“Come. Your visitor awaits. And the sooner you see him, the sooner he can get the hell off my boat.” Bran glanced around, eyes scanning the surroundings. It was pretty clear whoever was on his boat made the Big Guy edgy, and that was saying something.
On the second level, Bran left me, telling me to wait. I settled against the balcony railing, and gazed out at the wide Mississippi. It glittered like a diamond with a million facets, the lights decorating the riverboat reflecting off its black surface. After a while, I turned my attention to a performer as he began to juggle fire batons.
I’d decided to give it another minute when a dark shadow caught my attention. It weaved around the legs of the crowd as they ooh’d and ahh’d at the juggler. A sleek cat emerged from the satin and sequins, and sauntered toward me. Light bounced off its glossy coat, and I saw that it wasn’t entirely black like I thought. The tips of its hairs were black, but the color faded downward from black to a light brown. It had long legs and a wedged-shaped face. Its ears were larger than the average cat and it stared at me with strange yellow eyes. It looked foreign and feral, yet sophisticated and graceful.
It leapt onto the railing next to me, and I went very still, not wanting to shake the railing, not wanting the dare-devil thing to fall into the river. But the cat balanced easily and sashayed away from me along the gentle curve of the railing. As it went, a figure separated from the crowd, intent on the cat.
I realized immediately, he didn’t fit. Didn’t belong here. Every muscle in my body went tight as some intuitive sense, some primal instinct said: No, this is wrong. He is wrong.
His skin was bronze and smooth. Head shaved. He wore a loose linen shirt, the sleeves rolled to his elbows, and linen pants of the same natural color. His toes peeked out from sandals. His arms were strong and tan, devoid of hair and inked with faded black tattoos.
The cat stopped on the railing, arched its back for the stroke of the man’s hand. Then it leapt onto his shoulders, where it draped itself around the back of his neck, its tail curling around to twitch under his chin. Its tiny nose lifted and rubbed the man’s jaw.
Then he turned toward me and met my stare.
All the breath left my lungs. I couldn’t look away, too stunned by the eyes. Holy hell. The eyes… And then it hit me like a thunderbolt. My knees went weak. I knew who and what this was.
My heart leapt wildly. I nodded, unable to speak. I had no idea how I remained standing—standing there . . . with a supreme deity.
I was so screwed.