suspected his temper had always been an issue, even before he’d become Liberi. Thanks to some info I’d gathered from serial killer Justin Kerner, Jamaal had learned to channel some of that magic into the form of a tiger. Summoning the great cat seemed to vent the death magic for him, so that he was no longer as volatile as he had once been. However, his control of the tiger was shaky, to say the least, which meant that when I heard the roar, I should have known better than to approach.
Curiosity was more likely to kill me than the cat under the circumstances, but I’d had the reluctant hots for Jamaal almost since we first met, and I couldn’t resist my urge to investigate.
I eased my way through the trees toward the clearing. I hadn’t heard any more roaring, so it was possible Jamaal had put the tiger to rest. I’d only seen the creature once before, during our final battle with Justin Kerner, and I’d been too distracted by my attempts to catch a killer to take a good look.
I caught a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye. I stopped in my tracks and turned slowly, noticing for the first time that the wind was at my back—carrying my scent straight to the clearing. Perhaps the tiger had been aware of me all along and its roars had been warnings I’d foolishly failed to heed.
It was peering at me through the trees, way too close for comfort. It was a beautiful creature, no doubt about it, with pumpkin-orange stripes and a magnificently muscled body. Paws the size of skillets sported claws that could rip a person open with one swipe, and the amber eyes practically glowed with intensity.
I stood still and swallowed hard. I had no doubt the tiger could outrun me in about two strides if it felt so inclined. I stared into those amber eyes, trying to guess what it was going to do. The tiger snarled, showing off an impressive set of teeth, and I quickly dropped my gaze. I knew dogs and primates took eye contact as a form of challenge, but I wasn’t sure about tigers. Of course, if this one was the embodiment of Jamaal’s rage and death magic, it probably didn’t take much to provoke it.
“Jamaal?” I called softly, afraid yelling would spur the tiger into motion. “A little help here?”
I didn’t know exactly where he was, but he had to be nearby. I just hoped he hadn’t completely lost control of the animal.
The tiger stalked forward, moving with sensuous grace. I scanned the ground in search of a rock I could use as a weapon, while keeping the tiger in my peripheral vision. Even with my powers, I didn’t think throwing a rock at it would even slow the tiger down, but anything was better than just standing there and being mauled. As far as I knew, the tiger couldn’t do me any lasting harm, but it could hurt me, even kill me, in the short term. The magic of the Liberi would bring me back no matter what happened to my body, but I’d died once before and hadn’t enjoyed the experience. I wasn’t eager for a repeat performance.
“Jamaal?” I called again, louder this time.
The tiger was close enough now that I could probably have reached out and scratched behind its ears. If I had a death wish, that is. I was shaking with the effort of restraining my primal urge to run, but I was sure that was the one thing I could do to make the situation even worse.
“I don’t think Sita likes you,” Jamaal said from behind me.
I hadn’t heard him approach, but then I’d been keeping my attention firmly fixed on the tiger, where it belonged.
“Sita?” I risked a glance over my shoulder, and saw Jamaal standing a few yards away, leaning casually against a tree.
“I thought a name from Indian mythology would suit her best,” he said, and even propped against the tree as he was, he swayed a bit on his feet. I realized he wasn’t leaning against the tree in an attempt to look casual—he was leaning on it for support. “The wife of the god Rama.”
I couldn’t have cared less about the origin of the tiger’s name. Jamaal’s face was gleaming with sweat, and his T-shirt clung wetly to his well-muscled chest. He looked like he was about to collapse at any moment. It was possible Sita