Chapter 4

The idea come to me in a dream and it was so obvious that I could have smacked myself.

"You're joking, right?" Marcus asked as we ate breakfast.

"Think about it," I insisted. "They are watching for two people matching our descriptions to attempt to sneak in. If they don't know who you really are, or what your Demon form looks like, and they don't know what animal I shift into-". I left the thought hanging, letting my idea take root.

"With the exception of a few details, it's not a bad idea," Marcus replied finally. "It certainly has the element of surprise and it would be easier to get things accomplished if I didn't have to worry about leaving you behind."

"See?" I was so pleased with myself to have finally made a worthwhile contribution to the cause, I might have had cream on my lips.

"Our next stop is going to be a main gate into the Demon Realms, then, which leaves us with plenty of time to prepare." He gave me a look that sent shivers of apprehension down my spine and smiled. "Just remember that this was your idea."

"This is the last time I suggest anything," I muttered later that night as I eyeballed the contraption Marcus held in his hands while we sat in the back on the SUV.

"I doubt that," he chuckled, then sobered. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I don't see any other options." I sighed then gave him a half-hearted smirk. "Don't tell anyone about this, okay? I catch enough shit about Talon 'taming' me. I definitely don't need any cracks about leashes."

"I promise."

With a sense of apprehension, I ran my hands down my sides to wipe away nervous sweat and marveled at my clothes.

I wore a dark gray jumpsuit that went from just under my chin to the attached, fingerless gloves, hugging my body all the way down to the matching slip-on shoes. The suit was softer than a kitten's fur and tingled with magic and a tiny bit of others. This was the gift Talon had given me at our departure: a set of clothes that could shift with me. The hair and tissue of many other Shape shifters went into the making of this outfit and I marveled that such a thing was possible. It sure as hell beat striping or ruining clothing.

After making sure everything was straight and centered and my weapon was safely strapped to me chest under the jumpsuit, I shrugged into the harness Marcus held out to me and shifted.

Immediately, my senses sharpened as my body shifted and changed into a new shape. It was over quickly and painlessly, my large panther body taking up a lot more room in the backseat.

Quickly opening the door for me, Marcus surveyed the results as I walked around. He nodded once before retreating to the other side of the SUV to make his own transformation.

We'd make all the adjustments to the harness before driving out here, making sure I could shift back and forth without restrictions. I still didn't like it. It grated against my nature to be leashed like a dog, like a pet. But that was exactly what I was pretending to be for this plan.

For Talon.

Before my uneasiness reached intolerable levels, Marcus came back around the car smelling of sulfur. I'd been prepared to see his true Demon form, to be awed and impressed by his incredible change. What I saw instead was a person who bore a slight resemblance to the man I knew as Marcus, though he was so wrinkled and aged it was hard to tell.

It was rather anti-climatic.

I couldn't ask him any questions in my current form, though I tried to convey my thoughts in my eyes.

"I didn't spend mush time in my human form before I left," he explained, his voice a little hoarse. "I figured this," he gestured to himself, "would be a safer bet, or at least a little more unexpected." Not wasting time, he came to me and attached a chain to my harness, leading the way through the night to the old dirt and gravel road that led to the gate we needed.

We kept pace with each other as we walked through the silent countryside, my eyes picking out the shapes of nosy animals in the trees.