It came down on him so fast he didn’t have time to think, only react; allowing his body and power to take over for his mind. He threw his arms up in front of his face, feeling the fog sliding across his skin as it billowed up along the length of his body. The Kingsblack’s rudimentary muzzle hit it with a thud that shook Shasta down to his bones, as though it had suddenly become solid. Sharp teeth gnashed only inches above Shasta’s face and he felt the creature’s hot breath, then it pulled back, whipping its head from side to side. Frothy saliva flew from its enormous mouth but Shasta didn’t wait to see where it landed; he scrambled to his feet and bolted, trying to open a gate even as he ran.
The Kingsblack’s thick tail, corded with muscles and patterned with thick triangular plates like a crocodile’s, snapped up and hit him in the chest, flicking him backwards with no effort at all. He landed hard enough to knock the air out of his lungs and cracked the back of his head against the ground, stunning himself. Dazed, he could only lie there as the Kingsblack’s mouthful of teeth whipped down towards him.
At the last instant he managed to twist aside, so that most of the Kingsblack’s teeth snapped shut in the air where he had been lying only a second before. Two long fangs in the outer row of teeth sank into his shoulder, punching through his flesh to meet the teeth in the bottom jaw. He screamed as he was yanked up into the air, then the Kingsblack suddenly opened its mouth and dropped him in a heap. It twisted the great expanse of its flat head and made an odd coughing noise, as though it didn’t like the taste of his blood.
“Choke on it,” Shasta managed, struggling to draw a proper breath. His chest ached and he didn’t dare look at anything but the Kingsblack, afraid he would see his arm was gone; afraid that as soon as he looked away it would come to finish the job.
Its eye rolled towards him and he saw it was a deep, velvety blue, sparkling with bits of light like the sky on a clear summer night. It was oddly, shockingly beautiful against the dullness of the creature’s pebbled skin. For a long moment it appeared to study him, then it swung its head away again and vanished before Shasta could even blink.
“Yeah, you better run,” Shasta muttered, hearing the slur in his voice and aware that he was going into shock. He made a last-ditch attempt to open a way out, to somewhere he could be helped, but the effort caused darkness to sweep over his vision, taking him away into nothing.
He came back briefly, regaining just enough consciousness to be aware that someone was stroking his hair and talking, but he didn’t think it was to him and he couldn’t make out the words anyway. He must have stirred enough to get their attention, because the hand stroking his hair stopped, but he slipped away again before he could figure out who it was.
The second time he woke enough to open his eyes and look around. The ceiling was familiar but it still took him a few seconds to place it as the one in his own bedroom. He managed to turn his head enough to the side to confirm it by seeing his bedside dresser and the alarm clock on it. It told him the time was just past two in the morning. He listened for a long moment but heard nothing except the deep silence of a sleeping house. Taking a careful breath that pulled painfully at the bandaging around his shoulder, he got awkwardly to his feet.
He regretted it immediately when the room started spinning around him, and went down on his knees with a thud that echoed in the silence. The impact jarred his shoulder and he bit back a yelp of pain, fear jolting through him at the thought that he might have torn something loose. He felt a little bit of wet warmth run down his arm but it soon stopped, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
“I was hoping you would sleep until morning,” Jones said from the doorway. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Having a tea party. What does it look like?”
“At least I know you’re all right.” Jones came over to help him up, careful not to jar his shoulder as he helped him sit back down on the bed. “Go back to sleep.”
“How did I get here? How did you get here?” Shasta paused. “Wait, you’re alive?”
“Unless this is hell, which I haven’t completely ruled out.”
“Lea?” Shasta asked, and saw Jones’s half-smile disappear as he looked away. “I’m sorry.”
Jones shrugged. “I couldn’t do anything. She was already dying when I got to her.”
Shasta took his hand for a moment and gave it a squeeze. “I’m still sorry.” He glanced up and met Jones’s eyes. “Does Andy have a dad? If not I’m sure Aunt Kaede would take him in.”
“We’ll work something out.” Jones pulled his hand away, but then absently reached out to ruffle Shasta’s hair. It made Shasta wonder if it had been Jones stroking him during his brief moment of consciousness previously. “How long until you can get us out of here?”
“I don’t know, I’m not a superhuman like you.” Shasta touched the bandaging over his shoulder and halfway across his bare chest. “Though I don’t actually feel that bad. Considering.” He swallowed hard against the fear the memory brought back. “Don’t tell me you’ve discovered a previously unknown talent for doctoring.”
“No. I ran into a friend of yours. Kalani.”
Shasta brightened. “He’s here?”
“He left already. He said you should call him when you have a chance.”
“Yeah, he never answers his phone,” Shasta muttered. “So he fixed my shoulder?”
“As much as he could. He said that it might never heal completely.” Jones studied him. “That you’d have to wait and see.”
“I’ll have Shiki look at it when we get back.” Feeling suddenly exhausted, Shasta eased himself back down on the bed. “I take it Shiki and Drae aren’t here either.”
“No. I was hoping you had them with you. Or at least know where they are.”
Shasta shook his head slightly. “When the building blew, Drae freaked out. He threw me into the between places. I have no idea where he sent Shiki, or where he went himself.”
Jones looked at him for a long moment, then just nodded. “We’ll see how you’re feeling in the morning.”
“What, no forcing me to take you out right now so you can find Drae?”
“Good night, Shasta. Try and wake up mute in the morning.”
“I love you too, Jonesy,” Shasta called to his retreating back, laughing a bit when Jones flipped him the finger over one shoulder. He settled back on the bed and carefully arranged the blankets over himself, then closed his eyes and tried to sleep.
He dreamed a little and looked around to see if anyone was trying to contact him, but his dreams were empty of anything that wasn’t one of his mind’s constructs. He woke feeling more frustrated than rested, and spent a few minutes lying in bed and watching the dust motes dance in the shaft of sunlight coming in through his window. The smell of bacon roused him and after a quick trip to the bathroom to empty his bladder and wash his face, he headed downstairs to find Jones making breakfast.
“Your wish didn’t come true,” he announced, “but I’m willing to keep you as my housewife.”
“Shut up, Shasta,” Jones said without turning around. “Sit down.”
Shasta thought about bugging him a little more but remembered the gentle hand stroking his hair and just sat down instead. Jones served him bacon and eggs then sat down at the other end of the table to eat his own food in quick efficient movements. Shasta took a little longer, his stomach uncomfortable with the greasy food at first.
“How do you feel?” Jones asked once he’d finished most of the food and pushed the plate away.
“You mean, do I feel up to looking for Drae?”
Jones shrugged slightly. “Do you?”
“Yeah, I guess.” Shasta looked automatically at the window, expecting to see the dark bulk of the Kingsblack, but all he saw was the garden outside. “I can try anyway.”
“Whenever you’re ready.”
Shasta fought back an urge to roll his eyes and got up from the table. “No time like the present, I guess.” He offered Jones a hand back to his feet and led the way to the front door, pausing there a moment to make sure there was nothing waiting for them outside. When he was convinced—as much as he could be—he opened the door and let them out.
They walked away from the house and out into the fog without incident, but the fog was so thick that Shasta kept close to Jones’s side, alert for any movement. When they’d passed through the protection area he had around the house, he turned his attention to getting them out, deciding the best thing was to go back to Kaede’s first.
The gate responded to him almost immediately but it was only half-open when it suddenly snapped shut again. Shasta half-turned, hissing through his teeth in pain when Jones suddenly grabbed his arm and pushed him back, stepping in front of him defensively. In the thick fog in front of them an endless shape rose slowly up and Shasta realized that it had surrounded them unseen. He clutched at the back of Jones’s shirt like a child, watching wide-eyed as the Kingsblack ducked its head to look at Jones with its massive starry eye. Jones faced it without flinching and without weapons, his back straight and his head held high, only the trembling hand still against Shasta’s wrist betraying his fear.
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