Page 76 of Infernal Hearts

“Anytime.”

The look on her face hits me at the core, but before I can really feel it, a soft honking comes from down the road. It gets louder. And louder.

“What the hell?” I get up from my chair and open the door to the night air, the blaring of the horn growing by the second. Headlights flash through the trees coming up the hill.

“What’s going on?” Valerie comes close to me, staring at the break in the forest.

I ignore the shiver coming up my spine. “Nothing good.”

A sleek black car comes powering into the parking lot, its driver wildly slamming down on the center of the steering wheel. It comes to a screeching halt in front of the door, Levi flying out of the driver’s side.

He runs around to the passenger side, throwing the door open. “Help me get Rani inside.” His voice is full of urgency—I’ve never seen him like this. It makes it hard to get enough oxygen in the moment.

I rush over to help him carry her, each of her arms over our shoulders. She cries uncontrollably. Green splotches and rashes cover her skin. The green substance covers Levi’s clothes and arms as well. What the fuck could bring down a gorgon? The question sends ice through my veins.

We come up to the front door, and Valerie is frozen in shock. She holds it fully to give us space, following us quickly to the operating room in the back.

“Help me get her to the bath.” I motion to the corner of the room, and Levi moves with her in that direction. After laying her down, I immediately start the sink and hose to wash her off. She screams in pain as the water contacts her skin.

“Make it stop! Please!” She flails under the stream, but Levi and Valerie hold her down.

“I’m so sorry, Rani.” I clench my jaw. “It’s almost over.” I have to get this stuff off of her. Clean off her skin. Get it out of her hair, which whips around wildly on its own.

Eventually, she stops fighting it, crying through her teeth. Once she’s clean, Levi lifts her with one smooth swoop and brings her to the operating table.

“Go wash yourself off, too,” I tell Levi.

“It’s not that bad.” But I can tell from the strain in his voice and the tension in his muscles that he’s lying.

“That wasn’t a request.” I stare at him firmly. “Now.”

He tenses his jaw but nods and goes back to the sink.

The water starts. “Grab a pair of scissors and help me get these clothes off of her.” I go back to smoothing Rani’s forehead with my hand. “You’re safe now.”

Without missing a beat, Valerie snaps on a pair of gloves and yanks open a drawer. She brings each of us a pair of shears, and we cut off Rani’s shirt and pants, throwing them to the side.

I keep my cool. “Any idea what we’re dealing with here?”

“It’s chimera blood.” Valerie looks nervous—I can tell from the way she tries not to touch the soiled fabric. “It’s toxic to magical creatures. My hands are already burning through the latex.”

My heart stops beating for a moment, and my breath catches in my throat. The same creature that killed my mom is killing someone again, right in front of me.

Her dying on my table is the only thing my mind wants to focus on, but I refuse to let that happen. There has to be something I can do. Anything. I won’t lose another to something so similar.

“Stop touching her immediately. What’s the cure?” I start going through the stock of ingredients in my head, but this isn’t something I’ve ever faced. It’s not something I ever thought I would—or hoped I would—so I avoided the subject completely. It hurt too much.

She looks at me gravely. “I—I don’t know of one. Chimeras are so rare that I don’t think it’s even been documented.”

Her answer leaves me speechless—it’s hopeless.

Goddamn it, no. This isn’t happening. I just need to stay cool and think of a way out of this. I immediately start going through all the notes I’ve ever taken about gorgons in my head.

Just as I’m about to give up, Levi speaks with a grave tone. “Give her my blood.”

I blink rapidly, frozen in place. “What the hell are you talking about? It’s toxic. It’ll kill her even faster.”

“I don’t think it will.” He speaks quickly, desperately. “I read something that says it has healing properties. It might help.”

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