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“My thoughts exactly,” said Ciaran. Groaning, he leaned back in his chair. “God, I feel awful. My throat is raw, and my chest hurts.”
“I feel your pain. Literally.” Khloé grimaced. “It’s been two weeks since I inhaled whatever gas Enoch produces, and I still feel like a bag of shit.”
Keenan frowned. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t see any reason to. My body had to tussle hard to fight the gas, so I’m not surprised I’m feeling the after effects of that.”
“What sort of after effects?” asked Raini.
“Nothing major,” said Khloé. “Sore throat. Achy chest. Tiredness. The occasional headache. I have a weird chill in my bones that I can’t explain, too.”
“Describe the gas for me,” said Knox. “Was it transparent? Did it have a scent? Was it like a hazy breeze?”
“No, none of that,” said Khloé. “It was a black, smoky sphere. He threw it at me. It tasted like rot and decay, and it burned like a bitch.” Her stomach sank when Levi swore and exchanged a grim look with his Prime. She looked from one male to the other and asked, “What? What’s wrong?”
“Yes, what is wrong?” demanded Keenan, his muscles suddenly rigid.
“That wasn’t a gas,” said Knox. “Not even close.”
Ciaran leaned forward in his seat. “Then what was it?”
Knox stroked his mate’s back, who’d turned to him, the image of anxiety. “The essence of death,” he said softly.
A boom of silence hit the room.
“No. No.” Jolene shook her head. “Nobody has the ability to conjure that. The ability doesn’t truly exist. It’s a myth.”
“No, it’s not,” said Levi. “It’s just so exceedingly rare that most believe it isn’t real.”
Knox nodded. “I had a childhood friend who could conjure it. I saw him throw an orb just like that at a cat. The animal died within minutes.”
“But I didn’t,” Khloé pointed out. “I fought it off. So did Ciaran.” By combining their powers, but that was something she’d keep to herself.
“You’re alive, but it’s possible that the orb did some damage to you,” said Knox.
Keenan cursed a blue streak, still stiff as a board. “What kind of damage are we talking about?”
“I don’t believe I’ve met anyone who survived such an attack, so I can’t say for sure,” said Knox. “There’s no way of knowing.”
“Maybe there is.” Jolene grabbed her cell phone from the table. “I’m going to call Vivian and have her take a look at you both.”
Keenan took Khloé’s hand. “Who’s Vivian?”
“An incantor within our lair who works as a nurse in a local hospital,” replied Khloé. “What makes her an excellent nurse is that she can see inside a person’s body.” So perhaps she could give them the answers they sought.
Khloé looked at her brother, who was staring into space. Raini was talking to him, but he didn’t appear to be listening.
It didn’t take long for Vivian to arrive. Jolene invited her to settle in the armchair and then told her about the whole death essence extravaganza.
Vivian studied Khloé closely. “Your cheeks are a little flushed. Do you feel hot, even with the chill in your bones?”
“Sometimes,” replied Khloé.
“Let’s take a closer look at you. After that, I’ll examine Ciaran.” Vivian knelt in front of her and weaved a pattern in the air with her hands. A light breeze built around them, and then Vivian stared hard at Khloé’s body.
A tense hush fell around the room as everyone watched and waited.
Vivian’s brow creased, and she jerked back a little. “What is that?”
Khloé tensed, her gut rolling. “What’s what?” But the incantor didn’t answer. “Tell me what you see.”
“Just a minute, honey,” said Vivian, her eyes roaming over every inch of Khloé.
A horrible tension built inside Khloé, and her inner demon went on high alert.
Tapping her foot, Jolene glared at the incantor. “Vivian, what do you see?”
Finally, the nurse sat back on her heels, her face a mask of concern. “I hate to say this, Khloé, but … it looks as if you didn’t drive all of the death essence out of your system, because tiny particles of it are floating around your bloodstream.”
Gasps and curses filled the room.
Khloé felt herself pale. “You’re sure?”
Vivian nodded, clearly distressed. “I can’t honestly say what the particles are doing to you, only that it isn’t good. I suppose it’s much like an infection. Or a virus. You’re feeling the symptoms of it. And given that you’ve been infected with death itself …”
Bile burned the back of Keenan’s throat, and he pressed his lips tight together. He heard what the nurse didn’t say. Khloé will probably die if she doesn’t get help.
His nostrils flared. This could not be fucking happening. It couldn’t.
For all his power, he could do nothing to protect the person who mattered most to him. He couldn’t kill Enoch permanently, and he couldn’t destroy the infection that would no doubt soon ravage her body if they didn’t find a way to stop it. Which they would. Keenan wouldn’t accept anything less.
