Magic Rises

magical healing under his breath.
    “About sixty-five inches at the shoulder, definitely feline, covered in amber scales. The scales were really thick and translucent, with sharp edges. It had wings.” I shook my head. “I have no idea what it is. What he is.”
    Mahon looked at Andrea. “And you saw it?”
    “Are you calling Kate a liar?” Barabas asked, his voice dry.
    “Yes, I saw it,” Andrea said. “She sawed through his neck with a silver chain. It wasn’t a hallucination.”
    Doolittle finished chanting. A welcome, soothing coolness spread through my side. “Good as new.”
    “Thank you, Doc.”
    The edges of the wounds had stuck together. Without Doolittle, I would’ve needed stitches.
    “Wings?” Doolittle asked.
    “Wings.”
    “Feathered?”
    “Sort of,” Andrea told him. “The feathers weren’t fully formed. Each was like a simple filament with a little bit of fuzz on it.”
    Doolittle frowned. “The scales, you see, they would add weight . . .”
    “It doesn’t make sense,” I told him. “I know. But this is what I killed.”
    “Just because it has wings doesn’t mean it can fly,” Mahon said. “They can be vestigial.”
    “They definitely didn’t look right,” I said.
    Doolittle nodded. “I’ll test the head.”
    Mahon glanced at Curran. “I spoke to the Volkodavi and Belve Ravennati at dinner. Both are convinced Jarek wants to kill his daughter. When he originally promised the pass, it was one of the four ways through the mountains. They’ve had some natural disasters since then. Now it’s one of two. He’ll do anything to hold on to it.”
    “Too obvious for Jarek,” Barabas countered. “I studied him and he likes to pin the blame on someone else. He would’ve used a lynx or a wolf, so he could finger one of the other packs. Two birds with one stone. Instead they used something nobody has ever seen before.”
    “The question is why?” Keira said. “Jarek is still the only one with the obvious motive. If Desandra dies, he doesn’t have to give up the pass.”
    “If she dies, he can kiss his shot at grandkids good-bye,” Barabas said.
    “The other two packs hate him,” Mahon said. “If Desandra gives birth, they won’t let him have the children. He may value retaining the pass more.”
    “Enough,” Curran said.
    They fell silent.
    “We’re on full alert,” he said. “Move in groups. Lock your doors. Nobody goes or stays anywhere alone. You have to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, you wake everyone up and you go together.”
    “We need to have a meeting in the morning,” I told them. “We need to set the guard shifts and work out a schedule. Let’s meet at Doolittle’s room at eight.”
    “Nine.” Curran said. “Now she needs rest.”
    People filed out of the room. He barred it and crouched by me. “Shower?”
    “Please.”
    He disappeared into the bathroom. The sound of running water was like a whisper of heaven. I was suddenly so tired. I dragged myself to my feet and into the bathroom. A shower waited for me, a tiled stall, half-hidden by a purple curtain on a curved rod. Steam rose from the tile. I tugged on the zipper of my dress. Stuck.
    Curran reached over. His careful hands touched my shoulders. The sound of ripping fabric screeched and the shreds of the dress fluttered down.
    “Thank you.”
    I slid off my ruined underwear, unhooked my bra, dropped them to the floor, and stepped into the shower. The hot spray washed over me. Red water swirled by my feet. I closed my eyes and stood under the water. Inhale, exhale. The fight was over. Everyone had survived. The war was just beginning.
    I checked my side. Doolittle was a miracle worker. The shallow gashes were already closing and stripes of paler skin crossed my tan. I picked up shampoo and worked it into foam in my hair. It smelled like jasmine. I took a washcloth and began scrubbing: neck, breasts, stomach, shoulders . . .
    Curran reached over my shoulder. I realized he was nude, standing in the shower with me.
    He took the washcloth from my fingers and scrubbed my back. The water splashed over us. He closed his arms around me and I felt his muscular body press and slide against my back. In the whole world, there was no better place than being wrapped in him.
    His arms were tense. The tightness vibrated in his muscles, like an electric current under his skin.
    I turned in his arms. He rested his forehead on mine. I closed my eyes. Being attacked by strange