And then, for just an instant, something happened. It was as if some barrier had been punctured. Keller felt not just his voice but his worry inside her head. She could feel... him.
His name... Galen. And he's someone born to command, she thought. He understands animals.
Another shapeshifter?
But I can't feel what animal he turns into. And there's no bloodtbirstiness at all....
She didn't understand it, and her panther brain wasn't in the mood to try. It was grounded in the here and now, and all it wanted was to finish what she had started.
She wrenched her eyes away from Galen and looked at the dragon.
Yes, he was still alive but badly wounded. A little snarl worked out of Keller's throat. The vampire thugs were still alive, too; one was picking up the injured dragon and hauling him away.
"Come on!" he was shouting in a voice sharp with panic. "Before that cat recovers-"
"But the girl!" the second vampire said. "We don't have the girl." He looked around. Diana was standing by a display of porcelain figures, looking just as pale and graceful as any of them. She had both hands at her throat and seemed to be in shock.
The second vampire started toward her.
Afo, Keller thought. But she couldn't get her legs to move. She could only lie helplessly and stare with burning eyes.
"No!" a voice beside her said, out loud this time. Galen was jumping up. He got between the vampire and Diana.
The vampire grinned, a particularly nasty grin. "You don't look like a fighter to me, pretty boy."
It wasn't exactly true, Keller thought. Galen wasn't pretty; he was beautiful. With that gold hair and his coloring, he looked like a prince from a storybook. A rather young and inexperienced prince. He stood his ground, his expression grim and determined.
"I won't let you get to her," he said steadily.
Who the hell is this guy? Keller thought
Iliana, pale and wide-eyed, glanced up at him, too. And then Keller saw her... melt. Her drawn features softened; her lips parted. Her eyes seemed to quiver with light. She had been cowering away from the vampire, but now her body relaxed just a little.
He certainly looked more like a champion defender than Keller had. He was clean, for one thing.
Keller's fur was matted with her own blood and the dragon's. More, she couldn't help the little raspy snarls of rage and despair she was making, showing dripping teeth in a red-stained muzzle.
Too bad he was about to be slaughtered.
He wasn't a fighter. Keller had seen the inside of his mind, and she knew he didn't have the tiger instinct.
The vampire was going to massacre him.
The vampire started forward.
And a voice from the front of the store said, "Hold it right there."
Chapter 3
Keller turned her head quickly.
Nissa was standing there, cool and imperturbable as always, one hand on her hip. Her short mink-colored hair wasn't even ruffled; her eyes, just a shade or two darker, were steady. And she was holding an ironwood fighting stick with a very sharp point.
Keller growled faintly in relief. You couldn't ask Nissa to be creative-her mind didn't work that way. But on any question of logic, she was unbeatable, and she had nerves of ice. More important right now, she was a superb fighter.
"If you want to play, why don't you try me?" she suggested, and whipped the fighting stick around expertly a few times. It whistled in the air, traced a complicated figure, and ended up casually across her shoulder. Then she slowly extended the point toward the vampire's throat.
"Yeah, and don't leave me out." This voice was husky and shaky but still grim. It came from behind the counter. Winnie was pulling herself up. She coughed once, then stood straight, facing the vampire.
Energy, orange and pulsating, flared between her cupped hands. Witch power.
You're alive, Keller thought. She couldn't suppress the flash of relief.
The vampire looked from one girl to the other. Then he glanced at Keller, who was lying on her side, feebly trying to make her legs work. Her tail lashed furiously.
"Come on!" the other vampire shouted. He was staggering under the weight of the dragon, heading for the door. "Let's get Azhdeha out of here. He's the most important thing."
The first vampire hesitated one instant, then whirled and plunged after his friend. Together, they hustled the dragon out into the mall.
Then they were gone.
Keller gave one final gasping snarl and felt herself change. This time, it felt more like a snail falling out of a shell. Her claws dissolved, her tail withered, and she slumped into her human body.
"Boss! Are you okay?" Winnie came toward her, a little unsteadily.
Keller raised her head, black hair falling on either side to the floor. She pushed herself up with her arms and looked around, taking stock.
The shop was quiet It was also a wreck. Winnie's impact with the wall had knocked off most of the decorative plates and clocks there. Keller's fight with the dragon had trashed a lot of the shelves.
There were shattered Christmas ornaments everywhere, little glittering fragments of scarlet and holly green and royal purple. It was like being in a giant kaleidoscope.
And outside, chaos was gathering. The entire fight had only taken about five minutes, but all the time it had been going on, people had been running away from the shop and screaming. Keller had noticed them; she had simply filed them away in her mind as unimportant. There had been nothing she could do about them.
Now, there were security officers closing in, and someone had undoubtedly called the police.
She pushed with her arms again and managed to stand up.
"Nissa." It hurt her throat to speak. "Where's the car?"
"Right down there." Nissa pointed at the floor. "Directly below us, parked outside the Mrs. Fields cookie store."
"Okay. Let's get Diana out." Keller looked at the young girl with the shimmering hair who as yet hadn't spoken a single word. "Can you walk?"
Iliana stared at her. She didn't say anything. Stunned and frightened, Keller guessed. Well, a lot had happened in the last few minutes.
"I know this all seems bizarre to you, and you're probably wondering who we are.Ill explain everything. But right now, we have to get out of here. Okay?"
Iliana shrank a little, trembling.
Not exactly a hero, Keller thought. Or quick on the uptake. Then she decided she was being unfair. This girl was the Witch Child; she undoubtedly had hidden strengths.