Dark Secrets (Shadow Guild: The Rebel 3)

I frowned. “How many drinks?”

“He hasn’t been here long enough to lose his head. I’ll send him to your quarters, Devil.”

Grey nodded, and we headed in that direction. Fortunately, there was no one in the halls between the lobby and his flat. The healer was already there, waiting for us. He was slightly red in the face, as if he’d run the whole way, and I wondered what Miranda had told him.

“Thank you for coming, Doratio,” Grey said.

The old healer nodded, his pale green eyes glinting with concern. “But of course.”

Grey unlocked the charm that protected his flat and let us in.

The healer’s white cloak swept around him as he entered. “What happened?” he asked.

“We were fighting some Marsh Men in Magic Side, Chicago,” I said. “They shot Grey with a jet of water. I think it was enchanted because he hasn’t been able to heal like normal.”

The healer frowned. “That is strange, indeed.” He gestured to a chair by the window that looked out on the beach. “Sit, please.”

Grey sat. His face was impassive, though his shoulder slowly seeped blood. It had to hurt, but other than the faint paleness of his features, he showed no sign of pain.

I paced anxiously as Doratio knelt by his chair to inspect the gash. He hovered his hand over the shoulder wound, then the arm wound, his magic flaring. In the reflection of the glass, I could see his brow crease with concern.

“I feel no magic here,” he said. “These wounds are clean, made only by water moving fast enough to cut.”

Shit. Something really was different about this. “Then why isn’t he healing?”

“That, I do not know.”

Something was different about Grey. That had to be it. Why else would his healing ability suddenly just stop?

A sense of foreboding threatened to drag me down.

“Can you heal it in your normal fashion?” Grey asked.

“Yes, yes. Though I’m afraid I can’t restore your vampire healing ability.”

Grey nodded. “See to the wounds. I’ll sort that out.”

Anxiously, I watched the healer feed his power into Grey’s body. The gashes knitted themselves back together in front of my eyes, though Grey’s skin was still pale.

“That’s the best I can do.” The healer stood and turned to me. “And you, my dear? Do you need treatment?”

“No.” Grey had got between me and any hits I might have taken, so I was fine.

“Then I’ll be on my way.” He turned and went to the door, disappearing silently into the night. I had to assume he had an arrangement to bill Miranda.

Grey turned to me, rising. “Are you all right?”

I nodded, my gaze meeting his. “I’m fine. Just worried about you.”

“Don’t be.”

“I can’t help it.” I cared about him. As much as we both knew it was a bad idea, I couldn’t help the feelings that were threatening to overwhelm me.

Somehow, over the last week, I was coming close to falling for him.

He opened his mouth, something unreadable flickering in his eyes. Then he closed it, swallowing the words. When he spoke, his words had nothing to do with us. “We need to gather this collection of ingredients.”

I nodded. “Of course. I’d like to check in with Eve as well. See how Mac is doing.”