My Furry Valentine

by Karen Ranney

  “What did they want, Mark?”

  Why take his daughter? Why threaten him? What information did Craig think he knew?

  You.

  "Me? What did they want to know about me?”

  Craig knew a hell of a lot about me because we’d dated for four years. We’d gone on the Hunt together. We’d gotten friendly afterward. He knew about the initial transfusion. He’d even tried to kill me. After the incident in Kerrville, he also knew how I’d changed.

  Everything.

  I sat back on my heels and wondered what that meant. The transfusion times two. My new abilities.

  I didn't tell him everything, Torrance.

  At what cost?

  That was the problem with falling in love with a hero. You had to cope with his heroic tendencies, some of which were just plain dumb. He could have told Craig everything about me and it would've been all right. I could do a damn good job of protecting myself. Really, I could. Okay, I was working on it.

  At this point I needed to do something about Craig. Any decision my father made was okay with me. Until then, as a sweet young thing, I was going to do what I could. To hell with anyone finding out what I was.

  I stood, touching Mark on the shoulder again, letting him know that I’d be right back.

  I glanced at the men on the floor, stacked up like so many cords of wood.

  “Have you checked their phones?” I asked.

  “Not yet,” Michael said. “When Douglas finishes with the ringleader he’ll do it.”

  Just what was Douglas doing to Craig and did I want to know? Yep. I did.

  I left the fairy tale house and headed to where my brother was standing, near the tree where I’d hidden a few minutes earlier. Craig was sprawled on the ground with his face in the dirt. Douglas stood over him, with his arms folded and looking outwardly calm. His heart was going like a triphammer, though, and he was breathing hard.

  I had a feeling that Craig’s face looked a lot like Mark’s right at the moment.

  Poor thing.

  Okay, just kidding.

  I came and stood next to Douglas, looking down at Craig. He didn’t even budge at my arrival. I wondered if he was conscious. I nudged his boot with one of my three inch pumps. I really wanted to take off one of the shoes and bury the heel into Craig’s derriere. I restrained myself. I nudged him again and got a moan in response.

  “Where’s Cassie?”

  Craig moaned again.

  “Who’s Cassie?” Douglas asked.

  “Mark’s daughter. They used her to get to him.”

  “Craig,” I said. “Where’s Cassie?”

  He got up on his elbows and looked back at Douglas. I didn’t blame him. I would be cautious around Douglas. However, I was the one he should fear.

  I’d reached a point where I wasn’t interested in being demure or polite. I wasn’t into political correctness, Furry style, either. I had wanted to be a badass. As I stood there, letting rage overwhelm me, I realized that I’d reached that stage. Torrance Boyd, Pranic Furry Badass. Hear me roar.

  Two spells had intrigued me, enough that I’d practiced them for a few hours.

  I stretched out my arm, my fingers trembling as I pointed at Craig.

  “Where is Cassie? Mark’s daughter. The little girl on the monitor. Where is she?”

  He made a noise like a snort. Or something derisive.

  I couldn’t help it. I grinned. I was glad he was being an asshole. It stripped the last of my inhibitions from me. I wasn’t the least bit reluctant to do what I did next.

  My index finger moved down until it pointed at Craig’s boots. Ostrich skin, like he normally wore. During the Stock Show and Rodeo season he wore a Stetson, too, thinking he was all cowboy Furry. I jerked my finger just a little and his feet rose off the ground.

  Douglas didn’t say anything, but he did take a step back. Not like he was afraid of me, but to give me more room to lift Craig.

  I did like a brother who approved of me. It made life so much more fun.

  “What the hell?” I think that’s what Craig said as I twitched my finger a little more. His knees lifted.

  I’d enjoyed this spell so much that I’d become damn good at it. I’d even amazed the Brood by levitating their jar of cookies. Granted, Craig was heavier, but physics weren’t involved in this spell — only magic. I didn’t even have to recite the spell any more. All I had to do was think it.

  One more tiny twitch with my finger. and his whole body was a few inches off the ground. He scrabbled in the dirt with his hands, not understanding. He had no control over this. I was the puppet master.

  Who knew that being a witch could be so much fun?

  I glanced over at Douglas. My brother was smiling. I grinned back at him.

  “Where is Cassie, Craig?”

  I turned my hand over until my palm pointed skyward and slowly raised it.

  Craig turned in the air, raised his head, and stared at me. His eyes were in danger of bugging out of his head.

  “Where is she?” I asked in my most conversational tone. One must be polite, after all. One should never lose the semblance of civility even when one was sorely tested.

  I bounced my hand in the air a few times, giving Craig enough movement that he was probably getting a little airsick. This next part I hadn’t practiced, but I was getting impatient.

  If he fell, well oops.

  I raised my arm until Craig was about six feet in the air.

  “Torrance!”

  He really shouldn’t be yelling my name like that. At least show a little respect to the woman who was dangling you, in a manner of speaking.

  A little higher. Maybe about ten feet now. A quick jerk of my hand and he was almost at the roof height of the cute little fairy tale house.

  Michael was helping Mark down the steps, the two of them staring first at Craig, then at me. I suppose I looked a little odd, leaning against the tree trunk smiling pleasantly while moving my hand up and down.

  It might have been a bucolic sight had Craig not ruined it by screaming at the top of his lungs.

  “You might want to let him down now,” Douglas said.

  “Ya think?”

  “I think. He’ll probably tell you where she is.”

  “Ya think?”

  “It’s a good possibility,” he said.

  “Too bad. I was wondering just how high I could send him.”

  I glanced over at Douglas. “Should I bring him down easy or just let him fall?” We both knew the answer to that question, but it was fun to contemplate inflicting pain on Craig.

  Slowly I lowered him, moving him close to me while he was still about four feet from the ground.

  “Where is Cassie?” I asked, still being my sweet young self. I had one more spell I could use if he chose to be an SOB at this point.

  He mumbled an address. Douglas nodded as he entered it in his phone. I honestly thought about just leaving Craig floating for a while as I walked away. I didn’t know if I could do that, but I was willing to try.

  Before I let him go I asked one more question. “Why did you set fire to Graystone?”

  I’d recognized the voice of one of the men inside the house. I just didn’t know why Craig had ordered it done.

  “It was a test. Damn it, Torrance, let me down.”

  “What kind of test?”

  “Let me down!”

  “What kind of test, Craig?”

  “If they were serious. If they were really willing to go all in.”

  “Oh, you mean be traitors? Overthrow my father?”

  He didn’t say anything.

  I dropped my hand to my side and watched as Craig hit the ground hard enough to hurt.

  “Oops,” I said as I turned and headed toward Mark.

  Behind me, Douglas laughed.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  There was just too much testosterone at Graystone

  Mark was tucked up in the George Gervin suite with my father’s doctor exam
ining him. In addition to being beaten, Craig and his Wolfie buddies had injected Mark with something. The doctor was insisting that he rest for now. He refused until we set up an intercom, of sorts, using my phone, his, and FaceTime.

  Cassie, too, had been given something and she was still sleeping it off in my bed. They were just across the hall from each other and since Mark could see her he agreed to be examined and to rest.

  I didn’t fool myself that the conciliatory behavior would last long. If Mark felt a smidgen of the rage that I did, it would propel him out of bed and off to seek justice. The good news was that the alpha of the Celtic Clan had already done that. Part of me wanted to know how my father had handled Austin, Craig, and the others. Another part decided that the information could wait until a later date.

  I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that Craig had been incarcerated along with his team of Wolfies. My father was not above using his contacts in law enforcement to serve his purposes.

  Austin, however, was still a big question mark. I knew my father wouldn’t do anything to harm his son. Not so much because of my brother, but because it would hurt my mother and he’d already demonstrated that he was willing to change his life drastically for her.

  Whatever the punishment turned out to be, it wouldn’t be easy.

  By the time we got back to San Antonio my father’s men had rescued Cassie. I’m not sure that “rescue” was a word I should use since she was with her aunt. Danielle hadn’t explained her part in luring Mark somewhere where he could be abducted. Nor did I know why she would use her own niece as a pawn.

  Was it a case of her nose being out of joint? We’d find out eventually.

  There was a floor beneath the Council chambers that we called simply B2. It was a series of suites — in a manner of speaking — that occasionally held Furries of interest. Each suite contained a small bedroom and bathroom, a reading area, and a view of a brick wall. Once inside, the guest was encouraged to linger by the locks on the doors and the bars on the windows. Oh, and the Were guards.

  Danielle was a Were and what she’d done, using a Were child as bait, was frowned on in any clan. The fact that she’d done so while a member of the Perseus Clan in our territory was a definite no-no. She would be interrogated. If she came up with a good story, one that appeased the Council, she might be released.

  I’ll bet she didn’t know that I was a Council member. I couldn’t wait to see her face when she figured that out. That would have to wait for a few days, however.

  Right now there was just too much testosterone at Graystone. In addition to Mark, Douglas, Matthew, my father had arrived, accompanied by two friends who were also members of the Were Council. We greeted each other with a nod and they proceeded to follow my father around the house like twin shadows. I wouldn’t have thought anything about their behavior a few days ago. Now I couldn’t help but wonder if they were also my father’s bodyguards. Although the two men were older they both had builds that made them look like former wrestlers.

  If my father needed bodyguards did it have anything to do with the Stone of Scone? Or vampires? One of these days I was just going to have to get all of my questions answered. Okay, I’d settle for a few of them.

  I needed my blinders removed. Maybe I should do the seeing spell again, this time directed at myself. Hey, Torrance, here's what you never saw before. Here's what you overlooked. Here’s what you ignored. Now pay attention.

  A few minutes after my father arrived, my mother and Sandy entered the porch. We were still outnumbered by the men, but it was nice to see them. My mother had a curious luminous look about her and when her eyes met my father's, I knew what had happened. They’d fallen in love all over again. Or the feeling had been renewed in those moments when he begged her to stay with him.

  I kissed my mom, allowed a hug from her and from my sister. Sandy was most definitely a hugger, too. I wanted to ask where Dominique was but I didn’t get the chance. My attention was caught by the Brood who went racing up the stairs.

  Had something happened to Mark?

  I made it to the bottom of the staircase in record time only to see Cassie standing at the head, dressed only in a nightshirt with bright red hearts printed on it. She was backing away from the Brood who were trying to baptize her with their tongues. I climbed the stairs, calling them to me. Reluctantly, they left the curious young person behind and clambered down the steps to accompany me.

  Cassie was tall for her age and too thin. Her blue eyes were wide behind the white framed glasses. Her black hair was long, falling to the middle of her back, giving her an Alice in Wonderland kind of look.

  I approached her slowly, giving the Brood the command to stay behind me, and extended my hand. She reminded me of myself and at that age, I wasn't into letting perfect strangers hug me. Frankly, I’m still not.

  She looked up at me and then extended her own hand. It was cool, almost cold, and so fragile that it made me want to weep.

  “How do you feel?” I asked.

  “Fine.” Her voice was faint but determined. I doubted if she’d tell me she felt awful. Furries don’t reveal their weaknesses to strangers.

  "Your father's been hurt," I said, determined not to lie to her. "But he's going to be all right. I want you to know that. Would you like to see him now?”

  She nodded solemnly, so I turned and led the way to Mark’s suite.

  Cassie didn't make a sound. She didn't cry. In a very composed, almost adult manner, she walked calmly to the side of the bed where there was a straight chair and sat, putting her hand on the edge of the mattress.

  "Daddy, I’m here.”

  I think I fell in love with her at that moment. She was only nine years old and yet she had such strength, such force of will. Strange, to have respect for a nine year old child, but that's what it was, plus a deep and thorough understanding.

  She was like me, yet she was herself. She was Mark's child, his offspring, someone to guard. I decided that I’d be her protector as well.

  I left them alone after showing Cassie where the bell was in case she needed anything. With my super hearing, I would be able to hear where it rang in the kitchen.

  I joined the rest of my guests who, with the exception of the two bodyguards/Council members were in the Sun Parlor. I noticed one of the men, Ben Harris, was standing at the front door. Was the other one guarding the back? I wouldn’t be surprised. As to my family, I wondered if they’d gravitated to the Sun Parlor on their own or if there had been some other force at work.

  Everyone in the room already knew I was weird. After all, I’d levitated Craig in front of my new brothers. I’d communicated with Mark via telepathy. I’d compelled Austin.

  What was one more oddity on top of all that?

  I pushed the ottoman into the middle of the room, folded my arms and met everyone’s eyes in turn.

  "We're going to have a séance," I said.

  "What?" My father looked at me as if I’d lost my mind.

  "Just go along with me, will you? For once.”

  I met his eyes directly. I’d ferreted out Austin’s plans. I’d informed him of Craig and his cohorts. You would think that would have earned me some brownie points.

  “A séance?”

  I nodded. “Sonny has something to say.”

  "Don't be ridiculous, Torrance.”

  Sandy and my mother looked at me wide eyed. My father just stuck out his chin and frowned.

  The strangest reaction was from my new brothers. Both of them, now standing by the fireplace, looked as if this was a comedy routine and I’d just told the funniest joke in creation.

  Okay, fine.

  "I could try to mesmerize you," I said to my father. “In front of everyone. I’d rather have your cooperation.”

  "I will not sit in a darkened room with candles, Torrance, and commune with the dead."

  My grandmother was a bit more advanced than that, witness the moving ottoman. I plunked myself on top of it and spoke to the whole room.


  “I don't think it's important that we have darkness," I said. "Only that you think of Sonny." I looked at my new brothers. "She was your grandmother, too. Even though you never met her, you can think about her.”

  I glanced at my father. "Did they ever meet her?”

  He studied the patterned carpet with great intensity.

  "Once,” he finally said. “When they were infants.”

  Because my father had made the effort to introduce his children to his mother, it revealed how important family was to him.

  Good for him.

  I glanced at my brothers again. "You can still think about her, even if you don't remember her. And you too, Sandy.”

  She nodded and so did my mother. Of everyone in my family, I thought she would probably understand trying to reach Sonny more than anyone else. She knew how close we’d been. Or maybe she just thought the weirdness was something in my new Pranic nature. Who knew? Maybe it was. Maybe I’d gone around the bend a while ago and it was just now dawning on me.

  I’d think about my mental deterioration later.

  Moving to the middle of the ottoman, I crossed my legs and closed my eyes.

  “Sonny, are you here?”

  Honestly, I expected the ottoman to rotate. Or shiver a little. Some sign to give me that she was present and ready to communicate, Ouija board style.

  Nothing happened.

  I allowed a few minutes to pass during which I kept my eyes closed. I didn’t want to see my family exchanging either humorous or troubled looks. I hadn’t lost it, honestly.

  Finally, annoyed, I said, “Sonny, are you haunting me?”

  “What a ridiculous question, Tor, my dear.”

  My eyes flew open and I looked at Douglas. My new brother had the strangest look on his face, almost as if he couldn’t believe he’d said the words he’d just uttered.

  The voice had been his. The words had been Sonny’s.

  “Sonny?”

  “I don’t have all the time in the world, Tor. This isn’t easy. What is it you want to know?”

  “Why are you haunting me?”