The two lay side by side in the grasses. Solange pressed her mouth to Juliette's ear. "I couldn't hear anything in the cave. I think they're resting. I'm fairly certain I can get close enough to the guard in his human form to kill him, but neither of us is going to be able to do much with the jaguar. He's big and he's a fighter." She touched her side. "He's fast too."
"We don't stand much of a chance inside," Juliette pointed out. "With the one up in the tree, I counted five. We're not going to win against five fully grown jaguars."
"Four," Solange said firmly. "After I take out the guard. You're right though, we have to draw the others out of the cave to have any chance at all."
"I can do that," Juliette said with confidence.
No! Riordan's harsh command was sharp. She heard the echo of Zacarias's protest. Wait as long as possible.
"Riordan wants us to wait, Solange," Juliette reported uneasily. She had no idea how her cousin would react. "He will try to rise before sunset to help us."
Solange nodded slowly. "I guess it makes sense, Juliette. We don't have to like it, but we don't have much chance against five males."
"I want to get closer, just to make certain they aren't touching her," Juliette said.
"I'll go. I can be invisible." A small, humorless smile tugged at Solange's mouth. "Well, not like your Carpathian, but I manage."
"You have a gift," Juliette acknowledged.
Solange began to circle back around toward the rear entrance, presuming Jasmine was being held as deep in the cave as possible. Once the jaguar in the tree stirred, yawned, his mouth gaping open to show sharp teeth. Solange sank into the bushes, going completely still. Juliette slid a knife into her palm. The jaguar stretched, looked around and sniffed the air, testing with his tongue and sensitive whiskers. The wind carried the scent of the women away from him. The jaguar dropped his head back onto his leg and closed his eyes.
Juliette let her breath out slowly. Solange waited a few more minutes before continuing to creep forward again. Juliette strained to watch her cousin's process. The fronds of a fern swayed slightly, in time with the wind. Juliette couldn't understand how Riordan and Zacarias had the strength to guide the wind and follow Solange's progress. She could almost feel Riordan moving through her, attempting to get the layout of the battlefield through her eyes. He was waiting, much like a coiled snake, waiting for that moment when he could explode into the sky and come to her. Riordan's concern was comforting, and she sent him her appreciation.
Juliette's first warning was the way the human guard at the back entrance suddenly turned his head toward the cave with an evil smile. He walked a few steps and peered into the collection of shrubbery, his hand absently rubbing his crotch. She saw Solange move in behind him. A scream, a mixture of anger, terror and pain came from the interior of the cave. It was choked off abruptly. I have no choice, Riordan. It was her only apology for whatever might happen. Using higher ground, she ran to the entrance of the cave, catching a brief glimpse of Solange and the guard, the man falling to the ground, the bloodstained knife in Solange's hand.
Riordan was calm. He didn't protest, he simply waited, watching the events unfold through her eyes. Juliette could feel the presence of his elder brother. They coiled in her waiting their moment.
Stay to the side, hold the blade edge up. Riordan instructed as she neared the cave's entrance. Juliette didn't argue; she already knew his plan, catching the details in their shared minds. She called out Jasmine's name to let her know she wasn't alone and to draw the men from the cave. She had to trust Solange to watch her back and keep the jaguar off of her. Her arm flashed, faster than she knew how to move, an instinctual, timed movement that brought down the first man rushing from the cavern. Blood soaked the ground, but Juliette couldn't look, didn't dare look. She heard the roar of the jaguar as it leapt from the branches onto Solange.
Juliette turned to help her cousin, sprinting with a burst of speed not her own. Solange shifted on the run, coming together in fury with the heavy male cat, raking and biting, fur and material flying everywhere. Juliette skidded to a halt. She had no chance to help Solange, to try to kill the jaguar with the knife. The two cats rolled over and over in a terrible fury making it impossible to aid her cousin.
Juliette! Riordan was rising. She felt him bursting through soil and leaves to take to the air. At his warning she spun around, knife held low and close to her body, meeting the rush of the jaguar as it burst from the cave. The heavy cat hit her chest hard, driving her backward, the jaguar's foul breath hot in her face. Pain ripped through her as the sharp claws tore through her skin to the bone. She felt Zacarias and Riordan moving in her, the knife plunging into the cat's sides and chest as his teeth drove at her throat. Breathing was difficult, but Riordan forced the air through her burning lungs. She slammed into the ground hard and lay pinned beneath the heavier body. Leaves and twigs soaked red with blood beneath but she couldn't tell whose blood it was. The cat's teeth were embedded in her throat and her arms were leaden, making it impossible to push the heavy body off of her.
Look at Solange. Riordan, so calm it was frightening. There was a command in his voice she couldn't disobey.
Jasmine screamed again, and Juliette's body jerked at the sound.
Look at Solange. Riordan repeated it. He was much closer and gaining in strength as the sun began to set.
Juliette couldn't move her head, so she shifted her gaze to see the male cat clawing Solange viciously. Blood seeped through fur and Solange staggered under the assault. A white haze was forming over Juliette's eyes. She blinked rapidly to clear her vision. Jasmine screamed again. Juliette could hear her weeping.
Stay focused on Solange. Riordan's voice softened. Hold on for me. Just hold on, Juliette.
Flames ran over the male jaguar's fur. Bright red and orange flames tipping the ends of the spotted coat and engulfing the animal. The two jaguars rolled on the ground in a terrible frenzy of claws and teeth, but not a single flame touched the female. The male howled and broke away.
Chapter 10
Riordan erupted out of the sky, a demon with red eyes, his black hair unbound and streaming in the wind. He materialized directly behind the man holding Jasmine as a shield. Juliette actually felt the man's head as if she had grabbed him. Riordan twisted hard. The frightening crack was loud as he snapped the man's neck and dropped him carelessly to the ground.
Jasmine ran to kneel by Solange while Riordan eased the teeth of the jaguar carefully out of Juliette's neck and tossed the heavy body of the cat away as if it were no more than a bothersome branch. Pain engulfed her, rushed through her body now that it was over and he was there. He pressed his hands to the puncture wounds on either side of her throat, clamping down hard to prevent her from bleeding to death.
Juliette began to choke. Is my sister okay? Solange? I can't see them.
Riordan glanced over his shoulder toward the two women. Jasmine's face was swollen and black and blue. Her clothes hung in shreds. There was blood smeared on her body, but she was alive and trying desperately to staunch the flow of blood from her cousin's many lacerations. Solange was naked and bloody, lying on the ground, but she was alert, watching Riordan as he bent over Juliette.
They are both alive, Juliette. Lie still for me. He trusted his brother to remain alert for further trouble as he went outside his body and into hers to attempt to heal her from the inside out. Juliette gurgled, choked and coughed up blood.