Page 69 of The Death God
Chapter 22
Rufus’ name flashed on the screen of Gregory’s phone when they were in the car, heading for the castle. He accepted the call and brought it to his ear. “Yeah?”
“Thanatos has been shot. I’m taking him into the basement to Zidane.” Rufus’ calm voice was a front. Gregory knew him too well to be fooled. Rufus was freaking out.
“Faster!” Alaric had already sped up, had heard Rufus’ words without problem, but Gregory needed to tell him anyway.
“He’s passed out, but it’s not as bad as last time. A collapsed lung is my guess. Lots of blood, so he might have nicked something important, but he’s breathing.”
“We’ll be there in…” He looked at Alaric, who pursed his lips.
“Five, six minutes, maybe.”
“Six minutes. Can you wait six minutes?” Maybe he should get out and run. He could make it there faster. Maybe. Unless people were still fighting, and he was held up. Better stay with a group. If they ran into trouble, the wolves could fight, and he could run. They needed to get there fast.
He didn’t want Thanatos to drink Zidane’s blood. Should he be partially mated to anyone, it should be him. And should he be mated…Gregory tried to think through the cold seeping into his core.
“I’ll take him down there, but if I think he’s getting worse, I’m taking Zidane’s blood. You’ll just have to live with it.”
Gregory snarled, but Rufus was right. The important thing was that Thanatos lived. Gregory could see the bigger picture. He was reasonable like that. Not. He snarled again.
This wasn’t about him, though. The important thing was to make sure Thanatos survived long enough for Gregory to get there.
“I’ve got him, Gregory. Just get your ass over here. I think the wolves might have slaughtered the others. Not sure.”
Alaric growled low in his chest but didn’t speak.
“I don’t give a fuck. Rip their throats out if you have to.”
“I’ve got him. It’ll be all right.”
There was a rustle, then Jaki’s voice came on. “Hey, Gregory. He’ll be fine. He’s not twitching like last time, no blood pouring out of his mouth…or only a little blood pouring out.” He could almost hear Jaki’s wince through the phone. “Has to be a good sign, right?”
Gregory might have made a sound. He wasn’t sure.
“Either way, we have Echo, and one other guy I haven’t been able to figure out who he is. He doesn’t speak, but if it is because he can’t, or he won’t, I don’t know. The two guys with guns are mincemeat. Rufus lost it when he saw Thanatos hurt, so…yeah…bloodbath. The wolf with all the stupid questions ripped the other one apart. He’s good in a fight, I’ll give him that.”
Gregory looked around the car. Alaric and three other wolves were there. None of them looked offended by Jaki’s account, though.
“Gregory, are you there?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“Do you want me to keep babbling to distract you or do you want to snarl at the poor fuckers in the car?”
He grunted without knowing if he did or not.
“One of the psychics is dead. He was starting fires, and no one wanted him close to the castle. I can understand their reasoning, but maybe we could’ve talked him into being on our side. Thanatos will be pissed, but maybe we can avoid telling him.” Jaki gave a short chuckle, but it had the wrong ring to it. He might be trying to sound unaffected, but he wasn’t, and it made Gregory grip the phone tighter.
“I’m walking down into the basement now, so the reception might—” He disappeared.
“Jaki?” Gregory looked at the phone. The connection was still active, but there was no sound. He held the phone to his ear, but when nothing sounded for several seconds, he hung up.
“You all heard?”
There were a few hums of agreement.
“You have Zidane?” Alaric looked amused. “I thought he was dead. Silas thinks he’s dead.”
