Chapter 27 #3
I nodded and he stepped out of the booth to lead the way.
Jax followed, leaving me to bring up the rear.
As we left the market, the number of corpses increased.
These looked like they’d been ripped apart, littered with bullet holes from the machine gun.
The carnage and smell of blood made me want to gag, despite all my experience.
One of the bodies let out a gurgling noise, and I quickly followed the sound to find an older woman gasping her last breaths. She had a huge fucking hole in her abdomen. I crouched beside her, then hesitated and glanced up at Griz.
“I don’t know,” he said, answering my unspoken question of which side she fought for.
I looked back down at her. She had precious seconds left. I wasn’t even sure if she could see me. Her eyes stared at the sky, unfocused and taking on that glossy sheen of death as she wheezed.
It’s what Trey would’ve done.
I laid my hands on the gaping wound and let my power flow as quickly as I dared. It took a long time to close the wound, draining me of energy and power as I very narrowly saved her life. When I finished, I pulled my trembling hands back, swiping my bleeding nose with my filthy sleeve.
“Bones?” I met the woman’s eyes, now clear and focused. “You healed me.”
“Don’t waste it,” Griz growled at her, bending to take my elbow and help me up.
The woman blinked, her eyes wet. “Thank you.”
I tried to take a step away and swayed. Griz’s hand tightened.
“Jax, cover us,” he said, jerking his head toward the woman.
Jax raised his pistol, keeping the woman in his sights as we moved up to the watchtower. Griz didn’t let go of my arm, and I didn’t argue. My legs wobbled like a newborn calf’s.
“How many more?” Griz asked once we managed to get up alongside the watchtower.
“What?” I asked, trying to catch my breath.
“How many more can you heal? And don’t give me that ‘I’m fine’ bullshit.”
I leaned against the cool stone wall. “One. Maybe two.”
He nodded. “That’s what I guessed. Kid, can you—”
Bullets slammed into the tower around us.
Before I could react, Griz darted in front of me, taking the bullet meant for me.
I tried to hold him up as he began to fall, but a sharp pain in my leg made me stumble, bringing both of us down.
On the other side of Griz, Jax let out a horrible gurgling cry.
The machine gun roared to life in the tower, deafening me as bullets sprayed into the alley where the shots came from, tearing through everything in their path.
I clapped my hands to my ears as I frantically scanned Griz.
He clutched his abdomen, blood oozing, his nostrils flaring in pain.
On the other side of him, Jax held his neck, choking as blood spurted between his fingers.
Panic seized control of my lungs. Both wounds would kill them in a matter of minutes.
I moved without thinking, grabbing Jax and yanking him down beside Griz.
“Jax first,” Griz groaned, but I ignored him.
I put one hand on Jax’s neck and the other on Griz’s stomach.
I’d never tried to heal two people at the same time before, but I didn’t have time to second-guess myself.
My healing power flowed differently, thinner, as I directed it into both of them.
It hurt—a dull ache that grew sharper as I continued.
Blood started trickling over my lips from my nose again.
“Bones!” Griz tried to pull away.
“Griz, don’t move!” I snapped at him, then out of desperation added, “Please!”
Thank the gods he listened. The bullet wound in his stomach began to close, but slowly.
The wound in Jax’s neck did the same, but as I looked at his blue lips, I had another surge of panic.
It wasn’t fast enough. He would run out of air before I could finish healing him, but I couldn’t stop healing Griz to focus on Jax, because Griz would die in the time it took for me to heal Jax.
I clenched my jaw, determination flooding through me. I would not choose one to sacrifice. I could do this. I would do this. And if it killed me, so be it.
You gotta start trying to save yourself, too.
I pushed Trey’s soft voice somewhere far, far away where I couldn’t hear it anymore, but it did nothing to stop the sting of tears.
I closed my eyes, focusing on the healing power inside of me, and instead of letting it flow, I pulled.
It fucking hurt, but I yanked up handful after handful of that power, forcing it to flow faster.
I heard Griz gasp a curse and I opened my eyes to see nothing but blinding golden light, like the sun had fallen to earth in front of us.
I couldn’t see Griz or Jax, but I could feel them under my hands.
I could sense their injuries healing, their bodies knitting themselves back together faster.
My muscles seized in pain, but I didn’t stop until I reached for more and grasped nothing but wisps of smoke.
It had to be enough, because I couldn’t live in a world where I failed to save another person I loved.
I stopped pulling, and the pain vanished, but an icy cold rushed in to take its place.
I remembered Trey saying my healing power felt like sunshine. I remembered the warm honey of his eyes in the light of my golden skin. I remembered him touching me gently, murmuring that I was beautiful. I heard shouting, but as the golden light began to fade, I sank into nothing.