“You’re at Underworld General Hospital.And I’m Hawkyn.”
Which told her nothing.But…had he saidUnderworldGeneral Hospital?
The door to the room swung open, and a woman in SpongebobSquarepants scrubs and a lab coat entered.
“Good morning,” she said cheerily, her fuchsia-tippedbrunette pigtails bobbing as she walked.“I’m Doctor Gemella Morgan, but youcan call me Gem.”
Another female followed her inside, a red-skinned demonfemale with tiny black horns, her whip-like tail swishing against her legs asshe walked.Holy shit.
Holy.Shit.
Gem glanced at Hawkyn.“Could you give us some privacy?”
He inclined his head and shoved to his feet, his blackleather jacket creaking as he stood.For some reason, Aurora didn’t like theidea of him leaving.Maybe because, right now, he was the only thing familiarabout any of this, even if their history only went back as far as a darkparking lot.
“Aurora,” he said in his whiskey-smooth voice, “I have someother people to check on, but I’ll be back soon.”
She nodded numbly, unsure how to respond.He wasa complete stranger.Why would he care about her enough tocome back?
She watched him saunter out of the room, not ashamed in theleast to admire the way his butt looked in his worn jeans.He might be astranger, but he was a well put together one.And hey, her ancestors were sexdemons, so admiring male assets was in her nature.
And his assets were spectacular.
As soon as he was gone, the demon put down a tray of food onthe counter and followed him out, leaving her with the doctor.
Gem put her fingerstoAurora’swrist.“How are you feeling?”she asked in a humdrum voice as if this was allperfectly normal.
Aurora had encountered demons before, but few of thoseencounters had been pleasant.Seeing them working in a setting as normal as ahospital, even if it was a bizarre one with black floors, ceiling chains, andskulls on shelves, left her at a loss for coherent thought.
“I’m feeling like I’m in the Twilight Zone,” she rasped.“AmI really in an underworld hospital?”
Gem pointed to the stylized caduceus on her jacket and the“Underworld General Hospital” script beneath it.“Yep.We specialize in pain.”
That sounded a bit ominous.“Relieving it...or giving it?”
“That,” Gem said with a waggle of eyebrows, “depends on thecircumstances.”She gestured to the sheet covering Aurora’s legs.“Mind if Itake a look?The doctor who treated you when you first arrived used a new salveto regrow your skin and I want to see howit’s comingalong.It only works on people who have at least somehumanin their DNA, and it doesn’t work on all demon/human combinations, so we aren’tsure how complete the heal will be for you.”
“Ah...okay,” Aurora said, having no other real options.
Gem smiled reassuringly.“You can trust me.I’m a doctor.”
“Are you a demon?”That Aurora was asking adoctorif she was ademonadded another layer to the TwilightZone sensation.
Gem folded back the sheet to expose Aurora’s legs.“Yes,ma’am.But I’m also half human, so I promise I won’t eat you.”Aurora stared,unsure if Gem was being serious or not, and Gem laughed.“That was a joke.Idon’t eat humans.No one at this hospital does.”She paused, lookingthoughtful.“Well, the vampires do, I guess.And sometimes the werewolves havean accident.But not inside the hospital,” she added quickly.“We’re under ananti-violence ward.”
Relievedthat she wasn’t about tobe eaten, Aurora sank back into her pillow.“This is so bizarre,” shewhispered, mainly to herself, but Gem laughed.
“You act as if you aren’t at least part demon.”Gem lookedup.“I’m guessing you were raised in the human realm?”At Aurora’s nod, Gemcontinued.“Weweren’t able todetermine your speciesor identifywhether or notyou’re a human/demoncrossbreed.Can youhelp outwith that?”
This was so crazy.But these people seemed like they weretrying to help, and Aurora didn’t see any reason to lie about her species.“Wecall ourselves Wytches.”
“Like human witches?”
“With a ‘Y’.”
“I see.”The doctor probed Aurora’s wound with her fingers,but it didn’t hurt at all.“What makes you different from witches with an ‘I’?”
“For one thing, we aren’t entirely human.”For another,their abilities were part of them, activated by thoughts or single commandsrather than spell books, chants, potions, or charmed objects.
