She suspected that Krisia had used her memory of home to bring them there. She had landed, standing on what would have been the furthest edge of her chain.
Once inside, there was no power, no light, but Nicia led them quickly to the hidden access panel and down the steps to the punishment halls.
They had agreed to seek the halls in groups of three or four. They were too extensive to go through without it. The walkie-talkies were rigged to earpieces so someone finding something could report in.
Nicia and the others lifted their heads to scent the air and set off. She followed Teron’s scent, knowing that despite the fact that he was smart, he was also very lazy. His pathway would not have traps along it.
Braxton was at her side and slightly behind her and a hunter named Troy was behind him. Nicia had never worked with an otter before, but he had a serious nature that appealed to her.
She paused and noted three small tripwires arranged in a row, next to a pressure plate.
It took Braxton three minutes to clear the wires and plate, but when they passed it, they knew what the wires were hiding.
Nicia opened a door in the hall and reeled back at the smell of animals in captivity with no way to clean themselves. “Oh god.”
Cage after cage contained a shifter, each one bound with a thick collar crusted with blood.
Troy opened the first cage and let out a limping beaver. He reached for the collar and Nicia stopped him.
“Wait. We need to do a health assessment before we open that collar. Infection that his animal can fight off might not be suitable for his human to survive. We are here to help. We are here to help you all get out of here alive but you have to have patience. Please.”
Troy blinked. “How do you know that?”
She tapped her neck. “I didn’t get this scar because I am clumsy with necklaces. I lived a year in a collar like that, but I was able to clean myself to some extent when it rained. I was chained in my family’s front yard.”
They went down the line and opened cage after cage. When Nicia got to the second to last cage, her heart broke.
A pregnant lioness lay on her side, panting with the pain of the collar and the confinement of the cage.
“Come on, sweetheart. We will get you somewhere safe.”
Nicia was so fixated on coaxing the female into the open space between cages that she almost missed the slight noise of a trapdoor opening.
She saw the female flinch and heard a masculine roar a moment later. Nicia whirled to face her half-brother in his shifted form.
There was only one thing to do, she dropped her belt and tore through her clothing as she did her fast shift. Within a few steps, she landed on Teron and bit his neck, shaking her head to pull him off balance.
He snarled and tried to pull her off with a grip on her shoulder, but she clenched her teeth tighter and pulled harder.
Nicia released him and circled him; there was surprise and a bit of fear in his eyes.
She lashed her tail and growled low.
He blinked and roared at her again. That was enough.
Out of the shreds of her clothing, she sniffed out the bear claw and licked it up, crunching down on it with deliberate focus.
Power flowed through her and she lunged at Teron, bowling him to his back and biting his neck, tearing as blood covered her face. She kept up until he whimpered and his body began to resume its human form.
She released him, but she watched carefully. Teron didn’t disappoint. The moment she backed away, he shifted again and snapped at her, so she lunged in and broke his neck.
Nicia sat back and watched the naked and wide-eyed form of her brother come out of the fur and hide.
She huffed, stood up and roared, shaking the cages and vibrating the ceiling. She shook her head to clear it and shifted back to her human form.
She got to her feet and put on the tool belt. “I should have brought an extra shirt or something.”
Braxton was shaking his head and taking off his shirt. “Or something. You roared.”
She smiled and tears started to run down her face. “I did.”
“Why are you crying?”
“I feel better.” She grabbed his head and kissed him. “I feel whole.”
He slipped his shirt over her head and pulled her arms out through the sleeves of the black t-shirt. “I am so very glad.”
Troy cleared his throat. “If you are both glad, can we get on with this?”
“Let’s get them out of here. I will carry the female. She is going to be heavy.”
“What exactly did you do during the fight?”
She grinned. “I will explain later. It was complicated. Now, report in and we will make our way out.”
She soothed the female, told her what was going on and lifted her up, carrying her down the tunnels and into daylight. The pool in the back of the property was still supplied by the well, so the water was relatively clear. Nicia set the pregnant female down next to the pool and stripped quickly before jumping in.
The female stepped into the water and sighed as Nicia scrubbed her with her hands and nails. Splashes rang out in the deeper water, and the other animals cleansed themselves before their return to human form.
A couple came in down the steps at the shallow end, and to Nicia’s surprise, the other groups had all left the collars on.
After she was as clean as she could get, Nicia helped the pregnant female out of the pool and found a shady spot for her out of the heat.
Healers began arriving, and one by one, the collars came off and the survivors of captivity could be identified.
Transporters brought clothing and took the survivors back for a debriefing. Two out of the four lion males had survived meeting the hunters, but those two were heading for castration as the lightest sentence and death as the most likely.
Twenty-nine species were in evidence, including the gemstone turtle. She had to wait until her shell filled in before she could shift. They had been carving chunks off it.
The two survivors said that Teron had approached them with the offer to help them make a fortune, so a kidnapping and imprisonment ring had been established. Apparently, Teron had been very convincing.
When the healer finally approached the lioness, Nicia was there next to her. “You can’t take the collar off.”
The healer paused. “Why not?”
“She is pregnant. She can’t shift until she has the cub. If she does, she will miscarry and that would be awkward. The child won’t shift with her.”
The healer pulled her hands back. “What do I do?”
“Tell me how close she is to delivering. If we are lucky, she is already in labour.”
The healer slowly stroked her hands over the lioness. “She is over term. We need to get this going.”
Braxton stayed nearby and helped as the healer induced labour, and after two hours in the hot sun, the cub slid into the world, legs kicking and tail lashing.
“Now, take the collar off.”
The collar came off and the woman slowly shifted back into a familiar form. “Lorianne Argus.”
Lorianne looked up and tears were streaming from her eyes. She gathered up her cub and the kitten began to nurse.
Lorianne had been promised to Teron, but when the raid occurred, Lorianne had put it out of her mind. Teron hadn’t. If he couldn’t have her as a woman, he would have her as his lioness.
The little kit was a girl, and Lorianne smiled down. “Her father is dead, and she doesn’t need his evil to begin her life. I would like to start it with hope.”
Nicia smiled, a little teary. “That is a very good way to start.”
Lorianne asked, “Can I name her…”
“Yes?”
“Can I name her after your mother? She was the strongest role model I can think of—oof!”
Nicia hugged the mother and child, “I would love that. Nancy Argus. It’s a good name.”
&nb
sp; Braxton and the healer had suspiciously bright eyes when Nicia turned around. He said, “It is a very good name.”
The lions took care of their charges and Nicia and Braxton returned to the hotel.
He snorted. “Check your account balance.”
Looking at him suspiciously, she checked her accounts online and her jaw dropped at the line of deposits for thousands upon thousands of dollars. “What the hell happened?”
“Each member of the missing had a reward offered by their guild. You got your share plus a team-leader bonus. It does pay to do the right thing.”
She laughed and threw a pillow at him.
“Now, tell me what you did in the fight. I have never seen a shifter that strong.”
“Oh. My mother had a friend who was a mage, and she learned what the normal mages do with the bits and snippets that we give away for our trips to the Crossroads and such. When one shifter uses part of another with the focus on magic, they can unlock the moment of that particular power. I still had that bear claw.”
“So, you have super strength?”
“Only until I pass the bits of that claw. Shifters can’t use much magic, but we can do that much.” She waggled her brows.
“So, if I ingested some rabbit fur with the intent to take its properties?”
“You would be facing a divorce or living in the hallway until it wore off. I am not having sex with a rabbit.”
He wrapped his arms around her. “I am very impressed with you, lioness.”
“And I think I am beginning to love you…fluffy.” She giggled and squealed as he flicked her over his head and flipped her to the bed.
He got naked in a hurry and jumped onto the bed, landing with all fours on her and using his muzzle to lick her jawline.
“Ack! Cold nose!”
Laughing, she tried to hold him off and finally gave in while he cleaned her face for her. “I hope you paid for a pet deposit.”
He nipped her shoulder and shifted to his human form. “That wit of yours is going to get you into trouble.”
She grinned and wrapped her legs around him. “I am delighted to say that it already did. This kind of trouble I can handle.”
They tumbled around, and she knew she needed to pick a territory, but there were other things to keep her attention at the moment.
She might have to talk to that turtle after all.
Author’s Note
Welcome to 2014. I am delighted to be continuing the Shifting Crossroads series.
This year, we will be examining the seedy underbelly of shifter communities, meeting a chupacabra and finding out a little more about elves.
2014 should be interesting and educational.
Thanks for reading,
Zenina Masters
www.zeninamasters.com
About the Author
Zenina Masters was born in Canada and lives in Canada. She has a regular job and does nothing particularly exciting with her life. She enjoys fishing, silence and the ability to pick and choose friends she can trust. Life is too short to watch your back all the time.
Her writing life is a teeny bit of escapism, she would probably chicken out if confronted by three naked men and looks forward to one day finding out.
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