AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Kellam knew that a simple pressure dressing wouldn’t be enough to stop the bleeding. He needed a tourniquet. He thought of a belt first but that’d be a poor choice, seeing that it’d be very difficult to apply the right amount of pressure on the skin. He looked around for something else. He found a scarf lying next to a coat on a hanger in the hallway. He broke the umbrella and used the elongated part and a pair of scissors as a windlass. It took some effort on his part but he managed to do it well.
“Quick, get two blankets!” Kellam shouted at Hendrik, who rushed immediately and found two blankets in one of the other rooms.
Kellam wrapped Mina in one, while he gave the other one to Renwick, who was still taking care of Raphael.
Kellam checked his watch. Then wrote the words TK 0133 on Mina’s forehead with her own blood. He needed that to remember when exactly the tourniquet was applied, as the limb could survive for only a few hours, six the longest. That was the latest that they needed to take Mina somewhere where she could get proper medical help.
A minute later and Raphael stirred. He looked down at his abdomen, lifting his t-shirt.
“I don’t think you should…” Kellam advised him, but it was too late.
Raphael revealed the wound. It was amazing. Kellam never even imagined that it could heal so quickly. Raphael looked at his wound, then at Renwick, then at Mina, lying unconscious.
“What happened!?” Raphael rushed over to Mina and showered her face with kisses.
“She gave you her blood,” Renwick explained.
“What?” Raphael closed his eyes, and pressed his cheek against hers. It was cold. “Why did you let her do that?”
“Because you would have died otherwise,” Kellam told him gravely.
“So, you pushed her to the brink of death?” Raphael growled.
“She did it because she wanted to, no one made her,” Kellam explained. “You should show more gratitude.”
“Um, guys?” Hendrik had overtaken the window lookout but the expression on his face wasn’t promising.
They all turned to him, on pins and needless.
“Maybe you’d best leave that chat for later, because we’ve got company…”
The moment he said those words, someone knocked on the door. It was ridiculous under the circumstances. Here they were, expecting someone to barge in and the enemies chose to knock on the door politely.
They all looked at Kellam. Raphael stood by Mina’s side. Kellam waited. He had no idea what he was waiting for. Maybe he wanted to buy some time, maybe he was waiting for a new idea to pop into his mind. He was lost and they all turned to him for guidance. He couldn’t freeze now.
The knock was heard again.
“Why aren’t they blowing the door open?” Renwick whispered and Kellam shushed him.
“Wait…” Kellam muttered.
A second later and the door swung open, as if a bomb had exploded right in front of it. Dust and debris swirled in the air, making it hard to see. Raphael shielded Mina’s slumbering body with his own, bending over her. The rest of the guys moved a little back, covering their eyes. A few seconds passed before they could all open their eyes again.
When Mina regained consciousness, the first thing she saw was Raphael bending over her. His face was right next to hers. She tried to smile but was too weak. She glanced at her arm and saw the tourniquet.
“Someone did a nice job,” she thought to herself, unable to speak a word.
She turned a little and saw the rest of the guys.
“What’s… happening…” she managed to mutter, before a figure appeared in the door.
The light shone on its back, so no one could recognize who it was. For a few seconds, he just stood there, tall and lanky, as if he was waiting for a formal invitation. The light behind him died down a little and, now, he was illuminated by the light coming from within.
Mina didn’t recognize his face, but she recognized his
tattoo. It was the same vampire ankh tattoo she’d seen on the guy from the Barracuda, when she went to meet up with Emile.
“I know him…” she whispered to Raphael, who looked at her, then back at the guy.
