Afterlife

by Dannika Dark

  Niko reappeared and held out a bottle.

  “Here, you take her,” Blue said.

  While Niko cradled the girl, Blue slowly poured water into the girl’s mouth. A few swallows went down before she passed out.

  “She’s burning up,” Niko said. “She’ll die if we don’t find help.”

  “We can’t take her to a hospital—she’s a Shifter.”

  They had a hard-and-fast rule about bringing strangers home for medical care. Blue reached in her pocket and dialed Graham, the only Relic she personally knew. When it went to voicemail, she pulled herself up. “We have no choice but to take her home. Turn on that cooling thing you do and see if you can bring down her temperature.”

  Once they were safely inside the vehicle, Blue hit the gas and left the bodies behind. She didn’t have time to call cleaners in, but if these guys were expected back, their packmates would come for them sooner or later.

  “You’re injured,” Niko said. “I can heal you.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t do two things at once. Focus on her. She’s just a kid.”

  “I can’t heal her,” he said remorsefully. “My gift heals wounds, but I can’t fix something like this, especially not a child.”

  “Just keep her cool. Shepherd will know what to do.”

  The air conditioner combined with Niko’s Thermal ability sent goose bumps up Blue’s arms. She couldn’t stop her hands from shaking, but it wasn’t from the cold. She sped down every shortcut she knew, trying to get home as quickly as possible.

  What were you thinking, kid? Blue wondered why a child would have done something so foolish. She might have chalked it up as an accident, but the girl would have had to get inside the car, pop the trunk, and then quietly lock herself in.

  Please don’t send me back. Those haunting words echoed in Blue’s head.

  She dialed Shepherd. “Set up the medical room. … I’ll tell you when we get there.”

  Thank the fates I bought a fast car. The engine roared as she glanced at the girl’s lifeless body, sand slipping through the hourglass with each passing second. Niko would notice if her light extinguished, but Blue wasn’t going to let that happen. Not on her watch.

  When they arrived, the front gate was already open. She sped up the private driveway and screeched to a halt in front of the door. Blue hopped out.

  “Is it Niko?” Shepherd approached the vehicle.

  She limped around the car to open Niko’s door. “Help us.”

  Shepherd’s eyes widened. “Who’s that?”

  “A little girl who’s going to die if you don’t get moving.”

  Blue snapped her attention to the footfalls rushing toward them. Matteo emerged from the darkness at Chitah speed, his nostrils flaring as he undoubtedly picked up their emotional scent.

  “You’re like a stray cat we can’t get rid of,” she muttered.

  Shepherd took the girl from Niko’s arms and carried her inside.

  When Blue went to follow, Matteo gripped her arm. “Female, you’re bleeding.”

  “I don’t have time for this.” She freed her arm from his grasp and gave him a sharp look. “You can’t come inside. That’s the rule, Chitah.”

  “You need help,” he insisted, trapping her against the car.

  Blue touched his arm, realizing he was close to flipping his switch. “It doesn’t hurt. I’ll be fine.”

  He dipped his chin. “Balderdash. Not only can I scent your pain, but I can also scent your lies.”

  “My life isn’t what matters here,” she said rapid-fire. “Your tongue isn’t going to fix my wound. That little girl needs me. Let me go unless you want to be responsible for her death.”

  Concern bled from his expression, but he finally capitulated and backed off.

  Blue brushed by him, hoping it wasn’t too late. She couldn’t have a child’s death on her hands.

  Once inside, she slammed the door and dizzily followed the commotion coming from the middle of the house. Halfway to the stairs, she collapsed.

  “Blue!” Viktor appeared over her like an angel. “Why do you not shift?”

  “I need to see the girl.” Blue sat up but had to lean on her hand to steady herself. “I have to make sure she’s okay.”

  Guilt set in. Why hadn’t she noticed someone in the trunk of her car? How long had that girl suffered in the heat? Even though it was late afternoon and she had parked the car in the shade, it was too hot for a kid that age to lie in the trunk that long. Blue thought about sitting on that rooftop, sipping lemonade and eating while that little girl was probably beating on the trunk lid to get out.

  “You must shift,” he insisted. “So much blood.”

  “Not enough to kill me, Viktor. Help me up—I need to see if she’s going to make it. I have to be there. I have to see.”

  Viktor lifted her into his strong embrace. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, nuzzled close to his stubbly neck, and caught a faint whiff of cologne. He swiftly moved down the hall, whispering Russian words she didn’t understand. Was he admonishing her? Praying for her? Reciting the grocery list?

  None of it mattered. She was home.

  Chapter 14

  “How’s your arm?” Christian asked, a twinkle in his eyes.

  I glanced at the dried blood where a bear clawed me and then finished pouring his whiskey. “My arm’s fine, but I still have phantom pain in my leg.”

  “You get used to it.”

  I set the glass down and sat in the bench seat opposite him. We had the dining room to ourselves, and it was nice to have a moment of peace after our scuffle with the bears. Blue and Niko hadn’t made it back yet, so we were waiting to see if they had anything exciting to report.

  Candlelight flickered on his handsome features as he lifted the crystal glass. “Thirsty?”

  “Depends on what you’re offering, Mr. Poe. I’ve had my fill of the red stuff tonight.”

  “’Tis a shame.” After sipping his drink, he gave me a hot look. “Are you sure you don’t want to take a short walk upstairs and rub your knockers on my knob?”

  “Not when you put it like that.” I sat back and stared at his glass. “Blue and Niko should be back soon. We need to figure out what we’ve got—if anything.”

  “My money’s on the apocalyptic virus.” He swirled his drink before gulping it down.

  I sighed, glancing at a lantern by the entryway. “I can’t rule it out.”

  A piercing chirp sounded from somewhere in the house. I looked over my shoulder. “That sounds like a fire alarm. Do we have a fire alarm?”

  Christian guzzled his drink and stood. “Get your arse up. Someone’s hurt.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Wyatt sounds the alarm to get everyone in the medical room.”

  I jogged behind Christian down the hall until we reached the foyer. The moment the door swung open, Shepherd bolted through the dim room with someone in his arms. I barely saw anything but a blur.

  “Was that Blue?” I asked Niko, who walked in next.

  “It’s a child.”

  “Where’s Blue?”

  The team appeared from all directions and rushed to the medical room, Niko in the lead. Claude and I entered the room while everyone else watched on.

  “She’s burning up,” Shepherd said, feeling her forehead and neck. “Claude, get the IV pole. Niko, keep her cool. I need bags of ice!”

  Christian vanished from sight.

  I neared the table but kept out of the way. Her yellow Mickey Mouse shirt was dripping with sweat. “What can I do to help?”

  “Look in the cabinet to the left of the sink and get me the red vial. Everything’s color coded. Niko, what’s her Breed?”

  “Shifter.”

  I rummaged through Shepherd’s weirdly organized cabinet until I spotted three red bottles. “Which one?”

  “Any. They’re in the same drug family. I need it for when we cool her down. She’s gonna start shivering, and that’ll r
aise her body temperature again unless I do something about it.” He set up an IV bag and started putting in a line. “Shit. I’ve never treated a kid before. What the fuck did you do?”

  Niko kept his hands on her neck and forehead. “We found her in the trunk of the car.”

  “Jesus fuck,” Shepherd breathed.

  Viktor came in with Blue in his arms. “She’s bleeding.”

  “Tell her to shift,” Shepherd said, adjusting the IV drip. “I can’t give up the table.”

  “Maybe you should have two,” Gem suggested, peering in.

  There wasn’t much to Shepherd’s makeshift medical room. Just a metal table and a long cabinet with a sink in the corner by the door.

  “Set her in the chair for now.” Shepherd touched the girl and furrowed his brow. “She’s not thinking clearly, her head hurts, and she’s scared. But not of us. Something else I can’t read.”

  The girl lurched to her side and vomited on Shepherd’s pants.

  “I can read that,” Wyatt remarked from his spot in the corner. “She doesn’t like your style.”

  “Button it up or I’ll make sure you never have children.”

  “Don’t want them.”

  Viktor and I hovered over Blue, my hands pressing against the wound on her leg to stanch the bleeding.

  She craned her neck to see the kid. “Is she going to be all right? I didn’t know she was in there, Viktor. I swear it. Her pack showed up and ran us off the road. They thought we stole her.”

  “Why did you not give her back?”

  “I promised her I wouldn’t.”

  Viktor removed his shirt and used it to tie around her leg. “If she dies, her pack can legally seek retribution. You understand this.”

  Blue nodded weakly. “If they want a life, I’ll give them mine.”

  I wiped my bloody hands on my shirt and swung my gaze to Viktor. “They can’t just kill one of us as payback. This wasn’t her fault. You heard what they said—the girl hid in the trunk.”

  “It is the way of the pack.” He finished tying the tourniquet. “This will keep you for a while. But you must shift before you pass out, and we cannot wake you.”

  “Not until she’s okay.” Blue’s normal olive complexion was now a sickly grey, her cargo pants soaked in blood.

  “You are indispensable,” he said, leaning in close. “We will do what we can to help the child, but you must not go too far over the edge.”

  Christian returned with several bags of ice. He and Claude arranged them under the girl’s armpits, along her torso, and everywhere that Shepherd instructed.

  “What the immortal hell happened to your pants?” Wyatt asked, looking at Christian’s missing pant leg. “If that’s the new fashion, don’t sign me up.”

  “Get him out of here!” Shepherd boomed, startling me enough to look back at the door.

  Hunter had wandered into the room and was staring at the blood on the floor.

  Claude rushed over, scooped up the little boy, and carried him out.

  The next thing I knew, Shepherd and Christian were bickering.

  “I’ll not do it,” Christian snapped.

  “She might die. One little drop in the bag won’t hurt.”

  Christian shook his head. “It doesn’t work like that.”

  Blue tipped forward. “Don’t you dare give that baby your blood!”

  Shepherd listened to the girl’s heart with a stethoscope. “I’m just saying it might help speed things along. What if she’s got brain damage?”

  Wyatt snorted. “Then you two will have a lot in common.”

  Shepherd lunged, but Christian held him back.

  “Get your aloof fucking Gravewalker ass out of here,” he growled, pointing his finger at Wyatt. “She’s a kid. Out of my medical room. Out!”

  Wyatt threw his hands up. “Maybe she wants to go to the other side. Ever thought of that? When it’s your time to go, it’s your time to go. Sometimes holding on to the living world is worse than death. But go ahead. Play God,” he said, leaving the room.

  Shepherd scowled. “Next time he wants me to save his ass, I’m going to throw him onto the ferryman’s boat myself.”

  “What’s in the IV?” I asked.

  Shepherd rolled up a stool and attended to the girl. “Just some water and electrolytes. She’s dehydrated, but the first thing we need to do is get her temperature down. Then we can see the damage done.”

  He wiped the sweaty hair away from the girl’s beet-red face and then rested his hand on her forehead. His touch seemed to slow down her panting, and I guessed he was using his Sensor gifts to make her comfortable. When she started shivering, Shepherd reached across the table, and I handed him the red vial.

  After administering an injection, he switched off the overhead lights so only the dimmers beneath the cabinets were on. I wondered why at first, but new places and medical rooms could be scary for kids—especially with everyone watching. We waited for several long minutes in the darkened room.

  Finally, the girl stirred. “I gotta pee.”

  Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

  “She’s gonna be just fine,” Shepherd announced.

  Gem rushed in. “I woke Kira. She doesn’t know what’s happening, but I put a blanket and pillow on the floor for the girl. I think you should put her in there tonight. Kira can watch her, and she’ll be close to the kitchen, bathroom, and medical room.”

  Shepherd lifted her into his arms. “Get the pole and stay close behind me. I don’t want you yanking her line out.”

  Once they left the room, Blue grimaced as she stood up and then lost her balance. Viktor put his arm around her middle so she could put her weight on him.

  “Take me outside,” she said.

  “Nyet. Your falcon will be weak and vulnerable.”

  I trailed behind them in case Blue needed something.

  “My animal can’t sleep inside,” Blue pointed out, blood dripping onto the floor. “Just bring out some raw chicken. I’ll be fine. She’s small, so the blood loss won’t be as severe. I just need her to sleep.”

  I slowed when they reached the front door. As it opened, Blue’s clothes fell away, and her falcon flew into the night. Viktor was left holding her flannel shirt, and he stood there for a moment before heading to the kitchen.

  Niko reached the stairs. “I think we should reconvene tomorrow to discuss our findings. Blue needs time to heal.”

  “Sounds good. Maybe I should call the Relic and see if he’d be willing to meet with us again.”

  “As you wish.”

  I watched him slowly ascend the stairs. “Later, alligator.”

  “After a while, crocodile.”

  I smiled. Sometimes it felt like I’d been with Keystone for a million years. I sat down on the steps and stared at the pile of clothes by the front door.

  Christian sat next to me. “Never a dull moment.”

  We watched Claude walk by with a bucket and mop. When he disappeared from sight, I asked, “Why didn’t you give that girl your blood?”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “My blood isn’t pure. You could have healed her.”

  “That’s not how it works.”

  “You once ran through fire to save a little human girl. You can’t give up one drop of blood?”

  “You were going to burn alive. That girl was already halfway to the other side, and who knows what I might have brought back.” He rested his forearms on his knees. “If you think it’s a mark on my character, then so be it. Vampire blood is sacred, and it’s powerful. It’s not a magic pill that fixes everything. If people begin to think of Vampires as cattle, they’ll treat us that way. My maker told stories about Vampires who were staked and held against their will, used for healing by humans and other Breeds. Decades and centuries of lying in a tomb, only to have it opened when someone needed blood.”

  “She could have died.”

  “Aye, and it would have been an easy death. We should all be so lucky.
I don’t like seeing the wee ones suffer, but something else you should consider is that not everyone takes kindly to those who have consumed blood. Her pack might turn her away, thinking a Vampire now has influence over her. Shifters think it taints their purity, and maybe it does. We don’t know what might happen if that child grows up with one drop of Vampire blood inside her. That’s one reason we don’t share it with everyone.”

  “But you’d give it to one of us.”

  “You’re not a minor. I’d be forcing a dark magic inside her that she didn’t ask for. There was a good chance she suffered brain damage, and I’m afraid some things blood can’t cure. What if all I could do was save her from death, but she lived out the rest of her days as a vegetable? Besides, I know the sound of a dying heart, and hers was thumping against my eardrums like a battle song.”

  I nudged him. “You should have told Blue. She was bleeding to death, waiting to see how it turned out.”

  “Everyone likes a good suspense.” Christian stood and rested his hand on the newel. “Do you think she would have taken my word for it? Don’t be daft. That woman doesn’t trust me as far as she can throw me.” He glanced up at the tall ceilings. “What a ridiculous saying. Trust can’t be measured by distance.”

  I propped my elbows on the step behind me and stretched out my legs. “You looked sexy tonight fighting those bears, Mr. Poe. I like seeing what you can do with your hands.”

  Christian gave me a hot look that made my heart quicken. His black eyes shimmered as they skimmed over my bloodstained shirt. “Are you tempting me, Miss Black?”

  “It doesn’t take much.” I sat up and looked at my bloody hands. “This is the most convoluted case. I thought I’d ask a few questions, get a few answers, but now we’re fighting bears and stealing children. We could end up pissing off more people than we help. But I can’t quit.” I yawned, exhausted from the flashing I’d done earlier. “It’s too bad we can’t see into the future.” When I looked up, Christian held a guarded look.

  He clasped his hands behind his back and frowned. “I don’t know if that’s entirely true.”

  “Thinking of getting a tarot reading?”

  Christian retrieved a peppermint from his pocket and paced the floor. “Have you ever heard of a Gemini?”