by Sam Cheever
“Glynn!” Sissy called out. “A little help here?”
I crouched beside Hawk, indecision locking me in place. If I didn’t help Hawk quickly, he would die. I knew it with a certainty borne of experience and magical intuition. But If I didn’t help my bestie and my brother, we could all die.
I really had no choice. Tears burned my eyes as I shoved upright and yanked magic from the air again, reforming my blade.
A soft, gray mist in the dark caught my gaze and my head snapped around. A wispy form glided toward me through the night.
The blade came up and I wanted to curse. Didn’t we have enough on our plates already?
But the spirit pelting toward me from the darkened ranch house across the street was more friend than foe.
I hoped.
Della was nearly translucent, but I shoved worry for her aside. Her form was always wispy away from the fairy-infused fortress of her home.
My thoughts stuttered and took another direction. Fairy dirt. It had shown great healing powers when Della had been near death from the soul swallower. Would it work on someone other than Della?
I met her in the street, my gaze filled with hope. “Hawk’s nearly dead. Is there anything…?”
She held out a hand, her touch on my arm cool and moist like mist. “Go, deal with the creature. I’ll see if I can help him.”
I clasped the icy hand. “Thank you!”
A scream spurred me into the fight. Sissy was down. The thing was standing over her, its horrible jaws gaping wide and acidic spit sizzling droplets against her skin.
She was fighting to build more magic in her palms, but full-on panic wasn’t conducive to creating energy. Unfortunately, I knew that from personal experience.
Art was kneeling in the street, his face gray and his bloody blade still clutched in one hand. His chest was heaving, and deep bloody tracks scored one shoulder.
He was done. Too tired and hurt to help my friend.
I pushed worry for my brother from my mind and grabbed for the energy to make another strike. With a thought, I was flying through the air again, and the monster’s terrible maw was opening wide, its feral amber gaze gleaming in anticipation.
17
I hit the monster hard, knocking the air from my lungs as I stabbed downward with the blade. The silvery energy speared through the flesh, but it was only a distraction. I knew it wouldn’t be a killing blow.
My real goal had been to get hands on the thing. And with that in mind, I let go of the silvery hilt and wrapped my arms around the monster’s neck, riding its back as it reared up on an enraged roar.
Spittle flew through the air, sizzling against every surface it touched. The monster careened sideways, causing Art to leap out of the way or be stomped.
Sissy climbed quickly to her feet and screamed my name. I had no idea what she was trying to tell me, and it didn’t matter anyway.
I was kind of busy at the moment.
The thing roared with rage, its claws scraping across both of my forearms as it swung around, trying to dislodge me from its throat.
Agony ripped through me. The wounds burning like fire. It was all I could do to hold on as my blood bubbled up from the slashes across my arms.
I forced myself to concentrate, despite the agony of being repeatedly bashed into the tree the thing was currently using to try to rub me off its back.
I closed my eyes, only vaguely aware of the monster juddering as something exploded near its feet. We wheeled sideways and my eyes flew open before I could stop myself. The monster slammed me into the tree hard enough to stun. Thankfully, the giant lizard took most of the damage. I wrapped my legs around its chest as I grabbed hold of my siphoning energy, fueled by pure desperation, and began to draw energy from the monster’s core.
Sour, black acid filled me, burning my cells and drawing a horrifying array of screams from my throat as I siphoning the thing’s energy and tried to make it my own. The energy burned a pathway through me, boiling my blood and melting my insides as I tried to force it to acclimate.
Sensing its weakening power, the creature turned manic, spinning and roaring and tearing at my thighs and arms.
Somehow I held on. I think I’d entered a kind of muscular rigor mortis, and I started to worry I wouldn’t be able to let go even when I was done.
Slowly, the magic ceased to burn. I was half afraid it had simply burned away all my nerve endings, and my insides had become a melted pool of lava. But with the cessation of pain came a wash of phenomenal power. I felt as if I was swelling, my body becoming heavier and larger by the moment. My teeth began to ache, dual pools of amber light glowing against the dark wherever I looked.
A new kind of panic swirled through me. Was I becoming the monster? I hadn’t wanted to do anything but siphon its magic and use it against the thing.
I’d never been transformed from siphoning magic before.
The monster gave a long, eardrum-shattering shriek and spun one last time, falling to its knees in the middle of the street. That was about the time the energy turned to fire in my veins again.
Sharp pain pierced my gums and blood ran from my mouth, my face boiling and rolling in a metamorphosis I didn’t know how to stop.
My thoughts unfocused and then sharpened on memories I’d never owned. Blood-drenched pictures formed in my mind of me chasing and crunching things I never wanted to crunch with my teeth. I struggled to remember what I’d been trying to do. The disturbing pictograph continued to play across my mind.
I shook my head, trying to dispel it. Spital flew from my open mouth.
The creature below me crashed to the ground, its big head slamming into the asphalt and embedding itself there like a dinosaur fossil.
My mind finally formed words among the pictures. Kill. The. Creature.
Oh yeah. That was it. I focused on a quick, mental checklist:
Siphon energy from the monster so I could kill it.
Kill the monster.
Don’t die.
I reached for the silvery sword sticking out of the reptile thing’s body and wrenched it free, my long black claws clacking together against the magical hilt. Wait…what? I didn’t have long black claws…
My self-image was still mixing with the monster’s.
Not good.
I swung the blade, my mind showing me a picture of a large, scaled arm striking in a powerful arc, and the blade sliced almost effortlessly through the thick neck, cleaving the ugly head from the struggling creature beneath me.
The creature stilled, its blood pooling like lava beneath its headless body.
Energy flooded me and I surged to my feet, roaring into the night.
The fire burst through my insides, making me stagger away and fall to my knees. I retched pure acid into the street, feeling as if I were horking up my very organs.
Without warning, I collapsed to the ground. Voices droned around me. A soft light blazed from the dark and something soothing slipped over me. It was cool and smelled like peat and earthworms. I think I tried to push it away. But a soft gray mist gripped my flailing arms and cooled my enflamed brow.
And as the fire finally started to die, I let the nasty smelling stuff soothe me into sleep.
The whole passing out and waking up in Victoria thing was getting really old. Like before, I didn’t want to open my eyes. I just lay there a moment and let the soothing drone of familiar voices roll over me
Unlike before, the crisply dancing flames in the fireplace were really not soothing.
Burning fire. Been there, hated that.
But the familiar small hand clasping mine would always be a comfort. I squeezed Boyle’s little hand and he snuggled tighter against me with a sigh. I could tell by listening to his soft, rhythmic breathing that he was asleep.
I must have been lying on that stinky couch for a while.
“Glynn?”
I tried to ignore Sissy’s voice, but she knew me too well. “I know you’re awake. Here. You need to drink t
his.”
I wrenched my eyes open. She flinched, which told me everything I needed to know about the state of my eyes. “That bad, huh?”
She set the cup of tea on the sofa table and gave me an assist as I sat up enough to drink. She stuffed pillows behind my back and then stuck the mug in front of my face. Steam rose from the surface of the strange-smelling tea.
I eyed it like it was snakes.
“You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t want to put anything hot inside my body right now.”
“Drink it, Glynn. It will help get rid of…” She waved her hand in front of my face, and I frowned.
“Get rid of what? Do I have a pimple?” I let my eyes go wide in horror, and she rolled hers.
“Stop being a jerk. Drink your medicine.”
I took the mug and sniffed it carefully, retching. “Ugh! That smells like butt.”
She put hands on hips. “Okay, now I’m wondering whose butt you’ve been sniffing.” She grimaced. “I won’t be able to get that thought out of my mind for a while. Stop being a baby and drink up.”
I took a quick sip and retched again. But the glower on my friend’s face had me choking the rest down fast, hoping it would be over my tongue and down my throat before my taste buds realized I was trying to poison them.
“There,” she said, taking the mug from me. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “Still retching here,” I told her on the backend of a particularly violent heave. I didn’t dare do anything besides gag though because the look on her face promised dire things if I did.
“If you throw it up, you’ll just have to drink another mug full.”
And there was that.
I closed my eyes and laid back onto the pillows, feeling better. The stuff had gone in hot but it had coated my innards in a cooling wash that seemed to numb a lot of the residual burning sensation. I sighed. My muscles softened. The sounds of people moving around the house eased away…
The floor next to the couch creaked. My eyes shot open and my hand flew up, fingers curved as if I’d claw the man standing beside the couch with them.
I would have too, except for two things. One, I didn’t have claws. And, two, he’d grabbed my wrist in an iron grip and my hand couldn’t get to him.
Art lifted a brow. “Cool your jets, Glynnie. I just wanted to see how you were feeling. That nasty stuff Sissy made should have kicked in by now.”
I laughed, jerking my arm from his grip. “In two minutes? What was it, instameds?”
He gave me a look filled with pity. “Glynn, you’ve been asleep for three hours.”
I started to shake my head, then I glanced toward the spot where Boyle had been. He was gone. And I heard his cute little voice in the kitchen, telling somebody all about his favorite bugs.
I collapsed back to the pillows. “No wonder my mouth is so dry.”
“I’ll get you some water.”
I shook my head. “No. I’m getting up. I’ll get it.”
He frowned and I added, “But thanks. I just need to move around a little.”
He offered me his hand and I took it. Then I remembered Hawk and squeezed it hard. “Hawk and Nicht?”
“They’re going to be okay,” he told me. “Your neighbor pulled dirt out of the ground and dumped it on them. She did it to you too, by the way.” He frowned. “I’m not sure why, but it seemed to help.” He frowned. “What is she, anyway?”
I stiffened at the question. He noticed and looked hurt. Lifting his hands, he shook his head. “Never mind. I was just curious.”
“Sorry, Art. It’s not my place to reveal that. Della’s a very private person.”
He nodded. “No, I get it.” He forced a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
I felt bad. But that didn’t change the fact that I was telling the truth. Everyone in Render was in hiding. We all had our reasons for not going public about our magic. And we were only safe as long as nobody started telling tales.
Sis came into the room, my favorite little gargoyle skipping alongside her. She had a tray in her hands, which was sending a delicious array of aromas into the air. I eyed it hungrily as she placed it on the table in front of me. “Oh, my goddess! Is that homemade bread?”
She grinned, wiping her hands on the towel she’d jammed into the waistband of her jeans like an apron.
“And jellies!” Boyle said happily, holding out a tiny jar filled with something that was glossy and red. My eyebrows lifted. “Is that strawberry rhubarb?”
He nodded so enthusiastically, he almost dropped the jar.
Sis dove on it, rescuing the little jar from his fingers. “I’ll take that, little man. Do you want to tell Glynnie what we made for dessert?”
He bounced on his toes, his eyes as big as saucers. “Glynnie, Glynnie, Glynnie, me and Sissy made chawcate cake!”
“Chocolate cake?” I clapped my hands, doing the happy carb dance on my butt.
Boyle giggled with pure joy, doing his own happy dance. He swung his tiny arms in the air and hopped from foot to foot, tipping his head energetically back and forth.
We all laughed at his antics. That only made him dance harder.
Sissy handed me a bowl of soup and I sniffed. “Mm, vegetable beef?”
She nodded. “Sorry it’s not fancier. But you had fresh veggies in the fridge, and it’s been sounding good.”
“No, it’s perfect. Thanks so much for doing this.”
She frowned, handing my brother his own bowl. “I didn’t do anything.”
I lifted a brow. “No, you only took on a monster in the street. And probably saved Hawk’s life.”
She flipped a dismissive hand in the air. “You would have done the same.” I watched her slather a thick slice of bread with jelly and hand it to Boyle. “Now, sit down next to Glynn with that,” she told him. “Don’t get jelly all over the place.”
The little gargoyle took a bite, did an abbreviated form of the happy carb dance, and plopped next to me.
I watched him eat, the simple contentment on his face filling me with pleasure.
“He ate his soup in the kitchen,” Sissy told me. “I didn’t think it was a good idea to give him soup in here.”
“The jelly’s dangerous enough,” Art said. “I saw what he did with it at breakfast.”
“You’re not wrong,” Sissy said.
“So, tell me what happened?” I asked my friend.
She rubbed her hands on the towel again, her gaze filled with concern. “I was washing the baking dishes and looked out the window. I saw that…thing…standing in the middle of the street and Hawk and Nicht circling it.” She shook her head. “I have no idea where it came from. One minute the street was empty and then it was…just…there.”
Sis twined her fingers together, seemingly lost in thought. I took note of the dark shadows under her eyes and a new tightness in their corners. Sissy had a headache. Probably a bad one, judging by the amount of energy she’d used out there.
“Where did Hawk come from?” Art asked.
“I don’t know. That was strange too. He simply appeared when the lizard thing did. I guess it was just a coincidence. He must have either been out there when it showed up, or…”
I knew what she was thinking. Hawk always seemed to be around when trouble happened. It was like he could smell it or something.
Or he knew it was coming.
“You don’t suppose he’s some kind of Seer, do you?” Sis asked.
It was like she’d read my mind. “I don’t know,” I told her. “But I’m going to find out.” I would go see Hawk. I’d give him the rest of the night to recover from the battle. But then I was going over to the place where he was living, and I was going to confront him. Whether he was friend or foe, we needed to know what we were dealing with.
“Did you find, Mitch?” Sis asked. She spoke softly and skimmed a quick glance at Boyle, who’d run into the kitchen to retrieve his favorite monster truck toy from
the table.
“No.” I frowned, remembering the vision I’d had. I couldn’t explain it. And until I could, I was reluctant to talk about it. “There’s no sign of him in the house. I couldn’t feel any residual magic with his signature in the place. Except for in the chair, of course. That’s saturated with it.”
Sissy chewed a bite of bread, her expression grim. “It’s not like Mitch to just pick up and leave. And if he had, he would have taken that chair with him. It was the only thing he cared about.”
I nodded my agreement. “I’m not giving up. If I need to, we’ll bring in one of the Body’s hounds to find him.”
Art, who’d been eating in silence for the last few moments, glanced up at my suggestion. His eyes met mine. “I can arrange that if you’d like.”
“Thanks. But not yet. It has to be a last resort because if the Body finds out about Mitch, they’ll pull him into Magical Indy. Mitch really doesn’t want that.”
Not to mention, I wasn’t entirely sure the Body hadn’t taken him in the first place.
“He might rather die than be forced into service,” Sissy said on a frown.
I thought about that. She wasn’t wrong. The Seer definitely might prefer to die rather than have someone forcibly take his freedom from him. In that respect, he wasn’t unlike the rest of us in Render. It was one of the things that had bound us together.
“I know someone,” Art offered, hesitation in his voice.
“Someone?” I asked, taking a bite of soup. It was beyond delicious. I gave Sissy a thumbs up, and she smiled with pleasure.
“She’s a…bounty hunter seems like too harsh a word.” But I noticed he didn’t offer a better one. He leaned forward in his chair, warming to the idea. “She’ll sign a blood-oath confidentiality agreement.”
I was familiar with the blood-oath agreements. If the signer broke the agreement, he or she died a swift death. If you wanted an iron-clad agreement, there were none better.
I thought about it for a moment and then nodded. “I’ll put that in as Plan B. After I talk to Hawk, if I think we need this bounty hunter of yours, we’ll contact her. Okay?”
