CALEB
For two seconds, I'd been sure my brother had died on me. I won't get into how that felt, because it was more of a white, TV-static-like roar couple of seconds. Then I'd moved. I'd slammed on the breaks and gotten out of the car, rushing to the passenger side, and slung open the door. I checked his pulse--found one, thank the Lord Himself--and realized I was talking to myself. Something about 911, hospitals, and lies about animal mauling. The usual.
I suck in a breath and look over Lucan. He wouldn't last for me to drive him to the hospital and calling an ambulance would be risky with a chimera not too far off. Not that most would probably be able to see it. The glamor was too much for most. So I ball up my shirt and jacket and press them to the wound, forcing myself to press harder than normal.
"Venom? What about--"
"Do you need a bit of help there?" The voice is soft, quiet.
I turn my head, hands still pressing down hard, to see a small, brownish-haired girl. She looks rather like a mouse.
"Who are you?"
"Ruth." She pauses. "I'm a healer."
"Sure," I say finally, and move to the side a bit. She pushes away my hands and I step back.
You shouldn't trust her. Probably a bloody witch--or a--
I pull her away and check her teeth. Not the best way, but werewolves and vampires have sharp teeth and demons occasionally do--or rows. Perfect for devouring things with.
Her mouth is normal, so I release her, but I watch her closely even as she shoots me an odd look, then goes back to what she's doing.
"Is he going to be okay?"
"If you leave me alone for a second, maybe."
I swallow hard. "Sorry. Um. What's wrong with him?"
"Poison of some sort. Or venom--Los Angeles Pit Viper's, maybe."
I don't contest whether or not such things exist.
The girl takes out a shot. Its interior liquid is gold. I raise an eyebrow.
"What's that?"
"You use blue liquid that's similar--Asur." She flicks the needle. "This works best for mythical poisoning."
"And how do you know that?"
She raises her sleeve, to show markings I really should of notices. Markings I'd seen in that house. Witch, definitely, then. My upper lip almost curls, but I keep control of myself.
"Good to go, then?"
"Yeah, sure--wait, what?" I jerk forward but she's faster and the needle is deep in Lucan's arm before I can do anything else; released.
I growl, low. "If that--hurts him in any way, I'll kill you."
She blinks as she turns to face me, but doesn't look all that surprised. "You look sick."
"I'm fine," I spit. I let the--but you might not be--hang over, as I'm forced to wait.
I hate waiting. I shift over and put pressure back on my brother's arm.
#
Whatever the girl had used, it had worked. Weird, slimy stuff had slid out, getting all over my hands, and the wound had sealed--in twenty minutes, tops. Now we stood, still waiting. I kept one hand attached firmly 'round her wrist and watched my brother's face occasionally twitch, with a quirk of a lip or a flutter of an eyelid.
"He'll wake up soon?"
"Yeah," she murmured.
I felt her fingers brush my hand and I looked down, frowning. I got the sight of her picking dried blood off her fingers and had to look up.
"Thank you," I mumble.
"Don't mention it." She paused. "Really don't mention it."
I glance at her face. Her eyes are downcast, amber almost black from shadow, and she is chewing on her lower lip. I shift uneasily.
"Why?" I ask, as I start to lead her to the trunk. She doesn't struggle, or make a move to escape, just looks up and watches me with big eyes--eyes friggin' big enough to work in one of those confusing Asian cartoon things.
I unlatch the trunk and fetch a pair of silver hand cuffs.
"I need to take you back--for insurance."
"It won't hurt him." She looks fearful. Finally.
"I know, just--it's our garage. We have people coming through most days--'specially weekends. Public."
She frowns, but then shrugs her shoulders. "Any place is better than here."
#
My life didn't seem to go as planned. However, this was a bit weirder than normal, which was saying something. I was driving back home, slower than normal not to dislodge Lucan from where he was all wrapped up in blankets and conked out on the backseat. That wasn't too unusual. We'd been hurt before and that's what happened mostly; less hurt person driving, more hurt person sprawled on the back seat curled up with some hospital blankets we'd snitched over the years and an army-pattern fleece neither of us remembered where came from.
I looked in my rear-view mirror--to make sure he was okay. Yep. Snoring a bit, hair all in his face--but a-okay. Or seemingly a-okay.
I take in a long breath, check out the road--empty, straight--and then look sideways. The female witch named Ruth hand-cuffed to the roof handle with a pair of silver hand-cuffs was the odd factor of the day. If she weren't a witch, that might have been hot, actually. Well, no, not really. She looked so tiny, fragile. And her expression--all moony, like she was stuck in a daydream as she looked out the window at the passing moor, completely oblivious to the world.
I glance her over, quick-like. Yellowy-orange eyes, with flashes of green--perfect for a witch, rather like the black tomcat that liked to mess with our dog's head. Mahogany curls. Skin showing a potential olive-complexion, but with all the signs of sunlight-deprivation. If I didn't know better I'd that skin made her look like a vampire.
"So," I begin, as I glance back at the road, "how'd you know we were in trouble?"
"I felt it," she whispered. "Inside the house there isn't much--we all learn to block ourselves. Some of us-- I felt terror." She crossed her legs, uncrossed them.
"Inside the house?"
"Yeah." She sighed. "I saw you out my window and came out to help. Nothing more. Nothing more."
I scowl, as I make the final turn, the one into our parking lot. "I'm going to take him inside," I say, instead of responding to anything else of hers. I park. "Stay." I unbuckle and turn off the car.
"Aw, and I thought I'd head off to Milwaukee."
I look over at her, surprised. She's back to la-la-land. "Sarcasm doesn't suit you."
I get out and slam the door behind me, halfway hoping the noise will wake up Lucan. I don't like not knowing whether or not Luc'll be okay.
I can't think of myself being, ya know, without him. Freaky and all. And--
I shake my head and just go to open the rear door, happy once more that I have a saloon car and you could fit a frickin' baby pram in here. Putting myself halfway in with him hogging the seat would be impossible without--or at least without hurting him.
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