Earth & Sky (28 page)

“Oh son of a bitch!”  I joined them, slamming my pipe
against the back of the man’s legs.  Ville punched him in the face and he
crumpled.  Then the big Fallen emperor stood there looking confused.  Blood was
streaming from the gunshot wound in his shoulder, which should have already healed. 
I reached forward and yanked out the dart that protruded from his chest. 

His wide blue eyes blinked at me, unfocused, and then he
slowly sank to his knees.  “I… don’t feel well,” he said in a childlike voice.

I sniffed at the dart then tossed it aside, sure that it
was the same drug they had used to poison Ville and his father before.  It
looked like they had finally gotten the mixture right.  Ville listed to the
side and I caught him under the arms.  Gods, he was heavy.

I glanced around me, wrinkling my nose at the two humans
at my feet.  I didn’t know for sure they were dead, but I still didn’t want to
spend any extended period with them.

I kicked open the door between the cars and dragged Ville
over the threshold.  He giggled, then went totally limp, head lolling against
my arm.  “Oh right,” I grunted.  “You just go ahead and take a nap.”  It was like
hauling a sack of bricks.  I noticed a few black feathers being left behind as
his wings dragged along, but there was nothing I could do about it.

Once I got him into the car, I lowered him to the carpeted
floor.  Everyone had evacuated this car too.  The passengers had probably congregated
in the front of the train.  It would be a couple of hours before the next town,
and I didn’t think they would stop the train out in the middle of nowhere in
these conditions.

I stepped over Ville’s prostrate body, and then stooped to
press an ear to his chest.  I could still hear his heartbeat, slow, but
steady.  I went back outside and peered into the back car.  No one was moving. 

Returning to Ville, I slipped an arm under his shoulders
and levered him into a semi-reclined position against the side of one of the
seats, grunting with effort.  Then I knelt by his side and opened the collar of
his shirt.  I couldn’t quite get at the gunshot wound, so I ripped the fabric,
pushing it back over his shoulder.  It looked like the bullet had passed all
the way through, which was good.  I had seen Shifters heal too quickly; leaving
a bullet trapped inside the body that then had to be cut out.

His eyes fluttered open and he tilted his head to look
crossed eyed at me.  “If you wanted me to take my clothes off, you could have
just asked.”  He tried a smile, but it wasn’t convincing.  He closed his eyes
and let his head drop back against the arm of the seat.  “Why does it still
hurt?”  I cast a nervous glance at him out of the corner of my eye as I
examined the wound.  “Still” had sounded a lot like “scthill,” as he slurred
his words together.

“I think that dart was some kind of poison to block your
healing abilities.”  Blood still trickled from his shoulder, and another spot
on his side where a bullet had grazed him.  I pressed a palm to it, putting
pressure on the area.  “It should have healed by now.

Ville lifted his uninjured arm as if it weighed a ton and dropped
it around my waist.  He tugged me closer and I gave him an irritated look. 
“Look, I know you’re stoned right now, but try to get a grip.  I’m not really
in the mood.”

He bent and nuzzled the sensitive juncture of my neck and
shoulder.  I felt a tingle of magic and my own power rose up to meet it almost
unconsciously, twining our auras together.  There was a scrape of sharp teeth
against my skin and I broke out in goose bumps.  I sighed, realizing he was
just trying to speed up the healing. 

He tugged me closer, and I went, moving to straddle him. 
I slipped my arms around his neck and held him close as he bit me.  You would
think that, given the circumstances, I wouldn’t have had time to enjoy myself. 
You would be wrong.

When Ville finally lifted his head, I collapsed against
him, panting.  He brushed my hair back from my face so that he could peer into
my eyes.  “Tired?”

I snorted at him and pushed myself upright.  “Who me?  I
love fighting for my life and serving as a walking blood bank.  All in a day’s
work.”  I still didn’t move.  “And you weigh a ton.”  In informed him.

Ville shrugged his injured shoulder and I made a colossal
effort and sat up.  The bleeding had stopped, though the wound still looked a
little redder than it should.  His eyes were clear and sharp, not dulled with
drugs or pain.  “I think you’ll live.”  I collapsed again.

He stood, lifting me without effort.  Then he placed me in
one of the seats and flexed his wings.  “Assassins.”  His voice was flat. 

I nodded.  “Apparently the humans think our presence in
Ansil means we’re up to something.”  And they were right too- somebody was in
big trouble once we reached the mansion.

Ville came to perch on the arm of my seat.  “They’ll have
hit men planted all along our route,” he said with certainty.

I sighed.  “Yeah.”

His mouth turned up in a soft, tired smile.  “Thank you
for saving my life.  That poison of theirs has gotten more effective.”

I grinned up at him.  “You owe me.”

He chuckled.  “I do.”  Then he stood.  “And that’s why
you’re getting off the train.  Tonight.”

I stared up at him.  “Without you?  No way.”

He crossed his arms and glared.  “Just this once, please
do as I say.  Don’t be stubborn and pig-headed.  They’ll be waiting for us to
arrive on the train.  If you slip away, they might not notice.  You can get
back safely.”

“And you’ll stay here and be a decoy.  Did you miss the
fact that they almost killed you?”

He shrugged.  “I wasn’t expecting it.  Now that I know
they’re after us, I’ll be ready.”

I shook my head.  “And if they shoot you with one of those
damned darts again?”

His mouth was grim.  “Wren, I won’t have you in danger.”

I stood and straightened my spine.  “I’m a shield for your
back, as you are for mine,” I said softly.  “Remember?”

His face softened and he stepped close.  His big hands
cradled my face as if they held something infinitely precious.  “Alright then. 
We’ll stay together.”  He pressed a kiss onto my forehead and I relaxed, the
tension flowing out of me.  I wouldn’t admit it aloud, but the thought of being
away from him, even for a day, had been terrifying.

“I think you’re right, though,” I said, not wanting to
examine my neediness.  “We need to get off the train.  That way we’ll have room
to defend ourselves, and the idiots won’t be taking shots in the middle of a
crowded train.”

Just then, a railroad guard with a gun stepped into the
car.  I noticed the bag of alchemy materials tied to his belt, and sensed his
warm Shifter aura.  He was rippling with muscle, with soft brown hair and eyes
the color of a deep green pool.  Bear, I thought.  He kept his gun trained on
us, but he seemed relieved.  “The other men,” he said shortly. 

I nodded toward the back car.  “Humans.  They were after
us.”

He narrowed his eyes at me.  “Are you who I think you
are?”

I shrugged.  “Not tonight, I’m not.”

He considered us for a moment, and then slowly lowered his
gun.  “Okay.  My shift ends in twenty minutes when we get to Clemens, and I’d
like to go home and go to bed.”

Ville laughed.  “Don’t worry.  I think my companion and I
will be getting off now.”

The shifter nodded.  “I’ll say you disappeared.”

“And that’s just what we’ll do.”  I heaved a sigh,
thinking of my poor, abandoned carry-on.  Was I destined to never own anything
more than the clothes on my back?

*****

We made our way around The River Bled, as if we were on a
recreational hike.  I stretched and shook out my fur, then went to join Ville. 
We stopped to rest for a few minutes, but I think we both felt the urge to be
home as soon as possible. 

I rotated one ear, listening to the sounds behind us.  They
had been trailing us for a while now, probably thinking that they were well hidden. 
It looked like they’d finally gotten up the nerve to close in.  I whined at
Ville and trotted off toward the water’s edge as if I needed a drink.  He
dutifully waited, looking relaxed and at ease. 

I dipped my head as if I were about to take a drink, then
sprung sideways as an arrow zipped past, plunging into the water where my head
should be.  I spun to face my attacker.  Ville dematerialized and ported to
where the man had been hiding behind a tree. 

“Should I drain him?”  His voice was like black silk.  I
shuddered.  He was just trying to scare the guy.  I think.  It had been a rough
couple of days.

The human held very still, the shiny blade of Ville’s
katana resting across his throat.  Ville stood behind him, fangs flashing as he
whispered in his ear.  “Mind sharing who sent you to kill us, snack?”

I growled and my hackles rose.  I could hear a motor, and
it was approaching rapidly.  The human’s eyes darted toward the sky.  “Too
late,” he observed with a grin. 

Several more humans in dark clothing loped out of the
trees.  They didn’t pause to threaten or coerce- like the others, they had been
sent here with the sole purpose of killing us.  Ville dodged behind the man he
was holding, using him as a shield.  Shots roared, ruining the stillness of the
beautiful place. 

I leapt into motion, not slowing, though I felt a stinging
pain in my flank.  I flung myself at the nearest human and latched onto his
arm.  His bones snapped between my jaws like dry twigs and he fell to the
ground clutching his arm and screaming.  Ville’s katana flashed, finishing it. 
We spun in a circle, covering each other’s backs as we faced the men.  Their
guns wouldn’t do much, and they knew it.

The motor I’d heard earlier was even louder now.  A
plopping sound followed by a rattling on the rocky shore of the lake drew my
attention.  A man in a steam powered personal air ship was firing on us with a
rapid-fire gun.  He sprayed the water, then up across the shore, honing in on
us. 

Ville saw it too.  “I’ll be right back.”  I growled at
him, but he ignored me and launched into the air with a snap of his wings that
knocked the remaining humans back a step. 

I used the distraction to attack, crunching and ripping
anything I could get between my teeth.  A determined guy with a grim mouth shot
me in the leg, but I ended him anyway.  I cast worried glances up at Ville as I
hopped on three feet.  He was circling the airship, staying just out of reach
of its guns.  

I could feel him pulling on his aura.  I looked away to
take care of the last human.  My attention was jerked back to the battle in the
air by a series of small bangs, followed by the explosion of the airship. 

Ville darted out of the way, but a piece of shrapnel
clipped his wing, knocking him into a spiral.  Their fight had taken them out
over the water, and I watched in dismay as he spiraled out of control, plunging
toward the river.  He landed with a huge splash and sank beneath the surface
like a rock.  Son of a bitch. 

I took one last look around me for enemies, but no one was
getting back up.  I shifted as quickly as I could and rushed toward the dark,
cold water, my skin still tingling from the change, not giving myself time to
recover. 

I hit the water running and plunged below the surface, then
struck out toward the center of the massive body of water.  Ville had fallen
right in the center, but the current was strong.  I aimed downstream and kicked
as hard as I could, rocketing through the dark depths.

The river was stirred up by the current, and visibility
was next to none.  I couldn’t see Ville, even if he was right in front of me. 
My heart lurched as I thought of him out there somewhere, close by, drowning. 
I kicked toward the surface, struggling against the current.  My head broke the
water and I bobbled along, frantically searching the water and the shoreline
for any sign of him.  Nothing.

I treaded water as the current pushed me along,
helplessness bubbling up inside of me.  Then I felt it- a tug on my
consciousness, like a frantically wiggling fish on the end of your line.  Here
it screamed. 

I dove beneath the water and kicked as hard as I could, my
legs burning with effort.  My lungs felt like they would burst, but I couldn’t
stop.  I followed the tug, which was rapidly turning desperate.  My searching
hands bumped against something solid and I wrapped my arms around Ville’s chest
and heaved. 

He wouldn’t budge.  The current pulled at us, rushed
around us, tugged at me as if it would rip me away.  He was stuck somehow.  I
desperately clawed my way down his body, clutching onto him so I wouldn’t be
swept away.  I was starting to see shimmery spots around the edges of my
vision.  I couldn’t hold my breath much longer. 

My hands encountered something slippery but rough, and I
realized what the problem was.  One of his legs was stuck in the branches of a
submerged log, hopelessly tangled.  I started to feel distant, my movements
slow as molasses.  Shit, I couldn’t pass out now. 

I’ve never performed alchemy underwater before.  It was a
strange experience and one I hope never to repeat.  I carefully shifted the
wood of the tree, moving it upstream about ten feet or so, terrified I would
harm Ville in the process.  

The tree disappeared and we were flung, willy-nilly, by
the current.  My poor, oxygen deprived brain finally gave out.  My last thought
was to hope there wasn’t a waterfall or a big rock anywhere up stream.

The darkness was shattered by a soul-deep pull on my
aura.  My eyes flew open and I realized several things all at once.  First off,
Ville’s arms were wrapped around me in a death grip.  Secondly, the water was
gone.  Third, we were falling.  We landed on the riverbed with a jarring
thump.  A roaring sound filled my ears. 

Ville hauled me to my feet and dragged me, stumbling, out
of the empty riverbed, past the massive wall of water, which he was,
apparently, holding at bay.  He collapsed on the shore and the water crashed
back into its course.  After the deafening roar, everything seemed too quiet. 
Ville lay gasping on the ground next to me, his eyes squeezed tight.  A gull
glided through the air above us, and sunshine twinkled on the turbulent, but
normal, river.