Panther Prowling Read online

  Vanzir was protecting Leif from a ghost that was trying to get at him. Shade was plowing through the spirits—he seemed to be able to disperse them with a touch in his dragon form. Smoky had managed to work his way over to Jay and Aslo, and the two were running like hell from him as he gave chase.

  Daniel, on the other hand, was in the middle of his ghostly brigade, and his focus was on Leif. I knew then, Einar’s goal was to destroy Leif. Because if he did, there would be no one to watch over the sword should we be able to re-imprison the chieftain.

  My throat burning, I jumped between Daniel and Vanzir. He stared at me, a twisted grin on his face.

  “Daniel? Daniel! Snap out of it.” I had to try—I couldn’t just mow him down without trying to dislodge Einar from him.

  He muttered something, but I didn’t understand what he was saying, then he raised the sword, and I realized that Daniel couldn’t hear me—wherever he was, it wasn’t behind those calculating eyes.

  I dove to the left as he brought the sword whistling down, and then stretched out my leg to hook my foot around his ankle. As I fell, I gave a yank and Daniel fell with me, the sword tumbling out of his hands. The flat of the blade bounced against my cheek, the iron burning with a sharp, fierce pain. I let out a scream, even as I scrambled to subdue my cousin. I straddled him, pinning him down between my legs, and forced his arms over his head.

  He struggled, trying to flip me off. Leaning back, I brought my head down against his, headbutting him so hard I saw stars and the bruise on my forehead sent a shockwave of pain through me.

  Even though Daniel was possessed by a ghost, the fact remained that I was stronger and bigger than he was, and I was half-Fae. His eyes closed as I knocked him unconscious. I looked up and noticed that, in all the mayhem, Aslo was trying to sneak out of the room.

  “Oh hell no, you don’t!” I shifted fast, so rapidly that it hurt, but seconds later, I bounded across the room in panther form. Aslo turned on me, a very big knife out, but he was no match for me. I leapt, knocking him to his back, and as he struggled, I caught his throat in my jaws and bit deep. The blood spurted into my mouth, warm and fresh, and the thrill of the chase set me off. Aslo gurgled out some last words, but I didn’t care, and was off again, piling into the fray.

  The ghosts were still moving forward, which told me that Einar still retained control, unconscious though he might be. As I considered what to do next, Camille and Morio raised the wand overhead, both of their hands linked around it, and they let out a loud shout. A swirl of energy rose out of the tip, from the crystal, to spiral down and through the mayhem. It headed toward Daniel, and I realized what they were doing. I shifted as quickly as I could, groaning as the pain hit full force when I landed back in my two-legged form.

  “Leif, grab the sword—take the sword!” I screamed as loud as I could so he could hear me over the mayhem.

  Vanzir heard me, though, and he shoved Leif forward, toward the sword. Leif snatched it up and teetered back as Daniel’s eyes shot open and he abruptly sat up. His focus was solely on Leif now, and he was on his feet before I could reach them. Leif looked terrified and he turned to run, but Daniel was on him, struggling with him for possession of the sword.

  At that moment, the energy from Morio’s wand hit the pair, swirling around them like a tentacle, catching them both. They rose into the air, held aloft by the energy, and the sword was in both of their hands.

  Suddenly realizing what was going to happen, I lunged forward, trying to intervene. But I was too late. There was a horrible flash, and the smell of sulfur and burning embers, and Leif collapsed as Daniel let go of the sword, dropping to the ground. The sword landed near him, but he sat there, looking confused, not attempting to reach for it.

  I landed by his side. “Daniel? Is that you?”

  He blinked, squinting at me. “Where the hell am I?”

  Morio and Camille knelt near the sword. Smoky strode over, motioning Camille away from it. I looked around for Jay, then saw his body, limp on the floor, neatly eviscerated. I didn’t say a word—Smoky made his own rules.

  Smoky picked up the sword and stared at it. “I think . . . they are both in here.”

  Camille winced. “We didn’t mean for that to happen. Is there any way we can free Leif?”

  I looked around. The ghosts had gone back to being their normal selves, and the warriors moved forward, eyeing us cautiously. “Is his body alive?”

  Vanzir leaned down to check for a pulse. “Yeah, he’s alive. Let me try to wake him up.” But try as hard as he might, he couldn’t shake Leif awake. “I think . . . he’s in a coma.”

  Feeling dazed, my throat still raw, I tried to close my vision to the milling ghosts that thronged around us, once again back to their lost lives. But they wouldn’t go away. “I don’t know what to do. We promised Leif we’d destroy the sword, but if we do, then we destroy him in the process.”

  “Maybe Wilbur can help? He’s a necromancer. Maybe he can figure out how to separate Leif and Einar?” Camille limped over. She was covered in bruises. Being tossed through the air a couple times certainly hadn’t helped.

  “That’s the only thing I can think of.” I shrugged. “Why do I feel like we won the battle but lost the war?”

  “Because . . . we did. Okay, then. We’re done here. Let’s go see Wilbur. And maybe . . . just maybe, we can salvage something out of this mess.” I motioned to Leif. “Somebody bring his body. Somebody not Camille or me carry the sword, and for the gods’ sake, keep it away from Daniel.”

  Camille and I helped Daniel to his feet, and we all staggered toward the stairwell. I watched the misty figures pass around as we went, and felt a wave of incredible sadness sweep over me. Most of these people had died here. And now they were just as trapped as they had been in life.

  “When we get the chance, we’re coming back here and clearing out this horror show. And we’re not handing these spirits over to Ivana. We’re freeing them to go on, to leave, to finally have some peace.”

  Camille nodded as we helped Daniel down the stairs. It felt like a million years since we’d first entered the asylum. And it felt like I was leaving a little part of myself behind. Now that I knew there were so many spirits everywhere, my world would never be the same. I’d never again look around, and think I was alone. And that . . . that was a scary thought in itself.

  Chapter 20

  The drive to Wilbur’s took a good twenty minutes, dodging power lines and trees and emergency vehicles. But we made it. Camille groaned as she climbed out of the driver’s seat.

  “I’m going to hurt like hell for days. I need an Epsom salts bath, that’s for sure.” She winced as we headed up the steps to Wilbur’s house. I knocked, and was surprised when Martin opened the door. I don’t know why it startled me—Martin often acted as the butler for his brother. The fact that he was a ghoul shouldn’t matter, I guess, but it still gave me the creeps.

  Morio and the others were right behind us. We made sure Daniel was far away from the sword, but I could tell that it was still working on him. He was watching every movement Shade made with it.

  We explained to Wilbur what had happened, and he let out a “Hrmph” and leaned down to look at the weapon, running his hands over the blade but not touching it. That was one thing I would say about Wilbur. He might be crass and rude and lewd, but he was far from stupid.

  “So you want the boy’s soul returned to his body. What about the other one?” He finally sat back, contemplating the sword.

  “What about it? Can you do anything about it? Ultimately, we’d like to destroy it—and the sword with it.” I leaned forward. If Wilbur could help us, then I’d gladly be in his debt. I was so tired of collateral damage that I’d even give the old coot a kiss if he could fix this mess.

  He gave me a long look, almost as if he could read my thoughts, and I blushed. With a guffaw, he slapped his knee. �
��Yeah, I can take care of this. Morio and Pussycat, I’ll need your help—the rest of you will just get in my way. You say you want the other soul destroyed?”

  “And the sword, if possible.” Camille frowned. “It’s dangerous to leave around. It can entrap spirits and we can’t handle it since it’s iron.”

  Wilbur arched his eyebrows. “I know men would pay a pretty penny for this thing.” He whistled as he picked it up. “Oh yes, I can feel them wriggling around in here, like snakes in a tube. Or my snake when I see you chicks in a pair of tight pants.”

  Camille groaned, shaking her head. “You had to destroy the moment, didn’t you?”

  “I do my best, honeypot. I do my best.” He motioned for Morio to follow him, the sword casually in hand. “Bring Leif’s body with you, Fox.”

  Morio carried Leif and I followed. When Wilbur had rebuilt after the fire, he’d built his laboratory on the main floor to avoid having to use the basement. Now, we entered and he motioned for Morio to place Leif on a flat metal slab. I didn’t want to think about what other bodies Wilbur had put there.

  “I have some powder . . . it should free your buddy out of there. Then . . . I can use an alchemical spell to transmute the sword. It should destroy the Viking’s soul in the process. But Pussycat, I need you here because if he gets loose, you have to disintegrate him or whatever it is you do as a Death Maiden. That’s the only option if he manages to survive the spell.”

  I didn’t like using my powers without permission, but we had no choice at this point. If we didn’t get Leif out of there now, Einar might be able to destroy his soul. “All right.” I stood back, changing into my panther form. It would be the quickest way for me to react if I needed to.

  Wilbur and Morio worked in silence. I had no clue what they were doing, but that wasn’t my department. I just had to be prepared. They set up several beakers and poured powder and some sort of liquid into two of them, then Wilbur motioned for Morio to go stand by Leif’s body. The necromancer lifted the sword, holding it up to the heavens, then he laid it back down and poured the liquid that was bubbling into the powder. A puff of smoke hissed up as the liquid frothed and foamed, and Wilbur silently began to pour it over the sword, while whispering in that same language he’d spoken before. By now I had the feeling it belonged to the South American shamans he’d learned his craft from.

  Morio shouted and I looked over to see Leif convulsing. Just then, I saw two forms emerge from the sword—Leif was racing away from Einar, who looked as mad and bloodthirsty as we thought he was. They were both translucent, and I realized that they’d been freed by whatever the liquid was—it hadn’t destroyed Einar. Leif passed by me, heading toward his body, with Einar on the run.

  I jumped in between them, looming up, growing wild and feral and snarling at Einar, who stopped in his tracks. “Nei nei,” he whispered. “Nei, nei. Bli borte, Valkyrie.” His eyes were wide and he looked absolutely terrified.

  I transformed back into my two-footed shape, but cloaked in the dress of the Death Maidens, and I reached out to touch his spirit. Without knowing what I was going to say, I opened my mouth to speak. “You must rest, Einar. You must travel through the veil for good. You have lived long past your time and you must go meet your fate. Go to your gods and answer for your actions.”

  The moment my hand met his spirit, he screamed, and then a rift opened—I could feel the autumn winds blow through it—and Einar was sucked through. It slammed shut, closing with a final sucking sound, and Einar the Bloody was gone from our realm forever.

  I let out a long breath and turned to see Leif opening his eyes. Wilbur let out a crowing sound and held up a metal cube.

  “Here’s what’s left of your sword and sheath. Neither will ever be able to entrap anyone again.”

  Feeling both relieved and exhausted, I turned and walked out of the room without saying a word.

  * * *

  Camille and the others were waiting as I emerged from the back. They sat up, looking expectantly at me. “It worked. Leif is safe. Einar is gone. The sword . . . it’s toast.”

  Smoky and Shade suggested we go home but I shook my head. “I want to wait until we find out how Leif is doing.

  Daniel had fallen asleep, and Camille looked close to it. Vanzir was resting his eyes, too. Martin shuffled over and repeatedly tried to turn on the television. At least he wasn’t getting miffed about the darkened screen, but it was almost mesmerizing to watch the single-minded focus. After another ten minutes, Camille grumbled and marched over, leading Martin back to a chair, where she pushed him in it.

  “Stay, boy.”

  Martin started to stand and she pushed him back to the seat.

  “I said stay!” She leaned over him, hands on her hips, sounding for all the world like Iris.

  Shade glanced over at Smoky and laughed. Smoky just shrugged and shook his head. “Don’t even ask.”

  Another five minutes and Morio and Wilbur brought Leif back into the room. Leif was on his feet, looking no worse for the wear.

  “It’s okay,” Morio said before we could ask. He held out a huge slag of iron. “This is all that’s left of the sword. I’m going to go chuck it in the Sound where nobody can find it.”

  “I removed the magic from the blade first. You girls owe me one. I’ll happily take it in trade.” Wilbur looked at Martin, frowning. “I’m surprised he’s not trying to turn on the television.”

  Relief sweeping over me, I walked over to Wilbur, grabbed him in a big hug, and planted a big ol’ kiss on his forehead. “You grumpy old lecher. Thank you. And we owe you one, yes . . . we’ll take you out to dinner when the town gets its power back.”

  As I stood back, I suddenly noticed a misty apparition standing next to the burly biker. Startled, I glanced over at Martin, who was staring straight ahead, then back at the ghost. It was Martin’s spirit, and he was smiling at his brother with the kind of love reserved for someone who always pulls you through the hard times. He glanced at me, and I realized he could tell that I saw him. He raised one finger to his lips and shook his head, then turned and walked through the wall.

  I glanced at Martin again . . . maybe the dead really didn’t care what happened to their bodies. And even if Wilbur didn’t know it, his brother was with him in spirit, as well as body.

  Turning to the door, I motioned to the others. “Come on, guys. Let’s go home. I’m worn out.” As we trooped out of the house, the rain soaked in again, and I shivered, wondering how long it would be till we got our power back.

  * * *

  Thanks to Shade and Smoky, we were all able to take reasonably good sponge baths with piping hot water. It wasn’t the same thing as a long shower, but at least we were clean. Camille was bruised up, but she would heal. Leif was asleep in the parlor, and we planned on keeping him around until we made sure he didn’t have any aftereffects from being in the sword. Daniel was sleeping on the sofa. He, too, was exhausted.

  Camille and Menolly and I gathered on Camille’s bed, Maggie playing quietly between us. The fire in the fireplace was blazing, and Smoky had heated up some stones and wrapped the blankets in them till they were toasty. They’d chill down soon enough, but it was enough to take the edge off being so damp and wet. Battery-operated candles lined the shelves—for safety given the number we needed—and the room was beautiful and glowing in the dim light. Outside, the wind had picked up, but at least it wasn’t storming again like it had.

  Camille and I held cups of hot chocolate, and a plate of cookies sat on the nightstand, out of Maggie’s reach. Hanna had managed to fix tomato soup on the grill, as well as grilling French bread and sprinkling it with a heavy coating of parmesan, so we’d eaten a hot meal earlier. The power was still out, and would be for days, the news said.

  “How’s Shade doing?” Menolly didn’t need the blanket, but she huddled under it, too, because it made everything seem cozier.

&nb
sp; “It’s going to be an interesting road. We still don’t know whether or not he can regain what he lost, but we’ll figure that out as we go along. With my new abilities, he’s going to have his hands full, so we’ll have to help each other adjust. Tomorrow I’ll head out to Haseofon, after a good night’s sleep, and begin training on how to handle all of this. It’s disconcerting, to say the least.” I turned to Camille. “How do you feel? You got tossed around like a rag doll.”

  “It hurts but it’s not like I’m permanently bruised.” She paused. “Menolly, I need to tell you what happened out at Talamh Lonrach Oll.”

  “You told us at dinner that Morgaine died . . . did something else go down?” Menolly frowned. She had been bummed at being left out of the action, but the vampire thing was just a reality of her life. Daylight and vamps didn’t mix, and unfortunately, it left her out of the loop at times.

  “Yeah . . .” Camille took a deep breath. “I haven’t told anybody else this yet—Delilah knows but that’s all. I’m slated to take Morgaine’s place.”

  Menolly stared at her. “What?”

  “I’m destined to become the Queen of Dusk and Twilight.”

  After a pause, Menolly sputtered. I half listened to her diatribe—apparently she had some strong thoughts on the subject. I zoned out of the conversation. I was tired and just wanted to curl up in Tabby form.

  As my attention wandered, I glanced over to the edge of the bed, where Maggie was giggling. There, in the dim light, I saw the faint shadow shape of a very large woodland gargoyle. Maggie’s mother. We’d seen her before once or twice, when she’d come to check on her baby. Now she glanced up and saw me watching her. She raised one of her hands and I gave her a broad smile and nodded. With a soft mooph—whether it was Maggie or her mother, I couldn’t tell, Mama ’Goyle leaned down and nuzzled her baby. Then she stood, and as Maggie paused, watching, she silently vanished.