by Ramona Gray
“Crap,” Rose said. “I can’t believe he’s been with us for a month and we still can’t figure out how to rehydrate him.”
Brody gave her an odd look. “We do know.”
Rose blinked at him. “We know what?”
“How to rehydrate him. Figured it out the second day. Didn’t Solomon tell you?”
“No, he – I had no idea,” Rose said.
Brody gave her a thoughtful look. “Weren’t you on holidays when the big guy came in?”
Rose nodded and he smiled cheerfully at her. “That’s why you didn’t know.”
“But I – I specifically talked to Solomon about rehydrating him and he said they were still working on it,” Rose said slowly.
“That’s weird,” Brody said. “We rehydrated him a few times the first week.”
“How?”
“Just plain old water,” Brody said. “Dunk the big guy in some water and his body starts to rehydrate. Makes sense considering the gills behind his ears. Did I tell you that Solomon had me put a piece of the big guy’s flesh in the haloden liquid? I don’t know why. He’s crazy if he thinks we could grow another one just from the flesh. I mean, I know haloden liquid can regenerate human limbs but this guy isn’t human. The haloden didn’t do anything at all. Rose? What’s wrong?”
Rose squeezed the lab table tightly. “I asked Solomon if he tried water and he said yes. He said it – it didn’t do anything. He lied to me, Brody.”
Brody gave her an uncomfortable look. “Rose, listen – I know Solomon is your fiancé but he’s also the boss. I’m sure there’s lots of stuff he doesn’t tell a couple of lab monkeys like us.”
“He lied to me,” Rose repeated.
Her head snapped up and she stared at Brody. “If he’s so close to dying why aren’t we rehydrating him?”
Brody cleared his throat. “I don’t know.”
“Don’t start lying to me as well, Brody,” Rose said angrily.
The short, redheaded man sighed loudly. “Solomon wants to see how long he can go without being rehydrated.”
“Are you kidding me? He does know he’s dying, right?” Rose said.
“I gave him the report yesterday,” Brody said. “He looked it over and told me to leave things the way they are.”
“Son of a…”
“Rosie, where are you going?” Brody called as Rose stormed out of the lab. She slammed the door shut and using her keycard, accessed the elevators that led to the lower level. She tapped her foot impatiently as the elevator took her swiftly down fourteen floors. When the doors opened, she hurried down the hall and used her keycard to open the last door on the left.
Subject 10387 was lying motionless in the bed. Both of his arms were strapped down as were his legs. He stared up at the ceiling as she approached the bed. She studied him silently. His skin was a dusty blue colour and it was so dry and cracked that she could see blood seeping through the hospital gown that covered his massive chest. She studied the small black horns growing from his temples. His thick black hair had lost its sheen and clung listlessly to his scalp. His eyes were the colour of warm amber. When his gaze shifted to her, she felt a weird almost painful cramp of pleasure deep in her belly.
His lips were a slightly darker shade of blue as were his nails. She touched his arm lightly, wincing when flakes of skin shed away. There was a cup with a moist sponge sitting on the table next to the bed and she swiped it across his dry lips. His mouth opened a little, enough for her to see the tips of his fangs, and his tongue flickered out to lick at the sponge. She set the sponge down and poured water into a glass before holding it to his mouth. He drank eagerly and she gave him a second glass of water before returning it to the table.
She cleared her throat as he continued to stare at her with those unnerving amber-coloured eyes. When her hand tightened on his arm he winced and pain flashed across his face. She hesitated a moment longer before turning and crossing the room to the sink that was in the corner. She filled a jug with water and marched back to the bed. She hesitated only briefly before pouring the water over his left arm. His skin sucked up the moisture and she poured more, watching with disbelief as the skin began to heal.
“Holy moly,” she breathed before emptying the jug over his entire forearm. She traced the now smooth skin with the tips of her fingers. “It works.”
She glanced up at the silent, blue man and gave him a look of regret. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
He didn’t reply. In the month he had been here, locked up like an animal, he had never spoken a single word. She didn’t even know if he spoke English or could understand a word she said to him. She talked to him almost every time she came into the room. She spent more time in here than was probably necessary but she was fascinated by the giant blue man who had appeared from the orb. The woman that was with him was human and a real pain in the butt. Solomon kept her for only two weeks and did minimal testing on her before turning her out onto the street to fend for herself. Rose wished she had thought to ask the woman if she knew the blue guy’s name before Solomon tossed her out of the lab. She certainly had no problems with talking. In fact, she never shut up.
She got more water and began to sponge the man’s face, paying careful attention to the cracked and bleeding skin around the horns. The relief on his face as she sponged him with water was palpable and another surge of guilt went through her.
“I really am very sorry,” she said. “Solomon, he lied to me, said he didn’t know how to help you. If I had known I wouldn’t have let it get this far. I’m so sorry.”
She sponged water over his throat and the top of his chest. “I’ll talk to Solomon and we’ll - I don’t know - get you into a bath or something, okay?”
She brushed her hand over his cheekbone. “Is that a little better at least?”
He nodded. It was the first response she had ever seen from him and her eyes widened. “You understand me.”
His eyes shifted to the sponge she held in her hand and she quickly swiped it across his throat again before sliding it under his hospital gown. She squeezed the sponge, letting water drip over his chest and he made a soft hissing sound.
“I’m sorry. I know that hurts,” she said soothingly. She used her other hand to rub his arm. “Gosh, I feel so awful about this.”
She brushed his hair back from his forehead and dipped the sponge into the water before squeezing it across his chest again. “Can you speak English? Will you tell me your name?”
He remained silent and she sighed softly before dipping the sponge into the jug. When she turned back to him, he was staring directly at her.
Her mouth dropped open when he said in a low, hoarse voice, “Vida. My name is Vida.”
Choosing Rose will be available in the summer of 2017
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Books by Ramona Gray
The Escort
Saving Jax
The Assistant
One Night
Other World Series
The Vampire’s Kiss (Book One)
The Vampire’s Love (Book Two)
The Shifter’s Mate (Book Three)
Rescued by the Wolf (Book Four)
Claiming Quinn (Book Five)