“We need to get his temperature down.” Leon turned, his worried gaze falling to Josh. “Get some cold water.”
Josh nodded and flashed out of the door.
Monique ripped the buttons of Karson’s shirt open. Sweat beaded on the black raven tattoo on his chest, making it seem as if the raven’s wings glistened.
And the veins squirmed toward them …
My hand shook as I ran my fingers through his damp hair, tears stinging my eyes. “You’re going to be okay. You’re going to be okay,” I repeated like a chant, like a prayer. “Hold on, Michael’s getting help.” I kissed his brow again, and I swear, even though he seemed out of it, he shivered.
Pixie came back with a bag of blood. Unscrewing the top, she leaned over him. With her thumb, she gently opened his mouth and let it trickle in. He swallowed a few mouthfuls, but when he stopped swallowing and crimson ran out of the side of his mouth, Pixie stopped pouring. She wiped the corner of his lips with a hanky and stepped back, her fingers white-knuckled on the blood bag.
We all stared at him, holding our breaths, waiting for him to wake up again. He didn’t stir.
“Why isn’t it working?” Pixie asked, panicking.
Monique shook her head. “Maybe he didn’t drink enough.”
Pixie tried again, but Karson didn’t swallow at all.
Josh raced in with a tub of cold water and a cloth, setting them on the floor. Monique didn’t wring the cloth, she let the cold water slosh over his chest and face. I moved my hands away as she wiped down his hair.
I didn’t know what to do. How to help him. My fingers wrung together. “Maybe I should ring Caron—she might be able to heal him?”
Monique snorted as she dunked the cloth back into the bucket and started wiping again. “Absolutely not. That bitch is probably behind it.”
“Why would she do that?”
Monique’s eyes drilled straight through me. “Because she wants you.”
I recoiled, prickles swarming my arms. Would Caron work with Sarah to bring Karson down? Together, with all her witch contacts, they’d be formidable.
I felt a stirring then, something cold, something ancient, something lethal.
“That doesn’t make sense. If Caron hurts Karson, there’s no way in hell I’d go with her. I’d kill her.”
As my words gathered strength, so to did my anger. I felt like I could kill the person that had hurt him. Perhaps I was born to kill, after all?
“Sometimes I wonder if you were born stupid or just naive.” She sighed, pressing a hand to his forehead, her brow wrinkling. “It’s not like she’s going to admit having anything to do with it. She would have covered her tracks well, and if she finds out he’s compromised I hate to think what the bitch would do. We can’t afford for anyone to find out about this.”
Leon paced the floor. “It’s Portland, we all know how fast rumors spread. I’m guessing both sides already know. I’ll call a few reinforcements just in case.” He pulled his phone out of hispocket, his soft brown eyes falling to me before he left. “He’ll be fine, Amy. Like he said, he’s a firstborn and also he’s a stubborn bastard.”
Karson moaned, yanking my attention back to him, his face twisting in pain. My heart wrenched.
“Is his temperature dropping?” Josh asked, worry carving lines in his brow.
Monique pressed a palm to his forehead again. “No, we need the antidote.”
“What if I run him a cold bath?” Josh suggested.
Monique stared at Karson, debating, rubbing at the back of her neck. “It’s worth a try. Add plenty of ice.”
She collected Karson in her arms like a husband carries a bride.
I scurried behind them. A hand feathered on my arm. I jerked toward Pixie as she pulled her hand away, her eyes brimming with concern. “Uh … I’m sorry for the witch-buffet joke … I didn’t mean anything by it. Leon and I, and a few others, have no problem with what you are.”
“It’s fine.”
Both of our gazes followed Karson’s unconscious body being carried up the stairs. She swallowed and forced a smile. “I’m sure he’ll wake up soon like nothing has happened and growl at us for hanging around.”
