Raven Cursed

dull crack in the energies that caged him. A widening fracture filled with darkness, a dripping blackness. The sound was a sonic boom, tearing air from the room. Heat crazed along my flesh, burning. Scalding. Branding. The scent of burning sulfur ballooned out. I screamed. My spine bowed, lifting me from the floor, only my head and feet touching down. “Get out!” I screamed to the witches. “Get out!” They ran up the stairs, feet pounding.

My bones slid. Skin abraded, splitting. The gray light of the change slid over me, sparking with black lights. But mine sparked like black diamonds reflecting the sun, my own bright magic called forth. Pelt spilled out. Killing teeth erupted from my gums. The magics of the hedge seared and singed pelt and skin. I screamed. Pushed out of my clothes, claws ripping cloth. Still shifting, I leaped free.

My Beast magic shoved back at the rift in the hedge’s energies. Bright and cool as a mountain stream. Beast filled my mind.

Beast is better than Jane, better than big-cat. Beast knows what to do. Spread claws. Swiped a paw down Lincoln Shaddock’s arm, drawing vampire blood. Not two-natured. But powerful.

I/we threw undead blood at crack in hedge of thorns. It landed like spats of water on hot stone. Black light blew out. Beast was thrown like kit swiped by mother’s paw. Into air. White light shot out. Pulled crack in ward together. Beast hit wall. Paintings fell. Frames cracking. But none fell into hedge. None broke circle.

Demon inside circle threw back beak and screamed. I shook head and snarled. Gathered feet under body and backed away, pawpawpaw, silent. Good hunter. Backed to stairs. Stood and studied demon. Studied reddish wolf in ward of hedge. Sleeping wolf. Skinny with hunger.

How did you know? Jane asked. Fear filled her mind. Kit fear, afraid of shadows, leaping at leaves as if at prey. How did you know how to stop the hedge breaking? How did you know when I didn’t? And why aren’t you being pulled toward that thing?

I backed up stairs. Whirled, to face up stairs, tail spinning slow for balance. Landed facing away from trapped death. Raced up fast. Hunger tore at belly. Need to hunt! I raced through Evangelina’s house. Out open door. Into light. Eyes blinked against sun, dazzling in garden.

Witches were standing in garden, staring at house. Staring at Beast. Hands out, fingers spread like killing claws. Power built in their hands. Against Beast. Black storm cloud in Carmen’s hands. Cold air gusted through garden, around her, into her hands. Leaves and trees talked with leaf sounds. I chuffed. Warning.

“No!” Molly said. “It’s okay.”

“No it’s not. It’s a were-cat,” twin Liz said. “It’ll bite us!”

I showed killing teeth. Snarled. Not were! Am Beast!

Twin Liz shaped her power, sparkling like gems. Twin Cia shaped hers, glowing like face of hunter’s moon. Twins spun energy like balls of power, captured in hands.

“She isn’t a were!” Molly shouted. She stepped between witch sisters and Beast.

Carmen blinked. “No. She isn’t.” Smell of surprise, shock, fear—flight or flight scent—and something human filled garden. Awe? Didn’t understand human awe, but Jane felt awe sometimes. It smelled like this. “It was you,” Carmen said. “In the cave. You saved me.”

Twins stopped spinning power. Carmen’s power blew away like mist in sudden breeze. “That’s Jane,” she said. “What is she, if she isn’t a were-cat?”

Molly tilted head. Looking into Big-Cat eyes, wanting to hide Jane secret. To hide Beast.

Inside head, Jane sighed. Crap, crap, crap.

“Sorry,” Molly whispered. To sisters she said, “Jane is a skinwalker. And she has magic of her own.” To Beast, she asked, “Did you stop that thing?”

I hacked and sat down, backside on porch floor. Retracted claws, front paws crossed like housecat. Beast is no pet, I thought. Is not owned. But I closed lips on killing teeth. Looked safe to prey. Twin witches stepped back, opened hands. Power blew away like dust and shadow.

Heard roar from far away. Loud. Tilted head. Car coming. Noisy engine.

Molly looked at her watch. I looked at sky. Much time had passed. Looked at road.

Molly whispered, “Evangelina. She must have felt it when we disrupted her garden circle. She’s home early.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE If He Moves, You Can Eat Him

I trotted to edge of house, under plants and herbs, more rosemary like Molly’s, but bigger. Smell was hot, spicy, green. Earth was warm under paws. Hunger clawed at belly. Needed food. Needed to hunt.

The car Jane called sports roared around corner. Back of car swept back and forth like fish’s tail. Sounded alive and angry, charging bull. But car was not alive. Jane said so. Wheels shot small rocks like weapons into trees. Good car for hunting. No roof. Good for chasing prey and leaping out of. Could chase bison in car.

Evangelina sat in car, face in snarl. Witch energy was like thick cloud around her, pink and black, like sunset and rain clouds. Angry power, racing with red motes. Car roared toward witch sisters, coven master coming. I growled in warning, hunger twisting belly tight.

Time did not change for me, as it does for Jane when she fights. Fight or flight. Body reacted, instantly. Claws came out. Pelt stood up across shoulders. Snout opened, pulled back to show killing teeth. I growled.

Molly smelled of fear, fear of sister, fear of coven master. Reached out with both hands. Pulling power from garden, from trees and plants. Rosemary shriveled and dried, leaves stinking, falling on big-cat in brown rain. Liz dropped hands to earth, to draw from minerals in dirt and stone, her face white. Cia reached to sky, to draw from moon; moon far away, not in sky until dark. Carmen closed eyes and laughed, drawing in air. Wind swept through trees, growing strong. But not fast enough.

Sports car growled, slowing, tires blacking road, squealed like prey, bumped into drive. Many small rocks flew from tires. Car rocked. Stopped. Many things happened fastfastfast.

Evangelina gathered ball of pink and black energies in hands. Stood on car seat. Threw energies. Pink light and black shadow flew through air. Scarlet motes flying with ball, trailing it. Carmen mouth opened in shock. She pushed at air. Wind flew from her.

Liz picked up stones.

Pink ball of energy wobbled through witch wind. Hit Carmen in chest. She made strange sound, grunting, and fell back. Landed in bushes. Bounced to ground.

Molly threw small ball of light at Evangelina. It spread like web, like net. Landed over her. Evangelina screamed. Stabbed at net of light with fingers. I crouched. Hissed. Evangelina made same sound as Beast. Tore hole in net, blacked edges stinking like burned bodies. Charred.

Carmen made mewling sounds like hurt kit. Pink energy spread over her. Scarlet motes sank into her. Her clothes smoked. Flamed. Her skin was red and blistered beneath it. Burned. Body started to twitch, red motes flashing under skin.

Liz threw stones. First one hit Evangelina in hip hard. Angry witch caught second one. It was white, a stone from witch circle. Stone grew in her hand. Liz mistake, to spell Evangelina’s rock. She heaved it back at Liz. Harder. Faster. It grew in the air, like boulder. Molly formed another net, hands working fast. Liz dove to side. Threw handful of spelled sand into air. Big white rock crackled, passing through sand. Followed Liz. Hit her. Threw her across dirt.

Molly tossed new net of light and life, this one green. Flowers in garden, fruits and vegetables, trees and shrubs withered, browned. Died.

Molly is stealing life, Jane shouted inside head.

Molly’s net landed over Evangelina. Net was bigger than last one. Liz fell to ground. Lying under big rock,