Curran, Vol. I (Curran POV #1)(2)
Author: Ilona Andrews

I hit her with my hard stare. She met my gaze and did not look away or cringe. Points for her. She was tall for a woman, maybe two or three inches shorter than me. Young, maybe early or mid-twenties. She looked strong and lithe, like an athlete or martial artist.

"What kind of woman greets the Beast Lord with ‘here, kitty kitty’?"

"One of a kind."

She continued to hold my stare. She may not have been as funny as she thought she was, but she wasn’t a coward. Good. I could work with brave.

I took a step toward her. "I am the Lord of the Free People."

MAGIC BURNS

When I broke through Kate’s front door, the first things I smelled were blood and poison. Then smoke and something else, salty, bitter. Like a fish tank. What the hell had happened here?

The little girl was hysterical, crying that Kate was dying. She was almost right. I expected it to be bad, but the sight of her stopped me cold. Kate lay on her stomach in her bathroom, her pale skin in stark contrast to the dark blood that seemed to be everywhere. Her back had been ripped open by something with savage strength. In that moment I realized I could lose her. I’d seen humans die from less.

The Keep was out of the question. Too far. That’s why I’d ordered Doolittle to the South East Office before I went to rescue the idiot.

I scooped her up off the floor and ran. Her skin was on fire, and I ran as fast as I could. Her heartbeat was fading and I had this dumb idea that if I let her go of her, she would die. I had to get her to Doolittle

I burst into the office with Kate still in my arms, roaring for Doolitte. There was little need, he was standing by. I lowered her gently onto a waiting gurney and fixed him with a stare.

"Can you save her?"

He took in her condition with a glance. "My Lord, her wounds are extensive and her kind are.."

I cut him off, "Try."

He rushed off with her and all I could do was stand there and watch her go.

I found my way to the study, pulled a battered copy of White’s Once and Future King off the shelf and ordered a beer to be brought to me. Ten pages in I knew it was useless. I closed my eyes, leaned back and waited for the call.

Sometime later phone rang and Doolittle informed me that she seemed to be stabilizing. He had purged her system of the poison, and her fever was coming down.

Somebody once said it’s better to be lucky than good. He or she must have had Kate in mind. With the flare so strong, the good doctor’s already considerable medmage powers had been augmented enough to heal the slashes on her back and neutralize the poison coursing through her body. I don’t know why but when he told me that she would, in all likelihood, live, I let out a breath I hadn’t known I was holding. I should have known she was too stubborn or stupid to die.

The real question was why had I been so worried. Why did I care so much if this idiot girl lived or died? She wasn’t pack, not quite human but not one of us either. Whenever she blundered into my life waving that toothpick of hers around, I knew there would be trouble, the kind that usually ended with one or both of us badly wounded. She was arrogant, impulsive, and failed to recognize my authority or respect my position. She challenged me in front of my people. If anyone else ever….

But she was funny sometimes, and never boring. God, it would almost be worth it to see her face when she realized that I had saved her ass again.

Actually it was quite a nice ass, come to think of it. In fact, my memory of the ass and its owner seemed to be remarkably clear. I got up. That way lay dragons.

What I needed was a shower and some shut eye. I’d be damned if she saw me looking tired or disheveled. When she finally did wake up, feeling like half a mile of bad road, I wanted to stroll in looking fresh and clean as if I hadn’t a care in the world

***

I needn’t have worried. Almost a day passed before Doolittle called to tell me that his patient seemed to be coming around.

"How will she feel?"

"Sore as hell and probably…."

"Hungry" I guessed.

"Yes I should think so. Accelerated healing burns the body’s resources. I do belive she will be ravenous."

I smiled, "Doctor, do you think she might enjoy some nice hot chicken soup?"

There was a tiny pause before Doolittle answered. "My Lord I think she should like that very much."

Oh yes, she would sit in bed and eat the soup I got for her like a good little girl. The best thing would be watching her gulp it down clueless as usual to the consequences of her actions.

As I strode into the room, with one of the cooks behind me carrying the soup on a tray, I caught the tail end of a conversation.

"How did I get here?"

"His Majesty carried you."

"Is he burned to a crisp or sliced in half this time?"

Her concern was touching. "Neither," I answered.

Her eyes grew wide. I can walk quietly if I wish to, I am a cat after all. I gestured for the cook to put the soup down. Doolittle bowed and both he and the cook left the room.

I took a moment to look Kate over. I had not seen her since bringing her in. Her appearence had improved, but not much. Her face was bloodless. Dark circles puffed under her eyes, and the skin stretched tight over her face. She looked like a ghost of herself. Almost frail.

I was not used to seeing her like this. It scared me a little bit.

"You look like shit." Honesty is important in any relationship.

She cleared her throat. "Thanks, I try."

Frail and weak, but still Kate.

I picked up a bowl soup and thought about what it would mean here in this place if I offered it to her and she accepted. She might not know what it meant, but I would. This was it. Nothing ventured…

I held the bowl out to her so she could smell it. Before I could warn her, she grasped it with both hands, and burned herself.

"Idiot." I sat the soup in front of her with a spoon.

"Thanks."

She actually thanked me. This was going well. I had half expected her to throw the soup at me.

Kate grabbed the spoon and went at it. That’s right, eat it.

"Did you get the surveys? They were…"

"On the dresser. Shut up and eat your soup."

I pulled up Doolittle’s chair and watched her while she ate. This was nice, we were together and so far had not tried to kill each other. Maybe if I could just keep her quiet… Maybe if I kept feeding her.

"So that’s the secret."

She looked slightly shocked. No witty comeback. Maybe I scared her. Naw not the ass-kicker.

"You okay? Gone a bit pale there."

"Secret to what?"

"Secret to shutting you up." I smiled. "All I have to do is beat you till you half dead, then give you chicken soup and blessed silence."