"Whoever invented boats should be drug out in the street and shot," Jinx declared before he once again leaned over the side of the boat to vomit.The Orangelo was absolutely miserable. Between the non-stop rocking of the boat and the Chaos god energy sloshing around inside of him, he felt like he was going to vomit until he died. That would all be bad enough, but on top of trying to not get spew on the deck or any of his traveling companions, Jinx was trying to maintain the stability of the healing bubble he'd created for Hades and Doll.Even with the help of his Orangelo tarot deck, the bubble threatened to come undone with every round of sickness that washed over him.Most of the others tried to ignore him, especially after Jinx had snarled at anyone who came near him. Bless sweet Lexi, the Demon was trying his best to help Jinx. He was on hand with fresh water tinged with sweet mint to rinse his mouth after the foul business was done. And he kept trying to get Jinx to nibble on som
Everyone who mattered to him was gone. Spitfire was alone.It wasn't that he didn't like Lexi and Jinx, but they weren't his mates. They were barely more than strangers. And the other two - Priest and Ink - that was complicated. Ink had been kind to him and Doll while they were on the ship. But his mate Priest had tried to drain their magick and sell them to Hares as breeding stock. Though Priest was Guru's brother and that made him uncle to some of the kits Spitfire carried, he wasn't sure if he wanted anything to do with him.Sitting by himself, watching the water pass by,was making him crazy. Especially as he had no idea where Guru was and their other mates Hades and Doll were trapped in a healing bubble. All three of them were out of his reach. He could only feel the impression of them on the fringes of his mind but touching their auras, feeling their presence was not possible.Looking around the boat, Spitfire saw that Lexi was asleep in a hammock and
Priest watched as everyone got off the ship. Clearly, Jinx was not born to traverse the sea the way his brother was. The apparent God of Chaos kissed the ground and rolled around a bit in the grass the second he was off the ship.He chuckled. Come to think of it, the first time Ink sailed with him there was a very similar scene.His beloved was patting Jinx's back and helping him up. The shapeshifting Demon Lexi was standing close by.And then there was Spitfire. That one needed something to do the most.Priest took a deep breath. He'd become responsible for a new flock, but not one built on loyalty and adventure. These were not his crew, not his people, and yet they were family. He felt a protective streak run through him. They were all family, this crazy mismatched group that included his estranged brother, Ink's brother and their Innehavres.Did he have any right to try to be the natural-born leader he was in the face of traveling with an actual god? And what the hell did that even
It's time to go.A voice that sounded something like Jinx but wasn't quite right woke Hades up from his peaceful rest curled around Doll. Grumbling, the tom put his face under his arm, nuzzling down against the back of Doll's neck. He wasn't ready to wake up and no annoying Orangelo was going to make him.But there was another energy tugging on Hades's aura. It was a soft pull, distant and vague, but he worried it wouldn't stay that way. It was Spitfire, after all. That little beast was up to something and it was going to require Hades getting involved before he blew up anything important.Your time here is done.That voice again. Hades wanted to tell it right where to stick its annoying little sounds. He heaved a sigh. No matter what he wanted, the pull from Spitfire and the push from the weird voice-energy thing were working together to get him out of the space Jinx had stuck them in."Wake up, Doll." Hades wasn't going to disappear while his no-fur was sleeping. He needed to let hi
When he reached the end of the fallen tree, Hades stopped crawling. His tail twitched in irritation as he peered through the broken shards. He did not like what he saw.In the center of a swirl of black sands, Spitfire was glowing purple with Underworld magick. He thought maybe the no-fur had snatched some of his Hex aura or something similar. But he was controlling actual Underworld magick, the raw primal energy that was the source of most of the Dark magicks, including Hades's own Hex powers."How in the fuck did he get his little hands on that?" Hades frowned.The only explanation he could find was that when Hades felt the last of King's Underworld aura leaving him, it had been Spitfire using his special power to steal it. But how had he reached into Jinx's healing bubble to do that?He'd figure it out later. What he needed to do was get Spitfire to release those poor no-furs he had captured in the black sand. What kind of control did the no-fur have over the sands? Hades hadn't re
Leaving Nickel to rest, Agent wrapped himself in what little power he could summon. He needed to get closer to where the ship carrying Jinx and his entourage had docked without being seen. The Orangelo was stretched out on the shore, seemingly sleeping while his green Demon watched over him.Slipping past Lexi would be easy enough. The Demon was absolutely distracted by weaving together some tall grasses and flowers into what looked like crowns. It was getting at the energy Agent could feel tucked into the bag Jinx held that would be the problem. Unless the Orangelo was drugged or in a coma, getting at the bag would be next to impossible.Before he could form a plan, the energy bubble started shaking and fighting to get away from Jinx. Moments later, Hades appeared, forced out of the bubble. Agent moved before he had a chance to consider why Hades had been ejected. The Black-fur's exit created a ripple in the surface of the bubble, one Agent could ride and find a way inside.He didn't
Doll instinctively knew his world would be different when he awoke. He remembered Hades's voice telling him he needed to rest and heal. He remembered wonderful fevered dreams of making love and passionate madness. The no-fur was loath to leave that.His palm moved up the body next to him and he registered warm fur and an ear to scratch. He smiled. It seemed he had managed to stay in the enchanted sleep a little longer."Soot-walker." He murmured and brought his hand down his lover's face. Where there was supposed to be fur was the silken feel of the skin of a no-fur.Doll's eyes opened wide and he was instantly awake. He recoiled at the sight before him and scrambled backward as far in the shadows as the space - which was smaller than he expected - would let him.The no-fur tried to calm his breathing. Okay, he understood he was in some kind of healing space and maybe that required nightmares to be cleared. Because what was sitting in front of him was clearly a nightmare. He'd never s
Guru was aware of how lucky he was that he was in good shape. Being a beacon of tom fitness was serving him well.But even that had its limits.A less fit tom would be feeling exhausted after 24 hours of endless hiding or running. The compound was set up so the sounds of gunfire or even the wisp of an arrow went off at random times. Guru assumed it was to help weaken the prey for the less-than-skilled young hunter.The problem was he never knew if it was a real shot or one made only of sound. Whatever created the fake ones had way more sensitive ears than his. Guru couldn't tell the difference and couldn't risk not running from the sound, real or recorded.Being prey did have one useful effect. Guru's mind had a clarity that came with the desire to survive. Like the tom that makes it all the way to the end of the horror movie and defeats the monster, Guru's mind was keen and able to make split-second decisions.At least that was the comfort he gave himself. Back at the zoo, there was