The Pulptress Versus The Bone Queen: Blood and Bone by Andrea Judy Page B

Jackson walked close at his heels and I followed in the back.
    These halls were cleaner and sturdier than the ones we’d just left, lined with stone, and braced to hold steady. The work looked more recent than the interior of the church. I could see dozens and dozens of footprints embedded in the clay leading back toward the church.
    "So who was she to you?" Jackson asked.
    "Who?" Aramis responded.
    "This Bone Queen. You knew her."
    He sighed. "I thought I did," he said. "I was young, and she… well she was the most beautiful, dangerous, incredible woman I’d ever seen." He shook his head. "She was passionate about death, devoted to her god, willing to die for it, but she lost her way. And I...well, I didn't step in to try to help her until it was too late."
    "Is that why you keep it in your chest?" Jackson asked.
    He sighed again. "I keep it there because it's safer that way."
    "Wouldn't it be safest in a desert or at the bottom of the ocean?" Jackson countered.
    "I kept it because I want to stop this, to stop her. She was never supposed to be like this, and, it's too late, but I want to free her," he said.
    "How very noble of you," I commented. "We're getting closer now, right? Look at how much it's glowing." I pointed to the necklace.
    "She keeps her quarters up here," Aramis nodded.
    "She took you to her room?" I asked.
    Aramis shook his head. "No, but I know her. She would keep her room at the heart of her work. She'll be rising by now, and she'll know we're coming."
    "Good. Then we won't have to worry about introductions," I said.

Chapter 11
    Jackson swallowed again, wringing her hands together as we stepped into another section of hallway with a door at the end of it.
    I crept down the hallway, one hand on my pistol. Blood dripped down my leg from the dog’s claw marks, the gashes pulling open at some point in the last few fights. I tried to ignore the pain and not limp. There wasn't time to stop and tend to something that wasn’t life threatening, not with the Bone Queen so close.
    "You're bleeding again." Jackson touched my shoulder.
    I jerked and nearly elbowed her, but just barely caught myself. "It's nothing," I insisted.
    "With all these dead bodies and dirt around it is a big deal,” Jackson said. “Do you know what kind of bacteria or infection could get into an open wound like that? Sit down," she ordered.
    Aramis shifted on his feet, glancing toward the door. "I don't think-"
    "Another minute isn't going to change anything," Jackson snapped. "And I'd rather have someone not bleeding through a fight. We need everyone at their best, right? Who know what she might throw at us so we'd best be prepared." Jackson nodded to herself.
    I grunted in pain when Jackson exposed the wound. She tsked at the blood-soaked jacket and began carefully removing it. She pulled a few things from her bag. I watched her set out a few strips of gauze, some type of ointment, and some alcohol.
    I started to protest. "I don't need-"
    "You're gonna let me take care of this." Jackson glared.
    I opened my mouth to tell her to knock it off, but then she poured some alcohol onto a rag and began slowly cleaning the wound. My protests were swallowed up as the alcohol hissed and bubbled against my skin. Pulling on a pair of gloves, she carefully began to apply the ointment over the wound, frowning at the deepness of it, and mumbling under her breath. She wrapped gauze all around my leg, tying it around me firmly, then taping it in place. She tested the tightness and nodded. "I think that's the best I can do out here, but once we get out of here you really ought to go the hospital. I think you might need stitches or staples or something. That wound is-"
    "Thanks, Jackson." I cautiously tested the mobility of my leg. While the wound stung and hurt, it no longer burned through my body and took over all my other senses. I nodded at her. "That'll be fine till we finish here, then I'll head to a hospital, deal?" I asked.
    Jackson sighed heavily