘perfect,’ if I remembered correctly. The same Peter who had stomped all over Devin’s heart so badly that he hadn’t dated since.

  My stomach churned, half at my own recollections of what Devin had gone through and the other half from Peter himself. Peter was afraid. Twenty shadow men and he was as cool as a cucumber. Facing Devin, he froze and pulled at the connection between us.

  “What are you doing here?” Devin asked, switching his doctor bag from one hand to the other.

  Peter pointed to me. “Prima Violet.”

  Devin’s eyes jumped from my pale figure back to Peter’s. “You’re a . . .”

  “You know?” Peter took a step toward him.

  Devin didn’t step away. He looked the wolf straight in his blue eyes. “Of course I know. I’m here, aren’t I?”

  “Well so am I.”

  “Good. She needs her pack.”

  The men sort of stared at each other for a while. Devin was doing great. Peter’s heart was beating in his chest and his upper lip was moist. His sweet leather scent filled the room as his blood ran hot.

  I saved him from himself. “Thank you, Devin. How about you come back later today?”

  “I’ll be back in four hours.”

  Devin left the room and Peter took in a deep breath and I felt the relief in my own chest.

  He stayed by the door for a few moments, then shook his head and walked into the room, closing the door behind him. “I’ve just come back from the vampires and—”

  “You broke up with Devin!” Yelling took more energy than I thought it would and I collapsed against the lumpy pillows.

  Peter stopped mid-stride. “My private life is private.”

  “Your private life nearly destroyed my best friend.”

  “We have more important things to talk about than . . . that.” Peter walked to the side of my bed.

  He looked down at the chair Devin had just been sitting in and crossed his arms over his chest as he stood.

  “No, Peter. Lesson one of Violet Jordan’s Pride, you do not dismiss the people who make you happy.”

  A deep crease formed in between his blue eyes. “How do you know he made me happy?”

  “Because I felt your fear when you saw him again.”

  Peter’s hands gripped his arms even tighter across his chest. But it was more than his actions that stopped my meddlesome ways. The bond between us turned and tightened, felt like I was trying to pull an anchor from the bottom of a very deep ocean.

  “Fine. You don’t want to talk about it, but Devin’s part of this, so you’ll need to make some sort of peace with that.”

  Peter licked his lips and just kept staring at me.

  “Tell me about the vampires.”

  His story was something out of one of my novels. The Clade Source, Emilio, had been taken by a swarm of darkness, just like the ones we fought. Valiance, the second in command, tried to stop them but they vanished through a mirror. A blond man then appeared in the mirror and told Valiance their leader had been taken by someone named Jordan and he could help the Clade get him back. And that led to them jumping through a mirror and into the fight.

  “But we’re good for now? Did you make another little truce on my behalf?”

  Peter shook his head. “They proposed the truce, maybe after I mentioned that you owned their company.”

  I groaned. There was a reason that government wasn’t my best subject in high school. Politics wasn’t my favorite thing.

  “Where did the snake come in?” I asked.

 
“I think I can answer that.” Jessa pushed through the door with Tucker right behind her.

  I smiled. “Thank God you’re okay.”

  “You look like a crash-test dummy and you’re worried about me?”

  “Can’t help it.”

  “We’ve got some bad news,” Tucker said.

  “Good thing I’m sitting down.”

  Jessa carefully sat on the bed next to me, arching her legs over mine and leaning against the wall. Tucker took the vacant seat next to me.

  “Wait. Someone needs to get Chaz.”

  “He was on the way out when we came in.”

  I closed my eyes. He wasn’t making this easier by running again.

  With a deep breath that made the wound in my shoulder flare with pain, I opened my eyes and looked at Jessa. “Give it to me. I’m ready for the info dump.”

  “Spencer knew Emilio had a pretty strong house and they would avenge him, as any good Clade would,” Jessa narrated.

  “Check.”

  “He also knew he needed a blood sacrifice to open the Veil for something major to cross over.”

  “Done. Figured that out last fall.”

  “What I don’t think he realized was that if you send a snake across, you get a snake in return.”

  “Huh?”

  Jessa tucked her hair behind her ears and used her hands to explain. I got the distinct feeling she liked being the info girl in this situation. “Last fall, Spencer went across and a big-ass panther was sent back.”

  I nodded, or I meant to nod. “Very distinctly remember that.”

  “I think Spencer wanted to use Emilio because he had power and house who would attack you when fed the right information, but I think he was trying to come across himself. Because the exchange wasn’t even, I think it sent the snake instead.”

  It made sense. It maintained the balance the universe liked. “But if we know this, than he knows it now too.”

  “Which means you’d probably have to be the sacrifice to actually get him back here.” Jessa blurted out the words and then flinched.

  “Awesome.” I rested my head on the pillows again and looked up at the ceiling. I always knew it was going to end up being me or Spencer. I knew there could only be one.

  Wow, I was even epic in my head.