by I. T. Lucas
In the meantime, she was getting crushed against the people in front of her by those pushing from behind.
“Stop pushing!” she yelled. “It’s not going to help us move any faster!”
No one listened to her, and when she finally reached the gate, someone shoved her so hard through it that she stumbled and went down hard.
Her knee hit a rock and exploded in pain. Margaret screamed. She had broken bones before, but she had never experienced that level of pain. Her knee must have shattered.
“Come on.” Gwen tried to help her up. “You’ll get trampled.”
There was no way she could walk. “Go.” Tears blurring her vision, she shooed her friend away. “Tell the firefighters that I’m injured and to come to get me.”
“I’ll drag you aside.” As Gwen put her hands under her arms and pulled, black dots swam in front of Margaret’s eyes, and then her dinner came rushing up.
She managed to hold it down just until she was on the grass, and then turned her head and vomited.
“Oh, my God.” Gwen looked around with a panicked expression on her face. “Stay here. I’ll get help.”
If she weren’t in so much pain, Margaret would have laughed. She wasn’t going anywhere; if she could, she wouldn’t need help.
49
Bowen
As Elliot stopped the fire engine in front of Safe Haven’s gate, Bowen scanned the small crowd of people on the front lawn, but he didn’t see Peter. More guests and staff were spilling out through the narrow gate, but Peter wasn’t among them either.
Perhaps he’d been waiting for them and had already joined Magnus and Yamanu, who had arrived a few minutes earlier with the ambulance.
Bowen tapped his earpiece. “Magnus, is Peter with you?”
They were all equipped with the same kind of earpieces that Kian and his entourage had used during the negotiations with Kalugal. They blocked outside voices, translating them into machine language. The problem with that was that everyone sounded the same, which took some getting used to.
“He’s not with us.”
“I don’t see him.”
“Let’s get in and proceed according to plan. Leave Robbie out here to get the people under control and ask if anyone has seen Devlin. That’s Peter’s fake name.”
“I know.”
As he and the other four Guardians jumped down, he waved his arms in the air to get the humans' attention. “Has anyone seen Devlin? It’s a medical emergency,” he added.
Those who had heard him shook their heads.
He turned to Robbie. “They are all yours. Jay, Elliot, and I are going to send out the rest and look for Peter.”
Robbie lifted the bullhorn. “No need to panic, people. Everything is under control. Let the firefighters through.”
Some listened to him, but most did not. As people kept shoving and pushing through the gate, Bowen and his fellow Guardians had to muscle their way through.
As they cleared the gate’s bottleneck, a breathless woman ran up to them. “My friend Margaret is hurt, and I can’t find Shirley. I think she broke her leg.” She sucked in a breath. “I mean Margaret broke her leg, not Shirley. Shirley is the nurse.”
“Where is your friend?” Bowen asked.
“She’s next to the community gate. Go through the lodge, use the back exit, and keep to the path. I moved her aside to the grass so she wouldn’t get trampled, and she’s probably where I left her. She is in a lot of pain.”
Bowen nodded. “We will find her. Go to the front lawn and ask the firefighter with the bullhorn to call for the nurse. Have her wait for us there to bring your friend out.”
The woman frowned. “Don’t you have a medic with you?”
“He’s busy assisting others,” Jay lied, saving Bowen the trouble.
The truth was that they needed to have one on the team for missions that involved humans. Someone almost always got hurt.
“Wasn’t Margaret the name of Anastasia’s friend?” Jay asked.
“It’s a popular name. I’m sure there is more than one Margaret here.”
What were the chances that out of all the people in Safe Haven, the one who’d gotten hurt was the one he’d promised to keep an eye out for?
Then again, if Margaret was as panicky as Anastasia had described her, then it was possible that it was her. Those who lost their cool during times of trouble were usually the ones who got hurt.
As they entered the lodge and headed for the back exit, more humans rushed by them, some smiling and thanking them for the quick response, and some just running as if their tails were on fire.
“Elliot.” Bowen turned to the Guardian. “Stay in the lodge and make sure everyone is out. Check the classrooms, the offices, and the guest rooms.”
“Yes, sir.” Elliot turned toward the office wing.
At the back door, they were stopped by a guy with a name tag identifying him as a counselor. “Where is the fire?” he asked.
“We have it under control,” Jay replied.
The guy was a staff member, so maybe he knew where they could find Peter. Not that Bowen had high hopes for that. If Peter were free, he would have already found them. He was afraid that the guy had done something stupid like trying to rescue Eleanor on his own and getting captured as well.
Or worse.
“Have you seen a guest named Devlin?”
“I saw him this morning in the dining hall. Why are you looking for him specifically?”
“It’s a medical emergency.” Bowen pushed the door open.
“I hope he’s okay,” the guy called after them.
“They must have run fire drills,” Jay commented. “They are panicky, but they are all heading in the direction of the front lawn as if they had practiced evacuating the place in case of a fire.”
“Makes things easier for us, but we need to make sure that everyone is following the rules. While I deal with the injured lady, you need to get into the community building and verify that everyone has left.”
“I’m on it.”
50
Margaret
Margaret was close to passing out from the pain when the firefighter finally arrived.
He was huge, well over six feet, and with shoulders so wide that he must have trouble going through a door.
“You are in a lot of pain.” He stated the obvious and looked into her eyes.
Somehow, the pain subsided, and she let out a relieved breath.
Her vision was blurry, and most of his face was covered by a mask, but she could see his lips, and they were nice, and his voice was beautiful, deep, compassionate, the voice of a savior.
Her angel.
Maybe she was just hallucinating, and that was why she couldn’t feel the pain as acutely as she had before his arrival.
Was he even real?
Maybe she’d passed out and was dreaming?
“I need something to tie your leg to before I can pick you up.”
He walked up to the gate and pulled it off its hinges as if he was removing a Lego door.
And that was how Margaret knew for sure that she was dreaming. She’d passed out and conjured a firefighter who was strong enough to take apart an iron gate and fashion a brace for her leg out of its parts.
But when he came back and moved her leg, the pain shooting through her was so excruciating that she screamed and then blacked out for real.
The next time Margaret opened her eyes, she was lying on a gurney inside an ambulance, and the firefighter was sitting on the bench next to her.
“The nurse is on her way,” he said. “She’ll give you something for the pain.”
“Thank you,” she murmured.
He must have secured her leg to the iron rods while she’d been out. The pain was still excruciating, and black dots swam in front of her eyes, but regrettably, she didn’t pass out.
She wished she could, so she wouldn’t feel the pain or smell the awful stench of the ambulance. When she realized that it was coming
from her, Margaret felt her face heat up. “I’m sorry.”
“What for?”
“I puked from the pain, and I smell.”
“I didn’t notice.”
It was so nice of him to lie. Margaret wished she could turn her head and look at him, but she was afraid to move anything.
“I’m here.” Shirley climbed into the ambulance, causing it to dip.
The small movement sent a bolt of pain through Margaret, bringing about a new bout of nausea.
“Where the hell is your paramedic?” Shirley accused the firefighter.
“He’s busy taking care of another injury,” he said.
“Who got hurt?”
“One of ours.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t there. I was helping Margaret.”
“She’s lucky that I came prepared.”
Margaret heard Shirley remove plastic wrapping off something, and even though she’d sworn never to touch opioids again, she prayed it was a morphine shot.
“I’m going to give you an injection, and you are going to feel much better in a moment.”
Being in as much pain as she was, Margaret didn’t even feel the needle go in, but the pain relief was almost instantaneous.
Letting out a breath, she turned her face to Shirley and smiled. “You are an angel. Thank you.”
“You are welcome.” Shirley frowned at the makeshift brace the firefighter had fashioned. “I need to immobilize this leg properly, and then you need to get to a hospital.” She turned to the guy. “Given the level of pain, Margaret’s knee was probably fractured and she needs a doctor to examine her.”
“Do what you can for her. I don’t want to leave until I know that we don’t have a more severe case that needs transport to the hospital.”
“Fine. I need to go back to the clinic to get a brace.” Shirley glanced around. “Unless you have one here.” She started pulling out drawers and cabinet doors. “Here it is.” She pulled out a bag. “A full-leg vacuum splint.”
Unzipping the bag, she pulled out a large orange plastic sheet, an air pump, and a tube. “I will need your help.” She looked at the firefighter. “What’s your name?”
“Bowen.”
Shirley removed Margaret’s shoe and sock. “Can you move your toes for me, Margaret?”
Thankfully, the morphine was ensuring that Margaret didn’t feel any pain, but she had to concentrate on following the nurse’s instructions and not doze off.
“Very good.” Shirley turned to Bowen. “In case you’ve forgotten, I’ll show you what I need you to do.” She put one hand under Margaret’s knee and the other over her ankle. “You need to hold it gently, and when I tell you to lift it, make sure that her knee doesn’t bend.”
“Got it.”
“Okay.” She waited for him to do as she’d instructed. “I’ll tell you when. I only need you to lift her leg high enough so I can slide the brace under it.”
“It’s starting to come back to me.”
Margaret regretted not feeling his hands on her, which was a stupid thing to think about at a time like that.
She blamed the morphine. It made her loopy and way too happy.
“You smell good,” she murmured.
“Thank you.” Shirley mistakenly assumed that the compliment had been meant for her.
Knowing better, the firefighter smiled and winked.
51
Peter
Emmett pulled into an In-N-Out drive-through. “What would you like to order?”
That had been the first thing he’d said since dropping the bombshell about only pure-bloods having long-lived children with humans. After that, he’d refused to answer Peter’s questions, ordering him to keep his mouth closed.
That had been over an hour ago.
Peter looked at him pointedly with a raised brow.
“Oh, I forgot. You can tell me your meal selection and say nothing else. Other than that, don’t move and don’t make any noise.”
“Two double hamburgers, two orders of fries, and one extra-large coke.”
“You’re hungry,” Emmett said.
All Peter could do was nod. He was hungry, thirsty, and surprised that the guy gave a damn.
When it was their turn at the voice box, Emmett rolled down his window and placed Peter’s order first, and then ordered four medium-rare naked hamburgers and water for himself.
Was he on a keto diet?
It sucked not being able to ask questions. Sooner or later, Peter would either get rescued by his Guardian friends or somehow escape, and he needed to find out as much as he could about Emmett and his people before that.
Unless the guy was completely off his rocker and was making the story up, Emmett came from a different and unknown breed of immortals, who could be either potential allies or enemies of the clan.
After paying for their order in cash, Emmett drove to a deserted part of the parking lot. “You can use your hands and mouth to eat but nothing else.” He parked the car and handed Peter his order.
Pulling a beef patty from his cardboard box, Emmett ate it in two bites and then wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Do you know that In-N-out is the only fast-food hamburger chain where you can order your meat medium-rare?”
All Peter could do in response was lift a brow.
Emmett waved a hand. “You can talk, but only to me. No yelling for help or making strange sounds.”
His mouth full of hamburger, Peter nodded. He had a million questions, but they could wait until after he filled his stomach.
Emmett took several long gulps of water and then demolished the second patty with the same speed he had eaten the first one. The lettuce, tomato slices and onion remained in the box.
“Are you on a pure protein diet?” Peter asked.
“That’s all I can eat without getting a stomachache.” He popped the third patty into his mouth.
“Is it just you? Or are your kind pure carnivores?”
“That’s enough questions from you.” Emmett pointed a finger at the cardboard box on Peter’s knees. “Eat your food.” He lifted the fourth and last patty and ate it as quickly as he had the other three.
Peter was still on his first hamburger. He grabbed a couple of fries and popped them into his mouth.
“I have some questions for you,” Emmett said. “I want you to answer them as thoroughly and as truthfully as you can.” The bastard had learned to close all possible loopholes. “Start with what you know of your history, how all those immortals that are supposedly living all over the planet came to be, and how you activate your Dormants.”
Peter finished chewing, took a long sip from his coke, and then wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“The gods took human lovers, and the children born to them were immortal, possessing some of the godly powers. Those immortals also took human lovers, and the children born from those unions appeared to be entirely human, with short human lifespans. Somehow it was discovered, and I really don’t know the details of how they figured it out, but they learned that it was possible to inject the children with venom when they reached puberty to activate their dormant genes. However, it only worked for the children born to immortal females. The children born to immortal males didn’t have the godly genes.”
“So your ancestors didn’t know that the venom could do that?”
“Not from the get-go.”
“What is the main purpose of the venom?”
“You have it. You should know what it is good for.”
“I do, but I don’t think it works the same as yours. Answer my question.”
“The venom serves two purposes. One is to disable an opponent in a fight, and the other is to bind females to us. If a male repeatedly injects his venom into a female, which happens when a couple is in a committed relationship, she becomes addicted to him and repulsed by other males. We assume that it was supposed to ensure fidelity, but no one knows for sure.”
Emmett frowned. “What a
bout females binding males to them?”
“Eventually, after a couple is exclusive to each other for a long time, the female’s scent changes and becomes addictive to him as well, ensuring that the male will feel no desire for any other female.”
“What about the females’ venom? Does it work differently than the males’?”
Talk about an odd question. Did the females in Emmett’s community have fangs and venom? It was possible, as evidenced by May and Jin. May had tiny fangs and no venom, but he’d heard rumors that Jin might have both elongating fangs and venom glands. Could there be a connection between Emmett’s people and the sisters?
“I’m still waiting for an answer.”
“Our females don’t have venom or elongating fangs.”
“I noticed that Eleanor didn’t have any, but I thought she was a half-breed and that’s why she didn’t have them. But you are saying that none of your females have fangs and venom. Interesting. Also, to practice monogamy, you probably need to have one female born for every male.”
It wasn’t that simple. “More or less. We also take human lovers, or rather our females do. Why?”
Emmett shook his head. “I’m asking the questions now. How many generations of immortals are there? When did the gods first take human lovers?”
“It started more than five thousand years ago, so naturally, there are many generations of immortals.”
“How far removed from the gods are you?”
Peter chuckled. “Far. About forty.”
Emmett whistled. “Your blood must be extremely diluted, and yet you are long-lived and possess godly abilities. I would have thought that after so many generations, you would be mostly human, with only a slightly longer life span.”
Peter was burning with curiosity. “Which generation are you? Are you a pure-blood? Whatever that means.”
“I’m a first-generation hybrid. I told you that only pure-bloods can have long-lived children with humans. The rest of us can’t. My father is a pure-blood, and my mother was a human.”
