Fists and Fangs: An Urban Fantasy Action Novel in the Veil by Ken Bebelle & Julia Vee

Author:Ken Bebelle & Julia Vee [Bebelle, Ken & Vee, Julia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sixth Moon Press
Published: 2023-10-31T16:00:00+00:00

The entrance to the old 90 tunnel was a hardened arch of concrete that had survived the Drowning by virtue of being strengthened to support the massive housing complexes that used to sit above it. Now there was nothing but rubble above, but the tunnel remained.

The tunnel itself was a half mile of true darkness that ran due west from the edge of Lake Washington. As we clambered down to the tunnel mouth I pulled a faerie light from my pocket and shook it to light our way. Finn had been unusually quiet on our run from the temple.

Now as the darkness swallowed us, I tried to pull him out of his silence. We would need something to keep us anchored as we traversed the tunnel.

“Finn, I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. You weren’t the one who forced me to leave the temple.”

“Still, I understand. It’s hard to know that he’s in pain.”

Finn was quiet for a while. “Back…in the fight club. Da wouldn’t stop talking about my brothers. How much they gave to support the family. Nothing but praise for my brothers, as if I did something wrong by not dying with them.”

“That’s terrible.”

Finn laughed, the sound utterly without humor. “It’s how he is. He’s still fighting for my brothers, even though they’ve been gone for years. Like he can somehow bring them back. To him it’s some problem to be solved. I was never able to get him to understand that I was still with him, still alive. It’s why I left. He couldn’t move on, and I couldn’t stay with him.”

“Do you want to help him? I understand if you do.”

“I do, and I don’t.”

My mind flashed back to Boston. Dad tied down to his rickety hospital bed, delirious from pain, cursing the broken air conditioning, the second rate meds, me, anything he could reach for. “No, I get it. I do. Family is hard.”

After another long pause Finn asked, “Do you think this is over?”

Goddess, why did this hurt so much? “No, I don’t think so.”

Another sad laugh. “You’re right. I know. He’s not going to stop.”

All of my previous experience with O’Malley supported that statement. The man was nothing if not relentless. “He’s after more than just a cure for himself, Finn. Your dad, he’s always working another angle.”

“I know.”

“...yeah, I guess you do. Sorry.”

“Whatever happens next, Roxy, can you promise you’ll try not to kill him?”

I heard the pain in his voice when he asked, the conflicting emotions that came with relationships that drove you mad. I had no idea what might happen next, or if I would even have the chance to square off against O’Malley. But I knew what Finn needed to hear.

“Sure, Finn. I promise.”

We walked the rest of the way in silence.

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