Page 62 of Magic and Medicine

‘We are not doing that again. I love you, and you are amazing, but I will never ride on your back again. You jerk, wobble, your spine nearly cut me in two, and it felt like I was riding a rabbit, not bloody Bambi.’

That, I had to admit, wounded my pride. How often had my avatar been called magnificent and powerful? It was so powerful, in fact, that we’d arrived much quicker than any human transport could travel. ‘Take a rest. I will have a quick shower and join you in a moment.’ I said, transforming as I stood. Sara gasped, seeing me naked, but I laughed off her shocked expression and wandered into the house. The hot water felt divine on my skin, washing away the evidence of my bestial fury, but I regretted nothing. We’d discovered the corruption in Gedania and decimated Rostov’s forces, but the one part that still made me smile was Dola’s judgment, which meant I had the chance to offer Sara an incredible opportunity.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to share it. When I went to the kitchen to share my thoughts, my Firefly was typing furiously on her phone, her concerned expression becoming more pensive as time passed.

‘I can’t get hold of Nina or Jarek. Do you think they need me in the hospital?’ She asked, and I instantly went to the office to retrieve my phone. Twenty messages stared at me, unopened. Twenty in the past five hours.

The first few were the standard reports from Adam and Tomasz informing me they cleared the compound and our enemies had been swiftly dealt with. The next was in a similar tone. Adam cleared the amber-layered room, caring for the human and non-human corpses that served as sacrifices.

A message from Nadolny stated suspicious individuals were spotted next to our clinic, and he was sending his men to deal with it. I didn’t get to the others because Sara, pale as a ghost, entered the office.

‘We need to go. Now. I saw… There was blood everywhere…. It’s past the deadline, and he came for them. We need to go to the hospital, please.’

The woman who had faced down the old powers of the Nether without as much as flinching now looked at me, terrified, with tears in her eyes.

‘What deadline?’ I asked, wrapping my arms around her.

‘Rostov. When I met him in the elevator, he gave me two days to call Czernobog, threatening to hurt my friends if I refused. Please, we need to go now.’

Once in the car, I drove like a madman, but she didn’t chastise me, clenching her fists in silence. I called Adam, asking him to send a few men and meet me at the docks. His answer raised the hair on my neck.

‘They are on the way, boss. The hospital was attacked. There are casualties.’ I bit back a curse and risked a glance at Sara, but her gaze was fixed on the road, and I only heard her whisper.

‘Please, don’t be dead.’

Chapter thirty-one

It was carnage. Sirens blared in the distance as we stepped out of the car, and two grey vans screeched to a stop behind us, with Adam, then his men, spilling out, surrounded by the smoke from the burning tyres. They still wore their tactical gear as they glanced warily at Leszek, then promptly secured the perimeter, acting on orders from the vampire.

I felt Leszek gently stroking my back, distracting me for a moment. ‘Wait. Let them make sure it’s safe inside. Besides, we need a distraction at the docks. I don’t want the authorities here.’

His eyes lost focus, and his expression stilled. Before I could ask what was happening, I felt a wave of primordial power pulsing out of Leszek, heightening with each heartbeat, searching for purchase. My head snapped around as flames exploded into the sky, the sight disappearing when Leszek pressed my face to his chest, turning around and sheltering me from the shock wave.

‘Leszek. What have you done?’ I whispered.

The explosion was far enough away not to hurt us but close enough to redirect the emergency response to the more immediate crisis. Still looking at his unyielding expression, I knew Leszek was not done. Droplets of sweat marred his forehead as he exhaled, and I felt ghostly fingers brushing over the surface of my mind. He was wiping the memories of any human being in this area; I was sure of it.

‘Adam, ensure all footage is wiped from the official database and plant the story of an accident at the docks. Hack whatever you need, but this incident must disappear from any official records.’ He said, and I barely recognised the man who was nothing but gentle and caring with me.

‘What… have… you… done?’ I said through clenched teeth, jerking from his grasp.

‘What I had to.’

I looked at his haughty expression, feeling nothing but heartache. It was mere luck and the hint of magic that I wasn’t one of those unfortunate people so easily manipulated by Leszek’s ancient magic. Did he kill anyone? I knew he would do anything to protect the Nether and its creations, but ordinary humans? Those seemed to be expendable. I didn’t want to think about it, but I had to when my blissful denial was confronted by the roaring pillar of fire that set the sky alight.

‘Kris and the firefighters, the paramedics. They will be risking their lives.’ I said, feeling my fear turned into anger. He looked at me, almost like he saw me for the first time, and touched my cheek.

‘I was careful only to damage an empty warehouse, but I have to protect what’s mine. Look around. How long would we stay in the shadows if humans discovered this?’

He pointed to the blood on the street, and I swallowed hard when it reminded me of the reason we rushed here.

‘Nina!’

Leszek called out when I bolted toward the entrance, but it was too late to stop me. I didn’t care if it was safe anymore. I leapt up the stairs, bursting through the smashed doors of the foyer. The space was trashed and filled with the lingering metallic hint of magic.

‘Nina!’ my voice echoed between the blood-splattered walls while my heart raced in panic. I couldn’t see her. My eyes darted from one corner to another, searching for a familiar figure, but all I could see were corpses.

Shifters and humans were scattered randomly around the room, hunched over the furniture where bullets and magic had hit them. I should have been here, not going with Leszek or explaining myself to those arsehole gods. I should have been here protecting my friend. It was clear that when we went to attack Rostov’s nest, he’d come here with the same plan.

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