CHAPTER FORTY SIX


We hit the water hard and crashed to the bottom. Jace anchored me between his
legs and used one hand to hold us both under while he frantically searched for
the hatchel with his other hand.


It took me a moment and then, instead of just watching, I swam down and
started to help him. My fingers closed over a corner, felt a button, then a
lock, and switched them both back. The hatchel lifted up and Jace kicked his
feet hard. He soared through the hatchel and ungracefully dragged me behind
him.


We both tumbled to our feet as the water poured over us.


Jace quickly stood and closed the hatchel. He jerked on it twice and the lock
clicked back into place.


And then the cold sunk in.


"Holy." It was freezing in the tunnel.


"Come on." Jace stared at both ends—we were in complete darkness—and then
started to run one way.


"How do you know?" I asked.


"The wind is coming from down there." Jace asked and now broke into a
sprint.


So simple and, yet, so complex.


Off we ran. I realized during that time that Jace was in remarkable shape.
I'd known before. I'd seen how he moved when he fought, how he reacted
efficiently and cleanly. No sweat or falter happened upon him.


He didn't glance back. Ever. He just ran and he made sure that I was behind
him. I faltered once, and Jace grabbed my hand the rest of the way.


With wet clothes, malfunctioning weapons, we weren't on the advantaged
side.


"Tell me that you know where we're going and that everything's going to be
okay."


Jace ran and then sighed, "You know I can't tell you that. You know now and
you knew before we came in here. It's why you didn't want to come in. Don't make
me make empty promises. I won't do that to you."


It was true. And I was being weak. My eyes hardened and my feet picked up
pace. Jace glanced once towards me, and then pushed harder. Both of us were
racing down the tunnel, but it still took forever. We ran, flat out, for over an
hour.


Another hour passed and finally, we saw light streaming through a closed
door.


I slowed, my head reeling, but Jace stopped and quickly assessed the door. He
ran his hands around it, feeling for something I wasn't sure, but suddenly he
kicked it down like it was built of paper and not stone.


The door crashed open and we were in some woods.


"Where are we?" I asked. My eyes were a little foggy from running and
suddenly stopping.


Jace gazed around and clipped out, "We're in some woods. Merit's land is just
over that hill, if I'm getting this right and I think I am."


"There's no way that Merit would know about this."


Jace hardened his jaw.


"Would there?"


"He might. I don't know."


Jace grabbed my elbow and started running again.


"Where are we going?"


"We have to get away from the tunnel in case someone followed us. Once Nolan
and Kip stopped shooting, they would've searched the pool."


"They might think that we got out when they weren't looking."


"They know better. Marcus knows better. The only ways out were through that
field and the driveway and we didn't cross either of them." Jace patted my back.
"Come on, let's go."


"Are you going to call Kip and Nolan?"


"No. Kip's supposed to call me when they got free. If I don't have a message
then it's no-communication. They're on their own."


"And if something had happened to Kip? Would Nolan call?"


"No. Nolan would leave immediately and take over Kip's territory."


His phone beeped in that moment. After he listened to it, Jace said, "We need
to keep going. There's a motel up ahead. We'll call him for a meet from
there."


We melted among the background, slipped through shadows and around corners.
When a Panther appeared, Jace always knew and he'd hold us until the Panther had
moved on.


Jace had his gun ready, beside his thigh, and I held mine.


As we neared the motel, Jace led my hand to the back. We entered through an
employee door and then instantly ducked into a closet.


Surrounded with dusty jackets, foul odor boots, and wet hankies, I decided to
not breathe—or touch anything.


Jace was at the door and after someone passed by, he led us out and down a
back hallway. We neared the farthest corner and a room was left open. Jace
slipped inside and shut the door behind us.


"Won't they know?"


Jace went to the window and peeked around the curtain. "We're not staying
long and I know the owner."


"Of course, you do. Can I shower?"


"I was their leader, Maya." Jace left the window and stood in front of me. "I
know every inch of this land and I know every owner of every business. Some are
going to be friendly and others won't be. This motel is owned by friendly
Panthers, but there are unfriendly staff working for him. We're safe—for now.
Kip said the room would be left open for us and it was. We should be safe until
they get here."


"Can I shower?"


"We were just in the pool." Jace grinned.


"And we ran for two hours after that. I'm sweaty." And just
feeling…soiled.


Jace took out both books from his back. He put mine on the counter and took
the Key to study. When Jace sat on the bed, against the headboard, with the book
in his lap, I left for the shower.


I turned on the water with numb fingers. Instead of undressing, I just
stepped inside. I needed to be purified. I needed…I needed them off of
me.


The water felt cleansing, but I closed my eyes and still heard Marcus'
voice.


"You watched your momma get raped."


I jerked, breathed out, and then ducked my head back underneath the
water.


"You watched the whole thing, didn't you, Mayan?"


The soap thumped on the floor. It took a second for me to realize that I was
the one who'd dropped it.


I breathed out, once more.


"No. No. Larry! No." My mom had whimpered. "God…"


Yes. God.


Where had he gone.


I jerked again. This time I rammed against the wall and stood there, teeth
chattering, as the hot torrents burned my body.


Suddenly, the curtain was thrown back and I blinked. Jace stood, concerned,
and startled.


"Maya." He whispered. He stepped into the shower, clothes and all, and
enfolded me against him. He tucked my head into his chest and murmured, as he
smoothed a thumb across my forehead, "He's not here. He can't get to you."


It wasn't that, but I couldn't say anything. My hands clung to Jace's shirt
and I buried my head into him.


Jace held me for a little bit and then slowly undressed me. Piece by piece,
both of our clothing left and dropped to the ground. When we were naked, Jace
shampooed my hair, rinsed it, soaped my entire body, and then he quickly washed
himself. When he was done, he wrapped a towel around me, rubbed one quickly
through his hair, and took my hand.


He walked me to the bed, pulled back the covers, and urged me underneath. As
I crawled underneath, he tucked me against his side and smoothed a hand over my
hair.


My body twitched. Old shames and haunts reared at me, but I didn't
acknowledge them. I wanted them gone. Instead, I focused on Jace and on his
hand. I held his warmth until I fell asleep.


When I woke, dreaming a dreamless sleep, Jace was at the door, dressed, and
talking with someone. That person walked inside, glanced my way, and murmured
quietly.


I couldn't make out the words, but I felt Jace's irritation.


"Are you fucking kidding me?" Jace rasped out.


The person nodded.


"Now?!"


The person nodded again.


And then I heard the person say, "They know that you're in the territory.
There's a massive hunt going on for you. The Panthers are rallying. Merit's got
his men wanting you dead and the others—they want you to step up. They're tired
of your absence."


Jace ran a hand through his hair. "Of all the fucking…"


"There's no way else, man. It's now or never. You hide and run or you stand
and fight. What's it going to be?"


"Charlie, I have other—"


"Cammy's gone, Jace. She's out. She got caught dealing blow. She went
upstate. She's completely gone. I've been leading in her place, in your place,
but if you're here—I can't do it anymore. It's time you step up."


"I can't be a Panther and a fucking undercover agent." Jace muttered and blew
out a ragged breath.


"Then you gotta choose. Most of Merit's men think you're going to turn on us,
but we know that you won't. You're a Panther first, but—man—it's a war zone out
there. You know how many tails I had to lose before I even got five miles within
this motel?"


Jace looked my way.


I stayed in the bed, but this time I opened my eyes and sat up.


Charlie looked at me. He was around Jace's age, but he had young eyes. A
child's eyes. He had one of those faces that would look twenty when they were
seventy. The tattoos told a different story on his arms.


"You coming back has stirred a lot of stuff up. It's Panther war right now.
Panther against Panther. That's not boding well, for anyone. Everyone knows
you're here. You don't got no other choice. You gotta stand up."


"Don't fucking tell me to stand up, Charlie." Jace snapped. "What the fuck do
you think I've been doing? I've been doing nothing but 'stand up.'"


Charlie turned, met my gaze, and said, "She's going to die out there if you
don't take back your place. You know that and I know that. You can choose to run
and hide, but you ain't going to get anywhere. You may be a ghost, but not in
Panther territory. Not when they're looking."


A muffled knock sounded at the door. Charlie opened it and another two
Panthers walked inside. One was a female and she threw a bag of clothes on the
bed.


I didn't question how I knew they were Panthers. I just did. It was in their
walk and in their eyes.


It was almost as if they had the feline eyes of a Panther.


Jace looked at me, met my eyes, and sighed. "We're going to need more
weapons. And I want my Trusted with me when we leave here."


Charlie nodded and the three Panthers left.


I sat up, reached for the clothes, and asked, "What's going on?"


Jace sighed and sat on the end of the bed. He murmured, "I have to kill
Merit."


"What?" I snapped to attention. The black shirt went unnoticed in my hands. I
stared at Jace, saw the corded muscles tense in his back, and asked again,
"What?"


"Marcus contacted Merit. He told him that we're here. Word got out and now
every Panther out there wants me. Some want me dead and others want me to stand
up."


Charlie had said that phrase. "What does that mean?"


"Stand up? It means that a Marking Trial is going to be called. Amur was
already called."


A lacy black bra was in the bag. I slipped it on and asked, "And who is that?
And what is a Marking Trial?"


"Amur leads the Panthers."


"He took over when you left?" I pulled the black shirt on. It fit like a
second skin.


"She took over when I left, yes. My territory and level was knocked down to a
second commander. Amur and I had an agreement. She was acting leader until I
came back one day."


"You really thought you'd be back?"


"Yeah." Jace admitted, dryly. "I wanted to take Galverson down and then I was
coming back. The Panthers had been my family, they were going to stay my family,
and then…everything just catapulted afterwards and I…"


I stood up, pulled on some underwear, and then fitted a pair of black leather
pants that completed my second skin.


Jace stood up and braced himself on the counter. He shook his head, "This
wasn't supposed to happen. Not for a long time."


"We can't run from everything." I murmured, softly.


"Don't I know it…"


"And what's a Marking Trial?"


"I have to mark my territory. Merit is going to mark his territory and he's
going to mark mine."


"What happens then?"


"I have to defend my territory or let him take over."


"And the bad would be…?"


"Once he took over my territory, he'll run things. He could overhaul Amur and
he could do whatever he wanted to my followers."


Oh.


"So that's bad." I said swiftly.


"Yeah…"


"So you're going to have to go in and kill Merit, won't you?"


"Yeah."


I waited, thought it over, and asked, "So what's the problem? You kill him.
What's your qualm here?"


Jace turned around. "This is coming from someone who 'couldn't let someone
die' before? 'You can't tread on darkness when it comes in handy.'"


"This is different." I straightened. I rested my hands on my hips and threw
back my blazing eyes. "Letting Munsinger die is different from fighting for how
many other's survival? Munsinger is my family. Who's Merit?"


Jace's eyes went flat, but he stood and ordered briskly, "We're going. Are
you ready for this?"


"What, exactly, is going to happen?"


"There's going to be a huge crowd outside. My Trusted are out there. They'll
circle around us and we'll get into cars and all drive to where Amur has decided
the Trial will take place. This is going to be a showdown. And you're going to
see too much of Panther secrecy to not be a Panther."


My mouth went dry.


And Jace said, "You're going to have to become a Panther."


I blinked, waited, and then asked, "And how does that happen?"


"We can do it on the drive over." Jace said. He grabbed both books and handed
them to me. "You need to carry these."


"What about some vests?"


Jace shook his head. "Not now. Not until we're in the clear and we can leave.
Panthers think of bullet-proof vests as a sign of cowardice. It would be a sign
of disrespect if I went out there wearing one. And you can't either."


"I'd really like to." I murmured.


Jace just shook his head and placed a hand at the small of my back. He moved
me ahead and closed the door behind us. As we walked down the hallway, heads
popped out of each room. We were on display and more than one person came to
stand and watch our passage.


As we walked through the lobby, there were—at least—twenty Panthers in the
lounge. Everyone stood up, quieted, and watched as Jace Lanser walked behind and
beyond them.


I saw the adoration, the flat watchfulness, and the brimming excitement. In
that moment, I really believed that Jace Lanser had been a god among them
because they watched him as one.


The Black Panther was known as the ghost cat in the jungle.


Jace Lanser had beome that ghost cat.


But he'd been forced out of hiding and he was, once again, heading to defend
his placement among this world.


As we walked outside, everything was black. Every Panther was dressed in
black. Every vehicle, truck, motorcycle, car—all black. Even the headlights had
a light coating of black over them.


I jumped, startled, as I saw more than one Panther with black paint over
their faces. A few must've placed colored contact lens over their eyes because
their eyes glowed, like a cat's would in the darkness.


They didn't look human.


There were fifty or more of them watching us in the streets. They all were
just standing there, silence.


As we cleared the doorway, twelve Panthers fell in line before, beside, and
behind us. They formed a protective circle and I knew that these were Jace's
Trusted.


A door was opened and Jace ducked inside. I followed and two more sat across
from us in the back.


As the door closed, Jace murmured, "She needs to be marked."


One of them—I was startled to realize it was Charlie from our room. He wore a
black stocking hat over his blonde hair and he had the same feline eyes as the
rest. He reached for a knife and for my wrist in the same movement.


I instantly tried to pull away, but he held firm.


I met Jace's eyes, who just stared at me, and then swallowed tightly.


Whatever it was, it had to be done.


I waited.


And the tip of the knife touched my skin. It broke the skin and, I bit down
the pain, it started to trace a design.


I couldn't look away, but I couldn't keep watching. Blood overflowed and
trickled down to the ground. It went unnoticed until finally, after I'd grown
faint from the bloodloss and pain, Charlie pulled away.


He cleaned my arm with bandages, allowed me a brief glimpse to the angry red
skin, and I was able to see a faint design of a crouching panther. There was no
colored pigmentation done to the skin, but I was still able to make out that it
was a black panther. No other cat, no other panther, but a black panther.


And then, with a firm nod, Charlie finished dressing and cleaning my arm.


I sat back beside Jace and asked, "That was it?"


Jace smiled and murmured, "Trust me, you've more than proven your worth to
me."


"That's the other part?"


"You're supposed to either sleep with a Panther leader or do something else
to prove how worthy you are. I know how worthy you are." Jace said faintly and
glanced out the window.


We were driving through Panther territory even though it was the same ground
as a small town.


A different world shared the same land, but that world took over Pedlam that
night. Panthers were dressed as Panthers, with the same black paint, black
clothing, and feline eyes. They stood on every corner and all watched as our
vehicle drove through.


I had traveled the same streets, going back and forth from Marcus' home to my
own in Pedlam.


I had never realized—I had. I knew I had been traveling in Panther territory,
but I hadn't known the extent of their history and the richness of their
politics.


I hadn't realized how Jace had been their god.


"We're going to the Dunes?" Jace asked.


Charlie answered, "That's where Amur wanted it done."


Jace nodded. "It's fitting."


"Why is it fitting?" I asked.


Jace replied, flatly, "That's where I killed Amur's brother. It's where I
took over the Panthers in the first place."