The chill in the air increased, and with it came a sense of anger. It was not my time.
She mightn't have thought so, but fate always had other ideas on such things. Can you tell me anything about the creature?
She was fast. The sense of energy increased, until the tingling on my skin felt like fire. Very briefly, a wispy face formed in the shadows - a thin pretty face with wide lost eyes. She took my bag. My phone. My car keys.
She took your life, too, but I kept that thought to myself. I had no idea if souls could feel shock, but this one showed every sign of going through that right now. I didn't need to make it any worse for her.
What is your name?
Maria. Maria Kennedy-Smith.
Is there anything you can tell me about the person who did this to you?
I knew her. But it didn't seem like her.
The chill in the air was beginning to fade, and the shadows once again swallowed her wispy features.
What was her name?
Jenny Franklin.
One of the missing women. So if her body wasn't in her apartment, where the hell had the bakeneko killed her?
Why would she do this?
The thought was almost a wail. I shivered and rubbed my arms. It wasn't her. It was a look-alike. Jenny's dead, too.
The energy was almost gone, the fire on my skin little more than a caress of warmth.
Get whoever it is, came the thought. Stop her.
Then she was gone, heading back into whatever realm her soul was destined for.
I blew out a breath and turned around. Cole was watching me with a concerned expression. "You know, I didn't notice it before, but you almost seem to fade when you do that. It's as if they're sucking the life from you."
I rubbed my arms. "I can feel the chill of the other side through them. So maybe it is sucking something out of me." Who really knew? It might be a talent Jack intended to use to its full capacity, but it certainly wasn't one that the Directorate had seen much of. My teachers were magi, not other people who shared the same skill.
"If it is, then be damn careful. You might reach a point where returning becomes difficult."
I repressed a shiver at the thought, and forced a grin. "What's this? Caring about a guardian? Is the world about to end?"
He snorted softly. "Did I say I cared one way or another? Woman, you're reading me all wrong." His blue eyes held a twinkle that took away the harshness of his words. "Now, what did the damn soul say?"
I smiled. The guardian-hating, werewolf-despising shifter actually cared what happened to me. He mightn't lift a finger to help me, but he did care. It was nice to know, because even if I teased him endlessly and gave him hell, I did actually like him.
"Her name was Maria Kennedy-Smith. Her killer was Jenny Franklin, who's one of the Trollops we haven't yet gotten into protective custody."
"And now won't. Past evidence would have to say she's well and truly dead by now."
"Yeah." I dug my phone out of my pocket. If we could trace Jenny's car, we might just find the bakeneko's trail. I glanced around as Kade walked up. "You found something?"
"The bakeneko is mad."
I snorted softly as I pressed the button for the Directorate. "You don't need empathy to know that."
He gave me an annoyed look. "No, I mean she's going mad. There was no taste of insanity in what she did to Gerard James. There wasn't even insanity in what she did to the shoe man. But there was an insane amount of anger in that last woman's apartment and here - " He hesitated. "Here there is just violence for the sheer pleasure of it. She might have had a motive to begin with, but that has long since gone."
"So she's just killing for the sake of killing now?"
"I would say so."
"Fuck." I blew out a breath, then added, "Jenny Franklin was one of the women you were supposed to take to the safe house, wasn't she?"
"Yeah, but we checked her house and there was no sign of her. She hasn't reported in for work, either. Last I heard, the liaisons were chasing up the location of a couple of exes, to see if they could shed any light on her whereabouts." He studied me for a minute, then said, "Don't tell me the remains under the car are her."
"No, the remains belong to Maria Kennedy-Smith. Her soul wasn't sucked up by the bakeneko, which is why I know the cat had Jenny's form."
Kade looked at Cole. "Why would she waste a perfectly good soul like that?"
"Maybe it was a last-minute killing. Maybe she needed to get out before she was discovered." Cole shrugged, then looked at me. "Yell if you have any further questions."
He spun and walked away, picking up a set of fresh gloves before moving back to the body under the car. I looked away. I didn't want to see him retrieve what was left of Maria. Not when her anguish and pain were still fresh in my mind.
"What can I do for you, wolf girl?" a familiar voice said into my ear.
"Kade said a trace was being put on Jenny Franklin's car. Do you know if that's come through yet?"
"Hang on and I'll check." She paused. "Okay, she owns a white Porsche, and it's currently parked in Lygon Street."
Which was a long street with lots of clubs and restaurants. It could take forever to find the bakeneko there. "Is there anything in Jenny's history that could give a clue as to why the bakeneko has gone there?"
"One of her exes owns the Lygon Towers, and lives on the top floor. We've tried contacting him, but there's no answer."
If he also happened to be one of Cherry's exes, then there was probably very good reason for him not answering. Like, death at the hands of a bloodthirsty, sex-crazed cat. "Send me the address."
"Will do. Oh, and Jack just said to make sure tracking and sound are on."
"Jack's a nag." I hung up and flicked the small button in my ear, turning on the tracker and the sound. They'd hear me if I yelled for help, but I couldn't actually hear them unless I flicked the button again.
Kade was frowning. "Why would the bakeneko go straight from one kill to another? From what I've seen of cats, they tend to sleep off a kill."
"Maybe that's what she's doing. Maybe she figures it'll be safe to hide out in the apartment of one of Jenny's exes." I shrugged. This thing was a cat, so who really knew how its thought processes worked? "But the Porsche is parked there, so that's where we go."
He grinned and flung an arm around my shoulder, his fingers casually brushing one breast. Even through the thickness of my coat and sweater, I felt the heat of that caress. But then, I knew just what those clever fingers could do. Unfortunately, they wouldn't be doing anything clever to me any time soon, and not just because we had an insane killer to catch.
"You know I'll follow you anywhere," he said, amusement enriching his warm tone. "I'll also do you anywhere, but you won't let me."
"Once you've seen Jack really angry, you'll understand why," I said wryly. "In the meantime, you have to drive. At least that'll keep your hands busy."
"I drive an automatic. There's plenty of scope for my hands to play."
I snorted softly and stepped out from under his arm. "You're incorrigible."
"I'm a horse-shifter. We have sex on the brain."
"Let's try to concentrate on catching our killer, huh?"
He shook his head sorrowfully. "You're just no fun anymore."
"Oh, I'm still party central, it's just that you're not on the invite list anymore." I pushed him lightly toward the ramp. "Lead the way, horse man. We have a killer to stop."
The apartment building belonging to Jenny's ex was set right in the heart of busy Lygon Street, and close to the Blue Moon. The heavy thump of old rock-and-roll music ran across the incessant hum of traffic and brought a smile to my lips as I climbed out of the car.
I hadn't been back to the Rocker since they'd switched to more modern music to attract the younger crowd on the weekends, but it was nice to know they hadn't totally abandoned the old-style music that had made them one of the more popular wolf clubs. Maybe I could start visiting them again, now that my version of celibacy was basically over.
But even as that thought crossed my mind, doubt stirred. Was I really ready to dive headfirst into being a free and easy wolf again? Part of me whispered yes, but another part - the part that still ached - said no. I had Quinn and, right now, that was enough.
Especially considering Quinn himself was more than able to break my heart again.
I turned and studied the building in front of me. It was modern in style - all glass, metal, and sharp angles - and, to my eye at least, there was nothing appealing about it. Not even its closeness to the wolf clubs would have enticed me to live here. Even from the outside, it just didn't feel "open" enough.
Kade led the way into the building, and an elevator swept us up to the top floor. There was only one door on this floor, but ringing the doorbell got no response.
"You want me to break in?" Kade asked, a "dare me" smile teasing his lips.
I raised an eyebrow. "I thought your wild youth was spent breaking in to old cars, not homes and apartments."
"No, I said I'd done some things that would make your hair curl." The teasing smile stretched, becoming sexy enough to curl my toes. "Why do you think I ended up in the military? It was either that or jail."
"So those wild ways caught up with you?"
"Actually, my dad caught up with me. He was a cop. Bad move, having a cop for a dad, I can tell you."
"I can imagine." I waved a hand at the door. "You sure you can get this open? Electronic locks have gotten a whole lot tougher since your wild days."
"Yeah, but I've always kept my hand in. Just in case." He got what looked like a small black box out of his pocket and pressed it against the key-reader. A second later, there was a beep and the door clicked open.
I gave him a deadpan look. "You carry an electronic lock picker in your pocket?"
"Saves breaking down doors and getting a sore shoulder."
"You do know they're illegal, don't you?"
He grinned. "Doesn't stop the bad guys, and it won't stop me."
I shook my head and pulled my laser from its holster. "You ready?"
He raised his eyebrows as he pulled free his own weapon. "Sweetheart, I'm always ready."
"Heard that about you stallions." I pushed the door open and stepped quickly into the room. The living room was large, white, and pristine, with modern furniture that matched the modern feel of the building.
And it wasn't empty, I realized, as the smell of cat and death hit.
The bakeneko was here.
Chapter 12
I didn't have time to warn Kade.
I barely even had time to spin around in the direction of the scent when a huge black paw hit me, knocking me across the living room and sending me smashing into a wall. The plaster dented under the force of the impact and the laser went flying from my hand.
I hit the floor just as hard as the wall, and pain flared across my back. I ignored it, and swiped irritably at the warm liquid spilling from the slashes on my cheek.
But the scent of blood that filled the air wasn't only mine. Kade had managed to move away from the doorway, but he'd been backed into a corner by the bakeneko and his right arm was shredded so badly I could see strips of bone in places. He'd had time enough to grab a metal chair from the dining area, and that was the only thing standing between him and the bakeneko's bloody fury. But the metal was having trouble standing up to the force of the creature's blows, with huge dents marring the various struts.
I had no idea where his laser was. Like mine, it had obviously been sent flying when the bakeneko attacked.
She was massive - a big black monster who stood at shoulder height with the horse-shifter. Her paws were the size of damn plates, and her claws were thick and brutally sharp.
We needed to get rid of her - fast.
I scrambled to my feet, then had to thrust my hand against the wall as dizziness hit. I shook my head to clear it, sending droplets of crimson scattering across the pristine whiteness, then spotted a laser on the floor and dove left to grab it. I wrapped my finger around the trigger, making the weapon hum, but I resisted the urge to fire. Kade was right behind the bakeneko, which meant I couldn't take a shot. Not when the power of these things could shoot holes through concrete walls and still kill someone on the other side. Even if I moved around to the other side, it wouldn't help. She'd sense the movement and shift to counter.
The bakeneko snarled and raised a paw for another swipe at Kade. I sighted on it and pressed the trigger. The blue beam shot out, but, as I'd feared, the bakeneko saw it and moved. The beam missed flesh, piercing the thick window beyond the two of them and disappearing into the gray day.
The creature roared - a sound thick with fury - then, surprisingly, she spun and leapt for the same window. I shot again, but the bitch was moving too fast and the shot did little more than singe hair from her back before shooting another hole through the glass, further weakening it.
Kade dove forward, trying to grab the creature's tail, but there was so much blood on his hands that he couldn't get a grip.
The creature hit the window headfirst. The glass shattered, the thick shards glittering as they followed the creature out into the chill afternoon.
"Shit," Kade said, running to the broken window and staring out.
I quickly joined him. My stomach rebelled instantly at the drop, but I shoved the old fear away and concentrated on our quarry. The big cat was tumbling tail over head toward the concrete, but at the last possible minute seemed to find her balance and landed on all fours. We were five floors up, but the damn bitch didn't even seem to notice.