There was another item on the shelf that looked to be like a sculpture, a small figurine, and I lifted it up, twisting it in my hands. Matt came up behind me, taking it from me in setting it carefully back down on the shelf. “You will want to be careful with that.”
“Why?”
“In this space, not all is as it appears.”
“I have the sense that there is a lot of magic here. Is that as it appears?”
“It is. Which is why you need to be careful. From what you’ve told me—and what I’ve seen—you don’t have the greatest connection to your own latent magic. That places you in considerable danger.”
“Why?”
“Operating around magic while ignorant is dangerous, Dr. Stone.”
It was something similar to what Barden had said to me, though Barden had done so in a way to help coax me into learning more about magic, not liking the idea that I might be ignorant. I appreciated that he hadn’t forced me, not like the way that Matt had essentially forced me into becoming a part of whatever was happening here. And that was what he had done. Regardless of what he’d said, by not telling me why he brought me here, he’d put me in a dangerous position. I had already seen what the paramilitary could do, even when rogue, and had witnessed Matt fending off five vampires, however peripherally. With training like his, and whatever protections he possessed to allow him to do so, it seemed as if taking out someone like Mr. Adams, a high-ranking member of the paramilitary, should be incredibly difficult. It meant that whoever did it had considerable power.
It was easy enough to believe a vampire could, but knowing what I did about Matt and about how he had fared against vampires, I didn’t think that was likely. Furthermore, he had brought me here for a specific reason, though he was dancing around it. More than anything, that annoyed me. I preferred a more direct approach.
“You brought me here to show me your boss was attacked by a vampire. that they didn’t drink his blood, and also that you aren’t sure it was vampires?” I looked up at him. “Do I have that somewhat right?”
“You have that mostly right.”
“Why are you saying you aren’t sure this is vampires?”
“The nature of the wounds.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Look at the bites again.”
“There are two puncture marks, and the edges are a little blackened, but there’s nothing else I can tell about them.” As I stared at the injuries, I thought about the mechanism that would be involved in a vampire biting down. Shouldn’t there be some maceration around the tissues? It wasn’t as if vampires had no other teeth, and in order to puncture like that, wouldn’t there be other markings on the skin? Maybe that was what Matt was getting at.
“It’s the blackened edges.”
“What about them? Didn’t you say the vampires have an anticoagulant in their saliva?”
“They do have an anticoagulant, but they have nothing that should be caustic to the skin.”
I sat back on my heels, looking around me. “You already knew things didn’t quite add up here. You didn’t bring me here to help you figure out who attacked your superior. You brought me here because you wanted my access to the vampires.”
Matt met my eyes unblinkingly. “From what I understand, you have an elder vampire who owes you a favor.”
“Right. He owes me a favor, not you. This isn’t the kind of thing I intend to go to him with.”
“Not even for answers?”
“What sort of answers do you think he can give me? You have said you don’t think this was a vampire, so you want me to go and ask him if vampires didn’t attack someone? It doesn’t make any sense, Matt.”
“That’s not the reason I want you to approach him.”
“Then what is it?”
“I need to know what the vampires know about the agency.”
I stared at him. “If I go to him with a question like that, you realize it reveals there is an agency? Why not just move the body and cover this up until you can get to the bottom of it?”
“He is bound in such a way that it would make it difficult for me to move him.”
“What do you mean by bound?”
Matt pulled up his sleeve again, and nodded to the tattoos on the inside of his wrist. “Bound. These markings would alert anyone where to find him. It’s meant as a protection, but at the same time, it’s also a way of tracking.”
“Do you have similar markings?”
Matt showed me his arms, and as I looked, a serpentine tattoo on his left forearm drew my eye. “As I’m an operative, I am granted a little bit more leeway with where I move, but they will have known I came and left.”
“You don’t just need me to help you figure out what happened, do you?”
Matt stared at me for a moment. “No.”
“You need me to help clear your name.”
5
I was exhausted. Getting out of the compound—or whatever it was—took just as much time as getting in, and there was the same unease with the transportation. Matt had followed me back to the condo, guiding me inside, and I had worried he was going to try to follow me into the unit itself. I wasn’t about to let him in, partly because I didn’t know what he wanted from me.
“See what you can come up with.” He leaned on the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, watching me. There was fatigue in his eyes, but there was something else, something I was unaccustomed to seeing from Matt in the time I had known him.
Uncertainty.
“I’m not sure how much help I will be.”
“If you’re not willing to go to the vampire, at least go to your Mage Council friend.”
Would Barden help? There was no doubt in my mind I was going to tell him what had happened, but I wasn’t sure whether Barden would be willing to assist Matt, mostly because he still remained somewhat angry about what had happened, blaming the paramilitary for my involvement in magical world in the first place.
“I’ll think about it.” Watching him for a moment, I frowned. “What will you do?”
“I need to disappear for a while.”
I glanced at his forearm where the strange tattoo remained. In the faint light of the hallway, it was difficult to make it out. “I thought you said they could track you.”
“They can, but I know ways of disappearing.”
“I take it they will know when you do?”
He nodded. “They might.”
“I’ll see what I do. How can I get a hold of you?”
“Do you still have the same number?”
“It hasn’t changed. Why?” I had never given Matt my phone number, but then again, considering his connections, it was probably unnecessary.
“I will get ahold of you.”
He started down the hallway, and I watched him, worried about what might happen to him, but pressed the bracelet up against the door, releasing the protections that were there. Once inside, I closed the door again, leaning against it for a moment. The sound of snoring startled me, and I jerked my head around to see Roberts still lying on the sofa. I’d forgotten he was here.
At least he had not woken up to find me gone. I could only imagine the questions that would have raised, though there were already going to be questions when he came around. Not the least of which would be what had happened to him. But exhaustion threatened to knock me off my feet, and morning was going to come all too soon, so I headed to bed, collapsing.
It was as if I had only just fallen asleep when my alarm went off and I got up and quickly got dressed. Heading to the kitchen, I found Roberts sitting at the table, a pot of coffee steaming, and a cup between his hands.
He looked up at me as I entered. “What happened?”
“You fell asleep.”
“I see that, but how did I end up here?”
“You followed me home.”
“I did?”
The best approach was letting Brad believe he’d had too much to drink the night before. It was reasonably bel
ievable. “What do you remember?”
“I remember us going to the Red Hen.” He rubbed his eyes, and looked up at me. They were bloodshot, and I actually felt a little bit of sympathy for him. He looked miserable. It wasn’t his fault that he did, either, which made it even worse. “We had a few drinks, and… that’s about it.”
“Yeah. We had a few drinks and then you followed me back here.” Brad glanced to the counter, where there was a bottle of wine still partially filled. “And we had a few more drinks here,” I said.
“Strange,” he said.
“It’s not my fault you can’t handle your alcohol.”
“Weren’t you drinking the same amount as me?”
“Maybe the bartender slipped you something. You know, you are a handsome man.”
Brad took a deep breath, sipping at his coffee for a long moment before setting it back down. “Sorry about whatever.”
“You don’t have to be sorry. I made sure you were safe. And you don’t have to worry. I didn’t take any advantage of you.”
He laughed, glancing back down to his coffee mug. “It’s a good thing I don’t have to work today.”
I grunted, glancing at the clock. “Unfortunately, I do.”
I worried I was going to have to force him to leave, and if I did, then it would open up different questions with Brad. He might have been an ass in the past, but lately, Brad and I had been getting along, and I didn’t want to upset him. None of this was his fault, anyway. It was because of my ties to the magical world that he had been roofied.
“I’ll follow you out. I have a few things I need to get done today, and I’m sure Michaels wouldn’t be too thrilled with me hanging out in her place without her or you here.”
“Come on, then,” I said.
He got to his feet, standing there unsteadily for a moment. “Jesus,” he said. “I feel like I went on a bender.”
“I don’t know what happened. Maybe you’re just getting sick.” I hated that I was lying to him, but I hated more that it came so easily to me. It shouldn’t.
“Maybe that’s it.”
We stepped out into the hallway, and I pressed the bracelet up against the door as I locked it. Making my way down the hall, I had to steady Brad every so often. I was tempted to take the elevator, but I didn’t know how safe it was, and so as we made our way down the stairs, I kept my arm looped through his to keep him upright. We reached the bottom of the stairs, Brad glanced over at me, nodding thanks.
“Are you going to be okay?” I asked.
“I think so. My ride is at the hospital, so I’ll walk with you there.”
I laughed softly.
“What?” Brad asked.
“Oh, nothing. It’s just that we are bound to get rumors started if we’re walking together over to the hospital.”
“I didn’t take you for one who cared about rumors.”
We were walking down the street. Traffic was buzzing by, and the sun was shining, giving a little warmth to the day. Brad kept his hand over his eyes, shielding them.
“I’m not too worried. I’ll just tell them you had too much to drink and needed someone to babysit you. Once they see how shitty you look, they won’t question.”
“Thanks.”
I laughed, keeping my arm in his, patting it as we crossed the street. We made our way along the park, saying nothing, and I glanced over, thinking about how my life had changed since I had discovered the vampire in the park. That wasn’t quite true. My life had changed the moment Kate had revealed the magical world. Ever since then, it had been increasingly likely I was going to get drawn deeper and deeper into the magical world. How could it be otherwise? And now I had magic, now I had access to that power, I didn’t want to go back. It was strange, then, that walking along the street with Brad made me somewhat resentful that I did.
When the hospital loomed into view, he pulled his arm free. “You don’t want stories about you.”
“Do you think you’re stable enough?”
“As stable as I can be. I might just rest a little longer in my car.”
“You could take a call room.”
“Right. If I do that, it raises even more questions. No one wants an attending in a call room taking up space.”
“It’s early enough in the day that no one will be there, Brad.”
“I will be fine.”
He took a few steps, and as he did, he wobbled with each one. I hurried forward, slipping my arm back into his, looking up at him. “Look at you. You can even walk. You’re like a baby deer.”
“A baby what?”
“Haven’t you ever seen Bambi?”
“Probably not the same Bambi as you.”
I punched him on the arm and he staggered, forcing me to hold him upright. “Don’t ruin the moment.”
“Are we having one?”
I wanted to punch him again, but the light at the intersection turned green, and we headed across. The emergency room entrance loomed in front of us, but rather than taking him there, I veered off, walking him toward the parking garage. Steps led down into it, and darkness swallowed us. The change from the brightness outside was jarring, and I paused at the first parking level.
“Where are you parked?”
“Doctors’ level two.”
“Two? Why, Brad, I would never taken you for the type to park on such a low level.”
He shook his head, and I guided him down the stairs until we reached that parking level. The doctors’ parking was closest to the building, but it was no better than any of the other areas. The parking garage was not so large to make that the case.
“Which one is yours?”
“The truck.”
I looked along the line of vehicles, picking out a silver Ford. It was newer, but not at all what I would’ve expected from Brad. It was almost… practical.
“I didn’t take you for a truck man.”
“I’ve always driven a truck. Growing up on a farm, you find that valuable.”
“You grew up on a farm?”
He shrugged. “Haven’t I ever told you that?”
“I think I would’ve remembered.”
I walked him to the truck, and he reached into his pocket, fumbling for the keys before unlocking it. I had to help him with the door, holding it for a moment and guiding him inside. Hopefully, the effects of Matt’s spell wouldn’t linger. He looked terrible, and I felt guilty about that. It was my fault he had been targeted. “Promise me you won’t go anywhere until you’re feeling better.”
Brad nodded. “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere.”
I stood at the doorway for a moment. “Why don’t you give me a call when you get home.”
“Listen, Stone. I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine, and I just want to make sure you make it home safely.”
Brad grunted, lying his head back against the seat. “Fine. I’ll give you a call. You want me to call my mother, too?”
“I don’t know. When was last time you talked to her?”
“Last weekend.”
“Really?”
Brad shrugged. “We talk every weekend.”
I wondered what that was like. Ever since leaving the house after high school, I had not maintained much of a relationship with my parents. I blamed my mother for what had happened to me all those years, the abuse I and my brother had endured, and because she’d had never had the strength to get out. Knowing what I did now, I ought not to blame her. There were plenty of abuse victims who never managed to escape, but I couldn’t change the way I felt. I was trying. Ever since working with Barden, I had a different appreciation for things, though reliving those old memories, as I was forced to do in order to reach for my magic, made it so I was even less interested in doing so.
“Just call me, will you?”
Brad nodded slowly. “I’m going to be fine. You’d better get up there and make it to your shift on time. You are still just a fellow.”
I shoved the door closed and
made my way up the stairs and back out into the daylight. Heading into the ER, I found myself worrying about Brad. There were times when I marveled at how we managed to have reasonable conversations these days. Partly that came from the fact that he and I had both reached a point in our careers where we weren’t scrambling to survive. He, finally an attending, seemed to have changed. For my part, it was almost as if the connection to magic had made me more at peace with myself.
After picking up my white coat, I took a seat at the nurses’ station, glancing up at the track board. There weren’t many patients here yet, and with the number of residents on at any given time, it meant they would do most of the work.
It was a shame. As tired as I still was, I would need to be kept busy to survive the day. I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage otherwise.
As I was logging into the computer, a loud crash exploded right outside the ambulance bay.
Sirens immediately began wailing, and I lurched to my feet, heading toward the door. There were no other residents, and no attendings, which meant I was the senior physician in charge.
The ambulance bay slid up. As it did, my breath caught. A silver Ford had crashed into the sign outside the emergency room.
Brad? I found myself running, racing toward the truck, followed by several of the EMTs. When we reached the truck, the airbag had deployed, and Brad was collapsed in his seat. Darius, one of the EMTs, pulled open the door, and Brad slid off to the side.
“Oh, shit,” Darius said.
“Grab him and get him inside,” I snapped.
Darius pulled him out, and Thorson, a gigantic blue-eyed, blond-haired EMT, took hold of Brad’s head, stabilizing his neck.
They rushed him into the ambulance bay, hurriedly placing him on a cot. Someone slipped a cervical collar around his neck, while one of the nurses—Joan, of all people—placed an IV.
“Let’s get him back to trauma bay four,” I said.
Brad wasn’t awake. I reached for his wrist, feeling for a radial pulse, thinking about Mr. Adams from the night before. He had a weak and thready pulse, which made me uncomfortable. An injury like this could lead to multiple complications— mostly, I was concerned about internal bleeding. It was not uncommon for a steering wheel or a seatbelt to cause an artery to shear, leading to significant hemorrhaging. Him being unconscious made me even more concerned.
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