Unbound

1

October 30, 2006

“Hello,” a silky voice whispered, sending shivers up her spine.

“Keaton.” She kept her voice devoid of emotion.

“Have you thought about my proposition?”

“The answer still is, and will always be no.” Her hand tightened on her cell until white showed on her knuckles.

“You
will
work for me.” His voice slid over her like the glittering scales of a snake.

She shivered. “I would rather die.”

“So be it.”

The line went dead. Staring at the phone, she couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling from her veins. She snapped it shut and slipped it into her hip pocket, making her way down the street.

“Come on, Roo, let’s go hunting,” she said to the dog beside her, trying not to let the creep get to her. She didn’t normally deal with domestic disputes, but the Apsara had crossed a line when she’d made the Rachnaur’s mate infertile. Kayla wouldn’t want to be that male right now.

She pushed open the door to the Underbelly and wished she hadn’t. The smell almost drove her to her knees. She let it shut behind her, trying not to draw attention to herself. Squinting past peeling paint and floors covered in so many stains, she couldn’t hazard a guess as to what color they had started life.

Her eyes flitted past groups of “people” huddled over drinks better not described; some of them had things that still wiggled.  As she turned to leave, a ripple in a darkened corner caught her eye. She could vaguely make out the shape of a woman bent over an unmoving form.  Sighing, she made her way past the dirty tables, towards the water nymph at the back of the bar.

“Aren’t you a little far from your stream?” Kayla asked, rocking back on her heels.

The nymph twilled “Don’t need it anymore.”

“He knows what you are?” Kayla nodded down at the man.

“What’s it to ya, anyway?”

“Nothing really, except a few days ago you seduced the mate of a Rachnaur and made him infertile. His mate is super pissed and expects compensation, and I’m here to make sure she gets it.”

The nymph threw back her head and laughed, “I’d like to see you try.”

Kayla reached out and grabbed her arm. Her hand slid off the nymph who followed through with a punch to Kayla’s jaw. She stepped back, reassessing the situation. The bystanders at the bar cleared a path around them. Roo lunged past her, nipping at the Apsara’s heel. The nymph turned and slammed against the back wall. At least she’d thought it was a wall until she got close enough to see an invisible door that led into the alley behind the bar. “Roo, track.”

He made a sound in the back of his throat and tore off in the nymph’s direction.

Kayla followed him as dirt turned to underbrush and she could hear the gurgle of water in front of them. She had to stop the Apsara before she reached the stream and dematerialized. When Kayla heard a snap in front of them to the left, she reached into her pouch and pulled out a compact ball of clay. Tossing it in the direction of the sound, she heard a shriek of pain and surprise echo through the wood. Roo followed her and whimpered.

“Yes, I know it was dirty, but there wasn’t another choice. You know as well as I do, if she’d reached the water, this would have been a waste of time. You’ll get to play with the next one. I promise. Now let’s turn her in and get home. I left Mikhail and I want to spend some time with him for once. Besides, wouldn’t you rather be warm by the fire than out here in the woods, chasing wayward nymphs?”

The dog growled and trotted off to find where the now stiff nymph lay.

The quick hardening clay wouldn’t kill her, but the spell made her easy to catch. Kayla lifted the heavy statue and lugged her out of the woods towards the park where the daemon had her lair. It would take them at least an hour to get done and she itched for it to be over.

They entered the park, silent except for Roo’s constant rumble at her side. He disliked it when she dealt with creatures like these and, to be truthful, she hated it as well.

* * *

Kayla rounded the corner, exhilarated from a night well spent. Her thoughts drifted to her daughter and the moments before she’d left home for the evening. A smile played over her lips and she picked up the pace towards home.

Kayla stopped short, not realizing when her knees hit the pavement. She watched as flames flared in stark contrast against the night sky. Her house sat in the center of the inferno, thick blue flames mixed with orange poured out of the second story windows; black smoke billowed out of her daughter Sasha’s room. The sound of shattering glass broke her trance and she scanned the crowd for signs of her family. Her chest tightened as she saw the Mage Hunters drones. In a numb haze, she realized there wasn't a crowd.

Those most feared in the entirety of the Drift, the slack-skinned Mages turned into drones, stood before her. No longer allowed even the smallest remnants of their humanity, they wore nothing. She wondered if they even had minds any longer. The dark circles of the Mage collars throbbed in eerie power against their filthy skin. Even at this distance, she smelled their stench.

The hunters wore working leathers, the cowl of their profession drawn around their faces. The legs of their leathers glittered with knives. A few had swords still in their scabbards, but most of them traveled with them out. They stood in a semicircle on the sidewalk in front of her home, watching it burn. She ducked around the corner and signaled Roo to stay close.

Trying to decide on a strategy to get past them, she heard a shriek from inside. Her heart burst, sending her racing without thought towards her home. Something jerked her back by her hair, and she twirled around. A hunter twisted her dark locks around his fist, but she barely felt it. Hissing, she reached for her blade.

“They’re ours, bitch. There isn't anything you can do.” His cackled laugh cut short when Kayla’s sword sang, cutting off the sound as air escaped the gaping hole in his throat. Kayla pivoted, kicked him in the stomach and sprinted towards the house.

The hunters’ shocked silence broke with the shriek of a drone dropping to ground, its mind cut off from its now-dead master. It clawed at its head, ripping away large chunks of flesh in agony.

Kayla didn’t make it more than a foot before the next attacked her. She caught a glimpse of a female hunter’s face before she triggered her drone. A blast of red heat hit Kayla in the chest, throwing her back against the wall, sinking into the once sturdy building.

She spun around, heading for the door, desperate to get in, but she’d been thrown a foot too far. The woman fired another blast, sending her flying into the street and fracturing her fire charm. Roo leapt at the woman, gripping her throat in his teeth tearing a gaping hole. In the midst of another blast, the drone exploded, the collar on its neck sending a magic spike, blowing off its head.

After that, Kayla lost track of the drones and their masters. She fought methodically, the rhythm beat into her very blood. When it ended, she stood, sword dripping, and looked at the shell of her home. Sasha’s shriek, long since silenced, still rang in her ears.

They had accomplished whatever they'd set out to do. She stared at the bodies littering the ground. They'd paid a price as well, though not as deep. Sinking to the ground, Kayla took Roo by his head and leaned hers on him. It gave her a sense of peace to be near him, though she had never figured out why.

With only Roo left, she wanted to die. She lay on the yard before her house, smoke and bodies littered the area. No one came; no one bothered them. There would be a reckoning and when that came she would kill them too or die. Roo nudged her neck and whimpered, but she didn't respond, slipping deeper and deeper into a comatose state. Roo pawed at Kayla and when he couldn’t get any response, he finally left.

* * *

Jerry opened the door at the sound of scratches to shoo away whatever was there. He sunk back in horror at the ragged, blood soaked animal, until he recognized Roo. The dog lunged at Jerry and turned away, whimpering. Jerry stood there for a second and looked into the street beyond.

When he didn’t see Kayla, he decided to follow the dog, knowing Roo wouldn’t have left her side unless something was deeply wrong. He got his weapons and nodded to Roo, following him into the night. Pausing at the head of Kayla’s street, he saw flames in the distance. His gut clenched and he quickened his pace towards her house. Jerry stopped and scanned the area in front of him; bodies lay in mangled heaps. He found her near the blackened rubble of her home.

“What the hell did you do, girl?”

She didn’t respond and he couldn’t tell if she was alive. He knelt beside her, about to reach out his hand, when Roo growled and knocked him out of the way. Her sword came down and bit into the ground where he’d been.

Looking at the house and state she was in, he could only think of what might have happened and then he got a good look at the bodies in the street. The glowing black collars and the leather guards told it all. Jerry talked in soothing nonsense, trying to get the girl with the deadly blade to follow him, but he could tell by her eyes she was gone. The dog pawed at her, his presence the only one she would allow near.

“You’ve got to get the blade from her, Roo, if you expect me to help. There isn’t any way she’ll let me close enough to touch her otherwise.”

The intelligent eyes of the dog darkened for a second and then he nodded. Crawling on his belly towards Kayla, he grabbed the blade of the sword in his mouth. Blue light glowed and the dog whimpered in pain, but persisted in his extraction. Not the only weapon she possessed, it was her most deadly and she wielded it with a skill few matched.

Jerry leaned down and gathered her in his arms as soon as Roo freed the blade. Jerry counted the sharp hits to his face and neck a small price to pay. The dog limped after them. His whining increased until Jerry stopped and saw blood dripping from his mouth where the blade rested. The pain in his eyes seemed feral.

“I’m sorry Roo we don’t have much further, can you make it?”

Roo’s shook his head in the negative, and dropped the blade, laying down next to it.

“Com’on Roo you have to get up,” Jerry reached down and grasped the hilt of her sword shifting her weight as he did so. He walked on, hoping Roo would follow.

Jerry dropped Kayla’s sword just inside the entry hall of his house. He kicked the door closed behind them after Roo limped inside and lay down near the fireplace. He laid her on his couch, and pried her pack off her back. Pulling her coat off, he tossed it across a chair while he assessed the damage done to her body. He cut the shirt away, then pulled off her working leathers and tossed them near her bag.

A thick, bleeding welt crossed her chest and he went to fetch his med-kit, grateful that she slept. He dabbed the cleansing medicine across the wounds and applied a second skin to them to keep the bacteria out. He went up to her room and got some clothing she’d left behind when she’d moved out.

His heart ached. Her family was his family and he’d lost them too. A tear streaked down his cheek as he hung up her coat and placed the rest of her belongings under it. He felt hollow as he made his way to the light and shut it off before heading up to his room for the night.

* * *

Kayla woke and took a few minutes to orientate herself. Something wasn’t right; the curve of the ceiling disturbed her and she couldn’t figure out where she was.
Sasha,
she thought and curled up, hearing her baby’s screams over again.

She cried in heavy dry sobs, not reacting when she felt the warm presence of Roo beside her. The couch she lay on felt familiar and there was only one place the dog would have gone for help. She felt grateful, if momentarily betrayed. She sat up and let her hand trail in his silky coat before leaning her head against his.