Page 49 of The Aether

“It isn’t like I’ve not seen blood in my lifetime.” With a sour look, Castor asked, “What do I need to do?”

Under Damian’s instruction, he stuck his hand in the body cavity and removed the damaged part of the bowel.

“I’m not going to lose a finger, am I, Dethridge?” he asked, somewhat seriously for him.

After a pause to play out the scene in his mind and a check for any indication the surgery would go south, Damian shook his head. “No. You’re good to go.”

The bullet clinked as Castor dropped it in a ramekin dish Vivian had set aside.

“I don’t know what healthy intestines should look like, Damian. How do you want me to repair it?”

“I can do that. Suspend time while Blane and I do the rest.”

Fifty-nine seconds later, Josie’s blood was restored and her body was knitting together.

Time snapped back with a resounding pop.

“Good work, fellas. Let’s get cleaned up, and I’ll wake Josie.” Damian met Taryn’s worried gaze. “I’ll restore what she’s lost. You have my word.”

CHAPTER18

Damian was in the middle of scrubbing his hands when he recalled what Sabrina had said to the Death Dealer.

“You can bring her back.”

His blood ran cold.

Bellowing Trevor’s name, Damian ran for the guest room where they’d put Josie to rest. With the others hot on his heels, he burst into her room. Her skin had begun to gray, similar to Morcant’s sickly pallor when he’d taken the Stephens family hostage.

Touching his fingers to her neck, Damian felt for a pulse.

Nothing.

“Fuck.”

Placing his palm over her heart, he visualized a beating heart. All he knew about CPR was that he had to keep the blood flowing to the vital organs.

“What did Sabrina tell you to do, Blane?”

“I need you to channel electricity for me. She said it will pass through me to Josie.”

“Let’s do it.” Damian told the others to clear the room. “I can’t risk hitting any of you.”

“Do you need me, Dethridge?” Castor asked with a worried look down at Josie.

“I don’t think so. Please take the pup and check on Beastie.”

After everyone had left. Damian made short work of pulling the electrical molecules from the air around them. “Tell me when, Blane.”

Positioning himself with one hand flat over Josie’s forehead and one on her chest, Trevor visibly prepared himself and blew out a breath of air. His unease was palpable.

“Are you positive Beastie told you this was the way?” Damian was skeptical of the process. “The wattage could fry your circuits for good.”

“Do you trust your kid, Aether?”

Did he? Yes. Despite her young age, she’d never failed to come up with a workable solution to a problem. Pride for her clever brain flowed through him.

“I do. Ready?”

---