Fox Of Greed (Greedy Fox Book 1)

~~ FIFTY TWO ~~

He unstrapped all his armour from his top half, then removed the red tunic he wore underneath. I couldn't help the direction that my eye's travelled as his muscles flexed, the tattoos and scars glowing even in dim light.

He caught my eye. "I want to make a joke but I'm afraid you'll hit me."

"You thought right. Now what?"

"Now, you try not to faint," he said, taking off his gauntlets. He muttered something under his breath and touched each finger on his right hand. Sparks flew. His fingers were now tipped with razor sharp claws and he admired his handiwork. "It'll be fine, just watch. Whatever you do though... don't scream."

"Why would I scream?" I questioned with an eye-roll. He lined his hand up beneath his sternum. "Hey, what-"

He pushed his hand right through his chest. I didn't even have the courage to scream as he winced, muscles flexing in his arm. He dug deeper then began pulling out. I took an involuntary step back from the pulsating heart steaming in his blood-soaked hand, utterly speechless.

My breakfast rose and went back down more times than I cared to admit.

He hissed and covered the opened wound with his other hand. Blue light spluttered on the skin and died out. Calmly, he said, "It seems I don't have enough Mana to heal a wound of this severity. I need your help cauterising it." Black blood began oozing through his fingers and he sagged, careful to keep the hand with the heart away from the ground.

My eyes bulged and I rushed to his side, helping him slide to the ground. "You said you'd be fine!"

"Sometimes I overestimate my abilities." His joke fell flat. "I need you to use Enflame."

"That is a destructive move, not a healing one," I stressed, placing my hand over his and the wound. Concern lanced through me at his pain and our eyes connected. The softness there reminded me of my true feelings. "Unless you're asking for a death sentence, I can't use Enflame like that," I said, voice hard.

"Just don't punch a hole through me and we'll be golden." He laughed, which turned to a cough. "Your hand will have to be inside me before you do that though. If you can cauterise the arteries that had joined to the heart, I should be able to heal the rest with my own strength."

I swallowed back my bile and removed his hand. Black blood gushed out and I hesitated to put my hand in the mess. I put his hand back. "Okay, okay, just give me a minute to think. I've never had to concentrate Enflame this way before."

"I don't have much Mana left to hold the blood still, Estra, so you have to do it now."

When I woke up this morning, this was not what I had in mind for today's activities. "Hey, you can do this," he reassured me.

I took a steadying breath and nodded. He removed his hand and I pressed my hand into the hole. It was warm and squishy between my fingers.

I wrenched my hand back fast, scuttled backwards and emptied the contents of my stomach into the corner of the shop. I wiped my lips with a hand only to realise I'd smeared his blood over my lips. Watery bile came up, nothing left to purge out, the bitter tang burning my throat.

"Estra, I don't want to rush you," he said, followed by a groan.

I squeezed my eyes shut. I could do this, there was nothing to it. I'd seen worse and put my nose in worse when I'd been a fox. "Coming." I cleaned my hands on an apron hanging near my head. My stomach flipped as I knelt in front of him again, my hand shaking uncontrollably and generating small sparks.

"Please remember to keep the flame small."

A nervous laugh bubbled out of my throat. Easy peasy, make the flames small. If only I'd done more focusing and controlling of my powers when I trained with Ban. My hand slid in easily, the muscle and skin sucking my hand in. I went slowly, watching him carefully.