Spotting His Leopard (Shifters, Inc.) (10 page)

                “But now she’s been arrested, which complicates things,” Tyler pointed out. “How did the police know to arrest her, anyway?” 

                “I’m not clear on that,” Corran said. “I have a Thieves Guild connection here who has a police sergeant on his payroll. He was the one who told me that she’d told the police chief about the meetup at the park.”

                “So where does this leave us? We’re still stuck here.” Gwenneth leaned back in her chair and sipped her coffee.

                “Yes, and now the police are going to be looking for me too,” Corran said gloomily. “And by the way, I haven’t been able to find out who the client was who wanted the Eye stolen, and Nadette was the one who took the assignment, and now she’s screwed us all over she’s certainly not going to talk.”

                “I have a thought,” Tyler said.

                “What’s that?” Corran didn’t look particularly hopeful.

                “We may need some help from the priestesses for this.”

                “They won’t help,” Gwenneth protested. “You said yourself that they never get involved in politics.”

                “But they do care deeply about their sacred mission to help infertile couples conceive.  Trust me on this, I think they’re going to want to help us.” He gave Corran a look of annoyance. “You may as well come with us.”

                “This is dreadful. I cannot believe it.” Belij shook her head unhappily, dismay rippling over her handsome features.  She sat in a high-backed, throne-like chair, clenching her fists so hard her knuckles were white.  There were a dozen priestesses in the room of the temple known as the Great Room,  fluttering their hands, pacing the floor.  They didn’t know what to do with themselves.

                Gwenneth, Tyler and Corran sat on hand-carved wooden chairs, facing them. Tyler had to convince Belij that he was telling the truth. Everything depended on it.

                “Think about it,” Tyler said. “Think about all these couples coming to you now. Many, many more couples than before. Why? Because the island’s fertility magic is weakening. Failing. Just like everything else here is failing.”

                “It is true,” one of the priestesses said, nodding. “Even when they come to us, it is taking them longer than it should to conceive. Who knows how long even our magic will suffice?”

                Belij’s coppery skin had taken on an unhealthy pallor.  Her air of quiet strength and command had vanished, leaving her looking lost and distressed.  She couldn’t meet Tyler’s eyes. He was telling her things she desperately didn’t want to hear – but he had no choice.

                “Everything started going wrong at once,” Tyler continued relentlessly. “At the same time that the king vanished from the public eye, the economy failed, and the fertility magic began to wane.”

                “You really believe that the Witch Doctor and the Police Chief sold the Eye of the Jaguar and replaced it with a replica.” Belij shook her head in an attempt to deny it.

                “Yes. Years ago. And then they hired thieves to steal the crown right before the Jubilee, because they wanted to hide the deception,” Tyler said. “On the day of the Jubilee, the crown is taken from its display case and examined by the Island Council before being passed off to the king, right?  So the Island Council would have spotted the fakery, and there would have been an outcry, and the Witch Doctor would have been exposed. If the crown was stolen, then everybody would be searching for the thieves, and nobody would know what the Witch Doctor and the Police Chief had done.”

                “What monsters would steal our sacred national treasure like that?” Belij held her palms up and importuned the heavens.

                “The worst kind of monsters,” Corran said, keeping a straight face. “Terrible, terrible monsters.”

                Tyler shot him a look of annoyance, and Corran returned a wide-eyed look of scandalized innocence. 

                “And you feel that if you can gain entry to the palace, you will be able to track down the crown’s whereabouts.”

                Tyler nodded. “Yes.  We need access to Wife Number One.  She has also been largely absent from public view, but she was seen on the day of the Jubilee – with guards standing near her at all times.”

                Corran jumped in. “Yes. Wife Number Two was definitely very chummy with the Witch Doctor. You could pick up on the vibes. Wife Number One was putting on a good show, but you could tell there was severe tension there under the surface; something was troubling her.”

                “How can you be so sure?” Belij asked him. “Did you question her?”

                “No, but a large part of my livelihood depends on reading people and their emotions.”  At Belij’s quizzical glance, he added smoothly, “I’m a therapist.”

                He hadn’t lost his knack for lying under pressure, Gwenneth thought.

                “We think she’s being coerced somehow,” Tyler continued, “and she’s not in on the whole scheme.  If we could get private access to her, we’d at least have a hope of finding out what’s going on. And I don’t know anyone else who could get away with just strolling into the palace uninvited, much less anyone who’d be able to get access to any person in there.”

                Nobody refused the High Priestess of GuRa – and nobody had reason to suspect that she would be interfering with the Witch Doctor’s political coup.

                Belij closed her eyes and stood there with her hands folded together and her lips moving for what felt like a very long time, murmuring in a voice too low to hear. Finally she nodded in acceptance, although she still looked as if she’d tasted something very sour.  She stood up straighter, and the strength seemed to flow back into her as she made her decision. “Very well. I know that you are truthful; I can feel it in my heart of hearts. I can get you into the palace,” she said to Gwenneth.

                Tyler waved at her to get her attention. “And me, of course.”

                “Only women are priestesses. There is no way I could get a man into the palace.” She shook her head, standing up and smoothing out her gown.

                “I could pose as a bodyguard,” he argued.

                Belij looked at him with derision. “We don’t ever use bodyguards. We don’t need them,” she said.  When he tried to argue, she cut him off. “If we walked in there with a man, it would attract attention and suspicion.”

                “But it’s too dangerous for you to go alone,” Tyler protested to Gwenneth. Gwenneth stood up too, shooting him a reproving look.

                “I have done much more dangerous jobs than this. I will be with the priestesses; I’ll be fine,” she said reprovingly.

                When he started to protest, she took a step closer to him and put her hand on his arm. He felt a delicious sizzle of heat wash through him, the same way it always did when she touched him.

                “Tyler, I must and I will do this. Please don’t try to stop me. There is more at stake here than just you and me,” she said. She cast a quick glance at Belij.  They hadn’t told the priestesses everything; they couldn’t very well tell them that she had originally come to the island to steal the crown. Instead, Tyler had told them about his job as a security consultant. Then he’d spun a tale about how he’d started investigating on his own when he heard about the island’s growing misfortunes, and that investigation had led him to interview members of the Thieves Guild.

                Gwenneth turned and followed Belij out of the room without giving him a backward glance. Corran sat there with his arms folded, frowning, but he didn’t seem too perturbed. Of course not ; it wasn’t his fated mate who was marching off into a lair of serpents.

                Anger and helplessness swirled inside him.
She was his
. He should be there by her side to protect her, always – but arguing with her would be useless.  He’d already experienced the steel backbone underneath that velvety coat of hers. Forbidding her would accomplish nothing.

* * *

                The morning sun gleamed off the gilded turrets and lacy spires of the castle.  Lines of soldiers in blue uniforms trimmed with gold stood at rigid attention on either side of the crushed gravel pathway that led to the broad marble front steps, their bayoneted weapons resting on their shoulders.

                Gwenneth walked with a dozen other priestesses who trailed behind Belij. She was dressed in an orange tunic that apparently indicated she was in the fifth year of her training. Her skin was darkened to match their skin tone, and she wore a wig to mimic their long, dark, streaming hair. They were all barefoot.

                They were greeted by a lieutenant colonel who marched smartly up to them and saluted Belij. She nodded in return.

                “Number One Wife has summoned us,” she informed him.  “You will take us to her at once.”

                “Why did she wish to speak to you, Blessed One?”

                “The affairs of GuRa are not your concern, and it is not your place to know.” She had the tone of an angry schoolmarm, and he wilted visibly.

                “She said nothing of this to me.” His tone was conciliatory, but he looked alarmed. So, access to Wife Number One was being strictly limited, Gwenneth thought to herself.

                “You question me?” A hint of steel in Belij’s voice made him wince. She gave a quick glance in the general region of his crotch, and he stepped back quickly, his hand instinctively dropping to protect it.  Gwenneth had to struggle not to laugh at the alarm in his eyes.

                “No, no, of course not,” he wheedled. “Please, Honored Priestess.  Enter the palace and rest in comfort while I summon the Number One Wife.”

                They were led inside, through rooms with soaring ceilings and painted friezes on the walls, the marble floors cool beneath their feet.  They threaded through a maze of hallways until they reached a drawing room with twenty-foot-high windows and thick, lush carpet.

                The lieutenant colonel clapped his hands imperiously at several ladies-in-waiting who had hurried after them when they entered. “Bring refreshments for our honored guests,” he said. “I will return shortly.”

                “No,” Belij said loudly. She turned her attention to the ladies. “We need no refreshments. I need you to summon the Number One Wife to this room at once. We are here for the meeting that she requested, and my time is quite precious.  And you, my dear Lieutenant Colonel, you will remain here with us and we will talk about your family.”

                He opened his mouth, shut it again, then nodded at the ladies in waiting, clearly unhappy.

                Gwenneth turned away and permitted herself a small smile of triumph as the ladies hurried off.  Belij was no fool. The lieutenant colonel would be in on the conspiracy; he’d had no intention of summoning the Number One Wife. He’d wanted to stall the priestesses so that he could hurry off and consult with the Witch Doctor, but now he had no choice.  No man on the island would risk incurring the wrath of a priestess who had the power to shrivel his private parts and curse him with infertility.

                Gwenneth and the other priestesses sat down on the plump velvet sofas, and she looked around the room, examining the massive portraits of the royal family.

                There was the king, handsome and much older than his young wives.  There were half a dozen children crowded around them.

                She glanced closer at the portrait, seeing a familiar face, and shock rippled through her. Could it be?

                She leaned close to one of the priestesses. “Who the heck is that in the picture, leaning on the Number One wife?” she asked in a low, conspirational voice.

                Her Royal Highness Serena, Wife Number One, looked exhausted as she quickly crossed the room to greet them. She had circles under her eyes, and her face was pale and drawn.  She was robed in creamy peach-colored silk, but her dress hung on her as if she had lost a great deal of weight recently.  She walked through the door with her hands clenched, flanked by ladies-in-waiting on either side.

                The lieutenant colonel leaped to his feet and moved as if he wanted to speak to the Number One Wife.  Several priestesses quickly crowded in front of him, blocking his view. 

                Belij stood up quickly. “And now you must go at once,” she said to the lieutenant colonel. “This is a matter for ladies only.  It is very bad luck for you even to be here right now. In fact, you might never recover.”

                He pressed his lips together, shifting from one leg to the other. It was obvious that he was trying to decide which frightened him more; the Witch Doctor or the loss of his manhood.

                “I told you to leave. Your disrespectful behavior towards a Priestess of GuRa is intolerable,” Belij said, her eyes blazing with fury. “It disgraces you and your ancestors. If it continues, we will go to the Island Council  and demand an investigation at once.”

                With a wretched look on his face, the lieutenant colonel allowed the priestesses to surround him and walk him to the door.  Gwenneth knew they wouldn’t have long. He’d go scurrying off to the Witch Doctor like the rat he was.

                “Priestess Belij,” Wife Number One said as she came closer to them. Her voice was thick with sorrow, as if she were grieving a death, and she swayed slightly where she stood. “I welcome you here.” She glanced around nervously as if fearing she would be overheard.

                Gwenneth stepped forward. “We don’t have a lot of time.  I’m not a priestess, I’m a tourist here.  My boyfriend works for a security company, and we’ve been doing some investigating and speaking to the local Thieves’ Guild. We know the Witch Doctor and Wife Number Two are conspiring together. What have they done with the king?”

               
And had she just called Tyler her boyfriend?

                Queen Serena’s shoulders hunched and her gaze darted around the room before she answered.  “They keep him drugged with a special hypnosis serum concocted by the Witch Doctor,” she said, her voice low and fearful.

                “Did they replace the Eye of the Jaguar with a fake?” Belij asked, also keeping her voice low.

                “Perhaps. Many precious paintings and statues have gone missing, so why not the crown? Nothing they have done would surprise me.” She blinked hard to keep from crying.

                “Why have you not spoken up? Why did you not seek help?” Belij asked.

                Gwenneth already knew the answer to that question.

                “Because they took her youngest son,” she said to Belij. “And I know where they’re keeping him.”

                A look of shock crossed Belij’s face, but before she could say a word, Serena had crossed the space between Gwenneth and herself so fast that Gwenneth didn’t even have time to blink.

                The look of deep sorrow and desperation had vanished, replaced by wild determination and anger. Her face rippled with black hair and her fangs descended.

                She grabbed Gwenneth by the shoulders.

                “
Where is my son
?” she demanded, her voice ending on a growl, and Gwenneth had no doubt that Her Royal Highness would rip Gwenneth’s throat out if she didn’t get an answer at once. Gwenneth liked Serena a whole lot at that moment.

                “He’s living in the shanty town with a group of children who are members of the Thieves’ Guild,” she said quickly. “They call him Hiro.  I recognized him from that family portrait.” She pointed at the enormous painting on the wall.  There was a picture of him there, a toddler in formal ceremonial robes, leaning against his mother. He must have been taken away shortly after the picture had been painted.

                “The shanty town!” Serena cried in tones of horror. “There are children living there? That is an evil place for criminals. You must take me to him at once. And all of those children must be rescued from there. That is not acceptable!”

                “Who took him from you?”

                Serena let out a low growl of anger. “The Witch Doctor and my husband’s second wife.  It was three years ago. Three years since I have seen my son.  I sent him out to play in the garden one morning with the nanny, and the Witch Doctor came in, holding my son’s clothing, soaked in the nanny’s blood.” Tears ran down her face; she didn’t raise a hand to wipe them away. “She fought to the death for him, but to no avail.  I have been a prisoner ever since that day. But now you will take me to him and I will have my revenge on those who stole my child.”

                “It would be safer for me to find him and bring him to you,” Gwenneth protested. “The head of the Thieves’ Guild in the shanty town – I’m sure he’s working with the police and watching over Hiro for them.”

                “His name is Tam, and I will not be kept from him another minute,” Serena said in tones that brooked no argument.

               
Does Farruki know the children are all hiding out at the Fallback now?
Gwenneth wondered. If he did, they were heading into a trap. But how could she refuse to take Serena to her son?

                “Take her,” Belij interjected. She began stripping off her clothing. “We will switch clothing. I will stay here, and my priestesses will surround her as you walk out of the palace, hiding her from the guards.  You must get off the grounds at once, because the deception will not last long.”

                “They’ll kill you!” Gwenneth protested, but Serena was already shedding her robes.  The ladies-in-waiting stood by nervously.

                “They wouldn’t dare,” Belij said. Serena was quickly stepping into Belij’s robe. Then she glanced at the ladies-in-waiting. 

                “We must take you back to your quarters, or they will spot the deception too soon,” one of the ladies said.

                “They might harm my ladies for helping me escape,” Serena said nervously to Belij.

                “Pah! The Witch Doctor is destroying our country. If he stole the Eye of The Jaguar, he has committed sacrilege,” one of the ladies said defiantly. “His offense against GuRa has cost our country dearly. My family is falling into ruin; all of their businesses have failed.  If I must die to free our country, so be it.”

                “You will not die,” Belij said. “I will command that you all stay with me so they cannot harm you.  They will not dare disobey a direct order from me. Go!”

                There was no time to argue.   Gwenneth and the priestesses surrounded Serena, and they hurried out the door and down the hallway.

                 “As we walk, cover your face with your hands and start singing,” one of the priestesses said to Serena, and she did so. They all began singing loudly in their native language, words that Gwenneth didn’t understand, so she just made it up, trying to match their tune. As they walked out of the front door, the soldiers quickly stepped aside for them.

                They walked as quickly as they dared to the curb, then climbed into two waiting taxi cabs and headed back towards the jungle. The priestesses apparently did not own any vehicles, and the only money they had came from donations from infertile couples and tribute left by the native populace. Then again, they spent their time living in the jungle and their needs were few.

                They directed the taxi drivers to drive quickly and leave the main road. As they drove off, Gwenneth prayed that the ancient, battered vehicles wouldn’t break down before they reached their destination. She could see the road through the holes in the floor.

                 After twenty minutes, they heard sirens in the distance, heading their way.

                “We’ll get out now, before they catch up to us,” Gwenneth said.

                Their taxi driver pulled over, idling as they scrambled out.   The second taxi full of priestesses stopped as soon as they did.  The coughing, sputtering exhaust pipes pumped black smoke into the air, and Gwenneth wrinkled her nose at the smell.  They were still in the city, in a dodgy neighborhood near the shanty town.

                “Once we have her son back, she can go to the Island Council and tell everybody about what happened,” Gwenneth said to the priestesses. “Everything should be back to normal soon.”

                “May GuRa protect you,” the priestesses called out the taxi window as it pulled away.   

                Serena stared with dismay at the dingy, battered buildings with their cracked windows and the garbage piling up in heaps at random intervals up and down the street. If she found this upsetting, the shanty town was going to make her sick to her stomach, Gwenneth thought.

                “We should shift. It’ll be faster,” she said to Serena, who nodded in agreement.

                They stripped off their clothes, seized them in their mouths, and began running, the jaguar queen following the leopard commoner.

                When they entered the shanty town, they stuck to the shadows, slinking down narrow, stinking alleyways and staying out of sight.   The queen shuddered frequently as she ran, lifting her paws to avoid stepping in puddles of filth.

                They kept moving until they finally reached the area that Hiro, or rather his Royal Highness Prince Tam, had described.    It was the area underneath an overpass for a rusted old train bridge that had been abandoned long ago.  Obscene graffiti was sprayed across cracked concrete, and spiky weeds higher than Gwenneth’s head swayed in the breeze. 

                Gwenneth stopped just before they reached the bridge, crouching behind a heap of broken furniture, battered shopping carts and old, stained mattresses.   She didn’t see anyone under the bridge, and she didn’t hear anything either. In leopard form, she should have been able to hear the kids if they were there.

                She turned human, crouching low to stay hidden, and dropped her clothing from her mouth. Then she cupped her hands around her mouth and made the bird sound that Tana had taught her.

                Then she sat back on her heels and listened.

                In the distance, she could hear the faint sounds of traffic.  But that was it. Total silence. No reply.

                The jaguar queen turned human too, crouching down next to Gwenneth. “What’s happening? Where is my son?” she demanded, her voice frantic.

                “I don’t know. This is where they said they’d wait for me.  Maybe they’re out hunting for supplies?” Gwenneth had an uneasy feeling. At least some of them should be there, shouldn’t they?

                She made the bird call sound again, waited again.  And there was still silence.

                “Stay here,” she said to the queen, and she shifted and slunk over to the underpass, sniffing the air. As she got closer, her fur stood on end. She could smell the scent of male jaguars, and also the acrid scent of fear.  Panic seized her and she let out a feline growl of fury and ran back to where the queen waited anxiously.

                Again, she shifted back to human form so she could speak. “They’re not here. Let’s go,” she said to the queen.  “We’re going to have to go to the temple for help. I don’t know what else to do at this point.”

                “Will they hurt my son?” the queen cried, tears shimmering in her huge, dark eyes.

                “I don’t believe they will.  He’s leverage, so he’s valuable,” Gwenneth tried to reassure her.

                Queen Serena swallowed hard. “I will find my son, and I will kill the people who took him from me,” she said, her voice tear-choked but determined.  Gwenneth had no doubt she meant it.

                A sudden scuttling sound made them both jump. They looked up; a lone male jaguar was perched on top of a garbage heap

                He leaped down in front of them, landing with a thud about twenty feet away, and hurried towards them.  He was a scrawny adolescent with scars on his fur. When he reached them he shifted back into human form.   It was Pern.

                “You’ve got to get out of here,” he said to Gwenneth, glancing around fearfully. “The Shadow Lord and his men are looking for you.”