Chapter Nine
Kavon was caught betweentwo instincts. One urged him to pull Darren free of the wreckage and lay him on the sidewalk. The second was an instinct trained into him as a law enforcement officer not to move an injured man. Some shamans had the ability to stabilize patients or even heal them at the scene. However, Kavon had never trained in that sort of medical procedure.
Before Kavon could make a decision, a sedan came screaming up the road, followed by an FBI SUV.
Given the amount of destruction in the area, many people had likely called 911. Kavon braced himself for a confrontation with the anti-terrorism units or a tactical unit. Instead, his team tumbled out of the SUV and rushed into defensive positions around him. Anita, the shaman nurse from the DC Djedi Center, got out of the sedan and rushed to Kavon’s side.
“Where is he?” she asked, her voice full of urgency, but without panic.
Kavon blinked and struggled to form thoughts. “He was driving. It got flipped. He’s hurt.” It was still on its side, and the upper two tires spun lazily.
She cast an evaluative gaze toward the vehicle before nodding. “Okay, give me a second to collect magic, and I can stabilize him.”
Kavon search the sky, and he quickly found what he was looking for. Bennu circled the area still in his ancient form. Kavon touched the tattoo on his hip and focused his thoughts. Just to avoid any misunderstandings, he spoke aloud. “Get down here and offer her your magic.” Kavon pushed as much determination and fear and anger as he could gather through their bond.
Bennu gave a rough cry at the same time that Anita asked in horror, “Are you snapping at your guide?”
Kavon was not about to explain that he was yelling at Darian's guide, so he said, “Do you need power or not?”
She hesitated a second before saying, “I need it. This kind of medical stabilization requires me to magically support the entire body at once.”
“Then you'll get power.” Kavon stared at Darren’s guide. Bennu landed on top of the SUV, his wings stretched out wider than the vehicle’s length. “Do it,” Kavon ordered the guide. Kavon felt the subtle shift in the air as the power moved.
Anita closed her eyes and tilted her head up toward the sky for a moment. When she opened her eyes, she gave Kavon a nod. “Thank you.”
“Just fix him.”
“Let's focus on moving him without causing more damage first.” Anita stood by the tire and put her hand on the undercarriage of the SUV before she closed her eyes. Her brow wrinkled in concentration, and then she said in a tight voice, “Quick, grab him.”
Kavon did not need a second invitation. He clambered up the side of the SUV to the driver side door. Darren was still hanging by his seatbelt. “Do I need to be careful about how I lift him?”
Anita’s voice was strained. “Not as long as I have stabilized his body. Just do it quickly before I run out of power.”
Kavon grabbed Darren's arm and hauled him up with one hand while he undid the seatbelt with the other. In a few seconds, he had Darren free of the SUV, and he laid him carefully out on the sidewalk. “Okay, he's clear.”
Anita blew out a relieved breath and Bennu took off to patrol the sky again. He kept his form invisible and Anita didn’t even notice when his wing went through her body. She knelt next to Darren and put her hand on his chest.
Only then did the scope of the damage register. The area still had a faint glow as the living magics faded into the dead magic that users could mine. The fight had shattered the windows in the surrounding hotels and glass glittered in the street. Weeds had forced their way up through cracks in the sidewalk and the road and the seam where the street and curb met had turned into a thick mat of wildflowers and burrs. A parked car even had a tree branch growing through a broken-out back window.
The whole scene resembled some abandoned city that nature had reclaimed. Magic had spurred nature on and given her the power to overcome concrete and steel.
After a few seconds, Kavon asked, “Is he okay?” He held his breath and waited for her answer. Guides gave their shamans many amazing powers, but they couldn’t stop death. That thought echoed through Kavon’s head.
She looked at him. “Cracked ribs, contusions, a few pulled muscles and a bruised liver. Everything is fixable.”
The darkness that had wrapped itself around Kavon's heart eased, and he fell to his knees. The pain of hitting the pavement pushed him back toward reality, but so many emotions slammed into him that he couldn’t get up. Fear, anger, frustration, fury, grief, pain... Kavon couldn’t even tell whose emotions he endured, his own, Bennu’s or his bull’s.
“He’ll be fine,” Anita repeated.
Kavon nodded. He still couldn't find his voice, and he felt as if the world had changed somehow. Maybe it was just his world that had changed. For all of his overprotective instincts, up until this moment, Kavon had never believed that Darren could die before him. And now, that was all Kavon could think about. If it hadn’t been for Bennu and Pochi’s relentless defense, Darren could be dead right now.
Pochi. Kavon forced himself back up onto his feet and found his team was still holding a perimeter. The tactical team had shown up, but Coretta was keeping them back. “Les!” Kavon called.
Les had taken a position to the north, near Coretta. Their newest shaman, Joe, was holding the south with Rima and Milton. Jen and Ahtisham had taken west with Anne and Rima holding east. Kavon was overwhelmed by gratitude. Unfortunately, none of them had the power to defend themselves if that monster reappeared. Their most powerful spells would be like shooting at a forest fire with a water pistol.
“Boss?” Les asked. He glanced at Coretta. She jerked her head toward Kavon, releasing Les from perimeter guard duty and Les trotted over.
“How’s Darren?” he asked.
