by C. R. Jane
Her hands were halfway to her cuffs.
"Dammit, fuck this!" Her anger had a way of working through my words of suggestion. I was the one with the head injury, so I was at a severe disadvantage. Carter kicked the mangled car door open and darted for the gun.
I was a beat too late.
And I didn't know if it was the head injury, but everything moved way slow.
I saw Carter grab the gun, triumphant zeal on her face as she pushed away from me and shot me multiple times in the abdomen. At first, I didn't register the searing pain.
Huh. This was what a gut shot felt like. I slumped in the front seat, fighting for consciousness, the conversation with Lee Peng about adequate shields floated up to mind. For some reason, I found it hilarious and giggled, especially as Carter lined up the sight with my head.
"You don't deserve a quick death like this. You deserve the Hunter's loving care. I wish I could have conjured him here, been here to watch the Hunter tear you apart like he did that couple in the hotel room…soon."
Inhuman sounds rent the still night, carrying with them the promise of blood and death. Something large caved in the side of the car. The roof was peeled back like a sardine tin. It was all I could do to protect my face from any falling metal and glass shards.
Carter screamed into the night sky, dropping her gun sometime during her hysteria. She barely made an effort to retrieve it before she ran off. Or, at least tried to.
Her cries for help cut off in a squelching sound as she ran into a jagged branch. Or what looked like a branch. She impaled herself on a tree, and Gods Above and Below, she was still alive.
The gurgling sounds of Carter choking on her own blood will stick with me for a while.
Carter's body rose up into the air, dangling like a rag doll as the Tree Spirit that I'd seen earlier emerged from the shadows. With deliberately slow movements, it slid Carter's body off of its branch, and threw her beyond the boundaries of its copse.
If she wasn't dead before she was now.
Dammit. What a waste. I couldn't even question her for what she knew or why she did what she did.
I pulled on the door handle and spilled out, half in my seat, the other half dangling over the ground. I didn't know what my destination was, but being ejected from the woods was not my idea of a good time.
Strong hands pulled me up and dragged me away from the car before lifting me and carrying me deeper into the small thicket toward a patch of grass between trees with interlocking branches and roots. Every step was a loping stride, as if I was held aloft by a magic carpet ride.
I didn't know what annoyed me more, that I was slowly dying under such a beautiful night sky in some forgotten veil in the middle of Central Park or not knowing why I had to die in the first place.
Out of the corner of my eye, the black tower of Janus Holdings loomed. That was some kind of mindfuck for me to see that building here. I still turned to it though, and threw my thoughts at the man who ran it.
Maybe he could hear me. Even though he pretended to know everything that happened in this city, I had the feeling deep down that he did keep tabs on me more than I thought he did.
The aura of the moon blurred the edges of my vision. The slowing of my heart beats echoed in the ground. Ravens…no, crows, big ones, cried in the air above me, swirling in circles.
The head of a stag loomed above me, a stag on a man's body.
My eyelids were heavy; every blink was a miracle. Was this the Hunter after all? I wouldn't be able to fight him off. My fingers barely twitched reaching for my gun.
Don't worry, Lieutenant Troy.
I turned my head toward the face, the face of death that took my entire field of vision. How it stood still in front of me while I felt like I was moving was disconcerting. The crows flew circles just beyond the border of trees, approximately where Carter had lain. It looked like they were signaling to people. I was hopeful. I didn't want to die if I could help it. Still too much left to do. Unfinished business.
I felt something like a blanket pulled over me, and soon, I was chin-deep in loamy earth, swaddled and protected. A deep rumble sounded as the forest moved and groaned around me. A streak of black bounded toward me; I tracked it from the corner of my eye. When it was near enough for me to see that it wasn't just a blur, I was sure I would die.
But nestled as I was in the ground, and surrounded by protective nature spirits, I had no room for worry. The blot of darkness that approached me was a monster all right, one that could rip my head off of my body with an easy yank.
The creature had the body and lope of a tiger, but it was the size of a bear and pitch black. It sniffed me. If it intended to eat me, I probably wouldn't feel anything.
It sniffed my head, breathing cool magic on me. The blanket of grass that had kept me warm peeled open for a moment and I gasped to feel the cold against my skin. Why was it so cold?
The Black Bear Cat unfurled its tongue and began licking my stomach. Gods Above and Below, it was going to eat me alive. Tears spilled from my eyes; I was too exhausted to even cry properly. A warm tingling started in the pit of my stomach even as the Black Bear Cat continued to lick my wounds.
Finally, it stopped and moved away, the grass growing over me again. Only then did I realize that it probably healed me. Whatever I wanted to say ended up sounding like a whimper.
Thank you, I'd wanted to say. Thank you.
Its golden eyes were flecked with jade green and there was something familiar with how it glowed, especially set against the black of its face. Beyond the Black Bear Cat, a golden God both beautiful and terrible waited, black whorls whipping in unspent anger on his skin. "She is safe as she is," the God growled. "We need to hunt while the trail is fresh. She will not be alone."
The Black Bear Cat was undecided, but finally roared in frustration, and tore away. The golden God met my gaze, his maroon eyes boring into mine. He raised his index finger against his lips. "Shh. Sleep now, Lieutenant."
This was a dream. Had to be. First of all, I was naked.
Thankfully, I was clothed. Sort of. A blanket made of grass was still legit coverings. I wanted to sit up, but I was bundled so well I couldn't, not even in dreams.
A lady stood looking down at me, the figure of a huntsman behind her.
"There is no need to fear me, Lieutenant." Damn did she sound like good sex and chocolate all at once. "You are safe. You once saved my daughter, and for her, I have saved you. My primus, Arawn, Prince of the Wild Hunt." She gestured to the man behind her. "He is not the one that hunts you. He spoke to the spirits of the forest and stirred them to wake. It takes a lot to move a tree." Her eyes were wide with a childlike innocence that I doubted she'd ever had, even when she was a child.
Had she ever been a child? And for that matter, who the fuck was she, anyway? "I'm sorry, do we know each other?"
Her blood-red lips parted in a smile as she laughed in an effortlessly sexy way that immediately made me want to punch her, while also begging her to teach me her ways. It was so not fair that she could be so beautiful and seductive at the same time.
I didn't like the word perfect, but damn, was this woman close to it. She was probably ridiculously powerful, too. Like someone who could crush me with a thought. "Oh, Lieutenant, we don't know each other, which is a tragedy that I'm happy to have corrected! I am Thana. Queen of Nightmares—"
"—and Death," we said at the same time.
Holy. Fuck. And I saved her daughter?
"Can you not guess?" She tilted her head. "Do you not call yourself a detective? Would this not be a specialty for you? Piecing things together and solving problems? Karina, my daughter, spoke highly of you."
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I snorted, and my ribs were still tender. Even in dreams. "You kind of got me at an off time."
Thana nodded. "I can understand that." She said it in a way that made it seem like she found it a miracle that I knew my name.
It all made sense now. Karina's phone call. She said that she owed me. The ghost that mentioned the Brightling. The crows. The nature Gods.
"What now?" I asked her.
She raised a perfect eyebrow. "Now? You let your body heal. Live. Survive." She patted the grassy lump that was my knee. The crows swirled around her, and one the size of a small child dropped right in front of her, head tilted. Thana nodded at it before it flew away, cold energy wafting down from its wings.
"Your people should be here to collect you soon." She rose to her feet. Her red dress hugged her body like silk and pooled around her feet like blood. With her jagged crown and feathered cape, she looked ready to battle.
Somehow I knew that she could face an army singlehanded and win without mussing her hair.
She threw her head back to laugh. "Oh Lieutenant, you are delightful. I see why my Karina likes you." She leaned over to me conspiratorially. "By the way, I would disagree. If you're not coated in the blood of your enemies, was it even a fun battle?"
A clatter of thoughts pushed into my head and finally made its way to my mouth. "The Hunter. Do you know what he is?"
She froze. "There are those things that live in outer darkness. True darkness. Beyond the veils of this universe. Some call them Chaos. Old ones. Elder Gods. Their minion, the Hunter, is able to create gates between worlds to invite Chaos into this world by marking his victims." Thana's gaze on me flared for a moment before returning to calm. "Do not worry, Lieutenant, I do not see his mark upon you."
"How in the hell can you stop him if he ever does mark me?" I wondered out loud.
"That is an ages-old question that has existed since before my own birth."
I could tell that she was pulling away, eager to get going. "I had a mark on me, though, even though it wasn't from the Hunter?"
"Yes. A Death Mark. No worries, it disappeared when you died." She nodded and smiled like she was selling me something I didn't want to buy.
I tried to sit up again but remained on my back. "What? I died?"
"Your body died, Lieutenant." She said it as if there was supposed to be a difference. "But it was an easy fix to ground you here, especially with the Tiger's healing touch. You also fought hard to stay with your body, which also helps." She brushed her hands together, dusting the dirt from them. "Which is why we shall now find the little bitch that thought to kill you."
"But, she's actually dead, isn't she? I saw that Tree Spirit gore her and throw her body." Consciously I ought to be troubled by that, but couldn't conjure up even an inkling of sympathy.
Thana laughed. "She is dead, which is how I can find her spirit. She walks in my realms as we speak."
I decided to accept what she was saying; it only seemed natural to believe what she said. "Please don't break her mind or spirit. I need her able to answer questions."
She did that curious head tilt thing. "Do you like questions?"
"What?"
"You ask them a lot, so I wondered." She shrugged, done with this conversation. "We shall return and try to have her intact for your game of questions, but no promises. The Wild Hunt was unleashed earlier and they craved blood magicks, which she had on her aplenty. They may have found her already. I shall not be held responsible if she has been shredded and devoured entirely." She said it so matter-of-factly, as if she was debating the fine print on a car rental agreement.
Anything else I would have asked—the murders, the ghost, the Hunter—died in my mouth as she mounted a huge stag and they bounded away, fading into the mist of night.
Chapter 9
Corbin?
A voice called to me, and it sounded distressed. I didn't know. I wanted to tell that voice to calm down. That everything would be all right.
It would be all right.
Right?
Someone was jostling me and I needed to have words with whoever they were. Couldn't they see I was still asleep?
Wait. Asleep?
I opened my eyes and I was in my own apartment.
The fog of my mind couldn't figure out why I was viewing my ceiling and not the night sky. Or the moon.
"Corbin!" That voice. Sounded like Vesper?
I turned toward a booming sound and I was met with a big slobbering tongue. "Ew, Rajah? Is that you?"
He woofed at me before sending his echoing barks over my head. I wanted to silence him, but I couldn't get my arms up.
A sharp hiss from Yokai sounded over my head and Rajah growled some more.
Vesper's familiar voice drifted in from outside my bedroom door. "Rajah, you better not be bothering Corbin. She needs to rest." She came in carrying a tray.
I had eyes only for the coffee. "Dude! Coffee! Gimme!"
Vesper shook her head, her swish of black hair rippling around her like a cape. She placed the tray on the nightstand and settled on my bed. "How are you feeling?" Her violet gaze flicked over my body. I wondered what she could see. She must not be too worried though, because if I smelled off she would have fussed a bit more.
"Weird, kind of like someone shot me in the abdomen," I said, eying the coffee. "Funny thing though—I kind of no longer have a wound there even though gut shots are legit debilitating." I tapped my chin, hamming up the fact that I was physically okay when all logic pointed to the fact that I should be torn up inside.
Vesper tsked at me as Rajah placed his head in her lap. She stroked him absently. "What all do you remember?" Her voice took on that airy quality that had always lulled her clients into a sense of security. Even knowing that she was reading my emotions, I still bought into the comfort she offered me. This was why she was the best empath in the city.
I sighed, anxiety uncoiling from around my chest with each exhale. I had no doubt Vesper took those negative emotions and exchanged them for calm.
"I remember Carter, the bitch. Javier?"
Vesper nodded. "Officer Caballero is safe. He had been sent away. He wasn't anywhere near the park last night."
So, it had only been one night. I hadn't lost days healing like I assumed I did. "I also remember being shot, of course. Ain't something I'm gonna forget about any time soon." I bit my lip, sipping the coffee that Vesper finally handed to me. Something teased the edges of memory. "I'm not sure, but I think I was talking to some of the nature Gods? Was Deimos there? Balin?"
Her eyebrow went up. "You saw them there?"
Now that was odd. That seemed evasive. Not like her.
She looked like she was trying to remember something, before giving a little shake of her head. I swallowed the discomfort in my chest. Seeing her wrestle with memories, any memories, and knowing I was the reason gutted me worse than the fucking bullets.
"I could have sworn they were…not in a form that you would be able to see," she said carefully. The violet swirl in her eyes were mesmerizing. Something of what she did made a fog lift around me.
Images and weird conversation drifted up to my mind's eye. "I do have another odd memory."
"Oh?"
I shared my strange dream of meeting the Queen of Nightmares and the Prince of the Wild Hunt, and our conversation about Chaos and Elder Gods. And their promise to find Carter, though she was dead. The bitch.
"No worries. I have every faith they'll run her down." Vesper rose, picking up the tray. "You may not need physical healing anymore, but you still need to rest."
My jaw-cracking yawn interrupted what would have been the mo
st futile argument ever. "Fine, but only because I didn't get nearly as much coffee as I should have." I settled into the pillows, smiling at her, like an obedient patient.
She rolled her eyes. "At least pretend you'll be going to sleep?"
"I am pretending." I gave her my innocent eyes.
"Pretend better, bitch," she laughed at me. Rajah padded after her.
When I was finally alone, I heaved a sigh and swung my legs over to the side of the bed. I went to the window and pushed the tilting panes open. "Come in."
I had only been half-sure Balin was out on my terrace. But there was this odd niggling, like a scratch behind my ear, that told me that he was near. With barely a shimmer, the man in question distilled from nothing. He paced restlessly along the length of the window.
"You wanna sit?" I asked, gesturing to my computer chair.
He shook his head, still pacing.
"Suit yourself." I slipped back into the warm nest of my bed. I didn't mince words, since I felt like my body was going to shut down after all. "So, was that you last night? The Black Bear Cat?" The creature who lapped at my wound and healed me from near-certain death. And had the balls to get in Deimos' face and roar at him.
He heaved a sigh and sat down after all. In the seat that was the farthest from me. "Yes."
I crossed my arms over my torso. "So tell me something. And be honest."
Balin's face twisted like he was bracing for some kind of impact.
"Are you and Yokai sympatico because you both are like, cats? Or what?"
His face broke into a surprised smile and he barked out a laugh. His eyes sparkled, the green flecks dancing in the morning light. "Yes, admittedly, he was more game with me hanging out with him because we had a certain kinship. Why do you ask?"
I shrugged. "He hates everyone. Hells, V was the one who dubbed him Demon Cat in the first place, because of the evil glares he gives her." I played with the talisman on my wrist, for all the good it did me last night.