Static Reflections: Book 1 of The Mortal Guard Series

Chapter 23 - Tyler: Cold to the Touch

Chapter 23 - Tyler: "Cold to the Touch"

Boris was screaming, the car was swerving off the road, now bumping into the tall grass. Tyler was cursing and trying to control the vehicle. He slammed his foot on the break as he whipped around in the seat.

"What the fuck, Boris?!" the canine shouted. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Boris hugged himself, panting. "Fuck!"

"Don't do that when someone is driving! We could have died! Then what the fuck would this be for?! Huh?!"

The otter shook his head. "Tyler, will you please lower your voice?! I'm not screaming for no reason!"

"Then what the fuck were you screaming for?!"

"I . . ." The words wouldn't come out of his mouth. "I was . . ."

Tyler stared at him while he awaited the answer.

Boris sighed. "I can't tell you."

"Of fucking course." He rolled his eyes. "And where the hell did your injuries go? I was literally on the way to the hospital."

Boris sat up, looking down at himself but unable to really see in the dark. "I don't feel injured. Absalom healed me." But why would he want to keep King a secret?

The German shepherd looked forward. "Get up here, then. I don't want to have to look back there every time I talk to you."

Boris opened the side door and got out, walking around to the passenger seat and getting in. "That's better. It feels rather nice to not be driving, for once."

"What the hell happened back there?" the dog asked, shifting the car out of park and driving off the grass, back toward the road. "There were . . . three animals . . ."

How could Boris forget the most intense few minutes of his life? "Oh . . . I got to the place with Amaranthe and he ended up having two captive animals which he let animals pay him to do anything to. And I mean anything."

"So you murdered them?"

"No! Of course not! I failed to save them. In fact, I was losing the entire fight and would have died had Absalom not handed me the Blade of the Mirror from the reflection of Amaranthe's eye. I don't understand why Absalom chose such a weak body as his vessel."

Tyler got the car back onto the asphalt and the ride became a lot smoother. "W-wait . . . losing? I thought Absalom wouldn't let you get hurt."

"Apparently not. I need to learn to fend for myself," Boris explained. "He said it costs less of his power that way."

"Power? What? Is he a fucking machine?" Tyler frowned.

"I don't know how it works," Boris told him. "But . . . I saw what you did." He opened the glove compartment and pulled out the gun, observing it.

Tyler flinched. "Wh-what the?! But you were out cold."

"Absalom showed me."

The dog looked like he felt sick. "Guess I better not do anything behind your back . . . ."

"You wouldn't anyway, right?" Boris looked at him, putting the gun back.

"Not when I know you can pull a blade out of my eye," Tyler shuddered.

Boris looked forward at the eerie illuminated road ahead. "I apologize, by the way."

"For?"

"Having to do what you did while I was out. Crawl on that mess and clean up and call the police."