Charmed & Deadly (10 page)

The Congo
8 p.m.
Witches who need tranquilizer darts: 1 (If they don’t work on the big cat, maybe I can use them on myself.)
Scary leopards: 1

“W
hen faced with a leopard, do not run,” Kaz told me when we stopped because of the darkness. Once the sun dips it’s like walking into a black hole. Of course, Kaz shares his leopard advice just as the darkness falls, and it totally creeps me out.

No chance for a fire. Kaz worried the rebels might see the smoke.

He left me in a small clearing to search for a “sleeping tree.” I was propped with my back against a tree trunk, my lantern next to me, eating one of the protein bars.

Something sent alarming goose bumps down my arms and back. If they could speak, the bumps would say, “Danger, Bron, danger!” The problem was, at first I couldn’t tell what was going on.

Then I sensed it.

I was being watched again. I sent my mind out and soon discovered whatever was watching me wasn’t human. I stood up and stared out into the darkness. Sliding my pack up my back, I slipped it over my shoulders.

“Do not run,” Kaz whispered behind me.

At the edge of the clearing I saw her—a leopard. It was large, lithe, and golden, with a khaki spot in the middle of bigger black ones. Her eyes glinted in the shadow where she sat. She was beautiful, in a scary kind of way. I’ve always loved big cats. Well, until that moment.

“Um, is she going to eat us?” I kept my eyes on her. I didn’t really know if she
was
a girl, but right then I wished I’d paid more attention to the Discovery Channel.

The leopard sat down on her hindquarters. She turned her head to the right, and left. Then she did the weirdest thing: she stood again and sat down, but this time with her back to us.

“Shouldn’t we run now?” I whispered.

Kaz didn’t move. “Get in the tree.”

“But—she’s giving us a head start.”

He shoved me toward a massive trunk. “No. If she wanted us, we would already be dead. She’s guarding us. This is her way of offering us her protection. This tree will do.” He pointed upward.

“Kaz, I can’t sleep with a leopard staring at me all night.”

He sighed. “She’s not staring, she’s guarding. If we run she will only follow. Please, I am tired. Get in the tree.”

“Kaz, how do you know she’s guarding us? Maybe she’s staking us out for a meal later.”

“For the last twenty-four hours she’s been following us through the jungle. When we went into the camp she stationed herself outside of it. She didn’t try to eat the children or anyone else. I believe she is a magical creature sent to help us on our journey.”

He said the words so earnestly, I couldn’t argue.
A magic leopard?
Hell, I’d come across stranger things.

I had serious doubts I would get any sleep, but I crawled up onto the highest branch I could reach. Leopards like to hang out in trees, too, but for some reason being high up made me feel better. I stared out into the darkness for a long time.

“What the hell is that?” A distorted male voice cut through the fog. I tried to open my eyes. They wouldn’t budge. Something cold and wet covered my body.

I’m dreaming
. My last thought had been to send myself out to search for the missing men using astral projection, while I tried to sleep in the stupid tree—the safest place to doze in the jungle, Kaz, my guide, had told me. This after a run-in with a leopard that made me feel like a T-bone on a platter. I can’t believe I actually fell asleep with those eerie cat eyes staring at me all night.

“Jesus! It’s Bronwyn.” That voice I knew. Sam was in my dream. No surprises there. I’d been tramping through this godforsaken African jungle for days trying to find my hunka burnin’ love.

“Is she alive?” That was Azir, my favorite sheik. I could almost smell his sandalwood scent in the air. It all seemed so real. “Where did
she
come from?”

Two fingers brushed my neck and a hand pushed the hair from my forehead. “Her pulse is weak, but her breathing is steady.” Sam again. “Bronwyn, can you hear me?”

Wow. This might be a really good dream. Both Sam and the sheik.

It was weird, though; I couldn’t take control of my dream like I usually did. I wanted to talk with them, to tell them I was on my way, but my mouth wouldn’t work.

“Bronwyn. It’s Dad. I need you to try to open your eyes.” My dad had his doctor’s voice on. Stern but kind. “Come on, honey, you can do it.” Um, yuck. What was my
dad
doing in the middle of my sexy dream?

I took a deep breath and the effort caused me to cough.

“There’s fluid in her lungs.” That came from my dork-faced brother. I hadn’t seen in him in two years, and he sounded older, worried, and as annoying as ever. “Turn her over on her side.”

Bite a big one, Brett
. Dad was a top-notch surgeon before Brett had been a zygote. Leave it to my brother to get all bossy. I sure as hell didn’t understand why he would be in my dream.

They turned me over on my side, and that was when I realized it wasn’t a dream. Their hands poked and prodded. I felt it all. I was with them, but I had no idea how I’d done it. Had I accidentally astrally projected my body? No, I couldn’t have. I didn’t have that power yet. My brain felt like it had been sucked through some kind of vacuum and I couldn’t get my thoughts to gel.

Then I felt an evil presence, strong and malevolent. The stench of sulfur filled my sense.
Crap
. I had to wake up. I had to protect them. I reached out and connected with Sam’s strong arm. I’d know those hard biceps anywhere.

“Talk to me, Bron.” He squeezed my hand. “She’s fading, how the hell is she doing that? Baby, say something.” I heard the worry in his voice. He loved me so much.

Straining to speak caused something weird to happen in my head. As I slid back into the darkness, I whispered, “Evil’s coming.”

The next thing I knew, Kaz was shaking my shoulder. It had rained, and my body trembled with the drop in temperature.

“We must move. The rebels come,” he whispered.

It took me a minute to realize where I was and that I must have dreamed about finding Sam and my family. I was so angry with Sam for being captured, too. He and Azir had put their lives in danger for no reason. That meant I had to save four of the most important men in my life. I had no idea how they’d gotten ahead of me, unless they’d been traveling the river or roads. That’s the only way they could move faster.

I was furious with all four men.

The leopard growled, low and guttural.

I raised an eyebrow at him.

“She has been guarding us through the night.” Kaz helped me down out of the tree. “She does not wish us harm.”

As my feet hit the ground, I saw the gorgeous creature with her black spots at the edge of the clearing. She moved her head as if to say, “Hurry up.”

I didn’t need to be told twice. I lifted my pack onto my shoulders and followed Kaz into the cover of the jungle. I heard gunfire to the east of us and wondered how close the rebels were. At least now I had a point of reference for where they were. Earlier, it sounded like they were all around us.

When I turned to look back, I noticed the leopard followed us.

“Um, we seem to have picked up a traveling companion.”

“Yes, I heard her.” Kaz kept moving.

It was still raining and I constantly had to push curling wisps of hair off my face and out of my eyes. My boots sloshed in the mud. I figured, at least my calves were getting a good workout.

“Why doesn’t she try to eat us? Is she saving us for later?”

Kaz put a finger to his lips to shush me. I was about to protest when I heard them: men’s voices, one barking orders.

Pushing me back behind a tree, Kaz whispered in my ear, “Diamond mine. We can’t let them see us. The men who work here do not appreciate visitors.”

I must admit, at the word
diamonds
I’m quite certain my eyes grew a tad wider. I’m kind of fond of all things sparkly, but Kaz was right. This wasn’t the time to go ring shopping. I’d read stories about what the miners did to trespassers. Beheadings were the norm.

My hair is a big, wild mess, but I kind of like my head, so I followed him and did my best to be stealthy. Men yelled and I could hear a truck grinding gears. I wondered if maybe they were stuck in mud. The rain continued and everything and everyone was drenched.

We’d just made it past the large opening of the tunnel when there was a tug at my heart. It’s hard to describe. It was like something was pulling me back into the open mouth of the mountain. I stopped and closed my eyes.

I could feel the tiny tendrils of a protection spell—one of my spells, the one I’d sent to my brother.

We were still in the trees and Kaz had moved several feet in front of me. I opened my eyes and stared into the tunnel, sending a message with my mind to Sam, my brother, and my dad. “I’m here.”

I closed and opened my eyes again and saw the magic protecting the cave. It was dark and knotted. Black magic.

That happens to be something I know a little bit about, so I began unraveling the knots, one by one. The black ropes dissipated into the air. Every time I conquered one, I could feel Sam a little closer.

Kaz had come back and he touched my shoulder.

I pointed to the cave. “They’re in there.”

He nodded and readied his gun. Our friendly leopard suddenly looked on guard, and Kaz yanked me back behind one of the trees.

One of the rebels walked past, his machine gun slung across his shoulders. If he stepped any closer he would have heard us breathe, but he was preoccupied with taking a pee.

This is the part in the movies where the good guys quietly take out the bad guys by knocking them on the head, or by using their bare hands to pop necks. But Kaz had a different script.

He let the guy do his business and then go.

“Why didn’t you do something?” I whispered.

“He’s a sentry. If he doesn’t answer back they’ll be suspicious. We can’t risk them knowing we are here until we have a plan.”

I rolled my eyes. “I have a plan. I’m going in there and saving my family.”

“Bronwyn, it is surrounded by rebels. And the miners in the cave are just as bad. They will kill you.”

I sighed. “Not if they can’t see me. I’ve been pulling power from this jungle of yours for days. I’ll cloak myself so no one can see me, then I can shield them until we make it out of the cave.

“All I need you to do is have one of those trucks ready so we can get the hell out of here.” It sounded like a great plan to me, especially since I’d come up with it on the fly.

He shook his head. “I will do what you ask, but how will you find them? They could be anywhere in the mine, and the mountain is huge.”

I shrugged. “I have my ways. I can already sense them. Once I finish releasing the magic surrounding the tunnel, I’ll be able to hone in with my mind and find them.”

“At least wait until it grows dark.” Kaz shoved his pack up into a tree, and took mine from my shoulders and did the same. “The miners leave at dusk and then only a few guards will be left.”

That made sense, and so I agreed. Besides, it would take me a while to undo the rest of the black magic. We climbed up into the tree and waited.

7 p.m.
Charms: 6

I’m getting ready to make my way inside. Kaz was right about all of the miners. They left in three big trucks about a half hour ago. He expects there will be a shift change for the guards in a few minutes, and that will be my best bet to slip inside undetected.

Once I released all of the magic protecting the mountain, I was able to get a message to Sam.

“I’m here. Are you okay?” I sent my mind in search of Sam, Azir, and my family and found them all inside a small room with a large wooden door. It had been carved into the mountain and there was nothing in there except rock.

“Bron? Where are you?” Sam looked up as if he could see me in the ceiling. I noticed his cheek was puffy and he had a black eye.

“I’m outside the cave, baby. What did they do to you?”

He waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it. Are you okay? We were worried last night and couldn’t figure out where you had gone.”

Last night?

Oh my god. I really
had
been in the cave, with no idea of how I’d done it. I thought it had been a dream. Somehow I’d been able to astrally project my body. I wished I could do it again.

Sam was still talking. “Be careful, this place is crawling with rebels. Tell me you have backup.”

I looked over at Kaz, who was watching the mouth of the cave intently.

“Absolutely,” I lied. Well, technically, I did have Kaz. He was more backup than I usually had in tough spots like this. “Listen, I’m coming that way in a few minutes, so tell everyone to keep their shields down so I can find you.”

Azir, my dad, and my brother all stared at Sam as if he’d lost his mind. They circled him.

“Um, you might want to inform the gang that you’re talking to me.”

He looked away and smiled. The effort hurt his swollen mouth and he touched it with his hands. I didn’t know who had done that to him, but whoever did would pay. Since Sam wasn’t blocking me I took a quick tour of his brain and discovered he and Azir had been captured on the river, almost at the same place where we had saved the children. The rebels had probably been looking for their comrades. The two guides had been murdered, and Azir and Sam had fought bravely. Well, stupidly, really. They could have been killed.

Then Azir and Sam had been blindfolded and brought to the cave, probably while we were making our way from the camp. My guess is those were the guns I’d heard that night in the jungle.

“It’s Bron. She’s outside. She wants us to keep our shields open so she can find us.” He looked at my father. “She says she has backup.”

My dad stared up at the ceiling with one eyebrow raised. “She damn well better have help. If she gets herself killed trying to get in here, her mother will never forgive me.”

I could have sent myself into my dad’s mind to reassure him, but I have a really hard time lying to him.