Rakshasa Book I, Part #3: Tigerheart Read Online Free PDF Page A

brown stripes appeared in a faint twinkle, as though they were appearing from a transporter from Star Trek. The Rewa, Shade at their head, her green eyes lit up with an unnatural fire which died as the sparks all around them did.
    My eyes met Ishan’s, his blue orbs wide with fear.
    “You fool!” shouted Hailstone, “If the humans catch wind of what we are, if they discover our nature, we’ll all be hunted down and destroyed!”
    I felt a sickening twist in my stomach as I watched Jacques’s reaction, the confident smirk on his lips.
    “Saving him the bother,” I said, my voice quiet with realisation. “He wants us to be discovered. He wants the humans to know about us. That’s why he drew us here, that’s why he targeted me. Because I could bring both clans together, at the same place, at the same time. So both clans would be exposed together.”
    He waggled his finger at me, a sarcastic smile painted all over his face. “An astute observation, little one. And I’m here as well. We’re like a big happy family.”
    Asena snarled, baring her long feline teeth. “I’ll destroy you for this!”
    “And if I run, what then? You claimed you could beat me in a quarter of an hour, but you assumed I would be fighting you. What if I ran? What if I made every effort to avoid you, and ran north? Would you sacrifice your precious Garden, leave your fledgling’s friend in the boot of my car, just for revenge?” Jacques held his hands out wide, invitingly, slowly walking backwards away from us all, away from his vehicle. “If so, now’s your chance.”
    Asena’s fingers became long claws. “Perhaps I will,” she hissed, the beginnings of her tail forming behind her.
    “You’ll get me then,” confessed Jacques, “but I’ll make sure to drag it out. By the time you do, Federal Police will be swarming all over your garden. They’ll find the ledger. Your secrets will be exposed.”
    I swore, for a moment, that Asena would take him up on that offer, but the mention of the ledger seemed to have tempered her anger. She snarled and turned away. “Get Katelyn,” she instructed, “and then get back to the Garden. We’ll meet you there as soon as we can.”
    I went to move towards the car but my eyes met Shade’s. The woman stared daggers at me, the corners of her mouth turned down. “You did this,” she said, “you bought this upon us!” With a snarl she turned and began moving back towards the city, her coven moving with her. Ishan stayed, just for a moment, his eyes finding mine and lingering there, before he too turned and, reluctantly, joined up with his fellows.
    I ran to the back of Jacques’s car. I didn’t have the keys but, trying it anyway, I hooked my fingers under the boot’s handle and pulled. Surprisingly the whole thing lifted upwards and I thought, for a moment, that I’d broken it.
    Katelyn’s crumpled form lay in the boot on a thick sheet of plastic, unmoving and bloodied. She had a bruised eye and her hair was matted with blood. She was breathing and she had a pulse, but she appeared to be unconscious. I gingerly scooped her up, snarling angrily at Jacques and what he’d done.
    “Your concern for the human is adorable,” he said, “but you really should run along.”
    I held Katelyn with one hand, resting her over my shoulder, and fumbled in my pocket. “Yeah, well, you know what they say about empathy and living a good life…” I pulled out my lanyard, then dragged my house key across the side of the car, tearing a deep gouge in the paintwork from end to end. “It’s key. ”
    “That’s insured,” Jacques said. Feeling anger boil up inside me I went to make more scratches, but Asena reached out and touched my arm.
    “We have to save the Garden.”
    Growling I replaced the key, then the four Altaica Rakshasa turned and ran back towards the mountains.

Chapter V

    The Trap

    I felt so stupid.
    The Champawat Tiger—Jacques, Eclipse, whatever he wanted to call himself—had