Tearing my gaze away from Danny, I draw closer to Harrisford’s chair. I can see he’s breathing—deeply, evenly, despite the restraints around his torso—and his head is flopping down, his chin resting on his chest.
I’m close enough now that I can reach out to him. Cupping his chin, I raise his head. His eyes are closed, his face slack-jawed, and when I raise his left eyelid, the blue eye is blank. “You anesthetized him?” Involuntarily, my thumb sweeps across his jaw, stroking it.
“Of course I did,” Danny says irritably. “We surgeons aren’t as evil as you think, Chan.”
Danny’s always been a cutter more than a medic. Apparently, he’s hoping to specialize in dragon surgery.
“You’re as thick as a typical surgeon, though,” I snap. “Why have you not secured his airway? Don’t you know how obstructive his head position is?”
The cocky expression on Danny’s face falters, and he looks awayand mumbles, “He’s fine. I’ve been monitoring his breathing, all right?”
I glare at Danny, incensed at his stupidity. But then again—I have to remember that Danny is Harrisford’s friend. I still don’t fully understand what’s happening, but it seems that he’s actually trying to help. “Well, go on, then. I’ll protect his airway while you finish off.”
Danny scrutinizes me for a moment, as though he’s wondering if it’s a trap. He must finally decide that it isn’t, because he moves closer, still wary.
“Are you still sterile?” I say, gesturing to Danny’s gloves with my eyes. “You haven’t touched anything?”
“No, ma’am.” I stiffen at the condescending nature of his tone but don’t say anything.
Heli, looking very solemn, peels open a fresh pair of forceps for Danny. With both of my hands, I cradle Harrisford’s chin while Danny resumes digging around in the incision. Harrisford’s face is pale, his long eyelashes fanned out on his upper cheeks, and I’ve never noticed this before…but there’s a faint dusting of freckles across the bridge of his nose.
He looks young, so young, and my heart clenches at the thought of him as a boy, on the operating table, being surgically implanted with something he was too little to understand.
I’m so focused on Harrisford’s face that I don’t notice at first. Nor does Danny, who has an intense look of concentration as he fishes around in Harrisford’s flesh for the Source. It’s Conall who speaks, from the corner where he’s still clutching Nathaniel’s black box.
“What’s that noise?”
I look up and around at our surroundings. It’s quiet at first, but getting louder—a deep rumbling that’s vibrating the mist. Danny raises his eyes, leveling a look at me. Beads of sweat are springing out on his forehead and running down under his mask. “It’s theportal. It’s starting to collapse. It happens when things get too unstable.”
The portal is about to collapse? My heart gives a lurch. “And what—that’ll trap us?”
Danny nods, using an elbow to wipe his forehead. “Yeah, until someone on the other side opens up another one. And even then, we’d need to be in the right place at the right time. The Void is a funny place…”
Panic tears through my chest. “Well, hurry up, then!”
He starts working faster, his fingers moving beneath Harrisford’s skin. I swallow, trying to tamp down the nausea that’s washing right through me. I’ve seen plenty of surgeries, of course, but it’s different when it’s someone you care about.
Because I do care about Harrisford. It may be stupid, and reckless, and for sure I’ll get my heart broken…But I can’t help it. The past few weeks have changed my opinion of him forever.
“I can’t find it.” Danny’s still looking for that goddamned Source. “I’ll have to extend the incision. It was implanted so long ago—I think it’s migrated.”
Shit.I guess it happens with microchips too. Generally, we implant them between an animal’s shoulder blades, but movement and time can shift them elsewhere. Sometimes we find them slipped down one leg; Conall once scanned one that had lodged itself just below a dog’s left ear. “Do it, then,” I hiss. “Quickly!”
The rumbling gets louder. Danny sweats harder. He’s muttering obscenities beneath his breath. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he says. “I don’t understand why the portal’s collapsing so quickly. We normally have more time than this.”
I look at Conall in desperation. Conall’s the smart one here, the one who understands the most about Void engineering. “Why would it be collapsing?”
Conall’s mouth twists. “Not sure, Gwen. Could it be…because we brought a tether in here? When there was one in here already?”
My stomach drops.Percy.I brought Percy in, when Harrisford was already in here.
Danny splutters. “You brought atether? A tether with a secondSource? There’s only meant to be one on either side of the portal, Chan. Bringing a second one in will—”
Conall has gone deathly pale. “Short-circuit things. And it’s too late to reverse it. We have to hurry!”
I hold my breath, my heart thrashing in my chest. I’m shaking; a wave of dread expands in my body, permeating every inch of my flesh. “Hold on, Briggs,” I whisper to him. My hands are clasping both sides of his face. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”
Finally, Danny pulls out and gives a frustrated growl. “Fuck! I can’t find it! We’ll have to get him out and continue looking for it later.” With quick movements, Danny performs a healing spell.
