Heart and Hooves: An Urban Fantasy
by AJ


Chapter 13

"...and then we loaded you into the back of the Volvo like a sack of potatoes, drove you home and put you to bed. And that was all there was to it." I smiled at Sandy and crossed my arms across my chest. "It wasn't a big deal, really."


Sandy smiled back, a little weakly. He was still pretty under the weather, trying to recover from his wound. Despite the healing he had undergone, it still hurt a lot even though he tried to cover for it.


"Let me see if I've got it right, ok? First I was stabbed with a knife that is virtually invariably fatal to anyone it comes into contact with, then the ghost of my father possessed you and you killed Braewynn, then the queens of both Seelie AND Unseelie showed up, removed the knife and healed me. And then my mother cried."


"Yup, that about sums it up."


"And that's no big deal?"


"Nope."


"Damn, I sure hope I'm never around when something you consider a big deal happens."


"Me neither." For a moment I was able to keep a straight face, but then I couldn't hold it. A big grin broke loose and pasted itself right across my face - I couldn't help it, I was just so glad to see him awake and feeling better. I did have one question for him, though.


"Sandy, how did your father defeat Braewynn so easily? It took every bit of your skill, but he trashed him in two hits."


"Well, you know the longsword he wore? It's name is Chryssand, and it was made for the Great War, not for dueling. Both Kaldor and Braewynn's rapiers are weapons designed for dueling, and they don't have the spells on them that the great weapons from the war did. Compared to Chryssand, Kaldor is like a stick." He paused for a moment and then asked a question of his own. "So you and Dubhain...?"


"Yup, right after we put you in bed and everyone got a little sleep."


"And that was ok?"


"Oh, much better than ok. It's frikkin' amazing, Sandy. Here, watch this!" I closed my eyes for a moment, and when I opened them again, they blazed solid, pupil-less yellow. Looking at him with Dubhain's vision, I could still see the dark blot on his thigh, but every other part of him shone right through the blankets on the bed - a rich, deep golden flow of energy. I'd never realized that Dubhain saw energy, not bodies. It was just one of the benefits of our newly conjoined existence.


"Oh, nice. That's going to make a hell of an impression at Halloween."


"Yeah...I was thinking of going as a vampire, you know. There's a few people out there that I owe a little scare."


"Bryon, don't even think about it."


"Kidding! I was kidding...mostly."


"You better be. Now, what did you bring me?"


I reached over and dragged the night stand even closer to the bed, and began stacking my offerings on it. "Let's see...Vogue magazine, two novels, CDs from downstairs that Peter says you like, couple sodas, and one of Peter's special sandwiches. Anything else you need? No? Well, I'll leave you to it then. Call my cell if you need anything, ok?"


Already reading the cover of the Vogue magazine, Sandy waved as I walked out of the room and headed down to the kitchen for my own lunch.


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