by Jools Louise
“Oops, we’re naked again.” Murray giggled and shifted back to his furrier form.
“Sorry, Uncle David.” Blue chortled and copied his friend. David gave them a toothy grin and purred, nudging them gently with his head. He met the hyenas’ eyes and nodded in understanding. They both relaxed, looking relieved, as the procession continued around them until the whole inner stadium was filled with athletes of all descriptions, shifter and human alike.
“Ladies and gentlemen and fellow shifters…the Two Spirit Tournament is now open.” David grinned. That voice had been his dad, Joe. He chuffed proudly as the crowd went berserk again, cheering loudly as a second wave of fireworks lit the sky above. Through the sparks and flashes, a huge banner began to unfold, from one end of the stadium to the other, draping from the uppermost platforms that David had leapt from earlier.
“That’s so cool,” Blue said in an awed voice, sucking his thumb as he stared upward.
David had to agree. Slug and his artistic mates had produced a huge tapestry over the many weeks they had been preparing for the games. It depicted the story of the games, showing David’s escape from Sean Feenan, then the rescue of the other young shifters from beneath Sage and the zoos and labs. There was reference to the huge explosion that had destroyed the town, as well as every single shifter species, and pictures of those who had died in the blast. David felt tears in his eyes as he stared up at the beautiful banner. His uncle, Simon, was there, and Aston’s mom and dad, Herb and Kim, who had owned the bed-and-breakfast. So many who had lost their lives were remembered on the tapestry.
The last scene on the tapestry was the stadium, with fireworks exploding above it, and the emblem for the tournament in the center. It depicted the coordinator, Alfie, holding court in a flame-red trouser suit, wearing stiletto heels, his face beautifully made up and his nails perfectly manicured. The tapestry began to lower, and on the uppermost catwalk, Alfie appeared, proudly dressed in the flame-red suit and the heels, looking gorgeous. The leopard shifter bowed and waved at the ecstatic crowd, strutting his stuff fifty feet above the ground as he made a full circuit of the arena. David stayed with his class and the hyena shifters and watched the Two Spirit crew, Joe and Rafe, Mick and John, Cody and Zack and Murphy, all join Alfie on the platform.
“Everyone, I wanted to thank these gorgeous men for allowing us to start this whole adventure,” Alfie said after the noise had died down. “Without Joe and his courage and compassion, this would never have come to pass. We would all still be stuck in our cages, fearful of being who we were born to be. Terrified to show our true selves. Without the bravery of every single one of these men, we would not have a town. Sage is rebuilt because of these guys, and I for one will be eternally grateful for that…especially since I just got my first nail job at the brand-new salon, simply called Kaden’s Beauty Studio.” There was muffled laughter at this obvious plug. “We’re open seven days a week.” More laughter.
“Thank you to every one of you who has made this possible, from the construction, to the designs, to the beautiful landscaping…even the sucker who made his own fireworks.” This with a droll look at John and Rafe, who grinned back wickedly and high-fived each other smugly. “I’m sure my nerves will recover in about a year or two…just in time for the next tournament.” There were cheers and whistles to follow this announcement, and David looked up at his friend, then groaned, lying down and covering his head with his paws. Blue giggled at his antics and scratched his ears playfully.
“Yes, David, there will be another one,” Alfie teased, laughing down at his friend. “One last thing. Before the party gets started properly, I want to wish you all the very best. This isn’t about winning or losing, but about having fun. We’re all competitive, and we all love a good race or wrestling match or swimming gala…but if you don’t come first, that’s okay. John, sweetie, after that performance at the tug of war, we’ll be gentle with you.” Everyone laughed again, clapping for the snow leopard shifter’s tumble earlier. “Now, let’s get the music back on and enjoy the feast in the village outside. Tomorrow you get to rest…and then it’s game on, brothers and sisters.”
Alfie giggled, waved, and then cued the music, which began with a familiar disco classic that had everyone dancing as the doors opened to the sports complex outside. The whole park had been set up to let people feast on the huge barbecue that had been set up, with dozens of vendors from the town and the surrounding area, offering sweets, ices, coffee, pastries, burgers, fish tacos…the list was endless.
David, after seeing his miniature charges safely back to their parents or guardians, guided his new hyena friends outside, staying with them in case anyone else tried to scare them. He would meet up with his mates a little later.
Chapter Nine
“Murray, where are we going?” Blue whispered nervously, following his partner in crime under the bleachers. “We’re gonna get into trouble again.”
Murray sent him a serious look. “I saw something,” he hissed back. “It might be important.”
“What did you see?” little Moe asked, crawling along behind the two shifters, both mountain lions. “Is it another bomb?”
John’s rambunctious son shook his head. “No, it wasn’t a bag or anything like the ones we saw,” he replied, frowning a little at the constant questions. “It was a someone, not a something.” He figured that should be the end of it.
“Who did you see?” Blue asked, his brow furrowed in thought. “Was it another bad guy, like that Ghost man?”
Murray rolled his eyes. “I don’t know. That’s why we’re going to investigate,” he said with an irritated growl. “If you keep talking, we’ll get found out, and we’ll be in time-out for a month.”
“Like Uncle John,” Moe said, and giggled. Blue joined in, and even Murray had to grin. His dad was always saying curse words when he thought nobody could hear him. Unfortunately, because the fuzz butts, as John called them, were often around, he always got caught out.
There was a splash from the pool, and all three boys looked between the gaps in the seats they were under, staring at the huge swimming pool where all the grown-ups swam.
“Daddy’s going to win!” Murray said excitedly, his eyes wide as he saw John, Kaden, Sherman, Slug, Lash, Jay, and Joe cut through the water, racing each other to the other end, then turn swiftly before powering back to the starting blocks.
“Wow, they’re pretty fast,” Moe said, sounding awed. “I wish I was big and strong and could swim really, really good.”
“When we’re a little older, we’ll be faster,” Blue said confidently. “They’re all pretty old, now, though. That’s why Uncle John gets so many minutes in time-out. I bet we could beat them all right now.”
“Is that right?” said a droll voice, and a pair of bright turquoise eyes peered beneath the seats, eyeing them with amusement. “Will that be before or after your time-out for breaking the rules again? I seem to recall David telling you that you had to not run off during this tournament.”
“He saw someone,” Moe said, sucking his thumb and pointing at Murray with his other one. “It might be important for our investigation,” he added, nodding seriously.
Skull, the owner of the turquoise gaze, let out a low chuckle. “I’m a deputy sheriff. Does that give me the clearance to help you in your investigation?” he asked.
The boys looked at one another, wide eyed. “Who did you see?” Skull asked, tilting his head curiously.
“I saw a man that talked to that man, Ghost,” Murray said finally. “I think he came in here.”
Skull’s eyes sharpened with interest, and Murray gulped at the intense look, wondering if it was too late to scarper. “Can you describe the man?”
Murray nodded. “He’s a hyena shifter, but not like our two friends who want to open a flower shop,” he said. “He’s mean and nasty, like Ghost was.”
“What color are his eyes?” Skull asked. “And his hair? Is he tall, like Sherman, or a little shorter, like me?
”
Murray swallowed again as the questions came fast. “I think his eyes are brown, and he has short yellowish hair that looks a little weird, like he’s going bald. He’s not as tall as Sherman or Daddy. But taller than you are.”
Skull fished a cell phone from his pocket and hit a couple of keys. “Pace, the fuzz butts just found your guy. Purdy’s buddy? Clancy.”
Murray exchanged frightened glances with his friends. The man was related to Purdy? The mobster? “Our hyena friends are running from someone called Clancy,” he said when Skull flipped the phone closed. “They’re terrified of him. They said he’d kill them if he got his hands on them.”
“Sherman told Mommy that someone called Clancy had hurt Cracker’s little sister,” Moe said, looking fearful. “Clancy must be a really bad man.”
“We could take him,” Blue offered, showing his fangs.
“How about you let us take him?” Skull said dryly, smiling at Blue and then reaching over to ruffle his hair gently. “Your daddies would be really upset if you got hurt, don’t you think?”
“They really would,” Moe said. “Except mine, he wants to kill me.”
Skull shot him a sad look, shaking his head. “That won’t happen,” he replied gruffly. “Your dad isn’t getting out of jail anytime soon.”
“We’ll kick his butt if he does,” Murray said fiercely, his blue eyes sparkling with fury. “You’re one of our gang now, Moe.”
“I am?” Moe asked, looking delighted. He grinned widely. “Really?”
Murray hugged him and stroked his hair gently. “Yes, you are.” He kissed his friend on the cheek, then sat back as Blue hugged Moe, as well.
“I’m in the gang,” Moe said, wonder in his voice. “Do we have a name?”
Murray frowned at that, thinking hard. Then he leaned closer and dragged his buddies in, whispering to them. “We’re the Critters,” he said, nodding sagely as they both smiled.
Skull chuckled, then wiped the smile off his face when he got three scowls for his trouble. “I won’t tell a soul,” he said, placing his thumb and forefinger to his lips and pretending to turn a lock.
“What are you gonna do about Clancy?” Blue asked. “He sounds really mean. He might hurt our friends.”
“Where are they?” Skull asked.
“We thought they were in here,” Murray said. “That’s why I followed them, because I saw Clancy come in here, too, and I was worried. But I don’t see them now. Maybe they left.”
The bleachers at this end of the pool hall were fairly empty at this time in the morning. Due to the huge numbers of competitors, some of the events were being held super early to accommodate everyone who wanted to take part. Being business owners, the swimmers currently racing were taking part in their individual events before they had to head into town to open up.
Above the splashing of the swimmers, they all heard a terrified scream, and Skull went racing toward the changing areas at top speed.
Murray shot a look at his friends, who all scrambled along under the bleachers and followed Skull, wanting to help. They slewed to a halt as they saw their two hyena friends, in human form, lying on the floor just outside the changing rooms, just as Clancy raised his foot and kicked the youngest shifter in the ribs.
“Halt!” Skull yelled harshly, skidding to a stop as Clancy palmed a firearm and raised it in Skull’s direction. Clancy fired two shots, which sent Skull tumbling backward, clutching his chest and groaning in pain and frustration. Clancy turned the pistol in Moe’s direction, for some reason choosing him as a target.
“No!” one of the hyenas yelled. He lurched upward, showing his sharp canine teeth, and bit down on Clancy’s wrist. Murray winced as Clancy began to shake the younger shifter around like a rag doll, punching and kicking to try to get the man off. With a cry of pain, finally the man lost his grip and went thudding into the wall, then lay still.
“Perhaps you’d like to try that on someone your own size, douchebag,” Skull said with a snarl, leaping to his feet, fangs and claws bared, and sent Clancy lurching back in a hurry. As the two combatants fought, Murray, Blue, and Moe all yelled encouragement, jumping up and down and shooting mock punches at the air, mimicking the deputy sheriff.
“Trouble just seems to follow you boys around, doesn’t it?” John drawled, padding over in his bare feet, dripping wet and wearing nothing but a brief pair of Speedos. He watched the fight for several seconds, but didn’t intervene, since Skull appeared to be holding his own. He eyed Murray with an intense, sharp stare that boded ill for Murray’s anticipated trip to the ice cream parlor in town.
“We were investigating a nasty man, and we told Skull, and he got the bad man, who hurt our friends,” Moe blurted out. He moved to stand behind Blue nervously when John looked down at him with an inquiring look.
“Is that so?” John said.
“Yes, Uncle John,” Blue replied sweetly, taking hold of John’s hand. “That’s Clancy, and he’s really mean and hurt Cracker’s sister.”
Behind John came Sherman, Slug, and the other competitors from the pool. Sherman let out a fierce growl as he arrived to hear Blue’s words. He strode forward, gripped Clancy’s shirt, and lifted him clear off the ground with one hand.
“Hello, Clancy,” he said with a vicious snarl, his golden-brown eyes shooting sparks of fury. He raised his fist, pulled his arm back, and then let fly. “Good-bye, Clancy.” The blow hit its target, and Clancy flew several feet before landing with a heavy thud against the door to the women’s changing rooms.
“Yay! Way to go, Sherman,” Moe said, giggling at his brother’s actions.
Sherman knelt and opened his arms, letting Moe run into them. He hugged his little brother and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Didn’t I just drop you off to have breakfast at Murphy’s house?” he asked Moe, giving him a stern look.
“We had important business to attend to,” Murray said importantly, then ducked his head as his father sent him a fierce stare.
“You could have been shot,” John said, for once not softening the steely tone in his voice. “You could all have been shot and killed. Deputy Skull here wears a bulletproof vest, as standard. Hence the reason he was able to protect you all from a man with a gun.”
“We just wanted to help our friends,” Blue said, looking tearful and moving close to Murray nervously.
John didn’t back down and kept up the hard demeanor. “You told someone, who was able to help your friends. That’s the way to do things, not go off half-cocked and nearly get yourselves shot, for goodness’ sake. How do you think I would feel if anything happened to you?”
Murray looked at his dad and saw the fear on his face for the first time. “I’m sorry, Daddy. We didn’t think about that part. We just wanted to help.” He ducked his head and felt tears bubble up, then slowly slide down his face. “I’ll understand if you want to take me back,” he said.
John frowned. “Take you back?”
“To where I came from,” Murray said, sniffing. “Ghost told us that if we were naughty all the time, you wouldn’t want us and would take us all back to the labs.”
John fell to his knees, his face pale with shock, and opened his arms. Murray ran into them and got a wet hug and a kiss on the top of his head. “Baby, I would never take you back,” he whispered. “None of you are going anywhere, because you’re home, where you belong.”
Joe grabbed hold of Blue and held him tightly. “Blue, honey, the only person who’s going somewhere is that idiot, Clancy. But first we need to take care of your friends, don’t we?”
The boys all nodded tearfully. “Will they be okay?” Moe asked, resting his tousled head against Sherman’s huge chest.
“Lex is on his way,” John said. “We heard the shots, and we called it in after seeing you guys come bursting out from beneath the seats and run out of the pool.”
Murray flushed at the look of terror that flashed in his dad’s eyes. The big man rarely showed fear of anything, and this was only
the second time he’d seen it. Both times had been because Murray had been in danger. “I’m sorry, Daddy,” he said, and gave John a hug. He felt John tremble and then heard a low chuckle.
“Baby, I think we maybe need to get you a bell to wear around your ankle or something. Then when you wander off, at least we’ll be able to hear you.” John gave a heavy sigh. “Now, come on, let’s get you all some breakfast. Looks like Lex just got here. We’ll just give him some space to work.”
Lex came rushing in with one of the nurses who worked at the clinic. He stopped when he saw the three wounded lying on the floor. “Take care of the younger ones first,” Sherman advised grimly. “The other one is a murderer who killed Cracker’s sister. His name’s Clancy.”
Lex eyed the big lion shifter with a grimace. “Well, I guess I don’t need to ask who nearly put him through the wall.”
“The younger shifters were running from him,” Murray said timidly. “He hurt them really bad. They were so scared of him they didn’t even tell us their names, in case he hurt us trying to find them.”
“Clancy is their daddy,” Moe piped up. “He sounds as mean and nasty as my dad.”
“Murray, Moe, Blue, what have you been up to?” David asked as he came running into the corridor, looking flustered and wild-eyed.
“Baby, if they hadn’t gotten away from you, these two shifters would be dead,” Skull said grimly, kneeling beside one of the hyenas who had bitten Clancy. “I’m not so sure they’ll pull through. This guy has a nasty head injury.”
“Let me take a look,” Lex said, moving fast. “Nurse, would you check over the other young shifter, please?”
They both worked quietly for a moment, with Lex cursing under his breath as he viewed the wounds. The three boys were handed over to David, who led them all away.
Murray kept glancing back, worrying his lip with his teeth, hoping his new friends would be okay. Then he looked up at David’s rigid face and heaved a sigh. He really hated being in time-out, and he thought that he and Blue and little Moe might just be in for a really long one.