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Her long legs covered the distance in no time and she burst through the thick foliage, skidding to a halt as she quickly scanned the perimeter.
To her right was yet another cave, the dark opening covered with a protective mist that seemed sinister as it fingered and clawed its way over the rock face and out toward the low-hanging canopy. Out of its mouth water rushed with a fury toward the ledge to her left, where it disappeared into the night.
From where she was perched, Skye had no clue how far down the waterfall trailed, but from the sounds she could hear, she anticipated a long drop.
The mist was heavy and it clung to her skin, molding the white tank top to her breasts. Her hair had long since fallen from its pony tail into thick strands of caramel down her back, where it clung, full of humidity, to her sweaty skin.
Her sapphire blue eyes pierced the night, but once again the curse of the sun prevented her from seeing any other means of escape.
She could try the cave or jump over the falls. Desperately she swiveled her head around as she continued to search for a way out, her large eyes widening at the sight of both jaguar hunters as they burst through the trees into the small clearing. One was in human form. The other growled deep from its chest and paced back and forth in all its majestic animal glory.
The large jaguar was black, signaling its status as something other than a regular shifter. They were of the warrior class. And they both looked at her like she was a tasty morsel they wanted to sample … before the real games began.
The one in human form laughed outright as his gaze raked over her body, lingering salaciously on her breasts before settling on the juncture between her legs. Skye’s eyes darkened as a slow anger began to burn through her. When he licked his lips, she spit into the ground, which elicited a harsh laugh.
“That’s good. I like a woman with spunk almost as much as I like to play with my food. It’s so much more palatable when its essence is spirited.” He continued to laugh while the jaguar at his side roared in triumph. His eyes glowed eerily. “Hell yeah, this is gonna be fun.”
Skye tried to ignore his words but truthfully, she was more terrified than she’d like to admit. And that was saying a lot. In her young life span of twenty-six years she’d seen and done a lot, but her current situation was about as bad as it could get.
She was trapped with few options, alone in the jungle and facing two very ruthless, deadly jaguar warriors.
Enemies that her people had faced for eons.
She felt the flush of blood hit her cells as she grabbed onto all the power she could muster. She needed more time. She needed to think.
“Who the hell are you?”
The jaguar growled at her words and she flinched slightly at the intensity of its vocalization. The tall man to its side smiled once more, and through the thick mist his white teeth flashed at her, the canines seeming to glisten with an unholy shimmer.
“I think you know exactly who and what we are.” He snorted as he began to slowly move toward her. “And you should be very afraid, little bird.”
Skye began to inch to her right; the darkened interior of the cave was looking a tad more inviting than it had seconds ago. The jaguar warriors were too close to the edge of the waterfall, effectively cutting off that escape route.
Her eyes narrowed and she made a face. “Siegfried and Roy’s lost cousin?”
Loud laughter echoed her words and the warrior in human form began to clap slowly, methodically. The sound grated on her last working nerve and Skye grimaced as she continued to move toward the cave.
“I think our little eagle deserves some sort of award for her acting skills.” He looked to the jaguar at his side and then winked through the mist at Skye.
“What do you think, Christo? Should we reward her with some play time before we get down to business?”
The cat licked its lips as its tail flickered back and forth. Skye felt bile begin to rise in her throat and she swallowed thickly. She needed to keep them occupied and away from her, at least until she was close enough to the cave to make a run for it.
“Keep talking to that cat on steroids and I’m gonna have to call the crazy police, which might be kinda hard since we’re out in the middle of the jungle.”
“Enough!”
Skye jumped, nearly slipping upon the wet rocks as his voice tore through her. His eyes began to glow in earnest and the air around him shimmered as it darkened considerably, encircling him in a blanket of malice.
“We know exactly who you are, Skye Knightly.” He laughed once more and she felt every hair on her body rise as the danger of her situation tripled. “And we know what you are.”
Skye bolted, leaping over the large boulder that stood between the cave and her body, reaching into her satchel as she crested the rock to land hard, knee-deep in rushing water.
A splash sounded behind her, and she whirled around, releasing a deadly blade—one that was charmed and dipped in poison—in a hard arc that struck the jaguar dead center in its massive chest. The beast roared in pain and the man at its side snarled in rage as he, too, jumped toward her, his anger and bulk carrying him forward in a rush.
Skye tried to twist away, but the warrior was too powerful and his momentum crashed his large body into hers, knocking them both into the fast-moving water that fled the cave. Her head went under and she sputtered wildly as she came up for air, her feet churning fast in an effort to get away from her enemy.
His fist came from nowhere and connected with her head in a hard ringing slam that brought stars to her eyes. She flew back and once more was under water. Skye kicked with all her might, hoping to ride the current over the falls, and felt tears of frustration rise as something gripped her calf painfully and she was hauled out of the water and thrown back onto the embankment beside the mouth of the cave.
