by T. G. Ayer
“No. I’m fine. If he gives me any trouble, I’ll call you.” Maya sent Soto a grateful smile before spending a long moment looking at Joss. She didn’t care if the agent saw how scared she was, or that her eyes had filled with tears.
Then she sucked in her breath, held onto the headrest of Mirov’s seat, returning successfully with the packets tucked under her arm. She propelled herself into her seat just before he made another sharp right turn, but she didn’t catch herself in time.
Her body moved with the momentum of the turn, her head slamming hard into the window. Pain flared, followed by a burst of heat--the impact had cut her scalp open.
But she had more important things to think about than her head—an injury she’d most definitely survive. Thankfully, the window was bullet-proof, and thus also resistant to impact, and now bore no evidence of her skull having hit the glass only moments before.
Maya dug inside one of the pockets of her cargo pants and found the dreaded beanie. Without a word, she tugged the hat on, praying it would suck up any blood that may have seeped from her wound.
“You okay?” Mirov asked, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.
“Peachy,” Maya said, smiling brightly as she sorted through the packets on her lap, then shifted to sit them in a neat line on her seat. “So, if you can drive like hell while also refraining from killing me, I can get to making sure you don’t die before we reach HQ.”
Mirov rolled his eyes, jaw tight, and appeared as though he was going to protest. But Maya lifted the surgical kit up in her hand and he fell silent. “You saw that, huh?”
“Yup,” Maya said, smirking now as she settled on her knees between the two front seats.
First aid was not her area of expertise, but she couldn’t let the man die. She ripped open the packet and laid a sheet of sterile blue fabric on his lap.
He let out a laugh.
“What’s funny?” Maya asked. She opened the bag containing sterile scissors and tweezers and then another with the needle and scalpels.
Eyes still on the road, he replied, “No need to be so picky with cleanliness, Rao. Just wash, wipe and wrap. Quick.”
Maya snorted. “Sorry, Agent Mirov, sir. I have enough to deal with without having you die of infection after I’ve treated you. I’d never live that down.”
In the back of the van, Soto choked out a laugh and Sabala snorted, the sound strangely human. Neither man would have heard the hellhound though, which was a relief. Mirov’s response was a pained chuckle. On the team’s comms, Claudia’s “Atta girl, Maya,” echoed, making Maya wince, a reaction she’d failed to hide from Mirov who gave her a curious look.
She schooled her features and set to cutting his dark sweater open to reveal his ragged wound. “Don’t worry, Maya. I trust you. Besides, I’m pretty sure fire is a satisfactory tool for disinfecting stuff.”
Maya smiled, giving him a grateful look which he caught with a fleeting glance as he hung a hard left. With his free arm, he reached out to steady her with a strong grip on her shoulder. Her head missed impact with the steering wheel by maybe a quarter of an inch.
Mirov was pushing the telecommunications van to within an inch of its limits while Maya awkwardly gloved up and dressed his stab wound, though her mind had been very far from antiseptics and gauzes.
Once she’d completed the preliminary cleaning and sterilizing, Maya focused on the torn flesh within his wound. Had a piece of the blade broken off inside his body, or were the demon’s weapons a little more sadistic than they’d expected?
The gleaming shard of metal still protruding from the torn flesh, proved that her suspicions were well founded.
Chapter 14
As Maya probed the entrance of the wound with her fingertips, Mirov let out a low hiss, and at that same moment, a sliver of metal slid against her skin. The knife-sharp edge had cut open her glove’s fingertip though it failed to nick her skin.
“Watch it, Maya!” Mirov snapped.
Maya didn’t look up. “It’s fine. Not even a scratch.”
“If you’re going to be careless then just wait until we get back to HQ,” came his terse reply.
Maya bit her lip, hurt by his tone. But then she paused. He must be in a lot of pain, and he could also be afraid of being contaminated by Maya’s blood. Even she herself couldn’t be certain her blood was safe hanging around inside the body of a normal human.
“Hey,” Mirov said, his voice softer now. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
Maya smiled and glanced up, seeing the genuine regret in his eyes. She nodded and said, “It’s okay. I’ll be more careful. Just keep your eyes on the road…Agent Mirov, sir.”
He shook his head but he did obey, leaving Maya to focus on the blade. The only way she knew how to remove it without ripping anything else out with it—or without severing vital arteries—was to use her fire.
Would he object?
Well, maybe not, since he’d mentioned her fire already. So, she figured she may as well give it a try. Maya placed her fingers against the shard of metal, well aware she had no clue how far it went inside his body.
She had to do something for now, just until they got back to HQ. Mirov was already looking pale; the sweat beading his brow, and the way he kept blinking as though his vision was foggy, made her aware he was fading. She needed to pick up the pace.
“Er, Andres? Sorry, Agent Rostov, sir?”
“Really, Maya?”
“Fine. Andres, how’s your heat tolerance?”
He pursed his lips. “Pretty good. What are you thinking?”
Maya took a breath. “I can use my fire to sort of cauterize any damaged blood vessels before I remove the shard. But I’ll be sending heat into the metal itself. It’s going to get a little hot in there.”
“All good. Just as long as you don’t cook me.”
“I’ll try my best, sir.”
Maya concentrated on Mirov’s wound, placing her palms on either side of the bloody gash.
She took a deep slow breath—not so easy with her patient hanging another sharp left—and concentrated on the beating of his heart as it throbbed beneath her fingers.
Calmer now, she focused her mind within, homing in on her solar plexus, wrapping herself inside the pulsing power of her core chakra.
She curled her mind around the power and coaxed it forward toward her palms, something she was used to doing, although in this circumstance, the element she was willing into her hands was far more than just flames and fire.
She felt the heat of Mirov’s heated skin beneath her palms, a reminder that he’d developed a fever from the injury. Another reason to move as fast as possible.
Maya pushed the energy into her palms, sensing the simmering power of it pulsing within her blood, dancing between her skin and that of agent Mirov. With her palms now alive with the heat of her fire, and imbued with so much more, Maya placed her forefingers and middle fingers of each hand on either side of the metal blade and gripped tightly.
Ready now, she sent a low blast of heat into the blade and took a breath. Mirov didn’t respond so she didn’t stop, praying he wasn’t going to be a hero. After a few moments, his abs twitched, though he showed no sign of feeling the heat. Maya paused and sank her mind into his neural network, trying to ascertain if she’d healed him.
Going more on instinct than anything, she felt reassured that she’d succeeded--which meant she didn’t have much time. The faster she removed the shard the better, or else the heat would increase the rate of scarring, and the metal would attach itself to Mirov’s flesh. Maya took a slow breath and began to ease the blade out of the wound.
He grunted but when she paused, he said, “No, keep going. I’m fine.”
She obeyed and continued, kicking herself for not giving him something for the pain before she’d begun. She pushed the thoughts way and focused as she slid the metal free, horrified at how cleanly the single blade had split in half inside his flesh.
The weapon made Ma
ya very afraid.
Forcing herself to bring her mind back to the wound, she allowed the healing fire to pulse into his muscles, into the torn ligaments and nerves, trying to focus on everything she’d learned about the human abdomen and how it was structured, about muscle repair and blood vessels and arteries. As her fire energy worked, it would heal some of the ripped flesh and even repair torn blood vessels.
Darkness edged Maya’s vision and she shook her head. The fight with the demon had taken far too much energy out of her, more than she’d realized. Or was it maybe the crack on her skull?
But she couldn’t stop now.
The healing energy was working beneath her fingers, the power filtering into the wound and staunching the flow of blood.
She’d used this power before to repair her damaged feet a few weeks ago, and she recalled the disbelief with which she’d approached the training. She’d had zero confidence in a human’s ability to simply heal wounds and broken bones.
But she’d succeeded. Mostly with her own healing, though she’d tested it on Joss who’d raved about it for days afterward.
Now that the flesh of the wound had healed, Maya considered sealing the torn skin, but then paused. What if there were other issues the doctors would need to take care of which meant they’d just cut him open again.
So, instead of fixing him, she left the wound raw and open, and merely cleaned the gash and covered it with gauze. Thank goodness the first aid kit had included a removable stick-on bandage, effectively a giant plaster. Maya stuck it over the gauze easily enough, which saved her from having to wind a length of linen around the musclebound man’s waist.
She didn’t have the energy anyway.
The battle with the demon was steadily taking its toll and Maya’s head swam, her vision blurring. But blacking out right now wasn’t the smartest move. She had to make sure that Joss was going to be fine.
And also, just in case she did have a concussion, she probably shouldn’t allow herself to pass out.
But remaining conscious was way harder than she’d anticipated. Maya forced herself to keep busy, clearing the discarded bloody gauze and wrapping all the detritus from her first-aid treatment into the blue fabric before stuffing it inside its bag.
She tucked it under her arm and was about to climb back into her seat, the van took another dangerously sharp right turn and skidded into the underground parking of the HQ building so fast that Maya was flung across toward Mirov. Her face slammed hard into his bandaged wound, though the man barely reacted other than to steady her with a firm hand on her head.
Maya steeled herself against flinching as his palm settled on her head wound. She’d definitely been hurt, judging from the stinging of her scalp. But she just blinked back tears of pain and waited as Mirov burned rubber coming to an abrupt halt in front of the waiting medics and their gurney.
Chapter 15
The trip up in the private elevator, even the headlong rush into Joss’s hospital room, had gone by in a blur to Maya, her mind a little foggy, exacerbated by the headache she’d developed. Her feet had taken her to Joss’s room, preceded by Sabala’s shadowy form, and accompanied by Mirov who was still at her side for some reason.
They entered the room and she glanced up at him, frowning. “What are you doing here? I didn’t save your life so you can die in the hospital,” she snapped.
He didn’t get a chance to answer as a familiar voice cut into their conversation. “Agent Mirov? Agent Rao? Can I please see you both next door?” Dr. Woden stared the pair of them down, her bright green eyes brooking no argument.
“What for?” asked Maya, fear tripping up her heartbeat. “Is Joss going to be okay?”
The doctor shook her head, red hair tied at the nape of her head in a no-nonsense chignon, though she had seen the woman lose her shit just a few hours ago, and knew the red meant business.
Now, the doctor’s eyes remained emotionless, giving nothing away. “I need to examine the pair of you before I can allow you to barge into my patient’s room.”
Maya’s jaw tightened but before she could respond the doctor pointed at the door, her expression so stern that Maya’s strength wilted. She obeyed, aware too that her superior officer had also complied without resistance. Perhaps Maya ought to accept the importance of rules and toeing the line? Agent Mirov certainly appeared to do so, though Sabala had elected to remain with Joss—no objections from Maya on his choice either.
They were entering the room next door when said agent faced Dr. Woden, jaw tight. “I’m fine, doc. This isn’t necessary.”
Maya’s eyebrows rose. “What? Of course, it is,” she said glancing over at the doctor whose expression had gone from impatient to curious, though her emerald eyes held enough wariness for Maya to suspect the pair must have had previous run-ins. “What he isn’t saying is he was struck with a blade which was embedded in his gut, and that he’d spilled pretty much all his blood inside the comms van. I did my best to cauterize the blood vessels and remove the metal, but I left the wound unsealed. Just in case I missed something.”
Dr. Woden blinked, eyes flashing with annoyance, clearly not expecting Maya’s update. “Missed something?” she asked, a little unsettled as she sent Mirov an angry—and concerned—glare.
Maya replied, “Yeah, I don’t have x-ray eyes, as much as that would have helped. The fact that the blade was designed to split in two jagged halves is enough to make me wonder what else was attached that could still be inside him.”
The doctor took a slow breath and nodded, expression clearing, now back to medical business. She pointed at the first bed and gave Mirov a stern glare, then headed to the door.
Popping her head out into the corridor, she yelled, “I need an x-ray here, now!”
Mirov had approached the bed and by the time she turned to check on him, he’d sat himself down, his expression defeated. She gave a satisfied nod before glancing at Maya, a question in her eyes.
Maya took a breath. “I’m fine. I really should be with Joss.”
Mirov snorted, though the sound was softer than usual. Dr. Woden’s attention snapped to him as he lifted a hand. His palm faced them to reveal bright red bloodstained skin. “This isn’t my blood, Phead. Check Rao’s head,” he croaked and then passed out, crumpling to the mattress slowly.
“Shit. I knew he wouldn’t last long,” Maya murmured as she headed over to help resettle the unconscious man.
Dr. Woden looked up and met Maya’s eyes over Mirov’s bloodstained torso. “Get on the bed before you also pass out.” Maya hesitated and it must have reflected in her eyes as the doctor stiffened her spine, standing up straighter. “Now. I refuse to get fired if you die.”
Maya rolled her eyes. “I can write you a waiver if you like,” she muttered.
“I’d appreciate that. And if you could kindly do that while you lie on that bed, I’d be even happier.” She was smiling cheerfully as Maya looked up at her. But behind the grin was steel.
Maya was too tired to fight her.
Turning on her heel slowly, Maya made her way to the next bed and used the stool to raise herself up onto the mattress. Her head pounded now, and the stupid beanie made her feel even hotter. But she refused to remove it.
She didn’t want to rip open any clotting and reveal the truth of her injury. That she had in fact been hurt badly enough that she needed the bed and medical care just as much as Mirov, didn’t sit well with her.
She glanced over at him now as she lay on her pillow, the throbbing in her head not at all easing up. His eyes were closed though his breathing appeared even. And then the x-ray machine was rolled in and the nurses hurried about preparing him. They didn’t bother to pull the curtain closed for privacy, nor did they hustle her outside the way normal people were removed to reduce unnecessary exposure to x-rays.
The team was efficient though, and left a few minutes later, leaving Dr. Woden to slide the x-ray film onto the light board beside Mirov’s bed. Her shoulders were hunched, red hea
d poking out like a turkey as she squinted at the x-ray.
Mirov had been asleep all this while though, and Maya was beginning to get antsy. The machines confirmed he was alive but readouts and lines on a graph were hardly enough for her. But before she was tempted to access his mind, the doctor straightened.
Her tone held an edge of relief as she said, “You did well, Maya. You stopped all the bleeding just in time.”
Maya nodded even though the movement sent splinters of pain into her skull. “Nothing left inside the wound?”
“Nope, you got it all.” The gratitude in the woman’s eyes had Maya suspecting the doc and the agent knew each other very well. Dr. Woden stuck her hands in her pockets and smiled gently. “Now, all we need to do is sew him up and let him get some rest. He’ll be fine.”
She gave Maya a reassuring nod and pressed the call button. A nurse arrived mere seconds later and was given the task of checking the wound site and stitching him up.
With her first patient taken care of, the doctor focused on Maya. “Now, for you,” she said.
Maya didn’t waste her breath fighting the woman off. She submitted to Dr. Woden’s ministrations and Maya had to bite her tongue as the beanie was removed.
She’d been so focused on Joss and Mirov, and so drained of energy that she hadn’t even thought of treating her own wound. And it was too late now. The doctor was already checking the cut.
After shining a light in each of Maya’s eyes, then probing Maya’s neck, she straightened. “No concussion, and no whiplash either. Neat little tear on the scalp that I think you can fix yourself once you’ve rested.”
“Thanks,” Maya replied, all of a sudden remember that Dr. Woden knew all too well about her powers which made her feel like a lab rat again. “I need to know what’s happening with Joss. Can I go next door now?”
“I would suggest you get some rest, Maya. But something tells me you’re not in the listening mood.” Dr. Woden sighed and moved away from the bed. “Just stay out of the way, okay? And I’m limiting her visitors to one at a time.”