There was some kind of ancient pipe network hanging along the wall and stretching across the entire length of the room. It was obviously rotten in places, with old metal crumbling in a manner which I hadn’t even thought was possible. I scanned it carefully. It was held up at various points with sturdy looking joints. As long as I didn’t spend too long on the sections in between, it would probably hold my weight.
Edging over, I sprang up, my claws hooking round it so I could swing myself onto its narrow length. It wasn’t particularly comfortable and it certainly wasn’t going to be easy, but I had feline reflexes and balance that would serve me well. As long as I didn’t lose focus, I should be able to reach the end without mishap.
The baby Scitalae below were completely oblivious to my presence. From time to time, their hissing rose up and died down again. It was no wonder I’d mistaken them for flowing water. The combined sound was almost uncanny.
I’d just leaped over what had appeared to be a particularly rotten section when I spotted the kid. She was lying on top of some kind of stone table at the far end of the room. A large clump of baby serpents had clustered below, obviously aware of her. Several times, one broke away and attempted to coil its way upwards towards her. They didn’t yet possess the strength or muscle of their parents, however, and kept sliding back down. The girl, at least, was ignorant of her predicament, her eyes closed and her chest moving gently up and down. There was a slight trickle of blood from her temple, indicating that she had fought. A six year old human would be no match for a fully grown Scitalis though. The only good thing right now was that she was still alive.
Now that I had her in my sights, I picked up speed. The pipe creaked ominously under my weight but it still held. Just. The moment I was opposite her, I launched myself off, flying through the air towards the table. I almost misjudged it and went too far but I managed to correct myself just in time, landing with all four of my paws around the kid’s slight body. My claws scratched the table’s smooth surface as I came to a halt, leaving long raking marks down it. Oh well. It’s not like the Scitalis would care.
I leaned my head down until my nose was almost touching hers. Apart from the blood on the side of her head, she appeared otherwise unharmed. There was no sign of the larger serpent yet so I could only presume it had wandered off elsewhere until it was time for dinner. I’d have to get the girl out of here soon though. The table was unpleasantly reminiscent of a sacrificial altar. Unfortunately, I also needed her to be awake.
Being as gentle as I could, I licked her face, cleaning it of the blood. She stirred slightly and moaned, then opened her eyes. She blinked once or twice before smiling.
‘Kitten!’
I winced – and not just because her voice had echoed round the room with dangerous volume. Wasting no further time, I pawed at her arm, trying to convey to her what I needed her to do. She smiled again. Her eyes really were the most arresting shade of blue. The smattering of freckles across her tiny upturned nose were also about the cutest things I’d ever seen. If she were my child, I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to let her out of my sight. The risks that a vulnerable child like this would face were far too much. And a child of mine would have even more to deal with.
Fortunately, she was as intelligent as her brother. She smiled at me again and reached upwards, hooking her arms round my neck. I twisted just enough to allow her to clamber onto my back. There. We were all set. In less than ten minutes we’d be back in London.
Warier now as a result of my precious burden, I took more time preparing myself for the leap back to the pipe. In the split second before I jumped off the table, however, the girl’s arms tightened.
‘Kitty,’ she whispered. ‘The floor.’
She’d caught sight of the writhing baby serpents. That wasn’t good. Considering our current positions, it was difficult for me to reassure her. I tried to crane my neck round to give her another lick of understanding when I saw the floor myself. Oh shit. It wasn’t the babies she’d been referring to. It was the mother. She’d obviously buried herself under her children. Now she’d caught wind of me and was on the attack.
I snarled as the huge Scitalis rose up, its glittering eyes fixed on me with what could only be described as pure malevolence. The girl screamed. With her on my back, doing anything to attack the serpent was going to be nigh on impossible. It didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try though. I turned to face the damn thing full on. Unfortunately I’d forgotten about its lethal tail. It whipped towards me with unerring speed. I knew in that moment that the Scitalis was aiming directly for the child. I had no choice. I moved so that the blow took me full on in the head, avoiding the kid altogether. The force with which it hit me was so strong that I went flying off the table and into the nest of babies, taking the girl with me. They swarmed over us, tiny jaws opening and ready to tear us apart. I spun round, only just managing to fling the kid upwards and back onto the table. For me, however, it was too late. The babies were already sinking into my skin.
Venom, I thought dully, as consciousness began to seep away. Their fangs were venomous.
‘Kitty!’ the girl shrieked. ‘Help!’
There was nothing I could do.
Chapter Three
The warm shape next to me burrowed deeper against my fur and murmured. Carefully, I opened my eyes, wincing as I started to feel the pain seep through my bones. The girl was still next to me and she was still alive. So, apparently was I. That was something. I struggled up onto my front paws only to see the adult Scitalis eyeing me. Its tongue flicked out, dancing only millimetres from my face. I swore it had a grin on its face.
I tried to stand up completely but I received a warning hiss in return. The Scitalis flicked a look at the girl. I understood. Make a move and she’d be the appetiser. I wondered why neither of us had been eaten yet. Then I realised. She was probably still waiting for her mate to return. It wouldn’t go down well when she realised I’d already killed him.
I sank back down and began looking round the room. There had to be a way out of here. We were still in the same place as before and still on the same damned stone table. I could probably extricate myself easily enough but the kid made things a hell of a lot more complicated. I wasn’t about to leave her behind though. Not for anything. The good thing was that I had my human form to fall back on. All was not lost – not yet anyway.
The girl was light. I could shift back, then throw her up towards the hanging pipe. If she could manage to cling on there she’d be safe from the babies. Meanwhile I could deal with mummy. It was probably the best I had. I pulled away slightly and gave her a lick, hoping she wouldn’t freak out when I transformed. Before I could do much else however, the room exploded into light.
As my vision struggled to cope with the sudden change, I heard snarls and hisses. It looked like the cavalry had come after all. I manoeuvred myself over the girl’s body, doing what I could to protect her fragile form as fire suddenly ripped across the floor and there were a thousand screeches. The adult Scitalis had already whipped round to face the threat but the attack on her children was diverting her attention. She flung her tail wildly round and round. There was a yelp as she connected with something. Then it was abruptly cut off as something else slammed into her skull and she collapsed, dousing half the flames on the floor as she did.
A werejaguar, a werewolf and a … I blinked. A werehamster.
Hello, my Lord. Laura’s Voice bounced around my skull. I shook my head. How was that even possible? As Lord Alpha, I had to initiate telepathic Voice contact. There wasn’t time to question it, however. The baby Scitalae, growing crazy with the sudden collapse of their mother were ignoring the wall of flames and doing whatever they could to muster a serious attack. Laura used her tiny teeth to grab the girl by the scruff of her collar and swing her round towards Mark, the werejaguar. She seemed delighted to be confronted with the new ‘cat’ to play with, swinging her legs round him to ride him as if he were a pony. He threw me a baleful glance
and I almost laughed.
Let’s get out of here, I said to them all.
There were three vigorous nods in return. A heartbeat later, using the fallen body of the Scitalis to avoid the snapping babies, we sprinted out.
The portal was in exactly the same place as when I’d arrived. Laura grinned at me – or at least gave me an expression that I could only imagine passed as a grin for a werehamster - and bowed at me to go ahead. I should have stayed behind until last. As Lord Alpha, that was my duty. She deserved this, however. She was the real hero of the hour. I sprang through, landing in a sprawled heap back in the cemetery, which was now as shrouded in darkness as the Scitalis’s lair had been.
Staines was there, crouching down and addressing the boy whose tear-stained face abruptly changed expression when he caught sight of me. ‘Anna! Where’s Anna?’ he shrieked.
A heartbeat later, Mark came through, falling down from the tree with the girl - Anna - on his back. He did a far better job of landing than I had. Anna slid off and ran towards her brother. They both hugged, clutching at each other. They were all smiles, apparently none the worse for wear for their mutual ordeal.
The werewolf, followed by Laura, joined us, spinning down from the portal. Staines frowned his disapproval at me and handed me off a neat pile of clothes. I nodded once and ducked behind the shed, quickly shifting and changing. When I emerged back out again, there was a mage chanting the portal closed and another holding the hands of the children, no doubt altering their memories.
‘Goddamnit!’ Staines exploded. ‘What the hell did you think you were doing?’
My eyes narrowed. ‘I should have thought that was clear.’
‘Leaping through an unknown portal? You’re not invincible, my Lord! Of all the stupid, ridiculous, foolish…’
‘Hush,’ I said tiredly.
The mages turned to me and bowed. ‘Everything is taken care of, Lord Alpha. We shall see the children home and ensure their parents don’t ask any, um, awkward questions.’
‘Will they be alright?’
He smiled for the first time. ‘They’ll be fine.’ He cast a glance towards the oak tree. ‘And don’t worry. There won’t be any portals opening here again for the next hundred years or so.’
I gave him a nod of terse acknowledgement and he left, the two kids in tow.
‘That was fun!’ Laura exclaimed, appearing from around the other corner of the shed and now fully dressed herself. ‘We should come to London more often.’
‘Thank you,’ I said gruffly.
She beamed at me. ‘The pleasure was all ours. Although, you know, you really shouldn’t go walking through strange portals.’
I rolled my eyes and glanced at Staines. Why these three? I asked. Why not the Brethren?
Because, my Lord, he sniffed, I didn’t want anyone in the Brethren to realise what an idiot you were being. Besides, you seem to hold them in high regard.
What they’re doing in Gloucester is changing the world, I pointed out. It was a little experiment that was going down particularly well. Instead of one single Alpha, the three of them were working together to lead their Pack. It balanced the power and was having incredibly positive effects. I desperately wished I could encourage other rural Packs to do the same. Hell, I wished the Brethren could be like that too.
Staines pursed his mouth. So you keep saying.
She initiated Voice contact, Staines, I told him quietly. Laura. The only other person who’s been able to do that is… my Voice trailed off. I didn’t need to go there. She’s stronger than I am.
Bullshit. She’s a werehamster. I just looked at him. He frowned. This is a conversation for another time.
Is it?
You can’t just hand over the leadership of the Brethren to someone. It doesn’t work like that.
Maybe it did work like that. I scratched my chin. Staines was right though. This wasn’t the time for this kind of conversation.
‘Thank you,’ I said again to the three of them. ‘Your help was very much appreciated.’ I glanced at the wolf. ‘I still don’t know your name.’
‘It’s Colin.’
‘Well, thank you, Colin. I know you don’t normally involve yourself in action.’
He bowed. ‘You’re welcome, my Lord. It was good to get out. You’re right though.’ He smiled faintly. ‘I do prefer accounts and paperwork to giant snakes.’
I stared at him. He was crazy.
‘I saw a decent looking pub round the corner,’ Mark, the werewolf announced. ‘I could do with a beer. Anyone else?’
Laura and Colin nodded vigorously. ‘Amen.’
‘We’ll catch you up,’ I told them.
Laura watched me, understanding in her expression. She nodded and turned away, heading off with the other two beside her.
Once they were out of earshot, I looked back at Staines. ‘I’m sorry,’ I said heavily. ‘It was a stupid thing to have done.’
‘You’re damn right,’ he grumbled. His expression softened. ‘Understandable though. Now you’ve worked that bitch out through your system…’
No prizes for guessing who he was referring to. I held up my hand and interrupted him. ‘Don’t call her that,’ I said. ‘Yes, I’m angry at her.’ I sighed. ‘Beyond angry. I didn’t think she was capable of something like this. But she’s not a bitch.’
‘She broke your heart.’
I almost laughed. Staines looked almost as hurt and angry as I felt. I patted him on the shoulder. ‘Maybe she had a good reason for doing what she did.’
Something sparked in his eyes. ‘Oh no. Don’t start making excuses for her. She discarded you, my Lord. In public. You need to stay away from her.’
I felt a wave of warmth towards him. As frustrated as he was, there was no mistaking the worry in his expression. I could feel myself wavering on the edge of control. What I really needed was a holiday to get my head together. That was hardly likely to happen any time soon. I could give myself some breathing space, however; I wasn’t alone when I had good people like Staines with me.
‘Maybe you should deal with all this Endor business,’ I said finally. ‘I have plenty of other things to take care of and I know you’ll do a good job. You can communicate with Mack and the other council members while I…’ I faltered slightly.
‘While you can get over,’ he waved a hand in the air, ‘whatever this thing is.’ He nodded at me approvingly.
As much I didn’t want to relinquish any chance I had to keep an eye on Mack, this was by far the best course of action. It was sensible - and a decision taken by my head, not my heart. If I only I could remember to be like that all the time. I gazed into the distance after Laura, Mark and Colin. Oh well. If nothing else, I had some long-seated abdication traditions to investigate.
Chapter Four
I wouldn’t say I calmed down over the next few days but the space did do some good. Well, a little bit anyway. I checked in with Staines regularly but virtually no progress had been made by us - or indeed by anyone - in tracking Endor down. Any time I thought of the homicidal necromancer, bitter disgust filled me. It was equally unfortunate that I continued to snap at anyone I perceived to be failing to meet standards, and that I failed to find any evidence anywhere of a Lord Alpha voluntarily stepping down from his position and letting someone else take the lead. She still occupied far too many of my thoughts too. She was still there in everything I did.
I was just emerging from my office after a particularly grueling session with a pile of reports when I spotted three wererats huddled together in a corner. None of them looked busy. Considering we were possibly facing the greatest threat to peace that we ever had, and they were standing around having a chat, I felt a surge of irrational anger and began to stomp over in their direction.
‘Apparently she’s heading over to the Batibat’s shop right now,’ one of them was saying.
‘That’s stupid,’ another scoffed. ‘Doesn’t she know that…’ he abruptly stopped when he caught sight of my
approach. ‘My Lord Alpha. How may we be of assistance?’
All three of them swept out deep bows. For some unfathomable reason, that irritated me even more. ‘Shouldn’t you be working?’ I sniped. ‘Haven’t we found any evidence of the necromancer yet or who he’s going to target?’
They paled in unison. It was actually quite some feat. ‘We were taking a break,’ one of them stammered.
‘Do you think he’s going to be taking a break?’
They shrunk into themselves. I felt a splotch of guilt and waved them away. They scurried off. Any faster and they’d be in the running for the next Olympics. I cursed to myself. Much more of this and I’d be spoken of in the same breath as Xander Brady, the prick who previously held this office. I had to get Mack out of my system. It galled me that she was probably being kept fully informed about the way I’d been acting. I didn’t want her to think I was nothing more than a lovesick puppy. I jutted my chin out and nodded to myself.
Striding out, I searched the street in front of the keep for Mara. She was leaning against a lamp post and chatting to a blonde woman. As soon as she caught sight of me, she trotted over.
‘My Lord,’ she said, slightly breathless. ‘Do you wish to go somewhere?’ Her gaze was anxious, as if she too was afraid that I’d tell her off for daring to take a few minutes off to talk to someone. I was ruefully aware that it wasn’t an entirely unreasonable expectation considering how I’d been behaving lately.