Karl says, “I can call in a Shaman—”
“The closest portal is in Juneau,” Erik counters. “That’s a twenty-two hour drive; even by airplane it’d take too long. When you’re losing blood, even an hour is too long to wait.” He motions to a small cooler on the floor that holds bags of blood. None of them are specific to Magicals, but he claimed, since they came from first generation Métis donors, they’d do in a pinch until Shamans can check us out.
“Well, then you two are staying in the office.” Will peers out of the window; according to Lee, now lounging on Cameron’s old couch while flipping through a fishing magazine like he hasn’t got a care in the worlds, the Elders were last spotted a mile and a half away from the warehouse.
“Don’t worry, hot stuff,” Lee drawls, without looking up from an article on the best flies to use. “I won’t let anything happen to dear old Papa and his friend.”
I think I preferred his stutter.
Will snatches the magazine out of his hands and tosses it on the table. “If I’m not mistaken, you’re a Tracker.”
Lee snatches it right back. “That’s right. Since you’re new to the Annar scene, let me illuminate you. Not only am I brilliant at finding tangible items and people, I am also quite adept at locating hard to find exits and hiding places.” He flips the magazine open to the page he’d last been on. “Therefore, let me once more reassure you that if things go south for you all out there, I will ensure that these two make it to safety.”
As the two of them jockey for who can outsnark the other, I pull Karl to the side of the room. “Can I borrow your phone?”
There’s no hesitation. “No.”
I sigh through my nose. “Look. I totally butchered the last call. I don’t want Jonah not knowing how much I love him if I go and die tonight or something.”
Karl leans back against the wood paneled wall. “Then don’t die.”
Did he just really say that? “One call—”
“Last I heard, he’s working the riots; his position is precarious, at best. As it’s not likely that Jonah has a team of bodyguards around him to protect him from bullets, there’ll be no distracting him from his mission simply because you’re finally willing to step up to the plate after abandoning him.”
His kick to the gut lands exactly where he wants it.
The hard angles of his face soften a tiny bit when he leans forward. “As somebody who has a Connection, I can safely say that, no matter what he thinks and feels about you right now, Jonah is aware that you love him.”
He doesn’t understand. I try again. “He also knows I love his brother. It’s—he needs to know that I—”
Karl’s not having any of my rationalizations, though. “I guess that gives you incentive to get us out of this alive tonight, huh?”
I’m not the one to answer him, though. Screaming in the distance does it for me.
“Ready?”
I can’t help but smile at Karl’s whispered word, because, honestly. What a ridiculous question. Is anyone ever ready to go to battle? Take a chance and know it could be your last? Die? Granted, I have the upper hand—I can actually kill these things. Only, I apparently need to be up close and personal to do so, which means, while I can kill them, they can kill me just as easily. My Frankenstein monster-like stitched up body is a living reminder of that.
But I tell him yes anyway. I have to be ready. I have too much to lose right now if I’m not.
We’re barricaded inside the office, just waiting for the proverbial hammer to come down. Will lets out a long, quiet breath, his focus on the ceiling, the sword he fought with before now remade and tight in his grip. I think even Karl is nervous—not that he’d show us, but he’s quieter than normal. And it just serves to remind me that it’s my duty to protect these men that I love, that even though there are four Elders out there and we’re outnumbered, I’m going to make sure Karl gets home safely to Moira and Emily, Will escapes unscathed (well, at least not adding copious amounts to his laundry list of current injuries, anyway), Cameron and Erik are untouched, and the Métis in Anchorage are safe once more.
“You should have a weapon,” Will tells Karl. Naturally, Karl holds up his fist. “Yes, fine, you’re badass with the earthquakes and all, but are you really ready to send Alaska into the Dark Ages because of these arseholes?”
Karl’s smile is vicious. “I don’t need to hit the ground to have an impact. You guys said they bleed. If they can bleed and be staked to the ground, my fist can connect with their matter. I might not be able to kill these things, but I should be able to knock their asses out long enough for Chloe to do her thing.”