Then he walked out, relieved to be out where the air didn’t reek of medicine and old blood. Sometimes it felt like he was stuck on the merry-go-round from hell, watching friends die over and over, killing one crazy bastard after another, knowing nothing was ever going to change. Not until everything inside that made him human was used up, and then, after a burst of insanity, he would know peace at last. It was a helluva thing to be looking forward to.
He made his way farther down in the caverns where Jake was waiting for him. With his cell phone turned off he’d been able to pretend that this reality didn’t exist, and found some real peace with Gwen. She’d made him forget that he was as much a killer as that tiger in the zoo.
Gwen was so easy to be with, funny and warm, and so damned sexy. But the best part was that he could be with her without having to pretend. She had no idea what a balm to his soul that was. She knew he had secrets that he couldn’t share, yet she liked him anyway.
Of course, once she found out what those secrets were and how they’d affect her brother, she’d hate him. It would be harder for her now that they were lovers, but he wanted these few days or weeks of normalcy. He deserved to rot in hell for his selfishness, but that day was coming.
For now, he needed to find out what had happened to Hunter.
Jake saw him coming and shut down the computer game he’d been playing. When Trahern’s Brenna had been there, she’d admired the computer game Jake had designed. He’d sent her a prototype to play, asking for her feedback.
“Did you hear back from Brenna on your killer dragon?”
Jake grinned. “She likes the game so much, Trahern’s starting to complain about how much time she spends playing it. She got a kick out of one of the dragons being named after her.”
Jarvis shook his head. “Damn it, Jake, are you trying to get yourself killed? I’ve already warned you about messing with Trahern’s woman. If you want to be gutted with a rusty sword, just keep on doing what you’re doing.”
Jake turned guileless eyes in Jarvis’s direction. “They’re two thousand miles away. Besides, he should cut me some slack. Getting shot with someone is bound to bring people closer together.”
“Trahern got shot then, too. That doesn’t mean he wants to cozy up with you.”
Jake looked back toward the lab. “I wish Hunter had a woman to fuss over him like Trahern did when he had trouble coming back. Maybe it would help.”
“Yeah.” Once again, his thoughts turned toward Gwen. Doc Crosby always did his best for them, but it would be a damn sight better to wake up from the dead with someone like Gwen standing over him, with her woman’s scent and soft hands.
Now was not the time for those thoughts, though. Not with killers haunting the tunnels. He took the sword Jake was holding out to him.
“Take me to where you found Hunter, and we’ll go from there.”
“Sounds good.” Then Jake took a couple of quick sniffs near Jarvis’s shoulder.
“Get away. What are you doing?”
“Did you know you smell like roses?” Jake’s mouth spread in a wide grin. “What were you and Gwen doing when I called? Something hot and kinky, I hope.”
“None of your damn business.” The last thing he needed was for Jake to know they’d been taking a bubble bath. He’d never hear the end of it.
“Okay, but you’d be better off telling me. Otherwise my imagination is going to run wild—and you know how I like to run off at the mouth.”
“Imagine whatever you want to.” He punched his friend on the arm, hard enough to hurt. “But keep your ideas to yourself, or I’ll tell Trahern you’re having wet dreams about Brenna.”
Jake mimed zipping his lips and crossing his heart. Maybe he had more sense than Jarvis gave him credit for.
They’d left the main cavern far behind and were following a winding path through the maze of smaller passages that nature had started and the Paladins had expanded over the years. He didn’t have to ask when they were getting close; the scent of dried blood made it unnecessary.
Dear God, how could anyone have bled that much? The passage here was ten feet across, most of it covered in splashes of blood. Even the walls were decorated in macabre patterns from arterial spray.
His gut rose up and then plummeted as if he’d just crested the top peak on a roller coaster. He automatically reached out to touch the cave wall to steady himself but then jerked back from the bloodstains.
“You okay?”
Jarvis nodded, surprised that Jake’s voice sounded so calm. Then he noticed his friend had his eyes pinned directly on Jarvis’s face.
“Let’s move on and see if we can see where the bastards came from.”
The passage narrowed down again, and most of the time they had to walk single file. They continued on for a considerable distance in silence. If there were Others somewhere ahead, they didn’t want to alert them that death was on its way.
They’d been traveling for about an hour when Jarvis stopped. The most commonly used caverns and tunnels were lit with motion-activated lights. He and Jake had reached the point where they’d need flashlights and other equipment to keep going.
They’d have to turn back—without the fight he so badly needed. He needed a safe target for the rage that had been building inside him since the minute the phone had rung.
Closing his eyes, he bashed the flat side of his sword against a stone outcropping and imagined the sweet feel of the blade slicing through Other flesh. The impact vibrated painfully through his bones and teeth, giving him something to focus on, something he could control. He swung the sword again and again and again. He might have been screaming, but he didn’t know. Right now, the clang of metal against the cold, hard rock wall was all there was.
“Uh, Jarvis, buddy.” Jake’s voice sounded as if it were coming from a long distance away. “Shouldn’t we head back now? Maybe come back later with more men and lights? If we bring some GPS equipment with us, we can get a fix on this place.”
At first the sound of his voice was no more than background static on a radio station that wasn’t quite tuned in. As Jake repeated himself over and over, individual words began to seep through, then stringing together as whole phrases, and finally sentences.
His rage had burned too bright and too hot to last long. Inside Jarvis’s chest, it felt as if an on-off switch was abruptly flipped. One second he was out of control, in mindless pain; the next, his chest was heaving with the need for oxygen, but his mind was rational and clear.
Jake ventured closer. “So, got that out of your system?”
“Mostly.” He rested the sword tip on the ground. “But I still have a few good swings left in me, if you insist on being such a pain in the ass.”
“I go with my strengths,” Jake said nonchalantly.
Jarvis cracked up, unsure which of them he surprised more, himself or Jake. “There’s nothing more to be done here. Depending on the status of the barrier tomorrow, we’ll return prepared to trace this back far enough to figure out where they gained access. Maybe there’s a narrow strip of barrier in an open cavern that we don’t know about.”
The trip back passed uneventfully. As soon as they reached the main cavern, one of the on-duty guards flagged Jarvis down.
“Sir, Dr. Crosby asked me to have you report to him as soon as you can. He said it wasn’t an emergency, but sooner was better than later.”
“Did he say what he needed?”
“No sir, just that you were to see him ASAP.”
“Thank you.”
Jarvis handed his sword to a passing Paladin and headed quickly toward the lab, Jake hard on his heels.
Inside the lab, the doctor stood over Hunter with an enormous smile. “I think Hunter turned the corner about half an hour ago. He has a long way to go, but there’s a definite improvement. He’s breathing regularly and his pulse is up enough that I want to give him a transfusion. That’s why I sent for you.”
Jarvis stuck his arm out. “Take as much as
he needs.”
“We’ll start with two pints. I don’t want to over-tax your body or his ability to assimilate the blood.”
He pointed toward a gurney pushed up against the far wall. “Jake, bring that over here, then head for the cafeteria. Jarvis is going to be here awhile, so I want you to bring him some dinner and several bottles of water.”
“Sure thing, Doc.” Jake rolled the gurney across the room and then disappeared.
Jarvis stretched out on the gurney while the doctor gathered his supplies. “Thanks for giving Jake something to do, Doc. Knowing him, he’s carrying a fair load of guilt over Hunter getting hurt.”
“Why? He’s not the one who did this to him.”
“I know that and you know that, and even Jake knows that. But he’s probably thinking that if he’d noticed Hunter was missing sooner, maybe he could have gotten there in time to save him from some of this.”
“That’s bullshit.” Doc swabbed Jarvis’s arm with alcohol. “He might have walked in on something that was too big for the two of them to handle, and then I’d have two critical patients.”
“How much has he improved?” Hunter still looked like a train had hit him head-on.
“Enough. After all these years, I’m still amazed at the recuperative powers your kind have.”
“Our kind?” That hurt, but he kept his reply light. “We’re human, like everyone else. We just got the deluxe package.”
“I know, Jarvis.” Doc looked at him over the top of his glasses. “And I can’t imagine a finer group of men to serve with. I just wish we could tell more people about the sacrifices you guys make for the rest of us, over and over again.”
“Quit it, Doc. You’re going to embarrass me.”
The doctor just smiled and started palpating Jarvis’s arm for the best vein. “Just relax. This won’t hurt.”
“That’s what you always say.” Jarvis looked away until the needle was imbedded in his vein and taped in place. Then he watched the steady line of blood winding through the clear tubing to fill the blood pack at the other end. He wasn’t overly fond of needles, but he’d drain himself dry if it would help bring Hunter back faster.
Dr. Crosby waited by his side to make sure that everything was working correctly. “It won’t take long for the first bag to fill. This will jump-start his healing process.”
Jake walked back in, laden with a tray heaped high with food and water bottles.
“Please take it in the other room, Jake. After Jarvis is done here, I’m going to have him sleep here tonight.” Turning back toward Jarvis, he frowned and sniffed the air.
“Something wrong, Doc?”
“I keep thinking I smell roses.”
Jake’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “That is odd, Doc. I was just telling him the very same thing.”
Jarvis closed his eyes and ignored Jake’s laugh. He’d exact his revenge when he was back up to full strength.
“See ya, Jordan!”
Chase waved as his friend pulled out of the driveway, then headed for the back door. He could hardly walk with the dogs bouncing up and down, demanding his attention. He finally dropped his duffel and sleeping bag on the grass and knelt down to let the two fur balls get their scratches and rubs.
“I was only gone for a couple of days. From the way you’re acting, you’d think that I’d died or something.”
Gwen stepped out the back door. “Did you have fun?”
“Yeah, we did.” He hefted his bags and walked toward her. “We spent most of the time rafting and swimming. It was a long hike back down to the car, so I’m tired, but good tired.”
“And hungry?”
He gave her a one-armed hug. “Always, but I need to shower first. After I eat, I’m going to crash for the night.”
“And your chores?” She crossed her arms and gave him one of those looks.
“Oh, yeah.” He started to drop his bags. “I’ll do them now.”
She smiled. “I’ve already done most of them. You can double up tomorrow to make up for it.”
“That’s a deal.”
When he came back downstairs, Gwen had dinner ready to go on the table. “You didn’t have to wait for me.”
“I didn’t mind.” She passed him the meat loaf. “I hate to bring up a touchy subject, but do you have everything you need for school?”
He grimaced. “Rats! I’d successfully blocked it from my mind. I probably need a couple of pairs of jeans and three or four shirts. I’ve got enough saved up to cover it.”
But he wouldn’t have much money to live on until football season was over, when he could look for part-time work. Then he noticed the smug look Gwen was giving him.
“What?”
“Wait here.” She disappeared into the spare bedroom, came back with three large shopping bags, and set them down by his side of the table.
“What’s this?”
“Happy senior year, big guy! You’re going to start school in style.”
She ruffled his hair, just as she used to when he was a kid. He normally would’ve ducked out of reach, but under the circumstances he’d put up with a little fussing. He opened the bag and pulled out the jeans and shirts.
“Thanks, Sis! This is perfect. But you didn’t have to buy all this; I’ve been saving up.”
“I know, but I wanted to do it.” She nudged his size-thirteen foot with her much smaller one. “Besides, you’ll need new shoes, too. Those can be your contribution to the Send Chase to School Fund.”
He stuck his foot out and studied it. “I didn’t want to tell you that these are already feeling a bit tight.”
“Good grief, I’m going to have to quit feeding you so much! If you don’t watch it, you’ll be as big as Jarvis. I think he wears a fourteen.”
That tidbit got his attention. “And how would you know that?”
“Just guessing.”
She picked up an armload of dishes from the table and carried them over to the sink. He might have taken her statement at face value if she hadn’t blushed.
He took his empty plate over to the counter and set it down. “So how much time did he spend here while I was gone?”
“He stopped by night before last, so we ate leftovers and watched a movie.”
There was more she wasn’t telling him. “And what else?”
She frowned at him. “Yesterday he took me into St. Louis to the zoo, which was a lot of fun. But not long after we got back, he got a call from Jake and had to leave.”
That left the time after the movie and before the zoo unaccounted for. From the way Gwen was acting, he suspected Jarvis never went home in between.
He’d decide how he felt about that later; but right now he was too tired. He’d better go to bed before he opened a can of worms neither of them wanted to deal with.
“If you don’t need me for anything, I’m going upstairs.”
“No, go ahead. I won’t be far behind you.”
“I’m glad you weren’t alone the whole time I was gone.” That was true.
“I had a good time.” She smiled. “Can you believe that Jarvis had never been to the zoo?”
Somehow, that didn’t surprise him. “So, you two are dating now? I mean, it sounds that way.”
Gwen wiped her hands on the dish towel and set it aside. “We are. For a little while, anyway.”
“It’s nice that you have someone your age to hang out with.”
She laughed. “Well, I don’t know about the age part. He’s actually about seventeen years older than I am. Can you believe he’s forty-five?”
“No way!”
She laughed. “Yes, way. That’s what he told me.”
“Why do you think he looks so young? Is it part of this whole healing thing we both have?”
She looked thoughtful. “Sounds logical. Ask him the next time you see him.”
“Maybe I will. See you in the morning.”
As Chase’s head hit the pillow, his last thought was he ought to be make a list of
questions for Jarvis—including what his intentions were toward Gwen.
“How are you feeling this morning?”
Jarvis rolled over and glared at Dr. Crosby. “I was doing great until you turned the lights on.” He sat up and rubbed his eyes. “What time is it?”
“Close to noon. You’ve been asleep for about fourteen hours. I wouldn’t wake you now, but Jake called and asked if you wanted him to take your lesson today.”
“Do you think you’ll need my vein again? If so, I’ll stick close and let Jake go in my place. Otherwise, we may both go.” He swung his legs over the side of the bed.
“No, I’ve been giving Hunter IVs and that seems to be helping.”
Jarvis looked toward the lab. “How’s he doing?”
The older man looked grim. “His numbers are improving a little at a time, but there’s been no sign of him coming around. That’s hardly surprising, though. He’ll need more time than usual to recover completely. It could be weeks before we know if any of the nerve damage is permanent or not.”
Son of a bitch.
“Keep me posted.”
“Will do.”
Jarvis pulled on his clothes and headed out, stopping to check on Hunter first. The man looked like death warmed over, but if you looked hard enough, you could see a few spots that had healed. Great—the poor bastard had a few square inches that didn’t hurt every time he breathed.
Leaning down close to Hunter’s ear, he whispered, “Hey, buddy, glad to see you’re on the mend. Don’t worry, we’ll get the bastards that did this to you.”
One of the machines hiccupped and beeped loudly a couple of times as Jarvis straightened up. He’d like to think that meant Hunter had responded on some level.
On the way out of the lab, he put in a call to Jake.
“I’m going to my quarters for a shower and shave. Give me thirty minutes and then meet me at the car.”
The thought of spending the afternoon with the Moselys was a definite mood booster. Maybe Jake could keep Chase busy while Jarvis and Gwen finished that bubble bath? He sighed. A man could dream.
Chapter 12
Darkness Unknown Page 16