“All right.” Baran sniffed the air and turned his attention west. “This way.”
“But it’s old,” Madoc pointed out.
“Follow the old trails until you find something fresher,” I chirped. “That’s almost a Tracker thing to do, TDS.”
Narrowed golden eyes considered me briefly before Baran huffed. “Don’t be insulting.”
“Whatever you say, Stripes,” I teased.
He was already moving, though, leaving Madoc and me to trail after him.
We followed the old trail until my whiskers were completely frosted. We paused at a fork where two faint game trails split off from each other, and I took the opportunity to duck my head and rub my whiskers against the fur on the inside of my foreleg. Much better. Now, I could focus.
Baran was scowling as he swung his head from one side of the fork to the other, his own whiskers frost covered and bristling.
Madoc edged up beside him then quietly said, “We have to search both. Neither one has a fresher scent.”
When Baran glanced at me, I gave a curt nod. “We don’t have a choice. I’ll go with Madoc. And,” I considered a moment before poking a paw toward the left hand trail, “we’ll take this one.”
The TDS wasn’t very happy with me. I could tell by the way his glare was attempting to melt the snow off my fur. However, he managed to sound only a little growly when he grumbled, “All right.” His attention shifted to his brother and the growl was a bit more pronounced as he said, “Make sure you watch her back.”
Madoc raised his head a little higher and a strain of earnest sincerity flitted through his voice as he replied, “I will. I promise.”
For once I was absolutely certain the rebellious little brother was completely sincere. Maybe he was more like Baran than either of them would ever admit. I tucked my head beneath Baran’s chin, stretching my neck to do so. “Be safe, TDS.”
“Watch your back.”
Madoc and I followed the stale scents for another twenty minutes before we reached another fork in the trail. Both sides smelled of Cougar and it was maybe a few hours old. I tested the air again and looked over at Madoc. “I’ll take this one. You go that way. If we don’t find anything hinting at Celeste in twenty minutes, we double back and meet here. You good?”
Madoc twitched his tail. “Baran isn’t going to like us splitting up.”
I held back a laugh. “I promise not to feed you to the Tiger. Now, go. I’ll be just fine.”
I didn’t wait for him to decide whether he believed me. Setting off down the trail, I picked a faster pace. The Cougars’ scent remained about the same, not stale but not very fresh either. Just when I was about to turn back, however, I caught a whiff of apple blossoms. Celeste.
“Celeste?”
There was no answer. However, given the fact that I had chewed on her and gotten her kicked out of the lodge by Venetia, it was entirely possible the Tigress was choosing spite over sense. Creator save me from stubborn Tigers.
Despite the temptation to turn back and send Madoc for her so Baran and I could leave, I followed her scent further down the trail. I really should be more selfish. About fifteen minutes passed before I emerged into a narrower clearing where a cave mouth was shadowed by low hanging evergreens. Maybe she was in there.
“Celeste?”
There was no answer, and I didn’t particularly want to go hunting for a sulky Tigress in a cave. “Celeste?”
The scent of apple blossoms and Tiger abruptly grew stronger. She was behind me. I started to turn only to get slammed in my side. Hands tugged on my fur, and I snarled. Then, a sharp pain pricked the top of my shoulder. Oh no!
ΘΘΘΘΘΘ
Chapter Twenty
Baran
I slowed my pace as I approached a patch of snow that had been churned underfoot. A sneeze shook me as my nose was assaulted by the stringent scents of moly and nepetia. The area reeked of it. I sneezed again and again as I skirted the area.
My lips peeled back in a silent snarl. Blasted nepetia. Bane of my existence. How anyone would willingly use it remained a mystery to me.
I coughed and sneezed once more before I was able to escape the senses muddying cloud. There were marks in the snow leading away from the churned up area. A struggle, and someone had lost. Then, they were dragged away. Taking care not to breathe too deeply, I followed the drag marks into a patch of tangled bushes. A good place to hide a cache . . . or a kill.
Pushing my head through the branches, I paused as I was met with the sight of a second desiccated body in as many days. A low growl rumbled in my chest as I recognized the impractical silver sweater dress and black leather boots. Celeste.
Straining forward, I put my nose as close to her head as I could manage and sniffed carefully. My eyes widened as I yanked my head back through the branches. No scent.
Which could only mean that a Vampyre was now walking the woods wearing Celeste’s scent. Raina. She and Madoc would have no idea. They could be walking straight into a trap.
I spun, nearly tripping over my paws in my haste, and bounded back up the trail. I ran through the nepetia and moly soaked patch, but didn’t allow myself to stumble despite the irritation plaguing my eyes and nose. I had to find them. Before it was too late.
The roar of an angry Tiger cut through still winter morning. I slid to a halt and scrambled to run in the direction of the roar, ignoring the path in favor of cutting a straight line through the woods. I knew my brother’s roar well enough. I could only pray that Raina was still with him. Never did I wish for Lee’s locator device more than at this moment. At least I would be able to track Raina and know for certain if I was closing in on her.
Snarls and growls erupted, disturbing the birds into taking flight. I broke through the trees to see two Cougars leaping on Madoc. Combined they were able to bring him down despite the way he clawed and bit at the one attacking his head and throat.
I charged in, ears flat against my skull, and leapt. I swatted the first Cougar away sending him spinning in the snow, then I turned on the second. His claws had sunk deep into Madoc’s haunch and left bloody furrows when he attempted to defend himself. I snarled as I leapt once more, directly onto the Cougar’s back. Bones cracked between my jaws and beneath the weight of my paws.
Dropping the incapacitated Cougar, I spun to face the first cougar only to find Madoc standing over him. Broken neck. Mine suffered both broken neck and back. Both Cougars would be harmless for the next week or so. Unless the nepetia stink clinging to them meant they had overindulged recently and slowed their healing abilities even further. In any case, the reeves would be able to fetch them. Madoc was breathing heavily and blood dotted the snow around him, but he seemed able enough. I scowled at him. “Where is Raina?”
Madoc panted, “I don’t know. We split up when the trail forked. These two found me before I could turn back.” He paused, ears flicking and whiskers twitching, before adding, “This is a game trail. I don’t usually travel it, but there’s a cave near the end. Sometimes large predators stop in there.”
“Show me.”
For once Madoc didn’t argue or put up a fight. Despite his injuries, he was able to keep up a good pace. We charged through the woods, silent and ready for the next fight. We burst through the trees, and I caught the whiff of apple blossoms and Tiger then cinnamon and vanilla.
Dread bit me as I raised my head in time to see Raina collapse beneath a female Vampyre. Curly brown hair haloed around her blocking my view of what she was doing though I could easily guess. The tang of bittersweet blood flooded the air.
I roared as I charged forward. Rearing up on my hind legs, I put all of my strength behind my strike as I swiped at the Vampyre. She shrieked in rage as she flew through the air to land in a snow drift. Raina had shifted from beast to mortal at some point during the attack. She lay sprawled on her front, her copper colored hair falling out of her braided bun. Blood stained her coat collar and the sight was enough to send me into a rage.
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Another roar burst free as I crouched over her, shielding her with my body, and fixed my gaze on the female Vampyre. She climbed free of the snow drift and brushed back the mess of curls on her head. Her skin was unnaturally pale and slightly tinged with green. Her eyes were so black as to make her pupils vanish, however, and bright blood stained her mouth.
Madoc moved to flank me, but his attention was directed toward the cave. I snarled at the Vampyre, then allowed it to die as a slow clap filled the air. Even the echoes were mocking in nature. Five lanky men who shared the female’s corpse coloring moved to the mouth of the cave though they did not step out into the sunlight. Then, four more men stepped out of the woods. Two Tigers in half-form and two cougars also in half-form. Fringe traitors.
One of the Tigers was clapping in a slow, mocking rhythm. He bared his fangs in a sharp display. “I must congratulate you, Madoc. You have truly achieved the impossible. I didn’t know you had it in you, the guts to move beyond bellyaching and actually bring the General Baran into our waiting arms.” His gaze flicked down to Raina’s limp form and he added, “And to bring his pest of a mate along too. That is most worthy. My superiors will welcome you with open arms. The elimination of these two will go far in pleasing the one who guides us. He has been most displeased with their habit of spoiling his plans to bring our people into greatness once more.”
I glared at Madoc. “What have you done?”
Madoc shook his head, eyes round with apparent dismay. “No. I didn’t know they were . . . Fringe.”
The de facto leader of the nest barked a laugh. “You knew. Or at least suspected. Didn’t he, Charlie?”
The other Tiger nodded. “You acted all suspicious until you found out we just wanted surveillance on the general. Then, you couldn’t help us fast enough. Simon was right to send me after you.”
“Charlie, you’re supposed to be my friend.”
The leader, Simon, spoke again. “Don’t play the wounded cub now, Madoc. After all, you deserve the credit for what you have done. That’s all you wanted right? To stand out from under the great General Baran’s shadow? And so you took all those surveillance photos of him and his little mutt of a mate, then passed them along to me and Charlie like a good traitor.” His fangs gleamed as he added, “You were the perfect target. No one else who nurses a grudge against the good general would have been able to get close enough without rousing the Tiger’s suspicions. Now, we can remove the two most troublesome thorns in the Fringe’s collective paw.”
“Just in time too,” Charlie chimed in. “Simon just finished brokering the deal with our Vampyre friends. They’re going to kill the senator from Illinois before he ruins everything.”
I eyed the ten of them. Despite their boasts, the Fringe had yet to show any lapse of attention toward us. There wasn’t an easy way to break free of their trap. Not with Raina still limp and unmoving. I could hear her raspy breaths or else I would be even more worried.
“The Vampyres made a deal?” I asked. “At what cost?”
“Merely the lives of as many Elves as we can provide them to feast on and add to their ranks,” Simon spoke dismissively. “It will go far to thinning out the ranks of Auberon’s blind followers. And whatever humans they care to dine on in the interim.”
He could have been speaking of his plans for the week for all the care he allowed as those words to drop from his lips. I stared at him. “Making deals with Vampyres is a fool’s choice. There is more power behind our sheltered existence than Auberon or Caderyn alone. Do you think the others will accept such a reckless move and allow it to go unchallenged? Or have you forgotten that while the humans were responsible for the Great Purge, it was others like us who purged those species who endangered the secrecy of our existence? Only a fool imagines he can avoid the consequences of such recklessness.”
One of the Vampyre males with lank brown hair and gaunt hungry features gave a dry chuckle. “Your honor should not bear such consequences, General.” His thick accent attested to an Eastern European or Russian origin. What he was before he became a Vampyre was a puzzle I didn’t care to unlock as he stated, “I don’t believe you will need to worry about what the rest of the paranormals decide to do to the Therians for their aggressions. Those who join us will be sheltered as arranged. However . . . Your reputation as Therians will not suffer. For you will not be here to see. After all, we Vampyres have gained new strength in our transformation, and we are stronger than Therians when the numbers are, how you say, even.”
Two of the males leaped forward in their eagerness only to shriek and fall back, cradling their hands. The stench of burnt rotten flesh filled the air before the wind swept it away. The female tsked and muttered with an Irish lilt. “What fools can you be?”
I shifted into my half-form and scooped Raina into my arms. Her eyes opened slightly, allowing me to glimpse dilated pupils that left only a thin ring of iris. I swallowed a curse as I shifted her in my hold. I snarled at Madoc, “Stay behind me.” Then, I turned my attention on the enemy. “If you value your lives, you won’t attack us again.”
The Vampyre who had spoken with the thick accent chuckled. “You have until sundown. And then . . .” He bared his teeth in a wide smile that showed off his pointed fangs. “Well, I have hope Tigers will prove more challenging than Cougars.”
I started backing up, legs occasionally brushing against Madoc’s lean body as he stuck close behind me. I didn’t dare turn until the forest completely swallowed the sight of the clearing, the cave, and its occupants. Only then did I turn my back. Clutching Raina tighter against my chest, I started to run. We had to get back to the lodge.
ΘΘΘΘΘΘ
Melaina licked the last of the Elf-born’s blood from her lips savoring the bite of bittersweet blood against her tongue. She could feel the mongrel moving further away, but her bite hadn’t lasted long enough for her to hear what she did or to compel her to obedience. Not yet at least. The Therians were posturing in front of the cave as Simon shouted at Ivar. “You let them go! Why?”
“Because. It will be . . . entertaining,” Ivar explained with a slow predatory smile.
“Entertaining? You should be working with us to plan how to get to the senator before he goes into the human capital for this special vote.”
Ivar glanced up at the early morning sky and shrugged a bony shoulder. “I have changed my mind. I will kill this Senator Cunningham, but not yet.” After a second glance at the sky, he added, “I want to see what chaos happens when the bill is passed. Your master is not the one I’m most focused on pleasing after all.”
Melaina smirked and carefully circled around to put herself at Simon’s back. He cursed loudly and rather uncreatively before sputtering, “You cannot do this! The bargain was struck!”
“But not with you,” she cooed, eyes flicking to the sky. “We came across with the aid of the Minos Guild, not with your precious Fringe, and then your leader dared to send a group of cubs to treat with us when he should’ve met us himself.”
Simon’s stance stiffened, but he kept his attention fixed on Ivar. His mistake. “Our leader doesn’t condescend to meet with you. Not until you’ve kept your end of the bargain.”
Ivar smirked. “An unfortunate decision, truly.”
Melaina nodded. “We have helped topple Therian emperors before and we shall feast on Therian flesh before sundown. We need our strength after all.”
Finally, the sun slid behind the clouds. Melaina hissed in delight as she leapt on Simon’s back. Burying her hand in his hair, she yanked his head to one side and sank her fangs into the soft skin beneath the corner of his jaw, piercing his carotid. The other Therians were too shocked to fight before her compatriots subdued them with an initial bite and then dragged them into the shadows of the cave. A fight was coming that night, and they would be stronger than even four Tigers and a half-snared mongrel could hope to handle.
ΘΘΘΘΘΘ
Chapter Twenty-One
Raina
I sat with one arm propped on the dining room table as I rested my head in my hand. I didn’t remember anything after the Vampyre dropped me in the woods. Somehow we were back in the lodge, and it was almost three hours until dark would fall again. I woke up to Baran’s terse shouts at his family about Madoc betraying them all to both Vampyres and Fringe.
Tigers were overly complicated.
I rubbed my forehead wearily as I struggled to shake off the lingering lethargy. The point where my neck met my left shoulder ached horribly and was padded with gauze. The scent of cooking meat made my mouth water and perked my leopard up somewhat.
A plate piled high with turkey slices suddenly appeared in front of me, and I glanced up in time to see it was Venetia who backed away. The brief thought that it might be poisoned didn’t last as the leopard reacted to food. As I started tucking into the meat, Madoc reappeared with Roderick. He looked . . . unsettled. Baran snarled at him. “Of all the stupid things you have ever done, this is the worst. It will take a miracle to keep us all from losing our lives. Six Vampyres, and their leader was clear that they would come for us by sundown. Three hours.”
“Baran,” I murmured as I closed my eyes against the growing headache. “Stop growling.”
There was a sudden silence, and then I felt Baran gently caress my cheek. When I opened my eyes, he was crouched next to my chair. “We should get you out of here.”
“Why haven’t we moved already?”
All four Tigers grimaced. Then, Roderick spoke up. “Someone sabotaged all the vehicles. Even the snow mobiles. Wires cut, spark plugs missing, even on your SUV. We believe it happened while we were focused on tending your wound. There’s no way out, except on foot.”
A small groan escaped me. “Great. They want a fight bad enough to pin us down.”
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