The surprise of it almost stopped him dead in his tracks. Should he go slow to evaluate what happened in the camp? Stalling, though, might result in him getting pinched in a trap, seeing as how he could hear cursing from the pair he’d sent tumbling down the stairs. They sounded too close for his liking.
Best to take his chances with whatever caused the abrupt and short-lived scream. Maybe it would provide a distraction so he and Nadirah could get to the jungle with its many hiding spots.
The scent of blood flared his nostrils as he burst from the entrance. So much blood, and as he scanned the area illuminated by the solar lamps, he saw at least two bodies, the upper part of those bodies shredded into ribbons. A bloody trail that might have been for a third disappeared into the jungle.
“What happened to them?” Nadirah had emerged and clutched at his hand, her cold trembling fingers the only outward sign of her trepidation.
The answer appeared before he could state it. Two tigers stepped from the shadows to stand in front of them.
Not just any tigers?—
“Harimau,” Nadirah whispered almost reverently, having obviously noticed the same thing as him: their human eyes.
The biggest of the pair, with hints of gray in its fur, lifted its head and snarled in warning. Not really needed since Phoenix heard the pair from within arriving with heavy steps and huffing breath.
Phoenix took a few paces away from the entrance to the ruin, closer to the tigers, and tucked Nadirah behind him. He was more worried about the men with guns than the striped felines. If they wanted to kill, they would have already pounced.
From the ruin burst Sarge, revolver in one hand, tablet in the other. The other armed fellow followed with his rifle pointed, only to pause at the unexpected sight. His face creased in confusion, which led to hesitation. It wasn’t everyday someone came across a literal tiger ambush.
“What the fuck is going on?” exclaimed Sarge. “Where did those tigers come from? They killed my crew!”
Nadirah peeked her head around Phoenix to point and say, “You disturbed the holy ground of the Harimau Jadian. These tigers, imbued with the spirits of their ancestors, are here to exact retribution.”
“Don’t be trying to fool me with that mumbo-jumbo superstitious shit,” blustered Sarge, which led to the biggest tiger growling as he slunk forward.
“Is it superstition?” Nadirah sang. “You’ve defiled a sacred temple and now will pay the price.” The tiger added emphasis to her words by again moving closer.
Sarge lost some of his bravado. “Whoa there, you striped fucker. You wanna eat someone, then why not the asshole and his woman? They went inside first.”
“To explore. We’re not the ones stealing artifacts.” Nadirah’s smug reply.
At her words, Sarge glanced at the stone tablet clutched in his hand. His jaw hardened. “This is bullshit. These tigers don’t want a rock, and even if they did, I’m not handing it over. Shoot them!” Sarge pointed his revolver and began firing, along with his last living crewmate.
Phoenix tensed as he saw a bullet go through the shoulder of the big tiger. He knew what such a wound would do to him, but this feline kept going and leapt, jaws wide. Sarge didn’t even manage a scream. He hit the ground so hard with a tiger atop him. Forget his hired crewmate helping, he had problems of his own. By the time the grizzled feline turned around after the kill, muzzle bright red, the last man had been taken care of—his throat torn out—but not before managing to slash the tiger atop him with a knife.
The wounded tiger contorted and became a naked woman with long dark hair and Malaysian features. She snagged the knife from the man she’d killed and advanced on Phoenix and Nadirah.
Phoenix put down the gun and held up his hands. “We’re not your enemy.”
The female snarled, “You no belong.”
Before she could do anything, the grizzled male chuffed loudly.
Apparently, a command to back off. The woman planted hands on her hips and scowled as she snapped something he couldn’t understand.
“Uh-oh,” Nadirah murmured.
“What’s she saying?”
“That we need to die like the other intruders.”
The grizzled tiger suddenly transformed, going from four paws on the ground to standing on two legs. The old manimmediately began talking, and whatever he said made the woman grimace.
The language barrier had Phoenix once more whispering, “What did he say?”
“That she obviously needs more lessons on control because she should have been able to hold her shape with a mere flesh wound.”
Phoenix’s brows raised, not just because of the confirmation he’d found tiger shifters but the fact that injury didn’t have to trigger the change. Just look at the old guy. Despite having been shot, he’d killed Sarge before flipping back into his human shape.
