Storm Born Chapter Seventeen

To his credit, he didnt honestfully man presentle me too staidly that night. At dinner, he kept a slew on mine or an fortify almost my shoulder whole little more than than that. As he pointed turn kayoed to me in a ease moment, any one and only(a) could make a brazen display of fleshiness. What really indicated intimacy was how 2 people interacted with each other, what their consistency language said. So I worked on dis cover charge comfortable and happy in his presence, and from the shocked expressions on peoples faces, we must fool done a pretty convincing job.He took me to his bedroom after that, looking smug and presumptuous to those watching. But when we got there, he actually gave me my first lesson. Honestly, it was a office disappointing. Id been ready for fireworks. What I got was a lot of practice on quiet meditation and focus. He claimed if I couldnt control my feature mind, I couldnt control the power.So I pass the next couple hours with him working o n this and set up my most difficult challenge was in non slipping into trance or astral travel. Those behaviors came so automatically to me in cool it moments that I kept lapsing. The kind of meditation he wanted me to do involved turning my senses outward rather than inward, which seemed strange to me since I had thought magic came from within.We at last end the lesson with him liberal me a heavy gold ring that hed define part of his essence into. It was an anchor. Now if he left the Other existence through a thin spot, he could transition to mine without appearing in a corresponding thin spot. He would simply travel to wherever the ring was. It would save two of us extraneous travel succession.What it also meant was that he planned on coming to my gentlemans gentleman for some of the lessons. I had mixed feelings on this. Certainly it would be more convenient for me. But the fact that he could point jump with an anchor want that indicated how powerful he was. That real ization was just a teensy bit unsettling, as was the thought of him in the human world at all. And yet, by being there, his powers would diminish. He would be safer or rather, humanity would be safer.Back home, the following couple of days were more of the same fights, fights, and more fights. Yet, as Dorian had predicted, some of the traffic dried up. I deald to come natural binding this was because my reputation was srailway gondolaing would-be(prenominal) suitors a room. More carely, my new connection to the Oak great power made my assailants think twice near incur political fallout.As it saturnine out, I had to deal with my own share of fallout over this partnership from Kiyo.Are you sleeping with Dorian?He stood in my doorway, his dark hair fend forlit by the late good afternoon sun. He wore a white lab rise with KIYOTAKA MARQUEZ, DVM on the pocket. He must take in control here straight from work.Good news travels fast, I said. Come on in.I offered him a boozi ng and a billet at my kitchen table, notwithstanding he just kept pacing almost restlessly. He reminded me of a wolf or a guard dog. I didnt really arrest out anything about flim-flam behavior.Well? he asked.I poured myself a cup of coffee and gave him a sharp look. Dont take that tonicity with me. You arrive no claims to what I do.He stopped pacing, and his expression softened. Youre right. I dont.It wasnt exactly an apology, but it was close. I sat surmount in a chair, folding my legs up underneath me. All right, thus. No. Im not sleeping with him.His face stayed the same, but I saw visible re perchf flash in his eyes. It was petty, I realized, but knowing hed been jealous made something warm flutter up inside of me.Grabbing a chair, he turned it around and sat experience so that his chin rested on its endure. Then whats up with the stories?I told him. When Id finished, he closed his eyes and exhaled. A moment later, he opened them.I dont know what bothers me more. You turning to magic or you turning to Dorian.I beckoned tail end me. Have you seen my living room? I am not handout to be responsible for inflicting Hurricane Eugenie on Tucson.That made him grinning. Tucson already deals with Hurricane Eugenie on a regular basis. But yeah, I score your point. What worries meI dont know. I dont really use magic, but Ive spent half my life around people who do. Ive seen how it affects them. How it can control them.Are you questioning my self-control? Or my strength?No, he replied in all seriousness. Youre one of the strongest people I know. But Storm KingI saw him once when I was little. He waswell, lets put it this way. Dorian and Aeson and Maiwenn are strong. Compared to other gentry, theyre like torches beside candles. But your fatherhe was more like a bonfire. You cant use that kind of power and passing play away unscathed.I appreciate the warning, Gandalf, but I dont know that I have a preference.I guess not. I just dont want to see you chan ged, thats all. I like you the way you are. A smile flickered across his lips and wherefore faded. And as for working with Dorianwell, that just makes the situation worse.You sound jealous.Of course. He answered without hesitation, not really ashamed to fess up to his feelings. But hes power-hungry too. And he wants to see the Storm King supremacy overtake. Somehow I doubt hell be content to have you be his pretend-lover for long.Well, hey, remember Ive got a choice in there too. Besides, contraceptive technology is a wonderful thing, right?Absolutely. But Maiwenn says I know, I know. All pick outs of wise and compelling things.Kiyo eyed me warily. Whats that supposed to mean?nothing. Just that I think its fishy for you to blab out to me about Dorian when When what?I set down my cup of coffee and looked him in the eye. honestness again?He returned my stare unblinkingly. Always.You two seemedmore than chummy. Is there anything going on betwixt you? Romantically, I mean?No. The answer came swift and certain.I reconsidered. Was there anything going on?This got a hesitation. Not anymore, he said after a moment.I see. I looked away and felt my own flutter of jealousy run through me as my cruel mind pictured him and that beautiful woman together.Its over, Eugenie. Has been for a while. Were just friends now, thats it.I glanced up. Like you and I are friends?His lips turned up wickedly, and I saw the temperature in his eyes dial up a few degrees. You can call it whatever you want, but I think we both know we arent just friends.No, I supposed not. And suddenly, after so much time with him and the fact that Id made out with a full-fledged gentry, Kiyo being a kitsune wasnt really a chore anymore. The lines that organized my life had all blurred. That scared me because I wanted Kiyo, and suddenly I had no excuses stand in my way. And honestly, I realized, it was a lot easier having excuses. Excuses meant you didnt have to work or open yourself to someone else and be vulnerable. If I really wanted to be near and with Kiyo now, I was going to have to look beyond sex. Sex was calorie-free especially with him. What was going to be problematical was remembering how to get close to someone and trust him.I looked away, not wanting him to see the fear on my face, but he already had. I dont know what it was about him, but sometimes he seemed to know me better than I knew myself.He stood up and moved behind me, his work force kneading the kinks in my neck and shoulders. Eugenie, was all he said, voice warm.I relaxed into him and closed my eyes. I dont know how to do this. I referred to him and me, but considering the rest of my life, that statement could have employ to any number of things.Well, we stop fighting, for one. Lets drop this other stuff and go out.Now? Like on a date?Sure.Just like that? Is it that easy?For now. And really, its only as easy or hard as we choose to make it.We took Kiyos car, a pretty sweet 1969 Spider, to one of my favorite restaurants Indian culinary art of India. The name sounded redundant, but the latter part of it had been a necessary addition. Considering all the local restaurants that served Southwest and American Indian cuisine, a lot of tourists had bang in expecting to find Navajo fry bread, not curry and naan.The tightness melted between us the hostile kind, at least though he did have one pensive moment in which he asked, All right, I have to know. Is it true you kissed him?I smiled enigmatically. This is as easy or hard as we choose to make it.He sighed.After dinner, he drove chisel us out of town but wouldnt say where we were going. virtually forty minutes later, we were driving up and around a large hill. Kiyo found an area with other cars but saw there were no spots left, forcing him to drive back down and park a considerable distance away. Twilight was giving way to full night, and it was hard to find the highway up the hill with no lighting. He slipped his hand i n mine, guiding me. His fingers were warm, his clutch bag tight and secure.It took us almost a half hour, walking until the path finally crested to a small clearing. I hid my astonishment. It was filled with people, most of whom were setting up telescopes and peering up at the clear, star-thickened sky.I saw this advertised in the paper, Kiyo explained. Its the amateur astronomy group. They let the public come out and hang with them.Sure copious, everyone there was more than happy to let us come and look through their telescopes. They pointed out sights of particular interest and told stories about constellations. Id heard a lot of them before but enjoyed hearing them again.The weather was perfect for this kind of thing. Warm enough to not withdraw jackets (though I sedate wore one to hide weapons) and so perfectly clear that you could forget pollution existed. The Flandrau Observatory, over at the university, had savage shows, but I loved the casual nature of this one.While li stening to an older man talk about the Andromeda galaxy, I thought about just how vast our existence really was. in that location was so much of it we didnt know about. The outer world, the universe, spread on forever. For all I knew, the inner world of notions continued on just as far. I only knew about three worlds the world we lived in, the world the dead lived in, and the Otherworld, which caught everything in between. A lot of shamans believed the divine world was beyond all of this, a world of God or gods we couldnt even imagine. Looking up at that snowstorm of stars, I suddenly felt very small in the greater scheme of things, prophecy or no.Kiyo shifted beside me, and I felt his arm brush mine. My body kept an exact record of where we touched, like some distinguish of military tracking system. He caught my eye, and we smiled at each other. I felt at peace, almost deliriously happy. For this moment, all was right in the world between us. Maybe Id never fully understand wha t displaceed two people together. Maybe it was like trying to comprehend the universe. You couldnt measure any of it. It just was, and you made your way through it as best you could.Thank you, I told him later, as we walked back down the hill toward the car. That was really great.I saw the telescope at your house er, what was left of it anyway.Oh. Yeah. Being up here had sort of taken me away from reality. Id forgotten that my home was in a state of disaster. Mine couldnt really study to any of these. Maybe Ill have to upgrade now.We passed the other cars and finally finished the long trek back out to his car. The temperature had cooled down a little, but it was still nice out. Kiyo wrinkled his nose as we walked.Smells likedead fish out here.I inhaled deeply. I dont smell anything.Consider yourself lucky. You probably couldnt smell how some people hadnt showered back there either.I laughed. I remember how you smelled my perfume back in the saloon that night. I thought it was c razy. So super-smell is another kitsune perk?He shook his head. Depends on what youre smelling.We got into the car. He trigger offed to put the keys in the ignition, then decided he wanted his coat.Can you reach it? Its behind my seat.I undecided my bash and shifted around, practically hanging through the seats to reach his coat. It was crumpled and lying on the floor.Jesus, I heard him say.Are you staring at my ass?Its practically in my face.I snagged the troublesome coat and leaned back, but his arm caught me and pulled me onto his lap. It twisted me in an awkward position, and I squirmed to straighten out my legs. I finally ended up sort of straddling him.I cant believe you lectured me earlier about the dangers of losing control, I chastised. His hands had slid down to the ass he so admired.What was I supposed to do?Hey, Im not complaining. Just surprised, thats all.I think its the fox in me.Never heard that excuse before.No, its true. Youd be amazed how simple the instincts a re and how strong. sometimes I have to fight to not jump every woman I see. And then I always want to eat. Like I have this paranoid fear if I dont stock up now, I could be starving later when winter comes. Its really weird.It was compelling too, but wrapped up against him, I realized this conversation was wasting perfectly good make-out time. I unfastened his seat belt and then put my hands palm down on his chest. Leaning forward, I kissed him, pushing myself harder into his lap. His grip on me tightened.I thought you didnt want to get involved with a kitsune.WellI happen to think foxes are cute.I wriggled out of my coat and then pulled off the tank top underneath, neither of which was easy to do with the steering wheel behind me. I rose up on my knees a little, putting my breasts near his face. His mouth showered my cleavage with kisses while his hands tried to undo the bra.Meanwhile, my own hands unfastened the button on his pants. I reached down and slid my hand into his boxers .Eugenie he breathed. He managed to combine a cautionary tone with an utterly turned-on one. We dont have condoms.I moved my hand farther, suddenly very turned on myself by the thought of having nothing between us. The pill, remember? Besides, contraceptive technology is a The car suddenly lurched dangerously onto the side we werent sitting on. My back jammed into the steering wheel, and we half-tumbled onto the other side. Kiyos arms went around me, pulling me toward him in an effort to shelter me with his body and keep me from fall. Guess I shouldnt have unstuck his seat belt earlier. Fortunately, the car didnt flip all the way over, and a moment later, it slammed back down on the side we were sitting on with a jaw-rattling crash.What the I began.In the dark, I could just nevertheless discern Kiyos wide eyes staring beyond me, through the windshield. I think we should get out of the car, he said quietly, just as something heavy and solid slammed down on the hood behind me. I heard headlights smash. The entire car shook.I didnt need to be told twice. We kicked open the drivers side door, and I scrambled out. A smell like rotting fish slammed into me. Kiyo started to follow me out, and then the car was displace up from its front end and slammed back down to the ground. Glass and metal crunched as the motion tossed Kiyo back in the car. The windshield cracked like a spiders web.Fear for him shot through me, but then I finally saw the culprit, and fear for me shot through me.It looked like one of the fuaths, I thought. A fachan, possibly. If so, he was far from home since they were native to Ireland and Scotland. Still, the Otherworld had become as global as the human world, and you never really knew what could pop up where.He looked like something you might get if Bigfoot had sex with a cyclops and then their offspring moved to the Deep South and interbred for another century or so. He was almost eight feet tall and every part of his grossly muscled bod y was covered with hair tangle and smelly hair that needed a thorough washing. One giant eye, its color indeterminable in the starlight, peered out at me. One extra hand extended weirdly from the right side of its chest, and an extra leg hung off of its hip. The leg didnt seem to overhaul him walk I wondered if it and the extra arm did anything at all or were just used for effect.Seeing me, he left the car alone and started gravid forward. Hopefully Kiyo would be able to get out now. I reached for my gun and discovered it was gone. Son of a bitch. It had slipped its holster either from grappling with Kiyo or when the car had tipped.Get my gun out I yelled back toward the car.Meanwhile, I took a few cautious steps back, assessing how to handle the fachan. Fachans, despite inhabiting the earth, originated in the Otherworld. They could therefore be banished back there. They also crossed to this world in a physical form, which meant they could be killed. I had both athames in my bel t. Silver would be more effective, but iron would probably do some distress too. Okay. I just had to manage one of those while keeping it from acquiring too fresh with me. No problem.He swung one of his long, almost awkward-looking arms at me, and I intercepted it, stabbing him in the hand with the currency athame. I pushed as hard as I could, shoving through tendons and bones. The creature shrieked and jerked his hand back. My hand was on the hilt, but he moved too quickly, too strongly. He took the athame with him. Shit.Kiyo I yelled.I took out the iron athame and darted over to his right side, opposite the car. The fachan was bigger, but I was smaller and therefore fasterright? My blade snaked out, digging deep into the soft flesh of his stomach. This time I made sure to kick in the athame back with me before he moved and took this one too. Blood, looking sear in the dim lighting, gleamed where Id cut. I put some distance between us. I just needed to slow him so I could snag a few moments for the banishing.But he wasnt slowing. He hadnt seemed happy about the injuries, but he still kept coming for me. I kept the distance between us, wanting to injure him without getting within his range. It was kind of hard when it felt like his arms were as long as my body.He swung out his uninjured fist, and I ducked it, using the opportunity to draw blood again. As I did, something occurred to me. His blow, had it landed, would have done some serious damage. Very serious. It had had no purpose, save to inflict as much living creature pain as possible. I could understand the tactical advantage of rendering me unconscious before sex, but being in a coma or dead might complicate the prophecy a bit.My blade bit into him again, and I followed with a sharp kick to his side, dodging at the last minute. We shortly developed a little dance. His large, muscled arms would swing out at me, and I would sidestep and get in my slash or kick. Considering my fight with the mud el emental had been two days ago and I wasnt entirely in peak condition yet, I felt my performance here wasnt too shabby.At least until I moved too slowly, and he caught me with the edge of his hand his extra hand. Apparently it wasnt fruitless after all.It was a glancing blow, but I flew backward, into the car, up onto the roof, and into the windshield. The glass already cracked and fractured shattered upon impact, and sharp, pain pain burned through the side of my stomach as I hit. The skin there was still bare and uncovered from where Id stripped in the car. My head felt like a cartoon quality had just dropped an anvil on it, and for a few seconds, I couldnt get my body to do the things I wanted it to do.The fachan lurched toward me, his limbs and their bulging muscles swinging, and I didnt have anywhere to go. He grabbed me by my shoulders and lifted me up high. I knew in those slow-motion seconds that he was going to slam me down and that I would be dead. As it was, the jerk ing, lifting motion alone made my addled brain scream.Suddenly, the fachans head tipped back, and a look of agony crossed his face. His hold on me released, and I dropped back to the hood. It was much less painful than what hed been about to do, but it still hurt. I frantically tried to sit up and see what had happened, but everything spun.Some wolf was attacking the fachan. No, no wolf. The colors and shape werent quite right. The ears were more defined, the tail haughty and white-tipped. It was a fox. It was Kiyo. But he was bigger than Id ever seen him, which was wherefore Id mistaken him for a wolf. He was huge, muscled and powerful, and his teeth were tearing into the fachans back.The fachan turned and swatted him away. Kiyo took it with grace hitting, rolling, and then getting right back up. I wished I could do that.I still felt like crap, but my vision had righted itself. Peering into the car, I could see where my gun had rolled across the rider seat and lodged between it an d the door. Beyond me, I heard blows and yips as Kiyo and the fachan continued their fight.Gingerly, I started crawling back into the car on all fours, careful to avoid the shards of glass ringing the gaping remains of the windshield. I didnt do a very good job and brushed sharp points in a few places. They vexed my skin. Worse, I could do little to protect my hands when forced to creep over the broken shards covering the dashboard.At last I made it inside and retrieved the gun. Grabbing it, I worked my way back to the drivers side seat and took aim at the fachan still grappling with Kiyo. Only, my hand could barely hold the gun up. That was no good. I shifted and held the Glock two-handed. My arms still shook, but I was steadier now.I watched them pace and attack each other, moving fast. likewise fast, I worried. I was likely to shoot Kiyo in the process. But I had to try. Nothing was hurting this thing. It was unstoppable. I didnt want to try to banish it at full strength, parti cularly since Id never get close enough to put the death symbol on him and speed his passage. I therefore needed him wounded and easy to send over.Taking aim, I waited for a window of opportunity, for a broad target on the fachan. There. The biff bit into his back, and he jerked in surprise. It slowed him just enough. I fired again. I kept firing until Id discharge the entire clip into him. He made horrible noises and staggered slightly. I half-expected him to keep coming, but then Kiyo the lusus naturae Fox leaped at his chest and knocked him to the ground, teeth tearing into what appeared to be the fachans throat. Ew.My wand was in the car. I swapped it with the gun, and called upon Hecate, pore on the snake wound around my arm. My mind slipped this world, opening the gates, and I aimed for the fachans spirit. My will, pouring through the wand, seized him and ripped a hole between the Otherworld and my world. It was harder than usual. Mind over matter might be the adage, but th e mind was loth to obey when the body was so weakened and had had its head slammed into a windshield.My path to the Otherworld was clear. But then, seeing him start to get up, despite Kiyos mauling, I decided I didnt want him potentially coming back. So I pushed my mind past the Otherworld, brushing the gates of the world of death instead. I felt Persephones butterfly twinkling on my arm as I connected with her domain. The fachan roared as it recognized the tug. He resisted me, his body and spirit presenting a formidable match for my own.I focused harder, pushing every ounce of me into forcing him through the black gates. I called on no, I begged Persephone to take him.At last he went through, his physical body disintegrating as the Underworld sucked his spirit through.Only it was pulling more than him through.Id pushed so hard that my spirit had touched more of the world of death than I normally allowed. In my weakened state, my focus wasnt as sharp about keeping me out. My min d felt like it was being sucked in by a whirlwind, and I had the impression of ghostly, skeletal hands pulling at me.No, no, no, no Whether the words were in my head or on my lips, I didnt know.I struggled against the hands, trying to gain a grip on the human world. I would have even settled for the Otherworld. There I could survive, but from the world of death, there was no return. Half of me prayed to Hecate to pull me back through the gates while the other half of me prayed to Persephone to block me out.At last I fell back with a snap, my spirit returning firmly to my physical body. My physical and mental senses burned. Almost immediately, I slumped forward, unable to support myself. Only my hand on the edge of the steering wheel caught me from falling out of the car.I felt nauseated and dizzy, with too many parts of me hurting to count. Kiyo, still as that giant fox, stood by me, gleaming eyes watching me with all seriousness.Hey, I said, reaching out a tentative hand. His fur w as as soft as silk. I stroked it carefully, my motor control still not all it could be. Those fine hairs touched my skin like the lightest of kisses. That was some trick. Howd you do it?He neither answered nor changed shape, besides nuzzling my hand with his nose. I smiled but then felt too tired to keep holding my arm up. I dropped the hand to my side, feeling something wet and sticky. Pulling my arm up, I saw blood covering my fingers, dark and glistening.Oh, man, I muttered. The world had started spinning again black spots danced in front of me. We need togosomewhere. Do something. Change back I cant drive.He kept watching me, eyes horrible and intent.I mean it. why arent you changing? Are you hurt?He rested his chin on my knees, and I petted him again, even though I got blood on that gleaming fur. I didnt get why he wasnt changing. Could he not hear me in this form? No, hed always understood before.Well, if he wasnt going to help, I needed someone who could. I had a cell phone in the car somewhere. I could call Roland or Tim. But where was the phone? I couldnt climb in the backseat, not in this shape. Could foxes incur?Maybe I could summon a spirit for help. Not Volusian, not like this. But possibly Finn? What were the words? How did I call him? It was suddenly too hard to think.Help me I whispered to Kiyo. Why wont you help me?White spots now danced with the black ones. I closed my eyes, and it felt better.Im going to lie down, I told him, stretching back. Just for a minute, okay? I rested my head on the passenger seat, lying perpendicular to the seats.I heard a soft, almost doglike screech. He must have stood on his hind legs, because I next felt paws and a head resting near my knee.Why wont you help me? I asked again, feeling tears spill out of my eyes. I need you.I heard the whine again, mournful and contrite. My hand reached out, grasping for soft fur. I clutched the strands as though they alone could keep me alive. Then, my fingers muddled thei r grip and slipped away as my hand dropped.