by Cheree Alsop
“Definitely,” Gregory said. “I’m just glad I don’t have to go this time.”
“You’d rather clean up blood?” Aleric asked.
Gregory grinned. “Any day. Don’t get me wrong. I like hanging out with you, Doc, but the further I can stay away from those creepy creatures, the better for my health. I hate spiders, and those are like spiders on steroids. Therese has to kill all the spiders at my apartment.”
She winked at Aleric. “Greggie’s a bit of a softie.”
“Wimp,” the other male orderly said, coughing in a mocking attempt to cover the word.
Aleric chuckled. “I can’t blame you. Let Dr. Worthen know I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
“Will do,” Gregory replied. “He has Nurse Eastwick checking the other bite victims. I’ll let you know if any of them respond.”
“Thank you,” Aleric told him. He took a step toward the back door, then remembered something. “By the way, that was quick thinking back there with the blood bag. I owe you big time for that.”
“Don’t mention it,” Gregory replied. “I’ve got your back.”
That made Aleric smile until another thought occurred to him. He had to go all the way back to the alleys by Dr. Worthen’s house. Even with Dartan’s trench coat, he doubted the vampire would survive such a trip unscathed. He didn’t want to ask, but he also didn’t have a choice. “Uh, Gregory, can I borrow your car?”
To his surprise, the orderly drew a set of keys from his pocket and tossed them at the werewolf.
“After earlier, I thought you’d refuse.”
Gregory shook his head. “We’re still alive. Besides, I’ve driven with scarier drivers.” He tipped his head to indicate Therese when her attention was on cleaning the blood.
Aleric smiled. “Thanks.”
Gregory rose to take down the blood-splattered curtain. Aleric wanted to stay and see if Dr. Worthen needed his help; he had to remind himself that he wasn’t a doctor and would be of better use trying to find the goblin that would cure Lilian.
He found Dartan waiting beside the back door.
“I thought maybe you’d changed your mind,” the vampire said when he approached.
“Should I?” Aleric asked.
Dartan shook his head. “I’ve got things under control again. I just can’t help it sometimes. It’s that instinct, you know?” He flipped up the wide hood on his trench coat and hunched beneath it to hide from the sunlight.
Aleric led the way to the small blue car. “I’m a werewolf. Instinct is what drives me. But I can’t help worrying if something like that happens while we’re around humans.”
“The bag filled me up,” Dartan replied. “Besides, we have these.” He indicated the small tranquilizer gun he carried. “If I get out of control, shoot me.” At Aleric’s skeptical look, he grinned, showing his sharp teeth. “You can’t say you’ve never wanted to do that before.”
“I won’t deny it,” Aleric replied.
Dartan nodded. “Good. Now it’s my job to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“So I should probably carry the gun,” Aleric suggested from the other side of the car.
Dartan paused with his hand on the door. “No way. I’m the sharpshooter, remember? If you need to shoot me, you can get it from me.”
“That sounds safe,” Aleric said, sliding onto the driver’s seat.
“Use your werewolf strength, or whatever mutts like you use,” Dartan said.
Aleric chose not to point out that Dartan’s hungry vampire strength pushed his werewolf strength to the extreme limits. He put the car into drive as Gregory had directed him and drove slowly out to the street.
By the time they reached the alley where Aleric had tracked the goblins, Dartan was cursing under his breath. He climbed out of the car and made a show of kissing the extremely dirty pavement.
He looked up at Aleric. “I’d say I barely made it out of that car alive, but you know, I’m a vampire and all that.”
Aleric rolled his eyes. “Stand up.”
Dartan rose to his feet. “I’m just saying that a cyclops behind the steering wheel would have done a better job.”
“What does a cyclops have to do with anything?” Aleric asked with annoyance in his voice.
“They don’t have any depth perception,” Dartan replied. “It’s the one-eyed thing. No depth. And they still would have driven better.”
“It’s not my fault I’ve never driven a car before today,” Aleric pointed out. “Most of the citizens in Blays go out of their way to try to run over werewolves. I usually avoid cars at all costs.”
Dartan followed him into the next alley. Aleric scanned the walls, his senses alert for any sign of the goblins. He was debating whether to phase to wolf form so that he could locate them easier when a sound high on the wall caught his attention.
“There,” he said.
Dartan lifted the gun. A quiet pop sounded and a second later, the goblin fell toward the ground. Aleric caught it before it could hit the pavement. Its legs twitched and he held it away from his face.
“Here, you shot it,” he told Dartan.
“I can’t take it. I’m the sharpshooter,” Dartan replied.
Aleric sighed. “You really have to stop saying that.”
Dartan glanced at him. “It’s better than being the bloodsucker.”
Guilt filled Aleric. “You don’t have to be ashamed of what you are. I know that was a minor hiccup back at the hospital. You just didn’t have control.”
“Yeah?” Dartan replied. He sighted down the gun. “I have control now.” He pulled the trigger.
Aleric glanced back in time to see another goblin falling. He set the first one down and caught the second.
“I’d appreciate a little warning before you— seriously?” Aleric growled. He dove to catch the third goblin and just managed to snatch it up before it hit the ground. He set the two creatures by the first and glared at Dartan. “Give me the gun.”
“Nope,” Dartan replied. He pushed another dart into the chamber and squeezed the trigger. Another goblin fell.
Aleric swore under his breath and caught the fourth. One of the spider-like claws stabbed the meaty part of his hand.
“That hurt,” he muttered, setting the goblin beside the others. He put the hand to his mouth and sucked on the small cut.
“Watch out for those claws, they’re sharp,” Dartan suggested. He shot, loaded, and shot again.
Amazed that the vampire could move so quickly, Aleric was hard-pressed to catch them.
“It’s my turn to shoot,” Aleric said. “You catch.”
Dartan handed him the gun.
Surprised the vampire had given in so easily, Aleric looked for more goblins.
“They’re all gone, aren’t they?” he asked dryly.
Dartan shrugged. “Seems like it, but if you see one, I’d recommend shooting it.”
Aleric let out a breath in a hiss and handed Dartan back the gun. The vampire shoved it behind his waistband and turned his attention to the goblins.
“I didn’t think there would be so many,” he said, his voice somber.
Aleric nodded. “This is an outbreak. We need to know where they’re coming from.”
“They could have come through the Rift when the banshee was in the hospital,” Dartan replied. “Maybe they’ve just been hiding out.”
“It’s possible, but why surface now instead of right away?” Aleric asked. “You said there was a way to reach Daylen and Elianna, right?”
Dartan nodded. “We’ll be able to ask them to open the Rift so we can send the goblins to Blays.” He bent and picked up the first two. He made a face. “These guys are disgusting.”
“Try catching them after a twenty foot fall,” Aleric replied, picking up two more. They set the goblins in the back seat of the car and returned to the alley.
Aleric reached for the last two and rose to see Dartan studying the alley walls.
“Why here?” the vamp
ire asked.
“Why not?” Aleric replied.
Dartan shook his head. “I don’t know. From what I can remember about goblins, they’re solitary creatures.”
The thought struck Aleric. “You know, you’re right.” He handed Dartan the goblins. “Hold these a second.”
“I really don’t want them,” Dartan replied.
Aleric walked past him without speaking.
“Aleric, I don’t want to hold your goblins,” Dartan said.
“Then put—” A chill ran through Aleric. He took another step and paused.
Dartan came up behind him. “Is that what I think it is?” he asked quietly.
Aleric nodded. He reached out a hand and touched the mark on the wall. Cold ran up his fingers when he traced the six-fingered handprint that had been stamped into the bricks. The handprint glowed faintly with a blue light.
“The mark of the Archdemon,” Aleric said, his words just above a whisper.
“That’s why they’re hanging around,” Dartan replied. He grabbed Aleric’s shoulder. “And why we’re not. If he comes back, we definitely don’t want to be here.”
“What if someone else is here when he comes back?” Aleric asked. “If it’s the same one that attacked the troll, he’s trying to draw me out. Maybe he sent the goblins on purpose.”
Dartan shook his head. “There’s no way he knew Lilian was Dr. Worthen’s daughter. That has to be a coincidence. The goblins are drawn to his darkness; you know that. If he comes back, they’ll do whatever he says.”
“What if they already are?” Aleric asked.
Dartan didn’t answer. Aleric followed the vampire back to the vehicle. The werewolf tossed him the keys before Dartan could climb into the passenger seat. The vampire caught them with his quick reflexes and looked down at the objects on his palm.
“Why are you giving me these?” Dartan asked.
Aleric shrugged. “You hate my driving, so it’s your turn. Just remember that the humans in Edge City are on the aggressive side compared to what I’ve seen in Blays.”
Dartan slid into the driver’s seat and started the car. Aleric took a seat, glanced back to ensure that none of the goblins were showing signs of waking up, then looked at Dartan.
“Are we going?”
Dartan reached for his seatbelt. “I’d buckle up,” the vampire suggested.
“Why?” Aleric asked.
“Because I’ve never driven before, either,” Dartan said.
Aleric stared at him as the vampire backed up the car.
Chapter Four
“I can’t believe you lied,” Aleric said as he held open the door with one foot and stepped back to let the vampire through.
“I didn’t lie,” Dartan pointed out. “I merely commented on the awfulness of your driving. I didn’t say I had also driven.”
Aleric rolled his eyes. “It was implied.” He almost dropped one of the three goblins in his arms, but he shuffled the other two and caught it back up. He let the door shut behind them. “And you were much worse.”
Dartan nodded. “Much, much worse. You get to drive from now on.”
“I think we’re both on foot,” Aleric replied.
He pushed the door open to the Emergency Room. A patient sitting on one of the chairs across the floor took one look at the goblins in their arms and started to scream.
Aleric and Dartan backed out quickly.
“Uh, to the D Wing?” Dartan suggested.
“Definitely,” Aleric agreed.
The door opened as they made their way down the hall. They both turned.
“It’s good to see you, Dr. Wolf and Orderly Dartan, I’m glad you caught more goblins even if you are scaring the pants off our patients,” Nurse Eastwick said.
“Why does he get to be the doctor and I’m the orderly?” Dartan asked.
“Because he won’t suck his patients’ blood,” Nurse Eastwick replied.
Dartan paused, then nodded. “Fair enough.”
The nurse fell in beside Aleric. “We have one patient responding well to the last antidote. Dr. Worthen is anxious to try these on Lilian. She’s taken a turn for the worse.”
Worry gripped Aleric’s heart. “How so?”
“Her vitals are dropping,” the nurse replied. “The sooner we can find her antidote, the better.”
Aleric nodded. “We’ll get the scales extracted and head to Lilian’s room for the first tests. Will you send Gregory to the D Wing with some more syringes?”
“Right away, Dr. Wolf,” the nurse replied. She headed back up the hall.
“I don’t think it’s fair that you’re the doctor,” Dartan complained. He pushed the door open with his shoulder and made his way through to the D Wing.
Aleric shoved the door to the Dark fae side open and waited for the vampire to pass by.
“Like she said, I’m not going to use my patients as thirst quenchers.” He dropped the goblins onto the closest table with a relieved sigh. The last thing he wanted was for them to awaken in his arms.
“I’m not going to drink my patients,” Dartan said.
“Of course not,” Aleric shot back. “Because you don’t have patients.”
Dartan glared at him. “I could if they needed my help.”
Aleric took pity on the vampire. “I need your help. I need to go check on Lilian. Can you and Gregory handle these?”
“Extracting disgusting goop from goblin scales?” Dartan replied, “I’m pretty sure I can handle it. It’s in my orderly job description.”
Aleric grinned. “I’m glad you’re embracing your position in the grand scheme of things.” He glanced to the right and saw the other goblin they had brought clutching the bars of a cage in the corner. “What’s that?”
Dartan glanced over as he spread the goblins out on the table. “Dr. Indley brought one of her dog cages to keep them in until we can send them back to Blays. I think we’re going to need a few more.”
Aleric watched the vampire pick up the roll of silver tape and proceed to tape a claw on each of the goblins. He took a pen and wrote on the tape.
“What are you doing?” the werewolf asked.
Dartan gestured to the goblins. “If one of the antidotes has a good effect on a patient, I want to know which goblin it came from so we don’t have to test all over again. I’ll put the same numbers on the syringes.”
Aleric let out a surprised huff. “That’s a good idea.”
Dartan glanced at him with a smile. “I know. Go do your doctorly stuff. I’ll meet you in Lilian’s room and we can go hunting for goblins again while they test the patients. By the looks of things in the E.R., we’re going to need quite a few more.”
Aleric crossed to the door. He pushed it open, then looked back at Dartan. “I’m glad you stayed.”
“I know,” Dartan said again without looking up from his tape work.
A smile spread across Aleric’s face as he left the D Wing and made his way back to the Emergency Room. He walked past the partitions. A hint of sour lemon and mud came from the rooms that contained the goblin-bite victims. There were more than he expected. He wondered if the goblins had bitten more than one human, or if there were many other goblins hiding out in the city. The thought was an unsettling one.
Aleric paused by the door of Lilian’s room. The sound of her heartbeat was softer than before, and it felt as though there was too much time between each beat. Nurse Tarli stood beside the bed making notes in a green folder. She looked up at Aleric’s entrance, sighed, and turned back to what she was doing.
“How is she?” Aleric asked. It was a needless question. Given the pallor of Lilian’s skin and the shallow rise and fall of her chest, the young woman had certainly taken a turn for the worst.
“Not good,” Nurse Tarli said shortly. She glanced at Aleric. “You shouldn’t be here.”
Aleric was caught off-guard. “I’m trying to help her.”
The nurse shook her head without looking at him. “She would be jus
t fine if your people had stayed where you belong.”
Aleric stared at her. “We didn’t ask to come to Edge City, if that’s what you’re implying. We didn’t have a choice.”
The nurse finished whatever she had been writing, shut the folder with a snap, and shoved past Aleric. “You just keep telling yourself that, Doctor,” she said, stressing the title with a note of irony. She left through the door without waiting for him to reply.
Aleric stared after her for a moment. He shook his head. According to Gregory, the nurse was always in a bad mood; however, he felt particular animosity when she spoke to him. She had called the police on him, and that was a fact. He made a vow to find out what was at the bottom of her hostility.
Aleric heard footsteps hurrying down the hallway. He pulled on a pair of gloves from the box attached to the wall.
“I’ve got them,” Gregory said. “Dartan said we should test these while he extracts the others.”
Dr. Worthen appeared just behind him. “Let’s hurry,” he urged.
Aleric nodded. He took the first syringe and twisted on a clean needle. He pushed the plunger and flicked the needle as he had seen Nurse Eastwick do when preparing an anesthetic. He was about to inject the test sample when he realized Dr. Worthen was on the other side of the bed.
“Do you want to do it?” he offered.
Dr. Worthen shook his head. “You seem to know exactly what you’re doing. Go ahead. I trust you.”
The doctor’s words meant a lot to Aleric. “Thank you,” he replied quietly.
He carefully injected a miniscule amount just beneath Lilian’s skin. They waited with bated breaths.
“The patient who responded to the last serum improved within a minute,” Dr. Worthen said. “When we injected her with the full amount, her color returned, her vitals improved, and her eyes opened within five minutes. She’s under observation, but by the looks of things, we’ll be sending her home today.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Aleric replied. He knew they all looked for the same signs in Lilian. He found himself holding his breath as he counted the seconds.
“Two minutes,” Gregory said aloud.
Dr. Worthen nodded. “Try the next one.”