Authors: Sherrilyn Kenyon
“Why do you say that?”
“If Sander thought his claim had merit, I doubt Zack would be here.”
That made sense to Dante. As was typical among the tiger species, Lysander was very solitary and didn't like anyone or anything treading on his space. “Then who's backing him?”
“I'm not sure,” Vane said, “but it should be interesting.”
Dante hoped so. There was nothing worse than a boring meeting.
A bright light flashed, making Dante flinch as Lysander appeared on the far side of the room. Dressed in loose black Indian silk pants and a long sleeveless black vest that was heavily embroidered in gold, the tiger was bare from the waist up. His entire right shoulder and bicep were covered with a colorful tattoo of a heart pierced by a sword. His black wavy hair fell haphazardly around his face.
The blond tiger sneered as he saw Lysander's unorthodox appearance. “Fresh from the jungle?”
Lysander narrowed his gaze threateningly on the shorter tiger. “Don't fuck with me,
hijda.
I only like human form, for one thing, and since I'm not attracted to men, I'm not happy about being here.”
Dante exchanged an amused look with Vane, who had been right about Lysander not backing the other tiger. He particularly liked the Hindi insult to the tiger's manhood that had gone over his head.
Lysander pushed past the tiger to take a seat at the large round table, but it was obvious he was as anxious to leave as the rest of them.
No sooner had Dante turned away than something flashed just to his right. Dante watched as Damos Kattalakis appeared a few feet away from them. Damos was an Arcadian Drakos. The dragon was dressed in medieval armor, which made sense, since most of the dragons lived in the past where open fields and unchartered regions made it easy for them to hide from the humans.
Like Fury and Vane, Damos was a direct descendant of the royal brothers whose father had magically created their races.
Damos inclined his head to them. “Wolves. Panther.”
“Dragon,” Dante said, but he didn't offer his hand to Damos. With the exception of his wife and Vane a few seconds ago, Dante never touched an Arcadian by choice.
Damos seemed amused as he held his hand out to Vane. “Good to see you again, Cousin.”
“You as well,” Vane said, shaking his hand.
While Damos shook Fury's hand, the other nine Arcadians flashed into the room and took their seats at the large round table without acknowledging any of the Katagaria.
Dante tsked at their actions. “Look at the scared little children. I'm surprised they had the balls to show before Savitar was here to protect them.”
“Who says I'm not here?”
Dante jerked his head at the deep, lightly accented voice behind him. Standing at six feet eight, Savitar was an imposing sight. Not that Dante was afraid of him, but he did have a hefty amount of respect for the ancient being.
There was a mutual gleam of respect in Savitar's black eyes. His long dark brown hair brushed his shoulders, and his skin tone was as dark as Dante's Italian complexion. Savitar wore a small, well-trimmed goatee. No one was sure of Savitar's heritage, but he could easily pass for either Spanish, Italian, or even Arabian.
As always, he was dressed in a long, dark blue flowing robe that reminded Dante of an ancient Egyptian design. But what stood out was the pair of dark brown Birkenstocks on his feet.
“Let me guess,” Dante said with a laugh. “The big one is due in on the north shore?”
“Yes.” Savitar's tone was deadly earnest. “So let's make this quick. I have a board, a wave, and a babe with my name on them and I would like to take advantage of all three.”
Savitar left their side.
“Animals. People,” he said as he strode through the room with a gait that announced him as the very top of this food chain. “Cop a squat.”
Dante grimaced at Savitar's choice of words. He really hated that expression.
Constantine, an Arcadian jackal, sneered at Savitar, which was a very bad move. “We don't listen toâ”
His words were cut off instantly as Savitar waved his hand in the jackal's direction. The jackal began gasping for breath as if an invisible hand was choking him.
“You're a new little punk,” Savitar said in a sinister tone as he neared the Were-Jackal. Savitar narrowed his eyes on him. “You'll learn.”
The jackal sat immediately ⦠as did the others. The poor animal continued to wheeze as he rubbed his bruised throat.
Dante was a little more leisurely, but even he knew better than to test Savitar's extremely limited patience. Savitar's powers made a mockery of every creature here.
Savitar took his throne, which wasn't at the table. It was off to the side, much like the seat of a lifeguard ⦠or referee. Rather fitting, since that was why Savitar was here. To guard all their lives as well as those of the people and animals they represented.
Leaning back on his cushioned throne, Savitar passed a bored look to each of them. “Okay, folks and animals, we have exactly forty-two minutes and thirteen seconds until the next great wave comes my way, and I expect this to be finished in time for me to be on my board, waiting for it.”
Savitar let out a long-suffering sigh. “But since we have several new faces among us, let me dispense with the ridiculously boring pedagogy.⦠Hear ye, hear ye, welcome to the Omegrion Chamber. Here we gather, one representative from each branch of the Arcadian and Katagaria patrias. We come in peace to make peace.” Savitar snorted as if the very thought of that made him want to laugh. “I am your mediator, Savitar. I am the summation of all that was and what will one day be again. I make order from chaos and chaos from orderâ”
One of the women sneered, interrupting him. “Who is this guy and why do we have to listen to him? Since when do any of us take orders from a human?”
Dante looked across the table to where a petite brunette sat in the Arcadian Litarian seat. The poor lioness had no idea what she was saying.
He half-expected Savitar to zap her into dust.
Instead, Paris Sebastienne, the Katagaria Litarian rep, leaned over and spoke to her. “Hon, he ain't human. You see Leo over there?” He pointed to the old, gray-haired Arcadian bear who was three seats down from Dante. “He's sat here on the council for what, Leo? Nine hundred years?”
“Nine hundred and eighty-two, to be precise.”
“Yeah,” Paris continued. “And Savitar predates him. He has presided over this council since the very beginning, and notice, Savitar looks about thirty. We don't know what he is, but he ain't one of us and he ain't human. And trust me, you don't want to mess with him.”
“Thank you for that highly unamusing summation,” Savitar said drily. “Next time I have insomnia, I know who to call. In the meantime, little lioness who would probably like to live another year, don't interrupt me again. I don't like it and I tend to kill the things I don't like.”
Savitar indicated the seat to her left that was empty. “That's where the Arcadian jaguar Regis used to sit. Notice no one's there now.”
The woman frowned as she saw it. “What happened to him?”
“He pissed me off.”
She looked confused by that. “Why hasn't one of the other jaguars taken his place?”
“He pissed me off ⦠big-time.”
Paris leaned over to whisper loudly, “There aren't any Arcadian jaguars left. Savitar destroyed their entire bloodline.”
Her eyes widened as she made a large O with her mouth. She cleared her throat and made a placating gesture. “Please, Savitar, continue.”
“Yeah-h-h,” Savitar said, stretching the word out and inflecting it to show his agitation. He checked his watch. “We're running out of time, kids.”
He pinned his stare on Nicolette Peltier. “So why was I called?”
Nicolette stood up slowly to address them all. “Forgive me for wasting your time, my lord. But I have distressing news. It appears we have a Slayer in our midst, and I need help dealing with him, since he is housed in one of our protected sanctuaries. As our laws dictate, I cannot kill him without sanction.”
“We'll be happy to care for your problem,” Anelise Romano volunteered. An Arcadian Niphetos Pardalia, or snow leopard, the woman had a glint in her eye that reminded everyone there that women were far more bloodthirsty than the men.
Savitar shook his head. “And who is your Slayer, Lo?”
“Wren Tigarian.”
Savitar arched a brow at that. “Where is Wren? As the last Katagaria Niphetos Pardalia, he has a seat here in the Omegrion. Why hasn't he taken it?”
“He can't if he's a Slayer.”
Savitar turned to look at the blond tiger who'd spoken out of turn. The tiger moved forward.
By Savitar's face Dante could tell the man wasn't amused. “And who are you?”
“I am Zack Tigarian, cousin to Wren.”
Anelise frowned as she sniffed the air. “But you're not a snow leopard. You're a tiger.”
“I'm related to him on his father's side. His father was a tiger.”
Savitar stroked his chin as he narrowed his black gaze on the tiger. “And what do you know of this matter?”
“I know that Wren murdered both of his parents in cold blood.
Both.
”
Savitar gave him an arch stare. “If you knew this, why did you wait to bring it before the Omegrion?”
“Because I was afraid to come forward. I was young then and afraid of my cousin. Not to mention that the human Bill Laurens snatched him away and hid him in Nicolette's Sanctuary before I could tell anyone. Once Wren was ensconced there, I was powerless to pursue him for justice.”
Savitar looked less than convinced. “And now you're all better?”
“I no longer fear him. No. The time has come for him to pay for his crimes. Not to mention that he is showing signs of the
trelosa
which runs rampant through his species. He must be stopped before he kills anyone else.”
Dante shook his head as anger went through him.
“What is it?” Fury asked in a whisper.
“He's lying.”
“I don't smell a lie from him.”
“Yeah, but when this much money is involved⦔ He shook his head glumly. “I don't trust Mr. Versace.”
Savitar let out a long, tired breath. “Well, it appears that this is a Katagaria problem. Arcadians, go home.”
As they started to object, Savitar zapped them out of the room, back to their respective time periods.
All but one anyway.
Vane Kattalakis.
Nicolette came to her feet as Vane moved to sit beside his brother Fury. “Why is he still here? He is an Arcadian.”
Savitar arched a brow at her. “Truly you are one hell of an observant bear, Lo. But Vane technically straddles the fence. He is by all rights the head of the Katagaria Lykos.”
Fury passed an evil grin toward the bear. “I'm just a figurehead and I have no desire to challenge Vane and get my ass kicked by my own brother.”
Her gaze narrowed angrily at the two wolves. “He's partial to the tiger.”
Vane shrugged. “I'm partial to the truth, Lo. Good, bad, or indifferent.”
Zack moved forward to stand behind Nicolette's chair. “The truth is the
trelosa
is borne through Wren's mother's family. Almost every member of her family succumbed to it. It is why Wren is the last of their kind. Even she was going mad there at the end of her life. Some say that Wren killed her only after she attacked him first.”
Dante watched Savitar's face as he considered the tiger's words.
“Maybe,” Savitar said after a brief pause, “but Wren isn't pubescent now. He's long into his maturity.”
Zack contradicted him. “He is only forty-five. Puberty for his kind can last until the age of sixty.”
“Not necessarily,” Savitar said. “It depends on the genes.”
“He came into puberty late,” Nicolette said. “I know this for a fact. And he's only become sexually active in the last few days. Since then he has become more and more violent. Unstable. He was even arrested for it and for attacking human police officers.”
She shook her head. “This very afternoon, he had his picture taken and was on the local news because the humans saw him running in the zoo as a human in a cage with other white tigers. Tell me that wasn't madness.”
She looked at each of the remaining Katagaria members to implore them to her side. “His actions pose a threat to all of us. If the humans were to ever learn⦔
“Bullshit,” Dante said out loud. “This reeks of greed to me.”
“That's ridiculous,” Paris said. “We are the animals, not humans. Since when do any of us care about money?”
Dante held his hands up. “Hello? Ever been to my club, The Inferno? I give a major damn about the bottom line. In fact, I'm the second-richest Katagari in the world. And who am I second to? Wren Tigarian. This whole thing smells of a setup.” He glared at the tiger, whose stare was completely blank.
Lysander stroked his jaw. “I don't know. If he's exposed us⦔
“Wren is not a danger,” Vane said. “I know this kid. He is quiet and withdrawn. He would never do anything to draw attention to himself.”
Nicolette scoffed at Vane. “And what do you really know of Wren? Has he ever once spoken to you?”
Vane growled low in his throat, but in the end he admitted the truth. “Well ⦠not much.”
“Has he even acknowledged you in any way?”
A tic started in Vane's jaw. “No. Not really. As I said, he's withdrawn from the world.”
“That's right,” she said, curling her lip. She looked at Savitar. “He is completely antisocial. He refuses always to listen to anyone or anything. He has threatened the lives of my sons and me. Now he is dating the daughter of a senator. Tell me what Katagari in his right mind would do such?”