Heaven's Bounty
an excerpt

Venice led her to the boardroom as he had before. Auriel stared out of the windows at the stormy, gray sky, suppressing the impulse to throw herself through the glass and leap towards the churning clouds. Only the bitter thought of her clipped wings crumpling as she tried to fly kept her from doing so. She could die, not yet. Lightning flickered across the clouds, but she could hear no thunder, nor the patter of the rain that struck the windows.

Venice tugged at her leash and glared at her in his impatience, pulling her into the boardroom behind him. Once again, she endured the greedy stares, licked lips, and wandering eyes of Venice’s men.

The meeting commenced as usual, with his grand, late entry, slow walk to display her, and his taking his seat at the head of the table. Not ten minutes had passed when a commotion from outside the door interrupted him. The sound of broken glass, shouts and gunfire broke the relative silence.

Venice stood with a roar. “What the hell is going on out there?” he demanded. The other men got to their feet as well, shoving back chairs and reaching for weapons that weren’t there. None of them were armed. Venice had never permitted it, and after Carlos’ violent death, he had enforced that rule with verve.

An animalistic roar outside of the double wooden doors sent a thrilled through Auriel. One of the guards exploded through, splintering the wood and landing in an immobile head on the board room table.

Venice snarled. A silver and black striped form appeared the door, punctuated by another roar.

“Raf!” Auriel shouted. She snatched her leash from Venice's hand, and threw it across his neck. She wrenched as hard as she could, knowing there was little chance at stopping him, but she had to do anything she could to slow him down.

Venice tried to grab at the chain around his neck, his eyes bugging out slightly as she pulled it tighter, cutting into his flesh. The now familiar tension caused a surge of adrenaline fueled strength through her. Her collar jolted to life, pouring molten fire into her body, but she snarled, fighting it through tear blurred eyes.

More gunfire, followed by screams and the sound of snapping bones.

“Let... me go... bitch. I will... kill... you!” Venice ordered, trying to pull away the chain, but unable to get a grip on the narrow platinum. It cut into his skin, while Auriel’s collar burned into hers. She held on, not daring to let go.

“Fuck... you-- Twist! I will... not suffer... anymore! NO FEAR!” she said, a strangled sob escaping her throat.

“Auriel!” Raf roared, his voice triumphant.

Venice’s shoulders and neck began to tremble and warp. Frantic, Auriel tried to pull the chain tighter. Her collar buzzed faintly, and sent another spark through her before the flow of electricity stopped. She smelled the faint tang of smoke.

Venice flung her away with preternatural strength as his transformation accelerated. The blow knocked her through the air. She struck the wall. Her head hit something shark, and she saw stars. She slid to the floor, still inexplicably conscious.

Venice’s body twisted, writhed, and he roared, as inhuman as Raf’s. Raf fired several photon bolts at him, burning through the half transformed skin of Venice’s arm, burning the limb into uselessness. The monster roared and lunged, the burned arm hanging limply at his side. Raf leaped to the side, narrowly avoiding being seized.

“Come and get me, fucker!” Raf shouted. He seemed neither surprised nor fazed by Venice’s transformation.

Auriel tried to get to her feet, but her head spun too much, and her legs refused to obey her. She touched her hand to head, and it felt wet. Blood stained her fingers.

Something else joined the fray. It was huge, not as large as twist, but it dwarfed Raf, and was no less inhuman, for all it was wearing a pair of too tight cargo style camouflage trousers. It looked like an unholy cross of shark and bear, with a huge mouth filled with rows of jagged teeth. Hairless, its hide was thick, gray and shiny. Wild yellow eyes pierced her for an instant, then focused on Twist, who had not noticed the newcomer behind him. She started to shout a warning to Raf, but the thing leaped, at Twist.

It locked massive arms around Twist’s neck. A howl of rage bellowed from Twist’s throat, and he grabbed the arms and hurled it over his head at Raf. Raf dodged easily and fire again at Twist. The shot went wild, sizzling past his head.

Bear shark and cat worked together, battling Twist relentlessly. When one would fall back, the other would move in. Raf wielded claws and gun, while the bear shark relied on brute force and grappling strength.

Auriel could only watch in awed confusion as monster fought monster. Raf leaped, swiping at Twist’s head. This time, Twist caught him, batting him to the floor. Raf snarled and rolled out of the way just in time to avoid an elephantine stomp.

The bear shark sank a mouthful of teeth into the distracted Twist’s arm. Blood spurted, and the outraged howl turned to a high pitched shriek of agony. Twist snatched the arm away, and flesh tore to the bone.

“Noooo!”

Now, both arms were useless. The bear shark attacked again, striking at Twist’s leg. The sound of bones snapping echoed in the room as Twist fell to the ground, leg broken. He flailed around, kicking and attempting to use his mangled arms.

“Hold still already,” Raf growled. He aimed his gun, then fired.

The shot struck true, searing a smoking hole right through Twist’s eye, burning all the way back into his skull. Twist keened, jerked, and fell still. The entire monstrous bulk ceased to move.

Raf lowered his weapon cautiously, and the bear shark relaxed and stood upright, broad shoulders heaving. “Tough bastard. Still bleeds red, though. Auriel!” Raf rushed over, concern in his slitted yellow eyes. “Are you okay?

“Not... really. I’ve been... much better,” she panted, her head still spinning from Venice’s toss.

Raf looked over her head, and his eyes widened. “Is that blood on the wall? Shit!” He pulled her forward gentle and probed behind her head. She winced when he found the wound. His hand came away with blood streaked fur. “Fuck me. Head injury. We’ve got to get you to a hospital, and now.”

The bear shark nodded, but said nothing. It didn’t seem that its enormous mouth and head were structured for human speech.

Raf gathered her up in his powerful arms, more gentle than she remembered him ever being. He smelled of sweat and blood.

“You reek, cat,” she said weakly.

He chuckled. “Good to know you still have a sense of humor. Come on, Michael. Let’s get out of here before the cavalry arrives. If the cops come, the fewer questions we have to answer, the better.” The Bengal hurried from the room, cradling her in his arms.

“Michael?” she asked after several moments. Had he really said Michael’s name? “What--”

“Not now. Long fucking complicated story. Let’s get you to a doctor, then we’ll talk.”

He carried her down the hall, then leaped from the broken window where they had presumably broken in. She saw the bear shark over Raf’s shoulder, jumping down after them with amazing agility. Was that Michael? How? Icy rain poured down on them, soaking her to her unprotected skin, but even though she shivered violently, she had never felt anything so divine in her life. She couldn’t tear her eyes off of the sky, the roiling clouds and the booming thunder, even the brilliant flashes of lightning that lanced across the sky.

She wept when Raf climbed into the flier, cutting off her view of the sky.

“What did he do to you, Auriel?” Raf said, his voice hoarse and low. Auriel only buried her face in then warm, damp fur of his chest, unable to speak.

The sport utility flier lifted off once the bear shark had boarded. Cold wind blasted through the cabin before they could get the door closed, but the heat returned quickly once they sealed it. A weird crackling, popping noise behind her made her lift her head and turn to the bear shark. The gray hide faded to pink flesh, and the hulking form shrank to a normal human size.

Lean, narrower shoulders, shirtless, with sandy blond hair that had been much shorter when she saw it last. He looked up at her, his eyes unfocused, exhausted, and distant.

“Michael?” she murmured. His eyes focused on her, but he swayed back and forth. “How... what--”

“Long story, Auriel. He’ll be okay. It just takes a lot out of him. We have to get you to a hospital first, then I’ll explain what I know,” Raf said.

“Thank God,” Michael said, then he fell over in the seat, unconscious.