Page 9 of Bitten

Theis bent down to check the man’s face. Kane saw a slight resemblance to the king, but in the warlock’s present state, it was hard to see what he truly looked like. Long black hair cascaded down his narrow shoulders and his body was lean and elfish, but that was the limit of the shared appearance. “The king’s uncle—who was reportedly kidnapped by the Suns.”

Kane began feverishly untying the man’s bond. His knuckles rasped against Ralnur’s flesh, the touch too little and altogether too much. He drew in gasps of air he knew he didn’t need, but the overwhelming sensation made his brain react.

A heart beat faster… lungs needed more oxygen. As a Halfling, his organs didn’t quite work the same anymore, but the brain hadn’t quite caught up, even twenty years later. Panic was panic, nonetheless.

“Wait,” Theis said, trying to stop Kane. “We don’t know if he was a part of this.”

There had been rumors that Ralnur might’ve been colluding with the vampires. “Does he look like he was a part of this?” Kane snapped before lifting Ralnur into his arms. He carried the small man with ease. Racing out, he could hear the faintest sound of Ralnur’s heart beating.

He hadn’t heard another’s heartbeat in years. Kane glanced down, making sure his amulet was still in place. It rested on his chest, right above the thick tactical armor he wore.

Lub-dub, lub-dub, lub…

Ralnur was dying…

No, no, no!

Kane ran down the stairs as fast as his feet could carry him. As soon as he burst from the front door, he raced toward the ambulance awaiting any injured during the raid. Blue and red lights flashed around him, the dozens of Midnight PD and unmarked cars creating a bit of a line to hold back the onlookers on the other side.

Lub-dub, lub…

He felt like he was moving in slow motion… his feet couldn’t carry him fast enough.

Kane beheld the brilliant blue eyes looking up at him, and felt himself wrapped by a heat he couldn’t escape… yet sensed the man’s life fading away all at the same time.

“Stay with me,” he murmured. “You can’t die.”

Those blue eyes pinned him with a gaze. Ralnur weakly lifted his hand and caressed the side of Kane’s stubbled face before it dropped away.

Kane’s heart came even closer to stopping. It already lingered close, the human part of him still dying all those years later. Ralnur’s eyes closed, his body beginning to tremble as Kane lowered him onto one of the empty gurneys.

“Save him!” he roared.

The healers went into action, pushing between him and Ralnur.

Kane took a few steps back, not wanting to leave the man’s side, yet knowing the medics needed space to work. The warlock had magic within… perhaps he’d survive, but Kane’s gut told him it wasn’t going to happen.

Lub-dub, lub-dub, …lub-dub…

The healers raced around the gurney, their voices raised as they worked feverishly to keep the warlock from dying—but all Kane could hear was the beating of Ralnur’s heart. Lub-dub, lub-dub… lub…

The sound called out to him. He reached up absentmindedly and caressed the amulet.

From where he stood, he could hear Ralnur fading…

How, he wasn’t sure.

Mentally, he knew there was nothing the healers could likely do. There was only one way Kane knew to save him, and he wasn’t sure it was even possible.

It was the same cursed salvation he’d gotten twenty years before. How could he damn the man into that vile existence?

He stood there and watched as the ambulance began to pull away. The desire to go with Ralnur screamed in his veins. He could hear the man’s heart calling out to him, as if it begged for help…

Lub……dub, lub………dub, lub…

Go! Save him!

Ultimately, Kane didn’t move, too afraid of what he might do if he went.

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