Charmed & Deadly by Havens Candace

Author:Havens, Candace [Havens, Candace]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, Paranormal, Fiction
ISBN: 9781101220443
Publisher: Berkley
Published: 2007-06-05T07:00:00+00:00

Seventeen

The Congo

8 p.m.

Witches who need tranquilizer darts: 1 (If they don’t work on the big cat, maybe I can use them on myself.)

Scary leopards: 1

“W hen faced with a leopard, do not run,” Kaz told me when we stopped because of the darkness. Once the sun dips it’s like walking into a black hole. Of course, Kaz shares his leopard advice just as the darkness falls, and it totally creeps me out.

No chance for a fire. Kaz worried the rebels might see the smoke.

He left me in a small clearing to search for a “sleeping tree.” I was propped with my back against a tree trunk, my lantern next to me, eating one of the protein bars.

Something sent alarming goose bumps down my arms and back. If they could speak, the bumps would say, “Danger, Bron, danger!” The problem was, at first I couldn’t tell what was going on.

Then I sensed it.

I was being watched again. I sent my mind out and soon discovered whatever was watching me wasn’t human. I stood up and stared out into the darkness. Sliding my pack up my back, I slipped it over my shoulders.

“Do not run,” Kaz whispered behind me.

At the edge of the clearing I saw her—a leopard. It was large, lithe, and golden, with a khaki spot in the middle of bigger black ones. Her eyes glinted in the shadow where she sat. She was beautiful, in a scary kind of way. I’ve always loved big cats. Well, until that moment.

“Um, is she going to eat us?” I kept my eyes on her. I didn’t really know if she was a girl, but right then I wished I’d paid more attention to the Discovery Channel.

The leopard sat down on her hindquarters. She turned her head to the right, and left. Then she did the weirdest thing: she stood again and sat down, but this time with her back to us.

“Shouldn’t we run now?” I whispered.

Kaz didn’t move. “Get in the tree.”

“But—she’s giving us a head start.”

He shoved me toward a massive trunk. “No. If she wanted us, we would already be dead. She’s guarding us. This is her way of offering us her protection. This tree will do.” He pointed upward.

“Kaz, I can’t sleep with a leopard staring at me all night.”

He sighed. “She’s not staring, she’s guarding. If we run she will only follow. Please, I am tired. Get in the tree.”

“Kaz, how do you know she’s guarding us? Maybe she’s staking us out for a meal later.”

“For the last twenty-four hours she’s been following us through the jungle. When we went into the camp she stationed herself outside of it. She didn’t try to eat the children or anyone else. I believe she is a magical creature sent to help us on our journey.”

He said the words so earnestly, I couldn’t argue. A magic leopard? Hell, I’d come across stranger things.

I had serious doubts I would get any sleep, but I crawled up onto the highest branch I could reach.

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