Corruption

by Jennifer Blackstream

  When the rain of wood and water stopped, I stared at the damaged pier. A gap of twenty feet now separated the section where we stood and the section connected to the beach.

  The only way to shore was through the water.

  Siobhan dropped the remote detonator and reached for her gun. “Defend! But no one kills the FBI man. He’s mine.”

  The bodyguard bared his teeth in an unpleasant smile and leapt over the side of the boat, diving into the water with hardly a splash.

  “I’ve got him!” Laurie drew the dagger, and before I could stop her, leapt into the lake.

  “Did she jump into the water with a kelpie?” Peasblossom shrieked, poking her head out of my pouch.

  “Something is wrong with her. We need to get Andy out of h—”

  The black cat landed in front of me, cutting me off. My breath caught in my throat as I peeked over the beast to see Siobhan with her arm extended, sighting down the barrel of her gun. I hunched down, covering Andy with my body as we both took cover behind the massive feline’s flank.

  “Do you plan to carry him?” Peasblossom demanded, hauling a potion bottle out of the pouch. “He’s hurt bad, Shade. This spell will fight the infection and keep him from dying, but it won’t close the wound completely, and it won’t clear his head. Crazy bugger jumped off the boat, you saw him. He could barely stand, and he jumped off the boat!”

  “Laurie should have healed him!” I gritted my teeth. Laurie was in the water, chasing a kelpie with nothing more than a dagger to help her. I didn’t know if she couldn’t access her paladin spells, or if she chose not to, but that dagger would do her no good against the water beast.

  “It has to be the poison,” I muttered. “Flint’s magic must have worked according to a hierarchy of need, healing her first to bring Laurie to consciousness. There wasn’t enough left to bolster her magic.”

  “So she has the confidence to fight, but compromised weapons and an unstable personality. Perfect,” Peasblossom snapped.

  “The feline is fey, but it protects you.”

  I paused, distracted by the curiosity in Siobhan’s tone. I peeked at her again. She held the gun, waiting for a clear shot, but there was a furrow between her brows.

  She stared at the cat. “I don’t want your witch. I want the human. Take your witch and leave the human, and I give you my word I’ll not harm Shade.”

  My heart fell into my stomach like a smoking piece of the pier crashing into the lake. The cat didn’t move, but there was something about the stillness in its body, the buzzing heat beneath the surface, that made me think it was listening to Siobhan. Considering her offer.

  “I’m not leaving him,” I said hoarsely.

  “You’re not taking him anywhere,” Siobhan called out. “You can’t cover him forever, and as soon as you move, he’s mine.” She chuckled. “Stalling won’t save him. I’d prefer to shoot him myself, but if I have to wait for him to die a slow, painful death from infection, then so be it.”

  She was right. Andy was in no position to crawl behind the feline, and even if he could, we’d never make it over the gap in the pier. I reached for my magic. I needed fog. With this much water around, it wouldn’t be hard. I glanced at Flint. If I could push the fog to the small boat, maybe he could disarm Siobhan. Or at least escape without worrying Rowyn would shoot him.

  A fat raindrop smacked me in the center of my scalp, tickling as it ran down the back of my neck and under the collar of my jacket. Another one followed. A second later, the sky opened up.

  Peasblossom shrieked and ducked under the lip of my pouch, trying to keep the torrential downpour from beating her thin gossamer wings to a pulp. The entire world vanished around me, hidden by a grey sheet of rain that threatened to wash me off the pier and into the lake. Andy coughed and choked as water forced its way into his mouth and nose, and I tried to help him roll onto his side to avoid drowning.

  “What is this?” I yelled, swiping heavy locks of hair away from my face. “It wasn’t supposed to rain today! I—”

  Majesty burrowed under my trench coat, huddling there in a trembling ball of wet fur and bones. I stared down at the shocked horror on his tiny face, and my mouth fell open.

  “Rain?” I demanded, shouting over the downpour pounding the wooden pier. “You made it rain?”

  Traumatized, Majesty stared at me, helpless and soaking wet.

  “I told you we should have got rid of him!” Peasblossom hollered.

  The one benefit of the sudden deluge was Siobhan couldn’t see us any better than we could see her. Now was our chance. Wiping the water out of my eyes was futile, so I groped inside my pouch for my hat with one hand and tapped the black cat on the side with the other. My finger sank into its thick, wet fur, but the beast didn’t take its eyes from Siobhan’s boat.

  “Um, can you carry him?” I asked. My fingers brushed an open honey packet and I wrinkled my nose.

  “What are you doing?” Peasblossom squeaked.

  “I can’t carry him, and we need to get him out of here!” I tapped the cat again. “Can you carry him?”

  The cat didn’t take its attention off Siobhan, but it lowered its body to the pier. I pulled the pointed black hat out of the pouch and jammed it onto my head, then wiped the water from my face. I grabbed Andy’s shoulders. “Andy, I need you to help. Try to climb onto its back.”

  Andy grunted, and I took that for confirmation he would try. He was too heavy for me to lift, and too injured for me to manhandle him onto the beast. Every movement drew the lines of pain etched into his face deeper, drained more color from his pale face. He got his leg over the animal’s broad back, and the cat shifted beneath him, helping him settle into place with his arms wrapped around its neck. He clung for dear life even as he let his head slump against the beast’s fur.

  A muzzle flash lit up the wall of grey sky and pouring rain, and a bullet exploded against the pier a foot away, sending a chip of wood up to slice through my leggings. I hissed and leaned into the cat.

  A rumble that was neither purr nor growl vibrated against my hands, and I found the beast staring at me, green eyes glowing through the haze of rainwater. It shifted its weight and leaned closer.

  “You want me to get on too?”

  The cat didn’t nod its head, or anything convenient like that. But I took its empty stare for a yes. Keeping as low as I could, I slid onto its back and curled my body over Andy. His bare skin was slick with rainwater, so I held onto the belt loops of his pants, anchoring myself to him as the black cat rose to its feet. The fact that the beast moved as easily carrying an extra three hundred pounds as it had without was both impressive and unnerving. I tried not to think about what waited under the water as I felt it gather its body for the leap across the gap in the pier.

  Another gunshot broke through the sounds of heavy rain on the lake, and I tensed. “Andy?”

  “Not hit.”

  His voice was weak, and I would have missed it if I hadn’t had my ear pressed against his back. Suddenly we were sailing through the air, and all I could do was stare down at the churning water and imagine the kelpie under the surface. Waiting.

  I squeezed my eyes shut, holding my breath as the black cat landed on the other side and loped down the pier toward the beach. Then, as quickly as it had started, the rain stopped. Rivulets ran from the edges of my hat, dripping around me in a beaded curtain as I fought to regain my bearings.

  The black cat continued heading for the rocky steps that would lead away from the lake, the wet sand sucking at its paws and slowing its progress. Rowyn was no longer on the houseboat, and I found him in the water, swimming toward shore still in human form. Flint stood at the wheel to Siobhan’s boat, his face set with determination as he started the engine. The female kelpie was nowhere to be seen.

  “Look out!” Peasblossom yelled.

  I rolled off the cat toward the lake, standing to put myself between Andy and whatever danger Peasblossom had seen. Magic burned in my palms, while inst
inct screamed at me that flight was better than fight. I shoved that instinct down.

  A kelpie in horse form lurched out of the shallows, Siobhan on its back. The horse was monstrous and beautiful at the same time. Green hair hung like thick seaweed over its side, and its bluish green hide shivered as it shook off the lake water, heavy backwards-facing hooves thudding into the wet sand. Laurie’s dagger stuck out of its rear right flank, but it didn’t limp, didn’t seem to feel the wound.

  Siobhan sat atop the equine beast like an ancient Celtic warrior ready for a wild hunt. Her eyes glistened white, like large pearls, matching those of her mount, and she raised her gun.

  I opened my mouth, a spell sizzling on my lips, but before I could make a sound Laurie exploded out of the water behind the mounted kelpie. I snapped my mouth shut as Laurie sprang into the air, legs bending until her heels touched her backside. She landed on the rump of the kelpie. She snatched the bloody knife out of its flesh, wrapped an arm around Siobhan’s neck and squeezed, eyes alight with battle fury.

  “Gun!” I shouted.

  Laurie didn’t react, didn’t seem to hear me. She swept the dagger toward Siobhan’s throat, but the kelpie was already raising her gun. The world slid into slow motion as she squeezed the trigger. Laurie’s body jerked as a bullet tore through her shoulder. Her hand spasmed and she dropped the dagger as she fell backward over the kelpie’s tail. The horse snorted and slammed its front hooves into the sand, lifting its back legs at the same time.

  Siobhan rolled to the side onto the beach as it struck Laurie’s spine with a skin-crawling crack. Laurie didn’t make a sound as she pitched into the surf with a splash. She lay there, unmoving on the sand, the water sucking at her hair, trying to pull her into the lake.

  “Laurie!” I took a step toward her, but Siobhan blocked my path, standing beside the kelpie as it pranced back and forth, waiting for Laurie to move. The kelpie female turned those inhuman eyes on me, though she continued to shift her weight from foot to foot. Her real focus never left the semi-conscious FBI agent behind me.

  The black cat had stopped moving when Siobhan erupted from the water, and in my peripheral vision I could see it standing in front of Andy. My partner lay in the sand, braced on his hands and knees, head hanging. Something moved in my pouch and Peasblossom leapt out, a potion vial clutched to her chest.

  “Yes, heal the human,” Siobhan taunted. “My vengeance will be sweeter when he is not so close to death by another’s hand.”

  “This isn’t vengeance.” I put myself between her and Andy, blocking him from her sight. “It’s murder. Andy shot Galen to save a child’s life.”

  “Yes. Let’s talk about that.” Her voice had a raspy quality to it, as if Laurie’s choke hold had damaged her throat. Her dark hair hung in black tendrils, framing her face as she took another step forward. “Do you know what I’ve been doing for the past month?”

  “Riding lessons?” I guessed.

  She grinned. “Learning.”

  “Education is never wasted.” I tried to sound supportive, as if we were two friends having a nice chat by the lake. I could ramble if that meant giving the potion time to heal Andy.

  And giving Laurie a chance to wake up. Flint drove the boat in a wide circle, driving farther out on the lake to get a panoramic view of everything happening on the shore. His attention flitted from Andy lying behind the cat, to me facing off with Siobhan, to Laurie lying at the water’s edge. Rowyn was gone.

  “One of the greatest lessons I ever learned was it’s never too late to take a diplomatic path,” I added, stalling. “Violence begets violence, and all that.” I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for your loss. But killing Andy won’t make it any better.”

  The kelpie woman didn’t bother answering that claim. “I’ve made a new friend,” she said, taking a step closer. “A human cop.”

  That was worth making a mental note of. Somehow I didn’t think Siobhan had intentions to form a symbiotic crime-fighting partnership with her new friend. Or maybe she had, and I was being a Judgy MacJudgerson. “That’s…nice?”

  Siobhan gripped the gun tighter, and I closed my hands into fists, feeling my magic crackle against my palms. “Tell me about your friend,” I said.

  “Did you know when a human law enforcement agent discharges their weapon, there is a mandatory investigation?” Siobhan asked.

  “Yes.” I pulled more magic into the spell. I would only get one shot. “But the FBI doesn’t know about Andy discharging his weapon, so that’s irrelevant.”

  “Did you know there is mandatory counseling attached?” she continued.

  There was something in her voice that caught my attention. She was building up to something. Something I wouldn’t like.

  “Again,” I said slowly. “That only applies if the human police know what happened. And they don’t.”

  “You’re asking the wrong questions.” Siobhan’s eyes glowed brighter.

  “What are the right questions?”

  “Why do they require that counseling?”

  I frowned. “Because taking a life is serious. Even taking the life of a bad person, or taking the life of someone to protect another life isn’t something you shrug off.”

  Siobhan’s grin widened. “But Andy isn’t upset, is he? Not traumatized. Not even a blip on the radar, was it? My brother’s murder?”

  Her words didn’t match the smile. Something was wrong.

  “You’re upset he’s not traumatized over shooting your brother?” I asked. “You’re upset he didn’t need counseling?”

  Siobhan laughed. “I’m not as upset as you should be. Your FBI ‘friend’ isn’t upset about killing my brother because to him, my brother wasn’t a person.” Siobhan’s eyes flashed. “He was a monster, an evil to destroy. Nothing more. Like all humans, he draws a line between his people and all that is Other. And anyone Other is invariably less than he and his kin.”

  I saw where she was going, but I couldn’t make my voice work in time to stop her from saying the next sentence.

  “You are Other,” she finished, baring her teeth in a wide smile. “You think he’s your partner, your friend, but you’re wrong. You are Other, and he is not, and there will forever be a line between the two. He would kill you to protect a human, any human. You will never be worth the same as one of his own kind.”

  Knowing what she’d been about to say didn’t mitigate my reaction. And she wasn’t wrong. Andy did see me as Other, and he did draw a line between us, however much he might respect me. It was a source of pain, one I hadn’t dealt with.

  “Lamellae!” I shouted the word and flung my hand at Siobhan, as if I could drown out her words, drown out my reaction to them. The green ball of energy struck her full in the chest, seeped past her clothes into her lungs. The kelpie’s eyes widened, pearlescent orbs dulling as she tried to breathe—and couldn’t.

  I backed toward Andy and the black cat, not taking my eyes from the suffocating fey. I should have told her what I’d done, told her that if she wanted to breathe, she had to return to the water.

  But I didn’t.

  I ran to the shore to check on Laurie, leaving Siobhan to gasp for air that wouldn’t help her breathe. I was three feet away when Rowyn exploded from the water in human form. He pointed something at me, and the lights along the beach struck his gun. He pulled the trigger, and a gunshot cracked through the night air, followed quickly by what felt like a baseball bat striking my leg. Pain exploded in my thigh, and I fell on my next step, my breath hissing from between my teeth.

  A feline roar erupted behind me. The sound drilled into my core, bowed me until I cowered in the shallow water, my hands over my ears, my blood seeping from the bullet wound in my leg. I was barely aware of Siobhan and her mount retreating into the lake, disappearing beneath the surface. She’d be able to breathe now.

  I told myself I wasn’t disappointed.

  The black cat leapt at Rowyn where he stood in waist-deep water. He never got off a second shot
. Six-inch claws dragged down his body from his jaw to mid chest. Torn flesh parted like tissue paper, pouring blood down his chest and into the water around him. The huge cat followed him as he fell into the water, trying to twist away from a second rake of its claws.

  The dull ache in my leg grew sharper as the cold water sent needles into the bullet wound in my leg. I applied pressure as I turned toward shore, searching for Laurie, hoping Siobhan and her mount hadn’t gone back to finish off the paladin for her intervention. Andy pulled the holy warrior away from the water’s edge then fell to his knees beside her, trying to wake her up despite the fact he was fighting to stay conscious himself. I tried to go to them, wincing when the pain from the bullet wound threatened to take my legs out from under me. My magic hissed and crackled, and I pressed my hand over the wound.

  “Sana.”

  Blue light arched from my fingertips, and I hissed as it ballooned inside my skin, forcing the bullet out. Pain arced through my brain like lightning, and for a second it was all I could do not to pass out. Grey fog ate at the edges of my vision, and I was just barely aware of Flint cutting the boat’s engine and leaping into the water. He sloshed toward me with an angry set to his jaw. I held up a hand, but he batted it aside and lifted me into his arms. He ignored Andy and Laurie, passing them with strong, sure strides and heading for the rocky incline up the slope away from the beach.

  I hissed and clapped my hand over the still open bullet hole. The spell had pushed the bullet out and healed the worst of the damage, but it hadn’t closed the skin. I needed to disinfect it and get a bandage on before I lost anymore blood. But Andy…

  “Wait, we need to make sure Andy and Laurie are all right!” I twisted in Flint’s arms, straining to see the shoreline. “He can’t carry h— No!”

  Flint turned in time for both of us to watch Siobhan rise out of the water. Pearlescent eyes glittered with rage and her mouth twisted into an ugly smile. The gun pointed at Andy where he knelt on the beach, and I watched in horror as he bent over Laurie, protecting her from the coming shot.