“Another set of silver null cuffs,” I said. “Everything we have. And zip ties strong enough to chain a water buffalo. And hose her off before you put her in stowage with the luggage. She stinks from losing bowel control.”
I met Bruiser’s eyes and could see in them an awareness that Monique had been stronger than he was. He couldn’t have won a battle against her. Monique was the bigger monster. Dead monster.
Brute, who had not been in any of the vehicles that drove down the mountain, appeared at Monique’s body. On his head was a striped lizard with red wings, and on his back was a neon green grindylow. He bent over Monique and sniffed little bursts of breath, nose fluid snorting across her. He turned to me and growled a warning before bounding up the stairs and into the plane.
“How did you get here, and who invited you?” I called after him. He didn’t reply.
***
I woke in the small but fancy sleeping cubicle when we landed with a soft bump, engines roaring as we slowed. It wasn’t yet midnight; I was human-shaped and alone on the memory foam mattress, the room small, dark, and comfy, like a puma den with silk sheets. The jet was taxiing from the runway, the vibration steady, the jet engines still noisy. Voices could be heard through the walls.
I rolled over and thought about my shifts into Beast form and half-form. Once upon a time, I had shifted forms only at specific times. Well, usually. There were one or two times when Beast had changed how and when I shifted. And now, I shifted when I was sleeping, and the pain never woke me up. When I slept, Beast was often in control. I let that thought settle inside me. Was Beast controlling the seemingly accidental shifts while I was asleep? That would suck.
Beast had given me the ability to move faster than I used to be able to. Fast enough to draw my weapon when we were boarding and fire at Monique before she and Bruiser hit the tarmac. Before the vamps and Eli could invade my field of fire. Fast and steady enough to not miss my moving target and accidently hit Bruiser. Vamp-fast.
Beast likes vampire blood,she thought.
You took and used the DNA of vamps, didn’t you. Vamp blood to make me faster.Vamp blood. Just like you took the canine DNA to get a better scent-nose.
Jane cannot take the snake that lives in the center of all things, things that still live, without becomingu’tlun’ta.Liver-eater. Beast is not Jane.
Holy crap.I sat up, silk sheetsshushingacross me.You did. You took vampire DNA. And you can... Can you shift at will? Can you?
Beast cannot control sleep shifts. Beast did shoot Monique person. Beast loves Jane. Beast’s angel loves Jane.
So the angel did something to us. Figures.I rolled out of bed and dressed in the same clothes I had worn onto the jet, except I put on normal battle boots.Have you been practicing on me? What about the short time limit on staying human?I asked her.
Beast and Hayyel tried to fix this in the time that was past,she thought,and we failed.
Oh goodie.A busybody but relatively unhelpful angel was helping a sentient mountain lion tofixmy latest shape-shifting problem.What could go wrong?
Jane needs weapons. Killing claws and white-man guns. Jane is in danger.
Which was a different kind of answer to a different situation entirely.
I debated on the effect I wanted to have on my people. Subjects. Whatever. I was landing in possibly hostile territory, so I still strapped on the weapons I’d worn on the trip to the airport, enough to start my small war. Eli’s previous instructions and comments on commanding warriors flashed through my mind. He was right. It would never be easy for me.
In the tiny lavatory, standing in front of the miniscule mirror over the small lavatory shelf, I brushed my teeth and smeared on red lipstick. I rebraided my hair. It was long and black, and this time the plait was neat and uncomplicated, a tight, fine tail that fell over one shoulder to my hip. Before I left the small lavatory, I texted Aya and told him I was in NOLA, wondering if he’d offer any info about grandmother.
He sent a one-word reply: “Thanks.” Ayatas FireWind wasn’t chatty with me. I wondered if he talked to his team at PsyLED or kept them at arm’s length.
I had to get the vamps to safety from the morning sun and get everyone else where they belonged. And tour HQ. First time since I killed the Son of Darkness in HQ’s basement. And because Wrassler and Jodi’s wedding was so close, I had to make sure none of my problems would overshadow their festivities.
Looking badass in jeans, tee, and denim jacket, my chest strapped with blades and three semiautomatic handguns in a harness, I left the sleeping nook. The main area was empty, smelling of vampires and anxiety. The jet’s door was open to the night. We had landed at the commercial airport instead of the private one, where we kept the Lear and the helicopter. A bigger plane needed a longer runway. Right. Warm, sticky-wet air blew in from outside.It smelled of burned jet fuel, auto exhaust, and the salty water from the Gulf of Mexico. And that distinct, old-city scent of urine and spices and coffee and people and sex and urgent energy mixed with the slow lethargy that was New Orleans.
This city wasn’t truly home, not like the mountains. But still. It was another kind of home. I stood in the open doorway, watching as Eli and Bruiser directed the vamps and the humans into specific vehicles and loaded the luggage according to some plan they seemed to understand. Without my input.
It hit me. This was a trip not only for a wedding, and to discover what we could about Sabina and Leo’s body, but for discovery and introspection and friendship. And to establish that I was the Dark Queen, Blood Master of Clan Yellowrock, and interim Master of the City—all jobs I had tried to get out of but that no one I considered trustworthy wanted. Eli looked up at me, standing at the top of the stairs, a perfect target. He frowned, and I started down, out of the silhouette of cabin lights, while he scanned everything around us.
My feet rattled the metal stairs as I descended. I might have to fight here. I might even die here. But I would never do it alone. I’d be with the people I loved. And this time I was healthy and whole, and had hope that my funky shifting problem might have a solution, some secret that Beast and her angel might have firmly in hand. Paw. Whatever. I’d have Bruiser, Eli, and Alex. And my clan. This could actually be fun.
Seven vehicles were parked nearby, all armored, all belonging to HQ. Without discussion, Bruiser had taken over as if he was my primo as well as my Consort, and was directing how everyone would travel. This stuff was vital decision-making but boring, and everyone here knew I hated the tedious stuff. Not having to be in charge of vital minutiae was another Dark Queen perk. Go me, seeing the positive.
Eli and Bruiser tossed a heavy bag into the back of an SUV. I had ordered her to be hosed off, but even from here, the bag smelled of blood and feces. Monique in a zippered duffel. Brute growled at it, and Bruiser stopped and looked from the werewolf to the body bag.
When I reached the tarmac, I held myself high and with confidence. I was, after all, the Dark Queen. It was time to start acting like it.
***
