by Cecy Robson
Buster Hyman? Oh God. “Emme, it’s okay. Just stay close.”
She peered over her shoulder and ducked, totally panicking. “Good grief. Here comes Buster. What do I tell Buster?”
“That if he gets anywhere near you, I’ll rip his fucking head off,” Bren growled.
I don’t know what shocked me more just then, the ferocity in Bren’s tone or his inability to tear his eyes from Emme. She lifted her chin, her lips parting slightly as she met his face. The intensity in her expression told me either something had happened between them or something was about to.
Oh shit.
I lifted the martini and turned around. Now was not the time to deal with this. I needed to focus if we were going to survive this night. I took a sip of my drink as Aric approached. He wasn’t happy, especially when I ignored him to smile at Dilip. For a human, Dilip’s stare was extremely predatory. He beamed back at me, much like a cougar upon finding a plump rabbit.
Yeah. I had his attention. And I intended to keep it.
Aric leaned on the bar with his forearms. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he muttered.
I took another sip of my martini. “Playing a role,” I said, watching Dilip leave his women behind and move in my direction.
“And what role is that?” Aric asked under his breath. “A high-end prostitute?” He swore when I didn’t answer. “This was the vamps’ MO?”
“It’s what Dilip likes. How else do you expect me to get close to him?” I growled under my breath.
Aric mumbled something in wolf.
Martin appeared to my left. Bren, finally snapping out of his “Emme daze,” managed to pour him a glass of scotch and pass it to him. Martin tossed it back like water. “This is a perfect example of why we don’t permit mates together on missions,” he said. “Aric, stand down and allow Celia to do what she must.”
Dilip appeared then, his plain cotton shirt open to expose his curly chest hair. My eyes scanned his pants, looking for a bulge. The only one I found was right behind his zipper. Damnit. Where was his damn phone?
Martin stepped in front of him and offered him his hand. “Mr. Singh, I’m Isaac Blake.” He motioned to me. “I see you’ve taken an interest in my lovely Thea.”
I smiled at him and ran my hand along the plunging neckline of my dress.
“How much?” he asked, without bothering to look at Martin or take his hand.
Aric snarled, gripping the edge of the bar. That was my cue to walk away from him and toward Martin and Dilip. Martin was discussing my services. Apparently I didn’t come cheap.
Dilip was only an inch taller than me. He licked his lips, his attention fixed on my breasts. “You Thea?” he finally asked, looking up.
“Tell him you can be anyone he wants,” Agnes said.
“I can be anyone you want,” I repeated in a purr.
Aric stepped in front of me when Dilip reached his hand out toward my chest.
“Who’s this?” Dilip asked, laughing.
The wolf who’ll kill you if you touch me, I obviously didn’t say. I slowly inched around Aric, trying to snag Dilip’s attention. “Um. My brother, Billy.”
“Your brother?” Agnes asked in my ear.
“Your brother?” Dilip repeated, laughing harder.
There was something odd in his laugh—contrived and unnatural—and I could sense the mounting hysteria in it.
He punched Aric affectionately in the arm. “How’s it going, Billy?”
“I’m going to rip your heart out and eat it,” Billy answered.
I clasped Dilip’s hand, leading him away. “Billy’s protective. He knows I want you. Now tell me, what do you want?”
Dilip laughed again. “I want to drink champagne as it drips from your breasts.” He reached behind him as we continued to walk and pulled out a…huge plastic bottle of Sprite.
He dropped it as if it burned, releasing my hand and whipping around. It didn’t take a genius to know Shah had heard him, and that he had begun to mess with Dilip.
I forced a laugh. “Wow. Great trick. What else can you pull out of your pants?”
I almost gagged at my own damn question. Dilip’s eyes widened and he jumped, reaching into his pants and pulling out a carrot, then a cucumber, and an eggplant. Each rolled away into the crowd gathering around us.
There was a way I could use this to my advantage. But I couldn’t think of anything then. Produce-producing pants had that effect on me.
I ignored the zucchini and banana he pulled out next. “Should we get a drink?” I asked.
Dilip slapped his hands over his ears and scrunched his lids. “No.”
“Celia, get him to focus on you,” Agnes insisted. “You need him to focus on you before Shah makes it rain cantaloupes!”
I reached for Dilip’s arm, only to have him wrench away from me. He spun in circles, yelling hysterically, “No. No. No. I own you. I fucking own you, you little bitch!”
He wasn’t talking to me. As I watched, the bulge in his pants widened and squirmed. Something alive had taken up residence there. Whatever it was scurried beneath the fabric and raced down the legs of his slacks.
“No!” he screamed.
In my brief time belonging to the supernatural world, I’d seen a lot of crazy things. Ferrets spilling from some nerd’s pants weren’t among them.
My feet left the floor as Aric lifted me into his arms. Ferrets by the dozens raced out of Dilip’s slacks, their fangs and claws tearing through the fabric. Aric knew if one of these little critters touched me I’d fall into a seizure and unwittingly change. He meant to protect me, but his actions worked against us.
The clubbers screamed, shoving at one another to race to the exits. Members of the Alliance stormed in, trying to make their way forward. But Dilip didn’t notice them, or the ferrets, any longer. He only saw Aric and me. The way Aric held me in his shielding embrace gave away that we were lovers.
Agnes was wrong. Dilip wasn’t a fool. He looked to the sky and yelled, “Shah!”
Lightning crashed within the club. The fog lifted. And the ferrets became something more.
Small curled bodies rose, lengthening in size and bulk, their fur ripping open to reveal reptilian skin beneath. Aric backed away, carefully lowering me and pulling me behind him.
Crocodiles standing on their hindquarters towered over us. They surrounded Dilip, whose crazed brown eyes fixed on us. “Protect me, Shah,” he said. “My enemies have arrived.”
Chapter 11
“Stay with Dilip,” Agnes’s voice buzzed in my ear. She was running, I knew that much. “But don’t attack. Shah won’t turn against you unless you attack.”
Said the vampire not currently facing rows of snapping, sharp-tooth-filled jaws.
“I can’t fight them,” I whispered to Aric. I didn’t want to explain and give too much away. But he seemed to know what I meant.
“You won’t have to,” he promised. “We’ll protect you.”
But who will protect you?
More ferrets-turned-crocs appeared. Shit. There were at least fifty.
Growls and hisses bounced off the walls as werebeasts and vamps spread along the perimeter of the club. Aric motioned me back. The Alliance team had arrived but there didn’t seem to be enough of us to deal with the plethora of creepy and hungry reptiles.
The first croc launched itself forward. Aric caught it in his arms, one hand keeping its giant mouth closed, while his other arm gripped the struggling creature in a headlock.
Dilip wasn’t impressed by Aric’s show of strength until Aric ripped the croc’s head off with his bare hands and tossed it at Dilip’s feet.
“Is that all you’ve got?” Aric snarled, taunting him. He wanted to keep Dilip’s focus and Shah’s efforts directed at him.
I knew what he was doing, but I wasn’t exactly thrilled with his tactics.
A large gold wolf appeared in front of us, blocking the crocodiles from reaching us with his massive form. Martin ha
d arrived, his lips peeling back from his sharp canine teeth.
Something sliced at the air and then Shayna was suddenly there, just as fierce and furious as before. In her grip she held a sword, the blade dime-thin, but its length as long as my leg.
With a flick of her wrist she snapped the snout off a crocodile that had taken one step forward. “Uh-uh, dude,” she warned. “Some hoochie just felt up my man. Trust me when I say you want to keep your distance.”
She scratched the center of her chest. Her motion caught my attention, until a strange sense of confusion claimed me all at once.
I felt myself stumble back before Aric’s clasp of my wrist steadied me. “Celia can’t fight,” Aric said.
Everyone nodded, appearing to think something was wrong with me. Before I could make sense of anything—or realize Dilip’s sudden retreat—turmoil exploded and Shah’s army attacked.
The Alliance members spread out, a strong defense taking on what was clearly a formidable and overwhelming offense. Aric’s wolf shielded me with his body as a giant croc jetted over us. My claws protruded and I growled, my beast demanding out. She was raring for a fight from her need to protect us. Hell, I was raring to go, too, and barely managed to keep her caged.
I wasn’t sure how I was going to keep from fighting as more crocs disappeared to slither beneath the tables or pushed forward, their beady eyes rocking and taking everything in, when something hoisted me backward and into the air by my waist.
My bare butt smacked against the mirrored ceiling and I slid in circles far away from the fight. My shoes fell off my feet. I waved my limbs frantically, convinced I was going to fall into the chaos beneath me. Blood squirted up like a fountain as weres and vamps severed heads, and crocs snapped their jaws over limbs that failed to move out of their reach.
I arched my back, trying to turn around and stop my erratic motion as I skated around the ceiling on my ass. Despite knowing I couldn’t fight, I waved my arms, struggling against the power that held me, until I realized Emme had lifted me in the air with her force. She dragged me around with an invisible string as she shoved back the cluster of crocodiles circling her.
Her face scrunched. She was using a great deal of strength and focus to keep me suspended and herself from harm. The crocs closed in despite her best efforts. Panic spread along her features as the crocs’ grotesque bodies appeared to morph into a freak mixture of reptile and human as they walked on their hindquarters and their beefy tails swung back and forth.
I wasn’t sure what Shah had made them into. I only knew they were huge and Emme so small. But although she started alone, that wasn’t how she stayed. Tye and Bren sped to her side. Bren’s growls amplified as he snapped his fangs over the tail of one croc and sent it sailing away from Emme. He wouldn’t allow anything to happen to her, especially on his watch.
Tye’s lion form and another croc collided with such force I heard Tye’s front leg snap away from his chest. Instead of collapsing, he kept his footing on three legs. A snarl reverberated across the room as he snatched the croc’s throat and dug in his fangs. The creature screeched in agony and shook from side to side, trying to fling Tye. Tye held tight, tearing open the croc’s throat and splattering blood like a sprinkler.
The scene below me became a haze of writhing bodies, blurs of gray and brown leather skin tangled with the thick fur of the werebeasts. Shayna stood out in the mix. She blinded a croc by stabbing it in the eyes with a dagger while her long sword gutted its underbelly. Another croc’s tail whipped back, knocking her legs from under her.
Koda arrived like a hound from hell, killing Shayna’s attacker before it could harm her. Shayna sat on the floor, temporarily stunned. She rubbed at her sternum before she seemed to gather her senses, then she leapt to her feet.
Meanwhile, I hung out on the ceiling like a damn piñata.
The din of howls and cries surrounded me, keeping time with the beat of the house mix and the pulse of the glaring club lights. I continued to skate along the ceiling as crimson and the scent of death unraveled below me. God, it was nauseating. I could barely make out my friends and lost sight of the vamps as they raced along, their claws and fangs out, fighting and slashing into our enemy. Everyone seemed to become part of the fray except for me. I was useless.
Until I caught sight of Dilip snaking his way through the madness and back to his table. His legs bled from the scratches of the ferrets-turned-crocs and he wore little more than underwear. But he was running in the opposite direction—away from the exits. I didn’t know why until he reached for his jacket and I caught the glimmer of gold from his pocket.
His phone. He’d scrambled back for his phone.
“Emme!” I yelled, pointing frantically in his direction. She was too busy tossing a giant crocodile into the DJ booth, mercifully cutting off the obnoxious beat. I yelled again as the music suddenly stopped. She nodded and tossed me in Dilip’s direction.
She probably meant to lower me gently. But aim was a talent my sister simply didn’t possess, and in her defense, she did have a humanoid croc trying to eat her face. I smacked against the wall and fell toward the floor.
I landed in a heap on a VIP table, but rolled onto the floor into a deep lunge—thanks to the reflexes of my inner beast and her need to hang on to our pride. I scrambled and bolted after Dilip. He was racing toward the dark hallway that led to the restrooms.
An emergency exit was located at the end of the hall. But I couldn’t be sure if we had any weres left guarding it. So I chased after him, stopping short when a black crocodile hurtled toward me with its huge maw open. I ducked left and right, away from its snapping fangs.
I dipped, barely avoiding its mouth as it took off a chunk of wall from the corner. My claws protruded. I was running out of options for survival. It dove toward me again. I sidestepped out of the way and spun, meeting it face-to-face once more.
A pathetic wolf call alerted me to Shayna’s presence. Her blade came down, severing the croc’s head in one clean strike. “Go, Ceel!” she urged.
I didn’t hesitate and ran full-out to the long dark hall. I expected to encounter another of Dilip’s protectors. I didn’t expect to find Taran. My feet skidded to a halt, meeting her blank expression as she stared at me. She rubbed at the center of her chest. It was her only movement, a surprising feat given a giant crocodile had her zombie limb clenched between its teeth like a drumstick. Both seemed unaware of what was happening.
The corners of her mouth lifted right before she raised her deformed limb with the crocodile still attached. Taran didn’t possess super-strength, but her arm seemed to. The creature’s stiff body was parallel to the floor, appearing frozen.
Nothing could have prepared me for what Taran did next. The creature detonated in a wash of blue and white flames, shooting away from us and taking out the back wall. Charred bits of croc peppered a trail to the giant hole Taran had made with its body. She shook out her unmarred zombie arm and cracked the knuckles of her hand. “Don’t you have some dipshit to find?” she asked.
Her tone was strangely hollow. But she was safe. And she was right.
I started toward the exit Taran had created until I caught Dilip’s sweaty and panic-filled aroma cutting through the smell of fried croc. He’d disappeared into the ladies’ room without us knowing.
The door smacked hard against the wall as I rushed in. The window facing the water was shattered, drops of Dilip’s blood smeared along the edges. My feet propelled me forward and I dove straight through, landing in a roll and rising into an immediate run in the direction I heard a motor catch.
This wasn’t a car. It was a boat. But it led in the same direction as Dilip’s scent. I swore and ran along the dock, barely leaping into the back of the speeding yacht in time. I couldn’t swim. And of course, this was my bad guy’s means of transportation.
My landing, while rushed, was quiet. I sniffed the air for any more of Dilip’s guards. I scented magic—old and earthy. Likely, it belonged to Shah.
It poked at me, trying to figure me out. My tigress found it curious. I could feel her sit back within me, waiting for it to react so she could respond in turn. While she was alert and ready, she didn’t seem on edge.
Shah didn’t mean me harm for the moment. That didn’t mean I was safe.
I crossed the yacht and carefully climbed the steps leading to the upper deck. Dilip was steering, his back to me. He mumbled, distracted. I rose carefully and advanced, trying to stay silent as the strong current of air whipped my hair behind me and slapped against my exposed skin.
The engine purred softly, but the wind and the splash of waves were loud where I stood. And yet I heard Dilip as his mumbles grew more audible. Not that I was loving what he had to say.
“You will kill anyone who tries to harm me. You hear me, Shah? You will kill anyone who harms me. I own you. You piece of shit. I own you!”
Lights flashed across the panel that curved around Dilip. I jerked as “Magic Carpet Ride” blasted over the speaker system. Shah was definitely in the house. I perked up, and so did my tigress, trying to ready myself for what came next as I closed in.
Dilip screamed when I was mere feet from him. He smacked at his belly, his cries becoming agonized and frightened. I thought Shah was tearing him open and mangling his flesh. But Shah had his own brand of torture, and it seemed this rock was done being used.
Dilip whipped around, his face bleached with terror. Beneath the skin of his belly a face appeared, singing along to Steppenwolf’s classic.
Okay. Yet another thing that gave me pause.
Dilip’s belly button had stretched across the length of his stomach to become a mouth, cheerily lip-syncing to the lyrics while a nose protruded from his sternum and his nipples morphed into rather animated and gleeful eyes.
As I watched, Dilip’s chest hair crawled to form an Afro above the nipple eyes.