Chapter 13
They moved slowly along a dark passage that seemed aimlessly long to the point of endless, torch-shaped electric lights, mounted high onto the walls and spaced evenly to throw a spot of light every couple of meters, not exactly improving the mood.
"Pseudo medieval chic," Kenzi commented, pressing a hand to the wall. The surface felt solidly touchable but her tactile sense was not yet assured enough to tell her if the wall was genuine rough stone or expert modern imitation, "I am not impressed. And bored. This passage is a couple of miles too long for my taste and for my feet."
"Something more Egyptian-themed might be better suited," the wolf grumbled at her side, "And aren't you a bit fussy for an intrepid ghost in search of her best friend? Whatever, if my wolf eyes are still any good, you might start getting entertained in another dozen of meters ." And he pointed forward to where the passage was clearly widening into the beginnings of a hall.
"Really?! That's it?! The super gruesome evil realm?!" Kenzi scoffed looking around what seemed a poorly lit and dark-walled but generally unmenacing and ordinary hall, "No skulls and skeletons chained to the walls, no brocade-covered throne and cool mysterious hieroglyphs?"
The place obviously couldn't boast none of the above, the walls hung over with faded tapestry of unidentifiable pattern and most of the expanse taken by heaps of old fabric and scattered remains of something that might have been wooden furniture once with an undramatic –looking survivor of a big arm-chair thrown over onto its side at the further end of the hall.
Slightly disappointed, she sauntered forward while Dyson sniffed the air and looked around and his predator eyes caught something he didn't like.
"Kenzi!" he cried out and lunged forward after the recklessly sauntering girl but even his speed was not enough to beat that of an arrow released from a hidden crossbow. The sharpened projectile streaked through the air and went right through the little body, without as much as ripping her black top and Kenzi let out a triumphant war-cry. "Me and my ghostly greatness!" she declared turning round to face the wolf, "I am immune to this pathetic antiquated piece of metal!"
"Well, I am not," Dyson growled, opening his jacket to reveal a stain of blood spreading on the side of his shirt, and Kenzi's victorious tone descended to a yelp as she rushed to him.
"I am so sorry, D!" she tugged the shirt up, trying to assess the extent of the damage, pressed a hand to the wound, "How bad is it?"
"I'll live and the good thing is I can still feel your fingers, in this realm as well as in ours," the wolf was doing his level best to sound casual and unruffled by something so trivial as an arrow-wound, "The scratch is not fight-preventing, had tons of those before you were even born."
"Are you showing off to me, D-man? Like a fae to a human?" the girl peered keenly into his face, her tone light but her actual focus on determining how much pain or damage was beneath his bravado.
"Absolutely yes, like a man to a woman," Dyson blurted, distracted by the pain and the huge silver eyes drilling into him, and felt a blush creeping up his face despite the blood loss. He hurried to cover up his slip by getting practical and examined the gash in his side, "It's lateral, not really deep, just bloody. Help me stem the blood, rip a piece of my shirt and we'll be on our way, just try not to set off any more traps."
"I still haven't got a handle on when I am bodily and when I am not," the ghost complained, getting busy with the fabric, "An arrow can't hurt me but I can still set it flying."
"It might've been air-motion sensitive or sound sensitive or just more finely calibrated," the wolf said placatingly and winced when she pressed the wadded piece of material to the wound, "Just keep your eyes peeled and stick with me."
Kenzi nodded, examined her handiwork and was not satisfied with what she saw. "The blood is seeping through already and the dressing won't hold in place," she remarked sadly, "And if I rip any more off your shirt you'll be strutting around half-naked, which I personally find nothing to complain about, but we don't want you to catch a cold on top of that and I have to stay focused on things other than a mouth-watering piece of wolf. So… some Kenzi magic!"
She whirled on the spot, purely for dramatic effect, and casting a look down her own body was happy to see herself dressed in exactly the outfit she had in mind.
"Voila! A long white cotton top with plenty of fabric for wound-dressing and a wide black sash for keeping the dressing in place," she announced in her best sales-pitch voice as she ripped the suitably-sized piece off her new garment and unwound the sash from around her slim waist, "Hopefully it'll prove to be material enough for you."
"A much more useful skill of yours than I thought and seems like whatever is yours is as solid for me as you are," the wolf smiled crookedly as she reapplied the makeshift bandage and secured it by tying the sash around his ribs, "And if looks could cure I wouldn't need any aid beyond your glance."
Kenzi halted in her work and looked up with a weird, mischievous expression, "And that's the second time in as long as the past hour that I am thinking you're coming on to me in your clumsy wolfie way."
"Hey, and here was me thinking I was being charming," Dyson's expression fell mid-way between goofy and sultry, "Is it working, by the way?"
Kenzi was sorely tempted to reach up and show just how well it was working when she saw his blue eyes flash gold.
"I can hear her, I can hear Bo," the wolf's voice fell to a whisper as he pointed towards the upended arm-chair and a piece of tapestry on the wall behind it, "She's there, behind that cloth, there should be an opening in the wall, I can hear her talking to a man."
"Great, I've always loved your ears, there are so pointy and cute," the girl grinned passing fingers through the thick blonde curls just over said cute pointy part of the wolf's body and looked ready to roll as the wolf inhaled deeply through the nose bringing his other assets into play, "What are we waiting for then?"
"There's a bump in the road, Kenz, I think we're not alone," he warned, a growl low in his throat, just beneath the words.
"People coming to join the party?" she asked, hastily finishing attaching the dressing.
"Not exactly people, if the stench is anything to go by," Dyson's sensitive nose wrinkled in disgust as with a long arm he gently pushed the girl aside and tucked her behind his back. "Let's not test your invulnerability further, shall we?" he tossed over his shoulder, squaring off as the heaps of clothing strewn around the room started rising as if pulled up by a puppeteer's strings to shape up into human-like figures.