Lethal Game (GhostWalkers 16)

Ezekiel gripped Rubin by the shoulder. “You have to stop. You two have been at this for hours. Rubin. I mean it. Sit the fuck down.” He poured command into his voice.

Rubin looked so pale she wanted to make him stop, even though she knew Malichai’s bone was a disaster. And maybe there was no saving it. If Rubin couldn’t do it, no one could. He stumbled once to the chair Ezekiel took him to, but his hands were steady as he drank from the water bottle and then he sent her a faint smile.

“How you holding up?”

She felt a real camaraderie with him. He knew what Malichai’s leg was really like and what it was going to take to keep it from shattering. He also knew the drive a healer felt when they saw that kind of horrendous damage. She sent him a small smile. “I’m doing okay. It’s strange, but I don’t even feel time passing. Do you?”

He shook his head. “We were at it for hours though.” He glanced across the room.

Amaryllis followed his gaze with her own. Ezekiel was seated in the armchair. His fingers drummed on the small table. There was a cup of coffee right beside his hand.

“I don’t think either of you should keep these healing sessions quite so long,” he said. “I don’t want to risk your health. If you slow it down, Rubin, won’t you still accomplish the same thing without such an obvious risk? Amaryllis?”

She didn’t answer. She was too tired to do so, and she wasn’t certain what she would have said. She didn’t know if she could slow down. Her mind mapped out the injuries, and that powerful healing energy inside her insisted on working. She hadn’t noticed the passage of time. She only saw the injury and needed to fix it. She thought that need was more of a compulsion than anything else. How could she stop herself if she wasn’t even aware of time passing?

“The injury is quite severe,” Rubin said. “Mills was wearing steel-toed boots and his kicks landed right on each of the spots where Malichai was shot. Even so, the bone should have held up. The exact same weird fracturing occurred. It doesn’t make sense. Some other factor is at play here, and honestly, the only thing I can think of that’s suspicious is the field dressing.” He glanced at Trap, who remained a silent sentry, his back to the door.

“Can you repair the bone again?” Ezekiel asked. This time his voice was grim.

“We’re trying. The damage to his artery was severe. Had I not been there, he would have been gone within a matter of a couple of minutes,” Rubin said. “The bone”—he looked at Amaryllis—“I don’t have an answer. We’re trying.”

Beside her, Malichai stirred, trying to pull himself into a sitting position. Instantly, Mordichai helped him. Malichai slipped his arm around Amaryllis.

“How does your leg feel?” Ezekiel asked his brother.

“Like it’s on fire. Much hotter than the last time. She generates so much energy, it’s brutal.” He looked at Rubin. “You’re icy cool. It’s interesting to have both sensations at the same time on my bone.”

It comforted her that Malichai was talking. He lay in the bed, his upper body propped up on pillows while his legs were stretched out in front of him. He had one arm around her and that didn’t move, as if he feared he would lose her if he let go of her.

Amaryllis turned her face away from all of them. She just wanted to sleep. If she was able to get a little bit of time to sleep, then she could start again.

“Need a half hour or so,” she murmured and turned her face into Malichai’s rib cage, closing her eyes. The light in the room was dim, but everything was beginning to hurt, especially her eyes, as if she’d burned them. One leg ached until the ache became a pain so intense, she thought she might have to scream. She just wanted a few minutes to sleep.

Ezekiel picked up his coffee cup. “The magic shop has been deserted, which is no surprise. Nothing was left behind that was incriminating or a clue to what those people were up to, but clearly it isn’t good.”

“They walked right in here and took Malichai. They could have come in and shot Amaryllis, Marie and Malichai,” Mordichai said, a bite to his voice. “But they took him with clear intentions to interrogate him.”

There was no going to sleep now. Amaryllis wanted to hear every word. She couldn’t pry her eyes open, so she just lay against Malichai’s side and listened.

“Who are they? You get anywhere with that?” Rubin asked.

“Callendine is a lieutenant colonel in the Army. Major Roseland Salsberry worked with Callendine for several years and is very devoted to him, although they aren’t romantically involved. Mills is under Callendine’s command. Callendine, across the board, has commanded respect and admiration, both from his superiors and from his men. More than once I was told Callendine’s men would follow him anywhere, straight into the jaws of hell,” Ezekiel informed them.