Page 92 of The Thief

Bear set her on the road in front of his headlights. Blood had clotted around a nasty gash on the top of her head, staining her silver hair crimson. How long had she been lying there? He could barely think straight. Her palms and forearms were scraped raw, and there were discolorations around her throat.

“Head injuries always look worse than they are.” Lucian examined the wound up close. “I can’t heal this—it’s too deep.”

“Lick it anyway,” Archer said.

Lucian glared up at him. “You lick it.”

“She’s losing blood,” Archer pointed out.

“The bleeding isn’t the issue. She’s banged up inside, and I can only heal superficial wounds. You need to shake her awake so she can shift.”

Bear hated to be so rough, but he shook her and patted her cheek several times. “Mercy! Wake up and look at me!”

Her eyes didn’t even flutter.

Pacing in a circle, Archer finally ended his phone call. “Tak’s checking with his contacts.”

“What about the Relic they used for Catcher?” Bear asked.

Archer shook his head. “He’s out of town.”

Without a clue where to take her, Bear stripped off his shirt and rolled it up. Then he used the long sleeves to secure it around her head.

From the opposite direction, a vehicle slowed to a stop. A young woman rushed toward them and looked down at Mercy, wide-eyed.

She covered her mouth as if she recognized her. “Is someone on their way?”

Bear didn’t know what to say. She could be a human.

“We need a Relic!” Archer shouted into his phone.

Bear looked at the mousy brunette with a ponytail, green dress, and ugly lace-up boots. The noise from her charm bracelet distracted him as she turned her wrist back and forth nervously. She hurried back to her car and made a call on her cell phone. When she finished talking out of range, she waved at them.

“Follow me,” she called out. “I know someone who can help.”

Bear lifted Mercy into his arms. “Lucian, you drive. Archer, go with her.”

Bear climbed into the back with Mercy on his lap. Could they trust this woman? What if she drove them to a hospital? They couldn’t risk humans working on her and drawing blood, especially since what Mercy needed was to shift.

After a few turns, the vehicle slowed to a stop in front of a house in the woods. Bear watched a grey-haired woman with glasses approach the door.

Lucian rolled down his window.

“What Breed?” the woman asked in a no-nonsense tone.

“Shifter,” Lucian replied.

The lady peered into the middle seat. “Bring her inside. Time isn’t your friend. Come, come.”

They hastily exited the vehicle, Bear right behind her.

She hiked up the steps to a quaint house and opened the screen door. “I’m Millicent, but everyone calls me Milly. Only two of you can come downstairs, so figure out who it’ll be. There’s no room in the elevator, and by the looks of you boys, you might exceed the weight limit.”

Bear signaled to Archer to stay upstairs.

Milly briefly paused to pull a chain on a cuckoo clock. “I have hemlock growing around the property, so stay close to the house if you know what’s good for you.”

Bear stepped into the elevator and felt the walls closing in. The lady with the bobbed haircut pulled a metal gate shut before pushing a button with her bony finger. The elevator jerked and descended as slowly as honey crawling down a spoon.

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