by Cheree Alsop
“Put your arms back down,” Nurse Eastwick said with motherly chiding. “Let me help you.”
She worked Aleric’s bandaged hands carefully through the sleeves of the scrubs shirt. He held back an embarrassed smile as she eased the shirt over his head and pulled it down.
“Mothers are always there to help their boys,” she said. “You don’t have to be afraid to ask.”
“I’m not afraid,” Aleric replied.
“What is it then?” the nurse countered.
Aleric opened his mouth to speak, hesitated, and thought about what he wanted to say. He finally went with, “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a mother. I got used to doing it on my own.”
She gave him an understanding smile. “When Harrison comes home on school breaks and I do his laundry, he says the same thing. But I tell him once a mother, always a mother, and that fabric softener will make his clothes smell better.” She chuckled. “Then he usually tells me he doesn’t mind smelling like a boy; it keeps the girls away.”
“That’s usually the opposite effect,” Aleric pointed out.
She nodded. “I know that. He’s sweet on a girl in one of his classes. Sometimes he calls me and asks for advice.” Her brown eyes twinkled. “It makes me feel like I’m still his mom.”
Aleric followed the nurse out of O.R. Seven.
“Where do you think you’re going?” she asked when he turned to head down the hall.
“I thought I’d check on the ifrit,” Aleric replied.
She shook her head. “You’ll do no such thing. Go get some rest. Eat something. And don’t you dare use those hands for anything. You’ll be lucky if you still have feeling in those fingers.”
“Night will tell,” Aleric said.
“Then go wait for it,” Nurse Eastwick ordered. “If you need anything, send the vampire. He gets too bored wandering around here anyway. You should see how tidy the storage room is.”
“He straightened it?” Aleric asked in surprise.
She nodded and it was clear by her expression that she was happy about the fact. “He even moved those bins that hurt my back. I guess it’s not so bad having a vampire around.”
The thought of vampires turned Aleric’s steps toward the D Wing. He had planned to go to the Dark fae side, but remembered at the last minute that he had yet to check on Braum since the faun had warned him about the danger Vallia was in. He gingerly used his shoulder to open the door on that side.
Braum gave him a half-smile from his bed near the windows.
“Hey, Doc.”
“How are you doing?” Aleric asked, crossing to his side.
“Considering I jumped through the Rift and found myself drowning in a river? Pretty good,” Braum replied. “Although I’m going to have to work on my swimming skills.”
Aleric nodded. “They were pretty pathetic.”
Braum looked at the werewolf’s wrapped hands. “What happened? Cooking accident?”
“Ifrit patients,” Aleric replied.
Braum nodded as if that was explanation enough.
After a moment of silence, Aleric asked the question that had been bothering him since he pulled the faun from the river. “Braum, how did you know the gorgons brought a dragon egg to Edge City?”
Braum toyed with the light blanket over his legs. “I may have lied to you.”
Aleric watched him closely. “What part?”
Braum kept his gaze from the werewolf. “Remember when I said I worked at the Grass Patch?” Without waiting for the werewolf to reply, he continued, “That’s what I told my mother to keep her satisfied. She can sleep better thinking that at least one of her children has a respectable job and is bringing in some money since my dad ran away with a sphinx.” He grimaced. “That’s beside the point. What I’m trying to tell you is she thinks I work at the Grass Patch because my cousin covers for me. I really work at the Afterglow.”
Aleric knew of the club. It was a place of shadows and shades of gray where Dark fae and Light fae mingled. Most respectable citizens of Drake City avoided the elevated building above the Cement District. Night and day it pulsed with music. Winged pigs paid in truffles flew Drake City citizens from the streets to the glass-bottomed first floor. Those looking up from the streets could see bodies pressed together, dancing, writhing, and enjoying the darker side of the city. Those who had never been there wondered what happened on the other floors; those who had been wouldn’t tell.
The faun’s admission helped Aleric understand why Braum wasn’t afraid of him. Fauns were usually terrified of werewolves. Though the Light fae’s initial reaction had been to risk injuring himself further trying to get away when he first realized what Aleric was, his fear had vanished much faster than the werewolf was used to. It hadn’t taken long for him to forget the faun should have been afraid.
“You’re probably right not to tell your mother,” Aleric said, his tone level.
Braum nodded. “She’d kick me out for being a bad example to my younger brothers and sisters, but with her bad hoof, she can’t work. Somebody’s got to bring in the coin.”
“Who’s taking care of them while you’re here?” Aleric asked.
Braum gave him an uneasy look. “You remember when I said I first fell through the Rift because I was running from someone?”
Aleric nodded.
Braum grimaced, showing his flat teeth. “I was running from the Grimlock Ghouls.”
Aleric stared at him.
The faun held up a hand. “Before you get all preachy and tell me messing with ghouls is a bad idea, I want to remind you that though I may not have seen you battle an Archdemon, I heard plenty about it when I got back to Blays, so don’t start.”
Aleric opened his mouth, then shut it again. After a moment, he opened it again to ask, “You heard about that battle clear over in Blays?”
Braum nodded. “It’s not like the people you get back home return to their lives as though nothing happened.” He gave Aleric a closer look. “Is that what you think? Because they talk. They all talk. They tell stories about you and about Edge City. The demons, the trolls, even the vampires talk about Aleric Bayne, the protector of the human realm.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
A smile touched the faun’s face. “They also say you’re part demon.”
Incredulity colored Aleric’s voice when he asked, “What? Why?”
“Who else could send vampires to their knees and chase out a horde of demons after slaying Archdemon Pravus Brevarus?” He grinned as if he enjoyed the shock on Aleric’s face. “No mere werewolf could have done such a thing. You must have a demon inside you, pushing you, driving you beyond where normal bravery would fail.”
Aleric let out a breath of disbelief. “That’s the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Well, they haven’t met you,” the faun stated.
“What does that mean?” Aleric wasn’t sure he wanted to hear Braum’s reply.
The faun looked him up and down pointedly. “You’re not much older than me; you’re wearing whatever that outfit is.”
“Scrubs,” Aleric said.
Braum ignored him. “Your hands are wrapped to three times their size, you look like you haven’t slept in a week, and I swear if you don’t shave again soon, you’re going to grow another werewolf in that stubble on your chin.” He shook his head. “And I thought fauns got scruffy looking.”
Aleric chuckled. There was something to the way the faun spoke that took away all bite to his words. He smiled and felt it lighten some of the heaviness he had carried on his shoulders since Lilian had been taken.
“You should talk. If it wasn’t for Nurse Eastwick, I would have let Dartan do mouth-to-mouth when I pulled you to shore.”
The faun blanched and he stared up at the werewolf. “A vampire? You wouldn’t have!”
Aleric nodded. “Don’t worry. He said faun blood gives him indigestion. Besides, the lights will keep him out of here.” He waved to indicate the UV l
ights just inside the Light fae door.
“Really? I’m supposed to trust my life to lights? It’s not like they’re the sun,” the faun pointed out.
“He’s really a friend,” Aleric reassured him. “Dartan’s the one that set up the lights in the first place to remind him to stay out of here.”
“If he’s such a friend, why does he need to be reminded?” Braum asked.
“We’re getting off track,” Aleric countered. “You were telling me about the Grimlock Ghouls. I’ve met a few of them before. Nasty.” The thought of the flesh-eating grave robbers sent a shiver down Aleric’s spine.
“Nasty’s a light word for it,” Braum replied. “Abominations are more like it. Did you know they carry eyeballs in their pockets as snacks?”
Aleric fought back a smile. “That’s a rumor.”
“I’ve seen it,” the faun said.
Aleric’s smile faded.
“That’s what was going on,” Braum continued. “I was waiting on a table of ghouls at the Afterglow and one of them pulled out an eyeball. He said he bet he could land it in the glass of a sasquatch a few tables away. He did it and she came over and pummeled him while the others laughed.”
His face clouded as he remembered. “But she took it too far. One hit, everything was fine, the next and the ghouls were on her. It took three other sasquatches to pull them apart. There were blood and entrails everywhere.”
“Is there a point to this story?” Aleric asked. He had seen enough blood in the hospital to appease a lifetime of gory details. He felt sparing himself from the faun’s tale was justified, and took a step away from the bed.
But Braum nodded, halting his retreat. “Yes, there is. When I was helping clean up, I could hear the ghouls talking in the corner. They said Gormiger, the ghoul the sasquatch had beat up, had a stash from his grave robbing that surpassed any of theirs. And that ghoul was just messed up enough to say where he hid it.”
Suspicion kept Aleric’s gaze on the faun. “So what did you do?”
“I excused myself early and found the stash.” The faun’s eyes widened. “And they were right. A decade of grave robbing wouldn’t have brought me that much. He must have been collecting for years!”
“You took it?”
Braum nodded. “You bet I did. I hid it close to where I found it, in the eaves of the workshop just above the bush where he had buried it.” He grinned at his own cleverness. “I knew they would never think to look close by.”
“So they did come looking?” Aleric asked even though he guessed the answer.
“They found my tracks,” Braum replied. There was terror in his gaze that told of the fright he had felt that night. “They chased after me. I ran through the forest and into Drake City hoping I could lose them, but have you ever seen a ghoul on a trail?” His voice shook when he said, “They never give up. Ever. I tried every trick I ever knew, but I couldn’t shake them until I ran smack into something and woke up with a broken leg in this hospital.”
Aleric remembered being in the operating room while Dr. Worthen and Dr. Indley reset the faun’s leg. “That was a bad break.”
“Not as bad as if they’d found me,” Braum said with a grin.
“And were they waiting for you when you got back?” Aleric hazarded. “Is that why you jumped into the river?”
Braum shook his head; there was a gleam of pride in his eyes. “When I went back, everything was normal. I even checked into the Afterglow and saw the ghouls. They didn’t even recognize me. So I took the rings, necklaces, earrings, and watches to the trader trolls and took the coins to Mum. She was more than thrilled.”
“I’m glad it worked out for you,” Aleric replied. “But that doesn’t explain your knowledge of the dragon egg.”
“Oh, yeah!” the faun said. “I went back to work. They had me behind the bar because my leg’s still bugging me.” He winked at Aleric. “You wouldn’t believe what people say around bartenders. It’s like we’re not even there.” He gave Aleric a meaningful look. “Even a pack of gorgons sent on a mission by a Drakathan talks once they have a little Griffin Grog in their bellies.”
“Telling people they’re after a vampiress is a little dangerous,” Aleric said.
“Tell me about it,” Braum replied. “It put me back in this hospital.” He paused, then asked, “By the way, did they catch the vampiress? I’ve never seen one before.”
Aleric shook his head. “They didn’t, but they took a friend of mine. I’ve been trying to track her down.” He lifted his hands in frustration.
“But it’ll be a little hard to track when you can’t walk around as a wolf,” Braum guessed.
“I’m not very good at waiting.”
“And gorgons aren’t known for being gentle with their victims.” At Aleric’s look, the faun appeared immediately apologetic. “Sorry. I forgot it’s a friend of yours that they took. I hope you find her.”
“Me, too,” Aleric replied.
The silence between them grew uncomfortable. Aleric cleared his throat. “Have you eaten?”
“Yes. The food here’s good. My mum could take a few lessons.”
“I wouldn’t tell her that,” Aleric suggested. He crossed to the door. “Keep, uh, recovering.”
“I will,” Braum said. “Let me know if you find her.”
“I will.”
Aleric entered the Dark wing. The frustrations he felt faded when he saw the vampire sitting in the corner. There was something about having a friend to talk to that eased his mind. It had been a long time since he had felt that.
“Did you get lectured?” Dartan asked from his chosen spot against the wall.
“Not really,” Aleric replied. He took a seat near Dartan, realizing only after he had sat down on the cool tile floor that it was going to be much harder to get up without using his hands.
“That’s a bad sign,” the vampire said.
Aleric glanced over and found the vampire watching him. A small chill ran down his spine, remnant of instincts that whispered for werewolves to hate and fear the strong, persistent race of vampires. He pushed the feeling away. “Why?”
“That means she’s worried about you,” Dartan replied.
Aleric shrugged. “She seemed happy enough. We talked about her son. No big deal.”
“Wolfie, you’re a doctor who nearly burned through his hands.”
“To save a patient,” Aleric pointed out.
Dartan nodded. “But if your hands don’t recover completely, how many more will you be able to help.”
Aleric ran his fingers along the gauze that covered his left hand. “Are you saying I should have let her bleed out?” He looked at the bed. The ifrit woman was completely still, but the vitals he read on the monitor were better than before.
“No,” Dartan replied. “I’m saying you need to think about things before you do them. I’ve never met someone so impulsive. The fact that it also combines with your self-sacrificing nature concerns me.”
After a few minutes of silence, the vampire continued with, “I know getting pledged to the Drakathans wasn’t your fault, but do you know that?”
Aleric turned his attention to the vampire. “What do you mean?” He noticed that his friend was working on something, weaving strands of leather together.
Dartan looked up from his work. “I mean you act like you owe this world your life.”
“Not this world,” Aleric replied.
Dartan gave him a look of exasperation. “This world. That world. It’s the same thing. You didn’t kill anyone. You don’t need to put yourself on the line every day to atone for things you’ve done.”
Aleric let the vampire’s words echo in his head. He thought of the citizens of Blays that he had brought to the Drakathans, of the families and couples he had separated, of the ifrit girl who had died to bind him to them. Despair filled him like it had so many times before. He should have fought, he should have let them kill him, yet his werewolf nature had forced him to survive despite it
all. He hated himself for that.
“You have no idea what I’ve done,” Aleric said, his voice low.
Whatever Dartan was going to say in reply was cut off by a sound from the ifrit mother’s bed.
Dartan rose swiftly and pulled Aleric up to his feet without waiting for the werewolf to ask for assistance. They hurried to the bed and found the woman awake.
“W-where…?”
“You’re at the Edge City Hospital,” Dartan said.
At her confused expression, Aleric explained, “Your family was hit by a vehicle when you fell through the Rift. You were brought here for care.”
The woman’s eyes filled with tears. “My daughter?”
“She’s alright,” Aleric reassured her. “She has a possible foot fracture, but a doctor is working with her to check it out. She should be along shortly.”
As if on cue, the door to the fae wing opened.
“Starry!” the woman exclaimed.
Dr. Russell pushed the ifrit girl in a wheelchair that had been covered in a reflective emergency blanket to bounce back the girl’s heat instead of being consumed by it. The warmth that emanated from her pulsed against Aleric and Dartan when she neared the bed.
“Mommy!” Starija exclaimed. She looked back at Aleric. “Can I climb on the bed, Dr. Wolf?”
Aleric looked at the tears streaming down her mother’s face. “If you think your wounds have healed enough…” he began to tell the woman.
“Come here, darling,” the ifrit woman said as though the child couldn’t get to her fast enough.
Starija tried to rise and winced at the pressure to her foot.
“I’ve got you,” Dartan said. The vampire bent and picked up Starija using the blanket to shield his arms. He set her carefully on the bed beside her mother. The red cast down her leg to her foot looked a bit strange compared to the others Aleric had seen.
“I had to use oven mitts,” Dr. Russell explained at Aleric’s curious look.
“That was smart,” Aleric replied.
“Not my best work,” the doctor admitted, “But it’ll hold.” He smiled at Starija. “Your daughter was very brave,” he told her mother. “You should be proud of her.”
