“Thanks. I can handle it from here.”
“Okay.” Still, she eased him gently back against the pillows before lifting the bottle again and taking a long pull straight from it herself.
She imagined the heat of it hit Jordans belly just as shockingly as it did hers. Steadier, she went to the closet and pulled out a robe.
“Do you have to put that on? I like looking at you.”
She didnt want to tell him her skin felt as if it had been rubbed with ice. “We shouldnt have locked the dog out of the room.”
“Yeah, Moe and I were just discussing that.” He laid his hand on Moes wide back. “Is he what woke you?”
“Him, and your screaming.” She shuddered once, then sat on the side of the bed. “Jordan, your chest.”
“What?” He looked down at himself as she eased the covers aside. There were five distinct grooves, like a talon pattern, over his heart. They were shallow, he noted, and thanked God for it. But they bled sluggishly and were viciously painful.
“Im messing up your sheets.”
“Theyll wash.” She had to swallow, hard. “Id better take care of those cuts. While Im at it, you can tell me what the hell he did to you.“
She went into the bathroom for antiseptic and bandages, then just braced her hands on the sink and ordered herself to breathe until she could manage it without feeling like she was sucking razor blades into her throat.
She knew what fear was now. Shed felt it when the storm had ripped over the island and the black sea had rushed to take her. But even that, she realized, even that bone-deep terror, had been a shadow of what shed gone through when the shocked agony of Jordans scream had torn her out of sleep.
She fought back her tears. They were a useless indulgence when action was needed. Instead, she gathered what she needed and went back in to tend his wounds.
“I brought you some aspirin. I dont have anything stronger.”
“Thatll work. Thanks.” He downed three with the water she offered. “Look, I can handle this. I remember you dont do well with blood.”
“I wont be a baby if you wont.” Ignoring the queasiness, she sat down to mop him up. “Talk to me, and Im less likely to pitch over in a faint. What happened, Jordan? Where did he take you?”
“I started out somewhere else. I cant quite pull it back, so maybe I was dreaming. I was walking. It was dark, but with a full moon. I think it mightve been up at the Peak. I cant remember for sure. Its hazy.”
“Keep going.” She concentrated on his voice, on the words. On anything but the way the cloth she was using reddened as she pressed it against the cuts.
“Next thing I knew, it was broad daylight. It was… sort of the way I always imagined the transporter in Star Trek works. Instant and disorienting.”
“It wouldnt be my favorite mode of transportation.”
“Are you kidding? Its got to beat the hell out of… Christ on a crutch!”
“I know. Im sorry.” But she gritted her teeth and continued to swab the disinfectant over the cuts. “Keep talking. Well get through this.”
Alarmed, Moe deserted the field by slinking off the bed and crawling under it.
Jordan did his best to breathe through the pain. “The Curtain of Power. I was behind it,” he said and told her.
“You provoked him? Deliberately?” She sat back, all the interest and concern on her face shifting into irritated impatience. “Do you have to be such a man?”
“Yes. Yes, I do. Added to that, he was going to do whatever he was going to do. Why shouldnt I get a couple
of swings in first, even if they were only verbal?”
“Oh, I dont know. Let me think.” Sarcasm dripping from each word, she tapped a finger to the side of her head. “Maybe because… hes a god.”
“Andyoudve stood there, of course, hands folded, having a polite conversation?”
“I dont know.” She blew out a breath and finished the bandaging. “Probably not.” Deciding that shed done her best, she bent over and dropped her head between her knees. “I dont ever want to have to do that again.”