Page 59 of Rogue Familiar

Jadren crouched before Selly where she sat shuddering in pain, the edges of her vision going black, setting his hands gently on her. “I’ll figure a way out of this,” he reassured her softly. “Put your arms around my neck and let me lift you. As soon as you’re in the carriage, she’ll stop the pain and you’ll be all right.”

She did as he instructed, putting her mouth near his ear, panting pauses after only a couple of words. “I have. Plenty of. Magic. Use it. Kill her.”

“I don’t dare try,” he answered with barely a sound. “Besides there’s nothing I can—”

“Healing tube. Round your neck. Reverse it.”

“What?” He lifted her and turned, walking toward the carriage and the gleefully smiling Ozana.

“Do it,” Selly hissed against his ear.

“Won’t work.”

“Better. To try. Die on. Own terms.”

“Seliah…”

“For. Me. Kill her.”

Jadren pressed a kiss to her forehead, fervent emotion in it coursing through their bond, a deep shuddering reverberating through his chest. He stepped into the carriage and sat, holding Selly on his lap. “We’re here. Release her.”

Ozana made a rude sound, but the enchantment released with a pop, the cessation of pain such an intense absence, such a relief that it washed through her with almost orgasmic pleasure. Selly gasped and needed a moment to focus. Then, tipping back her head, she met Jadren’s intent gaze and nodded infinitesimally, slipping a hand under his leather vest and shirt to find the tube on the chain around his neck.

Doubt flickered through his black eyes and she did her best convey confidence in him and determination in equal amounts. He could do this. He had to do this, because they were not going back to House El-Adrel. From where she sat on Jadren’s lap, Selly faced Ozana, who regarded them with a smug sneer. Making it look as if she fearfully clung to Jadren—which didn’t take much acting skill, given what had transpired—she turned the tube under Jadren’s shirt to point at Ozana. Jadren gently put his hand over hers, and nudged the tube into the reverse. Oops.

“Aren’t you two just the picture of—” Ozana began, breaking off into a croak that shouldn’t come from a human throat. They would never find out what Ozana thought they were a picture of, because, as Jadren pulled hard on Selly’s magic, Ozana’s black eyes bulged, then popped like overripe grapes, followed by her head.

The explosive shattering of Ozana’s eyes, skull, then body—which seemed to occur in a grotesque slow-motion cascade—showered Jadren and Selly with gore, though Jadren quickly turned a shoulder and tried to shield her from the worst of it.

They sat there a moment in shuddering silence, Selly too shocked to muster two thoughts, let alone put them together. Jadren stirred finally, lifting his head and meeting her gaze, his face stark and eyes bleak. A thin mist of red coated him. “And you wonder why I think I’m a monster,” he said in a hoarse, horrified voice.

“There seems to be no question of it to us,” someone said.

~17~

An unsettling frisson of déjà vu curdled Jadren’s blood. As if having just exploded his sister into a fine mist wasn’t enough to do that. Cautiously, he turned his head to assess this new threat. A trio of wizards faced them calmly—one in an elemental-powered carriage, another holding Vale’s reins, and a third forward of them, hands folded, posture serene, but black eyes intently assessing what must surely be a truly gruesome scene.

“Murder is prohibited on Refoel lands,” that wizard said, in that same mildly disapproving tone.

“Then we have crossed into Refoel?” Seliah asked, sitting up straighter. “We claim asylum.”

The Refoel wizard regarded her with some bemusement. “It seems your wizard’s victim should be the one claiming asylum from you.”

“She attacked us!” Seliah protested, trying to wiggle from his grip. Jadren held her tighter, trying to convey the wordless warning. “She wanted to take us to—”

“Asylum has been requested by a guest on your lands,” Jadren interrupted Seliah before she could reveal too much damming information. Refoel wizards were unlikely to interfere with internal House El-Adrel business. Their code meant House Refoel stayed clear of most Convocation political conflicts, but that therefore meant they couldn’t really be counted on to help with anything either. Upside was, they didn’t conspire with your enemies against you; downside was that they didn’t help you against your enemies either. And enemies who were your own family? Well, you were pretty much fucked there. Covered as he was in his sister’s exploded body—he doubted even he would be able to recover from that sort of discorporation, much less Ozana—he was fully aware of the extent of this particular fuckery.

The Refoel wizard considered. “The familiar has requested asylum and cannot be blamed for the actions of her wizard. Therefore, asylum is granted.” Jadren sighed internally in relief, and tightened his hold on Seliah, who immediately bridled and opened her mouth to protest, before sinking into mutinous silence at his glare of warning. A miracle there, that she actually heeded him. “You, however, El-Adrel wizard, are a murderer and cannot be granted asylum.”

How had they known he was from… Oh. The late Ozana’s ostentatious carriage, absolutely shouting the House El-Adrel affiliation. So much for anonymity. Also… so much for Ozana. He’d yet to fully assimilate that he’d successfully murdered his awful sister. Probably he should have some kind of emotion about it, but at the moment all he felt was a queasy sense of relief.

Well and anxiety about what new mess they’d gotten themselves into.

“I’m bonded to him,” Seliah burst out. Apparently the miracle only covered one response. “You cannot separate us. Also that’s my horse.”

The Refoel wizard lifted one brow a Seliah. He had the look of Asa, which made Jadren wonder if they weren’t related. Not a standard border patrol in that case, but a member of the family. “No one plans to steal your horse—or you from your wizard. You will both accompany us to House Refoel. We will give you succor—food, rest, such healing as you might require—but you must relinquish your weapons as they are not allowed on Refoel lands. And the El-Adrel wizard will be prevented from using magic.”

An odd cloaking sensation settled over Jadren, a muting of the bond between him and Seliah. Though she remained in physical contact with him, he could no longer sense, or—he presumed—draw upon her magic. It felt like a sort of ward, but one fitted to his skin, which he hadn’t known was possible.

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