Chapter Four #2
Nylora leaned in and whispered, “You’re a bunny. Just a warning, no birth control works on a bunny. Your nature rejects it, so practice self-control when you are older or buy friends that run on batteries. Lots of them.”
Rose blushed, and her mother came in. “What are you telling her?”
Nylora kept calmly using the smallest stitches she could.
“I am telling her that she’s more than she appears to be, and while you are human, she isn’t.
It was probably the most recent wave. She needs to be placed with family until she activates.
After that, she will be safer. I am guessing it will be a few months at the outside.
Please, and I am begging you, have her assessed tomorrow. A reputable agency.”
Nylora looked at the stitches she had set already, and the skin was closing and healing. “You will have to get these stitches out tomorrow. You are already healing. So, something magical is coming up.”
Stomp said softly, “The social worker is on the way. She’s elven.”
“Good. I know there are wolves on shift right now, but that wouldn’t be good.” She turned her head and called out, “Skip!”
“Yah, Ny.”
“I need a zapper, a shrieker, and an alert.”
“Coming up. Piercing kit?”
“Yup. She needs them in her skin.”
Rose’s eyes got excited. “I get my ears pierced?”
Her mother frowned. “I don’t want her getting piercings at her age. It’s trampy.”
“Ma’am. She just got pierced in sixteen places. That files her under harlot. These are alerts that need skin contact and will alert if intent approaches. They are temporary and will leave without a trace. Sorry, Rose.”
Stomp chuckled.
Skip leaned over and gave her the plastic packets.
Nylora finished the last stitch and then took the little baggies. She held each one out for her audience. “This one is a zapper if anyone touches you with the intent to do violence or pain. It’s different. Ask your mother.”
The mother gasped.
Rose smiled. “Okay. So, a bug zapper. I am the attractant, and they are the bugs.”
“Correct. The jolt gets stronger the longer you are held. I am putting that in your left earlobe. This one is the shrieker. It’s basically a dog whistle that you can’t hear, but everyone around you will hear.
Same stimuli, pain or violence. That goes in your other ear.
This one goes in your nose. This is an alert.
It calls the XIA, the social workers, and an ambulance.
Same stimuli. We can’t stop them from trying, but we can show up and kick their butts. ”
Nylora brought out her credentials and said, “I am licensed for protective piercings or tattoos. Just so you don’t think I am doing this for giggles.”
Rose’s mother was going to argue, but her new husband took her by the shoulders and he said, “Please continue, Medic. I know how serious this can be.”
He went to one side while Nylora cleaned and checked the placement of the tiny charms.
She put on a fresh pair of gloves, cleaned the ears and nostril again, and then she got to work. Six minutes later, the charms were locked into Rose’s body, and she looked at Nylora. “I can feel them.”
“Good. They will remain on until you are safe and shifted. You are in-between now, and that is a dangerous place.”
Rose nodded and smiled. “Do you know the dark fae medic on the internet?”
“The what? It has been a busy night.” She started to clean up.
“She is all black, silver eyes, designs in her skin, and huge wings. She flew someone to the hospital, but you could still see her uniform. Do you work with her?”
Skip was laughing as he leaned against the rig.
She gathered the garbage and the sharps container. “Skip, can you grab this for me so we can be on our way?”
Stomp helped Rose stand up. She looked at him like he was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. He might have been. He was super pretty.
Skip took care of the garbage and got it squared away while she rose from the low crouch she had been in for the last hour, and she stretched. Stomp and Snort looked at her, and she made a face. The social worker pulled up and walked to Rose immediately.
The woman inclined her head. “Thank you for spotting it, Medic Mills.”
“Night or day, I see it all.” She winked and took her kit, putting it back in the ambulance. She quickly restocked her kit, then locked it down, locked up the doors, and headed to the front of the rig.
“Onward, Buttercup, there is mayhem and fuckery afoot!”
They drove off, leaving the XIA team looking after them.
Skip drove while she updated the files. “So, Ny, how long has he been chasing you?”
“It’s been a slow walk for the last six months. Nothing major.”
“Well, he’s on nights, you are on nights...”
“We get called for falls down stairs and a poltergeist in the glove compartment that spits hand sanitizer at someone.”
“Ah, yes, the endless gremlin calls.” He laughed. “The filler of all our nights.”
She chortled. “You miss days, don’cha?”
“Yes, but nights go by a lot faster. How many calls have we had so far?”
“Four.”
“Nice, and I have had a hot meal for a change. What did you have?”
“Sandwich, coffee, and Jello.”
“Aw, well, the coffee was hot, right?”
She looked at him darkly. “It was hospital coffee.”
“Ouch, tonight sucks all the way around for you.”
Nylora snorted. “I saved her, so I am good with that.”
He looked at her. “She means something to you?”
“She means everything.”
He nodded. “Got it.”
They got an alert and drove ten blocks to tend to a goblin with two broken limbs. This one was lights and sirens. They still had to get to the mayor’s home, but lives came first.
* * * *
Isocar gasped and saw light around the curtains surrounding her.
Lenora and Harcourt were standing next to her a moment later.
Lenora said softly, “Izzy, calm down. Your rideshare was hit by a truck. You took most of the damage, but it thankfully had good airbags, and you were wearing your seatbelt.”
“Oh. Hospital?”
“Yes. You were taken from the wreck and brought here,” Harcourt said softly. “You were in surgery for six hours and unconscious for four hours after. Good morning.”
“How bad was it?”
Lenora held her left hand. “Your ribs and hip were pretty much pulverized, and there was a ton of internal bleeding. If the medic hadn’t done what she did to get you here, we would have lost you.”
“Wait. Internal bleeding? How did they get me the right blood type?”
Harcourt smiled. “The medic brought you to the one hospital that had a fresh supply of dark fae blood. The match was perfect and more than enough for your needs.”
“How did she know?”
Lenora smiled. “She’s a medic, dear. It’s her job to know.”
There was a soft knock on the door, and Harcourt said, “Come in.”
Isocar saw a female brownie come in, and she smiled. “Good morning.”
“Good morning, Miss Lavrel. I am Mrs. Brooks, and I would like to say that you were part of the most noteworthy moment in our hospital’s history. We have a particular situation put into our drills, but we never knew what it was for, until last night.”
Mrs. Brooks turned a tablet to show a glowing dark elf holding her carefully and blazing through the hospital, and then the path cut from camera to camera until Isocar was in the surgery and the medic was outside, sobbing into her hands.
Isocar blinked. “Can I see her face?”
Brooks tapped the screen, and the tear-stained face looked up at the camera. “Familiar?”
“That’s my face.”
“She calls herself your cousin, but I think the relation is closer.” Mrs. Brooks said, “You don’t know her?”
“No. I haven’t ever seen her. She brought me here?”
Mrs. Brooks pulled the tablet away. “If you want to see more of her, check your phone. Her life-flight with you is viral. You can’t miss it.”
Isocar looked from left to right. “Where is my phone?”
Lenora smiled. “I have it.” She pulled it out. “We charged it.”
Isocar moved as an incredible ache ran down her right side. Her ribs were shifting and healing. She opened her phone and looked up local news. “Oh, my holy moonbeams.”
The footage started from the medic’s uniform based on the angle, and then the XIA got the door open. The woman got her out, held her carefully, and then stepped into the hands of a minotaur to be propelled upward.
From there, all hell broke loose. A streak of white energy formed wings, and the medic blazed a path that was tracked by multiple cameras, holding her with an IV in her arm and a saline bag in her lap.
Mrs. Brooks said, “That IV saved your life, by the way. Your skin is shockingly hard to pierce, but it let us sedate you to the point where the surgeons could subdue your healing until they finished repairing ruptured vessels.”
“How did she know that?”
“Ah, I talked to her about that, and she mentioned running scenarios until you survived. This was that final plan.”
Isocar looked up. “What’s her name?”
“Nylora Mills.”
Lenora jolted. “Mills?”
Mrs. Brooks nodded. “Mills.”
Harcourt looked at his wife. “What are the odds?”
“Pretty good, dear. It’s probably why Isocar’s grandmother brought her over as a babysitter. Family calls to family.”
Isocar looked up. “What?”
“If she is a Mills and you two are related, then you are also a Mills, and so am I. My maiden name.” Lenora smiled.
Isocar carefully looked at them. “Do you know her?”
The Gangers shook their heads.
Isocar looked at Mrs. Brooks. “How can I get in touch with her?”
“She was on the night shift, but I think she will be here tomorrow. She wanted to give you a day to recover. You should rest. More scans will be done on you. You were three minutes from death, according to our surgeon and the techs. They are studying your scans and the records from the surgery to use them as teaching tools.”
Isocar nodded. “Right. Of course. Did my insurance cover my bill? I can pay cash.”
Brooks smiled. “It’s covered. The hospital has been full of donations to pay for your care, which is not the normal response when dark fae are involved.”
“Use the funds for someone else. I have more than enough to pay for my care.”
Brooks grinned. “Well, then, we will, but where would you like the other funds to go?”
“Um, what is the insurance like for the first responders?”
“Excellent. Good place to put the funds. They have a lot of emotional burnout. Therapy is always needed.”
Isocar smiled. “Good. Right. So, is my driver okay?”
“The XIA will come in to talk to you about it any time now, but I believe he had minor injuries.”
There were heavy footfalls coming toward them, and Lenora and Harcourt got to their feet. She found the button for it and slowly elevated her bed, breathing through the pain as it moved her upright.
A minotaur carefully moved into the room, along with an orc and something that defied description. The orc said, “So, it seems you fixed our mate’s home. Do you remember anything about the accident?”
“There were bugs in the grill of the truck,” she said softly.
They chuckled.
She looked to the minotaur. “Why did you throw her like that?”
“She asked me to, and I get it. She took the potential of the launch and used it to propel herself. It was precise, like she had rehearsed it a thousand times.” He spoke very eloquently for a guy with a bull’s head.
“Yeah. Mrs. Brooks said something about that. I hope it lets Jennel fix her house for better resale or maybe gift it to her son?”
The orc chuckled. “I think he would like that. Corit has been watched with love for a while, and I think moving ten minutes away might not be a bad idea while he’s in school. That way, Reymark won’t creep him out too much while he surrounds Jen with shadow until she screams.”
Isocar blinked. “Oh, he’s a bed monster.”
Reymark bowed. “Under the bed monster.”
“Oh, I am pretty sure you do it above the sheets as well.”
The other two snickered.
Isocar sighed and said, “If you are asking about Medic Mills, I have never met her that I am aware of. Her face is familiar as well. She certainly knows how to make an entrance.”
Another set of XIA walked in, and a dark elf looked at her and smiled. “Good. You are awake. Hannah was worried. May I tell her you are up and awake?”
“Oh, so... right. I remember her mentioning you. Neekil, right? You are my neighbours now.”
He nodded. “And the neighbours to my other side are with you as well. Good evening, Professors Ganger.”
Lenora nodded. “Good morning, Agent Ar-Thuat.”
“We just wanted to check on you so I could satisfy Hannah’s curiosity. Rest and recover, miss.” He bowed and winked. “I hope to see you at the housewarming.”
“I hope to be on my feet.”
Reymark walked up to her and took her hand, and she felt a surge of power. “That was borrowed from Jennel, but don’t worry, she will top me up in an hour or so or bottom or sideways.”
Isocar chuckled. “Explain me and then thank her. Use the videos. Do not top up and do it the other way, or you will be fucking at air for a week.”
Reymark nodded. “Thanks for the tip.”
She waved them off with the left hand that had the dark blood moving into her. A moment later and the air was slightly less full of testosterone. Isocar coughed lightly. “Remind me to do all interviews before they go out and sweat.”
Harcourt laughed. “The air was a little thick in here. Benny and hers are coming next, but I don’t think they are that bad anymore.”
Lenora smiled. “No, they have settled since their trip to the demon zone.”
Isocar blinked. “What?”
“Oh, yes, your little Benny is the centre of a quad, and they all have demon seemings when she pulls hers out. Warrior, archivist, and incubus, and then Benny. Demon king.”
Isocar remembered the serious little face introducing her with a stiff child’s handshake and smudges of peanut butter and jelly in the corners of her mouth. “I expected nothing less.”