wondered briefly if this was what it felt like to be drunk or stoned; her metabolism burned through alcohol and drugs so fast that she’d never experienced either. Maybe she was blind drunk she suddenly thought inanely, almost letting out a hysterical giggle. She started rubbing furiously at her weeping eyes, they were burning and itchy. Nothing she did seemed to clear the black fog. She couldn’t see anything, and she knew the Wraith was edging around to her other side, hoping to take her unawares. But she had other senses to rely on; she would concentrate on those and try not to think too hard about the blindness. She took in a steadying breath and was about to turn and face the creature when she heard Kyle call out to her again; asking if she was alright, telling her to move away, that the others were close enough to take over the fight. A surge of panic shot through her. They didn’t know what the Demon was capable of. She shouted at him to tell them not to touch it, but she wasn’t sure they’d listen in the heat of battle. She reached out blindly towards Kyle’s voice, and took a few steps in his direction. She could smell blood, Kyle’s blood.
“ They’ve got it under control,’ he repeated, “the Magi are almost done with the spell.” At that moment she felt his hand take her outstretched arm and guide her into a warm, reassuring hug. She collapsed into his chest, not saying anything as she took an unsteady breath and put her arms around his waist. He flinched involuntarily, grunting softly; she could feel warm, sticky wetness under her arm where it touched him.
“ Shit, Wolf,” she exclaimed. “You’re badly hurt. I could smell the blood, but I didn’t realise it was this bad. We need to get you to the medics.” She quickly sheathed Nex and began pushing him in a direction, but then realised she didn’t actually know which direction they needed to head in. The stench of Demon blood and burnt Demon flesh obscured the other odours around them, so she couldn’t even smell where the Clean-up teams were parked.
Kyle pulled her back to face him, put a finger under her chin and brought her face up towards his. “You can’t see me can you?” he asked softly. He was trying to keep the horror out of his voice, but it leaked through, and its presence sent a wave of icy cold fear cascading through her veins.
She shook her head quickly, not trusting her own voice.
He ran his thumbs over her eyelids and took her face in his hands. “We’ll sort this out, don’t worry. It’s probably something magic related, the Magi will know what to do.” He sounded like he was babbling, trying to mask his fear for her.
She cleared her throat. “Yeah, of course they will,” she agreed in a cheery, business-like voice. “It’s just a temporary thing, my body is still feeling the effects of the zap too, it’ll probably just wear off.” She wasn’t sure if it was him or herself that she was trying to convince, but bravado was better than collapsing in hysterics. She tried not to think too deeply about what the permanent loss of her eyesight would mean. What she would do if she couldn’t be a Hunter anymore.
“ Now,” she continued with her false air of cheeriness, “point me in the right direction and we can get you to the medics.” She turned her body so that she was supporting him on the uninjured side. “Can you walk or do you need me to carry you?” she asked snidely.
He chuckled lightly then groaned, grabbing his torn side. “Don’t make me laugh Hellcat, I think I cracked some ribs,” he complained.
“ That’ll teach you to take your eyes off a Demon with four arms,”
They had just begun their slow painful hobble back towards the parking area, when an enormous wave of elemental power crashed into them sending them both to their knees. A deafening roar, followed by a gale-like rushing of air signalled the end of the spell and the return of the Wraith to the Etherworld.
There was an
Robert J. Sawyer, Stefan Bolz, Ann Christy, Samuel Peralta, Rysa Walker, Lucas Bale, Anthony Vicino, Ernie Lindsey, Carol Davis, Tracy Banghart, Michael Holden, Daniel Arthur Smith, Ernie Luis, Erik Wecks