All Wounds

by Dina James

  “I’ll grab some plates,” Rebecca said as Billy sat down in a chair with one of the cartons. “Oh, never mind.”

  Billy made a questioning noise around a mouthful of what appeared to be an entire order of lo mein.

  “Nothing,” Rebecca said, shaking her head. “You apparently don’t need a plate.”

  “What for?” Billy asked. “Neat thing about take-out—no dishes to dirty.”“Want anything to drink?” Rebecca asked the werewolf already on his third carton. Two bites seemed to be all the guy needed to finish one off.

  Billy stood up and went to the pantry. He reached up over the door and brought down another four bottles of fae ale. “Neat thing about this stuff, it gets replenished when you take a bottle. Those garden boys must really like Martha, to have given her so many.” The werewolf returned to the table and set one of the paper cartons in front of her.

  Rebecca sighed and found a pair of chopsticks among the mess.

  They ate in silence for awhile. Rebecca traded her broccoli beef for the General Tso’s chicken about halfway through a carton. Billy tried to get her to take some of the fried rice that came with the dinner, but Rebecca shook her head and said she was full. Billy, undeterred, shoved a handful of fortune cookies at her and downed the rest of her broccoli beef.

  She stretched and yawned. “It’s about time for bed. I’ll go up and check on Syd before I hit the sack. You find a place to den?”

  “Yep,” Billy affirmed. “Right there at the bottom of the stairs, between you and anything that might try somethin’ stupid. I thought about sleeping under your bedroom window, but figured you might get upset about that.” Rebecca laughed and nodded. “You’d be right. There’re more blankets in the linen closet if you need them.”

  “Nah,” Billy said. He waved her off and set about emptying the last of the take-out containers.

  Rebecca shook her head as she left the kitchen and took the candle lantern from the mantle in the living room. She lit it as she reached the top of the stairs, then went into the enclave.

  “All right, I’ve eaten now,” she said as she entered. “So you can’t say anything abo—”

  She was talking to an empty room.

  Rebecca’s insides clenched.

  Where was Syd? Had the demons come back and taken him away too, like they did Ryan? She was just about to scream for Billy when she heard her name coming from the other end of the room.

  “Syd?” Rebecca called again as she approached the mirror with slow, careful steps. “You’re supposed to be in bed, sleeping.” There was no one there.

  Rebecca studied the mirror in front of her. Only her reflection was within it.

  She turned to leave again, suddenly anxious, alone in the dark room.

  Then she heard it again...her name, very faint.

  “Ryan? Hello?”

  Rebecca’s brow furrowed. No answer came.

  She shook her head and blew out the candle in the lantern. She set it on the bedside table, confused about what she thought she heard. As soon as she was out the enclave door, she leaned over the banister.

  “Billy!”

  Rebecca heard something like a growl from below and took a step back. She managed to stifle her scream as she recognized the familiar scarred, lop-sided face of the huge furry beast that made it up the stairs with frightening speed.

  “What? Was just bedding down.”

  “Syd’s gone!”

  “WHAT?”

  Billy growled and swore and swept past Rebecca into the enclave. She ran after him and was just about to enter when Billy came back out again.

  “He ain’t dead if that’s what you was thinkin’,” he said. Rebecca could hear the relief in his words. “Wasn’t taken neither. No demon stink in there or anything else. Probably he went back to the lair to heal up on his own ground. Better for vamps to do that if they can.”

  “But you said the demons would find him there!” Billy snorted. “Not if he’s holed up in the lair’s haven, they won’t.”

  “What’s the ‘lair’s haven’?” she asked.

  “Place where the vamps go to hide. He probably went to check on...

  stuff,” he said. “Anyway, he ain’t dead. Dead vamps leave a stink when their body fades, and I don’t smell anything like that. Don’t you worry none, Bit.

  ‘Sides...you gave him your blood. He’ll be all right. His clan will take care of the rest of him. Now you stay here and wait for him to come back if you want, but it’s too near sunrise here for him to do that, so it will be awhile.

  He’s probably resting, and I’m gonna go do the same. You should too.”

  “But I told him to stay here,” Rebecca said. “He said that whatever a Healer says is to be obeyed as ultimate law or something!” Billy snorted again. “That don’t work on Masters, so he can do whatever he wants, no matter what you say. I’m goin’ back to bed.”

  “I...I thought I heard...”

  “What?” Billy growled.

  She shook her head. “Nothing. I...I mean...”

  “Spit it out, Bit, I’m tired!”

  “I thought I heard the mirror in there calling my name,” Rebecca said in a rush. “Okay? I know it sounds idiotic—”

  Billy just stared at her for a long moment. “Them stupid, clever bastards...”

  “What?” Rebecca asked.

  “Nothin,” he said. “Just give me an idea is all. None of us would have heard...but you can, Bit...”

  “Hear what? It was just my name, that’s all,” she said.

  “Still, good job listenin’,” he replied. “Bet they didn’t expect you to go back up there, bein’ all scared of stuff like you are. Anyway, goin’ to bed now. You go too and don’t worry none.”

  “But what did I hear?”

  “Dunno!” Billy growled. “Maybe somethin’, maybe nothin’! Either way, ain’t nothin’ to do about it tonight! Sleep!”

  Rebecca made a frustrated noise and stepped out of the anubi’s way as he lumbered past her. This time Billy didn’t bother with the stairs and just leapt over the banister, surprising her by landing on all-fours without a sound on the floor below. She could hear him muttering to himself before the house was once again quiet.

  Alone on the second floor, Rebecca shivered. She told herself she was cold—it was nighttime in October—and closed the enclave door. She forced herself not to run down the stairs, and almost didn’t bother taking off what remained of her clothes before falling into bed.

  It was almost too much effort to go into the bathroom, change, wash her very dirty face and brush her teeth before she crawled into her bed.

  She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

  w x

  Rebecca awoke to bright sunshine streaming in her window. The clock beside her bed read two in the afternoon, and her eyes widened as she threw back the covers. Why hadn’t anyone come to wake her up?!

  She went into the hallway.

  No Billy at the bottom of the stairs, nor was he in the kitchen stuffing his face with whatever he’d brought in to eat.

  Rebecca went up to the enclave. Syd hadn’t returned. It, too, was empty.

  For the first time since she could remember, she was alone in the house.

  Not knowing what to do with herself, Rebecca went downstairs and poured herself a glass of orange juice. She gazed out the kitchen window without really seeing. She looked to the driveway and noticed it was empty.

  Billy’s—well, what had been left of it—car was nowhere to be seen, and she wondered where it was, or if it was really still there and just made invisible or something. With everything she didn’t know, and given how careless Billy seemed to be about being noticed by humans, she wouldn’t bet on it. Then probably get told off by Syd for believing silly human things.

  Syd. Syd. Where was he? Where was Ryan? And for that matter, where was Billy?

  Rebecca finished her juice and put her glass in the sink. First no Ryan, then no Syd, now no Billy.

  Great, Re
becca thought. So much for keeping her protected.

  She shrugged and muttered “whatever” as she went back down the hall to the bathroom. She found a bottle of headache medicine, shook two tablets out and gulped them down with a handful of water, thinking about the catch-up work she’d have to do for missing school again today.

  That reminded her. Nana said she had books and things. There had been books up in the enclave, and Syd had restored them to order.

  Rebecca decided she’d put the rest of the day to good use, and learn more about what it was she was supposed to be.

  w x

  Propped up on her bed, engrossed in a book about healing ectoplasmic beings, Rebecca jumped when a shout interrupted her reading.

  “BIT!”

  That sounded like...

  Rebecca tore open the bedroom door and ran toward the living room.

  “Billy?!”

  “GET UP HERE!” the anubi’s voice thundered.

  Rebecca took the stairs two at a time and dashed into the enclave.

  There on the bed lay Ryan, eyes closed tight, sweating blood and thrashing.

  “Found him,” Billy stated the obvious in little more than a grunt.

  Rebecca’s eyes widened as she noticed the big werewolf was in his human form and covered from head to toe in red and black. He was breathing hard and holding his side. “Right where you said he was. Had him hidden between realms.”

  “But—I didn’t say—what do you mean—you’re hurt!” Rebecca moved toward Billy, but he flinched back and shook his head at her before she could get a closer look at him. He nodded to Ryan.

  “Ain’t nothin’. Help the punk. Rox saved my hairy butt again, and his too, but damn...she looks worse than he does.”

  Rebecca hesitated only a moment before she moved to the bed. She remembered what Syd said about it being faster to take from her throat than her wrist and slid an arm under Ryan’s shoulders.

  She pulled with her arms as she leaned back, lifting Ryan as best she could to sit most of the way up. Wow, he wasn’t as heavy as she thought he would be.

  The dark-haired boy groaned and thrashed and tried to struggle out of her embrace, but Rebecca held him tight. Ryan went limp in her arms and Rebecca’s stomach tightened in immediate fear. He should have been able to get away from her with hardly any effort at all.

  She didn’t think about it any longer. Instead she focused on what she was doing.

  Ryan’s head lolled on her shoulder. He groaned.

  “That’s it,” Rebecca encouraged. “Come on. Wake up.” She placed a hand on the back of Ryan’s head and turned it for him.

  Rebecca held the boy close with her right arm under his, tight around his waist as she reached with her left hand and pulled her hair away from her neck.

  She returned her left hand to Ryan’s head and turned her own slightly away, exposing her throat.

  Ryan didn’t move. If anything, he just felt heavier in her arms as he sagged against her.

  “Come on,” she said again, giving him a little shake. “It’s right there.

  You can do it. You’ve got to help. We’re all working hard here to see that you get better. The least you could do is try.” Ryan groaned again and moved his head a little.

  “I’ll bet Travis Hoffman could do it, no problem,” Rebecca said in a bored voice, bringing up the captain of her school’s football team. Ryan hated Travis Hoffman more than Robin hated Marla Thompson. “If you die, maybe Syd will make Travis into a vampire, since you can’t seem to manage it.” Ryan groaned again, and she felt his fangs scrape her neck, but not pierce it.

  She tightened her hold on him and shook him again, harder.

  “Now,” she ordered in a firm voice, not bothering to try and speak in that soft tone Nana used. “You can do better. Bite me or I’ll bite you, and you won’t like it, I promise!”

  Ryan’s fangs bit deep into her throat. It was all she could do not to yelp in pain and fear. Ryan’s bite wasn’t at all like Syd’s. She wasn’t ever afraid when Syd bit her. Syd was warm and gentle, not like this. This was frightening and cold.

  Rebecca closed her eyes and forced herself to relax. Peace and calm.

  She was safe here. Safe. Warm. Safe and warm. She felt Syd’s hands on her shoulders, and instantly the uneven panicked beat of her heart slowed to a steady rhythm. The soft pressure of Syd’s fingers spread across her back in a gentle massage brought on a deep, cleansing breath, calming her even more.

  She brought her other arm around Ryan’s back. He was rigid and trembling. Holding the boy close, Rebecca kept her eyes closed until she felt Ryan’s body go limp again, only this time in relaxation. Ryan’s mouth left her neck and his head rested on her shoulder once more.

  She held Ryan against her for a long moment, catching her breath. She looked up, expecting to see Syd standing behind her, but he wasn’t there, or anywhere in the room.

  He’d been right there, hadn’t he? She’d felt him, standing behind her, his hands warm on her shoulders, comforting her.

  Had she really just imagined it?

  “His eyes,” she heard Billy say.

  Rebecca was careful not to jostle the boy too much as she laid Ryan back down in the bed and looked at his eyes.

  They were open, and completely blue. Not the brilliant, metallic glow of Syd’s eyes, but a distinct shade of blue, and not the almost-black they had been.

  Rebecca smiled. “Good. Let’s see how good.”

  She reached for a damp cloth and pressed it against Ryan’s forehead a few times before doing the same with a dry one.

  That one came away still dry and unblemished.

  “He seems to have stopped shedding again,” Rebecca with a relieved sigh. “Now let’s have a look at you.”

  She crossed the room to Billy. To her surprise, Billy reached for her face and turned her head a little to see her neck.

  The anubi shook his head. “Let’s hope he comes back to himself soon.

  That’s gotta hurt.”

  “It’s all right,” Rebecca said, waving off Billy with a shrug. “He doesn’t know any better right now. I don’t think he means to hurt me. But speaking of hurt—” She looked at Billy and shook her head.

  “What?” the anubi said with a guilty—and pained—look.

  Rebecca didn’t have the heart to say anything to him about getting himself hurt. She was beginning to realize that Billy’s natural state seemed to be either bloody or hungry. Probably both.

  “Shower,” was all she said.

  chApter tWelve

  After making sure Ryan was comfortable and resting in the enclave, Rebecca met Billy in the kitchen.

  “Oh, hey Bit,” the freshly-showered werewolf in human form said in a small voice. “I, uh—” He nodded toward the floor. “Sorry about the mess.

  But don’t worry—it’s Ethereal.”

  Her brow furrowed. “What is?”

  “The blood,” he said. “You don’t have to clean it up. It’ll fade in a bit.”

  “Maybe so, but that won’t stop you from bleeding more,” she said as she crossed the room to him. “Let me see.”

  “Ain’t nothin’,” he protested, though he lifted his arm up for her to see his wound. “Well...nothin’ much. Soon as I get the bleeding stopped it will start to heal up by itself.”

  “Everything is ‘nothing’ to you. I’m beginning to wonder what you consider ‘something’,” she muttered. “And that’s really deep. It’s not going to stop bleeding with just a rag pressed to it.” She felt the warmth of her Healer’s ability tingling in her hands and a picture flashed through her mind. She reached to touch the wound and gasped at the instant change in her vision. It wasn’t like what had happened before. This was sharp and focused and she could clearly see Billy reaching out his car window to pull a demon off the roof, Ryan slumped in the passenger seat. She watched as a jagged piece of the damaged car body sliced deep into the underside of Billy’s right bicep from elbow to armpit.

&nb
sp; The vision stopped as abruptly as it had come and Rebecca took her fingers away. Now she knew, in addition to what had caused the injury, how bad it was and what she needed to do to heal it. She looked up at the wolf in human form.

  “That’s going to need stitches,” she said. “You’ve been cut clean down to the bone by something mortal. It won’t heal up like a demon claw or bite.”

  “Ain’t noth—”

  “Sit!” Rebecca ordered, cutting him off as she pointed to a chair. “And get rid of your shirt.”

  “Thought I already said I ain’t no dog,” Billy muttered, though he obeyed and flopped down at the kitchen table, bare-chested. “I hate needles!” Holy...wow he had some muscles on him. Scars, too. Lots of them.

  Still, Rebecca could see his ribs sticking out and shook her head.

  “Good boy,” she replied with a wink. “Now don’t move while I go get what I need.”

  Billy grumbled and reached for a bottle of the fae beer he liked so much with his uninjured hand.

  Rebecca rushed upstairs and into the enclave.

  She barely looked at Syd, refreshed and returned and sitting at Ryan’s bedside as though he’d never been hurt or gone. She didn’t have time to deal with that now. Syd wasn’t hurt or in need. Billy was. Rebecca began rummag-ing through the chest of drawers at the end of the room.

  “What is it?” Syd asked.

  “Billy needs stitches,” she replied. She swallowed hard. “I’ve never...I don’t even know...I mean I know, because I can feel it or something, and see in my head what I need to do, but...” She looked at Syd and shook her head.

  “I’ll assist you,” Syd assured her as he stood up.

  Immense relief washed through her.

  “Oh, would you? I mean, thanks, really. Just...someone to make sure I’m not screwing up too badly will be a huge help. I hope it won’t be too bright for you in there. The windows are still covered up, but I need the light to see Billy’s wound.”

  Syd shook his head and opened his hand. His pair of dark glasses appeared in them and he put them on with a grin. Then he flashed out of the enclave.