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Siofra couldn’t take any more of watching Baatar struggle to change and Rory being shredded. She’d rushed around the circle to his boss. “Do something. Rory can’t hold two animals off forever.”
His boss’s eagle eyes were disturbed. Veins stood out on his head from strain. “I have done the only thing that might save them until Justin arrives to cut the titanium.”
From the opening in the netting above, a black turkey vulture flew in like a bomb being dropped and hit the ground hard. It shook its head and managed to stand.
Now this?
Dead eyes stared at Siofra. It’s beak opened and the voice of Mother Cadellus called out, “Where is my tiger? You should know that Hector tried to deceive me when he found out where Baatar had gone. He has paid with his life.”
Siofra couldn’t dredge up any sympathy at that news.
She didn’t get a chance to respond to the bird.
Rory’s boss had watched the vulture with deadly intent and said, “He is not yours, Cadellus. He belongs to me.”
The vulture turned and if a bird could sneer, this one did. “No. We raised him. You cannot just claim him, not unless you are ready to hand over one of yours. Do not dare to think I will stand by while you take one of mine.”
“Leave now, before you give me reason to hunt you.”
“Yes, come to me, mighty eagle guardian. I wish for that day.”
“Only a fool would wish for what I would do to anyone, especially a Cadell who dares to touch those who belong to me.”
She started screeching and the eagle guy pointed a finger at the vulture, which exploded into a fine dust.
It drifted to the ground.
Lesson learned. Never doubt that eagle shifter’s power.
Siofra asked, “Will she be back?”
“If she does, I will disperse her creature again. If she had Cadells nearby, they would have been here by now.”
A new Hummer burst through the woods from an entirely different direction than the one Tripoli’s guard’s had been taking. Rory’s friend jumped out.
His boss boomed at the bear shifter, “Justin, cut the cage door open. It’s titanium.”
“I’m on it.” Justin rushed to drag a tank and torch from the truck to the gate.
Siofra asked, “Will it take long to cut through?”
“No. That torch burns faster through titanium than steel,” eagle man said.
When Justin raced past her, Siofra followed him around the cage. From the top of the ramp, the scene inside couldn’t get any worse.
The jaguar shouldn’t be standing. His legs and body had brutal injuries with blood everywhere. How could he even see through so much blood on his face?
She had no idea, but his jaguar lunged for a final takedown on the tiger, ripping its throat apart. She’d feel encouraged if not for the way the lion waited patiently, not wasting energy yet.
Justin shouted, “The torch isn’t cutting fast enough.”
She ran down to see what he was talking about. Smoke billowed into her face. She swatted it away until she could see the problem.
The torch would flare against the metal then dim, struggling to burn. Had to be the spell Tripoli used to protect his secret fighting arena.
Rory’s jaguar stumbled under a vicious attack from the lion. Justin shouted, “Stand up, Rory. Get up.”
But Rory had defended Baatar longer than any one animal should have been able to do against two huge beasts and survive.
A deafening sound exploded from where Baatar had been struggling.
She couldn’t believe her eyes.
Baatar really was a tiger?
Not just any tiger, but a giant Siberian tiger, which leaped over the fallen jaguar and smashed into the lion. What followed was an unbelievable battle with throaty snarling, clawing and biting. Two giants fighting to the death.
Rory’s jaguar had battled the lion first, giving Baatar’s tiger a hand up in the fight. Baatar’s tiger moved with lightning-fast strikes born of raging energy.
It didn’t take long to finish off the lion.
The tiger lifted his big head, roaring over and over in triumph.
Then he lowered it and swung toward Rory’s jaguar with the same menacing snarl Baatar’s tiger had turned on the lion.
Justin moved to cutting the bars. It wouldn’t be fast enough.
