Around and within the silvered cage, surrounding the vamp, a nimbus of power bloomed, a burning, spitting corona in a shade of yellow like Beast’s eyes. Outside, lightning cracked, hitting nearby. The silver cage lit up with power. Tilting Beast’s head up, I followed the cage walls high. They weren’t sterling, they were plated with a heavy coating of the stuff, but underneath the coating and above the cage, they were steel. Which would conduct power really well. The cage rose to the top like the spines of an umbrella, to the center, where they met and formed into a rod that went straight up into the roof. The lightning rod up top was attached to the steel and silver cage. Oh crap. The cage itself was a spell. With a witch-vamp inside it. With the quartz geode. In a storm that was affecting time magic.

Quartz was the best crystal to catch and trap arcenciel. And with a such a massive amount of quartz crystals, vamps could imprison the rainbow dragons easily. They wanted to ride the rainbow dragons and move through time, changing the future, and maybe the past.

I felt it before I heard it. Before I saw it. That hair-raising moment before lightning strikes. The instant between life and death by Mother Nature, when everything stands still. And then lightning struck the rod atop the roof. In less than a heartbeat of time it raced into the building and exploded down the silver cage. Lightning so hot it melted the silver off the steel in places, in an acrid sizzle of molten metal. And into the body and hands of the imprisoned vampire-witch. His head arched back, hair flinging and standing high, back warped in unbearable pain. Mouth open, he screamed in what sounded like an orgasmic moment. The nimbus of magics around him glowed and went white.

Beast took back over and turned our eyes away to protect our vision.

Outside, in the storm, I heard a scream, a sound I had never heard before but instinctively knew. Magic was calling arcenciels, trying to trap them in the crystals within the geode. To take them as slaves for use in stopping and altering time. Lightning transformed into magic, I thought. In the hands of Leo’s enemies. Oh crap. We’re in so much trouble.

A weak growl vibrated through me/us. Pain shuddered through with it.

Beast dropped her head and tore out the shoulder of the vamp she clutched in her claws. She lapped up Amitee’s blood. The agony in my/our hip and side decreased. I/we were healing. But too slowly.

In the room before us, Edmund took a bullet in the face. Went down to one knee. Bruiser swept through the opening in the wall at the bedroom, swords flashing as he mowed down the humans. Three fell, one to the left and two to the right, dead at the hand of Leo’s former primo, former Enforcer. Bruiser was a source of death, like the Reaper’s darker evil twin. He was laughing softly as he moved. Laughing as he carved and cut and brought death to the humans in the strange camo clothing.

The remaining attacking humans gathered around him, swords glinting, flickering. They were fast for humans, slicing and advancing, using a form of La Destreza that was different from the one I was learning. Within moments the Onorio was bleeding from dozens of cuts and stabs. He staggered. I/we stood. Screamed out a challenge. Mate!

Gee stepped through the broken doorway. His sword cut so fast I couldn’t focus on it. He engaged the humans, all at once. In moments they were on the floor. A bleeding, groaning mass of humanity.

Fernand rose to his knees. Pulled a gun. Took aim with his one eye. He shot Bruiser.

CHAPTER 18

Yada Yada, Physics, Yada Yada

Bruiser dropped to knees. Fell face-first into blood and gore on floor.

Bruiser? Jane thought, trying to take over Beast body.

Beast held Jane down. Bruiser is Onorio. Is not dead. Is not meat.

Bruiser rolled over, groaning.

Gee rounded on Fernand and cut him across belly and chest and down one side in move that Jane called Zorro. Fernand shot Gee.

Beast laughed, chuffing sound. Pulled paws beneath. Tight. Balanced. I/we launched across room.

A hundred forty-five pounds of Beast–mass and momentum, Jane thought. This one is meat.

Hit Fernand in stomach with front paws. Claws extruded. Caught flesh. Landed on top of Fernand. Vamp bounced on floor. Face was not healed. Tore out his throat too. Ate it. Tasted good. Like vampire meat. Like vampire blood. Want more! Screamed challenge.

Gee got back to feet. Took down the rest of humans in cutting arcs of silvered-steel death. Fight was over.

Scent of big-cat alerted me/us. Ricky-Bo dropped from flat limbs in ceiling. Landed beside us. Looked at Ricky-Bo. Snarled. Pulled vampire close. Mine. Will not share.

Rick looked at me/us. At meat in claws. Turned away. Like black shadow, he moved into darkness and out beneath garage door into sleet.

The entire fight took maybe three minutes, Jane thought. A long time for a firefight.

Eli squatted in front of us. “Babe. You’re freaking out the natives. You gotta stop chewing on the dead.”

Beast stood over body of prey. Raised bloodied paw and tapped body of Fernand. Shook head side to side like Jane talking without mouth.

“What? Not natives?” His face fell. “Not dead?” Eli leaned in and looked at wounds on vampire face and throat. Vampire caws rose, slicing faster-than-eye for Eli’s throat. Fernand. Eli wrenched back. Beast lunged. Almost fast enough. Snatched hand/wrist into killing teeth. Yanked talons out of Eli skin. Eli and Beast met eye to eye. He put his hand to the bleeding place on his throat. Calmly, he said, “That might need a stitch or two.”

Beast chuffed.

“Want me to finish this one for you?” Eli pulled vamp-killer from thigh-rig.

Beast backed away. With one swipe, Eli took head from Fernand. Blade tapped concrete of floor. Beast lapped blood at edge of neck. Good vampire blood. I/we are healed, but blood is good. Beast likes.

Padded to mate on floor. Was breathing. Heart was beating. Onorio was healing.

Thank God, Jane thought.

Eli stalked like predator to Amitee. Brought down blade on her too. Head rolled.

Beast trotted. Picked up head and carried it to mate. Pressed neck to mate’s lips and blood spilled inside. Bruiser swallowed. Dropped head close by and went back to body. Drank last of blood. Then lay down and groomed blood and meat off pelt. Watched as Edmund stood to feet. Wavered like kit learning to walk. “I may need . . .” He swallowed. “I may require blood to heal.”

“Find a blood-servant, dude,” Eli said. “I’m not on the menu. There is no quid pro quo here.” He toed one of the humans. “This one is still alive. So is that one. Heal them and drink. We’ll have someone to question and you’ll have dinner. Two birds.” To me he said, “Janie, we need to get this guy out of the cage. Suggestions?”

Am Beast. Not Jane.

What am I? Chopped liver?

Do not need liver chopped. Have fangs and claws to chop liver.

Beast trotted to door in cage. Was locked with magical lock. Would need magic key to open. Snorted and lay on floor. Started to groom pelt again. Vampire blood was going bad faster than other prey blood. Tasted bad. Did not understand.

“Jane!”

Jerked to feet. Was command tone from Eli. Alpha roar. Cocked head. Waiting. Jane was inside, thinking. Not listening to Eli. Put head against Eli leg, panting. Littermate rubbed head with hand. Looked tired. “Shift back, Babe. We got work to do. And you need vocal cords and opposable thumbs for it.” Eli went back to puzzle of silver cage.

Beast snorted.

Inside of head, Jane laughed. Sound was catlike. Mocking. At least you got to drink vamp blood. You ate my tacos. What’ll I do for calories to pay for the shift?

Beast snorted again. Trotted to corner where gobag had come off. Picked up gobag in teeth and carried into darkness. Found shadowed place under bed in bedroom. Lowered belly to floor and pulled with paws under bed, pushing gobag in front with paws.

No! Do not! Do not shift under this bed. Dang cat—

Outside, thunder rumbled. Beast chuffed. Shifted.

• • •

“I’ll kill you, you dang cat.” I was staring at the bottom of the bed, which was an old-fashioned metal mesh, about a quarter of an inch from my nose. The mattress sat atop it and it smelled musty. A spider had built a web in the corner and the spider, a strange yellow and golden creature with a bulbous abdomen, raced away to the far edge and turned to face me, mandibles waggling back and forth. I wasn’t scared of spiders, but that didn’t mean I wanted to wake up with one.