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I tried to kiss him back but the fever hit me again and I started to pass out. The next thing I knew, the world was spinning—another period of darkness and I woke up in a bed in the FH-CSI.
• • •
I had no idea of how long I’d been out, but as I tried to push myself to a sitting position, Camille stepped into view and shoved me back down again.
“Stop right there. No moving. How are you feeling?” She ran her hand over my cheek, and I saw the worry filling her eyes.
I assessed my condition. Burning, itching hand? Still throbbing but much better. Buzzing in ears? Faint and muted. Feeling like hell? Check—still that.
“I’m better,” I croaked out, my throat raspy. “Water?”
She nodded, holding a glass to me with a bendy-straw in it. As I sipped, the cool water raced down my throat, easing the harshness. After a few minutes, I could breathe better, and I leaned back against the pillow.
“What happened to me? I don’t remember anything after Smoky picked me up to bring me here.” I had a few vague images of someone grabbing my arm, and I thought I might have screamed at one point, but I had no other clue.
“You were phasing in and out, but you’ll be okay. Be prepared though. You’re going to hurt like hell for a while as you recover.” Camille looked around, motioning to someone outside my field of vision. A healer joined her, staring down at me with a soft smile. She was Fae, and I’d lay bets she was part Goldunsan, from Otherworld. Her nametag read “Aswala” and she radiated a warm, welcoming energy.
“I’m glad to see you’re awake.” She fluffed my pillows and adjusted the blanket over me. “Do you know what happened to you yet?”
I gave her a brief shake of the head. “No, I just woke up. I’m not even sure . . . where am I?” I was pretty sure I was in the medic unit of the FH-CSI.
“You know that bite on your hand? Well, we know what those creatures are now. And we now know that they have a necrotic enzyme, like a brown recluse spider only worse. It helps them digest the flesh they eat. If you hadn’t gotten your lovely self in here, you could have died. As it is, we are able to counter that type of toxin, and you’re on the mend. But I won’t kid you, the pain’s going to continue for quite a while, and you’ll have a scar on your hand.” Aswala took my pulse and checked my heartbeat. Seemingly satisfied, she jotted down her findings in my chart.
The thought of a scar didn’t scare me. Hell, both Menolly and Camille had more than their fair shares of scar tissue. It was my turn, apparently. “So what are they?”
“They are children of Jenny Greenteeth and the Dark Dugald. Apparently the pair had several litters and it appears that we have at least a small nest of them around here. They’re called dreglins, and they run in a pack.” Camille let out a disgusted sigh.
Jenny Greenteeth and the Dark Dugald were both flesh eaters, and both were frightening and powerful members of the Elder Fae. Singular, terrifyingly powerful Fae, the Elder Fae were older than even the great Fae Lords. That this particular pair had decided to get their groove on and breed was both a sickening and frightening thought.
Jenny Greenteeth was similar to a kelpie, and far more dangerous. The Dark Dugald was the leader of the barguests—the Black Angus dogs, which were a lot like hellhounds. And according to what we knew, the Dark Dugald was a hellion and considered worse than a number of demons.
“Lovely. So now we have to track them down and get rid of them. We can’t let them just camp out and prey on anybody wandering by, and if they are flesh eaters, you know they won’t limit themselves to Supes. They’ll go after FBHs, if they haven’t already.” I wanted to get up and chase after them, but when I tried, both Camille and Aswala pushed me down again.
“You aren’t going anywhere for another hour or two, until we make sure you’re stable. You seem to be responding well to the antivenin treatment, and the healing magic. If you are feeling better in a few hours, then we’ll let you go home, but you have to go right to bed when you get there. No running around till tomorrow afternoon, and absolutely no fighting for a day or two. If you can’t promise, we won’t let you out.”
I restrained a snort. “Sure, no problem.”
Aswala leaned down to whisper in my ear. “We’re going to make sure your sister and friends know about this so they can haul your ass back in here if you break your promise. Got it?”
Startled by her take-no-prisoners attitude, I stammered a “yes” as she gave me another shot of something and took Camille off to the side. I had the feeling Camille was getting an earful of Aswala’s orders.
After she finished, I motioned to Camille. “What about Iris?”
“She was still in labor when we left. She probably has a while to go before the babies are born. I imagine we’ll be home before then.”
“Where’s Shade?” I looked around, wanting my fiancé. My lover anchored me. Over the months I’d learned a lot about strength and self-acceptance from him.
“Remember? He stayed home to hunt down Bruce, who apparently wasn’t around when Iris went into labor, and I gather it took longer than he expected. Bruce is never going to live that one down.” Camille let out a laugh. “Smoky will be back to get us the moment he gets my call.”
A few other memories began to phase back in that had been lost in the sudden onslaught of fever. I shot straight up. “Menolly! The Wayfarer!”
Camille hung her head. “She called half an hour ago. I won’t lie—it’s bad. They extinguished most of the flames, but the place is still smoldering. We won’t know till morning how badly the bar was damaged, but it’s not good. Menolly didn’t have much to say. She’ll be here soon, though. Chrysandra’s fighting for her life, and so are several others—customers who were caught in the flames. We may never know how many vampires died—they would have been dusted by the flames if they were caught.”
This time, I laid back down without being shoved. Chrysandra had been with the Wayfarer for years. She was there when Menolly took over and had helped her during the transition. She was easily the best waitress at the bar and she and Menolly had become friends.
“You don’t think . . .” I didn’t want to verbalize what was going on in my mind and I hoped Camille would understand what I was asking without me having to spell it out.
Her thoughts must have been running in the same direction because she sucked in a deep breath. “I know what you’re thinking. I hope to hell Menolly doesn’t decide to sire her.”
