Chapter Five
EVERYONE SCATTERED.
My knees threatened to buckle as anxiety washed over me. I bolted back the way we’d come. I didn’t know why we were running or why women were screaming but I didn’t plan on finding out.
I managed to make it to the edge of the marble courtyard before someone yelled, “Stop running, you idiots! Didn’t you read the dossier on him? It’s his pet!”
“Carly’s right,” someone else said. “It was given to him when he was a teenager—mainly to stop him from going batshit crazy. It’s not going to hurt us. Look, it’s just sitting there.”
A few brave girls stopped and turned but not me.
I kept running, streaking into the rose garden and ducking behind a cheery pink-flowered bush. Peering through the glossy dark leaves, I tried to make sense of the commotion.
Women continued to flee but the ones who obviously had an agenda of coming here slowly stopped and forced themselves back.
“Take us to your master,” Evelyn commanded, her eyes pinned on the entrance of the palace.
“Do you honestly think it speaks English?” One of the others scowled. “It’s in the way. We should just move it.”
“Sure, okay. Move it.” Evelyn chuckled. “After you then.”
The other girl didn’t reply, and I couldn’t make out what they spoke about. The cluster of women suddenly broke down the middle, everyone cringing away as something huge and black and sleek stalked down the centre.
My eyes widened as the velveteen predator prowled straight through the women like it owned the place, its tail flicking, its glowing yellow eyes bright as twin moons even in the afternoon sunlight.
My heart chose that moment to cease.
Stress crushed me from all angles and my vision blanked.
I was having another nervous breakdown.
That was the only explanation.
My mind had snapped and conjured a fantasy that couldn’t be real.
It can’t be real.
Hiding behind my rose bush, I did my best to get a grip.
I begged reality to return—
But then the softest puff of breath hit the back of my neck.
The quietest growl sent my skin prickling with panic.
Hurling myself around, I fell onto my ass as I faced a creature that belonged in a jungle, not a country manor. It didn’t make any sense. I couldn’t compute how a panther was sniffing my hair, my throat, and not tearing out my spine with its sharp teeth.
“Stop playing around and take us to Lucien,” Evelyn snapped, appearing by the rose bush and eyeballing the panther.
It was a panther, wasn’t it?
Or was it some genetically modified giant house cat?
Because animal sequencing and gene manipulation weren’t impossible. I’d seen such scientific feats first-hand in Snowflake’s labs...
Evelyn stuck her nose in the air. “Where is he? Tell him to come out and welcome us.” Her bravery was utterly awe-inspiring if not completely suicidal.
Who was this woman?
What the hell did she know about this place that made it seem as if she’d crossed enemy lines for battle while the rest of us were cannon fodder?
The panther quit sniffing me and hissed at Evelyn. Its tail flicked harder; a low whine echoed in its chest, just like an angry tabby cat.
“Eh...” Leaping to my feet, I backed up, casually putting Evelyn between me and the beast. “Perhaps yelling at it isn’t the best idea.”
She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at my obvious and understandable fear. “If it was going to hurt us, it would’ve done so by now. Like the others said, it’s just a pet.”
“A pet?” My eyebrows shot up. “I’ve never seen a pet like that.”
Other women came to join us, forming a small crowd in front of the panther. The giant cat eyed us all, yet I swear its stare lingered on me more than on any of them.
Lucky me.
Had we been brought here to be a movable feast for this creature? Just convenient snacks and I’d been selected as its first course?
Sighing heavily, my headache reached unbearable levels.
When I got this bad, no painkiller or medicine helped.
The only thing that would recalibrate my out-of-whack system was sleep. A long blissful forgetful sleep where—
“Take us to Lucien.” Evelyn stomped her foot, making a few of the women snicker. “Now!”
“Having a tantrum won’t work.” One of the girls—a heavy-set, short-haired woman came forward, her arms thicker than my thighs, no doubt from regular weightlifting. “And I doubt its master likes spoiled little princesses.”
“Oh, and I suppose you think Lucien will like you?” Evelyn spun on her. “Someone who looks like she eats twenty raw eggs for breakfast.”
The woman cracked her knuckles, stepping into Evelyn. “Say that again. I dare you.”
“Easy, easy.” Lydia, the girl with golden-brown hair, stepped between the two. “Let’s not fight so soon into this mission, shall we?”
Mission?
What mission?
The bodybuilder clenched her jaw but nodded.
“Fine.” Pointing at all of us, she added, “But stay the hell out of my way. I know a bunch of you have come here to seduce that bastard and have his bastard children, but me? I’m going to rip out his throat and ruin any chance he has of unleashing the apocalypse. ”
Okay, WHAT?
My eyes ached. My ears rang. I was very close to throwing up from the pain. But I clung to sanity and asked, “Can someone please tell me what the hell is this place?”
“No!” Evelyn snapped. Hurling her wrath at the panther, she shouted, “Take us to Lucien. Immediately!”
Incredibly, the cat grumbled and growled but slinked around us and headed back toward the main palace.
Everyone followed, as if entranced by its jewel-black pelt and hypnotising tail.
But as everyone vanished into the black stone castle, I turned around and bolted.