“These cats really like you.” The cat Luca held rubbed its cheek against his, all the while kneading Luca’s shoulder. He winced. “Your claws are sharp.”
Each time it curled its toes, the small, bladed toenails flared out.
Nox caught one of the cat’s paws mid extension and pressed his thumb against the pad, forcing the toes to spread.
If they were slightly longer, with an extra two digits—
“What?” Luca watched.
“Its feet,” Nox said.
“What about—ow—you little shit that hurts.” The cat bumped its head against Luca’s chin and his expression melted. “Okay, fine, it doesn’t hurt that much.”
“Luca, Nash.” Dr. Dante came down the steps.
The cat wiggled from Luca’s hold and darted away with its friends.
Dr. Dante watched them until they vanished under bushes and the porch. “Uh, where did those come from?”
“The barn,” Luca said. “At least, we’re pretty sure they did.”
“I’m surprised they let you pet them.”
“Apparently, cats really like Nox.”
Nox picked at some cat hair sticking to his shirt.
Luca snickered. “Really like him. As in, they’re fearless.”
“The Anubis doesn’t seem to mind them either.”
Luca gave Nox a questioning look. “How do you know?”
“I—” How did he know? The fact was so clear in Nox’s mind it might as well have been a recent experience. “It remembers.”
“Has that ever happened before?” Dr. Dante walked over.
“The cats? Yes. When we stayed at a bed-and-breakfast while, you know.” He shrugged a little. “But the memory? It’s different. Older and…” What was the word he needed? “Conscious?”
A vehicle pulled up to the side of the house.
“We’ll talk about it later,” Dr. Dante said. “I just wanted to give you a heads up about—”
The passenger door opened, and Paul Dekker got out. The monster who’d killed Luca and almost ended Nox’s world.
Nox surged forward, sliding across the hood of the SUV, hitting the ground with inhuman feet. His hands vanished under clawed prehensile toes, and his teeth tore through his gums in a wash of crimson.
Paul Dekker froze with his head lowered and hands up.
But no amount of subservience would pay for what he did.
Nox sank his claws into Dekker’s shoulders and slammed him against the truck.
He yelled.
“It’s not Paul.”
Dr. Dante’s voice came from far away.