Page 13 of Ashes and Lilies
I didn’t consider myself someone who jumped to conclusions, but only an idiot would believe that two men left the room and were replaced by animals in seconds. And I wasn’t an idiot.
The paranormal was real. Demons were real… What Damen had been trying to tell me earlier…
Shifters were real, too, apparently. But these didn’t look like wolves—more like mutated dogs. I couldn’t place them.
I should have been more surprised. But instead, I only felt a hollow victory. I lay still, curling my fingers in the front of Damen’s shirt, as my mind wheeled in a whirlwind of questions.
For example, what was the biological cause of a shifter’s ability to change? Perhaps there was a rapid change in the sequence of their DNA. Or was there something else involved? Did a shifter lose all sense of humanity once transformed into their beastly counterpart? If someone died in their animal form, would their ghost remain as an animal? How, in the name of Charles Robert Darwin, did any of this work?
Although this wasn’t the most suitable time for my scientific mind to come out to play, it had also not escaped my notice that the animals appeared somewhat rabid. All three dogs were foaming at the mouth, and their eyes were wild.
Jamie had fallen to his knees and held his head as his shoulders shook. Meanwhile, Conner stopped laughing and stepped forward as the three dog-like creatures—which I still couldn’t quite place—ceased their movements. His face remained twisted in a pointed grin, and he watched only me.
“Don’t even think about it,” Damen said. He moved further over me, his chest touching mine, shielding me, and glaring at the other man.
Despite the frightening tone of Damen’s voice, Conner wasn’t subdued.
“Move out of the way,” he said, cracking his neck. When he stepped forward this time, his leg shook, and his knee almost gave out. “It’s your fault for bringing her—you can’t tease us like that. Let us have her.”
“That will not be happening under any circumstance,” Damen said. His tense fury had my palms growing hot. His shoulders tensed, and I knew he was preparing to fight.
I didn’t want Damen to get hurt trying to defend me.
An attack came, but not from where I’d expected.
One of the beasts broke away from Kasai’s corralling andlunged toward us. Despite its speed, Damen was on his feet before the creature reached us.
The onmyoji was light-footed and agile. Something flashed in his hands, and everything that followed was too quick to process. There was a movement—a slice through the air, perhaps—and one of the creatures had been thrown backward and landed in a skidding stop on the carpet.
Then, Conner smirked at me and fell to the ground. He shivered, and after a rapid succession of contortions that appeared rather painful, a beast stood in his place.
A strange mixture of intrigue and numbness washed over me. Some people might think it would be romantic to watch a shifter transformation—that it might be a beautiful sight.
Those people would be wrong.
I never wanted to witness such a disgusting display again.
A string of Damen’s swearing captured my attention, and a second later, he slammed against the opposite wall. My befuddled mind snapped back to reality at the trail of blood that was left behind as he slid to the ground.
Conner, now a beast, stalked toward the injured man.
The numbness melted away, and my heart beat loudly in my ears.
No one, not even a magical shifter of unknown breed, was allowed to hurt my friend. Poor Damen was outnumbered, which wasn’t fair at all. I had to do something.
Sure, I would probably die. It would be worth it, especially considering they appeared to have a thing for frumpy, short girls and the smell of my perfume. I would perish in my quest to protect a friend. That had to count for something.
I staggered to my feet and grabbed the nearest loose item. I had to rescue Damen.
“Hey!” I tossed the leather-bound copy ofWar and PeaceatConner’s head. “Don’t forget about me, you ugly thing. You don’t want to eat Damen. He’d taste fried anyway.” Being possessed by a demon would do that to a person’s insides, I was sure. In any case, I probably easier to digest.
Not that I particularly wanted them to find out from personal experience.
Conner looked back at me, wild eyes meeting my own. A nagging sense of knowing began to pull at my mind. Iknewthat I’d seen this type of creature before. Doglike, spotted, and slightly smaller than most predators…
Plus, that extremely unnerving laugh.
What was it?
