by Mary Calmes
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t even speak.
“If you were here, you could see Crane. If you were where you were supposed to be, you would not be in danger of being scourged yourself for what you did to Miguel Garza’s maahes! If anyone did what you did to Domin, I would kill them. Do you get it? And Delphine was sobbing on the phone to me. Markel should fight Yuri in the pit to atone for the disgrace, but because we’re family, he’s leaving it to me to punish you. Are you getting it? Is it sinking in?”
Of course it was.
“You made Russ’s decision so easy! He already asked for and received the status of duat from Miguel Garza. And do you know why the semel granted the request without question?”
“I—”
“Because he felt so sorry for him,” he roared at me. “The semel said that anyone that could do that—hurt not only strangers but his own people—was a fuckin’ monster! He was so excited to have you there on his land, a reah, the only nekhene cat in existence, and now he thinks you’re a horror!”
And I was, wasn’t I?
“So to keep Russ away from you, he granted his request. So now my brother, who I wanted to see, wanted to talk to before he made this life-changing decision, made a rash choice because of you! This was all because of you! It’s your fault that Russ left his family, no one else’s.”
Because my family had been taken from me when I was sixteen, there wasn’t anything worse he could have said to me.
“Do you realize that I gave my mandate as much for everyone else as for you? You are volatile right now. Your emotions are all over the place, and because you’re a reah, because you have the power of a nekhene in you, you are able to transmit all your pain and anger and rage outward at everyone else.”
I wanted to scream; it felt like my whole body was being squeezed in a vise.
“Right now we—and I mean me, your family, and your tribe, all of us—need to be protected from you! I’m afraid for you to see Crane because he’s very delicate right now and if you bring all your heightened emotion and flood him with it—will that kill him?”
“You won’t let me see Crane?” I asked, my voice not mine, garbled with tears, nasal and low.
“Not right now.”
“What did they do to him?”
Silence.
“Logan?”
He took a breath. “They castrated him.”
I dropped the phone and ran for the bathroom.
Chapter Five
THERE was nothing left in my stomach, and I was shaking by the time I picked my phone back up long minutes later. I couldn’t actually speak yet, but he heard me breathe.
“Crane won’t shift back,” Logan told me. “It’s lucky that Martine sent his private jet for me, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to bring him home.”
Martine Soto was one of Logan’s oldest friends and the semel in Miami, in fact, the semel of the state of Florida. It wasn’t usual, and the man had many maahes, princes, who took orders from him, as well as many akers. His sylvan and sheseru also had many men who served under them. I had no idea how he did it, but he was very rich and very powerful. Logan had no desire to take care of that many cats.
“I don’t know what he looks like in his human form; he won’t show me.”
My friend was so traumatized that he could not allow himself to be vulnerable even for a moment.
“When I arrived in Chicago I was met by Derek Jackson and Shahid Alon, who was sent by the phocal on behalf of the priest. Jin, a sepat has been called.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“Jin.” He cleared his throat. “The priest of Chae Rophon has called me as one of his six champions. I have been summoned to fight for the seat of semel-aten, master of Sobek.”
Master of Sobek? The priest had wanted Logan to fight Ammon El Masry before, and now it looked as though he would finally get his wish.
A sepat was an honor challenge that was called by the priest of Chae Rophon if he, along with his council, the council of Ennead, felt that the actions of the semel-aten were in violation of his mandate as guardian of the law. The semel-aten ruled the city of Sobek and the first tribe, the tribe of Rahotep, served him. He was second in power only to the priest of Chae Rophon, and only the priest could call for a sepat to unseat him.
Logan took a breath. “Crane was taken to lure you to Chicago, and in pulling you, I would follow. Ammon had some of his khatyu there to kill me.”
“Logan—”
“Crane’s father, yours, and Archer Pike were granted sanctuary for their part in Crane’s kidnapping and scourging as well as in your and my proposed murders.”
They had taken Crane to get to me, and in getting to me, would have had Logan. Crane was just a pawn and so was I, with Logan being the real target. “I don’t understand. You went anyway. How was the trap not perfectly set?”
“Your cousin Danny,” Logan sighed deeply. “He saved me.”
My cousin. “Tell me.”
“He met Derek and me on our way to the house, where we were to take possession of Crane. He told us about the plan, so Derek’s sheseru and Yuri took khatyu there and surprised Archer’s men. Ammon’s men were there as well, led by his sheseru.”
“Roshan was there, Ammon’s sheseru?”
“He’s dead, Jin. All Archer Pike’s khatyu, as well as the men that Ammon sent, were all killed. I had to get Crane; he was my main concern, so I left Derek to hunt down Archer and your father and Crane’s. But he was too late; they all fled for Egypt.”
“Explain to me why the priest has called for a sepat.”
“As you know, if the priest of Chae Rophon can prove that the semel-aten has misused his power, he can call for a sepat, the challenge of lineage, and call six challengers, and their houses, to meet the semel-aten in three challenges of blood, law, and heart.”
It was lucky I had already thrown up, because I had nothing else left to void as my stomach rolled and twisted.
“Apparently last month Ammon had some members of his tribe, some of the women, tortured and killed when they refused to submit to him at a gathering. The parents of the women went to the priest and have demanded justice for their children.”
As well they should have.
“The priest informed Ammon that he was calling for a sepat at that time. He told him that I would be the first challenger he called.”
And that was what had put Crane’s abduction into motion.
“The priest has chosen the semel of the tribe of Khertet in Arkhangai aimag to host the sepat.”
“Where is that?”
“In Mongolia.”
I was having the strangest day of my life.
“So I’m going there to compete against five challengers, and then, when there are finally only two of us, we’ll face off, and then whichever of us wins that fight, he goes into the pit against Ammon El Masry, the semel-aten.”
I cleared my throat. “A sepat is not just you fighting, Logan; it’s your maahes, your sheseru, your sylvan, and your mate.”
“I know.”
“You won’t even compete in the first three challenges when there are still six of you. You don’t fight until the one-on-one challenge.”
“I know the mate and the semel’s household fight but I don’t know the specifics.”
“There are three challenges, like you said: blood, law, and heart.”
“And?”
“The trial of blood is about strength and tests your sheseru. The trial of law is about exactly what it sounds; it’s about laws and lore, reciting them, knowing them, and so tests the knowledge of your sylvan. The heart trial is the test of loyalty, and that’s for your mate and your maahes.”
He was quiet on the other end. “I need you to come and stand at my side.”
“That’s a given.”
“Jin,” he said, his voice cracking, “the tribe of Anuket has been disbanded, and the tribe of Mnevis has absorbed it. Derek’s tribe is now the only one in Chicago.”
The tribe that had cast out both me and Crane and then scourged him was no more. I didn’t even know how to feel.
“The priest has promised that if any other man becomes semel-aten, then the sanctuary given Archer Pike, your father, and Crane’s by Ammon El Masry will be rescinded. Only if Ammon keeps his seat will they go unpunished. The other five challengers have already agreed.”
“Okay.”
“Your brother Kei has asked for and received permission to join the tribe of Mnevis.”
It was hard to hear the word “brother” when it had not been the case since I was sixteen years old.
“Your cousin Daniel, because he saved me, is no longer welcome with those of your old tribe. He’s here with me.”
And in the midst of everything, amazingly, with all else that was going on, I was jealous. I remembered seeing Danny when he came to my home with my father, his delicate features, porcelain skin, huge liquid-brown eyes, thick-feathered lashes, and dark curls. “Doesn’t he have a family to return to?”
“Apparently not.”
I swallowed down my heart. “He’s beautiful.”
“Who?”
“Danny.”
“I wouldn’t know—I see no other but my mate.”
“Logan—”
“Jin, Yuri and Domin are on their way to bring you home. Stay there in the hotel until they reach you. I suspect they’ll be there in another three hours. Justin is on his way to you now with his sheseru as well as two of his khatyu. Miguel Garza will have an entire entourage with him. Justin and Sean Li, his sheseru, are allowed in the room with you. Miguel can also be in the room with you along with either his sheseru or sylvan or his yareah, but no other. You know the law, I know I don’t need to tell you, but these are special circumstances.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I would come, but I have too many people here. Crane is hurt; Danny is here, and….” He trailed off, seemingly lost in thought.
“Logan?”
“Fuck it; I’ll be there to claim you.”
“No,” I insisted. “I’ll be home this evening.”
He took a breath. “You’re not hurt, are you?”
“No, no one can seem to get close enough to me to even touch me.”
There was a silence before: “I’m sorry, what?”
“I’m the same as I was before you left.”
“How do you mean?”
“I mean I’m not—myself.”
“But you were fine when I—”
“And I was fine until I got here.”
Long silence, and I knew he was working something out in his head. “Jin,” he said sharply.
“Yeah?” He sounded scared, which was making me uneasy.
“I thought it was on purpose.”
“You thought what was on purpose?”
“I—I thought you pulling the others through their shift was intentional!”
“What?” I was hurt that he would even think such a thing. “Why would I do that?”
“I thought you were angry with me and so you were trying out new power and—oh fuck!”
“What’s wrong with you?” I asked irritably.
“Love.” He took a breath. “Before I left, you were leaking pheromones. Everyone’s reaction to you, when they were in the house… that was not you making them want to be away from you, that was them all wanting you, wanting to have you.”
“There’s no way.”
“Jin, I asked the priest why you would be throbbing with pheromones and he said that nekhene cats, unlike reahs, when they build up power, they exude them to try and draw the strongest cat to their side to mate with. A reah seeks only their semel, but a nekhene, who does not normally have just one mate, sends out a siren call that is impossible to ignore.”
“But I haven’t shifted into a nekhene form at all, not once.”
“You haven’t physically shifted, but the power is still growing and every time it makes a jump, every time you tap into it for protection, you radiate this primal call for a mate.”
“I only want you,” I said, willing him to believe me.
“I know that because the reah in you is comforting the nekhene, it’s reminding the wild creature of the bond with me. It’s why my scent, having me close to you, calms you down.”
“I got that, but the pheromones thing is just—”
“The strongest cats will fight for the chance to be the one who mates with the nekhene, while those unworthy of mating will be rendered unfit. Turning them into panthers, forcing the change so that they are panthers and not human, would definitely render them unsuitable for you to mate with.”
“I wouldn’t do that to Delphine or—”
“Jin wouldn’t, Jin the reah wouldn’t, but the nekhene has no family, no friends. The nekhene sees only potential mates or potential enemies.”
“But I’m a panther, too, why would changing them into animals render them inadequate?”
“Because you have sex in your human form, Jin.”
I cleared my throat. “Might I remind you that I’ve had sex with you in both your human form and your werepanther form?”
“But never in panther form.”
True.
“And I claimed you as a man, and you identify yourself as a man first and panther second, and so on instinct, your nekhene power shifts unworthy men and women into panthers, which makes them unfit, in your eyes, to mate with.”
“I didn’t change them on purpose.”
“I know that, but every panther in the room was, to you, weak, and was thus unsuited to be your mate, so your nekhene power punished them. I get it now.”
“But—”
“You did something, started to get upset and your nekhene power spiked and came pouring out of you, but because you’re not in complete control because of Crane, you flooded the room with pheromones looking for a mate.”
“I’m not looking for a mate! I already have one.”
“You as a reah, yes, and you know that, but the nekhene who lives inside of you searched and couldn’t find the reah’s mate and so you lost yourself for a moment in a wave of heat and craving that I can’t even imagine. Your power reached out and finding no one worthy, it attacked.”
“But the nekhene in me respects, or whatever you wanna call it, our bond.”
“If I’m there, if you can smell me, feel me, taste me, the nekhene responds, but if I’m not there to physically remind the nekhene of the bond, then the reah part of you is lost and only the wild creature remains.”
I sucked in my breath. “You make me sound like a monster.”
“You’re not a monster; you’re an animal looking for a mate.”
“I have a mate.” I said again.
“But the nekhene doesn’t know that, and I didn’t show that part of you my power the other day. I held you, made you stop, but I didn’t hold you down and make you mine.”
Thinking about Logan, imagining myself submitting to his will, made my heart leap, pulse race, and my skin heat.
“But I will,” he promised me, his voice dropping low and menacing, the power and strength and dominant male there, in the tone, making my knees weak.
“Logan—”
“That’s why Delphine’s so angry. She’s mad at her reaction to you and that you didn’t want her. It’s not logical, but that’s it. Russ must be feeling the same way, which is why he’s so scared of your power and doesn’t want to be around it, that’s why the knee-jerk reaction—son of a bitch!”
“Logan, I—”
“I’m so sorry,” he told me, and his voice was suddenly quiet, gentle as it had not been since he first got on the phone with me. “Oh baby, I didn’t know. I thought you were testing power, like I said—forgive me.”
“Of course.” I smiled through the tears now filling my eyes.
“Everything I said, forgive me. I’m an idiot.”
I took a breath.
“I’m still mad at you for leaving.”
“
Yes.”
“You’re still in the wrong.”
He always had to remind me, which was Logan, the semel, the leader, explaining why he was mad, showing why it was fair. “I know.”
“Oh shit!” he gasped.
“What?”
“Don’t open the door for anyone but Yuri, do you hear me? No one.”
“Yes, my semel.”
He made a choked sound in the back of his throat. “I’m leaving now. Wait for me. I order you to wait.”
“Of course I’ll wait.”
“Stay in the hotel room and do not open the door.”
“But Logan, you really don’t have to—”
“Honey, you’re not getting out of the hotel without me. Literally, you won’t make it out in one piece.”
“What’re you—”
“I’ll be there soon, wait for me. Don’t run.”
“Why would I run?”
“Jin, wait. Please. Don’t run from me.”
“No, I would never.”
“I love you.”
I whimpered into the phone, and it was undignified and I wasn’t sure where it came from, but it was there, my sudden need. “I love you too.”
“I’m coming, sit down.” I heard the smile in his voice. “Watch TV.”
He hung up instead of saying goodbye, and I found that I could breathe better. The man really did have a very good influence on me.
I showered and changed, turned the TV on in the background as the sky opened up and dumped down rain. It was a gift because I loved it and it soothed me. Hours later, having done nothing but think—think about Crane and Logan and Delphine and the maahes and his mate and his men and all of it running around in my head, my phone rang. It was a number I didn’t know.
“Hello?”
“Jin?”
“Yes.”
“Jin, this is Justin, where are you?”
“In the hotel, waiting for you.”
“No, I mean—I know you’re at the hotel, where are you in the room? Are you standing by the front door?”
“No, I’m by the window.”
“Okay, hold on, I’ll call you right back.”
He hung up, which was weird. I looked down, out the window, and on both sides of the street there were cars, lots of them, parked up and down. It was like there was a party at the hotel that I didn’t know about. I went to the door but stopped before I opened it. Logan had told me to stay inside.
