by Chant, Zoe
Inside his head, his cave bear snarled. Pete had to give him a mental shove to keep him in his place; now wasn’t the time to shift, when he didn’t know if Jerry could also turn living beings to stone. The bear pushed back, ferocious and filled with the urge to fight.
Want to leave Tirzah caught in a trap, alone with an enemy and a bear statue? Pete asked.
With a resentful snarl, the bear subsided.
“Let’s talk,” said Jerry.
“Yeah, let’s,” said Tirzah.
She wheeled her chair out from behind Pete, so she sat at his side. Pete started to step in front of her, then restrained himself. He could shield her if Jerry made any sudden moves. And if she had a plan, he wanted to let her try it and give her whatever backup she needed. She wasn’t trained, of course, but she was smart, resourceful, and cool-headed. And if her plan was to stall Jerry until Pete could make his move, he could certainly work with that.
“What do you want?” Tirzah asked.
“Same as before,” Jerry replied. “The file, any copies you made of it, and your promise to never say a word about it.”
“If I do, will you promise to leave me alone? And leave my neighbors alone?”
“Absolutely.” A contemptuous look crossed Jerry’s face as he said, with the slightest mocking edge, “My word of honor.”
“Deal. I’ve got it here in my purse.” Tirzah patted the purse she’d slung over her wheelchair.
Pete had hoped that she’d succeed in luring Jerry close enough that he could tackle him before their enemy could use his stone powers, but he didn’t have high hopes that it would work.
Sure enough, Jerry shot a hate-filled glare at the wheels and said, “Lay it down on the ground.”
With an irritated huff of breath, Tirzah did so. Pete had been keeping quiet in the hope that Jerry would pay less attention to him and more to Tirzah, creating an opening for Pete to make his move.
Then Jerry looked straight at Pete. “You. Valdez. I have an offer for you.”
Suppressing his impulse to tell Jerry where he could put his offer, Pete said, “Yeah?”
“How’s your power working?”
“Fine. Want a demo?”
Jerry seemed briefly confused, and then his face cleared. “Oh. Yes, your cave bear’s inability to feel pain or be affected by drugs.” As if Pete was a not-too-bright child, he said, “All you Apex subjects have two powers, not including shapeshifting. I meant your other one.”
That was the first Pete had ever heard about that. As far as he knew, apart from shapeshifting they all had one power each. Unless you counted finding human touch excruciatingly painful, which he sure didn’t. But he kept his expression blank as he said, “That’s fine too.”
Jerry smirked. “I don’t think so. I think you’re having some problems with it. But we can fix that for you. Just pick up Override’s purse and come with me.”
There’s my chance. If he could just get a little closer to Jerry, he could knock him unconscious before he had a chance to do any of his rock stuff. Pete tried to sound as if he was hoping against hope as he said, “Seriously? You can fix it?”
Jerry nodded. “Absolutely.”
“It better work,” Pete said menacingly.
He turned his back on his enemy and caught Tirzah’s eyes. In that brief exchange of glances, he knew that she understood.
“What?” Tirzah burst out. “No! Hey! You can’t do that! I hired you to protect me!”
With a callous shrug, Pete said, “Put a stop payment on your card.”
Tirzah bent and made a grab for her purse, but Pete snatched it up. Her fingers closed on empty air.
As he started walking toward Jerry, he heard her increasingly frantic yells of, “Hey! Hey, get back here! That’s my purse, you thief! You can’t—”
Jerry gave a wave of his hand. Tirzah’s voice cut off in mid-yell.
Pete whirled around. Tirzah was gone, with only a round hill of stone where she had been. She had been buried in solid rock.
His cave bear roared in grief and rage. A red haze clouded Pete’s vision as his body became bigger, heavier, stronger.
Pete tried to fight the shift. The cave bear would immediately try to kill the enemy; that was what he always did. But he needed to rescue Tirzah, not attack Jerry—
And then Pete was gone. Only the bear remained. Throwing back his shaggy head, he roared his fury to the skies. And charged.
Chapter 11
“Pete! PETE!” Tirzah yelled.
Her words fell into a smothering silence and dark. The bubble of stone had encased her so quickly that she hadn’t even had time to scream. Batcat huddled inside her blouse, mewing piteously.
“It’s okay, baby,” Tirzah whispered, petting her. “We’ll get out.”
She wished she felt confident in her words. Tirzah couldn’t see a thing, so she stretched out her arms and felt around. The walls were glassy and smooth, like the shards of Pete’s shattered gun. With a sudden burst of hope, she wondered if they were equally fragile. She couldn’t break out from the inside, but maybe Pete—
CRASH!
Light flooded her eyes as the walls of her prison smashed like a dropped egg. She flung up her forearm, shielding her face, then cautiously lowered it.
An enormous bear loomed over her, one massive paw still upraised, snarling and ferocious. Its glittering black eyes were half-hidden within its shaggy brown fur. Its teeth were white and very sharp, its claws big as daggers.
Tirzah had imagined a cave bear as just a larger grizzly. But now that she was looking at it, she knew that it was something else entirely: a prehistoric beast from another, fiercer time. She knew it had to be Pete, but she still shrank back nervously.
The cave bear swung its heavy head away from her. It gave vent to a terrifying roar, then charged Jerry in a shambling run, unstoppable as an avalanche.
Jerry stared at the bear, his eyes wide in a suddenly pale face.
How’s it feel to be the one getting threatened instead of making the threats? Tirzah thought with vengeful satisfaction. Serves him right for messing with my neighbors!
She expected him to take down the stone walls he’d created and run like hell. But Jerry’s weasely eyes narrowed. The air around him darkened and blurred, making him hard to see. Tirzah blinked, thinking it was her own vision that had gone wrong.
But when she opened her eyes again, Jerry had changed. His skin had gone a glassy black, like the stone he wielded, and looked hard. The planes of his face had become sharpened, even faceted, and his features were grotesque and demonic. His limbs had lengthened, and his hands were now clawed. He had a long, whiplike tail ending in an arrowhead. Instead of the shirt and pants he’d worn, he was now wrapped in a long black cloak.
The cave bear didn’t flinch or hesitate, but continued its charge. It roared as it came, a sound so primal and ferocious that Tirzah couldn’t believe that Jerry was still standing his ground.
Then Jerry’s cloak unfurled and spread out. Tirzah realized that it was actually a pair of membranous wings. With a harsh, hawklike scream, he leaped into the air. The gargoyle that Jerry had become circled above their heads like a hideous man-sized bat.
The cave bear was unable to instantly halt its momentum. It was so big and heavy that if it had, it would have gone tumbling head over heels. And while it was trying to dig in its paws to come to a lumbering stop, the gargoyle plummeted down from the sky with a bloodthirsty screech, claws outstretched.
“Look out!” Tirzah shouted.
The cave bear reared up, its massive paws swatting at the air. But the gargoyle was quicker and more agile. It veered out of the way and landed atop the bear’s back, slashing with all four sets of claws.
The bear threw itself down and rolled. Tirzah hoped with all her might that he’d crush the gargoyle. But the winged monster launched itself upward, unharmed. And when the bear regained its feet, there was blood on the pavement where it had lain, and blood matting its shaggy fur.<
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The bear roared. The gargoyle screeched and circled, then descended once again. This time the bear was waiting for it to try to land on its back, and lunged to intercept it. But again the gargoyle was far quicker. It swerved aside untouched, and slashed at the bear with its vicious black claws. Once again, it was the bear’s blood that dripped down.
Tirzah grabbed the closest thing to hand, which was the lid from a nearby trash can, and flung it at the gargoyle. It evaded her throw with contemptuous ease, and let out a mocking shriek. Then it circled in a leisurely manner, preparing for its next strike.
Furious and helpless, she wished there was something, anything she could do to help. But what could she do from her chair? What could she do even if it wasn’t for the chair? Even the cave bear was outmatched against that flying horror. The only way she’d be useful would be if she had wings.
Twenty needle-sharp claws dug into her chest. “Ow!”
Batcat scrambled out from Tirzah’s blouse. Before Tirzah could grab her, she launched herself off Tirzah’s shoulder, hissing and spitting. The little winged kitten flew straight at the gargoyle.
“Batcat, no!” Tirzah yelled. “Come back! It’ll kill you!”
Her words were drowned out in an equally frantic roar from the cave bear. But Batcat didn’t falter from her path as she darted toward a monster twenty times her size. The gargoyle hovered, batlike wings beating hard, clawed arms ready to grab its tiny foe.
Then the gargoyle shrieked in pain as it was hit in the belly by a fusillade of needle-like green spines. When Tirzah craned her head to see where the attack had come from, she spotted a creature crouched atop the wall Jerry had created. It was a winged kitten with spiky green fur. As she watched, it arched its back and spread its wings. The kitten hissed, and green needles shot out from its fur and struck the gargoyle.
The gargoyle shrieked and dove down toward it, its long tail trailing behind it. The green kitten leaped down off the wall, landed neatly on its feet, and dashed toward the cave bear, with the gargoyle in hot pursuit. Batcat, deprived of her fight, also flew low, chasing the gargoyle. She put on a burst of speed, caught the gargoyle’s tail-tip, and bit it hard.
The gargoyle let out a pained screech and lashed its tail. Batcat clung to it with all four paws and her teeth. Tirzah abruptly realized that there was something she could do, now that the monster was distracted. She started scooping up the black stone remnants of Pete’s gun and her prison, and flinging them at the gargoyle. Some missed, but more struck home. The gargoyle dipped down even lower, trying to evade Tirzah’s rock shards while also trying to dislodge the stubborn Batcat and catch the green kitten.
And then the cave bear struck. It had been crouching close to the ground, its great head held low. But now it reared up on its hind legs, striking out with a huge paw. It struck the gargoyle square in the chest with massive force.
The gargoyle shattered. Tirzah watched, dumbstruck, as fragments of glassy black stone rained down to the ground.
A moment later, the stone walls began to crumble away, collapsing on themselves in slow motion.
Batcat spat out an arrowhead-shaped piece with a “Ptui!” sound, then flew down to land in front of the green kitten. They circled each other warily, sniffing. Batcat put out an exploratory paw, and the green kitten gave a warning growl and puffed out its spines. Batcat backed off, then extended her paw again.
The cave bear had sunk back down to a crouch. Blood matted its shaggy fur, and more blood dripped down to the pavement. Its dark eyes were half-closed.
Tirzah had kept her distance from the bear before. It was so huge and fierce, she couldn’t help feeling wary of it. But it wasn’t “the bear.” It—he—was Pete. And he was hurt. He needed help.
She went to his side. “Pete? Hey, Pete?”
She laid her hand on his massive head. In the blink of an eye, the bear was gone. Pete crouched on all fours, palms braced on the ground, blood soaking through his clothes. Her hand was still on his head. His short-clipped hair was surprisingly soft, even velvety.
He struggled to get up, muttering something she couldn’t catch, then sank back down.
“Hey. Hey. Take it easy.” Tirzah leaned down and put her arms around him.
Pete was shaking, his skin damp with sweat and blood. He took a deep, shuddering breath, then another. “You… you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine, Pete. Don’t worry about me.”
“I don’t…” His voice trailed off.
He tried again to get up, this time using the arm rests of her chair to pull himself up. He ended up kneeling with his head against her side, partly in her lap. Tirzah held him close, stroking his hair and trying not to panic. She couldn’t tell how badly he was hurt, but he was covered in blood and seemed disoriented.
“I know I was the bear. But after that…” He shook his head slowly. “I hit something… and it broke…? Where’s Jerry?”
“Oh, boy,” Tirzah said. “That’s a lot. Short version is Jerry’s dead, so we don’t have to worry about him any more. I’ll explain the rest later. For now, you rest, and I’ll call 911.”
“No!” He almost jerked out of her embrace.
“You’re hurt, Pete. You need help.”
He gritted his teeth, then carefully articulated, “I can’t go to a hospital. They’ll notice I’m… different. ”
“Right, right. Sorry, I should’ve known better. But we can’t stay here.”
Tirzah looked around. The kittens were still warily circling each other. The stone walls were still slowly disintegrating, as were the scattered stone fragments. It seemed like Jerry’s powers were dissolving with his death. Which also meant that very soon now, all the people who he’d ordered to keep away from the area would start coming back. And then she’d have to explain a bleeding man and a pair of flying kittens.
Chapter 12
Pete struggled to orient himself. His memories of being the cave bear were dreamlike and fragmented. The only part he remembered with any degree of clarity was Tirzah shrinking back from him in fear. Just as he’d dreaded, she’d seen the part of him that was a beast, and she’d been horrified and afraid.
And yet she hadn’t left him. Even now, she was holding him. He could feel his wounds as slashes of pain across his back and shoulders and sides, but they faded into insignificance beside the touch of her body against his, and the steady thud of her heartbeat.
She was alive. She was safe. She was unharmed. However it had happened and whatever she thought about him, he’d protected her.
“You have to see someone, Pete,” she was saying. “There must be, I don’t know, some shady veterinarian who patches up criminals? Or a shapeshifter doctor? Ah-ha! Let’s call your team, one of them must know—”
“No!” The word burst from his mouth. If his team found him wounded, they’d check him over and give him first aid, then find some doctor. And as weak as he was, he might not be able to hide how much their touch hurt him. They’d know his secrets—see him vulnerable— “No. Don’t call them.”
“Why not? Jerry’s dead. He can’t control them anymore.”
“I know. But…” Pete searched for an explanation that would satisfy her, but nothing came to mind. He couldn’t seem to think straight. “No.”
A meow startled them both. Batcat flew to Tirzah’s shoulder. And something else rubbed against his ankle. Pete looked down. He was being nuzzled by a winged kitten a little bigger than Batcat with spiky olive-green fur.
“What…?”
“Got me,” Tirzah said with a shrug. “It helped us in the fight.”
“Hey, little buddy.” He reached down and petted the kitten. It purred and arched its back into his hand. Its fur felt stiff, like hair with way too much gel. “Its fur feels funny.”
“It’s got spines. It fired some of them into the gargoyle.”
“Oh.” Pete’s mind was beginning to clear, and he managed a smile. “It’s a cactus cat.”
Tirzah gave him a suspicio
us look. “Is that a real thing, or are you pulling my leg?”
“It’s real folklore, like Bigfoot or chupacabras. They slash open cactuses and drink the sap, and then they get drunk and dance under the light of the moon—” Pete realized that he probably sounded drunk, and cut himself off. “My mom told me stories about them.”
He took a moment to concentrate on the cactus kitten’s spiky fur and vibrating body, and on Tirzah’s soft body and human warmth. The solid reality of them both made him feel stronger and more grounded. Then, gritting his teeth, he gripped the arm rests of the wheelchair and used them to haul himself to his feet.
Black spots danced across his field of vision. His legs threatened to give out, and he held himself up with his upper body strength alone.
Tirzah was looking up at him, her alarm plain on her face. “Pete, I really think we should call your team. You can’t—”
The image of his entire team, no doubt plus Carter, showing up and seeing him in this state flashed across his mind, followed by exactly how it would feel when they picked him up. And cut off his shirt. And… “No! Just brace me.”
With an irritated huff of breath, Tirzah helped steady him. As he’d noticed before, she was strong enough to do so; she looked soft, but her upper body had a lot of muscle beneath the luscious curves. With her support, he managed to step behind her chair and take hold of the handles.
Realizing his plan, she said, “You use those to hold yourself up, I actually move the chair?”
“Uh-huh.”
She scooped up Batcat and stuffed her down the front of her blouse. The cactus kitten climbed Pete like a tree, then dove inside his shirt.
“Huh,” Tirzah said. “Guess it’s yours.”
The last thing Pete needed right now was a pet, let alone an impossible-to-explain magical one. But the kitten’s warm body and prickly fur felt oddly comforting, and he had no desire to kick it out of the refuge it had found.
“I’ll name him Spike,” Pete said.
He glanced around. The stone walls that Jerry had raised had crumbled completely into dust, as had the stone fragments scattered across the ground, and it was already starting to blow away in a light breeze. Pete could now see the streets at either end of the alley. To his immense relief, he didn’t see any people. But if Jerry’s powers were fading with his death, they could start showing up at any moment.
