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In the blink of an eye, his presence withdrew, but I remained in panther form. Zach and I loped along, side by side, in silence. There was no trail leading up to the lioness, but we didn’t let that stand in our way. I reveled in my strength and power as we leapt from rock to rock, forelegs touching down even as hind legs pushed off the boulders. We bounded up the cliff, and I felt like I could run forever, intoxicated by the cascade of scents and sounds that washed over me.
The lioness waited for us, unwavering in her gaze. We landed beside her, but she gave no sign of fear. I gently reached out, butting her with my head. A tabby gesture, but one that most cats responded to, big or small.
“What’s wrong?” The words weren’t in English, or Fae, but she understood them perfectly.
“My cub—she’s trapped, and I can’t get her out. ” A flicker of pain raced through the mother’s eyes, and I recognized the fear that filled her softly spoken vocalizations.
“Lead the way,” Zach said. “We’re here to help. ”
The puma led us back along the ledge to a den. We followed her inside, and I could hear the mewing of a kit. Another kitten sat in the corner, looking confused and hungry. My instinct was to run over and pick it up, but one look at Mama Puma told me that wasn’t the best idea. We wound through a small tunnel until we came to the back wall. There was a narrow fissure near the edge, a foot wide and a good four or five feet deep. The mewing came from within the crack.
I leaned my head down, and in the dark, could make out the other kitten. Somehow, she’d gotten herself down into the crack, and there wasn’t room enough for Mama to reach in and pull the baby out. The cougar would get stuck if she tried to rescue her baby. Unless we helped, the kit would starve to death.
Glancing back at the lioness, I said, “I need to change into my two-legged form. Please don’t worry. I won’t hurt your baby. But it’s the only way I can pull her out. ”
She gave me a bob of the head, as if she were nodding. “My mother was a Were,” she said. “I’ve seen the change happen before. ”
With her approval, I moved away and focused on shifting back. After a moment, my body began to twist and shift, and within seconds, I was Delilah again, standing on two legs. I cast a quick look at the mother puma, but she seemed good to her word, so I knelt down beside the fissure and leaned in. I scrambled to reach the kitten, who was leaning up against the wall, reaching for me with her paws, but I couldn’t quite reach that far down.
Zach sensed my difficulty, and he, too, shifted back into human form. Silently, he caught my legs and lowered me so that I was hanging over the edge of the fissure. The kitten struggled to reach my hands, and then I managed to catch hold of her under the forepaws, and while I held on for dear life, Zach dragged me back out of the crack. The kitten came with me, and as soon as I let go, waddled over to its mother and began searching for a teat to suckle on. The kits were still in that confused, awkward stage: terribly cute and terribly vulnerable.
I looked around for loose stones to fill the fissure, but there weren’t enough.
As the mother puma anxiously groomed her baby, I crept forward, slowly, wondering if she’d accept me near her when I was in human form, too. She huffed slightly, but then her eyes met mine, and we were no longer big cat and human, or big cat and Were, but two souls, bound by all things feline, gazing into each other’s heart.
“She’s beautiful,” I whispered in cat. “May I pet her? May I touch you?”
With another soft huff, the mother moved ever so slightly, opening the way for me to reach the baby. I gently laid one hand on the kit’s side and shivered as the soft fur ruffled under my fingers. A low trill told me the girl was purring, and I bit my lip, leaning forward to gently kiss the side of the kitten. The mother let out an anxious mew, and I moved my hand to her side, resting my fingers lightly against her fur for a moment as we connected, our auras blending for a brief moment.
Then I backed away.
“We should go,” Zach said. “The others will be worried. ”
Nodding, I slowly backed away, my eyes never leaving the mother’s face. She dipped her head again and—carrying her kit by the scruff of the neck—followed us to the front of the cavern.
“You should find another place to stay, Mama,” I said softly in cat. “I couldn’t make the crack in the ground safe for you. So you’d best find another den that won’t swallow your babies. ”
She blinked, and I knew she’d gotten my message. As we left the cave, I heard her grunt, then settle down as the cubs set to nursing. I glanced at Zach, and he beamed.
“You want one, don’t you?” he said.
“Want one what?”
“A kit—a baby. ” He laughed when he said it, but the look in his eyes told me he wasn’t joking.
I stared at him, thinking he was out of his mind, but once it took hold, the idea wouldn’t go away. It was true. Seeing the mother with her kittens had resonated inside. I wanted a family. But I didn’t just want a baby, I wanted Were babies. Kittens who would understand my feline nature as well as my half-human, half-Fae side. And that was bound to be a problem. Because half-Fae Weres were sterile, as far as producing Were children. I could have a baby, all right, but there was no guarantee that she—or he—would have any chance of coming out Were except by a random roll of the dice.
I let out a soft sigh as we emerged from the cave and began cautiously lowering ourselves down the cliff face to the path below, where the others now waited. I didn’t have time to think about this. Not now.
“Well, one thing’s for sure,” I said to Zach as we joined the others. “Children—of any kind—are going to have to wait. Don’t tell the others, please. My sisters don’t need to know that my biological clock is ticking. They’d just worry themselves sick for no reason. It’s not like I can get pregnant, anyway. We had long-term treatments before we left home, and the antidote is only found in Otherworld. For now, the baby-making factory is closed. ”
Zach just nodded, but a bright light flickered in his eyes, and he gave me a soft smile. As we began to tell the others what had happened, I wondered what the hell he was thinking.
CHAPTER 15
Vanzir acted impatient as we explained the situation. I tugged on the hem of my jacket. While the dream chaser was doing his best to fit in, the fact that he was out-and-out demon shone through in a lot of ways and made me uncomfortable. And for once, I wasn’t alone.
Before we’d gotten in the car, Camille had confided that the heroin-chic rocker look-alike gave her the creeps, even though he was bound to our side. But we needed all the help we could get, and beggars couldn’t be choosy. Especially with Shadow Wing on the rampage. Vanzir knew too much about our operations to set him free. We kept him in the dark about a lot, but he was bound to pick up information from hanging around so much.
I tried to shake off my unease and focus on our goal.
Since we were already over the bridge, Roz took the lead, and we followed him along the increasingly narrow shelf that passed for a trail. We were headed in the opposite direction from the ledge where we’d encountered the puma. I glanced over my shoulder in time to see her watching from behind a scrub bush, and she softly opened her mouth as if to say something, but even with my keen hearing, the only sounds were those of the rushing stream below and the murmur of soft voices as Camille and Morio whispered.
We could all see in the dark, at least to some degree, but Roz insisted we take it slow, and he held a long stick, tapping the ground as we went. There might be large chunks of rock that could turn our ankles, or maybe a sinkhole, or even—perhaps—a rattler, though they tended to be on the east side of the Cascades. But up in the mountains, you never knew.
I caught sight of a faint outline. There was a cavern up ahead to the right, leading into the cliff side and we were headed directly for the blackened opening. As we drew near, the hair on my arms and the back of my ne
ck stood on end.
Camille whispered, “I can feel them. Spirits of some sort. The energy is supercharged here, and I’m not sure what would happen if I were to call in the Moon Mother’s power right now. ”
“Don’t try it. Not unless we really need you to,” Smoky said, guiding her from behind, his hand pressed against the small of her back. As I watched them, I was suddenly again filled with a sense of loss. Chase should be here; Chase should be worrying about me instead of screwing around with his ex.
Zachary seemed to sense my mood. He caught my shoulder lightly with his hand and whispered, “Don’t worry. We’ll watch out for each other. Okay?”
Feeling a little better, I flashed him a smile, wondering what the hell I really did want. But there was no time for self-pity. We were almost there, and I had a responsibility to be on top of my game.
As we neared the cavern, Menolly slipped up next to me. “I don’t sense spirits very well, but I can tell you that I don’t feel any demonic energy coming from within. ”
Vanzir heard her and dropped back beside us. “Neither do I. My guess is that Karvanak and his gang haven’t found the location yet. We’ve lucked out,” he added, glancing at Menolly. “But I’ll tell you this. Some of the shadows who come from the Netherworld put my kin to shame. Revenants and shades are far more dangerous than your standard R?ksasa or dream chaser. ”
I frowned. Not a good thought. Not a happy thought. Not one I wanted to entertain, that was for sure. “Do you think there are any spirits or ghosts out there who are as dangerous as Shadow Wing?”
We walked lightly around the subject of Shadow Wing when Vanzir was around. After all, he was a full demon from the Sub Realms. He wasn’t necessarily angry at Shadow Wing for being the Big Bad he was. Vanzir just didn’t agree with his take on breaking through the portals or trying to overpower Earth and OW. When it came down to it, I wondered just how far his reformed status would take him. On the other hand, why else would he undergo the Ritual of Subjugation if he didn’t want to change? At least a little? He’d die if he reneged on the deal, and it wouldn’t be a pleasant death.
“I don’t know. I hope not. ” Vanzir shrugged. He stared at me for a moment, his disconcertingly clear eyes homing in on my thoughts. Then he reached out lightly, his fingers barely grazing my arm before he seemed to think the better of it and snatched his hand back again.
“I know you don’t trust me,” he said. “I know you can’t figure out what my angle is. I don’t blame you. I’d probably feel the same way if I were in your shoes. But I hope that someday you’ll be able to believe me when I tell you that I haven’t got any ulterior motives. I may have been born a demon, but I’m just not . . . I don’t like what I’ve done in my life. It’s not me. I don’t fit in the Subterranean Realms, and I don’t fit with most of my kind. ”
Before I could say anything, he hurried ahead to catch up with Roz. I watched him go, then let out a long sigh, not knowing what to think.
Menolly glanced at me, and we both shrugged. She looked as puzzled as I felt. “Who knows?” she said, modulating her voice so low I could barely catch her words. “He might be telling the truth. Meanwhile, we keep our eyes open. ”
At that moment, Roz stopped and held up his hand, motioning us to come closer. He held his finger to his lips. “Be as quiet as you can. We stormed the house in Seattle and saw just how well that all went down. Let’s try for a more subtle approach here. ”
“You think?” I said, but kept my voice low.
“Yeah, I think. ” He grinned at me, then sobered. “Here’s the deal. We don’t have a clear picture of the cavern. The prospector couldn’t give us one, but if he’s right, the chamber with the spirit seal is off to the left of the main vault. There’s a short passage leading to it, but he mentioned a few old sinkholes and shafts. Don’t get yourselves lost. If the mining was extensive, there could be a labyrinth of tunnels. The wood shoring them up is bound to be fragile. ”
Smoky frowned, his brow knitting in a way that made me glad I wasn’t Roz. “This is dangerous. I’ve been in old tunnels like this one before. They can crush you without warning. Walk softly, no loud words, no explosions. Camille, you should hold back on your magic. Morio, your fox-fire light spells will be fine, but nothing that could set up a tremor in the rocks. In other words, we’re going to have to face the spirits with spells that don’t send out shock waves. Obey me on this one, or you could find yourselves squashed flatter than one of Delilah’s toy mice. ”
I snorted but not for long. He glared at me. Obviously it hadn’t been a joke. My smile faded away.
“The man has it down,” Roz said. “This is a subtle operation. So think before you speak, and test the ground before heading off into side passages. ”
Camille glanced at Morio. “Just like with Titania’s cave. There were some nasty sinkholes there. ”
We sorted ourselves out. Menolly and Vanzir would be our first wave. They were the most silent. Roz, Zach, and I would be the second line. Camille and Morio would come third. Smoky would cover our butts and make sure we weren’t surprised from behind.
As Menolly and Vanzir disappeared into the cavern, I let out a long breath. Here we go again, I thought, and then—motioning to Roz and Zach, who flanked my sides—headed into the darkness.
The air immediately shifted from clear and chilly to murky and damp. It smelled like mold, or slime, or something that had been sitting in the refrigerator a few weeks too long. I managed to catch my breath just before dinner made a repeat visit. I had a strong gag reflex, thanks to the hairball situation, and while I could eat a ton of junk food and watch the weirdest shit on TV, just send me into a room with a strong odor, and I was apt to lose it.