The Dragon King's Shaman

Broken Bones

Erik

“Why isn’t she waking up?” I asked Cordelia, who began strapping various machines to Avery as soon as I placed her on the examination couch.

“Step back and let me work, sky lizard. Go put some pants on,” Cordelia said curtly.

A rumbling growl bubbled up in my throat. I tried to tamp down my agitation. Cordelia was the other pack doctor, a siren, who Preeda and I had rescued from jail, along with Alec and his mates. She chose to stay in Quinn’s pack, and I was glad she was here, as the only other pack doctor lay unconscious in front of us.

“She was trying to inject something!” I jammed my hands through my short hair.

“Do you have it?”

I lamented my lack of pockets. “No, I left it on the ground.”

Cordelia scoffed. “Go through her jacket to see if there is anything.” Cordelia handed me Avery’s jacket she’d just cut off. “I think she’s just exhausted. You’d do well to remember she is only human. That dragon spirit of hers only heals others, not her.”

Alec appeared in the doorway, his cheeks streaked with tears, clutching a soggy note in one hand and a pair of shorts in the other.

“I knew you’d be naked.” He sniffed and handed me the shorts with shaky hands.

“What’s the matter, Alec?”

“She left me a note.” He handed me the soggy letter.

My body temperature rose as red hot jealousy speared me. As I read it though, time slowed, and the sensation deflated. My mate left a note to Alec that referenced Quinn and my sister, but nothing for me. Did I mean so little to her?

Alec placed a hand on my arm. “We’ll make this right.”

What exactly he referred to, I wasn’t sure. I swallowed past a golf-ball-sized lump in my throat.

“Have you found anything?” Cordelia asked me. “She has a broken collarbone, but otherwise, her vitals are okay. I need to get an x-ray.”

I fumbled inside Avery’s pocket and pulled out a black pouch. Inside was another needle like the one I’d stopped her injecting. I handed it to Cordelia, who removed the needle and licked the top.

Alec winced. “Girl, that can’t be safe.”

“Potassium. Strong too. Did she inject any? I’ll get an EKG.” Cordelia whisked off and returned, wheeling a machine with multiple wires.

“The syringe was still full.” I’d barely followed what she’d said. “What would it have done?”

“Stopped her heart.”

“What!” Alec gasped.

My knees buckled. She would have killed herself? She was that desperate. What the hell happened to her? Blood pounded in my ears. This demon hunting her was going to die, painfully. I’d rip him limb from limb as many times as it took for him to meet his ultimate fate.

“Erik, go outside. You’re filling my hospital with smoke!” Cordelia's voice broke through my crimson visions of limb rending.

She brushed past me to throw open the window. “I’m taking her to x-ray.”

“I’m coming.” I exploded forward.

“Not smoking my place up, you aren’t!” She shoved at my chest ineffectively.

“Don’t let her run off!” I growled.

“She’s in no state to run off, Erik. We are only going down the corridor. Calm yourself.” Cordelia wheeled Avery’s bed out of the room.

What was it with everyone telling me to calm down? No one had ever said that to me before a few weeks ago. I sagged down into a visitor’s chair, my head in my hands.

“What do you know?” Alec’s voice was stronger. He’d moved into planning mode.

“Nothing, f*****g nothing! How is that possible? I always know.”

“It sucks being in the dark.” I could tell the bastard was smiling. “You know something. You’ll have dug up some background right from the start.”

I shook my head. The little fucker knew me well. “Her ID is definitely fake.”

“Did you find out who forged it?”

“No, my assistant was looking into it.”

“You need to ask her yourself,” a female voice said.

I turned to see Zena, the pack witch, in the doorway. Quinn’s pack contained a curious mix of creatures besides his wolves. My brother-in-law was a benevolent host. Zena was tall and thin with black hair and two different coloured eyes. I’d had little interaction with her, but I got the distinct impression she disliked me.

“Easier said than done,” I muttered.

“Not really. If you put your male ego away, you’d get further.”

Great, f*****g great.

“Even I didn’t get very far,” Alec said.

Zena placed her bag on the small table and began unpacking glass vials.

“What is all that s**t?” I asked, unable to keep the irritation from my voice.

She gave me a long look. “Any eventuality.”

“You know who hunts her!” I jerked to my feet.

“Sit down!” Her eyes flashed dangerously, and yellow sparks hovered around her.

I winced. It reminded me of that bastard. Burning itched over my skin, and I rubbed my forearms.

“Please tell me. I can’t protect her if we don’t know.”

The witch’s mind was naturally cloaked. I wanted to pound my fists on the wall.

“I only know it’s a demon. She has a powerful appeal to supernatural creatures. For a few years, I brewed a potion to keep the male pack members here at bay, but that didn’t prevent Quinn’s uncle from becoming obsessed with her.”

I ground my teeth. “Did your potion protect her from his detection?”

“No, she’s cloaked. Dragon magic, I’m surprised you didn’t detect it.”

Pieces began fitting together in my mind.

“Cloaked by dragon magic, Maurice Smith, guardian of House Ignis. He just died. His protection would fall with him if he’d cloaked her.” I spoke aloud as everything clicked into place.

“Maurice is dead?” Avery’s voice quavered.

Her bed appeared in the doorway. She looked tiny against the big white cushions. Her usually curly hair was damp and stuck to her head in places.

“How do you know him?” I asked her.

She stared at me as Cordelia slotted the bed back into the alcove.

“I’m going to develop these films. Do not stress her out,” Cordelia said, waving her finger in my face.

“Avery, I think it’s time you told them,” Zena said softly.

Avery shifted her gaze to the window and took a deep breath. After a few moments, her quiet voice began.

“When I escaped him, I went to Liverpool to find Maurice Smith. My mother told me if I ever needed help and it was life or death to go to him and plead sanctuary in the name of House Ignis.” She shook her head. “I thought it was just the ravings of a crazy woman until I needed help desperately.”

“Your dragon spirit. It’s red with golden spines?” I asked, remembering the statue.

She nodded, still looking away.

“You descend from House Ignis,” I said.

“That’s what he said. How did he die?” She turned her head to me, her eyes far away and deadened.

“I don’t know yet. The dragon elder was going to find out. I haven’t checked in with him.”

“That’s why he didn’t pick up last night.” Tears streaked down her face.

I started forward. She froze, and I clenched my fist. When would she feel I wasn’t a threat to her? I crawled back into the chair.

Her eyes flew wide, and she started hyperventilating. “How did you eliminate the demons? They were there at the airstrip.” She clawed at her sheets as if trying to get up and run away.

Alec held his hand out. “They were Ezekiel’s demons. They meant you no harm. Not all demons are the same,” Alec said.

She shuddered. “Ezekiel James is a demon too?”

I thought back. She’d never actually met him or the demons he dropped off to help us win the vampire-hybrid war.

“He’s a hybrid angel-demon,” Alec replied.

“Is it a demon that’s after you?” I asked her, knowing the answer already.

She tensed again, her shoulders going up to her ears and gave a curt nod. “Kai.”

“Who is he?” Alec asked.

“A demon. I didn’t realise at first…” She trailed off.

“Let the darkness see the light, Avery. You have friends here,” Zena urged.

Avery searched Zena’s face.

“You really want to know?” She tipped her chin up defiantly, looking straight at me.

“Yes.” I met her stare, letting her see my sincerity.

She sighed and dropped her gaze. “I met Kai when he visited a hospital I worked at. He posed as a drug rep and presented to the emergency department. He was charming and immediately attentive to me.”

I grunted. I bet he was, the bastard.

Her pale cheeks blushed. “I didn’t date much, and it flattered me.” She shook her head. “So stupid.”

“Plenty of men start out charming.” Zena laid her hand on Avery’s uninjured arm.

“I should have known better. He said all the right things, he lavished attention on me. Gave me gifts, took me places. By the time he began suggesting things to me, I was swept up in his seduction.”

“Suggesting what?” Alec’s voice reminded me he was still here, too.

“Eat less, wear something different, go out with him rather than my friends, make different choices. Take a career break. Somehow, he always made it seem like my suggestion. I don’t understand now, looking back. I thought I was an intelligent woman.” Another tear trickled down her cheek as she ducked her head. “When he hit me the first time, I even believed it was my fault.” Her chin trembled. “They taught us about domestic violence in medical school, how to spot the signs, how it develops. No one taught you how to deal with it when it was happening to you.” She coughed.

“Erik, I won’t tell you again about the smoke!” Cordelia opened another big window.

Smoked billowed from my nostrils as my beast roared around, fry roasting the internal landscape of my mind. It wasn’t painful, just raw. I welcomed the burn, but I took some deep breaths and scrambled around for control.

“I took a career break and intended to put some distance between us. But he found out. He insisted he would be better if he took me away on holiday. It was the last I saw of my old life. After that, I was chained up and locked away.” Her eyes blazed into mine, and realisation at what I’d done speared me. “I… I can’t… I just…” A sob tore at her throat, her eyes wide.

I staggered; her look rattled my bones. I felt disorientated. What had I done? Sinking to my knees, I shuffled towards her. “I’m so sorry, Avery. I would never have put you in that safe room if I’d known.” My voice broke at the end as I reached her.

“I woke up, and I thought he’d found me.” Her breaths were choppy.

“I’m so sorry.”

Burning pain lanced through me. I’d made her feel unsafe. She’d compared my actions to his. I clutched the bedding at her side, and she searched my eyes. Suddenly, her small hand slid over the top of mine. I closed my eyes as the sensation of sparks danced over my skin.

“You didn’t know. I’m sorry too; you deserve a better mate, one that’s whole,” she said, her voice hoarse, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

“I don’t want another mate. I want you.” My other hand shook as I gently placed it over her smaller one, expecting her to cringe away.

She didn’t pull her hand away, and I wanted to punch the air. She shook her head sadly, though, like she didn’t believe me. I vowed I would make it my life’s mission to wipe away what that scum did to her.

I had to know, though.

I gritted my teeth. “Why did you try to kill yourself?”

Zena pulled in a sharp breath.

“Because I’ll never go back. I’d rather die.” She jutted her chin.

In that moment, I saw the strong woman who’d survived and escaped a sadistic demon. My heart expanded as it simultaneously broke at the thought that her own hand might have taken her from me.

“But Avery, you have friends here,” Zena said, her voice clogged.

“You can’t help me with this. I couldn’t bear it if anyone got hurt. You don’t understand what he’s like, and now he knows I’m here.”

Alec snorted. “Please, this is what we’ve done for years. You insult us.”

“Irina understood,” she said.

He laughed then. “Irina sent you off with a tracker, two warriors tailing you and Preeda waiting on that plane, then she was going to send this scaly beast after you.” He gestured his head towards me. “So, no, she had no interest in letting you go off unprotected.”

Avery shook her head, a small smile on her lips. “You guys hunted shifters, not demons.”

Alec clutched his chest in his signature gesture. “You cut me! I’ll have you know we’ve hunted many supernatural creatures, and we’ve taken out our fair share of demons.” He popped a hip, and I resisted a smile. “Girl, you live with the best of the best of hunters, and we think of you as one of our own. And no one, I mean no one, goes after one of our own without consequences. In fact, Rina is arranging specialist back up right now.”

I looked at him in question. I knew she would have called Ezekiel, but who else was she bringing in? My sister knew a multitude of supernatural creatures. Many of whom owed her their life.

He shook his head. “Later, she needs rest.” He thought to me.

“Zena, do you have some bone healing potion in your bag of tricks?” Cordelia asked.

“Certainly.” She drew out a glass vial of golden liquid.

“No!” Avery shrank back, dragging my hand with her.

“What’s the matter?” I asked, panicked.

“I won’t take that.” She closed her eyes, shaking her head from side to side.

“Not again, not again.” The thought tumbled out of her usually clouded mind.

“Shhhh, you don’t have to take it if you don’t want,” I told her.

“Avery, it’s for your collarbone. It will heal it much faster than your human body can.”

“I know what the potion does. It heals bones so they can be broken again within a few hours.” Her whispered voice tore through me like talons.

The raw horror on Alec’s face reflected my internal turmoil.

“Oh, Avery,” Zena said.

“I don’t want your pity.” She rocked her head as more tears leaked out of her closed eyes.

I hovered uncertainly before reaching and wiping them away. My arms ached to gather her into me, but I dared not disturb the fragile connection I felt to her through our joined hands. I would sit on my knees for hours to remain this close to her.

“Everyone out, Avery needs rest!” Cordelia announced.

Her eyes popped up. Those red-rimmed deep pools of pain landed on me. “Will you… will you stay with me?”

My heart soared. “Always.”

Cordelia shoved a chair into the small of my back, and I adjusted myself onto it so I could remain holding Avery’s uninjured hand. Her features gradually went slack, and she relaxed back into the cushions. I reached up and moved some of her limp red curls out of her face.

Cordelia came back into the room, clutching a bunch of shiny black sheets. She tossed the x-rays on the bed next to me.

“She’s probably broken every bone in her body at least once, certainly the ones I x-rayed all show damage. No wonder she wouldn’t take that potion.”

I shook with fresh rage, and my recently calmed dragon belched out new fire.

“It’s going to take a lot of time for her to fully trust you, sky lizard. I hope you are up to the challenge,” she said.

Blood pounded in my ears. “I’ve never backed down from a challenge in my life.”

She laid a hand on my shoulder as she stared at Avery. “That’s good. I heard you were older than most.”

She left us alone. The desire to inflict pain and exact vengeance charged through my mind like a stampeding rhino as I watched my mate sleeping in the bed. She looked so fragile. Thinking of her delicate bones being broken over and over, I wanted to roar, to smash and seize, rending limbs from bodies. I hoped my sister was procuring us some blessed blades because I was in the mood for slicing and dicing, then letting my dragon flambe what remained.