Kaitlyn Strong Books 1-3: The Complete First Trilogy

by Art DeForest

  7

  Soft silken fur rubbing my face started to bring me around. The deep rumbling purr came to my attention next. I was a little annoyed that the darned cat thought I should be up so early. Reaching up to push him away, I felt dirt and gravel move under me and it all came rushing back.

  Desperately, I opened my eyes and tried to stand. Opening my eyes did little, but make me feel nauseated. Blurry lights and vague fuzzy shapes were all I could see. Large hands gently restrained me as I tried to rise. “Take it easy. You’re going to be alright.” Marcus’ voice said out of the darkness.

  “Sara, W...We’ve got to help her.” I said muzzily as I fought weakly against the hands restraining me.

  “They got away Kaitlyn. They’ve got her” said Marcus in a choked voice.

  I went limp and sagged back down to the ground as the news settled in. Worry and self loathing tried to settle into my soul. I wasn’t good enough. They had her and they were going to do unspeakable things to her in order to get the information they wanted.

  I opened my eyes once more and blinked rapidly, trying to clear my vision. Marcus’ face came into focus as he crouched next to me. Worry and grief vied for control of his expression. I could see where blood had run down the side of his face. The source of the blood seemed to have healed over. I did a mental evaluation of my own injuries as I laid on the ground. My head felt like it had been split open with an axe. The pain sickened me every time I moved. My chest and side seemed to be well on the mend. The pain in my chest wasn’t bad and my side just twinged a bit. “What happened ?” I asked with a hoarse voice.

  Marcus sighed deeply. “We were fighting vamps three or four to one. We couldn’t break free. When the ones that had Sara got to the breezeway, the rest started to fall back. I was finally able to break through them and chase after you, but I was too late.”

  “You were down, shot in the head by a crossbow bolt. It looks to have passed straight through. The guy with the missing hand and the little vamp got to the van and they took off before I could get to them. His face now held the same self recrimination that I was feeling.

  With Marcus’ help I lifted myself up into a sitting position. Looking down, I gave Fangs a quick once over to make sure he wasn’t injured. That reminded me of the predicament I had left him and Kanjee in. “Where’s Kanjee? Is he alright?” I asked as desperation crept into my voice.

  “He’s alive.” He actually smiled briefly as he reached down to stroke Fangs’ ears. “Your companion here put himself between Kanjee and all comers. He was hissing and growling like he was going to take ‘em all on by himself. Probably saved the bird’s life.” Marcus sighed before continuing. “We’re not sure about his wing. He’s holding it funny and can’t seem to fly. He tried several times before one of my people was able to calm him down and stop himself from doing further injury.”

  “He must be going insane with worry over Sara” I said sympathetically. “Where’s Deacon?” I asked as I realized I hadn’t seen him yet.

  “He was injured badly after he took Gino’s hand. He was stabbed and had his throat cut by the two guys that tackled him from behind.” Marcus’ eyes twinkled a little bit as he continued. “He didn’t even try to defend himself when he saw Gino shooting at you. He just jumped and swung. Left himself completely defenseless. He must really like you.” He said with a wink.

  “Help me up.” I said, giving Marcus a scowl. He stood and grabbed my proffered hand and lifted me to a standing position. After a minute my shaky legs seemed capable of supporting me and he tentatively released my hand, hovering near me, ready to catch, in case I fell back down.

  We headed back toward the breezeway, Fangs trotting along by my side. As we entered the courtyard I saw Deacon walking unsteadily my direction. I could see that his throat was still damaged, but as we drew closer I saw the wound sealing itself as he healed. “Are you okay?” He managed to rasp out as he came within arms distance of me and stopped.

  “Looking up at him I smiled slightly. “I should be asking you that.” I looked up at him quizzically. “What was with the Dark Knight routine? You almost got yourself killed.”

  “He drew himself up sternly, but there was a glint in his eye. “It's what all of us superhero’s do. Save the girl.” He smiled a bit then. “I even have the voice to go with the title now.

  I had to agree. The deep growly rasp that came from him matched the Dark Knight persona I’d tagged him with. I put a mock stern expression on my face and poked him in the chest with my index finger. “Well knock it off buddy boy. This girl protects herself. Got it?” I said in indignation, one eyebrow raised archly.

  “Yes Ma’am.” he said, giving me a little salute.

  “Humph” I replied.

  I heard the sound of Kanjee’s mournful caw then and turned to see Trish, the doorguard from Lycan Headquarters now back in human form, sitting on the ground holding Kanjee gently but firmly, as she tried to keep him still.

  We all turned and went to see how the bird was doing. I crouched down in front of Trish and him asking, “How’s he doing?”

  Trish shrugged. The fact that she had no shirt on had no bearing in her mind. “He’s frantic. He keeps looking of to the west and cawing. Every time I relax a little, he tries to escape.

  Gently, I reached up and stroked Kanjee’s soft feathery head. His eyes turned and locked with mine at the touch. It seemed like I suddenly dived into his shiny black eyes and I realized there was a connection there. It wasn’t like my connection to Fangs. It wasn’t near as strong. Through it however I could tell that he felt where Sara was and was desperate to get to her.

  I also felt the pain in his wing and knew there was no way he was flying until it healed. I delved deeper into our connection, trying to get a sense of where Sara had been taken, but it was too tenuous. All I could tell was that Kanjee knew where she was.

  I continued to stroke Kanjee’s head as I looked up at Deacon and Marcus. “ Kanjee is connected to Sara. He could go right to her if he wasn’t injured. The fact that he can still feel her, tells me that she’s still alive.”

  A faint spark of hope sparkled into Marcus’ eyes. “Is there any way to heal him up well enough to fly?” he asked pleadingly.

  I stared off into space for a moment as I considered the question. “I..I’m not sure.” I said musingly. “Sara used my blood in the ritual that saved Fangs and there was a lot of chanting involved that I couldn’t even begin to replicate. I think the ritual was more about setting up the bond that made Fangs my familiar than it was about healing. I think my blood is what did the healing.” I said in a musing tone.

  “As a matter of fact.” I said, my tone becoming a little excited. “I bet the same properties that allow us to heal a bite after we’ve fed from our prey are present in our blood as well.”

  Trish nodded in agreement. “Sara has used her blood to heal the seriously injured in the past. I always thought it was a shaman thing, but it might just be a vampire thing.” she said hopefully.

  “We should head back to Lycan Headquarters to make the attempt. Kangee is pretty convinced that Sara is in that direction anyway and we’re gonna need backup.” I said, glancing up at Marcus.

  He nodded affirmatively. “That sounds like a good first step.”

  Turning, he looked to where the rest of his Lycans stood regenerating from their various injuries. “If your blood works to heal Kanjee, do you think you could spare some for my people? Those damned crossbow bolts had silver heads.”

  “I’ll do my best.” I said, uncertainly. “I’ve already lost more of it tonight than I can really afford, I think.

  Marcus just nodded and turned back to help his people back towards the vehicles. Trish couldn’t stand and hold onto Kanjee at the same time, so I gently took him into my arms. As he settled himself there, Fangs approached and extended his nose towards the raven. Kanjee extended his fierce beak toward Fangs as well until nose and beak actually touched. They separated a little and looked at each
other for a moment. “Stupid Cat” He squawked quietly, but somehow I didn’t really think his heart was in it.

  8

  I kept Kanjee with me as we traveled west. He was sitting in my lap in the passenger’s seat of the Suburban. His black head and shiny beak were pointed like a compass needle to the west. I watched him closely as we traveled, hoping we might be able to use him as a pointer to show us where the Abandonados were keeping Sara, but his eyes remained fixed, staring out the front window.

  Deacon was driving as usual. The skin on his neck had sealed, but it was still red and raw looking. Trish the lycan was in the back seat becoming acquainted with Fangs. He must have thought she was okay, since he was perched in her lap and taking advantage of the opportunity to have his ears rubbed.

  Jake met us at the door to headquarters with a mixed expression of worry and rage on his face. Marcus had called in a report as we drove back, so we were admitted and led to Sara’s exam room without conversation. I carried Kanjee over to the exam table and gently placed him on the cushion. He was calm now, staring at me intently.

  Jake came up beside me as Kanjee and I looked at each other. “Can you fix him?” He asked.

  His voice was soft enough, but you could tell that rage was still burning away, just beneath the surface.

  “I’ll do my best.” I replied. “It’s the fastest way to find Sara.”

  Jake gave a jerky nod then left the room, motioning Marcus to follow him. Marcus gave me a nod then followed along behind his Alpha.

  Trish and I were left alone with Kanjee and Fangs. “What do we do now?” she asked.

  “I need a bowl I think.” I replied. “I’ll put some of my blood in the bowl then try to convince him that it's a good idea to drink some. I’d rather not have to force it down him.

  Trish walked out of the room briefly and soon returned with a bowl that was similar to the ones holding pretzels in the bar.

  “That should do the trick.” I said taking the offered bowl and placing it on the exam table next to Kanjee. Pulling my kukri, I held my wrist over the bowl and made a two inch cut over where the pulse point would be on a human. The cut traveled lengthwise up my arm, opening the artery without cutting the tendons that ran next to it..

  I had to cut myself several more times before I felt I had sufficient blood in the bowl. I didn’t have Sara’s cool earth magic to help keep the blood flowing this time. Fangs jumped up on the exam table to watch the proceedings with interest. Kanjee eyed him for a minute before returning his concentration back to what I was doing.

  The bowl was about half full by the time I was done. Picking it up, I offered it to Kanjee. I held it under his beak, but he just looked at me curiously as if trying to figure out what the heck was going on. Taking a deep breath, I centered myself. I know I don’t have to breath, but that was what all the live martial arts masters I learned from taught me and I didn’t feel like trying to explain it to them. Besides, I think it actually helps.

  Once I was focused, I stared deeply into Kangee’s eyes, or more precisely, his eye as he cocked his head sideways and gave me his full attention with just one of them. I started to feel his curiosity at what was going on. Blood wasn’t on his diet and it was hard for him to conceive of drinking it. I tried to kind of push the vision of him drinking from the bowl and then flying away.

  I didn’t know if a bird’s brain was capable of making that kind of connection. I know ravens are probably the smartest birds on the planet, so I was hopeful. Kanjee and I stared at each other for a while. He still didn’t seem to get it. I was desperate not to have to force my blood down the bird’s throat in order to heal him. With one last try, I added in a vision of him flying to Sara and tried to tie that back to him drinking from the bowl.

  Sighing in resignation, I was just about to lower the bowl when Kanjee tilted his head and looked at the bowl. He gazed at it that way for a moment then dipped his head in briefly, before tilting it back to let the blood run down his throat. I remember reading once that birds couldn’t swallow and had to use gravity to help liquids run down their throat.

  Kanjee kept it up. First dipping his beak into the bowl, then tilting his head back to let it run into his stomach. After a couple of minutes he had the bowl as empty as his hard beak would allow and I set it off to the side.

  I focused on the bird’s big black eye again and tried to get a sense of the pain he was in. Almost immediately, I could tell that the pain was less. He was still hurting but I think the blood was doing its job.

  A slow smile spread across my face as I broke contact and turned to look at Trish. “I think it's working. Let’s give it some time and then we’ll check again. We made sure Kanjee was settled on the perch that sat in the corner of the room, then made our way back to the bar to see what preparations were being made for a possible rescue.

  We left Fangs curled up on the padded exam table to keep Kanjee company and walked back down the hall towards the bar. As we approached the swinging door we heard raised voices echoing from the large room. “If we lose Sara, the vampires are going to pay a heavy price.” Said a deep baritone voice.

  “This is not a sanctioned action, I assure you.” I heard Deacon respond “The Abandonados have completely departed from Council doctrine with their actions and they will pay the price for them.”

  Trish and I entered the bar and joined the group of people standing by the bar. Jake the Alpha was up in Deacon’s personal space, his eyes sparking with fury. Deacon wasn’t backing down, but the look on his face was concerned instead of angry.

  “Why don’t we focus on getting Sara back first before we decide what happens next?” I asked, trying to diffuse the situation.

  Jake and Deacon turned to face me as I approached. “This cannot be allowed to go unpunished.” Said Jake, his jaw thrust out pugnaciously.

  “I agree.” I said making a placating gesture. “Right now we need to focus on getting Sara back. We’ll have plenty of time to rip the heads off every member of Abandonados later.”

  Jake stood glaring at me for a moment, fists clenched at his sides as he tried to regain control of his temper. Finally he took a deep breath and sighed. “You’re right of course. We need to get her back as soon as possible. Who knows what those vermin are doing to her.”

  I nodded in agreement. “She’s tough as nails and they want information from her. We have time.”

  “How is Kanjee doing?” Asked Jake, focusing once more on the problem at hand.

  “I think my blood is helping. His pain is already less than it was, so I’m hopeful.”

  Jake ran his fingers through his salt and pepper hair and sighed in relief. “Good” he said. How long until he can fly.”

  “Honestly, I’m not sure.” I said consideringly. “I could tell it was helping, but it’s a guessing game as to how long full healing will take. What about preparations for a rescue team?” I asked.

  “We have a general call out to the Pack. We should have thirty warriors here within the next hour.” said Marcus.

  Pulling out my phone, I looked at the time. It was just after 2 a.m. now. “As worried as I am about Sara, I think we should give Kanjee until dawn to heal. His eyes are better than a normal ravens’, but I still think he would do better with a little light.”

  Jake nodded in agreement. “That will give us time to get organized.” Do we have any indication where they might be?”

  “West of here if the direction Kanjee was focused on is any indication.” I said. “He seems pretty confident he could fly right to her if us humans would just let him go. At least that’s what I’m getting through the familiar bond.”

  Jake arched an eyebrow in question. “Kanjee is your familiar too?” he asked.

  “No, but I can kind of sense him with the same, I don’t know, power?, that Sara helped me set up with Fangs.” I said, a little puzzled by the whole thing myself. “Speaking of which, I should head back and check on him.”

  “I’ll go with you.” Deacon said
, following behind me as Trish headed over to speak with Jake.

  Kangee and Fangs were just as we left them. The big bird’s wing was once more tucked in it’s rightful position, folded neatly along his side. I walked over to him and looked into his eye as I stroked the white spot on his chest. “How ya doin’ big guy.” I asked as I felt the bond take hold.

  He cawed softly and ruffled his feathers a bit at my touch. The pain was still there, but it was much decreased. Sensing what I was trying to determine, he stretched out both wings and flapped both gently. The injured wing drooped a little still, but it was well on the mend.