Kate Daniels 02 - Magic Burns

I’ll be up by tomorrow.”
    â€œAnd Jim?”
    â€œWhich one is Jim?”
    â€œThe jaguar.”
    â€œHeavy muscle damage,” Andrea said. “Ligaments all torn to shreds. He’s in the next room.”
    I felt like scum. If I stayed any longer, I would scream.
    Andrea looked at me from the sheets. “It was a good plan. Curran creates a distraction, occupies them while they key on him, and we grab the girl. Except those bitches wouldn’t die and we failed.”
    â€œYou tried.” That was more than I did.
    â€œKate, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that if you had watched Julie, she wouldn’t have left with Red and we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
    What? “No. Not at all.”
    â€œI just want you to know: when I took her off that cross, she was calling his name. Neither you nor I can do anything to break what’s between them.”
    â€œAndrea, I don’t blame you. I don’t blame anyone.” Except myself. “You went out there and tried against impossible odds and almost won, while I played footsie with Bran in the mist.”
    I rose. “I’m going to see Jim and then I’ll see about sending a runner to the Order, since the phones are dead.”
    She raised her head from the pillow, her eyes wide. “Why?”
    After Bran had run out of curses, he’d condescended to explain a few things to me. “From what Bran says, the gray bubble Morfran made is some sort of ancient druidic ward. Morfran is buying time and working the cauldron, packing the sea-demons into that bubble. When it bursts, they will spill out onto the Honeycomb and then onto Warren. We’ll need the knights and MSDU.”
    Her face fell. “There will be no help, Kate. Everyone’s gone. Even Maxine.”
    â€œWhere the hell did they go?”
    â€œThere’s an emergency,” she said softly. “All the knights and the Military Supernatural Defense Units are being pulled to counter it.”
    â€œAndrea, in less than twelve hours, Atlanta will be full of demons. They will kill, feed, and release more demons. What emergency is more important than this one?”
    She hesitated. “I’m not supposed to disclose this. There’s a man. His name is Roland…”
    I almost punched the wall. “What is he doing that’s so damn crucial? What, is he building another tower? It will fall like all his other ones. Or did his eye finally grow back and he decided to have a battle to celebrate?”
    Andrea gently closed her muzzle. “Kate? How do you know that?”
    Shit.
    â€œEven I don’t rank high enough to know about the eye and the towers. I was only told because I would be staying behind alone. You’re not even a knight. How do you know this?”
    How do I fix this? I have to kill her. Wait, I can’t kill her. She’s my friend.
    â€œAre you planning on walking into Ted’s office after the flare and telling him that you’re beastkin?”
    She winced. “No. He’d throw me out. The Order is all I know.”
    I nodded. “You have your secrets and I have mine. I didn’t say anything about Roland and you didn’t hear anything.” I offered her my hand. “Deal?”
    She hesitated only for a moment. Her fingers grasped mine and I was relieved by their strength. “And I’m not a beastkin. Deal.”
    I found Jim in the next room. He sat in the bed, propped up by a pillow, and sharpened a short thick knife with a whetstone.
    â€œYou fucking owe me.” He showed me his teeth in an ugly snarl. “You had a beastkin buddy. Didn’t tell me. Made me look like I don’t know my business. Made me look like a fool.”
    I came in and sat on the edge of his blanket.
    â€œGet the fuck off my bed.”
    I sighed. “How are the legs?”
    â€œDoc says I’ll be walking by tomorrow.” He pointed the knife at me. “Don’t change the fucking subject.”
    The same injury would take at least two weeks to heal during normal magic.
    â€œYou remember that time you put a rat scout into an apartment above me to spy on me and Crest?” The scout who had heard everything that went on between me and Crest.
    â€œWhat about him?”
    â€œWe’re even.”
    He shook his head and went back to sharpening his knife.
    â€œYou still here?” he asked a few seconds later.
    â€œLeaving as we