Free Traveler by Melanie Jackson Page B

iron blades—she was supposed to hurt goblins if she got in a jam.
    As she felt the blood roll down her back, she made a note to bring a bone knife next time she came to town. She wanted something she could use on herself that wouldn’t hurt like metal.
    Jack pressed his hand over her shoulder blade and muttered something. There was a flash of intense heat as he used his fire spell on her.
    “Ow!” Her knees almost buckled as the flame shot through her.
    Jack quickly steadied her, bracing her against his body with his free hand.
    “Sorry, but it needed to be cauterized. It was that or stitches.” He sounded genuinely regretful at causing her pain, but Io didn’t turn around and seek visual confirmation of his feeling.
    “So much for no burns on my back,” she groused.
    There was a sound of paper tearing and then Jack wiped her lower spine with some sort of alcohol swab. The cold, or something, raised gooseflesh on her back and arms.
    “You need some help getting that sweater back on?” he asked casually.
    “No.” It hurt to lift her arm, but she managed to pull the turtleneck back on. Only then did she turn around.
    Quickly, she pushed up her sleeve and held out her hand.
    “Give me the knife.”
    Jack hesitated a moment and then handed her the blade. A few drops of blood had run down the handle.
    Io ignored them as best she could, but her hands were still shaking and the blade was slippery.
    “Let me,” Jack began, but she made the cut fast.
    Jack handed her the stained disposable wipe and took the blade from her. He quickly added the small brown tick from her arm to the larger flesh-colored blob in his lab dish. He also shook off the few drops of blood onto the ticks.
    “Where’s the last one?” he asked.
    “Outer right thigh,” Io answered, grateful for his matter-of-fact tone. She was also grateful that she’d worn panties under her leather pants—she wouldn’t have bothered wearing them with jeans.
    Taking another deep breath, she tugged down the double zippers past her hip bones and shoved her pants down to just below the tick. Her hands were a lot steadier this time, so Jack didn’t offer again to do the cut.
    Io worked quickly, and after a fast swipe with thenow very stained wipe, she hurriedly rezipped her clothing into place.
    “You’re sure that’s all of them?”
    Io did a quick mental search of her body. She was finding it easier to use her magic now. It was like riding a bike. The parts of her that were fey could never really forget what it was.
    “Yes, that’s all of them.” She refastened her corset.
    “All set then?” Jack asked, taking the wipe and dropping it into the dish with the ticks. “That should keep them happy for a while.”
    “Good—blood-sucking leeches.”
    “No, blood-sucking ticks.” He fitted a lid onto the dish and wrapped it in a bandanna before slipping the thing into his coat pocket. He then reached into his duffle and pulled out a roll of duct tape.
    “Where are we going to take them?” Io asked, watching him add the tape to his coat pocket.
    “Back into the nightclub district. I think we’ll leave them in a public restroom taped under a tank while we tour the hive. Goblins almost never clean the bathrooms, so the ticks would be safe enough there until we need them again.”
    “Sounds good.”
    “I think we may also stop for some dinner.”
    Io grimaced. “You’d eat here?”
    “We have to kill some time while the crowds thin,” Jack reminded her. “And I know some places that are reasonably safe. No nasty bloodroot vegetables or truly questionable meat.”
    “If you say so,” Io replied, knowing she sounded dubious.
    “You know, I’m glad we had this moment together,” Jack said, his voice again turning light and teasing.
    “I really can’t say the same,” she answered, moving her shoulders gingerly.
    “No? But just think what we’ve learned about each other.”
    “Such as?”
    “I know that you don’t faint at the sight of