Page 41 of Runt's Haunted Ride
I glanced at Kai, who was still sleeping peacefully in her nest. "Yeah, sure."
The door opened and Swinger stepped in, his eyes immediately going to the dresser. "You look like shit."
"Thanks," I muttered. "Newborns are work. She wanted food every two hours."
"Damn." He moved closer, peering down at the sleeping chick with genuine curiosity. "She's bigger than last night."
He was right. Kai had grown to the size of a small chicken. Her golden down had started to show hints of the brilliant feathers that would come later, and her wings, still tucked against her sides, seemed longer.
"How was the party?" I asked, yawning. The music had finally died down around two, which shocked me until I remembered that the guys had brawled earlier.
"Same old, same old. I went to bed around midnight. I went toe-to-toe with that midway dude with the spiral horns. You know, sheep boy or whatever he went by." Swinger rubbed his side. "I know I've at least got a few bruised ribs, if not broken."
"Shit, sit down then." I motioned to a chair behind him. Swinger moved it closer to the window, wincing as he sat down. "Man, that was some fight." Swinger's expression turned more serious. "Last I looked, I thought I saw three bullet wounds in that Mortis freak. There was a lot of blood."
My hands clenched. "I saw him go down."
"He dropped like a sack of bricks. Those clowns surrounded him, screaming that horrid sound of theirs. Shit, it took me a minute to figure out that they were screaming, not laughing." Swinger shook his head like he was trying to shake the sound from his ears. "You wanna know the fucked-up part? Those clowns—they carried Mortis out." He looked at me and my shocked expression. "Yep, dragged his body out of the tent before the cops showed up."
Ice settled in my stomach. "They took the body?"
"Yeah. Some of the carnies grabbed the red clown too—apparently he took a bullet during the chaos. They all just disappeared into the carnival grounds before anyone could stop them." Swinger shrugged. "Cops showed up about five minutes after we cleared out. Probably didn't find much except blood and broken chairs."
"What about the VIPs?" I asked.
"One of them caught a stray bullet—some rich asshole in a designer suit. Not life-threatening, just a flesh wound. He was screaming and carrying on like his arm had been amputated with a spoon. Dude was yelling about lawsuits before his friends dragged him out." Swinger grinned. "A few other people got knocked around during the panic, but nothing serious. We got out clean."
"Good. You think Mortis is dead?"
Swinger studied me for a moment. "Yeah, I do. I can't imagine him surviving his wounds. He had two in the chest and one in the leg. Then again, that's one bizarre dark fucker, so who knows."
We sat there in silence for a minute, each of us in our own thoughts.
Mortis has to be dead. Otherwise, Kai wouldn't be here. She couldn't get this far from him. That's proof enough.
"What are you smiling about?" Swinger asked before I realized I was.
I sat up straighter. "Just that I'm glad Mortis is gone."
"Me too. The world's a better place without him in it." Swinger looked at Kai. "Fang was saying that phoenixes need a full year before they can burn again. Is that true?"
Kai chose that moment to wake up, her eyes opening and immediately finding me. She chirped—a sound that I'd come to know would soon be a demand.
"Hungry again already?"
She chirped louder, struggling to her feet in the nest. Her legs were still wobbly, but she was definitely stronger than she'd been two hours ago.
"Swinger," I decided to come clean, if for nothing else than to prove Fang wrong. "It doesn't take a year."
"Oh, that's good," Swinger said, pushing off from the wall. "I came in to tell you the President wants everyone in the main room at noon for a meeting. Something about planning our next steps."
"I'll be there."
After Swinger left, I carefully lifted Kai out of her nest, supporting her tiny body with both hands. She was warm, and I could feel her heartbeat racing against my palms.
"You're doing great, baby," I told her softly, carrying her to the small table where I'd set up her feeding station. Fresh berries, water in a shallow dish. "Just a few more hours and you'll be back to yourself."
She chirped again, her beak opening wide, and I carefully placed a piece of raspberry in her mouth. She swallowed it whole, immediately demanding more.
