Covet (36 page)

“I didn’t tell you because, one, it’s none of your business anymore, and two, because I’m not hurt anymore. Sav fixed me with her hoodoo voodoo.” She jerked her hands free and gave me the evil eye. “Which, by the way, I did
not
spill the secret about, thank you very much!”

He looked to me now for answers, his eyebrows pinched. “Savannah?”

Her eyes widened then narrowed in an unspoken warning not to tell him. But she hadn’t made me promise not to. And diehard romantic that I was, I couldn’t help but be moved by the anxiety and confusion pouring off her ex.

“We…uh, had a little encounter with Dylan Williams at lunch today,” I said.

“Sav, seriously, it’s none of his business,” she hissed.

“Yeah, it really is,” Ron said. “What’d he do?”

“He went after Sav, so I went after him,” Anne said. “End of story.”

He ignored her, staring at me, wanting more details. I gave in. “Well, yeah, it’s basically like she said. He figured out I could read his mind and flipped out. When he went after me, Anne hurt her wrist while trying to put the hurt on his nose.”

“Which totally would have worked if the jackass hadn’t been able to fix it immediately afterwards,” she said. “But then Sav healed my wrist, too, so we were basically even. And now you know everything. Happy?”

The muscles in his jaw worked for several seconds. Finally, he stepped back, arms crossed. I expected him to throw a million questions at me about my spell-making abilities. Instead, gratitude radiated from him. “Then I guess I need to thank you, Savannah.”

I shrugged. “It was no big deal. She wouldn’t have gotten hurt if not for trying to protect me.”

Why wasn’t he curious about my ability to heal Anne?

I snuck a peek at his thoughts and got the answer. “Your mom told you about me, didn’t she?”

He nodded. “And why your family was kicked out of the Clann and why you didn’t know about the Keepers.”

So he knew I was half vamp and half witch. And yet he didn’t seem scared. “How long have you known?”

“Since that day I told you about the panthers of East Texas.”

I thought back over the weeks and months since then. How he’d guessed that I could read Tristan’s mind and didn’t seem bothered by it. The way he’d acted so quickly to help me when Dylan left his blood on my locker.

And how he hadn’t once been afraid to be alone with me in the library. My throat got a little tight at that.

“Thanks for not freaking out about it,” I said.

Smiling, Ron shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”

So now two normal people knew all about me and were fine with it.

I took a deep breath. “Okay, but none of this explains why we’re out here tonight. I mean, I feel bad for the Keepers. Believe me, I’ve had more than my fair share of crap from the Clann, too. But what do you want me to do about it? Even if we could find and catch one of those poor creatures, I’d never be able to change it back to human. Especially if it took a whole group of descendants to do the spell in the first place. I’m not that strong, and I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”

One side of Anne’s mouth hitched. “Oh, we don’t have to hunt down a Keeper. They’re much easier to find than you think. In fact, I bet if we sit here for a few minutes, Ron can go find us a Keeper, can’t you?” She looked at him, eyebrows raised with a weird twisted sort of smile.

He made a face back at her. “Sure. I’ll be right back.” And then he took off into the woods.

Whoa. Was he suicidal? “I thought you said these woods were filled with wild hogs. Isn’t it dangerous for him to—”

“He’s fine. Trust me. The hogs will be more afraid of him than the other way around. You’ll see.”

Silence as Ron’s footsteps faded.

“So why’d you think I’d need emotional support for this Keeper stuff?” I asked. “Or was it really that you just wanted an excuse to see a certain tall, blond and handsome guy?” Grinning, I bumped a shoulder against hers.

“Puh-lease. Actually, I just wanted to save time by being here so you wouldn’t have to call or text me later all ticked off because I didn’t tell you myself.”

“How in the world are the Keepers going to make me mad at you?”

“Because it’s a secret I swore to keep, even from you.” There was something in her tone, a note of pain that combined with a strange sense of loss she was projecting. It socked me in the chest and squeezed my lungs.

How could she not want to do whatever it took to stop that pain and get Ron back?

“Does this Keeper stuff have anything to do with why you two broke up?” Maybe Ron was so obsessed with finding a way to end the Keepers’ curse that Anne had gotten tired of it and broken up with him?

No, that couldn’t be the reason. Anne was just as obsessed with perfecting her overhand volleyball serve and her skills as the junior varsity Maidens’ star setter.

She surprised me by nodding and swallowing so hard I heard the gulp in her throat.

So that was it? She’d broken up with Ron over his Keepers obsession?

I searched for something to say to make her feel better. “Well, you know, nobody’s perfect. Everyone’s got a weird hang-up or two. Have you tried searching for Keepers with him? You never know, it could turn out to be a bonding hobby or something.”

Lips pressed together, she shook her head. “I already told you, we don’t have to hunt for them. And trust me, this is not the sort of thing you ‘take up as a hobby.’”

Fine. I was just trying to help.

Irritated now, I stayed quiet, listening to the nighttime sounds of the forest…an owl hooting somewhere off in the distance, the slight breeze rustling through the pine trees all around us. That cool wind brought with it the familiar scents of pine and dirt and unfamiliar smells of the wild things that lived in these woods.

I heard the breathing first, loud and heavy, almost like a warning. I froze.

“Anne, did you hear that?”

She looked at me. “Hear what?”

“Breathing. Loud, like something big’s coming—”

And then I saw it, its black fur catching and rippling in the edges of the car’s headlights as it padded out of the woods on silent paws that were as big as my hands. Its yellow eyes, their pupils vertical slits instead of rounded, watched us as it slunk ever closer.

Holy crap.

The last time my heart had raced this fast, Nanna had been hanging in midair, held captive by the power of the Clann in the Circle.

Tonight had to end better than that. I would do whatever it took to make sure of it. Dad said vampires were immortal unless we were staked through the heart, decapitated, or set on fire. As long as I kept my neck clear of that thing’s claws, I should be all right. Anne, on the other hand, was all too human. I had to get her somewhere safe.

The inside of the truck cab. Surely it couldn’t get through the windows or windshield.

Scared to make any sudden movements, I eased a hand out to touch Anne’s shoulder, hoping this would keep her calm. “Anne? I don’t want you to freak or jump or anything. But listen to me very carefully. I swear to you on Nanna’s grave that there is a huge animal over there.”

She glanced in the right direction. “Mmm-hmm, I see it.”

“Okay. Here’s what we’re going to do. I want you to very carefully ease your feet up onto the truck. Move super slow and quiet, and maybe it won’t attack. I want you to head for the back sliding-glass window and see if you can get it open.”

“It’s already unlatched. I thought I might need fast access to my bow and arrows—”

Was she thinking about
shooting
it? “Forget about the bow and arrows for now. I do not want you to play the hero. I want you to get inside the cab of your truck so it can’t get to you.”

She turned to me with a half smile. “Oh yeah? And what about you?”

Frowning, I kept staring at the monstrous beast. It had stopped at the opposite side of the road a few yards away. No telling how far it could leap, maybe right into the back of the truck with us. “I’ll be okay. Don’t worry about me. I’m a vamp, remember? As long as it doesn’t cut my head off—”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous. Just let me get my bow and arrows and I’ll take care of it.” Anne hopped up to her feet, moving way too fast.

I hissed, “I said move
slowly
! And you will
not
get your bow and arrows. Just get inside and…” A whooshing sound behind me signaled she’d opened the back glass window. I risked a glance over my shoulder. She had thrust her arm and shoulder inside, but the rest of her body was still vulnerable outside the cab. “What’s the matter? Are you stuck?”

“Nope, I’m good.” She spoke at a normal volume.

“Keep your voice down!” Geez, did she
want
to provoke the thing to attack us?

She stood up, and I wanted to throttle her. She was holding a compound bow with arrows attached and a weird plastic hook thing strapped to her right wrist. “Dang it, Anne, I said no! Just get inside where you’ll be safe.”

But even as I spoke, she was inserting an arrow into the bow then hooking it with the wrist thing.

“Anne, don’t!” What if she missed? It might make the beast run away. Or it might make it come after us for sure.

“Don’t worry so much,” she said, drawing the arrow and one of the three strings back to her jaw, resting the tip of her nose against the string with a smile. “I’ve got this. Ready? On three. One, two…”

Her right index moved forward and pressed the trigger of the hook attached to her wrist. The hook released the arrow. It went wide, missing the monster to the right by at least a foot.

The cat reached up and caught the arrow as easily as if it were a kitten grabbing a bird out of the air.

My jaw dropped. No normal panther would have done that. It must be a Keeper. We were
so
in trouble here.

Anne chuckled. “Good catch! But don’t you dare mark it up with those teeth or claws. Just leave it on the ground and I’ll get it later.”

Male laughter sounded, not nearby, but closer, as if I were listening to it through headphones. As if it were in my mind.

And it sounded familiar. “Ron?” I called out in a stage whisper, daring to look around us and trusting Anne would keep an eye on the panther. Ron had to be close by if I could hear him laughing.

Yeah?
Definitely Ron’s voice. Was he up in one of these trees?

“Where are you? Stay away! There’s a—”

A giant black cat staring at you? Yeah, I know.
He sounded ready to laugh at me.

Had everyone gone nuts around here?

“Yeah, well, this cat’s definitely not normal. Where are you? Can you get into your car safely? If you can’t, stay where you are and we’ll try to get inside Anne’s truck and come and get you.”

Anne laughed. “Yeah, Ron. We’ll come save you.” She laughed harder.

I scowled at her. “What is
wrong
with you? Can’t you see that huge black animal over there ready to tear our throats out?”

“Hickeys on the neck, yes. But he’s not going to hurt us.” Lifting her chin, she called out, “Ron, are you done playing with her yet?”

The panther eased closer. And closer. It was beside the truck now. Throwing caution to the wind, I jumped to my feet and darted in front of Anne, using my body for protection.

Whew, you’re fast!
Ron said.

The panther leaped onto the tailgate, and the entire back end of the truck dipped under the panther’s weight. Despite my clenched back teeth, a shriek escaped through my nose. It had to be at least six feet long from head to butt.

“Get inside the freaking truck!” I yelled at Anne, moving to stand between her and the monstrous cat. I had no idea how I would fight it off. I would have to pray my vamp strength would be enough against its huge size and weight. Was there enough of a human mind caged within that furry body to be reasoned with? Maybe if I apologized for Anne’s shooting at it…

“Dude, easy on my truck,” Anne said over my shoulder to the cat.

The panther sat on its haunches and made a sneezing motion with its head.

Give me a break
, Ron said.
She carts around dead hogs back here but tells
me
to be gentle with her truck?

For the first time since the panther’s arrival, I stopped trying to figure out how to save Anne and fully focused on Ron’s voice.

“Ron?” I said.

Yep.

The panther tilted its head, its tail slowly sweeping the tailgate.

“Where are you? Wave a hand or something so I can see you.”

The panther slowly lifted a paw in the air.

No flipping way… My mind locked up.

“Yes, you were funny,” Anne said, sounding bored now. “But I’m still not giving you a high five when you look like that.”

“That’s— The Keepers are—” I stuttered.

“Shapeshifters,” Anne said, playing with her compound bow.

Right. Of course they were. Because if the world could actually contain witches and vampires, then why not shapeshifting kitty cats?

“So this is a Keeper,” I said.

“Yep,” Anne said.

One of them, at least,
Ron said.

“Are there more like you?”

Oh yeah. Too many, in fact. It’s why my family had to leave Palestine. The Keepers are overrunning the woods there and need to start spreading out before we attract more notice than we’ve already gotten. Heck, we’ve already been seen so many times in the area over the years that they named one of the high school mascots after us!

I frowned at the panther. No, at
Ron
. “Why can I hear your voice inside my head?”

Part of the Clann’s original spell,
he answered.
It allows us to communicate with descendants, or in your case partial descendants, when we’re in panther form. Very handy in times of war, I guess. Not that any descendants have bothered to include us in anything they’ve been up to for the last hundred years. And it works both ways, by the way. I can hear your thoughts too right now.

Oh yeah?
I thought, testing him.

Yeah,
he answered, and I could hear the smile in his tone.