Bronywyn
Present day
Panic races through my veins, a high-speed highway for my fear as I rush down to my clinic, the psychic detective and hunter behind me.
“Get him on the table.” The order is barked, and even in my rush, I still take the time to scrub my hands clean before I turn to face two pairs of panicked eyes, a third barely able to hold his own open. “What happened?” I demand, as I cut open Elijah’s tattered and bloody shirt to get a better look at what I’m dealing with.
Born a vampire and turned into a hunter by one twist of fate we never saw coming, he should still be able to heal himself. The fact that he’s here, on my table, doesn’t bode well for my ex-lover.
Not even a little bit.
“We were attacked outside the apartment.” Rainey Astor, the youngest of two sisters who belong to one of the oldest hunter lines in history, sniffles. “They came out of nowhere.”
“Who did?” I press my stethoscope to his heart and listen for the steady rhythm that is faster than a human, but slower than a vampire. It’s there, but far slower than it should be.Fuck.
“Witches,” the psychic says. “Speaking of, I need to get back. Are you going to be okay?”
“I get it. Go. Thank you, Walker,” Rainey chokes out.
He nods tightly, then rushes out the door as I grab a bottle of filtered water and dump it over Elijah’s marred chest. He groans and arches up off the table, hissing in pain, and Rainey’s eyes go wide with fear.
“Hang on. I’ll get you something for the pain.” Without knowing just how bad his injuries are, sedating him could prove dangerous, as supernaturals fight off the sedation pretty quickly, and dosing them multiple times when their heart rate is already low like this can prove deadly. But based on the tight set of his jaw, if I don’t give him something, he’s going to pulverize his teeth beneath the weight.
Filling the syringe with a tonic of my own making, I turn back to him and slide the needle into the artery of his throat. As soon as I depress the plunger, Elijah relaxes, his head lolling to the side. I waste no time, though, and rush back over, pressing my hands to his heart, closing my eyes, and focusing my own magic on him.
His energy is polluted—I could feel it the moment they stepped foot into my clinic. What I don’t know is why.
Hello, pretty witch.The voice slips into my consciousness, and I open my eyes. “Were they dark witches?”
“What?”
“The ones that attacked you. Were they dark witches?”
She nods.
“Fuck.”
“What is it—”
“Shhh,” I interrupt, closing my eyes and focusing on the life force around him. It takes almost no time at all to discern the source of the taint infecting his body. My eyes snap open, and I take in Rainey’s panicked stare.
Never, in the entire time that I’ve known the younger Astor, have I seen her this fearful… and I’ve seen her balancing on the brink of death before.
All of which makes this next part even more difficult to deliver.
“The witches infected him,” I say, softly.
“What do you mean infected him?” Her brows draw together.
“They pumped him full of magic somehow. Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it.” I stare down at him. “They shouldn’t have been able to since he’s not a warlock.”
“How? I don’t understand. It wasn’t any more difficult than a normal witch attack.”
“Yes, but the normal witches you’ve faced off haven’t had a speed course on dark magic. My guess is Lucy sent them after you, probably as a way to get to Delaney.”
“And Elijah got caught in the crossfire.” Rainey shuts her eyes tightly as a tear slips down her cheek.
“We need Fearghas.”