The noise of its destruction made goose bumps race along her skin. Thunder rumbled inside her head. She didn’t know if she was tapping into a thunderstorm outside, or if this was all inside her head. When the next bolt of lightning struck, it lit up the street outside. She jumped, seeing it as clearly as if she were looking out a window.
One particular building shone brighter than the others, standing out. The darkened windows were like one-way mirrors, and the amount of light illuminated the inside enough to spark a single glimpse of what was hidden inside.
A tree was encased behind the walls. The largest, most beautiful tree she’d ever seen rose higher than many of the buildings around it. Someone was hiding a tree within the city. It’s impossible!
Her arm buzzed and itched with energy.
“Iris, get inside.”
She jumped, eyes focused on the good-looking man with the uniform. Fox. Fox was his name. She would never forget him. Never forget his face or name.
With a nod, she knelt down and slid into the hole before him. She’d crawled into some sort of vent. Fox followed her and stayed close, but then paused near the opening.
“What are you doing?” Aware of how close he was, she stopped as well. Iris looked over her shoulder as he watched the cavity in the wall from a safe distance.
“Shhh.” His hand hovered over the gun at his thigh as the commotion of rushed voices and further shots continued outside and passed them by.
She released a breath she’d been clinging to and her lungs ached. They might still be in danger, but right now, they’d been given grace.
“They won’t stop their pursuit,” Fox whispered.
“Do you know who they are?”
His blue gaze suddenly met hers, a faraway look glazed over them. He shook his head slowly. “I don’t need to know them personally to know they’re probably bounty hunters.”
“Who are they after?”
His jaw clenched. “I don’t know.”
A loud meow filled the tunnel.
“We better keep moving before they hear him.”
“Yes.” Iris turned her attention forward and continued her slow crawl. They moved on hands and knees for what felt like forever. She was glad to be wearing pants over her legs, and wondered how the cat could manage without clothes. She supposed the fur provided enough protection.
When she looked up, a light at the end of the tunnel shone so brightly, it hurt her corneas. She raised a hand in front of her eyes, barely able to watch when the cat squeezed through it and disappear from sight.
Iris followed suit, until the light seemed to engulf her body. She tumbled out of the hole in the wall, expecting to be at floor level, but instead fell when her hands found nothing but air. She tumbled several feet to the ground, landing on her already wounded hip. She gasped, having almost forgotten about her injury.
When she tried to sit up, several guns were pointed at her head. With her spine pressed uncomfortably against concrete, she settled back onto it.
She raised both palms up in front of her, forced to lower them when Fox half-landed on top of her. It wasn’t totally uncomfortable, and there was an awkward pause when they stared into each other’s eyes. They both held their arms up in surrender when one of the guns went off.
Someone sobbed, and a scream cut the tension inside the bright room. “No, no. One of you shot White! You guys need to stop being so trigger-happy. Now, you’ve gone and killed him.”
Iris had a sinking sensation White was the cat that had saved her life…twice.
Rage and that feral sensation she’d felt in the stairwell returned. Without time for thought or analysis of anyone’s reaction, Iris leaped away from the guns. Kicking and pushing them away, she headed for the big, white cat.
She didn’t care if they shot her.
There was a debt to repay.
Chapter Six
The fabric of her pants slid between Fox’s fingers when he tried to stop her. Surprisingly, no one shot her, though the few people who’d caught their balance now aimed their weapons at him.
He raised his arms a little higher as someone yanked the gun from his thigh holster. His eyes watered at the bright lights positioned around the room. Where the hell had they stumbled? He couldn’t see a damn thing or get his bearings right.
“You weren’t supposed to shoot him!” Someone continued to cry behind him.
“I don’t mean you any harm,” Fox said.
“Shut up!” A man smacked Fox’s mouth with the cold cylinder of his rifle.
“Hey, Snap. Stop that.”
“He spoke. No one asked him to speak,” the harsh, male voice returned.
“They’re here for a reason—”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass what their reason is.” Snap seemed to be a little too quick to snap into action. Fox supposed it could be the reason behind his name, but in these slums, who the hell understood any of their reasoning? Survival was a hard and treacherous road.
“Iris,” he whispered. “Are you okay?”
“I told you to shut up!”
“That’s enough.” A different woman’s voice cut through the man’s angry retort. “You can keep your guns aimed at him if you wish, but take a step back. Where have your manners gone? We don’t treat people like this.”
“People treat us worse.”
“Snap, back off or you’ll be punished—”
“Okay, okay.” One of the barrels dropped away from Fox’s face.
Fox wiped at his eyes, ignoring the dribble of blood at the corner of his mouth. He cleared his vision enough to see the face of a woman crouched down beside him. Her head covered most of the lights, but not completely. Her dark hair was scruffy and thick, continuing down the sides of her face and onto her neck, but her face was entirely human.
“If Iris is the woman who arrived with you, she’s fine, but she’s not talking. I’m not sure what she’s doing. Maybe you can tell me.” Her hands were suddenly under his armpits, helping him rise with so little effort and strength, he couldn’t help but wonder what hostile section of the slums they’d reached. How far up had they gotten? He hadn’t bothered to count how many floors they’d run up.
The rage of what had happened to the service elevator still had his insides burning. Someone destroyed it on purpose. Would his own father forsake him, because the mission had failed, or was there another reason? Whatever it was, it stank of treachery and betrayal. His father had to have heard what happened to the team, had to know he would go into the basement to do whatever he had to do in order to save them. Or at least find out if any had survived.
Their eaten corpses flashed inside his mind.
In the end, he hadn’t been able to do a single damn thing for them, but none of that was his fault. Still, maybe his status had been flagged as rogue. If that was the case, his plans of racing to the top to face off with his father and deliver the girl were shattered. There’d be a prize on his head no bounty hunter would be able to pass up. Those bounty hunters who’d chased and shot at them hadn’t cared if they maimed, injured, or killed. Had the order changed? Had the rules of the game been altered to include him as a target? One way or another, he’d get to the top, even if he had to crawl there. He would face his father if it was the last thing he did. Above everything else, he would make sure Iris made it unharmed.
“I think she’s trying to help White,” the woman said. Her iron grip on his arms held most of his weight.
Fox stood above her and White. Another short woman was at the man-cat’s other side, holding his clawed hand in hers. A blotch of red stained the underside of his white coat, and both his eyes were closed. Iris held her hands over the wound.
“Who are you?” Fox glanced at the woman, but she shook her head. His eyes continued to water from the intensity of the lights.
“All in good time. Right now, I need you to tell me what your companion is doing.”
Companion…is that what Iris had become? The naked girl trying to climb out
through a window was now being referred to as his companion. How quickly things changed.
He sucked in a breath. If anyone knew about change, it was him. Born into a wealthy, prestigious, and powerful family had made for a well-educated childhood. His father, the great and powerful Kingsley Wentworth III, had provided the highest of monetary care. He’d seen him as a future investment, not as a son. That he’d never been much more as a parent didn’t bother Fox as much as it used to.
After his mother passed away, his father changed.
Unscrupulous and forever in search of new things to conquer, Kingsley had pushed him into the tough world of business. One Fox barely survived. He was literally almost killed by a competitor from York Industries.
Maybe on this side of Nexus, being the son of Kingsley Wentworth had aided him, but on the other side of town, it was a hindrance. One he’d nearly lost his life over.
“Concentrate, young man. Tell me what you think she is doing to him,” the woman continued to interrogate.
All thoughts evaporated as he stared at Iris. Her hair crackled with electricity. A greenish shimmer, like tiny jade sparks of lightning, appeared between her palm and the cat’s fur. After only a few seconds, the unconscious man sucked in a deep breath. It sounded suspiciously like the first breath of life.
Fox’s skin crawled. Had she just saved this man’s life, bringing him back from death? The thought froze inside his head. No one in this city was capable of such an act. Not even science had conquered saving a life after death, yet.
Iris removed her hand and stood up, staring at White. Her long, dark hair fell over her shoulders. The skin of her face looked a little waxy and sweaty.
“He’s alive!” the woman on the floor screamed and kissed White’s head over and over again. “He’s alive. How did you do that, stranger? Are you a goddess of some sort?”
“Goddesses belong in ancient myth, not here in this shit hole of a city.” Fox knew it was Snap who’d made the negative comment. Though, he tended to agree.
“No, I’m…” Iris took another step back. Confusion darkened her eyes to aquamarine.
Fox watched her horrified look as she peered at her palms and seemed to wonder what had happened. Come to think of it, he was thinking the same thing. What the hell had happened? How’d she manage to revive someone? His head throbbed. Could she have saved everyone on his team if she’d gotten there in time? The thought made his head spin.
Being with this woman was going to deliver a new set of obstacles in his already complicated life.
The bright lights around them were suddenly cut off.
He blinked a few times, trying to clear the effects the bright lights had on his eyes, before turning to look at the people around him. That’s when he realized they’d just stumbled into a little bit of myth themselves.
They were surrounded by Cat People. Some were a little more human than cat, others a little in the other direction, but he was fairly certain they’d landed in the middle of a Nexus City urban legend.
Chapter Seven
Iris stared at her hands with a mix of horror, confusion, and astonishment. What had just happened? Her mind slowly cleared from the heavy fog that had flooded it only seconds ago. She hadn’t cared or stopped long enough to consider the threat around them. For a moment, the only thing that did matter was getting to the motionless man on the floor.
He’d been fatally shot, but her hands somehow brought him back to life. Iris had no idea what she’d done, or how she’d done it, because while she healed him, her mind had wandered far away. As if another part of herself had taken over in time to save someone’s life.
As scary as it was, at least she’d succeeded.
Skinny arms wrapped around her neck and pulled her close. For a second, she thought it might be Fox, but when she allowed all sensation to filter back into her brain, she met his gaze. He still stood across the room, with blood spilling from his mouth. When had he gotten hurt?
“Thank you, Goddess. Thank you for saving him!” This was the small woman who’d held White’s hand so tightly, crying for him as his life dimmed.
“It’s…okay.”
“How did you do it?” she whispered near her ear.
Iris untangled herself from the shorter woman and shrugged. What could she say by way of explanation when she had no idea what had happened. All she knew for sure was that she’d just healed a dying man.
The hum of power receded back into wherever it had crawled out from, but not before she noticed the sting on her cheek was gone. Just as the scratches on her fingers, and the ache on her hip.
All my injuries are gone…
“Whatever you did, thank you.” The woman squeezed Iris’s hands before she pulled away and returned to White’s side. “I know that if he could, he would thank you himself.”
She must have looked puzzled, because another woman stepped in front of her and took over. “Our precious White doesn’t speak. I have a feeling that our next generation will be born without the ability to speak in the human tongue.”
Iris didn’t have a clue what that meant.
“My name is Rue, and these are my people. Welcome to Feline Central. We’re also known as the Cat People, but most of us take offense to that title. Not everyone believes we exist, which is the way we like to keep it.” She was an older woman, but her friendly face was pretty and framed with thick fur running down the sides and past her hairline. “We would appreciate your silence. It’s better to be myth than fact, sometimes. I suppose you know what I mean.”
Fox stepped forward. “Are you telling us you can shape-shift?” His eyes sparkled when they met Iris, but he was addressing the other woman.
“No, of course we can’t shape-shift, but we have evolved. You can’t expect to live down in the lower levels of Nexus, away from the sun and the artificial lighting of the upper levels, and not suffer the consequences.”
“So, you’re all slowly becoming…” Fox let his voice trail off. He looked almost uncomfortable as his gaze roved around the room at all the others standing around them. Only a tall, solid man with a bushy beard remained with his gun pointed at them. He didn’t seem to have any of the feline features the others did.
Rue nodded. “White is the most evolved and was born without human speech. As you can see, he’s also completely covered in fur, happens to be quite the hunter, and has the sharpest senses amongst us. We thank you for saving his life.”
“You’re welcome.” Iris tried to swallow, but there was no saliva left inside her mouth. Her throat ached for a drink. When was the last time she’d eaten or had anything to drink? What about sleep? Did she need rest? She couldn’t answer any of those questions and felt empty without knowing.
I’ve just saved someone’s life, but I still feel useless.
“I’m not sure why you’ve stumbled into our section of the slums, but we believe there is a reason for everything that happens in Nexus.” A smile teased the edges of Rue’s mouth when she turned to look at Fox.
“Well, some of you do.” Snap spat on the ground, never lowering his weapon. “I don’t believe in fate or destiny. Not in a shit city like this one, where we’re surrounded by crap. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“Nexus is all that’s left of the world,” Rue said. “Snap, why don’t you go and patrol the corridors?”
“I think that’s a good idea,” Fox piped in. “We were being followed when White led us here.”
“He saved our lives twice.” Iris felt her body chill. The thought of having led others to these innocent people made her stomach ache. She had no idea who the shooters were or what they wanted, but if they’d been so eager to shoot before asking questions, they probably wouldn’t stop their pursuit.
Fox claimed they were bounty hunters, but who were they hunting—her or Fox?
“White is a very selfless person. He’ll give his life for others whenever he can. Now, who was chasing you?” Her eyes darkened. The vertical pupil expanded to round, so it didn
’t look as freaky with the white around it. A detail she’d noticed White lacked.
“I think they were bounty hunters.”
Snap took a step forward, weapon at the ready. “You better not have led bounty hunters here, punk!”
“Snap. Lower your weapon!” Rue ordered, her brow furrowed.
“If you show us a way out of your levels, we’ll leave right away. We’ll make sure the bounty hunters don’t hurt anyone here.” Fox narrowed his eyes and glared at the tall man.
“That sounds like a good idea to me. Get them out of here!”
“Don’t speak nonsense, Snap. They’re our guests.” Rue flashed him another dark look, before her features softened when she turned her attention to Fox and Iris. “Of course we’ll show you the way out, but for your kind act, we’ll offer our hospitality for as long as you need it. We don’t have much to offer, but food and a place to rest might be just what you need at the moment. Tell me. Where are you headed?”
“What makes you ask that?” Fox seemed suspicious.
“No one ever passes through these parts, unless they’re on their way to somewhere else,” she said with a shrug. “We don’t take offense to it. Like I said before, we prefer to remain a myth.”
“We need to get to the upper levels.” Iris didn’t think the woman’s question was out of line, but she still avoided Fox’s eyes.
“Why?”
“We need to—”
“We need to get to a specialist for Iris,” Fox cut her off with a warning look.
“What type of specialist? Maybe we can help.”
“Iris can’t remember much about her life. I found her in the basement of this building and offered to help her get her memory back.”
Iris noticed he’d left out plenty of details about the circumstances of their meeting, but she didn’t add to it. There was something about this woman that made her feel comfortable, almost a motherly quality. She couldn’t see anything wrong in trusting her, but the man called Snap seemed too pigheaded and maybe still a little too human to be trusted. Even now, she noticed the shine in his dark eyes as he moved across the room and headed for the door.
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