by Julie Wetzel
“Thank you,” she answered as she popped the last piece of the cake into her mouth. Licking the sticky honey off her fingers, she watched as he came back over to the side of her bed.
Darien picked up the card resting on the blanket and opened it. A smile stole across his face as he read the words written inside. “I see you’ve gotten a few flowers while I was gone.” He folded the card up and set it with the growing stack on the table. Four more arrangements had arrived after Vicky had fallen asleep, making the count an even ten.
She looked up at the jungle of flowers and sighed. “Most of those are for you.” A little depression could be heard in her voice.
Darien turned to look at the tags and cards still attached to the new arrivals, delighted to see offerings from both vampires and werewolves. He shook his head when his eyes fell on the purple flowers sticking out of a rather large basket. Reaching up, he plucked the offensive plants from the arrangement. “Who sent this one?” he asked as he turned back to Vicky with the loose flowers in his hand.
She sifted through the cards to find the one that had been attached to that basket. “Here.” She handed it to him.
Darien shook his head at the other vampire’s lack of tact. “Of course, his kiss would send a basket with wolfsbane in it.”
“Wolfsbane?” Vicky asked.
Darien held up the purple flowers for her to see. “Also known as monkshood or aconitum,” he explained. “It’s a pretty flower, but it’s rather poisonous, and it drives werewolves nuts. They tell me it smells like a cross between skunk and dirty sweat socks.” Darien set his bag on the chair before dropping the flowers in the wastebasket and wrapping the plastic around them. Pulling the bag out of the can, he tied it shut. “I’ll get rid of this for you.” Adding it to the chair with his bag, he turned back to his assistant.
“Why don’t you lay back down and try to get some more rest?” he suggested as he pulled the napkin from the covers and dropped it into the empty wastebasket. Vicky slid back into a more relaxed position as he pulled the blankets up over her, tucking her in. She looked up at him as he smoothed her hair back away from her face.
“I’ll be back when I can.”
Vicky’s heart skipped at both his soft caress and the emotions she thought she could hear in Darien’s words. Had he always been so caring? She closed her eyes and relaxed under his cool hand.
Pulling away, Darien picked up the messenger bag and flowers so he could head into work. He stopped just before the door and turned to look at his assistant curled up in the hospital bed. For the first time in a long time, he really didn’t want to go to work, but Mondays were usually very busy, so there was no getting out of it.
Darien closed his eyes and forced his feet to take him away from the woman stirring emotions in him again. The incident with Michael had brought these feeling to his attention, but the fire had made him realize how strong they actually were. He tried to stay indifferent to humans. They were so fragile and short-lived. He had loved a few, but it had been a long time ago. The one occasion he’d decided to bring over the woman he loved had ended very badly. Something had gone wrong in the process, and she had gone completely mad. Ending her life had been the single hardest thing Darien had ever done.
He thought about her as he walked out of the hospital. She had been sweet and kind. Darien worked to pull the old memories from his head as he tried to recall what she had looked like. An image slipped into his mind, and he smiled. She was a pretty, but not beautiful, woman with long, dark blonde hair and gray eyes.
Darien stopped dead in his tracks when he realized how closely she resembled Vicky. With the same bone structure, they could have been sisters. He shook this thought away and continued on his way. Surely he was mistaken. There was a picture of the girl somewhere, and he decided to hunt it up to make sure he was wrong. Darien pondered over this as he walked. If this were true, it could explain how he had developed such strong feelings in such a short amount of time.
***
“Breakfast time!” the nurse chirped cheerfully.
Vicky glared at her through one cracked eyelid. She had just gotten back to sleep from the last time one of these smiling harpies had come in to prod her.
The nurse set the tray on the rolling table and went to help Vicky sit up in bed. “Come on now. You need to eat while it’s still warm.”
Vicky grudgingly shifted in the bed.
The nurse raised the head so she was sitting up. The caregiver rolled the table closed.
Vicky was surprised to see a plate in front of her and not a tray full of liquids.
“Do you need a hand?” The nurse offered as she looked at the bandages wrapping Vicky’s hands.
Vicky gingerly picked up the fork in her wrapped fingers. “I think I can get it.” She really didn’t want to have to go through the embarrassment of needing someone to feed her. When she fumbled the lid a little, the nurse stepped in and pulled it off the plate. Vicky’s heart leaped to see bacon and eggs. She thanked the nurse, and the woman left Vicky to enjoy her repast.
***
Vicky finished the last bite of the tasteless eggs and pushed the table away from her. She’d eaten everything on her plate because she was starving, but she hadn’t enjoyed it very much. Now that she was awake, she cast her eyes around the room for something to do. Her burns had started hurting again, and she needed something to keep her mind off them.
The doctor had told her how bad they were, but Vicky had no idea what that meant in real-world terms. She had seen pictures of third-degree burns that had been charred black and had required extensive reconstructive surgery, but could she really be that bad?
Looking down at the lump that was her leg, Vicky flipped back the blanket to reveal the appendage wrapped in a layer of white gauze. There was no blood or ooze that would indicate the extent of the wound. Vicky considered ripping off the bandage to quiet her growing curiosity, but she decided that wasn’t a good idea. Flipping the blanket back over, she searched the room again for something that would keep her attention off the itchy pain in her body.
She looked at the flowers sitting on the windowsill and shook her head. Another three vases had arrived, and the nurses had pushed them together so they could get them all on the ledge. There wasn’t going to be room if any more arrived today. The black backpack that Darien left beckoned to Vicky from the table next to the bed. Grabbing it up, she dragged it to the blanket in front of her. She had just unzipped the top and pulled out the book when two nurses came in with a wheelchair.
Her normal nurse smiled at her. “Hello, Miss Westernly. The specialist from the burn unit is here to see you.”
Vicky dropped the book back into the bag and zipped it closed.
The man dressed in scrubs and pushing the wheelchair took the bag and set it gently on the chair next to the bed. “I’m Karl,” he said, introducing himself. “May I?” he asked, wanting Vicky’s permission before he touched her.
She thought this was a little odd from a nurse, but she consented. Karl carefully slipped his hand inside her gown and popped loose the wires connected to the heart monitor. The machine buzzed a loud warning as the signal flatlined.
Her nurse reached up and killed the noise as she unhooked Vicky’s IV from the pole.
Karl folded Vicky’s blankets back and carefully lifted her from the bed and into the chair. He shifted her IV bag to the hook on the chair before tucking a blanket across Vicky’s lap. “See you later, Nancy.” Karl waved to the nurse starting to strip Vicky’s bed.
Unlocking the wheels, Karl pushed the chair out into the hallway. “Let’s get going, My Lady. Dr. Urnkalther is waiting to see you.”
Vicky looked up at the strange way the man had addressed her. “What did you say?” she asked, shocked.
“I said Dr. Urnkalther is waiting for you.” Karl smiled down at her.
Vicky swallowed and looked forwards as she tried to figure out if her ears had deceived her.
“Don’t worry, M
y Lady. The doctor knows about your special relationship with Master Darien.”
Vicky gaped back up at the man. “Did he tell you?” Her mind whirled on this new fact.
“No.” Karl grinned slightly as they pulled up to the elevator. “Rupert arranged for Dr. Urnkalther to be here. She’s familiar with strange things.”
Vicky chewed on her lower lip as she tried to place that name. “Rupert?”
“He’s the local pack alpha.” Karl maneuvered the chair into the empty elevator and hit the button to close the door. “Dr. Urnkalther is one of the doctors that helps when we can’t heal something on our own.”
“You’re a wolf?” Vicky asked, shocked.
Karl chuckled. “At your service.” He bowed slightly in the confined space.
This was the second werewolf she had met that had shocked her. She looked up into Karl’s smiling face and tried to find something about him that said lycanthrope, but there was no hint at all. His brown hair and brown eyes were as human as the next person’s.
Vicky shook her head. “I never would have guessed.”
“That’s the point.” His grin spread as the elevator pinged its arrival on their floor. “We’re just normal people with an extraordinary condition.” He pushed the chair out into the hall.
“But, isn’t it contagious?” Vicky worried. She had heard many things about werewolf mythology, but she had no idea what was true. Could he be exposing everyone to whatever caused him to be a werewolf?
Karl let out a light laugh. “Yes.” He spoke softly to her. “But don’t worry. It takes a lot to pass it on in human form.” Karl shrugged. “It’s easy to explain if you look at it from a medical standpoint.”
Vicky listened intently as he explained.
“Lycanthropy is a condition that’s caused by something carried in the blood. Just like any blood-borne pathogen, it can be passed on under the right circumstances. It requires contact with a lycanthrope’s blood or saliva when the subject is in wolf form. And it usually takes more than just a little.” Karl rattled on like this was any subject suitable for the halls of a hospital.
“No wolf would ever donate blood. There’s a possibility that whatever causes lycanthropy can still be passed on if enough blood is transferred, but this has never been tested, for obvious reasons.” He smacked a little circle on the wall that automatically opened the two doors to the burn unit. “The cool part is, you can be exposed to the factor and carry it without having lycanthropy.”
“Someone that has it but doesn’t suffer from it… like a carrier?” Vicky asked.
“Sort of, but they can’t pass it on.” Karl answered.
She looked up at him, confused.
“Since they can’t change, they can’t pass it on,” he explained.
“What if they donated blood, not knowing they had it?” Vicky asked. This was turning into a fascinating conversation.
“Again, it’s never been tested, but I’ve never heard of anyone being turned into a werewolf from a batch of bad blood.” Karl rolled her into a room with a large, metal table in it. “Here we are, My Lady.”
Vicky looked around the room at the three people waiting for her.
“Hello, Miss Westernly.” A short, dark-haired woman stepped forwards. “I’m Dr. Soryn Urnkalther.” The woman pulled a rolling stool over to sit next to Vicky so they could talk before they got started. “Everyone here knows your special circumstance, so you can rest easy.”
Vicky squirmed in her chair a little. She wasn’t sure how “at ease” she was going to be. “Are you all wolves?” Vicky asked, voicing the first question that popped into her head.
“No.” Dr. Urnkalther smiled at the question. “Karl and Elaina are, but Katie and I are just your average humans.”
Vicky looked at two girls that waved when Dr. Urnkalther said their names. “Sorry.” Vicky blushed a little at her assumption.
“It’s all right,” the doctor reassured her. “I know you don’t have a lot of experience with werewolves.”
“Or vampires.” Vicky sighed.
Dr. Urnkalther laughed. “That’s something we have in common.” The doctor opened the file in her hand. “I have your medical charts from the emergency room, and, frankly, I’m surprised that you’re even conscious.” The woman flipped a page as she read through the chart again.
“Is it really that bad?” Vicky asked, her concern growing. The look that crossed Dr. Urnkalther’s face said it was.
“Burns on ten to fifteen percent of your body, severe smoke inhalation, a concussion, and lacerations on your hands and feet that required stitches. I would say it was pretty bad.” The doctor looked up at her. “I’ve also been told that Master Darien has given you some kind of treatment that helped. What did he do?”
Vicky squirmed as she thought about the “treatment” Darien had given her. How was she supposed to tell the doctor he had kissed her pain away? “Um…” She tried to think of something else to say. “I’m not sure,” she finally answered. “It was like he washed away the pain, but I have no idea what he did.”
Dr. Urnkalther nodded her head. “Maybe I should ask him when he comes around,” she mused. “I would like to see what he did.”
Vicky was sure she didn’t want anyone to watch him kiss her again.
“Anyway,” the doctor continued, “I need to see what the emergency room did and how bad the burns are.” Dr. Urnkalther stood up. “If you would, please, Karl.” She waved at the orderly, and he came over.
“If I may?” Karl asked again and waited for Vicky to nod before lifting her onto the operating table.
Dr. Urnkalther went to scrub her hands while the two nurses prepped Vicky to have her wounds cleaned and redressed.
“Um… why are we in an operating room?” Vicky asked Karl as he was messing with her IV.
“Burns require a more sterile environment then other injuries do,” Karl explained. “And these surfaces are easier to clean if there is any blood.”
“Blood?” Vicky asked.
“You’ll see,” he answered nonchalantly. “Dr. Urnkalther is one of the best in the area. You’re in good hands, My Lady.” He turned away to remove the wheelchair from the room.
Dr. Urnkalther came back over with a mask and very clean hands in sterile gloves. “Burns are easily infected, so we always take great care with them,” the doctor explained as she stood in front of Vicky and took up her right arm. She held out her hand so the nurse could give her some scissors. “I’m just going to cut this off, so we can see what’s going on.” The doctor looked up at Vicky. “Are you ready?”
Vicky took a deep breath and nodded. Curiosity about what was under the bandages had been plaguing her since she woke up.
Dr. Urnkalther carefully slipped the end of her scissors into the bandage at the back of Vicky’s hand and cut into the cloth. It only took her a moment before she had the used gauze off the hand. “That’s not so bad.” Dr. Urnkalther inspected the redness of Vicky’s skin and the stitches on her palm.
Vicky looked down at the injuries. She’d had worse burns from baking.
The doctor made an odd noise in her throat after cutting the bandage free from the left hand. “That’s an unusual burn.” She ran the tip of her gloved finger over the round, red mark on Vicky’s palm. “Did you pick something up?”
Vicky looked at the mark. “Not that I know of.” The only thing that she could remember touching was the coin from the envelope, but that was before the explosion and the fire.
“Mmm.” Dr. Urnkalther’s brow furrowed as she turned Vicky’s hand so that the light shone on the mark better. “This one looks really raw.”
She released Vicky’s hand and gave the scissors back to her assistant before pulling the bandage off Vicky’s forearm. “Wow!” the doctor commented when she saw the burnt skin. “This happened yesterday morning?”
“Yes. Around two AM,” Vicky confirmed.
“This burn looks like it has healed for several days already.” Dr. Ur
nkalther poked around the burnt skin. “I’ll still have to clean it up and redress it, but this looks really good. I am sorry, but this may hurt a little.”
Vicky watched the doctor’s amazement grow and did her best not to cry from the pain as Dr. Urnkalther unwrapped and cleaned the other burns on her body.
***
“I wonder if I could get Master Darien to come down to the burn unit and do this to a few of my more severe patients,” Dr. Urnkalther pondered as she finished placing the last paraffin bandage on Vicky’s leg. That had been the largest and worst burn, but it was already starting to heal nicely.
“I think it would be safe to downgrade your condition, Miss Westernly. You should be able to get out of here in a day or two if you keep healing like this.” She finished wrapping gauze over the paraffin bandage and taped the end down. “You’ll still need to stay off your feet until the stitches are taken out, but those cuts almost look healed, too.”
Vicky cracked her eyes open and looked down at the doctor pulling off her gloves.
“All done.”
Vicky let out a sigh of relief. The wounds hurt from the doctor’s invasion, but the bandages she now sported were much smaller, and she no longer felt like a mummy.
“I’ve got something here for the pain,” Karl said as he injected a clear liquid into Vicky’s IV.
She could feel the cool liquid run into her veins.
“You should feel better in a few minutes, My Lady.”
Vicky nodded as the man turned away to dispose of the needle.
“Karl will take you back to your room,” Dr. Urnkalther said as she wrote on Vicky’s chart. “Try to get some rest, and I’ll come by to check on you again tomorrow.”
Vicky nodded again and closed her eyes to let the medication steal away the pain. She opened them back up briefly as Karl lifted her from the table to the wheelchair.
“You did very well,” Karl complimented her as he pushed her from the room.
“Does it always hurt that much?” Vicky whimpered, trying not to cry from the pain. She had managed to hold it together as the doctor prodded the sensitive wounds, but it was catching up to her now.
