Sisters were crying. Silly kits. I padded to Angie Baby and sat beside her. She was still holding pink diamond. Red motes ran fast over her fist like bugs on burning ground. I dropped head and nudged her toward Carmen, witch with burns. Witch with red motes under skin. Angie looked at me, prey eye to predator eye, unafraid. “What, Big-Cat?” she whispered. I huffed, amused. Big-Cat was grown up name. Angie Baby was not allowed to use it. I nudged her again.
Jane peered out of cat eyes and saw red motes and burned Carmen. Molly, still shaking phone, trying to fix it, was holding hose, as if thinking about washing burned Carmen with cold water. Cia was hugging Liz, crying. Crying loud. I nudged Kit witch, but she did not understand.
Oh, Jane breathed. Of course. But, crap. I can’t tell her.
I opened mouth and placed killing teeth around Angie’s wrist, close to fist holding gem. Teeth gentle. Careful as with own kit, not to break skin. Pulled. I led her to Carmen. Lowered head and placed fist onto Carmen chest.
Red motes raced across Carmen’s flesh and dove into the diamond. Carmen gasped. “Coolio!” Angie said. “Mommy, look! See? I was smart to hide in your van!” I bent over hurt witch, smelling burned flesh and burned breath from her mouth and lungs. Carmen was in danger. She had no beast to shift into to heal. I huffed. Carmen might die. Jane made sound as if her kit or mate were injured. I walked away, tail low. Sad. Hungry. Jane was grieving.
Went into house of sleeping angry witch. Hooked burned paw around door handle of cold-food-place. Pulled. Inside, found many clear plastic dishes, some smelling of cooked pasta, cold and slimy. Cooked brown rice, cold and sticky. Cooked beans. Cooked fish! Using killing teeth, I pulled pasta and fish from cold-place. Tore into dishes, spilling food to floor. Settled to eat. Not hot witch blood. Not fresh blood of prey. Not bear or deer or rabbit. But enough for hunger clawing at stomach. Good fish. Lemon sauce and capers, Jane said. Oh. My. God . . . this is so good. Jane looked at kitchen floor. And this is such a mess.
Back outside, I groomed pelt and claws and watched witches pull injured sisters into shade. Molly talked to Angie about healing. About how body worked. Angie was too little. Was confused. Molly should just draw on Angie’s power to heal them, Jane thought, watching, intent.
Kill kit, like she killed garden, I thought back. Take too much life.
Jane looked around garden with cat eyes and said word for sex. Didn’t understand why dead garden made her think about sex. Bruiser and Leo and Rick made Beast think about sex. Humans were confusing. Lay head on ground, tilted so sun would warm ears. Closed eyes.
Time passed. Heard familiar sound. Raised head and huffed warning at Molly. She looked up. I huffed again and stood, turned head to road. Old car came down road, old car with rattling insides, not alive, but near death, black smoke for breath. Stinky. Big Evan’s old car.
“Thank God,” Molly said. I snorted. Big Evan was not god. Evan parked dying car and got out. Took Molly’s and Cia’s hands and put them on hurt sisters. Burned smell began to go away. Mewling sound from Liz stopped. Evan was good healer with air magic.
Long time in sun later, injured witches were better, enough to take to hospital. Boadacia—Cia twin—drove Molly-van to hospital. Big Evan carried Evangelina into house and I raced to follow, curious. He dropped her onto rug. She landed with bumping thuds. I hacked, amused. Big Evan looked at me and shrugged. “Oops.” But looked satisfied. Angry. Witch Evangelina was once leader of coven. Was zeta bitch now. Least in pack-coven.
Evan put Molly and kits down for nap on Evangelina’s couch and went into basement. Beast followed big male witch, mate to Molly. Stepped over Jane-clothes and claws. Evan stood at bottom of stairs with hands on hips, studying room. Saying things low, under breath. More sex talk about mothers. Humans think of sex at strange times. Jane laughed. I did not understand.
Evan pulled things from pockets and threw into room. His magic was dust on air. It smelled like bee sting, hurt nose. But magic of summoning the two-natured faded. Gone. Big Evan had good magic. Wanted to watch Evan. He studied salt circle and hedge and things inside it. The wolf blood in circle was gone. Demon looked hungry. Smelled dead wolf death-stink under bee-sting-magic-smell. More of small wolf was gone, eaten. Alive wolf looked sick. Afraid.
Sitting as far from hedge as silver chain would allow, Lincoln Shaddock was awake. His flesh smelled sick where silver touched him. Big Evan went upstairs to stinky, dying, rattly car and got rattly metal box. Beast followed like dog. Don’t like dogs, but curious about Big Evan. Stayed by his leg, full of many questions. Back in basement, Big Evan took things from box and put metal square with teeth against shackle. Said to Shaddock. “You try to bite me when I set you free and I’ll use one of Janie’s little knives to make sure it’s your last meal. I made her this one.” He lifted knife sheath that Jane had worn. Pulled vamp-killer; held silvered blade to light. Handle was made of carved elk horn. Jane’s favorite knife. “And I know how to use it.”
Evan pulled wooden handle back and forth across shackle. Made ugly sound, loud. I lowered ear tabs to protect ears. Hacksaw, Jane thought. Now why didn’t I think of that? Except that I thought the shackle was spelled. Big Evan used big hands to bend shackle open. And pulled Shaddock to corner of room. The two males talked softly, but Beast heard.
“Why didn’t she put you in the circle with the wolves?”
“She did. Most scared I’ve been since I died the first time. Woulda crapped my britches if I still did that kind of thing. It bit down with its beak, took a taste, and spat me out. Told her I tasted like spoiled milk and rotten cheese.” Lincoln was watching Big Evan’s neck where pulse beat. But he didn’t bite. He put the back of hand over his mouth and pressed. I smelled vampire blood. Did not smell like bad cheese; smelled tasty. I did not understand demon and cheese. Was confused.
Lincoln took a breath and said, “It’s looking for something it can possess. It wants something capable of being two-natured, which it plans to kill, and possess just at the moment of death. Bring it back without the occupying soul. But the weres are already two-natured, and they don’t die like it wants. Every time it brings them to the point of death, they shift instead of dying. It doesn’t want a maimed host, but it’s getting frustrated. Impatient.”
“Go on,” Big Evan said, his voice rumbling, like a growl.
“Humans are single natured, useless to it. And as far as it’s concerned, I’m dead.” Lincoln grinned up at Big Evan, who was staring at demon in circle. “So it wants a witch.”
Big Evan’s hands curled into fists bigger than Beast-paws. He looked at Lincoln with death in his eyes. Big Evan would be good hunter. Was good strong mate to Molly and kits.
“Don’t re-kill the messenger,” Lincoln said. He laughed. “Actually it wants Evangelina.”
“If it wasn’t for Molly fighting me every step of the way, it could have her.”
“Maybe not. It wants to possess someone with power, power that can be used in this world with no cost to itself—possession without the fight against the resident host soul. Witch magic to burn. Evangelina feeds it with her blood.” The vampire pointed with long finger to the hedge. “Look close. That thing has a tail tethered to the floor in the middle. That’s where she put her blood. When she wants in or out, she cuts her hand and drips some into a bowl. Holds it in front of her and crosses over the salt ring into the circle. The thing stands in the back of the circle until she’s done whatever it is she wants to do. Then she pours her blood onto the middle of the floor, and the tether gets bigger, stronger. And she leaves.”
“The demon talks?” Big Evan asked. “Can it be killed?”
“Evangelina understands it. I can make out some words here and there. Ain’t English. Not exactly. And it’s immortal, or so I’ve been led to understand.”
“So we have to find a way to bind and banish it again.”
The demon trilled a challenge. It did not want to go back to its place of darkness.
“You should ask my angel, Daddy.”
Big Evan whirled. Was suddenly holding Jane’s claw, her knife. And was standing between hungry vampire and kit. I hacked. Amused. Big Evan was nearly as fast as vampire. Good, good hunter. I padded slowly between Big Evan and Angie Baby. Sat on bottom step, on Jane clothes, that had ended up there, during shift. Flexed claws out and in and out. Showed Lincoln killing teeth. Will kill you like liver-eater. Will kill you like deer. Will kill you like male big-cat that killed my young, if you try, I thought at him. I let him see his death in my eyes. Growled low.
Lincoln looked at Molly’s mate. Looked at me. Thinking. “I have enough control left to not make a meal out of your little girl. Or out of the witches outside. Or the baby and your woman upstairs,” Lincoln said. His head tilted, like a snake. He looked sly. “Even poisoned and drained, I can wait until dark to hunt and feed.”
Angie Baby came to bottom step and put her arms around Beast. I rubbed jaw along her head, scent marking her, staring at vampire. Mine. Will protect.
“Ask my angel, Daddy. His name is Hayyel.”
At sound of angel name, demon screamed and fell to floor. Attacked dead body with beak and claws. “Hayyel, eh?” Big Evan said. The demon repeated his noise; he was afraid. “Let’s go upstairs, little girl. We have to talk about you stowing away in Mommy’s van. I was worried.”
“Okay, Daddy.” Angie Baby put blood-diamond into Jane jeans pocket. Gold chain was sticking out. Angie looked at Beast and smiled. Put finger to her lips and blew. “Shhhh.”
“Upstairs,” Evan said. Angie pushed away and scampered up the stairs. He looked at Beast. In predator eye. I growled low. I am Beast. Do not challenge.
“Jane, will you stay here and keep an eye on the vamp? If he moves, you can eat him.”
I hacked in laughter. Lay on step, like limb over path to water. Stared at Lincoln Shaddock. Dinner. Big Evan stepped over me and went up stairs. Magic tingled down stairway as Big Evan set a ward into air. Would make noise if vampire went up stairs. Good hunter. Good mate for Molly. Good mate for Jane?