Page 11 of All Hallows Masque

My mouth dropped open, horror piercing my chest. Sympathy crept in without my permission. But I knew what it was like to see someone you loved die. I watched Byron fall and could do nothing, utterly powerless as his life drained.Becauseof her,a hissing voice insisted. But it was too easy to blame that on Nightmare’s own will and wickedness. Honey’s death, though? That was all Cruelty.

I pulled my sweaty hands from her grip and forced a deep breath. “I can’t shift. I only managed to do it when I was furious or under threat. That’snotan invitation to attack me,” I added quickly, putting another step between us, walking backwards onto the paved square, the bricks grey and weather-worn under my shoes.

“Silly Kitty,” Cruelty giggled, shaking her head. “I would never attack you. Best friends don’t attack each other; that’s bad manners.”

“Agreed.” I swallowed, looking at all the acres of land, at the back of the manor. The kitchen window looked out on the gallery of deep green topiaries, their figures all different shapes, sizes, and body types. Strangely, having those figures watching over us made me feel less alone. I knew they were plants, but at least there’d be witnesses if Cruelty lost her temper and ended me here. “Are you sure you don’t have an antidote?” I asked, repeating the question for the third time. “Poppy had some in her shack laboratory.”

Cruelty rolled her eyes. “You don’t need an antidote. You need to master your jaguar form, then you won’t be a silly mindless beast ever again. You won’t have to be afraid of killing everyone. Although, to be frank, I don’t understand why you’d be afraid of that anyway. Killing is fun.”

“You’re Cruelty; of course you think killing is fun.”

She snorted, a big grin creasing her eyes, stretching her mouth. God, she was easy to please. It was kinda sad. “Of course I do. Well, what are you waiting for, Kitty? Shift.” She took a few steps back to give me space

“I told you, I can’t do it on command.” Even so, I reached inside for that snarling beast of claws and fur and fangs, imagining diving into a deep pool from a great height.

Come on, this was easy when I wanted Poppy to leave my husbands alone. It was easy when Nightmare threatened my men. But now that I stood in the middle of the garden, only Cruelty to witness my shift, I couldn’t do it. No magic swept over me. No rush of ferocity as my animal took hold.

I threw my hands up. “I don’t know how.”

Cruelty tapped her bottom lip, pondering me, then her eyes lit up. “Ooh, I know! Why don’t I tell you about the man I found trying to break into the manor last night?”

“Uh.” I gave her a strange look, wanting to shift now more than ever. It would be nice to be insulated from her by claws and fur. “Okay.”

“He’s one of the ones Nightmare’s little curse bound you to,” she said coyly, giving me a sly grin. “Your bonded one. A husband, you might say.”

Every drop of blood in my body ran cold. I thought of Tor in my dreams, so close I could feel his arms around me. “Who?” I demanded.

She batted a hand at me. “I can’t tell you that. You have toguess.But there’s a catch. Or rather, a game.”

“I hate games.”

She rolled her eyes like I was being absurd. “Everyone likes games. I’ve got your pretty bonded one ensconced in a secret part of the manor where you’ll never find him, but this Saturday I’m hosting a masquerade ball. I thought it’d be fun to hold it at Ford School of Medicine. Isn’t that genius?” Her laughter clashed with the low, ominous groan of thunder, closer than before. “I do have to pat myself on the back for ingenuity. I can’t wait to explore the school where it all happened!”

I gave her a look of horror.

“Everyone will be masked, including us—I got us matching masks and dresses—so it won’t be easy to find your husband. But if you find him, you can keep him.”

Blood pounded loud between my ears, as vicious as the storm rolling in. “And if I don’t?”

“Then I keep him. Or kill him, I suppose. I have no use for a man.”

That did it. Rage detonated through me like the cloud of an atom bomb, rousing my jaguar. I landed on four paws on the square, and flexed my claws against the grey slabs.Run,I warned, and launched at her.

Cruelty took off running with a giggle, like this was all a game.

Everyone will be masked, but if you find him, you can keep him.

7

Cat

Icouldn’t sleep at all Friday night, and not just because adrenaline pumped through my body after a whole day of ‘training’ with Cruelty. She had an endless arsenal of visceral, graphic threats to hurl at me, triggering my protective rage and luring me towards her as she raced through the grounds. I didn’t think it was helping me gain control over my jaguar, but I participated, mostly because if I caught her and ripped her arm off, I could blame it on ‘training.’

Because I was wide awake, there was no missing the scraping sound from outside. I wasn’t dreaming this time, and it wasn’t a woman’s scream, but that didn’t stop my heart kicking up. Goosebumps rippled down my arms when the scraping sound came again, and I climbed out of bed, approaching the window slowly. My feet sunk into the plush carpet with every hesitant step, the back of my neck tingling with warning. The manor was deadly quiet except for that noise from outside.

I cracked the curtains apart just enough to see outside, and peered down at the dark garden. Silvery moonlight filtered through the clouds to cast everything in a ghostly glow. My window looked out on the back garden, with the topiaries frozen in their poses, the manicured leaves almost black at night. I could see the patio where I’d first shifted and chased Cruelty and failed, as always, to rip her to shreds. Not that she knew I tried to kill her. She thought we were just having fun, as best friends did.

The noise came again, scraping and distinct, and I recognised it a moment before I spotted the two dark-coated figures hauling shovels full of dirt into a hole not too far from my window. I couldn’t see what was in the hole because it was already heaped with dirt, but the sight of two tall, imposing men dressed all in black burying something under the cloak of darkness was enough to make me go cold all over.

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