Koios, Logan, and Aleron all stood inside the waiting room. They looked as unnerved as Ben felt.
“What’s happened?” Logan asked. “Who’s hurt? The guard wouldn’t tell us anything, but I smell blood. A lot of blood.”
“Tyson, King Silenus’s attaché.” Ben turned to Aleron as he spoke. Although they were distant relatives, Tyson was a griffin and part of Aleron’s clan.
“That’s why you needed my blood. How bad?” Aleron looked paler than usual, but he stood steady beside Logan.
“It’s very bad,” Ben said. “I haven’t notified Augustus myself due to the circumstances.”
“What aren’t you telling us?” Koios asked.
Ben closed his eyes and took in a breath. “Tyson only managed a few words before he lost consciousness.Help them. Spell. Garzaxie sent me. No Henry. Get Koios.He has a spell bag on. I didn’t remove it.”
“That’s smart,” Logan said. “You don’t know what it does. Odd that he specifically told you not to get Henry though.”
Koios shook his head. “Not odd. Smart. Henry is a spell breaker. Tyson didn’t want the spell broken. The bag is protecting him from something. How did he get here?”
“The guards said he appeared on the lawn, and I only know of a few creatures powerful enough to get through our wards.”
“The hobgoblins.” Koios looked at Ben. He’d already put together more pieces than Ben had revealed. “Tyson said Garzaxie sent him. So Garzaxie sent Tyson here because he knew the Jerricks could help him.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Ben wanted nothing more than to pull Koios into a hug. He needed the comfort now that he’d allowed his emotions to creep back into his mind..
“So Cosmo’s main bodyguard managed to portal his severely wounded assistant out of the Unseelie realm. He has a spell on him but doesn’t want it broken,” Logan said.
“And he wanted me here,” Koios added. “Why me?”
“Tyson is too wounded to talk. We have him intubated now,” Ben explained. “His lung collapsed. He has multiple broken bones, stab wounds, and several burns. He was severely beaten. It’s amazing he was able to stay conscious for as long as he did.”
Aleron let out a low grumble. “Can we see him?”
“For just a minute. With a spell in place, I’d rather take more precautions than usual. We have some protective amulets, but fae magic is strong and, well, we don’t know what we’re up against.”
“Why did he want me, though?” Koios asked. “He specifically asked for me?”
Ben nodded.
“Ben, have you all put a lockdown plan in place yet for the clinic?” Logan looked hopeful but sadly, Ben didn’t have the answer Logan wanted to hear.
“No.”
“Okay, let me see Tyson, and then I’m going to talk to your guards. We’re going to lock the place down for all but severe emergencies. It’s too risky to bring anyone else here when we don’t know what this magic is, or what else may mysteriously appear on the lawn.”
Ben hated the thought but understood Logan’s reasoning. He was in charge while his Dad and Papa were away, so he had to make the call.
“Do it,” Ben said, “but I decide which patients come inside and which ones don’t. Pop-Pop as well. No one else is qualified to make the decisions on who gets treatment and who doesn’t.”
“Understood.”
Ben led Logan and the others down the hall to the surgical suite where Pop-Pop stood waiting by Tyson.
Aleron gasped and leaned against Logan when he got his first look at his cousin. “Oh hell. I’ve got to call my uncle.”
“Let me,” Ben said. “He’ll want details about Tyson’s condition, and you don’t have them.”
Aleron nodded. “Thanks, Ben.”
He crossed the room to the bed and took Tyson’s hand in his. At times like this, having pack nearby was critical and the touch of a pack member could promote healing just as well as any medication.
