She could fucking run, I’ll give her that. Hell, I had the speed of a damn vampire behind me, and I was only making up little bits of ground.
The corner loomed and she disappeared around it. I was maybe two seconds behind her, but it was enough for her to disappear. I cursed and stopped, my nostrils flaring as I sucked in air, trying to catch both my breath and her scent.
It was there, but not as strong. And lower.
She’d shifted shape.
I did the same and, with my nose to the ground, ran on. The grass was damp under my paws and the scents of the nearby eucalyptus and rosebushes were sharp against the night. Her trail went off the footpath, twining through trees and flowers.
Given the meandering line she was taking, I wouldn’t be surprised if she were trying to mingle her scent with the other aromas, thereby making it harder for me to follow. Obviously, a cat had no understanding just how sensitive a wolf’s nose could be.
Her scent was getting stronger, not weaker. I trotted on until I came to the thick, gnarled trunk of a tree and the scent of cat was so strong I was practically drowning in it. I stopped and looked up. Up in the higher branches of the big old elm, two blue eyes glinted back at me.
I shifted shape and said, “Come down, Enna. Or whatever your name really is.”
She snarled in reply, white teeth gleaming.
“Climb down, or I’ll fucking shoot you out of the tree.”
She snarled again, and this time it was a deeper, angrier sound.
Well, the bitch couldn’t say I didn’t warn her. I opened my purse to grab my laser, intending to shoot the damn tree limb out from underneath her, but at that moment, magic caressed the night. I looked up quickly, had a brief glimpse of a cat the size of a tiger, and then she was leaping down, straight at me.
I swore and dove sideways, hitting the ground with a grunt, tearing the side of my dress and sending my purse flying. I had no idea where the laser went, but it wasn’t in my hand when I rolled to my feet. My stilettos chose that particular moment to get stuck in the dirt, so I stumbled a little before I got my balance. From behind came a heavy thump, then footsteps. I swung around in time to see her leap. God, she was big. Bigger than a tiger and with paws as large as dinner plates.
I kicked off my shoes, grabbed one in each hand, and ducked away from her leap. She twisted in midair, lashing out with those thick, sharp claws. Several caught my dress, snagging the flimsy material and tearing into skin.
Pain flared as blood began to run down my arm. I hissed and lashed out with a stiletto. The specially hardened wooden tip of the heel scraped down her side, cutting into her flesh and sending blood splattering across the nearby trees and rosebushes.
She growled—a sound so deep it seemed to vibrate through the earth. I shifted my weight, digging my toes into the dirt a little, getting balance and grip as she hit the ground then launched back at me again.
Her lips were drawn back into a snarl, white teeth gleaming. I waited until the last possible moment, until her claws were almost on me, then dropped low and thrust up with the heel of a stiletto, driving it deep into her belly.
It wouldn’t kill her, but a four-inch heel shoved in her gut wasn’t going to feel real good, either.
Her snarl of rage became a long howl of pain, and then she was running again, her black form quickly disappearing through the trees. I scrambled to my feet, grabbed my purse and the laser, and ran after her.
This time she was even faster. How that was even possible I have no idea. Maybe it was something to do with whatever magic allowed her to change her size.
I followed her scent, ducking and weaving through the trees, moving so fast they were little more than a blur to me. We were looping around, moving back toward the footpath and the river.
I found my stiletto abandoned on the footpath. The trail ended at the river.
Obviously, this particular cat didn’t have an aversion to water. I scanned the dark river but couldn’t see anything or anyone swimming. There were no boats moored nearby, so she couldn’t be using those to hide behind. She was simply gone.
I briefly shifted shape to stop my arm from bleeding, then pressed the com-link button. “Hello, anyone tuned in?”
“I’m always tuned in,” Sal said, voice dry. “Unlike certain werewolves who shall remain nameless.”
I grinned. “Gee, I wonder who you could mean?”
“You’re wasting my time, wolf girl. Get to the point.”
“Well, I just lost the bakeneko’s trail—”
“Make a habit of losing your quarry, and Jack won’t be pleased.”
“She decided to go for a swim in the Yarra and was gone by the time I reached it.”
“God, she had to be desperate. That river is unclean.”
And a vampire would know all about unclean. Although, to give Sal her due, she did wash like a regular person, and smelled rather nice for a vamp. So did Jack, thankfully. “She’s taken over the identity of one Enna Free, which means the real Enna Free is probably dead. You want to get me her address, and send a cleanup team over there?”
“Hang on.”
I walked back and picked up my stiletto. With the money I’d spent on them, I wasn’t about to leave them. And once the blood was washed off, they’d still be totally usable.
“Kade was over there earlier to bring her in,” Sal said. “She wasn’t home, and he didn’t report anything out of the ordinary.”
“I’d say she would have already been dead by then.” And a horse-shifter wasn’t as sensitive to the scent of death as a wolf. “What’s the address?”
“Two-nine-one Napier Street, Fitzroy—”
“She doesn’t live in Toorak?” I interrupted, surprised.
“Toorak isn’t that far,” Sal retorted. “And that section of Fitzroy isn’t exactly cheap, because it’s real close to the Brunswick Street shops and nightlife.”
Which was mainly human-related. No wolf clubs had opened up in the Brunswick area, so most nonhumans kept away. Except for the vampires, who didn’t mind the odd bite on a consenting neck.
“Sounds as if you know the area well.”
“I live there. Need anything else?”
“Warn the cleanup team that the bakeneko is wounded and probably pissed off, because I managed to stab her with a shoe. They may have to go in with guns.”
“I’ll let them know.”
“Good. Were you able to track down Ron Cowden?”
“He lives above the restaurant, which is on the city end of Lygon Street.”
“Did you find anything out about him? Has he got a brother named Jake?”
“Yes, but the system is still trying to track him down.”
“Then give it a kick and make it hurry. This is urgent.”
“Everything always is.”
True. And it could be that I was barking up the wrong tree, anyway. If this was all connected with Young’s sudden disappearance at the end of grade ten, then Ron himself wouldn’t be a target. And I couldn’t imagine his brother being a target, either, considering what Liander had told me.
Still, Young had circled his picture for a reason, so I had to at least check it out.
“Do you know if Kade has rounded up the other Trollops yet?”
“He’s having trouble locating a couple of them.”
Which wouldn’t put him in a good mood. As he’d been known to say—out of Jack’s hearing—he’d joined the Directorate ranks for action, not babysitting duties. “I’ll probably head on over to the Rabbit after I check Napier Street.”
“You don’t get extra for all this unapproved overtime, you know.”
“You know I do it for the love of the job rather than the money,” I said, voice dry.
She sniffed—a disbelieving sound if I’d ever heard one. “Night, wolf.”
“Don’t let the bedbugs bite,” I replied, and hung up on her snort.
I padded back to the car barefooted. Once there, I opened the trunk and grabbed a plastic bag, dumping my shoes in them. I didn’t know how useful forensics would find them, but better safe than sorry. Although it would mean I wouldn’t get my shoes back for a few weeks.