Stealing the Snow Leopard's Heart

by Zoe Chant

  He nodded to Yelich. *Break down that door.*

  Yelich grinned.

  If they needed any more reasons to carry out this mission under shield—this was it. Lance’s snow leopard strained to take form as Yelich rolled back her shoulders and began to shift. Her hippo was a tank made of pure muscle. The door disintegrated as she charged it.

  More crashes came from the other side of the building, as Parker broke in the side door. Lance fell into position behind Yelich, quickly scanning the room.

  Lance spun around, searching every corner of the huge shed. Light filtered through gaps around the edge of the main warehouse door, barely illuminating towers of crates and rusty machinery. His nostrils flared.

  *What the hell?* Yelich stamped one foot and huffed. *There’s nothing here!*

  Her voice disappeared in the gloom. A door opened halfway down the side wall, and Patel appeared, shaking his head. *Empty.*

  Parker followed him, his bloodhound’s heavy feet padding silently on the concrete floor. He swung his head back and forth, sniffing the ground. And the air.

  Lance cursed and lowered his gun. If there had been anyone hiding here, Parker would know.

  “What the hell is going on?” he muttered, and activated his comm. “Briers, your lead’s a bust. There’s no one here.”

  He turned around, not wanting the others to see the frustration on his face.

  There was no response on the comm. Lance tapped his ear. “Briers?”

  Behind him, Parker huffed out a breath. *That smell—*

  Lance’s nostrils flared. His snow leopard surged, sharpening all his senses until his ears and nose started to go cat-shaped to match his silver eyes.

  The inside of the warehouse smelled as bad as the outside. The stink wasn’t hiding enemy shifters, though.

  Lance’s eyes widened as he sifted through the garbage stench to the chemical tang beneath. “Everybody out!”

  He flung himself at the door. The floor shook as Yelich started a one-woman stampede, and Parker—

  Lance paused, scanning the room. Parker had been over there—and now—

  *I’ve got him, you ass!* Yelich roared into his mind, and Lance started moving again. An instant too late.

  A whoof of air hit him less than a second before the heat of the explosion.

  Keeley

  “You fucking asshole. You won’t get away with this—Lance will—”

  Keeley gasped and doubled over as pain ripped through her chest. Her vision went gray at the edges. When it cleared, she was on her knees on the basement’s concrete floor, shaking.

  And the strange new thing inside her, the golden light that she had been so certain she was imagining—was gone.

  She hadn’t even been sure it was real. Now that it was gone, she knew it had been.

  The world spun. Somewhere above her, Briers laughed.

  “Well, isn’t that convenient? Forget coming to your rescue. It looks like Lance isn’t going to be doing anything, ever again.”

  What is he talking about? Keeley felt sick. Every breath hurt, and the empty space inside her chest stung like a raw wound. Her nausea turned into panic.

  Something’s wrong. Something’s wrong and I don’t know what it is, I don’t understand enough about this whole crazy magical world, but this—this shouldn’t be happening…

  Briers said something else, but Keeley didn’t hear him. She dived into the black empty space in her chest, searching for—something. She didn’t know what. Just that she had to find it.

  There! The barest hint of light. Not a candle flame, not even a spark, but still there. Still alive.

  Keeley clutched at it, willing it to stay alight, and bit back a cry.

  Pain and exhaustion washed over her, along with a jolt of adrenaline that made her vision blur. Her breath rasped.

  The pain she was feeling—she shuddered as her senses blurred, as though she was in two places at once. As though she was two people at once.

  It wasn’t her back that stung with searing pain, or her ears that were ringing so loud she couldn’t hear anything. Grazed knees and palms, that was her pain, her body. This was…

  Briers kicked her in the ribs. “Get up!” he barked, his top lip twitching. “You’ve still got work to do.”

  The strange blurring between her own body and… whatever it was she was experiencing faded away, leaving nothing but the tiny spark of light lodged in her chest.

  Still there. Still alive. Whatever it was.

  Keeley glared up at Briers.

  “And what the fuck makes you think I’m going to do anything you say?” she snarled.

  She rose to a crouch, one hand pressed against her chest as though she could physically hold the strange, barely-there spark of light in place. Her fingers trembled.

  Briers sneered. “Because you work for me.” He snapped his fingers. “Come out, Bailey.”

  Oh, no.

  Keeley’s blood ran cold even before Sean flickered into sight behind Briers. He had one of the scale shields strapped to his arm and was wearing dark fatigues.

  Just like the men from the station, Keeley thought, her skin prickling cold.

  Briers sniffed and addressed Sean over his shoulder. “Control her, will you?” He turned back to Keeley and added, his lip curling, “You’ve been a valuable investment so far, Miss Bailey. Don’t make me change my mind about your usefulness.”

  Sean strode up and grabbed Keeley, pulling her roughly upright.

  “You’d better listen to him, kiddo. Way we’ve planned it, there’s two ways out of here for you. Either you come with us and share in the cash and glory—well, some of it, maybe—or you cause trouble and, whoops, someone got in front of a bullet while the baddies were making their getaway.”

  He squeezed Keeley’s arm, hard enough that she had to grit her teeth to stop herself wincing.

  “You’re planning to kill me?” Bile rose at the back of Keeley’s throat. It shouldn’t be a surprise, not after everything else… “What happened to the importance of family?”

  Sean shrugged. “Hey, I’m not going to shoot you. We’ll leave that to the pros. All the agents upstairs? What do you think they’ll do if they see an escaped, dangerous prisoner suddenly appear in front of them?”

  “I’m not dangerous,” Keeley protested, and Briers snorted.

  “You ensnared MacInnis, gained the affections of an infant dragon, and made sure you were on the ground when the other eggs were brought into the office.” Keeley opened her mouth, and Briers cut her off with a gesture. “And in case that wasn’t enough, haha, everyone upstairs is about to discover that their colleagues on the mission all got blown into tiny pieces. Trust me, they won’t be in a mood to hear your excuses.”

  “W-what do you mean, blown up?” Keeley’s hand went to her chest, and she remembered the strange feeling that had washed over her.

  The burning sensation on her back. Fire. Another explosion?

  “Oh dear, Miss Bailey. Your uncle told me you would be useful, but he didn’t warn me you’d be this dim. Haven’t you figured it out yet?” Briers’ smirk made Keeley’s skin crawl. “That little fit of dramatics you treated us to before? That was you feeling Lance MacInnis’ death.”

  Keeley took a step backwards. “No. You’re lying.”

  Briers shrugged. “Suit yourself. You’re the one who experienced it. And if fooling yourself that Lance is still alive means you put up less of a fuss, who am I to argue?” The corner of his mouth curled up. “My colleagues upstairs, on the other hand… well, they might not be as patient as I am. In fact, seeing as they think you’re part of the conspiracy that just got their boss and three of their coworkers killed, I imagine they’ll shoot you on sight.”

  “No. No, he can’t be—he can’t…”

  Keeley’s voice trailed off. Briers was looking at her, not with a sneer of victory, or pity, but a vague, neutral expression as though he was waiting for her to calm down so that they could all get to work. Some
how that, more than any villainous crowing over his success, convinced her he was telling the truth.

  Lance was dead.

  Lance was dead… and it was her fault.

  The last remnant of light inside her died.

  Her vision blurred. Briers’ voice barely made it through the sudden roaring in her ears.

  “Shield her. We need to get moving.”

  Sean pulled a second scale shield from his pocket and pushed up Keeley’s sleeve so that when he strapped it on her arm, the scale pressed directly on to her skin.

  Keeley felt light-headed as the world shimmered slightly—except that wasn’t right, was it? The world wasn’t doing anything. She was the one flickering out of sight.

  Just like she’d wanted to do all these years. Disappear, so no one could find her. And now she finally had the ability to do so, by using a piece of dragon magic.

  The raw wound in her heart opened up again, searing with pain and black as pitch. She could disappear. Wasn’t that what she’d wanted, a way to disappear from Sean and her old life forever? Except Lance was dead, and nothing else mattered anymore.

  He was dead, and he’d died thinking she’d betrayed him.

  Keeley bit back a sob as what was left of her heart broke.

  Lance was dead, and Briers and Sean were going to destroy everything, and she was… nothing. Worse than nothing. If she’d been nothing, if she’d never gotten involved, then Lance would still be alive.

  The edges of her vision went gray again, and she barely felt Sean grab her arm and drag her along the corridor after Briers. He led them to the elevator, then stepped in and pressed the button as though completely unaware of the two people invisibly tailing him.

  Sean shoved Keeley in just as the doors started to close. She tripped and fell against the back wall, and Briers made an irritated noise.

  “The shields mute the noises you make,” he muttered under his breath. “Not environmental effects.”

  Sean grinned at Keeley, then reached forward and tapped the back of Briers’ hand twice. Briers nodded, almost imperceptibly, and Sean leaned back against the elevator wall beside Keeley.

  “What’s wrong, kiddo? Still sad about the boyfriend? Seriously, that was a piece of luck, you catching him. Especially after you fucked up the drop at the station.” He shook his head slowly, his eyes fixed on Briers’ back. “Mind you, it’s not like Briers’ pickup team was any better. Have to figure a way to get them out of the picture. Bunch of amateurs.”

  “And what does that make you?” Keeley snapped automatically. Her voice sounded a long way away.

  The hollow, broken feeling in her chest was spreading to fill her entire body. She couldn’t even feel the golden spark anymore, and now, she was too scared to even look for it. Whatever it was, it was connected to shifter magic. She was scared that if she looked for it too hard, she would destroy it. Just like everything else she touched was destroyed.

  Sean was right. She had fucked up the drop at the station. If she’d known what she was doing, she could have…

  Gotten myself blown up.

  Keeley raised her head and glared at Sean.

  “You were supposed to do the drop. If I’d followed your instructions I wouldn’t be here right now, I’d be dead. And that would have been you! Are you shitting me with this right now, Sean? You’re calling the other guys a bunch of amateurs, saying you need to get rid of them, but Briers wanted to kill you.” She clenched her fists, just managing to hold herself back from punching the wall. “And you’re still working with him? How fucking stupid are you?”

  Sean slung an arm around her shoulders. In a less fucked-up family, it might have seemed friendly. “I know Briers was trying to cut off loose ends, kiddo. He just hasn’t noticed that I figured it out yet.” He pulled her closer as the elevator slowed down. “Remember how I said there were two ways this could end? It’s actually three.”

  Sean made a gun with his fingers and mimed shooting Briers in the back of the head. He grinned at Keeley.

  “We’ll show him who’s a loose end, huh, kiddo?”

  The elevator doors opened, and Sean dragged Keeley forward before she could respond. Her stomach sank.

  “We’ll” show him? Sean might be acting buddy-buddy with her now, but Keeley knew him too well for that. If it came down to it, he’d throw her to the wolves to save his own skin.

  Just like he’d done ten years ago.

  Keeley drew a ragged breath.

  She’d spent the last few days letting herself be pulled around by events. She’d gotten involved because she was too stupid to get out right at the start. Stayed with Lance because it was easier than leaving.

  And see what that had done. People were dead. Lance was dead, all because she’d just waited to see what would happen next instead of taking action herself.

  Keeley took another breath. This one was less ragged, and although she still felt hollow inside, there was a new strength growing inside her.

  Briers had a plan. Sean had a plan. She needed a plan, too.

  Because Maggie still needed her.

  Keeley

  A plan was starting to form in Keeley’s mind. Even before she had hatched, Maggie had been able to shoot feelings into Keeley’s mind. What if she could do the same, in reverse? She could tell her to hide. Make it seem like a game—hide-and-seek—just long enough for Keeley to make a bigger distraction somewhere safely away from the tiny dragon and force Briers to reveal himself.

  She concentrated. Hey, Maggie, baby. If you can hear me, and I’m not just thinking to myself here…

  A cotton-candy puff of curiosity fluttered against the edge of her mind. Maggie? Is that you? Is this actually working?

  Keeley was trying to build a mental image of how exciting hide and seek was when the elevator stopped. Briers stepped out promptly, and Keeley was surprised to see they were on the ground floor.

  She followed Briers out into the foyer. Not that she had any choice, with Sean’s hand like a vise around her arm.

  Okay. Ground floor. But Maggie and the eggs were in Lance’s office, so why does she feel so close?

  “Mr. Briers?”

  “What’s she doing here?” Keeley burst out as Carol stood up from behind the reception desk. Her heart sank as she saw the egg carrying-case on the desk. Carol kept one hand protectively on it as she stepped around the desk to greet Briers.

  “Prrp?” A feeling of joy buffeted against Keeley’s mind as Maggie appeared over Carol’s shoulder. She stared directly at Keeley, as though she could see her even through the shielding.

  The joy was definitely Maggie’s, because Keeley was feeling sick.

  Hey, baby, she thought desperately. Remember being up high on the roof? Why don’t you run back up there now? I’ll race you!

  “Prr-eep!”

  Carol winced as Maggie dug her claws into her shoulder and flapped her wings excitedly. “I brought them down like you asked, Mr. Briers. I don’t understand, though. Are we moving them now? Mr. Ames is still out, and he said he’d need to refuel the helicopter before the flight to the safe house. And, obviously, the helicopter is on the roof, not down here…”

  “Don’t worry about that,” Briers said sharply. “Give me the case.”

  The air around Carol and Maggie shimmered as she reached for the case. Maggie’s shielding her, Keeley thought.

  “Don’t do it!” Keeley yelled. “Don’t let him touch them!”

  Carol heard her. And saw her. Her eyes went wide, and she reached for her belt. “What the hell?”

  Maggie screeched and launched herself off Carol’s shoulder, towards Keeley. Keeley grabbed her out of the air and clutched her to her chest.

  You’re safe, she thought as Carol drew her weapon.

  And pointed it at her.

  “Mr. Briers, get behind me,” Carol barked. “Keeley Bailey and one other unknown behind you. They must be after the eggs.” She frowned, and her gun wavered, pointing a few feet to Keeley’s right.


  Keeley’s heart thudded against her ribs. She can’t see me. Without Maggie on her shoulder, she fell out of the shield-zone again.

  Briers sighed. “Bailey?”

  Carol looked at him, confused. “Yes, she’s—”

  She never finished the sentence. Sean let go of Keeley’s arm, reached under his jacket, and shot something at her.

  “No!” Keeley yelled as Carol’s whole body jerked and she slumped to the floor. She raced around the desk and fell to her knees beside the shark shifter. “What did you do?”

  She pulled Carol’s limp body face-up. There was no blood, but Carol didn’t so much as whimper. Keeley’s fingers shook as she searched for a pulse. Clinging to her chest, Maggie whined in panic.

  She found Carol’s pulse and, a second later, saw the glimmer of wires running from her shoulder back towards Sean. She glared at him as he tossed the taser next to Carol’s limp body.

  “The taser?” Briers’ voice was tight with frustration. He slid another scale shield from his pocket and slipped it onto his wrist. “Just kill her, you idiot. I don’t want her putting two and two together when she wakes up.”

  Sean shrugged and reached for the holster on his belt. “Thought you said the tasers were shifter-grade?”

  “To stun. Not to finish the job. Now hurry up. Our ride will be here in less than a minute.” Briers tapped something on his phone and placed it back in his pocket with a satisfied smirk. “And my dim-witted colleagues upstairs are about to hear what happened to Lance’s team. What with that and the other surprise I have planned, I don’t think they’ll be in any state to follow us.”

  “What do you mean, other surprise?” Keeley stood up slowly, keeping herself between Carol and the two men.

  Briers smirked at her. “Let’s just say the agency’s safe house is about to become a lot less safe. These things will happen when you try to cage an unstable dragon. I don’t envy my former colleagues the clean-up job that will be required.”

  Oh, shit. The uncle?

  Keeley put her arms around Maggie, who was still clinging to her chest. Don’t look scared. Look angry. Be angry.