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“Come on, let’s get you inside,” I said gently as I hoisted him to his feet. My body brushed against his chest and he took a sharp breath and bit back a groan. “You’re hurt.” It wasn’t a question; I knew he was. Now that I’d figured it out it felt like I’d missed the obvious signs. But this was what he’d been hiding from me the entire trek.
“I’ll be okay. This is where we’re supposed to be,” he said again.
“What the fuck does that mean? Could you be any more ominous?” My voice rose with my frustration and I hated getting angry with him so soon into our journey but the stubbornness was driving me mad.
“Please. Don’t argue with me right now,” he begged. His tone was so fucking pitiful that my anger dissolved.
“Fine.” Was all I gave him as I scooped up his small form and carried him inside. He could protest if he wanted to, I couldn’t watch this any longer.
Even with the door wide open I couldn’t see anything around us so I had to shuffle my way forward.
When we reached a bench of some sort, I sat him on it.
“We need a flashlight of some kind. This darkness is insane,” I muttered. Holt was quiet for a few beats before he spoke again.
“Turn to your right and walk until you hit the table. There’s one on top,” he said in a tired voice.
“How can you see and hear so much better than me?” I asked. There was still so much to witches and magic I didn’t know about and everything he did related to it made me feel so far out of my depth. This relationship of ours, no matter how slowly it might build, would be an interesting journey.
“You’re a wolf. Your senses are far better than mine,” he said.
“Then how?” I asked again. “I want answers, Holt.”
“Go get your light, Callum,” he said instead. In all the time we’d spent together in that cell, I’d never heard him so drained and unsure and it was freaking me out. I needed that light so I could make sense of what was hurting him.
My shoes shuffled along the dirty floor as I pivoted to the right and walked forward until my thighs hit a table. A shiver ran down my spine as my fingers slid over the filthy surface. I hated not being able to see what was on top. When I hit a cool metal and it started to roll away, I snatched it up and found the button. The light flickered for a brief second but never turned on. Using the tried-and-true dude method to fixing things, I hit it against my palm a few times until it flickered to life.
“There has to be a generator system, maybe we should find it,” Holt called out.
“No, it’s too dangerous. If we turn on the lights, we’ll be a beacon in the night for them. I doubt our escape went unnoticed, they’re going to see that we’re gone and a whole calvary will be after us. We can lay low tonight then see what tomorrow brings.”
“You’re right,” he sighed. Now that I had light it was easier to make my way back to him. Plus the light would let me see how bad his injury was. I ignored his protests and lifted his shirt, gasping at the large black burn covering most of his abdomen. The skin was puffy and charred. How the fuck he got this far was a miracle in itself.
“We need a healer, Holt. This is bad,” I said gently. He tried to push me away and shook his head.
“A healer can’t fix this. I’ll be fine, it’ll mend itself,” he argued.
“You’re not a wolf, Holt, you’re a witch. And unless your magic is healing, then you’re fucked. This looks horrible. You need a hospital. How are you even still alive?”
“Because I didn’t get hurt, it’s from the blast of magic,” he explained. “I should have told you to stand back but I needed you close in case we could make an escape. And look. Here we are, safe in this hovel.” His words started to slur, eyes rolling back before his body slumped forward. I caught him easily and repositioned him so he was laying down. If what he said was true, then rest would be the best thing. It wasn’t like I could easily carry him to the next town, I didn’t even know where the next town was at this point.
He looked uncomfortable so I took off my shirt and crumpled it into a ball and slid it under his head. The moment his breaths were steady and even I took the light and walked away in hopes of finding a first-aid kit of some sort.
We’d apparently stumbled into an office building. Desks, tables, and chairs were scattered throughout the room making it a maze of sorts. Papers and trash littered every surface like someone left in a hurry.
When I finally spotted a bathroom, I rushed froward and tore open the medicine cabinet. There was only a bottle of painkillers inside but I grabbed them anyway. If that felt as bad as it looked, they couldn’t fucking hurt, expired or not.
Each room was as useless as the last, mainly debris and empty cabinets left behind. It wasn’t until I tore apart the kitchen that I finally found a first-aid kit. Someone had used it before their departure. Bandages, gauze, and random items were strung out around it. I managed to find a burn salve and some gauze in a stroke of pure luck. It was at least one good thing happening for us tonight.
I took everything back to my sleeping mate. He didn’t rouse as I cleaned and bandaged his wound and I felt better knowing that I at least did something.
There was no way I could sleep while he was healing. So I sat down with my back against the bench and waited out the sunrise. We were safe for now and I wanted to ensure we stayed that way. Hopefully with the morning light would come some answers. Because right now I felt more lost than I ever had before.
ChapterTwenty-Two
Vanya
Our convoy of cargo vans and trucks drew the attention of other drivers along our route. We’d all agreed not to part ways or spread out our procession, we were stronger together and the idea of one of us being run off the road and left behind was enough to quiet most protests.
