by T. A. Foster
He winced. “Man that hurts.” He grabbed at the bandage I had made and looked over. “You don’t need a shirt?”
“Sports bras have their advantages.” I didn’t know if he’d be able to stand. “Do you want me to call an ambulance?” I reached for my phone.
“No. Don’t do that.” His hand landed on mine.
“But you’re hurt. You’ve lost a lot of blood. What if you pass out?”
He pushed off the ground to stand. “Can you just help me to my car?”
I slung his arm around my shoulder. “Yeah, but I think you’re going to need stitches. You should see someone. Let me drive you to an urgent care or something.”
“I’ve got super glue at home.”
I stared at him. “This is not a broken plate. Something gashed you. What happened?” I almost let Noah’s name slip. I wondered if he had done something to provoke the jaguar. I doubted it. He was on tour tonight for the festival.
He limped next to me. “I just need to get home. I’ll tell you what happened. Can you drive?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I can do that.”
We both noticed the flashing lights as we got closer to the park. It looked like animal control and the police were talking.
“Do you know a way around this?” He pointed to the crowd gathered.
He didn’t need to know why, but I wasn’t interested in getting involved in any of that either. “Yes, we can cut through here. I know these trails really well.”
It wasn’t easy. Zac’s leg was useless, but he was strong and he didn’t mind that I helped him. We skirted the crowd and wound up on the street side of Oaks Park.
I shuttled him into the passenger side of his car and he tossed me his keys.
“You’ll have to tell me how to get to your house.”
His eyes closed. I could tell he was fighting the pain. “Go straight for a while. I need to get out of here.”
I followed his directions, taking turns as he pointed to street signs. A few times, I thought he had passed out, but then he would start steering me toward his house.
I pulled in the driveway of a small brick house. I helped him inside, planting him on the couch.
“Ok, where is your first aid kit?” I asked. I looked around his living room. It was dark, but sparsely decorated. There was a couch, chair, and a coffee table.
“Yeah, I don’t have one of those.”
Typical guy—no Band-Aids, not even a tube of antibacterial ointment. I thought about pouring a bottle of vodka over the wound, but I wasn’t sure he had that either.
“Ok, sit here. I’ll get some water boiled so we can clean it out. Where’s the super glue?”
“It’s on the workbench in my garage—through the kitchen.”
I opened the kitchen cabinets until I found a pot. He seemed to only have one of everything. I guess for a guy who moved around so much it was easier if the packing was light. I filled the pot with water and left it to boil while I dug through Zac’s workbench in the garage in search of the glue. This was idiotic. He needed medical attention. I was worried it would become infected.
I returned to the couch armed with a bowl of boiling water, a washcloth, and a tube of super glue. I would never make it through nursing school.
He shifted on the couch, so there was room for me to sit. I looked at him.
“I think we’re going to have to take off your pants.” I bit my lower lip.
“All right.” He reached for his belt buckle.
“These used to be khakis, right?” I tried to joke, but I wasn’t sure it was working.
Zac winced as he slid the pants to his knees. I couldn’t watch him struggle. “Let me help you.” I eased them over his leg, careful not to let the fabric scrape the wound.
His eyes were locked on me as I concentrated. I didn’t want to hurt him.
“So are you going to tell me how you got this?” I started to unwrap what used to be my shirt from around the wound. It was easier to access now with the shredded pants on the floor.
His legs were muscular, defined by ridges along his thigh and tight tendons at his knee.
“I don’t know if you’ll believe me.” His eyes were fixed on my hands as I cleaned the gash.
“Try me.” The bleeding had almost stopped.
“You promise not to tell anyone?” he asked.
“I promise.”
“I saw her.” He grimaced. I wiped a little too hard on the cut.
“Saw who?” I tried to focus.
“Her. The she-panther.”
“Did you hit your head too?” I tried to joke.
“No, it was the second time actually. The first was two nights ago. She saved me, I think.”
“From what?” I asked.
“The beast that did this to me. He attacked me Thursday night and gave me these.” He unbuttoned his shirt, revealing scratches that were still freshly pink. “She jumped between us then, but tonight it was like he was taunting her. She was there, but he ripped into me anyway.”
I was amazed that he had been able to pick up on my exchange with Noah. Of course, he didn’t understand our language, but he knew we were arguing.
I took the tube of glue in my hand. I wasn’t sure this was going to work. “So you think the she-panther saved you from another enormous cat in the woods in Sullen’s Grove?”
He grabbed my hand. “I know she did.” He let go and let his head fall back on the pillow.
“So, you’re not going to file a report or tell the police?”
“No, why would I do that? Then they’ll just start looking for her or lock me up in a loony bin.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “But you’ll stay out of the woods, right?”
“Hell, no. I’m going to find her.”
“What?” I dropped the glue on the floor.
“She’s not an urban legend. She’s real and I’m going to find her.”
My head was spinning. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. I didn’t want him to get hurt again, and I didn’t want him hunting me.
“Right now, I think you need some rest.” I checked my handiwork. It wasn’t pretty. I started to blow on his leg, helping the glue to dry faster. If the seal broke, he would bleed all over the couch and I might not be able to stop it a second time.
“Thank you.” His eyes drifted toward mine.
“You’re welcome, but this doesn’t mean I don’t think you should see a doctor. This is a serious injury, Zac.”
“I know.”
I looked around the room. There was a recliner. I grabbed a pillow and another blanket.
“What are you doing?” His eyes were heavy with sleep.
“I can’t leave you here alone. You could bleed to death.” I adjusted the pillow and curled on my side. “Just wake me up if you need something.”
“This probably isn’t the second date you were imagining.” His words were slurred.
“You get a do-over.” I smiled.
“Good.” His head rolled to the side as his eyes shut.
Tonight could have gone so many different ways. Instead of making sure Zac didn’t bleed to death, we could have been watching a movie after the festival, getting to know each other better like people do on second dates. I wouldn’t be worried that the Tribe had created this scenario to turn the people of Sullen’s Grove against me. I wouldn’t be trying so hard to ignore the way I had felt when I saw Noah strike at Zac. But tonight didn’t go that way.
I waited until I heard his breaths grow heavier before closing my eyes.
I stretched my entire body, arching my back until I felt my muscles ease. I opened my eyes; Zac was staring at me.
“Good morning.” He smiled.
“Good morning. How’s your leg?”
“Swollen, but I’m not bleeding anymore.”
I bent down to inspect it. “It looks pretty good.”
“Super glue works every time. Thanks again for helping me.” He propped himself up. “You didn’t have to stay, but I
’ll admit I liked watching you sleep this morning.”
My eyes caught his. “You watched me sleep?”
“Couldn’t help it. I’m stuck over here and you’re kind of beautiful.”
I blushed. “You have any food in this bachelor pad? I can make us something.”
“I think I have eggs, but you don’t have to do that. You’ve already done enough.”
“I’m hungry too.” I stood from the couch. Zac’s kitchen was small. It was a standard setup for a 1950s ranch.
There was butter and a carton of eggs in the fridge. I whipped the eggs and poured them in a frying pan. No toaster, but I layered a few pieces of bread in the oven. Ten minutes later, I presented him with a plate.
“Wow, a nurse and a cook.” He took the plate from me.
I laughed. “Far from either.” If he only knew a queen had healed his wounds and made him breakfast.
After we ate, I prepared an icepack and handed it to him. “I think you’ll need to keep this on there most of the day.”
I grabbed a towel from the linen closet in the bathroom to act as a buffer between the glue and the cold.
He tried to put pressure on his leg. “Damn. This kills.”
“Don’t do that!” I pushed him back on the couch. “You could undo all that healing.” I snatched the ice from his hand and touched it gently to his leg. “You’ve got to get the swelling down.”
“I think that might work if you want to sit and hold that against my leg all day.” He grinned.
I was getting ready to toss back a flirty argument about how he had almost died and this wasn’t the time for hitting on me, but his hand landed on my wrist. I forgot what I was going to say. Instead, all I remembered was Friday night and the heat of his breath on my neck.
“Dare?”
“Uh…yeah?”
“Is that your phone ringing?” He nodded toward the recliner where I had slept.
“Oh—y-yeah. That’s mine.” I hopped up.
It must have fallen out of my pocket when I was sleeping. I fumbled with the screen until I finally hit the right button. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Where were you last night?” Vix sounded annoyed.
“Didn’t you get my text? I had an emergency.” I slipped out of the living room and headed to the garage. It was more soundproof than the kitchen.
Vix sighed. “Oh, I see it now. Stupid phone. I was a little busy last night.”
“How’d the date with Jason go? Were you on the tour? Did you see Noah?”
“Noah? No. I was with Jason. I just got home. But, we were late getting to the tour. By the time we made it to the park, there was an animal control truck and an ambulance.”
“Yeah, it was crazy. Things got out of control quickly. Did you patrol?” I probed.
I noticed a punching bag dangling in the corner. I inspected the equipment scattered next to it. Zac must be into training. He had converted the garage into his personal gym. I walked over a bamboo mat.
“For a while when he fell asleep. No trace of the others. I can’t pick up a scent or anything. It’s like they’ve vanished.”
“What about the news? Is there anything about the festival?”
“Nothing much. Looks like the scared tour group called animal control. What happened to Zac? They can’t find him.”
I picked up one of the gloves and slid my hand into it. I wasn’t used to this style of fighting. I relied on my panther side to keep me safe.
I heard the doorbell ring and tossed the glove in the pile. “Hey, I’ve got to go. I think someone’s here to check on him.”
“Oh, so you’re at his place?” I could hear it in her voice. The I-told-you-he’s-cute tone. This was nothing like her situation with Jason. I’d explain it to her.
“I’ll call you later.” I hung up.
There was no good news there. We were still down three Nox and the encounter the tour group had had made news. It might be months before we could patrol again without having to worry about being hit with a tranquilizer dart.
The doorbell rang again. I hurried to answer it. Zac was struggling to get up. “I’ve got it.” I turned to look at him. His leg was propped on a pillow, the ice pack resting on top. “Wait. Here.” I threw a blanket at him. “Cover up and cough or sneeze or something when they ask what’s wrong. You’ve got a cold or something. Got it?”
“Good idea.”
I waited for him to arrange the blanket before I opened the door.
There were two officers standing at the door.
“Good morning. I’m Detective Grace and this is Detective Ryans. We were wondering if Zac Morgan was home.”
I smiled and then my eyes darted to the first detective. “Detective Grace?”
“Yes.” He handed me his card. “Ian Grace.”
I studied the name, his title. I looked at him. He wasn’t only a detective. I could feel it circling the air around him. There was magic swirling fast and strong. He was a witch.
“May we speak to Mr. Morgan?” he repeated.
“Of course. He’s not feeling well, so you might not want to get too close,” I cautioned. I led them to the living room.
The two officers exchanged a glance. It looked like relief. Maybe they had thought Zac had been taken last night—whisked off into the woods or ripped to shreds by what the tour group had seen.
Only one of them was magical. From what I knew about the Sullen’s Grove witches, they were extremely secretive. Their own neighbors didn’t know they practiced magic. I heard it had something to do with weakening their power. Although, the rumors about me were out of control, so I knew better than to believe everything I heard.
“Mr. Morgan, good to see you’re ok.”
Zac nodded. “Just a little under the weather.” He coughed into his fist.
“We won’t bother you long. Can you tell us what happened last night during the festival? There are reports of a big cat sighting. Someone said it was a panther.”
There was a deep crease on his forehead. “A panther? I didn’t see that. Now, my tour group ran off screaming because we heard some dogs in the woods.”
“Dogs?” Detective Grace questioned.
“Yeah. They were off leash. By the time I figured out what it was, I couldn’t get everyone back together. They were screaming like lunatics.” He laughed. “Actually, it sort of helps the tour if they think we actually saw something out there.”
“Hmm. So nothing strange in the woods?”
“No, not a thing. I left with a sore throat. I’ve been coming down with something the past couple of days. It hit me while I was there. Dare drove me home.”
“That’s right,” I piped in. “He looked terrible. Fever and everything.”
Both men took a step backward.
“We’ll get out of your hair and let you rest. Glad you aren’t a missing person this morning, Mr. Morgan.”
“No, I’m completely accounted for. Thanks for checking on me.” He pulled the blanket up to his neck and coughed a few more times.
I showed them to the door. Detective Grace hung back a second.
“You know if you see anything, you can call me.”
I nodded. “Sure.”
“Or if you need help.” He locked eyes with me.
He knew. He probably didn’t know exactly what I was, but just as I could detect his magical force, he felt mine.
“Thanks, I might take you up on that.”
I closed the door behind them and watched them climb into a patrol car. I was going to need something. The woods weren’t safe and we weren’t any closer to finding the girls.
I turned the card over in my hand. Maybe it was time to ask for help. Maybe we needed some allies.
I tried to be tough. I thought I was tough, but my leg felt like it had been ripped in half. It was attacked by a jaguar, so I had an excuse to cry like a baby if I needed to.
But not in front of her.
I promised her I would stay on the couch, but I hobbled
to the bathroom after she left. I needed a shower. I’d hang that leg on the outside so the glue didn’t loosen. I knew it would have to be sealed again. The wound was nasty and jagged.
I groaned and heaved it over the side of the tub while the hot water soaked the rest of my body.
It wasn’t as if I expected Dare to stay all day, but she got this strange look on her face after the detectives left. She supplied me with the remote control, drinks, and some ibuprofen, and promised to check back in a few hours. Then she was gone.
My face felt rough, but it was Sunday. I wasn’t about to attempt shaving in front of the mirror on one leg. I toweled off, gingerly put on a pair of athletic shorts, and hobbled back to the couch.
The playoffs were on. I thought about texting Isaac to see if he was watching, but I fell asleep before the game even started.
I woke up, my chest drenched with sweat, the lights off. The glow from the TV lit the room. My leg throbbed. I was worried it had gotten worse. I peeled the blanket away from my knee to look.
The icepack Dare had made was nothing but a puddle of water. I tossed it on the floor. I touched the skin next to the gash. It hurt like hell. What had this creature done to me?
I sat forward. My stomach growled. I hadn’t eaten anything since the breakfast she made for me this morning. Dare wasn’t back yet. I realized it wasn’t as if I could count on her. She wasn’t my girlfriend.
It was these moments when the sheer force of being alone was almost crippling. It would hit me and knock me on my ass, the weight of the grief taking over. It was a dark place I had been running from, searching for light anywhere but home. There had to be light somewhere in this damn world.
No matter what country I hid in, it didn’t change things. Nothing brought him back. Nothing undid how he was ripped from my life.
I couldn’t rewrite history, even though I studied it. I couldn’t undo his death. I couldn’t do anything. I was as powerless to save him then as I was now with this damn leg.
My throat felt dry and tight. I needed to focus on something else.
I heard the door slam.
“Hey, I’m back. Sorry it took so long.” Dare held up two takeout bags. “Hungry?”