The Rising Read Online Free

or I passed out and it happened in spite of me. Either way, it was happening.
    I pulled off my clothing. I’d barely thrown it aside before I crashed to the ground and everything went dark. A moment later, I woke up. There was that usual split second of “where am I? what am I?” grogginess before I remembered and leaped to all fours.
    I peered around. It was nearly dark now, but my night vision was excellent. I took a moment to adjust to the other changes—four legs, whiskers, a tail. It all makes movement a little odd at first, even the whiskers, pinging as they brushed the long grass.
    Sliding through that grass was a lot easier when I didn’t need to crawl. And safer when I blended with the golden stalks. When I neared the neighboring cabin, I poked my head through the grass and let out a soft growl.
    Corey peeked out first. He saw me and jumped back. Then Daniel appeared, hand on Corey’s shoulder, murmuring, “It’s Maya.”
    â€œI knew that,” Corey whispered, looking abashed. “But why is she . . . ?”
    â€œI’m guessing she didn’t have a choice.”
    Daniel crawled over to me. As he did, I instinctively retreated. He’d never seen me in cat form—I’d only shifted twice so far. While I’d been around humans both times and hadn’t felt any monstrous desire to devour them, I still scrambled away when Daniel approached.
    But his scent filled my nostrils and I didn’t smell a threat or—worse—dinner. I smelled Daniel, a scent I still didn’t quite comprehend when I was in human form, but now it felt like a warm wave washing over me, relaxing me, telling me everything was all right, Daniel was here.
    Even when I backed away, he kept crawling forward, as if I wasn’t a hundred-and-twenty-pound big cat with two-inch claws and fangs.
    â€œYou okay?” he whispered.
    I tried to say yes. It came out as a soft chrr-up , like my bobcat, Fitz, makes when he sees me.
    Daniel smiled. “That sounds like yes, so I’m guessing you can understand me.”
    Another chirp.
    â€œYou’ve got some good camouflage there,” he said. “A good nose. Good ears. And a good escape vehicle if you’re spotted.”
    I realized what he was thinking. That I could scout the cabin before we sent Corey over. I chirped and tried motioning with my head that I’d circle the studio. I was sure there was no way he’d understand me, but he nodded.
    â€œSo you’re okay with that? You’ll take a look around before Corey goes in?”
    I bobbed my head. He reached over to pat me, then stopped himself with a chagrined smile.
    â€œSorry, I probably shouldn’t do that. But it’s the only chance I’ll get to pet a cougar.”
    I leaned against his hand and he buried his fingers in my fur, then he took a long look at me.
    â€œIt’s pretty damned amazing,” he murmured.
    It was. Whatever else the St. Clouds had done to us, this was amazing. We sat there for a minute. Just sat together, me leaning against him, feeling the warmth of his hand, listening to his breathing, slowly calming me down until I was relaxed enough to pull back and jerk my muzzle toward the cabin, telling Daniel I was ready. He gave me one last pat and returned to Corey.

FOUR

    I SET OUT THROUGH the long grass. The wind was coming from the north, which was behind me. I couldn’t pick up any traces of human scent on the breeze. That meant there wasn’t anyone outdoors for at least a kilometer. No one directly upwind, that is. To the northeast or northwest? Possibly. So I covered a swath from the road to the water. A very faint scent came when I approached the beach—the smell of people mixed with that of burning wood. Someone with a bonfire up the beach. No one lurked nearby watching the studio—at least not in that direction.
    I wanted to cross the road to check over there, but it was paved,