Panther Curse Read online

  Now, with a clear goal, I ran even faster. Or perhaps I was just eager to see the psychology professor. Just thinking about her both fired me up and calmed me down.

  “Your head over heels, my friend.”

  I clenched my jaw, weirdly irritated by the comment. I was growing tired of the disembodied voice, which seemed to know all my secrets and showed zero qualms about listening in to my thoughts.

  Well, if I had Kolvak’s full attention, I might as well push for some answers. He’d claimed that the League was responsible for what had happened to my dad. I wanted the full story.

  “Perhaps I said too much,” Kolvak protested.

  “Listen, bud, I don’t know what you want or what game you’re playing here, but you will tell me what I want to know.”

  “Or what? Are you going to pull off that necklace and throw it in the local sewer? Toss it in the nearest dumpster? That’s what you were thinking—don’t pretend otherwise. Besides, if you’re going to be a jerk, I could just stop helping you.”

  I stopped dead in my tracks.

  Kolvak made a valid point. At the moment, our relationship was one-sided. I was reaping the benefits of the dead warlock's medallion and his power over my beast, but what was Kolvak getting out all of this?

  “You’re finally using your head.”

  I bit back an insult and clenched my jaw.

  I needed Kolvak if I didn’t want to turn into a rampaging monster. The warlock was the closest thing to a friend I had as I descended deeper and deeper down this rabbit hole. This whole werepanther business didn’t exactly come with an instruction manual. Kolvak might not have all the answers, but without him, I'd be doubly screwed.

  “You’ve been helping and guiding me since this whole thing started,” I said, choosing my words with great care. “I doubt you’re doing all this out of the goodness of your heart. And that can mean only one thing—there's something in it for you too.”

  Judging by the silence that followed, I’d hit close to the truth.

  “You want something from me, Kolvak, and you need me as much as I need you. So help me understand what happened to my father. And I’ll be more than grateful. I swear I’ll return the favor.”

  There was a moment of silence as Kolvak considered my offer.

  “All right, we have ourselves a deal, Erik Cross.”

  I suddenly felt like Kolvak had played me. Was this what the warlock had been after all along, my willingness to cooperate? To owe him a favor?

  “I do want something from you, Erik. So let’s try to keep you alive and go from there. Regarding what happened to your father…” Kolvak paused for a beat before he continued. “The League betrayed him.”

  “How was my father involved with a bunch of monster hunters?”

  “That answer is quite simple: He was one of them.”

  The revelation took my breath away.

  “He was one of those goons?”

  “How many archeologists do you know own pendants that hold the spirits of dead warlocks?”

  I considered this for a beat.

  “And how many of them end up dead in an alley?”

  “He was mugged…”

  “That’s what his killers wanted the world to believe.”

  Each new revelation hit harder than the previous one.

  “How would you know?” I asked hesitantly.

  “I was there, wasn’t I?”

  I was about to lash out with a snarky comeback—how dare this asshole claim to have witnessed my father’s murder?!—but then I stopped myself. My dad had been wearing the pendant when he died. The cops had wondered why the muggers hadn’t helped themselves to the medallion but figured either the killer hadn’t noticed the piece of jewelry under his layers of clothing or that they just figured the necklace was a piece of junk. I mean, the amulet didn’t look like much.

  “I resent that,” Kolvak grumbled.

  I took a deep breath, fighting to get my emotions back under control, and said, “Why did they kill him if he was one of them?”

  Silence greeted my question, and I exploded. “Talk to me, goddamnit!”

  “Your dad had fallen in love.”

  “And that’s a goddamn crime now?”

  “It is if the woman you love is the enemy.”

  “The enemy? What do you mean?”

  “She was supernatural. A target. One of the bad guys, as the League of Light sees it.”

  I was reeling. Did the warlock expect me to buy this wild story? Could I accept my father being a monster hunter who worked for some secret Illuminati-style organization that protected the world from supernatural creatures? And if that wasn’t crazy enough, he supposedly pulled a Twilight and had developed the hots for some monster?

  Dammit, I was losing it here.

  “Told you, you weren’t ready for the truth.”

  “How do you know what I’m ready for?”

  “I’ve been with you since your father passed. I know you better than you know yourself, kid.”

  I swallowed back another wave of anger. The thought that this warlock had been a silent passenger for all these years, feeling what I was feeling, experiencing what I was experiencing, rattled me to the core.

  “Your dad shielded you from the nightmares that dwell in the shadows. He wanted you to grow up untouched by the evil that stalks the night.”

  That sure hadn’t worked out so well. I was now part of that evil. The only thing stopping me from being a full-blown monster was the necklace around my neck.

  Bottom line—I needed Kolvak. And apparently, he needed me.

  “What do you want from me?” I said tightly.

  “We’ll get to that, eventually. If you make it through the day, Erik. Now, what was your brilliant plan again?”

  Good question. I did indeed have a plan. It had been marinating away in my brainpan, but first I had to get myself some clothes. No one cared about some barefoot weirdo in a trench coat barreling his way through the less desirable parts of Tinseltown. I was just one more freak in a city that drew them like flies. But if I wanted to head back to the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library where I’d hidden the codex, I would need to look at least like a civilized human being.

  “So that’s the big idea, huh?” Kolvak said. “Go back for the book?”

  “You have any better ideas? The book is the key to this whole thing. The League of Light thought it was damn important, and so did the Followers of Bastet.”

  “I never said I didn’t like the plan. I’d do the same thing, to be honest. Get your hands—or is it paws now? I never could get that straight—on the damn book, and you’ll have yourself a bargaining chip. Perhaps you can make a deal with the hunters?”

  Or the monsters.

  The thought rose unbidden from somewhere deep within my subconscious.

  The beast was chiming in again.

  As if having one voice in my head wasn’t bad enough.

  Thankfully Kolvak hadn’t picked up on the panther’s idea—or at least the warlock didn’t comment for a change.

  One thing was for sure. I had to get the book before anyone else did. And maybe, just maybe, I could crack the codex' secrets and find a way out of this crazy nightmare.

  7

  I had to ring the doorbell four times before Ashley’s voice crackled over the intercom of her Melrose apartment building. Her voice sounded dead tired. It was only around seven o’clock, and she didn’t have to be on campus until ten.

  This whole thing sure as hell was getting off to a great start.

  “Who is it?” she asked sleepily.

  “I’m sorry to wake you, Ashley. It’s Erik.”

  A confusing beat. Then: “Erik Cross?”

  Okay, here we go.

  I felt terrible about barging into her life like this. For all I knew, she had some beau upstairs ready to kick me in the balls for showing up unannounced at the crack of dawn. But I was desperate. And perhaps the beast was making me a tad more daring than I would
be under normal circumstances.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Where to begin? “Um…”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I need your help, Ashley. Someone mugged me.”

  I closed my eyes and tightened my jaw. I hated lying to her, but what choice did I have? I doubted the truth would have gone over well.

  The door buzzed open, and I entered the building.

  Ashley’s place was on the third floor. I turned toward the elevator, but one glance at the coffin-like box made me break out in an anxious sweat. The beast didn’t like confined spaces. I guess they reminded him of a cage. So I opted for the stairs, my dirty feet leaving black footprints on the marble floor.

  I was arriving at Ashley’s doorstep like Prince Charming himself.

  At least my feet would be clean by the time I reached her apartment.

  Ashley was waiting for me at the threshold of her place, dressed in a pair of sweats and an oversized T-shirt, her hair a tangled but beautiful mess. She wore no makeup but still was the prettiest girl I’d ever seen.

  I stared at her for a moment, unable to pull my eyes off her.

  She took a step toward me, her eyes warm and full of concern. Not even the funk coming of my trench seemed to faze her empathy. She was a sweetheart—and I was a goddamn mess.

  “I’m sorry about the smell, but I needed something to wear.”

  “What happened?” she asked, her bleary eyes blinking at me as if she was still debating if I was here or part of some dream.

  “They jumped me, took my clothes, my wallet and cell phone,” I explained in a shaken voice. I wasn’t faking my nervousness. I felt like some kid on the opening night of his first school stage play. I’m terrible when I’m lying to someone I care about.

  “Some homeless guy bummed me his coat,” I continued to explain, inwardly shaking my head at my improbable tale. “As you can tell, he wasn’t all that big into personal hygiene.”

  I flashed her a crooked grin, doing my best to smooth things over with humor and a feeble attempt at charm.

  Ashley cracked a little smile herself, and I let out a mental sigh of relief. Somehow it was working.

  “You’re doing great, kid. Keep it up,” Kolvak said.

  “Why didn’t you call the cops?” Ashley asked with concern. “Wasn’t there anybody nearby who could loan you a phone?”

  Oops, spoke too soon. I stared at Ashley for a beat and then rubbed my head.

  “I wasn’t thinking straight. I think I have a slight concussion. I was out cold for a while, and when I came to I just walked through the city until I remembered you lived around here…”

  “Oh, you poor man, come in.”

  Ashley pulled me into her cozy pad. The place reflected her personality—it was airy, colorful, and filled with books. A hot bookworm, just my kind of lady. The girl I’d wished lived next door.

  Domino, the cat, was sitting on a blanket and eyed me with sudden alarm. Instead of running towards me with a loud purr as she was prone to do, the cat let out a hiss and shot into the next room like she’d seen the devil himself.

  The feline sensed the beast inside of me and was smart enough to keep her distance.

  Ashley shook her head, surprised by Domino’s unusual reaction to my presence. She knew the cat, and I were buds.

  “I don’t know what’s gotten into her.” Ashley shrugged apologetically. “Can I get you something to drink or eat?”

  Her offer made me realize how hungry and thirsty I was. I had burned up a ton of calories sprinting from downtown up to Melrose.

  “I hate to impose,” I said, despite my grumbling stomach.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. Coffee?”

  I nodded.

  Ashely immediately drew me a cup of Joe from her bubbling coffee maker and offered me a bagel with cream cheese. I gratefully accepted the steaming brew. The bagel looked a lot less appealing to me. I wanted meat, something dripping in blood.

  As Ashley ran after Domino, I seized the opportunity to check out Ashley's fridge. I found some leftover flank steak and to my shock, wolfed it down raw.

  Gross.

  Man, I sucked and would burn in Hell for this. The worst part, the damn thing tasted like the most delicious meal I’d ever eaten.

  A few seconds later, Ashley returned to the kitchen, and I stealthily wiped my face with a paper towel, praying my lips weren't rimmed read.

  As Ashley spoke, I swallowed my last delicious bite or rare meat.

  “Peter and I broke up a few months ago, but I still have some of his clothes. They should fit you.”

  I nodded again, grateful for her help, her willingness to accept my story at face value.

  “I’m so sorry you had to go through this, Erik. Just use the shower in the bedroom. I’ll get some clothes ready for you while you get cleaned up.”

  “I don't know how to thank you, Ashley,” I said, but part of me had a very strong opinion about how to show its gratitude. There was only a thin layer of grimy fabric between me and the world, and I sidestepped behind the counter so she wouldn’t notice how happy I was to see her.

  "Just get yourself cleaned up," Ashley said. “And then maybe we can burn that trench coat.”

  She handed me a used grocery bag, indicating that I should dump the coat in it as soon as possible.

  I nodded and stepped into the bedroom. There were plants everywhere, and the sunlight wove a latticework of light across the unmade bed. The place oozed sensuality and taste.

  “Get a grip on your yourself, kid. You’re acting like some hormonal teenager.”

  “Well, I was seventeen the last time I was alone with a girl in her place.”

  "You've lived a sheltered life, my friend."

  Thanks for rubbing it in.

  I stepped into the bathroom, stripped off the smelly coat, and tied it up in the plastic bag. It didn’t help much. Nothing less than a blowtorch would get rid of that rotten-skunk-old-yogurt stench.

  Glancing up at the mirror, I was relieved to see that my new muscles were still intact. My eyes took in my pumped physique. I finally looked like the kinda guy a girl like Ashley deserved.

  Strong mind, strong body. The muscles were impressive, but what blew me away, even more, was that all my scars and burns were gone. I was whole again. The best version of myself. The man I would’ve been if I hadn’t wrapped my Mustang around a tree all those years ago.

  This was my second chance, but it sure as hell came at a high price.

  Hormonal stud by day, murderous monster by night. And let’s not forget to mention the talking wise guy in my head. How could I be thinking of romance at a time like this?

  “My thoughts exactly. Nice abs by the way. I mean that in a strictly hetero way.”

  “Shut up!” I said louder than I intended, then immediately felt like an idiot. I didn’t want Ashley to think I was losing it.

  I turned away from my reflection, turned on the water, and stepped into the steaming shower. The hot water felt amazing against my bare skin as it sluiced the grime away.

  Refreshed, I toweled off and gingerly stepped out of the bathroom, making sure Ashley had left the bedroom. I didn’t think that running into her naked would go over well.

  A pile of clothes was waiting for me. Slacks, a flannel shirt, a pair of beaten up running shows. Souvenirs of an old flame.

  I wondered if Ashley was still pining for this guy but decided I should stay focused on more important matters.

  “It’s nice to see you being upbeat, Erik. The more I think about it, a roll in the hay with a lovely maiden would do you a world of good. Might make you loosen up a little.”

  “Shut the fuck up.”

  “You’re right, Romeo. This isn’t the time or place to entertain such thoughts. The League of Light is looking for the codex as we speak. We need to retrieve the book before they do. But afterward…?”

  “Tell me something I don’t know. And I am not letting you ride long when and if I take
a woman to bed. That’s disturbing on so many levels.”

  And with these words, I got dressed. To my surprise, the clothes fit me even though my muscles strained under the fabric.

  I looked presentable, but there was no way Ashley wouldn’t realize I had put on like thirty pounds of muscle overnight. Fortunately, the jacket she’d left me was baggy and hid some of my new bulk. I would thank her real quick and get the hell out of here before things got awkward.

  Determined to not overstay my welcome, I left the bedroom and headed for the living room. Ashely was on the couch, sipping a steaming cup of coffee. The smell was intoxicating…

  I froze in the doorway. With horror, I realized it wasn’t the coffee that had lit up my senses but the fresh cut on her finger. She met my gaze, and her eyes went wide.

  She could totally tell that I had changed. Maybe, if I left quickly enough, she’d just think that the clothes were to blame.

  “Domino bit me when I tried to pull her from under the couch. I don’t know what’s wrong with her…”

  Smart kitty, I thought but kept my mouth shut.

  I hated to run out on Ashley, but I couldn’t allow the situation to spiral out of control.

  My stomach rumbled as I caught another whiff of blood, and I knew it was time to make my exit.

  “I have to go, Ashley. Thank you so much for everything.”

  I grabbed the bag with the homeless man’s coat, which I planned to toss down the garbage chute on the way out.

  I felt Ashley’s eyes boring into me, searching for a logical explanation for what was going on. I didn't want to lie to her anymore, so it was best if I left now.

  “Hold on, Erik.”

  I turned as Ashley walked up to me. The air crackled with sexual tension, at least that’s how it felt to me. It was almost like the beast inside of me approved of Ashley and wanted her as much as I did.

  “Something really weird is going on here, and it's kinda freaking me out. I’m not stupid, you know. You look different, and your limp is gone, and--”

  And I showed up naked at your place at seven in the morning with some bullshit story and reeking like a walking sewer.

  God, I felt ashamed and embarrassed about this whole interlude.