All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire(102)

 

She blinked at him with a dazed look. "What happened?"

 

"Ye fainted."

 

She struggled to sit up. "That's crazy. I never faint." She looked around. "The Malcontents?"

 

"They teleported away," Ian explained. "I doubt we'll see them again tonight. Jedrek's in bad shape."

 

Toni looked around again. "Carlos? He's a—?"

 

"Were-panther." Ian helped her to her feet. "It's rather unusual."

 

"Well, duh." She glanced up at the shattered wooden screen. "I didn't think such creatures existed."

 

"I've never known one who shifted to a cat." Ian noticed Hugo stumbling into the nightclub. His hands were tied behind his back with silver rope, and blood oozed from a bullet wound in his thigh.

 

"Oh my God!" Vanda rushed to him.

 

"We'll take him back to Romatech," Ian offered. "Laszlo can remove the bullet."

 

"I'll take him." Dougal grabbed Hugo's arm, and they both vanished.

 

With a sigh, Vanda ran a hand through her short, spiky hair. "Everyone's gone, so I'm closing for the night. I just hope the customers will come back, that we're not ruined."

 

"Land sakes, don't you worry about that," Cora Lee said. "This place will be notorious. We'll be packing them in."

 

"I hope so." Vanda set an overturned chair upright. "Let's get the place cleaned up."

 

Cora Lee surveyed the room, frowning. "Lady Pamela sure picked the right night to take off."

 

Ian grabbed Toni and teleported to the VIP room. Phineas arrived shortly after them. Sabrina gasped at their sudden appearance and retreated across the room.

 

Carlos was back in his human form and gave them a nervous glance as he buttoned his shirt.

 

Toni approached him slowly. "You saved my life."

 

"I wanted to tell you about my…condition, but—" He glanced at Sabrina, who was regarding him with horror. "I didn't want to lose your friendship."

 

"Carlos." Toni wrapped her arms around him. "You will always be my friend."

 

He hugged her back. "Thank you, menina. You know I would do anything for you."

 

She gave him a wry look. "I thought I saw a puddy tat."

 

He grinned. "You did, you did."

 

They both laughed. Ian felt a mixture of emotion—a twinge of jealousy and a surge of pride. Toni was so generous and accepting. She'd risked her life to save Vamps she didn't even know, and she remained loyal to her friends no matter what.

 

"It's not funny," Sabrina muttered from across the room. "I saw him change. It was awful."

 

"It was awesome, man." Teddy blushed. "Though it was kinda freaky when he started stripping."

 

"That was nothing," Sabrina argued. "What about the black fur sprouting out and the claws and the sound of bones breaking and shifting?" She shuddered.

 

"Yeah, that was cool." Teddy's face brightened with excitement. "Do you have a name, dude? Like Panther-Man?"

 

"No." Carlos sat on a low table to put on his socks and shoes.

 

"Oh, come on." Teddy sat beside him. "You superheroes are totally ignorant about how to behave. How do you expect to get famous without cool names?"

 

"We doona want fame." Ian stood in front of Teddy. "Listen to me. Ye canna speak of us. Ever. If the outside world learned of our existence, they would kill us."

 

"That's true." Carlos slipped on his shoes. "My kind was discovered by a land developer in the Amazon. He sent out hunters to destroy us all. They're tracking down my people and killing them."

 

Toni pressed a hand to her chest. "Carlos, I'm so sorry. That's terrible."

 

"I managed to save some of the children. Their parents were slaughtered."

 

"Those are the orphans you're supporting?" Toni asked.

 

Carlos nodded. "Five of them. Our numbers are dwindling fast. I've been searching Malaysia because there are panthers in the jungle, and odd stories are told in the villages. I've been hoping to locate more of my kind."

 

"I'll tell Angus," Ian said. "He'll be happy to fund yer research. His company has always been supportive of were-folk."

 

Carlos's amber eyes gleamed. "That would be wonderful, thank you."

 

"What other kinds of shifters are there?" Teddy asked.

 

"Most of the ones I've met are wolves." Ian went to the refreshment table to pour himself a Bleer. "Of course, Howard isn't."