Rebel Pax (Shifters of the Primus Book 2) (9 page)

“I see. And terrorists managed to light half your village on fire with them on guard?” I ask, still seeing more shadowed figures lurking everywhere I look.

“Yes,” says Pax, though I can sense that he has lingering doubts about the same thing from his tone. “I had many friends among the Toltek, and we will see if that truth remains.”

W
e enter
a flesh bar in the upper regions of Kolka. I am not proud to bring Mira to such a place, but I know if will find my old friend, Davoso, it will be here. The interior is bathed in soft pink light from bioluminescent mushrooms. Women wearing very sheer and very minimal amounts of clothing move from table to table, often leaving hands on shoulders for too long or pressing their tits into faces when they bend to grab drinks. Upstairs, I hear several distinct sets of rhythmic thumps and I know that the flesh bar is earning its keep today.

I’m surprised to find that when I might have allowed my eyes to linger on these women in the past, I now have no interest. They might as well be rocks to me. I only have eyes for Mira.

Mira inspects the bar and I can see the disapproval written clearly on her face. A woman wearing nothing but a thin thong brushes past her, murmuring something sultry to Mira that I don’t hear.

“So this is what you did before we met?” asks Mira. There is pain in her words. Venom, too.

“No. I did not indulge.”

“But you let places like this exist. As king you surely could have put a stop to it.”

I sigh. “Yes. Warriors need the satisfaction of flesh to fight their best. A ruler who deprives them of this would not rule for long.”

She crosses her arms, not looking me in the eye. And then I see her eyes narrow, widen, and finally harden into something approaching anger. I follow her gaze and see Davoso coming down the stairs, still re-doing the laces on his tunic as he descends. Three Kolari women come down shortly after, their hair tousled and clothes in disorder.

Davoso looks up and sees Mira, pausing mid-step. He quirks an eyebrow. Then he sees me and raises his other brow too. He smooths his disorderly hair back away from his face sniffs his finger, winces, and wipes it on his pants before extending a hand for me to shake.

“If I knew I was meeting royalty, I would’ve worn underwear,” says Davoso.

“You wear underwear?” I ask, smirking. “Coward.”

Davoso barks out a laugh and slaps me on the shoulder. His attention shifts to Mira. My fists tighten. Davoso has insatiable appetites for females, and I will not stand by long while he sets his gaze on Mira.

“Mira,” he says. “I didn’t think to see you again. . .”

My heart jumps.
Again?
And how does he know her name? I visualize my hands around his neck, my fist pulled back to strike him.

Mira smiles politely, giving no indication that she feels shame. “It’s good to see you, Davoso.”

I narrow my eyes, looking between the two of them. Mira notices my look and her mouth opens slightly and her eyebrows raise in understanding. “No, no—no,” she laughs. “Back when Liandra and I were on the run from Altak, Davoso saved my life a few times. Kato left me with him when he couldn’t trust anyone else.”

My jaw flexes and my teeth are clenched. A logical thought bounces around somewhere in the darkness of my subconscious, but right now all I feel is
red
. Hearing Mira speak of this man protecting her sends daggers of pain through me. She is
mine
to protect. I care about her more than any male ever will. I try to stay silent, but my anger is too fierce.

“I’m sure he protected you very well,” I say quietly. “Davoso is quite fond of females.”

Davoso notices my tone and turns toward me, knees slightly bent and hand resting near a pistol at his hip. He thinks I am going to attack him. Maybe I am. I haven’t decided yet. I realize my fingertips have shifted and long claws stretch from them.

“He never touched me!” Mira shouts, almost screaming.

The din of voices in the flesh bar nears a whisper as everyone turns to regard the spectacle.

Davoso raises his palms toward me, his voice calm but measured. “Pax. I was watching over her for a friend. I don’t mix business and pleasure. And you know I’ve never sampled a female you laid claim to.”

Now it’s Mira’s turn to look angrily at me. “And how often do you
lay claim
to females, Pax? Is that what all this talk is about being yours? I’m just the latest one on some long list of females you’ve bedded and forgot?”

“Pay him no mind,” I say. “He is only stirring up trouble.”

Davoso grins but wisely chooses to stay quiet.

Mira’s mouth is drawn into a thin line of anger. I am not ready to apologize for the foolishness Davoso speaks of. Mira needs to explain
exactly
what happened when she was in Davoso’s care. If he so much as touched her or looked at her in the wrong way, I vow to all the gods, dead and living, that I will
break
him. He will scream like a child before my might and know nothing but agony until his final breath. I will—

“By the way,” Davoso says nonchalantly. “I think those fellows are looking for you.”

I turn and see a contingent of Watchers at the door. Seven burly Primus wielding curved sabirs. The biggest one wears a suit of nano-armor. He moves ahead of his men and points to me. “Pax. Former king of the Toltek. You are in league with a wanted human.”

I look to Mira, the only human in the building. My muscles tense and I slowly return my gaze to the Watcher. His hand moves closer to the hilt of his sabir
.

“We have only just arrived. On my honor, this woman is innocent of any crime. You have the wrong person.”

“The honor of a coward King?” He laughs dismissively. “I am here because an explosion in the High King’s room killed three guards. Fortunately, his holiness was away on official duty at the time. We have multiple informants who name your
human
the saboteur. And the two of you are currently assisting an enemy of the clan. Which makes
you
enemies of the clan.”

I take a step forward, putting Mira behind me. To my annoyance, Davoso steps forward as well, reaching for a pistol at his hip.
A pistol?
When did he become such a coward.

“Take them in. Leave the girl alive,” says the lead guard.

I rush the man before he can draw his weapon. I hear Davoso’s pistol discharge behind me. A bright flash of green streaks over my shoulder and opens a glowing hole in a Watcher’s forehead. The Watcher captain is fast. He manages to draw his sabir before I reach him and brings it around in a quick cut for my arm. I sidestep, spinning around the sharp edge and catching him by the neck. I use the momentum of my charge to slam him to the ground. The hard fibers of his nanoarmor dig into my bare chest, but I ignore the pain, ramming my head into his nose as we land. His eyes lose focus for a moment and I take the opportunity to headbutt him again.

I feel his bones crunch beneath my skull. Another pistol shot rings out and I stand to see two bodies and four watchers coming toward me, sabirs raised. One has reached Davoso and is grappling with him. I spare a quick glance to make sure Mira is somewhere safe and am caught across the face with a sabir swing. I reel back, blood spilling from the wound. I duck the next strike and leap forward from the crouch, wrapping up the closest Watcher to me and taking him to the ground. He tries to raise his sabir but I wrestle it from his grip and ram it through his heart. Another fiery line of pain explodes across my back. I stand, feeling the panther within me rising. My shoulders stretch and my arms grow more powerful as I partially shift. Claws extend from my fingertips. My legs partially shift as well, granting me increased agility and strength.

The three watchers circle me slowly. I know from my time in the fighting pit that there are more incorrect ways to fight an outnumbered foe than correct ways. Blades are wild weapons that can easily wound an ally just as quickly as a foe. If they come at me from the same direction, I know they will do as much damage to each other as me. If they surround me, I can single one of them out if I attack quickly. The only wise way to fight me in this environment is for one to come for me at a time while the others use their bodies and weapons to limit my mobility, prodding me like a wild beast.

Unfortunately, the Watchers are trained well, and that is exactly what they move to do. The thinnest of the warriors moves toward me first while the other two complete the triangle around me, far enough away that I would need to take a lunging step to reach them, but close enough that they could land a strike against me in a heartbeat if they desired. The thin warrior moves forward and twirls his blade expertly, not looking away from my eyes.

He pulls his arms back to make a powerful overhead slash. A mistake. I dash toward him, crunching his ribs with an uppercut and raking him across the chest with my claws. The power of my shifted arms is enough to knock him back several feet. But while I hit him, one of the Watchers stabs me in the back.

I fall to one knee, barely turning in time to knock aside a thrust aimed for my neck. I hear Mira call my name. From the corner of my eye, I see the Watcher captain I thought to be dead and the other Watcher overpowering Davoso. Mira is moving quickly with something in her hand.
No.
I think. My vision is blurring and dimmed, but I realize what she is planning and force myself to rise. Rise damn you! I uncage the panther even more, allowing my entire body to shift. It doesn’t heal my wounds, but the adrenaline of the change and the fury of the beast is enough to jolt me into action.

Mira breaks a chair over one of the remaining Watchers who jab at me. He turns, blade poised to cut her in two. But my teeth find his arm before he can land the attack. I yank my head backward and fling him into a table.

“Shifter!” yells the Watcher who still faces me.

The Watcher Captain turns toward me, leaving Davoso to the brawny Watcher who has him in a headlock.

It is likely that these men have never fought a shifter. Few have the strength to receive the call of the beast. Even fewer have the strength to survive it. My advantage is surprise. They will not know my speed. So I wait until the Watcher’s eyes dart to his captain and then I charge. Though several yards stretch between us, I move with furious speed. My legs propel me toward him and I pin him to the ground, slashing him open with my claws.

The captain moves clumsily, clearly still reeling from the damage I did to his head. He makes a unbalanced swing in my direction but I catch his arm in my teeth and bite it off. Before he can even fall, I rake my claws across his neck, ending him.

I am about to free Davoso from the brawny man when another green flash nearly blinds me. The brawny Watcher slides off Davoso, dead with a glowing hole through his chest.

Davoso stands spryly, smirking. “Easy kitty. I was doing fine without you, thank you very much.”

Mira rushes to me. I am still shifted and stand tall enough that she doesn’t even reach my shoulders when I’m on all fours. I struggle with the beast momentarily, but quickly subdue it and take my Primus form. Compared to the power of my panther form my muscles feel almost weak now, but that could also be the wounds.

I fall again, blood dripping to the ground. The bullet wounds from earlier are mostly healed now, but I have a lingering soreness in my chest from one of them that is now joined by several points of agony. I know Mira will worry if she sees me in pain, so I force myself to stand and smooth my features.

“Pax…” She says, her small hands are gently against my side. She trembles.

“Do not fear,” I say. “I am good at many things. Bringing you pleasure, for example” I say, sparing a glance for Davoso, who rolls his eyes at me. “However, it would seem that dying is not something I am good at.”

Mira frowns. “Well I wish you would stop trying. But we’re going to talk about this
other women
thing. And we’re going to talk about it now.”

“This is not an ideal time, Mira. As you heard, those Watchers are probably just the first group to find us. More will come and we must leave soon if we’re going to find Gaius’ men.”

“Oh we’re talking about it.”

She reminds me of a small, harmless animal puffing up its feathers to look large now. Though I know I shouldn’t, I laugh at the sight of her anger. I know immediately that I have made a mistake when I see her reaction. Even Davoso cringes when he sees me laugh.

Now the real fire and brimstone rise in her. She puts her fists on her hips and inhales deeply and slowly through her nose. Her eyes are like hot pits of magma, burning into me. I think I feel a real hint of fear for a moment at this small creature and the wrath she can bring upon me. Yes, perhaps I have been with females before her. But I have lived a long life. And had I not known the failings of other women, how would I be able to
know
with such strength and certainty that this woman is my mate?

“You listen to me,” she says, voice low. “I don’t care who hears,” she says indicating the stunned observers who still huddle at the edges of the room, who suddenly seem unsure if they are more afraid of the Primus killers or the small human female. “You may think I am just some pushover. You may think all I do is get into trouble and need saving, but you’re going to learn how wrong you are if you cross me.”

I bow my head. “I have wronged you if you truly think I would regard you in such a way. I do not care if others hear me either. You are strong of mind and body. You fearlessly risk yourself to protect what matters to you. And yes, I have been with other females, but that only shows me how they pale in comparison to you.”

She still holds her hands on her hips and her lips are still drawn tight, eyebrows scrunched. But she bites her lip, tapping a foot as if mulling over what I’ve said. Finally, she lets her arms fall from her hips and breathes a deep sigh. “Allright. For now. But you’re not completely off the hook. I’m just giving you a pass because we really should get out of here.”

I relax, realizing the wrath of this woman puts me on edge more than any blade or beast could. The thought makes me grin. She is fierce, this female.

We leave the flesh bar through a back door. Davoso follows us. I knew he could get me anywhere in the city discreetly, but would have risked it myself if I knew he had a history with Mira. Even now, I would order him to leave us be but I know his presence means Mira is safer, even if only by a marginal amount. I will have to deal with the irritation for her sake. The cold night air is refreshing on my sweat-soaked skin. I grabbed a pair of pants off one of the dead Watchers on the way out, as Mira made it clear before that she does not wish for me to display myself before other females.