Trusted Bond

with
    only the ones I had on my back. If you point me in the direction of the
    priest‘s villa, I will go there now and beg his mercy for my crime.‖
    I shifted back to panther form the second I was done speaking and
    waited.
    The absolute stillness was a surprise, as was the silence. After
    several more minutes of frozen attention from the man, as well as the
    entire table, I tipped my head in question.
    ―Holy shit,‖ he finally breathed, rising up out of his chair and
    crossing the narrow cobblestone road fast, two other men behind him.
    When he was a few feet from me, he sank down to one knee and stared.
    ―I‘ve never seen… Shah, where the fuck is that blanket?‖ he barked over
    his shoulder. ―Get him something to cover up with!‖
    106

    Mary Calmes

    I watched as one of the men moved by me, his hand reaching out to
    run across my head, letting his fingers gently trace one of my ears. It
    didn‘t mean anything but that we were panthers, the touch, the rub, was
    just a hello. When I turned back to look at the leader, I found that he had
    moved closer to me.
    I panicked, taking a step back.
    ―No, no‖—he forced a sort of half-smile, hands up and open, palms
    facing me—―don‘t run. I—we, had no idea you were a victim of a thief.
    Did you come for the trials of Thoth? Do you hope to join the Shu,
    become one of our initiates?‖
    It made sense that he would ask. Because of my controlled shift and
    the speed with which I‘d done it, if I were simply any panther with my
    abilities, attempting to become a member of the Shu would be the logical
    conclusion.
    ―Anyone that can shift as fast as you should participate.‖
    If you were a werepanther, you knew about the Shu. They were
    guardians, assassins, and enforcers, the personal guard of the priest and his
    council, disciples of Thoth, learned in the law, religious practices, and
    killing. If a cat had appealed to his or her semel and found no justice, an
    appeal could be made to the priest of Chae Rophon and the council of
    Ennead, and if the tribe leader was found to be in the wrong, the priest
    would dispatch the Shu. They were the strongest and fastest of all
    werepanthers, and one of the distinctions of their elite status was the
    ability to change form in the blink of an eye. It was a prerequisite.
    ―I am Jamal Hassan‖—the man smiled warmly at me—―and I am the
    phocal of the Shu. Tell me… is that why you came here?‖
    I was looking at the leader of the Shu, the man who reported directly
    to the Priest of Chae Rophon and the council of Ennead. What were the
    odds? At that moment, my only thought was that I was so glad Crane
    wasn‘t with me; he would have been laughing his ass off. If it wasn‘t for
    bad luck, I really would have none at all.
    ―Jamal.‖
    His name was spoken a second before a blanket was tossed to him.
    He stood fast, plucking the covering from the air at the same time.
    ―Shift again,‖ he told me, shaking out the folds, opening the large
    brown and gray cotton blanket. ―This is for you.‖
    Changing fast, I stood naked before him a heartbeat later.
    Trusted Bond

    107

    Quickly, he wrapped the blanket around me, not moving back as I
    clutched it around my shoulders, closing it tight so that it draped around
    me. Covered from shoulder to ankle, I looked up at the man who towered
    over me.
    His eyes were kind, which comforted me.
    ―I have never seen anyone shift that fast. Once you‘re fed and
    clothed and rested, I will run you through some drills with my men before
    the trials so—‖
    ―I‘m hurt,‖ I told him quickly.
    ―Where?‖
    Turning my back to him, I loosened the blanket and let it slide off
    my shoulders, dipping low down until it fell just above the curve of my
    buttocks.
    ―Who did this to you?‖ he breathed out.
    I was going to answer, but I felt his fingers trailing down over one of
    the marks and shivered hard. The touch reminded me that my entire back
    was mottled with cuts and abrasions and bites. It would all heal given
    time, but for now, I was nowhere near full strength. I needed to eat and
    drink and sleep. Going from zero to leaping through glass windows and
    flying through the air had exhausted me. With the loss of my heart-
    pounding adrenaline, I was back to feeling like a wrung-out old mop. I
    was ready to puddle to the ground.
    I lifted the blanket back up over my shoulders, and when I did I
    leaned forward. Just that much change in balance proved to be