Magic and Bones

by Laken Cane

  “Berserker?” She put her hand on his leg, craving the physical contact. “Talk to me.”

  He squeezed her hand, rubbing his thumb over her skin. “I thought it was Owen that had me unsettled, but my gut is still warning me that something is coming. I can’t tell if I’m feeling that shit because I’m so fucked up, or because bad things are actually coming.”

  He was raw and open, and so unlike himself that her stomach clenched with the pain of it. “Strad,” she said, at last. “Let’s get married. We can do it for just us, get it on paper, then let Ellie and the others have their big ceremony when things are settled with the bones. We won’t need to tell anyone.”

  He grasped her hand. “You’re sure?”

  “Yeah,” she said, and she was. “I can compromise. Ellie will still be at my wedding. Just…later.”

  He stared at her. “I’d like that.”

  Strad wasn’t the only one with a churning gut, and she felt the urgency of something as much as he did. She doubted it was about a wedding, but having the berserker as her husband would make her feel more settled.

  “You’re not changing your name,” he said.

  She squeezed his fingers. “Nope. I’m always going to be Rune Alexander. But you’re welcome to take mine.”

  He grinned. “Kader’s name?”

  “Kader’s name will be changed to Kader Alexander-Matheson.”

  He couldn’t say anything. But she glanced at him, and his eyes said everything.

  “I love you, Berserker,” she said. “And Kader is part of both of us.”

  Her phone buzzed, a welcome interruption. They needed a moment to collect themselves.

  “Raze?” she answered. “What is it?”

  “Belladonna is headed to Wormwood,” he said.

  “Fuck,” she muttered. “Why?”

  “I think Jack asked her to keep him company, maybe promised he’d help her track Jones when his shift ended. I don’t know.”

  “Fuck,” she said, again. “What the hell is he thinking?”

  “I’ll keep an eye on them.”

  She lifted an eyebrow. “And if Belladonna sees you?”

  He snorted. “She won’t see me unless I want to be seen.”

  “All right. Call me if you need me.”

  “I will.”

  She clicked off and shook her head. “Fucking Jack.”

  “He’s lonely. He needs his own Rune.”

  “I wish he could find one that wouldn’t hurt him.”

  They pulled into the driveway just as dusk appeared, and Kader was already peering out the window, watching for them.

  Ellie would soon follow.

  “Rune,” Strad said, before they climbed from the vehicle. “How are you dealing with Ellis?”

  She was quiet for a second, thinking about it. “The only way I can. I’m trying not to think too hard about it. Eventually it’ll just be real, I’ll be used to it, and Ellie will be okay.”

  “You’re grieving. I feel it.”

  She looked at him, a little surprised. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m grieving. He died. He sacrificed his life for me and Kader. He was in so much fucking pain and I wasn’t there to help him through it. But we have forever to deal with it, and we will. I can only take each second as it comes.”

  He nodded. “Let’s go see our baby.”

  Kader sat atop Grim when they entered the house, and Rune had a sudden, vivid image of her child grown up and fighting the world, swinging blades and using as yet unrealized powers to conquer the enemy, Grim right there with her.

  “Grim belongs to Kader now,” she murmured. “He’ll take care of her.”

  Strad nodded. “He’s always been her guardian. Whatever comes in the future, he’ll be facing it with her.”

  Maybe it was a little sad, thinking about Kader growing up, but Rune found comfort in the fact that Grim would be with her when she did.

  They strode to the porch together, Rune still worrying over Jack patrolling Wormwood with a person he could never let himself trust—not with himself, his crew, or any Other walking the earth.

  And then her cell rang and she got her excuse to yank him out of Wormwood and put him someplace the Next op could not go.

  She pulled her phone from her pocket, leaning over to give Kader a hug as she answered her phone. “Bill? I just left you. What can possibly—”

  “Little Reign woke up, Rune. You’ll want to call Jack and get back to the Annex.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  If there was one thing that would take Jack’s mind off a fascinating woman, it was the hopeless, tormented baby he’d claimed as his own.

  The child that had been created from Rune and the twins and magic and horror, shaped by the darkness of monsters and the blood of humans.

  And the darkness of humans and the blood of monsters.

  Reign.

  Ellis rushed from his sleep and threw himself into Rune’s arms, his stare a little too wide. His words were whispered gibberish, a new vampire mind attempting to reconcile itself with returning—sort of—to life.

  It would take him awhile.

  Honestly, he needed his master.

  She wrapped her arms around him, holding him as he dug himself out of his vampire fog and settled his mind.

  Levi leaned against the doorframe, a little defeated, perhaps, that Ellie hadn’t found comfort in his embrace instead of Rune’s.

  Finally, Ellis pulled away and reached for Kader, who tugged impatiently at his shirt and demanded his attention.

  “We have to go to the Annex,” Rune said. She looked at Levi and Denim. “Reign woke up. Follow us in if you want to.”

  The twins were having trouble with that reminder of such a dark time in their lives, and they might never be able to see little Reign as anything but a monster.

  But they were trying.

  “I’ll drive,” Strad said, digging for his keys as they left the house.

  Rune didn’t argue, just jumped into the passenger side of his truck, her heart thumping.

  “Terrifying babies, killer bones, nightmare portals, and hostile Next ops,” she muttered. “A day in the life of Shiv Crew. You glad to be back in this mess, Berserker?”

  He patted her leg. “More than I can say.”

  And he said it with absolute satisfaction.

  She laughed, and knew that despite everything, she’d always be able to laugh. As long as she had her berserker, her crew, her baby, her Ellie.

  Her family.

  Then Strad hooked his hand around the back of her neck and dragged her across the seat to plant a long, possessive kiss on her mouth.

  When she could breathe again, she called Jack. “Baby Reign woke up,” she told him. “We’re heading to the Annex now.”

  “I’m on my way,” he said, both fear and hope in his voice.

  She called Raze next.

  “Roma’s with me,” he growled. “Couldn’t get her to stay away.”

  “Good,” she said. “Raze, I need you to find Gunnar. Tell him we don’t want Belladonna in Wormwood. He’ll take care of the rest.”

  “What’s going on?” Then, “Hey, Jack is flying out of Wormwood like the place is on fire. The fuck’s going on?”

  “Reign woke up. You find Gunnar, then—”

  “We’ll meet you at the Annex. I want to see that baby. Then we’ll come back to watch for the bones.”

  She grinned and hung up.

  Jack was already at the Annex when she and the berserker arrived. He stood just inside the entrance waiting for her, a light sheen of sweat on his pale face, his fingers trembling when he lifted them to mop his forehead.

  “I’d face down an army of killers easier than this,” he muttered.

  She slid her arm around his waist. “I know what you mean.”

  Together, they walked almost reluctantly to the elevators. Just as the doors began to close, she saw Levi and Denim walking across the lobby.

  “Good,” she murmured. She hadn’t been sure th
ey’d show up.

  They were all a little afraid of the child. And all of them had different reasons. Reign was more important to all of them than she’d likely ever know. She hadn’t been around for long, but her impact was huge.

  Rune loved her, but evil had been part of the recipe that created the child. If the evil won, if Reign grew up to be the villain, the enemy, then Rune would kill her.

  Or she would try.

  Damascus the witch had foretold that the child would destroy Rune and Kader. But Damascus could never be trusted to do anything except manipulate, terrorize, and lie.

  Rune shivered as an icy finger slid down her spine, and she gripped Jack’s hand, terrified, for a second, of what the future would mean for all of them.

  Baby Reign.

  Please don’t be the monster.

  Bill was waiting outside the child’s room.

  “How is she?” Jack asked.

  “She’s aware,” Bill told them, as they followed him into the room. “That’s about all I know for sure.”

  “You cold?” Strad asked, when she shuddered.

  “Yeah,” she replied. “A little fucking cold.”

  He shrugged off his jacket and smoothed it across her shoulders. It wasn’t that kind of cold.

  Probably, he knew that.

  “Give us a minute,” Bill told the white-coated people surrounding Reign’s bed, and without a word, they slipped away.

  Levi and Denim walked into the room but hung back, just a little, their faces identically shuttered, their emotions locked up tight.

  As the doctors and nurses left in a stream of orderly silence, most of them clutching small tablets with dark screens, Rune took a moment to go to the twins. The three of them had gone through something none of the others could share in, and she needed to touch them.

  They stood in a huddled circle of pain and memories, but also of strength. Something fierce, strong, and undeniable.

  And finally, they walked to the bed.

  The child stared up at the circle of faces above her, a spark in her eyes that had never been there before.

  “Hi, baby,” Rune whispered, and took Reign’s hand. Her skin was cool and soft. She tightened her fingers around Rune’s hand.

  Jack took the child’s other hand, his fear forgotten in the face of his wonder. “Reign,” he said. “Look at you.”

  Jack had been there every day, talking to her, rocking her in the chair beside the bed, promising her a life when she came back to them. He’d claimed her from the moment he’d taken her from Rune and carried her into the Annex. From the moment he’d given her his sister’s name.

  He was her guardian.

  They all were, really, but Jack in a slightly different way. Being responsible for a child gave him new purpose. And she would save him from himself.

  Maybe he wasn’t aware of that, but those who loved him were aware.

  “She needs someone to claim her,” Bill said. “Officially. Someone who can take over guardianship, sign papers, take care of her future. Someone who can oversee her discharge when she’s ready, give her a home life, and give permissions for—”

  “I do,” Jack said, fiercely, as though they might try to deny him. “I claim her.” He glared at Bill. “Officially.”

  Bill nodded, smiling slightly. “I thought you might. I’ll have the paperwork drawn up.” He leaned over the bed. “Reign, meet your…” He glanced at Rune, unsure.

  Rune squeezed the child’s hand, gently. “We’re your family, Reign. We’re going to take care of you.” She smiled at Jack, her heart full because the look on his face was so very fucking perfect.

  “Reign Slaughter,” Jack murmured. “I guess I’m going to be your daddy.”

  Roma, who Rune hadn’t even realized arrived, burst into tears. Raze crossed his arms and shifted from foot to foot, looking at none of them.

  She might once have been destined to grow up and become the villain, but Rune let that worry go. Left on her own, unloved, uncared for, alone…yeah, the kid might have turned dark.

  But she had Shiv Crew, and they would love her with a hugeness that would leave no room for hatred. She and Kader were sisters. They would grow up together. They would play together, and someday, they would fight together.

  They would not become enemies.

  They would not.

  Ellis rushed into the room, Kader in his arms. “They should meet now,” he said. “And I need to fall in love with her.”

  Rune nodded. It was true. Reign would be his charge as much as Kader was. He needed to bond with her. But she knew as well as he did that he would never love her quite the same way he loved Kader, and that worried her. Kids knew when they were a little less loved. They knew when they weren’t the favorite.

  But maybe that’d be okay, because Reign was someone’s favorite.

  Jack lifted her from the bed, mindful of the tubes and wires attached to her. He held her small body against his chest, cuddling her like she was the most precious thing he’d ever seen.

  “I’ve only seen him look at one other person like that,” Ellie whispered to Rune.

  Rune nodded. “Kader.”

  “No, honey. You.”

  Rune blinked back tears, not just because of his words but because of his…Ellie-ness. God, she’d missed him. And despite what he had become, he would always be Ellis, he’d always be with her, and she was glad. She was glad.

  There was an awkwardness they both tried to ignore, but it would ease, given time. They clung to that hope.

  “She’s still very weak,” Bill said, “and she has a long, hard road ahead of her. But she’s stable. For the first time since she arrived, I can honestly say she’s stable. I believe she’ll live.”

  “Of course she’ll live,” Jack said.

  Kader held out her arms. “Take me, Jack.”

  Cradling Reign with one arm, he held out the other to Kader.

  Rune held her breath as the two little girls stared at each other, afraid, but not sure exactly what she was afraid of.

  Kader leaned forward and clumsily kissed Reign’s face. “You can ride Grim,” she offered, then looked at Rune. “Mama?”

  “Yeah, baby?”

  “Can she come home?”

  “Not right now. She’s too sick to leave the hospital.”

  “Now,” Kader insisted. “She can be with me and Grim.”

  “Kader,” Jack said. “What’s wrong?”

  Kader took his cheeks between her chubby hands. “I’m afraid, Jack.”

  “Of what, sweetheart?” His voice was little more than a whisper, his eye a little too dark. There was death in that eye, but it didn’t frighten Kader.

  “She can come home,” Kader told him. “So Jack can come home.”

  “Oh, my goodness,” Ellie said. “That child…”

  Jack’s expression cleared. “I’m always going to come home. Don’t worry about me.”

  “Mama is worried.”

  Jack smiled. “I will never leave your mama.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Or you.”

  But Kader wasn’t convinced. “Promise in words.”

  He only hesitated for a millisecond, almost too briefly for anyone to catch. But Rune caught it, that hesitation. Then, he made his choice, even if he hadn’t been aware he had a choice to make. “I promise, little one. I will never leave you or your mama.”

  “Until you die,” Kader said, matter-of-factly. “When you’re old.”

  “Kader!” Rune knew her voice was too sharp, too angry, but she wasn’t able to control it. “Don’t be an asshole.”

  “He’s not like us, Mama.”

  “Fuck.” Rune pressed her fist against her stomach.

  But Jack only laughed. It rumbled out of him, genuine and sweet. “I have a lot of years left. Don’t worry about me, kid.” He looked at Rune. “Don’t worry about me. I’m exactly where I want to be.”

  She nodded. “I love you, Jack.”

  “I know.”

  And
she would always worry.

  He knew that, too.

  But at that moment, the trajectory of Jack Slaughter’s life curved and took a new direction. A person changed his or her fate every single day.

  Reign wouldn’t kill Kader, and Jack wouldn’t leave Rune.

  Sometimes shit just worked out the way a person hoped it would.

  Even when maybe it shouldn’t.

  Chapter Nineteen

  When Rune left her, Reign was sleeping. She never said a word, never cried, laughed, or smiled, but she was there. She was behind those eyes. She saw them.

  Her sleep wasn’t the black hole of nightmares, exhaustion, injury and brain damage it had been. It was just regular sleep.

  What happened to you, honey?

  But Rune didn’t really want to know. And she hoped that Reign couldn’t remember.

  “I’m going to hang out here for a while,” Jack said, and sprawled out in the chair next to Reign’s bed. “She might wake up again and wonder where everybody went.”

  “Send him up a meal and some coffee?” Rune asked Bill, as they walked from the room.

  “I wouldn’t mind a meal,” Roma said, patting her stomach. “I think I’ll stay here and keep Jack company. Send up enough food for both of us, Bill.”

  “I don’t know if there’s that much food in the city,” he grumbled, but he smiled.

  Still, Roma waited until Rune nodded before she jogged back down the hall to sit with Jack and wait for food. To Roma, there would never be anything better than Jack and food.

  “She’s going to get her heart broken,” Raze growled, striding toward the elevators with Rune and the twins. Strad had left forty-five minutes earlier to take Ellie and Kader home.

  “You two want to check out Wormwood?” she asked Denim and Levi, and they jogged away without a word.

  “Roma knows he’s going to break her heart,” Rune said, watching the twins until they were out of sight. “Can’t do anything about it, but she knows.”

  He shook his head. “Poor dumb kid.”

  Rune laughed. “You can’t help who you love. And Jack is a hard man to resist.”