Blackbird Broken (The Witch King's Crown #2) - Keri Arthur Page 0,5
meant.”
He rolled his eyes. “He’s not another Tris, if that’s what you’re saying.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because I am.” He glanced across the Gill. It was only then I realized Mo had finished spelling and now walked toward us. “Where the hell did you learn to create something like that, Mo? It’s not a De Montfort skill.”
“Healing isn’t the only thing I can do, my boy, and if you stayed home longer than it takes to grab clean clothes, you might be aware of that.” Though her tone was tart, it was softened by the smile tugging at her lips. “Better yet, you might even be able to help your sister fight a demon or two.”
His grin flashed, though that spark of annoyance gleamed once more in his eyes. “Gwen was doing perfectly fine by herself.”
“Gwen’s barely out of her deathbed.”
She stepped off the rock and splashed toward us. Her wall shone behind her, a haze of magic so complex and powerful it momentarily left me speechless. A couple of minor threads of magic remained tangled around her fingers, but they had a very different intent to the wall.
When she was close enough, she cast them toward Max. Oddly enough, he didn’t seem to notice.
I resisted the temptation to follow their progress, not wanting to draw his attention to them, and kept my gaze on Mo. Her cheeks were sunken and her skin an odd gray color; she really did look like death warmed up. And though I knew she’d recover quickly enough, it nevertheless sent a chill through me. I didn’t want to lose her and, for the first time in a long time, I realized that was a definite possibility. She might have a god gene, but that didn’t make her immortal.
“Hey,” Max retorted. “You and Gwen were the ones who told me to keep my head down and lie low. Don’t pile shit on me for obeying.”
“I wasn’t talking about recent events,” Mo said, “but now is neither the time nor the place to be arguing—”
“On that, at least, we agree.” He waved a hand toward her wall. “Will that be enough to protect the gateway from the sword?”
“For a while, yes.”
“Against all comers, no matter how powerful?”
“Your tone suggests you believe otherwise,” I said.
“Oh, for fucks’ sake Gwen, what’s that supposed to mean?” He motioned at the bodies surrounding us. “You think I’d choose them over my own damn family?”
I wanted to believe he wouldn’t. I really did. But he had been in contact with Tris, and Tris had been up to his ears involved in this whole thing.
Before I could actually say anything, Mo said, “Gwen, some of those wounds are already starting to fester, but I haven’t the strength to heal them right now—is there any holy water in your backpack?”
“Yeah.” I waded across and pulled out several bottles. “Max, can you treat the wounds on my back?”
He splashed over and plucked one of the bottles from my grip. His fingers briefly brushed mine, and just for an instant something felt off-kilter. Out of place. But before I could pin down the sensation, he pulled back and motioned with one finger for me to turn around. I hesitated and then obeyed. He poured the water over several wounds, and I gritted my teeth against a scream. Holy water on demon-caused cuts and bites reacted in much the same manner as acid did on skin, although—unlike acid—holy water at least only burned the badness away. I sucked in several breaths then repeated the process on the wounds on my stomach and thighs; thankfully, none of them looked particularly deep. After several very painful minutes, the holy water’s effect eased. I wiped the wounds dry with a clean cloth and then applied Mo’s sealing concoction. The thick green goop hardened within seconds, forming a waterproof seal that would allow the wound to heal from the inside out while protecting it from infection.
Max applied it to the wounds on my back, then grabbed the pack from the rock and swung it over his shoulder. “You’ll tear open the bite wound if you wear it.”
“Fine, but I need my phone.”
He handed both it and the charger to me, then glanced at Mo. “Do you want me to call Kiri? Sunrise is hours away, and these bodies are going to stain the water downstream pretty badly in the meantime. At the very least, she can filter the demon bits and blood from the water.”