CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN


The Dunes was a stadium that was situated between three warehouses. Each
cordoned off one angle of the stadium so it was completely cut-off from the
street's eye.


Cops could patrol a block away and never know what was happening one alley
away from them.


As we drove inside, Jace sat, tense and still, but I was able to see out the
blackened windows.


A barricade of vendors, crowds that seemed to have gathered outside the
warehouses—as if they were smoking outside of a nightclub—all parted for us as
we drove through. The cars drove down the alley and then a garage door was
lifted from one warehouse and we drove inside.


Our back door was opened and Charlie climbed out first.


Jace held me back until he followed Charlie. The other Panther walked behind
me, bringing up the rear.


Inside the warehouse immediately quieted. It was just like the motel.
Everyone stopped and watched. A few appraised me, but their eyes were for Jace
and Jace alone.


I knew that the Panthers had tripled in size, in large part because of Jace,
but seeing their full magnitude sent shivers down my back. I realized how tiny I
actually was compared to the power that Jace still held at his fingertips.


Charlie weaved us through a myriad of hallways until we entered a back room.
It was somewhat similar to a backroom that we'd met Merit in, but this was fully
lit and an exotic woman stood in the middle of the room.


Instead of the black paint as so many other Panthers had adorned, she stood
tall and regal. She had the same feline eyes, but her auburn hair was styled to
be like a mane. And she was covered in yellow paint with black spots.


She was the Amur Leopard.


I didn't know much about cats, but I knew where her name came from as I saw
her.


"Jace." She said warmly.


"Amur." Jace nodded and stopped a few feet from her.


"You're here…" She said faintly and studied me intently. "And you have a
friend."


"I do." Jace smothered a smile. "Watch it, she bites."


Amur leaned forward, flicked a hand over my arm, and smiled when my eyes
flattened.


"She hisses too." Amur smiled radiantly. "I am happy."


I wasn't sure for who she meant, but Jace spoke, "That's what matters
then."


"I am happy because I no longer have to deal with Merit breathing down my
neck." She continued with a sharp glare to Jace. She bent her nails forward, as
if to scratch him, but only stretched them and replaced them to her side. "I
don't know if I should be angry with you or in love with you."


"Neither." Jace said, stoically. "You're forgetting who put you in power in
the first place, Amur."


She hummed and stretched her neck out. The more I watched, the more unhuman
she seemed and the more leopard she could've been.


But I didn't believe in the supernatural. Or so I told myself.


"You've been gone too long, Jace." She murmured. Her regal eyes pinned him in
place. "Perhaps you're forgetting your place?"


"Try me." He challenged, softly.


Amur whirled to him, watched him intently, and then moved back. Her eyes
narrowed and she sighed, "Perhaps I forget who's the true ghost of the
Panthers."


"Perhaps." Jace affirmed.


She tilted her head to the side and asked, "Are you ready for this? Merit has
plans."


"Merit can try all he likes. He won't win and he knows it."


Charlie sucked in his breath.


Amur snapped her attention to him and demanded, "Your thoughts!"


"It won't be a fair fight. He'll cheat."


"He cheats and he's cast out by the entire Panther nation." Amur said
sharply. "He knows this. He cheated last time and only lost his eyesight. He may
just be all show this time. He won't want to leave without his life."


A sudden burst of noises came from the hallway and a moment later the door
was opened and Kip walked inside with Nolan behind him and his own group of
Trusted.


Kip briefly met Jace's gaze, but turned to Amur and nodded with his eyes
downcast.


"It's alright." She murmured. And smiled. "He is to be your leader again.
It's only fitting that you look to him first."


Kip looked up.


Amur winked, "You, after all, helped him and the new Cub just recently,
haven't you?"


Kip stood, a grin ghosted over his face, but he said nothing.


"We have two more sects to enter." Amur announced. "We shall wait until they
have arrived."


We didn't have long to wait.


Another sect arrived, this time the group of Trusted was led by another
woman. She had jet-black hair and skintight black clothing that left nothing to
the imagine. Her eyes lit up when she saw Jace and she smiled in
appreciation.


Amur twinkled in anticipation when she approached and said, "Collega, meet
Jace's new Cub." She swept her hand to me and Collega instantly scowled. Amur
smiled and added, promptly, "But watch out. She hisses."


Collega ignored me and smiled to Jace, "It's wonderful to see you back in
action."


Jace nodded and moved back to stand among his Trusted.


I followed and murmured, underneath my breath, "You don't like her."


Jace curled an arm around my waist and pulled me to his side. He molded me
against him and bent down to my neck. He whispered into my ear, teasing me with
his breath, "Collega would eat her young if she was offered a pretty penny. No.
I don't trust or like her."


"Collega would like to eat you."


Jace swept his hand down and skimmed my back to fall low on my hip. His hand
splayed out to rest over my rear.


"Are you grabbing my ass?" I asked, a smile in my voice.


"Yes." Jace laughed with me.


Charlie moved to our side and informed us, "Merit just arrived. He's going to
have heads roll when he hears of Maya's place with you."


"Yes." Jace sighed and straightened. "He'll realize that we lied to him."


"Then what happens?" I asked, glancing between the two.


Kip was watching us intently. As was Amur. Collega was trying to appear as if
she wasn't watching us.


"Nothing. Anything he might balk about, he'll need to fight me first."


"What could he do?"


"You lied to him. And I stood at your side while you did it. Merit won't like
being played for a fool, especially by me." Jace moved me behind him as the door
opened.


Merit strolled in with his group of Trusted. Unlike the rest, who had twelve
to sixteen members, he had over twenty.


Jace didn't wait for him. He went to meet him before Merit even got to the
middle of the room. Jace taunted, without mercy or pause, "Trying to make-up for
something, Merit? Your lack of dick, maybe?"


Collega smiled.


Amur stomped down her irritation and moved between the two men.


Kip aligned himself to stand behind Jace.


Collega was in the far corner with her Trusted.


I held back.


I watched as one of Merit's men caught sight of me and whispered in Merit's
ears.


Jace cut him off when he snarled, "You fight me if you want her."


Merit drew up short. He ripped off his sunglasses and two holes that were
covered with stretched skin stared back at Jace.


"And how am I supposed to fight?" Merit growled. He turned to Amur, "I am
permanently disabled. I cannot fight."


Amur straightened and stood, regal and noble, in her throne of power. She
murmured, placating nothing, "You know the rules, Merit. The leader only leads
as his abilities allows him to lead. If you cannot physically fight, then you
must make up for it mentally. Either way, you have to fight in the pen. You,
alone, against Jace—if that's your choice."


Merit sucked in his breath, angrily, but said nothing.


Amur raised her hands in the sky and announced, "We shall proceed to the
Marking Trial."


Merit scowled again, but left for his place as the doors opened and we all
walked out into the middle of the stadium.


Panthers stood, sat, crawled, and seemed to hang upside down on the stadium.
It seemed that every window the warehouses had was filled with one or two
Panthers.


Everyone had come for this. Everyone wanted to be there.


Jace walked to one corner as his Trusted circled around.


"This is big." I noted underneath my breath.


Charlie told me, "The legend's back. Everyone wants a glimpse."


"What happens afterwards?" I asked. "I mean…Jace, what happens…" I meant
about Marcus and the Master.


Jace met my gaze and shook his head briefly. That would be for later. I got
the message and sat back.


Amur visited our corner and shooed the rest away.


Jace grabbed my hand and kept me in place.


Amur saw the action, reassessed me, and nodded.


She moved closer and murmured, "When you take the leadership back, you have
power over all of us. Are you ready for that? Are you ready for what might
happen when you take the leadership back?"


"Amur." Jace straightened. "I am here to defend my territory. Merit will not
have it."


"And when Collega grows tired of her territory? And you are not here to
defend it against her? What then?"


"Then I better be sure who I appoint in my place. They better be able to
defend what's mine against Collega, now won't they?"


Amur sucked in her breath, her sparkling eyes caught and held his intently.
"What are you planning, Ghost of the Panthers?"


Jace shook his head, "Right now—I'm just getting by. That's all."


Fires exploded in four corners behind the stadium. That had been the signal.
The Marking Trial was about to occur and every Panther quieted and sat.


Amur walked to the middle of the arena, raised her hands to the sky again,
and bellowed out, "Panther of every bloodline, born, bred, and stamped. You have
all come here today for this event. Yes! The rumors are true and our Lost
Panther has returned."


The crowd roared.


"Are they happy or…?" I murmured underneath my breath.


Amur let the crowd go until she signaled with her hands and they immediately
went silent.


She turned, met Jace's eyes, and declared for everyone, "He is here and he is
still in primal condition."


Slowly, one by one, the Panthers all dropped to their four legs. Their human
legs found the ground and they arched their backs, as if ready to pounce. With
their feline eyes, they were the predators. They were the prime predators of the
darkness.


"And so we shall proceed with our Marking Trial."


Jace stood in front, his arms hung loose at his side, ready. He had torn off
his shirt and I stared at the tattoos on his back. He held the same Panther scar
on his back that had been cut into my arm. He also had lettering from another
language that ran over his back, around the Panther design.


Charlie explained, quietly to me, "This is a trial when each leader is given
the chance to claim someone else's territory. It's only called when someone
wants to take over someone else's."


"Merit called this one?"


"Yes. It's his only chance to take over Jace's territory."


"He can't win."


Charlie shook his head, "No. He can't, but he's desperate. Jace's authority
has remained strong since he left. Merit hasn't been able to break it without
taking over Amur's leadership. She's protected. Merit was backed into a corner,
but he's foolish enough to think he can win. He can't and everyone knows
it."


Amur interrupted our conversation when she cried out, "The Markers shall
begin!"


Collega went first. She was given a marker before she walked to the middle of
the stadium. As she approached Amur, she waited a moment, and then swiftly
turned and marked an 'x' to the east of Amur, where Collega's Trusted stood. And
then she stood on her X.


Kip went next and marked an X on Amur's west side.


That left Merit and Jace.


Amur caught Jace's gaze, waited, and then when he nodded, she called out
Merit's name.


Merit walked forward, hesitated, and then marked an X to the south of
Amur.


Everyone waited, but what they waited for didn't happen.


Merit stood on his mark and stayed there.


Charlie gasped.


"What happened?"


"He backed out. He didn't mark Jace's territory."


"What does that mean? Their territory?"


Charlie bent closer and whispered, "It's more symbolic than anything. The
four sects stand for the four directions, but there's two commanders over the
four sects. That's Jace and Merit."


"So Collega is really underneath Merit's control and Kip's under Jace?"


"No. They hold their own authority, but the two commanders are more in name.
They have more power than the other two, but it's not divided at all.
Unofficially, everyone knows that Kip stands firmly behind Jace. Merit would
love to think that Collega would stand behind him, but it's not true. No one
really knows what Collega will do. She's high on the pole, but she's not as high
as she would like to be. However, until Jace leaves the Panthers, she's stuck
where she is."


"What happens when Jace leaves?"


"Civil war." Charlie said dryly.


So nothing appalling.


A sudden hush filled the room. All eyes watched Jace, who still hadn't
moved.


Charlie bit his lip.


I waited. Jace was thinking over something. And then, with authority in his
shoulders, he walked forward. He drew one X to the north and then he drew
another X over the south.


The stadium roared.


Jace had marked Merit's territory while everyone had assumed it was to be
Merit who made the courageous challenge.


Jace stood in front of Merit and faced him squarely.


Even Amur seemed shocked, but she swept her hands clear and the four leaders
immediately dispersed to their corners.


Jace came to rest beside me and the crowd went crazy.


Merit glared from his corner.


Collega slinked away and was quickly gone behind her Trusted.


And Kip approached with his Trusted.


I saw that Amur was watching Jace, but she remained in the middle of the
stadium.


I asked Charlie, "She can't come over?"


"No." Charlie shook his head. He met Jace's gaze and then took a step back
and turned his back.


I realized that Jace and I were in the middle of his Trusted. They each stood
with their backs to us.


Jace stared at me, heavily.


"Can I talk to the esteemed leader?" Even as I asked, I realized that Jace
was someone new. Every bend of our road, he became something new. I didn't know
how many new Jaces that I could handle.


Jace shook his head and murmured as he bent closer to my ear, "I have to do
this."


I shifted closer and Jace wrapped an arm around my waist. He molded me to him
and bent to my ear, "I want to mobilize them to help with Marcus. The Panthers
can do it. They patrol the ground for him. They can turn on him."


"And keep him where we know he is." I murmured and shivered as Jace trailed a
fingertip down my back.


"Either way, I have to take care of Merit. He's too big a threat now."


"I disagree. I think Collega is a better threat."


"Collega owes me."


"Everyone seems to owe you." I said softly.


Jace kissed underneath my ear. I gasped silently and pressed even closer.


"What happens when you owe me?" Jace whispered, huskily.


"Mmmm. Think I've already demonstrated that." I laughed, softly, as his mouth
searched out mine.


He swept both hands down my back and anchored my hips against his. He
explored my mouth and then murmured, after he nipped the corner of my mouth,
"You may not like what you see…"


"I've seen you kill before."


"It's not going to be that." He replied and kissed me again. "It's going to
be how I do it."


I pulled away and met his eyes. "What are you talking about?"


Just then the flames burst high again and the crowd went silent.


Jace straightened and put me to the side.


The Trusted parted for a path and Jace walked to the middle of the
stadium.


The four flames were kept high and I wondered, fleetingly, how they couldn't
attract the attention of the local police department, but then again—Jace had
always said how the Pedlam Police were corrupt.


There wasn't any more ceremony.


Amur stood in the middle and placed two lethal-looking daggers on the ground.
When Merit came to stand, just across the line, Amur left and it was just the
two of them.


I glanced at Charlie, but he was enraptured with the fight—and the two had
yet to even touch the daggers.


And then my gaze shifted beyond his shoulder and I saw the true reason behind
the Marking Trial.


Marcus knew about Jace's standing among the Panthers.


He knew that Merit had vowed Jace's death.


Marcus had used that knowledge to his advantage.


Marcus had called Merit. He had alerted the Panthers that Jace was in their
territory again because he knew this would occur. He knew that Merit wanted
Jace's territory, but Marcus probably didn't realize that Merit would back down
at the last second.


It was a plan that could've possibly backfired on Marcus, and after Jace's
whispered plans—I was hoping that Marcus would realize the backfire, but as I
looked beyond Charlie's shoulders, I saw the other reason.


Marcus needed a diversion and he got one.


Jace was distracted and I saw my eyes lock with Petrie's.


Marcus had sent Petrie and possibly other men to grab me while Jace fought a
different fight.


Everyone watched the fight while Petrie watched me and I watched back.