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, heavy. Molly’s net wrapped around angry Evangelina witch, like arms of octopus on TV. She screamed. Hurt.

Carmen rose onto elbow. With one burned hand, pointed at sports car. Air swept up. Gathered dust and dirt and stones and dead plants. Whirled like tornado. Hit car. Air wrapped around Evangelina. On top of Molly’s net of light. Carmen lay back. Chest heaving. Smelling broken. Singed, burned blood.

Pink and black energy gathered around car. Scarlet motes flashed through mist of power. Grew thicker. Shadows formed spears, black and cold as iron, dark as night sky. Spears tore at layered nets. Burned holes in magics.

Cia held hands together, clasped. Spread fingers and separated hands. Moonlight, soft and glowing, filled space between them. Stones in her necklace split and broke as power came from it. She was making a net. But moon was far away. Slow magic by day.

More dark spears gathered. Facing at sisters. Spears narrowed. Grew barbs. Sharp.

Witch sisters were trying to trap Evangelina in cage of magic. Evangelina was trying to kill sisters to take their power and blood. I gathered limbs tight. Shoulders high. Raised head. Screamed challenge. Shoved off with all paws. Leaped.

Molly shouted, “Jane! No!”

Long leap through air. Paws passed through spears. Burning. Burning. Hurt. Hungry. Angry! In midair, I snarled. Hit Evangelina in chest. Claws hooking into witch flesh. Witch body falling. Out of car. Rode body to ground. Killing teeth locked on witch throat. Tasted blood.

Jane wrenched at body. Tried to be alpha. Something touched Beast-mind.

Everything in world went silent. No noise. No sound. No sight except for angry fearful witch eyes. No smells except for witch blood. No taste but witch blood. But did not bite down. Did not tear out throat of enemy prey. Wanted to. Was stopped.

Felt heart of prey beating fast under paws and chest. Panting breath of terrified prey. She was afraid. Smell of fear was good. Tried to bite down. Could not. Blood taste was delicious. Hunger clenched at belly. Needed to bite down. Needed!

Hand touched my head. Human hand. Little. I tilted eyes up. Angelina stood beside us, one hand on Beast head, one on Evangelina chest. Little witch moved dress and found necklace on Evangelina. Pink diamond, gold chain. Angie wrapped blood-diamond in little fist. Black sparks flashed out between stubby fingers. Dark life, black lightning. Sparks landed on Beast pelt, burning. I growled. Black sparks were sign of Angie-magic. Had seen them before. Bright sparks did not burn Angie Baby’s hand. Scarlet motes flowed up Evangelina’s skin. Almost as if alive. Like mites racing, like rats running from floodwaters. Flowed up and out of her. Into gem.

I looked at Evangelina’s eyes. She was angry. Was stopped like Beast.

Frozen, Jane thought. She froze us.

Am not cold, I thought back. Stopped. Not frozen.

Molly and Cia knelt on either side of downed witch, Cia holding ball of moonlight. Molly unhooked Evangelina’s necklace and left it in Angie’s fist. Cia lay glowing ball on Evangelina’s chest and opened fingers. Net spread out from them, wrapping angry witch. Glowing trap like spider’s web. Breath eased in angry witch’s chest. Heart slowed. Her eyes closed.

“It’s okay, Aunt Jane. She’s asleep now,” Angie Baby said. “I’ll let you go, but you can’t bite her, okay?” I growled. Angie made small fist and thumped my head, between ear tabs. Jane laughed deep inside and I growled again. “You can’t bite her,” Angie said, “biscause I won’t let you. And that might hurt you.”

I hissed again, but lips covered teeth. Relaxed body. Showed submission. Unhappy. Wanted to kill witch. Wanted to. Felt Angie Baby let me go. Felt Beast-power flow into body. Narrowed eyes at little witch. But let go with teeth and pawed away from fallen angry sleeping witch. Sat near Molly-van, grooming pelt and burned places on paw pads. Licked away flavor of witch. Tasty. But Beast not happy. Jane not happy. Jane couldn’t shift into Jane until night. Part of Jane skinwalker magic—unless death threatened, could not shift until night. Beast was alpha in daylight. Felt happier at thought. Could sleep in hot sun. Maybe could hunt bear!

Looked at witches. Still unhappy. Molly crying, trying to get phone to work, but magic had ruined phone. Cia trying to roll stone from Liz. Carmen trying to breathe, breath from lungs smelling burned. Scarlet motes still raced under her skin. I/we had seen this before. Was magic of pink diamond, magic of witch vampire who Jane killed with sliver of BloodCross.

Padded to stone lying on top of Liz. Braced paws into dirt. Shoulder onto boulder. Pushed. Stone wobbled. Cia called, “Molly! Help here!” I waited until Molly was at stone. “On three,” she said. Which was good. Beast could count to three. “One. Two. Three!” We all pushed. Stone wobbled. Liz made broken sound. Rock rolled off of her.