Things That Go Hump In The Night (82 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Water Dark and Deep

The
woods around the Cave of Sorrows were thick enough that the branches overhead shadowed the earth even at high noon. That made it difficult to sniff out Mara, especially with so many trails in the area.

Though he searched for their minds again and again, his clan was either hidden in the crowd or blocking him out. He’d put money on the latter option.

The panther paced and prowled inside him, tail swirling back and forth with irritation.
Mate. Find. Now.
Riker circled around the edges of the conclave, watching as the action at the foot of the cave heated up. He could
feel
the psychic energy of so many half-feral shifters in one place, teeth bared in ritualistic grins. They were feline and wolfish, young and old, male and female, and their pulsing energy drew him towards their apex.

There.
He saw her, held by the arms between two of his clan members, struggling boldly for someone so overpowered. His instincts screamed at him to rush to her, save her, but the entire shifter conclave was in the way and they wouldn’t let him through.

Mate.
The panther was insistent, and he felt it leaking through. His eyes were no doubt glowing, his canine teeth sharpening like spikes. Unbidden, a growl pulsed inside his chest and erupted from his lips.
Mate.

Beast that it was, the panther would not be denied. And, truth be told, Riker couldn’t resist the siren song anymore. He let himself go, muscles shifting as his bones poured into a new shape, skin and fur snapping around the distinct form of a predator.

In his panther form, the frenzy around Riker increased sevenfold in force. He felt the pulse of a hundred beasts around him, their minds slipping against his like shimmering fish. Distant but distinct was his pride, his clan, his family.

Give her back to me,
he thought, forcing himself inside their minds.

You’ll have to come get her.
Darren’s voice; he’d always been an upstart asshole.
Soon enough, she’ll be one of us.

He snarled, showing his long teeth.
Or dead, drowned by the water. You know it.

Sorrow pulsed through their connection.
You’ve given us no choice. This is your place, with us.

They’d dragged her near the water with the other sacrifices. Most were willing, but many were afraid; they knew there was a strong chance they would die in those still depths. For the few unwilling sacrifices, today was not a good day.

He rushed through the outer ranks and came face-to-face with the lion.

You are not welcome here.

They snarled at each other, fur ruffling, fangs bared.
I am more than welcome here. I
belong
here. And I claim my clan.

His mind rang out into the ether like a strike of lightning. The bond snapped into place quickly, forging between Riker and Darren, Cody, Jonathan, and Killian. Where they’d been like other shifters before, now their thoughts felt louder and clearer, and he could see from their eyes as easily as he saw from his own.

In their eyes, he saw Mara at the edge of the pool.
Let me through.

Though he was loathe to do so, the lion stepped aside, leaving a clear path into the Cave of Sorrows for Riker. He raced to her, roaring out his rage and agony. All around her the whirling mass of frenzied, feral beasts pushed the tributes closer and closer to the water.

He leapt for her, legs outstretched as he flew through the air. She turned to him, their eyes colliding across time and space. In that moment he swore she knew it was
him,
and no one else.

She was horrifyingly close to the edge of deep, clear water when he fell between her legs and its edge. He braced himself against her, his toes barely slipping into the water as he ushered her away from damnation.

Moments that seemed like hours passed, and they were at the edge of the cavern, on dry land. Riker could hear Mara’s heartbeat thrumming beneath her skin. He curled around her, a deep purr rumbling from his body to hers.

Leaning over, she threaded her fingers through his fur.

“Pretty kitty,” she murmured, her touch a soothing balm on his still-fiery anger.
Mate.
For once, Riker had to agree with the infernal beast.

The
pool in the Cave of Sorrows was so dark and still that looking it at gave me the impression I was staring down into infinity. I shivered at the thought of falling into those depths, and was truly grateful for Riker’s solid form against my legs.

He started to change, and I turned away, staring out of the cave into the crowd beyond. Beasts of a dozen shapes and sizes stared back, not at me but into the pool, their eyes seemingly frozen to that spot. Dark forms slipped further and further into the darkness of the water, disappearing possibly forever.

“We should go.” Riker’s voice was in my ear, his arms loose around my waist. He was done shifting into his human form. “I’m sorry.”

Somehow, despite everything, I believed him. “I just want to get out of here. Will they let us?”

Turing to face me, he looked into my eyes with his own bright, sharp yellow gaze. “No one is getting in my way.”

“For some reason, I find that very comforting.”

He smiled, slipping his hand in mine and leading me to the edge of the cave. I watched as lions, wolves, tigers, and bears acknowledged his passing and stepped aside. I couldn’t tell exactly what he did, but there was a feeling in the air like static electricity after a long thunderstorm. We walked through the space they made, Riker pulling me close with a protective arm.

I can’t believe that just happened,
I thought, dizzy at the near miss. It had all happened so fast; last night I’d been in bed, and this afternoon I was yanked from the edge of a mysterious, supernatural pool of water.

At the fringes of the gathered group, I spotted the distinct form of black panthers making themselves scarce. They pushed past the other shifters, heads low, tails tucked beneath their legs. I spared them a glower for what they’d done.

“Don’t worry,” Riker murmured to me, his voice low, “I’ve punished them for what they tried to do to you.”

“Punished them how?”

His eyes sparked with fierce anger. “I shut them out of the telepathic bond we share. It’s hard to explain, but it’s like yanking the rug out from under someone, or falling off a cliff forever. They’ll feel pretty shitty right about now.”

I almost pitied them, but not quite. The only one who’d shown me any kindness was the last guy to show up, waiting until we reached the cave to join the others. He hadn’t seemed to want to go along with their plan; I didn’t catch his name, but he’d looked at me with pitying eyes.

“I’m not sure I understand this telepathic bond thing. Or any of it, really,” I admitted to Riker as we passed into the woods beyond, “but I’m grateful that you saved me. If I’d fallen into the pool I think I would have drowned by now.”

“Not everyone who falls in drowns.” Riker’s yellow eyes were slowly changing to a more normal green. “The rest of us become… something else.”

“Shapeshifters? Like you?” My voice was quiet in the space between us.

“Yes, shapeshifters. But there are others, or at least I’ve heard there are. Witches and seers, telepaths and… other things. But only the shifters stay in our community. The others are left to fend for themselves. If they survive.”

I shivered. “It sounds lonely.”

“It can be. But it’s tradition.” He stopped, turning towards me with a very serious look on his face. “Mara, I know you’ll probably never forgive me for all the lies I’ve told you and the danger I put you in. But I have to say it anyway: I’m sorry. I wish I could’ve told you about everything, but it was… hard. I didn’t know how you’d react, and telling you would’ve put you in even more danger. And I swear—on my
life—
that I didn’t touch a hair on that jackass Danny’s head. I know I probably seem violent and crazed to you, but I would never hurt an innocent person. Not even a less-than-innocent person.”

By the end, he almost sounded like he was pleading with me. I studied his face, which was so familiar to me now. The last day had been an eternity, but now I was just grateful for his warm presence.
Of course I forgive him.

“I get why you had to keep things from me. And I trust you. How could I not? You saved my life. There’s nothing to forgive.”

Then, standing up on the tips of my toes, I kissed him. He pulled back for a moment, surprise written all over his face, then brought me close for an earth-shattering kiss. Just then we were the only two people in the world, safe and separate.

Until a voice interrupted us.

“Riker.”

It was the werepanther I didn’t know, back in human form, his warm brown eyes imploring us. Riker let go of me to put himself between me and the other man, a growl rumbling in his chest.

“What the hell do you want, Jonathan?”

He sighed, running a shaky hand through his hair. “It’s the clan. All of them. If you don’t step in and do something, Dan and Kip are gonna kill all of them. Or worse.”

What could be worse than death, I wondered? Riker seemed to know. He’d gone paler than death itself.

“I’ll take care of it. Mara…” He gave me a regretful look. “I have to go back.”

“Then I’m coming with you.” I wasn’t getting left behind again.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Shifter Politics

The
surviving sacrifices were pulled from the water dripping wet, glistening like newborn babes. There was no way of knowing who would live and who would die; by his count, at least two had drowned down there. Their bodies would be pulled further and further underground by the mysterious current, only to float away in some stream further south.

Riker stood at the edge of the group, opening himself back up to the clan. He felt Jonathan at the edge of his awareness, but the others were being kept in the center of a ring formed by leaders in the shifter community. He could only glimpse slivers of them between the closed ranks.

“What did they do?” Riker asked Jonathan, who was his second as well as his friend. “And why aren’t you in there with them?”

He looked down briefly, and Riker could tell through their bond that he was uncomfortable. “Things got a little strange after you… left. There was a lack of leadership. I tried to step in, but Darren just wouldn’t back down, and I had no leverage to go over him. So I kept things civil, tried to reason with him. But eventually he got his way, and started thieving again. In public.”

“The fucking idiot,” Riker swore. He glanced at Mara, knowing that there were still some secrets between them, but also that he didn’t have the time to explain everything right now. So he slipped into telepathy.
Where is Bree? Why isn’t she here with the others?

She left.
There was despair in Jonathan; though he’d never expressed his feelings, he’d always cared for the female werepanther.
Without you or Pierce around, she just stopped caring.

It was the first time they’d spoken of their former leader since the day Riker sliced his throat open and watched him die; at this point, he felt nothing at all when he thought of Pierce.

“We should get moving,” he said aloud, knowing Mara would get suspicious if they didn’t say something. “Mara, you stay here with Jonathan. This is something for me to handle alone.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but he shook his head and she snapped her jaw shut. “Fine. But if something happens to you, I’ll be pissed.”

Chuckling, he pulled her close with a hand at her waist and bent his head to kiss her. She was soft and pliant beneath his touch, her breath catching as their lips met. They were like fire and oil sometimes, but it made him feel alive—and human.

With her kiss still burning on his lips, he descended into the madness before him. The threat of violence seemed to hang in the air; now that the sacrifices had been made and the shift happened, everyone was focused on the werepanther clan.

“Daniel,” Riker said, calling out to the werelion boss. “What are you doing with my people?”

Kip, the lead werewolf, stepped up and spoke in his place. “What needs to be done,” she said, her eyes a piercing blue. “
Your
people, who have remained unclaimed for so long, are putting the rest of us at risk. They shift during the day, did you know that?”

“We just shifted during the day,” he pointed out, even though he knew this was different.

“This is different,” Kip said, echoing his own thoughts. “When we shift here, we put up a perimeter. We keep the humans out, and so does the cave’s reputation. But
they
walk into homes in the middle of the day and use their abilities in front of humans.”

Riker glanced between her and Daniel, who was standing stock still between him and his clan. He caught Killian’s eyes for a brief moment before Daniel shifted in front of him.

I’m sorry,
Killian said to him, before the power of the other shifters’ mind blocks shut them out. Though the telepathic bond shifters shared could be overwhelming, especially among their own kind and pack or pride, it was even more frustrating when other shifters used their powers to come between those bonded together. Riker glared at Daniel, who barely blinked back at him.

“We need to ensure our safety,” Daniel said, speaking up for the first time. “If you’re not strong enough to control them, the punishment for exposing us is simple: we’ll cut away their panther form.”

Riker ground his teeth. “That’s cruel and unnecessary, especially now that I’ve claimed them.”

“It’s too late,” Kip said. “The police are on our trail, and that’s gotten the attention of the feds. You know what will happen if they decide to hunt us again. It’ll be a bloodbath.”

He couldn’t argue with that; though he’d been young at the time, and still human, Riker could remember the mysterious news reports. To the human world, the arrests and killings of hundreds of supernaturals had been framed as gang and drug warfare; in reality, a federal task force dedicated to eradicating their kind had come to Belmont City and decimated whole communities. They’d even tried to fill in the pool in the Cave of Sorrows, but found that impossible. So they erected signs and fences to try to keep people out of the area—signs and fences the shifters ignored.

“Let me bring them back into the fold,” he urged Daniel. “If we really are about to face another witch hunt, we’ll need all the fighters we can get. The panthers are a unique species. Don’t destroy us this quickly.”

There was a breath in which he and Daniel seemed to be looking at each other across a great divide; he could almost
feel
the panther swish its tail at the lion.

“I may consider it,” he allowed; Kip started to protest, but he silenced her. “First, though, you’ll have to prove that you’re strong enough to carry out the task of leading them. They’ve been rogue for too long to be controlled by a weak leader.”

It was all he could do not to sigh with relief. “Anything. I’m here to stay, I’ll do whatever it takes to prove that to you.”

Eyes gleaming with triumph, Daniel smirked. “Fight me. Tooth to tooth, claw to claw. Whoever stays standing in the dueling ring the longest gets to decide your clan’s fate.”

I
watched from up above as Riker went to confront a group of people in the middle of the clearing below us.
I wish I could understand what they’re saying,
I thought, glancing over at Jonathan and wondering if he could hear them from this distance.
Whatever it is, it can’t be good.

“He’s agreed to fight their leader,” Jonathan said, as if sensing my curiosity. “If he defeats the lion shifter, our people go free. If he doesn’t, bad things will happen.”

“What kinds of bad things?”

“The kinds that end in funerals.”

I swallowed roughly, watching as a space was cleared in the crowd below. “Isn’t there anything we can do to help him?”

“I wish there was, but if I interfere I’ll just get caught up in it, and you—well, you’re human.”

He sounded apologetic, but I understood why he dismissed me out of hand; now that I’d seen the sheer power and majesty of the shapeshifters, I knew I’d never be as strong as one of them.

I had to get my mind off of what Riker was about to do.

“What was it like, in that water? I was only at the edge of it, but even I felt something unsettling.”

Jonathan’s eyes were shadowed as he turned to me. “It was like being set on fire and flying at the same time. It was like falling forever in a nightmare, like breathing acid.”

“Oh.”

He sighed, drifting off into memory. “Really, it’s not the water I remember, but being pulled out of it. Seeing my friends, finding out they’d survived, that I’d survived too. That’s how we all wound up panthers, you know—it’s not exactly a common form to take. But we all jumped in together, and when we came out, we weren’t like any other shapeshifter who’d gone into the water before us. And we were all the same.”

“If you were that close, why did Riker ever leave?”

“That’s a question for him to answer.”

A sound from down below drew our attention back to the events unfolding. In the middle of what was now a fight ring, Riker stood in his human form, and a majestic male lion was at his feet. The beast roared, even louder than the first time; it was so huge that the sound of it seemed to rock the entire forest around us.

“Surely that’ll attract attention,” I said to Jonathan.

“Maybe on other days, but not today. The power of all the shifters in one place cloaks our kind from view. Unless a human is stupid enough to jump the fence that was built to keep them away from this place, we have the whole area to ourselves and no one is the wiser. It’s still risky, but it’s a tradition to meet here at least once a year. This is when we remind ourselves who we are and where we came from.”

I filed that information away, knowing it could come in handy at some point in the future. “So every shapeshifter is here?”

Jonathan cleared his throat. “No. Now watch the fight.”

Mouth clicking shut, I forced myself to look down at the ring, despite my nervousness. The lion was no longer alone; a jet black panther, sleek and low to the ground, stood facing him.

Riker is half the lion’s size,
I realized in horror, as it dawned on me that he could very well be eviscerated today.
Please don’t let that happen.
I sent a little prayer up to whatever god protected supernatural creatures from other supernatural creatures.

The fight started in a flash as claws met claws. They moved so quickly I could barely track their movements; it was all just a blur of golden and night-black fur.

“I don’t know if I can watch this,” I said, heart in my throat.

“Don’t look away for even a second.”

I couldn’t tear my eyes off them, in any case. For a moment it looked like the panther had the upper hand as he leapt on the lion’s back and dug his scythe-like claws into golden hide. But the lion twisted around, jaws wide open, and clamped down on the panther’s neck.

“Oh my god…” I covered my mouth, horrified at what I saw.

Riker was twisted to the ground on his back, belly-up. He screamed a blood-curdling animal sound of fury and pain. I wanted to reach out and
stop
it; every muscle at my body screamed at me to intercept.

I turned every thought towards them, willing the lion to open his jaw and let Riker slip away. Those teeth digging into his fur
seemed
to hesitate for a moment. A great breeze swirled around me, bringing with it a thousand wild scents; for a moment I felt like I could see two futures before me. In one, Riker died; in the other, he conquered. It almost felt like I could reach out and snatch the future I wanted from the jaws of fate.

The moment passed. Riker slipped out from underneath the lion, and with a great scream he launched himself at its neck. I could hear Jonathan muttering, “Do it, do it, c’mon,” as the panther’s teeth sunk into a golden-maned neck. Roaring his anger, the lion twisted back and forth, but he couldn’t dislodge the panther’s tight grip.

As he tossed and turned wildly, the lion stepped briefly out of the circle that’d been drawn in the ground.

“Forfeit!” a voice called. “The match is won by the werepanther.”

I let out a breath I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding. A huge weight lifted off my shoulders.

“I really thought he was going to lose for a second there,” Jonathan said. “I don’t even know how the tables turned.”

“Let’s not overthink it. Just celebrate.” I took a step forward, then hesitated. “Can I go to him now?”

He grinned. “Fly, lovesick birdie.”

I ran down the hill, trees streaming past as I rushed into the fray. It was easy enough to push through the loose crowd and into the fight ring, where the two opponents had separated and were turning back into their human forms. One glance at Riker in between the panther and the other was enough to convince me I never wanted to jump into that pool.

A moment later his whole form seemed to snap back into place, clothes mysteriously intact. I didn’t have time to question him about how that worked; I just threw myself into his arms, glad he was still whole.

“Careful there, princess,” he said, stepping back, “my ribs have known better days.”

“Oh! Sorry,” I mumbled.

“No worries.” With a heart-melting smile, he kissed me. It was brief, because of how public we were, but it soothed me all the same.