Alaskan Fury (27 page)

Helicopters and lightning did not
make good bedfellows. 

‘Aqrab eyed the Thunderbird, who
was obviously going to follow him despite his wishes.  Yet ‘Aqrab also knew he
couldn’t ask for help against their pursuers, because, in the mind of a
creature like Thunderbird, everyone who wasn’t of native skin was a trespasser,
anyway, and it would only suit his ends if the outsiders ended up killing each
other.  Yet if he could somehow get his
pride
involved…

“We’re being hunted,” ‘Aqrab said
in a somber tone, drawing to a halt and throwing his arm out in front of
Thunderbird, shaking his head.  “To stay with us is to put yourself in grave
danger.”

“
Hunted
?” Thunderbird
snorted as if the idea was humorous.  “By what?”

“Something you don’t want to meet
on the field of battle,” ‘Aqrab said, as seriously as he could, seeing that the
vain prick was falling right into his hands.  “That’s why we need to cross your
land.  We’re going to enlist the aid of dragons.”

Thunderbird straightened as if
someone had rammed a golden stake down his spine.  “The dragons are but
self-important lizards.”

‘Aqrab had to hide a giggle
behind a cough.  With total commiseration, he said, “Oh, believe me, I
know
. 
Utterly arrogant and conceited.  And
vain
.”

“
Utterly
conceited,”
Thunderbird agreed vehemently.  “The inflated, self-absorbed
narcissists
. 
They act as if they
own
those mountains.”  He flicked his braid
disgustedly over his shoulder and glared at the horizon to the north, beyond
which, laid the Brooks Range, the last bastion of dragonkind.  “You’re wasting
your time with them.  They’re nothing but virgin-kidnapping, mirror-gazing,
gold-hoarding
thieves
who think they’re princes.” 

“But at least they can fight,”
‘Aqrab said with a sigh.  “As a simple djinni, who would much rather spend his
time singing to the dunes and feeding himself dates, I find myself greatly
outmatched.  And my magus, well…”  He gestured to her unconscious form.  “She
spends more time
recovering
from fighting than actually fighting.”

Thunderbird snorted and made a
dismissive gesture.  “Your pursuers will not bother you on my land.”

‘Aqrab made a show of considering
that.  “Still, my magus has…needs…that will require a dragon’s help.”

The Thunderbird gave his
unconscious ward a curious look.  “What kind of needs?”

‘Aqrab shrugged.  “She seeks the
serpents to ask for help in ousting the nest of the Inquisitors that have been
kidnapping Second, Third, and Fourthlanders alike to the south of us.”  He was
pretty sure they would capture this First Lander in a heartbeat, too, given the
opportunity, but, after his display with his magus, ‘Aqrab honestly doubted
they would ever get the opportunity.  From what he had just seen, a Thunderbird
could probably hold his own against a dragon.  Easily.

“I was wondering what the
commotion was,” Thunderbird said, glancing casually behind them, towards the
mountain slope where his magus had left the wreckage of a helicopter and a
quarter acre of bloodied snow.  Then he turned back and gave ‘Aqrab a harsh
look.  “What makes this
wolf
think that the
dragons
will help
her?”

‘Aqrab gave him an unhappy grin. 
“The wolf has a djinni at her disposal…and one final wish.”

The Thunderbird gave his ward an indifferent
look.  “I can kill her for you, if you wish.”

If it ever came down to being
without a woman the rest of his life or being a slave to
dragons
, that
would be a difficult choice.  Dragons could twist words almost as well as a
djinni, and, given the proper time to plan out each wish, would probably be
able to lay out a labyrinth of legalities that could trip up even ‘Aqrab.  But
‘Aqrab didn’t intend to let her hand him over to dragons.  If he had to get
down on his knees and beg, offer her
boons
, he would do it.  He
shuddered at the very thought.

“No,” he muttered, “I would
rather not limit myself to the company of men the rest of my life.”  Not to
mention having to cart around a sack of
bones
.  That was
just…embarrassing.

“You are afraid to go without
women…yet you still haven’t gotten her to spread her legs for you.”

‘Aqrab flushed.  That was
not
a fact he was proud of, but if it helped the Thunderbird retain his illusion of
superiority, so be it.  There was no need to inform him he was, in fact,
dealing with a Fury.  While she was debilitated by the wolf in her blood, the
fewer who knew
that
particular fact, the better.  “I would rather we did
not discuss my woeful lack of debauchery,” he said honestly.  “It makes
me…irritable.”

Thunderbird snorted.  “I will get
her to spread her legs for me.  Once spread, they will do so again, and with
less effort.”

My dick in your mother’s
spine, you self-important fool. 
‘Aqrab had to swallow down the curse that
tried to rumble from his throat.  Coughing, he managed, “If you could convince
her to spread her legs for you, I would be thoroughly impressed.  Until then…”
he glanced up at the sun.  “We should pick up the pace.  They have flying
machines.”

Thunderbird waved a dismissive
hand.  “Let them come.”  As if he were speaking of gnats with swords made of
the shavings of toothpicks.

And, ‘Aqrab realized, to this
First-Lander, that’s probably exactly what they were.  ‘Aqrab would have felt
the same way, had they been walking the sands of the Fourth Lands rather than
the filthy snow-ridden forests of the First Lands.  Between sand-singing,
wishcraft, and the full fury of the sun, there was very little capable of
challenging a djinni’s power.

Goddess, he missed his home.

Kaashifah awoke to the pleasant
sound of the djinni singing.

Well, pleasant except for the
words
of his song, which were even then going into great detail the outrageous
‘virtues’ of a woman’s form.  “Gods,” she moaned, rolling over and slapping her
hands over her ears.  “
Must
you do that?”  She refrained from using the
word ‘caterwaul,’ as she had long ago come to discover that the Fourthlander
Law considered it an insult.

“Good evening, mon Dhi’b,” ‘Aqrab
said.  Then he launched back into his music.

“Dammit, ‘Aqrab!” she cried.  “I
don’t want to hear about ‘busty bosoms’ and ‘curvaceous hips!’”

“Stop interrupting him, wolf,” an
imperious voice said.  “The djinni is singing me a tale.”

Kaashifah froze and blearily
opened her eyes.

Thunderbird was seated on a
nearby boulder, his rippling silver-gray robes settled regally around him,
seemingly entranced by the djinni’s cacophony.  Seeing that, Kaashifah’s jaw
fell open.  She stared, in silence, as ‘Aqrab continued to wail at the starry
sky, and Thunderbird watched him with the rapt attention of an enthralled
child.

He must have poisoned my meal
,
Kaashifah thought, unable to believe her eyes.

After another twenty minutes, the
djinni ended his tale with a woeful lingering of a final, horrid note, and
Thunderbird slapped his boulder with glee and immediately cried, “Another!”

“No,
not
another,”
Kaashifah snapped.  “He doesn’t have the time to sing.”

The great North American figure
of myth and lore turned his head to give her a flat electric stare.  “A mouse
does not tell an eagle what he will be having for dinner.”

A
mouse
, am I?
she
thought, her anger spiking.  But she held her tongue, the results of her last
encounter with the despicable beast still leaving negatives of lightning-forks
burned in her field of vision.  She would have to remember to pay him a visit
on her way back through, once she had finished her business with the dragons.

“Turns out, mon Dhi’b,” ‘Aqrab
said, beaming, “Thunderbird enjoys a good bardic tale, unlike some other
ungrateful wretches around here.”

The Thunderbird gave her a look
of pity.  “One can hardly expect the moon-cursed to appreciate the pleasures of
culture.”  He waved a commanding hand.  “Continue, djinni.  Ignore the
Third-Lander.”

…as if she were a very dense
child.  Or a slave.

‘Aqrab must have seen the rising
fury on her face, because he said, “Actually, my throat is beginning to pain
me, great one.  It’s been so long since I’ve put it to that much use…  I should
probably ease back into it slowly, rather than burn myself out all at once.”

Thunderbird actually
whined
,
“But I was
enjoying
myself.”

“I’ll sing for you again,” ‘Aqrab
assured him, giving Kaashifah a pointed look, “now that I have an appreciative
audience, I’ll probably make it a nightly affair.”

“Oh gods,” Kaashifah groaned,
dropping her head into her hands.  “Just kill me now.”

“That could be arranged, Third Lander,”
Thunderbird said.

Kaashifah gave him a sharp look
and opened her mouth, but ‘Aqrab quickly interrupted her with, “So, mon Dhi’b,
are you hungry?”

She choked off what she was about
to say and gave ‘Aqrab a searing look.  “Not on your life, djinni.”

The Thunderbird cocked his head
at her.  “You, a
wolf
, turn down an offering of the djinni?”

“It’s not an
offering
,”
she growled, glaring at ‘Aqrab, who was smirking.  “And I’d rather crawl
through the filth of pigs than touch him again.”

Thunderbird gave her a disdainful
look down his nose at her.  “Just because he has no other alternatives, wolf,
does not mean you should take airs above your station.”  On the opposite edge
of the fire, she thought she saw the djinni go stiff, but she had only a moment
to think about that before Thunderbird continued, “But I like him, so I’ll
deign to do him the favor of bedding you.  Come back to my cabin with me
tonight and I will show you how to properly spread your legs to your betters.”

The words were so outrageous and
ridiculous that Kaashifah burst out laughing.  “
You
,” she cried, jabbing
a finger at him.  “Bed
me
?”  She yanked a thumb back at her chest.  “In
your
cabin
?  Surely you
joke
, you puffed-up peacock.”

Thunderbird’s perfect mouth fell
open and he stared at her with complete shock, which, at her laughter, was rapidly
shifting into anger when ‘Aqrab quickly interjected, “I
told
you she was
an ill-tempered beastie.  You’d been given fair warning, my liege.”

Kaashifah continued to snicker,
loving the way the bird was looking like he’d swallowed an entire rotten lemon,
sideways.

Very stiffly, head rising at a
regal angle, Thunderbird stood, carefully dusting his robes around him.  “I
have matters to attend to.  I will see you upon the morn.”  Then, without
warning, the man’s robes melted away and he began to shift into the form of a
bird, forcing Kaashifah to stumble backwards as he grew in size, ebony feathers
sprouting from his body, expanding until he stood taller than an elephant, his
body in the shape of an eagle, but carrying an eerie black, abyssal sheen to
his feathers that crackled with electricity. 

Then, with a thunderous snap of
his wings that dually sizzled her body with waves of electricity and threw her
to the ground with the vibration of the echo, the Thunderbird took flight, a
crackling blue silhouette against the black night sky, each of his slow, lazy wingbeats
the massive boom of thunder.

“You know,” ‘Aqrab growled, as he
picked himself out of the snow, “you could have exercised a bit more diplomacy,
mon Dhi’b.  That creature probably could have roasted us both alive, for the
insult you just bore him.”

Kaashifah snorted and waved the
idea aside.  “If he couldn’t kill me before, he wasn’t going to be able to kill
me now.”

‘Aqrab brushed a clump of melting
snow from his chest, glaring at her.  “He
was
killing you.  I gave him
three wishes, in return for safe passage.”

Kaashifah froze.  “You didn’t.”

‘Aqrab shrugged.  “It was the
only way I could save your fool life.”

Licking her lips, Kaashifah’s eyes
once more found the ebony bird soaring into the distance, its feathers rippling
with electricity.  “Oh.”  Reluctantly, she looked back at the djinni, who was
returning to his boulder, from which he’d been knocked by the Thunderbird’s
departure.  Warily, she asked, “What did he wish for?”

“Cosmetics,” ‘Aqrab replied.

“So
that
is why his
impudent face wasn’t even swollen,” she growled.  “I was
sure
I’d broken
something in there…”

“Mon Dhi’b,” the djinni said, “if
you are to make bargains with dragons, we are going to need to work on your
faculties of communication, lest you get us both killed.”

“I’m a Fury,” she snorted.  “I
don’t need to communicate.”

‘Aqrab watched her for some time,
the silence of the mountainside descending around them before he said, “Do you
need to eat?”

Kaashifah tensed all over again. 
She was
hungry
.  After the djinni had caught her fondling him like a
whore, she had slipped the Void, and then had gone a week without eating,
starving rather than facing the smug knowing on his face.  Fighting Thunderbird
had tapped every reserve she had.  Even now, the Third Lander was prowling at
the edge of his cage, thrashing at the back of her mind, sensing her weakening
hold on it.  “Neek hallak, ‘Aqrab,” she growled, flushing as she turned away.

“Tonight, in order to receive
your accustomed bounty, I would have you touch me to my satisfaction.”

Kaashifah choked in horror. 
“That is
not
going to happen.”

The infuriating djinni just
shrugged his massive shoulders.  “I suppose I could bring myself to dine
alone.”

“You
manuke khara
!” she
cried.

The djinni grinned at her just
before his face became wrought with seriousness and he stiffened with the
booming call of, “You have reset your seven days.”  Then, once the violet wisps
of Fourth Lander magic had died down, he resumed grinning at her.  “How does
lamb sound tonight, mon Dhi’b?”

She glanced out over the
windswept hillside below the crevice where the djinni had camped.  “I will find
my own food tonight, djinni,” she growled.

The djinni scoffed.  “What will
it be? 
Rabbits
?”  He gestured at the endless field of snow beneath
their hideaway.  “Good luck, mon Dhi’b.  I’ll be dining on lamb and pineapple
on the dunes of the Fourth Lands.”  He disappeared, leaving Kaashifah alone in
the cave.

The thought of going without a
meal tonight and fighting the Third Lander over an empty stomach after her duel
with Thunderbird left her guts twisting upon themselves.  Kaashifah bit her lip
looking down at her hands.  “Wait,” she managed, her voice barely more than a rasp.

At first, she thought the djinni
had retreated to the Fourth Realm, as he had threatened, but after a moment, he
solidified in front of her, his arms crossed over his chest, feet planted
beneath him, an infuriating brow raised in question.

“Name your terms,” she managed,
barely able to force the words from her throat.  Still staring at her hands,
she whispered, “I will consider it.”

The djinni cleared his throat. 
Then she felt the rush of Fourthlander magic fill the rocky crevice as his eyes
began to glow that neon purple and he said, “I, Yad al-‘Aqrab, sand-singer of
the Scorpion clan, firstborn son of Bakr al-Shihab, eleventh djinni Lord of the
Fourth Lands, hereby offer a bargain to you, Kaashifah the Fury, Justicar of
the First Realm, Warrior-Priestess of Horus, Angel of Vengeance, and Maiden of
the Sword:  Touch my body, to your satisfaction, and I will use the powers of
the Fourth Lands to bring you a meal fit for a king.  Do you accept?”

Somehow, the idea of touching
him
was so much more degrading than having him paw at her like a randy beast.  She
hesitated for long minutes, allowing the silence of the mountainside to
penetrate their cave, only the wail of the wind outside to witness her
decline.  Her fall to a man.

“What part of your body?” she whispered.

The djinni shrugged.  “That would
be up to you.  Do you accept?”

She could choose which part. 
That seemed reasonable—if the djinni’s nightly bribe could be considered
reasonable.  After all, what difference was there between having him touch her,
and her touching him, in the grand scheme of corruption?  Either way, she would
have to spend a few years in confinement, undergoing ritual ablutions and the
cleansing with incense, before she was ever going to be allowed in a temple
again.  “I accept,” she muttered.

The djinni’s eyes widened and his
body stiffened with the words, “As agreed, so decreed, the bargain has been
made.”  She felt the knot tighten around her soul, and then ‘Aqrab collapsed to
his hands and knees, panting.  Between breaths, he managed, “I’ve never…made
so…many…weaves of Law…as I have…in these last weeks.”  When he looked up at
her, his face stretched in a smile.  “I could get used to this.”

“Don’t,” Kaashifah gritted.  “I’m
handing your hide over to the dragons at the very first opportunity.”

The djinni’s face darkened
perceptibly before he masked it.  Gesturing at the rocky floor of the natural
hollow, he asked, “Where would you have me, little wolf?”

“On a
pike
,” Kaashifah
snapped.  “I will
kill
you for this, ‘Aqrab.”

He peered at her.  “Well,” he
said, shrugging after a moment, “at least I’ll have enjoyed my final days.” 
Cocking his head, that infernal grin on his face, he added, “A stark contrast
to the previous three millennia, I might add.”

Kaashifah narrowed her eyes.  “The
cave is not large enough for you to lie down.  I’ll have to widen it.”

“Oh?” ‘Aqrab asked, his violet
eyes amused.  “You’d rather I lie down for this, then?  Should I take off my
sirwal, as well?”

Her face flushed in a wave of
fire.  “I will
not
touch you naked.”

The djinni thoughtfully touched
his chin.  “Now
there’s
an idea…”

Crying out in disgust, Kaashifah
pushed her mind into the ground beneath her, found the closest ley-line, and
dragged it forth, supplementing what was left of her own reserves as she pushed
the rock around them out and away, giving them more than a simple overhang in
which to perform the djinni’s repulsive act.

…Yet, beneath the repulsion there
was a nagging exhilaration in the back of her mind, an excitement to once again
be able to feel that body, exposed for her, to trace its perfect lines…