by Vonna Harper
Cougar, maybe with the help of Anaba’s spirit or a Ghost-walker, had taken her back to the beginning.
Dad. Oh, God, Dad! Are you, can you—
Bam!
Even as she started, the Anasazi workmen evaporated. What a moment ago had been a not-yet-completed stairway aged, and a faint haze muted the sky. The rifle shot had come from somewhere below.
Wishing she was doing anything else, Kai half-stepped, half-jumped from one stair to the next. She could only pray she wasn’t being watched.
Garrin had no reason to cause her harm. Or did he? If something had happened to frighten or disturb him, who knew what he was capable of. She’d have to use the greatest possible care when it came to approaching him. She’d speak softly and calmly while assuring him—
A sudden chill forced her to admit that she’d been focusing on Garrin because she didn’t want to think about the ramifications of that horrible sound, but she had to. If Hok’ee had been wounded or killed—
No!
Sweat had collected in her armpits and at the base of her spine by the time she reached the last step, yet she was cold. Getting used to being on level ground took a moment. Then she looked around. She hadn’t reached the valley floor after all but was on a natural shelf the elements had carved into the canyon wall. The shelf was maybe a hundred feet wide. It was about twice as deep, but what made her dizzy with disbelief was the great stone house at the far end of the shelf.
Two stories high and maybe fifty feet wide, it had three doorways and several smaller square openings that must have once served as windows. The roof looked to be flat, or nearly so, the workmanship incredible. Short stairs led up to each doorway, seemingly waiting for her to step inside. Instead, she stared open-mouthed.
What she was looking at had to be thousands of years old, and yet from what she could tell, the elements had barely touched it. The wind she’d been dealing with no longer toyed with her hair here, and the canyon wall shielded her from much of the sun. Either by accident or design, the house had been constructed in a natural weather pocket.
Minutes passed as she struggled to comprehend not just what she’d come across but that she’d caught glimpses of it yesterday when she’d followed Anaba’s spirit into the afterworld. She was in the presence of something breath-stealing, the rarest of rare finds, and she half-believed that a Chindi had a hand in keeping the structure safe, not just from the seasons, but from humans as well.
No wonder Anaba had wanted to come here after his death.
Tears blurred her vision. She’d pulled her camera out of her pocket but couldn’t bring herself to start taking pictures. What right did she have? This—this gift from the Anasazi deserved all the reverence she could accord it.
Maybe by walking away, leaving it to the ages and Skinwalker.
But she couldn’t do that. The rifle shot had come from near, if not right, here.
Her right calf threatened to cramp, proof of how long she’d been on her toes. It took all the will at her command, but she made herself look at something other than the ancient house. She’d been wrong when she’d thought the ledge was only about two hundred feet wide, because instead of coming to an end at the right, it continued on, albeit at a downward angle as if the ledge was being pinched.
It was quiet, too quiet. Why hadn’t she noticed that before now? Barely able to hear for her heart’s thudding, she forced herself to start walking in that direction. Her destination brought her closer to what she couldn’t truthfully call a ruin. It loomed over her now, stark and impenetrable, making a mockery of any thoughts she’d ever had of her importance.
Dad, nothing in Canyon De Chelly touches this.
The ground under her feet now angled down a little. She didn’t try to shake off the feeling that she was walking into the great unknown. A large number of massive, flat boulders ahead of her made her think of monster-sized headstones. Whatever they were, they appeared to be naturally occurring, and not manmade. What made the hairs at the back of her neck stand up was the question of what was behind the stones. Most could easily provide shelter for several humans or predators, and the shadows running out from them were darker than she felt comfortable with.
Stopping, she concentrated. There was still no hint of a breeze, but it wasn’t as quiet as she’d previously thought. Unfortunately, she’d have to get closer to the headstones before she could be sure what she was hearing. She just wished it didn’t sound like someone was whispering. It took longer than she cared to admit, but finally she forced herself to cover a few more feet. She was nearly to the first of the boulder slabs, and feeling dwarfed.
Whispering? No, that didn’t accurately describe the sounds. More like breathing? Scared and yet calm, she took another three steps and stopped with a hand on the closest boulder slab. It was warm, densely warm, as if the heat went clear through to the center. Something or someone could be behind it and she wouldn’t know until she’d walked around it. And with in excess of twenty of the strange forms, she could be within feet of an army and not see it.
An army of humans or predators?
Gathering what might be a fatal calm around her, she listened. The longer she did, the more convinced she became that she was indeed hearing lungs at work.
Anasazi?
Of course not, couldn’t be.
Why not? Hadn’t she already seen ancient workmen?
“Stay there…I swear—I’ll shoot.”
Garrin’s voice, faint, coming from somewhere deep in the gravestones. He was too far away for her to be sure, but she thought he sounded not frightened exactly, but disbelieving.
Her impulse to call out to Garrin lasted maybe two seconds. Then, feeling utterly alone, she slipped around the stone she’d been touching. Nothing was behind it, thank goodness, but she couldn’t say the same for the others.
She hadn’t seen anything dead, no beautiful but bloodied cougar form stretched out on the ground. She just wished she could believe that meant the bullets hadn’t found a predator’s body.
Cougar’s body.
Strange, she’d gone several minutes without thinking about Hok’ee. Now that he and his other half reentered her mind, she had to struggle to think of anything else. He was here; she had no doubt. What she didn’t know was what form he’d taken.
It’s me, she tried to tell him. Do you feel my presence? Maybe you knew I’d follow.
I know.
A spear of life jumped through her. She had to fight not just her nerves, but her entire body to keep from crying out. The strength of his unspoken words and unseen body frightened her. She didn’t want him to be this strong or for her pussy to instantly demand to be filled with him. Only an absolute fool would let sex get in the way of self-preservation, a fool or a woman who’d bonded with a man/animal.
Are you all right? she asked. Please tell me you haven’t been wounded.
“Get back!” Garrin bellowed. “I’ll shoot, I swear—”
“Garrin!” she called out. “It’s me. What is—”
“Where are you?” Garrin demanded. “My God. Ah, shit, get back.”
Straining to locate where Garrin’s voice was coming from, she begged Hok’ee to understand why she couldn’t mentally stay with him. “Who are you talking to?” she asked her coworker.
“Cougars. Everywhere. Ah, shit!”
23
His voice bounced off the surrounding stone, and she was now all but certain of his location. She couldn’t remember ever hearing such fear from a grown man, which meant that as long as he had a weapon, he was dangerous. Sexual energy beat throughout her. Just the same, she managed to push the sensation to the back of her mind. One cautious step at a time, she approached. Her muscles had never felt so finely tuned, her senses so keen. Hok’ee would be proud of the wild animal she’d become.
“I’m coming.” She spoke quietly and calmly, a reasoned adult chasing off a child’s nightmare. At the same time, her fingers curled inward, much as Cougar’s claws did, and her mus
cles felt capable of meeting whatever task she needed them to do. “I’m nearly there. I need you to remain calm, to put down your rifle, and—”
“No! They’re going to kill me.”
Garrin was in no condition to listen to reason. All she could do was pray he’d recognize her for what she was—and that he’d comprehend she wasn’t afraid of the cougars.
As for her own rifle—damn, it was back where she’d been when she and Hok’ee had heard the first shot.
Do the others know who I am? she asked Cougar.
They know.
But will they accept me, she needed to know. Unfortunately there wasn’t time to wait for the answer because she’d just spotted Garrin. He was standing with his back pressed against one of the gravestones. Because she was behind him, slightly to the side, and he was looking straight ahead, he hadn’t spotted her, which meant she had to take great care in approaching him. Always before, Garrin had struck her as a committed professional, driven really. Now she smelled his abject fear. He was overwhelmed, lost and confused. If he hadn’t killed Anaba, she would have felt sorry for him. Instead, she acknowledged that he was getting exactly what he deserved.
Still she didn’t want to see him dead, especially by Cougar’s fangs and claws.
“How many cougars are there?” She spoke slowly, softly, a casual question one friend asks another. “I don’t see them.”
Garrin fairly jumped but didn’t turn around. She caught a whiff of urine, proof of how totally unhinged he was.
“I’m going to join you,” she continued in the same measured tone. “That way I’ll be able to see what you’re talking about.”
She thought he might order her not to put herself in danger. His silence served as further proof of how far he’d slid from the man she’d thought he was. There was a feral quality to him, a trapped animal looking for a way out of hell. Like a cur dog, he’d attack anyone or thing he perceived as a threat.
Are you responsible? she asked Cougar. You’ve done this to him?
He deserves it, and more.
She was in no position to argue the point with him, and although it disturbed her to realize how little concern Cougar had for Garrin’s mental health, that too was something she’d deal with later.
“This place is incredible,” she said when she was within six feet of Garrin. “Absolutely unbelievable.”
“They’re going to kill me.”
They? she nearly said. Then she saw them.
Four cougars, each crouched near a different headstone, their attention zeroed as one on Garrin. They were far enough apart that she couldn’t look at all of them at the same time, and the shadows made it difficult for her to form a clear impression. Hok’ee was one of them, she had no doubt of that. But they were all large and sleek and deadly, and she couldn’t be certain which one was the man/animal she’d been fucking.
There was something horrible and yet exquisite about them. Any other time she’d be as terrified as Garrin was, but even then she would acknowledge their perfection. She wanted to run her fingers over their coats, look deep into their eyes, share the air with them.
Their patience was disconcerting. She’d always assumed that a cougar about to attack would be hugging the ground, their muscles taut, tails lashing, and mouths open. Instead, all four were relaxed. No, not relaxed so much as waiting Garrin out. They’d wear him down physically, mentally, and emotionally, wound his mind instead of his body.
What did she think she could do, order them to leave Garrin alone? This was about avenging Anaba’s death.
Rocking back on her heels, she abandoned her thought of touching Garrin, letting him know that these weren’t ordinary cougars and thus he didn’t really need to fear them. Yes, she could tell him that the beasts had once been humans, but had been re-created by Skinwalker.
“This is why you were willing to let me leave this morning, isn’t it?” she said, indicating the great house behind her. “Why you wanted me gone. You’d found this place. You wanted to keep your knowledge to yourself.”
If Garrin hadn’t let out a noisy breath, she wouldn’t have been certain he’d heard.
“We have to talk about this. I don’t know how you thought you could get away with such secrecy. It’s unbelievable, the find of a lifetime. Garrin, I’m concerned about you. First you try to tell me that you shot and killed a cougar yesterday, and now—”
“Shut the fuck up.”
Garrin might never know this, but she’d accomplished what she’d hoped to. She’d gotten his attention.
“You’re right. This is hardly the time to talk about professional and ethical considerations. I just want you to know I have every intention of calling Dr. Carter as soon as possible. He needs to know about your behavior.”
Garrin twitched but didn’t glance at her. He looked tense enough to shatter. Again, she felt sorry for him. She also didn’t trust him.
He’s dangerous, Cougar. Any sudden move on your part and he’ll shoot.
We know.
That’s why you’re waiting? Of course it is. You don’t want what happened to Anaba to happen to anyone else.
When Cougar didn’t respond, she nearly asked why he and the others didn’t simply walk away. Then she remembered Anaba’s ruined body and knew why. She didn’t waste her breath trying to convince Cougar not to let the need for vengeance take over. He and the others lived according to rules she couldn’t comprehend.
She’d had sex with an animal, not a physical and demanding man, an animal. And no matter that her blood now ran cold, she still wanted to mate with that predator.
Barely aware of what she was doing, Kai joined Garrin. She stood beside him, not touching the profusely sweating man. She started with the cougar to the far left, studying his form, letting his body speak to hers. The creature was everything a fierce predator should be. Health and raw self-confidence poured out of him. It didn’t matter whether he was Cougar or not, she’d welcome him into her body and howl her climax.
But he wasn’t Cougar. Her body knew.
She had the same reaction to the next cougar, and the third. Even before she focused on the beast standing to the far right, her muscles loosened and her pussy softened. Maybe she’d subconsciously known the truth and had put off this moment so it could build within her.
I need you. Want you, she mind-spoke.
I know you do.
He hadn’t said it, but she was certain Cougar felt the same way. Staring through the shadows at him, she noted the luminicent eyes, the rich coat, and potent body. He was larger than the others, not by much but enough that she felt his size in her bones. No wonder her cunt had given way to Hok’ee’s cock. No wonder she’d dreamed of fucking the animal half of him.
For the first time in her life, she wanted to be something other than a human female. Cougar deserved a mate, a fierce and fearless equal. Together they’d hunt and kill, eat and fuck. Her belly would swell, and she’d give birth to small, helpless cubs. They’d raise their offspring together. As the cubs suckled from her full breasts, Cougar would track down rabbits and deer, and bring his kill to her so she could nourish their children.
“What are they doing here?” Garrin whimpered. “I’ve never heard of cougars acting like this.”
“Revenge,” she said. “For what happened yesterday.”
“You said I didn’t kill—there wasn’t a body.”
The conversation exhausted her. It also served as a reminder that she was a woman and not a predator. “I’m not going to try to explain things. And, Garrin, I don’t know if I can save you.”
“You—save…”
Cougar’s gaze hadn’t left her. She had no doubt he understood everything that was being said. The same might be true for his companions. As a member of the human race, her overriding concern should be for her coworker. However, it wasn’t that simple. It never would be again.
“What do you want, Cougar?” she asked. In the wake of what was happening, trying to keep anything from Garr
in didn’t matter. “All of you, what do you want?”
An eye for an eye.
The response, coming from four minds, shocked her, and yet she wasn’t surprised. She wondered if they understood that a part of her agreed. Garrin had taken a life. He should pay.
“You can’t be talking to them,” Garrin blubbered. He jabbed her in the side with his elbow, forcing her to look at him. He still clutched the rifle with white-knuckled fingers. Sweat beaded his upper lip and ran down his temples.
“You don’t understand.” That said, she shook her head. Even if she was willing to reveal the truth, this wasn’t the time. “Let me do what I have to. It’s the only chance you have.”
When Garrin didn’t reply, she accepted the stark truth. This man who not long ago had proclaimed himself the undisputed head of everything that happened at Sani had just turned his survival over to her. He might still have the only weapon, but even in his agitated state, he knew that wasn’t enough.
“Don’t move,” she warned. “And whatever you do, do not fire.”
Without a wind to cool things, the temperature here was warmer than she preferred. Either that, or her body was responding to the man behind the predator. Whichever it was, she didn’t dare let herself be distracted. Talking to Garrin had helped remind her of who and what she’d been up until the last few days. She couldn’t live with herself if she turned her back on that woman.
“You need to leave,” she told Cougar. She could have mind-talked but this way, hopefully, everyone would hear the same thing. “All of you.” She looked at each cougar in turn. “No matter what you believe about your right to kill a killer, if you do, you’ll be hunted down.”
“Kai?”
Not bothering to acknowledge Garrin’s pitiful voice, she stepped away from him and started toward Cougar. Pure energy emanated from him and wrapped around her. The bonds were as tight as any rope. This was going to be even harder than she’d thought.
