It might. Naomi's intrusion into my thoughts surprised me. They're both alive. Rinoa stunned Richard at the same time he got her. I stole Harry's portal gun out of his hands and shot them both with it. Naomi pushed deeper into my thoughts. Come on, let's get you walking and then we'll see about setting things right.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Two days later, the six of us, O'Meara, Ixey, Garn, Rudy, Veronica and I, all stood on O'Meara's front porch.
"O'Meara!" I shouted as I plunged my head into her stomach, enjoying the small oof it drew from her. Her hands flowed down my neck and thumped my shoulder. The air echoed with her laughter.
"Should have known. Should have known you'd come out alright," she said with a sniff.
"Yeah, you should have! Shouldn't have worried at all! He was with me!" Rudy leapt up on the armrest of the wheel chair and was swiftly snagged by O'Meara's meaty arm and hugged. He didn't protest too much, a single "ACK!"
"Sorry, but I'm afraid I didn't get you that tass yet," I said. "I had half of it, but we had to use it all." I tilted my head to offer her a better angle on my ears.
O'Meara stopped petting me and picked up my muzzle to look into my eyes. "You got your paws on fifty groat?" she squeaked. "What did you use fifty groat for?"
Rudy used her bewilderment to make his escape and hopped onto my back.
"He used it to save the Blackwings," Veronica cut in. Mentally, she cringed at the inefficiency of that, but she expertly kept it out of her face.
With a slight sigh I pulled away from O'Meara and circled back around to Veronica to sit beside my current client. "Noise and I aren't the most efficient portal makers." I looked over to where Tallow and Noise were embracing. The cow had finally started to fade, but Noise still dwarfed her sister-in-law. Their tails wagged, and the cubs bounded around their feet. Howls echoed in the distance; the whole pack was on their way now.
"Oh, don't worry about them," Ixey said. "Tallow and Eagle, while not really reconciled, are talking. It was hard for them to avoid each other after Grantsville disappeared." Ixey smiled, but dark circles around her eyes spoke to the strain she felt. "Is the town going to come back?"
A poorly kept front lawn hosted the rest of the Blackwings and the growing werewolf reunion. Beyond that stood a national forest. Jules had taken the entire town, minus O'Meara's domicile, into the dragon's crucible to hide his deed from the Inquisition. Veronica and I both tumbled words back and forth, debating the best way to respond to Ixey’s question.
I decided to be blunt. "It’s not coming back, Ixey. Grantsville is gone. We managed to evacuate about ninety percent of people out to Las Vegas, where hopefully their mutations will fade enough for them to be accepted by the Veil. The rest…"
"The rest have been consumed by the Black Plane. Along with the artifact that caused all this trouble," Veronica finished.
Ixey looked down at the ground. "Then... I failed utterly. Our... my protectorate is gone." Ixey still wore the Inquisitor's sword over her back. "I spent a week trying to find the town..."
O'Meara placed a steadying hand on her apprentice's shoulder and squeezed.
Now would probably be a bad time to mention that she got Neelius' murder wrong too, I thought to Veronica before I could stop myself.
That is a mystery that will go unsolved except within the Blackwings and House Morganna. She and Tack will do their penance according the will of the Matrons. They will be lenient.
Fair, I conceded.
Rinoa sat on the grass, Tack's head in her lap, apart from Dorothy and Naomi, who were watching the werewolf reunion. Rinoa had worked harder than anyone else pulling the citizens of Grantsville out of the shallowings and then sang to them in the evenings while we attempted to explain the frightening new world they found themselves apart of.
"So what now, Thomas?" O'Meara said, changing the subject.
"Well, I've promised Veronica to stay on until the TAU find a replacement, or a year, whichever comes first. That plus services rendered should be enough to convince Lady Cavell to fix your link, O'Meara."
O'Meara blinked.
"Most of that time we'll be in Vegas, helping the arrivals to getting settled. And although we didn't get much tass out of the deal, more than a few of the citizens are showing promising channeling talents, and others might be joining the TAU. If they stick, then I think the population of the magi in North American just doubled," I explained, trying not to imagine the place we had left the refugees, in the tunnels beneath Las Vegas.
O’Meara groaned. "That means the familiar shortage is going to get worse."
I smiled. "It’s going to be a great time to be a freelancer." And in the back of my head I remembered what Rudy had said back in the woods: "Magi aren't so frikken special!"
The End
Thomas’ adventures will continue! To get news about Freelance Familiars and anything else that falls out of my brain please sign up for my mailing list. I’ll also send you Rudy and The Warren Warriors, a novella where you will discover what and who Rudy’s tree is. It also features a lop-eared battle bunny.
You can also follow and chat with me on Twitter @FallenKittenPro and on my website FallenKitten.com.
Acknowledgements
First I have to thank Amanda Potter for the huge amount of effort she’s put into helping me create this book. She is my alpha reader, my idea bouncer off-er, my reality checker, my last pass editor, website designer, book designer and emotional support.
Thank you to my fans who have embraced Freelance Familiars and turned the first book into a success. In particular, a huge thanks to my Beta readers, Jennifer, Mary, Dusty, Dave Mac, and Lisa who all helped make this installment a lot less confusing. Thank you to my editor, Garret Marco who punched my prose into something readable.
Shout out to the Living Room Luminaries, my writer’s group, and a hug to my friends in the Lightbourne channel for always being supportive.
A huge thank-you to everyone who has shared Off Leash and talked about Thomas’ adventures to friends and family. I hope Marking Territory gives you even more to talk about.
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 by Daniel Potter
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Copyedited by Garret Marco
Cover by Ebooklaunch.com
Additional illustrations by Johanna T.
FallenKitten.com
Previous Titles
Freelance Familiars Book 1: Off Leash
Marking Territory (Freelance Familiars Book 2) Page 30