Chapter 6 #2
“Agreed, but barring that, we won’t necessarily get that answer right now,” she stated. “I need to know whether you’re capable of moving around or you need medical attention. I don’t know what would be available in this area, but I would have to assume that somebody somewhere has access.”
“I’m fine,” he muttered.
She walked over and pressed him down again, taking mental note of how much resistance there was and how much was physical weakness or because the guy was just damn stubborn. “Look. I get it. You don’t like what happened, but that doesn’t mean that you’re fine.”
“I’m fine,” he repeated, shooting her a look before shifting on the bed and rolling onto his back, “or I will be when I have a little more time to heal.”
She sighed. “I’ll leave you here to do that, while I go find us something to eat.”
He rolled his head over to her. “What are you planning on getting?”
She shrugged. “Whatever I can find. I don’t really know this area. It’s a small town, but I presume something is here,” she replied, rolling her eyes. “Or maybe we can order in. I should check what options we have.”
“I don’t know about options here, but I could use food too.”
She asked him, “You want me to bring you something back?”
“Were you not going to?” he asked in an amused tone.
She shrugged. “I’m really not sure how comfortable I am with you at the moment. Helping someone who’s hurt and in a vulnerable state is definitely different from a physically fit healthy male who I don’t know.”
“And yet you brought me to a hotel, stretched me out on your bed, and let me recover here,” he pointed out. “So, I highly doubt you would not feed me too.” She glared at him. He smiled and added, “I get it. Believe me that I do.”
“Yeah, apparently you don’t though,” she muttered, frustration evident in her tone.
“What am I missing? Were you just planning on disappearing?”
“No, I wouldn’t do that either, not before I know you’re okay.”
“And I’m not sure that I am okay just yet,” he admitted. “However, what I don’t want… Look. I don’t want to worry about my attacker going after you as well.”
“There’s been no sign of anyone else. You were alone on the ground. I sensed the danger but couldn’t see it. Nor could I sense anyone close by. I presume if someone had been there, they were long gone.”
“Or whoever it was had cloaked their presence. If they were in those woods, then presumably they have energy abilities as well. So we must consider that we might not know what they can do. For whatever reason, either I triggered them into thinking I was a threat or they were happy to wipe me out for some other odd reason.”
“Interesting,” she murmured, thinking about why someone would attack a stranger in the woods—unless they didn’t want their own presence to be seen. And that was a scary thought. The Beacon was sending out a call, but did Terk have any filters to discern who he allowed in?
Speaking of Terk, she pulled up her phone and sent another text. This was the fourth in a row and, so far, no answer to any of them. Looking up from her phone, she watched as Steele shifted up against the headboard. He glanced around and added, “If you want to give me a minute, I’ll come with you.”
She glared at him and replied, “That’s not smart. It’s way too early for you to walk, let alone walk out in public and deal with the other energies we’ll come up against just from being in the public eye.”
“Maybe not smart,” he agreed, glancing over at her, “but, if somebody attacked me, what are chances that they’ll just up and leave and not go for round two? What if they followed us here? And who’s to say you aren’t in danger yourself?”
She shrugged. “It takes a lot for me to be in danger.”
He sighed. “I get it. I would have thought the same thing. Plus, I didn’t exactly show myself in a great light, did I?”
She shrugged. “When you’re attacked like that, I’m not sure there is any great light .
I just don’t particularly want to draw attention to the fact that you’re even here,” she shared.
“I didn’t tell management you were here.
I told them that I was alone, and I took the back stairway to get you up here, just in case. ”
“Smart,” he said, with a nod, “and thank you for that. By the way, how did you get into the wooded area and not just drive up to Terk’s castle?”
“I was curious about the Beacon’s call, but the road to Terk’s castle brought me to a thick fog. Yet the woods were lit up, like the way to go. So I parked and followed the light. Who knew it was the darkness I would find instead.” She walked to the door, then turned back to him. “What about you?”
“Same, although I didn’t really see a light. More like that was the only path forward. My vehicle is still there, I suppose?”
“Yes, we’ll get it later. I barely noticed it as you hid it well.” For some reason that pissed her off. “While you’re here, maybe just stay very quiet and don’t let anybody else know you’re here, got it?”
He nodded. “Got it.”
With that, she turned and walked out the door, closing it behind her.