Part 26 (1/2)

Remo went to the sink and washed his hands. ”Dahlia, pour the vodka for me.”

She hurried to his side and did as he asked, dousing his hands with the alcohol.

He flicked his fingers once and then moved to Beth's side. He peered into the still-open wound. He reached in and touched a spot that seemed fine, but when he turned the piece of innards over, blood pulsed out. ”St.i.tch this. He should stabilize.”

Beth took the last of the catgut and went to work, st.i.tching the final piece up. ”I don't have enough to st.i.tch him the rest of the way.”

We all looked at each other, and I knew then that we'd lost Tad.

”Well, it's a good thing I do.”

I whipped my head around to see the pet.i.te blond satyr step into the room. ”You made it. Thank you for coming.”

She didn't look at me, her eyes locking on Tad's wounds. ”I gave you my word I'd help you if you called on me. Hermes made it clear your brother was wounded badly and needed a healer's touch.” Damara hurried to Tad's side and peered into his stomach. ”Healing up a supernatural isn't like a human. On one hand harder and the other hand easier. A human would have never survived this long.” She dug into her bag and laid a few things out on Tad's chest. ”And yet if he'd been human you could have taken him to the hospital.”

Her tiny hands moved like b.u.t.terflies, lighting on things from her bag, herbs and pieces of bark, and then fluttering over the wound. ”Whoever st.i.tched him up saved him. The blood was a good idea too.”

She yanked the IV out of his arm. ”But I need you all out now. I work alone.”

Beth held her ground. ”I'm a nurse. If I'm going to live in this world, I want to be able to help still.”

”Fine.” Damara waved a hand absently at her. ”Stay. But the rest, out.”

Dahlia touched Tad on the cheek as she went by, and Sandy followed her lead. Remo held a hand up to me and helped me down. I stumbled and he caught me.

”How long since you slept?”

I blinked up at him, as I counted back. ”I haven't.”

His eyes shot up. ”Since you've been turned?”

I shook my head. ”No, I haven't had time.”

He hustled me out of the room, through the living area, and up the stairs to the second floor. ”Shower. Clean clothes. Then sleep.” He all but shoved me into the bathroom.

The word sleep resonated through me, and my movements became sluggish as if I were drugged. I flicked on the hot water and stepped into the heavy flow. The shower didn't perk me up but instead seemed to drug me further, slowing my movements to a crawl. With the mud, blood, and sweat from the last few days washed off my body, I wrapped myself in a towel and stepped out of the bathroom. Immediately across from me was a bedroom, the sheets turned down on the bed. I dropped the towel and climbed under the blankets. The sheets were soft and the mattress seemed to suck me down into it in a welcoming embrace. I breathed out a sigh and closed my eyes, and sleep claimed me.

A soft rumble in my ear woke me and I rolled into the deep ba.s.s, my nose leading me. I buried my face against the juncture of neck and chest and breathed in his smell. Roger had never smelled so good. Cinnamon and honey . . . my mouth watered with wanting to taste the combination.

I jerked upright, the sheets falling to my waist. Remo grinned up at me. ”That's a good look for you.”

I yanked the sheets up, or tried to. He lay on top of the blankets, effectively keeping me from covering up. I slid back down enough that I could at least cover my chest.

”What time is it?”

”Midnight.”

”That's not possible, it was after midnight when . . . I slept that long?”

He nodded. ”Almost twenty-four hours. Even supernaturals need to sleep. Especially those who are freshly turned. The fact that you stayed awake as long as you did is surprising.”

A tremor started in my belly and spilled upward. ”Tad. Did he . . . ?”

Remo gave me a wink. ”Remind me never to bet against you.”

Alive, Tad was alive? ”Really?”

He nodded. ”Really.”

I leapt from the bed, no longer caring that I was naked as I streaked down the stairs and ran into the kitchen.

Tad wasn't there. I spun around. ”Where is he?”

”Sis?” Tad called, and I turned again to see him on the couch in the living room I'd just streaked through. Dahlia sat next to him, and Damara was at his feet, her bag open along with her mouth. Beth and Sandy were nowhere to be seen, but when I listened, I could hear their hearts beating in tandem upstairs. I grinned.

”Tad, you're okay!”

”Can you do something for me?” He grimaced and rolled his eyes up to the ceiling.

”Of course, anything.” I took a step toward him and he put up his hand.

”Can you go put some clothes on?”

I laughed. ”Tad, you think this is bad, you should see me covered in scales and blood.”

He peeked at me with one eye. ”Do I even want to know?”

Still laughing, I shook my head. ”Maybe. But I think I'll wait till Yaya gets inside before we talk about that.”

”Yaya's here?”

I nodded and headed for the stairs, Yaya's heartbeat calling to me from the other side of the door, as familiar to me as Tad's. I paused and held it open. ”Hey, Yaya.”

She smiled up at me. ”My beautiful girl. Go put some clothes on, you make my skin twitch and s.h.i.+ver just looking at you.”

Smiling, I went upstairs. The closet of clothes offered up a variety of things, and I took my time picking through. Now that we'd stopped Achilles and saved Tad, and Yaya was out of the hospital, the weight of responsibility dusted off my shoulders. I took my time looking through the variety of materials and choices. I steered clear of the longer skirts and thick winter sweaters. The cold didn't bother me, no need to pretend I was something I wasn't. Finally I settled on the everyday, and yet even that wasn't quite right.

I slid on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved lace top. The lace played peekaboo with the skin across my middle, the pattern on it mimicking the scales that lay hidden another layer below. I liked the look. For the first time since I was a little girl, I felt like . . . me. Like this was the Alena I was always meant to be.

I brushed through my hair and stared at the mirror. Attached to it was a note from Remo.

You know where I am.

”c.o.c.ky,” I whispered, my mouth stumbling over the almost-naughty word. Yet I still smiled.