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Morio scrambled over to check. "Yeah, he's dead. Very much."
"What's going on?" Menolly drifted into the room, looking haggard. "I was almost asleep when I heard a ruckus—well, I see we have a visitor."
I crawled over to Trillian's side. The skinwalker had left a bruise around my neck that I could feel growing darker, and I was pretty sure that both Morio and Delilah were covered with bruises too. As Menolly tended to Delilah, Morio knelt next to me.
"Is he—?" Morio's eyes asked the question his lips would not.
I leaned over my dark beloved, listening for breath. There—faint, but definite. "He's breathing, but he's badly injured. He needs help, now. Delilah! Call Chase, tell him to send an OIA medical team over here, stat. It's an emergency." Forcing myself to remain calm, I took Trillian's hand in mine and held tight. "What did the skinwalker do to him?"
Morio shook his head grimly. "I think he hit him with those claws. Skinwalkers are filled with venom. If they bite or scratch someone, there's a good chance they'll poison them." He searched Trillian's other arm. "Here it is—a long gash. Not much blood, but see how it oozes?"
The wound was shallow but covered with a thin layer of bubbling pus. My stomach lurched as I watched it fester up and trickle across Trillian's beautiful skin.
"Will he die?" I whispered. "Svartans have a natural immunity to so many things. The skinwalker's venom must be terribly potent."
"It is. Think komodo dragon on two legs. Trillian has a chance if help reaches him in time. He can't stay here, though. He'll need care that isn't available Earthside."
Frowning, I nodded. I didn't like the thought, but if he was to survive, he was going to need stronger magic than they could work here.
"You're right, of course. He has to return to Otherworld." And then a faint odor caught my attention. I turned back to the skinwalker and leaned close, still nervous, even though I knew it was dead. "Demon scent. This thing isn't a demon itself, but it's crossed paths with one. I didn't get close enough downtown to smell it, but… Menolly, can you identify the type?"
Menolly knelt by the creature and sniffed, a disgusted look on her face. "Demon, yes. A lesser one. My guess is that Bad Ass Luke had a hand in this. He's probably paying the dregs around Belles-Faire to keep an eye on us. And to come after us. Which means he knows we're OIA."
I glanced outside. Dawn was breaking in the east, and I could see the glimmer of sunlight on the horizon. Though clouds were coming in, we wouldn't see rain for a few hours. "First light! Menolly, you have to get downstairs. Go, and make sure you barricade the doorway."
She stroked my face. "I wish I could help you today, but I can't. Be careful, all of you. I'll see you tonight."
As she disappeared into the kitchen, Delilah sat next to me as I clutched Trillian's hand. I might be making a huge mistake by getting involved with him again, but damned if I'd give him up to his ancestors without a fight.
"I called Iris," she said. "She'll watch the house and Maggie while we're gone today. The shop can stay closed for once."
I nodded, unable to speak. Morio slid down on my other side and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. Wearily, I leaned my head against his chest. As we sat there, watching Trillian's breath grow frail, the sound of sirens echoed in the distance. Help was on the way, but would they be too late to save him?
Chase came rushing in, an OIA emergency team behind him in a scene that was beginning to look all too familiar.
I forced myself to move so they could examine Trillian. One of the medics, a youngish elf whom I recognized as being Sharah, a niece in the elfin high court, patted me on the arm. If she felt any distaste over treating a Svartan, she kept it well hidden.
Morio and I told them what happened. One of the medics looked over the skinwalker, while the others concentrated on Trillian. I stood back, watching with a muted sense of horror as they stripped off his robes and jabbed his arm with a syringe full of a shimmering blue liquid. The elixir would keep his heart going while his body fought against the neurotoxin.
As I glanced over at Chase, I saw that his arm was around Delilah's waist. Neither one noticed me looking at them, and I suddenly felt very much alone. If only Menolly could have stayed up longer. Just then, Morio edged in next to me, and I reached for his hand as we watched the frantic scurry to save Trillian's life.
Finally, one of the techs sat back and wiped his forehead with a cloth. "He's stable enough to transport, but we have to get him back to OW immediately. If we don't, his condition will deteriorate, and he'll die. He received a lethal dose of the skinwalker's poison. If he wasn't so strong, he'd already be dead." The medic glanced at the rest of us. "Did anybody else get cut? Even a minor scratch?"
Morio shook his head. "I got bruised up, but no cuts. Not that I know of. Camille? Delilah? You were both attacked. Are you all right?"
Dazed, I glanced down at my body. My neck was tender, but I had no idea whether I'd received any gashes from the skinwalker.
"I don't know," I said.
"Come on." Delilah broke away from Chase and held out her hand. "Let's go in the other room and we can check each other for cuts."
I gave one more look at Trillian, whose eyes were closed in deep slumber, before letting her lead me away.
In the bathroom we stripped and looked each other over carefully. A few scratches on my shoulder, but those were from Delilah in kitten form and were almost healed. No new gashes, cuts, or anything that looked like an abrasion. I slid back into my nightgown, which was now shredded, and slumped on the edge of the tub as Delilah pulled on her pajamas.
She sat down next to me and took my hand. "They'll save him. He'll be okay once he gets back to Otherworld."
"If they treat him right when he gets there. Svartans aren't looked on highly, you know." I stared at the floor bleakly.
