Page 69 of Air Of Mystery
In a movement so smooth it was hard for my eyes to follow, Amanda flung a dagger towards us. I barely had time to squeak, let alone register what was happening, before it struck Don and I was dropped onto the floor.
Don was now beside me on his knees, clutching his throat, and I scooted away from him on my butt as fast as I was able. Dark blood was pouring from his wound. It didn’t seem real, yet it gushed out over his hands and spilling all over the floor.
Trying to move farther away, I inadvertently put weight on my right arm. Which hurt so badly that I cried out from the pain.
That sound caused him to focus on me and suddenly recalling what I still held in my left hand, I raised up the Super Soaker and fired. We were only a few feet apart, and the water gun sent a powerful stream at his face, hitting him right between the eyes.
I heard the hiss the holy water made as it burned into his flesh. Don let loose a horrible sound, somewhere between a howl of pain and a gurgle, as the holy water ate into his skin. More blood spurted out of his mouth and ran down his chest.
Shocked at seeing what the holy water had done, I sat there, frozen in disbelief at the gruesome scene in front of me. When someone else leaned in, I recoiled from them.
“Let’s go,” Estella Midnight-Marquette said. And looping her arm around my waist, she helped me to my feet.
“Estella?” I think my eyes bugged out of my head. She too was wearing leather, and I could only stare. “I...er…what?” I babbled.
“You did great,” she said, easing the water gun away from me. “But we’ll take it from here.”
The room began to spin as she unceremoniously marched me toward the open front door.
“But… I…” I tried to form words. “What are you doing here?”
Estella smiled at someone as we moved onto the front porch. “Here you go. She’s all yours. See if you can keep her out of trouble for a while, will ya?”
I whipped my head around fully expecting the cops, but discovered that it was much, much worse. Charlie stood there, and he looked angry enough to spit nails.
“Damn it, Skye!” he said. “I let you out of my sight for two seconds and—”
“Maybe you can yell at me later?” I said. “It’s been a hell of a day.” Oddly, my words sounded slurred to my own ears.
“Hey, how badly are you hurt?” Reaching out, he took ahold of my arms and pulled me close as if to comfort me.
The pain of him tugging on my right arm was incredible. I screamed, thought I might throw up, and then everything mercifully went dark.
***
I opened my eyes and discovered that it wasn’t a dream. I was, in fact, in the hospital. The events of the last several hours were a bit fuzzy, no doubt from the pain meds they’d given me when they’d set my arm.
It was a clean break, I was told. Now I had a splint—or maybe it was a brace—on my lower right arm. I’d have to go to an orthopedist for a cast in a few days. There was something about not getting a cast right away…to avoid acute swelling and worsening the injury?
It was all kind of fuzzy to be honest. Charlie had been in the ER with me for a while, and he’d been pretty worried. Recalling that made me feel horribly guilty.
Guilty that he’d been upset, that is. I didn’t feelanyguilt for trying to save the occupants of the house on Henry Street.
The doctors decided to admit me for overnight observation, because between the broken arm and all the injuries I’d sustained from being tossed around—I also had a concussion.
Sunny and my three sisters had all piled in when I first got a room, and they’d all made such a fuss. No, they hadn’t been loud…but it was worse somehow that they hadn’t shouted. Cordelia had been the most upset—she’d had tears in her eyes. Brynn was concerned at the bruises that were popping up everywhere, and Kenna was in a full-fledged fury at me for getting myself injured while trying to save someone else.
“You had to go and play superhero!” she fumed. “You idiot!”
It was hard to get a word in edgewise with the four of them all lecturing me, but after a while they calmed down long enough for me to ask some questions and find out some of what had happened.
When Don grabbed me, Sunny had rushed Mary across the street where Corrine Thompson was waiting and ready to help the injured woman. My cousin had been heading back for me when Amanda and Estella rolled up.
“Yeah,” Sunny said. “I was so relieved when they arrived.”
I caught Sunny’s attention and shook my head ever so slightly. Bless her, she took the hint.
Sunny gave me a tiny nod in acknowledgment before continuing. She told the story as though Amanda and Estella merely happened to be in the neighborhood, and they helped me out of the homeafterI’d been smacked around by Mary’s abusive boyfriend.
