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“He has a thing for the pros. I was headed home one night, and he’d parked on my street, getting it on in the back seat with a working girl. I may not know all the city rules but I’m pretty sure that was against the law on more than one level.”
Jude started to laugh, then groaned.
She shifted her gaze to the dock. The boat was still a ways off, but coming in fast. “Your crew is about half-a-minute away.”
“Good.”
She glanced at the dying vampire and realized that he’d moved. She lifted up, and saw that his hand, with a red glow in the center of his palm, was aimed in her direction. Oh, God, no!
Without thinking, she threw herself on top of Jude. At the same time, she felt a wave of heat flowing through her that seemed to come from deep within her own body, but had to have come from Jude. She tingled all over as the wave left her. She heard the vampire shout, but she didn’t feel any pain. Had his hand-blast struck her in a way that she couldn’t feel the damage?
She sat up, aware that she’d just caused Jude a mountain of pain by landing on him. He couldn’t seem to catch his breath, and he’d arched his neck. Maybe the vampire had hit his lower extremities with his blast.
She checked Jude, but his legs and boots were fine. So that was good. Glancing back at the vampire, she saw that he looked really strange now and writhed, flipping back and forth, moaning. She rose to her shaky feet and crossed to him. When she drew near, his eyes rolled in his head and his body fell still. Half his clothes were burned off and anywhere his skin showed, she saw ugly blisters. He wouldn’t be hurting anyone ever again, but what had caused the burns?
When she returned to Jude, his eyes were closed and his lips compressed.
She heard orders shouted from a small launch that had tied up at the pier. Four trolls leaped onto the dock and started running in her direction.
Trolls had no problem with sunlight and were perfect for rescue missions at dawn or at any time during the day. From the patrol craft, a second boat hit the water shortly after, then a third.
She leaned close to Jude. “Your troops have arrived.”
He nodded, just enough, but his eyes were still closed.
“I’m sorry I hurt you.”
At that, he turned toward her and squinted up at her. She could tell he wanted to ask her something, but suddenly, the trolls were there. They moved fast on their feet.
“Mastyr, we’re here to help.”
Jude grunted and tried to move, but she pressed on his shoulder with her hand. She knew he wouldn’t like showing weakness of any kind.
“Patience, Hercules,” she said, as the trolls got busy with a stretcher. “Even half-gods like you need time to heal when they’ve gotten a blast wound stretching all the way across the abdomen. And yes, I know how much you hate being laid out like this.”
“You got that right.” The words were followed with another pained hiss, but she kept her hand on his shoulder, offering resistance the second he tried to move.
“Just concentrate on healing and let these men do their work.”
When the lead officer drew close, Jude issued his orders through clenched teeth. He made it clear he was staying at the Gold Rush through the day and that he wanted the coast guard to remain on patrol near the access point until further notice. “Keep Longeness and his crew informed of your movements.” He winced as he spoke.
The commander, wearing a stern expression, responded tersely, “Yes, Mastyr.” He then turned on a sharp heel and issued orders about the disposal of the wraith-pair, afterward directing eight strong trolls to move Jude carefully onto the stretcher.
And it would take all eight. Trolls were shorter in stature than either the vampire or fae species and then, of course, Jude was … Jude.
He didn’t make a sound as they moved him, but blood oozed from his wound, and he’d closed his eyes again, his lips turning white from the pressure once more.
Finally situated on the stretcher, the trolls started moving him swiftly toward the bar. Hannah hurried to the front door and propped it open.
Jude had his arm over his eyes as the trolls carried him inside the building. She was shocked to see that the skin on his cheeks and arms had already started to blister.
So dawn was right on his heels.
As they set him on the floor, she hurried to lower the external steel shutters on the outside of the building. Once down, no light would reach the interior of the space, so that as soon as they were in place, Jude finally relaxed.
He’d started telling the trolls to just leave him there, but Hannah stepped in. “He’ll be better off in the bunkroom.”
The trolls waited for Jude to nod his acquiescence, then picked up the stretcher once more, moving swiftly toward the rooms at the alley end of the building. Seconds later, Jude lay prone on a broad lower bunk. All the bunks were reinforced with steel to bear the usual Guardsman weight and because the ceiling was open to the duct-work, she’d had the bunks built with a five foot head clearance on the lower bunk.
