“You’re gonna be okay, friend. I need you to picture all that icky poison draining right out of you. Pouring out like when a cup tips over. Can you visualize that in your mind for me?”
Although I was flying blind, I tried to sound as confident as I could. Maybe it was a magic thing, maybe it was just invoking the placebo effect, but I figured if I sounded like I knew what I was doing, it would help more than hinder.
“When you’re ready, I’d like you to try to sit up on your belly so all this badness can drain from your side. Do you think you can do that? I’ll be here to help.”
Another whine, but it seemed to be an affirmative. It took at least a full minute or two, but eventually the wolf groaned, then struggled onto his side. The mixture I poured into the wound began to dribble out, but I swore it had a new metallic shine to it. Maybe that was my own brain seeing what it wanted to see, but after another moment, I could feel the wound closing up even through the dense layer of his coat.
“See? You should be feeling better already. Give yourself some time, then get out of here,” I advised as I reached into my pouch and took out some deadnettle balm. I dabbed it around the wound, then smeared the rest on a bit of gauze and placed it over the jagged hole once I was sure it was done with the majority of the leaking. The deadnettle would soothe and help heal, as I had learned with Leo all that time ago, and the gauze would help to soak up anything the wound wanted to discharge as it healed from the inside out. I didn’t secure it, because I wanted it to fall off once the wolf was up and moving, as his body would take it from there. “I need to go help others, but be safe.”
I gave him one last pat on the side, still trying to exude healing, calm, and comfort, before I was on my feet and running again.
I kept my eyes peeled for anyone in need of medical attention, but it seemed we were doing a great job of stayingscattered and having most of the security chase us rather than engaging in direct combat. We’d fight if it came down to it, but for the most part our job was to keep as many of the guards running around far away from the manor. And we were doing a great job if I did say so myself.
A sharp yelp somewhere to the left of me had me turning my head, and I saw a wolf shifter caught between three furious members of the security team. I still didn’t really have a handle on my powers or even know how to activate them, so I couldn’t just charge in. Instead, I reached into the bag Chris had thrown me when everything went to shit and pulled out a smoke bomb.
My softball training came in handy as the smoke bomb hit one of the guards right in his back. Smoke filled the space between the trio, and the wolf darted away in the confusion. It seemed even without my plants I still had a trick or two up my sleeve.
I continued to move, helping where I could, but trying my best to stay out of direct danger. If Leo could see me, I was sure he’d be proud of how well I was doing in a support position. Truthfully, I didn’t really want to be a brawler. I had only done what I had at the auction because I truly had been afraid I was about to lose the love of my life.
I fell into the rhythm of battle, scanning for the injured or someone who was in a pinch, aiding however I could, then moving on. It was a balance of quick efficiency and making sure everyone got the care they needed. However, after I threw a smoke grenade at a tight cluster of enthralled shifters about to surround a couple of our own, another explosion rocked the grounds, nearly knocking me off my feet.
That could not be good.
I whipped around to face the massive estate, sure that was where the blast had come from. Sure enough, a wolf sailed through the window and went flying through the air, his bodylimp. I raced toward him like I was going to catch him or something—what a ridiculous thought—but two eagle shifters beat me to it, swooping in and grabbing one of his front legs to slow his momentum so he didn’t hit the ground with an overwhelming force.
I got to his side as fast as I could, gasping in horror at the blood covering him. The deep but thin lacerations all over his body made it look like he’d been whipped with a cat-of-nine-tails.
“I’ve got you. I’ve got you,” I said, aiming for that soothing timber again, but not quite getting it. Almost instantly, the wolf began to shrink until a battered and bleeding Jason lay in front of me.
“Give me whatever potions you have,” he insisted, pain evident in every syllable he uttered. “They need you in there way more than I do.”
They needed me in the mansion? I wasn’t supposed to go in there. I didn’t reply however, and instead focused on treating his wounds. We were incredibly vulnerable sitting out in the open, two fleshy bodies and no animal form. Thankfully, the eagle shifters wheeled back down, flying in tight circles around our heads. Okay, it looked like we had guards.
I did my best to patch him up, giving him a vial of invigorating tea while quickly disinfecting his wounds. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that nothing I made wastechnicallya potion, they were all simple herbal remedies I had learned through reading and my time volunteering at the animal clinic. The clarification wasn’t really necessary at the moment.
As I dabbed some of the deadnettle balm onto his wounds, I caught a guard approaching us, a bright yellow light forming in his hand. Oh, they had magic? I supposed that made sense, but I’d kind of forgotten there were lesser-magic users in the warlocks’ ranks.
While Jason and I were too weak to be a threat, it didn’t mean I was going to let the guard mow us down. I pulled two smoke bombs out of my bag, throwing one directly at our attacker’s middle, then the other one a few paces in front of him. It had the effect I hoped for. Smoke burst all around him, and the eagle shifters shrieked as they dived into the cloud.
Huh, even without strange plant magic, I was still a capable member of the team. It made me feel better about myself and less like I was a monster who could burst out of my skin at any moment.
When I turned my attention back to Jason’s wounds, he grabbed my hand and gave me a serious look.
“Go. They need you in there. I’ll get to safety out here, I promise, and I’ll help anyone else who needs to get out.”
“But I?—”
“Look, I know we still have the second cavalry, and I know Leo wanted you out here, but I saw what you did the other night. We would all be dead without you. It doesn’t make sense to have our heaviest hitter hide on the outskirts when you could be saving lives in there.”
He had a point, and my mind was desperately screaming that if my friends needed help, then I had a responsibility to join them. It was wrong to stay safe when they were all risking their lives. Still, I hesitated. Not only because I was scared of what I might do, but I was worried about breaking my promise to Leo. I liked to think my promises meant something, and I didn’t always break them all willy-nilly.
It was like Jason was in my mind, though, like he knew the exact reason for my trepidation.
“I don’t know what you are, but it doesn’t matter. What I do know is that your mate is in there, and heneedsyou.”
Well, I had no desire to argue with that logic.
Taking a deep breath, I nodded at Jason, and then I was off, racing into the very place I wasn’t supposed to go into. And I wasn’t alone, either. From the corner of my eye I saw almost two dozen dark shapes erupting from the septic truck we’d procured through America’s family. It turned out having allies who had three mechanic shops in their family circle was a far greater resource than we could ever imagine.
