Defender Cave Bear (Protection, Inc: Defenders Book 1) Read online

  “It would make you feel better if had two flying kittens and a magic flying mini-stallion curled up next to you, right?” Caro inquired.

  “Absolutely,” Tirzah replied.

  Caro rubbed her jaw. “Um… So, you and my dad… PLEASE NO DETAILS but you are dating, right?”

  “Yes, we are,” Tirzah admitted, inwardly crossing her fingers that Caro wouldn’t have a problem with it. “It’s pretty serious—”

  “NO DETAILS,” Caro reminded her, then cast a speculative glance over the flying pets. “But, without details, is there any chance he might move to Refuge City? Like, to be with you? And I could move too?”

  Tirzah repressed a gulp. It was one thing to daydream about adopting, and another to have her possible new step-daughter quizzing her about their living arrangements. Cautiously, she said, “Pete and I haven’t discussed it yet. Would you like to?”

  “YES.” Caro beamed. “Could I have my own bedroom?”

  “You’ll have to discuss that with your father,” Tirzah said firmly.

  To her relief, Caro seemed content with that. Maybe parenting wasn’t that scary after all. Especially when you were a step-parent and could offload the major decisions onto their dad.

  Carter returned with Tirzah’s chair, which he loaded into the SUV. As Merlin took the driver’s seat and pulled out, Carter began rummaging through the duffel bags and boxes of equipment in the back. A grin began to spread across Tirzah’s face at his expressions of disgust and annoyance as he pulled out desert camouflage, jungle camouflage, bulletproof vests, and rainproof ponchos.

  “I thought we—you—did a lot of undercover,” Carter called. “Where do you keep clothes for going undercover at a decent restaurant?”

  “What, like a chef’s hat?” Merlin inquired innocently.

  “No!” Carter finally uncovered some plain black clothes, which he pulled on. They gave him the appearance of an irritated ninja.

  “What was that harpoon thing?” Tirzah asked.

  “It was tipped with shiftsilver.” Carter shrugged, spreading his hands. “I have no idea what happened. Shiftsilver stops mythic beasts from shifting, so I thought even if it just got off a glancing blow, it might make an animal turn back into a human. I had no idea it could make you spontaneously combust!”

  “Shiftsilver interferes with magic,” Merlin corrected him. “Mythic shifters use magic to shift, so it stops them from shifting. Gorlois was a wizard, so shooting him with a shiftsilver harpoon must have interfered with a whole bunch of his spells.”

  “The way a bucket of water interferes with a grease fire,” Carter said.

  Tirzah realized that both Carter and Merlin seemed to know a lot more about shifters, not to mention magic, than Pete did. She recounted what Gorlois had told them about the ancient order of wizards who had fought King Arthur, and what he’d tried to do with Pete.

  “Just great,” said Carter. “Now we’ve got a thousand-year-old wizards’ order after us.”

  “Coooool,” Caro murmured, then looked abashed. “I mean, not cool that they’re trying to kill you!”

  “So have either of you ever heard of it before?” Tirzah asked.

  Carter shook his head.

  Merlin said, “I haven’t heard of it exactly, but my name isn’t a complete coincidence either. There are legends that say that Merlin—I mean Arthur’s Merlin, not me-Merlin—was the first shifter.”

  “Really?” Tirzah asked.

  “Absolutely. You see, when I was with the circus—”

  “Oh, God, spare me,” Carter groaned.

  Caro piped up, “I want to hear!”

  Merlin went on over them both, “—there was a trapeze artist whose ambition was to train a troupe of flying squirrels…”

  Tirzah’s attention drifted from the conversation. She hadn’t wanted to let on, so as not to upset Caro, but she was worried about Pete. He looked pale, and she couldn’t tell if he was unconscious or just very deeply asleep.

  When Caro got a conversation going on the subject of “Would you rather be attacked by twenty pteranodons the size of hamsters or one hamster the size of a pteranodon?” Tirzah made sure to participate enough that her distraction wasn’t noticeable. But inside her mind, she was leaping up and down in frustration, waiting for the car to get a move on already.

  Pete still hadn’t awakened when they finally, finally pulled into the underground parking lot at Defenders, Inc. But it felt like a huge weight was lifted off Tirzah’s back when she saw Ransom and Roland waiting for them, along with one male and two female strangers.

  “Those are the paramedics from Protection, Inc.,” Merlin explained. “And their ride.”

  While Carter unloaded Tirzah’s wheelchair and helped her into it, the tall white man and short Latina woman rapidly examined Pete, started an IV, and loaded him on to a stretcher. From the ease of the way they worked with each other, with barely a word needing to be exchanged, Tirzah guessed that they were either close friends who’d been working together forever, or else romantic partners.

  Mates, she corrected herself as the man tenderly brushed away a lock of the woman’s hair that kept falling into her eyes. They must be mates.

  Tirzah went with the two of them in the elevator, while everyone else took the stairs. She had been too nervous to ask before, but once she was alone in an elevator, the question burst out of her. “Is he going to be all right?”

  “Oh, sorry!” the woman said. “We should’ve said right away. Yeah, he’ll be fine. We’ll stick around for a couple days to make sure there’s no complications, but his shifter healing should take care of everything. Just make sure he rests, even if you have to tie him down.” She laughed.

  Tirzah felt her entire body relax. She was so overcome with relief that she couldn’t even speak, but just reached out and brushed her fingers over Pete’s cheek. He didn’t open his eyes, but this time he must have sensed her, for he turned his face into her hand.

  “I’m Tirzah Lowenstein,” she said belatedly. “His mate.”

  The word came naturally to her lips, and the two paramedics simply nodded as if it was natural to them as well.

  “We’re mates too,” said the man. His face looked forbidding, and his ice-blue eyes only added to that impression. But she’d seen him caring for Pete, and his touch had been gentle. “I’m Shane Garrity, and this is Catalina Mendez. We’re from Protection, Inc.”

  They were met by the others at the lobby. They moved Pete into one of the client rooms, where the paramedics put him in the bed.

  “His color looks better,” Roland said, peering down at him.

  “He’ll be fine,” Catalina said, her voice pitched loud enough to carry to everyone. As if that was an invitation, a flying kitten swooped down and landed on her shoulder. It was as small and furry and black as Batcat, but it had butterfly wings, swirled orange and black like a Monarch’s. It stretched and meowed.

  “Oooh,” Caro began. Her delighted exclamation rose to a higher pitch when a gray tabby kitten with moth-like wings drifted down and landed on Shane’s shoulder, silent as falling snow.

  “That’s Shadow,” said Shane, indicating his own kitten. Pointing out the butterfly kitten, he said, “And that’s Carol Danvers.”

  A musical note pierced the air. A lovely blue miniature dragon flew in and perched on the outstretched forearm of the third stranger, a woman with long silver hair and glittering silver tattoos that swirled up her neck and shoulder. It stretched out its elegant neck and trilled again.

  “This is Doina, my dragonette,” said the silver-haired woman in a slight accent which made Tirzah think of the musical sound of her dragon’s voice. “And I am Raluca.”

  Caro stared at her. Even apart from Raluca’s unusual hair and tattoos and voice, she was dressed to the nines, complete with expensive-looking high heels. It was quite a contrast to the paramedics, who were both in jeans and T-shirts.

  “Are you a bodyguard?” Caro asked.

  “No, I’m a fa
shion designer,” Raluca said. “I brought Shane and Catalina here. My mate Nick is a bodyguard at Protection, Inc., but he’s a wolf. The only dragon on the team is currently on an assignment abroad.”

  There was a brief silence while both Tirzah and Caro processed this, and then Caro said, “You’re a dragon?”

  Raluca inclined her head in a nod.

  “I’m a bodyguard,” Catalina put in over her shoulder. Or rather, behind her shoulder, as Raluca was nearly a foot taller.

  Raluca smiled at Caro and added, “But I used to be a princess.”

  “A dragon princess!” Caro stared up at Raluca with visible awe, then extended some of it to cover Catalina.

  Ransom cast a glance at Merlin. “You have officially been upstaged.”

  “Yeah,” Merlin admitted. “It’s kind of an unusual feeling for me.”

  “Oh, hi, Merlin,” Catalina piped up. “Did a magical pet ever find you?”

  “No,” Merlin said glumly.

  Shane started to nudge his mate, but Catalina went tactlessly on, “Oh, what a shame! But don’t give up hope. You were at the lab when we set them free—maybe one imprinted on you. I mean even Pete’s mate got one, when she wasn’t there when they all got loose and her only connection with them was that she was going to be Pete’s mate in the future—”

  “Catalina,” Shane said, as Merlin heaved a gloomy sigh.

  Hurriedly, Catalina said, “Well, I’m sure it’s not too late. I bet you’ll all get one eventually! And I bet your mates will too!”

  “I don’t want any furry pests flittering around and shedding on my suits and messing with my stuff,” Carter said.

  “I don’t believe in mates,” Ransom said flatly.

  Roland said, “If I ever had a mate, she’s dead.”

  That brought the conversation to a sudden halt. Then, as if that was a signal, everyone drifted out, striking up conversations or asking about acquaintances on Protection, Inc. Tirzah only half-heard the snippets of conversation as they left:

  “…Rafa’s family is absolutely crazy over their little Gabriel…”

  “…Haley can sit up all by herself, and Elliot says ‘Ma…’”

  “…Destiny has some contacts in India. I’m sure she could put you in touch…”

  And then the door closed softly behind them, leaving Tirzah and Pete alone together. Batcat had flown out with Carol Danvers, but Spike stayed at Pete’s side.

  Tirzah wasn’t sure if she heard a change in his breathing or some more subtle shift in the atmosphere, but something made her ask, “Are you awake?”

  Pete’s eyes opened. He looked very tired, but better than he had in the car. “Yeah. Couldn’t cope with that crowd fussing over me.”

  “You’ll have to tomorrow, you know. Faking unconsciousness only lasts so long.”

  He was quiet for long enough that she thought he was falling asleep again, but then he said, “I was awake a bit in the car. Enough to hear some stuff, anyway. I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t manage to get my eyes open.”

  “Oh?”

  He nodded, and even managed a faint smile. “Got any three-person apartments open in your building? I know a certain thirteen-year-old girl who really, really wants a Refuge City apartment with her own bedroom.”

  Tirzah’s face nearly cracked with her grin. “I do! You’d move into the city for me?”

  “The cactuses are getting a bit old.” Spike let out an indignant meow. Pete lifted one hand to pat him. “Not you.”

  “How will your mom feel about it?”

  “I think she’s ready to have a life of her own.” Pete smiled again, this time more widely. “I can’t imagine what she’ll think when I tell her… everything.”

  “I can’t either,” Tirzah admitted. “But I bet she’ll love Spike.”

  Spike gave a wide yawn. So did Pete.

  “Lie down?” he asked.

  Tirzah climbed into bed and put her arms around him. She nestled her head into his shoulder, in that hollow that seemed made for it, and let out a sigh. “So glad I hijacked your laptop.”

  Pete’s amused exhale was warm on her throat. “Me too.”

  EPILOGUE

  P ete shook a frying pan over the blue flame of a gas burner. The hash browns were nice and crispy, just the way Caro and Tirzah liked them.

  Right on cue, Tirzah and Caro came wandering into the kitchen, yawning and rubbing their eyes. Tirzah was in a nightie, but Caro was already dressed for school. Moonbow looked up from his planter box of grass, snorted, and trotted up to Caro, who bent to stroke his wings. Batcat launched off Tirzah’s shoulder and joined Spike in weaving in and out of Pete’s ankles.

  “Morning, Caro. Morning, Tirzah.” Pete held the frying pan out of the way as he gave Tirzah a kiss and Caro a one-armed hug.

  “Can’t believe you’ve got me getting up this early,” Tirzah muttered. “This can’t be good for you.”

  “Discussion topic,” Caro said, her jaw audibly cracking with a huge yawn. “Forcing teenagers to go to school in the morning when their circadian rhythms are optimized for late night: a bad idea, a really bad idea, or the absolute worst idea?”

  “I don’t think the ‘threat or menace’ formula is really meant to provoke a discussion,” Tirzah said.

  Pete handed a toasted bagel with lox and cream cheese to Tirzah, who didn’t like eggs. She took it to the kitchen table, where her steaming mug of coffee was already waiting. Pete flipped Caro’s cheese omelette, then slid it on to her plate.

  “Ready for the computer science test?” Tirzah asked Caro.

  “Now I am,” Caro said. Tirzah had been tutoring her, with much better results than Pete had gotten. He had steadfastly not inquired whether Tirzah was teaching her any hacking tricks on the side.

  Pete was the last to join the table, with two fried eggs. He sat between Tirzah and Caro, pushing aside Mom’s housewarming gift of an inconveniently sized cactus. The kittens lurked, vulture-like, their yellow eyes fixed on Tirzah’s lox.

  “Discussion topic,” Tirzah said. “What food is to humans as lox is to flying kittens?”

  That occupied the rest of breakfast. Just as Caro finished her orange juice, there was a knock at the door.

  “Caro?” a girl’s voice called.

  “Just a second!” Caro shouted.

  Pete snapped his fingers twice. The air around Batcat, Spike, and Moonbow shimmered briefly. When the shimmer faded, Pete could still see them, but Caro’s friends wouldn’t be able to. Apart from getting him back on his feet, one of the most useful things the visitors from the west coast office of Protection, Inc. had provided was to let them know that the magical pets could be trained to become invisible at will to people who didn’t already know about them.

  Caro petted Moonbow and cast a pleading look at Pete. Softly, she said, “No one will see him, so can I take him to—”

  “Absolutely not,” Pete said firmly.

  “You never let me do anything fun,” Caro said, but she was grinning. She picked up her backpack and went to the door, where she was greeted by Jamal, Hannah, and Sofia.

  “Finally!” Jamal said. “I thought you’d never talk your dad around.”

  “I’m right here,” Pete said. He was roundly ignored.

  “Check it out,” Hannah said, holding up her hand with Sofia’s, displaying their matching nail polish. “We’ll do yours on the subway.”

  “Awesome,” Caro said.

  Bang!

  The door slammed behind them. A second later, it opened again and Caro popped her head back in. “Don’t forget the cook-off this weekend with Abuelita!”

  “Don’t worry, I—” Pete began.

  Bang!

  She was gone.

  Pete stared at the closed door. “I still can’t believe she talked me into letting her ride the subway alone.”

  “She didn’t,” Tirzah reminded him. “Jamal and Hannah and Sofia’s parents did. And she’s not alone, she’s with three friends.”
<
br />   “I still can’t believe it,” Pete said. “I want to get up and haul her back right now.”

  Tirzah cleared her throat. “Who came to your rescue on a magical flying horsie? Who shoved you into the back seat of a car when you couldn’t even stand—”

  “Low blow.”

  “And her cell phone is loaded up with every possible in-case-of-emergency hack, and she has a one-of-a-kind personal alarm system disguised as a pen and designed by Carter Howe himself,” Tirzah pointed out. “And she’s getting self-defense lessons from Marines. Should I go on?”

  “No, no. It’s fine. I know the other kids’ parents wouldn’t let them do it if it wasn’t safe.”

  And if anyone even thinks of harming her, I will tear them limb from limb, rumbled his cave bear.

  That too, replied Pete.

  Aloud, he said, “She’s not going to keep three magical pets secret from her new best friends forever, you know.”

  “Yeah, I know. But I think it’ll be all right. Hannah and Sofia and Jamal are smart, responsible kids. And if we ever fly anywhere—I mean on an airplane—we’ll need a pet-sitter. And Lola’s allergic.”

  “Not to Spike,” Pete said.

  “Spike wouldn’t want to be parted from Batcat and you know it.”

  When Mom had come back from visiting her sister, whose foot was healing nicely, she’d taken the flood of revelations surprisingly well. Like Caro, she’d been relieved to learn what his problems really were and that they weren’t as bad as she’d been imagining. And she’d been delighted with Spike, though she instituted a rule that no flying animals were allowed in rooms with delicate glass cacti.

  Tirzah scooted her chair closer, nestling into him as she sipped her coffee and surveyed the apartment. “I love what you did with the place.”

  Pete too looked around, satisfied with his work. With the help of a crew of workmen, he’d made their new three-bedroom apartment completely accessible. The shelves and cupboards were all within Tirzah’s reach now, and had kitten-proof latches. He’d built her a new cupboard himself, shaped more-or-less like R2D2, as well as a wooden cabinet to hide the litterbox.