Page 116 of By the Horns
Now that we’re free from the caves—and any possible ratlings that would have followed us—I want to talk to her, to find out if she’s all right. Buzzard is settled with the wounded enforcers near the stream. He doesn’t look good, but he’s conscious. Karref has been roused and is leaning against one of the other enforcers. Everyone else is on their feet—battered, but on their feet.
“What do you mean, you had a rescue signal stone this entire time and never used it?” I hear Rooster demand of Shikra. “Why not?”
“Who’s going to come rescue us?” Shikra asks, his voice dripping with derisiveness. “The same ones who left us there to rot?”
That silences the guild leader. Good.
I frown as I head down the muddy side of the hill toward Gwenna. The passageway had led us to a very narrow, shallow cave—more of a tumble of rocks on the side of a hill nestled against the bank of the river. The others rest near the cave mouth, but Gwenna doesn’t seem to be staying put. She keeps wandering away in that strange, drifting way of hers.
“Gwenna.” I catch up to her, and she doesn’t turn. “Gwenna, are you all right?”
When she doesn’t respond, I touch her arm and force her to turn around. Her skin is like ice, her pupils huge. She stares through me without seeing me.
I want to shake her, but she’s a small, fragile thing, my human mate, and the last thing I want is to hurt her. What did she say before? That distractions were the only thing that pulled her out of it? I contemplate kissing her, but I’m mucking terrible at it, and I can’t kiss her like a human does. I consider for a moment, and then glance around to see if anyone is looking our way. When they’re not, I reach out and brush a hand over her front, and then pinch her nipple through her corset.
She jerks with a gasp and reels. Her eyes blink hard and then herpupils contract. Shivers rack her body. “Oh. Oh, Raptor. Look at you. You’re all bloody.” Her ice-cold fingers reach up to touch my muzzle. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine,” I reassure her, caressing her too-cool cheek. “What are you doing here?”
“I came after you. I…” Her throat works. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
Then she turns and vomits at my feet.
I kneel beside her as she gets the worst of her sickness out of her gut, and when she’s done, she shivers wildly.
“Gods, I feel disgusting.” She wipes the back of her hand over her mouth and then sags against me. “Talking with the dead for too long makes me feel…rotten inside.”
“Rooster knows. Garesh’s balls, everyone knows your secret.” I stroke her sweaty hair back from her face.
“I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t stay home safe if you were in danger. We had to come find you. It was the only way I could get them to let me into the tunnels to find your party. They’d wiped you from the day’s roster. The messages were a trap—”
“I’d figured as much.” I keep my voice soft, humbled that she’d put herself in danger to protect me. “You saved our lives, little bantam. How did you know where to find us?”
“I went…went to the temple of Romus to speak with Hemmen’s spirit. He told me everything. Said that they were planning to get the Taurians out of the way so they wouldn’t be bothered in the tunnels. And Rooster sent a missive, too. Didn’t want to use a mancer and set a bad example. Goodness, is it cold out here?” She shivers violently.
I drag her closer to me to share my warmth with her smaller form. “Come lean against me. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you, sweetheart. Don’t you worry.”
To my surprise, Gwenna begins to laugh. She looks up at me, her eyes a little wild. “Do you know, when I first realized I had powers, I was terrified because I thought the guild would kill me on sight? But after today? After this afternoon? I’ve realized they need me.”
I bite back my frown. “Need?”
“Yes.” She blinks rapidly, then tucks her cheek against my filthy shirt.“Do you know how much treasure the dead just showed me? It’s going to take years to dig it all up.”
“Huh.” I rub my hand up and down her back. I’m still worried. Mancers are illegal, and far too many people know about her powers for my comfort. The urge to protect her is fierce, and I hold her close. If Rooster tries anything, I need a plan. I’m not letting them hurt my mate.
No one issure how safe the guild is now.
“Spies could be everywhere,” Rooster frets, pacing and wringing his hands as the rest of us relax by the riverbank. “What if they’re not just the lift operators? Not just the repeaters? What if this is an absolute coup?”
“It won’t be a coup,” Stork insists. “No one likes a thief.”
But Rooster isn’t so sure. He’s also worried about the rest of Gwenna’s friends who’d arrived at the lift with her—Archivist Sparrow, along with Kipp and Arrod. Upon hearing those names, Jay becomes agitated, too. “What if they’ve been hurt?”
“They’re smart. They’ll figure out how to stay safe,” I reassure him. Well…Kipp’s smart, at least. “And Master Hawk isn’t going to let anything happen to Sparrow.”
Rooster points at Gwenna, who’s been sleeping in my arms for the last several hours. “Wake her and ask her to speak with the dead. See if she can feel them.”
“She’s tired and drained,” I growl at him. “She needs to rest.”
