Chapter 13
Thirteen
Nikodemus
How did all hospitals, no matter their location, smell the same?
And why was it so unpleasant? It was possible that no matter what the scent, one would find it off-putting simply due to the fact that it represented somewhere no one wanted to be.
That scent was attached to misery and loss.
Maybe it was a good thing the smell was unique.
Otherwise, individuals would be triggered by the scent memory alone.
“Elevators are odd,” Hikaru mused. He’d absorbed his tails into his body, his description, not mine, and appeared far more human than his typical form.
I could reluctantly admit that I missed the tails and tufted ears.
Even Hikaru’s claws were gone, replaced by dull, humanoid nails.
When I’d inquired about the change, Hikaru had shrugged and said now wasn’t the time to draw unnecessary attention.
I’d found the statement strange considering Hikaru seemed to thrive on attention.
“How so?” I asked, unsure why Hikaru found this mode of transportation odd.
“They are small.” He gazed up at the ceiling, head tilted. “And this one seems questionably supported.” The handful of humans sharing our elevator space shifted uncomfortably, throwing worried glances over their shoulders.
“I believe the engineering has been proven sound,” I answered, attempting to calm the growing concern. The elevator stopped, its doors opening and allowing our human companions to scramble out. No one new entered.
“Ah, that’s better.” Hikaru leaned against the wall, a self-satisfied smirk tilting his lips.
I blinked as realization settled. “You did that on purpose.”
Hikaru shrugged. “It was too crowded. Now we have more space.” As if to prove his point, Hikaru spread his arms and did a little twirl.
“Unbelievable,” I muttered.
“What? It wasn’t that bad. Besides, taking the stairs never hurt anyone.”
I didn’t bother arguing that some had physical maladies that made stairs difficult or unsafe. My words would fall on deaf ears and some arguments simply weren’t worth the waste of breath.
Our elevator came to another stop at the seventh floor.
“This is us,” Hikaru said, barely waiting for the doors to open before stepping into the hallway beyond. I was starting to feel as if I were constantly following the kitsune. Hikaru was so eager. He often leaped before he looked. One of these days, that trait was going to get him into trouble.
“7153.” Hikaru stared down at the little piece of paper in his hands before glancing at the placards on the wall pointing us in the appropriate direction.
Practically skipping down the hall, Hikaru took off toward the right.
His dramatic wave as we passed the nurses station made me wonder how he thought that action was in keeping with a low profile.
The nurses at the desk gave him a puzzled but fond wave.
Those soft gazes grew warry when I walked past.
Unlike Hikaru, I couldn’t change my form. Warlocks were large, looming, and had presence. It was simply the way we were made. Humans often found us intimidating.
“Hurry up, Niki!” Hikaru was several feet in front of me, bouncing on the balls of his feet toward the end of the hall. “He’s in here.” Hikaru’s head tilted to the right toward hospital room 7153.
I waited until I was close enough to hear without shouting. “This is a hospital. Show some respect and keep your voice down,” I scolded.
Hikaru blew a raspberry my direction. “You’re too straightlaced, Niki. It’s a good thing you’ve got me now to loosen you up.”
My eyebrows shot upward but, as always, Hikaru was off before I had a chance to respond. Without waiting for me, Hikaru ducked into the room holding Aaron Detling.
I entered the room with more hesitation than Hikaru. I wasn’t afraid to walk inside. I simply wasn’t sure what I’d find. Cilla’s description of Mr. Detling’s current health didn’t bode well. The vision that met my eyes supported Cilla’s earlier statements.
Aaron Detling lay in bed with an IV hooked up to his arm and at least two different bags of fluids attached.
Cilla stated that Aaron had a feeding tube.
While I couldn’t directly see it, the odd bulge under his blankets indicated something more was there.
Aaron’s skin appeared pallid and his lips were twisted into a grimace.
“Poor guy.” I jerked at the soft, feminine voice. Eyes wide, I dumbly stared at Hikaru’s transformed figure. Gone was the male I was used to and in his place was a dark-skinned female with close cropped hair and dressed in pink scrubs.
“What in Gaia’s name are you doing?” I hissed, keeping my voice low.
Hikaru didn’t even glance my direction when he answered, “You loom enough for the both of us. Trust me, Aaron will find this form less intimidating.”
“I—” I had absolutely nothing to say. Whether intentional or not, I’d used my natural intimidation to increasingly positive effect for the last forty plus years. However, I had to admit that Hikaru was correct. Sometimes, my larger-than-life form and heavy presence did not work in my favor.
Patting and tugging at Mr. Detling’s blankets, Hikaru cooed at the human.
“There, there. We’ll have you all fixed up and on your way home in no time.
” Hikaru’s tone sounded genuine, and I couldn’t decide if he truly cared or if it was just an act.
If it was the latter, I needed to be on guard because the kitsune was damn convincing.
Tired, light brown eyes blinked open, slowly focusing in on Hikaru’s female face. Hikaru’s smile was warm and full of concern. “How are you feeling, Aaron?”
The human licked his dry and cracked lips. “T-tired.” His eyes began slipping closed again.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Hikaru kindly offered. “Let’s see if you can stay awake a little longer, sugar. There’s someone here who’d like to talk to you about what happened with the charm you purchased and used.”
Mr. Detling’s eyes blinked before shifting my direction. His features tightened when he saw me. “Another one? What is it now?”
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. “Another one? You’ve already spoken with another warlock?”
For an exhausted human, Aaron Detling still managed to roll his eyes. “Jeez, don’t you guys talk with each other?”
“Apparently not,” I deadpanned. My fingers clenched. “Do you recall what he looked like?”
“Fucking hell…he looked like a warlock.”
My lips pulled back into a snarl. I couldn’t tell if this human was being obtuse on purpose or was simply an idiot.
“Oh, honey,” Hikaru purred, “I know what you’re talking about.
All warlocks look the same to me too. They’re all big, buff, and full of themselves.
” Hikaru threw a wink my direction. “But there are a few differences. I know they can be hard to decipher. Did this one have a lot of white in their hair or was it just a little?”
Seemingly happy to ignore me, Aaron Detling focused on Hikaru’s smiling visage. The tension seeped from his body and he relaxed into his hospital bed. “He had a lot more white than this one.” I could only assume Mr. Detling referred to me.
“And his fingers? Did you see those?”
“Black as coal and covered in ugly rings.” Aaron Detling yawned and his eyes fluttered. “God, I’m tired.” I suppose malnutrition and dehydration would certainly do that to a person.
“I know sweetie.” Hikaru ran his fingers through the human’s hair. I had the overwhelming desire to rip those fingers from the mousy brown hair they were tangled within. It was an irrational urge that needed purged from my mind—immediately.
Hikaru glanced my way when Aaron Detling’s eyelids slipped closed. His gaze remained focused on me when he asked, “Do you still have that nasty charm that did this to you?”
“No.” The word was little more than a ghostly whisper.
I stiffened, but it was Hikaru who asked, “Do you know where it is?”
“The other warlock took it.” Cracking a yawn, Aaron Detling’s head tilted as slumber pulled him under.
Standing there, the pressure in my head and chest built to alarming levels. I could feel magic crackling around me, eager for guidance, ready to take out the looming threat. Only the threat wasn’t to be found within this room, and the building magic had no outlet.
“Come on.” Hikaru grabbed my arm, jerking me away and into the hall. Buzzing filled my head and I barely heard Hikaru greet others as he pulled me along. Gaia knows why, but I allowed it. I didn’t so much as dig in my heels or give Hikaru’s clutching hand a protesting jerk.
Instead of heading for the elevators, Hikaru dragged me to the stairs.
Banging the door open, he pulled me down two flights of stairs before twirling me and slamming my body into the wall.
“Look at me,” Hikaru demanded. “Damn it. I said, look at me!” He grabbed my chin, forcing my head down.
The sane part of my brain registered that Hikaru’s form was more familiar.
His fox tails swished around him with agitation and his green-gold eyes seemed lit from within.
“Fuck, you’re a vision.” Hikaru’s tone was reverent as his fingers danced up and down my arms. “You have no idea what you look like, do you? All that magic swirling around you, desperate for guidance.” Hikaru rubbed his cheek against my chest before going up on tiptoes and doing the same against my neck and jaw.
My chaotic aggression found a new focus and homed in on that singular outlet.
“Let it go.” Hikaru’s breath ghosted across my skin, leaving gooseflesh in its wake and sending my blood pounding through my veins. “I can take it, let it go in me before you hurt someone.”
Hikaru didn’t wait for me to respond. Just as he always did, the kitsune took the lead, slamming his lips into mine. He had to yank my head down to reach, but Hikaru was surprisingly strong for someone so lean.
I didn’t fight it. I let Hikaru drink from my lips, pressing and eating at my mouth.
The magic begging for direction found its target and eagerly flowed from me into Hikaru.
Groaning, the kitsune absorbed it, taking the untamed magic into himself and cooling its fire, leaving me slumped against the cinderblock wall.
Finally pulling away, Hikaru tilted his head back and gasped.
“Fuck, that was…we should have done that a long fucking time ago, Niki.” Hikaru’s body grew lax as he leaned into me.
I’m not sure where I found the strength, but I held onto him, pulling Hikaru’s body against mine, the cold wall at my back supporting us both.
Inhaling, my eyes slipped closed as reality slowly filtered back in. It’s as if the past few minutes had happened to someone else, not me. “W-what…what was that?”
Hikaru’s claw-tipped fingers danced along my chest as he continued leaning his cheek over my heart.
“That was damn near orgasmic.” Hikaru’s light chuckles turned darker.
“That was also a nightmare in the making. Honestly, Niki, how did you survive before without me?” This time, when Hikaru glanced up at me, his beautiful eyes were mischievous again.
“Hikaru, tell me what—”
He slapped my chest and pulled away. I hated how much I wanted to pull him back. “I swear, sometimes you’re simply no fun at all,” Hikaru pouted while crossing his arms. With a put-upon sigh, he took another step back. “You were out of control, Niki. That’s what happened.”
I scoffed. “I am never out of control.” The very thought was ridiculous.
Hikaru stared at me quizzically before shrugging his shoulders and crossing his arms. “Maybe not before, but you certainly were this time. You’re anger—which is totally justifiable by the way—got the better of you.
The magic wanted to do something. Consciously done or not, you were sucking it toward you but it had nowhere to go.
If I hadn’t intervened…” Hikaru flinched.
“I’m not exactly certain what you would have done, but I don’t think it would have worked out in your favor.
You don’t need to give the Warlock Council anymore ammunition, Niki.
You’ve got to be smarter than that.” Hikaru tapped his temple for emphasis.
Every muscle tightened as my ego bristled. “That is amusing considering the source.”
Hikaru’s eyes narrowed to little more than slits as his finger poked me in the chest. “I might be reckless and a little mischievous, but I’m not an idiot.”
The longer I was with Hikaru, the more I agreed. Still, I didn’t appreciate his earlier implication. Choosing to ignore it, I countered. “They took the charm. Do you realize what that means?”
Hikaru tilted his head. “Probably not completely.”
I barked out a humorless laugh. “Not only can I not examine it to tell if it is one of mine or not, and if so, what happened, but the warlock who currently has it in their possession could alter it further.”
“That’s terribly unfortunate and rather clever. Devious assholes, aren’t they.”
Once again, my mouth opened, words ready to pour out only to get stuck in my throat.
Hikaru used a single finger to lift my chin, effectively closing my mouth. “I told you, Niki, your mind isn’t capable of anticipating what they might do next. You’re too good.”
I scoffed. “I’m hardly good.”
With a shrug, Hikaru answered, “Trust me, you’re better than most.” Turning, Hikaru’s tails flicked, their tips softly whispering against my cheek. “Let’s get out of here. I need food.”
Standing there, still leaning against the wall, I watched Hikaru’s graceful form practically float down the stairs, his tails dancing behind him. My gaze narrowed, growing focused when I saw a small tuft of fur where there’d been a noticeable absence.
Gaia save us all, an eighth tail was in the making.