Panthers of Brigantia Shifter Box Set

by Lisa Daniels

  “What does it matter to a tiger like yourself? You hate them, too.”

  “A tiger? Did you call me a tiger?” Caspian acted shocked at the accusation. “Oh! Yes, so easily misled by your eyes. Here, let me help you out.” He pulled a blanket from a small cart near him, spilling swords, daggers, and other weapons on the cobbles. Wrapping it around himself, he spun in circles a few times. More arrows were released, and he skillfully dodged them. The last seemed to strike the mark, and he stopped moving. The Unwashed took a step forward, rightfully hesitant as they had never seen anyone so cheerfully carless. No one who had attacked them had taken the time to talk to them or entertain them, a ploy they all believed was to buy himself more time.

  He threw the blanket back, his hair now darker than the shadows, his eyes the brilliant, intense green that Heaven knew so well. The Unwashed took a step back because it was becoming clear that they were not looking for the glory of killing a guardian. They were facing something no human wanted to face—an assassin who felt he had time on his hands.

  “That last one,” he moved a finger up playfully in front of himself, “so close. Gentlemen—well, that isn’t quite right. None of you are gentlemen, as is obvious by the atrocities you are guilty of committing. Let me start again. Maggots, I am here to return you to your kind. I am not certain if you have heard of such a bothersome creature as myself, but just so you know who is killing you, my name is Caspian.” There was a collective intake of breath, and Heaven watched as men who were furthest away turned and ran. Caspian bowed, “Though I have much better things to do, I will dirty my blades with your blood so that you can return to the dirt from which you should never have sprung.”

  As soon as he finished, the weapons at his feet began to fly. It took him less than a minute to slay more than 100 Unwashed with the weapons that had flown out of the blanket. “Damn all out.”

  Some of the men fled, but others decided to hold their ground, and they now charged at him, weapons drawn. Caspian began sidestepping, ducking, and tripping them as they came close, and before too long, there was a pile of corpses under his feet. This forced the men to climb their comrades to try to reach him as the archers continued to try to hit him. Whenever there wasn’t a man in front of him, Caspian would retrieve a weapon from the nearest corpse and stop one of the archers from firing any more arrows. Heaven watched in both horror and awe at how efficient Caspian was. Of course, she had seen him work before that day, but never against so many. Magic users didn’t attack in those numbers. Mostly they had fought fewer than 10 people together, anyone foolish enough to side with her sister. This was something on an entirely different scale.

  A voice boomed over the square, causing all eyes to turn to the parapet nearest the palace. “Caspian, for the crimes you have committed, we hereby sentence you to death.” The Unwashed stood with his hand outstretched and a puppet at his side. The puppet shot a burst of energy out at Caspian.

  Easily dodging it, Caspian spun and released a small circular blade from his hand. It landed between the puppet’s eyes, and she fell to the ground. The Unwashed clearly had not expected that. Then again, Heaven mused, no one can really anticipate a fight with Caspian. Humans don’t stand a chance.

  She decided to check on Maverick and Miracle. Flying down, she passed between several pillars and just barely caught sight of them as they slipped into the palace. It was not a passage that Heaven knew, but of course Miracle did. Heaven smiled to herself. This used to be her home.

  Feeling that they would at least be alright, she decided that her presence was not needed. As she launched herself skyward, she glanced down one last time, then stalled, her wings going stiff. In the courtyard of the palace was the heart. Unlike the ones she had seen before, this one was the complete version her sister had imagined.

  Oh, shit. Somehow, she has managed to find a foothold here. All thoughts fled her mind as Heaven dove down toward the heart. She could not take it out, but she could at least reduce the power so that Caspian didn’t suffer too much.

  Chapter 6

  Heaven’s Choice

  Heaven’s plunge toward the heart caused her head to throb, but she wasn’t about to lose focus. As soon as she was nearly within striking distance, she transformed back into her human form. She reached into her palace, yanking down a suit of armor as she pulled a large trident out of her plane. Bracing herself against the friction of such a transition and for the impact she was about to experience, Heaven shut off her ability to feel pain. Shutting her eyes tight, she tried to look away as the trident plunged into the outer covering. The ground shook, but she didn’t notice as her body went flying into the magical cover. Sparks flew where she struck, sending magical sparks in every direction. Banners and material around the courtyard burst into flames as Heaven continued to bounce like a ragdoll down the slope of the heart.

  As soon as she stopped, Heaven shifted into the first thing that came to mind. Her fur glowed as she turned to face a few Unwashed who had been standing guard at that entrance to the courtyard. Heaven didn’t even stop to assess what she had become. Launching herself at the first one, she planned to just knock them down and run. The loud scream let her know that her current form wasn’t exactly going to scamper away the way she had planned.

  “Panther!” The shout went up around her and Heaven realized she was really in trouble. She had no idea how to attack. Then, much to her surprise, the men began to run. The shock came out as laughter, or should have. Instead, a loud roar echoed around her, and Heaven began to cower until she realized that it came out of her mouth. Knowing it wouldn’t take long before the Unwashed came back, she shifted again, this time into a fox. More comfortable in the smaller body, she bounced through the corridor opening and began to make her way through the corridors. She could either look for Maverick and Miracle, or she could go see what she could do to help Caspian. From the way she was moving, Heaven knew that she had several broken bones, but even without any ability to feel pain, the breaks would slow her progress. Becoming a bird was out of the question now as one of her front paws was barely functional. There would be no chance that it would work as a wing.

  Ducking into a small opening, she considered stopping to heal herself. Closing her eyes, she quickly located Maverick and Miracle in the dungeons, and Caspian had been right. There was no one there. The Unwashed had no need for prisons. Anyone who resisted them was turned into a puppet, regardless of species. They would be fine. Her mind then went out to find Caspian. When she had struck the heart, it had caused an earthquake, which momentarily drew all of the focus from Caspian. The Unwashed high priest had sent some of his men to check on the heart, but he had then proceeded as if there had been no interruption, bringing up two dozen puppets to face Caspian.

  As good as he was, Caspian could not take on so many over such a long distance. His wounds were not significant yet, but they would be soon.

  Heaven’s eyes opened, and for a second, she considered connecting herself to the heart. It would take down all three with one quick action, and she wouldn’t feel anything. But it would also kill Phoenix.

  “Gods damn it!” Heaven shouted, her voice echoing down the hallway. Her body began to glow as her mind sought to mend the worst damage. Not able to wait, she began to limp down the hall just as a few Unwashed arrived at the other end. With a quick flick of her wrist, she sent them flying backwards and down the stairs. When she reached the stairs a few seconds later, she raced to the top, then ran along the rampart toward the square where Caspian was. It was a much greater distance as a human, but she needed to take out as many of the Unwashed as she could on the way. The greatest strength of the Unwashed was sheer numbers. They were worse than cockroaches or ants. Every time one of the men appeared in front of or behind her, she blew them over the side, their screams echoing around the walls.

  Her eyes fixed on her destination, Heaven did not see the arrow as it flew toward her. Striking her in the neck, she spun in circles, and toppled over the side of th
e rampart and towards the city streets below.

  Painfully, she ripped the arrow out of her neck and ran her hand down the shaft. Throwing it into the air, it homed in on the human that fired it. She had just barely finished when she felt her body slam into the ground. Immediately, the healing process she had started in the corridor worked its way through her body, repairing the worst damage.

  Staggering into a standing position, Heaven tried to get her bearings. Men began to appear around her, and it was obvious that being a human wasn’t going to work. Shifting back into a panther, she sprang at them, her claws raking open everything they touched. With a loud roar, she refused to let the Unwashed stop her. Her priority was reaching Caspian, and that would be much harder from the ground level.

  Heaven felt the air whipping around her, and would have enjoyed the feel of it through her fur if her mind had not been so focused. After what felt like forever, she finally reached the square. Caspian was still standing, but his clothes were torn, there were burn marks covering a large portion of his body, and it looked like he was only on his feet out of sheer will.

  The sight of him in so much pain was more than she could take. She tried to scream at the Unwashed, but it just came out as a loud roar that shook the ground. All eyes turned to look at the strange goldish-silver panther racing across the square. The only eyes that she noticed were the green ones looking at her in shock, the pain momentarily forgotten. Shouting began a few seconds later, though she did not hear what anyone else was saying. Caspian began to shake his head as Heaven neared him. Ignoring his protests, Heaven knocked him onto her back and darted off down a small street. She ducked into a small inn and took him up to a bed several floors up. Bursting through the door, she shifted. As soon as she shifted, Heaven realized the flaw in her plan. She tried to turn and catch Caspian as she had not slowed. He slammed into her, and they crashed into a small chest, smashing the front of it.

  Slightly disoriented, Heaven shook her head and stood up. Despite her size, she lifted Caspian off of the floor as he struggled to stand. One of his eyes was half closed, and it was obvious that it was going to swell shut soon. Heaven placed him gently down on the bed, then placed her hands on his head, unwilling to let him continue to hurt. She had used a lot of magic in a very short period of time, but she was only now starting to feel a little light-headed because of it.

  “Come on. Come on.” She whispered at the wounds as they started to heal, then began to open again. Shaking her head, Heaven closed her eyes. Someone was trying to talk to her, but she ignored the voice. Her eyes flew open as she realized what was keeping him from healing. “Oh, you bitch. You absolutely horrid, wretched, cruel monster. I’m not going to let you.”

  A hand wrapped around her wrist. “Eve, what are you doing?” Caspian’s voice was strained, but powerful enough to finally break through her thoughts.

  “I’m sorry, Caspian. This is going to hurt, but I think you will find that things are going to be a little less awful for you. I’m sorry I didn’t realize sooner. I’m so sorry.”

  Caspian was about to say something when the druid stuck her hand in his chest. He roared as his body spasmed in pain.

  Then the pain was gone and he could feel his body beginning to heal. Much faster than it should. He sat up just in time to see the druid walking through the door. “Wait! Eve, you can’t—”

  She turned and looked at him. “I have to. You’ve been compromised, so you cannot do it.” As she talked, she hid something behind her back.

  Caspian slid off the bed, “I’m not going to—”

  The druid gave him a look of pity, “You have never been able to stop me, Caspian. It’s a shame you can’t remember that.”

  Caspian tried to run after her, but he ran into a barrier as he tried to leave. Moving to the window, he looked down. Of course, he could scale down, but there was a faster way. Opening his way through the Holding Place, Caspian stepped through, expecting to appear at the bottom floor of the inn. Instead, he found himself in a field several miles outside of town. He tried again only to find himself on the opposite side of the same field. Growling, he slowed down the process, taking the time to enter the Holding Place before stepping through. All that did was put him on the side closest to the city.

  “Who are you, Eve?” Caspian stared at the outline of the city. Never before had anyone been able to outmaneuver him like that, never. “Who are you?” Determined to fulfill his role in destroying the heart and to find an answer to his question, a real smile spread across his lips just before he shifted. It had been a very long time since he had found any mysteries that could hold his attention. His legs propelled him forward faster than he could remember running, and for a moment he wondered if maybe he should run a little more often, instead of always stepping to the places he was going. His mind began to feel clearer and his body more alive as he raced back to the city.

  Chapter 7

  Two-Fold

  Heaven stepped out into the small street and looked in both directions. The air around her shifted, and her head automatically turned to look at the room where she had left Caspian. He was now well out of the city. A sigh of relief escaped her as she relaxed a little.

  “I’m sorry, Caspian, but I won’t let her use you anymore. So, so stupid.” Heaven shook her head as her hand squeezed the small creature that had been lodged inside Caspian for most of his life. It was both a relief and a burden for her to bear. She had thought that his misfortunes had been caused by being involved with her fight, and that part was still true. But it had not altered who he was—the little thing had been trying to manipulate him for most of his life. Now he could find peace at least. “I just should have noticed sooner. You fought with me for how long, and yet I never noticed.”

  “There she is!” A voice pulled her attention back to the present.

  Heaven turned to look at the humans piling up at the end of the street. Pushing up her glasses, she began to walk forward, the little creature trying to escape her grasp. This fight she was going to have to do with one hand because she did not trust leaving the thing anywhere. There was nothing it could do to her. Squeezing it harder, she held out her other hand, blasting the humans out of her way. Her walk was determined as she strode back to the palace. She wouldn’t be able to dismantle the heart, but she could do something much worse to the humans now. As a druid, all of her magic was life magic. The creature was not made by a druid, though, and that was something that would be critical here in the capital of the seers.

  It also meant that Miracle was going to need a field of protection that Maverick wouldn’t be able to grant her.

  After such a long, long time, she was going to contact the last person she wanted to see. Plucking a hair from her head, the druid held her hand out and forced it to drift up. Heaven pressed her eyes shut to protect them. As soon as the hair was over the city, there was a blinding light. Rippling like the water, the light traveled far from the city, momentarily lighting the heavens around all of Brigantia.

  Now she would just need to get to her station so that she was in place when he arrived.

  Muttering, she said, “Well, there you go, sister. Your prophecy finally fulfilled. Two assassins, two druids in the heart of the seers’ land, fighting the weakest species. The very people you empowered.” Grinding her teeth, she made her way to the palace. A familiar pulse let her know that he had arrived just as she was knocking the latest wave of humans out of her way.

  Closing her eyes, she let her mind connect to his, Protect Miracle.

  To her surprise, he spoke back to her. Where are you?

  Don’t worry about it, just protect her because this will kill her if you don’t.

  I am very worried. What are you even doing here on this plane? I thought you said—

  Heaven cut the communication before he could say anything, leaving him with no choice but to protect the seer. It took a little while, but she felt the magic building under the ground. From the wavelength, she could tell that Itzel
had come with him, which was exactly as she had expected. Of course, druid magic could not protect seers, but it could find them. It was up to the albino to provide the real protection.

  By the time she reached the palace, she could feel him start to form the barrier.

  Maverick held Miracle, uncertain what to do next. “Why did we even come here if all we can do is stand in the dungeon?” He looked around, hoping there would be some sign, some indication that they could be of some use.

  Then everything around them shook. Maverick pulled Miracle against the wall as parts of the ceiling began to crack. “We have to get out of here.”

  “Where will we go?”

  “I don’t know, but obviously we can’t stay here if someone is trying to pull the palace down.”

  “I know somewhere that may be a little safer, and it isn’t too far. That way when Caspian comes to find us, we can start destroying the heart.”

  “As much as I want to argue with you, I don’t think that we are going to be enough to take out the heart on our own. The way this place resonates,” he shivered, “I’ve never felt anything so malignant before today.”

  “I know. It almost hurts.”

  Maverick looked down at her. She grabbed his hand and pulled him forward, “Come on.”

  “What do you mean it hurts?”

  She shrugged, “Like a dull stabbing in my heart. It—”

  Whatever she was about to say was swallowed up by the sound of a roar that echoed around them. For a moment, they both froze.

  Maverick’s hair stood on end as Miracle squeezed his hand, “Was that Caspian?”

  He shook his head, “No. I don’t know who that is.”

  “I guess that the second assassin is here, then?”

  Maverick frowned, “I am not sure of that.” Quickly he shifted and indicated she should climb on his back.