34. Caught Again
CAUGHT AGAIN
Irene
Weakness plagued me to the point I couldn’t sit straight in the carriage as Graves, Alex, and I drove to the hospital.
Graves held me up with a steely arm around my waist. His body was feverish, and warmth radiated from him. Since my muscles ached, fatigue brought me to lean against him. Alex stared at us with deep annoyance, if his frown was any indication. Our bond was also strained. He was upset.
I inhaled. “I don’t think I can use my power to detect auras.” Talking required too much effort.
“You won’t need to.” Alex inched closer to me, which surprised me.
“I asked Mrs. Talbot to do quick research on the cases at the Royal London Hospital. There’s a criminal dying of an infection.
An old acquaintance of mine. He worked for Riley before he disappeared.
I interrogated him a while ago, but he was as useful as a blunt knife.
If he weren’t dying, he would be hanged. ”
I wouldn’t enjoy killing him, but I didn’t want to die either.
“Here we are, Miss Harlowe.” Graves gathered me in his arms and carried me out of the carriage with ease.
The lights from the hospital added a warm touch to the austere, squared building, but dread chilled me, and I shivered.
“Are you cold?” Alex started to remove his coat.
“No, I’m not. Graves’s body is so warm I’m quite hot.”
I must have said something wrong because he shot an incendiary glare at Graves so intense that I was surprised the werewolf didn’t shout in pain.
Graves and Alex ignored the front door and rounded the corner. The breeze ruffled my hair and carried the smell of burning coal, but I caught a whiff of carbolic acid as well.
“It’s this window.” Alex worked on the latch of a ground-floor window with a pair of shiny tools, and after a click, it opened.
He hadn’t forgotten his thieving skills.
“Move aside, Ravenhill.” Graves shifted my weight in his arms, sinking his fingers into my aching ribs.
I couldn’t hold back a whimper.
“What the hell are you doing?” Alex’s tone was pure menace.
Graves eased his grip. “I’m not doing anything. Stay calm.”
“Don’t make her fall.” The or else was implied.
“I won’t.”
Graves’s body quivered, and his temperature rose further. His muscles swelled as fur grew on his skin. A gasp remained trapped in my chest, but he didn’t completely turn into a wolf.
He flexed his knees and jumped through the dark window. There was a thud when he landed, and the sound of glass being smashed followed. I was jolted up and down in his arms.
“Damn.” Graves jumped around, knocking off trays and chairs.
I grimaced at the ruckus. The man in the bed didn’t stir though. He was pale and sweaty, likely unconscious.
Alex landed softly behind us without making a sound. “Bloody oaf. You’ll alert the entire hospital to our presence.”
Graves huffed. “Let’s be quick.”
“His heartbeat is fading.” Alex loomed over the man in the bed. “It’s a matter of minutes now.”
He handed me the dagger, and I wielded it with a trembling hand. Graves put me down but held me against him tightly. My muscles cramped, and I let out a groan.
“Be careful with her, dammit!” Alex widened his stance.
“Why don’t you carry her then? Oh, right. You’re the almighty duke—”
“Shut it.”
I closed my hands around the hilt. My mind conjured up a vision of my papa’s smiling face. He’d been murdered, and Sean had tried to kill me as well. I was a wili to bring justice.
Graves wrapped his hand around mine. “Let’s do it.”
I drew in a breath. “I’ll count to—”
Graves stabbed the man’s chest before I could finish.
“Bloody hell, Graves!” Alex said.
“Why wait?” Graves pulled out the dagger as I remained stunned.
Then a gust of warm air engulfed me, like a cuddle. Silver light shimmered around me, and energy flowed through me. I arched my back and spread my arms. The fatigue, sleepiness, and ache vanished. My blood rushed through my veins with renewed strength. Happiness, sheer and pure, made me laugh.
Even my senses sharpened. It was like waking up refreshed after a good night’s sleep.
The wound on the man’s chest disappeared, and no blood stained the bedsheet. But the man was dead. He had no aura. Graves’s aura was a triumph of yellow and other bright colours, constantly in turmoil. He was happy for me.
When the light coming from me dimmed, I stood next to the bed on my own feet, stronger than ever before.
Graves clapped my shoulder hard enough to make me stagger. “Well done, you.”
Alex looked at me with pride.
“I didn’t do anything.” Tiny stars danced through my fingers until they faded.
The door was flung open, and the man we had caught and who had escaped entered. For a moment, no one spoke. He glanced at the body on the bed and at us.
Then we moved at the same time. The man fled. Alex and Graves ran after him, and I followed although reluctantly. I’d witnessed enough violence for one night.
Nurses and patients screamed as the vampire and the werewolf darted down the hallway; they weren’t using their inhuman speed, but they were fast.
“Sorry, sorry.” I smiled at the nurses as if everything were normal.
Halos of different colours distracted me, and someone’s pain caused me to stagger. I called my power back, not to feel ill.
I chased Alex and Graves, but they were too fast for me.
They raced towards the main hall packed with doctors and patients in pain. While Graves shot after the man without slowing down, Alex’s steps faltered. He danced around people, wincing every time someone walked close to him.
“Out of my way!” I waved my arms, opening a path for Alex.
He stared at me with gratitude.
“Stay close to me, as we did the other day.”
We made our way out together, but we’d lost precious moments. Graves and the man were nowhere to be seen.
Panting, Alex leant against the wall. “I hate this.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“You nearly died because of my weakness.” Weakness sounded like a hiss.
His carriage was stationed close to a lamppost, and under the light, the tension on his face was more evident.
I made the gesture of caressing his hand. “I would like to help.”
“I would love that too.” The vulnerability in his voice hurt me.
“We start with small touches until you’re comfortable with a hug.”
When he lowered his gaze, he looked like the hurt boy I remembered. “That would be wonderful.”
“Where have you been?” Graves marched towards us, fully human. He was carrying the motionless man on his shoulders, seemingly without any effort. “You left me alone to chase this devil.”
“It’s my fault,” I said before Alex spoke. “I fell, and Alex helped me.”
The colour of charcoal filled Graves’s aura—suspicion. “I saw you trembling when a nurse brushed you,” he said to Alex.
“She was wearing a silver bracelet that hurt me.” Alex touched the man with his boot.
“He’s unconscious.” Graves tossed him into the carriage, but his aura remained brimming with suspicion.
Alex moved aside not to be touched by Graves. “Did he say anything?”
“Yes. Don’t kill me.” Graves scoffed. “I won’t leave his cell this time. No tricks.”