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The man stepped inside his neighbor’s trailer.
“Nox.” Luca rushed over. “Nox, wake up.”
“Luca.” Nox’s once powerful voice had degraded to the crunch of dried leaves.
“I’m here. Right here.” Luca picked up Nox’s hand.
A transparent line tangled in his fingers. Luca followed it to an IV bag hanging from one of the straps attached to the ceiling. Particles of gold danced in the clear fluid.
Rakta.
And enough to keep Nox immobile and near death.
Luca cursed and set to work removing the port. He peeled back the tape on Nox’s arm. The fragile skin cracked, and black threads rushed to the surface, only to retreat before the wounds could heal.
Luca removed the port and replaced the tape to stop any bleeding.
“Can you stand?”
Nox closed his eyes.
Luca shook him.
“Can you stand?”
“I don’t… know.”
Luca put Nox’s arm over his shoulders. Nox leaned into him, barely getting off the floor before a coughing fit sprayed black over his lips.
Black patches spread under the flesh around Nox’s throat, and ichor leaked from his nose.
Luca tried again but didn’t even get Nox to his knees before he collapsed.
“It hurts.” A pain-filled whine escaped from behind Nox’s clenched teeth. “Fuck, Luca… it…” Ichor bled from his gums and mixed with saliva running down his chin.
“I know… I’m sorry.”
The golden wolf slipped through the wall. It pawed the ground.
“I’m trying. He’s too weak.”
And Luca wasn’t strong enough to carry him.
The wolf walked closer, and the agony in Nox’s expression hardened.
Luca might not be strong enough to carry Nox, but the Anubis would be.
He held Nox’s face. “I know you can hear me. And I don’t care what anyone says. I know you can understand me too.”
Black slithered under Nox’s skin, clustering around the place where they touched.
“Isaiah wants to take me away, and I know you don’t want that.”
A tremor ran through Nox’s frame.
“And he’s going to kill Nox to keep you from getting me back. And if he kills Nox, you could die, or Isaiah will trap you in smoked glass.”
Nox bared his teeth, but the growl he exhaled was nothing like it could have been.
