Animal Instincts (Entangled Ignite)

by Patricia Rosemoor

  “It’s not much. Dad saying something like that to Mom when she was so sick. He said if she was what she claimed to be, then surely she could make the cancer go away, that she could find the answer in that book of hers she was always reading and scribbling in. I remember her telling him it didn’t work like that. Despite the gifts she was given, she was still susceptible to human ills.”

  Wishing there had been some way she could have saved herself, I said, “If only she was here to give us some answers.”

  “Maybe she still can,” Shade said. “Maybe we’d find answers in that book.”

  Frowning, I only vaguely remembered the book. “Does it still exist? I haven’t seen it since she died.”

  “Remember, Dad gave a bunch of Mom’s stuff to Grandma.”

  “The basement.” When we’d inherited this building two years ago, there’d been what seemed like a lifetime of possessions stored in a room down there, but we’d never taken the time to go through it all and dredge up old memories. “I’ll go look.”

  Normally I only used the basement to do my laundry. I hadn’t been in Grandma’s storage bin since we’d first moved in. The eight-by-ten-foot room was filled with boxes and old furniture laden with dust. I was looking around, trying to figure out where to start, when an old trunk drew my attention. Certain I recognized it, I stood staring at it for a moment. That trunk had been in the room where Mom had spent a lot of time alone.

  My pulse fluttered and I was drawn straight to the trunk. My heart beat faster as I lifted the lid. The book wasn’t visible. The top of the pile was strewn with candlesticks and crystals and swaths of cloth. My hands tingled, and as if pulled down by a magnet, they thrust downward through the layers to the bottom of the trunk. I knew when I touched it. It seemed to hum in greeting. Ignoring items spilling out of the trunk, I concentrated on pulling out the heavy book.

  The leather cover was worn, but I could make out lettering: The Book of Powers.

  Despite my sudden trepidation, I hugged it to my chest and headed back upstairs to my brother’s apartment.

  “Got it,” I said as I went straight to the living room, where I sat in one of the chairs near the fireplace, Shade at my side.

  The initial entry was first written in Gaelic, then what looked to be an English translation alongside the original.

  “This seems to be an introduction,” I said, aware of the energy surging from the book where I touched it. “‘We, the progeny of the Powers, the bearers of conscience and the keepers of history, will continue the fight against evil spirits that wreak chaos throughout humanity. We will balance light with the growing darkness, will restrain the power of demons to corrupt humanity, will prevent fallen angels from taking over the world, thereby keeping the universe in balance. This we swear.’ And it’s signed Brigit, the Protectress.” I thought about it for a moment. “The progeny of the Powers. What does that mean?”

  “The Powers are part of the hierarchy of angels.”

  A weird feeling shot through me. “And you know that how?”

  He shrugged and aimed his eyes upward.

  My mind raced. Progeny of the Powers. Meaning progeny of angels. Meaning descendants of angels.

  Meaning Shade and me?

  I could hardly catch my breath. This was too far out to process. Still, I couldn’t stop reading now.

  Noting some pages were dog-eared, I checked them out. Certain passages laboriously copied were marked and commented upon in the margins by several hands. Some notations were from Genesis in the Old Testament and others were from sources like the Book of Enoch and from the Book of Jubilees, both of which many scholars thought should be part of the Bible.

  And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied there were born unto them comely daughters. And some angels saw and lusted after them, and took them to beget progeny.

  “The fallen angels,” I mused, my supposition verified by a note in the margin.

  “And the children of those unions were the Nephilim,” Shade said. “And their progeny or descendants are also known as demons.”

  …progeny of the Powers…will restrain the power of demons…

  My heart raced and my mouth went dry. I was an animal rescuer, not a demon slayer. I was a normal person, not something else. I wasn’t.

  I kept turning pages, kept reading until I got to another passage that was oddly significant.

  The Lord saw how great the Nephilim’s wickedness on the earth had become, and his heart was filled with pain. He decided to send a Great Flood to wipe mankind and animals, all of whom he created, from the face of the earth.

  “So that’s how the Ark came about,” Shade said. “Apparently Noah wasn’t one of the Nephilim.”

  “But somehow the Nephilim weren’t all wiped out,” I said, scanning further entries. “Look, there are accounts of the Nephilim after the Flood. How did they survive?”

  Astonished by it all, disbelieving that any of this could actually be true, I let exhaustion both physical and mental overwhelm me. My hands on the book tingled softly, as if The Book of Powers was alive. Maybe I was imagining it. Maybe none of this was real.

  Maybe it was simply all a nightmare.

  Boomer started whining, snapping me back to the now. Barely able to take a breath, I closed the book and set it down. I’d had enough for one day. The Book of Powers and its implications were too much for me.

  “Why are you stopping?” Shade asked.

  “The dog has to go out. I’d better take him before he has an accident. Then I’m going to bed. I’ve had a long day and I’m exhausted. The book can wait until tomorrow.”

  Thankful that Shade didn’t try to stop me, I grabbed the dog’s leash and headed for the door. The farther I got away from the book, the more normal I felt.

  I was relieved to be free of its thrall, if only for now.

  …

  Luc had faded into the shadows of the front porch near the open window to listen, and now he was glad he’d done so. Having decided he needed to protect Skye Cross, he’d come to check on her. He couldn’t let her be killed as her brother had been.

  Or Jez.

  He mourned his lifelong friend. They’d played together as children, and she’d always stood up for him. If only he’d been able to figure out who was running the shifter fights before Jez had been involved. But no one was talking. Now he would make it his mission. He looked forward to the day when the one responsible for Jez’s death—her murder—would pay.

  In the meantime, he needed to know how Skye had found her way into the cloaked area of the casino. He would need to run interference if she’d made a deal with the wrong being to get her invitation, so he’d followed her here, to her home, to find out whom she knew.

  Here, where another surprise awaited him in the form of a dead man who lingered still. Shade Cross’s unexpected presence had kept him from entering the building, had kept him one with the shadows. Had kept him listening. He’d gotten quite an earful.

  Skye was leaving the apartment with the dog.

  To escape detection, Luc thought of himself in the ground-level shadows of the building. His body tingled as he sifted out of sight, and his blood rushed when he resurfaced. He could change locations in the blink of an eye. A useful ability but unfortunately limited in scope.

  Sequestered in the shadows, he watched Skye race down the stairs and follow the dog to the parkway where it did its business. She tried to go back to the building, but the dog barked at him as if it could see him and stood firm. She stooped down, gave the pooch a hug, and set her forehead against its fur.

  The next thing he knew, she whipped around and stared into the dark well next to the building where he stood, as if she could see him.

  “Show yourself, Luc,” she said. “I know you’re there.”

  Reluctantly, Luc stepped out of the shadows. The dog started barking again. Quiet down. I’m a friend.

  “You’re not my friend.”

  “I was talking to the dog.” W
ho now sat halfway between him and Skye.

  He’d never met one of her kind before. Lucky for him. He’d asked her what she was, but she hadn’t known. Now she did. Or at least she had some idea. He’d assumed she was simply human, but that wasn’t fully true, not if she had The Book of Powers in her possession. She was one of their descendants.

  His kind and hers didn’t mix.

  Now that he knew what she was, he would proceed with even more caution.

  “You followed me home?” she asked.

  “Not exactly. Was someone following you?”

  “What exactly then?”

  “Instinct.” He figured she’d had enough surprises for one day. “Did someone follow you?”

  “Did you tell someone to?”

  “No.” But someone else might have. Luc switched on the internal radar that would pick up the presence of another Kindred.

  “No one here now.” He heard a car door close on the next block. “Well, maybe a human.”

  She followed his gaze. “You heard something?”

  “I hear a lot of things.”

  Her expression anything but friendly, Skye stepped closer, stopping next to the dog. “Does that include my private conversation with my brother?”

  “And if it did?”

  “I wouldn’t like that.”

  He moved closer. The dog growled and moved to block him.

  “Boomer, it’s okay, honey.” She bent over to pat the dog’s head.

  “You like this beast.”

  “I love him. I love all animals.”

  “All?”

  “Animals,” she repeated.

  “Ones like the coyote and the African wild dog?”

  “Why not?”

  “What if they’re something else?”

  Even under nothing but streetlights, he could see her blanch.

  “What else would they be?” she said.

  Luc laughed, then was surrounded by emotion. Hers. Embarrassment. Anger. Fear. He didn’t want her to fear him.

  It didn’t matter what he wanted.

  He had an obligation. A duty. He had to make sure that Skye was safe, even from him.

  “They are what they are,” he said. “They chose their fates.”

  “Chose? What does that mean? Did you choose yours?”

  The reminder that he hadn’t chosen anything yet stung. His mother had raised him to respect and protect humanity. His father had shown him that corruption came naturally to the weak, that it couldn’t be forced, and that it could be used to the Kindred’s advantage. He didn’t agree with everything Pop said or did, but he understood more than he wanted to. He was still torn between his two worlds, still looking for the thing that would make his choice inevitable. Either that or he continued to live his hell on earth, void of satisfaction or happiness or love.

  “Well, if you’re done talking, Boomer and I will go inside.”

  “No, wait. I can ease your mind.” Again he moved closer, this time stopping the dog from interfering with a hand gesture. They were almost as close as they had been in the cleansing station. “I tried to help you earlier, but you resisted.”

  “What makes you think I won’t resist now?”

  Only one way to make her pliable to his will, Luc thought, slipping a hand behind her neck.

  “That won’t work,” she informed him.

  He said, “I’m up to the challenge,” then dipped his head and slipped his mouth over hers.

  She gasped, and he took full possession of her. Not merely of her mouth. But of her body. And her thoughts.

  He let her see what they would be like together. Let her feel the erotic impulses that raged through him, that he kept in control only by sheer will. If only his will were strong enough to protect him from her, now that he knew what she was. He couldn’t have her. Shouldn’t want her. That didn’t stop him from imagining it, from having her in his mind.

  He thought about the things he would do to her to make her mindless with desire. He could see his hands on her breasts, could feel her hot, wet flesh wrapped around his.

  When she moaned and swayed closer, brushing her breasts against his chest and her hips against his groin, he knew that it was now or never.

  You’ll dream about this tonight as if it had happened, and when you awake, you will remember the dream. Nothing else. No casino. No predators. No me.

  As if his command broke their connection, she straightened and pushed away from him. He could see her face, ghostly in the streetlight. Her expression held a myriad of emotion. Longing, yes. But something akin to disappointment as well.

  Saying nothing, she backed away and took the dog with her. She practically ran up the steps to the entrance, and once inside the foyer, opened the door to the second floor.

  He waited.

  Sensing her greeting her animals.

  Undressing.

  Then she crawled into bed and within seconds was asleep.

  He’d done what he had to.

  So why didn’t he feel satisfaction at his success?

  Chapter Eleven

  Bleating and squawking and roaring filled the air, and an ominous dark sky threatened to swallow the earth whole. I must be on some kind of rescue mission—animals of every size and shape and sort milled around one another. Pairs of elephants and camels and horses and goats. Two of every mammal and bird and reptile as far as the eye could see fought the savage winds that ripped through the air, threatening to pick us up and carry us away.

  Heart pounding so hard that it threatened to leave my chest, I looked around for other rescuers. No one familiar. I turned toward a yawning entry into the belly of the largest boat I’d ever seen.

  Thunder nearly deafened me and lightning crashed to the earth. More rumbling from the heavens and then ragged lightning strikes surrounded us, their eerie blue glow unnatural as the skies opened and water began flooding the land. Within seconds, I was soaked to the skin. The animals panicked and cried out as if they understood what it would mean to be left behind.

  I ran with them, touching them, trying to broadcast calm, but it was no use. I could do nothing for them. Fear was a fever and all were infected, including me. I kept going and soon found myself on board in the midst of a panicked four-legged herd.

  The white-bearded man in charge ordered a handful of men to remove the plank they’d used to climb onto the ark. They didn’t seem to notice me. People still on land pressed in closer and screamed for entry even as the waters covered their ankles and kept rising.

  “Let us on board!” one man demanded.

  Another yelled, “Curse you, Noah, for leaving us to die.”

  “Take my child,” pleaded a woman, holding a newborn over her head. The water was at her knees now. “Please, my baby is innocent. Don’t let her drown.”

  My stomach turned over and knotted as the downpour continued.

  “The Lord has spoken!” Noah shouted down at them. “He punishes you for your wicked ways.”

  “Then we punish you!” a man yelled, pitching a lit torch onto the deck.

  A second torch followed.

  And a third.

  Despite the rain, several fires kept Noah and his people occupied. Hearing a scrabbling sound, I turned to see what was happening behind me. Having somehow scaled the other side of the boat, dozens of men scrambled into the midst of the terrified animals.

  One of the men locked gazes with me, his eyes an unnatural molten copper. I’d never seen evil undisguised before. My heart almost stopped.

  Looking around until his gaze lit on a panther, the man focused and his expression darkened. His body began to shift into something formless and unspeakably malevolent. I watched in horror as the shadow floated over the panther, then split into multiple tentacles to reach deep inside the unsuspecting animal. The panther threw back its head and bucked and twisted and screamed in terror.

  Tears sprang to my eyes and I tried forcing my way through the herd, but it was no use. I couldn’t rescue any of them. Preda
tors all around me were being taken over by these evil beings in the same awful way.

  A wolf howled and bit its own flesh as if trying to extricate the invisible invader.

  A hawk screeched and flew straight into the wheelhouse, where it collapsed and fluttered helplessly along the deck.

  A king cobra snaked over my foot and tied itself into knots before spewing its own venom on itself.

  The voices of the animals rose in an ear-piercing shriek that made me cry out, too. Their agony shuddered through me and all I could do was watch as those who’d boarded the ark pillaged innocent animals to contain their darkness.

  When I looked back, the panther emanated a new energy. Pure aggression. As if sensing my interest, it turned toward me, head tilted as it considered me with molten copper eyes.

  Heart thundering, I jerked out of the weird nightmare. The room was still dark, but sensing I was awake, the cats stirred. Phantom jumped off the bed, undoubtedly in hopes of being fed. I couldn’t move. I’d never had such a complex dream. Or one so dark. I didn’t get how my mind could have imagined such evil.

  I lay there, terrified, remembering what I’d read in The Book of Powers: He decided to send a Great Flood to wipe mankind and animals, all of whom he created, from the face of the Earth.

  That had to be it, the reason I invented such an impossible dream.

  The Book of Powers, with its promise to continue the fight against evil spirits, added to the casino with its predators. Added to Luc.

  He’d kissed me and I hadn’t been able to resist. What if he was one of them—one of the predators from my dream? No, that was impossible, something I’d made up. Still, he was something else. I’d heard him. Felt him. I’d lusted after him for that brief moment.

  He kept accusing me of being something else, but I wasn’t. I was the same me I had always been. I had an ability lots of other people had. That didn’t make me something other than human.

  Luc was another matter. I couldn’t forget how he’d been able to control the predators.

  Ironically, the casino boat was named The Ark. And I’d dreamed about another ark, one in which predators were somehow joined with humans.