Page 37 of A Cougar's Kiss
Nisa lifted her hands to grip her neck. She tilted her head back and took a deep breath, releasing it loudly. Shya folded her arms across her chest and sat back in her chair.
“None of this was about you, Nisa. Keeping the secret about my sickness, taking the board and using it to find out things that nobody in Oasis would tell me, it had nothing to do with you, but everything to do with me. The me that nobody else sees because you’ve been too busy seeing the sick little girl that you wanted to protect.” She dropped her arms and stood, the cat inside needing the movement.
“I’m going with Keller and the others to this announcement today and when we return I’m staying here to help with the reunification because that’s something I want to do, something I can contribute. You don’t have to agree, and you don’t have to like it, but it’s what I’m going to do.”
Nisa sighed, stood from her chair and came to stand in front of Shya. “How could I not agree when I’m here to do the same thing?”
* * *
Paradise Center
Miami
4:45 p.m.
Shya and Nisa stood in the back of a packed auditorium. The four hundred and sixty-seven seats that the Paradise Center advertised were filled and there were people standing in the aisle. Jordin and Zion were on the other side of the room, standing in the back watching the same scene as they were. Keller and Gold were in a room adjacent to the audio room where they would move to the moment the rally began and Decan and Kyss were stationed at the door with two of the six guards he and Nisa had brought to Miami with them. The other four were outside watching the perimeter and ready to get the Tracers on command.
Shya had spent the thirty-minute ride thinking about the fact that Nisa and Decan had continued to work with Keller on this mission even after Rome ordered Decan to stand down on his private crusade for revenge. It seemed none of them were listening to the Assembly these days.
Nisa leaned over to speak into her ear. “We’re gonna stay back here and keep an eye on this side of the room.”
There was loud music playing, a rock song with lyrics that included something about being born in the U.S.A. Shya wondered if the people who had come to hear Tavarus Macombe speak about extinguishing an entire species knew that a good portion of the Shadow Shifters were born in the United States, namely her.
“Apparently we’re not the only ones expecting trouble,” she responded with a nod toward the visibly armed human guards at the door.
“That’s to be expected when you go around pissing off so many people, as Tavarus has done,” Nisa replied.
Their guards had guns, the Shadows had cats, if a battle broke out here tonight, it wasn’t going to be pretty. Her heart pounded with that thought but she was determined to see this through. It was important that they take a stand. Sure, Uncle Rome had done that yesterday, but today was going to be different, they were standing against the unethical and often unprovoked violence inflicted on the Shadows by the very group that was now stepping onto the stage.
The sound of applause boomed through the space, some people standing with signs held high. She was behind them so she couldn’t see what the signs said but knew it couldn’t be anything good or helpful. The house lights had been lowered so that only the stage was receiving full light now, two jumbo-trons on either side of it reflecting a close-up view of the men walking on the stage and standing in a straight line.
There were six of them, all dressed in dark suits, with white shirts and red ties. They ranged in age from mid-twenties to upper sixties and all stood with their hands clasped in front of them. But the one in the center, that’s where a spotlight shined, and he was the one already holding a microphone. He stepped forward giving that slight nod of his head that was meant to accept the applause and simultaneously signal it was time for them to stop and sit down so he could talk. Apparently, the people in the room had no more respect for rules and common sense than the guy did because the clapping, yelling and whistling went on for at least another ten minutes.
Nisa stood with her legs spread and her hands clasped behind her back, while Shya stood with her hands at her sides trying to recall all the things Keller had taught her in training the day before. Shya’s cat was very aware of the violence that could take place tonight and it was ready, probably more so than she was.
“Tonight, we’ve come to set some things straight and as the new leader of the Ruling Cabinet, I, Tavarus Macombe, vow to do just that.”
More applause came until the sound was a booming drone. A glance to her left showed Jordin leaning her head to the side just before her voice came through the tiny earpiece they’d all inserted as their way of communicating tonight.
“The bastard’s in range,” Jordin said.
“Stand down until further notice,” Decan’s voice followed.
“We’re in the booth,” Gold announced.
Shya shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Tonight, she wore an all gray outfit, cargo pants and long-sleeved shirt, steel-toed boots that came mid-calf were tied tight and her hair was pulled up tight into a top puff. Every Shadow wore the same outfit and if they were to be asked what group they were with, the answer was the New World Alliance, a name Decan had announced just as they were leaving the center.
“As you know, there was an announcement made yesterday by the very degenerate animals we seek to expunge from our nation.” Tavarus spoke and the crowd cheered.
Shya’s chest heaved as her cat pressed forward. She almost stumbled with the force but remembered Keller’s words about control.“You maintain control at all times by thinking clearly. Never let your surroundings or anything that may be said or done distract you from staying in whatever form you wish to remain. You are the master of your shift.”
She recited those words again even as her fingers tingled, claws scraping just inches beneath her skin.
“They claim they’ve made some type of agreement with other humans. World leaders—or should I say cowards who have allowed these vermin to sneak into their spaces and brainwash them. Well, we’re stronger than that! We’re here tonight to say that we will not honor any Oasis Treaty. We will not respect any half-human, half-animal. We will rid our world of the dirt and disgust, the violence and strife that they’ve brought here and yes, if necessary, we’ll kill them all on sight!”
The cheers were so loud they felt like a physical assault and Shya gasped with the effort it was taking to keep her cat at bay. Nisa’s hand on her arm had Shya jerking toward her, teeth already bared.
“Breathe.” She could read Nisa’s lips because between the crowd and the loud beating of her heart, Shya couldn’t hear anything else.
