What he did want to do was panic the hell out, but he wasnt going to let himself. Someone needed to stay calm, and bottom line, he was the only option.
R-Riley?
Brutal honesty, no more lies. Its bad. Real bad.
Kn-knew it. D-dying?
No! he shouted, then more quietly added, No. I wont let you. He pressed his fingers into her carotid and counted the beats that jumped up to meet him. One hundred and sixty-eight a minute. God. The speed at which her heart hammered was a testament to how much blood she had lost. If she reached one hundred and eighty thumps a minute, thered be no saving her.
He had to act fast. Ive got to leave you here for a minute, okay? I have to get a few supplies so I can remove the arrow.
Thatd make her bleed even more, but he couldnt patch her up with it there.
Okay. Her eyelashes fluttered, as if she were trying to focus on him but couldnt quite manage it. He needed to go, now, now, now, but if he released her, she would fall on her face or on her back, and both options would do more damage to her already fragile body.
Moving like he was on a racetrack being timed, he propped pillows in front and behind her, holding her in that position all the while, and tucked the blanket around her legs to keep her warm. Then he washed the blood off himself and zipped out the door, stealing money from the front desk, then zooming to the convenience store across the street to gather up gauze, disinfectant and anything else he could find that he might need.
Yeah, his shorts got a few looks. When he had what he needed, he just sort of threw the money on the counter and left.
Mary Ann hadnt moved. Her eyes were closed, her entire body shaking violently. Not a good sign. He counted her pulse again. One hundred and seventy-three beats a minute.
He was trembling as he uncapped the half-gone vodka, held Mary Anns mouth open and poured the contents inside. He worked her throat with his free hand, ensuring she swallowed as much as possible.
She didnt choke, didnt protest, hell, didnt notice anything was being done to her. Good for her, since he was about to hurt her worse than shed ever been hurt, but a bad sign. A really bad sign.
You will not die on me, he told her. Understand? He splashed a bit of the alcohol over the wound. Then, still trembling, he gripped the front end, breathed in and out, trying to stop his trembling, and snapped the wood in two, removing the tip.
He threw the piece on the floor, lifted Mary Ann into the light of the lamp, and studied what remained. The shaft had gone all the way through, so the wood was peeking out both sides of her. Okay. Good. The damage had already been done. The danger now was leaving shards inside her when he pushed the rest of the arrow out. Which he had to do quickly, smoothly.
Like that was possible when he looked like he had advanced Parkinsons. Riley claimed the bottle of vodka and downed the rest in three gulps. The liquid burned a path along his throat, scalded his stomach, then blistered through his veins. Hed had to do this kind of triage before. To himself, to his brothers and to his friends. Why was he breaking down now?
He pressed his fingers into Mary Anns pulse. One hundred and seventy-five.
A string of curses left him, but at least the alcohol kept him from vomiting. He moved behind her. In the mirror across the way, he could see that her eyes were still closed, her expression still too smooth for what was happening. Another breath in, out. You can do this. Dont hesitate. Just act.
He raised his arm. Lowered his arm. Come on!
Raised. Lowered. He wanted to grab the end of the shaft and jerk, that would have been easier, or should have been, but the wood was slippery from her blood and hed never be able to maintain his grip long enough. So, he had to punch one end to shoot the other end out the other side. The thought of punching her, however
You would rather she die? You would rather puss out than do everything you can?
With a roar, Riley balled his fist and did it. He punched the broken end with all his might. He made contact with the wood, then Mary Anns flesh, pushing the arrow the rest of the way through her body, and out the wound in her front. She barely twitched.
Okay. Done, the worst was done. Time for the easy stuff.
So why did he feel faint? The shaking only got worse as he cleaned and bandaged her, and when he finished, he was the one covered in blood. Again. And this was fresh. Meaning, shed lost more than another spurt or two.
She needed a transfusion and fast. Only reason she was still alive was because shed fed from a witch on the way here. That wouldnt save her much longer, though. She was wheezing. The death rattle, some called it.
Riley scrubbed a hand down his face. What should he do? Carrying her to a hospital would kill her, no question. She wouldnt survive the jostling. Being picked up by an ambulance might actually save herif they got here at the speed of light.
What a nightmare. Now he panicked. He paced through the room, his gaze constantly straying to the phone. If he called 911, they would pick her up, but they would also hunt down her father. Dr. Gray would take her home, where any number of enemies could be waiting for her, ready to strike while she was too weak to defend herself.
Course, you had to be alive to defend yourself, and that beat the hell out of dead.
He was decided, then.
Riley called 911, told them about the emergencyinjured girl, blood loss, locationleaving out names, and then eased next to Mary Ann.
Dont tell them your name, he said, hoping, somehow, that she heard him. Whatever you do, dont tell them your name.
No response. Worse, she no longer had an aura. She was colorless.
She needed to feed again, or she wouldnt make it, no matter how quickly the first responders got here. There wasnt time to find her another witch, her preference, but there was a solution: she could feed off him.
Not allowing himself to think about his actions, or the consequences, Riley reached around her and flattened his hands on her chest, just over her now too-faint heartbeat. Hed never done anything like this, so he wasnt sure itd work, but he was giving it a go anyway. Maybe, as stressed as her body was, she would simply feed automatically.
Closing his eyes, he imagined the essence of his wolf-self. Deep inside, embedded in the marrow of his bones. Saw the tiny sparks of golden light that swirled there, pushed at the sparks, pushed, pushed, forcing them out of his body, through his pores and willing them inside of Mary Ann.
Her entire body jolted, and she gasped. A moment later, she sagged against the mattress, her breathing, dare he think it, evening out. Determination renewed, he continued to push, until he was sweating, panting, his own pulse rate rising. Until his muscles were knotted painfully, perhaps permanently. Until his chest felt like ground-up hamburger meat with tacks mixed in. He was raw, stinging.
How much time had passed, he wondered as he, too, sagged into the mattress. He didnt have the strength to look around at the nightstand clock. Nor did he have the strength to switch into his wolf form, something hed wanted to do before the emergency crew rushed inside the room.
Which they were currently doing.
The door had crashed open, but he hadnt heard it. Couldnt hear anything, he realized. Three human men were looming over the bed, two of them looking over Mary Ann, forcing her eyelids apart, shining bright lights into her corneas, attaching some kind of medical pads to her chest. The other human did the same to Riley. Was talking to him, maybe asking him questions, but Riley couldnt make out the words.
The world around him was hazing over, as if a morning fog had rolled in. Then he was being lifted, settled against something cold and semisoft. A gurney, maybe. He turned his head to ensure Mary Ann was being placed on a gurney, too, but the fog had thickened, and he saw only a stretch of endless white.
Something sharp in his arm, something warm in his vein. No, not warm, burning, whooshing through him. A moment later, his eyelids were too heavy to hold open. Darkness came. He fought it, needing to know Mary Ann was okay, that they werent being separated. Another sting, another burn. Still he fought.
The darkness intensified. Stronger and stronger, until Riley was completely consumed. Until he couldnt move, could barely breathe. Until he forgot why hed been fighting in the first place.
IN A STOLEN CAR, Tucker followed behind the ambulance. Both Mary Ann and the wolf were inside. Hed watched the paramedics wheel them in. Both had been hooked to IVs already, the humans working frantically to save them. Which meant theyd still been alive. Surprising. Hed heard the grim expectation in their voices, and knew they thought theyd lose both kids before they reached the hospital.
Maybe they would, maybe they wouldnt. Riley and Mary Ann had held on this long. Why not longer?
Either way, the pair had to die. Just like the witches.
The witches. Dont think about that, he shouted to himself. Hed just relive the screams, the sobs, the pleas and then the fading groans. The footsteps as a few escaped him. The ensuing chase. Failure. Vlads insistence that he let the escapees go and find the wolf and drainer instead. Apparently, offing the pair was more important than offing the witches, who would be desperate to avenge their fallen friends.
Something Tucker would be punished for later. Brutally.
All too soon he realized Riley and Mary Ann were headed to St. Marys, the hospital where Mary Ann had been born. The hospital where Aden had been born. The hospital where Mary Anns mother had died.
Upon arrival, Riley and Mary Ann were quickly wheeled inside. Theyd made it, survived the trek. Tucker exited his vehicle and stood outside, the bitter wind blowing around him. No one noticed him. Not even the cameras monitoring the area could pick up his image.
What do you want me to do? he asked Vlad, knowing the vampire would hear.
A guy in scrubs, who had been in the process of passing him, stopped and frowned, looking around. As Tucker was currently casting an illusion, the human saw only the emergency parking lot, the people walking through it and the cars ambling in and out of it.
Theyre weak. Now is the perfect time to strike, Vlad replied.
Muttering under his breath, Scrubs moved on.
You want me to Tucker gulped. He couldnt say the words. Even after everything hed done, he still couldnt say the words. Not Mary Ann, his human side screamed. Please not Mary Ann. Not again.
Kill them, yes. Both of them. And dont disappoint me this time, Tucker.
I wont, he said, thinking, one day Ill kill you.
Oh, and did I forget to tell you what your punishment will be if you fail me this time? No? A cruel, cruel laugh. Well, allow me to do so now. I will find your brother. I will drain your brother. After I play with him a bit. No. No! This was not happening. They werent doing this.
Are we clear?
His kid brother, one of the only people he truly loved. In danger. Because of him. No, he thought again, teeth grinding, but he said, Yes, were clear, and got to work.
NINETEEN
WAKE UP. ADEN, YOU have to wake up.
Aden latched onto the voice as if it were a lifeline. And it was. Hed been trapped in an ocean of nothing, no sound, no colors, no sensations, with no way out. He pulled himself up a mountain, found that the line dangled over a cliff, and let himself drop, ending up in a river of ice.
Aden. His entire body shook. Wake. Up.
His eyelids popped open. He saw that Victoria loomed over him, black hair falling over her shoulder and tickling his bare chest. Concern painted twin circles of pink on her cheeks, and a clammy sheen glazed her brow.
Whats wrong? he croaked. He sat up, his entire body instantly throwing out I-hate-you vibes. His muscles were tangled around bone, and his skin stretched too tight, a rubber band ready to snap. His mouth was dry as a desert, and his stomachhis stomach was the worst offender. Distorted, grumbling, shrunken and probably in the process of eating itself.
You worried me, she said, straightening. She stuffed one of her hands into her pocket and played with something that crinkled. A wrapper of some sort, he would guess. I was about to start pouring blood down your throat.
Hmmblood
He licked his lips, trying to recall his last waking moments. Hed stepped into the ballroom, a party in full swing around him. His gaze had swept the attendees, and hed somehow looked through a darkened glass wall and found Victoria. A new vampire ability, he supposed. How many more would he inherit?
Theyd left the ballroom together and come up here to talk. Hed sat on the edge of the bed, andhe didnt remember anything else. He must have fallen asleep.
What a wuss.
Hed meant to tell her about the dancing woman and the vision hed had. The one of little Victoria and her whipping. Of her mother, the cause of that whipping. Maybe his impromptu snooze fest was a blessing, though. The news would have distressed her, and right now she didnt appear capable of shouldering another burden. She appearedfragile, easily breakable.
What time is it? He inhaled andmistake! Every thought in his head derailed. His sinuses clung to that tantalizing whiff of her, shooting sparks of gotta-have-that through his entire body. Moisture finally flooded his mouth, destroying the desert as if it had never been. His gums ached, their favorite thing to do, it seemed.
Are you all right? she asked.
Fine, he croaked. Im fine.
As Riley says, Ill pretend I believe that. And to answer your question, its dawn.
He shook his head to clear the cobwebs, but they proved thick and stubborn. Still?
The next dawn.
Okay, then. That made more sense.
You entered a healing sleep, she explained.
Healing sleep. Hed never heard the term before, but just as hed known the names of his vampires, he knew the meaning. A comalike state of total sensory deprivation, where vampire and beast merged into a single being. Blood cell count rose to extraordinary levels, speeding the curative process.