Panthers of Brigantia Shifter Box Set

by Lisa Daniels

  She began to stroke the panther, her hand lazily drawing up and down the sleek back. The feel of his growl shivered up her arm, causing the woman to smile. “Oh, kitty, kitty, kitty, if you would just tell me how to lure your friend here, all of this could be over. I am so bored,” something she emphasized by digging her nails into him again. This time she was disappointed as the panther made no sound in response. “Even you are beginning to bore me.”

  She stood up, the heel of her shoe opening a gash in his side. “It’s a shame that the panthers and druids rarely work together. Having one of them try to save you would certainly make things more interesting for me. But there is no one who cares about you, is there?” She turned to look at her prisoner, a wicked grin on her face. The same intense green eyes looked back at her. “Oh, am I hitting a nerve? Your eyes seem to say that you would kill me if you could. Such a shame that you weren’t capable of that even when you were free.” She sneered at him and began to walk toward him, watching as his muscles bunched up without him being able to do anything. “My little pet. Trapped here forever. Or at least until I get bored of seeing your quiet loathing. But I can’t kill you as long as you have that look in your eyes.”

  “Such a shame that you followed your worst impulses, Mercy.”

  The woman’s head whipped around, a low growl issuing from her throat. Her red eyes narrowed as she looked at the small advancing woman. At nearly six-and-a-half feet tall, Mercy was tall for any woman, even a seer. The advancing woman was over a foot shorter, but the way her shiny, goldish-silver hair flowed around her created a menacing aura that no one else had. Even the panther trapped on Mercy’s floor didn’t have such a threatening presence, though part of that was because he was an assassin, so he would never be able to pull off a similar deceptively sweet demeanor. Only the small glasses on her face seemed out of place—no magic user needed glasses to see because physical flaws were nearly impossible. With the ability to heal any injury, they never had to correct physical problems. What it let Mercy know was that the druid in front of her was eccentric, but that did not mean she wasn’t potentially very dangerous. The real power behind the woman in front of Mercy was that she was a druid. Mostly they kept to themselves doing whatever it was that druids did, but when they were forced to deal with the world, it was impossible to stand in their way. At least that was their reputation. The golden eyes and flowing hair coming toward her may have looked angelic, but Mercy knew that she was facing a far more dangerous adversary than she had encountered before. A smile slowly bloomed across her face as she turned to give her visitor her full attention.

  “A druid. How interesting. I would not have expected one of your kind to come looking for this creature.” Her hand gestured toward the panther, but she did not look at him, a mistake she would soon briefly regret. “I was under the impression that no one cared enough to save him.”

  “There is no reason to belittle the lives lost trying to rescue him. We both know that some tried to rescue him, but you couldn’t have that, not when you feel that you own him.” Her eyes flicked to the panther, and it was obvious from the way they flashed that she was angry, though it did not reflect in her voice.

  “Oh, this is one of yours, then? I didn’t realize that druids kept such a unique pet.”

  “You know very well they are not pets. And my connection with my people is tenuous at best. I am not here because of their wishes, but because of a feud. Because you are quite right, they would not send anyone to rescue him. They know as well as I that if he wanted to leave, he would. None of us will force him to go, though he is sorely missed by everyone who knows him. The druids seem to be at quite a loss, especially with the assassins refusing to help them as long as he is in captivity.” A beautiful smile spread across her face, and she seemed to be talking to the panther more than Mercy. Then her eyes snapped back to Mercy. “The assassins are very much their own masters. I would have thought you would be smart enough to figure that out. Clearly I overestimate your intelligence.”

  “If you overestimated my intelligence, then your kind are much weaker than we have realized. It is strange that none of us ever noticed just how weak you druids really are if you actually need a creature that I was able to take down on my own. I shall have to look for the weaknesses with their alliance in turmoil to see if I can’t stretch my own domain that much farther.”

  The druid walked past the woman and over to the fireplace. With her back to Mercy and the panther, she threw a letter into the opening.

  Mercy frowned and began to walk toward her. The druid was uncomfortably close to something that Mercy did not want found. Trying to distract the druid, Mercy asked, “Do you really think it is wise to keep your back to me? We are capable of much more than just prophecies and healing.” Her hands pulled a small knife out of her hair as she approached the druid.

  “Indeed, it really was an overestimation.”

  Mercy continued to approach the druid, “I thought druids were weak, but the other seers weren’t willing to take the risk. This ought to show them just how incapable you actually are when I display your body for all to see.”

  “Ah, that is quite a surprise. To think that it would take so little to change his mind.”

  Mercy stopped. “What do you mean?”

  The druid turned around, “I would think that is obvious. Hopefully you aren’t meant to be the best example of your kind. Your cruelty alone is enough to condemn all seers if the others are anything like you. However, it is your inability to notice the obvious that concerns me. It seems that you discount anything as a threat if you don’t calculate for it.”

  Mercy brought a hand up, the heat emanating from it, which she ran along the blade. “Whatever kind of distraction you are trying to make, it is too late for yourself. I know that you could not possibly get a spell up in time to stop me. Not even a druid can cast that quickly.”

  A few wrinkles formed on the druid’s brow as she frowned. “Why would I need to do anything?”

  Mercy froze for a second. “Are you so oblivious that you don’t realize I am about to kill you? Or are you just so arrogant that your eyes deceive you? Perhaps you really do need glasses.” The same wicked grin spread across her face as she began to close the remaining distance between her and the druid.

  There was a nearly inaudible sigh from the druid. “I did try to warn you.” With that, she turned so that she could no longer see the room behind her. “I really cannot watch these kinds of things.”

  A laugh emerged from Mercy’s throat as her arm raised to strike. Before she could take the final step, a low growl behind her made her freeze. Annoyed, she began to turn to shut up her pet because she wanted to enjoy this kill.

  The panther was not on the floor glaring up at her, though.

  Mercy’s eyes flicked just a little further away from where the panther should be. She felt the blades on her neck and stomach before she saw those intense green eyes. There wasn’t even a chance for her to scream as one dagger drove up into her diaphragm, leaving her unable to even gasp. As she began to double over, Mercy’s neck moved down. The second dagger slide effortlessly along her porcelain-like skin. It was only after she hit the ground that she realized what had happened. The first dagger silenced her; the second had produced a wound that was just deep enough to be too much to heal before she passed out from the blood loss. There would be no waking from this encounter if she didn’t move remarkably quickly. Fortunately, she was much more magically gifted than most of her kind.

  Mercy’s hands began to work to save herself. There was no way she was going to give up, not now. She had to let her contact know, had to make it long enough because the eternity Mercy was looking at if she failed was unimaginable. She had no idea who her contact was, but the woman scared her. If they had existed on the same plane, the contact would have been competition, but as they were, they could work together. For now. Mercy’s magic was working faster than usual, and she began to hope that perhaps the assassin was not quite a
s competent after so long under her control. Her neck was almost healed enough that she could concentrate beyond the pain.

  Knowing that there was no room for error, Mercy began to focus on where the other blade had made contact. That one would be easier because it was not meant to kill. That was when she noticed something was wrong. She could feel the magic working to close the wound on her neck, but not her stomach. A sudden, sharp pain let her know why that had not healed. Blood flecked across her face as the dagger was yanked out of her.

  Her body convulsed at the pain, but as soon as her body moved, something slammed her into the ground.

  The druid’s voice caught her attention, and Mercy glanced to see if perhaps she was about to be saved. The druid stood where she had been, her back to everything, just as she had been when Mercy was about to stab her in the back. There was blood on the floor near the druid, but none had gotten on her clothes, almost as if the assassin had ensured that his savior had not been tainted with it.

  “I did not save him. Not like you are thinking. I just let him know that some people still very much wanted him to return. I need him to return. The rest he did himself, though I must admit that is not my only reason for being here; it is my primary purpose. Despite what some fools will say.” The last sentence was more of a mutter, as if she were talking to herself. The druid tapped on the fireplace, and Mercy knew exactly what she was doing. This druid knew about her contact. But how? “Don’t worry. You are not going to be added to it. He would never allow that, not even you. You managed to capture perhaps the only assassin with compassion.” It sounded like she was smiling. “But you won’t be alive either, so it is only a small mercy.” She laughed at her own words.

  A hollow sound echoed around the room as the druid leaned forward a little. Satisfied with her discovery, the druid continued, this time talking to the assassin, not his victim. “I would say do it quickly, but I suppose that is not my place. And after this long, not even I could…”

  There was a growl that cut her off. The druid turned, and Mercy could see a look of surprise on her face. Her hands moved up as if in surrender. As the pair seemed like they were about to argue, Mercy sped up her healing, which was now very nearly complete. She certainly felt faint, but her wounds would not kill her now if she were to pass out. The druid said, “I’m sorry, I was out of place. I won’t even request that you stab her in the heart. Well, mostly because I very much doubt she has one.” She returned to what she had been doing before.

  Mercy fought back the smile. No reason to let them know that they had failed. She had been so intent on the druid, on the fact that the woman was about to find everything, that Mercy had again ignored the assassin.

  Feeling the healing process coming to an end, she closed her eyes. It had been painful, but far easier than it should have been.

  Mercy felt a pressure move up from her hips and cover her body. Shocked, she looked up to see the assassin straddling her. She had been so distracted by the pain, healing, and druid, that Mercy had failed to notice him sitting on top of her, holding her down. Still, he couldn’t possibly tell that she was almost fully healed, not under all of the blood. The way his body felt on hers was… almost exciting.

  Breathlessly, she uttered, “Are you finally giving in?” The sleek black hair of the assassin seemed to cast the room into darkness, though she knew that it was the lights being snuffed out in the room. Assassins had some very bizarre magic. Soon all she could see were those intense, emerald-green eyes.

  His eyes disappeared as the assassin lowered his mouth right beside her ear. The voice was gruff and seductive as he whispered, “With so much of your magic spent, how long do you think it will take to bleed out?”

  Mercy smiled, “You wouldn’t dare.” She could hear the druid pulling out all of the papers, plans, and information that had been so carefully stored from prying eyes. She had to distract the assassin and get that information. That was a game that was all too easy to play. She began to move under him in a way that she knew would arouse him.

  The assassin adjusted his body so that he was fully on top of her, and she again found herself looking into his stunning eyes. With a smile, she moved her head up a little to get a better look and to hear him, as he spoke his last words almost too softly to hear, “I would dare, if I were as careless as you.”

  Before Mercy could respond, he drove a dagger into each of her eyes. She was dead before her head hit the floor.

  The room was silent for what seemed like an eternity before the druid spoke. Placing a hand on his shoulder, the druid said, “I am so sorry, Caspian. For everything.”

  He shrugged her off, “You shouldn’t have bothered coming.”

  “You would have remained here if I hadn’t.”

  “I deserved no less.”

  The druid clicked her tongue and created two small balls of light that floated between her and the assassin. “So, you would have stayed here pouting and being a victim for how long?”

  “If I am a victim, it is only of my own stupidity and selfishness.”

  The druid drew a hand down her face. “How long has it been, Caspian?”

  “Who knows?”

  “Besides me and Orion, you are the only other person who does know. In fact, I would wager that you know down to the minute how long it has been.”

  “And Orion knows down to the second.”

  “He will forgive you eventually.”

  “I don’t deserve it.”

  “She isn’t dead.”

  “She may as well be. She no longer lives on this plane. To all of us who are here, she is dead.”

  “It wasn’t your fault.”

  There was a low growl, “Everyone knows that it was.”

  “No, everyone doesn’t. Only you think that.”

  “Orion also knows.”

  “No, Orion wants to blame you to make himself feel better. But at this rate, even he is going to admit that it was her fault before you do. And his fault. He was very much in the wrong treating her the way he did.”

  There was pure anger in Caspian’s voice as he responded, “It was not her fault that she was there.” Rage flashed in his eyes and he snuffed out the lights. Complete darkness descended. Caspian did not need the light to see, but she certainly did, but she knew how to use her other senses to figure out what was happening.

  The druid’s voice was soft as she responded, “It was the fault of the three of you that she ended up there, but it is her fault she stayed. She didn’t have to make the deal.”

  “She was hurt.”

  “Yes, she was. Very much so. By Orion. Not by you. You really did nothing wrong. Beyond the whole leaving the other plane open. The rest of it was because of them. You were in love, but you still tried to get Orion to come to his senses, gave him time. No one could have asked more of you.”

  “I shouldn’t have done what I did.”

  “What? Made Phoenix feel like she mattered? Let her know that she had magical abilities? You gave her as much as you gave him—a chance. When no one else was willing to. For an assassin, you have a very soft heart.”

  “Thank you for pointing out another flaw.”

  “I don’t think it is a flaw. To me, that is what makes you so much better than the rest, and it is why I decided to come and tell you that. This stuff,” she held up the papers, “I already know what it says. I just wanted her to be uncomfortable before she died.” The druid’s smile was angelic, a complete contradiction to the words coming out of her mouth. Caspian could see it clearly in the darkness, and for a moment he was intrigued by a druid who clearly was nothing like the others. Then she shoved the papers into a small hole she had opened in front of her as she continued, “I wish you would be as understanding with yourself as you are with others. You certainly deserve it.” She closed the hole before Caspian could see what she had done.

  Shaking his head, he decided not to let the woman draw him in. She was talking like she knew more than he did. “What would you know abo
ut any of this?”

  The sounds of his footsteps were almost impossible to hear. Almost. “Oh, you are right, I do apologize. I did not introduce myself, so please do not leave before I have the chance to do that.”

  When there were no sounds in response to her request, the druid continued, “My name is Heaven.”

  There was a brief moment of silence, then Caspian responded, “I knew I’d never seen you, but I’ve never heard of you either.”

  “No, you wouldn’t have. Apart from the albino and a couple of druids, no one has heard of my sister or myself.”

  “Your sister?”

  “Indeed. I have one of those, rare as it is for the druids. And a very grave warning for why there shouldn’t be more than one per mother.”

  “So, you are the elder sister.”

  Heaven cleared her throat, “No, actually, she is the older. But that is not really relevant.”

  “Then what you seem to be implying is that you shouldn’t have been born.”

  “Exactly.”

  There was a silence. “That is not… a sentiment most people express.”

  “Which is why I could really use your help.”

  A small light appeared, this time in Caspian’s hands. “I do not follow your logic.”

  She gave him a sheepish smile as her hands fidgeted with her dress. “As you said, there aren’t many people who feel they shouldn’t have been born. Apart from you, I don’t know anyone else, actually.”

  A look of understanding graced Caspian’s face for a moment before it returned to the usual stern expression. “You need a partner in misery.”