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She went back to snipping away the pants and then set down the scissors. After pulling on a pair of purple gloves, she carefully removed the towels I’d wrapped. “Can you hand me the alcohol?”
I grabbed the bottle off the counter and passed it to her. I’d been here enough to know my way around. I wasn’t proud of that, but what can I say, hunting was a dangerous job. And sometimes I made mistakes. Or I bit off more than I could chew. Thankfully, it was usually only a few stitches or cleaning bite wounds I couldn’t reach myself.
Shelly poured the alcohol on the wound, cleaning the blood away. For the first time, I was able to see the damage my blade had inflicted. Aside from the deep gash, a series of black spider-web like lines radiated away from the point of entry.
I winced at the sight. I knew what silver could do to us, but I’d never seen it this far along. Guilt squeezed in on my chest, making it harder to breathe. It was my weapon that did this to him. Why hadn’t I hung on to it tighter? I’d made too many mistakes in the last two days.
“You can help him, right? It’s not too late?” I asked.
Shelly turned to me, her brow furrowed. “There aren’t a lot of weapons that can make a wound like this.”
“I know,” I said. “Someone got a hold of my blade.”
“I keep telling you to retire that thing,” she said. “It’s not worth the risk. Sooner or later it’s going to be used against you.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I said sarcastically. We’d been having that argument for years. I wasn’t about to get rid of my knife. Yes, it was risky to carry it around since it could do so much damage to me. Most shifters didn’t use anything silver for that reason. But I wasn’t a shifter. I didn’t have their strength. When I went against them, I needed something to equalize me. My knife allowed me to feel like I had a chance. And so far, it had saved my life more times than it had hurt me.
The thought hung in my head. I wasn’t the one who was hurt here but the ache in my chest was almost as if a piece of me had been injured. I didn’t even know Xander but I felt like we were connected. It had to be because of who he was to Lola.
Shelly grabbed several tools and items from her shelves and hooks then set them on the table next to Xander.
“You two out,” she said. “I need to concentrate.”
“You can save him, right?” I asked.
“If you let me work, he’s got a chance,” she said. “Go.”
Elias grabbed my hand, intertwining his fingers with mine. I was surprised that his touch was comforting rather than startling. I must really be upset about Xander. Everything about Elias was so confusing, yet, I supposed I was desperate for some companionship right now.
“We’ll wait outside if you need us,” Elias said as he guided me away from the kitchen.
“Please, save him,” I said.
Shelly nodded, then turned her attention back to the shifter.
I followed Elias out of the townhouse and back into the warm afternoon sun. In some ways, it felt like it had been months since I first embarked on this quest to find Lola’s killer. It also felt like I just left my apartment; as if Lola’s body was still warm.
I let go of Elias’s hand and took a few deep breaths as I walked around in the grassy space in front of the row of townhomes. Cars drove by on the street in the distance and several people were waiting at a bus stop nearby. Life continued for the clueless humans. They weren’t worried about demons, or vampires, or moon stones, or a shifter who was fighting for his life. Things were so much simpler for them.
“He’ll be okay,” Elias said.
I stopped walking and turned to Elias. “What happened in there? Why are they chasing us?”
“I really didn’t want you involved in this,” Elias said. “I thought if you were out of the loop, you could go back to your life and not get dragged into this mess.”
“Elias, I’m in this whether you want me to be or not. No more dodging my questions. I deserve to know what I’m up against.” I folded my arms over my chest and stared at him. “Now.”
