Badlands: The Lion's Den

by Georgette St. Clair

  The building was an old brownstone. Most of its windows were smashed, and the walls were sprayed with graffiti.

  Sarah and Sam were waiting for her in the dark, moldy-smelling basement, sitting on an old mattress in the corner. They leaped to their feet when Flora rushed in.

  Sam looked at Sarah as Flora hurried over to them. “Told you she’d come,” he said to her.

  “He took Madison!” Sarah said frantically, ignoring Sam.

  Flora’s heart leaped to her throat.

  “Ruben has her! What are we going to do? How do we get her back?”

  “Okay, slow down,” Flora said. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

  “Two days ago we were going to the warehouse to meet you, but Ruben’s patrols were everywhere. They totally cut us off. We ran into one of our friends, and she said that Ruben was looking for Madison specifically. He’d decided he wanted her to be one of his girls. So we were hiding out in an empty building, and this morning the patrol was right outside the building and they started beating on the door. She just ran out front so they’d take her and give us a chance to get away. So me and Sam came here to meet you.” Sarah said all that so fast that Flora could barely understand her, then paused to take a gulp of breath. “We couldn’t make it into your territory today – his men are everywhere – so we just came here to wait.”

  “Why would Ruben suddenly want Madison so badly?” Flora asked.

  “I don’t know!” Sarah threw her hands up in despair. “We were so careful. She doesn’t look anything like the kind of girl he goes for. He likes pretty girls with tons of makeup and flashy clothes. But what can we do now? Madison told me just to take Sam to Cottonwood, but…”

  “I’m not going without my sister. I’ll…I’ll get her back myself!” Sam said through gritted teeth. He clenched his fists and glowered. Flora looked at the skinny, pale boy. He wouldn’t last ten seconds against one of Ruben’s men.

  “Where is she?” Flora asked.

  “He took her back to his house,” Sarah said. “But no one can get in there. So now what?”

  Finn had already made it clear that the Hudson crew didn’t interfere with what happened in bear territory. There would be no help for Madison.

  Flora knew she had just about zero chance of rescuing Madison, but she had to try anyway.

  “You’re going to show me where his house is,” Flora said.

  She took off the necklace with the “H” dangling from it and handed it to Sam.

  “Go into Hudson territory. Ask anyone you see for directions to a place called the Lion’s Den. Ask for Finn Hudson,” she said to him. “Tell him where I’m going.”

  With a sinking heart, she followed Sarah out of the basement, towards Ruben’s house.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Ruben’s house was a big, ugly red brick building. A huge Humvee was parked in front. It looked brand new, so it must have been smuggled into the territory. A dozen guards paced in front of it in an ostentatious show of power. No chance of getting in through the front entrance, that was clear.

  Sarah led Flora around to a back alley that led to the rear of the building. When they peered out, they didn’t see any guards.

  “Maybe you might be able to climb in through a back window,” Sarah said doubtfully. “But probably not. You know this is totally insane, right?”

  “That’s my middle name,” Flora said with a faint smile.

  “Lousy middle name. I shouldn’t have brought you here.” Sarah looked stricken. Her breath came in gulps. “We can’t save her, Flora.”

  “I have to try. You should go, though. I’ll take it from here,” Flora said, peering intently at the house. She saw a bunch of dumpsters located by the wrought-iron gates. She could shift, jump up on the dumpsters, launch herself over the gates and run to the back of the house. Then she could climb the fire escapes and maybe pry up a window. After that, she had no idea. “Go to the Lion’s Den. Tell them what’s happened.”

  “I should go with you,” Sarah protested.

  “No,” Flora said, shaking her head. “If I don’t make it out, Sam needs someone to take care of him. I’m a stranger to him. He needs you.”

  Sarah wiped away tears with the back of her grimy hand. “You don’t suck too badly, for a cat,” she muttered, and hurried off.

  Flora was hoping against hope that under extreme duress the fire-starting power would kick in.

  I must have the power, she told herself desperately. Would TerraDyne have paid all that money for nothing? Somehow, she must have the ability.

  Maybe I have to be really, really scared for it to work.

  She rushed towards the dumpsters, and as she reached them, half a dozen bear shifters stepped out from behind them and quickly surrounded her. She stared at them, heart hammering against her ribcage, and concentrated with all her might.

  They weren’t catching on fire. Not even smoldering a little.

  So much for that theory, then.

  She let them grab her and march her around to the front of the house, through the front gate, up the stairs and into a living room where Ruben waited.

  Ruben was actually sitting on a throne. A big, golden throne with red velvet cushions. He was a handsome guy, in a thuggish sort of way, with a broken nose and a scar slashing through his right eyebrow. He wore a shiny, new-looking black leather jacket and thick gold chain necklaces, and a pretty girl in a tight pink lycra dress sat on the arm of his throne, massaging his neck. His wavy black hair was shellacked into place. Everything about him was so over the top and ridiculous that Flora would have laughed if she hadn’t been terrified out of her wits.

  So. Apparently even being so frightened that she was ready to pee her pants wasn’t enough to tap into her ability. She really wasn’t a Firestarter.

  Too bad she wouldn’t survive long enough to tell the scientists that they’d wasted their money.

  “Well, well, look who was stupid enough to take the bait,” Ruben sneered.

  And then it dawned on Flora. He hadn’t gone after Madison because he actually wanted her. He’d grabbed her because he’d known it would draw Flora in.

  How had he known that? And why did he want Flora?

  “What do you want with me?” She had a sinking feeling that she knew, but she was praying that she was wrong.

  “What do you think I want with you?” He smiled, and she saw that he had a gold front tooth. “I hear you’re a Firestarter. We could use one of those.”

  Nope, she wasn’t wrong.

  “Well, then you heard incorrectly. If I were a Firestarter, you’d be barbecued bear right now,” she snapped. She glared at his guards. “And so would all of your flying monkeys.”

  Several of his guards growled and moved closer to her.

  Ruben shook his head. “She’s too valuable,” he said. Then he looked at her. “Obviously you’re a latent. We’re going to put you in a fireproof room and see if you can perform for us. Apply a little pressure.” His smile stretched wide. “If we can’t figure out how to use your talents, we’ll sell you to those scientists who have been looking for you.”

  She shook her head in disgust. “You were looking for me from the moment I arrived in Darwin, weren’t you? That council person must have contacted you as soon as I crossed the border. That’s why your men lied about me trespassing and tried to take me from the Lion’s Den. That’s why you’ve had all those extra patrols out. But how did you know I was friends with Madison?”

  A door swung open and Jennifer walked into the room, with a smug, triumphant look on her face.

  “Our new friend here came over and told us.”

  Flora shook her head in disbelief. To think she’d actually felt sorry for her before. “Jennifer! Are you crazy? I don’t care what you’ve got against me. These people are rapists and criminals. How could you?” Flora demanded.

  “I did it to protect Finn from you. You’re all wrong for him.” Jennifer’s eyes were huge, and they glowed with a mad light. “Wi
th you out of the way, he’ll see how much I care for him. He’ll love me just like he loved my sister.”

  “When he finds out what you’ve done, he’ll kill you,” Flora snarled.

  Jennifer gave her a crazed grin. “He’ll never know,” she said.

  Flora turned away from her in disgust. Jennifer was an idiot if she thought her plan would work, but she didn’t have time to worry about that now.

  “Even if I could set things on fire, what makes you think I’d do it to help you?” she demanded.

  “Your friend Madison’s life depends on it,” Ruben gloated. “And your cousin’s. We just picked her up.”

  Panic clutched at Flora’s heart. Krystle must have seen her headed into bear territory and followed her.

  “Where is she?” she said, struggling to keep her voice from trembling.

  “Tucked away safely.” Ruben favored her with a cruel, gloating smile. “To ensure your cooperation. Now, we’ve got a nice cozy cell where you can wait while we finish fireproofing our little experiment area.”

  “When you torture Flora? I get to watch,” Jennifer said greedily. “Maybe I’ll help. I have some ideas.”

  Ruben looked at her in contempt. “Bitches don’t tell me what to do,” he said.

  “Hey, I helped you!” Jennifer squawked indignantly. “You promised—”

  Ruben leaped to his feet, stalked over to her, and backhanded her so hard he knocked her to her knees. She let out a snarl of fury, and two guards quickly grabbed her.

  “Take her away,” he said.

  The guards hustled a crying, furious Jennifer out of the room.

  Flora was quickly taken out of the room and dragged down to a basement area, which had been made into a dungeon. There was a dark, damp hallway with a row of doors that had small, barred windows in them.

  “Madison? Krystle?” she called out as the guard shoved her into a room and slammed the door.

  “Flora! I’m here!” Madison called hoarsely from down the hall. At the same time, Krystle yelled out, “Flora, are you all right?”

  “Shut up!” one of the guards yelled, and she heard something bang on one of the doors.

  “Make me, fartbreath!” Krystle yelled, and Flora groaned. She heard the guard roar with rage. Damn Krystle and her hot temper! She was going to get herself killed.

  Flora looked around the cell for anything that she could use as a weapon, but the room was empty. Not even a stick of furniture in there.

  “What’s the matter, scared? Are you a bear or a pussy?” Krystle taunted the guard, and Flora heard the door bang open. Panic seized her.

  “If you touch Krystle, I will never help you!” she screamed.

  From Krystle’s cell, she heard the sound of furious feline snarling and an answering roar. Krystle had shifted – but she’d be no match for a bear.

  Flora felt anger flowing through her like she’d never felt before. It filled her up like a hot, raging river, and suddenly she felt as if her rage were flowing out of her. She heard agonized screams and smelled burning flesh and fur.

  “Krystle!” she shouted.

  An endless minute went by.

  “Krystle, answer me! Say something!” Flora screamed.

  The lock turned, and the door swung open. Krystle stood there, naked. She must have just shifted back into human form. Her pupils were enormous.

  “The fire,” she panted. “The power. It’s back. I think it’s because you’re here.”

  “We have to get Madison,” Flora said, rushing out into the hallway. Two guards lay there, still smoking. Flora gagged on the smell.

  “It’s you,” Krystle said. “That’s the secret. That’s the answer. When I was near my mother, I had the power too. I only have the power when I’m near a female relative.” Then she grinned fiercely at Flora. “We can burn them, Flora. We can burn them all.”

  “Help us! Let us out!” women’s voices cried out from the cells up and down the hallway.

  They began running from door to door, unlocking them.

  Women came stumbling out, eyes wide and panicked. They were pale and had dark circles under their eyes. Ruben’s prisoners.

  Jennifer was in one of the rooms. As the door swung open, she lunged at Flora, snarling and hissing – and then screamed, when her fur caught on fire. She hurled herself to the ground, rolling frantically to put the fire out and shrieking “My face! Not my face! You’ve ruined my face, you’ve ruined it!”

  Madison came flying out of one of the rooms when they opened the door for her. “Where’s Sam? Is he here too?” she demanded, looking around wildly.

  “Sam and Sarah are fine. They went to Hudson territory. Come on – we have to get out of here,” Flora said.

  When Krystle opened the door at the end of the hallway, several of Ruben’s men, in bear form, rushed at them – and then burst into flames and screamed in agony. They stumbled and fell to the floor. Madison shrieked and fell back in horror, bumping into several of the other women, who were crowded together by the door.

  As they stood there, they heard the sounds of shouting and snarls coming from the street. Screeching tires, honking horns, screaming. Gunshots.

  “What’s happening out there?” Madison demanded frantically.

  “We’re about to find out,” Krystle muttered, and they all hurried past the dead bodies of the guards and down the stairs.

  “Where are the rest of Ruben’s men?” Flora wondered.

  As soon as they made their way outside, they found out. All of Ruben’s men must have run outside to try to protect their stronghold. The street was full of brawling shifters, most in animal form.

  There were hundreds of lions and big cats and wolves swarming over about a hundred of Ruben’s men – and they were joined by bears.

  Apparently the bears had had it with Ruben’s abuse, and were joining up with the Hudsons’ men.

  Ruben was trying to drive away in a Hummer. His men pointed machine guns out the windows and began spray the crowd with bullets.

  Krystle swung around and glared at the car. Flora joined her, concentrated, and she could feel her rage mingling with Krystle’s and flowing from her like a physical force. The guns glowed red, and the men dropped them, screaming in agony.

  The car burst into flames that leaped ten feet into the air. Ruben and his men scrambled out of the car and fell onto the pavement, roaring in fear and rage. They quickly shifted into bear form and rose to their hind legs, eight feet high, bellowing.

  Finn, in lion form, came racing through the crowd, and Flora’s breath caught in her throat. He was enormous, his mane flowing in the breeze, but could he take on Ruben’s bear?

  She saw Liam, also in lion form, pacing back and forth, watching the confrontation. He wouldn’t interfere; Ruben had taken Finn’s woman, and among shifters, the law called for Finn to take his revenge.

  Kraken, Ruben’s right-hand thug, moved to step in front of him, roaring defiance at the oncoming lion, but Ruben turned on him with a vicious snarl and a brutal swipe of his paw. He might be a coward who bullied and abused women, but even he knew he couldn’t let the entire town of Darwin see his hired muscle fighting his battles for him. He looked half-mad with rage, with his fur still smoldering in places and his eyes a burning red from the acrid smoke. His mighty chest heaved and strings of slaver dripped from his jaws as he bellowed at his bodyguards.

  Kraken and the others cowered and dropped to all fours, settling back but keeping up a low, rumbling growl that seemed like ominous thunder. The air felt stormy despite the clear skies, and Flora felt a bead of sweat trickle down her temple. She didn’t move to wipe it away, transfixed by the sight of the massive, scarred bear and the sleek, powerful lion circling each other, sizing each other up.

  Ruben moved first, taking a ponderous swipe at Finn with a paw the size of a hubcap, but the blow was clumsy and driven by fury. Finn twisted out of the way with agile strength and grace. He bounded around the rearing bear and launched himself onto its back,
wrapping his forelimbs around Ruben’s thick neck and trying to tear at his windpipe with his claws. But bears were frighteningly strong, and Ruben hadn’t reached the top by being a weakling among his kind. He gave a convulsive heave and sent Finn flying through the air. He hit the ground with a sickening thud and tumbled to a stop. There was a ragged gasp from the crowd, and one of the women from Ruben’s cells gave a low, hopeless cry and pressed her knuckles to her mouth.

  Finn clambered painfully to his feet, blood seeping from his mouth and nose, and shook his head, sending arcs of hot crimson droplets spattering into the crowd. He seemed dazed, and Flora’s heart lurched as he moved woozily towards Ruben.

  Finn slunk forward, low to the ground. Ruben took his slow, careful movements for submission. The big bear rose to his full height, his triumphant roar booming across the crowd and causing a tense, horrified hush to fall.

  But Flora knew Finn better than that. Ruben, with his hair product and his flunkies and his honest-to-God golden throne, was all about showing his power. The Hudsons didn’t work that way. Finn didn’t need to strut around playing King of the Jungle. If he wanted someone dead, that person was as good as cold and buried.

  No threats. No bluster. He just hurled himself at Ruben in a golden blur of motion, muscles bunching and releasing with powerful precision, and with teeth and claws he ripped open the brute’s belly. Glistening loops of silvery-gray intestine slithered to the floor, along with gouts of thick, dark blood that splattered on the ground and spread into deep pools that crept together and merged.

  Ruben staggered for an endless moment, as if he could keep fighting even with his insides ripped out, fueled only by his shock and fury. Then he fell.

  Finn stepped back and, with a ripple in the air around him, switched back to human form and stared down at Ruben with a solemn expression on his face.

  Several of the women who’d been held in his cells pushed their way through the crowd and stalked over to the massive bear, who lay sprawled in a pool of his own blood. They spat on his twitching body, and he feebly swiped at them before his eyes went dull and he lay still.