Marking Territory (Freelance Familiars Book 2) by Daniel Potter

Author:Daniel Potter [Potter, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: urban fantasy, action adventure
Publisher: Fallen Kitten Productions
Published: 2016-07-23T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

"Good news!" Richard smiled at Noise about an hour after Rudy, Noise and I came back to Jules' shop.

The technomagi’s meeting had concluded shortly after the hunger plane had faded. Richard pushed off all questions about the outcome and the trio eagerly applied themselves to helping Noise after I rebonded Richard. I let it pass, not sure I wanted to know what they'd decided to do.

"You haven't gotten yourself tangled up with the hunger plane, although there is an echo, which explains..." Richard waved his hand over to the demolished pallet of foodstuffs they'd pulled from the back of the store. "Although the four stomachs account for some of the increased appetite."

"If that’s the good news," Noise said, her now-baritone voice rumbling like thunder, "then what's the bad news?"

Richard deflated. "That whole mid-moon deadline you were talking about? It’s not happening."

Noise grimaced, displaying her muzzle full of teeth that were nearly as long as Richard's arm. "Do you at least know what's going to happen to me then?"

"And that bounces us back to good news!" I interjected.

Noise gave me the “I am about to slap you very, very hard” look for a brief moment, then broke eye contact with a jerk of her head, ears sagging.

I dialed down the cheer. "We can pause the transformation where it is. Just stop it from going forward. Then when you get to the opposite point in the lunar cycle we can remove the tourniquet and hopefully the cow leaves with the wolf. Come the new moon, we might be able to snap the connection entirely."

"There were far too many If-Then statements in that sentence, Thomas. What’s the chance of all that actually working?"

"Miss Noise, we're all technomagi here and we pride ourselves on being precise," Richard said, "but this is magic and the Lunar plane has been noted to be one that doesn't appreciate being mucked about with. So somewhere between zero and a hundred percent. You have no guarantees either way."

Noise studied her hands and let out a low moan of distress. I rose to go over to her but forced myself back to a sitting position.

"Do it," she said. "Not like I have a better option. I'll have to make peace with being an abomination."

Rudy peeked over the edge of a shoebox the trio had fashioned into a recovery nest. His ears had been stuffed with cotton while the first-aid spell knitted his eardrums back together. It looked like his white matter was escaping from his head. “What they talkin’ about?” he whispered. As our voices had nothing to do with sound, I filled him in.

"You're not an abomination! You're a Moof," Rudy called to Noise once I explained the argument.

"What is a Moof?" Richard asked.

Rudy waited for a translation.

"It’s a Mooo-Wolf," I volunteered.

Noise glared at me, again.

"Hey, he made it up!" I pointed my nose at Rudy.

"But you support it!"

"It’s better than abomination!" I paused. "And it's sort of cute."

Noise’s started to laugh and then caught herself, given forceful snort through her nostrils, ears flicking with frustration.

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