Blade Song

by Daniels, J. C.

  The shifters…

  Against my will, I felt myself looking back at the boy. The blond hair.

  The eyes.

  Through a throat gone tight, I whispered, “Is that Doyle?”

  “Yeah.”

  I stumbled away and went to my knees.

  Rathi—

  “Damn it, Kit, what the fuck is the matter?”

  I wanted to run. Everything in me screamed it.

  Behind me, I heard long, low, furious curses.

  Swallowing, I slipped out of my backpack and unzipped it. Coiled in the bottom was a rope. We hadn’t planned on needing it, but then again, we hadn’t planned on coming across snakes, steel traps or landmines.

  And I hadn’t planned on finding a kid with a face that looked like the hell of my past either.

  “Why doesn’t he look like the picture?” I asked quietly.

  “The spike. Hitting him hard.” Power ripped, rippled and I found myself staring into Damon’s face—that familiar face. “What’s wrong, kitten?”

  No. Mutely, I shook my head and I passed the rope over.

  Not now.

  Probably not ever.

  I couldn’t do this now.

  “No time, remember?”

  They were all weak.

  Malnourished.

  Doyle was the worst.

  He watched me like…well, a predator who’d sighted its prey. Even after Damon had forced three bottles of water and several of the protein shakes on him, the kid still had a half-wild look in his eyes.

  A few times, he made a move toward me and each time, Damon stepped between us.

  The girls crowded around me and I let them.

  The little witch broke down sobbing, wrapping her arms around my neck. “He’s spiking and he’s trying so hard, but…”

  I heard the unspoken words. Hell, I could see it.

  Doyle was teetering on the brink. “It’s okay,” I told her. “But we can’t stay here.”

  We started out, me herding the girls along in front, even though every instinct demanded I not leave the hungry, predatory kid at my back.

  Several times, I heard a growl. Snarls.

  Once, there was a weird, rushing sound and I looked back, saw Damon holding the boy in a bear hug. He stared at me. “Go,” he said flatly. “We’ll be along.”

  I grimaced and kept moving.

  If I thought that first day in the park was hell, no. This….this was hell.

  It was nightfall before we reached our car. There were more traps set, but we evaded them with ease, thanks in part to the little witch. Her name was Erin and she told me she’d been out on two hunts already. She said this in a broken, awful little whisper.

  I wanted to cuddle her and hold her and promise nothing else would ever happen to her.

  But I didn’t make promises I couldn’t keep.

  Park rangers were up ahead. Shit.

  My bow. My sword. I had them clutched in my hands and I stopped, shooting Damon a look and then I groaned as I saw his utter lack of clothing. He calmly dropped his pack and pulled out some clothes. He’d lost his shoes—did he have shoes?

  “Kit. Do it…and don’t argue,” he told me.

  I sighed. There was no point in arguing with this. I’d rather not let the rangers see the weapons, although how he was going to explain the kids…

  Erin’s eyes rounded in surprise as she watched me fade away. The girl shifter barely seemed to notice. I think she was in shock. Doyle, though…he still watched me. Even though he couldn’t see me. The utter hunger in his eyes froze me.

  Damon managed to get dressed before anybody saw the small group and I stayed at their back as he headed over to the car. All that weird power mantled down, too. Good job, I thought absently, still keeping Doyle in my sight. He was tracking my scent, the sound of my heart. Scaring the hell out of me.

  “Hey there,” Damon said. “Sorry, guys. Brought my stepson and his friends out here and they wanted to go out for a while on their own. I was stupid enough to let them and they got lost. Took me a few hours to find them—I was about to call you all when I finally caught up with them an hour ago.”

  Good way to play it…

  It took another twenty minutes to get out of there before the park rangers were convinced everything was all good and nice and normal.

  They did ask about his shoes. He confessed he was a shifter and that he’d ended up shifting to track them down. He’d lost his shoes somewhere, but he’d been so worried about the kids, he hadn’t realized it until later.

  The rangers’ reactions were mixed. Two were okay with it. One stared at him with disgust—that wasn’t an unusual response for humans.

  Finally, they nodded and let them pack up their gear. It was awkward, scrambling into the back. Damon’s order had come through clear—All you girls into the back. Me and the boy are up front. I worked the keys out of my pocket and dropped them into the seat, hoping the rangers didn’t notice.

  Once we were on the road, they headed out.

  A few minutes later, I let myself fade back in. Immediately, I wanted to hide again because as I shifted in the seat, I saw Doyle turn around, staring at me.

  Wide, hungry eyes. His nostrils flared and his lips parted as he breathed the air in.

  Damon hit the windows and a blast of cool night flooded the car.

  “Doyle, turn around.”

  The kid didn’t.

  “Doyle,” Damon said quietly. “If you don’t turn around and look away from her right now, I’m going to get pissed. Please don’t force my hand on this.”

  A hungry, miserable little whine escaped the kid.

  But he turned away.

  I continued to watch him the entire way.

  It was the longest damn drive of my life.

  So miserably, achingly long that I couldn’t even breathe a sigh of relief at finishing the damn job.

  “You’ll stay here for now,” the mother said as she stared at the abused teens being tended to by the healers.

  “Is…is that wise?” I swallowed, thinking of the intensity on Doyle’s face.

  That kid, around all these women? Many of them pacifists?

  “Yes. This was an organized thing, Kitasa and you know it. Nowhere around here will you find a place with the protection I can offer you.”

  Reluctantly, I had to admit she was right. But this boy…

  I flicked him a look. One of the few men in the house was tending him and the boy was back to watching me. Damon was between us—I don’t think he’d given up that position once since we’d found the kid and I was painfully aware of the fact that I was relying on this guy to protect me…from a kid.

  If Doyle lost it and came for me, I’d kill him. If he went after any of these witches, I’d kill him or Kori would.

  She could do it easily in his current state. And I probably could. I thought I probably could. He was still weak. He was malnourished and more, the spike had making him uncontrollable. I could see it in the fluctuations of his energy.

  But I didn’t want to kill a kid.

  Especially not one who meant something to Damon. But I’d be damned if I took the hurt I suspected this boy could bring.

  “He doesn’t mean harm,” the mother said tiredly. “He…”

  Eyes cut our way.

  She gestured to the wall and I followed her through, trusting Damon and Kori to control whatever happened in the hall for a few minutes.

  “He had to control everything for nearly two weeks,” she said, staring at the mirror as though she could see everything happening in the room. “Some part of him was in control enough to realize that the two girls, the witch and the werewolf, weren’t strong. He wouldn’t prey on the weak. It shows some sign of the kind of man he’ll be.” A nervous smile curled her lips. “Think of it as a compliment. He sees an equal in you. He doesn’t see somebody he would be abusing, but an equal.”

  “Yay, me.”

  She stroked my arm. “A day or two. Some food. L
et him realize he’s safe and he’ll settle. There’s a good heart in him, he just…” Es shook her head. “It was horrid, what happened. At one point, they had seven people in that hole. Seven. And he watched as one by one they were dragged away.”

  “I’m going to kill them,” I said quietly.

  Her hand fell away. “It’s not our way.” Her nearly colorless eyes flickered. “Anger. Rage. But…” She slanted a look at me and nodded. “It’s a cancer that does this. A cancer must be cut out or it can spread.”

  Cutting it out sounded pretty damn good by me.

  As she turned to the mirror, I went to follow but she looked back. “Perhaps you should go elsewhere…the library. The kitchen. Even just a soak in the tub, Kitasa. The more you’re around him, the harder it’s going to be for him to break this obsession. Let my witch heal him. We’ll feed him.”

  I thought it through, then nodded. Yeah. Good idea.

  I didn’t need to be around him just then anyway.

  “Let Damon know.”

  I wanted food.

  But she’d said a soak…

  The room where I’d slept here the night I’d burnt was my hand wasn’t where I was led this time.

  There was a larger room.

  Lovely, done in shades of red and brown and when I opened the sliding doors, I had to catch my breath. A huge tub dominated the room. A soak. Yes. I’d soak. I’d soak until I turned into a prune.

  While I was running the water, there was a knock at the door.

  I opened it to discover Jo. She smiled at me absently, like her mind was in another world. She pushed a tray of food into my hands and then drifted—literally—down the hall.

  I eyed the cup of coffee narrowly. Coffee. Caffeine, did I really want that? Except I rarely said no to coffee. It was like saying no to chocolate or a pretty new blade. I took a sip and grimaced at the motor oil taste of it. Who in the world brewed it here?

  Juggling the tray one-handed, I kicked the door closed and carried the food over to the tub. It had a wide lip and I put the tray down as I got undressed. Time for something totally slothful, I decided. I was going to eat and take a damn bath at the same time. Steam was curling up in little wisps over the tub and when I checked the water, it almost boiled me. Perfect.

  Near the foot of the tub, I saw a couple of jars of bath salts. While I nibbled on a slice of cheese, I checked them. One smelled of apples. No. One was like rainwater. Not bad, but not right, either. Another was some sort of mint and that was way too strong for me. The last one was subtle, just barely scented of vanilla. Perfect. I added a little and climbed in, making sure the tray wasn’t going to fall over.

  Coffee in one hand, I hissed at the heat of the water and decided that this could very well be heaven. Or about as close to it as I was going to get on this planet. And I was going to damn well enjoy it for a few minutes before I stumbled into bed. Exhaustion preyed heavily on my mind and I needed sleep in the worst way.

  Sleep. So I could deal with getting Doyle back home and safe…

  And then come back down here and tear this place apart until I found every last soul behind—

  Sleep grabbed me.

  I never remembered it.

  One minute I was munching on the cheese and fruit, nibbling at a sandwich and wondering if the coffee was going to keep me awake. And then I sat the coffee down to reach for…something.

  And I was just under.

  Asleep in the bathtub. Yes, home accidents can even happen to the NH population.

  “You look exhausted…”

  At the sound of Jude’s voice, I slapped an arm over my chest and huddled in the bathwater as I searched the dim room for him.

  He was a mist at first and it seemed like he formed out of the steam that danced above my bath, solidifying by my feet and staring down at me with that slight smile of his. That one that made me think of superior gods looking down on their creations with indulgent if puzzled amusement and thinking…whatever is that silly thing doing now?…right before they swatted the fools back into the stone age.

  Glaring at him, I said flatly, “Get out.”

  “Oh, come now, darling Kit…you don’t really want me to leave you alone while you’re asleep in the bathtub,” he drawled, kneeling down.

  I glared at him.

  “You look so happy to see me,” he teased. “As always. Judging by your light mood, does that mean you’ve completed your job and you’ll return home?”

  “Job’s not done.”

  He cocked his head. “You still haven’t found the boy?”

  “Oh, we found him.” But I wasn’t done. I was done when I found the fuckers behind this and ended them. “Now go away.”

  “Really, Kit. All I want to do is talk…”

  “Yeah, well, find somebody else.” I gave him a sour look as I drew my legs up to my chest and glared at him. Blond hair framed his face and for all the world, he looked like an angel. A deadly one.

  “But I like talking to you.” He smiled again and trailed a hand through the water. “I like watching over you. I like being near you.”

  I snorted.

  His brows dropped low over his eyes. “It’s the truth. You…the energy in you is pleasant. I could feel it without even having fed from you, but ever since I have?” A ruby red gleam settled in the back of his gaze and my heart jittered in my throat. “It’s a pleasure like no other, Kit, and I can’t wait to have it again. It’s unparalleled. I suspected it would be wonderful. I underestimated.”

  Was this the way a mouse felt when it was thrown into a cage with a snake, I wondered? Even in the dream, I was feeling freaked out. Very freaked out.

  “I want to be alone,” I said flatly. I want you the hell away from me. “I’m tired.”

  “All the more reason I should be here.” A slow smile curved his lips. “At least if I’m here, I can make you wake if you start to slip under.”

  Then he narrowed his eyes and murmured, “Or worse…damn it, I knew this was going to happen. You can’t trust the cats, Kit.”

  “Just get ou—”

  Cooler air danced on my flesh.

  “Wake up, Kit. He’s coming. You have to wake up,” Jude said. I saw him staring past me. “Damn it, wake up!”

  I sneered at him even as my mind started to move in that direction. But something wouldn’t let me—

  Something grabbed me. Shoved me under.

  Voices yelling. Jude’s, a roar in my mind.

  “The fucking cat—he’s trying to kill you—the bitch had her job done. Stop fighting me—”

  Other voices, over the rush of water in my ears.

  But I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t—

  “Let me in,” Jude demanded.

  Couldn’t breathe…couldn’t…couldn’t…

  “Damn it, you stubborn little bitch! Breathe!”

  Something pushed down on my chest and I thought my ribs were going to crack under the pressure.

  Choking.

  I was choking.

  A sensation that was all too familiar.

  Hard hands shoved me, rolled me over as I emptied my gut, my lungs of the water, of every bit of food I’d put in my belly.

  Even when I’d purged myself, I couldn’t stop retching. Couldn’t stop coughing. My heart thundered in my ears and I was cold. So fucking cold. Shivers wracked me and fear pummeled me. Part of me kept thinking…what…what…what…

  But my brain wouldn’t let me even complete the thought because if I did, I might have to answer the damn question.

  An eternity might have passed before I managed to get past that what…what…what… stage.

  “Kit…”

  Damon’s voice…

  I shoved away from him as terror took back over.

  Jude’s voice was a whisper in the back of my mind. An insidious, ugly little whisper. “He tried to kill you, Kit. Let me in. I can help, but not if I can’t get to you in time…”

  Shivering, cold, I scrambled to my feet and stumbled ou
t into the bedroom. Grabbing the blanket, I wrapped it around me before I let myself turn around. It was something of a shock to realize there were a half-dozen people in there. Damon, Kori, Es, Jo, Tate, and a witch I didn’t know.

  “What…?” I cleared my throat and tried again. “What in the hell is going on?”

  “That fucking leech was in your head again, wasn’t he?”

  I was shaking so bad, I could barely speak. Couldn’t think. Blood roared in my head and I could still feel the weight of him inside me—”Get away from all of them. They’ll harm you, Kit. Come to me. I’ll take care of you.”

  “Kitasa…”

  I flinched at the sound of my name. Es touched my arm. Instinct grabbed me—get away, get away—

  “No, Kitasa…I won’t hurt you,” she murmured. Her hand touched my temple. “You know this. He’s in your mind. You have to let me help you get him out.”

  The battering in my head increased.

  Get away—get away—I bolted.

  Or at least, I tried.

  Powerful arms grabbed me from behind.

  He’s going to kill me—

  “No, dearest. He means you no harm…be at peace…”

  Panic crowded my mind and the only thing I knew was that I had to run—

  Bright, blinding light exploded behind my eyes.

  Chapter Twenty

  “Shhh.”

  Vaguely I grew aware that the room was moving. Swaying back and forth, like a ship tossed on the waves.

  Or maybe I was the one swaying.

  The dull ache inside my head subsided enough for me to make a judgment call. Yep. It was definitely me. And that pitiful moaning sound? That was me, too. Kit Colbana. Descendent of the legendary Amazon race. Nearly drowns herself in her own bath. I think. And moaning like a pitiful little baby.

  “Shhh, it’s okay, baby girl. It’s okay.”

  Damon. Damon’s voice. His chest under my cheek. Moving rapidly. I could feel the bang of his heart against my cheek and he had a hand in my hair, kneading, flexing—agitated.