I didn’t know who had authorized gunships on American soil, but I could guess that the local commander decided to do what he thought best after seeing the television broadcast. Rafe was not going to be happy about the publicity.
As long as he was alive, I didn’t give a rat’s ass about the public seeing a few dozen mythological creatures roaming Colorado Springs.
“Where to?” Maia asked.
“I guess we should head back to Joe’s cabin. We’ll need somewhere to rest and get Rafe healed. I’d like to return to my Aunts’ house, but someone may make the connection between their kidnapping, the fight at the airport, and that mess back there. Yeah, Joe’s cabin is our only safe place.”
Maia turned more southerly, and we flew over the morning traffic on the Interstate.
Beast caught up with us before we were halfway to the cabin. I wouldn’t have realized it was him, except that I didn’t think hawks could fly that fast. He leveled off a dozen yards away and paced us the rest of the way.
Maia set down lightly at the foot of the steps to Joe’s porch. I slid off and then studied Rafe’s unconscious body. I wished I knew his trick for putting energy into his muscles. I looked from him to the dozen or so steps and wondered if I could get him up them.
“I’ll put him on the porch for you. Can you handle him from there?” Beast asked.
I saw that he’d dropped his glamour. Rafe’s boots, his knife still in its scabbard, lay on the ground beside Beast. Except for the knife, the bloody boots were empty.
“What happened to his, ah, legs?” I asked.
“I didn’t see any reason to bring them, so I left them behind,” Beast growled.
“What about DNA? Rafe’s always concerned about leaving something behind that could be used against him.”
“I took care of it,” Beast said.
I stared at him. What had he done? Did he eat Rafe’s legs? No, that would just be too gross. Still, he didn’t elaborate.
I shrugged. “I trust you, Beast. Yes, please move Rafe to the porch, and I’ll get him inside.”
Beast grunted an acknowledgment and then stood on his hind legs to use his forelimbs to lift Rafe from Maia’s back.
Beast eyed the wooden steps warily, and then ignored them and raised Rafe high enough to slide him onto the porch. I ran up the steps and knelt beside him.
He was breathing easily, but still unconscious. His leather jacket and gloves were intact, but his pants were now leather shorts. I checked his stumps, the flesh there was raw and oozing blood and viscous fluid, but the healing had begun. His leathers were already tacky from the congealing blood.
I went inside, Joe never locked his doors, and his ward let me pass without issue. I located a couple of towels and went back to the porch. After stripping Rafe’s bloody clothes from him, I rolled him onto the towels. Getting a firm grip, I dragged Rafe across the threshold and into the cabin.
I couldn’t stand him up, but I got him into a sitting position in the shower. Then I stripped off my own bloody clothes and piled them into the sink for later. It took a long time to get both of us clean enough that the rinse water no longer ran red. I dried us off, being extra careful around his stumps and burns, and then I dragged him into the bed we’d shared the last few nights. I pulled the covers back and stopped to catch my breath.
Lifting a dead weight of nearly two hundred pounds was going to be tough. But it had to be done.
I stood over Rafe and tried to imagine how he poured energy into his muscles. There wasn’t a spell, but I knew he could do it almost effortlessly. Was it like the first trick he taught me? The lighting of a candle. That just required focusing on where you wanted the energy to go. I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. I imagined my muscles warming with raw magical energy. Energy that was already stored throughout my body, but now I needed to convert it, like converting potential energy into kinetic. I concentrated on the concept of my body as a system of muscles. I felt my body warming. Something was happening.
I bent and slipped my hands into Rafe’s armpits and…lifted.
He came off the floor as though he weighed no more than a child.
A thrill went through me. I’d actually performed magic without his instructions. Hastily I moved him onto the sheets before my elation caused me to lose my focus. I laid him out with his head on one of the pillows and then relaxed. The warmth gradually left my muscles.
I pulled the sheet over him and then hurried to the front door.
Beast and Maia were still at the foot of the steps. In bare feet, I stepped out onto the porch. A cool breeze came from the west, ruffling my short hair, and covering my flesh in goosebumps. The cabin was in the shade of the mixture of ponderosa pines and spruce trees.
I crossed my arms under my breasts and realized I’d come outside unclothed. Well, it wasn’t as if either Beast or Maia cared. They never wore clothes.
“He’s going to be okay. I got him cleaned up and into bed,” I said.
“Has he woken?” Maia asked.
I shook my head. “No, but he seems to be sleeping well. I’m going to get in with him and get some rest myself. Can one of you guys stick around today to make sure we're not disturbed?”
“It’s our duty,” Beast growled.
“Thank you, Beast. You can take turns. I’ll let you know as soon as he’s awake.”
“Thank you, I would appreciate it,” Beast said.
I went back inside,
