The first touch of her lips is hesitant, unsure of exactly how to go about sucking venom from my veins. But she seems to come to her senses and remember the “direness” of the situation because her lips close around the now closed wound, and she sucks hard against my skin.
There’s a bite of pleasure-pain, the burning of the venom completely forgotten for the pull of her mouth. My cock immediately springs to attention, and I reach up and thread my hand through her hair, cradling the back of her head. My chest rumbles at the feeling, my eyes closing as the sensation washes over me.
She releases my skin far to soon and turns her head to the side to spit. I’m ready for her to lean down again, contemplating bringing her lips to mine and giving up the ruse, when a throat clears behind us.
I groan as Cal jerks away and turns.
“What are you doing?” White asks, amusement clear on his face.
“Cheshire was bitten. I was sucking the venom out,” Cal rushes to explain.
My lips curl up as White’s brows raise, his eyes dancing with laughter.
“Why would you do that?”
“He was going to die,” Cal points out, confusion on her face.
White doesn’t hold back his laughter this time. He throws his head back, and his laughter fills the air. Attie and Diana step up behind him, their eyes taking in my sprawling position on the ground, and Cal kneeling beside me.
“What so funny?” Cal growls, looking between us. I can’t help it. My grin grows before I start chuckling with White.
“He’s pulled a fast one on you,” White says when he can catch his breath. “A Son of Wonderland can’t die.”
“What?”
“We can’t die.” She turns at my words and meets my eyes. “But if you want to keep going, I have something else you can suck the venom from.”
Cal scowls, but I don’t miss the glance at my cock. It gives a hard jerk in response, and I’m so tempted to wrap my hands in her hair and drag her to me.
She stands, grabbing the Vorpal Blade from where she’s laid it, and glares at me.
“If you’re done playing games, Pussy Cat, I’d like to get on with this.”
She storms towards Attie and Diana, holding the sword in her hand. I need to make a sheath for it, I think, just as she whirls on me. I’m still stretched out on the ground, my tail twitching beside me.
She growls deep enough that it impresses me. I wonder how she’d feel about my growl against sensitive skin.
“Get your ass up, Chesh. Let’s go.”
When she brushes by Attie, I hear him ask, “Did you get the venom out?” There’s obvious laughter on his face, and I’m pleased that he seems happy with the situation rather than angry. I could always use the little brother on my side.
“Shut up, Attie,” she tells him.
I’m rewarded with the sight of a brilliant blush spreading across Cal’s cheeks.
My chest rumbles with laughter again.
Chapter 22
As we’re walking through the trees, I study the sword in my hand. Even in the darkness of the forest, it seems to glow, it’s power tingling through my arm. I don’t know why, but the sword feels right in my hands, it’s weight not too heavy that my arm aches. The entire sword looks made of silver, intricate vines etched along the blade. The hilt follows the same pattern, beautiful vines carved into the metal, not so much that it cuts into my hand; rather, it seems to cradle my hand gently. There’s a glistening blue jewel in the pommel, catching on whatever light there is and sending little sparkles around the forest. It’s mesmerizing, and if I didn’t know any better, I would think it’s nothing more than a decorative show piece. But even I can sense the power that resides in the sword, not something I understand, but I feel it nonetheless.
In the distance, some kind of creature shrieks, and I jerk my head up to scan the trees. It’s followed by an answering chortle, and I frown.
“How safe are we right now?” I ask, keeping my voice down. I don’t know what kind of creatures I can attract if I talk too loudly. Cheshire doesn’t think the same thing.
“Not at all.” He answers at a normal level, and I grimace as it echoes a little around us. “I’d offer to carry the Vorpal Blade, but I doubt it will let me.”
“What do you mean?” I turn my head to meet his eyes just as a root I’d been stepping over lifts off the ground and trips me. I’m about to eat shit, the ground rising too fast for me to catch myself, when Cheshire wraps his hand around my arm and lifts me back up. He continues as if nothing happened, as if I can’t still feel his hand on my skin.
“The Vorpal Blade only sings for a warrior chosen by Wonderland.” He shrugs. “It would probably give me a nasty bite if I touch it.”
I eye the sword again. “That’s interesting.”
“It just proves that you are the final piece of the prophecy,” White comments, helping my mom over a particularly large root. He’s been supporting her the entire time, keeping the oxygen tank close, and I’m grateful for it. He hasn’t left her side at all. She’s been leaning heavily against him, her legs growing weak from so much walking. She hasn’t responded to any talking since before the cave, her eyes glazed like she’s apt to do. She’s locked inside her mind, and no one can ever reach her when she’s there.
When she stumbles over a smaller root, White bends down and scoops her into his arms, taking the burden from her completely.
“Thank you,” I whisper, touching him on the shoulder.
“It’s my pleasure, Calypso.”
Attie watches, worry clear on his face, and I can’t blame him. Our mother shouldn’t be here. Hell, none of us should, but my mother is draining before our eyes, and there’s nothing we can do about it.
There’s an abnormal screech that comes from in front of us. It brings us all to a halt.
“What was that?” I whisper, scanning the tree line. I can’t see anything, the trees too thick and the forest too dark to reveal its secrets.
“It sounded like a Chimera.” White scans the trees with me, squatting closer to the ground, my mom still cradled in his arms. He doesn’t struggle with her weight. I follow suit, pulling Attie down beside me. Cheshire stays standing and sniffs the air.
“What’s a Chimera?” I’ve heard the legends from home, but somehow, I doubt this is going to be anything like that. No doubt, this will be ten times worse. Everything always is here.
“Nasty creature,” Cheshire mumbles. “It usually travels in packs.”
“Fantastic.”
White meets Cheshire’s eyes above my head. “Can you take care of it?” he asks, and Cheshire nods.
“Chimeras are always punishable.”
“Okay. Here’s what’s gonna happen.” White meets my eyes. “We’re close to the Hatter’s house. I’ll go ahead of you and take your mother out of harm’s way. Once inside the Hatter’s house, we’ll be safe.”
“Can you take Attie, too?”
“I can only run so fast carrying one person, and a Chimera is fast. There will no doubt be Bandersnatch patrolling the woods. Cheshire will keep you both safe. Don’t worry, Calypso.”
“Can I trust you?” I ask, because he’s running off with my sick mom, and leaving me behind with a cat who likes to play games more often than not.
“You can trust us both,” White answers. “Our goal is to protect you, and therefore, that stretches to your mother and Atlas. We won’t let anything happen to you.”
I glance at Cheshire, as if I’m expecting him to contest that vow. Instead, he nods his head to me, agreeing. “I’ve got you.”
I lean over and touch my mom’s hand. She doesn’t react, doesn’t give any sign that she can even hear me. “We’re gonna split up, mom, but it’s only for a little bit. We’ll be back in a jiffy.”
White shifts her in his arms and stands. He nods his head to us once more and then takes off through the trees so fast, I gasp.
“Show off,” Cheshire mumbles. “Stay behind me. Chimeras have a na
sty bite.”
I do as he says, pulling Attie behind me. Cheshire may like to play games, but if he says to watch out for whatever this is, then I trust him.
The screech sounds again, closer, and Attie presses into to me. I can feel his reluctance to keep moving forward. I reach back and touch his hand gently, letting him know it’s okay. “Whatever that is, I’d prefer not to meet it,” he grumbles behind me, one hand clenched in my leather jacket.
“Too late,” Cheshire says. “Prepare yourselves. This is gonna get ugly.”
The trees in front of us begin to shake, small little hisses sounding as whatever the creature is steps on the hissing flowers we’ve been passing. We’d encountered them every so often, and I always given them a wide berth. I don’t take any chances with something that hisses “food” as we pass by. When the creature presses through the undergrowth and steps from the trees in front of us, I tense.
Ugly doesn’t even begin to describe it.
It’s humanoid for the most part, or at least in the general shape of a human. It walks upright, it’s body hidden by a tattered black cloak. Cracked and Grey skin covers the hands, which peek through the sleeves. I can see three-inch long claws tipping the fingers. Its face looks like a skull, although certainly not a human one. W I would think a dragon skull would look like, that’s how it appears. A hood is pulled up over its head.
“What the fuck?” I whisper, moving behind Cheshire just a little more and wrapping my hand around Attie. With the other, I raise the Vorpal Blade.
“Pretty much,” Cheshire comments. “The skull isn’t its face. Wait until you see that.”
“No thanks.”
Cheshire actually chuckles before looking at me over his shoulder. “I have to take care of it. Protect yourself with the blade. It’s a far greater weapon than anything else you could use.”
I nod my head and watch as Cheshire steps towards the creature. It screeches in answer, and I grimace at the feeling in my ears.
“I am the Hands of Justice,” Cheshire growls, stopping out of reach of the creature. “You have committed sins against Wonderland, and acted on the Red Queen’s orders. Your verdict has been decided by the land. Have you any words for it?”
The Chimera screeches again. I watch as it reaches up and pushes the hood back, followed by the skull lifting. My fingers tighten around the hilt of the blade, tense. Whatever the fuck this thing is, I hope I don’t have to fight it. A mouth dripping with yellowing razor-sharp teeth opens and grins at us. Goosebumps scatter along my arms.
Nope. That’s a big fat nope.
I push Attie back a step, and the creature focuses on us.
“Don’t look at them,” Cheshire growls. “If you have no last words, then you will be executed with swift hands.”
I blink, hard, as Cheshire’s skin seems to shimmer and grey fur sprouts along his body, until he’s covered in it. Electric-blue stripes matching his ears and hair, slice through the grey, bringing pops of color into the dark trees. When he glances back at me, his eyes are full electric blue and slit like a cat’s. That grin spreads, and I see exactly how he resembles the Cheshire cat from our stories at home. I’m pretty sure my mouth is hanging open as his tail swings from side to side. He winks–the cheeky bastard–before returning his attention to the Chimera waiting patiently in front of him. I don’t understand why it’s just standing there, but I don’t question it. Who cares why?
Cheshire drops into a ready position, his fingers tipped with razor-sharp claws. The Chimera takes that opportunity to charge, faster than I could have ever expected. Both Attie and I stumble back as the Chimera screeches a god-awful battle cry and reaches out with those talons.
Cheshire dances out of the way, flowing around the creature as if he’s dancing. His claws rake across the chimera’s shoulder, thick red blood squirting out across his chest. The creature bellows and swings its arm around, catching Cheshire on the forearm, blood welling out with the slight cut.
“We have to help him!” Attie yells, trying to be heard over the screeches and growls.
“I don’t think we can, buddy. We have to sit this one out.”
I say those words, but I don’t feel them. Even now, I itch to join the fray, to drive the Vorpal Blade between the creature’s ribs. But Attie needs protection, too, so I stand vigilant in front of him, and watch the deadly dance between a Cheshire cat I’m starting to care what happens to and a creature from nightmares.
“Is that all you got?” Cheshire laughs, dancing away and raking his claws down the chimera’s back. More blood. “I expected better from a Chimera.”
Those words only serve to piss off the creature more. It whirls, the cloak flying around it, and goes for Cheshire’s throat. Cheshire disappears before my eyes, and I blink just as he reappears behind the creature. The chimera doesn’t even get a chance to react as Cheshire shoves his hand through its back, and through his chest. In his claws, is the creature’s heart, bright-red blood welling around the still beating organ. My heart freezes as he rips his hand back through and free. The chimera collapses to the ground with hardly a sound, and Cheshire drops the heart on the ground with a squelch I’ll never be able to unhear.
“Your fate has been decided. May Wonderland have mercy on your soul,” Cheshire mumbles.
He turns and looks at us. Slowly, he transforms back to human, his skin replacing fur. The cat eyes are the last to go, and he blinks to clear the change. He’s coated in blood, his arm completely covered up to his bicep, and it still drips from the tips of his fingers. A few droplets splatter his face, giving him a terrifying appearance.
I don’t shy away from the sight. In my mind, somehow, I knew Cheshire was capable of brutality, of danger. Here he is, fresh from battle, coated in the life force of a creature he executed, and instead of running away, I pull the shop towel I keep in my back pocket free; it somehow hadn’t been lost throughout our journey so far. He watches me warily as I step forward, taking slow measured steps, and stop in front of the man who makes my heart race, who’s the worst decision I can make, and I give him a tiny smile.
“I think you missed a spot. There isn’t any blood on your forehead.”
His shoulders loosen at my remark, his ears twisting to take me in, and his lip curls the tiniest bit.
When he reaches his hand to wipe his face, I shake my head.
“Here, let me.”
I touch the towel against his skin, wiping away the droplets from his face. I can’t do much for the rest of his body, but at least I can clean the red from his face. I wipe slowly, cleaning away the blood, making sure to soak up as much as possible. When his face is clean, I wipe some of his chest, his muscles jumping at my touch. My towel grows damp quickly, until it no longer wipes up the red, and instead smears it around.
I hum in disappointment and meet his eyes.
There’s a fire there that draws me in, and regardless that he’s still covered in blood, I’m tempted to lean forward and meet his lips. His hand raises, the one covered in blood, and tips my chin up. Just when I think he’s going to kiss me, Attie clears his throat behind us and breaks the moment.
I turn towards him, wiping the blood from my chin, and stare at Attie as he looks off innocently into the trees.
“I’d walk off,” he says, a teasing smile on his face, “But I really don’t want to be eaten.” His eyes flick between us two before he stares off into the trees again, his face displaying a slight blush.
I clear my throat. “We should probably catch up with White.”
“I have a better idea.” Cheshire grins. “Now that there’s only two of you, I can Fade us to the Hatter’s house.”
I’m almost afraid to ask.
“‘Fade us’ there?”
Cheshire’s grin widens.
Chapter 23
Hatter
“There are Bandersnatch prowling around the border,” I remark, watching from the front porch. The trees shake with a phantom wind, and every now and then, I catch a
glimpse of the creatures between them. Almost in answer, one of them shrieks, and I feel the warm wetness trickle from my ears and run down my neck. I don’t flinch even as Flam snarls back at the beasts. They grow silent.
Neither one of us moves to wipe away the blood dripping.
“Do you want me to clear them out?” Flam asks. I don’t look at him, keeping my eyes trained on the trees. Jupiter has been growing anxious, watching the forest. Clara only convinced her to leave when I told her I would watch for them.
“Would you take that risk?”
Flam isn’t normally willing to risk anything unless he gets something in return. It’s a bit difficult having him here, on our side, knowing that he has no allies besides Doe, and now Jupiter.
“Doe would want me to.”
I nod in understanding. Yes, Doe would want him to, because she is unabashedly on the side of good.
“Not yet. We just need to watch for the others. White and Cheshire will come with the third, and she’s the most important member of the triad. She completes the prophecy.” The third holds so much weight on her shoulders, and she probably doesn’t even know it yet.
We fall into silence again, our eyes both focused on the trees. I’m tempted to ask the Flamingo about his powers, if they’re still completely locked inside his body, but I hold my tongue. Best not to anger him while he’s on our side.
“When I was on my way here,” Flam begins, glancing over briefly, “I passed by the Caterpillar’s home.”
I turn fully and meet Flam’s gaze. “He’s done purging?”
He nods. “I have a feeling he’ll make his appearance when we most need it. Most likely when the third arrives. He never comes before he’s ready.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. “Thank Wonder. I was beginning to worry he would never finish purging. Did you see his appearance this time?”
Flam shakes his head. “No. I only caught his voice. He wouldn’t allow me to climb. It sounded softer than before.”
Feral as a Cat (Sons of Wonderland Book 3) Page 9