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Sharah nodded and put on a simple gas mask, then crept over to Camil e and pul ed her out of the area, dragging her to the bed, where I helped lift her onto the sheets. Sharah checked her over quickly.
"She seems okay. If she doesn't wake up by the time I'm done here, we'l take her back to the hospital." She headed over to the minibar. Gingerly, she peeked inside. "Magical trap, al right, timed to go off when the door opened." She touched it gingerly with gloved hands. "Hard to tel what this is for. I think we'd better take Camil e and go back to headquarters while I dissect this."
While she finished detaching the trap from where it had been connected to the cabinet, I scoured the rest of the room but found nothing. While waiting for her to finish, I ran down what we were doing here.
"I'm wondering--werewolves don't deal with magic much, so what the hel was Rice doing with a magical trap?"
Sharah nodded slowly. "You're right. Lycanthropes, above al Weres, detest magic and don't like being around it. If he's like a typical werewolf, her husband wouldn't use a magical trap unless he was forced. We'd better get this back to HQ and analyze it. And Camil e seems no closer to coming around. That concerns me." She flipped open her cel phone and quietly spoke into it for a moment. "Shamas wil be here in a moment with a stretcher."
For the first time since she'd passed out, I began to real y worry. "You think she'l come around, don't you?"
"I'm sure she'l be okay. We just have to find out what this crap is."
"Hel ." I sank on the bed next to Camil e and clasped one of her hands. She was cold--not death-cold, but cold. Silently, I gathered a blanket and spread it over her. After a moment, I looked up to find Sharah watching me.
"Chase told me you guys broke up last night. Are you okay?" She blushed. "I don't mean to pry, but he was so quiet this morning that I was worried."
Stung by the fact that she was the one getting to watch over him, I let out a short huff. "Yeah, I'm just dandy. I guess this is one of the perks of being a soldier on the front line. Life changes in an instant. And even when you save the day, you sometimes lose the battle. Save his life and lose him . . . don't save his life and lose him. Either way, I lose."
Sharah winced. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. He loves you, I know he does, but remember: His entire life has been thrown into a tailspin, and being mortal--"
"Not so mortal now, as he reminded me last night. Listen, I appreciate the pep talk, but right now it's the last thing I need. I accept that he can't handle a relationship, but I expect him to realize that he's not the only one affected by this. We saved his life. He was going to go through the transformation anyway.
Suddenly, he can't wait to get away from me."
She laid a gentle hand on my shoulder. "The last I'l say on the matter: It's not just you he can't wait to get away from. He's trying to get away from his own thoughts. Just remember when you were a child and felt like you didn't belong--"
I jumped up. "You leave my childhood out of this." Sharah might be Queen Asteria's niece, but that didn't give her the right to intrude on my sorrow. At her bewildered look, I stopped, aware of my misplaced anger. I wasn't mad at her. I was angry at the situation. "I'm so sorry, Sharah. I'm just a wreck right now. Where the fuck is Shamas?"
Blinking, she cleared her throat. "He'l be here in a moment. Um . . . can I ask what happened to your hair? I like it."
She meant it; that much I could tel . And she was trying to calm me down, which rankled, but I decided to take the high road: something I didn't always do. I forced a smile to my lips. "Thanks, it was a gift from a skunk. Indirectly."
"Wel , it's shocking, but I think it suits you."
Just then Shamas knocked on the door. The clerk was behind him, and I took him to the side and reassured him that everything would be fine while Sharah and Shamas loaded Camil e onto the stretcher. By the time we were ready to rumble, the clerk had offered me a free night, if I came in later. I had the feeling he was hoping to be included in that stay, so I politely declined.
We headed to the parking lot, where we lifted the stretcher into the medic unit. As I stared at the closing doors, it hit me that Camil e might real y be in trouble. A bubble of tears caught in my throat, and I swung into my Jeep and started the engine. If this was how the Samhain season was starting, I wasn't sure I wanted to see any more of it.
At the FH-CSI, of course I ran into Chase first thing. It couldn't happen any other way, with my luck. He stood beside me as Sharah wheeled Camil e into one of the examining rooms and put his arm around my shoulders. I wanted to lean into his embrace so badly it hurt, but I kept myself upright. No more relying on him, blood brother or not. It was time I stood on my own two feet.
"She'l be okay. Trust me," he whispered.
"Yeah. Wel , I don't know what you're offering for a guarantee, but I sure as hel hope you're right." I told him what happened.
"So Amber's been missing--"
"About twenty-four hours or so now. Luke is frantic, and things aren't looking good." I crossed my arms and stared at the doors that were closed on my sister. "If there was one magical trap, there were probably others that we didn't find. One could have knocked out Amber like it did Camil e."
Chase jotted down a few notes. "While it's not SOP to process a missing person report on a Supe for forty-eight hours, I'l have Shamas get on this today."
Tired and heart sore, I flashed him a soft smile. "Thanks. That's the best news I've had in ages." I sucked in a deep breath and stared at the door to Camil e's room, waiting for some news--any news.
"Come on, I'l buy you a glass of milk." Chase motioned toward the lunchroom.
I pressed my lips together and shook my head. "I want to wait here--"
"It could be awhile. Come on. Remember--we're . . . buddies?"
