Fury Rising (Fury Unbound Book 1) (15 page)

Jason nodded, stepping out of my way.

“It found a new body. Get behind that thistle-bush until we know what it’s wearing.”

He obeyed, dodging out of the way as another creature came charging at me around the bend. This time, the Abom was wearing the skin of a pig-headed dog with tusks. As it raced my way, eyes gleaming with the unnatural light of Pandoriam, I raised my whip again and brought it down smack across the creature’s face.

“Queet? Soul-hole?”

“It’s there, on the top of the head.” His misty shape swirled in back of the pig-dog.

I slapped my whip back onto my leg and unsheathed my sword as the Abom lurched toward me.
Closer…closer…a little closer
…and then it was right on me. It struck with its tusks, trying to stab me in the leg. I brought my sword up and plunged it down toward the pig-dog’s head. As the blade whistled toward the top of its skull, I could see the soul-hole, pale blue and writhing with energy. I shifted my aim ever so slightly, and the tip of the sword dug deep into the Abom’s soul-hole. Xan sang as she hit, sending a blast of energy racing through the bog. As the Abom screeched out its death-wail, its vehicle slowly keeled over.

This time, the Abom was truly dead.

Panting, I knelt, hunching over as the pain from my hand started to eat through my adrenaline rush.

Jason emerged from behind the bush, his face ashen. “Kae…Kae, are you all right?”

I groaned slightly. While I hadn’t drained myself by crossing over to the Crossroads this time, the energy it took to channel the force of a dying Abom was tremendous.

“Yeah, as long as we don’t meet any more. Take me home. My hand needs medical attention and I need food and a drink.”

It was then that I realized I had to get back over the marsh. There was only one way. Jason couldn’t carry me in his hawk form. He seemed to realize the same thing.

“Let me get to the other side so I can catch you if need be. And here…” He looked around, finding a stand of Wandering Ivy. He hacked a long tendril off of it, jumping back as the plant lashed out at him, then tied it around my waist. The vines were almost as strong as rope until they dried out. With the other end in his mouth, he transformed back into his hawk form and, carrying the tendril, flew across the marsh.

There, he shifted back. Through my exhaustion and pain, I realized what he had done. If I should lose hold of my whip, he’d keep me from sinking due to the makeshift rope. Wearily, I sheathed my sword, then slapped my thigh again and brought my whip to bear. The pain ripped through my wounds as I grasped the butt of the whip with both hands and swung back over the marsh. Jason caught me, helping me land.

We hurried back along the trail as fast as we could. I was tired, but I’d done this gig too many times before to let myself rest yet, and not in the Bogs. I could muster the energy to get out of the area before collapsing.

Once we were out and back in his car, I fell against the seat as we headed toward my apartment. I thought about stopping in at the temple, but decided it could wait. I had taken down the Abom and talked to Tigra. That was all I needed to do tonight.

As we crept through the streets of Darktown, I stared out into the night, nursing my hand, thinking about the Order of the Black Mist. Abominations I knew how to deal with, but how the hell was I supposed to find a group of magicians bent on defying every rule we lived under? With a sigh, I pushed aside my thoughts. It was enough for one evening.

Chapter 10

As we trudged into my apartment, Queet used whisper-speak so Jason could hear him. “Fury needs food.”

Jason grunted. “I’ll see what she has in the fridge.” He pushed me toward the sofa as he headed into the kitchenette. “Sit. I’ll get food and drinks.”

I groaned, dropping onto my couch. At least I wasn’t hurting as bad as I had coming back off the Crossroads the other night, but that didn’t mean that I was comfortable. I peeled off my jacket cautiously, taking care not to drag the material over my hand. Then, I unzipped my boots and slid them off, groaning as I curled up in the corner of the sofa.

Queet swirled into form next to me and sat his misty ass down on the edge of the coffee table. “Too many Aboms, too close together.”

“Hecate is right, the activity from the World Tree is picking up. I may have to head into the Sandspit to have a look and see if anything has changed.”

The World Tree was an actual tree—or rather network of trees. Areas like the Sandspit dappled the world, and each one had a giant tree in the center of it. Here, it was an oak—in other places it was a tree that fit the ecology. But all the trees were linked on the astral level, and all of the trees were part of the World Tree. Through the branches and trunks were portals leading into other realms.

Queet grew unusually somber. “It’s dangerous to get too close. You never know what will come through.” He shook his head. “I know you’ve been there before, but be careful, Fury. You know I have your back if you go, though.”

“Thanks. I know we don’t always see eye to eye, but with the Aboms coming over faster, and the Order of the Black Mist rising, I have the feeling we may be going even more places we really don’t want to.” I stared at my hand. “The Abom was bad enough, but what really scares me is that tornado. Queet, you know what will happen if the rogue magicians take this any further.”

“I know. I know all too well.”

Jason appeared at that moment, two plates in hand. He had made thick sandwiches, piled high with meat and cheese. “You’re out of chicken, by the way.”

I groaned. “You just cleaned me out of three days of food.” When he gave me a pointed look, I added, “It’s a tight month, okay?” But then I remembered the three hundred cash Hecate had slipped me and the cash I had made off readings at the shop. I also had a job to call about on Monday. “Never mind, it will be all right.”

“If you need a little extra, just ask.” Jason pulled out his phone.

“No. I’m not your responsibility anymore.” I tried to wave him off, but within less than a minute, I had a text telling me he had transferred two hundred cash to my account. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“No, but I did, so shut up and eat. Where’s your first-aid kit?”

“In the bathroom,” I muttered. “Top drawer on the left.”

He set his sandwich aside and headed into the bath.

I stood up and opened the curtains. I was on the fourth floor of a brick walkup. My apartment was small—a bedroom, living room, kitchenette, and bath—but I didn’t care, because my view overlooked Idyll Inlet, on the northwest edge of Darktown.

I lived in the King’s Cross apartment building, directly across from a Monotrain platform. My apartment overlooked the water, and sometimes at night, I would turn off the lights and watch the silver crest of the inlet against the moonlight. The sight seemed to soothe the perpetual fire that burned within me. Jason had once remarked that watching the water tempered me—like fire and snow tempered steel. When I thought about it, he was right. Hecate bathed me in her fire day and night. I could feel her in the tattoo on my neck, in the whip inked into my leg. When the gods came calling, they weren’t subtle about it. The water gave me a respite from that continual burning that raced through my blood.

Jason returned with first aid supplies and a basin of water. He set them on the table, then took hold of my left hand as I continued to eat with my right. He examined my wounds.

“We should have stopped at the Care Clinic. This is bad, Kae. Why you aren’t on the floor whimpering is beyond me. I think I can manage this, though.”

I had no desire to head back out into the night just to see the doctor. “If you can take care of it here, I’d rather do that. I’ve got some Sleep-Eez, which will help me through the pain tonight.” One thing about Sleep-Eez, it came in quarter doses and each dose provided for two hours of sleep. There was no morning-after hangover, either, and it wasn’t addictive.

Jason began cleaning my hand. I grimaced, gritting my teeth, but kept quiet as he flushed the wounds with clear water. Then he examined them closely.

“Well, they’re nasty, but I think you can avoid infection. We can’t let them heal over too soon, though. I’m going to pack them with the antibiotic powder and then cover them loosely for the first day or two.” As he tamped the powder into the holes where the acid had burned through the flesh, I let out a sharp yelp. “I know it hurts, but this will help prevent infection.”

As he wrapped my hand in gauze, he glanced around the apartment. “Where’s the Sleep-Eez? You’re going to need it.”

He was right. My hand was throbbing and I wouldn’t be able to sleep without help. “In the bathroom, in the top right drawer.”

While he was getting the meds, I finished off my sandwich. Jason returned and shook out three of the tablets. I placed them under my tongue, wrinkling my nose as they fizzed into a bubbly grape-flavored liquid in my mouth. As the medication began to absorb into my system, I felt my pillows calling me. I let out a soft murmur and yawned.

“Usually this doesn’t hit me so fast.”

“You don’t usually don’t get burned by acidic spit from a bog monster.”

“Stay here tonight.” I blurted out the words before I could stop myself. “I mean…you can sleep on the sofa. It’s comfortable. And that way you’ll get more sleep than you would if you drive home.” I blushed a little, partly because I was hoping he didn’t think I meant it any other way and partly because the image of us together in my bed had suddenly flashed through my mind, totally unbidden, but nevertheless, there it was.

He stared at me for a moment, then slowly nodded. “I’ll take you up on that. I don’t feel like driving home to…” With a pause, he winced, leaning forward to cradle his head.

“I’m sorry.” I pushed away my own fantasies to make way for his reality. “I’m sorry, Jason. I wish…”

“I know, Kae. You’re a sweetheart and a good friend.” He gazed up at me, his cool eyes piercing right through my heart. Never had a compliment stung so much and yet felt so good. I yawned again, suddenly realizing I was about to pass out. “Come on, sleepy girl.”

He lifted me into his arms, and as I protested, he carried me into the bedroom. I was drifting off already, and the last I remembered was whispering something to the effect of “This is nice” as he undressed me, slid me under the covers, and tucked me in. Too tired to be mortified, I closed my eyes and was out for the night.

I woke to my alarm going off. I blurrily looked at it. Five-thirty. At first I thought Jason had set it, but Queet was swirling near the end of my bed. “I set it,” he said, his voice thundering through my brain. That alone drove the cobwebs out. “Get up. Jason is up, Tam will be here soon, and you need to head out to the Arbortariam.”

“Everybody will just have to wait until I take a shower.” The Sleep-Eez had soothed my aching muscles, but I felt grimy. I eased beneath the inviting spray, jerking my hurt hand away as the pounding water stung it through the bandages. Using my right hand, I soaped myself with violet-scented bath gel, my all-too-abundant boobs peeking out from the lather. I lathered up my hair, too, washing the crimson and black strands as best as I could with one hand. Finally, deciding I was as clean as I could possibly get, I turned off the shower and stepped out of the stall.

Fifteen minutes later, my hair was dry and I was dressed. Getting on my shorts and bra was a chore given my hand, but at least the tank top was easy. My hair was a mass of waves and I did my best to brush it back into a ponytail. I slapped on some eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss, and called it good. It was then that I checked my phone and saw that Hecate had phoned an hour before. I decided to call her back after I’d had some coffee and headed into the living room.

Jason was there, along with Tam. Queet was nowhere to be seen. He had vanished after waking me up. The guys had made coffee, and Tam had brought breakfast: pastries and sausage sandwiches and a bag of grapes. As I accepted a mug of coffee, we gave him the rundown of what had happened in Bend and at the Bogs.

“This isn’t going to play out well. If whoever’s behind this has already started mucking around with weather magic, either they have figured out how to use that disk, or they already knew how to call up storms.” He found my plates and portioned out the food.