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My heart races as I try to process what he’s saying. “Why? What’s wrong with the hospital?”
“Bhodi…he’s not exactly…legal. And we can’t risk the authorities getting involved.”
I swallow hard, my mind racing with all the possibilities of what he means. “What do you mean he’s not legal?”
“That was the wrong word to use. I meant that he’s not human, Malia,” the professor says gravely. “None of us are. And so we’ve got to keep him off the radar if we want to keep him alive.”
We pull into a dark, deserted parking lot and the professor turns off the engine. “We’re here.”
I look out the window, but I can’t see much of anything. “Where’s here?”
“It’s a camping ground. It’s run by the doc – Tami – who’s a supernatural, but not like us. Don’t stare and don’t say anything to upset her. Bhodi’s life depends on this woman and she can be…volatile.”
“I-I won’t.”
I step out of the car, the cold breeze sending shivers down my spine, and follow the professor to a small cabin barely visible in the darkness. He knocks twice, and a woman’s voice answers from inside.
“Who is it?” she asks.
“It’s the professor. I’m here with Malia,” he replies.
Footsteps approach, and the door creaks open. Cove is standing there, covered in blood.
“Come in,” he says, his voice low. “The doc is still working on him.”
We follow Cove inside, and he leads us to a small, clean, well lit room that’s set up as a small operating theatre. In the centre of the room, a young man is lying on a bed, his skin pale and covered in sweat.
“Bhodi!” I almost didn’t recognise him. The professor reaches out and captures my wrist to stop me from running over to him.
“He can’t hear you. We need to stand back and let the doc do her thing.”
I didn’t even notice the woman standing over him, diligently cleaning and tending to Bhodi’s wounds. “Shit, sorry. You’re right.”
The doc turns around to face me, scanning me up and down. Her eyes linger on me for a moment longer than necessary, making me feel uneasy.
“I’m Tami. You must be Malia,” she says, nodding at me.
“Yes, that’s me. Is he going to be okay?”
Tami nods again. “He’s stable now, but it’ll take some time for him to fully heal. He’s lucky to have made it out alive.”
I look down at Bhodi, feeling like a complete idiot for failing to help him.
“Can we take him home?”
“It’s probably best that he stays here for a few days, at least. You’re all more than welcome to stay though. Maybe later in the week he’ll be healed enough to travel but I’m not making any promises.”
“We’re not going back to the house tomorrow,” the professor says gruffly. I try to hide my surprise but obviously fail when he adds, “We need more security in place before we can return.”
“Oh.” Again, guilt swirls up, making my stomach twist and churn. This is all my fault.
“It’s fine. It’s a few additional wards, but they’re complicated to create and I’d rather we were working at full strength when we put them in place.”
“I see,” I reply, not really understanding anything.
“Reef, you can manage that in a couple of days’ time, can’t you?”
“Sure, boss.”
