Captive Moon (19 page)

Antoine pulled his lips back, showing impressive fangs. “It will depend on the situation. If they are armed, defend yourself any way you must. Have you ever handled a rifle?”

She nodded. “My father occasionally shoots a rifle and shotgun at a club. He fought against the Russians when they tried to slaughter our kabile, and he taught me. I can handle one if it comes to it.”

His voice was still hushed, but there was a fierce intensity in his eyes that made her shiver. “No, that’s not what I meant. We’ll do our best fighting in animal form. But I want you to concentrate as we lead them into our trap. You need to listen for the whisper of metal on metal if they load a shell or another dart. There should be no human hunters in these woods tonight, so any metallic sound will be a threat.”

Antoine took another step, and a sudden rush of breaking branches in the undergrowth caused them both to turn. Deer musk, pungent with fear, made Tahira’s heart race and she struggled not to follow her first instinct and start the chase.

But Antoine apparently decided to take the opportunity the fleeing prey presented. She heard him murmur, “Perfect timing!” just before he disappeared into the snow-covered brush.

Antoine hoped that Tahira would realize his plan as he ran into the forest after the deer. They needed to get far enough away from their pursuers to set their own trap. But for a few moments he allowed himself to revel in the chase. It was the third night of the moon. The animal inside him was desperate to be free of human conventions. His lungs filled with cold air as his paws found purchase in the snow. His tail moved in unconscious reaction to the balance of his body as he loped after the prey. The chase felt natural and so right. Here in the woods there was only the snow on his fur, the rush of wind pressing against his eyes and nose, and the power of the moon as slivers of light parted the clouds. Tahira’s natural scent was heady, and combined with wet vegetation and frightened prey, it was nearly enough to make him forget his purpose. How long had it been since he hunted with abandon, just given in to his instinct? Hearing Tahira running beside him, seeing the powerful muscles play under her orange coat, made him want to take down the deer, to share meat with another cat who was a worthy hunting companion.

But not tonight. They had other things to consider. It was becoming a challenge to get deep enough in the forest. The lone stag was old and wily. He tried to double back more than once. Antoine was pleased that Tahira pounced quickly, cutting off its escape. She forced the deer forward into the deeper trees while Antoine kept watch around them. She kept stride with him easily, not attempting to overtake the deer. As they neared the mountain face, Antoine allowed himself to slow. The snow was deeper here, piled against fallen trees and large boulders. As they passed a small stream, he dug in his claws and slid to a stop. It took Tahira a moment to realize he had split off, but she quickly returned to his side, letting the deer continue to race into the distance.

“Did you smell something?” she asked in a whisper right next to his head. Her breath was deliciously hot against his chilled skin.

Without warning, something changed. He was suddenly, acutely aware of her—the sensation of her flank against his side, the adrenaline musk that drifted on the breeze, the golden eyes that held his with intelligence and powerful intensity. He couldn’t seem to get the memory of their kiss out of his mind—

the scent of sandalwood, cherry jam, and thick sweet musk was making his heart race and his head spin.

“Yes.” The word came out almost without thought, but Tahira took it the wrong way. Her neck fur rose and her head dropped defensively. She was instantly on alert, scanning the surrounding forest for their foes. It made her even more attractive to him, but it also reminded him that they had more pressing business.

He shook his head to clear it of more personal thoughts than he should be thinking right now. “No, what I meant was, this is a good location for the plan I have in mind.”

She was staring into the distance intently, and he could barely hear her whispered reply over the rising wind. “Good thing, because they’re coming.”

Antoine looked around quickly, searching for a place to ambush them. Yes! That would be perfect. The rock ledge was some distance away and about twenty feet above them, but it was nearly hidden behind a massive snow-covered spruce. From any angle other than where he was standing, he would be hidden.

“We need to get you out of sight.” His eyes took in the details of the small clearing. The running stream would cover small sounds, and the piles of snow might be an excellent hiding place for her. But she wouldn’t be able to see. She would have to rely on scent and hearing for her attack.

“If we buried you under the snow near that spruce—” he began, but she interrupted.

“There’s no need. Find your place. I’ll isim and we’ll take them by surprise.”

Antoine glanced away when the smell of the attackers, there were three of them, reached his nose. He shook his head and whispered, “You didn’t explain what that means… I… Tahira?” When he looked back, she was gone. He could still smell her, but she was nowhere in sight. When he heard her voice next to his ear, he flinched.

“You are the first non-Hayalet who has ever seen the isim, and you must swear to keep the secret. We are called the ‘ghost tribe’ for more than one reason.”

“Merde! Your people can become invisible!”

The low chuffing sound made his heart beat faster. “Not precisely. It’s sort of bending light. I can’t really explain it very well. It’s still new to me. But they’re nearly here. We can talk later.”

Antoine raised his nose to the breeze and realized she was right. He felt a rush of wind as she used supernatural speed to leap. He heard a small thump behind him and could now very faintly smell sandalwood on the bare spot under a large spruce. Without another word, he focused on the ledge. He would have to make a single leap. It was a longer jump than he’d accomplished in a very long time, and from a cold stand. He couldn’t afford to take a running start since the tracks would give away his location. It was the same reason Tahira had leapt to her spot.

Training with his cats had increased his precision in the past few years. It was much easier to show the cats what he expected than to project the image into their mind through his Sazi gift. But he hadn’t practiced any distance jumps. It had been more than a year since he’d trained with Fiona at the Wolven range. Still, a pulled muscle or two was a small price to pay.

His ears flattened as he crouched down low, being careful not to leave any impression in the snow. The tracks should just end without any hint of their position.

He wiggled his hindquarters, seeking just the right angle. He felt his heartbeat slow and the world disappear from his sight, except for the small rock outcropping.

With a low grunt, he threw himself into the air, pushing off from the earth like a rocket. He spread his front paws and extended his claws as the rock wall quickly approached. But he realized that the jump was going to be short by a fraction. He might be able to grab on to the ledge with his claws and pull himself up, but that would make noise. Plus, the sand and small rocks that would be dislodged in the process would be obvious on the undisturbed field of white below.

With only microseconds left, he turned his head, changing his flight toward the sheer cliff face. He pulled his rear legs under him and twisted so his head was pointing nearly down. With an impact that shook his bones to the core, he careened into the rock wall with all four feet. For a moment, he was suspended against the wall and gravity was pressing against him like lead. But then he pushed off, using his own momentum to propel him forward.

He threw his body sideways once more and landed on the ledge with barely a whisper of sound. Every muscle in his back screamed from the effort. He took a moment to catch his breath and tried to ignore the stab of pain in his hip.

Merde! I’ll heal, but I won’t enjoy it much. I’m just glad that playing so many games of pool with Lucas made me think of a bank shot to reach the pocket.

A rustling of branches below caught his attention, and he flattened himself against the rock, backing up so his head wouldn’t be visible from below. Three men wearing black knit masks walked slowly into the clearing. Two were armed. One of the rifles looked like the dart gun that he had seen in the police station. The tallest of the men, a viper in his animal form, was wearing black goggles and was scanning the area slowly. Even heat sensors wouldn’t detect him through the icy rock, but Tahira wouldn’t be so lucky. Night vision might not spot her, but she couldn’t hide her warmth.

Tahira watched the men slowly move around the clearing. The man with goggles smelled strangely like fresh asphalt. He slowly turned his head, and she held her breath. He must know he was looking for cats, because he spent as much time looking up into the trees as scanning the forest. Something caught his eye in a nearby tree and he raised his hand to focus the binoculars. The other men looked to him for a sign, but then he shook his head and returned to scanning the area. Tahira looked up and saw an owl, nearly hidden against the tree bark. She held her breath and froze as the man scanned right next to the tree where she stood. She suddenly realized that she’d been foolish and nearly swore under her breath. Even using isim wouldn’t hide her from some technology. She hadn’t considered heat signatures. She should have stepped behind the snowy branch right next to her. But it was too late now. If she was spotted, she’d just have to pounce.

But the goggles moved past her without notice. She heard the men whisper to each other easily, but didn’t understand the language. It wasn’t even similar to anything she’d heard recently, but it was obvious that they were angry and frustrated. Antoine had been correct that they were shapeshifters. One of them was a cat, but she couldn’t tell what species. The one using goggles was a snake. His movements were painfully slow and he was heavily bundled against the cold. The third man—she had no idea what the third one might be. There was a bit of canine and something close to a cat, but mostly he smelled of spoiled meat. She definitely needed to spend more time at the zoo back home.

Assuming I get home.

Tahira looked up to the ledge and searched for a sign from Antoine. She didn’t want to attack before he did, but it looked like the men might leave. That wasn’t acceptable. But even with her night eyes, she couldn’t see him. Had he already jumped and she hadn’t noticed?

The man with the goggles pointed for each man to spread out in a different direction. They both nodded and turned away. This was her chance. She tried not to think about getting wounded or getting captured again. With a vicious roar that made all three men turn, she threw her body forward with claws extended. She had never tried to fight in isim, but she had heard Rabi say it could be done. The man in the center went down under her weight, screaming as her claws raked through fabric into skin and muscle.

Out of the corners of her eyes, she could see the fear and confusion in the eyes of the other men. They raised their rifles, but couldn’t decide where to shoot. All they could see was their companion. A cracking sound and a rush of bitter tasting blood in her mouth caused the snake to scream again as she grabbed on to his arm to force him to drop the knife he had pulled. She dug in her back claws into the hard muscles of his thighs to try to get into better fighting position, but then heard metal on metal as the man on her right slid the bolt of his rifle into place.

The dart missed her by only a fraction as she jumped sideways. But the other man spotted the sudden indentations in the snow and swung his rifle around. A high-pitched scream cut the air, and the man went down in a flurry of snow and tawny fur. Tahira forced her attention from Antoine’s fight and pounced on the first man with the dart gun. The snake shifter was bleeding on the ground, moaning and trying to catch his breath. He wouldn’t be going anywhere for a moment.

But now they were expecting her, and the cat under her fought back. He was dark skinned behind the black mask, and the whites of his eyes at the sudden attack quickly disappeared. They hardened into cold professionalism. This was a trained fighter.

Antoine’s snarls behind her were met with equal noise from another animal, but she didn’t dare turn her head to see what kind. A startled yelp was followed by a savage hiss. Antoine was hurt! She could smell his blood and anger and it distracted her.

With lightning fast moves, her opponent used his rifle as a club. He caught her on the side of the head with a vicious blow that cracked the composite stock. Stars erupted in her vision. Her concentration shattered and she was suddenly visible.

The man under her smiled and dropped one arm to fumble in a leg pocket, while the other arm held her neck in a grip of iron. Darts! He was looking for more darts. She pulled back against the supernatural muscles that held her, fought the magic that tried to choke her into submission. Scrambling frantically, she tried to hold down his arm with her claws. With a desperate shake of her head, she freed her neck but noticed something. His glove had ripped off and a familiar scent flooded her brain. Rabi! He had touched Rabi at some time before he dressed tonight, and her brother had been afraid.

Fury combined with terror and the moon took control of her. She’d never felt her animal fill her so intensely or violently. She felt power pour through her skin, sparkling behind her vision in a wave. Thought was a liability. Language was unnecessary. There was only the scent of family and fear, anger and blood. Pain erupted in her side, her leg, her chest, and she let out a roar that bounced off the mountain, echoing into the distance. Animals and birds in the trees and thicket panicked, fleeing from the sound as they would before a fire.

Tahira reached for his throat, but the clothing was protecting it too well, so she opened her mouth, grabbed on to the man’s skull and squeezed. She felt her teeth sink through skin and bone as he beat at her and continued to stab something sharp into her side. He twisted and struggled to escape. She felt his body shift to animal form under her, but she didn’t let go, even as sharp claws raked her sides and fur tickled her tongue and tried to make her gag. There was no escape for her brother’s tormenter.