Page 90 of Shadow Blind

She’d been expecting this call for years or a visit from someone in dress whites delivering the terrible news. But not like this, not because of a sudden inexplicable illness. Not while he was on downtime. She took another breath and tried to regulate her shallow breathing.

“Bad. He’s unconscious.” Kait ran shaky fingers through her hair. Her face looked more gray than white now. The shock was hitting her eyes, turning them shiny and blind. “Marcus says he’s running a fever. His blood pressure and pulse are unstable.”

Demi tried to swallow the lump in her throat. It wouldn’t budge. “Do the doctors know what’s wrong with him?”

Kait shook her head. The blind look slowly easing in her eyes was replaced by resolution. “Not for sure. They’re running more of their damn tests. He’s going to be fine, though.” The resolution on her face hardened. “You can be sure of that. I’ll make certain of it.”

Demi hesitated. She didn’t want to put Kait in a difficult position, and Aiden had said the nanobot discussion was classified. But her need to know—to prepare—won out over the urge to maintain boundaries. “Does Aiden’s sickness have anything to do with nanobots?”

Kait sighed and turned to face her. “Yeah, about that, I’ll explain everything while we’re on the chopper. You’ll find out anyway once we reach base. But right now—” She glanced at the slim, silver watch strapped to her right arm. “We should pack a change of clothing. God knows how long we’ll be camped out beside his bed.”

Trident emerged from his hiding spot and crept his way toward the dish of tuna. “Do you think one of your friends would check on Trident while we’re gone? To make sure his food and water dishes are full?”

Kait gave a decisive nod, as though grateful for something mundane to concentrate on, something besides her fear. “I’ll call Beth. I’m sure she’ll be willing.”

The next twenty minutes went by in a daze, her thoughts fragmented and frantic. Fear was an ever-present swelling pressure in her chest. Everything around her felt too loud, too bright, as though her senses were overstimulated. If her reaction was so strong now, after she’d broken things off with him, how much worse would it be if they were still together? Or if it was years down the road, when there was longevity and children involved?

But then again, she frowned. How much more terrified could she possibly get? There must be a threshold to fear, like once you hit a certain level, it didn’t get any worse. Was she at that threshold already? Could the fear get any worse?

Before heading upstairs, she refilled Trident’s water and kibble dishes and cleaned his litter box. She paid little attention to what she stuffed in the huge, quilted bag Kait had dropped on the guest bed, but the bag was bulging and heavy by the time she carried it down to the living room and dropped it next to the front door. Kait arrived moments later with a quilted bag almost identical to the one Demi was using.

“Beth will watch Trident,” Kait said as she dropped her bag next to Demi’s at the front door.

Demi watched her friend pace to the window and peer through the glass. The movement was a nervous tic rather than a scan for their ride. They’d hear the chopper the instant it arrived. Kait had regained some color in her face, but her shoulders were still tense, her spine rigid, and her fingers were twitching against her thighs. Demi knew without a doubt that her friend was itching to get her hands on Aiden to start healing him.

Please…please let Kait’s hands heal him.

She’s done it before. She can do it again.

She has to do it again.

By the time they climbed into the chopper, Demi’s muscles were in knots. Her chest was so tight it hurt to breathe. It was ironic, really, the intensity of her reaction to this news. She cut Aiden out of her life so she wouldn’t go through this kind of fear and pain. And yet here she was, facing the fear and uncertainty she’d tried to avoid.

Day 16

Denali, Alaska

Demi was still processing everything Kait had told her when the chopper landed. Nanobots had infected Aiden’s team and turned them crazy. Not just crazy, but homicidally crazy. They’d turned on each other. They’d murdered each other. It was unbelievable…and terrifying. No wonder everyone was so concerned about this new weapon.

Had his teammates turned on Aiden, too, tried to kill him? Had Aiden killed some of his men to protect himself? She flinched, her stomach souring. Kait hadn’t mentioned that, but Aiden wouldn’t have told her. He’d take that secret to his grave. And it would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Cosky was waiting for them in the air hangar, his face tense, his body rigid.

“How is he?” Kait asked as she hopped out of the chopper.

Cosky simply shook his head, a grim expression on his face. Demi followed Kait to the ground, vaguely aware of asphalt, planes, and helicopters surrounding her. The smell of oil and fuel fumes hung heavy in the air.

“Do they know what’s wrong? Have they found any bots?” Kait’s questions came hard and fast. Cosky glanced at Demi and his face hardened. “Yes. I told her everything,” Kait snapped. “Has One Bird or Eldon tried to heal him?”

Demi twitched at the last question. Kait had mentioned earlier that she wasn’t the only healer that worked on the Shadow Mountain base, although she was by far the strongest.

Cosky shook his head again, the grim look turning ominous. With Kait beside him and Demi on their heels, he started weaving his way between the planes and helicopters.

“The docs think it’s an autoimmune response but they don’t know what’s causing it. They’ve pulled more blood and taken more biopsies. They’ve scheduled ultrasound, CAT and MRI scans. The results won’t be back for hours yet.”

Kait grabbed Cosky’s wrist. She didn’t stop him, just kept pace with him. “What about One Bird? Eldon? Joseph? Why haven’t they tried to heal him?”

Cosky’s jaw bunched. “Wolf won’t allow it.”

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