by Tate James
Yep. That was a glass. Whoops!
Fumbling, I reached for the light switched and flicked it.
Nothing.
“Crap,” I growled under my breath, squinting up at the light fixture like staring at it would make the bulb work. I didn’t want to leave broken glass on the bathroom floor, though, so I’d have to do my best to clean it up in the dark.
Shivering, I tiptoed down the stairs to the kitchen. I’d seen one of the guys grab a dustpan from the pantry earlier, so hopefully that was where I’d find it.
Creeping into the kitchen, I located the light switch inside the walk-in pantry and flicked it on.
Or I tried to. Nothing happened... and that uneasy feeling in my belly tripled.
Something was wrong. Seriously freaking wrong.
A spike of panic shot through me, and I didn’t second-guess myself. I raced through to the living room and practically leapt onto Raze where he slept on the couch.
“Raze!” I hissed, shaking his really fucking broad shoulder. He was sleeping shirtless, but the panic zinging through me meant I hardly even noticed. Hardly, but not totally. I was still a red-blooded woman.
“Mags?” he mumbled, squinting at me and rubbing his hand over his face in a slightly adorable, sleepy way. “What’s going on?”
“Uh, I’m not sure.” I darted my gaze around the room, searching for signs of danger. Maybe an intruder or something? “I think, uh, something’s wrong.”
“Something’s wrong?” he repeated, but at least this time I thought it was sleep confusion and not his usual sass.
“Yeah, I just... I think they’re here. The Bast-ards.”
He raised one brow at me, but didn’t seem anywhere near concerned enough. “Bastites,” he corrected, “and they can’t be. They’re not ballsy enough or strong enough to risk attacking us in the middle of the Yurok Shifter Reservation. That’s suicide.”
“Yeah, well, pretty sure they’re suicidal. I’m telling you, Raze. Something’s wrong.” My fingers clutched my amulet, and his sleepy eyes seemed to stare at it for a heated moment before he sighed and sat up.
“Okay. Why don’t you tell me what started this? Are you sure it wasn’t just a bad dream or something?” He ran a hand through his loose hair, ruffling it in a shampoo-commercial kind of way. Gorgeous fucker.
Suddenly I second-guessed myself. Was I totally overreacting? It was probably just a blown fuse or something. All the running for my life was starting to make me crazy. Or, you know, crazier than normal.
“Mags,” Raze said, snapping his fingers in front of my face. “Focus. What happened?”
Fully prepared for him to shoot me down for being a dumbass, I shrugged. “The power is out. It seemed… I don’t know, it worried me. But now that I’m more awake, I’m perfectly aware that a blown fuse does not equal Bast-ards invading the house. No need to be an asshole; I’ll go back to bed now.”
I got up from where I’d been kneeling beside the couch and started to leave, when Raze grabbed me by my wrist.
“The power is out?” he repeated, his face serious, and I nodded. “Why didn’t you lead with that, Maggie?” he hissed the words in anger as he yanked me back onto the couch and darted his gaze around the room.
“Uh, well, it seems like a bit of a leap now that I say it out loud,” I admitted. “It just freaked me out.”
Raze covered my mouth with a huge hand, even though I hadn’t exactly been shouting. “Except that my brother was an electrician before he died,” he told me. “There’s no way this is a blown fuse. This house is wired like a damn spaceship.”
I peeled his hand away just far enough to speak. “So... we are being attacked?”
He gave a sharp nod, getting up and tugging me to my feet. His appraisal of the room we were in seemed to satisfy him that we were clear of immediate danger, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t spring out at any moment.
“Yes,” he replied. “Wake the guys. Quick. I’ll get Maeve and the girls.”
I raced up the stairs after him and burst into the first door he pointed me to. Raze carried on down the hall to wake his family up.
Both Boden and Hunter—who’d been sleeping in twin beds with pretty floral comforters—sat up sharply at my less than subtle entry into the room.
“Bast-ards,” I gasped out. It was all I needed to say, and they jumped out of bed and threw clothes on. I left them to get their shit together and hurried back into the hall—just in time to hear an almighty snarl and a window smashing.
“Fuck,” I cursed, following the sound into what was clearly the kids’ bedroom.
The room was empty.
The picture window had been totally smashed out, and the curtains blew dramatically in the breeze as I stepped closer and peered out.
“Oh shit,” Hunter breathed, coming up behind me and looking down to the grass below. Without any further hesitation, he climbed out the broken window and deftly jumped down to the grass like some kind of... uh... cat. Yeah, okay that makes sense.
Boden laid a gentle hand on the small of my back, but his whole frame was tense to the point of shaking as he looked down. “Stay here, Cleo,” he ordered me. “Do not come outside; we can handle this.”
He didn’t wait to extract an agreement from me, just jumped out the window and hit the grass with a soft thud. Like freaking Superman or some shit.
“Fuck that,” I growled, racing through the house. I wasn’t going to attempt one of those jumps myself because I was around ninety-eight percent sure I would just break both my legs and then probably die, but I sure as shit wasn’t going to cower in the house.
The fact that Boden actually thought I would be okay with that while Bast-ards held Raze’s kids at knifepoint on the lawn...? Well, that was going to be a very heated argument. Later. When the girls were safe.
“Ah, here she is,” one of the cultists announced as I threw open the front door and stormed out. “Nice of you to join us, Descendant.”
“Cleo!” Boden snapped in outrage, and I flipped him off.
Yes, I was well aware that I couldn’t fight for shit, had no control of magic, and really wasn’t even a great hostage negotiator. But it was pretty obvious they were here for one thing. And I had that thing.
A quick look around the front lawn of Maeve’s property showed the odds were currently stacked in Bast’s favor. Or as far as physical numbers went, anyway. There were some twenty-odd cultists scattered around, all robed up in black cloth with those fancy curved daggers at their belts. Two of them held the kids tightly with blades pressed threateningly at their little throats. A third held Maeve, his hand clamped over her mouth to muffle all the obscenities she seemed to be screaming.
So much for the mighty Yurok Shifter Reservation. I couldn’t exactly see hordes of big cats descending on these fuckers and biting their heads off any time soon. The whole street looked totally deserted.
On our side, Raze had fully shifted into his big cat form, paws wide on the ground and his head low as he snarled. He looked like he was about two seconds away from pouncing on the cultists and ripping them to shreds, which wouldn’t do much to save the kids.
“Descendant,” another cultist spoke, stepping out of the shadows and tossing his hood back. It was Scarface! That mother fucker who had tried to torch us alive when I’d been in the shower. Oh, I had a fucking score to settle with this twat-waffle. “Hand over the amulet, and the kittens are free to go.”
I scoffed at him. “It’s that easy, huh? Just hand it over and we all go on our merry way?” I have no idea why I phrased it like that. I’d never used the word “merry” in my life... except at Christmas.
The scarred Bastite gave me a puzzled frown. “Yes, that’s what I just said. Hand over the amulet, and the kids go free. There’s nothing else to it. If not...” He gave a little shrugging raise of his hands, and one of the girls let out a squeal of pain as her captor pressed the blade deep enough to draw blood.
Raze snarled a chilling sound, his
massive claws digging into the dirt and his shoulders bunching. Shit balls. He was about to snap, and this whole thing would end up with everyone dead. Myself included.
Without considering the potential outcomes, I placed a hand on Raze’s fur, right between the coiled muscles of his huge shoulders. Wait, do cats have shoulders? I mean, they have legs, not arms, so can they really have shoulders?
Ugh, focus Cleo!
Raze’s snarls subsided a little as I stroked his fur and desperately hunted for another solution to the situation we were in.
“Cleo,” Boden snapped, “please let us handle this.”
There was an edge of urgency in his voice, and I shot an uncertain glance over at Hunter. The brunet Aussie babe just shook his head at me, silently supporting Boden.
But to what end? These fuckers had come here for one thing. My amulet. Sorry, but there was no way in all Egyptian Hell I would let two kids get killed over a piece of jewelry. Even if they were kinda bratty and their mom was a jealous bitch.
Biting my lip—because this was obviously a dumb-as-fuck move—I lifted the amulet off my neck and held it up in my hand. “Let them go,” I ordered Scarface.
He cocked his head to the side, squinting at me in fascination. “That easy, huh?” he murmured, a small smile playing at his lips. For a crazy psychopath in a cult to an ancient goddess, he was kinda hot. His black hair was styled in a messy sort of mohawk, and the shaved sides of his head showed tattoos on his scalp. His scarred eyebrow was pierced twice, and my guess about that eye being clouded was correct. Not that it detracted from his looks, just made them more interesting.
Ah shit. I’d bet he was a shifter, too.
Only shifters were so pretty.
“Come away from the kitty cat,” he suggested, giving Raze a wary look. The cultist held his hand out, indicating that I go to him to deliver the amulet.
“Cleo, no,” Boden growled, giving me a furious scowl.
Even Hunter was shaking his head frantically. “Don’t do it, babe. We got this handled.”
I glared back at them. “It sure as shit doesn’t look like it.” I indicated to the girls, who were sobbing and terrified, and to Maeve, who looked like she was about to have a psychotic break any minute now.
Ignoring the protests of my guardians, I took a step away from Raze toward the slightly sexy cultist. Before I could take another step, though, something snagged the back of my sweatpants, and I turned to find Raze’s razor sharp fangs in the fabric.
“What? You want me to just let your girls get their throats slit, too?” I demanded, glaring down at his flaming green eyes as he released my pants.
He glared back at me for a second, but then his gaze shot to the kids, rife with indecision. He loved those girls like they were his own babies. I couldn’t let him lose them if I could stop it.
“I won’t destroy your family, Raze,” I said softly. “This is all for this fucking amulet. If it’s gone, your kids are safe and you’re released from this stupid fated guardianship.”
I used his hesitation, backing up a few more steps until I was within arm’s reach of Scarface. “Deal’s a deal. Let them go,” I ordered, indicating to the captives.
Scarface grinned, holding out his palm. “Amulet first. You seem like the type to attempt a double cross.”
Anger and indignation bubbled within me, but I was hardly in a position to argue. Both Boden and Hunter kept shouting vague protests at me, but whatever. I held the amulet over Scarface’s open palm and released it.
The second it touched his flesh, he nodded to his goons, who released Maeve and the girls. All three of them raced to safety behind Boden and Hunter, sobbing and wailing but safe.
Scarface gave me a smug smile, closing his fingers over the amulet. “What a disappointment you would be to your ancestors. The Descendants of Hatshepsut were once feared as smart, cunning, strong women. Until you.”
My jaw dropped in outrage. “Excuse me?” I spluttered. “You just got what you wanted; is it really necessary to run your mouth?”
Scarface just shrugged, smiling down at my necklace in his fist. “Just pointing out that you’re to blame for what comes next. You’re a total, utter, train wreck of an amulet bearer.”
Anger flared hot within me at his words. How fucking dare he? How dare he stand there and insult me after everything I’d been through thanks to him and his stupid, medieval cultists?
“Fuck you, asshole,” I snarled, resorting to my baser instincts and punching him clean in the nose. There was a sickening crunch under my fist and blood sprayed, but most of all, holy fucking cats that hurt!
I howled with pain, clutching my fist to my chest, positive I’d broken it on Scarface’s rock hard skull. He stumbled back a few steps—totally shocked, I was sure—then let out a shriek of pain himself.
Except, not from his bloody nose. He was staring in horror at his hand, and as I watched, his fingers uncoiled and my necklace started to fall to the ground.
Acting on pure instinct, I dove forward, snatching my amulet from midair, and rolled with it until I was a safe distance away from the scarred Bastite.
“What did you do?” he shrieked at me, clutching his wrist and clearly in pain. Not only was blood streaming down his face, the palm of his hand was blistering with a horrible burn... Caused by my amulet? So creepy, but also seriously cool.
I slipped the chain back over my head and scurried backward on my hands and knees like an overgrown crab. Just in time, too. Suddenly the yard burst into action with dozens of huge cats pouncing out of freaking nowhere and tearing into the cultists like they were the main dish at a buffet.
“Get the girls inside,” Boden shouted to me, and I hurried to do what he said.
Both kids were still clinging to Maeve like barnacles on a whale’s ass, but they didn’t protest when I ushered them inside the house and locked the door behind us. No kids needed to see the carnage that was going on out there. Hell, not even I needed to see that!
A deep shudder ran through me, and the clear vision of a huge, black cat tearing a cultist’s head from his shoulders seemed to replay on a loop inside my head.
I was never going to look at raw meat the same way again.
“Are you all okay?” I asked Maeve and the kids, but they were crying too hard to give a clear response. “Come to the kitchen,” I suggested, clenching my hands into fists to stop the trembling. “I’ll get a Band-Aid for that cut.” I nodded to the little wound on the older girl’s neck, and Maeve whispered some sort of agreement.
The three of us headed into the back of the house, away from whatever was happening on the lawn, but it didn’t block out the sounds.
Screams, snarls, and just straight-up tearing flesh. It was a sound I’d be hearing for the rest of my life.
Turned out, they did have it handled after all.
Chapter Fifteen
The battle on the lawn was over in a matter of minutes, and when the guys returned inside, both Hunter and Boden headed straight for showers.
Raze hesitated near the bottom of the stairs, out of sight of the girls, who were tucked up on the couch with their mom. I was making them hot cocoa—seeing as the power was back on, like magic—and paused when I saw him standing there in the dark.
He raised his head, seeing me—I guess—and indicated that I come closer.
I quickly delivered the mugs to the coffee table, then went to see what he wanted.
“Jesus Christ Supercats,” I breathed when I got closer. “That’s... uh...” I swallowed heavily to keep the bile down. “You have some... uh... chunks.” I indicated to his cheek, and he casually brushed them off with the back of his hand.
Human goo landed on the floor with a wet splat, and I stared at it in horror.
“Maggie,” Raze rumbled, pulling my attention away from the chunk and back to his blood and gore splattered form. He was totally naked, but for once I wouldn’t let my eyes wander from his face. I did not need to see his man meat all covered in...
meat. “Thank you.”
I gaped. “That’s, uh, you’re welcome. We probably never should have come here, and this trouble is all because of me in the first place, so it sort of seemed like a no brainer to take the trade off, you know?” Yep, I was babbling, but after everything that had just happened, I was also shaking with anxiety.
“Thank you,” Raze repeated, “but don’t ever pull a stupid, airheaded stunt like that again. Boden told you over and over we had it handled. You should have stayed inside like he told you to.” His voice had hardened from the soft way he’d just said my name, and it was like a slap in the face. “Unless you learn to listen to your guardians and trust us to keep you safe, then we’re all fucked.”
I gaped, speechless, as he stalked his tight, blood-covered ass up the stairs.
That was very definitely not what I’d thought he was going to say, but it was justified nonetheless. Yeah, I had gone against Boden’s directive, and yes, that possibly could have ended badly if my amulet hadn’t scorched Scarface. But, it’d all worked out, hadn’t it?
Still, the way Raze had just scolded me made me feel like total dirt, so instead of rejoining Maeve and the girls, I headed up to get changed and pack my few changes of clothes. I couldn’t imagine we were going to hang around, in case any more trouble came to town.
So much for Bast’s followers being too scared to follow us here.
I was still sulking when Hunter came outside and found me sitting on the front porch with my bag at my feet.
The front yard was all kinds of messed up, but at least there wasn’t a pile of bodies lying around.
“You okay, Cleo-babe?” Hunter murmured, sitting down beside me on the step and wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “That was some scary shit.”
I snorted a bitter laugh, but didn’t resist when he pulled me in close to his body. In fact, I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him back. “I’m fine,” I mumbled into his fresh white T-shirt. “I just feel like an asshole for almost messing it all up.”
Hunter sighed and rubbed my back. “You didn’t almost mess it up, babe. You did almost let Bast’s pet sorcerer escape with the power of Ra, but it all worked out in the end. Just, maybe listen to us next time?”
