Knights of Black Swan, Books 7-9 (Knights of Black Swan Box Set Book 3)

by Victoria Danann

  The second doc raised an eyebrow, but nodded at the nurse which was, apparently code for, “You’re dismissed.”

  “You need to keep your voices and your reactions quiet and controlled. Something is wrong with Lady Laiken. I want you to look at her, but I’m callin’ Monq in and whatever he says goes.” I hesitated to say the problem out loud, probably Irish superstition in my blood. “Her eyes have gone… pale.

  "Be sure that you do no’ show surprise when you see her. She does no’ know anything is wrong and I do no’ want her alarmed in any way.” I nodded at the nurses’ station. “And make sure that every person in this fuckin’ place knows that no one else is to enter this room other than her doctors, Monq, Sir Storm, Sir Caelian, or me. No’ unless I say so.”

  I called Storm from the nurses’ phone. I do no’ know what they’d done with my phone. I did no’ tell him what had happened, only that he needed to show up on the double and that he needed to bring Kay with him.

  Then I called the Operations Office and, thank the gods for small favors, got Farnsworth.

  “I need the biggest bouquet of stargazer lilies, Mexican red roses, and tree fern that can be reasonably accommodated in a hospital room.”

  “Stargazers have a powerful aroma that isn’t appreciated by everyone. Are you sure?”

  “Aye. ‘Tis what I need. Cost is no’ a consideration, but time is. I need them delivered to the Lady Laiken’s room in the infirmary as fast as possible.”

  “Very well, Sir Hawking. And everyone is sorry to hear about your partner.”

  “Thank you. Oh, and no baby’s breath.”

  “Do you want a card included?”

  My brain drew a blank for a few seconds and then it came to me like it flashed across a marquee. My intention to say it plain and true went awry when my voice cracked, but I held it together long enough to get it out.

  “Proud to be your partner,” I said.

  One of Monq’s staff answered his phone. “This is Sir Hawking. I need him on the phone right now.”

  When he answered, I said, “Come to the infirmary right away. Whatever you’re workin’ on is no' as important as this. Hurry. Please.”

  The doctors had come from Elora’s room lookin’ both grim and perplexed. As I put down the phone, I had the curious sense that the room shifted.

  I heard one of the docs said, “Elsbeth, get a wheelchair. Fast!”

  I felt an arm go ‘round my waist to keep me from fallin’ and I could hear the man was strugglin’ something fierce to hold me up. By the time I was seated in the chair, he was wheezin’. I tried no’ to be judgmental about his lack of condition, since he was takin’ himself to task to help me out and all. Right is right.

  I was waitin’ in the conference room across the hall from Elora’s room where I could keep an eye on things when Monq rushed in.

  “What’s the matter?” he said, out of breath.

  “Elora was bitten by vampire.”

  “I know,” he said. “But she survived it.”

  “She did,” I agreed. “But she woke this mornin’ with pale irises.”

  “Oh,” Monq said. He sat down lookin’ from me to the two doctors. “What is your assessment?”

  “So far as we can tell, everything is perfectly normal. I mean, given the extent of her injuries. Except for her eyes. She has a slightly elevated temperature, one degree off her baseline physiology. Other than that…”

  “I see.” Monq looked worried. He turned back to me. “Let me have a look.”

  “Do no’ upset her,” I warned.

  “She hasn’t been told.”

  “No. And I do no’ want her to know. She needs time to heal.”

  Monq stood, turned my wheelchair and pushed me toward Elora’s room. When he wheeled me in, I said, “Look who I found outside.”

  “Good afternoon, Ms. Laiken.”

  “Lady Laiken.” I corrected him. He waved me off like I was bein’ pedantic, which I resented a bit. I mean Black Swan knights make a lot of sacrifices to do what we do. Aye. We have some nice perks, but we deserve every one of them, includin’ the respect that goes along with the title.

  Even though I knew what to expect, I was almost struck dumb all over again when Elora opened her eyes. I would have sold my soul into bondage for the remainder of eternity to see the beauty of turquoise residin’ there instead.

  “Hi,” she replied with a little smile. “You gonna tell me what happened, Monq?”

  “I think that can be arranged. Let me take a look around first.” He reached for her face and she slapped his hand away. “My dear, in addition to the other bullet points outlined on my rather phenomenal resume, I am a medical doctor. My interest in you is purely clinical.”

  She looked at me with a question on her face. I nodded and said, “Aye, lass. Let him have a look ‘round. ‘Tis just a formality, but we need him to sign off.”

  Without waitin’ for a response, I turned the chair around and headed for the door. Monq was no’ the first guy I’d invite to a party, but he was the first guy I’d ask to save my mate from, well, whatever was wrong.

  Ten minutes later, Monq stepped out into the hall. “Every single one of my staff and I will stop what we’re doing and put the entirety of our focus to bear on sorting this out.

  “I’m sending a nurse in to draw blood and give her some pain medication. After that, well, I’ll let you know as soon as there’s something to tell. She needs to be kept as quiet as possible. Rest can only do her good, but she’s probably not going to settle down until somebody fills in the blanks. I told her you would come back in and answer her questions.”

  “Aye. Alright. Would you ask the nurses to find my phone?”

  “I will,” he said as he held the door open for me to wheel myself back in.

  I saw Storm and Kay comin’ through the infirmary doors. I nodded toward them. “Take care of that, will you?”

  Monq looked at my teammates and nodded.

  When the door swished closed behind me, Elora said, “Come sit down and tell me what happened. I’ve waited long enough.”

  “They’re comin’ back in to pull some blood from ye. After that we’ll have a nice long chat.”

  Elora’s friend, Elsbeth, was the one who came through the door carryin’ a tray of apparatus.

  “What do you need blood for?” Elora wanted to know.

  “Routine tests.” Elsbeth was so nonchalant about Elora’s eyes. I took that to mean that either she was a very good friend who cared about my girl or a passable actress. “You hungry?”

  “No.”

  As she was pullin’ blood into her little tubes, she said, “Your doctors say you can have anything you want. Hot chocolate? Brownies? Hot fudge sundae?” she taunted.

  “No. Thank you though.”

  “Okay,” Elsbeth smiled. “All done. If you change your mind about food, just use the call button.” She patted Elora on the arm.

  “Okay.”

  After Elsbeth pulled the door closed behind her there were no excuses left why Elora should no’ hear what had happened. I pulled myself out of the wheelchair and sat on the side of my bed. Elsbeth had helped her roll onto her side so that her body was facin’ toward me.

  “Let’s start with what you remember.”

  She blinked a few times. “After I was sure that Kay had you and there was nothin’ more I could do, Baka and I started after the vamps. We were about ten minutes into the tunnel when I realized he wasn’t with me anymore. I turned around. His face was frozen in the strangest expression… I started back to see what was wrong and then he fell to the ground. When he went down, I saw Ghost standing behind him holding a dart that was aimed at me. I thought maybe I could outrun it.” She tried to lift a shoulder to shrug, but the movement was tiny. “There wasn’t anything else to try. I knew he’d pin me before I could get a stake out of my boot. And the gel in the pistol wouldn’t have any effect on him.

  “I felt the hit pretty soon after I started sprinting
away. I remember regretting going back for Baka because the last thing I thought was that I didn’t want you to have to go through losing another partner, especially after the fuss I made about protecting you.” She reached up to wipe a single tear away. “Stupid, wasn’t it? That’s all.”

  I could no’ take hearin’ her chastise herself. “None of us ever know how we’ll behave in a given situation, but I suspect that any of us could have, would have, made the same choices.”

  She looked grateful, but said nothin’ else. “Whatever I add is second hand because I was no’ there. I’m repeatin’ what was told me by Kay and Storm.”

  I covered Baka’s plan to bury the nest and destroy the hidey holes in one stroke.

  “O’ course everybody’s priority was you, gettin’ you out alive. Baka insisted that there was no’ enough time for standard search procedure. He remembered that you had asked for his shirt to train Blackie for trackin’ vampire. Storm thought it might be a long shot, but he got Sanction to bring Blackie and a shirt from your hamper. The dog, Elora - your dog - was nothin’ less than amazin’. They said they could no’ have found you in time without him.”

  Big tears starting running down her face again. “Come now, darlin’. You know everything turned out right ‘cause here you are. Alive to hear the tale. But you should give that dog steaks and kale for a month. Maybe a year.” She smiled and nodded, again swipin’ at tears.

  "Anyway, Blackie led Storm, Kay, Sanction and Baka straight to you.” I hesitated before goin’ on, no’ sure that tellin’ her the whole story was the best thing, but unable to withhold at the same time. “Ghost left you shackled and locked away for two hungry vampire. You were bitten.”

  Elora stared at me for a full minute like she was waitin’ for a shoe to drop. Suddenly her face contorted. She drew in a ragged gasp and looked at me with wild eyes. “Vampire…”

  She choked and tried to sit up. I stood as fast as my body would allow, stepped to the bed and found the controls to the built in motor so I could raise the back of her bed to a sittin’ position.

  “They were touching me,” she said with a shudderin’ breath and a look of vulnerability that simply leveled me, “and…" For a few seconds her face froze into a silent cry of horror. “...biting.” She looked down and began frantically shovin’ the bed covers away. I realized what she was doin’. She wanted to see the evidence of what had been done to her.

  “No!” My first instinct was to grab her wrists and restrain her, but then thought better of it and let go. No’ that I would have been able to restrain her, even when at my best. And eventually she would have to see.

  All modesty forgotten, she pulled the hospital gown up and away so that she could see her legs and abdomen. If seein’ her terror acted out in front of me was no’ enough, seein’ her beautiful body torn and savaged was more than I could take. I wanted to scream, cry, and tear the infirmary apart. I wanted to hurt my teammates for killin’ Nibelung before I had a chance at him myself.

  Worst of all was Elora’s reaction to seein’ the red, swollen bites, gouges, and slashes. She looked at me with a vulnerability I shall never forget, pulled the gown down, and wept.

  I wanted so badly to do something to comfort her, but knew nothin’ about what humans need at such times. Instinct led me to pull myself onto her bed, no’ carin’ if I damaged stitches. I took her in my arms and held tight while she sobbed.

  After a long time she quieted and let herself fall away from my chest and back on the pillow. Lookin’ up at me with those eerie white eyes, puffy, and rimmed with red, she said, “I guess I’m the one who’s not so pretty anymore.”

  I wished I could open her heart to mine so she would know that what I saw was the most precious thing in the universe. “You could no’ be more beautiful, inside and out.”

  She sniffled and I knew she had no’ really heard me.

  “There was nothin’ I could do, Ram.” She took a tissue from me and held it to her nose for a minute. “It got so cold. I was shivering. The cold was worse than the pain.”

  “’Twas probably loss of blood.” I ran my hand over her head as I had done the first night I saw her hair cut short. “But, ‘tis over now, you know. Soon you’re goin’ to be good as new.” I hoped to Paddy that was no’ a lie.

  “For a person who never cried until I came here, it seems like I’ve been doing it a lot.”

  “Aye. We’re goin’ to be changin’ that.”

  Elsbeth came in to check on us ‘round noon and tsked at me.

  “Sir Hawking. Everyone on the floor is aware of the agreement you made with Dr. Lao. There was no provision for sharing a bed. That’s why your own bed was brought in here.”

  “You made a deal to share a room with me?”

  “Aye.” I gently moved away from Elora. “When you’re right, you’re right, nurse.”

  “Oh, now look at that.” I followed her line of vision down to my gown. Sure enough there were bloodstains oozin’ from the stitches I had stretched. “You’ve been a very bad boy.”

  “Do no’ make me laugh, nurse.”

  “I’m not trying to make you laugh, Sir Hawking. I’m trying to make you behave. Lie back and let me have a look at what you’ve done.”

  She told on me to the doctor, who gave instructions on cleanin’ the wounds and gave me a right proper lecture. My teammates arrived at the tail end of that and enjoyed hearin’ me dressed down.

  Kay brought the flowers in with him, set them down on the rollin’ table at the end of Elora’s bed, and handed her the card.

  Without lookin’ at the card, she turned to me and said, “Rammel, it’s the most beautiful bouquet in the history of flowers.” She read the card and then started cryin’ all over again.

  At that point I was too tired to pick my head up off the pillow. All I could manage was to say, “For Great Paddy’s sake, woman, you can no’ possibly have any more tears in there to shed. Will someone please have mercy on me and put a bit of chocolate in her pretty mouth?”

  That made her laugh, which apparently hurt and made her laugh all the more, but her three teammates collectively breathed a sigh of relief. After all, there was no such thing as a vampire who laughed. And even as I said that to myself, I was rememberin’ Baka’s joyful laughter in that alley the night Elora had taken her first kill.

  Storm and Kay came back at dinner time with food for the four of us. They thought we should eat together, as we usually did. ‘Twas thoughtful, but Elora still wasn’t hungry. That was worrisome, but I knew she was getting nourishment from the I.V. I never could have imagined a scenario in which I’d be thankful for damn needles.

  We chatted quietly about the talk around J.U. Everyone was excited that the record number of disappearances was likely stemmed, if no’ over altogether. Eventually Elora’s mood turned somber and she got ‘round to askin’ what had happened to Ghost. They told her he died in the explosion and that, so far as E Team was concerned, he gave his life in the line of duty, a credit to The Order. She caught the glances they exchanged and read between the lines.

  “And Baka?” she asked.

  “No decision yet,” Storm said. “I recommended some sort of new arrangement. Probation maybe.”

  “You recommended?” Her eyebrows were raised almost to her hairline in disbelief.

  Storm shrugged. “I mean, he was singlehandedly responsible for bringing the crisis to an end and, in the process, he probably took out more vampire than anyone in the history of this organization. I guess I sort of vouched for him. I know it’s hard to believe.”

  When the late night nurse came in for a round of chartin’ vitals, we made a game of comparin’ stats.

  The nurse told Elora,” Your temperature’s half a degree higher than your normal.”

  I smiled at Elora. “Aye. To be sure she is perpetually hot and that is normal for her.”

  The nurse chuckled at my innuendo and told Elora, “You’re a lucky girl.” At the door, she stopped and said, “Okay kids. L
ights out. This is not a slumber party. You both need sleep if you want to get well.” She flipped the light switch, closed the door and left the room in darkness except for the LED lights from the machine read-outs.

  “Ram?”

  “Hmmm?”

  “Thank you for telling me stories.”

  “You heard me.”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “I especially liked it when the elf tied scissors to Rapunzel’s hair and sent them up to the tower so she could cut her braid, tie it off and use it to climb down. I also liked it when the miller’s daughter got Rumpelstiltskin in a choke hold and gave him the choice of either changing the offer or passing out in forty seconds. Your fairy tales were wonderful.”

  “Elf tales,” was the last thing I said before sleep took me.

  The next mornin’ we woke to Grand Central Station in our little hospital room. There were doctors, nurses, some of Monq’s assistants and Monq lookin’ like he had no’ been to bed.

  “Good morning, Ms. Laiken.” He seemed lively for someone so bloodshot, rumpled and sportin’ Einstein hair.

  “Lady Laiken,” I corrected. Great Paddy. Get it right!

  “Whatever,” Monq said, turnin’ back to Elora, “You seem to be having a little reaction to the bites you sustained. We’ve determined that the inoculation you received wasn’t up to the task of combating the concentrated levels of virus that were introduced to your body. Even though females have a hormone-based antitoxin that aids immunity, it wasn’t enough to avoid infection altogether. We’re going to give you a booster, and believe that it will reverse any side effects of the virus still in your system.”

  “Okay,” she said. “Go ahead.”

  ‘Twas clear by her demeanor that my girl had no needle phobia. Monq produced a filled syringe and administered the injection himself.

  “Are there side effects to look out for?” I asked.

  He gave me a pointed look. “This won’t take long enough to worry about that. The effect won’t be instantaneous, but it’s relatively fast acting.” He turned his attention back to Elora who was lying quietly, but very alert. “By noon you’ll be good as new. I’ll be back in four hours to make sure of it.”