Brennan kept lunging for me. He shifted into a cat. His animal forms were always harder to fight. They were stronger, faster, than his human form. And they had sharp teeth and claws. I twisted away, just missing being raked across the stomach by his claws.
“Brennan, remember me,” I murmured. I knew trying to mess around in his mind was pointless. I’d already seen what happened when I tried to cut the connection to the Puppeteer. Her puppets ended up very much dead.
“Remember,” I said again. I may as well have been talking to a statue. He slashed at me again, catching my thigh. I grunted as I felt claws slice through muscle.
“Imps!” I pointed at the Puppeteer, and my six imps charged.
“Oh, please,” she said. “Sleep!” she ordered my imps, and they fell to the ground, snoring.
“Don’t order my imps around, you bitch,” I growled, evading another swipe from Brennan’s claws. I started focusing on the Puppeteer. Well, as much as I could while trying to avoid being sliced to ribbons by Brennan. I was losing blood quickly. If I was going to do this, it had to be now, when I still had most of my power available to me. Before he damaged my body much more.
I evaded snapping jaws aimed for my throat, kicked panther-Brennan across the front yard.
She was right. I wouldn’t hurt Brennan more than I absolutely had to.
The only thing I could do was focus on her, ending her.
I started poking at her mind. She felt me immediately, and I felt panic from her. “Faster, you idiot!” she yelled at Brennan.
I continued hammering at her mind, trying to break past her defenses. Her shield was strong. Stronger than Nain’s, even. Where my shield was a steel box, hers was a sphere; smooth, metallic. No weak points.
I kept working at her.
This takes focus, which is a problem when you’re supposed to be fighting for your life. I missed it when Brennan lunged for me again, and his claws sliced my abdomen open.
The Puppeteer cheered. Smug bitch.
I could feel my power lessening as I required more energy for healing myself.
I started to shiver. Too much blood loss.
I’d die before I’d let her take me to Astaroth. No way.
I kept working at her mind. This was pointless. She laughed at me. Her confidence soared in the face of my weakening power.
“Poor baby,” she cooed. “I can’t imagine why anyone wants you this much. You’re really not anything special.”
“Your boyfriend wants me pretty bad,” I said, darting away from Brennan again. I felt a spike of annoyance from her.
“Oh, please. He doesn’t want you. He’s promised you to someone else. He was perfectly happy avoiding that demon and his team. He only came out of hiding because he had to.”
This wasn’t working. The Puppeteer was crazy. She was vile. But she was a stronger telepath than I was. I was barely standing. Fighting Brennan, healing from the injuries he was giving me, was taking everything I had.
I did the only thing I knew she was really afraid of. I ran toward her.
She jumped up out of her chair, tripped over the sleeping imps as she tried to run off of the porch, away from me.
“Get her!” she shrieked as I advanced on her.
Brennan had shifted back into his human form again, ran for me as I reached the Puppeteer. I punched her in the face, hard. She crumpled into a whimpering ball on the porch.
That was for me, and it felt good.
I drew my fist back again. I grabbed the front of her shirt and got ready to punch again.
And that was when Brennan kicked my leg, from the side.
I heard a crack, and warm blood dripped down my leg as the pain became unbearable. I was dizzy with it. I glanced down to see my femur poking out of the side of my jeans, jagged edge cutting right through the denim.
I fell down, still gripping the front of the Puppeteer’s shirt. She laughed.
If I did nothing else in this life, I was going to destroy her. With every ounce of power I had left, I grabbed her head.
And twisted, hard. Fast. I put every ounce of hatred and anger I was feeling into it.
I heard a satisfying snap, felt her presence fade. I rolled off of her, and the movement jostled my broken leg. The pain was too much, and my world faded to black.
I don’t think I was out very long. I felt gentle hands washing blood away from my stomach, arms. I opened my eyes to see Dahael handing Bashiok one bloody washcloth as he handed her a clean one. Teamwork.
Blood was still flowing from my stomach and leg. An imp was holding a towel over the rip in my abdomen, trying to staunch the bleeding. I glanced around. It was still early evening, and the cicadas buzzed in the trees. I looked to my left to see the Puppeteer’s body. I tried to sit up, remembering.
Two of the other imps pushed me back down, gently. “Must heal, Mistress,” one of them said apologetically.
“Brennan,” I said, barely able to form the word. My mouth was dry, and my throat was swollen. Everything hurt.
“Alive. Unconscious,” Dahael said softly. “Be still.”
I did. My leg was not healing yet. The gashes on my stomach were closing. My throat was less painful. Cuts across my arms and hips were already gone. But the bone sticking out of my thigh was going to be a problem.
I heard a groan, and glanced toward where Brennan was. He sat up, slowly, rubbing his head. I was so relieved I could have cried. Later.
He looked around and his gaze landed on me, surrounded by my imps. He jumped up, ran toward me. He reached out to take my hand.
I flinched away from him, before I even realized what I was doing.
I felt shame flood from him. And then he looked over my body, saw my thigh.
He turned away from me, and I heard him vomiting over the side of the porch. Anger, shame, helplessness flooded from him. Disgust.
He retched a few more times. Bashiok handed him a towel, and he wiped at his face with it. He stayed that way, facing away from me.
“Brennan. I need your help,” I said, ignoring the fear that rose up at even the idea of having him touch me again.
He turned to me then. His eyes were haunted, his face gaunt. “What can I do?”
“If we don’t get this leg straightened up, it’s never going to be right again,” I said, and I felt fear grip him. “I need you to help me. I can’t do it alone.”
“The imps–”
“Are not strong enough. I need you to do this for me.”
“Nain…” he said.
“He won’t get here soon enough. Oh, fuck it. I’ll do it myself.” I waved him off, started trying to pull at my knee to give myself room to maneuver the bone back toward where it was supposed to be. Pain exploded, and I was on the verge of puking.
“Stop it. Stop. I’ll help,” he said. He came to me. “Tell me what to do.”
“Pull, at the knee. Toward you. Dahael, push the bone back in when there’s room,” I said, grabbing my thigh just above where it was broken.
“On three.”
“Shit,” Brennan groaned.
“One. Two. Three,” I said, and we all pulled and pushed at the same time.
I screamed as Brennan tugged on my leg. I felt Dahael shove the sharp, broken bone back into place, felt every movement in agonizing detail as she lined it back up.
“Release,” she said once the bone was back in place.
Brennan and I both let go of our respective parts of my leg. He staggered away and puked again. I laid back on the porch and just tried to stay conscious. I was sweating, and shivering, and hyperventilating…something I’d never done in my life.
Dahael came back to me, put a cool washcloth on my forehead. “Deep breaths, Mistress,” she said softly, her voice warm. “Calm. Calm.” I tried to force my breathing to slow, felt even weaker as tears came to my eyes, and I couldn’t fight them back.
“Calm, Mistress. Victorious. So strong, Mistress,” Bashiok said, kneeling next to Dahael and patting my shoulder wit
h his knobby little hand.
I tried. I tried not to think. I focused on my body, healing itself. At the fire in my thigh as bone, muscle, skin fused itself back together again.
Dahael lifted the towel off of my stomach. “Healed,” she said, nodding in approval.
“I’m going to call Nain,” Brennan said. “He should come and take you home.”
“No,” I said. He stopped reaching for his phone, looked at me. “I can’t deal with his reaction right now. You know how he is.”
I felt shame, helplessness flow from him. “I need to get out of here, Molly. I am so sorry. I nearly killed you, and you’re afraid of me now and I can’t even–”
“Brennan. That was the Puppeteer,” I said softly. No point in denying that I was afraid of him. I’d never felt the full impact of Brennan’s strength. I’d always felt safe around him, knowing he’d protect me to the death if he had to. I wanted that back. But all I could see right then was the look of sheer hatred he’d had on his face when he advanced on me, ready to kill.
“I could see and hear everything,” he said, so softly I barely heard it. “She was in control, but I watched, like I was watching a TV show, helpless to change what was going on. I heard everything she said. I felt my claws slice through your skin. I listened to you beg me, listened to you scream. I heard her tell you every thought I’ve had about you. She used me as her own personal thug. I don’t even want to be around me now. I can only imagine what you feel.”
I was silent. He stood there, not looking at me. “Bren. This is all about to come to an end. It has to. We need you. Once this is over, take all the time you need. I plan on doing the same. But we need you. I need your help,” I said, words that had never left my lips before. “We’ve already lost so much.”
He finally looked at me, then. Nodded. “Loft, or your house?”
“My house. I can get changed and cleaned up there.” He helped me stand up, and I tried again not to recoil from his touch. We paused for a moment while I waited for the dizziness to pass. “I think this is one of those things Nain doesn’t need to know about,” I said after a while, as we started to walk toward my car.
“You’re going to lie to him?” he asked, supporting me as I dug through my pockets for my car keys.
“I’ll tell him we fought the Puppeteer and won. He doesn’t need to know the details.” I could only imagine how he’d come down on Brennan then. I could feel how he was feeling. He hated himself enough without Nain adding to it.
I looked up to see Brennan staring at me, eyes still haunted. “Are you sure?”
“There’s plenty he keeps from me, believe me,” I said, getting in on the passenger side and handing him my keys. He helped me swing my injured leg into the car and closed the door. I breathed against the panic that tried to set in as he got into the car with me and closed his door. I closed my eyes, forced tears back again. This was not the time to fall apart.
Maybe later.
Brennan and I didn’t exchange a single word on the way to my house. I gripped the passenger side door as he drove, fast, but still carefully, through the neighborhoods. I rolled my window down, just tried to remember to breathe.
My leg still ached. I wondered if we’d managed to get it back together right. Dahael had done the best she could, but sticking ones’ hands into a gaping wound to try to set a bone is hardly a surgical-quality repair. All I knew was, it hurt.
The imps sat in the back seat. Silent. I glanced over at Brennan. His hands gripped the steering wheel. His knuckles were white. I didn’t have to be able to read emotions to know how he was feeling right then. His face was pale, jaw set. His easy grin was nowhere in sight now.
I looked away, watched houses and trees blur as we zipped past them.
When we got to my house, he jumped out of the car and jogged over to my side to help me. I was already up and out.
“It’s okay. I’ve got it,” I said, trying not to visibly recoil from him again. I started walking toward the house, limping on my bad leg. It had stopped bleeding, and the skin had healed itself. The rest would take a while. Brennan walked behind me, ready to catch me if I fell. He kept his hands away from me, though, and I was grateful for it.
He followed me into the house and up the stairs.
“I’ll be outside,” he said once I was in my room. Then he turned and left without another word.
I ran a hot bath and settled into it, lowering myself gingerly into the old-fashioned claw foot tub. The water was almost too hot. The heat soothed my aching body, made me feel a little less disgusting.
I ran a sponge over my body, dunked my head under the water and washed my hair. Then I settled back and closed my eyes.
I was just drifting off when I felt Nain’s presence nearby, then, sure enough, heavy footsteps on the stairs. I sensed for Brennan. Gone, far enough away that I couldn’t feel him anymore.
Nain knocked at the door. “Molly?”
“Come on in.” I glanced at the tub. Bubbles still covered the surface of the water. It shouldn’t have mattered. The man had seen every inch of my body. But right then, I couldn’t stand the idea of being seen.
The door opened, and he came in, filling my small bathroom with his body, his power. He glanced at me, then knelt next to the tub, picked up the sponge from the small tray across the tub. “Want me to do your back?” he asked.
I nodded, sat forward enough so he could get to my back. He dipped the sponge in the hot water, started to gently scrub my back.
“Brennan couldn’t get out of here fast enough,” he finally said, rubbing the sponge over my shoulders. I let my head hang forward, and he washed the back of my neck.
“Did he say anything to you?” I asked.
“Only that I should take care of you,” he said.
We were quiet for a while. “We fought the Puppeteer,” I finally said. “We won.”
His hand stopped. Surprise, concern. “You should both be really happy, then. She was a big piece of the puzzle. You both look like someone just died.”
I shrugged. “It was a hard fight. We almost didn’t win.”
“You were in a lot of pain. It was crippling,” he said. I’d forgotten that he could feel me through our marriage bond now.
“Yeah. It was rough,” I said, not knowing what else to say. He went back to washing my back, slow, methodical strokes. “Did you know she was screwing Astaroth?”
“Yeah. They’ve been together for a really long time.”
“And you didn’t think that was worth sharing with me?”
“Why did you two come here? Why didn’t you come back to the loft when you were done?”
“You didn’t answer my question. Again,” I said.
“Answer mine first.”
“We came here because I was out of clothes again and I was gross and wanted to get cleaned up. He stayed because you two both seem to think I need someone watching my back all the time. Satisfied?”
“Not really. He looked guilty about something. And you are nervous. There’s something you’re not telling me.”
“Join the club,” I muttered, shoving his hand away from my shoulder.
He stood up and rubbed his hands over his face. “I’m not going to tell you everything. You know that. I have my reasons.”
“And I’m just supposed to be okay with that?”
“It’s the way it is. I tell you what you need to know.”
I stared at him. “Are you serious? We did this goddamned marriage bond thing and you still can’t be straight with me?”
“Did you think marrying me would change me?” He laughed. “Come on, little girl. You know me better than that.”
“If….fine. Forget it.” I’d almost said it. Almost let a whiny “if you really loved me…” escape my lips. I was tired. I was still freaking out over what I’d just been through. I felt weak. That had to be it.
“I love you. You know I do.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about Astaroth and the Puppeteer?”
He growled, looked up at the ceiling in irritation. “Because I really didn’t think it mattered. Did it?”
“It kind of did. She was going to give me to him as an anniversary present.”
“So? The vampire wanted to give you to Astaroth, too, and they weren’t sleeping together. At least, I don’t think they were.” He shrugged.
“Astaroth isn’t the one who wants me, though,” I said.
Nain stilled. “What are you talking about?”
“The Puppeteer said he’s basically just the headhunter. Someone else wants me, and it’s Astaroth’s job to bring me in.”
“That can’t be right. Astaroth’s no one’s errand boy,” he said, shaking his head.
“Why else would she say it, then?”
“I don’t know. Maybe because she’s a crazy bitch?”
“Maybe Astaroth lied to her. Maybe it’s a demon thing,” I said, standing up and grabbing a towel off of the towel bar. I wrapped it around my body and stalked toward my room. My leg still hurt, but at least I wasn’t limping.
“Maybe she can’t follow simple orders and he’s not entirely sure he can trust her,” he shouted at me as I slammed my bedroom door.
“Just leave, Nain,” I shouted back at him. “This is the last thing I need right now.”
“Right. Should I have Brenny-poo come back?” he roared.
“How about you both just stay away?” I screeched at him. The house groaned and creaked around me. My power was at a fever pitch.
I heard his footsteps as he headed down the stairs, heard him slam the back door. A few seconds later, he gunned the truck’s engine and roared off down the street.
Chapter Fifteen
I threw on a pair of soft pajama pants and a tank top and crawled between my soft, cool cotton sheets. Turned the light out and laid there. Sleep wouldn’t come. I watched the shadows of tree branches dance across my walls. I could hear the imps downstairs, watching Letterman, then some crappy late night movie. They seemed to like hokey old horror movies. Twilight Zone was a big hit, too.
I heard Nain’s truck pull into the driveway a little after two. He walked in and climbed the stairs.
He opened the bedroom door, and I heard him rustling around, removing shoes, clothing. He climbed into bed next to me, and pulled me into his arms. Part of me wanted to melt against him, take the strength and warmth I so badly needed. Part of me was furious with him for all of the shit that had happened that day. For not trusting me. For not being what I needed him to be.
Lost Girl: Hidden Book One Page 18