caught the remaining bees. They flew out into the trees to get away from the people smacking at them.
The vine was still trying to attach itself to my leg. It was not getting enough purchase to get anywhere, but if it decided to get under my pants I figured it would at best be an immobilization spell.
At worst, I was going to die.
I slashed and caught it on the tip with the point of the knife and it collapsed like a punctured balloon. I looked up as Cate threw the rain spell and saw Olan swoop down from a tree with a stone in his claws.
The two Sidhe caught in the confusion spell stood looking up at the sky. When the rain slapped at them, it was a buckets of rain spell, it knocked them over. Olan dropped the stone on the head of the most aware Sidhe and we were suddenly able to take a second to breathe. It wouldn’t be long before someone gained enough sense to attack for keeps. We still had four Sidhe who could attack if they thought of something.
“Can you do another web?” Cate asked, I noticed her face was drawn; she was putting too much energy into her spells. “I don’t know how long we’ve got, but if you can put down two more, we should be safe to run.”
I nodded and started to spin the web between my hands, then decided to split it. I would have to put more energy into the spell to create two webs, but with two I could pin down the remaining Sidhe and we could leave. If the worse we got out of this a need for a long nap, I would consider it a victory.
“Get ready,” I whispered. Olan came back into my line of sight, this time he carried a stick in his talons.
I parted my hands and spun the webs toward the remaining Sidhe, I caught all but one, and they toppled like bowling pins.
“Run,” I shouted and grabbed Cate’s arm. Olan dropped the stick toward the head of the remaining Sidhe. Cate was now leading me, as I watched to make sure we weren’t being pursued. I blindly put one foot after the other as I watched the branch spin away from the strawberry blond head of the standing Sidhe. His arm swung and the branch followed like it was in his hand.
I stumbled and felt Cate fall with me. The branch hurtled toward us, spinning as it came. Olan flew at the branch, I think he was trying to force it down, but he couldn’t get purchase. I heard the air buffeting that preceded the impact, and then I felt pain. It started in my shoulder and burned its way up to fill my head with stars. I could hardly breathe with the shock. Over the agony I felt Cate pulling at me, and in the haze that filled my vision, I saw the Sidhe coming.
He picked up speed and was running in a few steps. He would be here before I could clear my mind enough to fight back. I tried to push Cate away. If I was a goner, I wanted to save her. She wouldn’t move. Then something crossed my sight, streaking toward the Sidhe. Olan pulled up at the last minute and raked his talons across the Sidhe’s cheeks. He stopped and rubbed his hands against the wounds. I saw the blood drip through and his healing spell close the wound almost as quickly as Olan had caused it.
“Please get up, Quinn.” Cate’s voice in my ear was strained and I realized she was trying to lift me all by herself. “I can’t carry you and we need to go now.”
“Can you calm the pain? I can barely stand; if you can do something for the pain I’ll be fine. I will run.”
“I don’t have any strength left. I’m sorry.”
“You always were bad at conserving your strength.” I laughed, and then drew in a breath at the agony that tore through me. “Let me lean on you so I can stand.”
She knelt and I put my arm on her shoulder. Then she grunted and stood. “Okay, you run and I’ll be right behind you. Go to my place. The doors will let you in.”
“No, we go together.”
I looked at her; there were tears in her eyes. “Okay, you lead. I’m right behind you.”
She shook her head. “No, I’ll follow. If you fall down I’ll know and help you.”
“Okay, just run.” The Sidhe would need a few minutes to recharge after healing himself. I didn’t think spending that time arguing would be a good idea.
She stopped and threw a spell behind us and then gave me a little push. “I thought you didn’t have any strength left?”
“Shut up, Quinn. You know healing takes five times the energy that casting does.”
We made it past the three drug dealers. I couldn’t run, but if I held my arm close to my body, I could walk fast. I noticed the dealers started looking around to see who was chasing us. As if there was a signal, they faded off in different directions. Damn, if the Sidhe was going to chase us I was counting on the presence of humans to discourage him from attacking again.
Olan swooped past me and circled as if trying to land on my shoulder. My stomach rebelled at the thought of even his tiny weight. “Don’t you dare,” I gritted through my teeth.
He veered and landed on Cate’s shoulder.
“You can slow down. The Sidhe isn’t coming after you.”
I didn’t think of arguing, I didn’t really have the energy to run home. “What did you throw back there?”
Cate snickered. “It was a honey spell. I dumped two gallons of sticky mess on his head. He may have healed the wounds, but by now he’s covered in bits of bark and leaves and anything else he stumbled into.”
“Almost tempted to go back to see the mess,” I said. My energy was fading away, we needed to get home to my house, and I needed to rest. “But let’s keep going.”
I was moving so slowly, it took almost half an hour to get to my front door and then Cate had to go and set a chair just inside the front door. I collapsed into it and heard a groan spill from my lips.
“Do you have any willow bark?” Cate touched my shoulder. I knew she was being gentle but it sent fire through my bones.
“In the cupboard above the sink.”
“Any chocolate?”
“I didn’t know chocolate had healing powers.” I thought I knew all the healing plants; I’d needed them enough in training.
“No, dope. It’s for energy. I eat the chocolate and then I can fix your shoulder.”
I figured she was working really hard to stop herself from slapping me. “Sorry, I’m not thinking very clearly.”
She went to the kitchen to brew willow bark tea. I left the chair and stumbled into the living room and sat in my big leather chair. I tried to think what we could do next, and all that entered my mind was pain, I’m in pain.
“Here.” Cate handed me a mug. “Drink it in one swallow.
I looked in the mug, the liquid was thick. I’d never seen willow bark tea so strong. “It’s barely liquid.”
“You can moan all you want. You decide whether to drink the tea and feel better or not drink it and wait for your shoulder to heal all by itself.”
“Okay. Did you put any honey in there?”
“Yes, lots.” She stood in front of me with her hands on her hips, waiting for me to do something.
I took a deep breath then exhaled, tipped the mug to my lips, opening my throat and hoping nothing hit my tongue. I could smell the bitterness of the liquid. It hit my stomach and I felt warmth rise first in my stomach then in my bones. “You put something else in there.”
“Yep, you’ll feel sleepy in a minute.”
My eyelids drooped and the last thing I saw was her stepping forward with her hands reaching for my shoulder.
Chapter Seventeen
The sun was shining in my eyes when I opened them again. I couldn’t see Cate anywhere, but I was still in my chair, and my shoulder didn’t hurt. Well, not quite as much. The pain was now at the level of a twinge. I rotated my shoulder and was surprised it worked.
My energy level was almost back to full. I got away from that fight better than I expected. “Coffee I need coffee.”
“What?” Cate’s voice came from my bedroom.
“I said, coffee, would you like some?” The thought of Cate in my bed made me feel a bit weak. “How are you
