by Lynsay Sands
“Yes,” Dani murmured, but Magnus noticed that she still looked worried. He got the feeling, though, that she was worried for Allie and not herself.
Frowning, he peered down at her still face. Even asleep, she looked exhausted and wrung out. Magnus suspected nothing short of a transfusion would fix that, and hoped there was word from the lab when they reached the house.
“Here we are,” Teddy announced suddenly, and turned off the road onto a cement driveway.
There wasn’t much to see when Magnus looked up. The road was blocked from view on one side of them by a line of evergreen bushes; a garage was in front of them, and a high wooden fence ran along their other side from the corner of the garage to back behind them and out of his line of vision.
“Right,” Teddy said as he shut off the engine. “Dani, why don’t you and Mr. Bjarnesen take Miss Chambers inside and out of the cold while Decker and I see to the luggage . . . such as it is,” he added dryly as he opened his door and got out.
Magnus smiled faintly at the police chief’s comment as he undid his seat belt. There wasn’t much luggage to bother with. Just his suitcase and Allie’s two backpacks that she called Go bags. Tybo, Decker, and Dani hadn’t had time to pack anything and planned to shop tomorrow for necessities to see them through for a couple of days. So he wasn’t surprised that the two men had the baggage in hand and the back of the SUV closed before he’d even finished getting Allie out of the SUV. Very aware that Allie was mortal, Magnus had moved slowly and carefully to ensure he didn’t bang her head, arms, or legs into anything as he maneuvered cautiously out of the vehicle.
The second SUV, an unmarked one, was pulling in as Dani led them to a gate in the fence. As he paused to wait for her to open it, Magnus noted that Teddy and Decker were stopping to wait for the others. He briefly considered waiting as well so that Liam could see that his mother was all right. The boy had been anxious at being separated from her on landing, but it was extremely cold, and Allie was already in a weakened condition. He decided the less time they spent in the cold, the better, and quickly followed Dani through the gate when she held it open for him.
A short sidewalk led to a large deck that started halfway along the back of the house and wrapped around the side. Magnus wasn’t terribly surprised when Liam and Teddy Jr. caught up to them as they mounted the steps to the deck. The boys didn’t say anything; they merely fell into step on either side of him, Liam’s anxious gaze shifting between his mother and where he was going as they crossed the deck.
Magnus had just opened his mouth to assure the lad that his mother would be fine when the sound of a door opening drew his attention.
“Come in, come in. Out of the cold,” a pretty blonde greeted them, smiling in welcome as she held the door open.
“Oh, Mabel, hello,” Dani sighed, pausing briefly to hug the woman before leading the way past her and into the house.
Magnus nodded in greeting as he led the two boys inside, and then found himself entering a kitchen with an L-shaped counter that he followed Dani around to make room for the others now trooping into the house. A dining area was situated past the kitchen, separated only by the counter, and Dani led himself and the boys to stand next to the table before stopping, and turning back to look Allie over briefly.
“How long until the sedative wears off?” Magnus asked.
“Not for hours,” Dani assured him. “Which is fine—she needs the rest.”
He nodded in agreement and then the sound of creaking wood caught his ear. They were standing almost under a large archway into a spacious entry with double doors on one end and a curving staircase at the other. The creaking was someone descending the wooden staircase, he realized as a redhead hurried down to join them.
“Dani, love.” The newcomer enfolded Dani in a warm and welcoming embrace, rocking her slightly from side to side. “It’s been too long, dear.”
“Only since last summer, Elvi,” Dani protested as she hugged her back.
“As I said, too long.” The woman Magnus now knew must be Elvi Argeneau smiled at him over Dani’s shoulder, and then pulled back to tell Dani, “Steph should be down in a minute. She has been excited ever since she heard you were coming.”
“Oh, I—” Dani began, and then paused as a squeal drew their attention to a young woman bounding down the stairs at speed. She was almost a carbon copy of Dani except that her blond hair was up in a ponytail. Dani’s sister, Stephanie, was Magnus’s guess, and he watched with interest as she rushed to them and threw her arms around the doctor with another happy squeal.
“Dani, Dani, Dani! I was so happy when they said you were coming too.” Stephanie pulled back to eye her in question as she added, “But I can’t believe you were willing to take time off work to do it. You never do that.”
“Well, Allie needed help, and it meant getting to spend some time with you, so . . .” Dani shrugged and then kissed the young woman on the cheek. “It’s good to see you, sis.”
“Good to see you too,” Stephanie chirped, and then glanced around, her expression becoming concerned as it landed on Allie. Releasing Dani, she crossed to peer down at her, murmuring, “This is her?”
“Allison Chambers,” Dani said quietly before Magnus could respond. Moving to join them, she added, “She’s had a rough time of it the last couple of days and needs a blood transfusion.”
“She’s had a rough time of it for most of her life,” Stephanie said, her voice somewhat distracted and her eyes pulsing with a glow that brightened and then darkened before brightening again. “But she’s given up everything for . . .” Pausing, she turned and stared past Magnus and then smiled and breathed, “Liam.”
Magnus turned to see the boy standing a couple of steps back with Teddy, watching them with interest, and then Teddy nudged Liam and said, “That’s Stephy. She’s weird sometimes, but cool. You’ll like her.”
“Yep, that’s me. Weird but cool Stephy,” Stephanie chuckled, the glow fading from her eyes as she stepped forward and offered her hand to Allie’s son. “A pleasure to meet you, Liam. Your mom is going to be fine. My sister will make her well, Magnus will make her like us, and you’ll never again have to worry about losing her. The two of you won’t have to run anymore either. It’s all going to work out.”
“Promise?” Liam asked, his expression serious.
“Cross my heart,” Stephanie assured him. “I may be weird, but I’m never wrong.”
“Weird’s okay,” he assured her, accepting her hand and shaking it. “Mom says she’s weird too. I like weird.”
“Well, now that that’s settled,” Elvi said lightly. “Magnus, Liam, I’m Elvi Argeneau. Welcome to my home.”
Liam stepped forward and offered his hand, saying politely, “Hello, ma’am. Thank you for having us.”
“You’re more than welcome,” Elvi assured him, and then asked, “Would you like to see the room where you and your mom will be staying? That way we could tuck her in and let her rest.”
“Yes, please, ma’am,” Liam said softly. “Mrs. Tricia says Mom needs her rest.”
“That she does,” Elvi said solemnly, and took his hand, then smiled at Magnus and gestured for him to follow before turning to lead Liam to the stairs, saying, “Your mom’s done a fine job with you, young man. You’re very polite.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Elvi.”
“You’re welcome,” Elvi said, and then called out, “Teddy, are you coming too? The girls are watching movies in the upper porch and you can take Liam there after he sees where he’s going to sleep and where his mom will be.”
“Can I, Mom?” Teddy asked, and Magnus paused at the bottom of the steps to wait.
“Yes. But be good and not too much noise while Liam’s mom is sleeping,” Tricia said firmly.
“Okay,” Teddy called, barely waiting for her words to finish before rushing past Magnus to latch on to Elvi’s free hand as she walked up the stairs. It was exactly what Magnus had expected and why he’d paused. So the boy could get
past him on the stairs. As he now followed the trio, Elvi announced, “Liam, you and your mother are going to be staying in the tower bedroom.”
“You have a tower?” Liam asked with interest.
“Yes, and that’s where you’re staying.”
“Where am I staying?” Teddy asked.
“In the blue room next door to Liam’s so you can find each other easy in the morning,” Elvi answered promptly.
Magnus smiled faintly as the boys began to chatter excitedly, and then glanced to the side. The stairs curved around on themselves and he was now parallel to the archway, though above it. His gaze landed on Stephanie, who stood in the arch watching him as Dani followed him upstairs. Her eyes were pulsing with that glow again, and he stared at them silently and then turned his face forward again, aware that she wasn’t really seeing him at all. She was seeing into him. He’d encountered an Edentate like Stephanie before. A no-fanger who hadn’t come out of the turn insane, but one with a special gift like Stephanie’s, and it had been a gift . . . and a curse. He hoped Stephanie did better under its burden.
Eight
“Nonsense. You have been awake for more than thirty-six hours, Dani. You need to sleep. I can sit with Allison. I used to be a nurse in my day and remember the drill with transfusions. I’ll keep an eye out for any symptoms that there is a problem and record her pulse, blood pressure, temperature, and respiratory rate . . .” There was the sound of paper fluttering and the woman with the slightly husky voice queried, “Hourly?”
“It isn’t usually checked that often in the hospital by this point,” a softer voice acknowledged, sounding weary. “But we aren’t in a hospital so I’ve been watching her a little more closely than usual.”
“Of course,” the husky voice said with understanding.
Allie frowned slightly, wondering what TV show Liam was watching. It sounded like a medical drama, but he was more a cartoons kind of kid. Actually, she thought now, they didn’t have a TV anymore. She hadn’t been able to afford one of those for a while, so he must be watching something on the computer. She was silently running through the list of movies and TV shows she’d downloaded on the computer in search of which one he could be watching now when the soft voice said, “I’ll just examine her one more time and then I’ll go lie down for a bit.”
In the next moment, Allie felt a cool hand on her forehead. Startled, she was about to open her eyes to see who was touching her when it was done for her. At least, one eyelid was pulled up gently.
Squawking in surprise as she found herself staring up at a petite blonde she didn’t recognize, Allie tried to raise her arm to knock the woman’s hand away, but her arm wouldn’t move. It was restrained somehow.
“You’re awake,” the blonde said with surprise, and then assured her, “No, Allie. You aren’t restrained. I mean, your one arm is, but only to keep you from knocking out the IV.”
Allie opened her mouth to speak, and then grimaced at the pasty feel in her mouth. She’d obviously been sleeping on her back with her mouth open for a while. That was the only time she experienced this disgusting taste in her mouth, and her throat was dry so she’d probably been snoring as well.
“Leonora, could you fetch some water for Allie, please,” the blonde said, glancing across the bed.
Allie shifted her eyes to see an attractive woman with black hair hurrying from the room. Once the door closed, she peered warily at the blonde again.
“She’ll be right back,” the woman said reassuringly. “She just—”
The blonde fell silent and they both looked toward the door when it opened. Allie felt relief slide through her when Magnus entered. She couldn’t have said why. He was a virtual stranger to her. Still, she was relieved.
“It is good to see you awake,” Magnus said, moving to the bedside.
“I’m afraid she was a bit alarmed when she woke to two strangers in the room with her,” Dani admitted quietly.
“I knew I should have stayed,” Magnus said with a frown as he sat down on the edge of the bed and took her hand reassuringly.
“You’d been here all night,” Dani pointed out. “I pretty much had to threaten you to get you to go feed.” Smiling wryly, she added, “It just figures she’d wake up five minutes after you left.”
Allie’s eyes widened at the news that he’d sat at her bedside for so long, and then the door opened again and the black-haired woman returned, carrying the promised glass of water.
Dani unstrapped her arm and Magnus helped her sit up. He then took the glass from Leonora, and asked Allie if she could hold it. When she nodded, he held it out to her. Allie smiled at him crookedly as she took the glass.
They all watched her drink, which made her feel ridiculously self-conscious. But she felt better after a couple of sips and lowered the glass with a sigh, then looked around the room she was in. It was different than the last room where she’d woken up. This one was a pale yellow with a unicorn border along the top of the wall, and dolls lined up on the fireplace mantel. A little girl’s room.
“This is Sunita’s room,” Dani said with a faint smile as she followed where her attention had gone. “Elvi’s daughter.”
“Tricia mentioned her,” Allie said quietly, grimacing when speaking hurt her throat a bit. “I must have been snoring up a storm or something. My throat hurts.”
When amused grins were her only answer, she knew she had been and felt her face heat up with embarrassment. She also found she now had trouble meeting Magnus’s gaze. Clearing her throat, she said, “So we must be in Port Harry.”
“It’s Port Henry,” Dani corrected gently.
“Oh.” She peered at the woman with curiosity. “Why don’t I remember the helicopter flight here?”
“You fainted at the Enforcer house,” Dani reminded her. “I arrived minutes later and examined you. You weren’t in very good shape. You were low on blood and suffering tachycardia. You needed a transfusion, but I had to get some test results first so took some blood samples and sent them to the lab, then gave you a sedative to keep you calm and stable for the trip.”
“So I was low on blood and you took more?” she asked with amusement. “You must be Dr. Dani.”
The blonde smiled wryly. “It sounds counterintuitive, I know. But I needed your blood typed and matched,” she explained, and then added, “And yes, I’m Dr. Dani Argeneau Pimms.”
When the petit blonde held out her hand, Allie shifted the glass she’d been holding in both hands to one and shook the woman’s hand. “Thank you. I’m guessing since I’m feeling better that you gave me the transfusion?”
“Yes. Now we’re just watching to be sure there are no adverse reactions. You’ll need to be monitored for twenty-four hours.”
Allie’s eyebrows rose. “I had no idea blood transfusions took so long.”
“Took so long?” Dani looked confused. “It only took a couple of hours.”
Now it was Allie’s turn to look confused. “Sorry, I thought I heard . . .” She glanced to the dark-haired woman. “Leonora?”
“Yes.” The woman smiled at her brightly. “Hello.”
“Hello,” Allie murmured, and then said, “As I woke up I thought I heard you say Dani had been up for thirty-six hours?”
“Oh,” Dani said with understanding. “Yes. Well, I have, but that’s not down to you. You only fainted yesterday after lunch. Lucian wanted you moved here at once, so I came with you so that I could oversee the transfusion once we got the test results back and knew what blood type to use. He was able to get a plane quickly, and we landed at a little after two in the afternoon. The lab had the test results shortly after that, but you just happen to have golden blood, which is extremely rare and hard to get ahold of. In fact, I didn’t think they’d be able to find any. I should have known better. Never underestimate the abilities of Argeneau Enterprises,” she added with a wry smile, and then shrugged. “They found a donor, convinced them to give blood, and flew it straight here. It arrived at five o’clock
this morning and I started the transfusion at once.”
Allie stared at her blankly for a moment and then said, “I’m pretty sure I have red blood, not golden. At least, it’s been red every time I’ve cut myself and bled.”
Dani laughed at her words and shook her head. “Sorry. Golden blood is what they call a blood type that is Rh null. It’s—” She shook her head. “Let’s just say it’s rare. In fact, there are only something like forty-three people known to have it in the world. Well, and now you.” Pausing, she frowned and shook her head. “I’m surprised you aren’t on record. They keep track of people with Rh null blood because it’s so precious.” Tilting her head, she eyed her silently for a moment, and then said, “You had no idea, did you?” And then her eyes widened and she said, “You’ve never had a blood test? Ever?”
Allie narrowed her eyes. “You’re reading my mind.”
“Sorry, yes, but—”
“How could you have lived your whole life without having a blood test?” Magnus asked, interrupting Dani. “I understood mortals had those frequently.”
Allie grimaced at the question, and then admitted, “My parents were devout Followers of Christ.”
There was a moment of silence and then Leonora said, “I don’t understand.”
“Followers of Christ is a . . . religion that doesn’t believe in medical intervention,” Dani said quietly. “I had no idea there were any in Canada, though. I thought they were based in the States.”
Allie shrugged. “I don’t know. My father was from the States originally. My mother was Canadian and born Catholic, but converted when she met and married him. He was pretty fanatical about religion. He was also maniacally controlling. It made for an interesting childhood,” she added dryly. “I’ve had nothing to do with him or his religion since I was sixteen.”
“So, you’re not a Follower of Christ?” Dani asked, looking worried.
“No,” Allie said firmly. That answer made relief wash across Dani’s face and Allie supposed the woman had feared she’d gone against her religion by treating her.
