The Pull

by Amber Lynn

  There were species that deserved to die out, and clearly the satyrs were one of them.

  With his hands up, I felt a gust of wind try to blow out the fire I’d started. I pushed at it harder, knowing it wouldn’t take much more to feel the concussion I was waiting for.

  “You’re not afraid of a little fire, are you?”

  Since the wind wasn’t working, it started raining in the car. He was pretty good with the magic, but he’d brought the water a little too late. I held my barrier around the car tight as the gas met the fire and I felt and heard an explosion that lifted the car into the air.

  Before I died from the blow, I generated a sword in my hand, recalling how Apollo had made swords appear at my father’s grave. I wasted no time driving it into Helki’s neck. He was so consumed trying to figure out a way to save himself that he didn’t see it coming. It was my last totally conscious thought, but it had to be done. I wasn’t sure the fire would kill him, but I didn’t think he’d last very long without a head.

  I thought of Jack with my last thoughts, and the love he’d managed to show me in a short amount of time. Most people wouldn’t understand the emotions I felt about the man, but the fact that I was worried about him and not my death said a lot to me.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “You’re sure he’s dead? Don’t you think we should chop him up some more just to verify? I’m sure we have a knife big enough for the job somewhere in the SUV.”

  The voice sounded far away. I knew I should’ve recognized it, but other than it being a rather deep male voice, I didn’t know who it was. I didn’t have any males in my life who liked to play with knives, so a process of eliminations didn’t help.

  “She chopped his head off and burned him to a crisp. I’m pretty sure he’s dead, but if it makes you feel better, have at it. I don’t plan on being here very long, though, so you better make it quick.”

  The second voice was a woman. My brain was trying to figure out who was around me, but it wasn’t firing very well. I knew there were three people in my direct vicinity, the man, the woman and a third person. Their identities were at least momentarily beyond me, but I felt like I should know who they were.

  “It’s too bad she burned herself. Do you think she can survive that? That wheezy breathing doesn’t sound too good. It sounds kind of like a duck being strangled.”

  The man didn’t seem like he’d moved away from me, even after all his talk about chopping. I couldn’t open my eyes, but I felt like I was under a microscope. People were definitely staring at me.

  “She’s half human, and that part of her is going to make it really hard to get through the injuries. A normal human would’ve been dead by now, probably on first impact. The pieces of skin that didn’t melt off need to be removed and I don’t think the piece of dash sticking through her chest is a good omen.”

  I assumed they were talking about me, but I didn’t feel any life-threatening injuries. Of course, I didn’t really feel anything, so I wasn’t a very good judge.

  “So what are we going to do? He’ll kill us if we let her die. It’d be an uphill battle for him, but I’m sure he’d try.”

  Those words came from the third person, another male. His voice didn’t seem as deep as the other man’s.

  “He’ll kill her first for putting herself in this situation. She’s lucky he’s going to take a few weeks to heal. Hopefully by then she’ll have grown most of her skin back.”

  I was pretty sure that was the other man, but I couldn’t really tell. I’d woken up to them talking, but I was getting tired. I wanted to hear what they were saying, though, so I tried to fight through the sleep looking to claim me.

  Most of my energy was focused on keeping my lungs moving. If I stopped, I didn’t know that I’d be able to start things back up.

  There were other noises around us, but I couldn’t make out if the buzzing was other people talking, or if I was in a beehive. I was leaning towards there not being a ton of bees around. I didn’t feel many people close, so I wasn’t really sure who was around, or even where we were.

  “We need to get her out of here and back to her house. We can’t do what needs to be done here, even though the process of moving her will probably only make things worse for her in the short term. I’m afraid even touching her will be like smooshing gelatin with your hand.”

  Nikki, that was who was speaking. I remembered her name and in my mind I did a little dance for my accomplishment. I didn’t like the picture that she put in my mind, but remembering who she was felt like a win to me.

  “I’m pretty sure the fact that she’s barely breathing means things can’t get any worse than they already are for her. I wish we would’ve brought Jack’s truck. Do we have any plastic in the SUV? I just got it all detailed, and it’s going to be difficult to explain charred skin and bloody crud when I take it back in.” Paul said.

  I hesitated for a second, trying to figure out if that was the right name. Paul was supposed to be with some kids. He shouldn’t have been there.

  “My mother is with the kids. We needed Paul with us in case we got to you and had a fight on our hands. We were almost caught up when you decided to self-destruct. I can understand why you wouldn’t want to spend any more time with him, but you could’ve saved yourself a lot of pain if you waited five more minutes.”

  Nikki’s words were confusing. She was at my place taking care of Jack. She shouldn’t have been close to catching up.

  “Don’t tell me she’s conscious. I was shocked she was breathing, but I was sure she wasn’t aware of what was going on around her,” Paul said.

  “She’s awake, which is why we need to get her packed up and out of here. Call Harry and tell him to get over here and clean this mess up. Vik, help me get her in the SUV. I’ll sit with her in the back and try to fix what I can. It’s going to be a tough job, but we’ll get everything worked out.”

  Judging by the way they’d described me, Nikki’s job was more than likely impossible. I doubted she had skin grafts ready to go.

  “You’re sure that’s a good idea? Maybe the goddess in her can heal the damage.”

  “You saw how long it took her to figure out who we were, Vik. She hasn’t even attempted to try to heal herself, and I doubt she could right now. That doesn’t leave a lot of options.”

  “You sure you have the energy to do it? You’re still nursing, and Jakob isn’t going to be happy if he misses some meals.”

  I didn’t feel Paul close by anymore, so the conversation was down to Nikki and Vik. I didn’t understand what they were saying, so it might as well have been a foreign language.

  “Jack wouldn’t appreciate it if you or Paul did it, so that doesn’t leave us a lot of options. Plus, I’ve done it before, so I have experience.”

  “Can you get her legs?” Vik sounded a little defeated, but he wasn’t going to stop his wife.

  “Of course I can. It’s too bad your outfit didn’t survive, Kennedy. Seeing you dressed for your wedding was all my brother could think about as his body starts to heal. I’ll have to see if I can find a replacement dress while you rest up.”

  I didn’t feel anyone touch me, but I did get the sense I was moving. I didn’t have the energy to try to look through Nikki’s eyes to see what kind of healing process I’d need to go through. I wasn’t sure jumping in a wolf would’ve worked, so more than likely I’d lose some energy better spent on keeping my chest moving up and down.

  “Believe me when I say you don’t want to look at yourself right now.”

  Vik’s words made me want to groan. A mental groan was about all I could do, so I settled for it.

  Almost as soon as the movement started, I felt things come to a halt. I pictured myself as just a head floating around. It was hard to believe the rest of my body really still existed.

  “Don’t worry. Since you can’t feel anything, this probably won’t be as painful as it usually is.”

  I didn’t know who was driving, but I guessed the
y weren’t the best driver if Nikki thought being in a car with them was usually painful.

  Paul rejoined us and we seemed to be in motion again. We were moving faster than my disjointed head was ready for. I didn’t know if it was possible for me to puke, but I wanted to.

  “Harry said he’d take care of everything and make sure the murders today were pinned on the charred remains. The quick and easy sweep under the rug might be a little too much for his boss to swallow, but I’m sure the guys have had tougher things to explain.”

  “I can attest to the tougher things that have had to be explained away. That’s one thing I don’t miss about being on the force. Do you want us to do anything? Paul’s hands are a little full with the wheel, but I have two that are at your service.”

  “Thanks, honey, but it’s a one person job. Let’s talk about something that will keep Kennedy’s mind occupied.”

  I heard something tearing as Nikki spoke. It didn’t sound like fabric or tape, so I wasn’t really sure what it was. It reminded me of the noise I associated with someone pulling a hot wax strip off their legs.

  “Do you have a specific topic you think would be soothing? I have all sorts of stories about our children that will have her second guessing ever having any of her own.”

  I thought Vik was joking, but there were probably quite a few stories that would give me nightmares. I had a feeling the girls in particular would make normal parents go gray long before they were meant to.

  “Let’s tell stories about Jack. They’re just as likely to scare her, but I’m sure they’ll be more interesting.”

  I could tell Nikki was doing something, just not what that something was. As she spoke, there were pauses in her words as she concentrated on her task.

  “Okay, can we tell the story about how foolish he acted when he got home after meeting her the first time? It was bad enough hearing him talk about the girl he thought he was going to marry before he even said hi to her. The second he met her, I thought he’d never shut up.”

  I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear about how crazy Jack was when I wasn’t sure I’d ever see him again to use the stories against him. On the other hand, if I was going to die, thinking about my crazy other half was probably the way I wanted to go.

  “It’s funny how your life changes when you meet the person you were meant to be with. At least you hadn’t already found the person you thought was right for you before Jack came along. I never believed in destiny or fate until Vik stormed into my life, and even then I thought it was a fluke.”

  “More like prayed desperately that it was a fluke. You didn’t even look at me the first day we met.”

  “We’re not going down that road right now, Vik, so keep your comments to yourself. I’m trying to say reassuring things, because I know how crazy that instant connection to another person feels. It’s there, but you don’t want it to be. The more you fight it, the greater the chance the connection explodes in your face.”

  I wondered if explodes was a synonym for mind-blowing sex, because I’d gotten to that point in our relationship. Figuring out what came next was where I had issues. I hadn’t had them when I agreed to get married, but that was only because I got caught up in the moment.

  Thinking about actually living my life with another person was scary if I took a second to think about it. I’d left home as soon as I could because the people raising me didn’t understand me. On my own, I hadn’t done great, letting my powers take over, but eventually I’d grown up and calmed down.

  The big key to calming down was pretending my powers didn’t exist, and Jack wanted me to embrace them. I wasn’t sure I could do that and keep a husband. Little things set me off, and I didn’t want to hurt Jack.

  “Jack’s a big boy, and he can take your punishment. In fact, he probably needs it. He can provide you with the thing that’s been missing in your life that will help center the chaos.”

  Nikki’s voice had gotten quieter after her quick snap at Vik. She was concentrating on something, but without my senses of touch, smell or sight, I couldn’t figure out what she was doing.

  “Is she even going to have the scary goddess powers anymore? A reboot may wipe that all out.”

  What’s a reboot? I didn’t think Paul could read my mind to explain what he’d said, but I was hoping someone else in the car would be kind enough to tell me what he meant.

  “Don’t worry about it. If you don’t have the energy to heal yourself, you don’t have the energy to worry right now. Your mind is kind of flying all over the board. Do you want us to pick a new topic to discuss amongst ourselves, or do you want to tell us exactly what happened today while it’s fresh in your mind?”

  I wanted to be a smartass and tell Nikki that if I didn’t have the energy to worry, then I shouldn’t mess around with talking, but I wouldn’t have really been talking. My part of the conversation was only the random thoughts that floated through my head.

  I didn’t think there was a whole lot to tell. Big scary satyr shows up, runs off with me and I do everything I can to make sure I don’t end up as big scary satyr’s wife. As I thought about the main points, my mind wandered to give a little more specifics of the scenes I’d witnessed.

  In all, it wasn’t really that excited. A big car explosion was as cliché as I could get for a way to end a car chase I didn’t know was going on at the time.

  “So he did actually block you from finishing seeing the past, but you learned it anyway. I do see that you still have a question. I don’t know the answer, and I can’t currently ask Ece. Vik, can you see if Rajan knows?”

  I wasn’t sure what question she’d stumbled upon. It was a little strange that she was talking about seeking information from ghosts. I’d heard people claim they could talk to the dead, but I’d never seen anyone do it, or tried it myself.

  The car was quiet for a few minutes. If my brain hadn’t still been functioning, and picking up trace evidence that we were moving, I would’ve thought I’d finally died.

  “You’re not dying today, Kennedy. I’m just getting tired and keeping an interesting conversation is proving to be difficult.”

  One of the guys laughed. I wasn’t sure which one, since I didn’t have enough experience with either man to know what their laughs sounded like.

  “Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh. It’s just funny hearing Rajan describe things. Evidently it took a little while for Artemis to realize the wolves were still her allies. Apollo happened to be off saving a damsel in distress or something, so he wasn’t there for the battle with the satyrs, and by the time he was told what really happened, he forgot he’d sent one to protect you.”

  Hearing that gods made mistakes was kind of funny. They were usually portrayed as being invincible and always right.

  “He picked the wrong one to send, but I suppose that was Leto’s plan to begin with. She’d want to spite her daughter by shackling her daughter with one of those monsters.”

  Nikki’s voice wasn’t more than a whisper. I wish I knew what she was doing. The woman had nothing but young kids at home, and something told me they didn’t wear her out like whatever task she was hard at work on.

  “I’m glad we don’t live in the times of those deities. It’s bad enough that we have to deal with politicians, just think if they had the powers of gods.”

  “Taking digs at my former profession is just silly at this point, Vik. I haven’t been a governor for years, so you need to get over it.”

  “I’m just calling it how I see it, Paul. Would you have wanted to deal with a legislature full of people who could turn each other into ants or care more about who they were going to sleep with that night than passing laws?”

  “I’m pretty sure there were a few people I knew who could battle Zeus for the most promiscuous.”

  “Yeah, I suppose that’s true. You about done back there, honey?”

  “I think I’ve got everything in order. The last part is my least favorite and I’m trying to convince myself I did things right. I
’ve only done it once.”

  “And I like to think the other time turned out just fine. I’m going to be pulling into her driveway in about two minutes, and I think it’d be best if you were done before her friend got a look at her.”

  I hadn’t expected Paul to have us already back to my house. Sense of time was another thing that was thrown off. It made the fact that my brain was operating at all even more unbelievable.

  “Okay. Kennedy, I know I said you weren’t going to die, but that was a tinsy little lie. In order to make you better, I have to kill you. With the shape you’re currently in, there’s a good chance you won’t wake up for a month or two, so I’m sorry for that.”

  She’d lost me, and my lie detector wasn’t working, so I didn’t know if she was lying. The words coming out of her mouth made no sense at all.

  I felt my head move quickly, faster than it should have sitting in her lap, which I assumed had been my location. Within a second of the movement, everything went black and my brain turned off. I certainly hoped Nikki was right about me waking up eventually.

  Epilogue

  4 months later

  I woke up with a warm body curled around me. Words could not express how it felt to experience Jack’s hand running up and down my side. Just breathing in the woodland scent of him had my heart fluttering.

  I knew my bed sheets well enough to know we were in my bed. How we’d gotten there was a little hazy, but I decided it was my new favorite place to be.

  “How are you feeling?” Jack asked as he leaned down and kissed my neck.

  I wanted to roll over and see him, but he held my hip to keep us spooned together. I pretended to fight for a second, but I was still tired, and my energy disappeared quickly.

  “I should ask you the same thing. I watched him snap your neck and about died where I stood. I think I ended up killing him, but I’m not sure.”