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"You should sit down," Jake gestured towards one of the waiting cars.
Hutton sat on the ground, his back leaning against a tyre, face pale. Judging by the amount of blood on his skin, the black wolves caught up to him. A man with dark hair and a blonde-headed woman crouched beside him.
"Hutton told us where you were," Jake said. "Gave us a bunch of useful information, before he was caught. If it wasn't for Harmony and Paxton, he wouldn't have made it."
On hearing their names, the pair turned and rose.
Ben stiffened.
Harmony was half witch, half demon. Presumably that was close enough to being a full witch for Ben's taste. Paxton Evans was a full witch, but if he saved Hutton, then he got a pass as far as I was concerned.
"She's breathed in a shit load of smoke," Jake said. He helped me to sit down beside Hutton.
"And I want this fucking collar off from around my neck," I said. I was tired of feeling like a pet dog.
"That should be easy enough," Paxton said. Judging by the look on his face, he clearly knew smoke and a magic collar weren’t the only things wrong with me right now. They were the only things he could heal though.
He put a hand lightly on my arm. I felt the tingle of magic. Almost immediately, the burning in my lungs started to recede. With his other hand, he gripped the collar and it fell away from my neck. He glanced at it for a moment before handing it to Jake.
I nodded towards Harmony. She was pregnant when we first met and she was pregnant again now. I couldn't contain a pang of jealousy. It was going to take time to come to terms with what Dagen stole from me. I may never accept it, but I could try to be happy for her.
"I assume you started the fire?" I asked.
She smiled. "It wasn't exactly my intention. I was trying to blast the gate open. Sometimes my magic does what I want it to. Sometimes not." She sighed through her nose and lightly rested a hand on her belly. “This little one was trying to help too. She doesn’t understand restraint yet.”
“Like her mother,” Paxton said teasingly.
Harmony gave him a fond look, which he returned. She looked a lot more content when I saw her last.
"I appreciate it either way," I said. "This makes us even." She came to me a year or so ago, wanting a siphon stone so she could get back the magic which was stolen from her. I managed to secure a stone, but gave it to her with the condition that she owed me a favour. I had no idea at the time what that favour would be, but I thanked past me for the insight. Having Jake call on her to fulfil her end of the bargain saved my ass today. And Ben’s and Hutton’s too.
Having powerful people owe you a favour was worth more than money. I would have to see if I could find a way to do something else for her. It wouldn't hurt to have her in my pocket again. Just in case.
I heard the thrum of a helicopter engine. For a minute or two, I forgot all about Dagen. Now, I watched his chopper rise above the burning treetops and head off in a southerly direction.
"I knew I should have bought the helicopter and equipped it with missiles," Jake said darkly.
"Fuck," I said softly. "I don't suppose you brought a dragon with you?"
"I would have, but no one asked," Paxton said. "There, that will stop you from dying of smoke inhalation. It's going to take longer to fix the internal damage. I presume you'd rather not do that here." Shit, he was blunt.
Everyone's eyes were on me. Jake looked like he was ready to climb the tree tops and bring down the chopper himself.
"Internal damage?"he asked.
"It's nothing that can be fixed," I said softly.
"I can't put anything back," Paxton agreed. "But whoever healed you didn't heal everything. There's scar tissue that's going to be a problem if it's not dealt with." He muttered something about unskilled witches.
"What are you talking about?" Jake asked. "Put things back? What the fuck?"
"Later," Paxton snapped. "In case you hadn't noticed, the fire is spreading. Unless you want to get burnt to a crisp, I suggest we get out of here."
Jake quickly nodded. "Everyone, get into the cars." He reached for my hand. He and Ben helped me to my feet. From there, it was a step or two into the back seat of the closest vehicle. Jake headed around to the driver's side door, and Ben slid in next to me. To my surprise, Harmony and Paxton helped Hutton into the other side before they hurried to another car.
"Hey," I said softly to Hutton. "Seems like we have you to thank for getting out just in time."
He shrugged. "I did what you sent me in there to do. I found enough information on Dagen to even shut Jake up."
