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This . . . was not how I had envisioned my end.
“It’s not your end,” Ray said harshly, reading my thoughts. “Stop it with that shit, okay?”
“I did not mean to distress you.”
“I’m not distressed!” he snapped, which might have been more believable if I couldn’t see his expression.
He scowled, which dislodged a pebble from beside his mouth. It wasn’t the only one. The fey’s blast had peppered him with bits of limestone, to the point that he’d resembled a rock more than a man. That was why he’d taken a few moments to rescue me; he’d been all but immobilized by the sheer amount of the weight that he’d suddenly taken into his body.
His system was still expelling pieces of it as he healed, leading to occasional plink, plonk sounds as his flesh pushed out yet another pebble, before closing up again behind it. He still had a way to go, however, leaving him looking like he’d been dragged along a gravel-filled road for a few miles. It upset me to see it, but I looked no better.
We made quite a pair.
“There’s nothing wrong with my expression!” he informed me. “It’s exactly what it should be seeing as how I’m stuck in Faerie, got a fuck ton of murderous fey on my ass, and—”
“And are partnered with a cripple.”
His head came up at that. He’d been bandaging my wounds, using pieces of a blanket he’d found under one of the seats, but now I had his full attention. And he did not look pleased.
“Okay, first of all, nobody uses that term anymore—”
“Partnered?”
“Crippled! It’s not PC, okay? It’s not even accurate. Just ‘cause part of your body don’t work anymore—”
“Ray.”
“—doesn’t mean you can’t be useful. You can pilot this thing while I fight them, for instance—”
“Ray.”
“—‘cause I’m not so bad at it myself, you know? You think Dory would have promoted me if I couldn’t throw down? I can throw down!”
“I’m sure you can. But there are so many of them—”
“So, what? We’ve had bad odds before.”
“Not this bad.” I looked at him seriously. “I have counted at least eight ships. If there are twenty warriors per ship—”
“There ain’t eight ships. You counted some of them twice—”
“There are eight. And possibly more on the way. You must leave me—”
“Bullshit—”
“Listen.” I caught one of his hands. “I am lame. My hands have stopped shaking, but my legs are useless. I have no idea if this is permanent, but it doesn’t matter. It is the case right now, and that means I will only be a drag—”
“Damn it, Dorina!”
“—on you and your chances o
f escape. But we have one advantage: the fey want me, not you. If they capture me, they won’t look for you. You can get away, possibly even get back to Earth. But if we stay together—”
“What?” It sounded like a challenge.
“Then they will get both of us. And they have no orders to keep you alive.”
Ray just looked at me for a moment. What I could see of his face looked gaunt and hollow in the strange lighting. It made him look older than his usual youthful appearance, highlighting planes and angles that were not normally visible.
