A Cat's Chance in Hell (6 page)

“
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 excited hum as everyone gathered in the parking lot, mostly standing in small groups near the medical van. Gabi was sitting on the rear tailgate of one of the Clean-up vans while Melinda, a Healer Magus, applied a salve to the burns on her face and hands. She could hear Kyle a short distance away hissing as they patched him up. She could tell by the sharp intake of Harry’s breath that whatever injury Kyle had sustained, it was not a pretty sight. Harry, even though a pure human, was a seasoned vet at patching up Hunters after a fight. If Harry thought it was bad, then it was really unpleasant. It was a good thing that Kyle healed quickly; so quickly in fact, that it was a constant sore point between him and Gabi.

Melinda told her calmly that she had already patched up some cuts, scrapes and burns on Doug; nothing too serious, and the other two Hunters had come out unscathed. Kyle was by far the worst off, but with his speedy healing he’d be good as new in a few days. She didn’t say anything about Gabi’s blindness; it was hanging over all of them like an oppressive cloud. Some of the Clean-up crew had been sent off for coffee and food from a near-by gas station, and the rest were disposing of the Demon remains using the specialized equipment Byron and the Tech Geeks had developed for such situations. She could hear Doug and the Magi discussing the assortment of Demons that had come through the veil. The Wraith was the hot topic of the night, and there was some heated debate as to what kind of Demon it was, and why it seemed so powerful.

“
It must be some kind of mix between a Cheitan and a Shalbriri,” one of the male Magi theorised.

“
You could be right, Christian,” a female voice answered. “The Cheitan is the traditional Wraith-type: born of smoke and air, but I’ve never heard of one with the power to cause an electric shock and blindness. The Shalbriri has the ability to cause blindness, but they are traditionally a solid-form Demon. This is something we’ve never encountered before. A combination of powers,” she drifted off thoughtfully.

“
The researchers are going to have their work cut out for them tomorrow, trying to make sense of this attack,” came Christian’s voice again.

“
Nothing was normal about this attack,” a different male voice chimed in. “We need to start liaising with other groups around the world to see if anyone else has experienced this kind of deviation from the norm.”

“
And what about the Birdman?” This was the female again.” Do you think it was a Lanithro or an Arachula?”

This question sparked a whole new debate and Gabi grew bored of listening; she tuned them out and cast about for something else to grab her attention. The tailgate sank down as someone joined her; Doug, she recognised by scent.

“
Coffee?” he asked. She held out her bandaged hand wordlessly. A polystyrene cup was pressed into it. She brought it to her nose and breathed in the warm steam appreciatively. It wouldn’t be the best coffee in the world, but at that moment in time it would taste fantastic. She wrapped her other hand around it and took a tentative sip.

“
I hear the Birdman took a few chunks out of you,” she teased him.

He ignored her attempt at deflection: “I’ve spoken to Byron and Athena,” he said carefully, referring to a young Head Magus that Gabi didn’t particularly like.

“
And what did the great and powerful Magus Liaison have to say about my predicament?” she asked savagely. The last person she wanted informed of her weakness was Athena.

Doug sighed as though he’d known his statement would raise Gabi’s hackles, but also knew he hadn’t had a choice. They both knew the truth; Athena was one of the most powerful Magi in the City and even Gabi realised that if her blindness was magically induced, Athena would be the best person to try to reverse the damage. She just didn’t like to think of owing Athena anything.

“
She was very concerned about you; as we all are,” he ploughed on. “Byron is, obviously, rather distressed as well. He wanted to come through and collect you immediately.” He interrupted as she started to protest. “I told him you would be fine with us for now, and you would call him if you wanted him to collect you.”

She could hear footsteps approaching them on her other side. Kyle. He silently sat down on her left side and put a comforting arm around her shoulders. Her tough ego self wanted to shake him off, but her practical inner self intervened and told her that she needed his solid familiarity to keep from going to pieces.

“
Did they have any ideas on what to do for Gabi?” Kyle’s carefully neutral voice asked.

“
Their recommendation is that we wait at least twenty-four hours to see if the effects wear off on their own.”

Gabi and Kyle both instantly started to protest.

“
Yes,” Doug cut them off loudly. “I know that sounds really harsh, but their reasoning is sound. Athena feels that if they interfere unnecessarily, they might do more harm than good. If the blindness doesn’t wear off on its own, then the risks of intervening are worth it. Waiting twenty-four hours is not going to make the situation any worse, and all going well, Gabi may not have to let Athena into her mind and body to fix the problem,” Doug quickly played his trump card.

Gabi knew she had been painted into a corner. She capitulated with a sigh and resorted to finishing her coffee without another word.

“
OK then, we’ll do it that way,” agreed Kyle on her behalf. “I’ll get her home. Can you arrange for someone to collect her car and drop it at the house?”

Doug agreed and after reminding Gabi to call Byron he strode off, probably to chase everyone home. It had been a long night, and dawn wasn’t far off, they needed to be clear of the place before the first workers arrived in the area to start their shifts.

“
Your place or mine, babe?” Kyle teased her.

“
Mine,” she said tiredly. “What time is it? I must get back to feed Razor and Slinky.”

“
It’s just gone four am.” Kyle answered.

Well that explained the chill in the air she thought, then another more panicked thought rippled through her. “Oh, shit!”

“
What?” Kyle asked, instantly alarmed.

“
I didn’t leave any extra food out for Razor before I went out. He’s gonna have wrecked the place!”

Chapter 4

Kyle was still chortling at Gabi’s concern when they rounded the bend in the road and turned up her long paved driveway. At least he’d got to drive his own van this time.

“
It’s not that funny Wolf,” Gabi groused. “The last time I left him this long with no food he destroyed my sofa
and
my bed. The sofa I can live without, but my bed is sacred! I had to wait three weeks for a replacement last time.”

She was ranting now, and Kyle felt a ripple of relief that she was acting more herself. Earlier when she hadn’t shaken him off for hugging her, he’d felt a strong sense of disquiet; it was completely out of character for her to show that she needed anything from anyone, especially emotional support. It’d exposed the depth of her distress.

She’d called Byron on the way home and had, very convincingly, reassured him that she was fine, not concerned and didn’t need babying. She’d sounded believable enough to keep him from driving straight to the house to check on her, but Kyle knew the older man would be there by mid-morning after giving Gabi a few hours sleep.

“
Well you only have yourself to blame,” Kyle said sanctimoniously, purposefully trying to rile her up. “Firstly, you have a cat the size of a mountain lion, with an appetite like a hyena’s and the patience of a stampeding bull, and secondly you forget to feed it before going out on an assignment.” He knew he was looking for trouble, but it seemed worth the pain if it kept her out of the funk she’d been in earlier. He was wrong. The backhander from her hit him full force on the shoulder. She’d carefully avoided his injuries, but it hurt like a bitch anyway.

“
Geesh Hellcat. Take it out on the injured man, why don’t you?” he retorted indignantly, flexing his numb shoulder.

“
If you don’t want trouble, don’t look for it,” she countered.

Minutes later Kyle stopped the van in front of her little house. Well, it was more of a bungalow, but a smart, stylish bungalow. Not that he could see much of it in the pre-dawn gloom, but he knew the place almost as well as he knew his own. It was set against a backdrop of huge oak trees and the large garden had a wild, yet somehow structured look to it, as though mother nature had had a day with an A-type personality. Ordered unruliness was how Kyle would describe it, a bit like Gabi he realised. She loved the overgrown flower beds, an odd assortment of herbs dotted in amongst the flowers, the uncut lawn sprouted wild flowers haphazardly and the little pond that sported so many waterlilies that the goldfish could hardly breathe. Now he wondered, in a quiet corner of his mind, if she’d ever see it again. No, he pushed the thought away; they would sort this problem out. He knew that the SMV had some of the best Magi brains in the country at their disposal, as well as the best researchers money could buy. If it didn’t come right on its own, someone would figure out what to do.

“
Well, at least I won’t be able to see the devastation,” Gabi muttered darkly, opening the van door and sliding out. Kyle loped quickly to her side as she fumbled to close the door.

“
One guide dog at your service,” he said officiously, putting his arm under her hand.

“
Does that mean I can change your nickname to Labrador instead of Wolf?” she asked snidely, but took his proffered arm and allowed him to lead her up the steps and into her sanctuary.

“
As long as you don’t expect me to eat kibble,” he countered. “Or sit up and beg,” he added quickly, before she got any ideas.

As they walked in the door they were instantly set on by a ball of fur the size of a retriever. The hugely overgrown cat—thought to be some kind of Maine Coon mix but Kyle privately thought it was probably mixed with Bengal tiger—ran straight up to Gabi and launched itself directly into her chest, complaining furiously in cat language all the while. She managed to catch the furry monster in both arms, having expected the assault, and began apologizing sincerely for leaving him with no food, and for getting home so late. She buried her face in his three inch long ginger and brown coat. Kyle knew she was also reassuring the stripy furball mentally, as the cat immediately curled into her arms like a baby and began purring outrageously. It was only Gabi’s supernatural strength that allowed her to carry the cat unassisted, normal humans would have struggled to hold the enormous animal, he weighed over twenty kilograms. Kyle put his hands gently against Gabi’s back, ignoring the baleful glare he got from Razor, and steered her towards the kitchen. She allowed him to do this without comment. He turned on the lights, though Gabi couldn’t see them and he didn’t need them in the dim light of dawn, it was more force of habit and maybe a form of comfort. He seated her and the furball on one of barstools on the far side of the kitchen counter and went around into the kitchen to turn on the coffee maker. Her housekeeper, Rose, had left it ready to go for Gabi when she got up in the morning.