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“The way I was, human food could really do a number on my stomach. Besides, you’d be surprised how good that stuff you fed me actually tastes. It’s no match for fresh rabbit or deer, but it wasn’t as bad as you’re imagining.” She patted my hand and leaned back, tossing a glance at Leo. “And then there’s you. I’m guessing you had something to do with the asshole passed out in the hallway?”
He ticked his head to one side. “Just set him straight on something.”
“Good. He’s a dick.”
I chuckled and instantly regretted it, biting back the wince that followed. “He told me you didn’t like him. I just figured he wasn’t much of a dog person.”
Another muffled round of kids yelling “Trick or Treat!” filtered in from the hallway, reminding me of one of my other pressing concerns.
“How long were we gone?” I asked.
She glanced at the clock hanging askew on the wall. “A couple of hours. I was surprised you made it back so soon.”
But it wasn’t soon. It was three damned days.
“Well, since I’m all patched up, why don’t the three of us head out there and see if we can get a lead on where the shadow might be heading?” I tried to stand, only to end up right back where I’d started when Lily grabbed me by the shoulders.
“What we need to do is get you to a hospital,” she said with a stern look.
“I’m fine,” said the big, fat liar. I motioned to the first aid kit. “Leo bandaged me up. Good as new.”
“What do you think, cousin?” Lily asked, turning her attention to Leo. “Should we take her to a healer?”
“I won’t go,” I said firmly.
He pressed his lips together, though I couldn’t tell if he was irritated or amused. “Looks like no healer.”
She glared at me, then rolled her eyes. “Idiot,” she muttered under her breath. The jab was clearly aimed at me, but a note of affection softened the blow.
“All right, furball, what would you do in my shoes?”
Leo barked a laugh so loud it made me flinch, which reignited the flame of agony burning up my back.
Lily, on the other hand, was not amused. She leveled me with a look that brought back memories of my mom. You know, back when she still gave a shit about her kids.
“I’m a shifter. I can heal myself. But you, little girl, are human, through and through.” She motioned to the bloody towels spread out on the couch. “Humans need healers. Even humans who are too thickheaded for their own good. And don’t call me furball.”
I swallowed down my retort. I’d called her that a million times over the years, always fondly. “It never seemed to bother you before.”
“I’m serious. If you won’t go for your own well-being, then at least do it for your brother. What good will you be to him if you die of an infection in three or four days?”
Ouch.Hitting me in the tender bits with her blunt logic stung, but it didn’t change the fact that I hated hospitals. Or that in three to four days, I intended to have my brother back home, sans the evil shadow companion.
I tipped my head from side to side. “Fine. If it looks like I’m developing an infection, I will go to the hospital. Until then...” I glared down at the floor. “I would love it if someone would help me stand up.”
Leo was at my side in a second, offering his hand like a gentleman. With a grunt and a weak groan, and more than a little help from him, I made it all the way to my feet.
5
HOOK
Days had passed, and the only progress I’d made toward getting to Never’s world was discovering a host of approaches that didn’t work. Frustration churned inside me like a poison, a sensation that had struck me as I left the sea witch’s lair, and I’d been unable to shake it.
Was that a sign that I was on the wrong path?
I probably could have conducted my search with a little more subtlety, but I’d never been more sure of a goal. Getting to Never’s world and protecting her from Petra and the wicked creature’s vile shadow was all that mattered.
So, what was gnawing at me? Frustration and impatience were at the fore of my current emotional state, but there was something else. It was very much like an itch I couldn’t reach, buried deep inside me.
