Panthera Spelaea Ch. 41-50

Svetlana had caught something. "You said 'we.' There are more than you?"

"Yes. I am the only raptor Switcher. My eagle is bigger than the modern Golden Eagle, the extinct species Aquila Chrysaetos Simurgh." I gasped; the species was known to me, though fossil records were scarce. I was a BIG bird, with a wingspan estimated at over nine feet. "There is a Cave Bear, a Dire Wolf, and the Scimitar Cat Switcher still alive."

Jesus. I was familiar with all three species through my studies; all were extinct, and all (including the Cave Lion) were present during the Pleistocene era in the Siberian region. The Cave Bear was a larger version of today's Brown Bear. The Dire Wolf was a stockier, more powerful version of today's Gray Wolves. Finally, the Scimitar Cat was the size of a modern lion with distinctive upper canine teeth that rested outside the lower jaw. They were related to the Saber-Tooth Tiger, but those teeth were nowhere near the length of the more famous cat. The distinctive teeth were longer and wider than my cat's canines, even though the cat was just over half the size of mine. "All of those animals died out at the end of the Pleistocene Era," I said.

"Yes. The precise start of our kind is not known, but it had to have happened during that time. How? Who knows. Knowledge hasn't passed through the millennia, but modern research has given us some clues."

Anna had the next question. "You called his kind Switchers. Why?"

Ekatarina shrugged her shoulders. "It describes what happens, as we have no idea how. We switch instantly between two forms in a way that is not physically possible. John becomes a lion four times his size, while I become a bird a third of my weight. We have both minds inside us, human and animal, and we switch back and forth. Switchers."

"He's not a werecat?"

"There is a lot of fiction out there, some of it perhaps relating to people seeing our kind. Most of it is crap, with little related to our reality. We are not aware of any true werewolves or the like out there in the world. Also, our animals cannot be transmitted via bite or blood and do not pass to spouses or offspring. If you have children, they will be normal humans."

"But we have changed too," Svetlana said.

"We don't know how, but close contact, especially sexual, seems to activate characteristics of the Switcher's animal. They are not permanent; if John were to die, you'd see them decaying away over a year or so until they were gone."

Anna looked crestfallen. "So we can't be like him? No Lionesses with their Cubs crawling over them?"

Ekatarina shook her head, no. "Werewolf fiction often treats the cause like a virus, something that can spread. The Switch is more like demonic possession. The animal spirit enters your body, remaining there until you die, and then it seeks a new host."

It took me a minute to make the connection. "We found the Cave Lion trapped under the mammoth. It could not pass anything on." Oh, shit. "It passes between hosts by physical contact?"

"Yes. When you were the first to touch the animal with a bare hand, the 'spirit' of the Cave Lion entered you. Your mind resists at first, resulting in pain and blacking out while it takes control of the switched body. As you've found, you can eventually work out a sharing, allowing you to remain conscious and have some control in your animal form."

"And when I die?"

"The first person to touch your dead body gets the Cave Lion, John. That is why I needed to talk to you. There are people in this world who know of our kind and are jealous of the power we have. They will do anything to get it from you, and they know they must kill you to get it."

Things clicked into place like tumblers in a lock. "Senior Investigator Viktor Kaprisov. He's been after me since I woke up in Moscow."

Ekatarina nodded. "It might be him, or he might be working for someone who knows about our kind. If you hadn't left the National Park earlier than planned, he might have come then. I'm sure the Police checking out your campsite was to make sure you were there and see who was around."

"And if he kills me, he kills the girls too." It would have been the perfect spot for him to kill us. It wasn't just killing me; he had to plan for the Cave Lion to be in control for hours after it entered his body. I was in the hospital for over a week after the first switch. My Lion was furious at the threat to my Pride, and I had to push him back.

"Trust no one, and leave as soon as you can. When you are back home and settled, call this number. I will set up a meeting with the others." She gave us the number, and the three of us memorized it. "I must go. If you are in here any longer, it may raise suspicions. Say nothing about me until you know no one is listening."

We got out, drying off quietly. Ekatarina hopped onto the chair, then switched into her bird. She hopped up to the open window, pushed off, and flew away into the Moscow night.

Ch. 46

All of us were left reeling by Ekatarina's knowledge and what it meant for us. Unfortunately, we couldn't say anything outside the bathroom, and we had to get up early. "Later," I promised them. "Lock the window this time."

Anna pulled the window down and locked it before pulling the curtains closed. She'd left it part open, thinking it safe. It was a decent assumption, one I hadn't challenged. We were on the fourth floor of the building, and there was no way to access the window from outside. That was true unless you were a prehistoric golden eagle switcher.

I got into bed with my girls at each side. Their heads soon tucked in their favorite places on my shoulder, with my arms around them. I could smell the unease in my girls, and my lion was on edge as well. We couldn't sleep, and we couldn't talk, so Anna did the one thing we COULD do.

She reached her hand down and grasped my cock, stroking it to hardness. Svetlana's hand soon joined hers, and it didn't take long for me to get ready. I pushed the covers down to the bottom of the bed. "You're playing with fire," I growled. I lifted Svetlana by the shoulders, depositing her over my face as she squealed in delight. I moved my hands to her hips, pulling her sex to my mouth and plunging my tongue into her liquid center.

Anna straddled my waist, rubbing the head of my cock to lubricate it before sinking onto it with a loud groan. The girls both orgasmed once as they kissed and caressed each other's bodies, then again a few minutes later. On an unseen signal, they switched places until each had another orgasm, then swapped again.

I held off as long as I could before I started to fill Anna's needy pussy. After two pulses, she hopped off and, Svetlana took the rest. "I love the feel of your big cock shooting into me," Anna said as she lay next to me.

Svetlana carefully dismounted, then moved into a sixty-nine so they could clean each other out. "I love the taste of it mixed with your juices," she told her when she finished.

Svetlana cleaned me off, and the girls pulled the covers up and tucked into my side. I kissed them as their heads lay on my shoulders, my arms around them protectively. I used my senses to listen for danger and found none as the girls slumbered.

I eventually fell asleep, eager to get home to Texas.

A knocking on the door woke me up. "домработница," a female voice said.

I looked at the clock; it was 11:30 at night. "Housekeeper," Anna said quietly.

"Go in the bathroom and lock the door," I told them. I pulled a robe on and looked through the peephole, shocked at who I found. I opened the door, and Marina signed for me to be quiet and pulled me into the hallway. "Marina, what is going on," I whispered. Our consular official was standing just behind her.

"We need to leave NOW, quickly and quietly," she said. "I'll pretend I'm bringing fresh towels while you get your things and get out here."

We went back into the room, and she started speaking in Russian while I went to the girls and told them what was going on. We dressed and grabbed our bags, thankful we'd already packed, and sneaked into the hallway while Marina was making noise in the bathroom. She closed the door behind her, and we all followed Keith Spencer, our guy from the Embassy, to the service elevator. Another man in a suit was holding the door. No one said anything as the door opened to the garage level, where two black SUVs were waiting. The driver put our luggage in the back as we piled into the lead SUV, with Marina behind us with Keith, our embassy representative. The driver got in, and we pulled out of the garage with the second vehicle trailing us. "Turn your phones off," the driver said.

The guy in the passenger seat looked ex-military and was cradling a submachine gun on his lap. I didn't know what was going on. "Can we talk?"

"Yes," Keith said. "The NSA picked up cellphone traffic and passed it to our Diplomatic Security Service chief. Your man in the Criminal Investigative Division isn't giving up on you. They found a cooperative appellate court judge who is willing to grant an emergency hearing on your status in the morning. Once you are back in custody, Viktor will ship you to a secret prison and beat a confession out of you. That's why you're getting the armed escort to the executive airport, where an Embassy jet will fly you to Germany. Ladies, here are your American work visas." He handed them each their paperwork to keep with their Russian passports.

"I'll handle the hearing in the morning; we'll maintain the illusion you are still in the country as long as possible. Don't cancel your plane tickets until we are out of Russia," Marina said. "And whatever you do, don't come back to Russia. I've never seen someone go after a suspect like Viktor is going after you, and I don't know why."

I did, but I wasn't going to tell her. "What now?"

Keith answered instead of Marina. "Do what we tell you, and keep your heads down and these hats on when we load the plane." He passed out some baseball hats for us.

Marina put her hand on my shoulder. "Don't contact me for a few days, John. Let things settle down."

"Are you going to be all right, Marina?" I didn't want her to get in trouble because of me.

"You didn't show up for court. How was I supposed to know you decided to leave on an earlier flight?" She handed over an envelope. "Copies of your legal forms, paper and electronic. Your father settled my bill already, and tonight is on me. Take care of the girls, and I hope I never see you again," she told me.

"I appreciate all you have done, Marina, but I hope I never see you again either," I said with a smile.

We arrived at a small airfield and sped to a hanger where a sleek business jet waited. No one got out until the doors closed, and we went directly from the SUV to the stairs in seconds. The crew was ready for takeoff as soon as the copilot closed up the door. We were the only people in the nine-passenger jet, so we buckled in as the engines fired up. Three minutes after arriving in the hangar, we were taking off into the night sky.

"Flight time is four hours, twenty minutes," the pilot said over the PA system. "Food and drinks are in the galley, and the seats recline into beds. I recommend you get some sleep."

I was tired, and he was right. Svetlana and I reclined our seats when the plane leveled off and moved the armrest out of the way so she could cuddle. Anna was just across the aisle, and she did the same.

The pilot woke us when it was time to prepare for landing. We put our seats up and looked outside, not seeing much in the darkness.

What we could see looked nothing like Germany.

Ch. 47

The plane descended through the high clouds over the open ocean. I could see land ahead through the twilight glow behind us and to the left. Nowhere in Germany was the ocean to the east of the land, nor was Germany the arid mountains he was seeing through the window. "I don't know where the hell we are," I said.

"I could turn a phone on," Anna said.

"No. Marina was right, they can locate our phones. We'll have to land and find out unless the pilots tell us." I made sure the girls were buckled in as we made the approach to a small airport. There weren't any big jets around, but plenty of executive jets like ours were tied down or in the open hangars. The landing was smooth, and I could see the signs were in Italian. "Italy? What are we doing here?"

The plane taxied towards the terminal and shut down. Finally, the cockpit door opened and the copilot came through. "Welcome to Sardinia, Italy," he told us. We didn't know offhand where that was, and he picked up on our confusion. "Sardinia is a large island off the west coast of Italy in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is renowned for tourism and fishing."

It didn't make sense. "Are we continuing on, or transferring to another flight?"

"Neither one, really. We have to wait for Customs to come out, then you'll be taken by helicopter to your final destination."

I was still nervous. "What final destination?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Ekatarina did not tell us. We flew her to Moscow two days ago, and she told us to bring you here last night. She's the boss, so we fly where and who we are told."

An official-looking car pulled up, and the Customs agent boarded. We didn't speak Italian, but he spoke English and we didn't have anything to declare. When we handed him our papers, he caught the names but said nothing. He stamped our passports and wished us an enjoyable vacation, heading back out.

"Curious," Svetlana said. "He knew who we are, but didn't react to it."

"He's being paid for his discretion," the pilot said as he joined us near the door. "He will enter your information into the Italian immigration computers in a few days. At small airports like this, things are done with paper, and paper sometimes gets misplaced."

I guess that was one way to do it. I didn't say more as we got off the plane. A black SUV parked nearby, so once again we were visible for only seconds before we were hidden behind tinted glass again. The copilot loaded our luggage, and we were off for the other end of the airport where a helicopter was warming up.

It wasn't a big one, but it could carry the pilot, copilot, and four passengers. We buckled into the seats and put on the headsets, which muffled the noise of the engines and allowed the pilot to talk to us. He explained which button to use to talk to the pilots, and which to use to talk amongst ourselves. The copilot stowed our luggage, and minutes later we were in the air again. "It's so beautiful," Anna said as she looked out the window as we passed over the beach.

"Not as beautiful as my ladies," I said to them as I looked out at the clear waters and cliffs dotted with luxury homes.

"Cheesy line," Svetlana laughed. "You already sweet-talked us into your bed!"

"And I'm very pleased with the results," I responded. We didn't climb very high, moving fast over the sea and the boats. I pressed the button to contact the pilot. "Where are we headed?"

"On the horizon, the superyacht Elements," he replied. I looked past the pilot to see the big white luxury yacht, which was cruising south along the coast.

"Holy shit," I said as I looked at the big white ship. The girls leaned so they could see as well, their eyes getting big. "How long is she?"

"Eighty meters," the pilot said. "We'll be landing in two minutes. Keep your head down when you exit until you are clear of the blades."

The helicopter landing area was on the bow, and the pilot skillfully moved over the pad and set the helicopter down perfectly. One of the white-uniformed crew members came forward to open the door and escort us out, while two others grabbed our luggage. As soon as we were clear, the pilot took off again, leaving us on the teakwood bow next to a small swimming pool with lounge areas on each side. "Welcome to the Motor Yacht Elements," our escort, a beautiful blonde woman in her twenties, said as we turned back to her. "Please follow me. Your things will be taken to your stateroom."

"We're staying together," I said.

"Naturally, sir. We've been informed of your preferences and the crew will do anything to make your stay more enjoyable. All crew members will be wearing a variation of this uniform," she said as she led us towards the glass doors. I could see two decks above us, and I knew from our approach there was a deck below us that opened to the stern. I held hands with the girls as I followed her through the opulent rooms. The girl stopped at a door, knocking quietly. "Your guests are here, Mr. Karpen."

"Bring them in." She opened the door and waved for us to follow her, then left us and closed the door behind her. Opulent wasn't the word to describe the office we were in; I'd never seen such over-the-top decorating. Everything was gold, marble, rich exotic wood, crystal, or glass. My parents were very wealthy, but this was ridiculous.

"Welcome, welcome," Mr. Karpen said as he rose from his desk. He touched something and the computer screens and big monitors in the room disappeared into cabinets or behind panels. By the time he was shaking my hand, you couldn't tell technology had ever touched this place. "Arten Karpen, but please call me Art."

I knew he had to be rich, but Karpen was a mystery to the outside world. Karpen Investments was a major player in the oil and gas industry, but its owner was a known recluse. Even my father had never met him, and no one knew what he looked like. My grip tightened on his hand as my cat got his scent, and I looked into his eyes. Arten was a big Slavic man in his twenties, heavily muscled, with no neck to speak of under his black beard. His eyes were alive with excitement as he grabbed my shoulders to look at me. "Amazing. I did not believe Ekatarina when she told me, but it is true. You are one of us."

It all clicked. "You are the bear switcher."

"I am, and you are the switcher who was lost to time. Amazing. We had no idea it could survive for millennia, yet I can see the Cave Lion in you."

I was forgetting my manners. "Art, may I introduce my fiance, Svetlana Sevastyano, and our future sister wife, Anna Kovalenko."

Art greeted them like family in Russian, kissing each cheek and smiling. "Two beautiful ladies and already pregnant! You are quite the lion, John. So many surprises. Please, sit. We have much to talk about." I sat on a couch with a girl on each side, while Art took a chair across from us. He pressed a button, and a uniformed server appeared. She offered coffee, juice and water, each of us taking our choice in the cups or glassware with the coat of arms from Karpen Investment's logo. "Have you eaten breakfast?"

"Not yet. With the sudden travel and the secrecy, we didn't have time."

The server smiled at her boss. "Breakfast service is in thirty minutes on the salon deck, sir." Art dismissed her, and she disappeared through a hidden doorway.

"Excellent. It's a beautiful morning, and our Chef is the best."

I took a sip of the coffee, needing the caffeine after a poor night of sleep. "I have many questions," I told him.

"I expected you would. Ekatarina planned to fly to the States with you, but we had some issues after she visited you."

"Issues? We left because Viktor was working to get my passport, or get me back in jail."

Art set his drink down. "It was easy enough to have our people leak that story to the embassy, and Marina did her part to get you here."

"Not Germany?"

"Germany was the story we gave the Embassy. Another jet left the airport minutes after yours, carrying one male and two female passengers listed as you and your girls, heading for Munich. It won't fool the Russian authorities for long, but it is enough to get you here. My people are discrete and loyal. No one will know where you are now, I promise you that."