The Catalyst (13 page)

Cain did the same number on the woman, then both of
them were oblivious of his presence. “You can drop the invisibility
now, Jane. Normally, I want you to use it. It’s easier. But I can’t
teach you if you can’t see me.”

He crossed to the door and locked it to make sure
they wouldn’t be disturbed. By this point the man and woman had
stripped out of their clothes and were on the bed. The man was
overweight, with squinty eyes and a bald patch. Jane made a
blech
face.

“Food doesn’t have to be pretty to give you what you
need. Think of how many ugly chickens you ate when you were human.
You won’t have to touch him or do anything you’d find gross. Well,
aside from having to watch this.”

Cain moved closer to the two people fornicating on
the bed. “You can use this method anywhere where a man is getting
off or is very aroused. X-rated movie houses, strip clubs,
brothels, peep shows, kink clubs. Your options are pretty wide.” He
motioned for Jane to come closer. “Can you feel his sexual
energy?”

Her face held disgust, but she nodded.

Cain kept his hand a few inches away from the man. “I
can’t feed from a man, but this is what you’ll do. Try it. You
focus just the same way you do when feeding regularly. You’re just
going to pull the energy up through your hands. You’ll need to
visualize it to activate the skill.”

The demon stepped out of her way and she held her
hands out, a few inches from the man’s face.

“You find him repulsive, don’t you?” Cain said.

“You know I do.”

“And not just his looks. You find it grotesque that
he’s using her like this, paying her to give him pleasure with no
regard for her as a human being.”

“Yes. I fucking hate this. Okay?”

“So use it. Suck the energy right out of him. Make it
vengeance. See it however you need to see it, just get it done. I’m
sorry this happened to you, but you have powers now that you can
find creative ways to use for your benefit, if you’re willing to
see it that way. Are you willing to stop being a victim, Jane?”

That was all she needed to hear to motivate her.
Jane’s eyes glowed red and she focused, feeding off the man and her
own rage. The man passed out a few moments later.

“You might have overdone it,” Cain said.

“Oh no I didn’t,” she replied. “I did exactly what I
wanted to do.”

He smirked in response. “It’ll tide you over longer,
at least.”

“Thank God,” the prostitute said, getting off him.
She felt for a pulse and seemed satisfied that he had one, then she
dressed and left the room.

Jane laughed and looked at Cain. “I’m kind of mad
with power right now.”

He chuckled. “I knew you would be. Come along. I have
a few shape-shifting tricks to show you that you haven’t seen
yet.”

Chapter Seven

The cave was lonely when Fiona woke. On the one hand
it was a relief not to have to deal with the mercurial panther, on
the other, he was a part of the place. His presence, awkward as it
was, had been comforting. His scent had made the cave feel
protected. In his absence, it felt like anything could happen.

She’d had breakfast, taken her antibiotic pill, and
let the pup out of his cage. But the wolf didn’t lessen the anxiety
of being alone in the cave.

I’m used to being alone. Why should this be
uncomfortable?

She knew the answer. Having a taste of what it was
like to have a man around made her realize all she’d been missing
in her hermit existence. But sleeping with him would have been the
worst kind of mistake. He’d leave her and break her heart. She’d
feel used. But what difference did it make? It wasn’t as if she’d
ever have a normal life with a man with a white picket fence.
Shouldn’t she have taken the opportunity while it was there?
However brief the window?

Pathetic, Fiona.

And then there was the stupid part of her that
thought maybe he’d connect with her in some way he couldn’t connect
with others. Something about her would be special, and he wouldn’t
leave. Maybe he just hadn’t found the right woman. Maybe she could
be it.

She let out an exasperated scream that echoed off the
walls of the cave, sending the pup scurrying behind an overstuffed
leather chair. He peered out around the side at her.

“Sorry, I’m just being crazy.”
And pathetic. Let’s
not forget the pathetic part.

Fiona stared at the spell book on the kitchen table.
It was still open to the protection spell. She ran her fingers over
the old, worn pages, tracing the flowing, cursive script. Her
grandmother’s. Her mom hadn’t kept a spell book, and Fiona had
followed in her footsteps.

Why was she keeping all these books and tools if she
wasn’t going to use them? Instead of learning everything she could
to become more powerful and protect herself, she’d hidden, trying
not to call attention to herself or her magic. If she didn’t use
magic, no one would sense it or come for her. No one would hurt
her. If she wasn’t on anybody’s radar, she couldn’t be seen as a
threat or a pawn.

Even with this precaution, somehow trouble had found
her. Just like the birds had said. She’d gone outside and something
bad had happened. But could Z be the bad thing? She wished he was
back in the cave. Arguing with him would be better than living in
her scattered mind alone.

She sorted through the bags, gathering the various
ingredients she’d need for the protection spell. Salt for the
circle. Candles, crystals, herbs. Her finger skimmed down the page
of the weathered book as if she were preparing to make her first
pot roast. All she had to do was follow the recipe and everything
would be fine.

She sat in the middle of the circle, her eyes closed,
breathing in the incense and quieting the incessant chatter in her
brain. The circle had been created, the candles lit, the protective
crystals put in the right places. She began to intone the
chant.

Nothing happened.

She quirked one eye open and looked around. Nothing
seemed different. If it had worked, wouldn’t she at least feel
something? The last time she’d done wards on her house, she’d felt
that. But this was a new spell of a different nature. Doing one
protection spell wasn’t the same as doing them all.

Had she raised any magic at all? Surely she had. And
if she had, without successfully completing the spell, then did
that mean she’d given her whereabouts away? With people after the
pup, had she just brought them to Z’s door? Would his wards hold
and keep them away?

Tears slipped from her eyes, but before she could
start the self-pity party, she noticed the cave was quiet. Too
quiet. Where was the pup? She snuffed out the candles and stepped
outside the circle, checking his cage and behind and underneath all
the furniture. Then she checked the bathroom, particularly the
shower, and underneath Z’s bed. He’d left a couple of dresser
drawers open, but there was no pup in there, either.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she raced to the
entrance of the cave. Why hadn’t she locked the pup up before doing
the spell? Z was going to kill her.

Fiona reached the mouth of the cave and looked down.
The pup had climbed down and was sniffing around some wild
blackberry bushes.

She whistled for him. He looked up at her, his tongue
hanging out. He yipped and started to run around, his tail wagging.
He thought it was a game.

Just climb down there and get him. It’s not far.
Then you can come back inside. Nothing will happen. It’s no farther
than the mailbox. You can make it fifty-five steps. You’ve done it
a million times before.

The self-talk wasn’t working. Fiona’s breath came
harder and faster, and she was afraid she’d hyperventilate. She
leaned against the cave wall, her breath coming in sharp pants.
Just breathe.
She closed her eyes, trying to force the sense
of vertigo to go away, but closing her eyes only made her more
dizzy.

God damn that panther! This shouldn’t be her concern.
She should be at her house watching her television and ordering her
groceries for the week, not stranded in some crazy panther
therian’s cave babysitting a werewolf pup. This was all Z’s
fault.

“Puppy, come here. Don’t make me come down there
after you.” Her voice sounded thin and thready.

Now would be a perfect time for an appropriate spell.
If she’d been practicing her magic like a good witch, she could
have had the ability to get the pup back without having to climb
down. It was bad enough having to go outside where it wasn’t safe,
but to have to climb down the steep rock that the cave was settled
in was too much to ask of anyone.

Fiona bit her lip, trying to screw up her courage to
climb down into the big bad outside. Had the cave become her new
home base already? If she’d been kidnapped and nothing horrible had
happened, maybe she could go outside. She’d already broken her
pattern, what could happen? The birds were wrong. Or just screwing
with her.

The pup wandered out of her line of sight. The time
for weighing the pros and cons was long past. She took another
measured breath and grabbed for a sturdy branch and made her way
down the steep path.

***

Z drummed his fingers on top of the sales counter in
the cell phone store, growing impatient with the sales rep. He
should have gotten a cheap prepaid flip phone with nothing fancy,
like what he’d had before, but they’d talked him into having an
intelligent phone. Was that what they were called? He hadn’t really
been listening to the guy.

It was a phone. How smart could it be? How smart did
it
need
to be? And how many people did he ever have the need
to call?

“This phone ends up acting as a tablet. You can buy
digital books, shop on the web, watch videos. There’s GPS which is
super convenient if you travel. And of course you’ve got your
social media apps all at the touch of a button.” The associate
demonstrated the phone, sliding his thumb across the touch screen,
giddy when a website came up as if he didn’t do this presentation
five hundred times a day.

“Fine. Just ring it up.”

The associate arched a brow. “Well, we have to finish
setting your phone up, and you have to sign the contract.”

Z held back a growl, but when the associate took a
couple of steps back, he was sure his eyes must have gone gold for
a second. A fantasy of shifting into panther form and causing chaos
in the store made him smile. But fantasy or no, things like that
had consequences in the real world. Vampires would come swarming
in, throwing their weight around and memory-wiping everybody in the
same zip code as the security breach. Magic users would be gunning
for him, and who knew how many packs and tribes of therians would
end up on his doorstep screeching about not letting the humans
know. Everybody was out to ruin his fun.

“Would you like your phone to be a hotspot?”

“A what?” Could this pimply moron not shut up? Why
did buying a new phone have to be this much drama? Z’s eyes strayed
to the name badge on the guy’s vest. It read:
Team Leader,
Tim
“Listen, Tim, maybe we should nix this and get the prepaid
set up with one of the regular phones. I’m not sure I’m cut out for
all this complication.” Not to mention that a two year phone plan
sounded like such a commitment. He’d never committed to anything
except his living quarters for that long. And that was only because
he liked his cave and had worked so hard to make it livable.

Tim looked aghast. “Oh no, you’re going to want this
phone. Trust me. It’s like crack. You’ll get addicted to all the
games and the convenience. You can check your email from
anywhere.”

“I don’t have email.”

The associate was nonplussed. “Well, surely you use
the Internet.”

“Nope. Don’t do that, either,” Z said. “If I can’t
see you and smell you, I can’t trust you.”

Tim got an odd look on his face. Maybe it was the
smell you
part that crossed the line. It was always hard for
Z to tell which thing was just one bit of commentary too far.

“So, then, we’ll check
no
next to hotspot for
now.” There was a nervous tremor in the guy’s voice, as if he were
finally picking up on the fact that his customer might be
dangerous.

Z nodded. “You might also want to check
no
next to the box that says ‘Would you like your phone to turn into a
jet pack,’ because I can assure you I do not. I just want my phone
to call people.’”

Tim’s eyes darted back to the computer screen in
front of him as he typed out a few things as quickly as possible.
“Okay, well, I’ll have you out of here in just a minute.” He
clicked a button on the computer and several papers spit out of the
printer. “I just need you to sign here and here.” Tim passed Z a
pen and pointed to the parts of the contract he was supposed to
sign. His credit had been building for the past 72 years, so at
least that part had been no problem. Though he didn’t look a day
over thirty. Maybe he was set in his ways.

He signed the paper and listened as the associate
droned on some more about features and benefits, not having
listened when Z had told him he just wanted to call people.

“Here’s your phone number,” Tim said, passing a card
to Z. “And your bill will come to that address right there.”

“Wonderful. Can I go now?”

Tim nodded quickly and Z collected the truckload of
paperwork, card with his number on it, and cell phone that had been
charged for the first time in the store. When he got outside, he
folded the papers and shoved them into his leather jacket.

He growled as he tried to repeat what Tim had shown
him in the store to get his phone to agree to the most basic
function for which it had been intended. Finally, he got to the
proper screen to make a call. He grimaced at the cutesy sound the
phone made as he touched the numbers on the screen to dial Fiona.
It sounded like a handheld video game.