Soraya

 

I wanted answers.

After a terrible night’s sleep, I woke up in a tangled mess of blankets and kicked them off angrily. My body protested any kind of motion, but I forced myself to get up and staggered out into the kitchen. Making myself a coffee, I gazed blearily at the dark windows and hugged myself.

For a moment, I closed my eyes and my brain seemed to dive back into sleep. Warmth crept over me and I had the sensation of falling back against a hard chest and arms circling me.

You can’t run forever, Soraya.

I jolted back awake and went to the sink, splashing water over my face. Once the coffee was done, I downed it quickly and paced into the living room.

All night, it seemed, my mind had been trying to wrestle down the answers it needed. Loud urgent questions marched between my ears.

How did Dez become a shifter? Why didn’t he tell anyone? What was with the vigilante charade?

Followed by softer and more painful ones.

How could he do this to me? Lie and trick me?

I put a hand to my lips. Like you did? Came an accusing voice and I cringed. For all my righteous anger, there was a nagging, tiny logical sense that I was blowing this out of proportion.

Deep down, I knew I was terrified and scared on multiple levels for Dez. Everything from him not trusting me as I trusted him – to worrying there was something dangerous coming for him.

He’d been so cryptic last night. Part of me was ready to call in Kesari, hell even Miss May, to get to the bottom of it. It wasn’t like there was…

I sat upright and nearly spilled the last of my coffee.

There was someone I could go to.

Texting my sister, I told her I needed an address and began to get ready. I hastily got dressed in simple workout clothes and bundled into a thick black hoodie. By that time, Talori, who was a whiz with computers, had come through without question. I couldn’t have loved her more.

Calling a car, I had them bring me to the neighborhood adjacent to the address I’d received. Getting out, I surveyed the walled-off houses and the fancy turret like roofs peaking over them.

“Someone has money,” I murmured to myself.

Shifting, I darted off between the houses, scaled a wall and then leaped onto the roof of the house I was looking for. Slinking down, I evaded the alarms and managed to let myself in through an unlocked bathroom window.

There was music playing in the distance as I crept through the house and made my way into the living room. A man was standing there, pulling a book off the shelf and he turned around.

“Are you lost?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at me. Tall and graying, he had a certain air of arrogant, amused intelligence. “Or have I broken some obscure law of the Shifters of Anubis?”

I shifted back and stared him down. “Professor Torres?”

“Ah,” he said, glancing me over and his lips twisted. “Call me Beni. Mya Eames. Or should I call you Soraya Lafi? Have the paychecks not been coming through or something? Although you did skip work yesterday…”

Speaking of which… “Why did you hire me?” I asked in a hard voice.

He shrugged. “You were over-qualified. And you’ve been doing good work.”

“Or did you hire me so that Dez could keep an eye on me? Convenient you had him in your office while you’re on sabbatical, Professor,” I retorted.

“Why did you only apply for the one job?” Beni parried. “Oh, you didn’t know I knew that? I knew you wanted to keep an eye on Dez and I indulged that. I hoped it would keep you off his trail for a little while so he could finish the work he was doing.” He gave me a look. “He’s a good man.”

“That’s why I’m here,” I said, stepping forward and drawing myself upright. “You are going to tell me everything. Why you two left Bear Valley at the same time and why you’re both here.”

“I can’t,” Beni replied.

“You can,” I snarled.

“No, I mean, I could tell you about Bear Valley, I suppose,” Beni said, stepping around an armchair and seating himself in it with a smile. “But I couldn’t tell you the rest. Dez purposefully left me out of the loop in case something like this happened.” He inclined his head. “Doesn’t want me to have to go to jail or get hurt. He’s considerate like that, even as our world crumbles into disaster.”

I set my teeth. This man was impossible. Deciding to go for the jugular, I demanded, “What is that tattoo? Where did he get it? Were you with him?”

“You’ve seen it?” Beni looked astonished. “Gracious, I didn’t think he’d let anyone else…” He gave me a funny look. “You know, I don’t think I’ve given him enough credit.”

I flushed. “That’s not–” I spluttered. “Not what happened.”

“Yes, spare me the details. Dez is like a son or a little brother.”

I sat down and my shoulders fell forward. “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”

“I’ll tell you about Bear Valley and Morocco. And you won’t break into my house anymore or beat me up?” Beni twinkled at me. “How’s that for a trade?”

“Morocco?” I asked.

“There’s a place in the desert there, at the edge of the Sahara, which has long been sacred to shifters. Some even say the Shifters of Anubis won one of their first great battles there, an eon or so ago. It’s all sand and dust devils now, not much to look at. Except when the sun rises and the desert is painted with every hue of rose and gold.” His eyes were distant. “And then, a king rises, as well.”

“What?” I asked.

“Dez was dying,” Beni said and my veins turned to ice. “That tattoo was a way to bind the energies Frost had unleashed inside of him. I told him to go seek out a healer, but Dez refused. He said it could wait, that he had a window to cripple the TLO forever. So, we came home to Boston.” His lips twisted into a bitter line. “Ironic that Frost chose here of all places. I’m sure she knows how important it is to the shifter academic community. Her mother did.”

The thought of Dez almost dying was too much for me to bear, so I desperately asked, “Did you know Lilith?”

“We went to school together, here in this very city, a long time ago,” Beni replied. “I’d no idea the brilliant and rather quiet woman would one day become a radical terrorist – creating an organization hellbent on ripping the world of shifters apart.” He studied me. “How well she and her crooked offspring have done.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, my mouth dry.

“You are here, Soraya,” Beni replied. “Sitting here with an old and tired professor, instead of being with the one you want to be with. It's written all over your face, kid.”

“What is?” I asked, taken aback. Beni was even more cryptic than Dez.

“You think you want assurances that Dez is exactly the man you think he is. Of course, he is!” Beni shook his head emphatically. “You know that. But what you were really looking for was a reason to stay angry with him for deceiving you. And you’re not going to find it.”

I leaned back, breathing a little heavily and pressed a hand to my throat.

“If you want the former, you can sit right there and I’ll tell you as much as I know,” Beni said, his voice softening at the edges. “Hell, I’ll even get you some of the amazing raspberry iced tea my housekeeper makes. And I don’t share that with anyone. But,” he said and his voice hardened. “If you want to sit there and have me feed you lies about my friend Desmond Devoy, leave now.”

For a moment, I looked at him and didn’t move. He was unwavering and stern, a fierce old man protecting his own. My heart seemed to melt in my chest. Only Dez could inspire that kind of loyalty.

In a small, shaky voice, I said, “I’d love some iced tea.”

Beni’s face relaxed. “Sit tight, little lady.”

 

Hours later, I was making my way back to the building where Andrei and Dez had been housed. Beni’s words were still spinning through my mind. He was as good a story-teller as Dez, obviously enjoying the drama of the tale.

Blood. Gold fire. Tattoos. Old friends.

I swallowed hard.

Temporary binding.

“It always required something to seal it off, what I don’t know,” Beni said. “Dez said he was going to look into it, but he’s only been focusing on the TLO these past few months. He seemed okay, but I know he has bad dreams and that damn scar still beads up with blood sometimes…”

I had to talk to Dez. We had to get him to Dr. Hakedo.

And I couldn’t do this alone.

Slowly, I stopped under a streetlight, leaning against it and pulling out my phone. Opening my contacts, I scrolled through and pressed a name. It was far more difficult than it should have been.

“Soraya?” asked a bright voice, filled with a curious lilt of Indian, German, and French.

“Hi, Kesari,” I said softly. “How are you?”

“Oh you know,” she said in her quick, energetic way. “Running around, doing this and that, trying to make a better golden bullet to help those poor hybrids. Visiting the twins as often as I can.” She sighed. “We miss you.”

“Can you come to Boston for a few days?” I asked, reaching behind me and gripping the pole.

“Um, maybe?” Kesari sounded puzzled. “I’d have to ask–”

“You have to keep it a secret. Pretend you’re going somewhere else,” I instructed her. “And get here as soon as you can. It’s urgent.”

“Sora, you’re scaring me,” Kesari said and I heard a voice in the background. “Shush, Roy.”

“It’s Dez,” I whispered.

“What?” Kesari said in a high, scared voice. “What about Dez? He’s there? He’s home? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I can’t – it’s too much to talk about over the phone,” I said.

“Is he okay?” Kesari demanded.

“He’s…” I started to say and then I was suddenly knocked to the side and slammed into the pavement. A cry fell from my lips as a booted foot hit my side and I curled up, seeing stars.

“You’re right, Henrik. Lafis do make a satisfying sound of pain.”

“Soraya!” Kesari was yelling into the phone. “What is happening? Are you okay?”

I struggled to sit up, the snow soaking my side and I stared up into the faces of Henrik, Preston, and Evelyn Valspar. Preston was standing over me and he had my phone.

“She won’t be calling you back,” Preston said into the phone and my eyes widened. “Good luck finding her body though.” Then he crushed it in his hands.

Evie had her gun on her shoulder and was eyeing me. “Get up, Lafi. At least make this somewhat interesting.”

But I was certain my ribs were cracked into pieces. I must have taken a direct hit from Preston or Henrik in their shifted bear forms, as it felt like I’d been mauled by a truck.

Taking a few quick breaths, I quickly took into account my surroundings. Behind me was a small stretch of snow and a high, concrete wall. Ahead of me were the Valspar siblings and an empty street. Even though I didn’t like my odds, I had to make a run for it.

The trick with bear shifters was to keep moving. If they pinned you, you were finished. It was why the Valspar siblings were such a formidable team. You were facing off with two tons of muscle and a sharpshooter.

I can do this, I thought, trying to feel calm.

Shifting, I sprang to the left and then reared back as a tranquilizer dart missed my nose by inches. Preston shifted and was behind me, swiping. I darted between his legs and jumped over Henrik, who had also shifted. Making a break for the street, I was almost there when Evie appeared and swung her gun down at me. And I was leaping back, making for the wall.

But something hit me hard and I slid down, landing in a heap at the bottom.

The bears were on either side of me, lowering and grumbling. Evie was beyond them, gun at the ready and I backed up, trying to figure a way out. Leaping up, I tried to make for the wall again when I was dragged down by one brother. The other got my foot, swung me through the air and at the wall. My head and back were screaming with pain.

Snarling, I extended my claws and tried to swipe at the bears when red-hot pain lanced across my shoulder. Twisting, I tried to see what it was and suddenly I shifted back. No!

I slid to the ground, panting and clutching a deep, bloody gash. There was a knife sticking out of the wall, ruby red with my blood. I couldn’t shift back. I was too tired, too weak.

Evie pulled out a cigarette and lit it. “Too easy.”

I was losing blood fast and my vision became cloudy at the edges. Panic began to creep up, along with a lulling kind of sleepiness. No, I am not going to lose to these three.

But better shifters than I had. Hadn’t my uncle told me how it took three squads to take them down? And even then, they’d suffered casualties.

Pressing my back against the wall, I lifted my chin and tried to think of something, anything. I couldn’t die. What would Talori and Enele do? Piper, Kai, and Balt? Even Isla, Kesari, and Roy?

Dez?

I staggered to my feet and Henrik shifted back, grabbing my throat and pinning me against the wall. Kicking out my feet, I tried to reach for him, but the darkness was rushing at me now.

“You’re not going anywhere, Lafi. We’ve waited years for this,” he said.

Swinging forward, I jabbed my thumb in his eye and hit his elbow at the same time, hearing the satisfying sound of a cracked bone. Henrik let out a scream of pain, distracting his siblings and I took off, calling back “Gonna have to wait longer.”

But Preston was there and he grabbed my arms, pinning them behind my back. “Evie!”

She came over and pushed my forehead back, exposing my neck. A cool blade was pressed to it and I heard Henrik shout, “No, let me.”

She shrugged, holding my head back as I fought as hard as I could. But Preston was too strong and I growing more disoriented from the blood loss.

Henrik was there, one of his arms hanging limply and his eyes bloodshot. “I’m going to drag this out, you bitch. You’re going to be begging for death by the end of it.”

I spat at him and tried to kick out, but Evie sank a fist in my side. “Just hurry up and kill her, Pres, before someone hears us.”

The blade was shining in Preston’s hand and I struggled again. I wondered how many other shifters it had killed and I stared him straight in the eye as he came closer. I was about to try to kick him in the chest when several things happened at once.

Preston was tackled by a dark shadow and my arms were freed. Evie spun around, reaching for her gun and on instinct, I landed a blow on her chin. She went sprawling and I grabbed her gun, snapping it in half over my knee.

Turning, stumbling a little, I clutched my side and watched a ripple of white and black fur face off with a massive black bear. I went to help when I stopped dead, staring at the other shifter facing the other Valspar brother.

It was Dez.

Snarling and darting around, his form radiated fury. His sleek back, with the distinct and beautiful triple stripe denoting him as a King among cheetahs, gleamed in the soft streetlights. While he was large for his size, he was nothing compared to Preston's monstrous form.

Frost must have done something to Preston, I thought, sprinting forward.

Dez heard me and spun around. Our eyes met, but then he was suddenly moving towards me, his movement almost too fast to track with the eye and he leaped. In another second he was behind me, a warm and solid wall of protection.

I heard a sound of metal thudding into flesh and a grunt of deep pain.

Turning slowly, I saw Evie on her feet, panting and glaring, bent at the waist, but her arm outstretched. Then Henrik was racing towards her, as well as Preston and they melted into the night. A leaping form blurring into silver, a white tiger, went after them.

Dez was sitting up, shifting back and his hands clenching around his thigh. Protruding from it was a wicked looking blade and I stared, uncomprehendingly.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” I said, falling beside him and dragging off my jacket with effort. My ribs burned and I clutched at them, struggling to breathe for a moment.

“Soraya!” he said sharply, his bloody hands on my face. “Are you-you're hurt.”

“You have a knife in your leg,” I panted, trying to use my hoodie to soak up the blood. “Don’t pull it out – you need to let a healer…” Words were slurring as pain rose. “No, no, I’m tougher than this. I’m not going to faint.” I gritted my teeth hard. “I am no stranger to pain.”

“You took on two bear shifters and a psycho sniper,” Dez said, his voice sounding far away. “It has nothing to do with being tough – you need… Soraya? Soraya!” A pause. “Andrei, help!”

“I’m here,” said that Russian, sounding grim and annoyingly concerned. My eyes had shut and I was leaning into Dez, gasping with pain. “Our little leopard is hurt badly, no? As are you-you lunatic, you should have knocked Soraya down instead of taking the blade.”

“I knew she was hurt,” Dez replied and I struggled to open my eyes. “I didn’t want to make it worse. I think she has broken ribs.”

“Damn,” Andrei swore. “We need – oh, thank goodness.”

I didn’t find out who or what Andrei was thanking because I lost consciousness at that moment.