“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Gorya agreed. “Flea markets. Garage sales. Who the hell knows these days? Stayput, Kyanite, and get under cover. We need to take out the sentries. Keep your leopard quiet so the sentries aren’t alerted.” That was a strict order.
“I’ll do my best. He’s never been like this.” There was a grimness to Kyanite’s voice that had never been there before, and Gorya looked him over carefully. He sounded so unlike the man Gorya had always known. Was something amiss in these mountains? Rumor had it that a certain hybrid flower Charisse Mercier had cultivated had gotten loose from her greenhouse into Fenton’s Marsh and affected the male leopards adversely. The flowers had to be eradicated.
Maya, keep your eye on Kyanite. He’s acting strange.
It’s his leopard. I’m doing my best to soothe him. If he keeps it up, I’ll take him over, but it won’t be easy. I’m not even certain I can. He’s that excited and a bit on the ferocious side. Kyanite isn’t wrong. He’s difficult to control. He’s certain his female is close. He never thought to find her.
We need Meiling to take out one of the sentries or I’d leave her to back you up.“Kyanite, I trust that you’ll guard Maya while we’re dispensing with the sentries. Get your leopard to understand she’s too important to leave without a guard.”
“Of course, Gorya.” Kyanite looked resolved.
Gorya once more tuned to Maya.Is he good?
Yes. His leopard understands duty. He won’t act up while you’re gone.
Keep me apprised of what is going on here,Gorya instructed.And stay in my mind.
If a female leopard was in heat, why couldn’t he scent her? Why couldn’t any of the other males? Normally if a leopard went into heat, she gave off enough pheromones to call every male leopard for miles. The only female he’d ever known who could suppress her scent when in heat was Maya.
He signaled the others to move toward their intended targets.Be safe, Maya. Stay focused.She wasn’t though. A part of her was paying attention to him, but at the same time another part was puzzling out what was so familiar about the feel of the watcher. She wasn’t looking after her own safety, and that worried him.
Gorya moved quickly through the rough terrain in the direction in which he knew the sleepy sentry had a little shelter built for himself. The sun had set and there wasn’t much to do to keep the man awake and alert when he was alone. He did have a regular route he patrolled. Gorya saw evidence of a path trodden in the grass by shoes rather than lighter paws. He found that astonishing. Why wouldn’t the sentry use his leopard and the cat’s superior senses to guard the city below?
Keeping his energy low, he reached out slowly to find the leopard’s brain pattern to enter. They’d already made certain to keep the animals from alerting the sentries to their presence, but approaching closely when the guard had been on duty for days, possibly weeks, might have made the leopard even more wary than usual and resistant to direction.
The cat was strangely compliant, as if it was too sleepy to bother being part of the sentry’s warning system. Gorya didn’t have time to find out why. He only took enough time to ensure that this guard was part of Krylov’s trafficking ring, sifting through the memories of the leopard until he reached the distasteful scenes of violence, rape and imprisonment of women and children. He slammed a knife into the base of the sentry’s skull, severing the spinal cord, and then cut his throat to ensure both leopard and shifter died immediately.
As Gorya dragged the body out of the open and into the makeshift shelter, he felt a soft, steady pressure moving against his mind. Rogue reacted instantly, snarling and clawing.
Maya reacted as well, deftly blocking the female while Wraith hissed her displeasure that another female so close to heat would dare to get near her male.
Definitely a young female,Gorya reported.I took down the sentry. She’s trying to get into my mind and take over Rogue.
Wraith is giving me some trouble. Give me a minute and I’ll go after her, Gorya.Maya locked on to her furious female.Let me handle this, Wraith. We must be careful. This is Kyanite’s mate, and she has no idea if we’re friends or enemies.
She knows. She’s being a bitch, trying to show her superiority and trap all the males for herself. She can’t have mine. I would fight to the death for him.
Gorya hid his smile as he made his way back to the others. Wraith was a fierce little thing, just like her human counterpart. Meiling and Gedeon were already waiting.
“I feel like I know her. Or met her somewhere,” Maya said aloud. “You’ll have to give me a minute to do this. She has skills.”
Maya reached out tentatively, keeping her energy lower than she ever had. Gorya stayed in her mind, as invisible as possible but ready to help get her out of trouble if there was any problem. Taking over a leopard and looking into memories was always a risk. Gorya was astonished at Maya’s patience. She took her time, the flow so even and slow, so nonthreatening and even noninvasive, that it would be nearly impossible to detect. Gorya wasn’t certain he would have been able to feel her entrance into Rogue.
Once Maya had found a pathway into that female leopard, she didn’t just take over. She was slow, keeping her energy low as she joined the patterns in the leopard’s mind. Amur for certain. Maya was correct in feeling a strange familiarity with this creature and her human counterpart. He did as well, which was odd when he had no idea who she was.
Maya began to examine her memories without trying a takeover. The little leopard was indeed in her first true heat, close to her emergence, but like Wraith, she had, for her human’s safety, managed to find her way out. She could shift. And she could fight. She had excellent fighting skills. Her human seemed reliant on her in more ways than usual, but it was clear the woman was getting restless. If Maya didn’t act soon and take over the leopard, the shifter was going to do something unpredictable.
Maya made her decision and, as usual, acted on it without hesitation. She was in, surrounding the cat with her superior strength, forcing her will on the animal, wrenching her away from the watching shifter. The reaction was unexpected. The sensation of being watched was immediately gone.
There was shock and silence at first. Horror. Fear.Give her back. You don’t know what you’ve done. The danger you’ve put all of you in. Or me. I can’t see or move without her. I’m stuck here on this cliff and could fall without her vision. Release her or you’ll force me to sound the alarm, and others will come, believing all of you are enemies. I don’t think you are, but you’re leaving me no choice.
The woman, using the leopard’s path, spoke directly to Maya. It was her voice. The pattern of her mind. The brilliance and signs Gorya caught of elite gifts. This woman was somehow related to Maya. She had to be. At the same time as he was absorbing that information, he knew the truth had hit Maya even harder. She had known she had siblings but believed them dead. She had been the youngest, barely two when her family had been murdered. She was paralyzed, unable to think or breathe, and then she crumbled to the ground, her legs going out from under her.
19
Goryarealized that the woman above them on the rocks must have also recognized that an invader was related to her. She, too, had gone perfectly still. He feared if she fell, she might really go over the cliff. He signaled to Kyanite. His leopard had the best chance of finding her quickly. He certainly had felt her presence when others hadn’t.
“Go, she’s in trouble. Be gentle with her, she’s just had a shock. Have your leopard hold off his claim for a few minutes while we sort things out.”
