Wild Game (Codex Blair Book 4)

by Izzy Shows

  "So, if we die here tonight, no one will know."

  "Fred will know," I said, frowning. "He'll tell the others."

  I didn't want to think about dying, it felt like it would jinx the entire battle, and we couldn't afford for anything like that to happen. No, the only thing to do was shut up and focus on getting this situation handled. Either we were going to win or we weren't, there was nothing more to do about it other than plunge in.

  "We're going to win."

  I fought to maintain my composure when the sound of the mark in my head spooked me. Yes, I had made that decision too. The only way to hurt the Utakar was to use the power given to me by Mal. I was going to use it, I felt I didn't have any other options available to me, and I knew that it was a bad idea. This was another reason why I didn't want anyone else there, I didn't want anyone to know what I was doing.

  And maybe it would kill me, maybe it would twist and taint me and leave me so different from who I had been that no one would be able to recognize me. That was always a chance with magic like this, and if it was going to happen, I would prefer that an almost-stranger be the only person to witness the change in me.

  I straightened my shoulders and took a few steps back from the circle. "Let's begin," I said.

  Kailan nodded, remaining silent.

  I spoke the Utakar's name, tripping over it the first time and having to start over. It took nine tries to get it to sound like it had when the Utakar had spoken it, and then I had to say it twice more. Silence pervaded the clearing, neither Kailan nor I daring to speak another word until we knew whether or not we had succeeded.

  Minutes passed by and I was starting to think that I hadn't said it right, that I didn't know how to say it at all and that it was all for naught.

  And then a boom broke through the clearing, knocking me back several steps and bringing me to my knees. I looked up, and in the circle stood the Utakar.

  Or at least, I assumed it was the Utakar. It looked nothing like the wolf it had been in Peckham, and nothing like the creature I had met just last night. I swallowed hard, hoping that I hadn't called down some other being.

  It took the form of a sphinx, with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a bird of prey.

  "You dare to summon me?"

  Oh yeah, that was definitely the voice of the Utakar. I cringed at the sound of it, unable to stop myself from covering my ears. This time, it was no quiet whisper, but rather a loud sound that filled the night.

  "Have you brought the Fae to me? I seem to recall you rejecting my offer. But I am of my word, and I will stand by the peace offering."

  "Hah, no, sorry," I said, struggling to stand. "I've brought the Fae here to help me kick your ass. And as you may have noticed, you're in a circle. You haven't exactly been brought here as a friend."

  It tipped its unnaturally human head back and laughed. "You think this can hold me?" And then it stepped out and all of the blood drained out of my face.

  I hadn't been counting on that.

  "I am a creature forgotten by you humans. The rules you had once believed in do not bind me anymore, as you do not think of me to be bound. Remember this moment, when you think to force one of us from your minds, and remember."

  "Wait!" I cried just as it lifted one of its paws. I needed an answer to my question, to prove my theory.

  "Have you changed your mind?"

  "Not quite. I want to know. You masqueraded as a werewolf, didn't you? You framed my friend."

  It laughed again, a booming sound that threatened to bring me to my knees once more. "Clever mage. You could have been great, had you accepted my offering. Now, you will die."

  It brought its paw down and I barely scampered to the side, avoiding the blow.

  I glanced at Kailan and nodded—it's not like we hadn't been prepared to fight the Utakar, though we hadn't known what form it would take. It's not possible to reach inside a circle and harm something inside of it, so the circle was always going to be broken, it had simply been a safety measure. And we'd also thought we would be the ones breaking it.

  This just sped up the timetable.

  We ran to opposite ends of the Utakar, Kailan taking the head while I faced its tail.

  I did not wear my band around my wrist today, as I had known that I was going to fight with the mark. I brought my right hand to touch the mark on my wrist and hissed when I felt the eagerness inside of it. It wanted to bring pain and destruction to the world around me, wanted domination, wanted to win. I was going to tap into that desire for the time being, and I was going to put it away when I was done.

  I hoped.

  The dark energy sprang from the mark, filling my hands with something between smoke and fire, and I flung it at the Utakar's hindquarters.

  It howled in rage, spinning around so that its back was to Kailan now, and swiped at me again.

  I tried to dodge, but it caught my legs and sent me falling to the ground. My breath was driven from me, and I wasn't entirely certain that I hadn't broken a rib. I gasped in air, fighting the dizzying feeling that was filling my head, and rolled onto my back. The Utakar stood over me now, and I saw that its mouth was open and lowering towards me.

  The damned thing was just going to eat me.

  I brought both hands off and fired a bolt of dark energy into its mouth. It reared back, screaming in rage. Before it settled back on all four paws, I forced myself to stand and run back a few paces before I turned to face it once more.

  I was confronted by the sound of more pain from the creature as Kailan scored a hit to its hindquarters.

  This is actually going pretty well, I thought to myself, starting to think that we might be able to win this.

  And then it whirled around and tossed Kailan to the side, stalking towards him and pinning him down with one massive paw.

  "Oh, no, you don't!" I raced forward. "Vis!" I jumped, pushing off the ground with all the strength the tattoo in my ankle allowed me, and landed on the sphinx's back. I almost slid off and fell onto the ground again, but managed to fist my hands into the creature's fur, dragging myself up so that I straddled it. I fired a bolt into the back of its head, allowing myself a moment to lift my hands above my head and cheer. "Take that!"

  "I will....destroy you..." it said.

  "You're not doing such a good job so far, so I don't really believe you," I said, smirking though it couldn't see me.

  "Kill it! Kill it! Kill it!"

  "Quiet. I will handle this."

  And then I froze, still sitting on its back, my hands having lowered to cling to the fur again. I had talked back to the mark. I'd never done that before, never engaged it in conversation. I could feel its surprise in the back of my mind, and then a sense of victory swept through me that I knew was not my own.

  Oh, Gods. What have I done?

  I didn't have much time to think about it, though, because the sphinx took flight then, and it was all I could do to remain on top of it. I spared a glance at the ground that was rapidly falling away, and my stomach lurched in terror.

  "What are you doing?"

  I don't know why I asked, it's not like I expected a real answer, but it was the first thing that came to mind and it was out of my lips before I could stop it.

  "Taking you away from here," it said, and I could hear the gloating in its voice. "Or maybe I am going to fly so high that I can roll over and drop you. But right now, I am leaning towards kidnapping you."

  "Why in the hell would you want to do that?"

  "I know what you are, little mage, I know what you have inside of you. You would be a boon to my people, to retake the world and reshape it as we want it."

  "I'm not going to help you! You're out of your mind!" And to punctuate my point, I let go with one hand and sent out a bolt of energy squarely into the creature’s head.

  It howled and began to roll, and it was all I could do to hang on then. But, a point in my favor, it was starting to fly down again. Maybe it had realised that while
it could try to drop me, it couldn't exactly fight me up here.

  I forced myself to concentrate through the rolling terror of it all, focus against the fear that I was about to die, and looked down at the ground that was now coming back. We were so close, close enough that I figured a fall wasn't going to kill me anymore.

  So, I fired two bolts of energy straight into the back of the creature, where my hands were fisted. And then I did it again, and again, and again. I kept firing, not letting it up no matter how much it screamed and bucked.

  And then we dropped, and the ground was approaching so quickly, and I realised a critical error in my calculations.

  The creature was going to fall to the ground with me on its back, but the odds were good now that it was going to land either on its side or on its back, and I was going to be squashed.

  I pulled a leg up to brace against the backside of the Utakar, and let go. "Vis!" I pushed off with my leg, and flew through the air.

  For a second, I was just flying, and it was amazing and terrifying all at the same time. And then I slammed into the ground, jarring my shoulder, driving the breath from my body. I managed not to fall right onto my head, which was good, but there was little else to celebrate.

  And in that moment, I wasn't thinking enough to be able to celebrate.

  "Blair!" I heard Kailan's voice somewhere, but couldn't focus on where it was coming from. I was seeing stars, and my eyes just wanted to close.

  I forced them to stay open, forced myself to look around and gain my bearings. My arm was on fire, and I thought I might have broken it. I wouldn't be surprised if that had happened, but I dearly hoped that it was still functional.

  "Blair, you did it!"

  He was in front of me, then, grabbing the hand that was on the side of my body facing up, and pulling me to my feet. Leaving the ground hurt my arm in an entirely different way, and I fought to keep the cry of pain from my lips—I lost.

  "Are you all right?" His eyes widened as he took in the sight of me.

  "I think I broke my arm. Wait, you said I did it? We won?"

  He grinned at me. "We won. The fight is over. You are victorious."

  39

  The Utakar's body disappeared, which was interesting, but not so interesting that I wanted to stay outside a moment longer. Dead or not, I felt uncomfortable there now, I just wanted to be safe inside my warded walls.

  Kailan and I walked back together in silence. You would think we'd be congratulating each other, but instead we both seemed to be processing the moment. Killing the Utakar had been a little too easy for my liking, especially considering the mental attack it had whipped out the first time it had attacked me.

  Had it been too distracted by our two-pronged attack? Or perhaps it was my use of demon magic that had won the day. I'd never used it in a fight before, and now I was wondering if I should have all this time.

  "Yes! It was me that killed the Utakar, give me life, give me form, take me into yourself!"

  I shuddered, and was glad that Kailan wasn't looking at me. Perhaps it would have seemed strange, or perhaps he would have written it off as shock from the entire experience, but I was glad to not have to find out. I needed to get wrist band back on as quickly as possible, that seemed to be the only thing that kept it as quiet as possible. Now that I had opened it up and used it, really used it and not just as a last-ditch effort like I had at Tyburn tree and again in Peckham...I hoped that it wouldn't be too hard to keep it at bay.

  We reached my home a moment later and were safely inside with the wards up, protecting us from anything else that would have come knocking that night.

  "I can't believe we did it," I said, and my voice sounded hollow to me. "Like, really, I can't quite believe it. It seemed too easy."

  "Indeed," Kailan said, regarding me now with wary eyes. "What did you use out there, Blair? I did not recognize your magic, and in all that I have heard of you, you use fire more often than not. That was not fire."

  I flushed. I knew that this was coming, and yet a part of me had hoped that maybe he wouldn't notice. Maybe the fight would be so busy, or maybe he would have forgotten about it by the time we finished and were winding down from the fight.

  "I'd prefer not to say," I said.

  "And I would prefer to know who I am dealing with."

  "Miss?" Fred appeared at my feet then, his eyes wide with concern. "You is hurt?"

  I cast a worried look at Kailan, then knelt so that I was at eye level with Fred. I was making more of an effort to show him the respect he deserved, and I didn't think it was fair that he should have to crane his neck to look up at me every time we talked.

  "It's just my arm, Fred. Nothing to worry about."

  "We should be callings your doctor friend," he said, nodding his head to himself. "Be findings out what you has done to yourself."

  "I didn't do it to myself," I said, admittedly whiny but glaring at him. And then I thought about it. "Well, maybe I did. I fell."

  "You felled?" He all but whimpered, reaching a hand to touch me, but I pulled away before he could.

  "Don't, you might hurt me," I said, and stood up. "Fine, we'll call Shawn and he can have a look at me."

  "This conversation is not over, Blair," Kailan said, his voice firm.

  "It was magic given to me by a demon, OK?" I said at last, turning my glare on him. "I didn't want to use it, but I found out in Peckham that it was the only thing that could hurt him. I don't use it. This is the first time since...since Tyburn. I know it's dangerous, and I'm trying to figure out a way to contain it. I'd love to get rid of it, but I don't know how to do that. No one seems to know how."

  He was quiet, his eyes still wary, but at last he nodded. "I suppose that is all I can ask for. I wish you had said something sooner."

  "Would you have fought with me, if I had?"

  He grimaced. "Likely not."

  "And now it is done, and you have nothing left to worry about. Please, let it rest."

  He nodded.

  Satisfied, I walked over to the table where I always left my phone and picked it up, dialing Shawn's number.

  He answered on the second ring. "Shawn."

  "Hey, it's Blair."

  "Oh, hey. You OK? It's late."

  "Actually, I kind of need you to come over and take a look at me. I was in another fight..."

  "Of course you were," he said, laughing. "And I knew nothing about it, as per usual."

  "Hey, I'm all right. I think I did something to my arm, though. And maybe my ribs. Look, I just need you to tell me I'm going to live," I said, though I was laughing too.

  "I think we both know you're going to live. You've lived through a lot worse, somehow. I'll be over in a bit, OK?"

  "OK. Bye."

  "Bye."

  I hung up the phone and put it back on the table. I walked over to my usual chair and sat down, leaving the couch for Kailan. Normally, when I was injured, I would take the couch, but he had more or less claimed it as his spot since he had been here, and I figured he would want it.

  "What are we going to do now?" I looked at him, aware that he had remained standing and wondering if that was for a reason. Was he about to leave?

  "Now..." He trailed off after the one word, still regarding me with careful eyes. Was he going to kill me next? I hoped not. I didn't have the energy for another fight. And yet, at the same time, I felt myself keyed up. The energy from the mark was coursing through me, demanding that I find more to do, demanding that I use it more. "I would like to formally invite you to Tír na nÓg," he said.

  "What?" I blinked, surprised and not knowing how to answer that.

  "You have saved my life, and I would like to thank you for that. We will host a celebration in your honor for the defeat of the Utakar. You are a hero."

  "Oh, I couldn't—"

  "Miss Blair!" Fred's sharp voice filled the room and he rushed over to me. "You is accepting this!" He hissed, glaring at me.

  "You know I don't do this sort of thi
ng," I said, confused that he would tell me to accept something I would never normally do. I glanced up at Kailan and saw the hurt on his face, and guilt poured through me.

  "Is very rude! You is having to go!"

  "Oh," I said, frowning. "Can you give us a minute?" I asked Kailan.

  "Absolutely," he said, and he was frowning himself. I was starting to see that this was not something a person would normally reject. He walked into the kitchen.

  I lowered my voice to speak to Fred in a hushed whisper. "Why is it so rude, aside from the obvious?"

  "No one is rejecting an invitation to Tír na nÓg, Miss! Is incredibly offensive, you is making enemies maybe if you do. You must go."

  I groaned and leaned back in my chair, lifting my uninjured hand to run fingers through my hair. I really didn't want to go to a party, it wasn't my scene at all. And last time I went to a supernatural party...well, Lilith had attacked me. Although, I guess that wasn't something to be concerned about. We had already defeated the Utakar, what was left?

  "All right, all right," I said. "Kailan." I raised my voice to call to him in the other room.

  He walked back out. "Yes?"

  "I accept your invitation to Tír na nÓg. I would be honored to attend."

  He beamed at me. "Fantastic. I will go to make preparations, and will return for you at sunrise."

  I quirked an eyebrow. "That's fast."

  "Time is different in Tír na nÓg," he said. "You will see. Will you open the door?"

  I nodded and stood up, walking to the door, and lowering the wards. "I look forward to your...celebration," I said, trying to be as polite as was possible.

  He grinned, clearly understanding the difficulty I was having. "This shall be quite fun," he said, and then he left.

  I sighed, and was about to go back to my chair when Shawn knocked at the door. I opened it and ushered him in, closing the door and raising the wards once more.

  "Thank you for coming. I hope I didn't interrupt anything," I said.

  "Nothing important," he said, smiling at me. "I'll always come for you."

  I walked to the couch now, glad to have my territory back.