by L M Adams
“How are you?” Lucien asks.
Jack comes over, unbuckling his shoulder holster and ripping his T-shirt off; he must have taken off the jacket some time ago. He hands me the shirt. I bury my face in it, trying to wipe the blood away. Thank goddess I can’t catch diseases.
“I’m fine. My shoulder feels like someone is holding a hot poker to it, but I’ll survive.” I take a breath trying not to throw up.
“Thank you, Lucien.” He nods his head in response, his face tight with anger.
I look around, there are not-wolf body parts in a circle around us three. They had to have known they were beat but down to the last one, they kept coming. All three of us are covered in blood, me most of all.
From behind the haze of red, I see Tabari walking towards us. He doesn’t have a drop of blood on him, the fucker.
“That looks absolutely disgusting.” His voice is filled with laughter.
I twist my face in mockery, always stating the obvious.
Okay, so maybe I hadn’t really thought through the whole ‘gutting a not-wolf as it flies over my head move’. But it’s dead and I’m alive.
I growl low at Tabari and then wince when Jack probes at my shoulder.
“Damn it, Jack!” I turn my head looking at him, damn meddlesome man.
“It’s not healing,” Jack says, poking at the cuts anyway, completely ignoring my ire.
“I’ll be fine, give it a second.” I pull away and stand up.
“Go wash that blood off you, it’s everywhere,” Tabari orders. “We’ll get the bodies in the house. I’ve put a glamour spell on the neighborhood. None of the humans heard or saw our fight, but it’s not one of my best and it’ll start to unravel any minute now. Oh, and I caught one alive. It’s in the backyard, chilling.” He says with a smile. Showoff, I think towards him.
“Take pictures,” I tell them and half blindly stumble back to the house.
One of the severed arms jerks as I pass it. I almost toss my cookies on the spot.
Luckily I make it back to Mr. Williams’s yard and beside a hedge, out of sight of everyone, before I lose it.
I’ve never seen anything as horrific as the not-wolves. I heave again. Bye-bye rice noodles with spicy peanut sauce. I may never order it again.
I stumble into the house and barely make it to the kitchen sink. I use the sprayer to wash my face down, shooting the stream right into my eyes. I rinse the taste of throw up and blood from my mouth spitting mouthfuls of water into the sink.
It’s still not enough and I search for something a little stronger. I find a bottle of bourbon on top of the fridge; no vodka sadly.
I rinse my mouth with it spitting it in the sink and then guzzle a nice portion down. The burn bursting through my stomach helps heat the cold parts inside of me.
Who could do such a thing to someone? I know they were our missing Bâtardi we just killed. Half turned and mutilated. I wonder if one of them is Mr. Williams.
I hear the thump of body parts hitting the living room floor. If I breathe slowly, I don’t feel lightheaded, but I can’t keep my body from jumping a little every time I hear the wet, squishy thud of the bodies being piled up.
I take another drink of bourbon and go back through the living room and out the front door. I can’t stomach getting close enough to carry or drag a body into the house so I take the task of gathering the severed limbs and heads.
I throw the bourbon up after my first trip.
Jack walks over to me as I steady myself by leaning on the fence.
“You don’t have to do this, Jae, we can handle it.”
I shake my head no and go pick up another wolf leg and a human head. My father once told me that I should never ask another to do something I am not willing to do.
My shoulder still burns and I start to say something but figure it can wait. Jack gives me a worried look but turns and goes to pick up another body. Tabari is levitating multiple not-wolf pieces up and guiding them into the house. Showoff.
Everyone looks grim and a little sick by the time we finish moving all the parts into the house. Even Lucien looks ill. We stand around our field of battle. There’s still a lot of blood here, and a small pile of stuff that’s clearly supposed to be inside a body sitting on the sidewalk. I try not to look at it.
“Step back,” Tabari says.
We all move a nice distance away. Tabari starts channeling EM field. His hair is floating higher in the air than usual. He’s prepping a higher leveled spell.
I watch as every bit of blood and left over body parts start to smoke and then catch fire. The fire isn’t orange though, it’s white. He’s burning the ground where we’d fought with a fire so hot it’s white. I guess people are going to know something happened. But finding burned grass and concrete is better than wolf/human parts and blood.
The smell of burning grass, concrete and that dead not-wolf smell is rancid, burning my nose and making my eyes water.
“My dark goddess,” Comes Jack’s horrified whisper.
Lucien is stoic and silent but his hands keep clenching and unclenching, he wants to kill something. It’s the only release of emotion he ever allows himself.
I turn and make my way back into the house.
I want to avoid looking at the pyramid of body parts piled in front of the sofa. But I pause to look, really look, at the lives we’ve taken.
Lycanthropes return to their human form when killed, but these not-wolves are still stuck in their grotesque forms. Something else that makes no earthly sense at all.
Jack walks in and stands beside me, staring. “What is it, Jae?”
“They are still whatever they are, lycanthropes turn back to their human form at death.”
Tabari comes in followed by Lucien, “This was not done by the power of the Wolf Mother or the Goddess, this stinks of human meddling,” Tabari says.
“The humans are manipulating the actual DNA sequences of the Bâtardi. Obviously it’s not having the desired effect,” I conclude out loud.
“Doesn’t seem like they are giving up,” Jack adds.
“Try to get pictures of the most human looking faces, maybe the families can ID them. We won’t be able to give them a proper burial, we have to burn this.” I order no one in a particular; I blow out a breath and head for the kitchen.
I stand in the kitchen in front of the sink meaning to wash my arms and hands again after carrying the not-wolf parts in the house.
I hear the guys come in the room. How long have I been standing here looking at the sink? I haven’t moved, turned on the faucet or anything, am I in shock? Is that even possible? I shake myself and start washing up.
The guys all take a couple minutes to wash up a little. I’m terrified to look at myself in a mirror. But the concerned looks everyone keeps giving me lets me know that I look like shit.
My stomach is still in knots. I stay away from the bourbon; it burned like fire every time it came back up. Jack picks up the bottle, takes a long drink and hands it to Lucien; he does the same.
Lucien hands Tabari the bottle but he shakes his head no. “Give it to Jae.”
“No I don’t want anymore; it burns worse coming back up.” I say.
“Drink it, you look like you’re about to pass out. It’ll help,” Tabari says.
I sigh, but take the bottle from Lucien and drink it down. I stand there panting. Flashes of the attack blind my vision. I try to turn it off, I try really hard, but I can’t. I’ve killed before, but I’m not processing this well and I don’t understand why.
Because those you have killed were victims.
I slam the empty bottle down on the counter. Breathing heavily, I look to each of them with murder in my eyes.
“Let’s go talk to our guest.” I will find out who has done this and I will kill them all.
Chapter Twenty-four
Kill the cooker
When Tabari said our guest was chilling, he meant it. The mostly human not-wolf is in a block of ice four feet t
hick. The only part free of the ice is the not-wolf’s head. Which is human, mostly. Something is wrong with the jaw area. It’s elongated like it stopped on its way to becoming a wolf's snout. I see why this one was a straggler. His feet aren’t feet, but paws. It couldn’t have been easy to keep up with the speed the other not-wolves were moving at.
It howls again and again. Calling for help? The vocal cords must have changed as well.
“Can you speak?” I ask it. It cocks his head to the left with a complete wolf like look.
“Can you understand what I’m saying?” It howls again.
“If you answer my questions, I’ll give you a clean death. Otherwise I’ll let whatever did this to you, come back to claim you again.” My voice is hard, but my heart doesn’t mean it.
I can’t leave this creature like this. If I can’t fix him, I’ll give him a clean death, if he answers my questions or not.
“Can you turn back human?” Tabari asks in a steady voice.
Not-wolf shakes his head no. Well why in the hell won’t it answer me?
“Tabari, can you change him back?” I ask.
“There is no magic I know to do it, Jae. I could try. But I may end up killing him, painfully,”
Funny he was all willing to experiment on me earlier. But even I have no desire to cause this creature more pain.
“Did a human do this to you?” I ask in a soft voice.
It cocks its head to the side again. The look in its eyes is saying, ‘ask me a better question.’
“Did someone kidnap you?” I ask next. It shakes its head no.
“So you wanted to go with these people?” It shakes its head no again. I let out a frustrated breath. This is getting us nowhere.
“Something made you want to go with people you didn’t want to go with?” This question comes from Jack. The not-wolf nods his head at him.
“Were there witches or warlocks?” I ask in a rush. It nods its head.
Tabari said he’d felt a spell in the house, it may have been some sort of compulsion to force the Bâtardi to go with the witches and warlocks. Still the humans have a hand in this. Perhaps the humans are only passing along the information on the people that test positive for the lycanthrope genetic marker. It cannot be a coincidence that when Minx went to get her gem recharged she got turned away from the Coven.
“They made you attack us?” It shakes its head no.
“Something else made you attack?” It nods its head. I reach down to scratch my leg where the envelope in the bag is still strapped. Its eyes follow the movement very closely.
“One of you left the envelope?” I ask I feel dizzy all of a sudden and close my eyes. My leg is itching like shit. Oh fuck. I grab the bag and throw it away from me. I start unbuckling my thigh sheaths.
“Whatever did this to you is the same thing that is on that envelope?!”
I start ripping off my pants and I hear something between a howl and laugh come from the not-wolf. I’ll take that as a yes.
I pull down my pants. There’s an angry red rash right where the envelope was pressed to my thigh. Lucien, Jack, and Tabari rush forward as I fall back on my ass with my pants around my ankles.
“Jae!” I hear someone shout my name but I’m finding it hard to hold on to the threads of reality.
“Hold her down!” Tabari shouts. “Oh god, Jae, I’m so sorry.”
I feel Lucien grab me by my arms holding me to the ground. This isn’t so bad why is he apologizing for this. I like Lucien… sometimes.
A harsh pain races through my leg, I scream louder than I ever have before. My muscles bunch and I lift a little off the ground before Lucien can hold me down again.
“Jack, hold her legs down. I can’t work with her kicking like this.” Tabari says in an even voice. I thought he was my brother; why would he do this to me?
I can’t move. I keep bucking as another current of pain bows my back. My throat is raw from the screaming. I smell meat cooking. I realize it’s my leg.
My brother is cooking my leg while it’s still attached to my body.
“Please, Bari. I’m sorry, please don’t hurt me anymore. I’ll do whatever you want,” I beg over a cracked and ragged voice.
“Lucien, please make him stop. Please help me. I’m so sorry.” I know I’m rambling but I can’t seem to stop myself.
“I know baby, it’s going to be ok. We are helping you, Jae, I promise.” He turns his head looking at the one that’s cooking my leg. “Can’t you put her to sleep or something?”
“No! It’s in her blood stream, I have to burn that out through her Chi and I can’t tell if she’s had too much if she’s passed out. Oh god, Lucien, I’m trying but I don’t know what this is.” His voice cracks.
“Do what you have to do.” The big one says.
The cooker sets in again. I cry in pain and desperation. I’ve felt a lot of pain in my life. But nothing like this, never. The smell of my own flesh cooking makes me throw up again and again. When I start to choke on my own vomit, the big one forces my head to the side.
“Please make the cooker stop.” I beg pitifully but no one takes pity.
My body bucks but I can’t move. Again and again the fire burns through my nerve endings. I’m sweating and choking on my own vomit. Why won’t I pass out?
“Ok I think that’s enough. Now comes the hard part. Because you guys can’t be touching her while I do this. I have to use all my control guiding the energy through her blood stream. I can’t use any concentration to make sure it doesn’t jump to you. We have to…. we have to tie her arms and legs.” The cooker says.
“Why must we tie her?” the big one asks.
“She’s a fucking Reaper and I’m about to hurt her very badly, she’s not just going to lay there and take it,” the cooker says.
I begin trying to get away again, I don’t know what they plan, but I can’t let them tie me. I know that much. I reach out with my power trying to flood them with it, bring them under my control. But I don’t have anything left inside of me and my power does not answer my call.
“It’ll be ok, Jae. I’ll kill them all.” The big one whispers and then kisses me softly.
He flips me over to my stomach and holds me down as someone ties my arms behind my back and then my ankles. I’m too weak to resist.
They let me go, but what does it matter now?
I roll onto my back and look up at the night sky. It’s a nice night to die.
The one that held my legs comes and kisses me softly too. I see blood tinged tears in his eyes. I don’t know why; if he cared, he wouldn’t have let the cooker cook my leg.
I look over and see the cooker standing, power filling his eyes. When he holds his hand out to me, I feel a comforting heat flow through me. Soon that comforting heat begins to feel like hot lava running through me, he’s turned my blood to lava. I try to scream. My body convulses, my joints lock, I can’t breathe.
I thought the leg was bad. I pray he’ll go back to cooking it so I can rest.
I’m past begging for it to stop, now I wish I had the breath to beg for death.
I roll onto my side as stomach acid comes up. I look down at my leg. It’s all burned meat. I can see the bone in one spot, white and dry in the moonlight. I’d forgotten he’d cooked it with this new pain to hurt me. My veins have turned black under my skin. I’m cooking from the inside out.
All at once my lungs fill with air. Spittle runs out of my mouth I taste dirt and grass.
“Kill me!” I yell. “Please, someone, have mercy and just kill me!”
“Tabari, stop! She’s had enough!” someone says.
“No! She’s had enough when I see her aura clear. It’s being eaten right in front of my eyes. The raw power is the only thing fighting back. I won’t lose her!”
It’s the last thing I hear after another push of power laces through me and my eardrums burst from the pressure.
My back bows again and again. I look up, the big one is kneeling in front of me; h
e’s crying. I see the gun strapped to his thigh. I can end this myself if they’d only let one arm go.
“Please,” I beg with all I have in me, “please mercy.”
“No Jae,” I read his lips.
Then it stops, thank goddess it finally stops. I lay there in my own filth panting. Vomit, snot, and tears covers my face. I pissed myself somewhere. I can’t hear anything.
I watch helplessly as they strip me naked. The cooker is kneeling to the side of me crying and keeps saying, “I’m sorry,” I think. Bloody tears is taking off my boots and pants. The big one is taking off my shirt and bra. Are they going to rape me now?
Bloody tears gets a hose and begins spraying ice cold water, washing me down. He’s gentle when he gets to my face. I do nothing but lay there. I don’t care anymore. I don’t care what they do.
Maybe they want me clean before they rape me. Maybe if I’m good and do everything just right, they won’t cook me again.
They care for us, a voice inside me says.
I shake my head no.
We are safe. Be at peace.
I feel the darkness pulling me under, I rush to its embrace and pray to never see the light again.
Chapter Twenty-five
To feed upon the sun
I open my eyes slowly. It’s light outside. I’m lying on a big dark skinned chest. I move my head and look up. I’m in the bed with Lucien and I’m very much naked.
What the fuck?
My head is foggy, my thoughts are jumbled. Why am I in the bed with Lucien? Did I drink too much again? Goddess knows that’s how we ended up in bed together the first time.
Heat radiates from him; his chest rises and falls in a steady rhythm. If Lucien has a species scent, I don’t know what it is. But he always smells like shea butter to me.
I reach my hand under the covers slowly. He has pants on. I doubt he’d have them on if we’d slept together. I don’t know why, but that thought gives me strength. I move my legs and a cramp runs through my right thigh so harsh, I cry out in pain.
