Caged View (13 page)

“Is the shop open?” I asked as the shorter
of the two guys walked to the edge. A silver crescent moon embedded
in his forehead identified him as a Shapeshifter.

He waved me over. “It’s open.”

Walking toward him, I noticed the raindrops
falling on his pale hand and images of dogs biting each other
tattooed up his arm in liquid silver. Just when I was going to
compliment him on the tattoo, he grabbed me, flinging me into the
air. I screamed and crashed into the shop’s door. The CLOSED sign
fell to the ground. He grabbed me again before I could catch my
breath and threw me against the door. Pain surged up my back. His
hand clamped over my mouth.

“You got anything that’ll make me happy?” he
said with his lips next to my ear and his body pressed into mine. I
shook my head from side to side. The slime of his hair dripped on
my cheek. He moved his face in front of mine.

Our eyes met, putting him at my height of
5’2”, but his short stature gave me no advantage. A Pureblooded
Shifter’s strength outranked mine. He snatched my satchel away from
me. The smoky scent of the drug Hemo Drop filled my nose. Red
tinted the whites of his eyes. He looked over his shoulder. “Check
her bag, Tony.”

Tony stepped out of the shadows. “You hear
that alarm spell? She must’ve stolen something good.” He dove into
my satchel, grabbed each book, and then threw them across the
street.

Realizing that my left arm remained free, I
focused on creating fire. A tiny flame formed near my palm and then
faded out. I tried releasing more heat. The flame faded again.
Fuck.
Fire is created when flammable liquid and oxygen are
exposed to heat. My pores naturally released heat and flammable
pyrobem oil. Presently, water drenched my skin, depriving my fire
of the oxygen and heat it needed for combustion. I rubbed my hand
again.

“What’s she got?” the Shifter asked,
tightening his grip on me.

“She’s just a university girl.” Tony turned
my satchel over, making everything fall out. “I don’t see any
wallet.”

The streetlight reflected off Tony’s
forehead brand, displaying a silver crescent moon.
Another
Shifter.
I looked back at the guy who was holding me and tried
to figure out what type of Shifter he was. All Shifters had the
same crescent moon brands. I hoped he shifted into something small
as I continued to rub my hand against my jeans.

“What are you mixed with?” he asked,
tightening his grip on me with his right hand and moving his other
to my face. His calloused fingers rubbed the silver X brand
embedded into my forehead, scratching my skin.

“You’re a sexy Mixie, aren’t you? Dark, like
chocolate. You Haitian?” He looked at my chest, licking his cracked
lips. “Big tits, too.”

Hot bile rose in my throat.

“Shorty, she doesn’t even have a penny.”
Tony threw my empty satchel onto the ground.
So, this Shifter’s
name is Shorty. What a surprise.

“No drugs either? I thought all those
big-time university kids did drugs.” Shorty continued to lean into
me. The storm transformed into a light shower. The streetlights
became more visible. I watched Tony pull out a cigarette.
Please
have a lighter.

“Nada, Shorty.” Tony patted his ragged shirt
pockets. “Why would somebody put a spell on books? They ain’t worth
shit.”

I looked at his cigarette and focused on the
pocket he was searching, my heartbeat pounding in my ears. Tony
rubbed the back of his jeans pockets. “Might as well let her go.
She’s not going to the Habitat Police. Those Humans don’t care
about Mixbreeds.”

“No, she won’t go to the habbies. But let
her leave? You’re crazy!” Shorty focused his eyes on my breasts.
“Might as well have fun with her.”

No.

Tears appeared in my eyes but didn’t spill
over. I focused on my left hand. Two fire marbles formed at my
palm. I closed my shaking hand around them, attempting to intensify
and hide them. I’d been held down before, but I’d never had to
surrender.

Come on, Lanore, focus.

“I don’t really care,” Tony muttered, taking
a couple steps toward me. His eyes focused on my face and followed
the curves of my body. He nodded. “I would do her.”

“Ever had a Shifter?” Shorty’s hand left my
arm and glided down my breasts. He pressed his body closer into me
and licked the right side of my face.

I wanted to vomit and hoped I would. If the
fire didn’t work, I would throw up all over him and run.

“Let me finish my cigarette. I’ll hold her
down,” Tony said.

What a great guy.

He pulled out a lighter and placed the
cigarette between his lips.

Yes!
I swallowed, watching the
lighter produce an orange flame, and mentally reached out for it.
The fire leaned in my direction as if in a trance.

“Come on, Tony. Smoke it later.” Shorty put
his hands down to his jeans. The sound of a zipper made my tears
spill over my eyelids and fall down my face.

Tony dragged the lighter to the cigarette’s
tip. I increased the flame until it was a foot long.

“What the fuck?” Tony opened his mouth. The
cigarette fell to the ground. In a flash I pushed the flame to his
face, commanding the fire to snatch at his flesh. He violently hit
his face. Fire spread to his wrist and swirled around his elbows.
He screamed, his head forming into a glowing mass of fire. He fell
back to the wall, skin crackling like bacon in a hot pan. His eyes
bubbled and bulged, while the flames swallowed his head.

I held in a scream, knowing that I would
have nightmares about this.

Shorty released me. His mouth opened,
looking from side to side, while Tony’s high-pitched screams rose
above us. The smell of meat cooking filled the air. Tony moved away
from the wall and fell into the street, thrashing madly at the
flames.

“Oh, shit.” Shorty stumbled back, covering
his nose and gaping at Tony. I increased the fireballs in my left
hand, sparks flickering in the air. Smoke rose and carried ash
around me. I threw one of the fireballs, aiming for the back of
Shorty’s head. The ball flew over him and captured his attention.
He snapped his head to me.

“Shit!” Shorty gazed at me, then at the
fireball. A growl came from his chest. He fell to the wet ground in
a crouching stance, skin rippling in large waves around his
forehead brand. If he shifted quickly, I would be screwed. My left
hand shook, making the last fireball bounce up and down.

“You Mixie bitch! Y—you did it,” he
stuttered, pointing at me. “Your eyes are on fire.”

“Yeah. I did it.”

His pupils expanded and shifted into black
pools.

Okay. He isn’t from the Were-cat family.

Brown bits of fur sprouted around his face
and arms as his jaw began to extend and reshape. Claws erupted from
the tips of his fingers. I almost choked on the ash that floated
near my face. A cracking sound came as his back rose to a hump and
his shirt ripped away. I brought my left hand to the front of me,
letting him get a closer look at the fireball. He froze. The
cracking stopped.

“Shifting is useless. I can make hundreds of
these go to your face like a machine gun,” I lied.

He quickly held his paws up as if to shield
himself from oncoming rapid fire.

Paws? Fuck, a Were-dog.

I pointed to Tony. His burning body lay on
the pavement. The rain had smothered the flames, leaving charred
flesh and a pile of ash in place of his face.

“You want to burn like him?” I asked.

“No!” Shorty yelled, guarding his face with
his paws.

I sighed, wishing I really could blast fire
like a machine gun. “Put the books in the bag and leave.”

“Huh? What books?” Shorty’s eyes widened. I
raised the fireball in the air. He fell to the ground, covered his
head, and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Those books.” I pointed to them. “Put the
bag there and leave.”

Shorty ran to the books and slung them into
the satchel. Once the books were put beside me, he darted away in
the direction that I was heading.

Fuck.

Rain tapped against my head as the book’s
alarm spell began to fade in and out. I counted myself lucky,
grabbed the satchel, turned the corner, and hoped I wouldn’t see
Shorty again on my way to the apartment.

I passed Linderman Blood Factory on my left,
slowly inhaling and exhaling. The cool wind carried the scent of
blood as it blew past me.

I’ve got to get out of the Shango District
before I end up getting raped or worse.

I shook my head from side to side,
quickening my pace. Out of all the districts in Santeria Habitat,
Shango had the most deaths and highest crime rate.

One day, I’ll move to a nice place.

Broken streetlights met me as I turned the
corner.

Maybe I’ll get a good job after college or
go to law school.

I passed the border wall on my right, which
was glowing with multicolored graffiti.
Free Us!
was spray
painted near the wall’s attached bars that extended thousands of
feet in the air and covered the habitat’s districts like a
ceiling.

The alarm spell buzzed a little then
stopped. A low-level Air Witch must have cast the spell.

Silence greeted my ears. Smiling, I sped up,
glad to finally get a break on a night that was becoming the worst
night of my life.

A female screamed.

Of course.

I stopped walking but couldn’t see anybody,
so I leaned forward, straining my ears for another sound.
Is
Shorty with victim number two?
He’d run this way. I should have
given him Tony’s fate when I had the chance. Wind blew, bringing
more rain.

“No!” a woman yelled.

Pulling the satchel closer to me, I
increased the heat in my body and only saw steam. I raked my
fingers through my dreadlocks, dreading whatever lay ahead. I was
wet, defenseless, and just wanted to sit in my apartment, lie in
MeShack’s arms, and cry. But I had let Shorty live, putting another
female in a similar predicament. I tried drying my hand against the
inside of my satchel as my feet carried me forward.

“No, don’t!” the woman said. “I have a
kid!”

Biting my lip, I heard her scream again from
the alley in front of me. I stopped at the edge and crouched down
until my fingers touched the sticky pavement.

“Please!” she said as I peeked around the
corner. A large figure wearing a raincoat and hat stood over her.
The hat’s wide brim hid the figure’s face and brand. Relief filled
me. It wasn’t Shorty.

“No!” The woman held up her hands.

The mystery figure’s arm rose. Moonlight
reflected off a knife. The short-lived relief drained from my body.
He grabbed her hand and held it up. Fear wormed its way down my
body.

What should I do?

A bang came from behind me, making my head
snap back. Wires swung from a utility pole and splashed into a
puddle. Electric sparks flew up in the air. Glowing blue lines of
electricity formed a wall that cracked and popped each time the
rain hit it.

Fuck. There goes my detour to get her
help.

I bit my lip. Home was three blocks ahead. I
could run across the alley’s entrance and get MeShack to help her.
The problem with running across the entrance was that I couldn’t
tell if the knife holder was a Shapeshifter or not. The average
Shifter could snap my neck before I took a second step.

“Yemaya! Help me!” she screamed. I hoped her
goddess was listening, because we could both use the help.

In a blur, he raised the knife and chopped
off her hand. Blood spurted out of her stump and fell to the
pavement. Her screams scraped against my eardrums. Shock beat
against my head. My heartbeat became erratic. I had to do
something. Against all sane thoughts, I crawled across the alley’s
opening, shaking and trying to hide behind boxes sprawled around
the entrance.

“Help me! You, right there,” she screamed.
“You! Help me!”

I froze.

She isn’t talking to me, right?

My head turned toward the alley. Moonlight
hit her eyes as they focused on me.

I should have run.

“Help me!” She flailed her arms as he pinned
her down with one hand.

I could have helped you if you hadn’t made
him notice me.

I jumped up, put my hands in the air, and
kept my eyes on the dark figure as I took a step back.

“Please,” she begged.

He put the knife to his side, turning his
face to me, his features still hidden by the shadow beneath his
hat’s brim. I resisted the urge to release the scream lodged in my
throat.

“I have a gun.” I put my hand in the
satchel.

He inclined his head.

She started to get up, holding the injured
arm. Blood dripped down her dress and onto her leg. He pushed her
down.

I edged a few steps to the side, hoping he
didn’t notice.

“I’ll call the habbies!” I backed away a few
more inches. He remained standing. Maybe he wasn’t a Shifter.

“Go ahead. Shoot,” she sobbed.

“Don’t push me.” I formed a fireball with
the hand that was inside the satchel. “Let her go and leave.”

I felt the ball’s heat, pulled it out to
throw it, and then watched the wind extinguish the fire. I almost
pissed on myself.

“No,” she cried, seeing my empty hand. My
stomach twisted into a knot.

“I see you! I know what you look like,” I
lied, pointing to him.

Within two heartbeats, he raised his knife
above her head. It came down in a flash. She fell to the ground
like a sack of bricks. Blood sprayed from her open wounds,
splattering everywhere and pooling around her now limp body.

Screams escaped my throat. I raced away.
Streetlights blurred past me. My lungs burned. I never looked back
and raced by the Aztec Hotel, my arms flailing in the air.