17. Again, Why Me?
It was controlled chaos. That’s the only thing I could call it. I watched as Angel treated wounds on the coyotes while being surrounded by a menagerie. Anyone normal would have been completely blown away by the sight of raccoons assisting her by holding salves and bandages. The sight of a horse standing right next to a bear would have been mind-boggling to most humans. Even more disturbing should have been watching a mountain lion grooming and fussing over a dog as if it were her cub.
I wasn’t a normal human. My companions were Faye. To us, interspecies cooperation was becoming commonplace.
I glanced down at my familiar with a raised eyebrow. He had the grace to look sheepish before wagging his tail at me. I sighed heavily and went back to watching the scene before me.
*Young king close to hysterics.* Isis rumbled at me as she sat before me. *Scent tells he barely out of cubness. Needs mother.*
I sighed heavily and turned my attention to the malamute hovering on the fringes of the group Angel was surrounded by. The one that was being fussed over by the mountain lion. Angel had called him Khan. That explained why he was being called a king.
I sighed again and walked silently forward. He eyed me warily, almost as if he expected me to take up where the feral humans had left off.
“Khan, are you hurt?” I said in a gentle tone. He blinked at me, obviously surprised I could send to him mentally.
*It can wait.* He stated, eyeing me as I sat on my heels next to him.
“How old are you, Khan?”
*I approach my second winter. Does it matter?*
“It depends. You did very well leading this pack.”
*I lost Lulu. We should not have stopped. I should have never agreed to go to the human town.*
“You needed supplies?”
*We could have managed.*
“I don’t think so. We spelled the border recently. You wouldn’t have made it across the hedges. The poison would have incapacitated all of you. Those supplies would have made the difference between you surviving long enough for us to reach you or death. You did the right thing.”
*I am responsible for them. It is my fault Lulu died.*
“Yes, you’re responsible. But, Lulu could have run away. Coyotes are good at that. She chose to fight instead. You must have made quite an impression on her. Larl tells me she was an older female, probably an alpha.”
*I did not know.*
“How did you come to be leading a pack that includes cats, a bear and a horse?”
*The howl of truce and in dire. Chance taught me the night Kennedy’s dam died.*
“Chance?”
*He could not make the journey. He was very old. He told me I had to put myself into the howl or it would not work. I howled until I could not. When it was done, we had allies.*
“More than that now, I think. You wove a very powerful working.”
*I could not save Lulu.*
“Lulu gave her life freely, out of love and honor. That is a great gift. Don’t diminish that.”
*What would you know about pack honor, Human?* The voice was contemptuous and I turned to watch the mountain lion lay gracefully down beside Khan.
I turned my gaze to Angel and sighed gently.
“You’d be surprised.” I responded, lifting my fingers to trail them through the matted fur at Khan’s neck. “I do know you can either let what happened drive you mad with what if’s or honor Lulu’s sacrifice. My errant cub has decided we are to be family. That we’re pack. Which means I get to give you both a bath.”
*You can try, Human.* Sylvester’s voice was an amused purr.
*If she wants us to take a bath, we take a bath.* Khan growled. *Damned cat.*
*Stupid Dog.*
“You’ll fit right in.” I sighed. Absently, I began working the snarls out of Khan’s fur as he leaned against me.
Angel’s gaze met mine then. A slight smile curved her lips and I returned it.
“Serve your queen well, young king.” I said softly and rolled to my feet, stretching. Khan gave himself a hard shake and gracefully strode forward to allow Angel to tend to his wounds. Sylvester eyed me with unblinking yellow-green eyes, then turned her gaze to watch the others.
*I like you, Human.* She sent quietly. *You smell like home.*
“Thank you, I think.” I shrugged.
*She smells like earth and fire and warm milk . She also smells like a the sweetness of the hunt. I am content to serve her.*
“She needs friends more than she needs servants, Sylvie. She’s very young.”
*So is the mutt.*
“He was the one we all heard?”
*He howled the howl of truce and dire. And the howl of sacrifice.*
“I’m not sure I follow. I don’t know these howls.”
*In the canine world, when circumstances call for it, a canine may howl for a truce and aid. The canine must be in dire, life threatening circumstances, yet willing to die for his pack to protect them. The first howl was Chance’s. I heard it and was thinking about answering it because I had nothing better to do.*
“Then Khan howled it?”
*Oh, yes, Human. Khan howled. The sound felt like claws tearing my flesh, but it was not my flesh, do you understand?*
“Yes, we felt it, too, but I wasn’t sure what it was at first.”
*It hurt, Human. It hurt until I answered his call. When I first saw the stupid pup, I realized he had no idea of what he’d done.*
“Did you tell him?”
*No. He is too young to understand. Chance did not tell him, and before we left, made me swear by Bastet to stay with him or he’d make sure I was cursed for eternity.*
“Typical cat. What, exactly, did Khan do?”
*Human, he offered his soul as our payment if we helped him. When we answered, he offered up his soul and his heart to be bound to each of us for the rest of our lives.*
“Of all the -!”
*He did not know what he was doing, Human. He howled with a puppy’s innocence. The Goddess heard him and even though he is canine, She answered. His soul, his heart, belongs to us. If we were so inclined, we could destroy him, merely by leaving him. I did not fully understand this until today when Lulu was killed. It is as if part of him has been cut away and he is slowly bleeding to death.*
I shot to my feet, swearing profusely as I started for the fire. A strong hand on my arm stopped me. I glared down at Larl even as she regarded me with sad, weary eyes.
“She knows.” was all she said. “She’s taking care of it.”
“Larl, he has to be bonded to a Guardian, now, or he’ll die!” I snarled back, trying to shake off her hand. It tightened to bruising strength, and was joined on my other arm by Rhia’s more gentle hold.
“Angel’s taking care of it, Kat.” The Morgan told me in a gentle, compassionate tone.
I took a deep, shuddering breath, shaking my head helplessly.
“She’s too young.” I whispered plaintively. “Oh, Gods, what have I done?”
“Wasn’t you, Kid.” Larl stated huskily, almost as if she were fighting back sobs. “She was called, same as you were, same as we were. We don’t ask for this shit, but when crunch time comes, we sure as hell answer it with big shovels.”
“The choice was out of your hands the day she met Ian.” Rhia shrugged. “He knew then what she’d become, I’m thinking. Knew and took steps to make sure what happened with Dante and his seven hells wouldn’t happen again. I didn’t want to see it, but I knew the day she cut me out of the net.”
“And Khan?” I whispered back.
“Goddess touched.” Larl shrugged. “Angel will bond with him and keep him stable. Of course, that means she gets the bond of his pack, too.”
I snickered helplessly then. I couldn’t help it. Hysteria was threatening to overwhelm me.
“You can’t have human familiars!” I wheezed out. “It’s against all magical precepts!”
“Against all human precepts, not Sidhe or Faye.” Rhia pointed out pragmatically. “If you really want to get technical, you’re Devin’s familiar.”
“Oh, Tremayne is just going to bloody well love this. Quineld will have kittens and a cow. It’s going to give me the mother of all hang-overs, too.”
“Why is that?”
“I’m going to need two bottles of tequila. Two very big bottles!”
“Your Bro will think it’s funny.” Larl shrugged with a half-smile. “And Quineld will get over it, same as she did with the Rock Wolves. She’ll probably sneak them treats the same way she does Dar.”
I took a deep breath and looked back at Sylvester, who was watching me with an unblinking gaze.
“You better stay with him, or you’ll wish Chance had cursed you first.” I growled softly.
A soft chuffing sound came from her chest, followed by a purr.
*I like you, Human. Khan is the cub I have never yet had. Mothers do what mothers must to protect their offspring. That makes us rather like sisters, does it not?*
“Just what I need, more sisters. Fuck, why me?” I grumbled and stalked off toward the fire and my daughter.
.
.
.
Rhia just sighed, and looked at the retreating back before turning to one of her Guards.
“Fetch one bottle of that rot-gut Tequila, and one of last year’s vintage of the Fairy-Wine.”
The Guard was gone in a twin hearts-beat and Larl just looked at Rhia . . .
“Gonna give her the good stuff?”
“Yep, It helps when the shovels break . . . “
