by C. J. Parker
“I’m here.”
Bobbie nodded and leaned back in her chair. “I know you are. I’d like you to tell your men to hold their comments until I’m done.” She turned her gaze onto the villagers who had followed her in and filled the remaining seats.
Hypocrite, the voice in the back of her head whispered sarcastically. What had she done to deserve this title, this power over these people? Nothing. But the job was hers and she had to get to it.
“This goes for you, too.” She gazed at her own people, one by one. “Keep your mouths shut and your ears open. What I’m about to say is important and the new law. I’m tired of the shifters fighting amongst themselves. Wolf against cat. Cat against snake. It’s got to stop.”
“But that’s the way it’s always been,” one of Hylton’s cats said. “It’s the way of nature.”
Hylton stormed over and took the man by the hair. “What didn’t you understand about keeping your trap shut?”
“It’s a valid question.” Bobbie leaned forward, elbows on knees, head in hands. “I’ll answer it, but no more questions until I’m finished. Understood?”
A strained silence hung heavy on the atmosphere.
“Good. As of this day, there will be no more cat clan, snake clan, wolf clan, bird clan or clan by any other name that separates us. We will divide ourselves between the two villages.”
A clatter of shouts rose in a loud din of discontent. She understood their unhappiness. Bobbie feared there would be struggles over power and superiority issues. The wolves had always considered themselves over the cats. The cat reigned over the birds. But, if they were to survive, it had to end.
Bobbie held her hand up stop sign fashion. It took a few moments but silence soon returned. “The word will spread. There will be those who will defy me. They will have examples made of them. I will not waver in this decision. It is vital that everyone understand that the prophecy proclaims me Queen Moran, the leader of the shifters. You will begin to see shifters from all over come to me for council. We will have to welcome them no matter if they are skunks or dinosaur.” She lifted her head to smile at them. “Though I might have a bit of a problem with a dinosaur showing up.
She took Lexie’s hand. “Upon my death, Lexie will continue until there are no more of us to rule. As of today, our babies will no longer suffer and die in their first shifting. That curse has been lifted.” A sudden attack of joy rushed her soul at the thought of not having to worry about the babies of her people dying so young.
Leaning back in her chair, she looked Hylton in the eyes. “Our jobs are going to be tougher, Hylton. Our people will ask questions we will not have answers to. That is when we will come in here and ask the Spirit Warriors to guide us. In the last couple of days, they have told me of the things to come. We will see our numbers grow drastically from those coming from other clans. Many will come in search of those who fought the war on the night of Noom Revo Su. There will be far more than Kangee and I can help.”
She reached out her hand and gestured for Hylton to come upon the stage. “Hylton Sterling, you are now Kangee’s second in command. You must arm yourself with men who will follow unquestioningly.”
Standing she made her way over to Derek and knelt at his feet. Derek’s frown deepened at this gesture. “You, my dear brother, have a great burden. The prophecy hints at the Outsiders finding out about us soon. We will need good men,” she glanced at Tabatha and Rhonda, “and women, to protect those coming. Educate your policemen, Derek. Rid the force of any who will not listen.”
He nodded.
“Bertha, you are now the head of the Sentinels.”
“No child. You are.” Bertha smiled. “Queen of your people, yes, but also our Queen.”
Bobbie sighed. “I can’t do it all, Bertha. I give you this burden. Please. I need your help.”
“So be it, then, child.” Bertha shrugged. “But I’m old. You must ready yourself for the inevitable.”
“I’ll worry about inevitable when he sticks his ugly head up.” Bobbie patted Bertha lovingly on the hand. “For now, be my second. You and Troy together can do this.”
Bertha placed her palm on Bobbie’s cheek. “Second, I can handle.”
Troy smiled. “I’m here to serve.”
Dropping onto the edge of the stage, Bobbie draped her arms over her legs and looked at the angry faces looking back at her. “You can speak your peace now, but what I say is law. I didn’t make up these rules, I assure you. The Spirit Warriors gave them to me. I give them to you.”
One of Hylton’s cats rushed forward, snarling, spittle spewing from his mouth. “I will not live with filthy dogs or lice infested birds.”
Two Spirit Warriors grasped him by his arms and flung him against the wall. Dust stirred from the floor and lifted into the air. The birds in the rafters flew into the air and chirped in fear. A tear rolled down Bobbie’s cheek.
Hylton shook his head. “Not a smart move, Levy. Now get up from there and go back to your seat. I’ll deal with you later.”
Levy stumbled away, head lowered. Bobbie could smell his fury.
This one will not live long, a Spirit Warrior whispered in her ear.
“No!” Bobbie placed her head in her hands. “There has been too much death already. All of you listen to my warning. You must conform, or die.”
The cat jumped to his feet again and ran toward the door. “Live with trash or die in honor. I choose the latter.” He left, leaving behind a stunned silence.
“Anyone else have something they want to say?” Bobbie waited, but no reply came. “Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Levy was treated the way he was only because he became threatening. Please. Ask.”
A hand of young man from Hylton’s cats shot up in the back.
“Yes?”
“As Levy stated, it’s been this way since the beginning of our kind. Why change now? I can’t see how it will work.”
“Look at me. I am any animal I chose to be. But I live in peace with myself. I love a man who is half bird, half cat. We get along fine.” She glanced Kangee’s way and grinned. “Well, most of the time.”
“But that’s different. You’re Queen Moran. And not more than one animal at a time. They do not know of each other.”
“Yes. They do. They fight for dominance when I’m in trouble, but not each other. Kangee is a griffon, two animals at once. Did you see him fight against himself?”
“But…”
“Think about it. If we’re not meant to live together, then where do Kangee and I belong? We don’t belong with the cats because we are also bird, snake or dog, not to mention dragon. What is to become of us?”
Silence reined. Still sitting on the platform, Bobbie leaned back on the palms of her hands. “Go back to your village. Decide who will live where. Together we will build new homes. When we are finished, we will build a halfway house, a place for shifters who come looking for us to stay until they can build a home of their own. The word will spread. You will tell a friend or family member in another town, another country. They will tell someone else. They will come.” She looked over the crowd. “This, my friends, is the new beginning told about in the prophecy. Those stories our mothers told us as children? They were about us.”
Chapter Forty
Bobbie joined Tabatha at the window and watched as Hylton listened to the rants of his people, while Kangee stood at his side, arms crossed over his chest, stoic and reserved in his demeanor. “This has got to be hard for them.”
“Poor Hylton.” Tabatha shook her head. “His clan is going to make his life miserable.” She turned away and walked back to the stage. Her eyes held so much grief over the loss of Ionna it took every ounce of strength Bobbie had not to break down and cry herself.
“I think you should come back to New Orleans with us. There isn’t a decent house left to live in. You could come back and forth until the work is done. This heat is unbearable. The humidity feels as if it’s going to cook us alive.”
“What kind of queen
would I be if I left them? My great-great-grandfather understood all along. When he started this village, he never once cared what animal the newcomers were. He only asked that they obey the rules. And he never left. My father was always there when anyone wanted to talk or needed advice. He loved them all, cat, dog, snake, it didn’t matter to him.” The fear that she could never live up to his greatness sunk to the pit of her stomach.
“And you think it’s your job to make everyone feel that way?” Tabatha rolled her eyes. “It’s not going to happen overnight. Prejudice has been around since the beginning of time.”
Lexie came to sit beside her. “Only since Cain slew Abel. When Cain was marked, he was hated for what he became. That was the beginning of prejudice.”
“You may be right, Lexie.” Tabatha hugged her close. “But the point is, something that old is hard to destroy.”
“It’s my job now.” Bobbie lifted her arms over her head and stretched. If she heard the word prophesy one more time in the next month, she was going to scream. Too bad it didn’t hand down a manual for the job, but that would be too easy.
“And what are our jobs?” Derek came to sit at Tabatha’s side.
Bobbie thought about this for only a second, as the answer seem to come out of nowhere. “You have to clean up the department. Train them to understand what is about to happen.”
“My job?” Tabatha cocked her head slightly. “How can a death monger be of help?”
“Or a firestarter.” A dove cooed drawing Rhonda’s attention toward the rafters of the hut.
“I’m not sure yet, but we were brought together for a reason. That reason will show itself soon enough.”
“I hate to be the reminder of bad news, but none of us are going anywhere for a while. The roads are blocked with debris.” Rhonda sat on the edge of the stage. “The guy on the radio said it could be weeks before car traffic can get anywhere, and he wasn’t thinking about backwoods areas like this. The police departments are asking residents to grab chainsaws and help clear the roads near their homes.”
Bobbie nodded. “Once we have a place for everyone to stay, we’ll start on the roads out of here.”
“What are you going to do with the ashes of the dead humans?” Derek raised his eyebrows. “A lot of people are going to be reported as missing. If Mason talks, there could be a lot of lawmen down here looking for proof.”
Bobbie fell back and laughed. “What is he going to say? A bunch of shapeshifters attacked? He knows better. Even if he doesn’t, he knows I’ll kill him and eat his heart.”
Derek grinned. “I bet you would at that. But remember, Bobbie, the hatred that man has may be more than his love of life.” He stood. “I’m going to see if I can lend Hylton and Kangee a hand. Troy looks as if he’s about to turn them all to dust.” He shook his head. “I sure can pick partners. The wife of one kills my fiancé on our wedding day, the next is some kind of holy angel sent to protect us.”
“Not us, Derek,” Bobbie corrected. “To protect Rhonda.”
“I don’t need his protection.” Rhonda snorted.
“Hell, I’ll take all the protection I can get.” Derek kissed Tabatha and patted her on the butt. “See ya later.”
“Yeah, I’m going, too.” Lexie yanked at her crop top. “I need to go see what kind of trouble Stephen has gotten himself into. I don’t see why I have to wear this thing.”
“Because you are a grown woman and there are a lot of men out there who are having trouble keeping their eyes off you. Stephen will be spending all his time fighting them off.”
“Lexie kissed Bobbie on the cheek. “Love ya.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She waved her away with a laugh. “Get out of here.”
Lexie’s laugh trailed behind her, leaving a glow of happiness hovering over the room.
“Just us again.” Tabatha sighed.
“No.” Bobbie shook her head. “Never just us. Our family has grown quite a bit, I’d say.”
“I’d say so. Derek, Kangee, Troy are family now. I’ll miss…” Tabatha wiped her cheek, walked across the room and grabbed up her backpack. Her copy of Queen of Babylon tumbled out hitting the floor. She ignored it and came to sit at Bobbie’s side, rummaging through the bag.
“What are you looking for?” Bobbie glanced into the bag.
“Something to bandage you up.” Tabatha glanced up at her shoulder. “That’s a nasty cut.”
“Cut?” Rhonda straightened from picking up the book. “Don’t let it get infected. We’ve got too much to do yet.”
Bobbie didn’t remember getting the wound. “I’m fine.”
“Let her doctor you anyway. It can’t hurt.” Rhonda stared down at the open book in her hand. “Um, Tabatha?” The note in Rhonda’s voice was as odd as the look on her face.
“Yeah?” Bobbie walked toward her.
Rhonda looked up at her, wonderment in her gaze. “The letters are moving around in this book.”
“Huh?” Bobbie glanced down.
“Look.” Rhonda shoved the book into her hands.
“Rhonda, you’re seeing things.” Bobbie flipped the pages. “Still can’t read a thi…” She opened the book at the half way mark. “Wait. You’re right.”
Tabatha leafed back to the last third of the book. “Okay. I can read this.” She nodded. “I understand now. We each have a section only we can read. We have our own message.”
“Well, maybe we’ll find out what Rhonda and your part in all this will be.” A lump of fear grew so large in Bobbie’s chest she wondered where her heart found room to continue to beat. She’d hoped this was the end of it. She prayed for no more battles, no more death. But the first words of her section frightened her more than anything they’d faced so far.
When the world knows of our existence, your true work will begin.
~~~
The Speculator dropped through the hole in the roof into the attic of Verdun’s shack. The storm had nearly washed the structure away when the swift waters of the surge retreated. An array of discarded junk lay strewn in a jumble of unrecognizable debris. Mud caked everything.
He looked himself over. Bruises colored his arms and legs, but nothing broken, though every muscle in his body ached. His clothing was muddied and wet. He stank. The storm had tried to kill him, but once again, the Speculator was the victor.
Neither Verdun nor Sagar had returned. That was fine with him. He wasn’t looking forward to seeing them, knowing Verdun would be pissed that the Speculator had failed to show up for the precious battle. He wasn’t into mass murder. He preferred his kills to be one on one, to look into his victim’s eyes as the light went out.
“And speaking of victims,” he mumbled to himself and straightened his spine. The Speculator struggled to remember the white haired bastard’s name. A smile lifted his lips and bared his teeth. “Ah, yes. Stephen.”
He glanced down at himself again and tried to remember where he’d tossed his tackle box. The clothing inside may be wet, but at least they’d not be covered with stinking swamp mud. Then he remembered. He’d secured it under the seat of the boat and tied the boat to a tree near the shack. Now, if the storm hadn’t claimed the jugs of water that had been stored on the first floor and the boat was still there, he could wash up and put on clean clothes. He didn’t want to meet Lexie looking or smelling like a swamp mud.
The Speculator’s shoes swished as he made his way through the swamps and neared the monsters’ village. The last ray of sunshine colored the western sky. An unnatural silence nearly swallowed him and his surroundings whole. He took another step forward when he saw movement twenty feet to his left. His heart raced. His hands broke out into a sweat. God had handed him his prize.
Stephen walked toward him with an armload of limbs. As if sensing another, he looked up and met the Speculator’s stare. The firewood forgotten, the boy released a shrill whistle, shifted and leapt forward.
The Speculator drew his knife and braced himself against the attack. If he could get under
the beast, he could gut it in one upswing. But the cat landed three feet away and crouched low. Its eyes never left the Speculator’s, watching and waiting.
“What are you waiting for, Outsider.”
Words being spoken by the animal made the Speculator’s balls draw up into his belly. “Fuck me,” he whispered. “The damned things talk.” A twig snapped behind him, he looked back.
He wasn’t sure which monster got to him first, he only knew he was fighting for his life. Claws and teeth seemed to come at him from every direction. A white tiger, a snow leopard, a black leopard and a huge black bird attacked as a well-trained unit.
He heard the material of his jeans tear, then felt the warmth of his blood flowing down into his soaked shoes. He swung his blade, but each time struck nothing but air. He dropped and rolled, managing to escape the creatures but soon found himself surrounded once again.
“What the fuck are you?” He turned to his left, his right then shifted his gaze behind him. No way out. It was kill or be killed. He threw back his head and laughed. “I’ll take at least one of you bastards with me.”
“Shut your mouth and fight, Outsider.” The black leopard leapt into the air.
The raven dove from overhead, the black leopard’s paws landed on the Speculator’s chest, knocking him to the ground. He swung his knife, this time finding skin and bone. He twisted. A roar of anger filled his ears. The snow leopard ripped its claws down the Speculator’s chest, pulling away his shirt, then returned to rip away his skin.
Two women ran from the woodlands, but he didn’t have time to see more than the fact that one was a redhead the other a blond. He took advantage of the lull when the monsters turned to warn the women away, to gained his footing and put some distance between him and his attackers.
“Kurt!” Rhonda shouted and ran toward the Speculator.
He grabbed her in a chokehold placing the knife at her throat. “One of you sons-a-bitches move and the bitch is fucking dead.”
“No!” The redheaded girl scratched and bit at his arm, kicked at his already bloodied legs.
The Speculator moved to drag the knife across her throat when Sagar’s nephew appeared to his right. “I could use some help here, Cuda.”
