Chapter 28 #2
Either Lee or Wolf muttered something in an angry voice.
“Did you put anything on it?”
“A poultice with horsetail.”
“Good choice. Okay, I’m going to put some of this salve on. It might feel cold,” Sable warned before smoothing the salve onto my scarred skin.
I bit my lip hard, my head tipped down so my hair fell forward and shielded my face. Everyone was so quiet behind me.
“Does this hurt here?” Sable asked, pressing hard on my back, and I arched away with a hiss of pain. “Gonna guess that means yes. The scar tissue is so thick here, but a massage a few times a day might break up that tissue and relieve some pain.”
The thought of someone touching my back multiple times a day made me feel ill. “It doesn’t hurt that bad.”
Sable pressed in on another spot, and my body betrayed me, flinching away. “Not that bad, huh?”
I tried to yank my shirt down, but he didn’t let go.
“Hold on, Ember, I’m almost done.”
I gritted my teeth and forced myself to stay still, embarrassed tears in my eyes.
I hated this. I hated the eyes on me. I hated the hands touching me.
I hated the pity I knew I would see in their faces.
I hated revealing this weakness. Sable’s hands traveled toward my lower back, still rubbing in the salve, but the panic built until I couldn’t take it anymore.
I abruptly scrambled away across the bed to stand on the other side, pulling my shirt down.
My face was on fire, and I was breathing in shaky gasps.
Sable sat frozen, salve still on his fingers, watching me.
Lee’s eyes were sharp on my face, and Wolf’s brow was drawn as he glanced between me and Sable.
“I can’t… I’m fine. It’s fine.” I choked out.
The silence only lasted a couple seconds, but it felt like hours.
“Okay,” Sable said, his voice soft. “Well, I’m going to leave this salve with you, and if your back hurts, have someone help you put it on.
I’m always willing to help, but it’s okay if you’d prefer someone else.
If you can handle someone massaging those scars that hurt, I really think it could help. ”
“Okay,” I said automatically, grabbing Mac’s jacket from the bed and pulling it back on as though it were armor.
Sable held the tin toward me, and I shoved it into Mac’s pocket. Wolf and Lee were silent, but the tension radiating from them practically crackled in the air.
“Any word from Mac?” Lee asked, breaking the silence to my relief.
“Nemo said they were gonna meet their contact today,” Wolf answered.
I felt a surge of anxiety for Sam. I hoped their meeting went smoothly. Someone knocked on the door, and then Kai poked his head in.
“Nemo’s back with Mist.”
We filed downstairs and into one of Nemo’s meeting rooms. Mist was sitting at the table, and she looked much better. Her hair was longer and worn loose, hiding where her ears had been, and her face had filled out. She smiled at me as I entered, and I attempted to return it.
“Hi, Bones. Or should I say, Ember?” she asked.
“Either one is fine.” I tugged my shirt collar closer together.
“Mist, this is Wolf, Sable, Lee, and Kai,” Nemo said, gesturing to everyone. “Wolf is Ember’s brother.”
Mist smiled politely at them as we all sat.
“Well, I wish we were meeting under better circumstances, but Mist, we wanted to ask you about Hawk. Have you noticed anything unusual about his comings and goings lately?”
Mist frowned and shifted slightly in her seat, “I haven’t spoken to Hawk in a couple weeks.”
Nemo looked surprised. “Oh, I thought the two of you were close.”
Mist glanced at me, her expression twisting, and my stomach sank. “We were, but we had a bit of a falling out. What is this about?”
“We have reason to believe he might be involved in an attack on Ember last night,” Nemo said gravely.
Mist’s gaze snapped to me. “What happened?”
“Someone got into the clinic and dumped a large volume of blood mixed with Madame’s soap scent over Ember’s head.”
Mist’s eyes widened. “Blood from where?”
“It’s gotta be animal blood,” Wolf answered. “Unless you’ve found some dead bodies.”
We all swung our gazes back to Nemo, who shook his head.
“Wait, more of Madame’s scent?” Mist rested her elbows on the table and massaged her temples.
“Have you noticed any missing?” Nemo asked.
Mist grimaced. “No, but I packed up that scent and put it in my storage shed.” She glanced at me again. “I can’t stand smelling it, either.”
My stomach churned.
“I hate to pry into your business, Mist, but did your falling out have anything to do with Ember?” Nemo asked, his tone regretful.
Mist sighed. “Partially, I guess. I’ve just needed some… space.” Her eyes glimmered with tears. “I broke and gave Madame his name when she was torturing me.”
The pain in her voice made my throat ache, and shame swallowed me.
“When Bo—I mean Ember wasn’t there, it was…
so hard to keep from breaking. I always thought I could withstand something like that, but you don’t know until it’s happening.
” She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “Hawk wanted to fix it, but I have to figure it out by myself. He made a few negative comments about Ember, and I got angry and told him he had no idea what she did for me in that room.” She looked at Nemo with a grim smile. “You know.”
Nemo nodded, his eyes sliding to me, but I glanced at my brother. He didn’t look confused or shocked, so maybe they’d already talked about this while I was unconscious.
“I can’t imagine him doing something like that to Ember,” Mist continued. “But I don’t know… he’s hurting, and what happened in that room… it changed us.”
“He grabbed her arm the other day, grabbed it hard enough that he left big purple bruises.” Wolf crossed his arms over his chest.
Mist looked from him to me, her eyes widening.
“Do you have any idea where he might be?” Nemo asked, his voice gentle. “We haven’t been able to find him.”
Mist frowned. “I don’t, but I can help you look.”
“That’d be great, Mist,” Nemo said, then he looked back at me. “I’ll let you go, Ember. The breakfast bell should be ringing soon.”
I stood, and Wolf, Lee, Sable, and Kai stood, too. My head was full of thoughts about Mist and Hawk.
“Em!”
Wolf’s call startled me back to the present. We were outside, and I’d started toward the clinic, but the four of them were standing on the path, watching me.
“Where are you goin’?” Wolf asked, a familiar edge to his voice.
“The clinic.” I furrowed my brow. Why was he talking to me like I was trying to get out of my chores? It made my hackles rise, and I tried hard to keep from reacting.
“No, it’s breakfast time.” His eyes narrowed into a glare. “You need to come eat.”
I’d genuinely forgotten where I was going, but the way he was talking ignited my stubborn anger. “I’ll get something later.”
He stalked toward me, and I had to fight the urge to retreat. “No, you’re coming now.”
“I can make my own decisions, Wolf.”
His face darkened. “You clearly can’t take care of yourself,” he said in a low, angry voice as he approached me. “So, no, I don’t think you can make your own decisions.”
“What are you so fucking mad about now?” I snapped, my temper leaking out.
He stared at me, eyes flashing. “You’re supposed to be talking to me, to be tellin’ me the truth. And you still aren’t.”
“When have I not told the truth?” I threw my arms out, frustrated.
“About Hawk and your arm!” he snapped. “Why would you hide?—"
“I wasn’t tryin’ to hide it!” I fumed.
“Really,” he drawled, the word oozing with sarcasm.
Behind him, Sable, Kai, and Lee approached, their eyes flicking between the two of us.
“I’m not lyin’,” I tried and mostly failed to temper my voice.
He scoffed sarcastically, and the hurt that went through me nearly bowled me over. Why did it bother me if he didn’t believe me over this one stupid little thing? He didn’t believe me about a lot of far bigger things.
“Fine,” I hissed, recklessly ignoring the anger darkening his expression. “Don’t believe me. Believe whatever you fucking want. That’s all you do, anyway.”
“That is not fair, and you know it, Ember Cutler. Now get your ass over to the canteen so you can eat something.”
“I’m not hungry,” I spit out, stepping backward.
“Wolf,” Sable’s voice sounded like a warning.
“I’m not askin’,” Wolf’s voice dropped to a dangerous growl.
“Wolf!” Sable caught Wolf’s arm as he started to reach for me.
Wolf spun on his heel but stopped just as quickly as soon as he faced Sable. They stood there, staring at each other, Sable’s hand still wrapped around his upper arm. The tension felt thick.
“We can bring her food back,” Sable finally spoke, his voice low.
Wolf jerked free and strode off toward the canteen without even glancing back.
“Two godsdamn Wolfs,” Kai muttered, stepping closer to Sable. “You okay?” he asked in a lower voice. Sable nodded, giving him a wan smile.
I started back toward the clinic, and Lee began walking with me. I halted, still brimming with frustration. “Lee, please, just go to the canteen.”
His eyes narrowed, hurt flashing across his face, but from behind him, Kai spoke up, “Tuck’s there, Lee. She’ll be fine.”
I didn’t wait, turning and striding away.
I waited on edge for Lee to ignore me, but when I glanced back, he was walking toward the canteen with Sable and Kai.
Embarrassment itched across my skin. Why couldn’t I get along with my brother?
And while I was at it, why couldn’t I just let a healer put fucking salve on my back?
It’d only been one day without my crew, and I already missed them so much it hurt.
When I approached the clinic, Tuck was sitting on the porch. He frowned. “Where’s everybody else?”
“Going to breakfast,” I muttered, stomping up the steps and slamming the door behind me.